School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

[hydro]

Hey yall

I may need another amp (long story) and I am thinking of the following specs:

6L6 based
Combo
Needs reverb
Good cleans, 2nd drive channel optional; will likely use pedals for drive
Gig worthy and durable, loud enough for mid sized club
Under 50 lbs
This is for psych-surf-garagey kind of stuff.

Trying to keep under a grand but may have a little room.

Interested in the Blues Deluxe and the Vibrolux 68 reissue.

Any opinions/preferances among these amps? Or other amp builders that will get in the same territory? I like fenders so I put that in the title but if there is something else in the ballpark....I am open minded.

My main amp right now is a Mesa Express 5:50+. I love this amp but for this application, I need something not so $$ and not too complicated.

I like the cosmetics of the Blues Deluxe and that it has a 12" speaker, cause I like low end and don't want pharts. The Vibrolux reissue is more $$ but seems to get great reviews. Worried about the 2x10s and not enough low end.

Deluxe Reverb is another I considered.

Many thanks for your opinions ---

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

I haven't played on the Vibrolux, but the 68 Custom Deluxe sounds great and has the same reverb and Vibrato as the Vibrolux. Either would be good for Surf/psychedelic, but th Vibrolux will have a bit more clean head room, that said the Deluxe is a really loud 22w. The Blues/Hot Rod series aren't bad amps, but IMO nowhere near as good as the 68 Custom or 65RI series.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Blues deluxe is 6L6 and 40ish watts.
Vibroluxes as you already know have 2x10s. They do sound great in a band, but the tens do sound thin on the low end if you are used to the wallop of twelves when playing at home. Of course this is much less noticeable when you are playing next to a drum kit and bass player who eats up all the low end bandwidth anyway. 10s are pretty good for pushing through the frequencies in the middle and give plenty of grainy articulation. Be aware that vibros are not renowned for headroom- far from it, so if you are looking for a clean sounding amp at gig volumes and hoping to control and shape your crunch with pedals, look elsewhere. However if you like the natural overdrive and character of an amp and just use the pedals to push it a bit harder for leads then its a winner.
Check out deluxe reverbs too.
POssibly see if you can rent some of these amps and see how they go in a band context.

 

[hydro]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

The Deluxe Reverb reissues seem interesting and might be the right size for this job.

It looks like there is a '65 version and a '68 version. Trying to figure out what the big difference is between the two.... ? (apart from the cosmetics). It looks like the 68 has a second channel that is configured with a Bassman tone stack but that isn't on the 65?

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Are you talking about Princeton Reverb reissues, or does Fender do Deluxe Reverbs from the same two years?

 

[hydro]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Are you talking about Princeton Reverb reissues, or does Fender do Deluxe Reverbs from the same two years?

The Deluxe Reverb RIs such as these guys here

65


http://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...e=&network=g&gclid=CMnhg7yN4MYCFQYQaQodvPYPxQ

and the 68

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...=b&network=g&gclid=CIKW-7aN4MYCFQUMaQodxnMPWg

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

On the 68 the Vibrato affects both channels, where as on the 65 it only affects one channel. The normal channel seems darker on the 68 (the Custom channel has the BM tone stack), but IDK if that's in the voicing of the circuit of because of the different speaker

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

I have a Hot Rod Deluxe and absolutely love it! Killer amp! I believe the Blues Deluxe is very similar but with a different drive. I had my drive channel modded and it sounds fantastic BUT I only use the clean channel with pedals. I personally prefer a 1x12 sound than a 2x12–but that is just my preference.

I don't mind the Reverb on the HDR but it is not the best IMO. I also had some work done on the soldering and the typical recap mod.

For my playing I would go with the Blues Deluxe, but if there's anyway you can play your guitar and pedals through both of them before buying them then I would recommend that.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Since the 68 Reissues have only been around a year or two, it's hard to find bargains on them. You've got to buy new or find a used one for close to $1000. The 65 blackface reissues are a dime a dozen on Craigslist, depending on where you live.

I agree the 68's sound a bit richer, and have a couple extra features like reverb and trem on both channels, and the normal channel is voiced deeper, but there's nothing second rate about the 65's. On those, I'd maybe upgrade the speaker and that's about it.

Also search for pre 75 Fender silverface amps used. Some of them have been serviced perfectly, and some have the original speakers and filter capacitors, so pay accordingly.

All the second rate Fenders like the Deville's, Hot Rod Deluxe, etc. They don't hold up so well to gigging with the plastic barrel jacks, plastic pot shafts, and cheap components. I've been in enough amp repair shops to know.....you see a bunch of them there.

I'm kind of partial to 212 Fender combos. Even though they're heavy, they sound fatter and don't fart out as easily as 112 or 210. That would be the Twin Reverb and Pro Reverb, as well as the 212 Blues or Hot Rod Devilles.

