Fender 65 Deluxe reissue - School me

Col_Decker

Jez6345789 said:

No personal experience but was talking to a friend who was saying he struggles at bigger gigs with his as the other guitarist has a 100 watt H&K and the 65 deluxe struggles to punch above it 

fixed

HPhillipsmusic

Not a fuzz face user, but I can offer my experience with it. Loud - I've never had a problem with not being loud enough anywhere. The loudest i've taken it on stage is 6/7, where it breaks up beautifully - that was depping with a loud blues band. Most places I play will mic it, which can be annoying when the sound guy wants the amp under 3 on the volume - mine loses its character with the volume less than 3, and I have heard this from others. I bought a '76 Champ last year and i've used that for the majority of gigs i've done since - loud enough in the bands im in and has more spank than the DR to my ears. 

Personally I cant imagine a gig where a DR would get lost in the mix, but that said im not competing with marshall stacks and 100watt amps. It's a beautiful clean amp that provides a great canvas for using pedals.

Good luck

H

ICBM

The problem with them when I've used them is not sheer volume, but that if you run a full-sounding preamp pedal - eg a Mesa V-Twin - into one with the volume higher than about 3 or 4, it just turns into a squashy, muddy mush. That's usually just below the volume at which it's usable along with a drummer. Even with a distortion pedal, it's just not tight enough to quite get to that volume and still have that classic-rock Marshall-type sound if you're wanting it, it's still too flubby. Midrangy compressed blues overdrive - no problem at all.

A Vibrolux or Pro Reverb will do it, but a Twin is better.

shaunm

ICBM said:

The problem with them when I've used them is not sheer volume, but that if you run a full-sounding preamp pedal - eg a Mesa V-Twin - into one with the volume higher than about 3 or 4, it just turns into a squashy, muddy mush. That's usually just below the volume at which it's usable along with a drummer. Even with a distortion pedal, it's just not tight enough to quite get to that volume and still have that classic-rock Marshall-type sound if you're wanting it, it's still too flubby. Midrangy compressed blues overdrive - no problem at all.

A Vibrolux or Pro Reverb will do it, but a Twin is better.

I once used a silver faced twin at a large gig and didn't get the volume past 2. It also weighed the same as a Nissan Sunny.

ICBM

shaunm said:

I once used a silver faced twin at a large gig and didn't get the volume past 2. It also weighed the same as a Nissan Sunny.

Best if it's provided backline so you don't have to carry it .

Although for me it's the awkward shape and balance that's more of an issue than the sheer weight - and not having end handles - unless it's one of the ones with Gauss speakers, those really are cripplingly heavy and still only have a single top handle.

I normally run them with both the channel and master volume at about 5 - that's probably no louder than a non-MV one at about 2 or 3 or a Deluxe at about the point of breakup. I just prefer the effortless depth and total lack of mush you get from them compared to a smaller amp.

english_bob

tone1 said:

I think PGS Andy used them to demo all the pedals, so I guess they must take pedals well 

Funnily enough, I was listening to his interview on the Tone Mob podcast a couple of weeks ago. Andy opted for the 65 DRRI because 

ChrisCox1994 said:

Its the best "blank slate" amp that sounds great clean 

...and it's relatively common, so most people know what it sounds like even if they don't own one themselves. Helps cut down on confusion- "is it the pedal doing that, or is it the amp?"

english_bob

ICBM said:

shaunm said:

I once used a silver faced twin at a large gig and didn't get the volume past 2. It also weighed the same as a Nissan Sunny.

Best if it's provided backline so you don't have to carry it .

Although for me it's the awkward shape and balance that's more of an issue than the sheer weight - and not having end handles - unless it's one of the ones with Gauss speakers, those really are cripplingly heavy and still only have a single top handle.

I normally run them with both the channel and master volume at about 5 - that's probably no louder than a non-MV one at about 2 or 3 or a Deluxe at about the point of breakup. I just prefer the effortless depth and total lack of mush you get from them compared to a smaller amp.

Aww. My ears miss my SF Twin. My back and my car's suspension don't.

ICBM

To be fair, you can get closer to the sound of a Twin with a Deluxe if you fit it with 6L6s and a solid-state rectifier, but I've never had the opportunity of trying it at a gig to see if it has enough extra headroom and depth. From reports from a couple of customers it does - but given that some people think a stock one does, I would need to try it for myself to be sure with the pedals I use.

Tuscan777

57Deluxe said:

/\ I can get a driven Deluxe tone from my Cornford Roadhouse - but it requires A.) my special Pedal and B.) having the additional 1x12 in parallel.

Spill the beans, what's the special pedal then @57Deluxe ;?!

BintyTwanger77

I haven't modded my 65 DRRI in any way and I think it sounds fantastic. I prefer using it for clean and light overdriven, though, and have been through the process of finding dirt pedals I like in it and not had much success (hence my sales thread). The one drive pedal I've really loved with the DRRI is a Wampler Tumnus: there's something about the low-to-mids push and warmth it gives and the way it cuts through that just works for me.

As for the higher gain stuff, well I'm trying out a Fender Machete head today. However, even if I end up buying the Machete, I would never get rid of my DRRI, it's a beautiful sounding amp and even more so with a good Klon klone.

ChrisCox1994

I wanted more punch and volume so I re-biased for 5881s and put a creamback 75 in. Also removed the V1 preamp valve so ch1 doesnt do anything but it puts more gain into ch2, gets the sweetspot much easier around 4/5 and with the 2nd input (-some dbs?) can get the sweet spot at a lower volume with nearly the same feel and response. 

All in all, its just about perfect for me. 

I've used it from 50 capacity pubs unmic'd to 5000 standing venues mic'd up, never let me down. 

Takes fuzzes (fuzzface, tonbender, muff) all excellently, high gain distortions (SL Drive, JHS Angry Charlie) without crapping out, the jensen it had before could handle it but was a bit trebley for my tastes.