Fender deluxe reverb

Frode Bjoernstad · From: Oslo, Norway

Hi !
i have a Fender Deluxe reverb silverface from 1978, and I am wondering if someone have any ideas if it's possible to increase the clean headroom on these amps with different tubes or any adjustments ? It starts to break at around 3-4 with my tele and champ lap steel, and then specially on the high frequencies.. I really don't mind that the sound is a little overdriven, but I guess some extra clean power would be nice. I really don't know old the tubes are, and would new outputtubes maybe do the trick?
Frode

[This message was edited by Frode Bjoernstad on 09 June 2004 at 03:01 AM.]

Bill Leff · From: Santa Cruz, CA, USA

I would begin by biasing the power tubes for maximum efficiency. They could be biased too high ("hot") and distorting too early. Under-biased may have a similar effect.

You could change the power tubes from 6v6s to 6L6s to get a bit more headroom. You'd need to rebias to do that. Also you could swap out the tube rectifier for a solid state device.

Probably the easiest way is to get more headroom is to swap out the speaker for a high wattage, efficient speaker (JBL, EV).

Jon Light · From: Saugerties, NY

Bill lists three things and these are the three things I did to my SFDR. I changed to 6L6 tubes, biasing them appropriately. I changed the rectifier to a Weber copper cap solid state rectifier: http://www.webervst.com/ccap.html

This is a simple plug-in unit.

And I installed a higher power, efficient speaker. The speakers Bill mentioned, a black widow (overkill, power rating-wise but the point here is efficiency and zero speaker breakup) or what I chose, a Weber California ceramic.
The result is significantly more headroom. But it is still a low power amp that can only deliver clean steel tone at pretty low levels. Damn nice sounding amp though.

Jim Peters · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.

Frode, I put a reverend speaker in mine,increasing the headroom dramatically. Try Reverendirect.com. The speaker was $59 US plus shipping. The amp is still very limited for steel at any louder volumes. JimP

Michael Brebes · From: Northridge CA

I put a Celestion Vintage 30 in mine. I would definitely replace all the tubes and check bias.

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Personally, I'd never get rid of the tube rectifier nor change the 6V6's to 6L6's unless it's a beater of an amp. The Deluxe is considered to be one of those holy-grail amps and 6V6 power tubes are part of that formula. I've got a '68 that's just amazing. With a JBL D120 in it, it sounds twice as loud as with the stock Fender speaker and also much louder than with the Celestion Vintage 30 (which does sound great in there by the way).

That amp will never be super loud. The output transformer and power tubes will only give you about 25 watts clean. The best and cleanest way to max out the actual loudness of the amp would be by using a more efficient speaker. The JBL is hard to beat in that respect, plus it has that sparkly and fat clean sound to it. Switching to a JBL is the easiest way to make an amp sound much, much louder.

I think that the Deluxe Reverb is the greatest guitar amp ever, so I'm a little over-protective of it.

Brad Sarno

Mark Metdker · From: North Central Texas, USA

I agree with Brad. that is one of the holy grail amps for tele players. I would suggest selling the amp to a guitar player and use the $$$ to get a suitable steel amp. Just my .02

Frode Bjoernstad · From: Oslo, Norway

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this guys.. I'm also a tele and non pedal player, and I don't want to trade it for a steel amp or change the tone of the amp. I really love it! But I just figured some extra headroom for my psg could be allright when it's not miked. I allways mic it on gigs, so it's really no problem (Countryrocker). I guess I will be looking for a replacement JBL D120 speaker to make it a bit louder. How much should I expect to pay for a JBL D120?
Thanks !

[This message was edited by Frode Bjoernstad on 10 June 2004 at 11:51 PM.]

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Frode, the JBL will make it MUCH louder, not just a bit louder. In the US you can find a good D120 for under $200. I'm not sure about pricing on your side of the pond.

Brad Sarno

David Doggett · Posted 11 Jun 2004 7:44 am

JBLs sound nice, but you can get the loudness boost from any heavey duty 12" speaker with a big heavey magnet. Almost every speaker company makes these. Just go for the heavier more expensive models and stay away from the lighter cheaper ones. Small amps like the Deluxe usually come stock with the lighter speakers to keep the price and weight down, and because they don't need a high wattage speaker. But the heavy high wattage speakers are more efficient and therefore louder.

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

David, I'd agree that the heavier duty speakers are generally more efficient and louder than the smaller magnet speakers, but the JBL is even more loud and efficient, way more.
You'll find that the heavy duty Jensens or Celestions tend to have sensitivity ratings up around 97.5-98.5dB, while the JBL D120 is at around 101dB. That's about 3dB louder than your typical heavy duty guitar speaker. 3dB equates to a doubling in amp power. So theoretically a Deluxe loaded with a Jensen heavy duty guitar speaker will have the spl output representing an amp of half the power compared to the same amp loaded with a JBL. The JBL with the alnico magnet is an extremely efficient and loud speaker. Granted these specs refer to spl at certain test frequencies so it's not as simple as that, but the 3dB extra efficiency of the JBL is significantly louder.

My $.02

Brad Sarno

Andy Zynda · From: Wisconsin

The big magnet thing can be a gimmick. The real difference is made with the energy (gauss strength) in the gap that the voice coil floats in. The tighter the gap, the higher the flux density. Jensen p12N's, C12n's & JBL's (especially) have enormous flux density in the gap, hence the greater efficiency. Much louder, and generally better sounding.
I Did alot of things to my 65 Deluxe reverb, including 6L6's (gained power, lost sweetness), SS recto (gained power, lost sag and sustain), higher voltage on the phase inverter, etc.
The only one that stayed was the upgrade to a JBL d120.
More than double the loudness, to my ears anyway..
2 cents..
-andy-

Jim Peters · From: St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.

I agree with Brad and others, the deluxe is a killer guitar amp. I would warn you that I tried the heavy-duty efficient speaker thing, an Altec and a high watt emminence. I sold them both,hated the sound of the Deluxe with those speakers. Too brittle and clean for guitar. The amp was simply not designed for steel! I tried solid state rectifiers also, jumping the amp from 18 to a whopping 22, went back to the tube rec. Go buy a used 400 or new NV112,and leave your Deluxe alone. Good luck! Jimp

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