Fender blues deluxe headroom

cm01

I've been offered a reissue blues deluxe in a trade, it's one of the few amps I've never owned, just wondering what the clean headroom is like on them and how they take pedals... Anyone currently using one?

timmysoft

This is of interest to me!

Richardj

One of the virtues (or downsides, depending on your point of view) of the Blues Deluxe is the huge amount of headroom on the clean channel.  It is essentially the same as the Hot Rod but without the extra gain stage.  Flip side is the drive channel doesn't really get going until it is very loud.  I honestly found it one of the loudest amps I had ever heard and owned.  If you want Classic Fender clean in an affordable, gig able tweed form look no further.  I loved the sound of it so much I didn't bother with any pedals.  Stupidly traded it for a Mesa Nomad, which was inferior in almost every way.

timmysoft

I'm unsure I need that kind of volume, so I'm leaning more towards the blues junior.

cm01

Cheers, I reckon it could be for me cos I get all my drive sounds from pedals so the amount of clean headroom is a bonus

Richardj

I get to play with a friends Blues Junior fairly regularly. It is a punchy little thing and sounds great. No complaints about it's volume. Blues Deluxe really is in a different league tone and volume wise however.

capo4th

Fantastic clean amp and a great pedal platform. Loads of reviews and demos out there.

p90fool

timmysoft;274677" said:

I'm unsure I need that kind of volume, so I'm leaning more towards the blues junior.

Try leaning the other way a little, take one shoe off if you have to.
The Blues Jr is not just a quieter version of the Blues Deluxe unfortunately, it's a completely different amp.

They have their loyal adherents on the internet obviously, but they're all dangerous lunatics typing on smuggled-in phones.

ThePrettyDamned

timmysoft;274677" said:

I'm unsure I need that kind of volume, so I'm leaning more towards the blues junior.

I wouldn't - the blues and hot rod deluxe both sound pretty nice at even bedroom volume.

The blues junior never sounded that brilliant to me at all, compared to the hot rod deluxe, at any volume, though it didn't sound horrible as such. Just odd and a bit boxy, though some folk love them and gig them to death so it does something well...

Ally

Ah - A thread I can contribute to.

I really like my one. True, it's loud, masses of headroom, so I rely on drive pedals if needed. I've used a few pedals and I'd say it took them all very well.

Lovely sounds there if you use the tone controls on the amp and guitar, and input 1 and 2 will give different tones as well, input 2 being slightly warmer with less treble.

I only use mine at home, and admittedly it's not up high, but I haven't felt like it's lacking in anything with not being driven.

Care to say what the trade is? Another amp? Are you able to try it out first?

No criticism with my one though, still enjoying it after a year or so.

Richardj

Have to chip in again. The amp doesn't just do loud.  It sounds the same at sensible volumes as well as turned up.  The clean channel is clean everywhere unless you are really maxing it out and then it will start to break up.  That is however, as said before, very loud.

The drive channel is actually very nice too, you just have to work it and that isn't practical in most situations.

cm01

Deal should be done tonight - swapped my Les Paul Faded for the Deluxe and some other gear - amp should be perfect for me, something I can gig but also use at sensible volume at home will be great... will update when I've had a chance to have a blast on it 

Richardj

Pics are of course obligatory! (even though we know what it looks like)

McToot

I played a BD on Sunday down at GAK. I also noticed they have recently dropped the price by £60-odd to £629 (AND said they might be able to move a little on that).  I think it is a top, top amp at that price. 

Also played an Ornage TH30 combo while I was there and was amazed at how nice the clean channel was...

sw67

Great amp - i have had my american made one for 20 years now. I use a volume box in the effects loop to control the volume in the house.

thewiddler

I had a BD that I re-biased to run 6V6s. I think the BD and HRD run their power section quite cold, which for me makes them feel a bit sterile. The 6V6s meant I could get a bit of hair on the clean channel at gig volumes and it could also do tweedy roar when pushed a little harder, which I was never able to get near with the 6L6s.

cm01

Amp is now in my possession, only had a chance for a quick blast at bedroom volume but it sounds great... I like the sound of 6V6's, might have to give that a try.  Will get some pics up later when I get 5 mins

ICBM

thewiddler said:

I had a BD that I re-biased to run 6V6s. I think the BD and HRD run their power section quite cold, which for me makes them feel a bit sterile.

Not really, but they do run them at quite low plate voltages. (The Devilles are much higher, which is how they get 50% more power from essentially the same circuit.)

If you're going to put 6V6s in it's best to make sure the amp is wired correctly for 240V - they come set to a generic European 230V, which means they run a bit too hot in this country, and the voltages are a bit high for 6V6s really. You only need to swap two wires to set the voltage correctly.

thewiddler

ICBM said:

If you're going to put 6V6s in it's best to make sure the amp is wired correctly for 240V - they come set to a generic European 230V, which means they run a bit too hot in this country, and the voltages are a bit high for 6V6s really. You only need to swap two wires to set the voltage correctly.

This sounds like very good advice if you do go down this route. It may well explain why it sounded so lively. On the old forum, the now departed Nocaster had created a photographic step-by-step guide to re-biasing the BD / HRD models. I may have it saved somewhere if anyone's interested. It was handy for identifying key components in the amp for the uninitiated but has now gone down with the Music Radar ship...

Setzer

If you are using pedals for drive then imho you have a fantastic amp that doesn't break the bank. 

Fender cleans are the absolute best, I spent a lot of years playing rockabilly and if you werent playing a Fender then you just weren't taken seriously. I used a Blues Deville and that amp was a monster in both clean headroom and volume and really too much of an amp unless you have a residency at Earls Court! the Deluxe is a much more manageable in both volume and weight.

They take pedals really well, all in all a great amp if cleans are important to you.

noisepolluter

I'd go for it. I'll not echo all that's been said, but I will add there's further potential for tailoring your sound with a change of speaker.