Excelsior

congrats IDK anything about how they take pedals, but I have tried a few at shops straight in.Neat amps for the money. Did ya check the amp section and you tube.

 

Well now you will have to buy an accordion

 

and harmonica.

 

We have two. My wife has the first edition and I bought a sonic blue second edition with the upgraded speaker. They're terrific amps for the price, and while my wife plays through hers clean I've used various pedals with mine with great results. I got rid of my '63 reverb pedal after I got the Zoom Multistomp, as it has a Fender reverb emulation that I think is better than Boss's even. To my ears it sounds fine with any pedals I've used. I think it's the best priced deal on a new amp that I've seen anywhere.

Just my $0.05...

 

Lots of good info here:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-owners-clubs/322527-excelsior-lounge.html

and here:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/amp-central-station/323287-inside-fenders-excelsior.html

 

I have an FDR1 and it sounds great in front of the Exy. I've been using it a lot running a Fishman Preamp, Xotic Effects compressor, Ditto Looper and a Boss Phaser lately with my acoustics and 4 string box guitars...way crazy with that 15" speaker. If it sounds good to you it IS good after all. Haven't found a pedal/guitar combination I didn't like through it as of yet. Loud enough to get the police called on you but not enough to make the tinnitus much worse. Lord help me but I've even run a ribbon mic into it and played my banjo through it...there's just no accounting for taste

 

Personally, I like the second edition. The sound seems to have more definition. It's definitely louder and has more punch. There's a clarity of sound that isn't as pronounced in the original. When I bought it I had a chance to A/B if against an original in the store. Both the salespeople and I went back and forth playing and listening to the amps, and, for me at least, it was a simple decision that the new one had a better sound. I think the new Eminence speaker is a better one by far.

Just my $0.05...

 

I should say that my opinion in no way means that the original amp isn't a good one. For the money I think the original Excelsior is the best bang for the buck. It has a great sound - my wife loves playing it. If the new ones hadn't come out I still may have purchased an original. For $299 I don't think I've heard a better amp.

Again, just my opinion...

 

I have not tried the new one with the upgraded speaker, but I can say that the fuzziness and lack of definition is something I like about mine...I have upgraded the power tubes in mine and that does tighten/focus the output up a bit while maintaining the lo-fi hairyness I like so much.

I also find that I really like simple amps like this without reverb...the tone just seems so much broader without all the 'components' that make up the tone circuit, so I just let 'er rip as is.

I have tried my mod-kits clean boost in front of it with excellent results, though I find I can get similar results by adjusting the amp louder and just turning down my guitar for cleaner bits and then cranking it for louder stuff. I've tried running a reverb pedal in a 'jumper' and it does sound fine, I just prefer this amp without it.

While I love my tele through about anything, I have not had this much fun with my Les Paul in a while.

Enjoy!

 

I have the original version, bought just before the other colors appeared. I don't have any of the rattling problems that guys were complaining about for awhile when these were first released. In fact, it's very tight, and you can barely hear it at idle - very quiet for a tube amp. I love the sound of this amp, so different than any other Fender or Vox that I have. The only pedal I use with mine is a Luxury Drive with the knob halfway up at 12 o'clock. Sounds great.

 

I happen to have a box full of "Good as New" 1950s and '60s American made 6V6GTs, and ended up with a pair of very closely matched RCAs, as they provided what seemed like maximum punch. A very loosely matched pair of 50s TungSols accentuated the lo-fi looseness in a pleasing, ragged, Neil Young kinda way. I imagine that would be difficult to replicate with the unpredictable state of NOS tubes, but that's what I found. ALL of the old tubes I tried sounded more 'in focus' than the stock tubes, even if they did still sound raggedy and lo-fi.

One day soon I hope to try out some fresh tubes in the preamp, but until then, I'll just keep my yap shut.

 

I don't like the fuzziness, but I DO like the lack of definition... I was going for an old-school 50s vibe, and the Excelsior has it. Great for my archtops and my tele neck pickup.

...altho, to get rid of the fuzziness, I may try a new speaker... I'm waiting for the stock one to fully break-in, but it's taking quite awhile...

 

I found that the Electro Harmonix AY7 in the V-1 preamp matches excellently with EHX 6V6GTs in the output stage. The volume isn't quite as loud as stock, but you can crank it up all the way and not have a fuzzy sound. All the way up I'm getting "Gimme Shelter" rhythm tones, on a Tele single coil pickup! About as close as I've gotten to that sound since my Ampeg V-4 / humbucker days, years ago.

 

I still think the original brown one looks best. Very nice with that burst.

 

I A/B'd the original brown vs the colored ones and the difference in tone (at least of those I played) was marginal at best. I don't think the upgraded speaker in the more expensive is substantially better than the brown one. I think you're paying more for the special edition.

That being said, I bought the brown one. It reminds me a lot of some old Airline and Supro amps in the overdrive department--breakup is disperse and not tight. I can deal with it if I'm playing my old Casino and am going for a jump blues sound. The P90s drive the amp in a good way and the peetering out of the speaker at high volume adds acceptable color. However, I'm less impressed playing my strat through it. The amp screams at me: replace me with a 15" Weber Chicago Series or a C15N or P15N. The speaker is the weakest link in the Excelsior, but I don't think the pro model offers a great improvement.