Deluxe Reverb for PSG

Asa Brosius · Post by **Asa Brosius** » 8 Oct 2013 6:22 pm

i've been using a blues jr for small psg gigs lately- just wondering if anyone can chime in regarding deluxe reverbs for psg- specifically wondering about the bass response compared to a blues jr. i know these aren't big clean amps (15 vs 22watts), but i'd love to hear from those who use them.

Tim Marcus · Post by **Tim Marcus** » 8 Oct 2013 6:23 pm

eats the Blues Jr for lunch

even the reissue of that amp ain't bad

Asa Brosius · Post by **Asa Brosius** » 8 Oct 2013 6:58 pm

just what i was hoping to hear Tim-thanks. btw, your sideman is part of my three year financial plan-

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 8 Oct 2013 7:00 pm

Pedal steel with some Fender tube amps that may help you decide. The speaker can make a huge difference in terms of its break in condition and other specs.

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Deluxe%20Rev ... everb.html

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Princeton%20 ... everb.html

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Vibro%20Cham ... Champ.html

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Blues%20Juni ... Tweed.html

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/1974%20Fende ... everb.html

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Dual%20Showm ... owman.html

Greg

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 8 Oct 2013 8:30 pm

I used a 69 Deluxe as my main amp for years. They are sorta perfect for gigs that are not too loud. I used it for recording sessions quite a bit also. Great amps.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 9 Oct 2013 1:38 am

Up to a clean volume point they are excellent...above that clean volume point they are not ! I use a Blues Jr for rehearsals now and then , small room , small space. I've never had it on a Steel gig though. The DR 12" speaker, and what type of speaker as mentioned by Greg above is a critical factor in overall tone. I'm sure it will work out just fine...

Asa Brosius · Post by **Asa Brosius** » 9 Oct 2013 4:53 am

thanks for the advice- particularly Greg-really appreciate the time you take for these comparisons

Dave O'Brien · Post by **Dave O'Brien** » 9 Oct 2013 5:19 am

I have used mine since 1973 and just had it recapped! I also have a 68 drip edge on loan from a friend. Great little amps for the right stage.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 9 Oct 2013 6:06 am

I also prefer a Deluxe Reverb to a Blues Jr. I started out playing pedal steel using an old blackface Deluxe Reverb with a coffee-can EV SRO speaker in it. Ultimately, the bands got too loud for it, and I moved on to bigger pedal steel amps. But now I use a '74 silverface Deluxe Reverb for club gigs that aren't too loud, which is a lot of them these days. Current speaker is a Weber 12F150 - I really like it in this amp, and it's perfect for double-duty with guitar. General band configuration is electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, upright bass, and drummer with a full kit but who plays a lot with brushes and doesn't hit too hard with sticks. If the rhythm section cranks it up, I find any of the smaller amps get lost in the shuffle for pedal steel.

I confess that I was dubious about a Blues Jr. for clean pedal steel at all until I sat in for a player running one at a low-volume gig. It sounded pretty good, but it was a very low-volume gig. But I still prefer a Deluxe Reverb by a country mile. Of course, the speaker makes a big difference - for pedal steel, I really need an efficient speaker that will hold up to being pushed a bit without getting ratty.

Tim Marcus · Post by **Tim Marcus** » 9 Oct 2013 6:36 am

I did a gig with a blues jr once. Bad idea. I was lazy and didn't want to schlep my twin and borrowed it from a friend.

I have repaired that amp for him too many times to count - same problem every time: tube sockets and input jack come loose from the PC board

Meanwhile I was in a band with a guy for 6 years - his reissue deluxe reverb was abused daily and went on tour. Only had to fix the input jacks once

Doug Palmer · Post by **Doug Palmer** » 9 Oct 2013 7:20 am

A friend of mine has an old BF Deluxe with a Jensen speaker in it. Wow! I've been trying to buy it from him for 10 years. I only played it in my studio, never out with a band, but it was the best sound I ever had. Like the other posts, I'm sure it wouldn't hold up for a loud gig, but go for it.

DPalm

Asa Brosius · Post by **Asa Brosius** » 9 Oct 2013 9:27 am

Not schlepping a twin is the inspiration for this whole thread Tim-

Dave- I meant to mention this a few years ago- I played at Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks a few times in the past, and once sat in with the opening band - something about chickens in the title?- real sweet generous people who put us up for the night, after one of the best meals (and beer) in two years of touring the states. They mentioned your name with reverence.
And for the record, my blues jr is stock, and in 6 years has given me no problems as a daily practice amp and the occasional cafe steel gig, although it's limitations for psg are obvious. I wouldn't recommend it for any other psg purpose. Due to space limitations, I was obliged to take it to a sold out poisson rouge gig in manhattan- one of the 'biggest' gigs of my life (with anais mitchell, ani difranco and sean hayes!)I really wanted to sound good- ended up borrowing a bbe sonic maximizer to tweak the eq- not too bad in the end.
OK! I'm officially on the hunt for a reasonable silverface- thanks!

