Fender Blues Deluxe

This is a review for the Fender Blues Deluxe tweed from Mexico.
I had the blues devil and this is also a hot rod.
I love hate this amp, Its sitting on level TWO and above that is LOUD ASS.. Im not sure how accurate the 40 watts is because its plenty loud. Now that I got my complaints off, I LOVE this thing. Its super DEAD *** SEXY TWEED. Most good looking amp I ever had. They really got this thing to look vintage and arguable better looking then a real vintage..

All the Reverb and distortion is great, effects loop is handy. I opened it up and it looks like a SOLID STATE amp with tubes. Much different from my twin and my sovtek. That said I like it plenty.
Iv had these hot rods going on 4 years and I don't have any idea what the presence knob is yet every so often I give it a turn for good luck? Perhaps its an audience knob that makes more people show up to the gig? Appears to work 50/50 lol..

Lets see, don't try to mod it or screw with the tubes and you will be fine. Have an amp guy do it. Mine was gigged quite a bit and the old owner said he has a real amp tech go over it and keep it working for his gigs, new tubes and bias. I think if you want to make this a Boutique amp get your head examined its near solid state and get a better effects or vintage EQ for your own tone. New Webber and some new custom tubes if you wish and it wont break. Its very hot where we are and the thing hums along near silent. I think being mine is 5 years old or so and looks NEW might explain how/why I give this a 10 on reliability, DON'T mod unless your a guru, thats why we make amp gurus because they don't even play music they just repair amps in little dark apartments and they need food and water so take the amp to them, they will appreciate it.

I never used fender for anything, I have a tech do things for 1/10 fenders price.

lets see mine is from Mexico and this will mark my first mex gear, I have no china or Korean anything but its holding up and the construction is top quality. I LOVE how it looks and the over drive and Reverb are pretty good being this is NOT A Boutique amp! I like the light weight and sold my 2x12 twin and blues devill and got this. Its a perfect amp for small clubs, back of your trunk and week end events when you dont want to lug your 4x12. Hay i ts got a really sweet tone and fit and finish and reliability is nice. Just the correct amount of controls, not to many! Did I say its near solid state on the inside? All Tube Preamp and Power Amp, Tube Complement 3 X 12AX7, 2 X 6L6, SS Rectifier. Im surprised how expensive this amp is now on ebay. But its a fender and they are the best factory amp and you can get parts and service in every town, gotta love that if it blows on tour you can get a replacement anyplace but guys this wont be as high quality durable as a black face twin so take care of her, she has plastic crap on the inside and the outside looks better then Elvis coffin.

I'm sure you've seen the features on other reviews; a clean channel, a dirty channel, no fancy stuff. I have an original 1993 production model that was made in the Brea, CA plant. I had the overdrive channel modded that was a mistake, don't touch it. It's perfect for classic rock and blues. Definitely not for high gain applications, but it does sound great with a good overdrive pedal in front of it. I use it with a 2x12 lopo cabinet with vintage 30 copys instead of the speaker that's in it. Without a doubt more power than you would ever need for a small bar and even larger venues. Very loud considering the 40w power rating. 3 12ax4s and 2 6l6s, very simple.

I play mostly guitars with humbuckers in it except for a 86 esp with emg active single coils and an 81 and a jay turser 335 copy with a gfs dream 180 and a mean 90 in the bridge. This amp is loud, the most I have it turned it up in the bars I play in is 3 and that's out of 12 not 10. As I stated I've had it modded which I do regret so my tone controls are changed to replicate an old bassman. Even so, using the right stomp boxes, I can get about any sound I want out of this amp. The modded overdrive channel is about unuseable so I keep the amp clean all of the time and use a behringer vintage overdrive pedal as my main overdrive sound. Of course, it has the well hearlded Fender clean sound, clean as a whistle. Oh and the reverb is smooth as ever. Great overall sound, just wish I kept it stock.

I use this as my only amp every show. It has been in the shop a couple of times. This was due to my putting power tubes in it and not getting it biased. It blew the output tranny and eventually killed the low power supply in the amp. After these repairs it has been perfect, never lets me down. The amp tech put in a stronger output tranny after the original blew and supposedly had a power output of over 50w now. So, it's almost a super blues deluxe now.

Never have talked to Fender, I got the amp after the warranty ran out.

I've been playing for about 13 years and playing in a band for 8 years (I was playing in bars since I was 17). Not saying I'm an expert but I know what sounds good and this amp has it. If you play metal, beware but for everything else, it's great, especially for clean sounds. If someone stole it, I'd give them 12 varieties of hell and then get it back. If you can find a good used one, buy it. I doubt you'll regret it.

This review is the the 1990's USA made amp.

This amp has everything you need to play a guitar and really enjoy your sessions. It's not complex, there's no computer, no chips, no DSP. It's just you, your axe, a nice set of tubes, and a great looking amp.

Control tonal control via the standard knobs. There's 2 channels, clean & dirty. The tweed material can get dirty if misused, so don't rest your coffee on it. The tubes used & features are elaborated everywhere on the net if your interested. I understand the power supply is more reliable electronics but all other areas are tube powered.

The fender site has a pdf manual that describes all the features. The design of this amp is based on the famous & sought after vintage & rare bassman. They say it sounds similar. I never heard a bassman so can't testify to that.

Tone.

I pump noise from a 2004 US fat strat, a 90's standard strat, & a 90's Tele. You may have heard, there is nothing quite like a Fender Guitar through a Fender amp. You can consider that a truism. The amp really opens up with the fat strat on the dirty channel. I can't think of a better combo. The tone is just sweet. Think anything from Ventures, Jimmi, et al. Wow.

There is this chime you hear when the treble is set above med that just grabs your heart and doesn't let go.

I also use an assortment of pedals which expand the sonic range quite well.

In 10 + years she hasn't let me down.

