The 1959 Fender Super Amp - Top Of The Heap Of The Mid-Sized Tweeds - Ask Zac 98
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
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The Fender tweeds from1947 thru 1960 are some of the finest guitar amps ever made. They are simple and raw sounding, and their job was mainly to make the guitar louder, not to do much tone sculpting. My favorites are the narrow panel 1955-1960 models, and today we are going to take a look at the best of the mid-sized (30-40 watt) tweeds, the 5F4 (2-10) Super amp. Besides its lineage, we will also look at how to get the most out of these amps by knowing how to use the Bass control, and jumpering the instrument and mic channels.
Gear for this video
1957 Fender Esquire with an added neck pickup. Restoration and aging on the body by Dan "Danocaster" Strain. Bridge pickup re-wind by Ron Ellis
Strings:
D'Addario NYXL 10-46
Pick:
D'Andrea MH 351
Amp:
1959 Fender Super with Mather cab and Vintone alnico speakers. #askzac #guitartech #telecaster
Zac, you are a class act and a credit to the guitar community.
Thank you!
Bass control: BINGO! It took me 20 years to figure out the secret to Fender amps. It's all about where you put the bass knob. 4-5 seems to be their happy place.
My '52 Bassman only had 2 knobs, Volume and Tone, but they both went to 12, so there's that. The '59 Tele and '57 ES-225 were my main choices of tone control.
An important thing I read about years ago. Someone said that Leo was CONSTANTLY tweaking his amp designs in pursuit of tone. He also used to dig through the scrap wood
pile and glue up body blanks after the workers went home, so your old Tele with a 2-piece body? Probably Leo's doing.
One other Leo story- while he was giving someone a tour through the factory, he bent over to pick up a 2-cent capacitor and put it on the bench of the woman who dropped it. She had no idea of who he was. She says to her co-worker "Who the hell is that??" Leo just smiled and kept walking.
I never met him, but I really like him.
Glad to hear you mentioned NRBQ. Al is one of my favorite guitar players ever
at Yankee Stadium is a great album! Saw it peeking out at the beginning of this tube. very cool Zac.
Perfect guitar, perfect amp.
Couldn’t help but spot Andy Summer’s book in the background… one of the finest rock autobiographies around! An Ask Zac about the classic modified Andy Summers Tele (humbucker, phase switch and all…) would be a treat one day.
I second your request, that guitar has intrigued me for years. I’m also going to have to check out that book.
The book is stellar. Yes, and Andy episode on his Tele would be fun!
Really informtive and practical . A must see for all fender amp enthusiasts
Great amplifier. Thanks for the great information.
I actually have a 1959 narrow panel Super and your advice on how to set the bass has been crucial to open up the knowledge of the amp itself. It did sound good before but now it has come alive ! Thanks so much for this !
Hey Zac Good Show man .Great tone thru that absolutely beautiful amp .Your Esquire sounds really good thru it.
I just obtained my first ‘65 Deluxe Reverb reissue based on watching your videos and love it!!! Thank you very much!!!
Night of the living tweed
Zac,
I am so happy that a celebrity (don’t be modest) shares my appreciation of Fender Amps: the first 50 years: mandatory reading for Fender amps lovers !
Back to my modest set-up: ‘69 Tele and ‘59 Vibrolux (had to re-sell my ‘57 Super:too loud for home studio use)
I've had that book for over 20 years. It's great!
I like this guy because he doesn’t talk to me like I’m in 3rd Grade. Other CZcams channels should take note.
Love your videos, Zac. Keep up the good work. Tweed Supers are killer.
"Half of a Fender Bassman", was how the tweed Super was described to me by one guitar player.
But not half as loud, unfortunately. They really scream.
Thanks Zac, awesome episode on the origins of this iconic Fender. Some great tones from you and the tweed Super. I had no idea about the early evolution of this amplifier.
My pleasure!
Loved rewatching this Zac! Perfect after my Bassman video. “Little brother” to the Bassman? Now I need to take one for drive.
You should!
2-10 Fenders are a particular favorite of mine. Wanted a tweed Super real bad when they were new production, but had to wait and "make do" with a brownface Tremolux, and much later( after Showmans, Concerts, and a Super Twin) a Music Man 210-65, which is hands down the best guitar amp I've ever had. More Fender than anything Fender made in the CBS era. IMO there's just something about that 2-10/2-6L6 setup that opens a 6-string guitar right up. As always, Zac, thanks for a fun, informative vid!
