another Deluxe Reverb

Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

Peanut Head
I just finished up refurbishing this Deluxe Reverb for a customer. It's a 1973 model....was tired and in desperate need of full re-capping and new tubes. Had to replace the reverb transformer in it too...and installed a 12" Allesandro driver into it. She sure sounds sweet now!

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Nice!

I think my Champ is a '74.

Do you find all Deluxe Reverbs to be "noisy" amps? I need to find a good amp tech locally. I have a "custom" Deluxe Reverb that is very noisy. I've swapped all the tubes with no improvement.

The amp was built so both channels run through the reverb and tremolo circuit. Channel 1 is voiced as a "Brownface" and Channel 2 is a normal Deluxe Reverb.
 
Nice!

I think my Champ is a '74.

Do you find all Deluxe Reverbs to be "noisy" amps? I need to find a good amp tech locally. I have a "custom" Deluxe Reverb that is very noisy. I've swapped all the tubes with no improvement.

The amp was built so both channels run through the reverb and tremolo circuit. Channel 1 is voiced as a "Brownface" and Channel 2 is a normal Deluxe Reverb.
The modification may have messed up the noise floor. No, generally IF in good working order...Deluxes are dead quiet amps! Yours may be in need of recapping.
 
Deluxe Reverbs are my #1 amp of choice!
I call them Goldilocks amps..Princetons are too small and lack headroom ...Supers and Twins are too loud but the Deluxe is just right!
Nice job!
PQ

Couldn't agree more. I foolishly sold my first DR, and bought the second one less than a year later.

The modification may have messed up the noise floor. No, generally IF in good working order...Deluxes are dead quiet amps! Yours may be in need of recapping.

Thanks. Now to find a reliable tech.
 
I was pleased to see that Fender is once again offering a Deluxe Reverb built the right way again... Yes, it's expensive....but probably worth it.

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Fender finally does the DR right!
But at $2495 its about $500-$800 less than a vintage DR according to sold listings on Reverb.
If I was on the road giging I would buy a new one but for home, studio and the occasional gig I would pony up the extra dollars for a vintage one.
Original Black face Deluxe Reverbs will always hold their value.

On a side note I think this hand wired version is going to cut into the vintage markets rapidly escalating prices.
Buyers now have a choice if they want a HW point to point DR especially if they want a warranty and intere$t free financing.

Way to go Fender!
PQ
 
Deluxe Reverbs are nice. Definitely a classic sound.

Tube amps are only as good as the maintenance done on them and I'm grateful to everyone out there with the skills and inclination to work on em'.
 
Ok, Folks who repair these old/reissue Fender tube amps..
Here are a few beneficial tips, if not known, or considered, from someone who has repaired/electronically restored hundred`s of them since 1975.
If the amp has a tube driven reverb circuit, do yourself, and the customer a favor during the sine wave/or playing testing of the tremolo/reverb channel, if the reverb tank drive output transformer is not connected to the tank`s input, or a 8 ohm 2 watt dummy load, or even a 8 ohm speaker(though the sine wave sound, can be annoying after a while), the reverb transformer can fail, via the primary winding opening from no reflected load on the class A configured 12AT7`s paralleled triode sections..
I found this out decades ago, and constructed/soldered a RCA plug to a standard 3/4" spaced dual banana plug with a 2 watt 5% 8 ohm resistor that I soldered across it, to protect the driver transformer, and to connect the input of my test equipment`s dual banana shielded cable to check the reverb circuit output..

Another, sometimes, oversight, is to make sure all jacks, and controls are secured tight, as they are part of the grounding. and also make sure the front panel`s control/jack brass ground buss is well soldered to the chassis(a large wattage/soldering tip iron is needed)
And as a matter of course, IMHO/E, all the small tube 100k plate carbon resistors should be replaced, as they will usually become noisy/start making popping/crackling sounds soon enough, if not already starting to happen..

Just some thoughts folks120031.jpg 120311.jpg 120545.jpg 120716.jpg Repair Bench Scan.jpg
 

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Yes....have had several amps over the years come to me with bad (shorted or open) reverb patch cords and dead transformers. Didn't take too long to get the connection.
Some had failed wiring to the RCA jacks in the tanks, with the same results.
 
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