Fender Deluxe Reverb Clones - and mods - must have tremolo!

[tomems]

Greetings - I have shelved the plans to buy a solid-state amp - not my thing - and am now looking at tube amps. I went through a Magnatone stereo phase - don't we all? - but the price/weight are too much. So I've stumbled upon the wide world of Fender Deluxe Reverb Clones. Currently smitten with Tone King Imperial MkII. Does anyone have one / do you like it?

Some DR clones do not have tremolo like Allen Accomplice or Lil Dawg Wonderdawg. Those look awesome but I need trem. So here's my list thus far - roughly a depth chart - thoughts?

1. Tone King Imperial MkII - maybe head/cab to help with weight - love the attenuation on the back too - current frontrunner
2. Fender DRRI Sweetwater mod - adds a mid knob etc. Pretty cool!
3. Fender DRRI tone master - probably not what I'm going for - but maybe
4. Magic Amps DR - Julian Lage uses one - but I believe they are long out of production - do they come up used?
5. Two-Rock vintage deluxe - looks great but waaaaaaay out of my price range

[DawgBone]

I would just get a good condition working vintage SF deluxe and have a good tech blackface the circuit=nicer Deluxe. You could always get one of those other amps you listed and then buy a nice tremolo unit. There is some more amazing stuff out there than you might realize that might be worth a look.

I wouldn't get too excited about a Deluxe with a mids knob if it's anything like the Twin's mid knob is. More like a mud knob unless you use single coils

The sucker buys the tone master of all those amps you listed and I don't care what anyone says. The upside is if you buy the tone master you can start thinking about what amp you'll be buying after that, lol.

[Fusionshred]

Not for anything, but Vintage Sound does an improved tremolo that actually switches off completely out of the circuit so you have the best of both worlds.

And a toggle switch to remove the bright cap, and a mid control, and a reverb dwell control.

And external bias points.

[blkjazz]

I would just get a good condition working vintage SF deluxe and have a good tech blackface the circuit=nicer Deluxe. You could always get one of those other amps you listed and then buy a nice tremolo unit. There is some more amazing stuff out there than you might realize that might be worth a look.

I wouldn't get too excited about a Deluxe with a mids knob if it's anything like the Twin's mid knob is. More like a mud knob unless you use single coils

The sucker buys the tone master of all those amps you listed and I don't care what anyone says. The upside is if you buy the tone master you can start thinking about what amp you'll be buying after that, lol.

I respectfully disagree with your criticism of the Tone Master Twin. After three years, I have been very satisfied with the tone, the reliability and the weight of the TMTR. I use it for about 75% of my gigs. I use a '65 Deluxe Reverb for most of the others and, on occasion, a Mustang III v2. For me, setting the mid at 8 was the key. A few months ago I bought a Tone Master Pro. I use it for effects only into the amp. It also serves as a back up in the event the TMTR, the DRRI, or the Mustang have problems on a gig.

[tomems]

Not for anything, but Vintage Sound does an improved tremolo that actually switches off completely out of the circuit so you have the best of both worlds.

And a toggle switch to remove the bright cap, and a mid control, and a reverb dwell control.

And external bias points.

I discovered Vintage Sound after I posted. Definitely solid and exactly what I’m looking for, like the Tone King.

[medblues]

Carr Rambler has a great tremolo, I like it a lot. Charlie Hunter does too.

[MarkL]

I have an original (except for power cord and a couple of caps) '66 so not looking for a clone. But if I were, I'd likely wind up with a Louis Electric Deltone.

[Doug B]

Hello. I have been thinking about going electric with my tricone. I have decided to go with the Vintage 47 “Suitcase” amp. If you haven’t yet, check out Vintage 47 Amps. Not affiliated, just a fan of the amps they are building and the amp models that have inspired them.
Home

No Trem on the Suitcase amp.

[Doug B]

Greetings - I have shelved the plans to buy a solid-state amp - not my thing - and am now looking at tube amps. I went through a Magnatone stereo phase - don't we all? - but the price/weight are too much. So I've stumbled upon the wide world of Fender Deluxe Reverb Clones. Currently smitten with Tone King Imperial MkII. Does anyone have one / do you like it?

Some DR clones do not have tremolo like Allen Accomplice or Lil Dawg Wonderdawg. Those look awesome but I need trem. So here's my list thus far - roughly a depth chart - thoughts?

1. Tone King Imperial MkII - maybe head/cab to help with weight - love the attenuation on the back too - current frontrunner
2. Fender DRRI Sweetwater mod - adds a mid knob etc. Pretty cool!
3. Fender DRRI tone master - probably not what I'm going for - but maybe
4. Magic Amps DR - Julian Lage uses one - but I believe they are long out of production - do they come up used?
5. Two-Rock vintage deluxe - looks great but waaaaaaay out of my price range

Maybe check out Victoria Amps: Victoria Amp | The Tone You Crave, the Performance You Trust.

