UralTone 5E3 Tweed Deluxe kit - Documentation and Downloads

UralTone 5E3 Tweed Deluxe kit - Documentation and Downloads

5E3 Tweed Deluxe is perhaps the most legendary guitar amplifier of all time. Its popularity seems to grow year after year as players once again seek easy-to-use, naturally sounding amplifiers whose tone can be flavored with pedals when needed. Around ten watts is perfectly sufficient for live use, yet it will not damage your ears in home or studio use either.

We have gathered all of the documents of the kit as well as the pictures of the prototype for building the kit.

UralTone Tweed Deluxe 5E3 1.0 Kit - Layout

UralTone Tweed Deluxe 5E3 1.0 Kit - BOM

Measurement Guide

Original Schematic and Layout

The attached layout has been designed, in our opinion, using the best currently available components. Compared to the original, there are differences for example in the heater wiring and grounding scheme. The ground switch has been removed and replaced with a fuse. The chassis is labeled “Standby,” but in an amplifier like this, a standby switch is fairly unnecessary, whereas a fuse certainly is not. Of course, the fuse can be replaced with a standby switch or even with a variable voltage supply, enabling continuously adjustable power control.

NOTE: Follow the layout primarily. The prototype photos are provided only as a reference. Also check the transformer lead connections / color codes from the transformer packaging.

Assembly Tips

1. First, check that all parts are included.
2. Install the potentiometers, jacks, tube sockets, transformers, and other hardware into the chassis. Pay special attention to the orientation of the tube sockets. Octal sockets are always installed according to the keyway on the tube socket. Refer to the layout drawing. The orientation of the preamp tube sockets can be identified by locating the position where there is no pin.
3. Wire the heaters, pilot light, fuses, mains switch, and transformers, except for the connections that go directly to the turret board.
4. Solder the jumper wires onto the turret board.
5. Position and solder the components onto the turret board. At the same time, also attach the wires to the board.
6. Mount the board into the chassis using screws. The board is mounted by first fastening the M3 screws to the chassis with two nuts. The nuts acting as spacers are installed on the inside of the chassis. The board is then placed on top of the spacers and secured with a third set of nuts.
7. Solder the wires coming from the board to the chassis-mounted components.
8. Check that everything is connected correctly. Compare all wiring to the included photos.

Testing

All stated voltages have a tolerance of ±10%, meaning a 10% deviation is acceptable.

1. Double-check once more that everything is connected correctly. Make sure the electrolytic capacitors have the correct polarity, the transformer wiring is correct, the fuses are correct, etc.
2. Power up the amplifier without tubes installed. Measure that the pilot light receives approximately 6.3VAC and that pins 4 and 6 of the rectifier socket receive approximately 300–350VAC.
3. Install the tubes, connect a speaker cabinet to the speaker output, and power the amplifier on. Measure both the plate voltage and heater voltage again. There should be approximately 360VDC across the positive and negative terminals of the first filter capacitor.
4. Finally, test the amplifier with a guitar. If the unit works as expected, congratulations — you have successfully built one of the world’s finest amplifiers! If there are any issues, recheck the wiring carefully and correct any mistakes.

Mods

The 5E3 circuit is so perfect in its own category that very few modifications are needed. Many players find the low end excessive, so reducing the signal path capacitor values is a sensible modification. The 100nF capacitors can be replaced with 47nF or even smaller values.