Blues Deluxe

Bill Beck · May 12th, 2003, 12:04 AM

I picked one up yesterday, looks very vintage as the tweed is slightly dirty and the corners are a little frayed.
I am knocked out by the fat clean tone with my Albert Lee. Mine is a very early one with a low serial number.
Yes, the reverb works...I got the Blues Pearl DR clone the other day and it's very cool too in a different way.
So I'm amp happy. 8)

Ringo · May 12th, 2003, 12:26 AM

So does this mean all you can play now is the Blues? since you have a Blues Deluxe and a Blues Pearl amp?

I remember when Fender came out with the BD , Ken Fisher of Trainwreck amp fame in an article said that he thought it was the best sounding "new" Fender amp.

So besides the clean tone, how does it sound? is the reverb ok? I always have liked the size and look of the Blues Deluxe amp, if I didn't have a 68 Deluxe Reverb I might consider one.

Bill Beck · May 12th, 2003, 12:42 AM

Hi Ringo, I knew that you'd be around for this...you know my "amp-o-holic" problem far too well

The reverb on the B.D is surprisingly good...
The Blues Pearl Texas Tornado has a three knob reverb, but the B.D isn't too far off considering that it's s.s.driven and recovered.
The o.d on the b.d.!! is very "BLUESY" sounding

It's not bad, but I still prefer a pedal for the o.d.
I'm thinking about laquering the tweed, but then again...

Spanky · May 12th, 2003, 10:07 AM

I honestly always thought these amps got a bad rap for really not much of a good reason, at least none I ever ran across--all that stuff about cold solder joints and PCB boards, and jacks that weren't up to par---I dunno I've had one for about 5 years now and schlepped it around all over the place in smaller gigs,jams etc(it's not that heavy !) and have NEVER had one single problem with it. I haven't even swapped out the speaker , although that's on my list--It's been re-tubed with some 5881's and EH's---a good (I didn't say great) sounding amp--kind of a workman's amp--shoot I'd buy another one ! Much under appreciated for the price they can be had for-----I just could never understand why ? at least in MY experience

John E · May 12th, 2003, 11:11 AM

Blues Deluxe is a cool amp... In it's former life that's what this amp was, but the amp fried. It was then gutted by Mark Norwine of Carlson Amplification. A new chassis was installed and new circuit loosely based on Fender's 5e7(Tweed bandmaster) was created... An EV-12L was added, and the tweed lacquered. Then I bought it :D

It was good before but man, you should hear it now!

eryque · May 12th, 2003, 01:52 PM

Spanky, you're right on about these amps. I think a lot of the bad rap comes from people that think an amp sounds like junk if it doesn't sound fantastic.

They're a good amp for those that want good tone and don't want to drop a big wad of change on it. Ain't gonna be as good as my newly refurbished '67 pro reverb :) but it ain't worth a quarter of the pro's price and i'd never worry too much about someone walking off with it.

Mike D. · May 14th, 2003, 04:05 PM

I have a Blues DeVille that I bought in '94. I got a good deal on it back then and have had a love/hate relationship with it ever since. More recently I am in a love phase. Mainly because I just spent some money to have the cheap plastic input jacks replaced and I retubed it with JJ's from Eurotubes. I have the 2x12 version and have always wanted to change out the speakers. I'm sure that I will get around to doing that some day.

Jack L. · May 16th, 2003, 09:05 AM

I hate to brag but I bought my Blonde Blues Deluxe new when the limited run of the Blonde tolexed ones came out. I've been using to play out for over seven years(has it been that long).

When I first tried it out at the store I remember the shock of hearing the presence and tone this amp had.

I also own a 65 Fender Pro Reverb, but the amp that gets the most usage is the Blues Deluxe. Don't use the OD, just plug in a RI Tubescreamer.

Take care,
Jack L.

Soapcaster · June 15th, 2003, 09:03 AM

I'm new to this forum. This is my first post here, after looking thru a lot of threads. Lots of good info.

Anyway, here's my .02 on the BD. I have one. Older, tweed, 1x12. I like it, but it could be a lot better. Here's what I don't like about it:

Stock speaker is terrible. Boomy at higher volumes. It's just, well...bad. Corner-cutting to keep the amp at desired price point.

