The first question the the shop owner asked me was.. Am I gonna resell this Amp? The wrong answer for me would .. Tell him yes.. The whole complexion of the deal would have changed, I'm sure.. When I left the shop I know he felt much more comfortable with the deal.. Hopefully, it'll become another toll of the studio operation.. I've got no plans to part with this amp.
Bill..
Some things that are going to get use are worth more than the monetary value placed upon them.
That amp cost me a fair amount of loonies… But after plugging one of Bob’s Tele’s into it and listening at it’s behaviour and what came from it (the amp and guitar) I am glad I didn’t walk away from it…
I recall TomS asking me what a Twonie Coin looks like… I have one that I’m looking a t one as I write this reply… As you are aware, the two dollar bill was removed from circulation many years ago… I forget just when that happened… Anyway , the coin has an insert in it’s center… Hence, the twonie, or as it’s called… It’ has a chrome outer ring and the insert has a brass-or-copper inner insert… The inner insert has the Queen embossed as the head/side, of the coin and the Back/Tail-side of the coin has an embossed Polar Bare on it…
The One-and-Two dollar coin has become a laughing stock of the taxpayers… Simply because the coins cost more than their value to mint… and because the coins when they were brought into circulation was about 2/3rd’s the value of the US currency… Today, the value of the Coins and money is just about par, with the Greenback… however, they still ware pretty hard in the pockets… and anyway, yea can’t buy very much with the Loonie-or-Twonie, these days… About the only thing that the coins buy is Parking Meter Time…
The kids around here don’t like carrying them around… They just fire them at their friends, to get their attention… I go and pick them up… They just laugh at me… That’s how I bought that Deluxe re-issue Amp… hehe…
I Wish…
Bill…
Drill a hole in them and give them to you wife for BLING, or something… Ear rings… YOU Know… Don’t tell her, I told you so…
Bill - I am fairly certain the Fender didn’t re-issue this amp until 2007. The narrow panel deluxe or 5E3 is one of the most common “cloned” or copied Fender amps because the circuit is so simple and the amp sounds great. I’ve owned two of these clones myself and have sold them for less than you paid for this one.
If you indeed did get a real Fender '57 Deluxe re-issue for $750 then that’s not a bad deal, but this amp was not made in '90 or '91. I hope that you didn’t get ripped off.
Thanks for the reply… I sure hope so, as well… With all the information we’ve been able to see on this amp-and-cabinet it sure looks like a Fender Reissue Amp… The sticker that we see on thew Amp’s left-hand panel says built in Corona CA… The tubes look original, however, they could have been replaced with Fender logo’d tubes to look original… Who knows, at this point… The amp sure sounds Sweet and Sings just as I would expect A Fender Amp to sound… I’ve got the serial number written down BUT it’s over at Bob’s place… When we checked the number it points to an amp manufactured by Fender/Corona in '91-'92 by their admission… The sticker has a CSA approved logo on the lower portion of it…
I hear you very well… That still doesn’t mean to say that Fender Corona made this amp…
I remember on Fender Black faced and Silver faced amps that the Line Assembly workers had their stamps as the assembly went through the lines… I’m gonna look again to see if any of this information shows up on the chassis…
I still question myself as to what I saw the first day I laid eyes on the buy/sell shop amp , that day… It was a TV Front amp I saw that day… The day I picked up the amp, it was a wide front… What gives ?
Thanks again Mr Soul…
I find that I’m not up as much on the HISTORY of this stuff as I should be… However, I recognize what I hear… In my opinion, it… Sings…
I’m still “At Odds” with this deal… After a week of pondering this Amp I figured it was a Knock-off…
If this amp was in a Buy/Sell Shop somewhere in the USA… The Knock-off Idea might be higher on my List… BUT… Way over Here ?
Bill - it sounds like it is a ‘57 reissue but it was made after 2007. In which case, you got a reasonable deal because those amps’ sell for $1,999 new (however - I would never pay that much for one). Also, Jensen speakers weren’t made in Italy until the late 90’s so the speaker is definitely not original if that amp was made in '90/91 (which I don’t think it was).
I am not sure if you can date the re-issues by the serial #. Did you contact Fender directly to ask about the date on this amp?