PS: All ratings on this amp are 10's --- do ya see a pattern? :-)

The best kind: never needed - it's a Fender :-)

Been playing on and off 35 years. If I lost her, I would immediately go go out & buy a used US made 90's amp. The Mexican amps are probably the same, but there's something about a U.S. made Fender.

Brand New in September 2008. Came with a foot switch and a decent cover from Sam Ash. It has 2 channels but the overdrive channel is not very heavy sounding. Thats fine with me. I use a Tonebone Classic pedal for more gain on both channels. I like the reverb. I kept everything stock on it. At first the speaker is harsh but after one month it is finally broken in. So it sounds pretty good.
It is loud. At above 2 the sound is very loud so this is for playing live with a band, not for playing at home unless you live far, far, far away from neighbors.

Ok. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes to fully warm up. From that point on you will get killer tone from this for another 2 to 2 1/2 hours. After that it begins to fade a little bit probably from the heat. I noticed this when we played a 3 hour show. Nobody listening to the band noticed this but I did so I'm just saying.
I use a Gibson 2002 Les Paul Studio and a Montoya Strat copy. Both guitars are stock. I have a Tonebone Classic for more gain when I need it. Thats it. Guitar to Tonebone to the low input jack on the amp.
The clean channel is loud and clear. Gets tweedy with the bright switch on. Otherwise it is clean, clean, clean till about 7 on the Strat and 5 on the LP. Believe me when I say that 5 is about as loud as you ever need. After about 5 or 6 you get a little bit of OD from the clean channel. It's pretty nice sounding. The volume knobs go to 12 but after 7 there is no more volume to squeeze out of it so it just gets a little more compressed
The overdrive channel sounds exactly like a slightly overdriven tube amp running at full power, with the drive knob at 6 or above 6. Forget about distortion sounds on the drive channel because it doesnt get heavy distortion. It's a little bit of overdrive and maybe a little trebly boost but that's about it. It does have the authentic overdrive sound of a old Fender amp so Fender gets a tip of the hat for staying true to that sound, which is what I wanted when I chose this amp.
With the Radial Tonebone Classic Distortion OD pedal things heat up to the next level. I have the pedal set for a medium overdrive gain. It makes the clean channel sing and sort of gives that old time TS9 boost sound to the OD channel, with a lot of sustain and harmonics. The Tonebone is not really a distortion pedal. Its really a overdrive with a tube for the gain and tone. I tried a few other solid state pedals with this that I borrowed from a friend. A MXR distortion pedal was good. A Metal Zone was heavy and made a lot of feedback (I don't play that kind of music-yuk). A BBE Green Screamer was good but the BBE Crusher distortion pedal was muddy. I tried a boss chorus and a Keeley compressor. Chorus was sweet. Keely was the best sounding pedal of all because it completely focused the sound of the OD channel. For me the Tonebone classic is a real good matchup but the Blues Deluxe takes pedals with no problems.
I rate the amp as a ten because I wanted the classic Fender sound when I bought it and thats what I got. This amp will make you happy for country, classic rock, blues and rockabilly because thats what its made for. Hard Rock and metal guitarists probably wont like it much but it isn't made for that. I rate it a 10 for what it is.

I looked at the reviews for this amp and in my opinion it is liked by players who like more clean sounding stuff but the heavy music players dont like it because it isnt brutal enough. All I can say is dont buy a blues amp if you want a Mesa Boogie or Peavey 5150. But if you want to play clean and a little overdrive, and use pedals for harder sounds then this is a good amp for that.
I own a Peavey Classic 20 and a few SS amps too. I highly recommend the Blues Deluxe Reissue and if I had it to do over again I would buy this again. I hope it lasts a long long time.

US made, 1994, tweed, owned since new. 40 watts, nice size, very gig worthy. No idea what the Presence knob is for, twirling makes no difference in sound. Otherwise, great amp when it's working (see Reliability section).

Nice, clean, tubey Fender sound. Plenty loud. A little fussy when it comes to pedals. Stays clean all the way up. Sweet, full tone. Just wish it was more reliable.

Totally unreliable. It has crapped out in the middle of more gigs than I can remember. I've replaced input jacks, tubes, circuit boards, you name it. Other people swear by their BDLs so maybe the guys at Fender were high when they assembled this one. I keep fixing it because it's a great amp, but then something else craps out. Gives "Made in the USA" a bad name. Maybe the Heche en Mexico version is more reliable.

N/A

Playing 20+ years. Love the sound, size, look of the amp. Don't like having to keep repairing it. Would not be seriously upset if it were stolen because I'd know the thief would soon have a non-working amp on his or her hands, which would serve him or her right. Again, other people don't seem to have the same reliability problems I've had, so mine may just be a dog.

It's all been said.

This amp represents the truest "art" of guitar signal amplification. It's not an amp built for some specific job like a Mesa Rectifier or a Marshall JCM 800. No...this is a true signal amplifier without all the bells, whistles and useless, tone sucking ******** that modern amps have become infamous for.
Yes, it has tone controls but turning them full up eliminates them from the circuit. On this amp, tone controls are a waste. Unnecessary. I suppose Fender puts tone controls on this puppy because no one would buy an amp without the ubiquitous "3-BAND EQ" on it. Good tube designs are extremely dynamic and operate best without tone controls. Some of the greatest amps ever made had a single on-off knob that doubled as a volume control. Old Harmony amps come to mind.
The Blues Deluxe is all that. For experienced players who can still remember what sonic nirvana sounds like : THIS AMP IS THE ****! I'm blown away.
I'm playing through this amp with a Les Paul standard. Pickups are SD 59 types. Talk about co operation between fingers, wood, strings, pickups, guitar electronics, cable, pedal and amp! The Les Paul sounds like a Les Paul is designed to sound. Unbelievable clarity, every nuance revealed. The lows are crisp as hell...not one ounce of mud in the low end. If you can really play the instrument, this amp will make love to your guitar. Beware, there is no place to hide with the Blues Deluxe. It accentuates every touch of the hand to the fretboard with clinical precision. Legendary execution. If this amp doesn't make you cry with joy and appreciation, the problem is YOU.
My signal chain is: LP Standard, 10 foot ProCo cable, Barber Tone Press, 10 foot ProCo cable, Blues Deluxe. I wet myself every time I hear the heavenly tone of my Les Paul through this diamond. Maximum pro quality sound.

