Fender Custom Tweed Deluxe

Since Fender took its original Deluxe amplifier and adorned it in tweed, the much coveted cabinet has made its way onto some of the world’s greatest guitar tracks

an edgy bite decays into a rich, smooth mid-based sustain

The Deluxe is the original Fender amplifier – the Model 26 ‘Woody’ Deluxe dates back all the way to 1946, however, it’s the tweedcovered versions made between 1948-60 that have become the most coveted. As with many Fender amps, the Deluxe circuit went through several iterations before arriving at the legendary ‘narrow panel’ 5E3 version. A pair of cathode-biased 6V6 output valves with no negative feedback gave the Deluxe a complex and highly-responsive overdrive when pushed hard, with an edgy bite that decays into a rich, smooth mid-biased sustain. The Deluxe has a simple control panel, with two pairs of inputs feeding a microphone and instrument channel, with separate volume controls and a single shared tone control. A compact pine cabinet and a single Jensen P12R made the Deluxe easy to carry and it made its way onto many bandstands, playing all kinds of music from blues to western swing. It’s a peculiar quirk of the Deluxe circuit that all three controls interact with each other all the time, even if only one input is in use, so there’s nothing to be gained by jumpering the two channels.

Over the years, the Deluxe’s rich overdrive and moderate volume output have made it a perfect recording tool; some of the world’s greatest guitar tracks have been recorded with it, from Royal Scam- era Larry Carlton, to Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh and Neil Young, so it’s no surprise the tweed Deluxe is considered one of the most influential amps and a favourite for digital amp modellers.