Never be the first one to make noise on stage, or everyone will think your amp is too loud. Let the drummer give some good smacks on the snare first, and everyone will change their frame of reference for what is or isn’t too loud.
I played out recently and made the mistake to be the first to play. I had three people come tell me to turn down. I may have been too loud, but it was a sound check and I need to hear the other band members playing at the same time as me in order to know where to set my volume. From now on, I’ll wait for the drummer to go first!
Because of some bad patch cables on my pedalboard, my sound cut off completely during my first guitar solo at a festival gig this summer. For the rest of the show, I plugged directly into my deluxe reverb RI and used my tele knobs to get all my sounds, plus the reverb and trem via the footswitch. I found I played even better for the rest of the performance because I was locked in with my tele’s dynamics
Consider a pedalboard bypass switch (if you go back to using pedals 😊). One click and you're straight into the amp. Saves time in that situation. Cheers
if your pedalboard is messing with dynamics, you need to check cables and input impedance(s) first. and invest in some knob-fixer donuts so you can set and forget the pedals you don't want getting jarred or have low-resistance/drift-y knobs.
This has to be the best video you guys have done. You have demonstrated a very real useful way of setting up for a live-stage gig with amp/guitar along with pedals front-ended into amp. The gold top Les Paul demo from 3:45 onwards with the DR at 9 was just sensational - so many great, song friendly sounds. Good work gentlemen.
Can't really explain how much this show has added to my guitar playing life...and for some reason this video feels like a good place to say it. Still can't express it, but suffice to say it's a LOT. Excellent episode. Where would we all be without you? I shudder to think.
I played at a funeral once.. just a guitar no other instruments . The man who passed was a massive guitar nut. So in his honor i turned up with a 50w marshall and 1960 4x12 cab. The vicar had kittens when he saw it but to be honest i kept it clean let the sound fill the church. It was an emotional moment.. one that i dont think a silent stage would have had the same effect.
This video is so well timed. The last year and a half I found myself buying new gear only to swap it out. Wash...Rinse...Repeat. Until I finally realized it was the option paralysis that was plaguing me. So I sold all of my gear (save a pedalboard of pedals) and landed on a Fender Princeton and a Gibson ES-335. Now, I am finding I am just focusing on the notes. It's glorious. I'm more inspired to play now than I have been in a very long time, largely because I'm not fussing with sounds.
Good call. The Fender Princeton makes everything sound good! I have one too. I like it even better than the Reverb DLX to be honest. Even more simple. Chimier. Even better reverb somehow too. Now you just need a Tele and you're good to go!
Hell ya, what a great great team you have there. I just found “the right” speaker for my Princeton. Works sooo well with 335 and Humbuckers (and P90). Makes a huge difference…
I was 19 when I picked up a beautiful mint 1965 deluxe reverb. It cost me $200 and I was really unhappy because I didn’t have the money at the time to buy one of those fancy solid-state amps that Peavey made. Fast forward some 40 years later and I’ve used that amp on hundreds upon hundreds of gigs and it’s been a stalwart of my rig. Great video guys and wishing you good tidings from the other side of the pond !
I absolutely love the sentiment of stop apologizing for your volume, the big caveat is better parts and good tone! Thankful you two are helping us get there!
It's amazing how the sound changes between 3, 4 and 4.5. You can hear it in the audio and Dans reaction is immidiate. Fantastic...great amp, great demo!
Volume: playing loud is fun and toneful, but if the audience don’t want it, then it’s too loud. It’s not necesarily ‘the wrong audience’ because I go out to pub gigs to socialise with friends and watch/listen to a band. If the former is impossible because the volume is too high, I’ll go elsewhere. I don’t want to be restricted to bellowing in my friends’ ears once every 3 minutes. There is such a thing as ‘too loud’ in pub venues. Gigs in music venues - yes play as loud as you can, people have paid to expect it. But I think most of your audience play in pubs/bars (certainly in the uk)
I'm not saying you're wrong. Actually, I completely agree. However, there _is_ a certain base volume that is needed for a band to sound good. And even though I'm a guitar player, that base level should be centered around the drummer imo. A snare only sounds good when it gets hit pretty hard. That's the base level for me. The rest of the band has to adjust volume to be able to be on the same level. We just gotta restrain ourselves and try not to turn up the volume bit by bit as the gig progresses 😄
This is also where volume management techniques come in handy. You keep the volume respectable and manageable but still push the amp. Load boxes, attenuators, plexiglass, these things go a long way.
I totally agree. I've gone into venues where the band was playing at deafening levels and it's just not enjoyable. I love playing loud, there's nothing like an Ampeg 8x10 cranked up, but too loud is too loud.
I had my buddy's late Father's 1964 Deluxe Reverb over at my place for several months, a couple years ago. I refurbished it, added a grounded power cable, new speaker, new filter caps, power tubes and an NFB switch (using the old ground switch), as well as a couple other little things. It's almost entirely stock, aside from a few new caps. I sure miss having it around, because man oh man, it's an absolute JEWEL. I consider myself lucky, though, even just having an old "drip-edge" 1968 Vibro Champ.
Well done on criticising the silent stage approach. There are literally certain venues I won’t play now as the sound engineer will just turn the guitar down to nothing. What’s shocked me is the amount of sound engineers who just listen with their eyes. I gigged a Marshall TSL60 for a decade which is (due to its rather strange jack of all trades design) a pretty quiet amp. Yet sound people would constantly tell me to turn it down. Then I moved to using pedals with a significantly less Rawk looking Blackstar Artisan 30 which can easily fill a room even in half power mode. The same engineers started telling me to turn it up. So I’m exasperated now and have moved to a Blackstar Artisan 15 head and 2 x 12 which has a ridiculously loud output due to its simple circuit. I’ve yet to have anyone tell me to turn it down. Perhaps this could be a future episode? Dan gigs a 100 watt amp in an inoffensive looking tiny box and Mick turns up with a 5 watt head built into some Randall Metalhead type enclosure. I think that would be fascinating to see how people react to perceptions of volume.
THIS! I had the band leader/keyboard player ask me to take a 15 watt Velocette off the stage while EVERYBODY in the band was complaining all we could hear was his loud loud piano monitor the entire set!
My kind of rig. I’ve told people for years you can play louder if you play better. When asked how I get my tone, I’ve said as much volume, treble and reverb as you can possibly stand- then push it a little more!
I had an outdoor festival gig this weekend. I wish I watched this first. I set my Deluxe Reverb (79 silver face) to just over 4 (volume), 6 treble, 2.5 bass, as I usually do. The sound guy told me to turn down (he was quite red in the face). Instead of turning down the amp, I should have used my overdrive to turn down, and then turn it back up when the gig started to be heard over the drums and bass (our first song was our sound check). My amp was far back and out of reach... Damn it! It sounded fine, but did lack the liveliness of the DR turned up. Next time. Thanks for a great vid guys.
I’m generalizing, but we really have let these guys mess things up…. I’ve had far more annoying experiences with sound guys than good ones. You should be able to play a DR at an outdoor festival. I mean come on….
@@timeconsumer325 You would think eh. Festivals are quite stressful for sound guys and musicians. Sometimes only 10 minutes to set up and the first song is the sound check. Some sound guys are great, others less experienced. It is a mixed bag.
Deluxe Reverb my favourite amp of all time. The encouragement to stop being ashamed is a great one. Is the DR too loud for home use. I certainly don't think so. I live in the top flat and have talked to the next door neighbour and the folks downstairs and they just say they think its nice. And I have assured them that if they need quiet just come knock and there's absolutely no hard feelings. Its happened only once. So this is my advice to all of you - don't apologise for volume. Think about how loud a saxophone is for example. Don't be ashamed just play your best and use your judgement. I won't practice scales for an hour with the DR. I'll jam and play musical. Before you know it you won't feel self conscious. Also fantastic advice regarding pedals. I only own a telecaster, a simple chorus, a simple delay, an overdrive and a compressor. Its enough. If I want options bonanza I can plug into my computer and have everything, but it makes me a worse guitar player.
As an owner of a DRRI I found this video to be one of the best you guys have done. I also use a small pedal board which includes a Wha pedal, TS9, Super Phat Mod, CE-2 and a Carbon Copy. Now I’m considering an EQ pedal. Job well done guys
take a look at the J Rocket Rockaway Archer... Klon plus active EQ - fantastic for boosting leads and getting some nice Klon style OD to smooth things out a touch
I was fully expecting the :The best amp is the one you have". Which is honestly true! My amp is by no means a beginner (cali tweed) but every time i go ooh i want another amp, i think of all the tonal range my tweed child can cover and it helps me get back to basics. Totally like the spirit of this video, and i think its good to instill simplicity as a foundational virtue in guitarists so that we expand when we HAVE the foundation already built, rather than going option crazy first like a madman (i definitely did this). Great video, cheers to you both from Baltimore!
Didn’t know that amp could do that until I worked for the Guess Who. They ran them hot through a Marshall 4x12 with greenbacks. Gave me a whole new perspective of Fender amps. Haha.
Speakers are a huge part of why there's preconceptions around the Deluxe Reverb. So many session pros have been playing Deluxe Reverbs modified into heads running into larger cabinets. It's a sound people are used to and enjoy, but don't know it's coming from this amp.
