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combo amps revisited,,, Fender Deluxe


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This past weekend I sat in with a new bunch of guys for a lil' jam. One of the guys was playing thru a Fender Blues Deluxe, while another was playing thru a Hot-Rod Deluxe. I thought their "tone" was very enjoyable, while the volume was in no way "excessive" for playing live in a small room. Both sounded different enough that I'm now thinking of buying both of these amps, preferably "used", for my music room..

Good idea? Bad idea? Is there something else I should consider?

My current electric-guitar amps are a simul-class Mesa-Boogie Mk.III Signature Edition,,,,and a Roland Jazz-Chorus JC-77.

My other amps are bass-amps (Mesa-Boogie B-400 w/ twin15" Road-Cab,,, 100w Yorkville BassMaster,,,, Yorkville YB-50 practice-amp), and I have an AER Compact 60/2 acoustic-amp.

 

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What is the use in your music room? For your enjoyment, for visiting band members, as a studio rig?

I'm not so sure I'd invest in two Fender amps if you need a variety of amps/sounds, but if you only have to please you, then definitely get what makes you happy. Used is good as there's little to lose if you change your mind later.

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Bobby1Note wrote:

 

 

This past weekend I sat in with a new bunch of guys for a lil' jam. One of the guys was playing thru a Fender Blues Deluxe, while another was playing thru a Hot-Rod Deluxe. I thought their "tone" was very enjoyable, while the volume was in no way "excessive" for playing live in a small room. Both sounded different enough that I'm now thinking of buying both of these amps, preferably "used", for my music room..

 

Good idea? Bad idea? Is there something else I should consider?

 

My current electric-guitar amps are a simul-class Mesa-Boogie Mk.III Signature Edition,,,,and a Roland Jazz-Chorus JC-77.

 

My other amps are bass-amps (Mesa-Boogie B-400 w/ twin15" Road-Cab,,, 100w Yorkville BassMaster,,,, Yorkville YB-50 practice-amp), and I have an AER Compact 60/2 acoustic-amp.

 

 

 

If you want a versatile amp with great tone, try the Rivera Chubster. Paul Rivera designed many famous Fender amps before leaving to set up his own company. It's got 2 channels and one is "Fender" tone, the other "Marshall". When I can scrape enough pennies together, it's probably what I will replace my Orange Rocker 30 with.

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Cool,,,, this is exactly the kind of info I need to be considering. I'm an "acoustic" player, and as such, I really haven't got a clue about what's out there in terms of "electric" amps. The last time I plugged into an electric amp, was when I bought my Boogie, back in the very early 90's.

Over the years, I've primarily played with other acoustic guys, and now that I'm playing with electric-guitarists, I'd like to put together a small collection of combo amps, both for the studio/ band-practice room, as well as playing out.

In the band-practice room, I'm trying to create a turn-key environment, where visiting musicians can pick from a selection of amps and guitars, so even if they hadn't planned on playing, or brought their own gear, it's all "right there,,,help yourself".

My current electric guitars are a Gibson ES-175(jazz), PRS Custom, Les Paul Custom, American Strat-Plus Deluxe, and an American Telecaster.

I did a little searching on the local Craigslist and Kijiji last night, and I'm seeing a fair amount of Fender Deluxes in the $450-$650. range, and up to $800. for a nearly-new recently purchased amp.

Tonewise, those two Deluxes I heard the other day, sounded REALLY good, yet totally different from each other. The Vox AC-15 and 30 also look interesting, so I may add one to the list. There's no set budget at this point, but if I can get three excellent-condition amps for roughly $2k., I'll be a very happy camper.

My Jazz-Chorus JC-77 needs a thorough cleaning (scratchy pots), and I'll noodle around with my lil' Boogie Mk.III. That Boogie is a simul-class 15w-75w combo, w' 12" EV. The tone range is incredible,,,, but it's over my head. That thing has more multi-function (push-pull) knobs than the space-shuttle. It can go from super-clean "country", to the dirtiest/ grungiest crunch I've ever heard. My Les Paul works magic with that amp, and the sustain has to be heard to be believed. I swear you could strike a chord,,,, then go for lunch somewhere,,, and come back and still hear the sustain. The only thing I don't care for, is the reverb. It's also incredibly loud, even at 15w.

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loco_p_man wrote:

 


 


 

 

If you want a versatile amp with great tone, try the Rivera Chubster. Paul Rivera designed many famous Fender amps before leaving to set up his own company. It's got 2 channels and one is "Fender" tone, the other "Marshall". When I can scrape enough pennies together, it's probably what I will replace my Orange Rocker 30 with.

