OK tell me about the Fender '65 Deluxe reverb

[Willyguitar]

Or the DRRI.

 

I'm beginning to think that I am a cleaner man than I originally realised.

 

But, I can't find one anywhere to try. I tried the Princeton, and really liked it and understand the DRRI is better. My only frame of reference are the models of it, which I sense really really don't even begin to do it justice. Is it any good when breaking up? I don't need much overdrive for my uses, but what does it sound like cranked? Is it equally good with singles, P90s and humbuckers?

 

thank 'e kindly.

[Willyguitar]

[agradywills]

My all time best amp purchase. Can't go wrong with it. Just my .02 cents.

[Les Paul Lover]

I've tried it once - but used a very nice pedal with it for overdrive in a shop in sweden. The clean were alright though I thought not spectacular.

 

The only Fender amp I really would like to have is the Bassman reissue.

Now THAT was very nice...... but no gain other than overdrive. But you can excuse that oversight as it comes as a nice 4*10.........

 

 

Edit: I did not try it cranked as was in a shop.

 

And

[papaboom]

I think the DRRI is the best amp you can find for the money.. I found mine used at a GC for around 600 dollars.

 

Let's see -

 

1) The cleans are sweet as mother's milk. I could not imagine a much purer sounding clean on a tube amp. It's not sterile or brittle - but warm with a nice clear top-end. I'd imagine if you used really bright pick-ups it might get bright to the point of brittle - but you could adjust that out.

 

2) The reverb and vibrato on this unit sound like old Fender tube amps - in other words it's all-kinds-of-awesome.

 

3) MY experience is - as long as you know how to dial in tones with your pedals correctly - then this amp takes pedals great. You don't need a boutique overdrive pedal to make this thing sing - just use like a BOSS OD and be cure not to turn the Drive up to high and you've got yourself a professional tone.

 

As for the other poster's comments about the Bassman - that's an apples-to-oranges comparison.. Black face and tweed should not really be compared that way.

 

In final - there may be better amps but most of them will cost a small fortune. I think for the money this is the best production-line amp being made.

[Les Paul Lover]

As for the other poster's comments about the Bassman - that's an apples-to-oranges comparison .. Black face and tweed should not really be compared that way.

 

 

Somebody said orange????

 

 

[Frets99]

The DRRI's are as terrific an amp as you can get if you love cleans and delicious reverb. Takes pedals sweetly as well. Never had the occasion to take one to breakup.

[alphamarquis]

Im a fan of the DRRI, too.

there are enough fans out there if you buy used and dont like it, you will be paying nearly the same price.

[guitarcapo]

The DR is probably the most commonly used amp in rock-and-roll.

It's got that great Fender blackface clean sound. And it overdrives nicely at

low volumes. I think it's the perfect amp in terms of watts, size and weight for most applications. If you need more volume or headroom...mic it to the PA. A couple of observations:

 

The reissues are built using PC board circuitry and the tubes can sometimes "rattle" at high volumes compared to the expensive originals.

You can address these issues with "tube dampers"

 

In the 90's there weren't decent 6V6 tubes made and Deluxe amps were getting a bad reputation because of that. Now 6V6 tubes are being made with better quality and the DR is making a comeback as a gigging amp.

 

The sound is there...it might be slightly different compared to an original...but in term of maintenance, risk of theft giiging with it, and the cost of the vintage originals...I think the reissues are more practical.

[Willyguitar]

Thanks for the responses.

[craig_in_tx]

I love my DRRI. It sounded good stock but I went ahead and upgraded the speaker to a Weber 12F150 and it sounds even better.

 

These amps tend to be a fairly bright. I mainly play through it with a tele so it was bordering on ice-pickiness (is that a word?). A real simple mod is to clip the "bright" capacitor. I actually modded mine with a switch where I can turn the bright cap off or on depending on the sound I'm looking for. It's pretty subtle when it's disengaged but it definitely smooths the highs out a little bit.

