Tweed on a budget

shaunm

What are people's recomedations for a tweed voiced amp that comes in at under £600?

I play at home and gig smallish clubs so would a cornell Romany plus be my best bet?

ToneControl

I'd say stuff like this:

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/8256/

there's lots of handwired clones that come to less than £600 used

The Romany is about £900 new, so I assume you are looking at used prices

I usually prefer push/pull, and the Romany is single-ended

menamestom

 

I think it pays to be specific with regards to Tweed tone, most people mean 6v6 Tweed Deluxe amps but there were quite a few different types of amps produced by Fender that were Tweed's, with 6L6's and fixed bias etc.  I'm saying this becuse you are bound to be advised to get a tweed blues junior or Peavey classic 30 at some point!  The Cornell is probably more like a tweed champ on steroids than a deluxe. A handwired Tweed Deluxe clone could be the ticket or even build your own tweed champ (like the ampmaker WF-55.

shaunm

Good point,

It's hard to describe what tone I'm looking for. I guess I'm after a combo or head that gives me a vintage break up sound.

I am a blues player that tone wise I need to be between Larry Carlton and cream era EC. I know these are not that famous for using tweeds (although Carlton did use one in the studio).

lustycourtier

Theres a tweed super clone on here for £350. Ive played it and its wonderful. Id go for that.

menamestom

Clapton is with the Tweed Champ.  Fender even do a Clapton Vibro Champ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLsfct0sqUg

Id go kit or clone rather than spend that much.  But it does sound good.

I fancy one of the Ampmaker ones.

shaunm

Where's that @lustycourtier ?

lustycourtier

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/25853/changed-my-mind-again-fs-hand-wired-fender-5f4-tweed-super-clone-tv-front-15-inch-weber#latest 

 @shaunm

ToneControl

shaunm said:

Good point,

It's hard to describe what tone I'm looking for. I guess I'm after a combo or head that gives me a vintage break up sound.

I am a blues player that tone wise I need to be between Larry Carlton and cream era EC. I know these are not that famous for using tweeds (although Carlton did use one in the studio).

I have owned several tweeds, and they all break up very differently

EC has played tweed twins for years AFAIK, gassage has one for sale

my favourites are Tweed Twins and 5E3 circuits (using 6L6s)

57Deluxe

Just get a pedal into a clean amp... even cheaper. To be honest the TWEED TONE can be two things: All out power tube saturation or ultra clean golden tinkle - there is nothing in between that is significantly TWEED.

I have had 2 Tweeds, 59 Bassman and currently a 57 Deluxe and I can get TWEED goodness from other amps with some FX help - and/or just my picking action!

Wampler 57 Tweed


Les Lius lovepedal


AMT Tweed Sound


Lazy J Cruiser

english_bob

RE: the Cornell amps. It's worth saying though that the older Romanys with just 10w and 2.5w modes won't get you any breakup at polite home volumes- to my ears that control is more to do with the feel of the amp than the volume or distortion- 2.5w mode feels more "spongy" and compressed, but sounds much the same at low to moderate volumes. When you wind it up to band volumes the amp will still stay reasonably clean with the EQ switched in but will definitely get you in to dirty bluesy breakup territory if you switch it out. Of course, turning off the EQ means you end up with very little control over the sound beyond what you can achieve with your guitar's controls and your fingers (or an EQ pedal, but that's cheating!). I suspect you'll have similar problems with any straight-ahead Tweed-styled amp though, since their tone controls are very limited compared to modern amps. FWIW the Cornell can also run an EL34, 6V6 or KT66 tube instead of the stock (and recommended by DC) 6L6.

 

@menamestom is correct- the roots of the Romany design are in the Champ- the origins of the Romany were as a DIY amp kit advertised in Guitar magazine way back when, billed as pretty much exactly what he said- a beefed-up, tweaked tweed Champ. I suspect a Tweed Deluxe with a push-pull 6V6 power section would sound different.

 

You do have another advantage with the Cornell in that it has a recognised name on it that people who know their onions will recognise, which might stand you in better stead than a clone (however brilliant it might be) if you want to move the amp on.

shaunm

On the other end of the scale I have looked at the Marshall 1987x though this might be overkill

Babones

I think you'll be happy with a Cornell Romany Plus (second hand). If you want to go much cheaper, you could try the Laney Cub 10, 2x 6v6. It doesn't break up too much with single coils and a tube/speaker swap ought to yield more desirable results.

57Deluxe

Oh and the Hot One Diamond head 5w mini - is Tweedie

hotpickups

I can recommend this fella. I don't own one but have had a go on one. Sounds great but might be over your budget but you can pick them up second hand sometimes:-

http://www.tube-tone-engineering.co.uk/Redneck_20.html