My friend has the musicman RP 65 it's a beast and so reliable
So over engineered, hard to believe is a hybrid
My band and I opened for the Andy Summers Band at the Cannery in Nashville in the late eighties. They were very down to Earth and encouraged us to keep playing Fusion style music. Chad Wackerman was playing drums. Andy was playing his Klein guitar that night but I remember his road crew saying they wished he would go back to his tele. They were really nice guys!!!
“Darn tootin”.....I love this kid!
Peter at Mather Cab is a super talented guy, great to work with.
Had to re sell my 57 Super, best amp I ever had or played in 50 years, but just too loud for home use
I love your videos! I began playing as a teen n 1967. My first guitar was a jag lookalike Harmony solid body and my amp was the Champ.
Very cool!
Good stuff as always Zac, my mojotone tweed champ is what I’ve been hung up on at the house here lately. Now you’re making me wanna check out some more of them. Had the chance to play through a friend’s 1960 Princeton recently and it was great as well. Sipping coffee from my ask Zac mug as I type this. 👍🏻
Thanks for the support!!!!
Great episode Zac, on an amp I didn’t really know much about. Thanks. You mentioned the great man- Big Al! Please do an episode on Al Anderson as soon as possible.
REAL soon
Love these old tweed amps
Wonderful trip! Thx!
Avuncular. I was thinking about how great you show is and the word jumped in to my head. You are actually younger than I am, but still
Videos and demos of the Tweed Pro, Bandmaster, and Super are rare, so thanks Zac…
I think because there weren’t very many of them made , they fly under the radar.
These amps truly function as another "instrument". As you get more experience with them, you will find ways to "play the amp" not just the guitar which is very rewarding.
Another trick for this amp, (to clean up your heavier strings when playing at louder volumes) is to use a tube screamer at unity gain with no OverDrive. This cleans up the lower strings considerably. As an example, the intro to Folsom Prison Blues……
I built a Weber kit of the Bandmaster version a few years ago. Vintage examples of the real thing sell for $6000 to $10,000 each. At about $700 and some build time, this is a gem of an amp. It will keep up with a heavy-handed drummer however, it depends on the tone you're seeking. For roots rock, it’s perfect for me…..so many switchable mods to tweak things a little while maintaining the overall character of the amp……however, stock is still fantastic IMHO.
Hey nice channel you know your stuff . I just acquired a 1960 -1961 TREMOLUX un altered it sounds great !
Just love those old nekkid Tweed tones!
Oh Man! Zac , this Tweed sounds unbelieveable awesome. Holy Moly - this is the Holy Grail!
I agree 👍
Thanks for the tips on adjusting a tweed amp.
You bet!
Thanks Zac - really interesting episode. That's one of the best aging jobs I've seen - when I first saw the amp I thought it looked as old as me, and I'm a '59 too ... 😃 Thanks for the tip on the bass control - I imagine it's essential on the 50's tweeds (and I love the "knarly" sound you get).
Thanks, John
My dream amp.
That tone!!! So gorgeous!
I’d love to see you do one on the Pro, ideally the 5e5.
If I can borrow one!
I have one of the newer Pro Juniors. I like to to think this is what the little guy aspires to be in 40 years. I agree with your ending point, I actually really like mine with a tele and no effects except maybe a little reverb. Another great video, Zac.
I got a amp you don’t see everyday. It’s a Twin Reverb Solid State. They made them a couple years in late 60s. I think 67-68. I guess they were a flop and very few survived. But mine somehow lasted and it actually sounds great clean. Most people don’t even know they existed. I’ve had guys call me a liar about it too lol. But they did exist and I have one. Probably not worth anything but it’s pretty cool piece of history. And again it actually sounds fantastic clean. Maybe it’s the original speakers that make it sound good. My dad bought it at local music store in early 1990s. Been playing it since I was a kid
Damn Zac, that tone is awesome. The combination of the guitar, your picking, and that amp sound great together, I thought it sounded best with the bass all the way up, I'd stick with big glassy if it were mine. I was also impressed with how original it looks, would have never guessed that's a replacement cabinet.
Very informative and enjoyable 😎🎙🎸✅
Much appreciated!
Hey Zac thanks for the video! I got me a Fender reissue of the 5E5-A Pro (what they call the "57 Custom Pro") for swing and big band music and it's fantastic for that. At home I plug in my strats and teles and it's heavenly too - I'm spoiling for a blues, country or Western swing jam where I can cart it along. I'll try your tips, with the caveat that a big fat 15" speaker tends to make a cranked bass control impractical ;D. I agree however that the bass control is the crucial one and I'll test it through all its sweep carefully. It actually controls GAIN in a big way… gotta learn how to use 'em, those old quirky amps!
