Tweed Amps
The earliest amps from Fender
Classic tones ranging from the 5 watt Champ right up through the High Power Tweed Twin, these amps defined early rock and blues tones. I have built just about every version but by far the most popular are the Champ, the Deluxe, the Bandmaster (my personal favorite) and the Bassman. In addition, I have modified a lot of old PA and Organ amps into the Tweed circuits. While not blessed with the classic looks or fancy tweed covered cabinets of the real deal, they sound very much the same and saved their new owners a huge amount of cash. The lower powered tweeds from the Champ ( about 5 watts) through the Deluxe (about 12-15 watts) are all cathode biased amps- this means they use a resistor and capacitor arrangement to set the bias for the power tubes. It allows you to switch power tubes in these amps and not have to reset bias via a multi-meter- or visit your amp tech and pay them to do it. The are characterized by a faster breakup on the volume knob and a nice gritty overdrive sound. Listen to Eric Clapton playing through a Champ on the Layla album or Neil Young using his Deluxe (hot rodded further by using 6L6 power tubes rather than the lower wattage 6V6 tubes) on any number of albums he's done. The higher powered tweeds from the Bandmaster/Super/Pro, the Bassman up through the Twin series used the fixed bias approach which allows the bias to be set manually via resistor values or a variable pot. They are characterized by a cleaner sound at greater volume before the onset of overdrive. I have found the bass response very piano like and at 30 watts and greater, these amps make a lot of noise. Listen to the early recordings of Buddy Guy to hear the Bassman in action. This is by no means all the tweed models and each has a certain charm. |