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Anyone here try this sucker? Seems to check most of my boxes for a basic pre. Gain. vol, mid, and verb. I just can't figure out what the channel switcher does. I do need channel switching for most of my theatre pit stuff. Sometimes as many as four levels of clean/dirty for a given show. Maybe this baby has been discussed here before, but I can never get this search engine to work for me.
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03-18-2026 02:51 PM
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I tried this exact model in my 4 peice combo - keyboard player had a PA so I just plugged directly into it.
TL
R;
It sounds great.
So much less to lug around.
No one is the wiser.
Longer:
It does take a bit of tweaking. I've found that some nob turning is required based on venue and guitar (have a few to choose from) to get the tone I want. I did put a JHS Morning Glory in front of it with the ever so slightest amount of gain. I found this helps me get closer to the 'PAF sound' I like w/o the PAF pricetag. All that said, I have 2 very good tube amps that I now leave at home because the Combo 65 does a more than sufficient job for me. FWIW, I've always been a 'direct into a tube amp' kind a guy so the move to pedals was a bit emotional for me but it's just too simple and sounds too good to avoid.
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I've no personal experience with this pedal, but it has been discussed here in a few threads:
Tonex One vs. TC Combo Deluxe '65
TC-65 Deluxe mini review...
Update on TC Combo Deluxe 65 pedal review
TC Combo Deluxe 65 part 3
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Thanks, I don't know why I have so much trouble using "search" here. I have a receent Mac and up-to-date browsers.
Originally Posted by David B
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A variety of potential search terms, multiple threads on the same topic, and miscellaneous forum clutter, make it challenging for us all. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
In fact, it's easier to find subjects here with Google search than it is with the forum search engine - and we wonder why we have so many guest visitors.
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I've got one of these that I bought used from Jack Zucker (fast, easy straight-up transaction. Jack is good). I've used it as a DI straight to the mixer at rehearsals and on one gig.
It works surprisingly well unless you want a pristine Fender clean tone. It sounds pretty much like a Princeton; I find some grit in it which for me is fine. Most people use a Princeton to get grit and drive at a volume that doesn't require window replacement, so that makes sense. The "feel" is remarkably amp-like. The reverb is acceptable, better if used lightly but then I feel that way about Fender spring reverbs too. There are two channels- green (normal) and red (tremolo, although there is not actually a tremolo circuit); the latter has a touch more gain. I found I could get a very nice blues tone from that channel very easily. It's digital and remembers the settings, so the knobs don't necessarily reflect the tone settings if the knobs are rotated while the pedal is off. You can set one of the switches for on/bypass or for channel A/B, but not both. It was pretty easy to set up as the knobs work like an amp. My red/green color differentiation is not good, though, so I can't really tell the difference between the red and green LEDs.
I can see the positional difference of them, though, so that's what I go by. To the board I am using the DI output, but there is an instrument-level output too.
On my pedalboard (at 66 I have just put my first pedalboard together), I have a Magicstomp (remember those?) on a true bypass loop and then an A/B switch with the TC pedal on the A side and a SansAmp Para Driver DI on the B side. The latter is there for a very clean tone, almost Polytone-ish. It's a nice DI for that and has a sweepable mid control.
FWIW I built a 2-switch box with the bypass loop on one switch and the A/B on another switch, so as to reduce the number of patch cords. Basically just two switches, 5 jacks and the two circuits bridge internally in the box. Much to my surprise, being a "solder-by-numbers" guy following a diagram, it worked just fine on the first try.
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Have one in case I go direct. But my Quilter amps also have great direct outs as well. Can’t comment on using it on a gig scenario yet.
I also have Fender Tonemaster 10” powered cab I had planned on using it with.
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The nux amp academy seems to be getting good reviews might be an alternative...?
Basic Jazz Guitar Sound Tutorial on the NUX Amp Academy Stomp available from @lbsmzworld - YouTube
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The Nux Stomp in that video sounds really good! I imagine it does many other tones as well!
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I have one love it! Thanks to Jack Zucker for bringing it to the forums attention.
Originally Posted by Woody Sound
Anyone here try this sucker? Seems to check most of my boxes for a basic pre. Gain. vol, mid, and verb. I just can't figure out what the channel switcher does. I do need channel switching for most of my theatre pit stuff. Sometimes as many as four levels of clean/dirty for a given show. Maybe this baby has been discussed here before, but I can never get this search engine to work for me.
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Anyone know whether the OUT jack provides both preamp & power amp simulation, such that a 3rd party IR can be used in place of the stock cab sim on the DI OUT?
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According to the manual, there is a Celestion IR speaker sim on the DI output and not on the other output.
https://images.equipboard.com/upload...-65-manual.pdf
At home, I run the non-DI output into my amp (DV Mark EG 250 Raw Dawg through a TOOB Metro BG+); on gigs and at rehearsals, I go direct and use two channels on the board. One of them the CD 65 goes to and the other one my PDDI goes to. I use the DI channel on the CD 65 for this and the PDDI has line level XLR. The board gets good signal from both.
For pop/rock/R&B/etc. tunes I usually use the CD 65, the tremolo channel for solos and blues; for tunes requiring more of a jazz clean sound I use the PDDI. That's not a hard and fast rule, of course.
Yesterday I ran the CD 65 into my amp with my archtop and was really pleased with the sound I was getting for jazz.
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Thanks for the details! So, what are your thoughts on this configuration : CD OUT (not DI) -> IR Loader pedal -> PA? Would I be loosing the simulated power amp portion of the CD by not using DI? My understanding is that a quality IR like a YORK contains cab only responses not the power amp portion. I'm thinking if that's the case, my example may result in my simply putting a pre-amp into a cabinet.
