CeriaTone 5E3 Head

My amp head was made by Nik at Ceriatone in August 2009. Single channel, four inputs, 2 volume and 1 tone knob, 12 watts (or thereabouts) 2x 6v6 power tubes, 12ay7 and 12ax7 preamp tubes, 5y3gt rectifier, very simple amp.

I play country and blues, this amp suits me for smaller gigs. It takes pedals ok as long as you dont try and drive the front too hard as the amp doesnt have alot of headroom. The volume on the guitar works equally as good for changing between clean and dirty sounds. I play this head through a 2x12 openback box loaded with Celestion Greenbacks. Beautiful classic tone from this amp.

I always use it without backup, Niks amps are great, no worries.

Nik always answers emails promptly and is happy to answer questions.

Been playing for 23 years, I own a JTM45 clone (that Nik at Ceriatone built for me, that too is an awesome amp), a Dr Z Maz 38 head and Dr Z Rt66 head (the Z's are awesome too!). If it were lost or stolen I would either replace it with another 5e3 or maybe a 5f4 from Ceriatone.

This is a very simple amp. 12 watts, single channel with one tone knob and two volumes. Four inputs enabling jumpering of the two different sensitivity inputs. I bought this amp to play mainly country and blues. Has two speaker outs selectable between 8 and 16 ohms. I bought this to replace my Laney LC30 amp as a practice amp. That was a mistake, this is louder!

It would be great if Ceriatone offered the option to have a reverb unit included, as that is one thing I feel is absolutely necessary in my guitar sound.

Fantastic sound. Exactly the sound I was after. It is also exceptionally quiet. Even on the lowest setting this amp is too loud to play in my apartment. Breaks up very early, around 4 on the volume controls. Very expressive with lots of pick dynamic response which is something I love in an amp. It responds very well to variation in the guitar controls too. With the tone control rolled back you can get a very lush, complex jazz sound. It can be clean at usual pick attack and break up when you really dig into the strings. Has that beautiful chime you expect from a F***er tube amp but with less annoying hum! When you wind up the volume and overdrive kicks in you are transported to a higher plane of being. It's that good. Not for lovers of fizzy modern high gain sounds.

I have tried a few different speakers for this one - a Celestion alnico gold, G12H greenback and a 10" Eminence Ragin Cajun. The Celestion alnico gold was easily the best of these. The G12H also sounded good. The Rajin Cajun sounded brittle, shrill and horrible in comparison to the Celestion's.

Can't say as I've only had it a couple of weeks now. It is immaculately wired/soldered and service would be easy because it is very nicely laid out. It would be pushed pretty hard if you were to gig with it but the sound you would get would be worth the cost of replacing the tubes (for example) once a year.

Very good service and Nik will answer anything anytime - seriously.

I have several amps and this one is my favourite. My Marshall Vintage Modern, which I loved, now sounds digital in comparison to this baby. It represents such fantastic value for money. At US$445 for the head you can afford to put a top quality speaker and cabinet around it for less than US$1000. Compare that to Fender's $3000 retail price for the '57 Deluxe and do some maths.

I wish there was an option for a nice spring reverb, but hey, I have a good reverb pedal.

I would love to own another Ceriatone, and will buy another as soon as my wallet lets me.

The features are perfect for my needs. Simple and functional volume and tone (and in this case those words describe the amp!). The impedance selector on the back makes it more versatile for trying different cabs. I got the completely assembled head version so that the heat from the tubes could rise up and away from the amp. Built my own boxes for head and speaker. The fact that you can buy amps from CeriaTone in so many different ways is a nice feature itself.

The sound is exactly what I want. Clean at low volumes with the gradual warmth of the overdrive as you turn it up. The amp goes louder than I'll ever need. Single notes, double notes, bent notes, and chords all sound pleasing, and now I'm beginning to like my Les Paul! You can get plenty of sounds out of this amp. When not played, the amp is quiet. I run through an Echoplex and from the amp into a Celestion blue speaker. Sounds good to me. Would like to try a strat through it too.

Looks particularly well made using quality parts. If it needs work any tech could fix it.