Great show guys, I couldn’t agree more about needing an amp on stage. I saw a band last month who had drums, bass, keys, sax, vocals and electric guitar. It was so bloody loud that my ears were sore for days. However the guitarist was using some kind of fancy HELIX Line 6 processor unit with no amp. I could tell he was a phenomenal player from all his chord shapes and licks, however I could barely hear a note from him all night as he was totally drowned out by the drums, sax and keyboard. Maybe it was partly to do with the mix from the sound engineer, but I left just wishing he’d had a nice Fender Deluxe sitting behind him!
There's a yearly retro music/culture festival in the town I live in which features music ranging from 1930s-2000s. One year featured a The Doors cover band, and before the band started playing I noticed the guitarist was plugged in into a vintage Super reverb, and was like ok wow this is probably gonna be great. The concert was really good, and the guitarist nailed all the parts spot on and sounded awesome. I went by to compliment his playing and ask about the Super reverb. Turned out he usually plays his Hot Rod Deluxe, but the event organizer offered him to use the Super reverb they had, which he happily accepted, and used it for the first time in a live situation, said he bonded with it immediately and was mind blow at what a difference it was to play comparing to the Hot Rod, as he never played a vintage blackface amp before that.
Hey Mick and Dan. For me this is one of the most useful shows that you’ve done. It validates the idea of start with a simple setup, learn how it works and slowly build from there. Thanks ❗️
I've learned so much from watching your vids. Years ago I built my pedalboard around your advice...Wah pedal feeding into gain stacking through an EP boost, to tremolo and delay. Superb...learned a few licks from you too. You guys rock. Cheers!
Great video, guys! I am an owner of two deluxe reverb amps, and I love the sound. I have found that now I have the tone I have been looking for for years. Now, I can really begin to focus on the theory and notes behind it. I think once you get the sound you want, then you really begin to take off as a player.
This could be the entire life changing amp for me. I'm struggling to find an amp which is not too loud for ear bleeding, not too quiet for giving the right headroom to my pedals. I love John Mayer kind of sound, but also David Gilmour's. I need an amp that can have such a long sustain and natural crispy attack at acceptable volumes, but it has to stay as clean as possible, without being thin. It's a quest I can't solve in decades. I've switched a lot of amps without finding the right sound, maybe this could be the classic: "ok you have the answer right in front of your eyes". That's an amp everyone has os had. A classic amp, but I've never tried it with my pedals. Thank you guys for this really detailed review.
It’s funny, I’ve always felt a Princeton was the better amplifier, I don’t regret selling my deluxe reverb, but I miss my Princeton every day. Best live tones I’ve ever had. Excellent tones as ever gents, thanks as ever.
Why I sold the best amp in the world! - I bought my 70s silver face Deluxe Reverb from a local guitar tech for $500 in the early 90's. I love the tones and just wanted to have it. As a home player that doesn't do any gigging and I will not ever gig, it's just sat around and been pulled out every so often and played for a little while and enjoyed and then put back up for months. I've started playing again and I have a helix LT and a headrush pedal and fr speakers and monitors that give me a beautiful stereo surround sound. The Halo and Bigsky MX add to my stereo mix. I do have a couple of small amp heads, a Peavey Valveking 20, a mini Soldano and a PRS mt-15 along with two 1x12 cabinets. I also get nice separation of sound from the two speaker cabinets. I just felt like that Deluxe Reverb needed to be played by someone who's gigging and who mikes it up and enjoys it regularly. As good as it sounds it's not easy to get it to that perfect volume in my home without bothering everyone and I still would always choose my stereo surround sounds when I'm just jamming around because it just sounds fuller and bigger and better. A single 12-inch speaker amp that I have to crank up to get to its sweet spot without an effects loop and other speaker outs this wasn't the best thing for me. I'll miss it but I realize I made the right decision.
I have just figured this out recently! Albeit with my own Fender Champian 40. My old pedal board had a veritable smorgasbord of a bit of everything, but now consists of just 6 pedals reverb & trem being two of them. Guess what? I'm sounding better and more consistant: using my volume & tone knobs more and enjoying getting to know my sound much better. It works! Great show guys. 🫡
LADS! Another bloody brilliant video. I’ve just gone and got myself the Victory Kraken V4 amp pedal so I’m looking forward to building out a modest, but beastly, pedalboard that includes my wonderful Strymon Cloudburst. Just when I think of going down the modeller route, you two and your infectious passion and wealth of expertise has saved me from option paralysis in the long run by keeping me analog-ing all night long. Cheery bye! Chris from Felixstowe.
Yep, big fan of this whole video concept. The more I gigged, the more I had to learn that simple but dynamic and engaging will ALWAYS outperform more flexible but less natural to an audience and it really changed how I approach my playing and sound. Love this video. Side note: would love to see an amp gain challenge! One boost pedal max, no overdrives, max five pedals, all running in front of a gainy amp
I played in a 80's--90's--present day rock band. Using a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket 20 watt 1x10 combo. Just using the clean channel, and having a Xotic Super Sweet Booster-Revv G4 distortion-JRockett Audio The Dude in the front. After one song, I was told to turn down. The clean channel is very clean, on about 6....in my mind, I'm telling the soundman "dude, this isn't a John Denver tribute band!!!!"....but I stay quiet, and turn the amp down, just a bit. The amp is behind me, tilted up to the back of my head. Got thru the gig. Afterwards, I realized the soundman is on my side of the stage, maybe 15-20 feet away....So the next time I played with the same rig, I placed my amp behind the PA's subwoofer on my side of the stage pointing to the back wall, set the amp where I wanted, never had any problem hearing myself, never heard any complaints from the soundman. Lesson learned.
I have been watching you guys for so long that within 3 seconds of Mick playing something, I know exactly where it is going. Makes me feel better about myself as a player knowing we all have those go to riffs that we love.
You seriously nailed why the Deluxe Reverb is the desert island amp for most players! I appreciate the mention of the VOX AC15 as another alternative to this approach. Back in the 90s when it was decided that it would be hard to build an actual AC15 reissue with the scarcity of reliable EF86s, my concept (as VOX USA Prod. mgr.) was to build a baby AC30TB (with added reverb) that could compete with the Deluxe Reverb and be a more portable gigging amp for VOX as the AC30TB is a beast! -Cheers!
I love a hot EL84 vox style amp cranked up and just singing ! My AC30 style amp got rid of tremolo, kept the reverb. And added a drive channel and it's awesome !
This is one of your best shows yet, chock full of great advice, sounds and clear explanations and examples. Say no to silent stages! Many thanks, guys.
I've been trying to work out the best volume/gain combination of pedals into amp for years, and the option of 'underdrive' was right in front of me for all this time. A very simple concept but a different approach that will probably make my tube amp sing! Thanks guys, good info.
@@brianmiller3287 I prefer all three of those over the DR. Especially the Super. It's... heavenly. However, there's no denying the DR is just infinitely more practical, both volume wise and "I like my spine in one piece, thank you very much"-wise. And the DR still is an awesome sounding amp in itself.
@@bakkels And the deluxe reverb can be cranked for some nice drive tones without having the cops called on you if you live in a home with reasonable separation between you and your neighbors.
I’m delighted to see this is the 2nd post I’ve seen about the Deluxe Reverb being the best overall amp! I got an early reissue of the’65 in 1998 for $500…It’s wonderful- I changed the speaker to a vintage Celestion and had the bright cap disabled on the reverb channel 🎶 Yep, 4-41/2 is sweet!…great video, guys! 👍
You guys totally had me thinking this would be a gear show. And then it was all about this beautiful uplifting philosophy with a "that's us" feeling for guitar players. Well laid out with tick-boxes for my autistic/ADD brain (a genuine thank you for that). I think so many of us can correlate and substitute with our own single channel amp and pedals. Point making, I could totally relate it to my Soldano atomic 16 going from clean(ish) to mean and my rangemaster boost for solo and RC booster for underdriven cleans + some wobblies and delays. Oh yeah, you've forgotten to put a compressor on the board, but I forgive you ;) And my next thought was... It's not about the gear but I want to play it now... Mission accomplished guys!
This video says something out of trend, outside of some software amplifiers marketed to people today... I must say that following you is a real meaning even just because of your sincerity.
If the deluxe is too loud for your situation, then go with the princeton! Slightly smaller and a bit quieter, but will have the same effect! Beautiful video guys! Loved every minute of it!
I met these guys at the Anaheim NAMM Show a few years back. They're squared away and not full of themselves. Very refreshing to see that. In any event, their videos are all solid, to the point, and informative. This one is no exception. Excellent breakdown of one the greatest gigging amps ever constructed.
I’ve owned a DRRI and loved it. Switched to a Pro Reverb and love it even more. Just gives a little more clean headroom I personally find I need that I can’t get from the DDRI.
Glad to see/hear you embrace a decent volume. Yes, we all (should) care about ear health. But IMO, live music at low volumes (IMO, sub 95 dB) is simply background music. If we ever want live music -- of any style/genre -- to regain cultural significance, we need to get back to volumes that people can feel. It's the only real answer to "but I can stream professional footage from the comfort of my home, why would I ever see a gig in real life?"