Iv'e built around 6 of these and sold as Super, Bandmaster, Pro (all the same) I sell it on Reverb, then miss it and make another- The tone controls really change the attack of the note and gain of the amp Super versatile :) tone wise
Fender kept that Super name going in the ‘90’s with the redknob Super 112. Even when the amps became less Fendery they were Super.
⚓️ Thanks Zac 😎
Just recently bought the handwired 57 Custom Deluxe Tweed. Switched the 12ay7 to 12ax7, replaced speaker with a Celestion green… total different amp instantly. 100% improvement. Unbelievable snarling totally touch sensitive rock animal. And, you can always put the 12 AY back in, revert back to the old speaker (now in a spare cab ) and you’re back to the more stock Fender sound. All in all one hell of an amp and yes I own a good collection of tone machines. Hard to beat this one though.
+1 on the speaker switch....For me it was a must. My ears could not handle certain frequencies that the "American" style speakers were producing, even after breaking them in considerably.
Way back I played through an old Fender tweed,great amp!Think it said ProReverb on it...
Nice amp.
Zac please dig into Champs. I love my new Custom 57 Champ, but love learning from amp guys how the lack of EQ affects things, why they have such a louder noise floor etc etc. Dig in sir!
Tweed and Teles are like peanut butter and jelly. I've got a Princeton, a Tremolux, and a black guard Tele partscaster made from lots of old parts. They all sound like God shouting from the mountain top.
Excellent ☮️
Thank you! Cheers!
The weber 10a125's 30 watt sound fantastik in these amps
Great but early on "guys who buy a Marshall...."
Unlocked my Spark with a new phone :)
I don't know how to run that yet but might be fun soon.
I recall an interview with Steve Miller years ago where he mentioned taking a Concert out of storage (basement) for the first time in years. He said every Avalon, Fillmore or Winterland gig back then used this amp.
It still worked !
Seemed like a Super without the reverb.
Gotta love “necked” tone!
The tweed Super had a very similar circuit to a tweed Pro; the power tubes and the voltage levels differed, but the cathode follower (YES!) powering the tone controls, followed by another gain stage, and then the cathodyne phase inverter, is for all intents and purposes, the same in each. While this set-up doesn't march up to the later long tailed pair PI in what many guitarists consider to be 'classic tone', it was a huge leap forward compared to what other manufacturers were doing at the time. I honestly wish that Leo had tinkered with a cathode follower feeding into a paraphase PI...but we'll never know...
I play a 58 Super ..Its amazing. I gig on it alot.. try setting your bass and treble on 10 and presence to taste. Leo said knobs on 10 are nuetral as if in the middle. That's how i set my amp. Sounds great
Thanks for the tips!
Zac (!) please oh please and pretty please give us a rear view...
...especially if at all possible, with the upper panel removed, 'cause THAT is the
all time 'nerd' view. Love your tonal "helpful hints" as they're most entertaining and inspiring.
Thanx for another great vid and Cheerios (but not the cereal)
Fantastic! If amp technology stopped after 1959, the world would have had enough to work with for a lifetime. In my opinion, the tweeds make me play better.
Zac! Best? Top of the heap? That's subjective! Some might say it's the Bandmaster! Just kidding around, thanks for the great video.
Fair enough!
Zack I would love to see a show about the top guitar books out there. I know I have fender golden years and pedal crush but I’m sure there are a lot of gems out there
I did an episode on that czcams.com/video/SYpA2fkBVC8/video.html
@@AskZac I tell you another topic hopefully you haven't done Is how much difference do NOS tubes make I just put an old Mullard 60's EL34 in my Tone King Gremlin head I just got this year Not sure if it was just the 34 vs the 5881 It's made to take several tube types Killer amp And I'm a vintage guy Was my first new amp since a 90's ha ha Tonemaster amp Sorry for being so long winded The 34 just growls in a great way
Cool deep dive!
Wonder if Fender will do a tone master version of these early tweeds? Be great to have a bassman that was light with a power attenuator on it 🙂
That would be cool!
