New year, new (and hopefully improved!) reference tone from my Fender 57 Custom Deluxe amp.
All made possible thanks to a late 2024 freebie from Origin Effects … and me figuring out how I’d been using my Fryette Power Station PS-100 wrong …
tl;dr
I’ve recorded some new audio demos of my Fender 57 Custom Deluxe (5e3 Tweed Deluxe reissue) amp. I’m going to use them in A/B comparisons against other tweed-era tones (amps, pedals, modellers) in upcoming blog posts this year.
To get these new (hopefully improved!) guitar tones, I got a new guitar, some new impulse responses from Origin Effects, and I changed the attenuator settings on my Fryette Power Station PS-100. Oh, and I leaned on the Axe-FX 3’s speaker impedance curve emulation.
I’m very happy with the results – but regular readers will remember how many times I’ve been there before!
Table of Contents
What Are You Doing Again?
I want to dial-up a new-for-2025 reference tone of my Fender 57 Custom Deluxe amp (Fender’s modern 5e3 Tweed Deluxe reissue).
The amp settings are exactly the same that I’ve been using for the past few years here:
- plugged into INST 1
- INST and MIC channels are not jumpered
- INST volume around 4
- MIC volume around 8
- Tone control around 10
And I’m still going into my Fryette Power Station PS-100 (using it as a passive load box) and then into my Axe-FX 3.
So What’s Different From 2023?
Regular readers may recall that, towards the end of 2023, I wrote some blog posts that included audio demos of my beloved Tweed Deluxe reissue amp.
Since then, I’ve figured out how to get a less-coloured sound out of the PS-100. I also have some new impulse responses that (in my opinion) capture that classic Jensen speaker better than I’ve come across before now.
The Origin Effects Impulse Responses Are Amazing
This signal chain revamp started off late last year when Origin Effects released their Deluxe55 5e3-in-a-box pedal. Alongside the Deluxe55*, they also released a completely free pack of impulse responses taken from their reference 5e3 Tweed Deluxe amp.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve tried a lot of Tweed Deluxe impulse responses. And I make heavy use of the Deluxe Tweed DynaCab IRs in the Axe-FX 3 for my 57 Vintage pedal platform preset.
In my experience, these impulse responses from Origin Effects are the only ones of Tweed Deluxe speakers & cabs that suit my Fender 57 Custom Deluxe amp. Or maybe they’re the only ones that suit my ear?
Either way, they’ve been a game-changer for me.
(* I will add an Origin Effects Deluxe55 to my tweed-tone pedal collection at some point this year too!)
Classic Tweed Tone Needs A Classic Guitar
The next breakthrough came shortly afterwards, when I bought Jessie, my Fender 52 Reissue Telecaster.
Regular readers will have heard me use Spot (my Fender American Deluxe Telecaster with Fender Twisted Tele pickups) and The Squirrel (my Squier Esquire with a single Seymour Duncan Antiquity bridge pickup) on my older tweed-tone demos.
Both of these guitars are fitted with aftermarket pickups that do a great job of chasing the early 50’s Telecaster tone. That’s not just my opinion: there’s no shortage of A/B comparisons out there to show that it’s true.
And yet … this 52 Reissue Telecaster is the one that truly unlocks what my Tweed Deluxe amp can do. I feel like I’m finally getting the 5e3 amp experience that I’ve read so much about over the last few years.
It’s not like I found a particular special example of the 52 Reissue Telecaster. It doesn’t have the build quality of my older 63 Postmodern Telecaster (aka Mirage). Neither my wife nor my vocalist like it at all. If I ever had the money and opportunity, I would definitely look to replace it with a Nachocaster.
There’s just something about the sound from these 50/51 Nocaster pickups (and that weird but wildly useful blend circuit) that (imho) is absolutely right for my Tweed Deluxe amp – and all the 5e3 Tweed Deluxe emulations that I’ve tried it with so far.
And that helped me figure out the final mistake (and it is a mistake!) that I was making in my signal chain.
Fryette Power Station’s ‘Flat’ Mode Is The Best For Silent Recording
My Fryette Power Station is divided into two sections: the attenuator, and then the power amp. I’m recording silently, so I’m only using the attenuator and direct line-out. I’m not using the power amp; I don’t even have the Power Station plugged into the mains.
On the front panel, there are two three-way toggle switches for the attenuator. Together, they shape the EQ. Until now, I’ve been using the attenuator with these toggle switches in the middle (Warm/Brite settings) and/or the top setting (Deep/Edge settings).
Turns out that I’m an idiot, because (for silent recording) the Power Station’s attenuator sounds best with both of these EQ toggle switches in the down (Flat) position.
In the Flat position, the Power Station’s built-in speaker impedance curve is bypassed. (My understanding is that the Power Station becomes a resistive load instead of a reactive load.) Normally, that’s a bad thing for the tone.
However, it’s best for me, because:
- the Power Station’s speaker impedance curve (imho) doesn’t suit my Tweed Amp & cabs; and
- it gives me an uncoloured signal that I can use with the Axe-FX 3’s utterly amazing speaker impedance curve modelling.