 

Also, for some reason they used a linear pot for the reverb control. I swapped mine out for a logarithmic pot and the reverb is much more usable now.

 

IMHO you can't go wrong with one. They work great with every guitar I've played through it. I usually have my amp miced up for gigs so I've never really got the volume past 4 and it's still plenty loud. I have cranked it up at home and it starts breaking up nicely about 6 o'clock. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it.

 

 

 

[guitarcapo]

Sometimes it's just easier to use the "normal" channel to avoid the bright cap.

But then you don't get reverb/"tremolo"

 

Personally I love a brgh

[Mark Wein]

I have a 1971 Deluxe Reverb that has been my main amp for years...

 

Here it is with some pedals on 1.5 (mine has a Greenback in it)

 

Qhfz11vTYsI

 

Here is it opened up all of the way with no pedals - Les Paul and strat sounds:

 

EoLcYYI0vyU

[Johnny Z]

 

Or the DRRI. I'm beginning to think that I am a cleaner man than I originally realised. But, I can't find one anywhere to try. I tried the Princeton, and really liked it and understand the DRRI is better. My only frame of reference are the models of it, which I sense really really don't even begin to do it justice. Is it any good when breaking up? I don't need much overdrive for my uses, but what does it sound like cranked? Is it equally good with singles, P90s and humbuckers? thank 'e kindly.

 

 

I had a '66 for several years, it was a great amp but started giving me trouble, because the newer 6V6's (Sovtek) couldn't take the plate voltage, even rebiased they just shorted out after a few months, killing the amp. It's a good thing I know how to repair amps. Finally I got some NOS RCA 6V6's and that solved the problem.

 

The thing about 6V6's is they tend to break up a little faster than 6L6's which may or may not be something you like. For a while I put a set of 6L6's out of my Twin into my Deluxe, they broke up faster than the 6V6's because they were running under powered, sounded kind of nice. I bet I could have kept them in there and never burned them out.

[Mark Wein]

I had a '66 for several years, it was a great amp but started giving me trouble, because the newer 6V6's (Sovtek) couldn't take the plate voltage, even rebiased they just shorted out after a few months, killing the amp. It's a good thing I know how to repair amps. Finally I got some NOS RCA 6V6's and that solve.

 

My biggest worry is whats going to happen when I can't find NOS RCA tubes anymore? My 1971 eats everything else....

[guitarcapo]

I loaded up on a bunch of these Italian matched "Fivre" 6V6 tubes that are really nice.

 

The thing about 6V6 tubes is that they have a little more "mid" hump to them when overdriven. A perfect compliment to the "mid-scooped" clean voicing of the blackface Fender tone stack.

[Doctor Morbius]

I had a DRRI and loved the tone with a Weber California in it. The only reason I sold it was I had purchased a Twin Reverb RI.

[Johnny Z]

My biggest worry is whats going to happen when I can't find NOS RCA tubes anymore? My 1971 eats everything else....

 

I know your concern. I needed cash for my daughters braces so I sold my '66 to a collector, now that's his problem. But my original RCA's lasted many years and I bet the replacement RCA's are still going strong.

 

I think Ruby may make a pretty good 6V6 tube, I like their 6L6's better than most.

[metallica_00]

Nice amps. Agree that they are one of the better sounding amps for the money. From my experience:

 

-Cleans are gorgeous. Definitely the best clean tones you can get for this price. Have played a number of boutique amps...the cleans on these hang right with those of much more expensive amps.

-Volume is "just right". Loud enough to gig with unmiced and still get a cleanish sound. Could be overwhelmed by a really loud band unmiced. For me, if you exceed the volume limitations of this amp (excluding wanting a super clean sound/more headroom) your band would be better if everyone turned down.

-Reverb is nice, trem is mediocre at best.

-Pedals: overdrives on the vibrato channel below 4 on the volume - no go. Fizz city. Some pedals are better than others, but they're way better on the normal channel. But then no reverb/trem. Solution: clip bright cap on vibrato channel, or get an A/B switch. Modulation/time based effects are cool on either channel.