I almost bought a Rivera Sedona a few years back,,,,  VERY nice,,, but scarce in my area. I do see the occasional Chubster from time to time, so I'll keep my eyes open.

The 6-spring long-pan reverb on the Sedona, was "to die for".

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There are some guitar amp folks who don't like the Hot Rod Deluxe. There are a few less that don't like the Blues Deluxe.

I liked and owned the "original" circa 1990's era Blues Deluxe amps although they were a bit too middy for my tastes, but they worked well with my Strats.  I regret selling mine.

I still own an early U.S.A. made Hot Rod Deluxe amp that I mainly use for clean sounds - very nice for that. IIRC the HRD is made in Mexico now. However if you're worried about gear snobs and you're thinking Fender then I would suggest a Fender Deluxe Reverb and/or a Fender Super Reverb. I've recently used both of the reissue models and they're just fine, all things considered. I wouldn't bother with the originals as they would need too much work and upkeep, but used reissues would be good.

The Vox AC15 or AC30 suggestion is also good for amp enthusiasts, although they aren't my personal favourite.

But really, if you like the Blues Deluxe and the Hot Rod Deluxe - get them! They are usually reasonably priced used, because their street cred isn't as high as some other amps, and the later models weren't all that expensive to begin with.

 

 

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Well, there's the first one taken care of. I picked up a brand spanking new Fender Deluxe Hot-Rod !!! this afternoon. The store had very little in the way of selection,,, that was the only "Deluxe" in the store. I thought his price was good, considering a 5-year warranty,,, and relative to what the locals are asking for a "used" amp. This way, I'm not having to deal with "I lost the foot-switch",,, or, "maybe one of the tubes need replacing". While I was at it, I picked up an Ibanez Tube-Screamer pedal, and a nifty little device that eliminates the need for wall-wart power-supplies,,, the T-Rex Engineering Fuel-Tank Jr. Tommorow, I'll be in Montreal, so if I get a chance, I'll check out the Deluxe Reverb.

I did briefly check out the Vox AC-15 and AC-30. I also tried a Hot-Rod Deville, which sounded REALLY nice,,, but it's to big and heavy for what I need.

It may be a few days before I get the chance to work with the new amp, since my going-on 93 year-old mother just moved into my place yesterday. Things are a little hectic here, to say the least. I'll fatten her up a bit, and put her on the drum-kit. My new "jammin' buddy".:smileyhappy: She told me once, she thought Alvin Lee was incredible at Woodstock.(I had shown her a video). She said "Wow, is he EVER Goin' Home",,,, My mom introduced me to music from a very early age,,,, Louis Armstrong,,, Ella Fitzgerald,,, Nat King Cole,,, Frank Sinatra. How do you beat that for an introduction to music.

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I use combos only for gigging... a nice strong loud clean platform to use pedals with... 30 watts seems to be the perfect wattage for me and EL84s ... I use a Traynor YGL2 and Mesa Lonestar special 4x10 with a mixture of fuzz and dirt pedals to get my base tones

 

I have done the whole head and stack thing and when you are mic'd 90 percent of the time its pointless and a Pain in the ass to haul around compared to a 40-60 pound combo

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Well,,,,, I balked.  Today was not "new amp day".

Dammit these things can be frustrating at times. The Deluxe Reverb totally SUCKED imo. It didn't have anything even remotely resembling the tone of the old Super-Reverbs or the old Twin Reverb. VERY disappointing. It sounded dull and lifeless, and under-powered, so that's definitely "out" for me.

That skews my project somewhat, and I'm sorta thinking along these lines at the moment, and that would be, "get three great sounding amps,,,a good Fender Tone, a good British tone (AC30HW2x), and use my Boogie for the "American grit". That leaves me with which Fender to buy. At the moment, I'm leaning heavily in favour of the 2x12 100w/25w Super-Sonic Combo.

All of those amps would probably be too heavy to haul around for jams, so they'd probably end up in the studio/ jam-room, or, for larger gigs, and, my Hot-Rod Deluxe would be my drag-around multi-purpose portable amp.

Here's where it gets complicated. Aside from wanting the hand-wired Vox, I also happen to like the regular Vox AC30 w/ GreenBacks. It's the same price as the Deluxe Reverb ($50. less actually), and it's got an "edge" that I really like. That would leave me with two AC30's, albeit, with different tones. Hmmmm..

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