Get rid of the pre amp tubes. They are chinese garbage-pure and simple. Use JJ ECC 83s tubes and you'll be satisfied. This is a PC board amp but that doesn't mean it's a piece of crap. Take care of her and she'll take care of you. Talk to Bob at Eurotubes when the time comes for replacing your output tubes. Keep quality components in this puppy and she will sing for you. With the UL approved plasti-jack inputs and outputs you'll need to be gentle with her. She will reward you with the voice of an angel.

Started playing semi-pro in 1968. I'm a Les Paul player, period. This amp lets the TRUE sound of a Les Paul come through. It lets the guitar's tone and volume knobs tell all sorts of different, interesting stories. I love the blues, modern country and classic rock. It's a miracle that sound this good can still be bought for 700 bucks, off the shelf. This is the best amp that Fender had produced since the 60s.

This is the reissue version made in 2007. It's a very simple amp that just sounds great on either channel. Shared 3 band with bass, mid and treb controls. Presence and reverb. Effects loop and standby switch. Two preamp tubes, a 12AX7 inverter/driver and a pair of 6L6 / 5881 power tubes.
Very cool looking tweed on chrome with a brown grille. LOUD. Compared to the "modern" amps out today it is a lightweight for features. That's what it is SUPPOSED to be, a simple amp like those of yesteryear. Nice poly dust cover with silkscreened Fender logo. Two button footswitch included (channel switch and reverb switch) Weighs about 45 pounds.
This is my gig amp. I practice with a Peavey Bandit with 80 watts. The Blues Deluxe is just as loud, no problem..by the way, volume setting 1 is mute. No sound until you move to volume setting 2 on the dial...just like the really old time Fenders, and all knobs go to 12, Nigel!

Mine came with GROOVE TUBES 12AX7, V1 and V2 preamps. I replaced only these two tubes with JJ preamp tubes because the Groove tube 12AX7 tubes are crap. They rattle like all hell is breaking loose. Totally microphonic. I knew this when I bought the amp and ordered the JJs to cure the sicko Groove tubes. I left the stock tube in the phase inverter slot and kept the stock output tubes and stock speaker intact.
I have several Gibson Les Pauls. Some with ceramic pups, some with alnico pups and a couple with p90 pups. I don't own a guitar with "traditional" single coils. I plug straight in to the BDX and use the Fender footswitch when necessary. I set the clean channel to 7 or 8 and the OD channel to: MASTER-10, CHANNEL VOLUME (gain) at 3 or 4. So the overdrive is at higher volume than the clean but not very much distortion going on. I let my volume and tone controls CONTROL this amp. One thing about Gibson Les Pauls is that they are wired right. With just the volume pots on the guitar, I can move the clean channel from squeaky clean to that edge-of-breakup sound. On the drive channel it works the same albeit with more crunch on the sound. I have all the amp's tone knobs on 12. I never use the tone controls on the amp, only the presence and reverb to affect the sound. Everything else comes from the pickups, my hands and the amp. The BDX is not noisy at all beyond a slight (less than most tube amps) hum that is inaudible when playing. I always plug into the low gain input of the BDX. Never used the loop-no comment on it.
The BDX was created to capture that essential old-school Fender sound that is low gain, luscious, round and chimey sounding. I play the blues, some old-school rock (Stones, Zeplin, BTO, Credence, Southern Rock) and jazz-blues styles. The BDX is spot on for these styles. Really it is delicious and amazing for it's price. Right out of the box it produces a killer old-school Fender vibe. No question that you are playing a Fender amp.
The BDX is not meant to use in your bedroom. At its lowest volume setting it's tolerable but your apartment building neighbors will be calling the men in blue uniforms if you play this thing on volume setting 2 or above in your apartment. Unlike a lot of tube amps the BDX sounds really, REALLY good at low volumes. I give it high marks for that, alone.
Real quick let me say that I have played Strats and Telecasters through this at the same settings mentioned above. These guitars kill through this amp. I also tried out a Barber LTD, Digitech Bad Monkey, BOSS Metal Zone. Fulltone Fat Boost and Fulltone OCD with the BDX. I'm not a pedal guy but the BDX will do your pedals right-I can vouch for that.
In a nutshell, the BDX will cop otherworldly tones once you get rid of the bad preamps and allow for a reasonable break in period. It is easily capable of giving the high end, high priced amps in its class a run for the money. Of all the Fenders, VOXs and Boogies that I played while searching for a new gig amp, I always came back to this as my benchmark amp. It was the right size, lightweight, came with footswitch and cover and I honestly couldn't find anything that else that sounded superior to it in the sound category that I like, so I bought it.
From beautiful, shimmering cleans to light, crying, bluesy OD to old school rock tones this is the amp to have. I played and owned many many early 60s to late 70s Fender amps through the years and I can vouch for the authenticity of this amp. The Blues DeVille models are nice too-just bigger than i need. Nothing beats this amp in the "under $1500 bucks" price range. Honestly, it's a steal at 600-700 bucks, brand new with a 5-year warranty period. It looks cool as hell too. Awesome good tone on a beer buget, in my opinion.

