Guitar amp of choice? '65 Deluxe Reverb?

Well I’ve had a hard time to decide which guitar amp to upgrade to :?, but how about a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb? And I’m thinking the new ones (can always be converted to point-to-point later if needed). The main criterion is that the amp should be a combo, contain one clean channel that likes to get cranked (preferable with help of a hot plate). It should also take pedals well. So by versatility I do not mean 511 preamp channels.

Can anyone please add a comment about this amp (or similar)?

high watt or low watt combo... can't go wrong with a 25W supro :thumb:

I own a SFDR ('77) which I recently "blackfaced." Well, I blackfaced the vibrato channel and PI, but did some minor tone stack mods to the normal channel. I love it, but then my goals may be different than yours. IMO, versatility is partly the guitar, partly the amp, and partly the player. You can stretch things a bit more with different speakers (build/buy various external cabs and try different drivers in them). Pedals...well, I hardly use them anymore. I find my tone is much less constipated/plasticky/sandy with just guitar straight into an amp.

If you want an amp that can do clean (I put a 12AY7 in V2 on my SFDR for more clean headroom) but also get some classic tube overdrive tones, an old Fender is a good choice. The Deluxes can get pretty danged loud with an efficient speaker. I also have a SF Vibro Champ which is another fun one. Not as loud and with less bass, but class A which gives a different overdrive sound and no rectifier sag. Love it, too. Or you could build a tweed Deluxe (raunchy overdrive) or tweed bassman (tone to die for).

I may build one of those Ceriatone TMB EF86 18W deals sometime...then there are the Voxen, the Ampegs, Magnatone, Supro...

Summary: no one amp is going to do it all well. One that does a few tricks will probably not do anything very well. Pedals...no comment :razz:

A P

p.s. Get on YouTube and search around...there are some OK clips of various amps out there. One guy has some really nice stuff with Deluxes and Celestion Gold speakers.

if your not a "collector" and just want the sound of a '65 (my favorite amp for years, was stolen years ago)try buying a silver face (much cheaper) and modding it to blackface specs. the how to s are in one of gerald webers books. google him and you should find it or maybe this info is available on the web .

I used to have a 64' Deluxe Reverb as well as a 62' 4x10 Concert, 54' Tweed Deluxe, and a 68' Marshall Plexi 50 watt and of those the Concert was my favorite. Way more punchy than the deluxe and a much cooler tremolo. Almost like a univibe. There's something really cool about 4x10's. Pretty loud though. The Marshall was unholy loud. Right now I'm making a copy of a Trainwreck Liverpool which I hope is going to be a fav.

Steve

Of all the Fender amps I've played through, the BF deluxe reverb is my favorite. The sound is amazing at the point of overdrive, but as with all Fenders, it gets disgusting when pushed harder. They also sound flabby on the lows when used with humbuckers. Not exactly versatile IMO.

Marshall: Excellent overdrive but never clean. They also tend to make every guitar sound the same.

Ampeg: great clean tone, but a little too biting when overdriven.

I've never found an amp that fits my needs. The vintage ones seem like one-trick ponies to me. New amps have too many sounds and generally don't do any of them well. Ten years ago I gave up and built my own design. It's a single channel amp that works with any instrument including bass. Versatility comes from letting the sound of the instrument and the player's technique define the tone.

Steve--was the brown Concert one of the few amps with the so-called "harmonic vibrato?" I'd love to hear one of those. I definitely prefer the bias varying type to the neon/LDR kind and thought about doing the conversion on my SFDR, but decided to keep it closer to stock. The VC has bias varying vibrato and it throbs in a more pleasant way. I re-tubed and rebiased my uncle's old SF Super Reverb a long time ago. That thing was a beast, but it sounded awesome cranked up. Loud loud loud, but really nice.

Deluxe Reverbs don't have a lot of headroom on the vibrato channel if you use a 12AX7 for V2. Swap it out for a 12AY7 and it stays clean for longer and gets you more of that punchy clean Fender tone. It still breaks up, but you have to get it up to 6 or more with typical single coil signal levels. With the 12AX7 it starts breaking up at like 4 or maybe 5. The speaker makes a big difference, too. I've been running both the SFDR and SFVC through a big open backed 2x12 cab with an Eminence Wizard (Celestion 12H30-ish) and a Red Fang (Celestion Blue-ish). It sounds much better than when using the stock Oxfart or even a middling Eminence no-name (from a DRRI). I especially like the Red Fang which has a nice AlNiCo zing and bloom without being spikey. The Wizard has great tone except the highs get a bit harsh with the Deluxe. It sounds great with the VC, though.

