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So, someone posted this photo on another forum and it got me thinking. They're tweed alrighty...and they're Fenders. But what are they and what's that goofy thing on top of them?
Neil's amp is the one on the right. It's a Tweed Deluxe, IIRC. The thing on the top is the quot;Whizzerquot;. It drives the amp's volume and tone pots with little motors to provide presets. Young invented it WAAAAY before MIDI or modellers or even channel-switching came along.

it's a '58 or '59 (5E3), narrow panel Deluxe. He bought it used for $50 in '67 in LA, and it has been his main amp since. He runs 6L6s in it, with a fan. He uses about 3 or 4 presets on his Whizzer to vary the tone amp; gain structure by adjusting the 2 volume knobs - on Deluxes, the two channels' volumes are interactive.
he used to run his signal out to a huge speaker cabinet, but I'm not sure if he still uses that

Guitar Player ran an article years ago with all the details of his rig

Neil Young is god.

I've been listening to Son Volt's latest album, and there are quite a few songs on there that really get close to Neil's tone

The Prairie Wind DVD from the studio sessions was very cool, shame his fretting hand was continually hidden! Awww!

Does Neil use any fuzz pedals or is it all about driving that little amp to the edge?


Originally Posted by Scott_FNeil Young is god.

I've felt that way for a long while.

I remember hearing him for the first time in high school and it totally hooked me. Shame though..it was the late 80's and early 90's and no one around me gave a crap about any band that didn't have big hair.

Those look like earlier wide panel tweed Deluxes, not the late '50's narrow panel models.


Originally Posted by SkarekroughI've felt that way for a long while.

I remember hearing him for the first time in high school and it totally hooked me. Shame though..it was the late 80's and early 90's and no one around me gave a crap about any band that didn't have big hair.

Man that sounds like me when I was in HS or Jr. High. Everyone around me was listening to sh*t boy bands, rap-metal, and Blink 182 and I was getting into Hendrix and the Beatles and stuff.

On a note about the Whizzer.... thats cool! is it actually linked to the pots mechanically or does it use clamp-like attachments on the knobs?


Originally Posted by B2DMan that sounds like me when I was in HS or Jr. High. Everyone around me was listening to sh*t boy bands, rap-metal, and Blink 182 and I was getting into Hendrix and the Beatles and stuff.

On a note about the Whizzer.... thats cool! is it actually linked to the pots mechanically or does it use clamp-like attachments on the knobs?

The article states that it's something that physically clamps onto the knobs. The idea is that he knows the amp enough to know that even if you're not plugged into the channel whose volume knob you're turning, the sound will change and that going past a certain point and then coming down also reflects a change in the tone.

It seems very low-tech but exceptionally evolved as far as knowing the amp.

My kingdom for one of them beasts....there is mention in the article that he owns a ton of them and none sound just like his.


Originally Posted by Scott_FNeil Young is god.

Damn right!

the Guitar Player article I have is from March '92. I'm too tired to go into much detail, but we've covered the basics.
His black LP is a '53, originally a goldtop with a trapeze tailpiece, but refinned and converted to the Bigsby. He used the TBird pickup after sending the original pickup into a shop for repair, then the shop closed down.
His main backup was another '53 goldtop set up similarly with a Bigsby and TBird bridge pickup.

He uses a Fender reverb unit into the '59 tweed Deluxe. The Whizzer has four presets, which vary from clean to saturated tones. The Deluxe and Whizzer sit on a large drawer full of switches and effects: MXR Analog Delay, Mutron octave divider, Boss flanger, Alesis Microverb, and Echoplex. The signal goes out to a Magnavox 280 - the Lonnie Mack amp - and a Baldwin Exterminator with two 15s, two 12s, and two 8s. Everything is hot wired with NASA-quality wire.


Originally Posted by KelseyThose look like earlier wide panel tweed Deluxes, not the late '50's narrow panel models.

the amps on the left are earlier wide panels, but I can't really see who's using those - that's what TGWIF identified earlier

Neil's amp is on the right, with the Whizzer on top

Oops, my browser wasn't set wide enough to see the narrow panel tweed Deluxe on the right. So, I wonder who's using the wide panels in the photo? I have a 1954 wide panel 5D3 that was owned by Paul Burlison of the Rock 'n' Roll trio, and it is one of the best sounding amps I've ever heard.
And yes, Neil rocks.

The wide panels (5C3, 5D3) don't quite do the Neil thing---different preamp (6SC7), different bias circuit (grid-leak), and the PT's don't like 6L6's much. What WILL do it is a Pro 5E5A chassis with a 12quot;...

The 5D3 uses 12AY7/12AX7 preamp and PI tubes, unlike the earlier 5C3 version. Mine is one of the earlier 5D3's with handwritten corrections to the tube chart. I don't know whether it will capture Young's sound, but it sounds unbelievably good.


Originally Posted by KelseyThe 5D3 uses 12AY7/12AX7 preamp and PI tubes, unlike the earlier 5C3 version. Mine is one of the earlier 5D3's with handwritten corrections to the tube chart. I don't know whether it will capture Young's sound, but it sounds unbelievably good.

There's mention in one of the articles linked that Neil owns some wholly scandalous number of the Tweed Deluxe amps and none of them sound exactly like his main one.

IIRC...it was in the 400 range.

But then again, it could be total BS and some tech just having fun and tormenting an interviewer.

You never know with tweeds---some are unbelievable, some are dogs. Might have something to do with all that fooling around Leo did 'in-between' the model designations; there are tube charts for 5C3's with 12AX7's, two input lo-power Twins that look like early Bassmans but with dual 5U4 rectifiers, cathode biased 5E5A's, and on and on. Maybe Neil's 5E3 has a spare Pro PT/OT or a way out of tolerance preamp dropping resistor...who knows?