Members scott944 Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Very nice. I had a silverface DR years ago - one of many SF Fenders I've had over the years, back when they were just "used amps". Shoulda kep' it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sxyryan Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Wonderful amp. I recently spent a good 45 minutes in guitar center with a vintage Silvertone (the one that comes in the amp case) and one of the DRRI. Tonal heaven. HNAD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 I'm not sure what you mean by "playing into the sag", however. Nor what you mean by the "response of the rectifier tube". Unless you're really pounding on your amp (ie driving it really hard to the point that the rectifier can't provide enough juice to the power tubes), I don't believe you'll ever notice that it's a tube vs. diode. I think this is one of those areas of mythology that there is a lot of talk about on the interwebs without a lot of understanding. If you're playing your DRRI clean, you'll never experience sag because you're not overloading the rectifier. I respectfully disagree with you on that point. The tube rectifier will influence even the clean sound, softening the attack of notes and allowing them to bloom. The effect will of course be less pronounced then if you really lay into it, but it's there and I can definitely feel it when I play. I think that sag/bloom is one of the main reasons the DRRI sounds so "sweet"; that natural compression just makes it sing. I'm comparing this to my twin reverb, and to my hot rod deluxe, both amps of course have solid-state rectifiers. The twin sounds sweet (my opinion of course), but it plays with a much (MUCH) stiffer response to pick attack then the DRRI. I've attached a video I just took this morning playing the DRRI on 3. Hopefully some of what I said comes through on the audio. It may just be more of a feel thing? I dunno, but I notice it. [video=youtube;M9j_RpLVOZA] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloolight Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 You made a good choice with the DRRI. To me, it's the best-of-all-possible-worlds amp with a great combination of clean tones, volume, weight, and affinity for pedals. My only problem with it was that the tremolo channel was way, way too bright for my taste and I didn't feel comfortable poking around in the electronics to clip the bright thingamawhatsit. I also wasn't crazy about the reverb, which I realize is blasphemy, so I always just go through the Normal channel and use ambient reverb models on my Verbzilla. (Spring reverb just doesn't float my boat, I guess.) I've done a few mods over the years, including replacing that stock speaker with a really sweet Weber Vintage Ceramic. I liked the original Jensen well enough at first, but the Weber is on a different level completely. The pedal issue is why I originally looked at the DRRI. At the time, I realized that I was gravitating towards pedals to shape my sound and figured the Fender clean would be a good foundation. I use a Barber Direct Drive for dirty tones, and the mix with the Fender's sound is a nice change from a tube-screamer type of overdrive I started with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcooper830 Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 I don't really know much about rectifiers, sag, bright caps, etc... All I know is that sounds EXCELLENT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Are they made in America or Mexico? I just can't get over that they look like this inside. How is the reliability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Are they made in America or Mexico? I just can't get over that they look like this inside. How is the reliability? Made in America. Dependability? I picked it up used, it's stock, and it's still running. That's about all I can say about that. How's it supposed to look inside? Looks like a mass produced amp to me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Cool. I had heard they were made in Mexico now. I always think of them looking like this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Cool. I had heard they were made in Mexico now. I always think of them looking like this: Not for $1000 new. Too bad, I like hand wired amps too. Sonically, shouldn't make a difference, much easier to fix/mod though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamMasterG Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Hey Wagdog,nice amp,its funny I was thinking of going the same route-DRRI and the baja tele.How do you like the baja tele?I don't have a tele and this one sounds great for the price. Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Hey Wagdog,nice amp,its funny I was thinking of going the same route-DRRI and the baja tele.How do you like the baja tele?I don't have a tele and this one sounds great for the price. Gary I really like the baja tele. It's cool 'cause it's kinda "pre-modded" with the twisted tele neck pickup, which I love, the broadcaster bridge pickup, four-way switch and s-1 switch for out-of-phase tones, which I also like on occasion but some people don't, and classic style brass saddles. The neck is fat, but not overly so, a soft V. Frets are nice sized, vintage style tuners - great set of features on a classic design. Mine is pretty light, I've heard in the past that they've been heavier. Very resonant body, sounds great, feels great - nice guitar. I find that it matches up great with the DRRI. I've read about a lot of people clipping the bright cap (actually a vol bypass) cap out of the vibrato channel, but I find that I love the tone with it in there. It seems like I get a lot of range out of the tone control on the guitar with the DRRI - and I suspect it's due to that cap. I use my vol and tone on the guitar, so that may be why I like it? I did add a treble bleed to the baja (bright cap and resistor actually) so the highs of the guitar stay intact as the vol control is rolled down. Used a .001uF and 100k resistor. The only downside to the baja, and I really don't get this, is it doesn't come shielded. I'll be shielding mine, but it does seem like an oversight on fenders part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HarpBoy Posted March 24, 2012 Members Share Posted March 24, 2012 Thank you! Enjoying it a lot. I respectfully disagree with you on that point. The tube rectifier will influence even the clean sound, softening the attack of notes and allowing them to bloom. The effect will of course be less pronounced then if you really lay into it, but it's there and I can definitely feel it when I play. I think that sag/bloom is one of the main reasons the DRRI sounds so "sweet"; that natural compression just makes it sing. I'm comparing this to my twin reverb, and to my hot rod deluxe, both amps of course have solid-state rectifiers. The twin sounds sweet (my opinion of course), but it plays with a much (MUCH) stiffer response to pick attack then the DRRI. I've attached a video I just took this morning playing the DRRI on 3. Hopefully some of what I said comes through on the audio. It may just be more of a feel thing? I dunno, but I notice it. Sounds great! I love Fender's reverb. Interesting enough, I bought a DRRI yesterday primarily because it's got a tube rectifier; I'm a harp player and can tell a big difference between silicon and glass when I hit my mic hard. I also just love the DRRI's beautiful tone and presence. I have a Traynor YGM-3 RI, which is a hand wired beauty with a closed back, and it's pretty sweet for harp, but I missed the bark of a sagging rectifier. But it's also pretty much an equivalent of the DRRI circuitry/power-wise (el84's vs 6v6's), and to be honest, I don't think there's much difference in attack between them with guitar. Either way, the DRRI is a sweet, sweet amp. As an aside, my DRRI is a limited edition, with wine tolex, straw colored grill cloth, Jensen P12Q and amp cover. Very pretty amp. Loved your playing, BTW. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members datru Posted March 24, 2012 Members Share Posted March 24, 2012 Sounds great! I love Fender's reverb. Interesting enough, I bought a DRRI yesterday primarily because it's got a tube rectifier; I'm a harp player and can tell a big difference between silicon and glass when I hit my mic hard. I also just love the DRRI's beautiful tone and presence. I have a Traynor YGM-3 RI, which is a hand wired beauty with a closed back, and it's pretty sweet for harp, but I missed the bark of a sagging rectifier. But it's also pretty much an equivalent of the DRRI circuitry/power-wise (el84's vs 6v6's), and to be honest, I don't think there's much difference in attack between them with guitar. Either way, the DRRI is a sweet, sweet amp. As an aside, my DRRI is a limited edition, with wine tolex, straw colored grill cloth, Jensen P12Q and amp cover. Very pretty amp. Loved your playing, BTW. Cheers. I have been very interested in that particular limited edition. I have a Hot Rod Deluxe ltd ed. that has a Jensen alnico speaker, I think it sounds a lot better than the stock HRD. How does this compare to a standard DRRI? Have you played them both side by side? Any other thoughts about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HarpBoy Posted March 24, 2012 Members Share Posted March 24, 2012 I have been very interested in that particular limited edition. I have a Hot Rod Deluxe ltd ed. that has a Jensen alnico speaker, I think it sounds a lot better than the stock HRD. How does this compare to a standard DRRI? Have you played them both side by side? Any other thoughts about it? No, I haven't played them side by side to compare. In general I like Alnico speakers (all three of my amps have 'em) but I like vintage-type amps, and probably as much for tradition as anything. If I'd bought the regular DRRI, I probably would have swapped out the speaker for some sort of Weber Alnico just because. I think the differences become more obvious out at the edges of the speakers' design threshold rather than when playing normally. Besides, Alnico speakers are usually lighter than ceramics, because