Nice little moment recording with my Tweed clone

[Cirrus]

Appreciate this is a bit of a departure from the general higher gain vibe of the forum, but...

Yesterday I was laying down some overdubs to an album I've been producing for my band. The songs are pretty fleshed out now, so I wanted more character to contrast the main guitar parts, mostly recorded through my AC30. Enter stage left the little Tweed amp I built a year ago. I've not used it loads - a jam here and there, a full band gig where I thought it was too shouty/ compressed and a stripped back guitar and vocal only gig where it felt sublime.

It's a strange circuit, the 5e3. Middy, thumpy overblown bass to the point of madness, low headroom but too loud for home use, growly and gnarly when they break up, it feels like there aren't loads of situations where they fit the bill unless that's the exact and only sound you go for. But recording overdubs, where you can set the controls for tone without worrying about volume, and then frame the result however you like in the context of the mix... they can be magical.

I've tried some different speakers in the 5e3, I *almost* love the Jensen C12n but it's just not loud enough for band stuff. I also almost loved the Pulsonic coned Celestion Silver I tried but it was just a little too smooth. I keep going back to a '63 Celestion Blue that was reconed some time in the late '90s, it's got the Celestion alnico krrrang, volume, but a little more snarl on top.

And I had a moment yesterday while I was riding a semi hollow guitar into it through a distortion pedal, just riding the acoustic feedback and letting chords and harmonics ring out, when I realised I was using a Ross comp & Rat clone I built into an amp I built, miked up with a U87 clone I built. And it was all working and getting musical results into the DAW. Felt pretty pleased with myself.

Now, at some point I do need to sort out the tolex which is coming off. Also, as @Orvillain says... nice "starter" pedalboard

 

[FuzzyAce]

Appreciate this is a bit of a departure from the general higher gain vibe of the forum, but...

Yesterday I was laying down some overdubs to an album I've been producing for my band. The songs are pretty fleshed out now, so I wanted more character to contrast the main guitar parts, mostly recorded through my AC30. Enter stage left the little Tweed amp I built a year ago. I've not used it loads - a jam here and there, a full band gig where I thought it was too shouty/ compressed and a stripped back guitar and vocal only gig where it felt sublime.

It's a strange circuit, the 5e3. Middy, thumpy overblown bass to the point of madness, low headroom but too loud for home use, growly and gnarly when they break up, it feels like there aren't loads of situations where they fit the bill unless that's the exact and only sound you go for. But recording overdubs, where you can set the controls for tone without worrying about volume, and then frame the result however you like in the context of the mix... they can be magical.

I've tried some different speakers in the 5e3, I *almost* love the Jensen C12n but it's just not loud enough for band stuff. I also almost loved the Pulsonic coned Celestion Silver I tried but it was just a little too smooth. I keep going back to a '63 Celestion Blue that was reconed some time in the late '90s, it's got the Celestion alnico krrrang, volume, but a little more snarl on top.

And I had a moment yesterday while I was riding a semi hollow guitar into it through a distortion pedal, just riding the acoustic feedback and letting chords and harmonics ring out, when I realised I was using a Ross comp & Rat clone I built into an amp I built, miked up with a U87 clone I built. And it was all working and getting musical results into the DAW. Felt pretty pleased with myself.

Now, at some point I do need to sort out the tolex which is coming off. Also, as @Orvillain says... nice "starter" pedalboard

Nice! Tweed circuits are a lot of fun and at the right volume can be the most glorious tone ever.
Years ago I built an amp based on a 5D4 Super. I ended up putting a bright cap switch on one of the channels which can make a tweed a little more versatile.

 

[Sascha Franck]

We want clips!

 

[la szum]

Appreciate this is a bit of a departure from the general higher gain vibe of the forum, but...

Yesterday I was laying down some overdubs to an album I've been producing for my band. The songs are pretty fleshed out now, so I wanted more character to contrast the main guitar parts, mostly recorded through my AC30. Enter stage left the little Tweed amp I built a year ago. I've not used it loads - a jam here and there, a full band gig where I thought it was too shouty/ compressed and a stripped back guitar and vocal only gig where it felt sublime.

It's a strange circuit, the 5e3. Middy, thumpy overblown bass to the point of madness, low headroom but too loud for home use, growly and gnarly when they break up, it feels like there aren't loads of situations where they fit the bill unless that's the exact and only sound you go for. But recording overdubs, where you can set the controls for tone without worrying about volume, and then frame the result however you like in the context of the mix... they can be magical.