I have had it for 7 months with no major issues. I'd say I have gigged with it about 30-40 times at shows where I could open her up to "loud as hell!" volume settings. Not one hiccup or problem. She holds together damned well at high volumes and sounds killer. Gig without a backup amp? NOT SMART. I bring the Bandit along because you never know but so far no problems at all with the BDX. It's a shame that the groove tube preamps are so lousy but the replacements cost less than 30 bucks and they'll last for years and years.
Irritants? Yeah, there are a few. The lettering on the chrome practically wipes right off! C'mon Fender, what's up with that? The tweed cloth covering stains and tears and is more fragile than thick tolex coverings so there's something to be careful of as a trade off for the retro looking cabinet.. There are no corner protectors on the stock amp. I bought some silver ones and installed them. If I had it to do over I would get black ones and paint them dark brown to match the grill. I read somewhere that you can remove the amp from the cabinet and apply a protective polyurethane or lacquer finish over the tweed. I've seen this finish on other Fender amps and it really mellows the look.
I'm taking off 3 points for no corner protectors, ****** preamp tubes, lettering rubbing off and lack of lacquer. But I will say that there have been no major problems at all. Hey, it's young at 7 months old.

5-year warranty. Tubes are warranted for a couple of months.

Played my first gigs in the 60s. No ****. I have played Fenders all my life and i am dyed in the wool as far as the Fender sound is concerned. I have owned Princetons, Deluxes, Twins, Supers, Pros and Champs-blackfaced, silverfaced et al. Always played Gibby guitars.
Fender disappointed me in the 80's but came through in the 90's with the Blues Reissue amps-which had some quality issues, I admit. When my Showman rig died of old age I was either going to buy a "vintage" setup or a reissue. Vintage cost mucho bucks-so that option died quickly. I looked at VOX amps (way too heavy and way too expensive) and Mesa combos (WAY too expensive and didn't have the sound I wanted) and finally came back to the Fender Hot Rod (don't like them at all) and Blues combos. Can't fault the Blues Deluxe..it was just what i wanted. like I said the 60 watt DeVille models are very nice too...just too big for an old 60+ player to haul around at my age.

Purchased new in 2006, 60th anniversary edition Blues Deluxe Reissue.
Two channels. Clean and drive. Effects loop. Fender long-spring reverb. Special-design Eminence speaker, Chrome toggle witches, glass gem light, chicken-head knobs, tubes, lacquered tweed covering, nice duty dust cover, two button foot switch, chrome panel with white letters in the reverse-view mode, like yer standing BEHIND the amp when you adjust the knobs. Good idea, here.
Use this amp in my studio. It has the 'powah.'

I've read many of these reviews here and naturally there are a wide spectrum of opinions about this amp. Since I demoed this one at a dealer, got to see and hear it first, there were no surprises about its abilities or lack thereof. In its price range, this amp darn near puts 'em all down. I took my Telecaster and Stratocaster in for the amp demos, and after playing through a dozen amps, I preferred this one to almost every other in the store, except the Fender Hot Rod and Vibrolux. These amps really like my guitars.

The sound is good, even at low volumes (had to keep it low inside the store) Very clean clean channel, decent bass, great overall tone. In the studio, at higher volumes, it gives fairly well-rounded tube and speaker breakup for a nice, rich tube sound. The drive channel, though slight does distort some, but not much, until you set it at 12 and crank that sucker up. Then you've got your distortion. A little too much. It losses a lot of distinction in the mid and treble-end whilst the speaker is flapping about in it's frenzy.

I felt the speaker was perhaps a little light-of-magnet, or soft-of-cone for the extremely high volume levels, so I put in a heavier Eminence-recomended 'Swamp Thang' just to see how it sounded compared to the original. Uh, now we be talkin' about driving! Though I really like the original speaker's overall sound at lower volume levels, the 'Swamp Thang' does a better job when things heat up. It has the same basic voice, but it is more pronounced, more spacial, and definitely handles the high volumes with better articulation and clarity. A separate cabinet with both speakers in action would be the ideal here. I'm on it.

The overall sound of this amp as I bought, though, is very good. I have heard few that please my ear more. One could figure Fender know what they are doing.

I've had Fender products for years, decades. They are pro-grade tools of the trade, not to be mistaken for light-duty junk. I depend on their reliability and get it.

Best used by not needing it.

Beautiful amp. Well made. The vintage tweed looks don't hurt it either, but it's not indestructible. Use a little TLC when hauling it around, if that's what you do. It has no corner protectors and can be scuffed and stained, so let no one put stuff on it. It's an amp, not a table.

For the money, and let's face it, at this price you can buy some pretty good transistor amps, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better sounding, nicer looking forty-watt tube amp. And it is a Fender, after all, which is iconic to begin with. You want Fender sound, you buy Fender. This part requires little imagination or brain powah! It matters not, really, where an amp must be manufactured in order to be competitive in the market. If you must buy American made Fender Tweed amps, look to spend three times as much in the onset. This one has ultra-value. Oh, another thing; all the knobs go to . . . not eleven, but twelve!

made in mexico 2004

2 channels (normal and drive)

spring reverb

brightness switch

3 12AX7 pre-amp tubes

2 6L6 output tubes

Use the amp for band practise and live

I use a two eastwood guitars:

* classic 6 (gretsch country gent. copy) with filtron style p'ups
* nashville 12 (epiphone riviera 12 string copy) with NY Mini HBs

both sound great thru it but my tele thinline sounds the best with this amp.

I play in a 60s guitar pop style band

the clean channel breaks up quickly so humbuckers are a bad idea if you want articulate cleans. a tele works great tho. the brightness switch can be a good or bad thing. great for giving humbuckers bite.

I had problems with this amp regarding the sound quality. up until yesterday i was never satisfied with any tone. i replaced all the valves with sovtek and electro-harmonix ones and now it sounds great and alot louder. i think my amp originally had dodgey pre-amp tubes.

