Fender '68 Custom Deluxe vs. '65 Deluxe Reverb reissues - thoughts, opinions?

Philtre

I'm undecided between these two. Which takes pedals better? What are the pros and cons? Do you have experience of both?

So far from watching YT videos it seems that the '65 is brighter, and the '68 has more girth.

terada

I've been on the point of picking up a black/silverface fender for the past few weeks, one thing that I noted was that the 68 makes a fair bit more noise than the 65 with nothing plugged in.

Something to consider if you want to use it at home volumes alongside gigs.

Philtre

@terada What kind of noise? Hiss or something?

terada

Philtre said:

@terada What kind of noise? Hiss or something?

Yeah just hiss and hum. But to be clear, it would only be noticeable if playing at home volumes, I've or even at moderate volumes it isn't noticeable, and that is only compared to the 65, which is practically silent (a bit of hum as you turn up the reverb but not too much at all).

Musicman20

I went for the 68 about 4 years ago (I think!) and I still love it.

It is not a quiet amp when you aren't playing, but it is not an issue for me.

I was impressed with the build quality, style and tone when I received mine, but since then the prices have rocketed by £300 or so. Still, it's a really nice amp!

stickyfiddle

I haven't tried a '68, but the '65 is the one amp that makes me go "Yes!" every time I demo anything through one in a shop.  

noisepolluter

I had my ‘65RI modded so it has trem and reverb on both channels, and they can be jumpered without cancelling each other out. 

This basically copies most of the circuit tweaks they did with the 68, with the exception of reduced negative feedback (earlier breakup but this does increase background noise) and different mid resistor on the first channel.

It’s useful to be able to blend in in a *bit* of the bright channel occasionally (effectively doing the same job as a presence control), though I very rarely use that channel in isolation even with clean sounds, and never with pedals.

Most of the time to be honest I just use the ‘normal’ channel on its own. Re-wiring it through the reverb circuit makes it a bit brighter in any case, so I find it’s just right for the guitars/pedals I use, and it’s nice to have the option of blending in a bit of bright channel as I said previously. 

In hindsight I suppose I could have just clipped the bright cap on the vibrato channel, but the Fritz mod wasn’t expensive to have done either and is reversible.

The other change I made was fitting a Cannabis Rex speaker, which I found to be a bit more responsive and balanced sounding at all volumes than the stock Jensen which seemed to go from muddy at low volumes to harsh at high volumes without a sweet spot in between. The CRex is also about 2lbs lighter as well as being more efficient.

Long story short, you can buy a second hand 65RI and get a decent tech to apply whichever of the 68 tweaks take your fancy, and vice versa.

I should clarify that I bought my 65 a few years before the 68 came out. If I were buying now I might see which came up first for a good price and then tweak the circuit accordingly as I guess my ideal DR is probably somewhere between the two.

srato

Tried the 68 but found it noisy (hiss, reverb and trem noises) and sent it back.

Philtre

Thanks for advice so far guys. I'm going to try a 65.

Philtre

So I bought a new 65. Seems OK. Less ice picky than my HRD. Normal channel seems to take pedals well.

Any tips on settings?

Philtre

BTW - does anyone know where the bias point(s) is/are on the 65?

Gassage

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JB1pZa0Vj4I

RiftAmps

Philtre said:

BTW - does anyone know where the bias point(s) is/are on the 65?

There aren't any - you need to use one of the following instead:

- Bias probe method

- Cathode resistor method (don't forget to subtract Ig2 from Ik for a more accurate calculation)

- OT 'Shunt' method

- Oscilloscope method

Philtre

Thanks. I'm comfortable setting my own bias on Fender HRD and Victory V40, so I guess this one is going to need a bias probe.

Next question - can you recommend a bias probe?

bbill335

Philtre said:

So I bought a new 65. Seems OK. Less ice picky than my HRD. Normal channel seems to take pedals well.

Any tips on settings?

You might benefit from clipping the bright cap on the reverb/tremolo channel.

Philtre

I'm getting hiss on both channels above 5. What level of hiss is normal on a 65 re-issue, and if I want to test each pre-amp tube for hiss can I pull them out one at a time?

Actually, comparing it with my HRD, it's similar level of hiss. There is a small amount of hum, though, when all controls are at 1. Increasing the reverb increases the hum.