parker_knoll
Senior Member
Anyone here got opinions on the Fender Blues Deluxe?
How's the reverb?
I'm attracted by the fact it has preamp out poweramp in.
How's the reverb?
I'm attracted by the fact it has preamp out poweramp in.
Fender Blues Deluxe
- Thread starter parker_knoll
- Start date
txbumper57
Enlightened Member
I have a 40W Blues Deluxe Reissue with the 1X12" Eminence speaker in it. Mine is the earlier made in USA version. The reverb is the Classic Fender spring reverb and sounds great. Mine has 2 channels, The 1st channel is dry and does not have the reverb on it. I would classify it as having an over all warm tone and taking pedals very well. The second channel has a bright switch and this is the channel the reverb is connected to. Even without the bright switch engaged this channel is considerably brighter than the first. Classic Fender Clean and Twang. Also has a presence adjustment on this channel. Takes all pedals well including overdrives. If the tubes aren't biased properly the second channel can get tinny sounding. This amp is way too loud for the bedroom approach but does well in medium to large venues. I ran this as my main amp for 4 years and it held up great. Something else you may consider is what I switched to last year.
The Fender 22 watt 1X12" 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb Silverface Reissue. This amp is amazing having 2 channels with the reverb active on both. The First Channel has a Bassman stacked tone circuit which is Awesome with pedals and the Second channel is the Vintage tone channels which emulates the original 68 Silverface tone. You can actually run both channels at the same time with an A/B box. The breakup comes at about 4-5 on the volume for both channels which is plenty loud for any club venue but still low enough for home use. They also have a Twin version of this as well as a 4x10 super deluxe reverb. This is by far my favorite amp for everything from my Hollow bodies to my Semi Hollows and Strats. Look them up on Youtube and I think you'll like what you hear. I bought mine through Musicstorelive.com for around $899 shipped.
The Fender 22 watt 1X12" 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb Silverface Reissue. This amp is amazing having 2 channels with the reverb active on both. The First Channel has a Bassman stacked tone circuit which is Awesome with pedals and the Second channel is the Vintage tone channels which emulates the original 68 Silverface tone. You can actually run both channels at the same time with an A/B box. The breakup comes at about 4-5 on the volume for both channels which is plenty loud for any club venue but still low enough for home use. They also have a Twin version of this as well as a 4x10 super deluxe reverb. This is by far my favorite amp for everything from my Hollow bodies to my Semi Hollows and Strats. Look them up on Youtube and I think you'll like what you hear. I bought mine through Musicstorelive.com for around $899 shipped.
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I also have a Blues Deluxe Reissue. I use a THD Hotplate with it so I can use it at home. Like txbumper75 said, it's loud, and sounds great when running it hot. But you can't do that without an attenuator, unless you're deaf. Mine has the reverb on both channels, "clean" and "drive". Classic Fender reverb. The clean isn't sparkly clean, but close enough. The effects loop works great. It's a nice amp, and you can get a used one for pretty cheap.
AcornHouse
Venerated Member
You can also try substituting a 5751 tube in v1 for 70% gain.
parker_knoll
Senior Member
Are you saying the pre-amp gain isn't good?
Can't you use the effects loop to attenuate? E.g. crank the pre and drop the level between the pre-amp out and power amp in? it's not the same as cranking the power stage but it's usually ok and saves everything being dirty as the power stage distorts.
txbumper57 - that looks like a great reissue but I really need that pre-amp out unfortunately because of what i play.
txbumper57
Enlightened Member
I tried to use an Attenuater on mine to make it usable for small clubs and the house but I never could get it to sound right. I get as good if not better tone out of my Blues Jr. NOS 15W with the 12" in it. As far as the Blues Deluxe 40W goes, I never really liked the natural Breakup tone of the amp although it does take an OCD and A Jackhammer very well. The biggest reason that I bought it and used it for as long as I did was that it had the Reverb I wanted. I loved that the clean tone was so neutral that it allowed you to use any pedal combination to get your end tone result. I never used the effects loop either, Just ran my pedal board straight into my amp.
