Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue

07 Fender Deluxe Reverb RI, just basic contols, 2 channels, just use 1, wish it had a effects loop, I use this amp for everything from home use to recording.

This amp is biased way cold, went to eurotubes.com, watch the viedo's, bought a bias probe set it to 25ma and now it just has so much tone.She is a very sweet sounding amp. I play lots of blues and dwelling into country and this amp deliver in spades.
I biased the amp and changed out v2 and v4 with some tungsol 12ax7's, its very sweet, also run a 2x12 cabinet with weber blu dog and silver bell, handles it all very well, not sure if i will ever change out the stock speaker, sounds too good

Too new to know if its dependable

I have never dealt with them but a few occasions I did call them and they were nasty and rude

love it love it love it, i bought a blues jr, biased way too hot, hot rod deluxe, biased wayyy cold and took it back and got this, for the money,you cant beat it

This was a fairly good amp when I had it for certain applications. Some quality problems out the door (channel on volume pot stopped working, then knob and shaft just came off the amp with no effort), but this was fixed under warranty. I tried really hard to like the overdrive when this amp was "cranked", but I thought it was not too appealing with humbuckers - very little sustain and lots of unpleasant "bark" tones no matter the channel and input jack used. Overdrive sounded MUCH better with my pedal. If you play a humbucker guitar and you're riffing on clean notes at higher volumes, this amp "compresses" and splats on you - not fun for someone who likes a punchy clean tone with low end clarity. Maybe it needs a solid-state rectifier to give it some clean balls and a few more watts? I know - I should have considered the Twin Reissue - but who wants the weight, heat and reliability issues of that amp? I felt this amp was best at low volumes as a Jazz amp or a rehearsal amp with the band with pedals - again at lower volumes. I ended up selling this for a Fender Jazz King with pedals and got a much fuller, lush clean tone with clarity and a great sound with pedals too. The JK stays right with you when your playin' fast and clean.

I have a 2007 DRRI, with most of the features standard to Fender blackface era amps - twin channel, normal and vibrato, tube driven reverb and tremelo, both footswitchable, one 12 inch Jensen speaker, 22 watts of power from a pair of 6v6 output tubes. Another crucial thing about this amp is it's light, at around 19 kilos you can carry it in one hand, but it still cranks pretty loud.
The Deluxe is different from larger blackface amps in that it doesn't have bright switches or a midrange control. I don't care about the mid control. I've used a lot of Fenders as rental amps and find I'm leaving mids on 5, which is what the deluxe gives you anyway, so it's not a problem. The 'bright' switch is something I want though, so I did the 'bright cap' mod (more on that next).
The Deluxe does Fender blackface beautifully, with a full and shimmering clean sound that's as good as anything, rich and fat classic Fender spring rev, and the throbbing trem we all love. Crank it up and the overdrive is Very power-tubey and warm, harmonic and sustained. This is the cool thing about a small amp, you can have that Hendrix sustain, feedback and soak without ripping your head off, and the Deluxe does this fantastically. I play original, rootsy song-driven rock, so I'm looking for rich clean sounds and dynamic, cracked overdrive and the DRRI gives me buckets of love for that stuff.

