Tweed 1960 Fender Deluxe 5E3

Even though Fender stamped its tube chart with a December 1959 date code, this tweed Deluxe didn’t leave the Fullerton factory until at least January 1960. The original 125A1A output transformer dates to the 49th week of 1959, the earliest date stamped OT I have documented on this model. Pretty cool. The power transformer is the original Triad with the part number and no date stamp, which is correct until well into 1960.

All necessary maintenance work has been done, with an eye to preserving originality. South Florida Speaker Repair reconed the Jensen P12R speaker, which dates to the first week of 1960. Our amp tech stuffed the replacement capacitors inside the Astron Minimite cardboard sleeves to maintain the look, and added a 3 prong gray plug to replace the original 2 prong. The replaced parts are included with the amp. The original grille cloth was toast, so he installed a piece of original NOS tweed-era grille cloth on the original baffle with the utmost care.

The original tweed has absorbed plenty of dirt, wear and power chords over the years. You can see a set of small screw holes on top of the cabinet from an additional handle after the original leather handle tore. We installed an exact replica leather handle custom made for us by Franklin-Pratt Leather. The tubes are all vintage including the RCA 5Y3 rectifier, Raytheon 6V6 power tubes, and the Realistic brand preamp tubes that must have been purchased at Radio Shack in the 1970’s! If you seek a tweed Deluxe, then this later narrow panel is the version that you want. The legendary 5E3 Deluxe circuit delivers searing classic rock tone, as used on countless landmark recordings.