the magnets are typically smaller in an equivalent speaker. Ted Weber knew speakers, and WeberVST has a great FAQ on their website that Ted wrote. The first question in particular deals with the difference between ceramic and alnico magnets in speakers (found here.) My Traynor YGM-3 RI has the same speaker in it, and my '56 Magnatone had the original 8" Jensen in it until a couple of months ago when I ordered a Chicago Vintage Alnico from Weber. I put the original in a box; it was tired but still works fine. The Limited Editions are very nice looking amps (as you know), and they come with a couple of upgrades for the same price as the original models, so it was a no-brainer for me. Wish I could help more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Presc Posted March 24, 2012 Members Share Posted March 24, 2012 Really like my DRRI. I don't know if it's the rectifier or not, but I agree that there is a certain sweetness or softness to the attack of the notes that I really like. Love the bouncy Fender low end and the glassy highs. The best thing about it is that it's the right combination of size and power. Easy to lug around, doesn't take up much space, sits with a band at the perfect level on the volume dial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 24, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 24, 2012 Really like my DRRI. I don't know if it's the rectifier or not, but I agree that there is a certain sweetness or softness to the attack of the notes that I really like. Love the bouncy Fender low end and the glassy highs. The best thing about it is that it's the right combination of size and power. Easy to lug around, doesn't take up much space, sits with a band at the perfect level on the volume dial. And that sums it up 'eh. Very small amp size wise, not tiny, but certainly about the same size as a hot rod deluxe, maybe a little smaller (my main gigging amp for years), but that glassy fender clean with some sag and grit and plenty of volume. Really digging this amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 25, 2012 Cool. I had heard they were made in Mexico now. I always think of them looking like this: LOL - just took a second look at this pic; you see the small caps coming of the 6V6 sockets (second and third sockets from the left, leftmost is the rectifier)? Those were added by CBS/Fender to combat some of the sloppy wiring practice that were prevalent in the CBS era - the caps would bleed parasitic oscillations to ground, but some feel it would take some high end shimmer off the overall sound . Interesting that that amp is a '69 (going from the filename, and markings in the chassis). Most people clip those caps out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ashtray Posted March 25, 2012 Members Share Posted March 25, 2012 I used to like my DRRI, now it never gets touched. I "replaced" it with a '67 blackface Bandmaster (head & modern 2x12 cab) - blows the DRRI out of the water. I did the Weber upgrade on the DRRI and it really transformed the low end response. The Bandmaster while lacking reverb has the most warm lush vibrato! In comparison the DRRI is very choppy. They're not even close. The tone is much warmer on the Bandmaster too, and probably due to the 40 watts and 2x12 closed back cab, it's so much fuller there's no comparison. The Bandmaster also seems to compress the notes a lot, softens them up. There's a good clip on YouTube that really highlights this. I don't gig the Bandmaster though. I would gig the DRRI bc it's perfect size and in a band setting much of your tone nuances get lost. I've heard some great guitarists use a DRRI at gigs and the amp has been no slouch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted March 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 25, 2012 I used to like my DRRI, now it never gets touched. I "replaced" it with a '67 blackface Bandmaster (head & modern 2x12 cab) - blows the DRRI out of the water. I did the Weber upgrade on the DRRI and it really transformed the low end response. The Bandmaster while lacking reverb has the most warm lush vibrato! In comparison the DRRI is very choppy. They're not even close. The tone is much warmer on the Bandmaster too, and probably due to the 40 watts and 2x12 closed back cab, it's so much fuller there's no comparison. The Bandmaster also seems to compress the notes a lot, softens them up. There's a good clip on YouTube that really highlights this. I don't gig the Bandmaster though. I would gig the DRRI bc it's perfect size and in a band setting much of your tone nuances get lost. I've heard some great guitarists use a DRRI at gigs and the amp has been no slouch. There is no doubt, the Bandmaster is great amp. I needed something portable, but had that fender tone I love from my twin. The DRRI comes pretty close - especially in a band setting. My next target amp is a tweed bassman; really, really, really want to get my hands on one. Might take a few years, but one day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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