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Any comments on this amp?
Any experience with Victoria amps?
Looks like a Fender Deluxe reverb for the most part without tremolo and without the normal channel. (30 lb weight per the listing)
Victoria Amplifier Club Deluxe 1x12 Combo, Black Tolex | Humbucker Music
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06-05-2023 10:41 AM
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I have played a few Victoria amps. Wow. However, the price and quality match each other. They have a reputation of making the best boutique fender type amps. My experience confirms that reputation. My wallet will not surrender enough money for me to personally cohabitate with such an amp.
I would assume that the Club Deluxe is a loud 20watts.
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That looks nice, and I have owned a Victoria Tweed Twin, which was great.
There are many amp companies building Deluxe Reverb variants, including Fat Jimmy, which I have, and Louis Electric. Each does their own spin on the design. For jazz, a mid control can be very useful. DR's are quite bright, even if you clip the bright cap on them.
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I have looked at that amp a number of times and would love to try one out. On paper it sounds like the perfect jazz amp for small gigs. It's basically a 1-channel Deluxe Reverb minus the tremolo and no bright cap, built in a narrow panel tweed deluxe cabinet. It's ~20 watts and only 30 lbs.
I've read some reviews about it from other players. The major complaint that people have is that it does not have the same high end response as a traditional blackface deluxe clone. This could be due to the smaller cabinet, the speaker (eminence legend), modifications to the circuit, or any of the above. I'm sure some jazz players might find that to be a plus. I'd have to try it to know how I feel about it. I bet if you put a high efficiency Jupiter alnico speaker it would be just perfect for most jazz gigs.
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I have a club deluxe and it's a great amp. It's got plenty of volume, I've gigged with it quite a bit in a pop rock band and I've never had to turn the volume past 3 (although it's always been miked). It's got plenty of clean headroom but gets nice break up approaching halfway up on the volume knob, depending on how hot your pickups are. Cranked all the way it's got a ton of grit and some nice sag, not as saggy as my 57 tweed deluxe reissue but I think it would be a great blues or classic rock sound.
The reverb is great and can get huge washed out surf sounds. Maybe my only complaint is that the reverb pot taper is not great, the reverb goes from subtle to surf right around 3 and without much in between. I also think the decay on the reverb is a little long compared to my 73 Pro Reverb. But if you spend a minute fine tuning the reverb setting it's plenty usable.
As far as brightness, I don't think you'd have a complaint unless you really want very shrill tones. I tend to be a fan of pretty dark jazz tones tho so perhaps I'm biased, but if anything it has at times been a little brighter than I want. I put a Jensen neo speaker in and that has tamed some of the highs nicely.
The cabinet sits between the Pro Reverb and the Tweed deluxe reissue as far as liveliness goes. It's more open sounding than the pro, but to me anyway a little stiffer sounding than the Tweed, but not in a bad way.
One other nice thing about it is the three padded inputs. Gives a lot of flexibility if you have hot pickups that are driving the preamp, and it's really helpful for getting the amp very quiet if you're in an apartment like I am. The half power switch is nice in that regard too, it's not a dramatic volume reduction but it's something.
Overall I'm very pleased with the amp, I think it delivers exactly what it promises. It's well built and aside from a burned out resistor likely from a failing tube, it's been reliable. If you're after a lightweight deluxe reverb and won't miss the tremolo, it does the trick.
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I have a Victoria 518, it's the Fender Champ version. Great amp, complex voice, slightly bigger cabinet than the fender ones, so it sounds a bit fuller.
Great amp for slightly broken blues and rock sounds, great for home playing. Just a tad less headroom than I would like for small drumless jazz gigs though..
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I played the Victoria 12" champ combo once
it was amazing ....
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Guitarist pay that kind of money for an amp like that? I guess I don't understand. It could be the greatest in the world but at the weight and power and price I see nothing to have.
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I had two Victorias: a 512 and a 5112. Loved them both. Excellent build quality and lovely sound.
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This is the typical list price for a hand made tube amp these days. Whether it’s worth it or not depends on the player, but a 30 lb blackface deluxe is pretty special. We’re talking a real tube deluxe reverb that weighs about ~5 lbs heavier than a tonemaster. The convenience for gigging and rehearsing is remarkable. I know I’m interested in at least trying one out if I get the chance.
Originally Posted by deacon Mark
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Two things to think about in this regard, from someone who has actually taken the plunge and bought one Originally Posted by deacon Mark
First, this is a well made, high quality, fairly easy to repare amp that should if taken care of last forever. It also packs tone and versatility into a very portable package. It's easy for me to hop on public transit or take it up a flight of steps and show up at a gig and reliably have great tone and as much volume as I'll ever need. So I'm getting a high quality product, and that will cost a premium.