[ruger9]

I'd go Princeton Reverb with a 12" speaker personally. I find the Princetons sweeter than the Deluxe. Same reverb, same tremolo. Fender has some models with 12" speakers, and alot of players I admire own the Headstrong version- I think it's called the Little King? Allen also has the Sweet Spot. The Allen is cool because it has the RAW control, basically turns the Princeton into a tweed... it's kind of like a mids+gain control.

[MarkL]

I'd go Princeton Reverb with a 12" speaker personally. I find the Princetons sweeter than the Deluxe. Same reverb, same tremolo. Fender has some models with 12" speakers, and alot of players I admire own the Headstrong version- I think it's called the Little King? Allen also has the Sweet Spot. The Allen is cool because it has the RAW control, basically turns the Princeton into a tweed... it's kind of like a mids+gain control.

I suppose it depends on what OP is looking for. I don't know many jazz players that seek tweed sound. For cleans, Deluxe Reverb is the smallest I'd go. Twins and Pros produce nicer cleans at comparable volume, but probably not practical since OP is concerned about weight. Early SF Deluxe Reverb is another good option if OP has a good tech.

[Jabberwocky]

I really the Carr Sportsman and Rambler. The former runs on a pair of 6V6-es, has a sweet reverb but no tremolo; the latter has a beautiful tremolo and reverb but runs on a pair of 6L6-es.

Don't overlook the Milkman Creamer and Fat Jimmy Gigmaster 20.

[ruger9]

I suppose it depends on what OP is looking for. I don't know many jazz players that seek tweed sound. For cleans, Deluxe Reverb is the smallest I'd go. Twins and Pros produce nicer cleans at comparable volume, but probably not practical since OP is concerned about weight. Early SF Deluxe Reverb is another good option if OP has a good tech.

The Allens amps don't sound like a tweed. They have a RAW control that moves the amp closer to tweed the more you engage it. And Burrell's tone on Midnight Blue is a fantastic tone, and reportedly a tweed Deluxe.

[stevo58]

I'd go Princeton Reverb with a 12" speaker personally. I find the Princetons sweeter than the Deluxe. Same reverb, same tremolo.

Princeton has bias-vary tremolo acting on the grids of the output tubes. Deluxe has optocoupler trem between the tone stack recovery stage and the phase inverter. VERY different trems, both in implementation and sound. The Princeton will be smoother. The Deluxe trem can be more extreme.

[Christian Miller]

Depends what you are doing, where and how you are playing and where you live.

I would say that the Fender Deluxe Reverb is the industry standard jazz amp in so much as there is such a thing. Which is not to say you can't do better, but it's the baseline sound.

If you are at home or in the studio and money is no object, there's some lovely hand wired boutique amps out there. But I'm not sure I'd want something like that for gigs so much. You need reliable, realiable, replaceable and easy to handle. That said a hand wired amp is easier repair, so may in fact be practical for that reason.

Some friends of mine are finding the Tone Master Deluxe is an ideal gigging jazz amp. It's light enough to schlep on public transport with plenty off headroom and isn't far off the "real thing".

I have very positive feeling about all the Tone Master amps. The Tone Master Princeton is a good jazz amp as well, actually, I've played through that in anger. The Twin is great, and a play through that a lot on gigs (there's one at my local venue).

Depends on how many gigs you do and if you drive to the gig. In a big city, weight is at a premium.

Peavey Classics are underrated

[Little Jay]

Probably not a very useful addition since these amps are very rare, but: older German amps (Framus, Dynacord) have all the cool Deluxe vibes and sounds and have very nice bias tremolos.

I have a 60ies Framus Strato 345 amp that is about the size of a Deluxe Reverb but weighs a lot less and has more clean volume. 1x12”, 2xEL36 power amp, true point to point. Just lacks reverb…..

If you ever come across one, don’t hesitate! The best thing: I got mine for about a 10th of the cost of a new Deluxe Reverb….

[GuyBoden]

Depends what you are doing, where and how you are playing and where you live.

I would say that the Fender Deluxe Reverb is the industry standard jazz amp in so much as there is such a thing. Which is not to say you can't do better, but it's the baseline sound.

If you are at home or in the studio and money is no object, there's some lovely hand wired boutique amps out there. But I'm not sure I'd want something like that for gigs so much. You need reliable, realiable, replaceable and easy to handle. That said a hand wired amp is easier repair, so may in fact be practical for that reason.

Some friends of mine are finding the Tone Master Deluxe is an ideal gigging jazz amp. It's light enough to schlep on public transport with plenty off headroom and isn't far off the "real thing".