Fixed bias. No bias pots. Ugh. It can be biased, but you're messing around with the PCB, which could spell disaster. More corner-cutting.

Here's what I'm thinking of doing to improve it:

Replace the speaker. Maybe a Vintage 30, or something along those lines. Anything would be better than stock.

I was going to buy a Fender bias pot setup from Torres
so I could bias the danged tubes. But I think I'll get a set of THD Yellowjackets instead. Put some EL34s in the amp. The Yellowjackets are self-biasing, so that takes care of that problem. the ELs will knock the output down to around 20 watts. Still plenty of power for small gigs, and better for playin' in the house as well.

I think these amps have a lot of potential, but we have to coax it out of 'em. I didn't see mention of these ideas in the other posts, but maybe I missed something. I was wondering what others might think.

slinkyoz · June 21st, 2003, 09:49 PM

Svetlana 6L6s
EH pre amp tubes with 12AT7 in the PI
Weber 50 watt ceramic Blue Dog speaker
Bias pot installed
Circuit board re-solder with heat-producing components lifted off the board (amp was too unreliable to gig)
Thanks Frank at FM Audio !

Sounds really good to me; more clean headroom, just like I wanted...

vintage52 · June 29th, 2003, 09:10 PM

Sorry..double post.

FUM

vintage52 · June 29th, 2003, 09:10 PM

Let me tell you this.

I got into a position where I could not afford to retain my BD and ended up getting a solid state Princeton Stereo Chorus.

I miss my BD.

With my 52RI it was just the thing to make me smile.

That amp and my guitar were a match made in heaven but as all things money things went awry.

Perhaps one day another BD but for now .....

May 12th, 2003, 12:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
Bill Beck Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago 'Burbs Posts: 372	Blues Deluxe I picked one up yesterday, looks very vintage as the tweed is slightly dirty and the corners are a little frayed. I am knocked out by the fat clean tone with my Albert Lee. Mine is a very early one with a low serial number. Yes, the reverb works...I got the Blues Pearl DR clone the other day and it's very cool too in a different way. So I'm amp happy. 8)

May 12th, 2003, 12:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
Ringo Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Memphis TN Posts: 1,927	Blues amps So does this mean all you can play now is the Blues? since you have a Blues Deluxe and a Blues Pearl amp? I remember when Fender came out with the BD , Ken Fisher of Trainwreck amp fame in an article said that he thought it was the best sounding "new" Fender amp. So besides the clean tone, how does it sound? is the reverb ok? I always have liked the size and look of the Blues Deluxe amp, if I didn't have a 68 Deluxe Reverb I might consider one.

May 12th, 2003, 12:42 AM	#3 (permalink)
Bill Beck Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicago 'Burbs Posts: 372	I got some BLUES for 'ya right here! Hi Ringo, I knew that you'd be around for this...you know my "amp-o-holic" problem far too well The reverb on the B.D is surprisingly good... The Blues Pearl Texas Tornado has a three knob reverb, but the B.D isn't too far off considering that it's s.s.driven and recovered. The o.d on the b.d.!! is very "BLUESY" sounding It's not bad, but I still prefer a pedal for the o.d. I'm thinking about laquering the tweed, but then again...

May 12th, 2003, 10:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
Spanky Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Baldwin,(Long Island) NY Posts: 117	Blues Deluxe I honestly always thought these amps got a bad rap for really not much of a good reason, at least none I ever ran across--all that stuff about cold solder joints and PCB boards, and jacks that weren't up to par---I dunno I've had one for about 5 years now and schlepped it around all over the place in smaller gigs,jams etc(it's not that heavy !) and have NEVER had one single problem with it. I haven't even swapped out the speaker , although that's on my list--It's been re-tubed with some 5881's and EH's---a good (I didn't say great) sounding amp--kind of a workman's amp--shoot I'd buy another one ! Much under appreciated for the price they can be had for-----I just could never understand why ? at least in MY experience __________________ Rev. Spanky************************** God plays a 52ri--He's really GOOD TOO ! *************************************

May 12th, 2003, 11:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
John E Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,396	Hey that's what this one used to be... Blues Deluxe is a cool amp... In it's former life that's what this amp was, but the amp fried. It was then gutted by Mark Norwine of Carlson Amplification. A new chassis was installed and new circuit loosely based on Fender's 5e7(Tweed bandmaster) was created... An EV-12L was added, and the tweed lacquered. Then I bought it :D It was good before but man, you should hear it now!