On your point about 'Apologising for volume' I 100% agree with you. I moved back to amps and pedals with a dual mono rig, two guitars heads and two 4x12's earlier this year after using a Kemper and having full silent stage for 2 years. Our bass player moved over to a Bass amp and a 4x10 as well. The difference from our audiences reaction, the feedback we've been getting from people and just the feel on stage is just night and day - We've had engineers coming to us and saying how fun we are to mix the whole time we've been playing, and even now they're still saying how fun it is to mix!
Most people would be shocked if they had a look at the pictures of the places that Cream and Hendrix were playing with a 100w Marshall stack (or two!) in the mid-60s, places like the Marquee, Klooks Kleek, the Ricky Tick etc. Some of them are pretty much upstairs rooms above pubs, they'd hold 100 people if they were packed like sardines. If they could use 200w of cranked Marshall Plexi without anyone dying then your average venue can cope with a 20-50w 2x12 amp!
It depends on where you’re playing, and it depends on who YOU are. Any venue would fill to capacity if Clapton or Hendrix were playing, and no one would care that it was too loud to carry on a conversation with the ladies or your buddies (or order a drink or food) Not so much for the average 90s cover band playing out in the suburbs on 2-for-1 wing night. There’s a difference between being the star of a fresh new music scene and being any other kind of working musician. If you’re not sure exactly where you and your band fall in that hierarchy, I advise you to crank that tube amp like a rock star who just don’t give a &@#%. If the bartender or house manager doesn’t sort you out in about 15 seconds then congratulations! Make sure they get your good side on the cover of Rolling Stone.
I have a Deluxe Reverb that I use at home with a Weber Minimass attenuator. I can get great tone without peeling the paint off the walls. It’s a fantastic amp. Cheers from Texas!
It’s been fun watching you guys go through this journey of pushing the amps more and letting them do the overdriving. It’s been about 4 years of a purging of ODs because I get everything from my hands, volume knob and a cranked amp. Also a EP3 for that extra fun. If you ever get a chance to play a Komet, you will experience something very magical.
Awesome video thanks guys. I use a DRRI for my gigging amp. I totally concur on the point where they come alive. I use the maxim: “between four and five it comes alive”. What I do have as part of my standard setup though is running through a Tone King Iron Man II mini attenuator. Those wonder boxes have so many graduations that I only use two clicks from the right (so about 10db ish of attenuation). Then even my cleans have sizzle and warmth. There’s no tone suck, so if a sound guy tells me i’m too loud I just go one more click to the left on the Ironman, yet the amp volume remains just under five. The deluxe reverb is simply a desert island amp. Keep up the great work lads. You have fans down here in New Zealand, rock on.
Awesome video guys! Thanks for demoing ways to combine the pedals to get multiple gain stages and tones out of the different combinations made with both guitars. That EQ idea as a cut and the overdrive as an under drive were really cool and unexpected. Thanks for going over a few options guys, nice playing too! Lots of valid points for the times guys, much agreed on the playing better. The more naturally or organically you can get your sound the more it seems to connect and inspire us players
Watching this episode I can't help but be reminded of the Bonamassa quote: "THE GREATEST THREAT TO GUITAR MANKIND IS THE NOTION THAT STAGE VOLUMES NEED TO BE LOWER THAN THE VOLUME IN WHICH WE SPEAK”
Yep. 12-22 watts is really the sweet spot for most playing situations. The trick with effects is finding pedals and settings that work with the natural sound of the amp. If you do it right as demonstrated in this video there's an overall cohesion to the sound that you can't quite get with a squeaky clean "pedal platform" amp.
Listening to Mick’s “amp on 9” demo takes me back to 1970. I was 15 years old, and we had just taken in a blackface non-reverb Deluxe on trade. My parents were running errands, and I was alone in the house. I cranked the amp in our basement teaching studio, and was gobsmacked at the range of clean and dirty tones I could get out of it without driving the neighbours crazy.
Great video guys! I recently saw a video on Shane Theriot’s channel about when Billy Gibbons came on Live from Daryl’s house. He said BFG showed up with just a couple of guitars, a Magnatone amp and one pedal, a Boss EQ pedal. He had a 400 slider all the way up and all the other frequencies flat. The sound was amazing and definitely BFG.
Just caught up with this wonderful video after getting home from playing a wonderful Sunday afternoon reggae gig. Guitarist playing through a Vox AC10, me playing bass into a 300w stack, real drums, percussionist, two singers, sax and melodica. The stage was far from quiet, as it should be and thankfully nobody said a single word about volume - much fun ensued 😊
Guitar players used to be rebels, guitar used to be dangerous. Get an amp, play it loud and mean. I found the lack of danger in nowadays guitar players disturbing.
@@Les537 "We used to carry on and drink and do the rock and roll" But not only rock,, Funk Players, Jazz Players, Folk Players, From Robert Johnson to Page, from James Taylor to Django, from Hiran Bullock to Eddie Hazel and Joe Walsh, Guitar players were a different breed back in the day. Now they drink non alcohoolic beer, eat gluten free bread and play from a kemper with in ears.
True man. I hate to see ergonomic headless guitars. Like, yeah, a strat is ergonomic, but it's a beautiful object. I want to see more young people playing Rhoads Jackson Vs, Telecasters, doublenecks. I want some excitement, some great songwriting and some improvisation. Not some well-rehearsed metronome bullshit. Give us some drama! Give us some blood!
Many thanks guys, for a great episode! I agree 100% Medium powered amp and basic pedals. No need to go down the modeler route (unless one wants to). There will always be a place for real amps!
Quick story with some possibly relevant insight. I sold all my small amps and bought a Tone King Imperial MKII. I was able to get a B-stock for a good price, mostly paid for with the money from the amp sales, and then I financed the difference. It seemed crazy to spend that much on a small amp (or any amp at all, for that matter) given that I would only need it for bedroom use and smaller gigs. But it was the best decision I ever made. I can get any tone I realistically need, from a black panel deluxe, to a tweed, to an early Marshall. It's a great great pedal platform and has the best spring reverb and tremolo I've ever heard. It inspires me to play everyday and has definitely made me a better player. The attenuator makes it's perfect for bedroom use in a two-family home with neighbors and allows me to dial it to the sweet spot. I can even play late at night or early in the morning with the attenuator maxed. My fender Deluxe and Princeton reissues were great amps, but realistically they were too loud for bedroom use. Even 5-10 watt tube Marshalls, Vox, and fenders were too loud, and those with the half power or quarter power switches never sounded quite right. To reach the sweet spot in volume, I would need a good attenuator either way, which would cost upwards of $400. These days, I'm starting to lean towards using this amp over my 70s JMP and Hi-tone at live gigs, especially if it's a small gig or the amps are miked. The sound guy prefers it, and I can keep my tone relatively consistent from the bedroom to the stage. It's ultimately a deluxe reverb on steroids, with much appreciated features and improvements to make it suitable in a wide variety of different environments!
Tone King is king - you pay more for it than for a Fender amp, but you get the tones of ALL Fender amps from it without modeling and the Ironman attenuator itself is worth being bought extra just to be able to play that Deluxe Reverb when you are not on a stage. Fender demands too much for what it delivers. By the way; the show is mostly very good, I learned a lot from these gentlemen but... no offence meant, but sometimes it seems - at least to me - like they are trying to advocate a bit too much for vintage type stuff. I mean there are really so few people who could tell you the difference between the sound of a Blues Cube Artist and a tube amp. And even if they can, does not mean the tube amp has to sound better.
I’ve bought various guitar pedals and amps that haven’t lived up to the expectation or have sounded seemingly different to in YT videos. When I finally made the jump to a deluxe reverb, it was exactly what I’d hoped and the talk about it is well justified. Great amp.
The Deluxe Reverb has a really unusually broad sweet spot where pedals sound great - almost like no other amp, including big iron monsters. And this allows one to shape the pedal tones into many directions, which is great.
Can’t agree more. Great spot, guys! I recently re-discovered my Deluxe after it sat unused in a corner for years. I’m actually running mine totally cranked on volume but through an Ironman attenuator into two 12” speakers (a Mesa Boogie Black Shadow and Celestion Creamback). Just a great, great pedal platform to taste, but no pedals are really necessary for a glorious overdriven tone.
Do you think the whole "comes alive with volume at 4.0 - 4.5" phenomenon is related to the fact that that is about where the DR's fixed bright cap drops out? Hoping y'all would have addressed/discussed the bright cap (to clip, or not to clip) on some level. Still, another great video, regardless.
It could be... But the effect is like a bunch of extra gain and balls. I mean it could be. Interesting! Never ever felt the need to clip it. Maybe for low volume use where it does sound a bit thin. But then we have to ask.... why have a loud tube amp for low volume? Especially a non-master volume amp....
This video led me in the direction of purchasing a vox ac15. I’m no longer spending hours tone chasing on my boss katana and suffering from option paralysis. I’m hearing sounds from my guitars I haven’t heard before, clarity and definition. I’m focusing more on playing and sticking with stock sounds and everything sounds fantastic. I’ll keep the katana if I get into a situation where the vox isn’t cutting volume wise. Top video gentlemen! And sincere thanks!