I'm going to buy a matching tweed 112 cab with the celestion vintage century speaker (80w) and i'm sure i will love the increased clean headroom and bass response. i will also replace the stock speaker to a vintage 30 or vintage century. the stock speakers sound too harsh.

i wont rate this amp a 10 because nothing will ever sound "perfect".

it has never died on me....

like i said before, the stock valves were shit and once i replaced them it has been great. touch wood. I was going to sell it and buy a deville but now i'm sure i'll keep it.

i've heard that these mexican blues deluxes and devilles are second rate incomparison to the US made ones of the 1990s. I've heard that alot of people have had problems with this amp.

*****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fender are awful.

considering the problems i couldn't give it a 10 but its soooo very pretty and i love it.

I will be hopefully be buying soon a new vox AC50 head so i'll let all you folks know how that goes.

Hi, This is an updated review on the amp that I have had for 2+ years.

I'm going to re-rate the amp based on the changes that I have had made by Ben Fargen at Fargen Amps.
The issue I had with the stock amp was that it sounded OK, but did not sound GREAT.
What was lacking was BLOOM and Fullness, and it would sound thin and harsh at times when pushed in a live gig.
Now, after Fargen's work, swapping out the speaker for a Weber, which I had done years ago, the amp sounds GREAT!

No problems

I've been playing 40+, and now performing out again on a weekly basis with a great blues band.
The stock amp and I had a sort of love-mmmmmmm relationship.
What Ben Fargen did was upgrade the caps, installed a Mercury Transformer that was twice the original size Fender put in the amp, and added some of his special touches.
Believe me, and I play, I can be very focused on what the amp is doing, and these changes that were made make a world of difference in what this amp can do.
The headroom has been improved, bloom and clarity are there, and over-driven tones sound fat and rich.
Cost of the changes, around $300, but I have an amp that sounds outstanding.
I also play a Fargen 30 Watt Blackbird for my Blackface tone, and now this for my 57 Twin Clapton sound.
Ben can be contacted at www.fargenamps.com
He does great work .... enjoy

Well I am new to the guitar market...and at 46 decided to learn the acoustic and electric, Bought a Line 6 spider valve to go with my Fender power strat HSS(Mexican), well the salesman said it was the best happy meduim between all tube and effects etc...well ater a week i was having great fun until i got bored with trying to sound like the 100 or so artists the pile of crap comes with so i decided to bypass the plastic effects and go straight through the tubes...my good i would have got a better sound plugging me axe into a half filled specimen tube...
Well as luck would have it the thing started popping and breaking down after a week...took it back and they asked if i wanted a replacement..after the salesman got back off the floor and spat out a couple of teeth he realised the error of his ways...dammit I thought got a fender guitar give me amp to go with it and i liked the retro look of the Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue.....yes I bought it on its retro looks....well i am new to this game....
No point telling you what its got just read below what other guys have said...I rate it a seven for features because being a novice what the hell would i know

Well loading into my car the salesman said plug it on and leave it to stand for a couple of hours on standby before you first play it otherwise it will sound to harse...then it will take about ten hours all together over a month to get the real musical sound out of the tubes.....i now had it about a week and have clocked up about 17 hours...the smell of warm tubes still fills the room like my grandfathers sweet smelling pipe tobacco....and the sound well everytime i turn the thing on i know its going to get just better and better...Ive heard its to loud to play it at home...well i have it turned down and i love it ........i dont want the thing cranked up...lets be honest most people only if they gig need to turn the volume up and i dont i bought it for fun.....and this will last me for years.....

havnt had it long enough to test realiabilty.....but reading other reviews this baby should live longer than me..so i am not going to test fate and give it a rating

never had to deal with them

Well i am still grinning from ear to ear....this amp CAN be used at home a give a lot of please for the hobby guitarist....however if Dave Gilmour does ring me for his next tour by any chance maybe i will have to consider a slightly bigger wattage but until then i am very happy.....
It goes to show whilst using this amp at home i know i am not cranking the valves up to ful potential...but frankly i dont care because i know the harder they are pushed the better they sound..but i would much rather potter along in the slow lane and replace tubes every 1000 years...but still grin from ear to ear..

Made in Mexico 2006?

1x12" combo in tweed

All valve (2 6L6 'groove tubes'and 3 preamp tubes)

2 channels, bright switch, presence, reverb, 40 watts...footswitch

At first i didn't think it had enough power but then i bought a gretsch copy and the amp seems to work well with single coils and lower output humbuckers (filtron etc.)

I use this amp live/practise/studio.

I use a eastwood classic 6 (gretsch copy) a indie two-tone (335 copy) and a modified squier tele thinline with seymour quarter pounder pups.

Sometimes my rhythm guitarist uses it with his lovely hagstrom viking.

If you have a les paul/335 or anything with humbuckers you will have to use input 2 as it'll break up almost immediately and you wont achieve a sparkling clean tone as it mentions in the manual. I didn't realize this at first. My favourite setting is clean at 3 with my eastwood classic 6 using the neck pickup. Its sounds reminiscent of the early rolling stones. real dirty. You need to keep the presence and treble back if you want to keep your hearing. Playing around with the EQ doesn't seem to do much. This amp is not responsive. The overdrive channel is good for blues but thats the limit. perhaps some alternative rock. I sometimes add a tubescreamer for more sustain.

From the moment i turned it on, the 2 power tubes were blue and in time the amp was behaving strange with the red light dimming and eventually going off completley. I took the amp back to fender where they repaired it apparently and it is exactly the same. they didn't even change the 2 blue valves. Also, they didn't screw the damn thing back together properly and it now rattles like a bitch!

Saying that, the amp has never died on me and i have been using it at high volumes at least 3 times a week for just under a year now.

I wouldn't buy another mexican made fender.

shite!....

i foned up and got nothing
I sent an email and it was sent back

unless you're trade i don't think they give a s**t.

