Anyone tried a 5F2A?

[usul1978]

This thing's awesome! how are you doing the different power ratings?

The power transformer I used has 0v, 190v and 275 v outputs. I used with a rotary switch : 190V and 275V to go in the circuit for the lowest power position, then 0 to 190 V for the second position and then 0v to 275v for the full 4/5 Watts.

The lowest position is enough for home use !

 

[errikwong]

I've built a handful of the fender circuits - including the 5F1 (Champ) and 5F2a (Princeton), and some others.

The 5F2A is a great amp. It's essentially the same as the Tweed Champ with the differences being a 10" speaker (as opposed to an 8) and a Tone control (the champ just has a volume knob).

It depends on what you want to do with it but they're great amps to play at home and they sound great cranked. The 10" speaker makes a noticeable difference - although i like the smaller size of the champ.

Anyway, i'm a fan and if the price and right and the built quality is sound it'd be a fun amp to grab. Weber doesn't tend to ship the best components by default but if it's built well it'll be a good amp.

EDIT: Also - i don't know much of the "X Classic record" was recorded with a 5F2a etc stories. It seems like every one of those stories always ends up being countered by some other amp, some other story, it was doubled with a "Y classic amp," or it was a PigNose or whatever. If you're into the fender Tweeds, don't have a champ/princeton, and are in the position to get it it'd be fun.

These are also amps you can mess around with tubes on if that's your inclination. There are exactly 3. A rectifier, a power tube 6V6 and a pre-amp 12A[x,y]7.

With most other amps - with lots of tubes / reverb / trem - it can be tough to figure out how different tubes modify the sound (i find). With a 5F1 or 5F2a it's pretty easy, there's not a whole lot going on under the hood. The stock weber tubes sound fine but are bottom of the barrel "cheapos". Swap to your heart's content, try nos or vintage if you've been curious, and you don't have to worry about matched pairs or quads etc, you can experiment a bit.

Thanks for the extended reply, I guess you're right; knowing which record the amp appears on simply allows me to have a better idea about how the amp presents itself in the context of a mix. Perhaps this is a little too academic even for someone like myself, who oftentimes just wants to plug in and rip.

I've been around multiple tube amps, done a whole lot of tube rolling and I have come to recognise that I don't want something I need to modify in order to sound its best; ideally, the amp should appeal to me as it is.

For me, I guess it's just another tool in the belt? I own a '65 DRRI, several Mesa Boogies in different wattages and voicings, as well as a Marshall Origin 50 for the plexi sound. The only genre of amp I have yet to really explore is the smaller, low-watt tweed combo Fender. It will be used primarily for recording, or perhaps used with a compressor for slide.