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Why do you need the preamp out?
Even though people sell gadgets that supposedly do that, you can't really attenuate through an effects loop. You can turn the volume level down, and that's all.
As for my personal opinion of the Blues Deluxe - I don't like them much. Construction is not very sturdy at all, the particle board cab weights a lot, the stock speaker is not great, the reverb is IC-driven and not tube driven, so not nearly as deep and dynamic as on a classic old Fender combo, and the gain channel sounds so harsh most people either mod it, or don't use it.
Even though people sell gadgets that supposedly do that, you can't really attenuate through an effects loop. You can turn the volume level down, and that's all.
As for my personal opinion of the Blues Deluxe - I don't like them much. Construction is not very sturdy at all, the particle board cab weights a lot, the stock speaker is not great, the reverb is IC-driven and not tube driven, so not nearly as deep and dynamic as on a classic old Fender combo, and the gain channel sounds so harsh most people either mod it, or don't use it.
txbumper57
Enlightened Member
Just a little something I forgot to add. After I switched amps for my Guitar I started using the Blues Deluxe on My Pedal Steel. It worked great for what it's worth.
No, you can't use the loop to attenuate :-( The overall volume of the amp is quiet enough for home use at below "1" but it basically goes from that to almost full volume with not much difference in between. I tried the Hotplate and cranked the amp, and it sounds great. I don't find the drive channel harsh at all. Overall though, for the money, there are better amps to be had, but it works with my semi-complicated rig. I'm thinking that I can get rid of the bulk of my rig if I simply invest in a Boogie Mark5:25
parker_knoll
Senior Member
because i run through a mixer and into lots of stuff.
i understand what you mean about not attenuating; what i meant is turning the volume level down. It allows you to turn the knobs a bit higher and work the amp a bit harder.
Walter Broes
Enlightened Member
Parker, if you're turning down the amp through the effects loop, you can turn up some knobs louder, but that's really only a psychological effect : if you're turning down, you're not really working the amp harder. You can turn up the preamp, but you're turning it down right after that, so the only thing that really happens is that you're turning up "visually".
Quantum Strummer
Senior Member
You can crank up the Blues Deluxe's preamp section, if that's your thing, and then reduce its volume in the effects loop via a pedal like Electro-Harmonix's Signal Pad. This preserves whatever degree of breakup you're getting from the preamp along with at least some of the resulting tonal character. Of course you won't be driving the phase inverter or the power tubes very hard, and IMO the BD sounds much better with the power section running hot.
When it comes to modern Fender amps I'm more partial to the Blues Jr. myself.
-Dave-
When it comes to modern Fender amps I'm more partial to the Blues Jr. myself.
-Dave-
Neal
Senior Member
Or you could just use a Blues Junior and drive her really hard.
Neal
Neal
Kslam
Member
I agree. I've had the Blues Deluxe, The Hot Rod Deluxe, Deluxe Reverb, and modded and unmodded Blues Juniors. The Blues Jr -- and The Pro Jr too, actually -- are both better amps than either the HRD or Blues Deluxe, at least to my ears.
My main amp these days is a Tone King Imperial, but I'm still very fond of my Blues Jr too and use it often. My current Blues Jr has a few of the BillM mods plus a Weber Vintage Series speaker, Ruby reverb tank, and matched JJs. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a stock Blues Jr either. Where I live, Blues Jrs are often the house amp in small clubs. If I'm too lazy to bring one of my own amps, I'll crank the treble and bass and turn the mid all the way counterclockwise to bring a Bjr to something approaching Fender Blackface territory.
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Old thread but what the hell.
Never had a Blues Deluxe, but played and gigged with a HRD for several years. Loved the nice, round clean tone. Got all my distortion through pedals. Never heard a modded one I liked...seemed like in order to get a nice breakup you sacrificed the beautiful cleans. You can run your pedals through teh regular input and not use an efx loop.