I have very positive feeling about all the Tone Master amps. The Tone Master Princeton is a good jazz amp as well, actually, I've played through that in anger. The Twin is great, and a play through that a lot on gigs (there's one at my local venue).

Depends on how many gigs you do and if you drive to the gig. In a big city, weight is at a premium.

Peavey Classics are underrated

I've played thru a Fender Tone Master Twin, I was very impressed, the two speakers add a lot more resonance than a single speaker.

A very good sound IMHO, if you like a classic Fender open back sound, which I do.

[ruger9]

Princeton has bias-vary tremolo acting on the grids of the output tubes. Deluxe has optocoupler trem between the tone stack recovery stage and the phase inverter. VERY different trems, both in implementation and sound. The Princeton will be smoother. The Deluxe trem can be more extreme.

Ah yes. You are correct. Another reason I prefer the Princeton LOL

[Christian Miller]

I've played thru a Fender Tone Master Twin, I was very impressed, the two speakers add a lot more resonance than a single speaker.

A very good sound IMHO, if you like a classic Fender open back sound, which I do.

Yeah I'll have to get one at some stage.

[Stringswinger]

I really the Carr Sportsman and Rambler. The former runs on a pair of 6V6-es, has a sweet reverb but no tremolo; the latter has a beautiful tremolo and reverb but runs on a pair of 6L6-es.

Don't overlook the Milkman Creamer and Fat Jimmy Gigmaster 20.

Carr and Milkman are excellent choices for a tube amp built today. They have all the good stuff of the golden age of tube amps and then some.

[Gilpy]

Another vote for the Carr Rambler if it's within your budget. Based on a Princeton circuit, 28 watts, with more clean power than a Deluxe. Reverb, tremolo and it sounds WAY better than a Deluxe. You can also use a switch to cut the power to 12 watts which gives the amp a different (Triode) sound.

I've been playing one for 20 years and there's no gig it can't handle. Also ultra-reliable.

[Greywolf]

I have Tweed Deluxe RI and it is one of the sweetest amps I've ever played . I have 2 handwired Doug Sewell amps costing 5x more and this holds it's own.

[GuyBoden]

Yeah I'll have to get one at some stage.

Last night at a local Jazz gig, we had an amp "Shoot-out" between a Fender Pro-Reverb and Fender Tone Master Twin.

The Twin's two speakers does add more resonance, but again it's a personal choice what's "Good Tone".

[ruger9]

Last night at a local Jazz gig, we had an amp "Shoot-out" between a Fender Pro-Reverb and Fender Tone Master Twin.".

So who "won"? What was the consensus?

I've only plugged into one TM, it was the Deluxe Reverb, and I wasn't impressed, but then I've never been a DR guy. A Princeton or a Pro... now we're talking... I play a Roland Blues Cube Artist, and they "cracked the code" for SS/digital sounding and reacting like tubes. From everything I've read, it seems the Tonemasters have as well.

[tomems]

Depends what you are doing, where and how you are playing and where you live.

I would say that the Fender Deluxe Reverb is the industry standard jazz amp in so much as there is such a thing. Which is not to say you can't do better, but it's the baseline sound.

If you are at home or in the studio and money is no object, there's some lovely hand wired boutique amps out there. But I'm not sure I'd want something like that for gigs so much. You need reliable, realiable, replaceable and easy to handle. That said a hand wired amp is easier repair, so may in fact be practical for that reason.

Some friends of mine are finding the Tone Master Deluxe is an ideal gigging jazz amp. It's light enough to schlep on public transport with plenty off headroom and isn't far off the "real thing".

I have very positive feeling about all the Tone Master amps. The Tone Master Princeton is a good jazz amp as well, actually, I've played through that in anger. The Twin is great, and a play through that a lot on gigs (there's one at my local venue).

Depends on how many gigs you do and if you drive to the gig. In a big city, weight is at a premium.

Peavey Classics are underrated

I appreciate the Tone Master endorsement. I liked but ultimately sold my Princeton because the lack of a master volume drove me nuts. But with the power scaling on the back of the TMs, that would be solved. Also for travel, can't beat the weight. My AC10 is stashed at my friend's house b/c I got sick of lugging it back and forth <and that's a light amp!> Do you mean you played Don't Look Back in Anger? <Is this the wrong forum for that question???>

Many of us have the one that got away - for me it's my Peavey Classic 50 2x12. Too big/loud/heavy - still the best sounding amp I've ever played through. I sold it b/c I thought I could only have one nice amp at a time. Now I know better! I have played through PC 30s... didn't grab me. The PC 20 heads intrigue me athough feels too much like personal nostalgia. That and no trem.