1959 Fender Deluxe

The 5E3 Fender Deluxe is one of the top three most sought after and collectible amps ever made by Fender (or anyone for that matter) along with the 5F6-A Bassman and the 5F8-A high power Twin. In fact they are so sought after and rare that it is far more common to see clones, kits, re-issues, or custom shop versions of these amps than an actual 5E3 Deluxe. The popularity of this circuit cannot be overstated, and for many it absolutely defines Rock n’ Roll and the Fender sound. Appearing in 1955 and manufactured until 1960-1961 the “Narrow-Panel” Fender Deluxe features a 12AY7 input tube that is cathode biased (an upgrade form earlier grid-leak bias designs), a 12AX7 cathodyne phase inverter, a pair of 6V6GT power tubes that are cathode biased and fully bypassed, and a 5Y3GT rectifier tube which provides a huge amount of sag for the power supply when the amp is cranked. The frequency response of the highly inefficient and interactive tone stack is affected by both volume controls. This lends the amp some of its characteristic charm, and the single 12” speaker and pine cabinet makes it easily portable but loud enough to keep up with a small band. These amps have a very unique sound and have been used by some of the biggest guitar players in history. Notable users include: Larry Carlton, Mike Campbell, Neil Young, Scotty Moore and Don Felder. 

This amp came in to my shop having already been partially restored from a previous repair. The competency of the older restoration, which was a basic electrolytic cap job, was quite decent, using good parts quality and technique. However, there were a few issues left unaddressed, including some preventative maintenance and a blown speaker. This one needed a cap job for all the paper/foil coupling units (which dry out similarly to electrolytics), new power dropping resistors, and a new speaker.

All possible preventative maintenance was then completed. All coupling caps were replaced with high quality (Handmade in the USA) Jupiter Yellow Vintage Tone units to replace the original dried out paper/foil Astron caps present since 1958. These caps are exact reproductions of 1950's Yellow Astron brand units originally put in Tweed Fender's. The Outside Foil markings of the Jupiter’s were all aligned to the correct junctions of the circuit - which are the ones that present the lowest impedance. This is a very old-school technique that helps prevent noise and is almost unheard of today. Most modern signal caps do not even have Outside Foil markings. New 2 Watt Metal Oxide power dropping resistors were installed for better reliability and lower noise floor - the original units had signs of heat damage. The rest of the carbon comp resistors tested in spec and were kept in place.

Due to the speaker being blown, the customer wanted it changed to a model that was in line with what came in the amp originally but with a higher power rating for reliability. A new Weber 12A125, 30 Watt 12” Speaker (Light Dope @ 8 Ohm) was installed to replace the previous Jensen branded unit. This was installed with a new wiring harness. These are exact reproductions of the Jensen P12Q made in Chicago in the 1950’s.

All of the original tubes tested good and were kept in place. The final lineup was: V1 = AMPEREX 12AY7, V2 = JJ 12AX7S, V3-V4 = JJ 6V6S Matched Pair, V5 = SYLVANIA 5Y3GT. The 6V6S's Cathode Bias was measured at 99% Class AB Plate Dissipation with a B+ of 380VDC. The tube sockets were all re-tensioned to stop the tubes from jiggling or falling out while they hang upside down - they also were cleaned with a De-Oxit treatment to prevent noise from corrosion. The pots were sprayed out and the amp was cleaned inside and out. Amp now functions perfectly.