 

[chadd]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

I had one of the original Blues Deluxe amps and loved it. Great clean tones and decent low to mid gain tones. They take pedals exceptionally well, too. The originals were built like tanks, the newer ones cut a few corners on the build to reduce cost.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

All the second rate Fenders like the Deville's, Hot Rod Deluxe, etc. They don't hold up so well to gigging with the plastic barrel jacks, plastic pot shafts, and cheap components. I've been in enough amp repair shops to know.....you see a bunch of them there.

I have a '95 Hot Rod Deluxe that was gigged and abused like crazy and I can second the jacks not holding up. I had to have the soldering redone as well BUT it was totally worth it IMO.

 

[hydro]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Durability is a BIG factor to me.

I think Twins are great amps, maybe the best all round clean amp ever made but they also are spleen-burstingly heavy. They are also LOUD!

Kinda leaning toward the deluxe reverbs. Should I worry at all about 6V6 vs 6L6? I do like a lot of bottom end.

(cue booty jokes here)

 

[IM4Tone]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Want bottom end? Do this:
Fender BDRI with a matching 1X12 Hot Rod Dlx Tweed extension cab ($299). Get the BDRI new for around $770 or used around $400-$450.
Nice mild OD channel and the amp takes pedals extremely well.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Ive not tried the new 68 deluxe thing, but given that the 65 reissue is no longer the flavour of the month you could snag a used one cheap and have some spare coin to put in your favourite speaker (for low end and fat volume its hard to beat the cannabis rex).
I have gigged a stock version in a big room with the volume on 4 and it was easily cruising along with a drummer and bassist. It was just starting to reach the point where the amp was really cooking and there was a bit of hair on the individual notes. Pedals for leads and life was really good. Despite not being the latest version, they are still a killer, pro level amp.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Durability is a BIG factor to me.

I think Twins are great amps, maybe the best all round clean amp ever made but they also are spleen-burstingly heavy. They are also LOUD!

Kinda leaning toward the deluxe reverbs. Should I worry at all about 6V6 vs 6L6? I do like a lot of bottom end.

(cue booty jokes here)

I don't know about the Deluxe Reverbs, but my Hot Rod Deluxe needed the soldering redone and some of the capacitors stabilized BUT after I've had this done it has taken a nasty tumble (handle broke) and been knocked over by a band mate (fell off a stage, not too high but still not the best thing for longevity) and has fallen over twice in my car before dumbo (that's me) figured out to lay it down in the back rather than leave it sitting upright....it still sounds just as good and rocks on without issue!

If you were in Atlanta I'd invite you over to rock out on it and see what you think–Acorn Amps in Decatur did the service and mods on it...they are great people!

 

[hydro]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

The price sure is good on the Hot Rods. I mean under 800 for a 6L6 based amp is pretty decent. I wonder what accounts for the price difference between that and the other ones? Are they made in different places?

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

The price sure is good on the Hot Rods. I mean under 800 for a 6L6 based amp is pretty decent. I wonder what accounts for the price difference between that and the other ones? Are they made in different places?

The price is awesome! Are you wanting brand new or used? I would say get a used one and have a tech touch up the soldering, upgrade/recap the amp, secure the capacitors, and mod whatever else you want done–speaker (mine came with an Eminence Legend that I really love but others prefer different speakers,) reverb, drive channel (mine is modded with similar chips used in Mesas to get a tighter more focused drive,) etc. It is cheaper to get all the work done at the same time since they are already getting into the guts of the amp.

I have $600-$700 in mine, its a '95 MIA that has been gigged very roughly but the tone...it is a killer amp IMO.

 

[hydro]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

The price is awesome! Are you wanting brand new or used? I would say get a used one and have a tech touch up the soldering, upgrade/recap the amp, secure the capacitors, and mod whatever else you want done–speaker (mine came with an Eminence Legend that I really love but others prefer different speakers,) reverb, drive channel (mine is modded with similar chips used in Mesas to get a tighter more focused drive,) etc. It is cheaper to get all the work done at the same time since they are already getting into the guts of the amp.

I have $600-$700 in mine, its a '95 MIA that has been gigged very roughly but the tone...it is a killer amp IMO.

I would probably buy a new one, but if I found one used in decent shape I'd give it a shot.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

I would probably buy a new one, but if I found one used in decent shape I'd give it a shot.

I was just thinking you can usually find a good deal on a used on and then upgrade and mod it for the price of a new one. Some people say that the MIA (early models) are better than the MIM (current models) but I don't know...they moved production like 70miles or so South of the Border...and the recommended mods are for both Countries.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: School me on new Fender amps: Blues Deluxe vs Vibrolux 68

Durability is a BIG factor to me.

And new Fender....does not go hand in hand!