Fender Tweed Tremolux 1958
The first 5E9 Tremolux was basically a 5E3 Deluxe with tremolo added, placed in a taller cabinet. The later 5E9-A only had small changes, but the next version, the 5G9, was a completely new design. It was the final tweed-era Tremolux before Fender moved to the brownface amps around 1960. Fender appears to have skipped the “F” circuit letter for this model, and they continued using leftover 5E9-A tube charts — in fact, genuine 5G9 amps rarely have correctly printed charts. On this amp the original chart had 5E9-A crossed out and 5F9 written in by hand, likely done at the Fender factory. This is fairly rare but documented.
The electronics were significantly upgraded in this model. The power section was based on the larger 5F6-A Bassman, using fixed bias, a long-tailed-pair phase inverter, and a 5U4 rectifier. This made the amp louder, cleaner, and tighter sounding than a Deluxe. With two 6V6 power tubes it produces about 15–18 watts. The 12″ Jensen P12Q speaker sits in a larger cabinet originally sized for a 15″ speaker, giving stronger bass and a fuller sound.
The controls include two channels with four inputs (which can be linked together), separate volume controls, a single tone control, and tremolo speed and depth. The tremolo is the classic bias-vary type — deep, smooth, and very musical.
The cabinet measures about 22″ wide, 20″ high, and 10½” deep.
Cosmetically the amp is extremely clean. The tweed covering was professionally done by our friends at Amwatts Amps here in Australia. The control panel, and grille cloth are all in excellent condition with only minor marks. The handle appears to be original and a newer tremolo footswitch and aftermarket cover are also present.
Electrically the amp has been completely serviced and recapped, again by Amwatts. The tube chart code “HC” dates it to March 1958. The serial number matches the chassis, and only around 400 were made that year. The transformer has been updated to 240v Mercury Magnetics one.
The amp sounds great, articulate to play, tight bass response and the most amazing classic swampy “power tube bias-vary” style tremolo that sounds exceptionally smooth and deep.