Sublime! There is no modelling, cab sim or digital jiggery-pokery can come, even slightly near, to the sounds heard in this demo. Well done TPS .. love it.
Great perspective on all this volume phobia. As the gig progresses, it's the drummer who gets louder. Playing live is as close as you get to glory, there is no better feeling when your sound is beaming. Keep it going people.
How did these sound guys-and let’s be honest, most of them are frustrated musicians-become the arbiters of what I need as a performer? The way it sounds to ME is the most important thing, period.
@@cedarbay3994 Well, the most important thing is what it sounds like to the audience - they couldn't care less how it sounds to you so long as the overall mix sounds good. Really need to stop the sound engineer bashing in general; I'm by no means a professional but have done quite a bit in my time and some guitarists go right off on one about needing to be loud and their tone is utterly appalling and just ruins the mix. A lot of guitarists REALLY need to let go of their ego on this and trust the sound engineer (and yes there are bad ones, but the vast majority are very good and want the MIX to sound excellent).
Ive always wanted this amp as i completely agree with their mission to educate players who chase an endless search for killer tone via 100s of pedals and buying and trying other amps. Ive been doing this with a fender blues jr for the past 25 yrs using the amp and guitar volume knobs for added variety with a few modulation pedals. This pushes me into the Deluxe world as my single amp.
Great amp. In 1962 my mother bought me a new 335 with Bigsby vibrato that came with a hard shell case for $325 US. From the music store we went to Sear and she bought me a Silvertone Twin Twelve which i think was about 50 watts $150? I used it from 62 to 1975 without a hitch. It never broke and never needed any tubes replace. Great amp. Everything a kid could hope for back then. No effects except for reverb and tremolo. One channel for a mic. and another for your guitar. It was just plug and play. I still have at amp. We didn't worry about all of the other crap. Just happy to have a band. I think We need to take a few steps back!
I know this is an unpopular opinion... but my blonde deluxe tone master is crazy impressive just like its tube counterparts. Dial in the sound then just adjust attenuation based on how loud you want to play. It's ridiculous, takes keeping it simple to the next level. Great episode !
Totally agree (my main amp is a Tonemaster Deluxe black that I converted to blonde), except I still don’t love the overdriven sound from the Tonemaster. It doesn’t sound smooth and creamy like what I hear in this video. It takes OD pedals great though.
I was just visiting Nashville and went to a number of clubs with a full drum kit, but everyone else was modeling or going direct. It didn't sound bad, but it just felt lacking. I saw one 3-man band at a very small club, guitarist had a tiny Fender Champ. It sounded massive and was the best thing I heard all week.
The biggest problem with this amp is that it can't be used at home with backing tracks - it doesn't have an aux-in. And, accordingly, it's impossible to use all the best sounds it can produce without connecting some additional equipment, ultimately using a studio monitor. And a guitar speaker sounds much better than a studio monitor, but for some reason manufacturers don't take into account this simple option, which would be a great gift for millions of guitarists playing at home.
Music would not sound good through that box and speaker combo. It’s kinda voiced for guitar only. You don’t buy this amp for multi functionality, you buy it to make your guitar sound great.
@@quintonmcdannald2327 I have a Laney L5 studio which is equipped with an aux-in input. Backing tracks sound very good for practice. Usually we don’t need perfect hi-fi quality in such cases.
@@1loStu we all have and have had multiple types of amps and they all have their own purpose. I often put backing tracks on my TV and play my Deluxe on top of it, however the helix into my small PA with backing tracks running from my phone also works well. But the difference in experience between a real deluxe and the digital modeler is hard to describe, kinda like the difference between a girl E Harmony matches for you and the girl you actually have chemistry with yet makes no sense in paper. Part of the reason I play music is to chase that chemistry and capture that feeling.
Maybe a show idea here for y’all, is there bits of gear you think sound amazing when other people use them but when you try it you just can’t get along with it? The deluxe reverb reissue is one of those for me. Played a bunch, owned a few, always sounds/feels horrible to me. Walk into a bar hear a great guitar tone, hey look, deluxe reissue 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
My jcm900 is kinda like that for me. I use it clean with pedals because I can't get along with its channel B, it just doesn't roll off like I would like neither does it sound like I would want a marshall to sound like. Great amp for riffing though
Often it’s the tubes and wall voltage. Swap out the 12ax7s for xy7s, then make sure you have under 220 wall volts because over that spec the amp gets punchy and thin. But those two rules and you won’t find a modeler that will make you feel so comfortable being loud.
The second I read the title I knew it was gonna be the Deluxe, happy you validated my presumption, what a great sweet spot amp! Imagine music without Fender amps, it would be such a gaping hole in music history.. so many of my favorite bands and guitar players use Fender amps. Classic sounds today, great playing, hitting that glorious 100DB on 4.2 🤩 Would love to see you take a deeper dive with Fender more amps in the future, especially a Pro reverb, Super, Twin, and for contrast maybe even the small 68 Custom Vibro Champ or other smaller amps. I've kinda been on the binge thinking of purchasing the Vibro Champ, since it seems like a great portable option to pair with a small pedalboard for smaller live gigs and jams, but also for recording, and just having such a small amp with that Fender sound seems like a great thing to have. Would appreciate your, and the rest of the chats opinions and hands on experience with it !
I have a Fender deluxe reverb 65 RI... and an Orange Rockerverb 50 MKIII and I love my guitar life!!!!! Thanks guys for your wonderful beautiful playing and your insightful videos!!
I've searched a TON about amps recently. Like a lot. It will be my first amp purchase in about 20 years. Just getting back into guitar again. Out of all things, one thing is constant. Everyone praises this amp and boy it's for good reason. It has the clean, the breakup etc it's really really good. Might have to gift myself one
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Never be the first one to make noise on stage, or everyone will think your amp is too loud. Let the drummer give some good smacks on the snare first, and everyone will change their frame of reference for what is or isn’t too loud.
Thats good wisdom
Good advice- absolutely spot on!
4d toan chess shit
I played out recently and made the mistake to be the first to play. I had three people come tell me to turn down. I may have been too loud, but it was a sound check and I need to hear the other band members playing at the same time as me in order to know where to set my volume.
From now on, I’ll wait for the drummer to go first!
I cannot stand when sound checks are done on isolated guitar with absolutely no context from the rest of the band.
Because of some bad patch cables on my pedalboard, my sound cut off completely during my first guitar solo at a festival gig this summer. For the rest of the show, I plugged directly into my deluxe reverb RI and used my tele knobs to get all my sounds, plus the reverb and trem via the footswitch. I found I played even better for the rest of the performance because I was locked in with my tele’s dynamics
Consider a pedalboard bypass switch (if you go back to using pedals 😊). One click and you're straight into the amp. Saves time in that situation. Cheers
if your pedalboard is messing with dynamics, you need to check cables and input impedance(s) first.
and invest in some knob-fixer donuts so you can set and forget the pedals you don't want getting jarred or have low-resistance/drift-y knobs.
好amp
This has to be the best video you guys have done. You have demonstrated a very real useful way of setting up for a live-stage gig with amp/guitar along with pedals front-ended into amp. The gold top Les Paul demo from 3:45 onwards with the DR at 9 was just sensational - so many great, song friendly sounds. Good work gentlemen.
Can't really explain how much this show has added to my guitar playing life...and for some reason this video feels like a good place to say it. Still can't express it, but suffice to say it's a LOT. Excellent episode. Where would we all be without you? I shudder to think.
Bless you, cheers Danny 🙏
Totally agree. I’ve learned so much about using my gear. I can always get great tone using what I’ve learned from this duo
Absolutely agree, my knowledge of how to set up a decent , gig worthy guitar rig is in huge debt to Dan & Mick and their informative videos.
Can't see the spider V anywhere, klickbait
Hahahaha! WINNING!
@@ThatPedalShow it's clearly the Boss Katana 😝
Ayyyyyy
This comment deserves to be pinned
Such blasphemy.... 😂
I played at a funeral once.. just a guitar no other instruments . The man who passed was a massive guitar nut. So in his honor i turned up with a 50w marshall and 1960 4x12 cab. The vicar had kittens when he saw it but to be honest i kept it clean let the sound fill the church. It was an emotional moment.. one that i dont think a silent stage would have had the same effect.
That's a really cool tribute; and what a way to get reverb for a marshall :)
I played Taps at night time to a whole group of neighbors all over the road for my neighbor that passed
I know of at least one guy in your audience who wasn't complaining about the volume.
I was admiring that shirt..what is it?
Life starts at 1960. Great cab!
This video is so well timed. The last year and a half I found myself buying new gear only to swap it out. Wash...Rinse...Repeat. Until I finally realized it was the option paralysis that was plaguing me. So I sold all of my gear (save a pedalboard of pedals) and landed on a Fender Princeton and a Gibson ES-335. Now, I am finding I am just focusing on the notes. It's glorious. I'm more inspired to play now than I have been in a very long time, largely because I'm not fussing with sounds.
Aw man, I'm in this place right now 🥴 thanks for sharing
Good call. The Fender Princeton makes everything sound good! I have one too. I like it even better than the Reverb DLX to be honest. Even more simple. Chimier. Even better reverb somehow too. Now you just need a Tele and you're good to go!
what a great combo!
