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Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb


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So, with a milestone birthday coming up, and having killed my first real tube amp the previous day (sometime I'll tell the story of the exploding Princeton... ANYWAY...)

I decided that I would get myself a present, and yesterday one of these followed me home: This is a Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb, and it is GREAT!!! It sounds incredible. Just plugging my Strat straight into it, half an hour flies by in seconds. I am mostly a clean player (and my neighbors prefer it that way) and this thing has the most beautiful cleans.

If you haven't tried the silver face amps that Fender is putting out these days, definitely check them out. These are not direct reissues, if you want exactly what the blackface amps were like back in the 60s, they do still make those with the same circuits and speakers and such. The Customs that are in the silverface cabinets are meant to be updated a bit from the old designs.

On this amp (vs the normal Deluxe Reverb), the reverb and tremolo are available to both channels of the amp. It still has the Vibrato channel (now called "Vintage") with the classic sound, but the Normal channel is gone and replaced by a channel called "Custom", which has the 'Bassman tone stack'. I have never played a real Bassman, but I actually like the Custom channel even more than the Vintage one! It's similar but fatter and fuller sounding. These amps also break up a little earlier than the blackface reissues do. 

I almost got the Princeton version of this amp (it's 12 watts instead of 22), it sounded really, really great - but the cleans on the Deluxe were so enthralling that I just wanted to play it until the store closed 😎 Go ahead, leave me in here with it guys, I'll lock up when I'm done... or see you in the morning maybe :)

So if you're looking for a great Fender amp that is a step up from your starter amp like I was, check these out, they're awesome! 

deluxe.jpg

Edited by colder
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Congratulations!  Those are GREAT amps.  I have the '65 Deluxe Reverb and the '68 Custom Princeton.  They are wonderful sounding amps.  Enjoy it!!!

Ben

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Awesome - congratulations!

And I am ready to hear the story of the exploding Princeton!

Edited by Dave White
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Congrats!! That's an awesome amp!!

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11 hours ago, Dave White said:

Awesome - congratulations!

And I am ready to hear the story of the exploding Princeton!

Hah!

Well, basically, it was my first big-boy amp, a Fender Princeton Reverb reissue. I really liked the amp, I got it used, and I think it was 10 years old or more. Pretty beaten up, never had an issue with it though.

Then one day I was showing it to someone, and I turn the amp on. The red light comes on, but then 1-2 seconds later, a BANG sound comes out of the speaker, and according to the witness there was a flash or a spark or something in the back. A strong burning smell follows, like something oily or a plastic melting kind of smell. No smoke but it smells bad - Yikes, better unplug it! 

Later I see that the fuse is good, but one of the power tubes is clearly blown up inside. I subbed a new tube in for the bad tube, still no sound. Subbed all the power tubes for new ones, still nothing. The red light comes on, but no sound of any kind. He's dead, Jim. 

Luckily no people or animals were harmed! I'm not sure it's worth repairing, maybe I just have a spare 1x12 cabinet now. :)

 

Edited by colder
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when a tube goes, in the power section. it usually takes the output transformer with it because of the no load situation.

some 'modern' tube amps have protection in the circuit now to help prevent costly output transformer replacement.

 

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Very cool looking amp, @colder.  I'll bet it sounds sweet!

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