Are 5e3s considered to be a bright amp?

Kuras · March 1

I ask because I am looking fit either a Celestion Ruby, Gold or Cream. After reading a load of reviews it seems like..

Ruby’s - mid heavy
Gold - aggresive
Cream - lacking a bit of treble/a smooth speaker

But with these descriptions brings so dependant on the amp… is a 5e3 bright? A Cream might be perfect if that’s the case, as the Blue was a little aggressive for me and I had limited use for the bright channel for what I am looking for.

Cheers

mo6020 · March 1

Not particularly bright. They're mid focussed and a bit flubby and typically need the treble dimed on them to get them going. I love them.

I think alnico blues are the sweet spot for 5e3s, personally, but YMMV.

Cirrus · March 1

Agreed - not that bright. I think of them as a particularly middy amp, no glassy top end etc. Switch to something like an AC15 and you notice the extra treble extension.

lovestrat74 · March 1

Played one at a meet up courtesy of @Winny_Pooh - It had a Celestion Blue and sounded glorious. Not bright, but nice and chewy.

Kuras · March 1

Thanks. That’s raised a good point in terms of describing sound and I’m getting treble confused with mid/upper mid. The answer that 5e3s are mid heavy rather than toppy and I need to find the alnico Celestion which has slightly less mids but has that blue character.

Cirrus · March 1

To be honest, if the blue was too aggressive the cream might be just right. I think the blue is perfect because it has a quickness to it - you play something funky and fast and the attack feels immediate, whereas on the cream everything felt thicker, heavier and slower. But if you hear that quickness as aggression, maybe the cream will be the answer.

Or... dare I say it, an old Pulsonic coned alnico. They are less aggressive in the upper mids than a modern blue, I think they're very special but expensive these days. There's a 16 ohm one on eBay that I nearly pulled the trigger on, but unless your 5e3 has a 16 ohm tap probably not ideal for you.

Modulus_Amps · March 1

A friend of mine has a cream alnico in his Tweed Deluxe, sounds great. Not as poky as the blue which I also like and I like bright amps.

The Tweed Deluxe is mid heavy, When you crank the tone control it pushes treble and high mids forwards, you could reduce the treble cap a little to reduce the high mid content if you find it to harsh in your ear hole.

So far for me the Cream Alnico works with every vintage amp I have tried them with.

Kuras · March 1

Yeah. From what I’ve read and heard online. It seems like the cream is the way to go. Without the fear of blowing the Blue up!

fretfinder · March 1

Like a lot of people I think a Blue is just about perfect in a 5e3 amp, plus they can handle a lot more power than their 15 watts rating would suggest. Shame you don’t like it. Are you sure it’s not your particular amp that’s overly bright rather than the speaker being the issue? If it’s a kit-built amp someone could have done some modding unbeknownst to you. Something to think about maybe before you go down the speaker changing rabbit hole… Good luck with it.

Winny_Pooh · March 1

My 5e3 is less bright than most. I swapped out my blue for a Jensen bb40, happier as it feels less dark and mid heavy.

markj · March 1

No not at all. My Gartone 5e3 that’s for sale on the forum is warm and sweet sounding.

Keefy · March 1

I would describe a 5E3 as fat (or phatt if you prefer) rather than bright. They are well known for their big bottom end that flatters Strats and Teles.