I'm thinking about splurging on a Celestion Gold for the SFDR. I've got a bad case of GAAS now...

A P

I'm not sure what the vibrato circuit was in the brown Concert. That was before I did any tinkering with electronics. All I know is it was vastly different than the Deluxe Reverb vibrato. It was thick and swirly like a univibe. Awesome sound. IMO the Deluxe Reverb does a lot of things pretty well but doesn't excel at anything really. I know that heresy. Mine had the original Jensen speaker which might have been substituted for better results.

Currently I'm using an AC30 copy head and 2 x 12" cab loaded with Celestion blues. Love those speakers. The AC30 is a little too bright (I only have a tele to use now) so the Trainwreck is coming along to hopefully take its place.

Steve

Hiwatt, that is all i need

The speakers are going make a big difference and that you can play around with , the output stage & tube type will also be a big direction

So a lower wattage 20 or less , unless you need to overpower a drummer
[ then just hit him with his own hardware ] should be fine

I'm a fan of the single ended el 84 amps , but i have a thomas organ
Vox pacemaker , push / pull output that never fails to please .

good luck

My favorite personal choice is the marshall. Not for versatility, but for the exact sound I want. Bassman is great for versatility, I love to mic them up on other people. I just dont play that way. I had a '72 Tele, staggered pickup, heavy as hell, hated it. other people loved it. just not my style. I used to have this crazy rig in the 80s. 2 amps for stereo, rack mount tube pre, digi effects, midi'd up blah, blah, blah, . literally borrowed a marshall and said "Damdn it! that's the sound I'm looking for." I like simple classic metal. marshall. pathetic I know.

My dealer has a blackface Vibrolux that's utterly wonderful and not for sale. (Why? Because whenever people plug a guitar into it, they buy the guitar.) I like my blackface Deluxe, no reverb, modded power supply (big caps, no sag). But most of the time I play through the little Kalamazoo, single-ended class-A, and love it.

Peace,
Paul

I would prefer a low watt combo.

At the moment I own a modern high gain amp (100w Marshall) but it’s not my thing. When I want some grit I prefer the clean channel combined with a modified blues driver. I really miss a crisp clean dynamic sound where my fingers and guitars predict the sound. I’ve also tried Vox but have to say that it wasn’t my coup of tea. I thought Vox sounded more Vox than Marshall sounds Marshall. I would say I prefer the Fender sound, both combined with a Les Paul or a Stratocaster, but do not know exactly which model to go for.

I 've owned Marshalls, I've got a hiwatt , played on saturday night through a blackface fender deluxe and I also have a Gibson GA-17.
For recording I love the gibson....just not quite loud enough for live!

Dave (Valvehead) hit it right on the head.
Just read his post over and over.

Its down right perfect.
What I would have said, had I the brain cells.
Exactly.

>>>Ampeg: great clean tone, but a little too biting when overdriven.

:?:
A good friend of mine has/had a V4 half stack. That thing had "the sound of Rock!". I have listened to him play in several bands over several years while running FOH for him. I never tell him to turn it down cause it sounds SO good! (I just turn the cab sideways!)

Sadly, he forgot the cab one night in the bed of his pickup and it rained on the speakers...hard! So it sits in his garage now... But the head was still good.

I want a Blues Jr with tube-driven verb.

Peace!

I have a 1982 Marshall 2204 50 watt that is my personal favorite. I also have a mint '75 twin reverb wich is also awesome especially for blues. I didn't do the blackface mods tho it is original except a cap job. No one has complained using the Fender as is. What is the difference in sound with the blackface?

I just recently re tubed the output tubes on the fender with JJ's and it REALLY sings now.

I'm not sure about your twin but the ones I don't like were the silver face with master volume. That particular variation stinks. I'm thinking there's a few variants of silver face Twin Reverbs out there, some better than others. I know some models didn't change at all when they went silver at first. Vibrolux Reverb and Deluxe Reverb I think.

Steve