May 12th, 2003, 01:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,241 44 Photos	Spanky, you're right on about these amps. I think a lot of the bad rap comes from people that think an amp sounds like junk if it doesn't sound fantastic. They're a good amp for those that want good tone and don't want to drop a big wad of change on it. Ain't gonna be as good as my newly refurbished '67 pro reverb :) but it ain't worth a quarter of the pro's price and i'd never worry too much about someone walking off with it.

May 14th, 2003, 04:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mike D. Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 570	Blues DeVille I have a Blues DeVille that I bought in '94. I got a good deal on it back then and have had a love/hate relationship with it ever since. More recently I am in a love phase. Mainly because I just spent some money to have the cheap plastic input jacks replaced and I retubed it with JJ's from Eurotubes. I have the 2x12 version and have always wanted to change out the speakers. I'm sure that I will get around to doing that some day.

May 16th, 2003, 09:05 AM	#8 (permalink)
Jack L. TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Amherst, NY Posts: 56	Blues Deluxe... I hate to brag but I bought my Blonde Blues Deluxe new when the limited run of the Blonde tolexed ones came out. I've been using to play out for over seven years(has it been that long). When I first tried it out at the store I remember the shock of hearing the presence and tone this amp had. I also own a 65 Fender Pro Reverb, but the amp that gets the most usage is the Blues Deluxe. Don't use the OD, just plug in a RI Tubescreamer. Take care, Jack L.

June 15th, 2003, 09:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
Soapcaster TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 18	I know it's an older thread, but.... I'm new to this forum. This is my first post here, after looking thru a lot of threads. Lots of good info. Anyway, here's my .02 on the BD. I have one. Older, tweed, 1x12. I like it, but it could be a lot better. Here's what I don't like about it: Stock speaker is terrible. Boomy at higher volumes. It's just, well...bad. Corner-cutting to keep the amp at desired price point. Fixed bias. No bias pots. Ugh. It can be biased, but you're messing around with the PCB, which could spell disaster. More corner-cutting. Here's what I'm thinking of doing to improve it: Replace the speaker. Maybe a Vintage 30, or something along those lines. Anything would be better than stock. I was going to buy a Fender bias pot setup from Torres so I could bias the danged tubes. But I think I'll get a set of THD Yellowjackets instead. Put some EL34s in the amp. The Yellowjackets are self-biasing, so that takes care of that problem. the ELs will knock the output down to around 20 watts. Still plenty of power for small gigs, and better for playin' in the house as well. I think these amps have a lot of potential, but we have to coax it out of 'em. I didn't see mention of these ideas in the other posts, but maybe I missed something. I was wondering what others might think.

June 21st, 2003, 09:49 PM	#10 (permalink)
slinkyoz TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: australia Posts: 43	Just did this... Svetlana 6L6s EH pre amp tubes with 12AT7 in the PI Weber 50 watt ceramic Blue Dog speaker Bias pot installed Circuit board re-solder with heat-producing components lifted off the board (amp was too unreliable to gig) Thanks Frank at FM Audio ! Sounds really good to me; more clean headroom, just like I wanted...

June 29th, 2003, 09:10 PM	#11 (permalink)
vintage52 Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Age: 40 Posts: 323	Blues Deluxe Sorry..double post. FUM

June 29th, 2003, 09:10 PM	#12 (permalink)
vintage52 Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Age: 40 Posts: 323	Blues Deluxe Let me tell you this. I got into a position where I could not afford to retain my BD and ended up getting a solid state Princeton Stereo Chorus. I miss my BD. With my 52RI it was just the thing to make me smile. That amp and my guitar were a match made in heaven but as all things money things went awry. Perhaps one day another BD but for now .....