1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe 5E3 | Vintage Amp Showcase
A second historic 5E3 joins the channel — a nearly all-original 1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe, still wearing its original tweed six decades later. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
The 1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe 5E3 — original tweed, original transformers, vintage Jensen P12R — pairs with the Giordano Guitars Veloce, Sunbear '62 Patent Number Humbuckers. The R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe, R2R Electric Si Distorter Deluxe, and Effectrode Tube Vibe all feature.
Between this unit and the 1955 5E3 already on the channel, these are the two most historically significant pieces of gear to ever appear here. Original 5E3s in this condition almost never surface — and when they do, they're rarely documented with high-quality audio, boutique reference instruments, and a genuinely musical approach.
The Sunbear '62 Patent Number Humbuckers in the Giordano Veloce are faithful recreations of early-1960s Gibson Patent Number pickups — the brief transitional era when Gibson swapped from the "Patent Applied For" decal to the Patent Number decal while construction remained PAF-spec. Open top end, complex midrange harmonics, and a slightly firmer low end than late-1950s PAFs. Combined with the all-mahogany Veloce's resonant build and articulate response, the pairing lets the Tweed Deluxe breathe from clean bloom into rich, touch-sensitive overdrive.
The 5E3 has two channels — Instrument and Mic — and this demo covers both in depth: clean tones across all three pickup positions from 02:40, the inverse gain relationship between channels explored from 09:24, and channel jumpering from 14:50 for a genuinely vintage-correct blended tone, revisited from 16:27 through 18:08.
The R2R Electric Si Distorter Deluxe — a hand-wired silicon Fuzz Face circuit built from all NOS period-correct components — enters from 18:31 with extensive volume knob cleanup at 19:39. The R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe, Chris Vincent's AC107 germanium recreation of the rare 1950s Höfner Preamp circuit, follows from 22:13. Both R2R pedals get stacked together from 25:00, with the Effectrode Tube Vibe layered throughout for lush, dimensional modulation against the 5E3's natural sag and compression.
If you want to hear vintage tone in its most honest form, this is as close as it gets without standing in the room.
🎸 Giordano Guitars: https://www.instagram.com/giordanoguitars/ 🎸 Sunbear Pickups: https://www.sunbearpickups.com 🎛️ R2R Electric: https://www.r2relectric.com
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🎸 Giordano Guitars Veloce | All-Mahogany | Sunbear '62 Patent Number Humbuckers 🎛️ R2R Electric Preamp Super Deluxe (NOS AC107 Ge, Höfner Circuit) | R2R Electric Si Distorter Deluxe (NOS Silicon Fuzz Face) | Effectrode Tube Vibe 🔊 1959 Fender Tweed Deluxe 5E3 | Original Tweed + Transformers | Vintage Jensen P12R | Cathode Biased 6V6