Strat + Tweed Deluxe ... Yummy!

[yek]

I've been reading through some of my old guitar magazines.
Some articles "inspire" me to try amp models I'm not that familiar with.
And also apply the information provided about those models.

Example given: Tweed Deluxe.
All I knew was that Neil Young uses it and owns hundreds of them.
(I'm not going for the over-the-top Neil Young tone here though)

Using my Fender Strat with 2 single coils and a humbucker.

In an empty preset I put a Amp block, a Cab block and my ususal Reverb block.

I selected Cab 81 (1x12 Deluxe Tweed from the Producer Pack), no other adjustments.

Alt. try #14 (Red Wire's Tweed Deluxe) or #105 (EVM 12L).

Amp: Deluxe Tweed.
Master is cranked (default).
Drive around 4 (at the stage where low notes don't sound too fuzzy anymore).
The original amp's Tone control is represented in the Axe-Fx by the Treble control. I have it set between 8 and 10 (enough presence but not too edgy). That's all, no other adjustments.

This setup delivers a delightful trademark Fender break-up tone. Enough drive for bluesy leads on the neck pickup. Perfect twang, quack etc. in 2nd and 4th positions. And solid overdrive on the bridge pickup.

 

[marcmesa]

The simple things are often the best ! ...

 

[MikeyB59]

Good description of the Tweed. You can make it explode like Neil (at which point you'll wonder if your low E turned to rubber because it'll have no definition). You can also go from beautiful clean to great on-the-edge of breakup sounds that are awesome for many roots into rock styles. It also responds really well to drive pedals and will sing and cry if set almost clean and then whacked with a good drive pedal.

When I got my Tweed Deluxe (which is the model in the Axe) I also realized the beauty of the combination of a Telecaster bridge pickup and a Tweed amp. When pushed, the amp will roll off a ton of high end which makes it a perfect match for a guitar that has a really bright, harsh and edgy sound into a totally clean amp. Only on the bridge position will the low E have any definition when driven hard. It's amazing how many shades of glory you can get from a tele with the Tweed Deluxe and a drive pedal (or not). It's also a fantastic combination to play with fingers. That amp/guitar combination encouraged me to learn how to work the volume and tone knobs on my guitar to get a lot of different subtle variations of tone color.

 

[Hotplate]

That's one of the first presets I work up after a new FW release because it gives me a good idea of what may have changed in the FW. I'm familiar with those amps from over the years. The other I go straight to is the Plexi. MikeyB59 is right on about the tele/tweed deluxe pairing- I LOVE playing my Nocaster through this amp. I do think the Tweed Deluxe model has improved a lot over time up to FW 10 now. More IR's using some vintage 12's would be cool..

 

[MikeyB59]

. More IR's using some vintage 12's would be cool..

Big +1 there. I thought I saw that the Tweed Deluxe IR was with a Celestion which made me wonder. The guy that inspired me to get a Tweed Deluxe by kicking my ass tone wise in a band with his TD spent a couple of years searching for the best speaker he could find for his amp. He ended up with a Jensen P12P which I'd never heard of. Not as common as Q or R. His speaker sounds amazing. I later got one off EBay, but unfortunately mine sucked. Dark and really inefficient. In general I like low wattage alnicos with the TD.

 

[Hotplate]

Yep.. low wattage alnicos in general for myself as well. And I prefer single coils or P90s into tweed amps.

I got to sit in on a speaker testing session (speaker swap) at a shop here in Austin a few years back with a fairly 'elite' bunch, if you will- a vintage TD was the amp. I don't honestly remember all the various speaker models that were heard- most any of your typical variants with some vintage and some newer production stuff. There was one vintage Jensen that I remember being particularly fond of but I cannot remember what it was now. Kills me every time I think about it.. I need to call around and see if anyone remembers.

 

[api4u]

I don't think we have this one in our lineup on the AFX, but the Weber 12A125A was the one that worked, for me. I tried a bunch, and settled in on this one in my Mission Tweed Dlx. I'd love to see this 1x12 Weber modeled.

 

[Kruegmeister]

I am a fan of the Tweed model...
But Neil Young can play Guitar??? Who knew...
Know you're gonna tell me he can sing too...

Crosby, Stills and Nash... And you pick that whining noise out of the 4 and use it as the Lead???
Ya heard that Labels had been paying Radio DJs on the side for years, that's proof....

Sorry, I know you weren't going over the top for Neil Young anyways, I just never understood how anyone could crank that on their radio...

 

[fenderbender]

I am a fan of the Tweed model...
But Neil Young can play Guitar??? Who knew...
Know you're gonna tell me he can sing too...

Crosby, Stills and Nash... And you pick that whining noise out of the 4 and use it as the Lead???
Ya heard that Labels had been paying Radio DJs on the side for years, that's proof....

Sorry, I know you weren't going over the top for Neil Young anyways, I just never understood how anyone could crank that on their radio...

I love his sound, his playing and his singing. Totally a fan here. Tastes are so different.

 

[MikeyB59]

I love his sound, his playing and his singing. Totally a fan here. Tastes are so different.

+1 there. And his songwriting. I'll take Neil's tone and phrasing over most people who can play lots "better," at least for rock guitar. The controlled chaos that is his style feels more rock to me than the huge majority of post Van Halen guitar rock. That's just me though, but Neil is one of the people from the 60s/70s who's aged best to my ear.