Tweed Deluxe Kit from TubeDepot.com

TubeDepot.com has introduced a new tube amplifier kit that reproduces the look and sound of the classic Fender Tweed Deluxe of the late 1950s. The tweed deluxe is prized by guitar players as the "go to" amplifier when seeking a great raw Fender tone with easy portability. It's been used by countless musicians on stage and in classic recordings because of its distinctive sound.

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The original Fender Deluxe was first introduced in the early 1950s as one of Fender's new line of tweed amps. It used two 6SL7 metal preamp tubes, two 6V6 power tubes and a 5Y3 tube for power rectification. While this original version had enough power to be heard over a typical electrified band of the day, it wasn't until the re-design of 1957 that the amp achieved its iconic tone. The 6SL7s were replaced with 12AY7 and 12AX7 tubes in the pre-amplifier, raising the power output to 15 watts, delivered into a Jensen 12" alnico speaker. This is the version of the amp that TubeDepot.com has reproduced with its KIT-TWEEDDELUXE model kit, priced at $599.95 (www.tubedepot.com/kit-tweeddeluxe.html).

GKB hasn't yet gotten one of these kits in for an evaluation, so we can't speak to the quality of the kit or tone of the amp. However a review of the instruction manual (see it at http://site.tubedepot.com/pdf/tweeddeluxekit_v9.pdf) shows it to be well-written and thorough, with clear text and photographs. The kit is likely to be of similar quality. Here's a video overview of the kit build from TubeDepot.com.

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