Interesting. I didn't even know about these. But yes, the Super Reverb TM is really cool. Although, again, I think if they were to put the Celestion Ventage or Neo Creamback speaker in, it would sound better. Either that or an Eminence speaker of some sort, you will definitely get the sound of a vintage amp. But we'll broken in is extremely difficult to replicate
Killer amp! Even the kits can sound pretty damn good if you put them together right.
The Jensen Reissue speakers are growing on me. The more experience I have with 50's and 60's speakers, the more I like modern power handling. Recone specialists are getting harder and harder to find.
Zac, I enjoy your channel and your playing.
I have had one amp since 1986, which I bought new-a Marshall JCM800 4010 combo.
Through it I’ve played several SGs, a Guild Starfire, an Epiphone Sheraton, a Heritage H150, a Danelectro 1999 reissue, an Epiphone Casino, a couple of Paul’s, a couple of Teles, an L6S, and my main guitar, a $150 Mexican Strat which is worth a thousand times what I paid…
Whatever guitar, or whatever style-rock, blues, Latin, reggae-I’ve played, lo, these many years, this amp has sounded wonderful.
My questions:
Have you played through Marshall’s?
How did they compare to your Deluxe Reverb?
I have only used a Marshall twice. Both were backline situations where I only had my guitar. They are great, but also frustrate me as I don't know how to properly set them.
Do Stand So Close by Jeffery Lee Campbell is the title and author of the book about being Stings guitar player for a year. Off topic but since Andy Summers name popped up I thought being Stings lead man fits in. He also talks about making a living as a player in NYC. Pretty good read.
There is a pretty good book available on Amazon about and by the guitarist who went on tour for a year playing electric guitar for Sting who he likes a lot.
Hi Zac , I love your videos! But I have a question I just recently started playing a fender player’s series Telecaster, I wanted to know weather you have a suggestion’s for quieting the buzz noise when playing the neck pickup and the bridge pickup ?
Tough question to answer from afar. I roll my volume all the way down when not playing. Does it make the noise when you roll the guitar's vol down?
Thanks for the Big Al Anderson acknowledgement. His '62 Chocolate Super has EV 10's. I cannot remember if they are EVM's. They are certainly bullet proof, whatever they are. He used a RE-301 Chorus / Echo for a while.
Watch for more on this....
@@AskZac i'll be waiting with baited breath. Thanks Buddy Ole' Pal.
Uhh, leo's favorite amp per legends. One thing, the super, pro and bandmaster's were the same amp circuit wise but leo always had specific output transformers. That way guys couldn't easily switchbout cabs! Pro 8 ohm, super 4 ohm, bandmaster 2.5 or so ohms. Leo did basically the same thing with the AB 763'S!! Model specific output tranny's. The Bassmam was a different animal. The mid tweeds were more like the low power twin. The Bassman had dual rectifiers.
Have one, have G10 Celestians speakers in it. Rare and amazing amp.
Crickets one year later
Really could’ve used an example of that amp cranked up, rock style. I played through a 210 tweed super and I know they’re capable of much more.
Gonna go try the bass trick with my Victoria Super.
I hated the Jensen speaker, even after breaking it in thoroughly at gigs on 12 (yes, the knobs go to 12.)
I put in a pair of Celestion Golds.
Chime, balls, everything in spades.
Modern Jensens are not all great.
That’s the amp Larry Carlton used on kid Charlemagne and other Steely Dan hits.
No, that was a Tweed Deluxe. Do check his Premier Guitar Rig Rundown.
Love the tweed tone I have a 61 Princeton tremolo but it's a brownie w cream knobs Transition era it seems Question is....is there another speaker you prefer besides the Weber Classic alnico that replaced the original Thanks Z great vid
Contact info@vin-tone.com
I think the “soul of tone” is the most informative amp book”. Also have you run into a guy Jinny Somma ? Sommatone amps? He moved to Austin a few years ago. He was my amp tech when he still lived in New Jersey. Great guy. Thanks for the tweed info. I just got a Victoria 35/310 and love it. The separate reverb head “Reverbaroto” some of the best reverb and teen. Thanks for your always very informative show.
Soul of Tone is great too
Very Nice! Can you manipulate those controls, or do anything else to make the larger super sound muck like your Harvard?
It sounds much bigger, and glassier
Hi Zac,
Thank you, you provide us with such a wealth of important information. This particular amp sounds fairly thin and flat compared to your Deluxe Reverb. Assuming that your recording level is the same, the lack of reverb seems to affect the projection of volume quite a lot. Or, I maybe wrong, perhaps it's tone control?
I thought the amp sounded killer. Maybe it did not translate well.
