5F6A Parts List

Buy it as a 5F6-A Tweed Bassman component pack

Both packs hold every electronic part for the amp: chassis, turret and filter boards, Hammond transformers and choke, valves (with a matched pair of Tung-Sol 5881s), sockets, resistors, capacitors, pots, switches, jacks, fuse, mains lead and wire. You pick the level of capacitors and pots.

Whichever way you buy, choose the 5F6-A schematic and layout you'll build from and check each item against it. Values vary between versions, and production amps often differed from the original schematic.

In the lists below: In both packs Value pack Premium pack Not in packs

Chassis, board and hardware

Everything in this section is in both component packs.

• Chassis: our Tweed Bassman 5F6A narrow-panel chassis, chrome-plated, with 3 octal and 3 nine-pin socket holes
• Turret board: our 5F6A turret board with a custom filter cap board, sized to fit larger filter capacitors, plus a 10 mm turret stand-off pack
• Valve sockets: 3 × octal (two power valves and the rectifier), such as our Fender-style octal ceramic sockets, plus 3 × B9A 9-pin ceramic sockets (12AY7 and two 12AX7). Shielded versions are also available: B9A 9-pin ceramic sockets with shields.
• Valve retainers: 3 × octal tube retainer clips
• Screws and solder lugs: M3 and M4 screws and washers, and 3 mm and 4 mm locking solder lugs for grounding
• Grommets and strain relief: rubber grommets and a cable gland for the mains lead

Transformers and choke

Not sure why we use Hammond? Read why we choose Hammond transformers.

• Power transformer: the Hammond 290D2EX, a 240 V drop-in for the Tweed Bassman 5F6 and 5F6-A, with 6.3 V and 5 V heater windings In both packs
• Output transformer (for two 5881 / 6L6 valves): choose one:
  • the Hammond 1750K, with a 2 Ω secondary like the original, to suit four 8 Ω speakers in parallel In both packs
  • the 1760K, with 2, 4 and 8 Ω taps for other speaker setups Not in packs
• Choke: the original 5F6-A uses Fender part no. 14684, a 4 H, 90 mA choke. The Hammond 194B matches that rating exactly (4 H at 90 mA). In both packs

Valves

All the valves are in both component packs. Retubing an existing Bassman? Our 5F6-A Tweed Bassman retube kit includes the 12AY7, two 12AX7, a pair of power valves and the rectifier (JJ as standard, or choose your own brands).

• V1 preamp: 1 × 12AY7, such as the JJ 12AY7 / 6072A In both packs
• V2 preamp and V3 phase inverter: 2 × 12AX7, such as the JJ 12AX7 / ECC83S In both packs. Read Phase inverters: do you need a balanced tube? to understand the 5F6-A's long-tail phase inverter.
• Power valves: 2 × 5881 or 6L6GC (a matched pair). The packs include the Tung-Sol 5881 In both packs. Alternatives: the JJ 6L6GC or Sovtek 5881 / 6L6WGC.
• Rectifier: 1 × GZ34 / 5AR4, such as the JJ GZ34 / 5AR4 In both packs or Sovtek 5AR4. Read Understanding Rectifier Tubes to learn more.

Potentiometers and controls

The packs include Alpha metal shaft pots Value pack or CTS pots Premium pack.

• Volume (Normal and Bright) and Bass: 3 × 1 MΩ audio taper, such as CTS audio pots or the Bourns 1M audio pot In both packs
• Treble: 1 × 250 kΩ, linear in the packs In both packs
• Middle and Presence: 2 × 25 kΩ linear, such as our CTS linear pots In both packs. Want the original 5 kΩ presence value? Use our Fender 5k linear pot.
• Bias: the 5F6-A uses fixed bias, and the packs include the 1N4007 bias diode, filter caps and resistors for it In both packs. Many builders add a 10k bias pot to set the bias for their valves Not in packs.
• Input and speaker jacks: 4 × Switchcraft Type 12A mono jacks for the inputs (two each for the Normal and Bright channels) and 4 × Switchcraft Type 11 for the speaker outputs In both packs. See all jacks and plugs.
• Power and standby switches: 2 × Carling toggles, such as the Carling Fender-style SPST toggle In both packs
• Pilot light: a Fender-style lamp holder, an amber jewel bezel and a bayonet bulb from our bulbs and lamps In both packs
• Knobs: from our amp knobs Not in packs

Capacitors

This is where the two packs differ most. Check the values against your schematic.

