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Finally Got my 1949 Fender Deluxe Back!

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
So basically about 12 or 13 years ago I bought this 1949 Fender Deluxe on ebay for $425.

I bought it on Thanksgiving night and was the only bidder. It showed up a couple days later on the Saturday after Black Friday in a box with no packing material and the power tubes had fallen out and broken.

I popped some 6v6s on it and it worked fine. For years I never played it much and finally got around to bringing it in to be gone through. I got it back today and it's pretty awesome sounding. It's also dead quiet when not being played.

It costed me $170 to get repaired and it's dead quiet. I had the guy add a 1/4" jack on the speaker lead so I can use it with other cabinets. The transformer and everything were fine. It had a Celestion when I got it. Years ago I had put something else in there.

All in all it's a pretty cool amp and sounds great. Volume wise it's a lot lower than my later Deluxe (I think my other one is a 55 or 56). I'll def be using it a lot!

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el84ster

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Sep 10, 2001
Messages
1,420
Super cool and super cool story!
many of those older amps, especially before the mid-‘50s are lower volume compared with what we expect today. Typically ran on lower b+. that usually makes them sweeter sounding.

anyway, great score and story! Thank you for sharing.
 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
Super cool and super cool story!
many of those older amps, especially before the mid-‘50s are lower volume compared with what we expect today. Typically ran on lower b+. that usually makes them sweeter sounding.

anyway, great score and story! Thank you for sharing.

Yeah, that's all Greek to me but it sounds pretty massive. I have some Tweed amps that are a little newer. This one is def its own animal!
 

corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
Be sure to have a good match with impedance with remote cabs and the output Tx. My '60 Brown Pro has a replacement tranny and I am sure it's because at some point someone tossed a 4 ohm 15 in it.
Bad idea.
 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
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852
Yeah basically I wanted the option to use it with my Ox. Plus I’m one of those weirdos that mismatches speakers and power tubes all the time 😛
 

oldog

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Nov 28, 2003
Messages
201
A Video or sound file would be nice . I would love to hear it
 

MapleFlame

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Jul 3, 2005
Messages
14,044
Awesome amp, great story and so happy you finally got her fixed. I have a 1950, love the TV front Deluxes. Such great tone. Get yourself a vintage p12r for that thing. Will make all the difference in the world. Yes they are expensive.
 

Wally

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Feb 27, 2003
Messages
3,535
Nice! I would not mention it except for the suggestion to find a P12R for that amp…even though that Weber is a good speaker; but I have two P12Rs boxed up and waiting for an amp. One is from 1955. I had it reconed in 2003 by Weber and have not found a home for it yet….it has never been on a sale/auction site. This speaker has had an OT mounted on it…you can tell that the mounting holes have been used. The other carries a 2200yy code which could make it a 1950 or 1960. I believe it to be a 1960 because it shows no sign of ever having had a frame mounted OT on it. I have done a very small repair on the cone. I have never marketed this one, either. I have held on to them waiting for the right amp to come into my hands or come in for repairs needing a speaker. Neither of those things has happened.
if you are interested, drop me a message.
again, kudos on getting that old amp going again.
 

Amp360

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Feb 16, 2012
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852
Well the reason I had the guy add the speaker jack is so I can use other speakers/cabs with it. Honestly, I'm a player so I don't really care to spend time changing things or comparing different little bits. At the end of the day if I spend the time I would spend swapping practicing my toan will improve more. YMMV :)
 

corpse

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Jun 9, 2007
Messages
4,876
Agree- but watch the impedance match on extension cabs.
 

Wally

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Feb 27, 2003
Messages
3,535
Ime and imho, the output transformer is not an original unit. The original OT would not have bell ends. One would see the paper and the windings. So, it doesn’t really matter if one runs a mismatch at it. The value of the amp cannot be hurt if that OT fails.
 

Amp360

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
852
Ime and imho, the output transformer is not an original unit. The original OT would not have bell ends. One would see the paper and the windings. So, it doesn’t really matter if one runs a mismatch at it. The value of the amp cannot be hurt if that OT fails.
Who cares? It sounds good. I don’t really care about the internet foolishness.
 
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