Electrosonic Amplifiers 5F8A Reproduction

This amp is a Weber kit reproduction of a late '50s Fender tweed Twin. 2 channels (regular and bright - no switching), 4 inputs. Separate volumes for each channel, Bass, Mid, Treb, Presence. Mains switch, Standby switch, Fat switch. Top mounted fuse. 4x6550 power tubes, 3x12ax7b preamp tubes. 2x12" Weber speakers in a traditional case with brown western tooled leather instead of the bland tweed covering. The amp does EXACLTY what I need it to do for my playing. 80 watts of super clean tone with plenty of headroom. Complete classic sound with enough power at the right frequencies to punch you in the chest while you play. I can think of no feature I want that it doesn't already have. I can play in my 2-guitar country/rock/funk band with plenty of volume with the knob set at 3. That's right - THREE. And my drummer hits like thunder. I have to give it a 5 ONLY because everyone out there will complain if I give it a 10 for features. So no, it doesn't model (yech...), no reverb, no channel switching, no built-in effects. But that's good, as that stuff is 90% worthless anyway!

OK, I'll keep this short. I've run it with a '96 Custom Shop Tele and my homemade '70s reproduction Tele. NOTHING sounds bad. It has a bit of hum to it, but since this is for live performance, that hum disappears in the mix. This amp is made for one thing - perfect clean tone at just about any possible volume. It does just that. Need overdrive? Get a pedal. This thing LOVES pedals. It makes me realize why the real late-'50s twins go for so much! Superior headroom! Have I said that?

Well, it's all point-to-point wiring (NO PCB! YEEHAW!), so what can go wrong that can't be instantly swapped out with easily-obtainable parts? Built just like they were back in the day, and to me, that means everything. I would confidently gig with this without a backup amplifier.

Josh at Electrosonic listened to my needs for my personal Holy Grail of tone. We exchanged email for quite some time, and he was super informative and amazingly patient with my neurotic behavior. If I could ever recommend someone to build an amp, this is the guy! He really took my needs into consideration and thought carefully about all components of the amp I was describing to him. He recommended a stock Weber 5F8A (tweed twin) kit with an added Fat switch. He was right on the money! This thing is amazing! His quick replies and friendly service throughout the build speaks volumes to his public relations and service! Buy from this guy! TRUST ME!

Ever leave a review here? They always ask you so many questions to fill out. So, here goes: I've been playing 25 years. I won tons of other gear. I won't bore you with the list here. If it were lost or stolen, I would first cry, then sell a kidney to have another built, and I would cancel all gigs until the new one came! What do I love about it? Everything. What do I hate about it? I only could afford one.I compared it to a Mesa Nomad, an Ampeg Reverbrocket, a Bedrock, a BadCat, and a Dr. Z Prescription (sorry, Brad, nothing personal). It smoked them all. I still have more amps I want to put it against, but I'm already sold 100%. Anything I wish it had? An engine and wheels so I could drive it to the gig. Trust me everybody. I ran into Electrosonic Amplifiers on complete accident, and it was the best thing I have ever done. Look at my other reviews - I gush about NOTHING. I'm actually kinda hard to please, and I know it. But this company knows what they're doing, and if you don't get one after reading this, you're just out of luck!