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 9 Oct 2013 10:26 am

Asa - yeah, that's Chicken Tractor Deluxe. I was either off at a guitar show, up in Amherst, MA dealing with my dad, who has been up and down for the last few years, or possibly down in Nashville. I generally play with them when I'm available. You're right, they're great people and the Elk Creek food and hand-brewed beer is great. FYI, they had nothing but good things to say about you and the people you were playing with.

Definitely - if you're sick of hauling a Twin Reverb, go dig yourself up a silverface Deluxe Reverb. The true swiss-army-knife of guitar amps, and far from a jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none. It is a master of anything it can be used for. There are some easily reversible changes that can beef them up pretty good, but the biggest thing is a great speaker, saving the original in case you want to sell it and not get beat up for not having it. If either the rhythm section isn't too loud OR you have effective monitoring of instruments, I'm finding that, these days for me at least, a Deluxe Reverb can cut an awful lot of gigs for guitar and steel.

Alex Piazza · Post by **Alex Piazza** » 30 Dec 2013 4:28 pm

I'd go for it. I've played a few big rooms recently with some great acts and have seen a lot of cats using the deluxe reverb with pedal steel. Hayes Carl, American aquarium ...ect... I guess it depends on the house but I'm becoming a believer... Because I double on tele and lap as well... Great amp!

Paul Sutherland · Post by **Paul Sutherland** » 30 Dec 2013 5:32 pm

About two weeks ago I heard Larry Tracy playing his Sho-bud through a reissue Deluxe Reverb, mic'd into the sound system. He sounded great!! I think his Deluxe still had the stock speaker.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 30 Dec 2013 7:02 pm

That new 8-ohm 12" Neo from Telonics sounds great in my old DR. I had a D120f in there, but like the Telonics even better for PSG.

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 2 Jan 2014 8:53 pm

Hi folks. I'm particularly interested in this thread because I'm looking for a second amp. I've been using a NV112 with a reverb and delay pedal and have been really happy with the tone/voicing and available clean volume. Before I purchase an additional one I want to explore the possibility of a tube amp that would be as similar as possible in size and tonal qualities. I'm a novice with electronics so I'd appreciate your comments on whether the Deluxe Reverb is an ideal choice. (I don't want the weight/size of a twin reverb and I'm not sure if I need that much wattage/output from a tube amp to achieve the same/similar results.)

Another way of expressing it would be: "I want the same(or as similar as possible) size cabinet, tonal voicing, and clean available volume as the NV112, but as a tube amp. It doesn't even need reverb, tremolo, foot pedals, or extra channels."

I'm open to other manufacturers besides Fender too.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 3 Jan 2014 12:37 am

The Blues Deluxe has a bit more power (twin 6L6's), with an upgrade to a better speaker it can be a fine steel amp.

Jerry Hedge · Post by **Jerry Hedge** » 3 Jan 2014 8:11 pm

I have two Silver Face Deluxe-Reverbs. One is basically stock(a bit more filtering, the same value midrange cap that they used in the first year of production,.033mFD) and the other one has been hopped up a bit("coffee can" EV SRO 12, beefed up power supply, 6L6 output tubes AND A TWIN OUTPUT TRANSFORMER!!!). The latter amp has reverb and trem in both channels, and one is stock Fender voicing, for guitar and I did the other channel for pedal steel. It's a great amp to do double duty on a gig.

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 5 Jan 2014 2:21 pm

Thanks for all of the feedback. I hope more folks chime in.

Tim Marcus · Post by **Tim Marcus** » 5 Jan 2014 3:11 pm

there are two Milkman amps that are similar to a deluxe reverb but designed specifically for pedal steel

one is the 50W Sideman which has 2 channels:
http://milkmansound.com/amplifiers/sideman

the other is the 40W Mini which is single channel
http://milkmansound.com/amplifiers/40w-pedal-steel-mini

both offer much more power and clean headroom than the deluxe reverb and use Telonics 15" speakers (the mini can use a 12" and be very small)

a used deluxe reverb is much less expensive, but a vintage amp often comes with age related problems. The reissue Deluxe Reverb is simply not a good choice for steel and is not easily modified like its vintage brethren.

Marty Broussard · Post by **Marty Broussard** » 5 Jan 2014 5:35 pm

Thanks Tim. I'll take a look at them.

Paul Brainard · Post by **Paul Brainard** » 7 Jan 2014 4:11 am

Silverface DR is my go-to amp for smaller gigs and recording. Sounds great at lower volume, up to about 4 on the vol. You can have the reverb & trem tied in to the first channel very easily and that one is a little fuller sounding, works great for steel (and the other channel for guitar or lap, etc. . .)

One thing I think helps when using smaller tube amps is running through a buffered pedal - I use a Boss TU-2 tuner through the bypass jack before my volume pedal, that lets the amp & effects pedals (if you use them) "see" a more typical (guitar) impedance which many of them deal with better. Of course you probably don't want to do that with a real (SS) steel amp with lots of headroom.