’59 Tweed 15W Amp Kit – StewMac

’59 Tweed 15W Amp Kit

The dirty little devil that shaped guitar history
With mysteriously fat saturated tone, this little monster makes it easy to achieve seismic distortion.

This amp’s 5E3 circuit is an enigma. Why do the controls on the channel you’re NOT using make your tone so great? Some say it’s caused by defects in the circuit design, others dive deep into the nuances of the engineering … but at the end of the day whether it was a happy accident or pure genius, this amp is one of the finest examples of vintage tone available anywhere, at any price.

Just listen to Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps. From the hint of crunch you hear on the opening note of “My My, Hey Hey”, to the warm overdrive in “Powderfinger” and finally the gritty dirt in “Hey Hey, My My” you will see exactly what this little tweed amp is capable of … goosebumps.

StewMac has lovingly recreated this timeless amplifier in our ’59 Tweed 15W Amp Kit. This is one of our Icon Kits: loving reproductions of vintage classics.

If building such an iconic classic sounds hard, don’t worry. We’ve gone to great lengths to make this kit something a complete beginner can tackle. The ’59 Tweed is a perfect place to start. It comes with all the parts you need to complete this project in just a few evenings.

• The cabinet interiors are genuine 3/4″ North American Pine (not plywood), just like the ones made in the Fullerton factory in the 1950s
• Superior craftsmanship on the tweed covered exteriors with perfectly aligned seams
• Premium quality hardware
• Top-shelf 6V6, 12AX7, 12AY7, 5Y3 tubes and vintage spec transformers to give your amp the perfect vintage tone
• High-quality period-authentic resistors, CTS pots, Orange Drop caps, and Switchcraft jacks for their authentic tone and a lifetime of trouble-free use
• Authentic fiber eyelet boards just like the ones used in the original vintage amps
• Period-correct pushback wire
• 12″ Jensen speaker – just like the ones used in the originals
• We created easy step-by-step instructions for each amp kit, breaking down every task into clear, bite-sized pieces. With hundreds of full-color photographs and illustrations, these instructions make this an easy, fun and rewarding project—even for first-time builders.

You don’t need a shop full of tools either!
The great thing about these amp kits is they only require a few relatively inexpensive tools.

Amp cabinet dimensions
Height: 16″ (40.64cm)
Width: 20″ (50.8cm)
Depth: 9-1/2″ (24.13cm)

Build and use this amp internationally!
This amp works wherever you are! This amazing amp can be wired for 100, 120, 220, 230, or 240 volts. This means that if you are outside the USA, you can still build this amp without needing an external step-down transformer.