Many players have noted the brightness of the 'vibrato' channel on this amp, and forums are full of people swapping out speakers or tubes to try and mellow it. This is the one helpful thing I have to add to the reviews here - To my ears there's one simple cause, the bright cap. The other Fender blackface amps have a bright switch which puts a 120pf capacitor across the volume pot to boost high frequencies at lower volumes. The legendary amp tech Cesar Diaz changed the value of the cap to 250pf on Stevie Ray Vaughan's fenders to make it work less like a presence control and more like an upper midrange boost. It's a matter of taste what frequencies you like but it's a fact that the Deluxe 'vibrato' channel uses a 47pf cap which boosts a higher frequency range than the standard blackface circuit. This makes it sound a little too fizzy or spiky to many players, me included. This is the excess bright that you're all hearing, it's not the speaker. The options to fix this are either change the cap out to the standard value if you like the sound of Fender bright switches, or just remove it. I clipped mine and LOVE the sound now. This does not make it sound the same as the normal channel because it still has an extra gain stage, it's more sparkling and full, but the treble is dropped into a lower range that I like more. It sounds more like other Fender amps now, and the fizz is gone, it just turns the bright switch off. This simple mod reduces the apparent midrange scoop caused by raising the higher frequencies and lets the bottom end and lower mids breathe more.
I don't have a problem with the Jensen speaker in the DRRI, it has plenty of headroom, pumps out the bottom end well without being flabby and sounds much better than the eminence speakers they used a few years ago. It still needs breaking in but it's pretty good already.
Yes, change pre-tubes for taste, I'll be trying 5751's for more clean headroom sooner or later but I'm happy right now. One of the best things about the Deluxe tone is the power tube sustain and distortion in such a compact package. Like everyone else has said, this amp really is very dynamic, sustained, rich and full of ringing harmonics.

My current live setup is a USA Strat, USA Jazzmaster and a Teisco Tele copy through a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah>Seymour Duncan pickup booster>Keeley Phat-mod Blues Driver - into the Deluxe Reverb. I record and tour regularly and all my gear gets a lot of miles put on it. I've used a ton of gear over the years, and heaps of tube amps - all the classics and a lot of vintage gear. The Deluxe Reverb is a beauty that I'll be keeping. After the next run of shows I'll buy a Vibroverb too and run them in stereo, because you just can't beat the feeling of standing in front of such a wide guitar sound! I love the sounds of my Strat and Jazzy and I just wanted an amp that would do them both justice and also dirty them up, and the Deluxe is great for that.

American Fender gear is well made and I expect this amp will last longer than me with regular maintenance, but all gear breaks down at some point so - Spares on your spares! I like to have two amps onstage, they're never both gonna blow up and it just sounds awesome! You have to carry spare fuses and tubes, it's not hard to get a little kit together and you never regret it.

My local Fender dealer will bend over backwards to help, no complaints there.

I've been playing professionally for roughly 30 years, since I was a kid. I play guitars, bass, hammond, harp, sitar, sing, and work as a live and studio engineer. More gear has passed through my hands than I care to remember as I've developed my understanding of tone, and refined my sound over the years. I'm lucky enough to travel a lot and get to try out a lot of musical gear around the world, so I have a solid basis to compare. In the same price range as the Deluxe Reverb there isn't much of similar quality. The Fender Hot Rod amps just don't have the same clarity and versatility, not to mention the vibrato! They sound mushy next to the Deluxe. I bought the DRRI instead of spending the money rebuilding my Ampeg VT-22 because I knew the Deluxe would give me more mojo, and it does. I love it, I"m keeping it, I'd get another one, I really want a Vibroverb too for that extra fat 15 and more clean volume, but this is like having a half-size one!

Everybody knows the drill here. Fender's shot at replicating the legendary 65 Deluxe Reverb, one of the seminal amps in the history of guitardom. 6V6, 12AX7, printed circuit board, Jensen something or other 12" speaker. I had some equipment stolen and, after speaking to some smart techs, decided to use the DRRI as a project amp to see what I could pull out of it for "X" amount of dollars. I started with an Eminence Red White & Blues speaker (flat,clean, very little coloration) and a three spring reverb tank from Ed Allen of Allen Amps. Much better. Now for the big stuff. I figured tubes would be next, but after a wonderful, patient and extremely informative conversation with Patrick at Mercury Magnetics (they supply all the big boutique shops) I came to believe that the trio of input, output and choke transformers would really deliver the classic tone that we all love. Not only did pat convince me that I would be surprised and pleased with the change, he also directed me to a MM approved tech only twenty minutes from my house. Two days later, with transformers installed, bright cap cut, N.O.S. RCA's and Mullards and a new tone stack, I was flabbergasted by the pristine, and musical tones of my amp. Really everything my old '65 had and muchh much more. PLUS it's all NEW! - and weighs 40 pounds. Engineers are flipping out left and right. Trust me gentlemen, Transformers will rock your world. So, for a total of 750 (amp) 600 (mods) , Im home free.

