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Thread: Fender Excelsior

  1. #1
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Fender Excelsior

    I picked up a Fender Excelsior today. The amp was cheap because it has an intermittent issue- some rustly/rumbly sounds. The owner couldn't duplicate the problem while I was looking at the amp. Later, I warmed it up for 15 minutes and the problem appeared. It could be as simple as a tube, maybe a little more complex. The amp's in great shape, otherwise. I'm pretty impressed with the sound of it so far. I'm not sure if I'll keep it once it's sorted out- I'm thinking about selling some gear to build an 18 watt Marshall clone.

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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Is this the brown one?
    *edit-
    Yes it is. I know a few guys that have more than one. Evidently they are fun to mod as well

  3. #3
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    It is the brown one. It's a very simple circuit and is built using good design principles (chassis mounted pots and tube sockets, no ribbon cables) though some of the parts are pretty low quality. It looks like mods would be very easy.

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    Forum Member Rickenjangle's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
    It is the brown one. It's a very simple circuit and is built using good design principles (chassis mounted pots and tube sockets, no ribbon cables) though some of the parts are pretty low quality. It looks like mods would be very easy.
    I had one for awhile. I wanted to love it more than I ended up loving it. And the ONLY reasons that I didn't love it were that it had no reverb (which I could live without by using my NanoVerb) and (the kicker) it was either too bright or not bright enough depending on the switch. If it had a continuously variable tone knob instead, I'd have probably kept it.

    I'd love to get one of them in a cool custom color with a tone knob and reverb. That, with the cool and funky look and the 15" speaker, would make the amp a killer for me.

    "I'm gonna find myself a girl
    that can show me what laughter means
    And we'll fill in the missing colors
    In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."

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    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    I don't need reverb in an amp like this, though I sometimes use a Malekko Spring with my 5E3 and 5F1 clones (to me, it sounds more like a cross between slapback and reverb).

    I can definitely see where the switch is either too bright or too dark. I added the bright cap portion of the 5F2-A tone stack in my 5F1 with a preset resistor to only get the amount of brightness that I wanted. It works really well. This amp has a similar arrangement. Maybe I can swap some resistors and set it where I like it.

  6. #6
    Forum Member Rickenjangle's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
    I can definitely see where the switch is either too bright or too dark. I added the bright cap portion of the 5F2-A tone stack in my 5F1 with a preset resistor to only get the amount of brightness that I wanted. It works really well. This amp has a similar arrangement. Maybe I can swap some resistors and set it where I like it.
    There are some videos online that show what the BillM mods do - there is a tone knob mod that seems like it solves the bright/dark problem, and a very cool tremolo depth mod that includes an additional knob as well...

    I'm not as enamored with that other mod that keeps the switch, makes the tone more palatable and makes the 2nd position of the switch a preset overdrive sound - simply because I can only imagine that there still is probably a huge volume spike and as well it's likely not a footswitchable function; I almost never have a chance to go back and adjust my amp once we're into a song, as I'm stuck up by the vocal mic. It's also why I generally use pedals.

    JB

    "I'm gonna find myself a girl
    that can show me what laughter means
    And we'll fill in the missing colors
    In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."

  7. #7
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Quote Originally Posted by Rickenjangle View Post
    There are some videos online that show what the BillM mods do - there is a tone knob mod that seems like it solves the bright/dark problem, and a very cool tremolo depth mod that includes an additional knob as well...

    I'm not as enamored with that other mod that keeps the switch, makes the tone more palatable and makes the 2nd position of the switch a preset overdrive sound - simply because I can only imagine that there still is probably a huge volume spike and as well it's likely not a footswitchable function; I almost never have a chance to go back and adjust my amp once we're into a song, as I'm stuck up by the vocal mic. It's also why I generally use pedals.

    JB
    I've read that there's an unintended "middle" switch position that takes the bright and dark settings out of the circuit. I'd like to hear that and maybe modify the amp to have that setting more accessible. I'm not a fan of replacing switches with knobs- I like for things to look pretty much stock.

    I'm interested in increasing the tremolo's depth slightly, but wouldn't need a knob. I reduced my '62 Jet's tremolo with a resistor change and was happy with it and planned to do the same with my '63 Jet.

    BTW, what I've heard from this amp so far, I actually like better than my '63 Jet!

  8. #8
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Fixed it! The plate load resistor on V1B was open.

    The amp sounds good. The trick of balancing the dark/bright switch in the middle worked fine. It sounds really good in that position.

  9. #9
    Forum Member Rickenjangle's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Quote Originally Posted by Don View Post
    The trick of balancing the dark/bright switch in the middle worked fine. It sounds really good in that position.
    Boy, I wish I'd have known that! I loved my Excelsior except for that. Even without the reverb (which I could add with a Nanoverb anyway) it was a great sounding amp...

    Maybe I'll need to look around for a used example.

    "I'm gonna find myself a girl
    that can show me what laughter means
    And we'll fill in the missing colors
    In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."

  10. #10
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Quote Originally Posted by Rickenjangle View Post
    Boy, I wish I'd have known that! I loved my Excelsior except for that.
    I think it's the key to this amp sounding good. I'm going to look for a 3 position switch.

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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    I'd bet there are a lot of guys that would like to know about this mod-

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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Question about the tremolo in the Excelsior amps...

    I read the following in an article on Reverb.com:
    Fender’s terminology regarding the words “vibrato” and “tremolo” has caused confusion for over 50 years; Fender called their vibrato units “tremolo” and their tremolo units on their amplifiers “vibrato.” To be clear, “tremolo” refers to a rapid repeating change in amplitude or volume, while “vibrato” is a repeating variation in pitch.​

    Is the tremolo in the Excelsior amp a true tremolo circuit or is it actually vibrato? Based on the little wave graphic on the control plate of the amp, it looks like it actually might be vibrato. I have an Excelsior amp on the way and I'm wondering...

    Thanks in advance.

  13. #13
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Tremolo, If I recall.

  14. #14
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Don, do you still have the amp?

  15. #15
    Forum Member Don's Avatar
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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    Quote Originally Posted by Sérgio View Post
    Don, do you still have the amp?
    I don't. I have way too many amps that I like better. I sold it to the harmonica player in the band I was in. It sounds great with harp. He loves it!

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    Re: Fender Excelsior

    I bought one. Modded the heck out of it: installed a choke, switched out the power transformer, put it in a solid pine cab w/a 12" speaker. Nice little amp

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