After emailing Nik a few times and understanding how they operate, I had no qualms at all about buying sight-unseen from Malaysia. From my initial questions to questions after delivery, the communication was quick and clear. The packing was outstanding too. In my case I had to be at home to accept delivery. Don't know if that's always the case, but worth asking about. I had another deluxe clone from somebody else that showed up damaged, sounded cold, and got damaged again when I returned it! At least he took it back.

Always wanted a tweed Deluxe but didn't want to pay $2000 +. I'm glad I stumbled onto CeriaTone. Great company and they make really good amps. The wiring and soldering are very clean, the chassis is heavy metal and the components look like good quality. The kit idea is good too for those who like to build electronics. Can't really think of anything I wish were different and would buy from them again.

Not a lot of knob, but a whole lot of sounds. I've heard about what a 5E3 could do and this amp lives up to the reputation. The interactivity of the 2 volume knobs and the single tone control is all I need for the blues I'm playing.

So far, pretty darn awesome. I'm using a Reverend Club King with Humbuckers and a Strat with noiseless hot pickups. Both sound terrific. This amp is very quiet and hum free. It is obviously well made. I haven't gigged with it yet, but I've played is thru an Alnico Blue, a Weber Ceramic Neo Dog, and an old Jensen Alnico (I think) that came out of a 50's Baldwin organ. All speakers sound terrific and I'm going to have a rough time deciding which one to go with.
This amp gets dirty fast which I like for what I'm playing, and it is very responsive. It's not for those folks that like a lot of stomp box compression and no picking dynamics. But once you heat up those tubes and put some sound thru a low wattage vintage speaker...warm compression gold. This baby came out of the box sounding the way I wanted. I'm not wishing I had more tone control.

No opinion so far, but I'm thinking it's going to be very reliable. This appears to be very high quality work with some high quality parts.

Nik rocks. Ceratone rocks. This amp was built for me and shipped from Malaysia in 5 days. I ordered things in the states that were in stock (speaker/cabinet) that I waited twice as long for. Nik returns emails in less than 24 hours. Very upfront and helpful. I would do business with this outfit again in a heart beat.

I recommend this amp and this company. I have no fear of regretting this statement in the future. I played a Fender 57 Deluxe remake at guitar center before I ordered this product. It sounded good, but had intermittent humming and cracking problems. And it was 2K US. I believe this amp is better made and will have an Alnico Blue when it's done at half the price. It won't be a collectors item because it doesn't have the Fender name, but it sounds better than the fender I can buy now.

Two volume controls and one tone control. 2 channels (bright and normal) and inputs per channel. The two volume controls interact to provide a range of tones and texture. The sound is very versitile and no other controls are necessary. As there are two inputs per channel you can use a jumper lead to blend the two channels. I only give a 5 in this categoriy as its not big on features compared with other amps. But hey, if it had more features it wouldn't sound like a 5E3!

Ceriatone is based in Malaysia. I bought this amp in kit form as I wanted to build a valve amp. However for $70US extra Nik will build the amp for you. Price was very reasonable, postage was cheap and delivery was fast.

In a word awesome! The tone from this amp is superb. I tend to play with the two channels jumpered and the tone is rich and deep. The clean sound has a rich complexity to it that delivers a wonderful jazz tone. The amp is clean at low volumes. So far it has only been used for bedroom practice so the volume has't gone above 2! If you want an amp with a lot of clean headroom, look elswhere.

I play rockabilly/country and usually the only effects I use are compression, reverb and slapback echo. I have an early 80s TS-9 which I use when I want overdrive. I leave the drive very low, or on 0, and adjsust the level control to overdrive the tubes. When overdriven the 5E3 has a superb blues tone. I belive the 5E3 is versatile enough for most types of music - except metal.

I use a Epi Dot wth Gibson Classic 57 pups and a Fender USA Tele and Deluse strat both with SCN pups. All three guitars sound great through the 5E3, though the combination of the 5E3 and the Gibson humbuckers are my personal favourite

I built it - so I can fix it. I purchased it in kit form and it was my first tube amp build. The 5E3 is a good choice for a first build. The kit does not come with instructions, so if you are planning to build one do some research first. Particularly into the safety issues of working with Tube amps. There are a number of online forums that can help.

