Fender Tube Amps

[Bowdiddley]

I looked up those DeVilles and I really like how they sound! I'd love to buy one but I just don't have $800 to drop on an amp or anything else right now. But as soon as I got the cash I'm seriously considering buying the 212 DeVille. Great sounding amp!

 

I'll second or third the recommendation about looking on craigslist and ebay. I got my American made Deville 4X10 for $350 and it is in excellent condition.

 

Neo about turning it up past 3-4 I agree, I've only turned mine up to 8 once, my ears ached for a week! If you try it I advise ear plugs!

[Versatile]

Brit amps like Vox and Laney are great if you like that kind of EL84 tube tone...Fender seems to have purer clean sounds...all depends on the type of music etc

[milod]

Been thinking about this one quite a while.

 

In the old days the whole thing was volume - and maybe some reverb and the trem was just kinda a nice add-on. Volume was king 'cuz PA systems were far, far less sophisticated for most bands.

 

Just getting something bigger and more powerful than your 1930s console tube-type radio was a big deal in the 1950s.

 

So... I think fads and minor differences in tone started to be a consideration starting more in the mid to late 1960s. Effects too, as with the fuzz in the Stones' "I can't get no satisfaction."

 

Me? Frankly I like stuff mostly clean, maybe with a little reverb and stuff to "thicken" light string sounds from HB pickups.

 

Honestly, I think the whole tube-SS "debate" is a little silly in light of just my own electric guitar playing history. To me a playable, reliable guitar that fits me and what I play is the priority. Granted, I like to play a lotta different stuff.

 

But given all the electronics available today, I think you cover it as long as a player needs a guitar he can wiggle his fingers on to best create a basic sound, an amp that has sufficient speaker and power for solid cleans throughout the functional sound spectrum, then whatever electronic additions one wishes on an individual basis.

 

Hmmmm. Sorry that last paragraph is a bit stretched. <grin>

 

m

[Jazzcat83]

Just to throw my 2 cents in. I have a 1976 Fender Super Reverb.. I LOVE it... I play Blues and Classic rock through it, and for jazz gigs.. nothing is cleaner. I throw a Tube Screamer in front of it, and it screams. Fender Amps are extremely versatile... but so are some Marshalls... As far as Fenders go, I would Recommend a Hot Rod, Super Reverb or Twin Reverb.

[recsec]

The Tube Screamer comment above reminded me that Ibanez has a TSA 15H head which is a switchable 5w/15W head with a built in Tube Screamer circuit. I looked at three You Tube video demo's of it and it sounds geat clean and with the Tube Screamer kicked in it can play anyting from Blues to Fairly Heavy Rock. It has a $299.00 price tag at MF, and a few others that I looked at as well. The 1x12 cab is $199.00 so around $500.00 new.

[Big_Guitarra]

I love my Fender Jr. too! If I want to get some growl down low I add this cheap but functional BEHRINGER VINTAGE TUBE MONSTER VT999 to the line. The reviews on it suggest I upgrade the 12AX7B tube but I am okay with the output for now.

[KSG_Standard]

A whole lot of the great albums of all time were recorded on small Fender amps pushed into tonal nirvana. The Princeton Reverb is 12-15 watts with a 10" speaker and fairly easily driven into overdrive without making your ears bleed. A deluxe reverb is 22 watts with a 12" speaker and you can get it to overdrive fairly easily as well. The Super Reverb is an awesome 40 watt amp with 4 10" speakers, but unless you have someplace where you can crank it up to at least 6 or 7, you won't be able to get to the sweet spot. The Bassman amps are excellent as well, but they are very loud and you'll need some space to be able to crank them up to breakup. The Twin Reverb is 85 watts and unless you are playing in a stadium, chances are you'll never get to the sweet spot before you go deaf.

 

The new reissues of these amps are okay, but need better speakers. Your best bet is to look for an old Blackface or an early Silverface which any good amp tech can mod to Blackface specs. The Blackfaces have more defined highs, better cleans and some chime to them. The older Tweeds are darker sounding, have less headroom and a less defined tone, but they are great sounding amps. I like both, but the old tweeds cost more and will probably require new caps, speakers and maybe some other tune up work.

 

I've had a real Blackface deluxe reverb and it was a very special amp...one I wish I'd never sold. All of these amps take pedals well and are the real amps used to record some of our favorite classic rock...Zep and AC/DC studio albums just to name a few. IMHO, you don't need a dirty channel, you just need a cranked small fender Blackface, early Silverface or Tweed fender and a tube screamer or some other OD pedal of your choice. The Princeton Reverb, at 12-15 watts is VERY loud and provides plenty of volume for home play and small clubs...you can always mike it if you play a larger venue.

 

One of my favorite combinations is a Princeton Reverb or a Deluxe Reverb running through a 15" cab. The Super Reverb is a very special amp as well, but as I said, it's hard to find a place where you can crank it to the sweet spot. I have a Marshall JTM 30, it's a 30 watt 5881 based amp with a 12" speaker and two channels, and I have a Boogie Blue Angel 1x12 single channel as well. The Marshall doesn't get that much play time. The Boogie has both 6v6 and El84 power tubes and a tube rectifier and can run on either set of power tubes or all of them together. It sounds like a hot rodded Blackface DLX reverb to me when I'm running on the 6v6s or I can get a sort of Voxy tone when I'm using the EL84s...It sounds sort of like a hot rodded Super Reverb when I use all the power tubes.

 

All of the above are just my opinions and may not be shared by any other living person...however do some research and try some out and you might find that I'm pretty close to being correct. Good luck and we're all counting on you.

[freak show]

KSG_Standard has pretty much said it all. +1

 

You're never going to find the "best" Fender, but that's not really even necessary. Even the professional players don't agree on which is the best: Some play the Twin, some play the Super, some play the Deluxe, etc... Get one that YOU like.

 

A couple of things to think about: You'll get more for your money by buying used, but make sure the amp is in good condition. Also, if you pay a decent price for one of the old classics like a Deluxe Reverb or a Princeton Reverb, you will never lose money. There will always be people looking for these amps, and the prices will remain stable. Another thing: Don't be worried about finding a Blackface. The collectors have driven the prices sky-high, but the much more reasonably priced Silverfaces are almost identical. If you've got to have the Blackface-Electronics, a good amp tech can do that for you, but the silverface amps are just fine as they are. And lastly: Carrying a huge amp sucks. Think seriously about how much amp you want to lug around with you.

[milod]

Freak Show hit a couple of really good points.

 

First, something like my long-lamented DR is light enough to carry, powerful enough that it'll fill most saloons around her for jazz, rock or country, versatile enough you can use it as your only amp for mike and voice on a small EA gig, and it sounds great.

 

The weight... ah, the weight.

 

I swapped my DR for a 120-watt, 90-lb. tube combo that will break out windows and probably damage walls in the house. It hasn't been out of the house in six years even though it has wheels on it.

 

Meanwhile a little 30-watt acoustic SS amp has played from a theater stage for 5-600 people, in saloons, etc., etc. I have it on wheels with wiring and a multi-effect box attached. It's maybe 40 pounds as a whole rig ready to plug in.

 

There even are Fender amp emulation stomp boxes I've read good reviews on and are approved by "F."

 

I think folks are better off with a smaller amp and a bigger PA for band-type gigs of any sort. If you're doing solo stuff, I'd say look for rig of whatever type you can carry yourself up and down stairs and will fill rooms you anticipate playing.

 

If you're young and strong, imagine you have a broken arm or leg and are gigging solo and you still must schlepp your own equipment.

 

m