Did the store say what happened to the TV Front? Did they tell you that this amp was the same amp as you saw earlier? If so, then they lied to you.
Base on the pic’s, the amp is definitely a 5E3.
It’s fine if this is the amp that you wanted but it’s not the TV Front. You might be able to re-sell this amp for >$1,000 on eBay but as I said, you can buy a clone for less than $1,000 so I am not sure what the market is for these amps. You can buy a kit for $500 - 600.
I follow these amps quite often, so please don’t hestitate to ask me if you have any questions in the future.
Our Fender Classic/Vintage Amp Instruments Community is growing smaller over here these days… We lost one of the Group Freaks over here to terminal health… Too Bad… These guys are falling…
I just got off the phone… Bob was on it… I forgot to ask him for the serial number… It’s on his desk… I’ll try my best to remember to ask him for it…
OoHh… He powered up that old Gibson GA-6 Amp… He’s saying it’s got potential… One good bit of news… lol…
Coming back to the amp… It’s still my intention, not to part with it… In fact I’m gonna go looking for a cover…
It would be nice to find out just when it was built… That’s if it’s not a knock-off… BUT… I did see on the speaker… Made in Italy… So your are pointing to a Manufactured Date…
Bill - I looked at the pic’s again and your amp is definitely a '57 Deluxe re-issue. Fender re-issued this amp in 2007 as another in it’s continuing inventory of vintage re-issues. I believe that this amp is made completely in the US, hence it’s $1,999 price tag. The speaker was the original speaker in the amp and it’s an Italian made Jensen. If you keep this amp, I would recommend getting a vintage Jensen P12R or a Weber copy - I think that you will like the sound better.
Thanks for your reply… I am now on the quest/hunt for an Amp Cover… I browsed the MOJO Page and I see one there… However, locals over here are saying I should go the the Long and McQuade Store (used to be the Musicstop) and see if they just might have one in stock… We’ll see…
I’ll look for that Jensen Speaker, as well…
How do your ears compare the differences between those two model speakers?
I got that Serial number in my mail, this morning… Bob sent it over… It’s #AB02Y574… He sent it as #AB02Y57Y, however, the “Y” at the end, is from my penman ship… It’s “4” I’m sure… Well…
If your bookmarks show that S/N, you/we may put this “Date of manufacture”, to rest…
I was looking at that P12R Speaker… Looks nice… Pretty pricey… BUT, with money, comes quality… No Question… BUT a Taste, comes into play… Me thinks…
I think I’m gonna look into a cover, for it, from the GET-GO…
At least I’m not the only one , stuck on these “5E3 Amps”…
Right but don’t buy one of those new Jensens - that’s what you have already. Use that link for a reference but that’s it. I owned a new Jensen and I thought it was incredibly “stiff” sounding. I’ve read that they sound OK once they’re broken up but that could take some time. On the other hand, if you like the sound of the new speaker, then there’s no need to replace it.
I’m still confused about the TV amp though. When you went back to the shop, did they say what they did with that amp? Did they just show you this new amp in hopes that you would buy it?
At first listen to the amp, I think that the speaker is somewhat stiff, as you describe… We used a Telecaster to hear the amps behaviour… I’d say the amp has seen more closet storage than on-stage use, so far, in it’s time…
Anyway, the order has been placed for the light-brown Canvas Amp Cover… My idea is, to let-it-be, for the time being… ? We’ll see…
From his side of the deal he included the Government’s share of the sales tax… 15%
You’re right on, with my visit to the shop to pick-up the amp… Things went down pretty quickly… We closed the deal and I tore outta there … post haste…
However, while I was there I wanted in the “Back Room” to see it… That didn’t happen… I saw the amp on the front counter and traded the money… I noticed the amp the next time when we entered Bob’s shop and grabbed the plug to fire it up… I’m still satisfied and have no regrets with the deal and the condition of the amp, and all… even after all that went down in the short period of time, that it took…
NO… there was no mention of any replacement of any amp as the deal closed… I was prepared to close the deal, from my point-of-view… However it closed, from his point of view, he had plenty of time to re-adjust the trade of the TV Amp with anyone, in North America… There was at least three weeks, between the first time I knew of the amp till the closing of the deal…
Deal Done…
That amp, with the right set of mics in front of it will produce tracks like no-body’s business…
?