Hell ya, what a great great team you have there. I just found “the right” speaker for my Princeton. Works sooo well with 335 and Humbuckers (and P90). Makes a huge difference…
I adore my Princeton Reverb, paired with a G&L.
I was 19 when I picked up a beautiful mint 1965 deluxe reverb. It cost me $200 and I was really unhappy because I didn’t have the money at the time to buy one of those fancy solid-state amps that Peavey made. Fast forward some 40 years later and I’ve used that amp on hundreds upon hundreds of gigs and it’s been a stalwart of my rig.
Great video guys and wishing you good tidings from the other side of the pond !
I absolutely love the sentiment of stop apologizing for your volume, the big caveat is better parts and good tone! Thankful you two are helping us get there!
This was a really good show. No filler, just killer. Back to basics. Simplicity. Clarity. I love it.
I didn't like the tone of the Les Paul, "To muddy" I thought the Telecaster had a much better tone.
@@johncarlo7395 I would take a tele over a Paul any day of the week in general.
@@GeoffByrdMusic Me too, a Les Paul fitted with P-90s is quite bright, but it's still a Tele for me.
It's amazing how the sound changes between 3, 4 and 4.5. You can hear it in the audio and Dans reaction is immidiate. Fantastic...great amp, great demo!
Volume: playing loud is fun and toneful, but if the audience don’t want it, then it’s too loud. It’s not necesarily ‘the wrong audience’ because I go out to pub gigs to socialise with friends and watch/listen to a band. If the former is impossible because the volume is too high, I’ll go elsewhere. I don’t want to be restricted to bellowing in my friends’ ears once every 3 minutes. There is such a thing as ‘too loud’ in pub venues. Gigs in music venues - yes play as loud as you can, people have paid to expect it. But I think most of your audience play in pubs/bars (certainly in the uk)
"If my employees can't hear the customer's drink order, how can I afford to pay you"
-a smart pub owner explaining reality to my drummer
I'm not saying you're wrong. Actually, I completely agree. However, there _is_ a certain base volume that is needed for a band to sound good. And even though I'm a guitar player, that base level should be centered around the drummer imo. A snare only sounds good when it gets hit pretty hard. That's the base level for me. The rest of the band has to adjust volume to be able to be on the same level. We just gotta restrain ourselves and try not to turn up the volume bit by bit as the gig progresses 😄
This is also where volume management techniques come in handy. You keep the volume respectable and manageable but still push the amp. Load boxes, attenuators, plexiglass, these things go a long way.
I totally agree. I've gone into venues where the band was playing at deafening levels and it's just not enjoyable. I love playing loud, there's nothing like an Ampeg 8x10 cranked up, but too loud is too loud.
@@bakkels a snare sounds good at any volume if you hit it right . velocity and touch are not a strong skill of amateurish drummers
I love shows like this! It makes me go back and recalibrate my amps and pedals. I learn so much from you gents. Thanks!
I had my buddy's late Father's 1964 Deluxe Reverb over at my place for several months, a couple years ago. I refurbished it, added a grounded power cable, new speaker, new filter caps, power tubes and an NFB switch (using the old ground switch), as well as a couple other little things. It's almost entirely stock, aside from a few new caps. I sure miss having it around, because man oh man, it's an absolute JEWEL. I consider myself lucky, though, even just having an old "drip-edge" 1968 Vibro Champ.
Well done on criticising the silent stage approach. There are literally certain venues I won’t play now as the sound engineer will just turn the guitar down to nothing.
What’s shocked me is the amount of sound engineers who just listen with their eyes. I gigged a Marshall TSL60 for a decade which is (due to its rather strange jack of all trades design) a pretty quiet amp. Yet sound people would constantly tell me to turn it down. Then I moved to using pedals with a significantly less Rawk looking Blackstar Artisan 30 which can easily fill a room even in half power mode. The same engineers started telling me to turn it up. So I’m exasperated now and have moved to a Blackstar Artisan 15 head and 2 x 12 which has a ridiculously loud output due to its simple circuit. I’ve yet to have anyone tell me to turn it down.
Perhaps this could be a future episode? Dan gigs a 100 watt amp in an inoffensive looking tiny box and Mick turns up with a 5 watt head built into some Randall Metalhead type enclosure. I think that would be fascinating to see how people react to perceptions of volume.
That's a real thing, and a great idea for a video!
You should swap the Marshall faceplate for the Blackstar and see what happens. LOL!
Victory VX Kraken vs. Fender Tweed Deluxe lol
@@jezzer1969 Yes, and as a regular gig goer, the sound is terrible if you are at the front.
THIS! I had the band leader/keyboard player ask me to take a 15 watt Velocette off the stage while EVERYBODY in the band was complaining all we could hear was his loud loud piano monitor the entire set!
Deluxe Reverb for live and a Princeton (preferred) for home.
My kind of rig. I’ve told people for years you can play louder if you play better. When asked how I get my tone, I’ve said as much volume, treble and reverb as you can possibly stand- then push it a little more!
I had an outdoor festival gig this weekend. I wish I watched this first. I set my Deluxe Reverb (79 silver face) to just over 4 (volume), 6 treble, 2.5 bass, as I usually do. The sound guy told me to turn down (he was quite red in the face). Instead of turning down the amp, I should have used my overdrive to turn down, and then turn it back up when the gig started to be heard over the drums and bass (our first song was our sound check). My amp was far back and out of reach... Damn it! It sounded fine, but did lack the liveliness of the DR turned up. Next time. Thanks for a great vid guys.
I’m generalizing, but we really have let these guys mess things up…. I’ve had far more annoying experiences with sound guys than good ones. You should be able to play a DR at an outdoor festival. I mean come on….
@@timeconsumer325 You would think eh. Festivals are quite stressful for sound guys and musicians. Sometimes only 10 minutes to set up and the first song is the sound check. Some sound guys are great, others less experienced. It is a mixed bag.
Deluxe Reverb my favourite amp of all time. The encouragement to stop being ashamed is a great one. Is the DR too loud for home use. I certainly don't think so. I live in the top flat and have talked to the next door neighbour and the folks downstairs and they just say they think its nice. And I have assured them that if they need quiet just come knock and there's absolutely no hard feelings. Its happened only once. So this is my advice to all of you - don't apologise for volume. Think about how loud a saxophone is for example. Don't be ashamed just play your best and use your judgement. I won't practice scales for an hour with the DR. I'll jam and play musical. Before you know it you won't feel self conscious.
Also fantastic advice regarding pedals. I only own a telecaster, a simple chorus, a simple delay, an overdrive and a compressor. Its enough. If I want options bonanza I can plug into my computer and have everything, but it makes me a worse guitar player.
As an owner of a DRRI I found this video to be one of the best you guys have done. I also use a small pedal board which includes a Wha pedal, TS9, Super Phat Mod, CE-2 and a Carbon Copy. Now I’m considering an EQ pedal.
Job well done guys
take a look at the J Rocket Rockaway Archer... Klon plus active EQ - fantastic for boosting leads and getting some nice Klon style OD to smooth things out a touch
I was fully expecting the :The best amp is the one you have". Which is honestly true! My amp is by no means a beginner (cali tweed) but every time i go ooh i want another amp, i think of all the tonal range my tweed child can cover and it helps me get back to basics. Totally like the spirit of this video, and i think its good to instill simplicity as a foundational virtue in guitarists so that we expand when we HAVE the foundation already built, rather than going option crazy first like a madman (i definitely did this).
Great video, cheers to you both from Baltimore!
I haven’t watched in a couple of years outside of some of the guest appearances, and I feel like Dan’s playing is substantially improved.
Didn’t know that amp could do that until I worked for the Guess Who. They ran them hot through a Marshall 4x12 with greenbacks. Gave me a whole new perspective of Fender amps. Haha.
Speakers are a huge part of why there's preconceptions around the Deluxe Reverb. So many session pros have been playing Deluxe Reverbs modified into heads running into larger cabinets. It's a sound people are used to and enjoy, but don't know it's coming from this amp.
Amen - real amps, real volume. People come for the feel, as well as the sound. I want the "WOMP" of a guitar when I see a live show.
Great show guys, I couldn’t agree more about needing an amp on stage. I saw a band last month who had drums, bass, keys, sax, vocals and electric guitar. It was so bloody loud that my ears were sore for days. However the guitarist was using some kind of fancy HELIX Line 6 processor unit with no amp. I could tell he was a phenomenal player from all his chord shapes and licks, however I could barely hear a note from him all night as he was totally drowned out by the drums, sax and keyboard. Maybe it was partly to do with the mix from the sound engineer, but I left just wishing he’d had a nice Fender Deluxe sitting behind him!
There's a yearly retro music/culture festival in the town I live in which features music ranging from 1930s-2000s. One year featured a The Doors cover band, and before the band started playing I noticed the guitarist was plugged in into a vintage Super reverb, and was like ok wow this is probably gonna be great. The concert was really good, and the guitarist nailed all the parts spot on and sounded awesome. I went by to compliment his playing and ask about the Super reverb. Turned out he usually plays his Hot Rod Deluxe, but the event organizer offered him to use the Super reverb they had, which he happily accepted, and used it for the first time in a live situation, said he bonded with it immediately and was mind blow at what a difference it was to play comparing to the Hot Rod, as he never played a vintage blackface amp before that.