I tried reaching out to TC, but the website has me suspicious they are going away. Hope not - I liked some of their products.
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Before you pull the trigger on one of these, check out the UA Dream 65. I have the UA pedal and can report that it delivers a great clean sound that is so close to a classic Fender tube amp that it is scary.
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Isn’t the UA Dream like 3 s’s the cost of the T.C. Deluxe pedal? But if it delivers the tone,that’s ultimately the goal
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The UA Dream '65 is $399 new, so yeah, it's more than the TC. But it does more, with three speaker sims on the pedal and more downloadable via the UA app, and mod tones are on the pedal with more from the app. But more to the point, the UA gets closer to the '65 Deluxe Reverb sound than the TC or anything else I've heard. Last year I sold my '65 DRRI I owned for 30 years, tried some pedal substitutes and got the UA. Particularly for something that doesn't have a tube in it, the UA Dream doesn't just emulate a '65 Deluxe Reverb, it nails that sound. Originally Posted by jads57
Phil
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This is spot on. Originally Posted by 213Cobra
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Originally Posted by 213Cobra
Originally Posted by jzucker
UA Dream Head room?
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Well, a Fender Princeton doesn't have that much headroom. It's why they're a popular amp in rock recording sessions; you can get a great over driven sound without blowing the windows out. Think Larry Carlton on those Steely Dan recordings. If you are modeling a Princeton, you're not going to engineer in endless clean headroom. That would probably be a Fender Twin Reverb pedal, instead.
as far as I can tell from listening to the two outputs, the only difference is the speaker IR. The only reason to use the signal chain that you describe is if you don't like the speaker IR already built into the pedal. If you have an IR that you prefer in a separate pedal, I guess I can get that idea. Otherwise I'd go from the CD 65 DI output straight to the board, which is what I do because I think it sounds fine.CD OUT (not DI) -> IR Loader pedal -> PA? Would I be loosing the simulated power amp portion of the CD by not using DI? My understanding is that a quality IR like a YORK contains cab only responses not the power amp portion. I'm thinking if that's the case, my example may result in my simply putting a pre-amp into a cabinet.
But I don't have the patience to sit and really tweak and explore different IRs and things like that. I just want to plug the thing in and play music. The people who do best with modern technology are those who have the patience to explore it fully; to me if you have more than five knobs on the amp (volume, B/M/T and reverb), then you've got too damn many knobs. Which makes it ironic that the other pedal on my pedalboard is a Yamaha MagicStomp which allows for a ridiculous amount of tweaking. But since that can be done on my laptop using a much easier interface than on the pedal, I don't mind it as much. Mainly it just provides some reverb and some lead tones, along with some spacey stuff that's fun but not particularly practical.
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I have not found any practical headroom limits in the Dream '65 with any pickups, single coil or humbuckers. I also have the UA Enigmatic '82 (Dumble amp). No headroom issues there, either. Both pedals are rated for power consumption at 400mA / 9V. I power them with a 2A / 9V lithium battery. Maybe I need to thrash my guitars a little harder to find what Jack's referring to. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
Phil
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I am using a 300MA adaptor with my Dream 65 and have had no headroom issues outside of headroom issues that I would have with an actual Fender Deluxe Reverb amp. (which means not going louder than I ever would for jazz. At a certain level, both the Fender amp and the Dream 65 will break up, but the kind of music that is appropriate for that volume level likes the breakup in any case). Originally Posted by 213Cobra
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Yes, right, what I should say is that I have hit no practical headroom limits with the UA Dream that I wouldn't have hit with the '65 DRRI I had. The nice thing is we can get Fendery blackface sound out of a Henriksen amp with the UA, and I can also get same through my 5W Wavelength tube head, or my Wavelength guitar headphone tube amp. Still, SS, you might try a 500mA power adapter to get the most open sound out of the UA. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
Phil
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I’ve been thinking about an Enigmatic since it came out, Phil. I use a ZenDrive clone right now, and it’s good but not great at doing Dumble. I love the smooth, glassy sustain of an ODS. How’s the Enigmatic at that? Originally Posted by 213Cobra
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Well said - I'm looking for simplicity. The CD seems to offer that. Maybe I'm ahead of myself ...and perhaps the IR on the unit is just fine.
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It's difficult to know how someone else's sonic expectations compare to mine, especially in the overdrive realm. UA and most reviewers make the point that there wasn't "a Dumble amp" to emulate. There were many variants, also exacerbated by Dumble's willingness to build or modify circuits to a buyer's preferences. So, on the pedal and then further in the app, there are many variables to combine, which are quite interactive. I had a chance to play a few Dumble amps here in L.A. circa 1990, and also in the '80s in the Boston area. I think the Enigmatic '82 does Dumble more so than anything else I've heard, and is also a point of departure platform for finding your own sound, like Dumble owners did back in the day. So, yes, Enigmatic can do smooth glassy sustain, but to find exactly what that is to you will take some twiddling. Especially getting into the secondary functions of the overdrive and tone control knobs. Pick your speaker sim and amp tone. I think you'll get there. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Enigmatic doesn't have a Reverb simulation but one of my favorite things about it is the secondary function on Volume, which is Room. The room acoustic space emulation is really effective and natural when recording or practicing with headphones.
[Edit]: I'll add that while not in any way a Dumble emulator like the versatile US Enigmatic '82, for just smooth, singing overdrive, two OD pedals I have that do a very good job are the Hao OD-16, and the Fulltone Robin Trower Overdrive.
PhilLast edited by 213Cobra; 04-14-2026 at 12:08 AM.
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