NAD, 5E3 (sort of...)

p90fool

Thanks to a recent post by @Jazzy_Jake on an amp advice thread where he pointed the OP towards a chassis-only Award-Session 5E3-Extra for £200 I got curious and ended up ordering one myself. 

I decided to go for the basic but loud 45w version, but as they had none of those in stock and they were really busy they offered me the upgraded version with the FX loop and speaker simulated line out for the base model price with immediate delivery, so of course I said yes. 

The chassis is designed to fit a Blues Junior cab which I happened to have lying around with an Eminence Red White and Blues in it and sure enough, it dropped straight in. 

First impressions, my God it's loud! I mean 45w valve loud, not your average 45w SS amp volume. Other than that I was a little underwhelmed if I'm honest. It had a good feel and a nice sweet spot where it just starts to break up, but more gain just took it into HRD drive channel territory. I already had a couple of those and never use that channel. 

Anyway, my decades long hostility towards the BJ cabinet led me to plug it into a Marshall 2x12 with Vintage 30s (much better), and an old Fender combo with a Classic Lead 80 in it (excellent). 

So courtesy of @Del_Preston who flogged me a barely used WGS Invader 50 at a great price even the BJ cab now sounds great and the amp is really singing. 

@Sessionman has come in for a bit of stick for calling these "5E3-Extra" but they really do have a lot of that going on, despite the fact that they're obviously not meant to be a clone. Touch sensitivity is great and with everything flat out on 7w mode it really does have most of what makes a 5E3 good in the way that it cleans up from the guitar and has great note separation and dynamics.

I've spent decades playing loud valve amps and this feels exactly right, you can even dial in more treble than you need without it getting harsh, just like you can with a saggy, squashy tweed combo. It doesn't quite do the full on meltdown fuzz you get in that last 5% of a 5E3's volume, but it does the rest of it quite amazingly well. 

So all in all, despite my goal of just having a reasonable sounding, light, loud pedal platform, I've actually ended up with a really fun, tactile amp, and I'm super impressed. 

HAL9000

I know what you mean about loud. I’ve got the 22W combo and it’s plenty loud enough for pubs and small venues. Touch sensitivity, as you’ve pointed out, is great. I’ve definitely come across valve amps that are less responsive. I’m very pleased with it.

willo

I'd love to hear some soundclips, if you have them! I'm interested in these amps but I haven't had much luck hearing the range of tones. In particular I play ranging from clean, jazz/Princeton-type sounds, to rock. Also keen to hear how examples of them with pedals.

Great news on your purchase and happy new amp day.

Jazzy_Jake

Happy NAD!

I'm glad to hear you got the amp sounding good with the right speaker. I have used a Blues Baby for a number of years and absolutely love it. Next time I have spare cash I think I'll get a 5E3 extra too as I am always impressed by how they sound.

ICBM

I wonder what it would sound like with a pine/tweed 5E3-size cab... that does wonders for a Blues Junior.