Hey guys! Help me out with my dilemma will you? I'm in the market for a fender clone and the 5e3 caught my eye. I know the cleans are great, although it doesn't have a lot of headroom. But what about the overdrive? I read somwhere that Billy Gibbons used these amps on some ZZ top tunes. Can I get a ZZ top sound with this amp (Lagrange, Jesus just left Chicago...)? Maybe with two 12AX7's in the preamp for more gain?

Cheers guys! Keep the forum alive!
 

Miracle Man -
There is plenty of overdrive in that amp. I think you would be sorry if you dropped a 12AX7 in that amp. It would have no headroom what so ever. Just listen to Larry Carlton on Steely Dan's The Royal Scam. His lead tone just plain screams. No pedals, just him plugged straight in. Take a look at his website (I think it is mr335.com or something like that). There is a video with him showing you exactly how to get that heavenly lead tone from a Tweed Deluxe. You will be glad you checked it out. The only short fall of that amp IMO is that it is just on the border of being a gigable amp if there is no PA. I have one of Nik's 5E3 amps and I can vouch for it whole heartedly.

Thanks for all the info guys! Sounds like the perfect amp for me. I will mostly use it for recording and rarely in a band (i play in a punk-rock band---my marshalls handle that  ). I'm not worried about the cleans either. I usually just set the amp for an overdrive sound and clean up with the help of the guitars volume pot. Do they sound good with greenbacks? I have one of those Marshall 4x12 with greenbacks.

mcinku: je že kar nekaj Slovencev na forumu, kajne 

hey there.. new to the forum and to the amp talk.. been considering the 5E3 for awhile now, but still unsure about it..

1. my first tube amp, so i do not know what to expect really
2. looking for an amp that could give me some clean headroom, uses most probably include home (apartment) practice and possibly jam sessions/gigs in the future
3. stingy and hoping to get an amp that i would never need to replace ever
4. im not a very good guitarist and just want to improve the overall tone of my beginner setup
5. tones that i crave for would be kinda like the gilmoury, eric johsonish, srv-ish kinda clean tone, with a smooth overdrive.. im not saying i want the exact tone as them, just something that would have the pristine cleans
6. if it helps, an amp that i really love the tone of is a twin reverb.. who doesnt?

hey thanks for the reply.. appreciate the recommendations.. however, im based in malaysia, and it is hard to get amps that are going to be priced decently.. ceriatone is one of my top options as nik really offers competitive prices.. where do you think i could get an amp like those mentioned? clone amps too? original fenders will remain out of my reach for a long time it seems..

what power output does that deluxe reverb have actually? that one looks pretty good..

hmm.. thanks for listing the possible options.. the super would be terribly expensive for me unfortunately.. is there any other tube amps below 600usd and below as a combo that you would recommend me? if this is kinda off topic, i dont mind pm-ing you for further advice

edit: your champ.. mind listing the specs for me? besides the owner bias (we all have them lol) you may have, you sure its really suitable? heard your demo and it sounds good

ahhh..sounds great! yet complicated.. im sure nik would know what to do right? thanks again you've been super helpful.. looking forward to tubey goodness hopefully by christmas! maybe for once i'd get a cool gift, even if its from myself!

to steal a smiley from you, 

champ deal is on hold for now.. gonna have to save up for something else.. nik tempted me with a new upcoming amp.. lets just say, its 'american'.. and its brown.. 

he also said 'save up'.. this one's gonna be good