Hey Mick and Dan. For me this is one of the most useful shows that you’ve done. It validates the idea of start with a simple setup, learn how it works and slowly build from there. Thanks ❗️
I've learned so much from watching your vids. Years ago I built my pedalboard around your advice...Wah pedal feeding into gain stacking through an EP boost, to tremolo and delay. Superb...learned a few licks from you too. You guys rock. Cheers!
Great video, guys! I am an owner of two deluxe reverb amps, and I love the sound. I have found that now I have the tone I have been looking for for years. Now, I can really begin to focus on the theory and notes behind it. I think once you get the sound you want, then you really begin to take off as a player.
This could be the entire life changing amp for me. I'm struggling to find an amp which is not too loud for ear bleeding, not too quiet for giving the right headroom to my pedals. I love John Mayer kind of sound, but also David Gilmour's. I need an amp that can have such a long sustain and natural crispy attack at acceptable volumes, but it has to stay as clean as possible, without being thin. It's a quest I can't solve in decades. I've switched a lot of amps without finding the right sound, maybe this could be the classic: "ok you have the answer right in front of your eyes". That's an amp everyone has os had. A classic amp, but I've never tried it with my pedals. Thank you guys for this really detailed review.
Some of the most fun I ever had live was a Les Paul plugged into a fender amp with only a wah pedal between. Awesomeness!
It’s funny, I’ve always felt a Princeton was the better amplifier, I don’t regret selling my deluxe reverb, but I miss my Princeton every day. Best live tones I’ve ever had. Excellent tones as ever gents, thanks as ever.
Why I sold the best amp in the world! - I bought my 70s silver face Deluxe Reverb from a local guitar tech for $500 in the early 90's. I love the tones and just wanted to have it. As a home player that doesn't do any gigging and I will not ever gig, it's just sat around and been pulled out every so often and played for a little while and enjoyed and then put back up for months. I've started playing again and I have a helix LT and a headrush pedal and fr speakers and monitors that give me a beautiful stereo surround sound. The Halo and Bigsky MX add to my stereo mix. I do have a couple of small amp heads, a Peavey Valveking 20, a mini Soldano and a PRS mt-15 along with two 1x12 cabinets. I also get nice separation of sound from the two speaker cabinets. I just felt like that Deluxe Reverb needed to be played by someone who's gigging and who mikes it up and enjoys it regularly. As good as it sounds it's not easy to get it to that perfect volume in my home without bothering everyone and I still would always choose my stereo surround sounds when I'm just jamming around because it just sounds fuller and bigger and better. A single 12-inch speaker amp that I have to crank up to get to its sweet spot without an effects loop and other speaker outs this wasn't the best thing for me. I'll miss it but I realize I made the right decision.
As a side note, I got $1,200 for it from a Nashville musician who is gigging.
You did the right thing 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I have just figured this out recently! Albeit with my own Fender Champian 40. My old pedal board had a veritable smorgasbord of a bit of everything, but now consists of just 6 pedals reverb & trem being two of them. Guess what? I'm sounding better and more consistant: using my volume & tone knobs more and enjoying getting to know my sound much better. It works! Great show guys. 🫡
LADS! Another bloody brilliant video. I’ve just gone and got myself the Victory Kraken V4 amp pedal so I’m looking forward to building out a modest, but beastly, pedalboard that includes my wonderful Strymon Cloudburst. Just when I think of going down the modeller route, you two and your infectious passion and wealth of expertise has saved me from option paralysis in the long run by keeping me analog-ing all night long. Cheery bye! Chris from Felixstowe.
Yep, big fan of this whole video concept. The more I gigged, the more I had to learn that simple but dynamic and engaging will ALWAYS outperform more flexible but less natural to an audience and it really changed how I approach my playing and sound. Love this video. Side note: would love to see an amp gain challenge! One boost pedal max, no overdrives, max five pedals, all running in front of a gainy amp
I played in a 80's--90's--present day rock band. Using a Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket 20 watt 1x10 combo. Just using the clean channel, and having a Xotic Super Sweet Booster-Revv G4 distortion-JRockett Audio The Dude in the front. After one song, I was told to turn down. The clean channel is very clean, on about 6....in my mind, I'm telling the soundman "dude, this isn't a John Denver tribute band!!!!"....but I stay quiet, and turn the amp down, just a bit. The amp is behind me, tilted up to the back of my head. Got thru the gig. Afterwards, I realized the soundman is on my side of the stage, maybe 15-20 feet away....So the next time I played with the same rig, I placed my amp behind the PA's subwoofer on my side of the stage pointing to the back wall, set the amp where I wanted, never had any problem hearing myself, never heard any complaints from the soundman. Lesson learned.
I have been watching you guys for so long that within 3 seconds of Mick playing something, I know exactly where it is going. Makes me feel better about myself as a player knowing we all have those go to riffs that we love.
You seriously nailed why the Deluxe Reverb is the desert island amp for most players! I appreciate the mention of the VOX AC15 as another alternative to this approach. Back in the 90s when it was decided that it would be hard to build an actual AC15 reissue with the scarcity of reliable EF86s, my concept (as VOX USA Prod. mgr.) was to build a baby AC30TB (with added reverb) that could compete with the Deluxe Reverb and be a more portable gigging amp for VOX as the AC30TB is a beast!
-Cheers!
Would like to see it done with the AC15
I love a hot EL84 vox style amp cranked up and just singing ! My AC30 style amp got rid of tremolo, kept the reverb. And added a drive channel and it's awesome !
This is one of your best shows yet, chock full of great advice, sounds and clear explanations and examples. Say no to silent stages! Many thanks, guys.
It just sounds so good. Not enough applause for you two, great playing.
I've been trying to work out the best volume/gain combination of pedals into amp for years, and the option of 'underdrive' was right in front of me for all this time. A very simple concept but a different approach that will probably make my tube amp sing! Thanks guys, good info.
'59 Bassman has entered the chat
blackface super reverb?
@@imsliccMay I add the Vibrolux? A vastly underrated amp IMO...
@@brianmiller3287This!
@@brianmiller3287 I prefer all three of those over the DR. Especially the Super. It's... heavenly. However, there's no denying the DR is just infinitely more practical, both volume wise and "I like my spine in one piece, thank you very much"-wise. And the DR still is an awesome sounding amp in itself.
@@bakkels And the deluxe reverb can be cranked for some nice drive tones without having the cops called on you if you live in a home with reasonable separation between you and your neighbors.
I’m delighted to see this is the 2nd post I’ve seen about the Deluxe Reverb being the best overall amp! I got an early reissue of the’65 in 1998 for $500…It’s wonderful- I changed the speaker to a vintage Celestion and had the bright cap disabled on the reverb channel 🎶 Yep, 4-41/2 is sweet!…great video, guys! 👍
You guys totally had me thinking this would be a gear show. And then it was all about this beautiful uplifting philosophy with a "that's us" feeling for guitar players. Well laid out with tick-boxes for my autistic/ADD brain (a genuine thank you for that).
I think so many of us can correlate and substitute with our own single channel amp and pedals.
Point making, I could totally relate it to my Soldano atomic 16 going from clean(ish) to mean and my rangemaster boost for solo and RC booster for underdriven cleans + some wobblies and delays. Oh yeah, you've forgotten to put a compressor on the board, but I forgive you ;)
And my next thought was... It's not about the gear but I want to play it now...
Mission accomplished guys!
This video says something out of trend, outside of some software amplifiers marketed to people today... I must say that following you is a real meaning even just because of your sincerity.
If the deluxe is too loud for your situation, then go with the princeton! Slightly smaller and a bit quieter, but will have the same effect! Beautiful video guys! Loved every minute of it!
Good point!
I met these guys at the Anaheim NAMM Show a few years back. They're squared away and not full of themselves. Very refreshing to see that. In any event, their videos are all solid, to the point, and informative. This one is no exception. Excellent breakdown of one the greatest gigging amps ever constructed.
Might be the best episode TPS has ever done. Cheers! 🎉
I’ve owned a DRRI and loved it. Switched to a Pro Reverb and love it even more. Just gives a little more clean headroom I personally find I need that I can’t get from the DDRI.
Big fans of Pro Reverbs here. Why we don't have one is a mystery. :0)
Bukovac says the Pro is the best black panel, but I don’t have one either
@@ThatPedalShowgot mine after seeing Chris Buck using one.
@@ThatPedalShow welcome to grab my '65 pro reverb? I'll get Jake to bring it?
@@johnnathancordyyou should try yours with some original jensens! Alot less heavy too!
It took three months, but this video finally caused the sale of my BluesJr and Marshall DSL20. Replaced obviously by the 65drri. Thanks guys 🙏🙏✌️👍
Glad to see/hear you embrace a decent volume. Yes, we all (should) care about ear health. But IMO, live music at low volumes (IMO, sub 95 dB) is simply background music. If we ever want live music -- of any style/genre -- to regain cultural significance, we need to get back to volumes that people can feel. It's the only real answer to "but I can stream professional footage from the comfort of my home, why would I ever see a gig in real life?"
