Fender Deluxe Reverb - low watt recommendation?

[HackRabbit]

I am not an amp builder, but I have really learned a lot from lurking on this site. Thank you.

I have a friend who enjoys recording his own compositions. He has some amp modeling software and he really enjoys the sound of the Fender Deluxe Reverb amp.

He would like to buy an amp and do away with the modeling software, but at 22 watts, a Deluxe Reverb amp is really overkill for a home studio and he does not like the attenuated sound.

Does anyone know if there lo watt version of the Deluxe Reverb available?

Thank you in advance.

[Colossal]

Does anyone know if there lo watt version of the Deluxe Reverb available?

Rabbit,

There are a couple of ways you might go with this. AX84(.com) is all about low, mid, and high power designs. They have developed preamp and poweramp "building blocks" so that one might cut and paste the pieces together to build the amp of their choice. A lot of experimentation and refinement goes into their official schematics and the pursuit of "big amp" tone with low power is a hot topic. There is a design there called the California Dreamer which is a Deluxe Reverb variant. Conceivably, you could mate that with the AX84 2W power amp section which uses a 6SN7 dual triode operating in push-pull. I have heard this power section first hand used with a Plexi front end (preamp) as well as a Trainwreck front end. I can honestly say that it does do a convincing job of developing decent punch and good tone. 2W can be surprisingly loud and especially with an efficient speaker. The 6SN7 doesn't like to be hit too hard but mated with a Deluxe Reverb seems like a very good fit. Of note is AX84 2W Trainwreck design where the ideal phase inverter tube is a 12AY7 instead of the usual 12AX7. It will achieve very good distortion however and the guys at AX84 went to great lengths to pull off a convincing Trainwreck Express in the low power format with the "clean-to-mean" feature at the twist of the guitar volume knob. Note that the "building block" 2W power amp design shows a 12AX7 as the phase inverter tube. For the Deluxe Reverb, you would likely use a 12AT7 or 12AY7.

To use the 6SN7 you will need an output transformer wound for the relatively high impedance of 22.5-27k. Cliff Chappell, one of the main guys on AX84 has had a nice, oversized (10W) Heyboer OT custom wound to his specs for this purpose. The Hammond 125 series with multi-taps can be used but compared to the Heyboer it sounds a bit anemic in the low end (and the difference is immediately audible). You can contact Cliff if you choose to go that route. I have both a Hammond 269JX and one of Cliff's 6SN7 OTs which I intended to use for a 2W Trainwreck project but I haven't used them yet (!). Also note that the 6SN7 anodes run at fairly low voltage.

You can find the schematics here:
http://ax84.com/buildingblocks.html

2W Power Amp using 6SN7
http://ax84.com/static/corepoweramps/2W ... ematic.pdf

California Dreamer Page (basically a refined Deluxe Reverb)
http://ax84.com/index.php/oldprojects.h ... california
and
http://ax84.com/media/ax84_m172.jpg

There are other low power power amp designs such as Doug Hammond's Firefly and the Thundertweak HeavyWatter which both use a self-split 12AU7 dual triode. Some guys who have built the Firefly have also used the newer JJ EC99 dual triode as a power tube. The 6SN7 however sounds by far the best to me (YMMV of course) and the RCA long plates produce a nice deep sound, slightly on the darker side. There is a thread on the 4-4-0 built by Brian Schmittling on this forum. It uses a 6SN7 output tube.

https://tubeamparchive.com/viewtopic.ph ... hlight=440

Good luck with your project.

[HackRabbit]

Colossal,
Thank you for your reply. I am familiar with the AX84 site, that is how I got to TAG.
I did not realize that they had an amp based on the Deluxe Reverb, at the time I was checking out the 4-4-0.

Thanks for the info, I will pass it along. Great News.

[Structo]

Not really helpful but I would wager the Deluxe Reverb is probably the most recorded amp in history.
So there must be something abut the original amp that is desireable.

Small watt amps are cool in there own right but the character of the DR is getting the 6V6 power tubes warmed up and shouting a bit.

[selloutrr]

Close! The Fender Twin '65 Reverb is the most recorded. The marshall JMP is Number 3. Probably the Deluxe is number 2. Still a killer amp! So is the Princeton! I know the Ampeg B15 is in the TOP 5 as well.

[billyz]

A Princetone Reverb is a little less powerful and Killer tone with the more primitive PI. I like a 3 spring pan in there. And if your building your own put in Dana's VVR. I know a lot of Pros who prefer the Princeton Reverb in the Studio.

If you decide to try the Princeton let me know and I 'll PM you some of my personal mods.

[Gibsonman63]

To me the Deluxe Reverb is about perfect. You have to start moving a certain amount of air to get the amplifer and guitar to interact as one. You could probably get there with a Princeton Reverb, but most people end up modding them to get a bit more gain out of them, which in the end makes it sound more like a single channel Deluxe Reverb. (IMHO of course!) Also, if you are recording drums, the Deluxe Reverb will keep up nicely without taking yoiur head off.

[passfan]

Colossal,
Thank you for your reply. I am familiar with the AX84 site, that is how I got to TAG.
I did not realize that they had an amp based on the Deluxe Reverb, at the time I was checking out the 4-4-0.

Thanks for the info, I will pass it along. Great News.

Take a look at the firefly. It is based on a fender preamp.

[Colossal]

I've actually had a pair of Deluxe Reverbs on the bench for a long time. Mark Fowler may step in here and needle me as he sees fit I was inspired to build a pair after hearing Eric Johnson's clean tone live. He runs a pair of Deluxe Reverbs in stereo with a TC Electronic Stereo chorus and Echoplex in front. My builds will be switchable between 6V6 and 6L6, utilize only the normal channel, no tremolo, and have a modified reverb circuit. Iron is Mercury Magnetics Fatstacks and EVM12L speakers. Cabinets are by Mojo. Going to be trying out the new Sozo Blue Molded caps in these.

Hackrabbit, I did not mean to derail your thread but the other option (as was mentioned briefly) is to build the real deal and then dial down the voltage (and sound pressure) using Dana Hall's VVR3 mod. I have used them in Plexi amps with great success. The can be used to regulate the poweramp only or preamp/poweramp voltages and power amp bias in a linear fashion. The VVR circuitry is very good at taking the painful edge off of the amp for home use while still achieving plausible tone. The good part is that you can just dial the VVR out of the circuit to taste when cranking the amp for studio or live use.

[M Fowler]

Dave (colossal) lets get those puppies built right after the customer's of course. Nice cabs brother.

BillyZ I have a Princeton blank chassis that I would like to build up a hot rodded amp can I get those mods you were talking about?

Mark

[HackRabbit]

Thank you so much for all of your input.
I will pass on the information.

[Jana]

Build the real deal and don't even bother attenuating it--if this is a home studio type setup, well, build an isolation box with a speaker in it. Crank that puppy and let her bark! Or, pad a closet with quilts and stick it in there (leaving room for the amp to breath, of course).

[HackRabbit]

Jana,
Another good idea. A a simple solution.
Thank you.

[M Fowler]

And then break out of the closet and haul that bad boy to the club for a gig.

[jhaas]

This past week I went to see "Southern Culture on the Skids" out of Chapel Hill, NC, with opener "Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles" from Boston. I was there early, and they had both bands' backlines set up on the stage. I of course had to do a gear check, so I walked up to the stage and found four Deluxe Reverbs! Two for each band. I think I need to build me one of them myself.