Fender Blues DeVille - way too loud

[BBill64]

I have an old Blues DeVille which I absolutely adore but I'm having trouble keeping the thing's volume in check.

Even when gigging, I can't push it past two because of how damn loud it is. Of course the harder I push the volume, the more awesome TONE I get out of the amp.

Am I gonna have to compromise tone for the practical sake of not drowning the band out? Is there any way to quiet the beast (I tried an attenuator box off of eBay but that made it TOO quiet, even with all volumes up full) or should I look for a different amp?

[eugenedunn]

Having been there, I'd say keep the amp...... I went down in wattage for similar reasons and there were many times that I found I didn't have the headroom I was used to....

Try putting a 12AY7 in the V1 socket (tube socket closest to input jacks)....Maybe try a 12AT7 in V3 (the phase inverter). Finally, play with your guitar volume knob down a bit, for clean tones....goose up the guitar when you need sustain for solos. That should help a lot.

[BBill64]

The volume knob thing is something I've only started doing since making the switch from Strat to Tele (I could get decent enough sounds with pedals with the Strat, the Tele sounds better 'purer', for lack of a better word).

And while I'd be happy to try out your suggestions, I know not what those words mean! I'm the kind of guy who, when their amp is playing up, takes it to the local amp doctor for a complete diagnostic because I don't do technical very good. Can you simplify for me? Thanks.

[scantron81]

I had one and had the same problem. Never pushed it past TWO. I sold it and got a DRRI. Much better reverb plus that nice vibrato channel. I haven't missed that Deville one bit.

[Arbiter]

They're quite loud. Keep it and get a lower-powered one, and you can crank the new amp up for the tone you like.

[Silverface]

He's saying to try a 12AY7 tube in the first small tube socket - that's your main preamp tube, and the 12AY7 has FAR less gain than the stock 12AX7. The "V3" tube is the third small one; the "phase inverter", or "driver". A 12AT7 there will again lower the gain somewhat.

If you've only just started learning how to use the volume control on your guitar, those tube changes and using that volume (AND the guitar's tone control, which can have quite an effect on apparent amp volume) could REALLY help. Also picking lightly - which takes a ton of practice but will pay off in spades in the long run. Varying your pick attack lets you control bite, volume and tone - all with just your right hand.

That being said, my experience with the Blues DeVille s that it dos have to be turned up vary loud to drive the speakers enough for the tone to open up - otherwise it sounds thin and reedy.

I'd really suggest a smaller amp combined WITH working on right-hand dynamics and use of the guitar's controls. A smaller amp (15-25 watts) cranked up with the guitar controls rolled of a bit (and good dynamic control) sounds FAR better than a 50-watt amp turned down to "2" with you struggling to get any decent tone out of it at all.

Since you know very little about amps (which is not a good spot to be in for a tube amp player) I'd suggest Dave Hunter's Guitar Amplifier Handbook. He explains in basic terms how an amp operates, differences in power levels vs volume (the two do not necessarily relate) and reviews the operation, design and sound of a bucketful of classic tube amps, most of which were used in some way as the basic platform for dozens of amps you see today. It'll get you some basic knowledge - which you really need before you go amp shopping, which would probably be a good idea. Also, his "Tone Manual" combines amps, guitars and other elements to help you find your own sound.

Honestly, just swapping tubes will help - but not that much if you don't know why you're doing it, as you won't know how to really work with what you've done. A little education will go a long way!

Good luck!

[Lee Harvey]

I know this may seem obvious..

But have you tried turning your guitar volume down?

[tele_pathic]

Get a brake/attenuator. I had one of these, traded it + cash for a Blues Jr., but I don't play out...ever. I kind of regret not having it, but the Blues Deville can not be replaced with a DRRI, or HRD, just totally different animals. For a couple hundo, I would start with the attenuator...

[RockerDuck]

A good way to go is to get a decent EQ pedal, like a Boss GE-7. It has a level control. EQ the lower volume sound and lower the level to taste. Leave the pedal on.

[tele_pathic]

Or almost any pedal with a level control would work, as RockerD says.