So far it has been completly reliable and I have no reason to believe that will change.

Nik at CeriaTone is a great guy, all emails are answered quickly. He is very willing to answer all question and provide advice. Ceriatone use quality componenets in their kits and I am not expecting to use their customer support services. However, if I have an questions I know i can contact Nik and get a quick response.

CeriaTone has quality products. I've recently built a JTM45 and purchased the trannies and chassis from CeriaTone.

I've been playing for around 30 years. If this amp was lost or stolen I'd buy another 5E3 kit from ceriaTone. There is a reason that Tweed Deluxe's are still so popular. Its Tone. This amp has it.

Hey, it's a 5e3 head. Two volume controls and a tone control. Versatility isn't the name of the game for 5e3s.

Very organic bluesy/distorted sounds. Doesn't have much clean headroom but again, that's not what the amp is designed for. There's a reason the 5e3 clones are so popular -- this amp sounds wonderful.

Simple circuit design, high-quality parts and point-to-point wiring mean that I could fix it if anything goes wrong, but it is built extremely well (had CeriaTone build it for me...only $70 more than a kit).

Yes, CeriaTone is in Malaysia but they respond to your e-mails quickly. They also build and ship quickly. The 5e3 was in my hands two weeks after I ordered it -- there are local custom amp builders who could never turn around a product that quickly.

This is a tremendous buy. CeriaTone builds this amp for less than the price of a kit from others, uses high-quality parts and does a terrific, professional job with the wiring. You can also buy it as a kit here, but it's not much less expensive than a Mission Amps kit and that kit includes detailed instructions and an offer to fix any subsequent problems for another $75. I'd go with the Mission Amps kit, but as a finished product, this is a superior bargain.

My 5E3 complete head chasis was made in 2006. It has the usual tweed deluxe 4 inputs,2 volumes and 1 tone . .standby switch 8 ohms.single channel tube head .This is a clone of the famous and expensive tweed deluxe but in a head version. Made in Malaysia by Ceriatone, the build quality is up to botique standards.I find It versatile enough with the various inputs It is one of the quietest amps I have ever owned.It is more than versatile enough for rock,blues and jazz. In fact as legions of guitar players have found over 50 years the tweed deluxe is sought after for it`s versatility and simplicity.A pair of 6V6,12AX7, 12AY7,and a 5Y3 rectifier make up the tube inventory. 6L6`s are available but I like the sound of 6V6 as it was meant to be.all you need and nothing more.

I play G&l`s, an ASAT Classic and a Legacy. I play a lot of blues ,r+b, jazz,classic rock ,no metal. This is not a metal amp. The sound quality is stellar. I have played many kits and clones this is the best hands down!! Dead quiet, indicating excellent grounding but most of all a high build standard. Build looks just like my Victoria.The sound is rich, deep ,organic and full of harmonics. Even my wife commented on it`s beautifull sound. It is jazz clean to about 4 or 5 then kicks into naughty and nice herein lays its variety all the way to Neil Young distortion.Classic sound!!! this ones easy.

N/a tell you in a year.

Nik is top drawer. there is a North American repair depot. 5 year warranty.No problems ,well made.He finished my head for only $70.00 more so it came as a chasis plug in and play .included tubes.install tubes and rock. I plan to leave it as such.shipping included in price.

Am 54 playing since 12.I am clearing off my junk and finally buying the quality I alwas wanted. Ceriatone allows me to play an expensive classic at a fraction of the price. I play it through my 2x12 cab Weber 12a150`s and it is candy. I would not hesitate to buy another one and am planning to buy a vintage Marshall Ceriatone makes.The value factor is huge. It fits right in there by my Victoria and I can buy two or three heads for the price of one Matchless or?

Brand new, Ceriatone 5e3. I ordered the fully built version, which required no work on my part other than installing it into a cabinet, which I purchased from a Fender replica cabinet builder. The chassis is finished in black enamel, which looks very nice.

