Fender '65 DRRI?

Richardj

I have been offered a trade, one of my Gibsons for a nearly new DRRI. It works well in my favour value wise and I am very tempted. I like know I like Fender amps (really miss my Blues Deluxe) so, any thoughts on the amp and trade? Good/bad, any known problems or issues? I bow to my fellow forumites wisdom!

monquixote

Great little amps. 

Great cleans and get quite bluesey as you crank them. Very nice trem and reverb. 

thomasw88

excellent amp. takes pedals well, and sounds great.

monquixote

Actually if you want to hear one then nearly all of the PGS Andy demos are a DRRI. That should tell you something about how good they are. 

ICBM

How old is it?

Recent ones have an inferior tremolo system which doesn't use the original opto-coupler and doesn't sound as good - although it's fairly easy to modify it to the correct circuit. There's a way of telling without opening the amp up - if there are two extra screw heads in the chassis bottom directly behind the V2 and V3 valve sockets, it's got the new circuit.

Is there money your way as well? It's hard to think of a half-decent Gibson which is worth as little as a DRRI, to be honest… in my opinion I think they're a bit overpriced new even though they are very nice-sounding amps.

Richardj

The DRRI is just over a year old, the Gibson is the SG Standard I got recently. No cash on the table at the moment. What difference is there in the tremelo circuits?

ICBM

I wouldn't straight swap an SG Standard for a DRRI even though they're about the same price new. Maybe that's just me though...

The current DRRI has a solid state tremolo coupler circuit to replace the original opto-coupler which is no longer allowed under RoHS regulations. It's a ridiculously complex piece of extra circuitry which requires an additional power supply in the amp too - but it just doesn't sound as good. It's easy enough to remove the whole mess and re-fit the correct part though - which you can still buy, it's available for repair purposes even under the new regs.

EdGrip

What have the RoHS got against opto-couplers?

ICBM

EdGrip said:

What have the RoHS got against opto-couplers?

The LDR part contains cadmium.

Richardj

Thanks for all of the replies so far.  Because I don't have any experience of tremelo equipped amps, would I actually know the difference?  Chances are I'm not going to use that feature too much, only occasionally. If I did want it to have the better one, what kind of cost would be involved upgrading it parts and labour-wise?

Knowing what I have in the SG I don't have a problem with the financial comparison. As lovely as the SG is, unfortunately a more recent purchase is dealing with my 'bucker needs now so it's just sitting in it's case, which is a bit of a waste.

ICBM

Richardj said:

Because I don't have any experience of tremelo equipped amps, would I actually know the difference?

Probably not!

Richardj said:

 If I did want it to have the better one, what kind of cost would be involved upgrading it parts and labour-wise?

Not a lot - most of it is labour, and it should be under an hour for a decent tech at whatever rate they charge. (Probably about half an hour, really.) The only part you need is the replacement opto-coupler, which aren't expensive.

EdGrip

If you don't want the SG and you do want the DRRI (they are great), just do it. Everything will be fine - you will have a cool amp.

Richardj

Thanks guys.  I'm going to give it a try on Saturday night.  Difficult thing is I just got the Roadhouse 30 so am taking that along to compare.  OK, not the same tubes, architecture etc, except for low-ish power, but I have excellent pedal reverb and it will be interesting to compare them.

noisepolluter

Another wholehearted recommendation for the DRRI here - sounds amazing at rehearsal/gig volumes when it's starting to break up, also great cleans and stunning reverb even at home volumes (thanks to a very even sweep on the volume control) - it's now my main practice amp. 

If you're also likely to be playing it at home a lot, two things to bear in mind:

1) At home volumes through the vibrato/reverb channel, it favours some OD pedals more than others, as the built-in presence boost in the circuit can emphasise fizz.  There's a thread on this forum where folks chipped in with pedals they have found to work well.

Equally you can use the 'normal' channel which is less sparkly - you can still jumper to the rev/vib channel with a patch lead to get reverb, or obviously just use a reverb pedal. The amp's spring reverb is fab though. TBH I just use the vibrato channel and avoid fizz-prone pedals, as I find the normal channel voicing a bit dark.  

2) The amp tremolo definitely sounds better at 'outside' volumes - when playing quietly at home the ticking is intrusive, and the effect doesn't seem to be as deep and throbby as when the amp is turned up. At home I just use pedals. 

Pyroman

  Man,  whatever RoHS is, I'd be getting pretty sick of all the nit picky things they stick their noses in...  We have our own enviro-nazis here, but I hadn't heard of that one.

  Anyhow, I've been meaning to give a Deluxe Reverb a go.  I gave one a try once, and was kind of underwhelmed- it just didn't sound good to me.  I suspect it was my playing that was the problem, more than the amp!  I do remember it popped- LOUDLY- every time I switched from standby to play.  ( was testing pedals that day)

thermionic

ICBM said:

EdGrip said:

What have the RoHS got against opto-couplers?

The LDR part contains cadmium.

I remember the old CdS LDRs, there always used to be one in those 300 in 1 electronics experiments kits. Anyway, I don't understand why they can't do the same job in silicon, with a photodiode and a handful of other integrated components. Vibe pedals use a similar arrangement for the LFO.

57Deluxe

DRRI is a great classic amp. 

The current Tremolo is just fine - if you read about it 'ticking' then it is more a pulse than a tick. Is not really intrusive. One thing that is good about these amps is that the speed and intensity for the Tremolo actually have an effect on the reverb tail so you can dial some great settings.

Richardj

I went to try it out last night, having not tried one before I was surprised at how small and light it is (mind, everything is small and light compared to the Roadhouse 30!).  Unfortunately, plugged my Strat into it and it was Fender heaven, a really 'complete' sound, I even like the non-reverb and vibrato channel. The only possible downside is that the vibrato makes me feel a bit queasy!

I couldn't help but have it, a perfect companion to the more blues/rock Roadhouse.  Anyone want a now redundant Koch Twintone II?

57Deluxe

 

Richardj said:

<SNIP>. The only possible downside is that the vibrato makes me feel a bit queasy!

 

Yep - Tremolo makes my Head hurt too if the wrong frequency - even clips of Tremolo on YT can do this! (Mad Professor Mellow Yellow is one such). So trick is - don't dial an 'Icky' setting!  - - Sorted!

matone

What setting do you use for that effect ?

Might save a fortune on alcohol if turning the DRRI on has the same end result !

Richardj

57Deluxe said:

 

Richardj said:

<SNIP>. The only possible downside is that the vibrato makes me feel a bit queasy!

 

Yep - Tremolo makes my Head hurt too if the wrong frequency - even clips of Tremolo on YT can do this! (Mad Professor Mellow Yellow is one such). So trick is - don't dial an 'Icky' setting!  - - Sorted!

It's a learning curve.  Just have to find time to tear myself from all of the warm, surf y  goodness to mess with it!