• Filter capacitors: 4 × 22 µF 500 V on the filter board (B+1 to B+3): the Evatco 22 µF 500 V axial Value pack or the F&T 22 µF 500 V Premium pack
• Preamp filter: 1 × 8 µF 450 V (B+4): the Evatco 8 µF 450 V axial Value pack or Sprague 8 µF 450 V Premium pack
• Bias filters: 2 × Sprague 8 µF 150 V In both packs
• V1 cathode bypass: 1 × Sprague 250 µF 25 V In both packs
• Film capacitors: 5 × 0.1 µF (power valve coupling, PI AC ground, bass, presence), 4 × 0.022 µF (preamp coupling, middle) and 1 × 0.047 µF (standby anti-pop): 630 V metal film polypropylene Value pack or Sozo Premium pack. Orange Drop 716 600 V also suit.
• Silver mica: 1 × 250 pF (treble), 1 × 100 pF (bright) and 1 × 47 pF (PI stability), from our silver mica capacitors 500 V In both packs

See all capacitors.

Resistors

All the resistors are in both component packs, and the pack parts list shows the colour bands for each one. Buying them separately? Use our 1 W metal oxide and 1 W carbon film resistors.

See all resistors.

Wiring and power

• Hook-up wire: red, black and yellow vintage cloth pushback wire In both packs
• Heater wire: twisted heater wire In both packs
• Buss wire: 18 AWG buss wire In both packs
• Fuse: a 3AG fuse holder and a pack of 2 A slow-blow fuses for 240 V, from our fuses and fuse holders In both packs
• Mains lead: a 240 V mains cord with an earth (always earth the chassis) In both packs
• Heat shrink: a heat shrink pack to insulate mains connections In both packs
• Shielded cable (optional): shielded audio hook-up cable for input runs Not in packs
• Speaker wire: speaker wire Not in packs

Speakers

The speakers aren't in the packs, so you can choose the ones you want.

• The classic setup is 4 × 10" 8 Ω speakers wired in parallel (2 Ω total, to match the 1750K in both packs), with a combined rating comfortably above the amp's output. We recommend 4 × Jensen P10R 8 Ω for vintage tone, or 4 × Jensen P10Q 8 Ω for more headroom.
• Using a different speaker setup? Choose the matching tap on a 1760K, and always match the speaker load to the output transformer.

Cabinet and covering

• Cabinet: a Tweed Bassman-style 4 × 10 combo cabinet
• Covering: our gold tweed authentic woven fabric, or choose from our tolex range
• Grill cloth: browse our grill cloth range
• How much do you need? Our free Tolex & Grill Cloth Estimator works it out for you.
• Handle, straps and feet: a Fender-style brown leather handle, plus chassis straps and feet

Build tips and tools

• Check your parts first: tick every part off against the pack parts list, and use the colour bands on it to sort the resistors before you start.
• Bring it up slowly: use a variac or bulb limiter for the first power-up, and check the bias voltage before the power valves go in.
• Soldering iron and solder: a temperature-controlled iron, around 40 to 60 W
• Multimeter: for checking voltages, continuity and bias
• Wire cutters: our wire trimmers
• Step drill: a 4 mm to 32 mm step drill

More tweed build guides

Starting smaller? See our 5F1 Champ parts list and 5E3 Tweed Deluxe parts list. Both now come as component packs too.