6 toneful tweed guitar amps
1. Victoria 20112
When only that distinctive yellow-and-black cloth will do...
Here we've rounded up six of the finest tweed guitar amps out there, starting with the Victoria 20112.
Victoria’s recreation of the original 5E3 circuit tweed Fender Deluxe produces spine-tinglingly real tweed tone that takes you back to the heady days of the late 1950s.
Built to an exceptionally high standard, the 20112 produces 14 watts from a pair of 6V6 output valves into a single 12-inch Eminence driver, making it a perfect amp for small clubs and studio work. Aimed at serious collectors, professionals and enthusiasts, it’s far from cheap, but the tone is nothing short of incredible.
2. Fender '57 Bandmaster Reissue
The 3x10 1957 Bandmaster was one of the most coveted Fender tweed amps, and Fender has now produced an equally desirable custom-shop reissue, with a solid pine cabinet, hand-wired circuitry and three custom-made Jensen 10-inch drivers to recreate the edgy dynamics of the original.
This amp was also the inspiration for another Fender classic, the Bruce Zinky-designed Custom Shop Vibro-King, introduced in 1993 and still as popular as ever.
FULL REVIEW: Fender '57 Bandmaster review
BUY: Fender '57 Bandmaster currently available from:
UK: Andertons Music| Gear4Music
US: Sweetwater
3. Swart MOD84
Swart’s drool-inducing MOD84 uses the same EL84 valves as the Peavey Classic to create a torrent of tweed tone, enhanced by a superlative valve-powered reverb and one of the best tremolo effects we’ve ever heard.
A solid pine TV-fronted cabinet housing one of Celestion’s wonderful Creamback loudspeakers makes the MOD84 a very desirable amp. Hand-wired boutique American cool for £1,699 is pretty good value, too.
FULL REVIEW: Swart MOD84 review
4. Cornell Romany
Dennis Cornell is one of the world’s top boutique builders, with decades of experience that stretch back to the Sound City/Arbiter era.
His Romany combo is a single-ended pure Class A design, punching 10 watts from a solitary 6L6 into a 10-inch Jensen Blue Label speaker. One of the Romany’s coolest features is a built-in attenuator that drops the output right down to 0.005 of a watt, for real power-amp distortion at conversation levels.
Impeccable design and robust construction at a fair price makes the Romany a very desirable UK alternative to the bigger brands.
5. Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue
Before it turned into the current vinyl-clad Hot Rod Deluxe, Fender’s original tweed-covered Blues Deluxe proved so popular it’s now been reissued.
This medium-gain version of the current ‘mark III’ Hot Rod has a more open, less compressed drive channel, teamed with a sweet, airy clean channel and a cavernous spring reverb.
Pumping out 40 watts from a pair of 6L6s into a single 12-inch speaker, it’s easy to see why so many players wanted this one to come back into the catalogue.
FULL REVIEW: Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue review
BUY: Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue currently available from:
UK: Andertons Music | Thomann | Gear4Music
US: Sweetwater | Full Compass
6. Clark Piedmont
Clark amps are in the top echelon of tweed replicas.
Top-quality components combined with almost obsessive attention to detail results in one of the most authentic tweed tones you can expect to hear from a modern amplifier.
The Piedmont is Clark’s recreation of the infamous 4x10 5F6 tweed Bassman, an amp intended to partner the Fender Precision bass, but taken over by many guitar players who loved the tone and volume that came from its 4x10 cabinet.