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Hi, I have no experience with tube amplifiers, I often hear that they have a fantastic sound, I imagine Fender Deluxe Reverb. However I hear many negative comments for everything else. For example, noisy, delicate, not very flexible. But etc. I ask you for medium home use, low volume, is a Fender Deluxe Reverb still worth it? Many now only talk about Henriksen, Quilter, etc. Of course only for Jazz tones. What is your opinion? Thanks
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11-13-2024 07:38 AM
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That is a loaded question. Worth it is in the ears of the beholder. I would personally say yes, as to my ears, even at lower volumes, there is something about the sonic warmth of a tube amp. That said, I have a Fender Tone Master Twin that is non tube and sounds so darn close to its tube brother that the thought it doesn’t have tubes doesn’t cross my mind when I’m playing through it. Same with a solid state Genzler acoustic amp when I play my 7 string through it. To be fair, I am talking clean tones. I have a Fender ‘59 Bassman RI which can be loud and powerful, but I also use at home. Even at lower volumes, It produces some of the finest clean tones I have ever heard.
Go play some yourself, or better yet, take advantage of some of the stores’ 45 day try it at home policy and decide what makes you happy.
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At some point you have to stop asking the same question in slightly different words and just buy an amp and figure it out yourself.
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Home use low volume, I'd suggest a Vox Pathfinder. It's like 89 bucks and sounds good enough. At home I don't even bother plugging in 99% of the time.
Tubes sound good when they're working hard. That's my opinion anyway. I have a Fender Blues Jr. for gigs, I'd probably get a Quilter or Fender Tonemaster if I had to do it again. I think the nuance of a tube amp vs modeler is lost in a noisy room or covered up by the drummer.
Those are my opinions anyway.
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In my home, and my blues gigs, a Princeton Reverb has always been adequate. Not the loudest, but perfect for my needs. And at blues gigs, the little bit of dirt it has when turned up helps tremendously. In fact, I had to turn it down many times!!!
But if clean is what you want, a PR or Deluxe Reverb should be plenty (at home). And they work well with pedals if needed. But don't overlook the nice reverb and tremolo effects that come with these amps.
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are you referring to me?
Originally Posted by John A.
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Tube amp for home practice... this should be nice... at least, this is the valve amp I would get to play at home.
But the (obvious) advice is: always try one, if you can, before buying, so you get a taste of the sound and see if it's right for you.
FENDER Blues Junior IV Black | Strumenti Musicali .net
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There are loads of great sounding amps out there. I don't get too bogged down as to whether they're solid state/tube/modelling. The main thing I care about is how they sound, and how suitable are they for my needs - do they have enough headroom for my gigs, how heavy/large are they?
I've used tube Deluxe Reverbs heaps (reissues), and I own a Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb. Honestly the difference isn't huge. An original 1960's Deluxe Reverb on the other hand is a different story...
I'd prefer a Tonemaster Deluxe/Twin over a Blues Junior or Hot Rod every time. Blues Juniors and Hot Rods are not in my opinion very good sounding amps.
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“medium home use, low volume…”. My amp journey has included at least a dozen amps. You do need to jump in and get one to play to begin the journey. I have gone solid state and tube, but have centered in on vintage fender tube amps. I have a 1964 Princeton non-reverb that is just perfect for this at home kind of playing. For me, tube amps are what I love to play through. You will find what you love to play through also. It just takes time…. enjoy the adventure.
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Warning: long-winded old guy post ahead. Originally Posted by Karlos
"Still worth it" is a question that can ultimately only be answered by you. I have had three tube amps and five solid-state amps (that I can remember at the moment, anyway). The app that I use the most is a Fender tweed Deluxe style amp (which I built myself from a kit, so I have a little bit of a sentimental attachment and bias- no pun intended). It sounds great to my ears at low volume at home and when I go play somewhere needing an amplifier, that's the one I take. I think it sounds great for that too.