[twangjeff]

...or the volume control on the guitar.

[Lee Harvey]

It seems the volume knob on the guitar is not the popular answer..

Maybe because it doesn't cost any money to roll that volume down.

[Wally]

BBill64, Eugene and Silverface have given very good advice here. Get a 12AY7 and putit in V1...or have your tech do it while he explains why. The 12AY7 will lower the gain in the preamp. The sweep of the first gain control will change dramatically....you will be able to utilize most of that pot's range. At 10 on that dial, the preamp gain will be less with the 12AY7 than with the 12AX7, but you never were able or wanting to use all of htat gain anyway, right? Try the 12AY7. IFhtat doesn't chagne things enough, then try the 12AT7 in hte PI positiion...V3. This will lower the amount of gain in the signal that that hits the output section.
And.....one must remember. This amp is basically a 60-watt take-off of a
5F6A Bassman...which is not a 'tame' amp anyway. IF you like the gain/distortion that it makes, you may have too much amp....because it takes gain and therefore with this amp volume to achieve that sound.

[Lee Harvey]

Yes listen to Wally..

Throw more money at it...

Rolling your guitar volume down does absolutely nothing...

[Wally]

Lee Harvey......killer name, by the way....(;^)....turning the guitar down will decrease the signal to the preamp. SO, that will take the volume down. We all understand that. What turning that guitar's volume down won't do is to change the way that preamp works with the pot that is governing it. The 12AY7 will change things drastically. IF you have a Blues Deville or a Blues Deluxe or a Hot Rod series amp, you might want to try a 12AY7 there...or not. No problem for me either way.
I am a person who uses the guitar's volume almost religiously. I understand how that works and why and when I want to turn the guitar down. HOwever, I am also a person who believes that I want to hear the entire output of the pickup when I want to hear it. That means that with an amp like the Blues/HOt Rod Deluxe/deville line of amps, the way that volume pot and the first tube work as stock impedes one from using the gutiar's volume pot as one might like...to go from hot to clean with just that guitar's voume adjustment.
IN addition to changing the sweep of that volume pot, a 12AY7 also sweetens up the overdrive function in these amps...if one ever uses that aspect of the amp. In general, an inexpensive tube change can make these much more usable amps. IN fact, without making these changes, I consider these amps to be the biggest waste of money and time that one can spend on a Fender 'tube' amp. With his little inexpensive change, the amp is usable, imho.....not desirable but usable, at least.
ONE more thing, Lee, I wasn't the first to suggest the 12AY7. IF you have a bone to pick with me personally, let me know and we'll work that one out, too.

[Lee Harvey]

I don't know you, so how can I have a bone to pick?

I personally think throwing money at a simple problem isn't the solution.

If your amp is too loud, adjust your guitar volume... simple... cheap... effective..

I do agree those aren't the best Fender amps ever made..

[twangjeff]

...or the volume control on the guitar.

[Wally]

Lee, if you don't have a bone to pick with me personally, then I suggset that you don't say things like this...."Yes listen to Wally..Throw more money at it... " when I was the 3rd..count 'em....3rd person to make mention of this tube change. Why not say...'yes, listen to Eugenedunn, Silverface and Wally'.....??? I don't appreciate being singled out for your 'comment'.
But...let's let that pass.....


I have been adjusting amp controls and guitar controls since 1963. Ime, the majority of guitar players prefer to have the option of running their guitar wide open at times. That is, after all, the sound of the pickup in an uncompromised way as possible without hot-wiring it to the jackk without volume or tone controls. Everything else takes away from the pickup's response to the strings' action in the magnetic field.
AS for 'throwing money at it'......$12 or so to turn what I consider to be an unusable amp into a much more usable and musical tool is not a waste of money....and one can still turn your guitar volume knob as much as you want.

[Lee Harvey]

I'll say what I want when I want..

Now I do have a bone to pick..

[Fret Wilkes]

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

I'll say what I want when I want..

Now I do have a bone to pick..

Originally Posted by Lee Harvey

I'll be AHole number 2..

As they say on the internet; "see what I did there?"