I've tried some different speakers in the 5e3, I *almost* love the Jensen C12n but it's just not loud enough for band stuff. I also almost loved the Pulsonic coned Celestion Silver I tried but it was just a little too smooth. I keep going back to a '63 Celestion Blue that was reconed some time in the late '90s, it's got the Celestion alnico krrrang, volume, but a little more snarl on top.

And I had a moment yesterday while I was riding a semi hollow guitar into it through a distortion pedal, just riding the acoustic feedback and letting chords and harmonics ring out, when I realised I was using a Ross comp & Rat clone I built into an amp I built, miked up with a U87 clone I built. And it was all working and getting musical results into the DAW. Felt pretty pleased with myself.

Now, at some point I do need to sort out the tolex which is coming off. Also, as @Orvillain says... nice "starter" pedalboard

I like the Fan you run to keep them tubes nice and chill.

I also would like to see some more content here that doesn't have to include 5 or 6 cascading gain stages.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Always wondered about that era of Zoom pedals. I've always heard good things about them \m/

 

[la szum]

Always wondered about that era of Zoom pedals. I've always heard good things about them \m/

You could bludgeon someone to death with one. They are heavy as shit.

 

[Cirrus]

Nice! Tweed circuits are a lot of fun and at the right volume can be the most glorious tone ever.
Years ago I built an amp based on a 5D4 Super. I ended up putting a bright cap switch on one of the channels which can make a tweed a little more versatile.

Oh, very cool. So, how does the 5D4 differ? I've really quickly googled and it looks like it's mostly in having a 2x10 cab?

I was tempted while making this 5e3 to make some changes to the basic circuit like switchable coupling caps, but in the end I decided just to make it a one trick pony so I would never be in any doubt whether it'd make sense to plug it in, if that makes any sense? I made the first stage coupling caps 47n rather than 100n, and put a pot on the way into the PI so I could either have it stock or use the pot as a grid resistor to prevent blocking distortion. But I've just left it stock.

Probably the biggest departure was the OT - based on a video comparison I saw, I went with the biggest, deepest sounding one which came from TAD in Germany, but I *think* was made my Mojotone in the US. I guess if I'd gone for the thinnest, weediest one that'd have been more in keeping with the tweed thing.

We want clips!

I've been away from home since, but I'll try to pop something up tonight. I'm sure it will be bitterly disappointing upon a re-listen

Always wondered about that era of Zoom pedals. I've always heard good things about them \m/

Well. I absolutely love the Zoom Ultra Fuzz. I've had so many different Big Muffs over the years, trying to properly integrate them in my AC30 rigs alongside other pedal tones. The Ultra Fuzz is what I wish Big Muffs were. Big high gain fuzz, but useful mids and between the voicing (going from middy to big scoop) and tone knob (standard bassy to bright), a lot of flexibility in setting it up to sit right along with the rest of a rig.

And yeah, they're really solid pedals. Heavy metal enclosures, pot shafts that feel like they'd survive a good kicking, and a great heavy duty footswitch.

I've also had the Power Drive, it's kinda low gain Klon-ish but its weakness is that every control does basically nothing between 9-3 o'clock, so most of the cool settings are bunched up at the extremes of the knob positions where a tiny turn makes a big difference.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Oh, very cool. So, how does the 5D4 differ? I've really quickly googled and it looks like it's mostly in having a 2x10 cab?

I was tempted while making this 5e3 to make some changes to the basic circuit like switchable coupling caps, but in the end I decided just to make it a one trick pony so I would never be in any doubt whether it'd make sense to plug it in, if that makes any sense? I made the first stage coupling caps 47n rather than 100n, and put a pot on the way into the PI so I could either have it stock or use the pot as a grid resistor to prevent blocking distortion. But I've just left it stock.

Probably the biggest departure was the OT - based on a video comparison I saw, I went with the biggest, deepest sounding one which came from TAD in Germany, but I *think* was made my Mojotone in the US. I guess if I'd gone for the thinnest, weediest one that'd have been more in keeping with the tweed thing.

Similar, yes. The 5D4 would have a bit more headroom, slightly leaner overall mainly due to stock coupling caps of 47nF.
My first iteration of the circuit was pretty much stock, besides building it as a standalone head and using Edcor transformers.
I modded a few little things a bit later on, like adding the bright cap to first channel and messing around with coupling cap values. I think I ended up with 22nF for that channel? Occasionally I would put in a solid state rectifier for added tightness.
I ran it through lots of different cabs. I loved it through my old Traynor YGM-3 cab which was loaded with an EVM12S.
But I had a jam session with another guitarist back then, let him use the head with his 4x10 Marshall cab and it was just perfect. Especially when he boosted with a compressor. That plus a Les Paul was pure rock n roll. The circuit was stock then.