I have an early 70s Fender Pro Reverb, pre-master volume. With two JBL speakers in it, it weighs close to 80 pounds and it hasn't left my house in over 20 years. I don't think that I could pick the thing up and get it out into the car without hurting myself. Sounds great, although lacking a little bit in clean headroom at performance volumes (great blues amp with a Stratocaster, though).
I had an Egnater Rebel 30 combo for about 10 years, also a nice amp but not really a jazz amp per se. I did use it on quite a jazz few gigs. It was nice and compact, being physically much smaller than the Pro Reverb and smaller than the Deluxe. I donated it to a community school and they've made good use of it. Very flexible amp in terms of tones (clean to overdriven, Marshall to Fender/MESA Boogie), but aimed at a rock 'n' roll crowd.
I would say that all of those amplifiers sound a little warmer and rounder than any of my solid-state ones. That includes a Roland Cube 60 COSM, a Polytone Mini Brute II and Baby Taurus, and an Acoustic Image Clarus 2R going through a Raezer's Edge Stealth 12 cabinet. I don't know if any of those comparisons are familiar to you. My other one was a Crate 212 that I bought in the early 80s; it did have all the things people don't really like about solid-state amps going for it. I traded it for a guitar happily. All of my solid-state apps, except maybe the Polytones, have tended to have an immediacy and a snap in their response that tube amps seem to not quite have. Some people like that and some people don't. It wasn't a dealbreaker for me, but I think I have a slight preference for my tweed Deluxe over all the other amps I have had. I have not tried any of the modern modeling or analog/class D amps that have come out in the past decade or so. I am interested to try the DV Mark EG250 head with a Toob cabinet.
Every Monday I play at a friend's house who has a Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb, and I really like that amp. It feels like playing through a tube amp and sounds very, very good. I would say it is tonally more flexible than a tube amp. Is it perfectly like a tube amp? Probably not, but it is within the range of variation that one finds from one tube amp to the next, particularly older ones where some of the capacitors or resistors may have drifted from their original values a bit. In a blindfold test I doubt anyone could accurately pick it out compared to a tube Deluxe Reverb, at least for clean tones. My friend also has a silverface/blackfaced Fender Twin which is a great sounding amp, better than most tube amps I have used so it's maybe not a fair comparison. There is something about a Twin...
As for noisy, delicate, etc. I have had the Pro Reverb serviced twice in the 35+ years that I have owned it (bad capacitor both times); I have had the tweed Deluxe serviced once (turned out to be some bad solder joints due to my nonprofessional soldering skills) and I had to have the Egnater serviced as well, although that was under warranty. Both of my Polytones have needed servicing, but none of the other solid-state amps. I've had to take the cover off and squirt some contact cleaner into the jacks and pots of the Clarus. I think the fragility of tube amps is over-hyped.
Don't know if any of an old man's meanderings are helpful to you, but hopefully so. Is the Deluxe Reverb "worth it?" Again, only you could answer that, however personally I would say yes to either the tube or Tone Master version.
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Your idea of the perfect sound, the perfect amp, the perfect guitar... the "perfect" ANYTHING... will evolve over time. Perfect is the enemy of good. Don't look for the "perfect" amp, just pick an amp that YOU like and play it till you find one that you like better. It doesn't matter WHAT amp someone on this forum recommends if it doesn't inspire YOU.
Get out to jam sessions and music stores. Try hands-on as many amps as you can. Try amps and guitars that you just can't afford so you know what you are getting within your price range. (Be honest with the sales personnel about this, tho. Don't waste their time. Just explain that you want to know WHY amp X costs thousands more than amp Y.)