Features - 2 volumes, 1 tone knob. As far as I'm concerned, the fewer knobs, the better. I can get more tones out of this amp then something with 12 different effect/tone knobs. And if you're reading about a 5e3, then you know how great and versatile these amps are. The volume knob on the 2nd channel effects how the first channel reacts to your playing. It's a very usable rock amp. I play mostly Americana/Rock/Alt-Country, etc.

Sounds like an electric guitar with natural overdrive and compression - no TS-9's necessary. This amp just has amazing tone - thick, harmonic, distorted, etc. I really do love it. I had Nik customize mine to handle 6L6 power tubes, so you get a few more watts, as well as a bit more headroom to help cut through the mix with a band.

I usually play a Les Paul with mini-humbuckers, or a Silvertone Lap Steel with a P-90 through it. I installed it into a 5e3 replica cabinet, and bought a Weber Signature 12" Alnico speaker as well.

I haven't fully stretched her legs yet, but it really sings. I built this amp as a cheaper alternative to my '53 Fender Pro 5B5 Wide Panel. I just needed something that I didn't have to worry about getting damaged or stolen while on tour, yet I still needed that tweed tone. I think that once my Weber speaker breaks in a bit, it'll sound even better.

Well, Fender tweed amps have survived over 5 decades of abuse, so I can only assume this will do the same. It has some modern features which I value - 3 prong cord and a standby switch, both of which will help preserve my life, as well as the life of the tubes. It is a very well-built kit, and Nik does great professional work. Dead quiet with limited hum, so you know measures were taken to assure it was built right. Many of the parts such as transformers and capacitors are built specifically for Ceriatone, and they seem to be built in the likeness of the old Fender stuff. That doesn't really bother me.

Nik at Ceriatone was very helpful. He seems to be a very "can do" type of guy. He always answered my emails promptly, and he was very helpful is building me a kit with the specific mods I wanted. Don't let his location in Malaysia deter you - shipping was fast and very cheap, and Ceriatone is definitely a reputable company. For the price of kits and clones these days, you really can't beat these guys.

Great amp for the money. I love old tweed amps, yet I'm a player who tours and records, so I can't afford another vintage piece. They're just too expensive these days, and to be honest, I'm more stoked about having something that is new and durable - something I can take to shows and not have to worry about. So for now, my tweed Pro will take a safe rest in the closet at home. Plus, I'll have something truly unique that no one else has.

This is a 5E3 Deluxe Tweed Amp kit. It is basic 2 channel, normal and bright, with a tone control that effects both. the interesting thing about this amp and design is the way the 2 volumes have an interacting effect that open a wider variety of sounds. This is an all tube design, 12Ay7, 12AX7, 2 6V6 and and 5Y3 rectifier. This amp is not about features is is about sound and it delivers

At low volumes the tone is clear and through the bright channel it has that beautiful Fender chime. I use it with a 61 Tele, a 65 Strat and a Les Paul. Each guitar brings out it's unique tones. I use both a single 12" speaker cab and a 4x10 with Alnicos. Each sounds different but both sound great. The 10's are a little smother. At about 4 the amp starts to enter a gentle Blues distortion. Smooth but with just enough edge to cut through. Keep cranking the amp and that famous tweed Deluxe sound comes through. For those of you that can't afford and early Tweed ( and there aren't many who can ) this is the next best thing. The good news is the kit is new so there is no going through and replace caps and updating wiring. Build yourself a Tweed Cab with a 12" speaker and you have got the sound and the look.

Since I built the kit I can guarantee it is reliable. Point to Point handwired by my own hands. And a lot neater as I spent the time to place every wire in it's place. It's not what I would suggest for a first time build but if you go for it there is plenty of info on the internet on how to build it quiet and make it work the first time. Also if you build it yourself, you 'll know how to fix it yourself.

Nik at Ceriatone is all about service. If you send him an email, he responds quickly. There were a few parts missing in one of the kits and he got them out right away. He seems to know his products and is very helpful. Once again, if I need it repaired just get out your voltmeter and soldering iron. Considering he is so far away the service he provides is outstanding

I have been playing for over 20 years. this amp sounds as close to the real thing as the real thing without the cost. There are quite a few companies that offer this amp as a kit. But I found Nik and Ceriatone offer fair prices, good service and a good product. I will continue to do business with him.