Anyway, fast forward a few years... I played a lot of Blues Jr's. at clubs in NYC where it seems to be the provided backline amp of choice. I liked that I could drive them enough to get some breakup without being super, super loud. I liked that they weigh a heck of a lot less than my HRD. I eventually traded in my HRD for a Blues Jr. I am gigging a lot these days and mostly use it miked and through the PA but it is loud enough to play a small club on it's own.
Never had a Blues Deluxe, but played and gigged with a HRD for several years. Loved the nice, round clean tone. Got all my distortion through pedals. Never heard a modded one I liked...seemed like in order to get a nice breakup you sacrificed the beautiful cleans. You can run your pedals through teh regular input and not use an efx loop.
Anyway, fast forward a few years... I played a lot of Blues Jr's. at clubs in NYC where it seems to be the provided backline amp of choice. I liked that I could drive them enough to get some breakup without being super, super loud. I liked that they weigh a heck of a lot less than my HRD. I eventually traded in my HRD for a Blues Jr. I am gigging a lot these days and mostly use it miked and through the PA but it is loud enough to play a small club on it's own.
guildman63
Senior Member
I'm with you, crank, what the hell.
I recently bought a BDRI used from Guitar Center. I used it for 3 weeks, and while I mostly liked it a lot I felt that the reverb was much too weak. I wound up returning it when a George Benson Hot Rod Deluxe became available on Reverb.com. I play mostly clean jazz, so I don't really need the drive and more drive channels too much, but it's nice to have those options occasionally, and at all volumes. With the BDRI I put a 12AY7 in v1, and that sounded great, but I just couldn't get past the reverb, and I didn't want to use a pedal. My GB HRD has excellent reverb, and is a great amp all around.
I recently bought a BDRI used from Guitar Center. I used it for 3 weeks, and while I mostly liked it a lot I felt that the reverb was much too weak. I wound up returning it when a George Benson Hot Rod Deluxe became available on Reverb.com. I play mostly clean jazz, so I don't really need the drive and more drive channels too much, but it's nice to have those options occasionally, and at all volumes. With the BDRI I put a 12AY7 in v1, and that sounded great, but I just couldn't get past the reverb, and I didn't want to use a pedal. My GB HRD has excellent reverb, and is a great amp all around.
Quantum Strummer
Senior Member
I like 12AY7s, or the low-noise 6072 equivalent, in the v1 socket of many Fender & Fender-type amps. Sometimes a 5751 will work better with a black/silver-face or modern amp. My fav amp at the moment, a Kendrick 2112 tweed Deluxe/Princeton Reverb hybrid, sounds best with a 6072 in v1 and an Electro-Harmonix long plate 12AT7 in v2. The amp can be quite gainy with the extra 12AX7 stage post-reverb so the 12AT7 helps even it out. The EHX long plate is a really good tube, right up there with the old Mullard CV4024. Nice clarity without harshness. I recommend trying one out if clean is your thing but your current amp is too gainy for your taste at the volume levels you prefer.
-Dave-
-Dave-
mavuser
Enlightened Member
MIM fender blues jr *tweed* all day. stock. all kinds of reverb
aka "limited" or "NOS" edition
this one comes stock with the Jensen C12N.
only thing this amp is missing is a standby switch. I may see if I could add one at some point.
do not get the blues jr tweed "relic" which looks identicle but comes with cosmetic "mojo" from the factory, as well as a differnt speaker, and possibly other internal tweaks. that one sounds totally different.
aka "limited" or "NOS" edition
this one comes stock with the Jensen C12N.
only thing this amp is missing is a standby switch. I may see if I could add one at some point.
do not get the blues jr tweed "relic" which looks identicle but comes with cosmetic "mojo" from the factory, as well as a differnt speaker, and possibly other internal tweaks. that one sounds totally different.
txbumper57
Enlightened Member
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jp
Senior Member
I think the reissue '65 and '68 Princeton Reverbs sound great. And the '68 is wired to get dirtier a little earlier too. If I didn't have my Rivera-era Super Champ, I'd definitely grab one of those or a SF Princeton.