Fender Deluxe Tweed 1959

My YouTube playlist is: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed 

FD1 Overview, "1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed" Overview
FD2: Asbestos, "1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed"
FD3 Dating the Amp and Auction Bidding
FD4: Circuit Board "1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed"
FD5: The Tubes: Part 1: Gray Tubes, 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed
FD5: The Tubes: Part 2: House Branded tubes
FD5: The Tubes, Part 3: Changing the Tubes
FD6: Worker Markings
FD7: Grounding, Jacks, & Shock mounts
FD8: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed: Output Transformer Specifications
FD9: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed: 108 Output Transformer, Frequency Response
FD10: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed: Hysteresis & Saturation
FD11: Why does the Tube Chart State 110V at 50/60 Hz?
FD12: Starting a Vintage Amp
FD13: Is Plugging THIS Vintage Amp into 120Vac Safe?
FD14: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed: "Phase Splitter Signal Distortion"
FD15: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed vs 1961 Premier Twin 8
FD16: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed: Layout and Dimensions
FD17: 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed: Sound Sample on Bass

The original amp operated with the mains voltage being between 108Vac and 110Vac. The filaments were designed to operate UNDER 6.3V (5V for the 5Y3GT) so they would last longer. When powering at 120Vac the filament life will be drastically shortened. In some areas of the US the mains voltage is reaching 125Vac and this will destroy the amp. It is highly recommended to use a step-down transformer to power the amp at 110Vac.

This schematic has annotations which I refer to in my documentation: pin numbers, tube designations, etc.



This is the wiring diagram with my reference annotations.

Voltage readout based on mains voltages.

There is no improvement in operating performance when the amp is powered at 120Vac as seen in the Operating Parameters. Again, power the amp at 110Vac and maximize the life of the tubes. 


Replacement output transformer for the original Fender Deluxe Tweed:


Matt is a great guy and his products are top of the line. He is the winding expert because he had a career in transformer design for a large manufacturer. He is a wealth of design information and can do specialty windings as long as you can provide him the basic information he needs. I prefer a specialty winding over universal windings because the transformers are lighter and closer to the original transformers specifications. 

This is the transformer that best matches the original specifications of the original 15W Fender Deluxe.
This will saturate when overdriven and provide you more blues. 

OT16PP USA STANDARD EI87 Push Pull Output Xfmr 6K6:8 Ohm 22VA


If you are running the original amp using 120VAC instead of 110VAC then there will be more power delivered to the output transformer and it is best to upgrade the power rating of the output transformer.  I highly recommend this:

OT22PP USA HC100 Push Pull Output Xfmr 6600:4,8,16 Ohm 30VA oversized "Deluxe"

However, this is for those who want to push the power to 20W or more. This is what happens when you plug in a 1959 Fender to 120VAC. Also, this is a universal transformer because it can accommodate different types of speaker loads. 

This transformer is larger and will not saturate and provide harmonics like the 22VA offering.