DRR: Icepick?

[FAC]

A while back I posted a thread regarding descriptive tone terms...ultimately, the advice was to go out and try some of the amps that are associated with certain terms (glassy, chimey, crunchy, etc.).

I experienced on of those terms first-hand today: "Icepick" highs: Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue.

I've heard folks rave about them as a must-have classic amp, but all I could muster (playing a variety of strats and tele's) was what I must assume is consumate "icepick". I tried several at several different stores...same thing everywhere. One was so shrill on the reverb channel that turning the treble all the way down had little effect.

I figured the first one was a bad egg, but after trying three at three different stores, I'm starting to wonder. True, I was not really able to crank them up, but given the moderate volume tone, I feared for my high frequency hearing if it got any louder...

What is up with this? Did I hit three bad ones, or is this endemic to the latest crop of DRRs? Do they need to be broken in that much that they sound so shrill out of the box? Do they need new tubes right away? Did I have false expectations? I was so surprised given what I expected that I was compelled to compose this thread...

 

[FAC]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

I found this thread posted earlier:

What a difference a GREAT SPEAKER makes!- https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=120727

Perhaps the stock speakers are an issue?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

To be honest, I think all the Blackface vintage reissues sound bright, cold, and sterile.
They claim it's a circuit board copy of a REAL Blackface, but those puny components, cruddy speakers, and lack of a bias pot make it very unimpressive sounding.

Many people who buy them, change the speaker to something like a Celestion H30 and do minor mods on the circuit to warm it up.

Fender still makes good amps, but those Blackfaces don't impress me at all. I even like the Pro Tube Series a lot more, which look like Blackfaces, but are totally modern designs.....ie, Twin, Concert Reverb, Pro Reverb, and Supersonic.

 

[jeremy]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

typically the tubes are cheap russian ones that tend to be harsh

the speaker isnt broken in and even when it is, isnt my favorite

the amps are biased cold which makes them thinner and brighter

at low volumes they are bright amps, crank it up to 5 and it should fatten up

they dont sound like older amps, like joe said they uses puny consumer grade components which dont help. they can be good sounding amps but they at least need to be worn in and rebiased

 

[Bludave]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

The key problem is the two letters...... R I . They don't sound anything like the real deal. I have a 67 Deluxe Reverb, and Icepicky is just not in that amp. I think DR in general have a very strong bottom. A good speaker is a must, but IMHO putting a Celestian in a Fender sucks to much Fender out of it. If you want a Fender to sound like a Marshall........... buy a Marshall. Leave Fenders to do what they do. My Deluxe Reverb has an Emminence Speaker in it. Not completley thrilled with it. It gets a little farty when I push it harder, but for the most part its OK. I heard a Weber in one and thought it sounded sweet.

 

[jeremy]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

i have a 66 dr and i wouldnt say they have a very strong bottom. 6v6 tubes are known to have a mushy bottom end. what eminence do you use?

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

I dig my buddy's DRRI, but it has better tubes and a broken in Jensen.

It sounded monstrous through my V30/12L loaded Marshall JCM C212 cab.

 

[Bludave]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

i have a 66 dr and i wouldnt say they have a very strong bottom. 6v6 tubes are known to have a mushy bottom end. what eminence do you use?

Jeremy I'm not sure. It was in it when I bought it. When I said strong, thats kind of what I ment. The bottom gets to mushy. So I gues I should have said weak bottom. I agree this is a common trait of the DR. I have played a few that seem to hold it together better. Not sure what was different!

The fact is the DR is one of my favorite amps for small rooms. I can make it do almost anything I need to. The major problem I have with it is the lack of headroom. I love the tone and I love the voice, but when I play with my band I have a hard time getting a good clean sound and keeping up with the other amps.

 

[jeremy]

Re: DRR: Icepick?

gotcha. i used an eminence cannabis rex in mine for a while and i really liked it, helped with the bottom end too. now i have a celestion gold which is fantastic but also really expensive and not head and shoulders above others that ive tried to make the extra expense worth it.

you have a super too right? some of the best blues rock tones ive heard were from a guy who used a super for his clean tone and a deluxe for his dirty tone. set the super where it was just starting to break up if he slammed on the strings and had the deluxe cranked up for a full throttle lead tone.