Finally dialed in the bias on my 5E3 build after 3 trys

I built this Tweed Deluxe clone back in February and it always sounded kind of mushy and flat. Kept putting off the bias adjustment because I was scared of poking around live circuits (you know, death stuff). Finally bought a proper bias probe last week and spent an afternoon tweaking it. The difference is night and day. Clean tones actually sparkle now and the breakup is so much smoother. It went from a pedal platform to actually having its own voice. Anyone else put off biasing because of the fear factor?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_jones224d ago

I used to be exactly like the_anthony about this. Had a 5E3 that sounded fine to me for two years, never touched the bias. Then I swapped in a set of JJ's and it went all wrong, muddy and farty. Caved and bought a cheap probe, dialed it up from 55% to about 72% and man, the difference was like swapping amps. The clean headroom opened up way more than I expected. I think a lot of people can't hear the difference because they've just never heard their amp actually running in its sweet spot.

willow73224d agoMost Upvoted

oh wait you said you can't hear a difference between 60% and 70%? that's actually kinda surprising because 60% is usually on the cold side for a 5E3. most guys run those tweed deluxes a little hotter, like 70-80% range, to get that nice saggy compression. the bias probe isn't really about hype, it's more about not blowing up your tubes or your transformer. 70% plate dissipation in a 5E3 is totally different from 70% in a Fender Twin or something, the circuit matters a lot.

the_anthony24d ago

Bought a bias probe a couple years ago and honestly I still don't get the hype. Set it once to whatever felt right and called it a day. My ears can't really tell the difference between 60% and 70% plate dissipation anyway, maybe I'm just not that picky about my clean tones.