 

[Cirrus]

Here's a couple of bits - the solo'd tweed with no processing, and in the context of the rough mix. Kinda shows it going from clean to grindy hitting the strings harder, And also just the moment I mentioned in the OP - riding melancholy feedback with a rat turned on.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Sounds great in the mix so far. Love to hear when you get finished.

 

[bikescene]

Here's a couple of bits - the solo'd tweed with no processing, and in the context of the rough mix. Kinda shows it going from clean to grindy hitting the strings harder, And also just the moment I mentioned in the OP - riding melancholy feedback with a rat turned on.

Are you dialing the volume very low or cleaning the amp up with the unused volume? The amp fits in the mix well.

 

[Cirrus]

Are you dialing the volume very low or cleaning the amp up with the unused volume? The amp fits in the mix well.

The amp vol is at 2, and that's basically full volume - it's not gonna get any louder from there, just distort more. You can get the kind of buzzy grind in the lows just by hitting the strings harder from there. I was using a semi hollow electric with PAF style humbuckers, guitar controls wide open and in the room the amp was pretty loud - as loud as you'd expect a 12 watt amp through a 100dB sensitivity speaker. To clean up I was just being light with my right hand.

Oh, was also using a TC Nova Reverb, which I'm really impressed with though it doesn't do anything really crazy.

 

[Sascha Franck]

Here's a couple of bits - the solo'd tweed with no processing, and in the context of the rough mix. Kinda shows it going from clean to grindy hitting the strings harder, And also just the moment I mentioned in the OP - riding melancholy feedback with a rat turned on.

Oh, that's some nice stuff! Both soundwise and musically! Would defenitely like to hear the finished stuff!

 

[itchyfingers]

Tweed is my jam, this is awesome! Not only the tweedy goodness, but also stuff you built yourself. Super cool man.

 

[bikescene]

The amp vol is at 2, and that's basically full volume - it's not gonna get any louder from there, just distort more. You can get the kind of buzzy grind in the lows just by hitting the strings harder from there. I was using a semi hollow electric with PAF style humbuckers, guitar controls wide open and in the room the amp was pretty loud - as loud as you'd expect a 12 watt amp through a 100dB sensitivity speaker. To clean up I was just being light with my right hand.

Oh, was also using a TC Nova Reverb, which I'm really impressed with though it doesn't do anything really crazy.

It’s interesting to hear how you approach the 5E3 in relation to the clips. The circuit does get dirty fast.

I went through a similar path pairing speakers with my own clone, from a 60s Jensen type to a Celestion Blue-type. Still want to try a 50s Jensen-type like the Weber 12A125A.

 

[Orvillain]

Here's a couple of bits - the solo'd tweed with no processing, and in the context of the rough mix. Kinda shows it going from clean to grindy hitting the strings harder, And also just the moment I mentioned in the OP - riding melancholy feedback with a rat turned on.

Sounds killer!! Really nasty in a pleasing way.

 

[Cirrus]

Was having a play around trying to come up with an understated kind of outro solo for the song in the previous clips yesterday. The Italian "Welson" hollow body guitar I was using really did not like being in tune, I'm gonna have to melodyne a couple of notes I think... I'm finding the tweed really benefits from some post-recording EQ - a couple of dB in the upper mids, and a high pass to get rid of the low flub. Still a rough mix, mind.

 

[Orvillain]

Was having a play around trying to come up with an understated kind of outro solo for the song in the previous clips yesterday. The Italian "Welson" hollow body guitar I was using really did not like being in tune, I'm gonna have to melodyne a couple of notes I think... I'm finding the tweed really benefits from some post-recording EQ - a couple of dB in the upper mids, and a high pass to get rid of the low flub. Still a rough mix, mind.

Solo clip of the solo???

What's being used there?? Sounds like wah and reverb into the amp??

 

[Cirrus]

Welson hollowbody -> ross comp -> rat -> SDD3000 -> tc nova reverb -> amp

The midrange emphasis is the amp compressing & the body resonance of the guitar

 

[Orvillain]

Oh wow. I was sure there was wah on it. Dang!

Yeah sounds pretty killer to me. Nice little amp!