If you want Fender clean, get a Fender amp. If I can get usable clean, It's no problem to dirty it up at studio volume. Now, with an RC Booster, Keeley Modded Blues Driver and Compressor, I've got a small rig that gets it all from Chuck Loeb to Robben Ford and John Mayer.

Solid as a rock.

No problem

87 Strat Plus (first year, great quiet guitar) Briggs Custom Nashville tele. I love this setup.

Basic features on all Fender amps for years, cheap build, comparable to the Hot Rod series in quality.

Nice bright but spikey clean, sounds a little thin with single coils to my ears. Played the new Super Sonic right beside it and the SS just crushed the '65. Much better and punchier cleans from sparkling to fat blues and a great overdrive channel that sounds like a built in tubescreamer. The build on the SS is far better with plywood cab, ceramic power tube sockets and the general layout looks pro inside and out. Did I say I bought the SS instead ? Yes I did and love it, much better than the one trick pony '65 and worth the extra $ !

It a Fender but the build on the new ones looks cheapo...

Never used them .

Don't know what the fuss is about the '65 over the years . Played single coil and hums through both amps and walked out a very happy man with the new SS...

This is a new Twin Reverb 65 RI... Bought in 2007. After owning some pretty complicated amps (like a mesa boogie mark iv) the simplicity of this amp is refreshing. No drive channel, but no drive channel is better than a crappy drive channel!!

When I bought this amp I liked it OK, but really not 100% on board with it.. It seemed a little spiky on the top, and didn't have quite the sound I was looing for. In fact I thought about selling it. However, I rewired the speakers to Series rather than Parallel, and now it nails the fuller tone I was looking for with a Tele. Furthermore, my pedals sound magnificent in front of it now whereas before it had a buzzy sound in the top end that almost sounded like a blown speaker if too much distortion was put in front of it.

I am a gigging musician and understand this changes what was a 4 ohm load to a 16 ohm load.....and I'm sure a lot of people would tell me not to do the ohm mismatch. However, I'm told by a Fender Tech that as long as you go up on the speaker side it's no problem at all (but you don't want to have a lower speaker ohm than what the amp is rated for). He also said it lowers the power of the amp (which to me is a good thing). I can still play it on 3 or 4 and sounds killer while not being too loud. I can't imagine running out of headroom.

No problems so far!!

With the changes I mentioned this amp is even more AWESOME! I realized that a Twin purist may not agree, but if you are slightly dissatisfied with your sound (if you own a twin) you may want to give it a try. To me (for what it's worth) clean is better and less spiky, AND the distortion you can get from pedals is better. I'd write down how it's wired before you unhook anything, but simply hook one lead from the amp to speaker 1 positive, and lead 2 from the amp to speaker 2 negative. Then connect the - from speaker one to the + of speaker 2. Very Simple.

Mine was a late 2006 make. My rating for this category is 10 not because it has many, but because it has little. It's got 22 watts (ALOT more powerful than most give it credit for), a normal channel and a vibrato channel. Extremely simple: volume, treble, bass, reverb and vibrato controls (intensity and speed). Very user friendly.

I use an American Fender Strat and a Custom Classic Strat as well mostly with my OD-9 with the drive on 2-3 for clean tones with a crunch for the pick-attack. I've had experience with amps like the sought-after Mesa Boogie Lonestar and the Twin amp, a JCM-2000 and a '65Fender Super Reverb (mind-blowing amp). The Deluxe Reverb amp produces the sound the Fender connoisseurs know and are loyal to: it's that classic Fender in-your-face sound, especially for blues and rock players. Hook a tube screamer (or a Maxon OD-9 as I prefer) to the 2nd jack on the vibrato channel and you get monster tone. You can even benefit from the breakup (on the Deluxe it's at about 7-8) for an overdrive, it wont let you down. Crystal clear cleans and equally clear face-melting tone for the overdrive, the best sound there is on the market, and for that price!

