Deluxe Reverb brittle sounding

trippstrat · May 3rd, 2004, 11:21 AM

I just bought a re-issue Deluxe Reverb. It sounds great when I'm plugged into the normal channel, but when I plug into the vibrato channel it gets a lot thinner sounding. It is this way no matter how I adjust the knobs. I would like to have a little reverb when I play, but not if the overall tone is worse. Is this normal? Has anyone else ever noticed this? I would appreciate any help you may have.. Thank you. -Tripp

GuitarJonz · May 3rd, 2004, 12:22 PM

In know that on the old ones, there was a .47pf cap across the volume pot, which would make the sound rather brittle. The usual mod was to go in and clip that off, but I'm not sure if the RI amps are the same.

zook · May 3rd, 2004, 04:56 PM

The quality of the tubes those things come with is not exactly the greatest.

Try diming the controls on the normal channel when you are plugged into the Vibrato channel. That can sometimes make a difference.

Winnie

TheGoodTexan · May 3rd, 2004, 05:20 PM

Doesn't the reverb work in both channels in the RI? I thought it was only the tremolo that was channel dependent.

zook is right - the tubes that come in those things are usually bulk tubes that GrooveTubes buys from Sovtek....then Fender prints their name on them too! Sometimes you can even make out all three logos.

Tremo · May 3rd, 2004, 05:31 PM

Here we go again, this subject has been discussed to death. You may want to do a search to get the details.

Short answers:
1. - There is a 47 pF cap across the volume control on the reverb channel. Get rid of it.

2. - Put in better tubes and have the thing biased properly.

3. - Put in a better speaker.

JerryPro · May 3rd, 2004, 07:11 PM

All of the new DRRI's that I have seen have Electro Harmonics tubes and they are about as good as you're going to get without getting NOS.

The speaker could be better but mine has the bright cap and it sounds fine. I also have a 69 DR and they sound different but both very good. The normal channel does not have reverb.

If it sounds that bad you may have something wring with it.

Bruce Kiely · May 3rd, 2004, 10:39 PM

Mine sounded very brittle, also. Didn't matter what I did. Tried dialling out the brittle, thin high end both on the amp, and with the tone control on my guitar. All this did was make the amp sound "boomy". Could not get a good sound no matter what, and I wasn't interested in spending the time and money on mods/tubes/speaker, so I returned the amp.

When I returned it, I A/B'd it against a '64 Vibroverb Custom, and this confirmed that the DRRI really was brittle and harsh. Of course, the Vibroverb is almost 3 times the money, so maybe the comparison was not fair. But, regardless, this did confirm that the DRRI was not the amp for me.

Just my opinion .... and my experience ....

Cheers,
BK

May 3rd, 2004, 11:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
trippstrat TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Valdosta, GA Posts: 11	Deluxe Reverb brittle sounding I just bought a re-issue Deluxe Reverb. It sounds great when I'm plugged into the normal channel, but when I plug into the vibrato channel it gets a lot thinner sounding. It is this way no matter how I adjust the knobs. I would like to have a little reverb when I play, but not if the overall tone is worse. Is this normal? Has anyone else ever noticed this? I would appreciate any help you may have.. Thank you. -Tripp

May 3rd, 2004, 12:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
GuitarJonz Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Central Mass. Posts: 2,864 7 Photos	Volume cap? In know that on the old ones, there was a .47pf cap across the volume pot, which would make the sound rather brittle. The usual mod was to go in and clip that off, but I'm not sure if the RI amps are the same.

May 3rd, 2004, 04:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
zook Tele-Holic Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Northeast Kingdom, Vermont Posts: 833	The quality of the tubes those things come with is not exactly the greatest. Try diming the controls on the normal channel when you are plugged into the Vibrato channel. That can sometimes make a difference. Winnie __________________ I have noticed that happy people are often evaluating themselves and unhappy people are always evaluating others. -William Glasser

May 3rd, 2004, 07:11 PM	#6 (permalink)
JerryPro Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Arkansas(Razorbacks) Age: 47 Posts: 556	All of the new DRRI's that I have seen have Electro Harmonics tubes and they are about as good as you're going to get without getting NOS. The speaker could be better but mine has the bright cap and it sounds fine. I also have a 69 DR and they sound different but both very good. The normal channel does not have reverb. If it sounds that bad you may have something wring with it. __________________ ...it's not the load that breaks you down it's the way in which you carry it.

May 3rd, 2004, 10:39 PM	#7 (permalink)
Bruce Kiely Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 296	Me, too ..... Mine sounded very brittle, also. Didn't matter what I did. Tried dialling out the brittle, thin high end both on the amp, and with the tone control on my guitar. All this did was make the amp sound "boomy". Could not get a good sound no matter what, and I wasn't interested in spending the time and money on mods/tubes/speaker, so I returned the amp. When I returned it, I A/B'd it against a '64 Vibroverb Custom, and this confirmed that the DRRI really was brittle and harsh. Of course, the Vibroverb is almost 3 times the money, so maybe the comparison was not fair. But, regardless, this did confirm that the DRRI was not the amp for me. Just my opinion .... and my experience .... Cheers, BK

May 3rd, 2004, 05:31 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tremo Banned Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Silicon Valley, CA, USA Posts: 3,803	Here we go again, this subject has been discussed to death. You may want to do a search to get the details. Short answers: 1. - There is a 47 pF cap across the volume control on the reverb channel. Get rid of it. 2. - Put in better tubes and have the thing biased properly. 3. - Put in a better speaker.