I have a '57 Super that I got for cheap at the old East Village New York City Guitar Show held annually in September between 1986 and 2000 at the Mary Help of Christians Church on E. 12th St. and Avenue A in New York City, many years ago.
It's in great shape and all original including the tubes, except for the caps and speakers, which are old unshredded Celestions. To say that it sounds great would be no surprise to anyone. Of course, it can roar gloriously when distorted, but it's also superb for cleaner sounds, as well, for which it was designed. Beyond dead clean it's actually too loud to use in most venues these days, so anything even approaching a dirty tone is taboo.
Skip Henderson's show.
Yes a 26 watt tweed Super is loud AF.
My Victoria sits most of the time and I play my ‘60 Deluxe more.
You and Dave Hunter should get together and collaborate on a book on the history and gear of studio musicians. Volume 1: Nashville; Volume 2: LA, and Volume 3: NY. That'd be cool.
Volume 4: Memphis
Volume 5: Muscle Shoals
@@charlesbolton8471 Volume 6: London, Volume 7: Europe
YES!!!!
Fender Replacement 59 Bassman CTS 10s work good in Supers Vibrolux Tweeds. Cheap
Awesome! Thank you. What song is that riff from, that you play after the intro? I love it.
Just something I came up with as far as I know
Even more impressive. I’m about to steal it 😉😁
An old friend got a Victoria made super amp years ago and it was one of the better amps I ever played. I built a bandmaster from a Weber kit which sounds pretty damn good too considering the cheap parts. Tweeds have a thump which I heard is due to a thinner speaker baffle which was simply attached with screws. I built a couple Vox / matchless inspired combos using tweed cabinets and they sound alive. But sometimes they resonate too much for el84s to take.
Yeah and brother those amps will sound better the more you play it Especially the Victoria
I put two old 73 Vox Oxford's alnico 12's in a Mojo Fender style 2/12 Very happy with it and man does it love EL34's
We have a '59 tweed Super with original speakers. Hardly used. Any idea what it might be worth?
Holy cow that book is insanely expensive! Its $130 on Amazon (and I watched the price jump up twice!)
Gulp....
hey zac... how about a study on Ted Green
Zac, wondering if you'll ever make a video about the Fender High Power Tweed Twin.
If I can get my hands on one.
Wasn’t the tweed Super Roy Buchanan’s original amp of choice?
NRBQ was so cool too! John Sprung was the owner of American Guitar Center (later Parts is Parts) in the DC area. He had Roy Buchanan’s Nancy for sale there around 1990 and was asking $15K. Total bargain.
Hey Zack where do you get your gear? I have the hardest time finding tweed gear up here in Canada 🇨🇦
From friends
Hello, on mine if i cranked the bass, it get almost "muted" . 95% is the right spot.
I’d like hear that through a 4x12 with greenbacks
Can you gig with a 5E8A and Celestions? I think it's referred to as a 'Low Powered' Twin.
Zac, what settings do you recommend for humbuckers?
back off the bass
Does the v front super not sound like the 1st zz top album. Billy says he used a Marshall and all I hear is the sag from the 5u4 its funny how you can find pictures of him with a wall of those amps he has collected.
Billy won't answer questions straight.....
Biggest amp regret, selling my dad's super. For of all things a Randall stack.
Was it the big orange striped one from the 70's? I had one of those... it was more sterile than an operating room :)
@@onefatstratcat no it was a later all black one with a 2/12" cab. Sounded like the amp was dying in a very bad way.
I ask myself, 'Does a '61 Tele sound better now than the day it left the factory?' The answer comes back -'probably not.'
What are you recording your audio with?
iPhone
@@AskZac Just the mic on the phone? If so they sure have come along
@@justinpaquette224 The phone is doing my amp audio. I have another phone that has a lapel mic on it for my voice. iPhone 12
@@AskZac Right, it's the amp sound from the phone that sounds surprisingly good. Usually if the amp isn't mic'd, most videos I've seen sound horrible. But somehow you are able to make it work with the iphone. I'm gonna start a channel soon, so I've been interested in seeing how different people pull it off
Wouldn't it be more like a low power twin than a Bassman ? Just with 10 inch speakers instead of 12's?
yet 30 watts instead of 50
Nice review! Only to complain that it was 3/4 talk and gor people who want to hear the amp it is just too much. Please try to balance it.
Great video! Stop saying ‘funnily.’
I've got Boogie Californian. Am I part of the club?
Sure