Vintage 1953 Fender Deluxe 5B3 guitar amplifier with cover

“Tops in style and beauty, excellent mechanical construction, beautiful striped linen covering, 12″ Jensen Concert Series, top mounted chrome plated chassis, 3 input jacks, tone and volume control. Excellent tone and volume, outstanding in its price class.” — Fender catalog, 1953

 

Make and Model: Fender Deluxe, 5B3 circuit

Year of Manufacture: 1953

Potentiometer code: 304252 (52nd week of 1952).

Speaker code:220304 (4th week of 1953).

Condition:  Cleanest on the market with original cover. There’s a small spot of corrosion on the face plate between the 7 and 8 on the instrument volume and between input one and two. There’s a small spot of fraying in the tweed on front on the bottom left and bottom right.

Originality:  100%, no excuses, even the leather handle and tubes!

Operation: I’ve opted to leave this one original and untested so that a buyer can decide what to update. I plugged the speaker into another amplifier and it sounded divine with no rattling or buzzing. I recommend installing new filter capacitors and a grounded power cord before turning the amplifier on.

Notes: Just in from the nephew of the original owner! His uncle was given this amplifier along with the matching Deluxe steel guitar brand new for Christmas. He never learned to play. He gifted the amp to his nephew in the early 1980s when it was played a few times but went back into the closet shortly thereafter. I’ve done nothing to it but blow out the dust and wipe down the chrome faceplate.