I have spent almost a year trying to get this amp to work for me and if i had another 500 for a new amp i would buy a laney VC30 2X12". What i really need is a new vox AC30 or AC50. much more responsive. I will never buy another mexican made fender amp or any fender for that matter. There are so many better amps out there for less money and better reliability. I'm now saving up for a new Vox AC50 CPH and vox 2x12" cab that i'm putting in 2 alnico gold speakers. I might even buy a laney VC30 as they are only 400 and sound brilliant.

US made. I don't know how old it is, got it used, but it seems to have a few years on it. The serial number is 058578 if anyone cares to look up what that means, im too lazy.

As far as "features" goes, if you want to play Blues or even jazz this has all you need right out the gate. If you want to play Rock, get ready to buy a few pedals, but it's definitely worth it.

This amp completely fits in with my philosophy of "start with great tone and work everything else out later."

The sound is just great: smooth, warm, creamy tone. Dripping wet reverb, and if you play a strat like I do, it really compliments that twang.

However, this amp takes a little dialing in to tame. First of all: it's incredibly loud.

I'd say you're definitely going to want to add a compressor to your signal chain if only for volume control alone. The amp's very responsive, and has a huge dynamic range...but it's a bit much, and the sound gets alot less schizophrenic with a compressor to smooth it all out and add sustain.

Things get tricky when you want to get a dirtier sound. If you're looking for a right-out-the-box rock n roll amp that can give you more saturated gain, you might want a Marshall or Randall or something, but if you're willing to futz with a few pedals on this one, you WILL be rewarded. It really takes to tube screamers well, and when I plugged in my electro-harmonix Big Muff, I almost shit. It's just filthily distorted and fantastic. Still though: takes some tweaking.

I doubt you could get a more "modern" distortion sound out of this amp (I may be wrong), but if you're buying something covered in tweed, I assume you're into the same tones as me anyway and won't be disappointed.

My signal chain - Fender strat->Boss CS-3 Compressor->Snarling Dog Blues Bawls (wah pedal)->Ibanez TS-9->Big Muff->Ibanez AD-9->Amp

Sometimes I get the feeling this amp could benefit from a new speaker, and it's something I might consider in the future.

I'm giving this amp an 8 for that great tone and the distortion it's CAPABLE of.

I had to clean the pots when I first got it because I was getting alot of noise when adjusting them, and the "Bright" button wasn't working. I'm pretty sure this is because it was used though, and no fault in the design.

One complaint I have though, is sometimes when messing with the "Bright" button, I lose all sound and have to switch b/w the channels to get it back. Again, mine was used, so who knows, but I get the feeling this is more likely a design flaw, as I've read some similar sounding problems in reviews above.

I've had mine for about a year now and haven't had any problems aside from what I mentioned.

Haven't had to deal with them.

For me, this amp is a subjective 10, because it fits my tastes perfectly. But for recommending it to others, I'm gonna give it a 7 just because there are EASIER and more versatile amps to deal with out there.

I already know I'm keeping this amp as long as it's humming. I love the tone, love the retro look, love Fender in general. Just wish I didn't live an an apartment so I could really open her up more often.

Not a great variety of features if you're just playing straight through the amp, doesn't offer much distortion/overdrive for heavy metal but channels can be changed via a footswitch.

I have played my Les Paul straight through a JCM-800 and wish I could get that sound from this but it offers a beautiful warm sound that I would never change. I use Digitech GNX3000 effects and the amp makes EVERY sound perfect. Only problem is for home practice it's hard to get a quiet volume that won't upset the wife. At the lowest setting it's still quite loud but on the other hand, you'll never run out of volume, I've never had mine above 4!

I bought this amp second hand about 3 years ago and it worked fine for the first 2. It developed a problem that caused the amp to keep cutting out at higher volumes, it turned out to be a dry joint and was quickly repaired but it did cost ??50 for the repair. Has worked perfectly ever since.

Never dealt with Fender direct.

A great amp with a great clean sound. Will do your effects and playing great justice.

This is for a 1994 Fender Blues Deluxe made in the USA...NOT the current re-issues that are made in Mexico. This is a 2 channel amp that is basically a Clean channel, and an Overdrive channel. It is based off of Fender's answer in the early 90's to make a 1950's Deluxe or Bassman amp with channel switching and reverb. It is 40 watts with a single 12" Eminence Gold Label speaker. Mine came with 2 Sovtek 6L6GC power tubes and 3 Shuguang 12AX7 preamp tubes installed. After my first couple of days with the amp, I noticed that the preamp tubes had some microphonic feedback at higher volumes, so I replaced them with JJ Electronics ECC83S preamp tubes, and now my problem is solved!
This is NOT a High Gain amp like my Peavey 5150. BUT...this amp is a tone monster! And yes..a clean sounding amp can be full of luscious TONE!
It has 2 inputs, Volume knob and Bright switch for the Normal channel, and a Drive (preamp gain) and Master Volume for the Drive channel. Both channels share Treble, Bass, Presence and Reverb controls. It also has an effect loop (power amp in + preamp out), footswitch, standby and power switch.

As I said before, if you are after a high gain amp, there are plenty of buzzy, muddy amps out there for you. If you are looking for an amp that has a warm, clean tone on the clean channel, and a creamy, thick overdrive channel, then this amp is for you! This amp was based off of the original Fender Bassman, which was the amps that the old great Marshall's were based off of. This amp can get me crystal clear clean tones, and yes...if you want a great SRV or Eric Johnson tone, this one will get it for ya! The overdrive channel is very responsive, and you can EASILY dial in a "Sunshine of you Love" Clapton tone! It is a punchy, warm, creamy, crystal clear LOUD amp! I just cannot stop playing it! This amp is very responsive to your guitars pickups, volume knob and pick attack. It can capture every nuance of your playing...even if your playing is good or bad!

So far, so good. It doesn't appear to have that "Blues Deluxe Channel Limbo" switching problem that was on the 1993 models. Apparently Fender fixed this bug by then.

