NAD Fender

[sam]

Howdy campers, well I guess this is the summer I decided to get that Fender sparkle amp I've been thinking about.

I have been looking at Twin Reverb and Deluxe Reverb for a long time, and as much as I love the clean 6L6 Twin Reverb the decision was made to go for a 6V6 65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb. Since I have a super modded Blues Deluxe, that I A/B'd against a 73 Twin and 78 Pro Reverb and was very close, to get that 6L6 tone. Other reasons include because 1: have two other 6L6 options 2: I got a great deal on this 65 Deluxe Reverb and 3: A TWIN HEAVIER THAN I WANT. You won't hear me say too loud, there is a volume knob on both amp and ASAT.

It's a 1990 model the store cleaned up the inside but has a little cabinet wear that I can live with. That's called "Relic" these days right? May add fender tilt back legs, not sure. Overall she sounds great, and reverb / vibrato are classic Fender.


(pics from the store)

Look forward to some chickin' pickin' and learning my way around her this weekend!

Any setting suggestions from Deluxe Reverb owners are welcomed...

[john o]

nice looking deluxe reverb, Sam. congrats!
i've never played through one, but i know alot of blues players who swear it's all you ever need for any style of music.
i used a '70's silver face twin for most of the '80's, was a workhorse, kind of beat up, but great tone and had some headroom.
it was a bit heavy though, the deluxe has a definite advantage there. give us a tone report after you work out with it for awhile!

[sam]

Thanks John,

Traveling this week so not as much playing time as I would like, will have quality time over the weekend. Understand the headroom difference but had to get some 6V6 juice in the house. Since I like mods so much, have seen some online to give less breakup and more headroom i,e. tube rolling, transformer changes, speakers may try eventually, but will run with original set up for a while. Hope to have a report soon. Cheers

[tomanche]

Nice score! I think having a 6L6 amp and a 6V6 amp is the best of all possible outcomes! Both are so tasty!

[sam]

Since my last post have spent some time with the DR, but had a business trip and ankle surgery (will be covered in another post).

Am enjoying this new amp for sure. Compared to the 6L6’s this has more raspy snap to it and as expected less headroom. The classic Fender reverb and vibrato is all there as well. Need to pick up an official Fender footswitch. Past 4-5 start to get natural grit. Run through a pedalboard it matches well with a Rat, a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 as well as a few compression pedals. Worked on some C&W, jam type, and some ratty R&R all covered well.

Since I’m a mod junky already looking to change tubes and maybe speaker to get more headroom to keep it cleaner for longer. Saw a Steve Trovato video where he changed out all transformers to Mercury Magnetics on a 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue, but that will wait. If I did tubes, speaker and transformers might as well just get a Twin Reverb.

Did another A/B (Star Touch) today with the Blues Deluxe mentioned beforehand with my ASAT JD-5 partscaster (thanks Mac) and justified the “need” for this because it “does have a totally different tone” Ran against Boogie Lonestar Special last week as well.
- Problem posting pic from phone, will post pic later



https://imgur.com/a/xQzrKy5

[y2kc]

Very jealous. I am not allowed real amps in the house. I live 12 feet from a church and the priest will kick my ass if I disturb mass.

That amp looks great and they sound wonderful. Nice find. Still jealous.

y2kc

[sam]

Hey Casey,

Thank you sir! Maybe if you find out mass schedule and priest’s work hours you can dance around those times to play. Even better, see if they are a musician of any kind and want to join in, and lastly play some hymns (a dirge or some dimenished chords could fit right in)

I’m still turning the knobs to get the sound in my head, but it is different in a good way. BTW I found the Boogie covered in the middle In your neck of the woods maybe 8 years ago. Ya never know what you can find that people want to get rid of for lower cost.

All amps are real amps what ya got and enjoy every minute of it.

[tomanche]

Glad to hear the Deluxe is making itself at home.

+1 on the Star Touch A/B pedal!

[sam]

Thought I would provide an update and pass on a helpful tip to other DRRI owners.

1- Getting more in tune with the amp, understanding the tone of 6V6 tubes and the attack of the amp. (I'm still a 6L6 guy in the long run) The Fender reverb is a beautiful sound for sure. The Johnson footswitch that came with it will need to be replaced both for general Fender appeal and I'm not convinced it doesn't affect either or both effects. All in all no buyers remorse. Still plan to change some tubes and speaker for more clean headroom but sweet little amp.

2 - Speaking of buyers remorse I almost had some. I found out DRRI's have a history of some issues with the vibrato channel and noise. When I bought it there was a ticking noise that was present when Vibrato was engaged. Store owner blamed in on incandescent lights, and since it was on that effect, I had mod plans in mind and would address AND he knocked off a fair amount when I addressed it more directly with price, so there we were. After hearing it at home had some remedy with a new cable vs old beat up cable, I was getting somewhere. But, with the wonders of the interweb I found a post on The Gear Page that nailed it. Post is below for your benefit and the YouTube video shows how to correct it. The 2 blue wires coming from that tube right behind the tremolo just kind of spread them apart or move them in a way that the ticking stops. I used a chop stick to move the wires.

Go to comment by "Copperhead" on November 19, 2017, the video shows all. I did this and it went away. Link and video on it's own.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... t.1884846/



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[y2kc]

Sam,

Yes I have the mass schedule and the AA meeting schedule memorized in order to not disturb. It turns out that God is a big guitar fan
so I am not that worried.

y2kc