1955 Fender Deluxe Tweed Small Box Narrow Panel Vintage Tube Amp 5E3 w/ Jensen P12R, Very Low Serial

Up for sale, a 1955 Fender Deluxe in collector-grade condition and in perfect working order. One of the very first 5E3 Fender Deluxe amps to leave Fender's Fullerton, CA factory, this amp boasts a D00029 serial, matched on both the tube chart and chassis. Between June and August of '55, Fender made roughly 500 Deluxe amps, and this exceedingly early example with its low two-digit serial is among the very first production 5E3 Deluxe amps to ever surface for sale. The first-year iteration of the narrow panel 5E3 Tweed-era circuit also has the distinctive "small box" cabinet seen only on Deluxes produced in '55, notably more compact than the cabinets used from 1956-60 and significantly rarer. Few circuits are more desired and emulated than the narrow panel Tweed 5E3, and this amp delivers everything you'd expect from a classic and well cared for amp from the last iteration of the Tweed line. Incredibly dynamic and harmonically rich, the Deluxe can be glassy and clear at low volumes, but for most players the magic is in this amp's overdrive capabilities. Especially when connecting the two channels with a small jumper 1/4" cable, the interactive pair of Volume controls can dial in everything from fully saturated roar and snarl, to the particular sweet buzzy qualities with ideal midrange bite that you often times can't coax out of any other Tweed circuit. This amp reacts well to a host of effects pedals and different guitars, but truly shines with the guitar plugged straight into the amp, using your volume knob to coax clean rhythm tones and singing leads with the twist of a knob. The circuit boasts both stock Triad transformers, and the very first Deluxes had the "6452" stamp embossed on the power transformer bell. The amp has been freshly serviced by our techs here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with new Sprague Atom filter caps and smaller electrolytics. The amp is loaded with a few of the original red Astron capacitors (one of which has an "EF" stamp matching the tube chart) along with three modern Jupiter Astron-style caps. All three of the original Stackpole pots date to the 51st week of 1954. The amp is loaded with a vintage (ostensibly original) tube set, with matching GE 6V6 power tubes and 5Y3 rectifier, and GE and RCA valves in the preamp. The speaker is the original Jensen P12R alnico 12" driver with a recent recone. This speaker dates to the 3rd week of '55 and retains the original Jensen foil label on the magnet bell as well as the inspection sticker. The tube chart is intact and extremely clean with a handwritten serial that matches the chassis, and an "EF" date stamp which translates to June of 1955. The chassis itself retains the identical "EH" stamps too. The chrome on the chassis is incredibly clean, shining like few Tweeds still do with all of the original white text present along with stock chicken head knobs. The original tweed shows sparingly little ambering with only light wear on the enclosure edges. The oxblood grillcloth with gold stripe has been professionally replaced in the amp's lifetime, cleanly mounted to the original baffle, and the leather handle is a modern replacement. The stock badge on the amp's face simply says "Fender," a holdover from the earlier Tweeds before the longer "Fender Deluxe" badge that would be seen in subsequent years. A modern reissue canvas Victoria Luggage cover is included.