The Steel Guitar Forum

I've been thinking about getting one to do dual service - hey, it weighs 40lbs, 14lbs less than NV1000 or Twin - I've played the steel thru it, and I know it isn't a 1st or mabye 2nd choiec, but at 40lbs it maybe an alternative for playing at Fraternal Order clubs paying $50 a night. That's right folks - Tampa "musicians" blame the club owners for the low wages, not themselves, so I'm joining the "play for nothing" garage band crowd. It's that or sit at home playing along with backing trax. Anyway, any experience using the FBDR?

I'd be carrying a Roland 80XL to that gig... have you tried one?

I've used one and did not care for it. I have an older American made one and had it serviced, retubed, and a Weber California put in. It's great for guitar now, but my GFI Ultra just doesn't get along with it, whatever I do. I think it's because of the high output of the pickup. However, it's perfectly useable and if you are not searching for some special tone only you can hear, I think it's a good dual purpose amp.
The band I play with is so loud, the amp died on me after cranking it a few times (we play modern rock country). Now I use a Yamaha EMX 640 PA, problem solved. I now play in stereo and my Seymour Duncan Twin Tube is a fantastic growling preamp.

I play pedal steel through my Blues Deluxe, but I also replaced the stock speaker with an EVM12L.

For the most part, I don't like those amps much at all. Kind of brittle on the high end, and they usually break up a lot, especially on chords. However, I was provided one for a Euro tour one time and it sounded awesome so I'm not totally against them. Maybe the European version sounds different/better for steel?

The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue is an excellent all-tube circuit, but if you want it to work well for pedal steel guitar it will require a few minor modifications.

The most important is to replace the OEM Eminence "Special Design" speaker with a high-efficiency low-distortion speaker such as the JBL D120F or K120. With over 9dB of increased sensitivity you will essentially double the acoustic output per watt while increasing clarity and bandwidth.

The second step would be to replace the first stage preamp 12AX7 with a 12AY7 or 12AT7. This will effectively turn down the front end for a warm, clean sound with the volume set at 5 or 6 instead of 1 or 2.

The final tweak would be to get a 3-spring long-decay reverb tank in there. Mine came with a 2-spring long-decay setup and I have not changed it out.

The bottom line is that this is a 45-watt amp and will not do 200-watt service, that's what the big solid-state rigs are for. For traditional western music, jazz, and recording duty it's been a real sweetheart for me

There's more on the subject here on the forum, do a search and prepare to do some reading...

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... ght=deluxe

I don't particularly care for them - but I definitely prefer Blues Deluxe to Hot Rod Deluxe. But I agree that they can be made serviceable by changing to a high-headroom speaker (EVM-12L would be a great choice) and messing around with the tubes, as Dave G. suggests. I typically use a 5751 in the first gain section on any Fender that needs taming, which has a nominal open-loop gain of around 70 and just brings it down a bit without deadening it.

Personally, I can get pretty much the same headroom and volume out of my '74 Deluxe Reverb with a good speaker, and I strongly prefer that sound. EVM-12L is a tough fit and heavy, but I've been using a Weber 12F150 and it works great. I have also had good results with a coffee-can EV SRO speaker (the later cast-frame SROs don't fit without some messing around). Of course, even a silverface Deluxe is gonna probably be at least twice the price, but I still consider them the best vintage amp bargain around - arguably the most versatile guitar amp ever made and still in the general $1000 price range.

Of course, Dave is right - these are not gonna substitute for a 200-300-watt solid-state pedal steel amp set on stun. But in a band that's not ridiculously loud, these lower-power amps can work pretty well.

This thread together with the one referred by David Grafe are very informative.

Thanks blokes.
Enjoy the games!

I've been using a fender champ xd. Mind you I'm not gigging with it only practicing. It's only 15watts, has a dsp circuit so it is a modeling amp, but I can dial in a little reverb/delay w/out a lot of extra stompboxes laying around. It's pretty loud in the living room and haven't experienced any breakup with highs/mids or lows. Best of all it weighs about the same as my packseat and takes up little space.

Nice link to valves for different duties.

http://atoragon.blogspot.com/2012/04/wh ... r-amp.html

Let the games begin.