Even though the amp is still a child, a bit more than a year old, never have i had any problems with it (and I've kept the seemingly hated 6V6 GT's).

Never had to call them, but if they can take time to make so many good products such as this, they MUST be on top of their game.

I've been playing for about 4 years, I'm no proteg??, but i know great tone when i hear it but I don't think I would ever want to replace this amp and if it were stolen i would first hold an eternal grudge on the robber and the police for not having much interest in a poor bluesman's needs, then I'd go out and try and get the same deal i did on this one (about 999$ CAN)

Straight forward and simple. Tube driven.

Pretty quiet and clean; a good slate to work with. I play Honky-Tonk- Rock (thegrangeband.com) with a Jag HH and American Tele through a Guyatone overdrive as well as a Fender Mandocaster (slide)through an MXR Distortion+. I love this amp. No, I wouldn't swap out the Jensen speaker. I've tried and liked other amps, but this one works best for me; I guess it's a personal thing. I haven't had a problem with volume, on larger stages it gets miked.

I have played and toured with this amp and have not had a problem yet. It is a tube amp, so don't throw it around too much.

Haven't tried it.

I've been playing for a few years, love the sound and have had no problems, even on the road. Although it would be nice to have a distorted channel, I'm not crying over it. I've played through various amps (Vox, Hot Rods, etc.) but like this one the most. If stolen I would replace it with another one.

nothing fancy, just plentifully Loud and lovely-sounding. i use it whenever i can fit it in my car. I play in a country hybrid band and it handles things very well. usually miked up at gigs so volume is never a problem. in fact, i find it painfully loud above about 6.

it sounds sweet n delicious most of the time. because i'm squeamish about waking up my neighbours i've never had a chance to test the distortion at 10 but i'm sure it's even more glittering and delightful than it is at 6. I wish there were a mid knob - i play a jag and the neck pickup is a little middy - but an eq pedal sorts this out. for distortion i use a nobels odr-1 plus which does the job v nicely tho requires some careful tweaking to get the midrange clear.

haven't had it long. probably make my first visit to a tech later this year, before i take it on tour.

never dealt with fender

i used to use a blues junior - to express things in visual terms, that's a black-and-white telly and this is a colour celluloid and blinding-light cinema projector. i chose the DRR because it's old-fashioned: it has no extraneous features beyond making a good sound and it's not too loud. it also demands that you play well to make up for the enormous amount of money you spent on it.

The amp is basic. It hasn't got a lot of the features you see on typical 21st century amplifiers. There are two seperate channels - Normal for a dry and glassy kind of tone and Vibrato if you're into drenching your sound in reverb and tremelo. At 22 watts its got enough power for rehearsals and small venue gigs but for larger rooms you'll have to rely on the sound guy doing what he's told. If you're like me and like a real wild and wooly kind of tone tell your sound man to mic the back as well.

I don't know if I'm really qualified to judge the quality of any amps sound. I use a couple of beat up old 60s Kay guitars played through an old Mossrite fuzz pedal when I want to "turn up the heat". I play pretty much exclusively on 10 as well. As such, I notice the amp starts to sound really good after about 15-20 minutes as the tubes start to warm up.

So far its stood up beautifully to my abuse. I've done 6-7 gigs with it since getting it about 3 months ago.

As mentioned above, the amp hasn't hicupped once. Fender's 5 year warranty is a bonus for a guy used to using dusty old amps pushing 40 years of service.

I've been a gigging "musician" for about 5 years. I bought the reissue deluxe (its the tan version with the Jenson speaker by the way) to replace a '71 Fender Princeton which sounded great but wasn't really loud enough and wasn't really mine either though its owner allowed me to use it for a little over a year. The Deluxe is just a bit louder and while its tone isn't as striking as the Princeton's, it feels a lot more solid and reliable for my purposes.