Re: Deluxe Reverb... Make the normal channel the gain channel and A/B them..?
It's doable, but I don't know if you'll like the results. I've been playing DR's almost my whole playing career, and they're my all-time favorite amp. BF, SF, RI: I love them all.
When I worked as an assistant in a repair shop, (back in the "Torres Enginner" heyday,) we got quite a few Fenders in looking for this kind of mod.
The problem is, most players are looking for a tone that these amps just weren't designed to produce. I'm not even talking about cascading gain, Mesa/Boogie tone here, I just mean, they're relatively clean amps.
Sure, you can mod Bassman's to overdrive more like a Marshall, and that works pretty well. You can safely lower the headroom on any of these amps.
But as far as getting more gain and drive, I've never heard Fender modded in this way that sounded "good" to me. Certainly nothing that beat a good clean boost running into a half-cranked stock amp.
It's not just a matter of components, but of the whole design philosophy with which the amp was designed, from chassic, cabinet, speaker to each little capacitor. Leo Fender, and his colleagues, hated distortion and tried to get rid of it. By some twist of fate, Fenders still have a magical overdriven sound. But push them too far, and you'll lose it.
The most common phrases I've heard, and said, to describe these kinds of mods are: Sounds farty!; Are you sure you did this right?; It doesn't sound like Marshall/Vox/Mesa!; It doesn't have as much gain as I thought it would.; What happened to the midrange?; and the winner: Can this be reversed?
I don't mean to discourage you; if you really to mod your amp, by all means go ahead. I just thought I'd warn you, that beyond some minor tweaking with EQ, headroom, or "opening up" the Normal channel, these amps generally don't respond so well to these types of mods.
They're incredibly versatile, and do a lot of things really well: but they'll never be a "rock" amp, like a 18-Watt Marshall, 15 watt Vox, any modern or boutique design, or even many of the Tweed Fender amps.
If you want to mod it, (and no amp mod is as easy as you think it will be!) go ahead. But personally, I'd simply cherish the classic amp you own, and love it for what it is, and what it does best.
Some great alternatives to modding it:
*Add a good-quality clean boost: older Fenders love having their preamps pummeled by a strong signal. I personally love the Xotic RC Booster, though the (much) less expensive Duncan Pickup Booster also does an incredible job.
If it's a transparent boost, you'll just be getting more of your guitar and amp's tone, plus a bunch of sustain, overdrive and musical feedback.
*If you need more gain or overdrive, a great solution is a Duncan Twin Tube Classic, (the Twin Tube Blue looks great too, but i haven't tried it yet.)
I do some gigs where the boost isn't enough on its own. If i' not using my Mesa, then I'll bring my Twin Tube. It does a great job of retaining the signature of your guitar and amp, but adds two really wonderful channels.
The first channel adds a bit of complexity and chime to your basic sound, and goes from a slightly overdriven tone, to a very cool raunch, classic rock style. The lead channel pushes it a bit further, with more harmonics and a more gainy, more compressed sound. Very flutey, great for Allman and Santana style fluid lines.
*Track down a Rivera-designed Deluxe Reverb II. These are killer amps, if you like a more rock sound, and overdrive. They retain a lot of the DR magic, but add a very toneful overdrive channel. (Easier to find, but similar in concept would be a Fender Super Sonic, any low-watt Rivera amp, and Mesa/Boogie Mk1's and Mk2's, the Mk1 reissue, and the Lonestar or Lonestar Special.)
In any event, good luck man! I hope you find the sound you're looking for!
The Supersonics are way expensive too 
I just would wish to have a very nice drive channel too. So I'd need an amp with BF cleans and a nice blues/hard rock OD too, and for some reason amongst the mass product amps out there, there's really not all that much. Most of the boutique brands I'd consider are mostly single channels vintage style amps, may as well get a SF Fender instead.