Second, I took a look at a 1965 Fender catalogue which lists the price of a DR at $239.50. According to an internet inflation calculator, $239.50 converted from 1965 to 2023 dollars is....$2,306.52.
So yeah it was a big chunk of change, but it's not completely outlandish, and to some degree you get what you pay for
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I'd be giving the Gries 18 head for $799 a long, hard look before plunking down $2700 on this. Plenty of budget left to buy whatever kind of cab suits your fancy. Maybe even pick up one of the reverb pedals marcwhy is selling on this very forum.
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I would also add that from modern boutique amp builders I anticipate that Victorias will stand the test of time in terms of value. They have the right combination of quality and broad distribution/recognition. So from a resale perspective, these are going to make much more sense in 10 years than a $1k tone master made today, which will likely be considered obsolete then. So yes, 2.5k is more money upfront than other amps, but when you go to sell it you’re likely to get your money back, which can’t be said for a lot of the more economical options.
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I got to play through 3 Victorias that belonged to a local harmonica player (!) years ago. He had a 1x8, a 1x12, and a 3x10 - and they were all stellar. The tone and power (especially for their rated outputs) were amazing, and they’re built like tanks. I’d gladly have gigged with any of them, and my main amp at the time was equally great - my original ‘78 Boogie “hunree” with EVM12. The Vics were that good, and they all had a wonderful bloom for jazz that even the Boogie couldn’t quite match.
I’d happily live with even their Champ clone, which is certainly worth its price compared to a current Fender CS Champ. The entire line is priced well compared to other boutique amps. And I agree that they’ll hold their value well compared to almost any competitor.
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I had the opportunity to audition a Victoria Club Deluxe and I was predictably, highly impressed. I've owned 5 different Victoria amps over the years and loved every single one. So, I stopped by my dealer to try the Victoria Club Deluxe and, once again, was very impressed. Then someone suggested I try a new Fender ToneMaster Deluxe Reverb. And.....Wow!! To say I was surprised is an understatement. After all I'm a tube guy. I love the blackface sound and the Fender ToneMaster Deluxe Reverb had it in spades. I was shocked by how good it sounded and how true to the original blackface Deluxe Reverb sound it was.
Long story short.....I took the ToneMaster Deluxe Reverb home and I've never looked back. I use it for my jazz setup. Sounds wonderful with my new Heritage Eagle Classic Standard jazz archtop. It doesn't necessarily sound "better" vs the Club Deluxe, just different in a very good way.
The ToneMaster Deluxe Reverb (to my ears) nails the vintage blackface Deluxe Reverb sound just a little bit more closely. And it has some very useful features such as a great attenuator, mic and cab simulation, light weight (23 lbs), and you don't have to mess with tubes. All this in a SS amp?!! And I've been a tube fanatic for 60+ years. There are also Twin Reverb, Super Reverb, and Princeton Reverb versions of the ToneMaster. Check'm out. Anyway, my 2 cents.
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I tried the Princeton Tonemaster and found it sounded good for cleans, but horrible a the edge of breakup, fizzy and digital. I'm not a real jazz player, and like to play lightly overdriven (never more than slightly). The Tonemaster didn't do the job well in that domain, no matter how hard I tried. I had a tube amp next to it to compare (Gibson GA 8T).
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I have been a tube guy since I started playing the electric guitar. Still own 2-3 of tube amps together with 2 Fender like amps built by me.
But since I have a Twin ToneMaster I think time has gone now for the need of tube amps, at least for me.
I must add that I need a clean tone only, any (rarely) overdrive will come out of a pedal.
But if one wants to play with a slightly breakup of the amp or at the edge of overdrive, I still would recommend a tube amp.
In this case I don't think it must be a 2.5k$ amp... just my 2c.
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The Tonemaster sounded very good for cleans, and stellar with modulation and delay. But the magic wasn't there for very slight breakup tones that I like.
I wanted very much, because otherwise I liked everything about it.
I know Mike Stern uses Roland Blues Cubes, and said it sounds great with distortion. I saw a rig rundown recently, love the guy, love his sound. Maybe I should try one of these Roland amps
Edit : here is the video in question
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I own a 35210 and am familiar w almost everything Victoria makes that’s covered in tweed…but not a club deluxe.
I can’t imagine it’s anything but freaking fantastic.
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