Maxi Jazz's 1957 Fender Deluxe 5E3 Amp

"As modern as tomorrow".  One of the holy grail amps of the 20th century, from 1957, this Fender Deluxe 5E3.  Famous in its own right, this one was also owned by multi-musician and DJ Maxi Jazz.  God Is A Deluxe ;-).

Most, dare I say, all of us wouldn't think guitars when we think Faithless.  Turn of the century electronica, yes.  Insomnia, God Is A DJ, We Come 1, the global dance hits, yes.  Classic guitars, never.  But dig deeper, and it turns out that Maxi Jazz, one of the mighty trio behind those hits, was as keen and talented a guitarist and collector as he was rapper, DJ, and petrolhead (yes, really!).  Sadly, it took his passing in 2022, and the auction of his collection of more than 30 guitars, plus associated gear and awards, for many of us to realise quite what a player and collector he was.  Check out Bonhams' Maxi Jazz Collection for some of the classic guitars and amps, both vintage and modern, that he played over the years.

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Including this 1957 Fender Deluxe 5E3, the most legendary circuit, the most legendary amp, of all those legendary tweed amps from the 1950s.  As far as provenance goes, all I know is that Maxi Jazz owned it.  Intriguingly, it came with a handwritten tag attached to it reading "57 DELUXE + STRATOCASTER SOLD AS A PAIR".  The previous lot in the auction was a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, which Maxi called his "New York City Shirley".  That Strat does have some provenance, albeit only with the most dedicated rockabilly archivists.  Born in Tupper Lake, New York, Willard 'Will' Snide bought the Strat new in 1957.  And it stayed with him for 40 years until his death in 1997, serving him faithfully throughout his years with The Melody Boys (1957-1958), The Rockers (1958-1962 and 1964-1970), and beyond.  Maxi certainly had the Strat by August 2000, when he posted a short video playing it.  But the provenance doesn't mention the amp, so while I'd make the confident guess that the amp was sold to Maxi paired with the Strat, some time between 1997 and 2000, it's just conjecture whether they were a pair all the way back in 1957.

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I'm not even sure how much Maxi would have played this Deluxe - though you have to believe he tried it at least a few times!  The only reason I say that is that it came with the original US 2-pin power cable.  Which means two things: 1) it needs a voltage transformer to step down the power supply from 240V to 110V and 2) it needed to be earthed to be safely used in the UK  Both things now rectified (and, yes, I've kept the original power cable!).  But both things that would have made it more of an effort (and risk!) to play in the UK. 

And now this amp absolutely sings, just as it did when shipped in 1957.  The technical reasons for its unique sound and its tendency to slip into glorious warm overdrive at low volumes are well-documented by the experts, and less well-understood by most of us.  But what we can all do is hear it, and then we understand.  Throw away your overdrive pedals.  Unless your Holy Grail is incomprehensibly crystal clear tone, this amp delivers what most of us have been looking for all our lives.  This is the one.

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Sounds the business with any guitar, but the no-brainer has to be this 1965 Fender Stratocaster, . just about makes the grade ;-).