Pro junior vs 5e3 Tweed Deluxe ?

[chrisz]

Hi all,
I’m looking for one of those amps. From demos and reviews I saw I presume that 5e3 might has quite a bit more versatility but I suspect the pro junior might has a sound that I’m very interested.
If someone has experience to share with both would be great.
Criteria of comparison could be:
Overall Loudness
Headroom
Final level of gain
Dynamic response
Versatility
Etc.

[Reg18]

Not much clean headroom in a 5E3, they are very dynamic and responsive though. Plenty of gain in a 5E3, almost like a mini Marshall with a looser gain.
Pro Junior I haven’t played much but I’ve heard sound amazing through a bigger cab.

[Conway]

I think you can get plenty of clean out of a 5E3. The speaker you use makes a big impact on this. I have a Creamback Neo in mine and it’s a beautiful clean to a good volume.

[Conway]

And I think your old tweed head, Reg, is now owned by a mate of mine and through his Emminence Legend he can’t get enough drive out if it! Too clean!

[Reg18]

And I think your old tweed head, Reg, is now owned by a mate of mine and through his Emminence Legend he can’t get enough drive out if it! Too clean!

Yeah my old one was pretty clean after the mods, Did he look at reversing the MV install? Im sure the amp
Had more gain before that mod and It certainly reacted differently. I’ve got another one here at the moment which I can’t get any clean out of! I’ve played around 4-5 Tweed deluxes including an original 50s one and they all were slightly different.
Go figure.

[Conway]

And I think your old tweed head, Reg, is now owned by a mate of mine and through his Emminence Legend he can’t get enough drive out if it! Too clean!

Yeah my old one was pretty clean after the mods, Did he look at reversing the MV install? Im sure the amp
Had more gain before that mod and It certainly reacted differently. I’ve got another one here at the moment which I can’t get any clean out of! I’ve played around 4-5 Tweed deluxes including an original 50s one and they all were slightly different.
Go figure.

When he got it, there was a 12AY7 in V1, which he changed to a 12AX7. That gave him a bit more gain, but he was also looking at the mods. That was pre-lockdown, so I don’t think he’s done anything yet.

[rickenbackerkid]

I can't comment on the 5e3, by I'm a huge PJ fan.
They are essentially a tweed preamp straight from the 5e3, into a Marshall 1974x power amp section.
So as you can imagine, when you wind it up into a big cab or a powerful speaker it's a real rock sound, does a fabulous AC/DC type sound. Into a small speaker (I have a alnico Fender-branded eminence) it def. sounds tweedy in the way it breaks up. You can get a fair clean out of it, but compared to the break up sound, the clean is pretty bland, and there's no reverb or big warm bass like you might get from a amp with really good clean sound. it's a really great rock and roll amp in a practical form for gigging.

[Wairarapajack]

A little off topic, but I've got what looks to be an MPC 5e3 clone in the post to me at the moment. It's got a Greenback in it, which as a middy speaker seems an odd choice for a mid-heavy Tweed amp.

I was thinking of getting an Eminence Maverick (one of the FDM, adjustable-magnet-attenuated speakers) to give a more "Fender-y" vibe and some flexibility with the volume. Any thoughts?

[rickenbackerkid]

hi Wairarapajack! I'm in Masterton and also another forumrrite, one SizzlingBadger is in greytown . . . are keen for a 3 person gearfest?

[chrisz]

I can't comment on the 5e3, by I'm a huge PJ fan.
They are essentially a tweed preamp straight from the 5e3, into a Marshall 1974x power amp section.
So as you can imagine, when you wind it up into a big cab or a powerful speaker it's a real rock sound, does a fabulous AC/DC type sound. Into a small speaker (I have a alnico Fender-branded eminence) it def. sounds tweedy in the way it breaks up. You can get a fair clean out of it, but compared to the break up sound, the clean is pretty bland, and there's no reverb or big warm bass like you might get from a amp with really good clean sound. it's a really great rock and roll amp in a practical form for gigging.

This is a very interesting analysis of the PJ, thanks. I think I tent to become a pj fan as well..

[k1w1]

I had a PJ and currently have a 5e3.

The PJ gets loud quickly up until about 4 on the dial after that increasing the volume just increases the gain, a very musical breakup. Loud for its size, a real raucous little rocker.

The 5e3 has such a variety of sounds, the interaction between channels is amazing. I can get plenty of clean sound, but there is also a range of gain/drive sounds depending on which input and the two volumes. The tone really only acts as a tone control up until about 9 after that it is like another gain stage.

A bit of a mangled description, this explains it better

https://robrobinette.com/How_The_5E3_Deluxe_Works.htm

[chrisz]

I had a PJ and currently have a 5e3.

The PJ gets loud quickly up until about 4 on the dial after that increasing the volume just increases the gain, a very musical breakup. Loud for its size, a real raucous little rocker.

The 5e3 has such a variety of sounds, the interaction between channels is amazing. I can get plenty of clean sound, but there is also a range of gain/drive sounds depending on which input and the two volumes. The tone really only acts as a tone control up until about 9 after that it is like another gain stage.

A bit of a mangled description, this explains it better

https://robrobinette.com/How_The_5E3_Deluxe_Works.htm

Cool. You did things in the right order.. First the simple PJ and then the more complicated 5e3..

[Bg]

The best thing about a Deluxe is that its as simple or complicated as you want.

[rickenbackerkid]

This is a very interesting analysis of the PJ, thanks. I think I tent to become a pj fan as well..

quick PJ clip: https://www.facebook.com/ben.brunskill. ... _video_tab

all guitar parts are into the PJ set on about 4ish. various tones are just from playing the guitar hard or soft, apart from the wheedly bit which was straight into the PJ set to stun

[chrisz]

I had a PJ and currently have a 5e3.

The PJ gets loud quickly up until about 4 on the dial after that increasing the volume just increases the gain, a very musical breakup. Loud for its size, a real raucous little rocker.

The 5e3 has such a variety of sounds, the interaction between channels is amazing. I can get plenty of clean sound, but there is also a range of gain/drive sounds depending on which input and the two volumes. The tone really only acts as a tone control up until about 9 after that it is like another gain stage.

A bit of a mangled description, this explains it better

https://robrobinette.com/How_The_5E3_Deluxe_Works.htm

Was it your PJ version III, the made in Mexico one?