Fender Deluxe 112 PLUS Solid State,

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Well, much to my surprise, I bought one used after reading many reviews, pretty much all positive.

I have been fighting which small amp to use on a bi-monthly gig, the N112 doesn't make it for me , yeah it's a fine amp but for me on Telecaster (double duty) it's not there.

I picked up one of the Fender Deluxe 112 Plus amps for a very low price in very good shape after reading countless positive reviews on the guitar forums.

Supposed 94 watts, 1x12, reverb, clean and gain channel. The GAIN channel, well, it's not really for me but the clean side, well knock me down, good volume, not shrill, very controlled hi end, mids and very pronounced bottom end. Lots of EQ control. I believe these were made thru the 90's then discontinued.

When it arrived, I plugged in the Telecaster for 5 min as I was literally on the way out to a gig, what I heard was very clean bright tones that I like and a very clear bottom end off the front pup. As well as very controlled mids. So I took it to the gig ! ( spare amp in car just in case) I knew if it sounds ok with the Telecaster it would be fine for the Steel . Off we went !

On the gig, it was just fine, it reminded me of the clean channel on any Fender tube amps I have ever played thru and still have. No issues.For a Solid State amp, this little thing delivers some pretty close Fender tube amp cleans.

The Steel, Emmons PP, same deal, it handled the bottom end and treated the mids and hi end just fine. Is it the best amp on the planet ? Certainly not but for a small room it packs plenty of power and very clean tone, it didn't break up even the slightest when I pushed it.

It weighs in at about 30 pounds and is slightly smaller than the Nashville 112 . Can it handle a large room ? Probably not but that's not why I dragged it home.

Oh yeah, headphones out !

It does use a linear taper Volume pot so it appears it is real loud early on the knob, on the gig it appeared that knob 4 or so was proper for me, good volume, clean and no breakup.

Today I'm gonna take it all apart, give it a bath , clean all the pots and such then turn it on and leave it on for a few days. Let it burn in or burn up!

If you see one, take a look, don't walk by...

_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years

CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website

Larry Dering · From: Missouri, USA

Good info Tony. I will have to find one and check it out. Thanks.

Mike Archer · From: church hill tn

I would love to get one for tele

ive heard them they do sound good

my Nashville 112 does great for steel but sucks with tele

ill be watching

mike Very Happy

_________________
Mullen g2 d-10
Quilter 112
Tele/ fender deluxe

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

MORE:

There's always a compromise with a double duty amp, unless you are using a Twin reverb which, in my mind, is about as close as you can come for the best of both worlds.

Personally I will always lean towards an amp that can give me something more for the Telecaster rather than the Steel for double duty.

This little amp is pretty good for both, I spent a good deal of time with it yesterday with the Emmons PP and it's pretty darn good. Excellent plus and minus variation for the Hi's, Mid's and Lo end.Usually on an amp like this thats not the case. Supposedly this was Fenders SS version of the Hot Rod Deluxe which I have used for years on small gigs but always found it very shrill ( bright) for the Steel with very hard to dial in mids which are really lacking in that amp.

I doubt this amp is really pushing the rated 94 watts,probably in the legitimate delivered continuous power, ( real world) 30 maybe 40 watts or so, very comparable to a Hot Rod Deluxe. The speaker is a 4 ohm made for Fender 12, Special Design, some forums are claiming it's a Jensen. The P/N rates it at 100 watts !

For the Telecaster, it's not limited, very nice hi end, mid control, not shrill and the lo end can be dialed in nicely without that rumble from front pup chords, very clean at moderate volume. There is a lot of EQ to work with rather than settle for.

Nice little amp, I would buy another if I ran across one for a reasonable price. By the way they are pretty common at under 2 bills.

Another thing of interest, although it is a two channel switchable amp,not like an old Fender two channel amp, it appears that it may be possible to dial in the Steel on the clean channel and dial in the Telecaster on the GAIN channel(clean) as it has the ability to be set to 100% clean on the gain side as well. Master all the way up set overall volume with the gain knob. This channel has it's own dedicated Hi end , Mid contour and Lo control. Reverb on both channels. So switch 'em back and fourth as needed without making EQ changes live. We'll see about this but if it's workable that would be a plus.

I do want to clarify, the purpose of this amp for me is my bi-monthly small room country music show , we play at an ok volume but never push. I would not consider using this amp for a large dance hall. I bring Iron for those gigs.Those gigs require an amp that you may have to turn DOWN rather than find a magical way to turn UP and maintain clarity.

_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years

CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website

Paul Arntson · From: Washington, USA

Good find, Tony!
Those are great amps for the money. Not much bass, but good watts per dollar.

If you like to tinker, they can be found very inexpensive needing a little TLC. Usually cold solder joints.Very easy to fix.
Very similar circuit between the Deluxe 90, Deluxe 112SE, and Frontman 212R.
You have to check the back plate, I think there were some 60 watt 112s made. The way to tell the difference is that the 90 watt ones draw 360 watts from the wall.
_________________
Excel D10 8&4, Supro 8, Regal resonator, Peavey Powerslide, homemade lap 12(a work in progress)

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

thx for the heads-up Paul!
_________________
Emmons L-II , Fender Telecasters, B-Benders , Eastman Mandolin ,
Pro Tools 12 on WIN 7 !
jobless- but not homeless- now retired 9 years

CURRENT MUSIC TRACKS AT > https://tprior2241.wixsite.com/website

Les Cargill · From: Oklahoma City, Ok, USA

I used a Fender Performer 650 for about 15 years until I broke it trying to replace the input jack.
( I dropped a screwdriver and that shorted the reverb drive out and it stopped working ).

The dirt channel on the 650 was viable if you kept it dialed down.

I've since gone to a Blues Deluxe plus pedals for rock six string. Mine's modded to be less cold sounding, I think mainly at the PI.

When I used it, it was for six string and I ran it thru a Marshall 1936 2x12. In the late '90s, the exchange rate made a 1936 a viable option, and Fender Bassman cabs went sky high in price. A year or two later I found out about Avatar cabinets.

If that is the same speaker as in the 650 ( and I suspect it is ) a speaker-ectomy will probably wake the thing right up. Of course, it's sunk cost well in excess of potential resale unless you sell the amp with the old speaker and the new speaker separately.

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