Myth Busters - Does Stripping ALL of the old Astron Caps Destroy a Vintage Tweed Amp's Tone?

It is inevitable when you buy a 60 year old vintage amp, most if not all of the old capacitors will be leaking DC voltage, drifted out of spec. and otherwise be unusable. Believe me, I am the master at keeping old caps in a vintage amp on the fears I would never be able to regain the Holy Grail tone they are known for.
It is a modern misconception that the old Fender Tweed amps had a down and dirty, brown Tweed tone. That is true of some of the earlier Tweed circuits but not so much for the later '50's Bassman and High Powered Twin. That dirty tone you have come to know is probably the result of many leaky capacitors in the circuit. The 5F6-A Bassman circuit in its day was the biggest, cleanest sounding amp you could buy except for the High Powered Tweed Twin that Keith Richards famously used throughout his career (see video link below). That clean sound might not have been the most desirable bedroom amp tone but on a big stage, it was glorious.
Consequently, when you buy an old vintage amp, it is not sounding like it did when it was new on the showroom floor back in 1959. It is most likely going to have to be completely refurbished. So, the big question is what to do to preserve the tone you were dreaming of.
I've been down this road many times over the past ten years and have broken out in cold sweats when the amp sounded worse after I changed something. I tried many different capacitor brands and always ended up putting the old Astrons back in.
In this video, I've decided that a good capacitor recipe may be the answer. I've been in contact with several well know amp builders and they all have their own opinions on which caps are the most authentic replacement for the old yellow Astrons. You just have to experiment and decide for yourself.
I was able to glean many years of experience from them but also use my own experiences to come up with my own preferences. You can see at the end that I am starting to prefer the old Astron PIO caps. They are not a practical replacement for most boutique amp builders because of cost and availability, but if you can find them, they are a great alternative for your personal Tweed amps.
It turns out that now I believe a combination of different cap brands and types may be the best solution. I don't think using one brand or type of cap for everything is the best solution. As you can see, I have mostly NOS PIO caps but also some Jupiters and Reliable Cap RT's (tin foil). The type of leads make a difference too and none of the modern caps have the same type of leads the old Astrons had so there will be some inevitable compromise. By the way, I'm still not thrilled with the Orange Drop capacitors.
Hopefully, you can hear the tone albeit the mic distortion I get when I crank the amp. It sounds wonderful and is the next best thing to a big, clean, 50W Marshall.
I know it is difficult to experiment if you don't have any amp maintenance experience. This would be a good excuse to learn the skill so you can concoct your own personal cap recipe.
Bassman Tone sound check - 11:05
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Sound of Keith Richards' High Powered Tweed Twin (not so great by itself, but when the Stones hit the stage, it is a glorious sound to behold) - • Keith Richards Fender ...
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