Live music hasn’t lost significance only some bands/groups have. Plenty of good live music out there.
On your point about 'Apologising for volume' I 100% agree with you. I moved back to amps and pedals with a dual mono rig, two guitars heads and two 4x12's earlier this year after using a Kemper and having full silent stage for 2 years. Our bass player moved over to a Bass amp and a 4x10 as well.
The difference from our audiences reaction, the feedback we've been getting from people and just the feel on stage is just night and day - We've had engineers coming to us and saying how fun we are to mix the whole time we've been playing, and even now they're still saying how fun it is to mix!
That’s awesome Adam, a perfect example of what we’re saying 🙏
Most people would be shocked if they had a look at the pictures of the places that Cream and Hendrix were playing with a 100w Marshall stack (or two!) in the mid-60s, places like the Marquee, Klooks Kleek, the Ricky Tick etc.
Some of them are pretty much upstairs rooms above pubs, they'd hold 100 people if they were packed like sardines.
If they could use 200w of cranked Marshall Plexi without anyone dying then your average venue can cope with a 20-50w 2x12 amp!
This!!
It depends on where you’re playing, and it depends on who YOU are. Any venue would fill to capacity if Clapton or Hendrix were playing, and no one would care that it was too loud to carry on a conversation with the ladies or your buddies (or order a drink or food) Not so much for the average 90s cover band playing out in the suburbs on 2-for-1 wing night.
There’s a difference between being the star of a fresh new music scene and being any other kind of working musician. If you’re not sure exactly where you and your band fall in that hierarchy, I advise you to crank that tube amp like a rock star who just don’t give a &@#%. If the bartender or house manager doesn’t sort you out in about 15 seconds then congratulations! Make sure they get your good side on the cover of Rolling Stone.
The hearing damage though! The surviving members of that era - players and audience - all have hearing loss!
Nice that someone addresses the live music issues and situations. It’s a rabbit hole journey much larger than the tone one. Thanks guys!
I have a Deluxe Reverb that I use at home with a Weber Minimass attenuator. I can get great tone without peeling the paint off the walls. It’s a fantastic amp. Cheers from Texas!
I have the exact same approach and set up and I agree wholeheartedly!
I'm with you. But mine's the Ironman 2. It also stops the pedal tone chase when you can just turn the amp up and get real breakup at home volumes.
It’s been fun watching you guys go through this journey of pushing the amps more and letting them do the overdriving. It’s been about 4 years of a purging of ODs because I get everything from my hands, volume knob and a cranked amp. Also a EP3 for that extra fun. If you ever get a chance to play a Komet, you will experience something very magical.
I run a Hiwatt DR 504 OL.
I love it.
Awesome video thanks guys. I use a DRRI for my gigging amp. I totally concur on the point where they come alive. I use the maxim: “between four and five it comes alive”. What I do have as part of my standard setup though is running through a Tone King Iron Man II mini attenuator. Those wonder boxes have so many graduations that I only use two clicks from the right (so about 10db ish of attenuation). Then even my cleans have sizzle and warmth. There’s no tone suck, so if a sound guy tells me i’m too loud I just go one more click to the left on the Ironman, yet the amp volume remains just under five.
The deluxe reverb is simply a desert island amp. Keep up the great work lads. You have fans down here in New Zealand, rock on.
In my humble opinion, the Princeton Reverb is the best circuit ever made.
Awesome video guys! Thanks for demoing ways to combine the pedals to get multiple gain stages and tones out of the different combinations made with both guitars. That EQ idea as a cut and the overdrive as an under drive were really cool and unexpected. Thanks for going over a few options guys, nice playing too! Lots of valid points for the times guys, much agreed on the playing better. The more naturally or organically you can get your sound the more it seems to connect and inspire us players
Watching this episode I can't help but be reminded of the Bonamassa quote:
"THE GREATEST THREAT TO GUITAR MANKIND IS THE NOTION THAT STAGE VOLUMES NEED TO BE LOWER THAN THE VOLUME IN WHICH WE SPEAK”
Love that you wrote that in all caps.
Yep. 12-22 watts is really the sweet spot for most playing situations. The trick with effects is finding pedals and settings that work with the natural sound of the amp. If you do it right as demonstrated in this video there's an overall cohesion to the sound that you can't quite get with a squeaky clean "pedal platform" amp.
I recently built a Princeton from a kit and put a 12” speaker in the cab. That takes some beating.
Listening to Mick’s “amp on 9” demo takes me back to 1970. I was 15 years old, and we had just taken in a blackface non-reverb Deluxe on trade. My parents were running errands, and I was alone in the house. I cranked the amp in our basement teaching studio, and was gobsmacked at the range of clean and dirty tones I could get out of it without driving the neighbours crazy.
My rig. SG, - plate reverb,- analogue delay , - SD 1 ,- Paul Gilbert Mojo mojo. - chorus - twin reverb.
Sounds huge and , if required, spikey.
You carry a plate reverb with you?!
@@zephal yes,in a reverb pedal
Great video guys! I recently saw a video on Shane Theriot’s channel about when Billy Gibbons came on Live from Daryl’s house. He said BFG showed up with just a couple of guitars, a Magnatone amp and one pedal, a Boss EQ pedal. He had a 400 slider all the way up and all the other frequencies flat. The sound was amazing and definitely BFG.
Please do a sweet spot analysis for the Tweed Deluxe!
Just caught up with this wonderful video after getting home from playing a wonderful Sunday afternoon reggae gig. Guitarist playing through a Vox AC10, me playing bass into a 300w stack, real drums, percussionist, two singers, sax and melodica. The stage was far from quiet, as it should be and thankfully nobody said a single word about volume - much fun ensued 😊
Guitar players used to be rebels, guitar used to be dangerous. Get an amp, play it loud and mean. I found the lack of danger in nowadays guitar players disturbing.
I remember when we used to rock and roll.
@@Les537 "We used to carry on and drink and do the rock and roll" But not only rock,, Funk Players, Jazz Players, Folk Players, From Robert Johnson to Page, from James Taylor to Django, from Hiran Bullock to Eddie Hazel and Joe Walsh, Guitar players were a different breed back in the day. Now they drink non alcohoolic beer, eat gluten free bread and play from a kemper with in ears.
Country players were the real bad boys.
True man. I hate to see ergonomic headless guitars. Like, yeah, a strat is ergonomic, but it's a beautiful object. I want to see more young people playing Rhoads Jackson Vs, Telecasters, doublenecks. I want some excitement, some great songwriting and some improvisation. Not some well-rehearsed metronome bullshit. Give us some drama! Give us some blood!
@@captainmilk2691 And whatever happened to the art of the protest song? Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, even U2.
Many thanks guys, for a great episode! I agree 100% Medium powered amp and basic pedals. No need to go down the modeler route (unless one wants to). There will always be a place for real amps!
Quick story with some possibly relevant insight. I sold all my small amps and bought a Tone King Imperial MKII. I was able to get a B-stock for a good price, mostly paid for with the money from the amp sales, and then I financed the difference. It seemed crazy to spend that much on a small amp (or any amp at all, for that matter) given that I would only need it for bedroom use and smaller gigs. But it was the best decision I ever made. I can get any tone I realistically need, from a black panel deluxe, to a tweed, to an early Marshall. It's a great great pedal platform and has the best spring reverb and tremolo I've ever heard. It inspires me to play everyday and has definitely made me a better player. The attenuator makes it's perfect for bedroom use in a two-family home with neighbors and allows me to dial it to the sweet spot. I can even play late at night or early in the morning with the attenuator maxed. My fender Deluxe and Princeton reissues were great amps, but realistically they were too loud for bedroom use. Even 5-10 watt tube Marshalls, Vox, and fenders were too loud, and those with the half power or quarter power switches never sounded quite right. To reach the sweet spot in volume, I would need a good attenuator either way, which would cost upwards of $400. These days, I'm starting to lean towards using this amp over my 70s JMP and Hi-tone at live gigs, especially if it's a small gig or the amps are miked. The sound guy prefers it, and I can keep my tone relatively consistent from the bedroom to the stage. It's ultimately a deluxe reverb on steroids, with much appreciated features and improvements to make it suitable in a wide variety of different environments!
Totally agree. Love mine.
Tone King is king - you pay more for it than for a Fender amp, but you get the tones of ALL Fender amps from it without modeling and the Ironman attenuator itself is worth being bought extra just to be able to play that Deluxe Reverb when you are not on a stage. Fender demands too much for what it delivers. By the way; the show is mostly very good, I learned a lot from these gentlemen but... no offence meant, but sometimes it seems - at least to me - like they are trying to advocate a bit too much for vintage type stuff. I mean there are really so few people who could tell you the difference between the sound of a Blues Cube Artist and a tube amp. And even if they can, does not mean the tube amp has to sound better.
I’ve bought various guitar pedals and amps that haven’t lived up to the expectation or have sounded seemingly different to in YT videos. When I finally made the jump to a deluxe reverb, it was exactly what I’d hoped and the talk about it is well justified. Great amp.
There you go, gents. A proper click baity title. Well done!
We'll do one every few years.