Not only does the Axe-FX 3 have a speaker impedance curve for a Jensen P-12R, but I can tweak it too (for example, if I need to tame the low-end resonance to taste).
Bonus: My Celestion Impulse Responses Sound Great Too
Before I got the Axe-FX 3, I ran most of my amps through a pair of 1×12 open-backed cabs from Victory amps. One cab has a Celestion A-Type speaker in it, and the other is fitted with a Celestion Blue speaker. (Thanks, Andrew, for that recommendation!)
I’ve been playing through this speaker combination since April 2018.
These are the speakers that helped me fall in love with tweed-tone, with pedals through the Marshall Origin / Blackstar Studio 10 6L6 / Marshal DSL, and then as the speakers for my real Tweed Deluxe amp.
The Celestion A-Type / Celestion Blue combo is an integral part of the sound that I am chasing.
Before I bought the speakers, I first bought the official Celestion impulse responses to help me choose them. (Yeah, these impulse responses are over seven years old now, which is positively ancient.)
I ran them through my Two Notes Captor and (later) CAB M rig, and was very happy at the time. The more I spent time with them, though, the more I learned to hear how that overall signal chain wasn’t quite giving me the tones I wanted – especially when I started to look at recording audio demos for the blog.
Again, it’s all about those speaker impedance curves. Move that from the attenuator into the Axe-FX 3, and I’m happy again.
How Does It Sound?
My Rig Today
Today, I’m playing:
- my Fender 52 Reissue Telecaster (aka Jessie)
- into the Axe-FX 3 (mostly for the tuner)
- out into INST 1 of my Fender 57 Custom Deluxe
- into my Fryette Power Station PS-100 attenuator
- back into the Axe-FX 3 (for speaker impedance curve, cab, delay and reverb)
- out to my audio interface
- and into my DAW.
All the effects that you’re hearing are from the Axe-FX 3; there is no post-processing at all in my DAW. I have level-matched the audio demos before uploading them.
Jessie is my new #1 guitar for tweed-tone comparisons. I’m playing on the bridge pickup, with a tiny bit of neck pickup blended in.
You’ll hear four demos today:
- my amp with Celestion A-Type & Celestion Blue impulse responses,
- my amp with the Origin Effects impulse responses,
- Axe-FX 3’s Deluxe Tweed model with the same Celestion impulse responses, and
- Axe-FX 3’s Deluxe Tweed model with the same Origin Effects impulse responses.
The only differences between the demos are the amps and the impulse responses. The rest of the signal chain is identical for all the demos.
I’ll talk more about the Axe-FX 3 Deluxe Tweed emulation when I get to those audio demos.
Demo 1: Telecaster, Real Amp, Origin Effects IRs
Let’s go straight to what I’m planning to use as my reference tone for 5e3 Tweed Deluxe comparisons in 2025.
Here’s Jessie into my Tweed Deluxe amp, using the Origin Effects impulse responses:
To my ears, that does a great job of representing my amp. It’s got all the 5e3 characteristics that I love and it has that mid-range saturation that vintage 5e3 amps (and models based on them) don’t seem to have.
I also love how balanced these Origin Effects IRs sound. Too many IRs are “mix-ready”, where they reduce (or completely drop) low-end and top-end frequencies. I find that these Origin Effects IRs feel quite raw and full-range. That’s exactly what I want. Let me decide how to mix them (even if I don’t know what I’m doing).
Demo 2: Telecaster, Real Amp, Celestion IRs
Next up, here’s where I am with capturing the sound that I’m more familiar with: a Tweed Deluxe amp into a pair of Celestion speakers.
Listening back, I’d describe that as a good first effort.
To my years, it needs a little more warmth, and (maybe as a result) it’s a little too mid-forward. But I tell you what: it’s got the character that I’m used to from my real cabs. A few tweaks, and I’ll be very happy with that sound.
Demo 3: Telecaster, Fractal Audio Deluxe Tweed, Origin Effects IRs
Next up, here’s how Fractal Audio’s Deluxe Tweed model sounds when paired with those fantastic Origin Effects impulse responses. For comparison, I’ve also included the demo I made with my real amp.
To my ears, the Fractal Audio model sounds pretty close to my real amp. I don’t hear the same amount of saturation, and my amp is a bit more cutting while having a rounder note attack (if you think that sounds like a contradiction, I agree). I reckon my amp’s also a little warmer?
Demo 4: Telecaster, Fractal Audio Deluxe Tweed, Celestion IRs
For completeness, here’s Fractal Audio’s Deluxe Tweed model into the same set of Celestion IRs that I used earlier with my real amp.
To my ears, the Deluxe Tweed model sounds significantly better than my real amp does through these IRs. The thicker mid-range from my real amp is just killing the overall clarity of the audio.
I definitely need to tweak my choice of IRs a bit.
Final Thoughts
I’m very happy with this new-for-2025 5e3 Tweed Deluxe reference tone.
Yes, I’ve said that before. More than once! No doubt, in a year or two, I’ll learn a bit more and dial in yet another reference tone.
I’m not sure whether I’ll use my Tweed Deluxe reissue amp or the Axe-FX 3 Deluxe Tweed model for the reference tone when I’m doing A/B comparisons. I think that debate deserves its own blog post.