Enjoy the journey. Don't try to rush into a decision. Gear is like dog shit: easy to step into, not so easy to get rid of :-)
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Yes, I am. From what I see, you've already started two other threads asking for amp advice (with many informative responses), and other threads asking for guitar advice that you've turned into discussions of amps (with many informative responses). You're not asking anything on this thread that hasn't already been asked and answered on your other threads (and asked/answered countless times on all the other threads and forums you've obviously read already). The questions you are asking about which amp is better or whether an amp is worth it can only be answered by you. All anyone else can do is offer their experience or opinion, and you already have many examples of that. Originally Posted by Karlos
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Tube amps sound better at all volumes. An “overpowered” tube amp still sounds wonderful at low volumes. 90% of the time at home I play through my 64 vibrolux reverb and the 5w-15w amps in my closet make me wonder why I ever bought into the small amp fad. Gigging is a different story where my choice bw tube and solid state depends entirely on how far I need to walk from my car to the venue. There are some great solid state amps but I’ll always prefer the sound of tubes.
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Almost everything regarding what happens from input to output can be duplicated between tube and solid-state amps, at least as far as my limited understanding of electronics is concerned. The "almost" part is even-order harmonics versus odd-order harmonics and how clipping happens as the amp is driven harder. Those tend to happen differently between the two amp designs. Neither is right or wrong per se, it is a matter of taste. Even among musical instruments, some emphasize even-order harmonics and others emphasize odd-order harmonics, which is part of what gives them their characteristic sound (to my ears, for example, the difference between a clarinet and a saxophone).
A good overview:
Understanding Even and Odd Harmonics in Music Production
So, going back to the OP's question: try the Deluxe Reverb; try both the tube and solid-state versions. Whichever one you like better, buy. If you decide you don't like it down the road, easily sold and something else purchased. starjasmine's advice is spot on. Spend less time on the fence, buy an amp, get on with making music.
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I sometimes play at a venue that has a Blues Jr.
I've loved playing through it.
Yesterday, though, I played there and it sounded terrible.
So, my advice is: tubes, but only on a good day.
The point is that it's so subjective.
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Specifically Fender Deluxe Reverb is more than worth it, it is maybe the best guitar amp ever. Princeton prolly even better for home use. Avoid Fender Twin amp, those should be obsolete by now, as my understanding they were invented to be what PA is supposed to be. Shitty sounding at low volume and don't take pedals well.
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I play a Princeton Reverb II at home, at low volumes. Like the Deluxe Reverb, the PRII is 22 W, but has one 220 W speaker. It sounds excellent, with lots of power in reserve. It has the headroom and volume to be used at gigs, but it is very heavy, valuable and irreplaceable. A Deluxe Reverb might have some of those qualities, depending on its age and provenance. The Deluxe Reverb is highly respected as a jazz amp. Originally Posted by Karlos
Here is a video about the Deluxe Reverb.
Here is a video comparing the Deluxe Reverb with the Tone Master version.
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You haven't lived until you've gigged a cranked 100 watt tube amp. Everything else sucks. The beauty is you can still crank the amp, keep the guitar's volume control down, and get big tone. And you never get buried by the band either.
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Take the definition "best" with a grain of salt as "best" is very subjective... anyway, here's another "panoramica".
Karlos, you've already got a DV Jazz 12, which is a nice enough amp for Jazz. For tubes, you might want to try a Deluxe Reverb 65... they are quite common in guitar shops etc.
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Hi, I'll do my best to try it, if I can I'm also curious about the Tone Master. Originally Posted by frabarmus
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I've watched this video (that Litterick posted) and, personally, I liked, soundwise, the tube versione better... but of course, weight is an issue (for me) and the Tone Master has the advantage of lightness! Originally Posted by Karlos
Also, chec out these amps... made in Italy, boutique valve amps that are light weight.
Amplifications
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Brunetti Single Man has to be considered, especially in Italy, but everywhere else too.
SingleMan Combo | Brunetti Tube Amplification
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Tone Master=overpriced disposable amp. Originally Posted by Karlos
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Deluxes, watered down, under powered. A hand wired Twin is the way to go!
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