Purchased my amp used. I have never had any dealings with Fender's customer support.

I have a ton of guitars (Fender American Strat with Samarium Cobalt pickups, 1988 Gibson Les Paul Standard with Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups, 1998 Peavey Wolfgang American Deluxe, various Kramers, Ibanez' and other homemade guitars) and I have played them all thru this amp, although the Strat and the Les Paul just SING on it!
I hate to just give out a perfect 10, but if you want a great sounding, clean amp with a creamy overdrive (not a buzzy, muddy high gain box), then this amp is it!

Not sure what year mine is, but it's not the Reissue. Not the most versatile amp, but if you want a great sounding amp at a reasonable price, this is it as far as I'm concerned. It's plenty loud for 40 watts, and the tones are smooth and creamy. It's got some bite when you need it too. I don't care for the overdrive channel, but I wouldn't use it anyway because I use pedals.

Great clean sound, not like glass, but that's not what this amp is supposed to be. It's a great bluesy sound and get the tone set right,and you can get awesome rock & country tones also. It's probably overall the best amp I've owned. I play mostly classic rock & 70's stuff. I've been playing pretty much the same stuff for 40 years! I've never had any issues with noise, or anything else actually. Just a a good, reliable machine.

Never had any problems, so no issues here.

N/A

I've been playing about 40+ years and owned more gear than I can remember. I love this amp and would probably buy another one if the deal was right. I play my 70's Japanese Strat most of the time, but I also have an Epi Les Paul Standard. I like the Strat with it the best. I highly reccomend this amp.

This is an update to my review of 7/8/2007

Shortly after writing the review, I was getting ready to play through the amp and could not get the red pilot light to come on. Turns out it was burned out. Now it's not that this is a big deal as you can get a replacement at Radio Shack for a couple of bucks, but after only three weeks???
Just last week I was playing it and in the middle of playing, the channel select switch quit functioning. It appears that it failed mechanically as you can feel the absence of the "click" which used to occur and still does on the reverb switch. Called the nearest authorized repair center (85 miles away) and was advised to send it to them. They said it would most likely be covered by warranty, except for shipping (around $5 each way)....let's hope so. This is now only after owning the amp for three months.
So, I've had three problems in three months: Tube rattling (mentioned in my initial review), a burned out pilot light, and a broken channel select switch.
I do still love the sound of this amp, although I have added a Boss Chorus, and an Ibanez TS-9 pedal, (plus a Boss tuner) in the signal chain for more diversity.....BUT Fender really does need to address these quality issues with the suppliers of their electronic parts!!!!! It has been annoying.

I think the discussion of how the company handles warranty issues is given too much attention in these reviews. The "need" to have warranty work performed is the better measure of worth. There shouldn't be more than one incident in a hundred or more for a quality product and Fender is doing poorly in this regard. I would rather have paid another $100 if it meant the product rarely had failures.

Great sound, plenty of volume, reasonable price, good looks, not too heavy (@ 45 lbs.), but three annoying failures (costing me $50-$55 out-of-pocket to correct). So how do you rate that?

I'll be brief since it's all been said. 40 watts, 2 12AX7 preamp tubes, 1 12AX7 tube phase inverter, 2 6L6 power tubes, solid state rectifier, solid state reverb circuit, 2 footswitchable channels, effects loop, single 12" Eminence Fender spec'd speaker, printed circuit board amp, tweed covered particle board cabinet.

This is where I'm tempted to say, it sounds great, "for a cheap amp".

But the thing is, it sounds great, period.

It strikes a perfect balance between Fender and Marshall vibe, having the top end slice of an old Deluxe Reverb, the bottom end of a Twin Reverb, only much warmer, like a vintage JTM45. In many good ways, this is a very un-Fender, Fender.

The Overdrive channel is mild, putting out nice, rich, old-school, pegged-non-master-volume amp tones at manageable volumes

Plus, with the clean channel, this is the best pedal platform I've ever used, putting out true boutique tones with a Jetter Gain Stage Red and Blue, Hermida Zendrive, Ibanez TS808 and a Voodoo Labs SparkleDrive.

I've used it with a Strat, Tele, Les Paul, SG, CS-336 and an Epi Emperor jazz hollowbody.

I gig with the amp regularly in a rock/funk, fusion & blues band, plus I've used it for sub and pickup work for straight blues, country and classic rock. It works well for all.

I am knocking off 2 points for the speaker, which while capable, is not as dynamic or sparkly as needed in some styles. FWIW, I replaced mine with a Celestion Vintage 30, a speaker well suited for the way this amp is voiced, and it just KILLS.

There is one problem these early Blues Deluxes were prone too (mine is a first year, '93 model). It is in the lower power circuit that causes the amp to sometimes lock up with the overdrive channel light on, but no sound. There were two Fender Technical Notes released to address this, one in '93 and one in '95. Google search for amp technical forums with "Blues Deluxe Channel Limbo" as the search criteria, print it out and either DIY if you're qualified, or take the amp and the notes to a good amp tech for some preventative repairs. This will make the amp as robust as anything out there, and beyond gig worthy. Since Fender recognized the problem early on, and addressed it, no points off - just do yourself a favor if you have an older one and get it checked out.

Never had to deal with Fender CS, so no opinion.

I have been gigging since the mid-to-late 70's. Have owned two other of these amps and would definitely replace mine if it were lost or stolen.

I have also bought, sold, re-bought and re-sold almost every blackface amp Fender ever made since 1976. Also owned a '59 Champ, a handfull of silverface era Fenders, a 50 watt, Plexi Marshall half-stack, some Peavy "Classic" series tube amps, a couple of old Music Mans, a Boogie Mk IIc, a couple Fender Blues Jr's, and I'm sure a few others I've forgotten about. This amp definitely rates. With certain pedals, this amp gives off a KILLER Marshall vibe. With others, this amp is square in "D" amp territory.