To be fair, it is literally the best amp in the world.
Based on your 4 opening tones, this is indeed the best guitar amp in the world! Amazing tones
The Deluxe Reverb has a really unusually broad sweet spot where pedals sound great - almost like no other amp, including big iron monsters. And this allows one to shape the pedal tones into many directions, which is great.
Exactly! It’s hard to get a bad tone. Whereas with other amps (particularly transistor or modelers) I spend a lot of time having to dial something in.
Can’t agree more. Great spot, guys! I recently re-discovered my Deluxe after it sat unused in a corner for years. I’m actually running mine totally cranked on volume but through an Ironman attenuator into two 12” speakers (a Mesa Boogie Black Shadow and Celestion Creamback). Just a great, great pedal platform to taste, but no pedals are really necessary for a glorious overdriven tone.
Do you think the whole "comes alive with volume at 4.0 - 4.5" phenomenon is related to the fact that that is about where the DR's fixed bright cap drops out? Hoping y'all would have addressed/discussed the bright cap (to clip, or not to clip) on some level. Still, another great video, regardless.
It could be... But the effect is like a bunch of extra gain and balls. I mean it could be. Interesting! Never ever felt the need to clip it. Maybe for low volume use where it does sound a bit thin. But then we have to ask.... why have a loud tube amp for low volume? Especially a non-master volume amp....
This video led me in the direction of purchasing a vox ac15. I’m no longer spending hours tone chasing on my boss katana and suffering from option paralysis. I’m hearing sounds from my guitars I haven’t heard before, clarity and definition. I’m focusing more on playing and sticking with stock sounds and everything sounds fantastic. I’ll keep the katana if I get into a situation where the vox isn’t cutting volume wise. Top video gentlemen! And sincere thanks!
Sorry not sorry for my 180 watt tube amp and 4x12 cab. 💪 Dan and Mick said it was okay.
Herbert?
@@chrisquinn9104 yes ☺️
@@adamfstewart81 Good thing it’s not a SuperTwin
@@chrisquinn9104 lol even I’m too tame for that kind of aural brutality 🙉
@@chrisquinn9104Ever played a Super Six? Silverpanel twin on a 6x10 cab. Sucker can rival a Hiwatt for headroom.
78 Deluxe Reverb used as a head unit through a 4 x 10 box. Tubeworks Tube Driver and a tuner. Tele with a JB in the neck, standard bridge. All done
How did I know you would show the deluxe first
Sublime! There is no modelling, cab sim or digital jiggery-pokery can come, even slightly near, to the sounds heard in this demo. Well done TPS .. love it.
Yep, no arguments here. :0)
OK, ok.. I'll allow ya to buy me an amp...
P L E A S E?🤞
Great perspective on all this volume phobia. As the gig progresses, it's the drummer who gets louder. Playing live is as close as you get to glory, there is no better feeling when your sound is beaming. Keep it going people.
I wonder if a sound guy has ever watched any of your videos and thought, “His guitar would sound much better if he turned all the way down.”
That's a bad sound guy then
How did these sound guys-and let’s be honest, most of them are frustrated musicians-become the arbiters of what I need as a performer?
The way it sounds to ME is the most important thing, period.
@@cedarbay3994100%. We need to rebalance the scales of power back in our favour.
@gretschbasher As a sound guy, I can confirm.
@@cedarbay3994 Well, the most important thing is what it sounds like to the audience - they couldn't care less how it sounds to you so long as the overall mix sounds good. Really need to stop the sound engineer bashing in general; I'm by no means a professional but have done quite a bit in my time and some guitarists go right off on one about needing to be loud and their tone is utterly appalling and just ruins the mix. A lot of guitarists REALLY need to let go of their ego on this and trust the sound engineer (and yes there are bad ones, but the vast majority are very good and want the MIX to sound excellent).
Ive always wanted this amp as i completely agree with their mission to educate players who chase an endless search for killer tone via 100s of pedals and buying and trying other amps. Ive been doing this with a fender blues jr for the past 25 yrs using the amp and guitar volume knobs for added variety with a few modulation pedals. This pushes me into the Deluxe world as my single amp.
We all know it's the Crate.
Great amp. In 1962 my mother bought me a new 335 with Bigsby vibrato that came with a hard shell case for $325 US. From the music store we went to Sear and she bought me a Silvertone Twin Twelve which i think was about 50 watts $150? I used it from 62 to 1975 without a hitch.
It never broke and never needed any tubes replace. Great amp. Everything a kid could hope for back then. No effects except for reverb and tremolo. One channel for a mic. and another for your guitar. It was just plug and play. I still have at amp. We didn't worry about all of the other crap. Just happy to have a band. I think We need to take a few steps back!
I know this is an unpopular opinion... but my blonde deluxe tone master is crazy impressive just like its tube counterparts. Dial in the sound then just adjust attenuation based on how loud you want to play. It's ridiculous, takes keeping it simple to the next level. Great episode !
Totally agree (my main amp is a Tonemaster Deluxe black that I converted to blonde), except I still don’t love the overdriven sound from the Tonemaster. It doesn’t sound smooth and creamy like what I hear in this video. It takes OD pedals great though.
I was just visiting Nashville and went to a number of clubs with a full drum kit, but everyone else was modeling or going direct. It didn't sound bad, but it just felt lacking. I saw one 3-man band at a very small club, guitarist had a tiny Fender Champ. It sounded massive and was the best thing I heard all week.
The biggest problem with this amp is that it can't be used at home with backing tracks - it doesn't have an aux-in. And, accordingly, it's impossible to use all the best sounds it can produce without connecting some additional equipment, ultimately using a studio monitor. And a guitar speaker sounds much better than a studio monitor, but for some reason manufacturers don't take into account this simple option, which would be a great gift for millions of guitarists playing at home.
Yes.....why I am looking at the Revv D25
Music would not sound good through that box and speaker combo. It’s kinda voiced for guitar only. You don’t buy this amp for multi functionality, you buy it to make your guitar sound great.
@@quintonmcdannald2327 I have a Laney L5 studio which is equipped with an aux-in input. Backing tracks sound very good for practice. Usually we don’t need perfect hi-fi quality in such cases.
@@1loStu we all have and have had multiple types of amps and they all have their own purpose. I often put backing tracks on my TV and play my Deluxe on top of it, however the helix into my small PA with backing tracks running from my phone also works well. But the difference in experience between a real deluxe and the digital modeler is hard to describe, kinda like the difference between a girl E Harmony matches for you and the girl you actually have chemistry with yet makes no sense in paper. Part of the reason I play music is to chase that chemistry and capture that feeling.
I have a 1963 Fender Deluxe amp without the reverb. It is in exceptional condition and sounds great. This one has two channels, which I love.
Maybe a show idea here for y’all, is there bits of gear you think sound amazing when other people use them but when you try it you just can’t get along with it? The deluxe reverb reissue is one of those for me. Played a bunch, owned a few, always sounds/feels horrible to me. Walk into a bar hear a great guitar tone, hey look, deluxe reissue 🤦🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
My jcm900 is kinda like that for me. I use it clean with pedals because I can't get along with its channel B, it just doesn't roll off like I would like neither does it sound like I would want a marshall to sound like. Great amp for riffing though
Every single thing the guy at the music store sold me as a kid. 😂
For me it is also so that I see a band and I think its cool. Then I end up playing in that band and it does not feel cool anymore eheh
Often it’s the tubes and wall voltage. Swap out the 12ax7s for xy7s, then make sure you have under 220 wall volts because over that spec the amp gets punchy and thin. But those two rules and you won’t find a modeler that will make you feel so comfortable being loud.
@@quintonmcdannald2327 OR, I just don’t like deluxe reverbs 🤷🏻♂️
You are the first people I’ve heard talk about underdrive! I love that technique for my style thank you!
One of the most useful episodes so far! Thank You!
The second I read the title I knew it was gonna be the Deluxe, happy you validated my presumption, what a great sweet spot amp! Imagine music without Fender amps, it would be such a gaping hole in music history.. so many of my favorite bands and guitar players use Fender amps. Classic sounds today, great playing, hitting that glorious 100DB on 4.2 🤩
Would love to see you take a deeper dive with Fender more amps in the future, especially a Pro reverb, Super, Twin, and for contrast maybe even the small 68 Custom Vibro Champ or other smaller amps. I've kinda been on the binge thinking of purchasing the Vibro Champ, since it seems like a great portable option to pair with a small pedalboard for smaller live gigs and jams, but also for recording, and just having such a small amp with that Fender sound seems like a great thing to have. Would appreciate your, and the rest of the chats opinions and hands on experience with it !
I thought the Princeton.
I have a Fender deluxe reverb 65 RI... and an Orange Rockerverb 50 MKIII and I love my guitar life!!!!! Thanks guys for your wonderful beautiful playing and your insightful videos!!
Guys you are hitting so hard! Every new episodes are so cool and focused. I am in love with you guys.
I've searched a TON about amps recently. Like a lot. It will be my first amp purchase in about 20 years. Just getting back into guitar again. Out of all things, one thing is constant. Everyone praises this amp and boy it's for good reason. It has the clean, the breakup etc it's really really good. Might have to gift myself one