 

I will probably be in the minority here - not a huge fan of the natural breakup of this amp. It's more of a crisp crunchy breakup, it doesn't get creamy sounding, and you don't get lots of compression and sustain for a singing tone. For my tastes the breakup on this amp is somewhat "raw" sounding. I like a smoother and more refined OD tone (like a Dumble) so I am mostly reliant on pedals for my OD.

[Mark Wein]

 

I know your concern. I needed cash for my daughters braces so I sold my '66 to a collector, now that's his problem. But my original RCA's lasted many years and I bet the replacement RCA's are still going strong. I think Ruby may make a pretty good 6V6 tube, I like their 6L6's better than most.

 

 

 

I have to take mine in for a long overdue service...I'll have to ask my tech what my options are...

[Les Paul Lover]

Not sure if it helps any of you, but I've heard (no experience myself) that the JJ 6V6 can withstand huge plate voltage.

 

That's what I've got in my RV50 annd that's why I was interested in knowing more about 6V6 - from all I've heard it seems that JJ does some of the best and sturdiest 6V6 on the market.

 

[Les Paul Lover]

From the tube store:

 

 

 

The new 6V6-S tube from JJ is rock solid and sounds great. Like the EH 6V6, it can withstand higher plate voltages making it a great choice in many tube amps.   They do clean with smooth clear high end. On the other end of the spectrum big fat bass notes that are well defined having a piano like quality are produced. Crank up the gain and you will get everything from a nice crunch to all out screaming distortion. And not just mush, but a very controllable, musical distortion. A well tuned amp running the JJ 6V6-S tubes and getting a good strong signal from your guitar may make you want to cash in your old TS808. One rig that was used as a tester consisted of a 66 Deluxe Reverb fitted with a Celestion Vintage 30. The JJ

[metallica_00]

Not sure if it helps any of you, but I've heard (no experience myself) that the JJ 6V6 can withstand huge plate voltage. That's what I've got in my RV50 annd that's why I was interested in knowing more about 6V6 - from all I've heard it seems that JJ does some of the best and sturdiest 6V6 on the market.

 

I've got the JJ 6V6s in my Deluxe. I'm not a tube expert, but from what I have read, the JJ 6V6s is actually more like a 6L6 than a true 6V6 tube. Now, what exactly that means or does, I don't know.

[Baddass]

I have an original 66 deluxe reverb and it sounds great and still has the original tubes still in it.:poke:It's been played in every barroom within a hundred miles of here.

[Blues Junior]

I love my DRRI. It sounded good stock but I went ahead and upgraded the speaker to a Weber 12F150 and it sounds even better. These amps tend to be a fairly bright. I mainly play through it with a tele so it was bordering on ice-pickiness (is that a word?). A real simple mod is to clip the "bright" capacitor. I actually modded mine with a switch where I can turn the bright cap off or on depending on the sound I'm looking for. It's pretty subtle when it's disengaged but it definitely smooths the highs out a little bit. Also, for some reason they used a linear pot for the reverb control. I swapped mine out for a logarithmic pot and the reverb is much more usable now. IMHO you can't go wrong with one. They work great with every guitar I've played through it. I usually have my amp miced up for gigs so I've never really got the volume past 4 and it's still plenty loud. I have cranked it up at home and it starts breaking up nicely about 6 o'clock. I'm sure you'll be pleased with it.

 

I used to have one of those blonde DRRI's, right down to the same jewel light!

Really nice amp. I swapped the speaker in it to a G12H30. It retained that big bottom end and bell tones, but overdrive pedals sounded so much better.

I also had the C10 bright cap clipped. If you are playing pedals at low volume into the Vibrato channel, clipping the bright is a must IMO.

 

My tech at the time advised me that clipping the bright cap essentially makes both channels sound approximately the same. He advised to pull the tube from V1, essentially making the normal channel dead, and use only the vibrato channel. Supposedly, this allows all the gain stages to go solely to the vibrato channel. Try it you might like it.