I've had my Blues Deluxe for about 11 or 12 years. I play a Tele and the tone is great. When I first bought this amp I was in Blues band and used no effects. I found the reverb and the overdive was all I really needed.

The clean channel is outstanding. The overdrive is also great if you are not looking for distortion. The overdrive has just enough bite, more sustain great for solos. Recently I've been playing through a DigiTech GNX3. After much tweeking mainly setting the GNX3 to direct instead of AMP models I'm quite pleased with the tone.

After about a month I needed to replace Tubes. I was playing out when the tubes went bad. That was bad. I did get a free replacement and those tubes work until last winter. I just replaced the whole set about a month ago from Tubeworks and my Amp never sounded better.

Overall I would I not get another Blues Deluxe. Mine was made in America. Why did Fender have to start making these in Mexico? I know they sold out on guitars along time ago and some of overseas models are good. But I would pay an extra 200 bucks or more if I new Fender products were made in the U.S.A.

Just bought used - the guy thought it was a '95 or something. It's the Made in USA model and NOT the Re-issue that is made in Mexico. Not gonna list the specs as they are listed her on other reviews. but it has only two channels (not 3 like the Hot Rod Dlx.

I also have a Hot Rod Dlx. that I had sent to Omega Amps to modify. I saw this and took a gamble as it needed tubes and was kinda dirty and messy on the control board. I have tons of guitars - 8 Strats and 3 Tele's and an original '73 Tele Dlx. Les Paul and more. What I like about this amp compared to the others . . . When you engage the overdrive channel, that's just what you get - overdrive. i.e. sounds the same as clean but as if you've cranked up the volume on the clean enough to distort. Sounds really creamy. Almost not enough overdrive with the single coils but with the Tele Dlx with Humbuckers, it's got plenty! Again, sounds like it's supposed to sound! Like Stevie Ray pushing his Fender amps. I am very impressed. Plus, it's loud as hell!

Just got it but I would think that it's better than my Hot Rod Dlx. as those have some weird things that can make them quit on you.

Haven't had that experience as yet and I have a Hot Rod Deville, Hot Rod Dlx. and this amp. So far so good.

When you get this thing dialed in right, it's amazing! Not sure what they did differntly with the Re-issues or the Dlx. but they don't compare to this one. If you can find one of these old US models, snag it like I did! Most people know that the overdrive channels on the Hot Rod Dlx. and Deville sort of suck. Putting JJ Tubes in my DeVille (and re-biasing the amp as per Euro-Tubes suggested settings) improved that quite a bit to say the least. My Omega mod is great but overdrives are more "Marshall" sounding. This one sounds really good. Plus, put some pedals in front for some really juicy sound! I just bought that Fender Bassman pedal from Boss. As much as I know there are pedal snobs out there that will only go with the botique pedals . . . check this one out. It nails it pretty good. Try it with the Deville 410. Turns it into a Bassman!

Basic features for a two channel amp. Shares EQ which is a drawback.

Typical Fender sound in this price range. Actually very good. My biggest complaint is that there is no range on the volume. In fact that is why I am returning it tomorrow. I was going to use this as a second amp as a delay amp and to get a more fendery sound but it goes from off to full volume from 1-2 on the volume knob. It blew away (volume wise only) my Dr Z Maz 18 which is a loud amp for 18 watts. This is a VERY loud amp. This is coming from a guy who played out with a "evil" twin and a tomemaster. Both 100 WATT AMPS! If that aint loud I don't know what is. This amp could keep up with those for sure. Also the EQ doesn't do much for the tone. Presence does little too. I might be spoiled from my Dr Z amp.

For $650.00 this is not a bad amp or a bad buy. Out of the box it sounds good and has the quality of sound you expect from Fender. I am returning it because I traded in an "evil" twin that is 100 watts and is far easier to control the volume on than this amp. For me this is a HUGE FLAW in this product and Fender really needs to address it if they want to have a truely great amp for this price range. Still if you don't mind the volume (and theres a LOT) this did have some usable sounds even with the EQ.

The amp is new with one gig but I got a good feel for it. It suites vintage rock blues and R&B very well. the second channel is very sweet sounding with both channels having very smooth mids. Plenty loud even outside..had it on 4..stays clean longer as you raise volume
better than I thought..true fender vibe better than my dad's 65 twin.
chanel and verb switch....plenty power.

This amp takes pedals well as needed if you want vintage distortion on through to Black Crows...At about 5 with a PRS Hollow body 2 (strong buckers)it starts to breakup sweetly. Channel 2 live is far different than bedroom volumes of course. I get the VERY strong hunch this amp would benefit greatly from anew speaker..perhaps the Jensen some of the other reviewers mentioned...or tone tubby. I only use high end pedals because they have come so far..Keeley BD2..Sd1..Fulltone OCD....very quiet amp..just a nice round smooth sound...this is far from a metal amp..but woulddo it if fed the right stuff...I could probably use some tube research to see what can beat the Ruby's...but they sound good...It beats the Devilles by a mile and the bassman...Actually playing most Fenders in a very large music store huge high ceiling room this amp blew the others away. I find it very very helpful to go befor closing and have a fair player play my guitar through it and walk around the room..I do not recommend a smokin' player...

With the EXTREME exception of the new Fender Supersonic which has been a nightmare for my Dad who still plays at 75 Fender has a Boogie topnotch track record..But DO NOT touch the SUPERSONIC piece of garbage...great amp..just won't make sound.

always had fair support..but nottop notch based on my Dad
's sad 1200$ nightmare boat anchor...please spread the word..Fender dealers I have talked to do their best to stear customers away from it..but the 5 year warranty with Dad's supersonic..NOPE!!!!!!!

been playing for 40 years..I'd probably buy again..naaahhh I wouldn't either..I'd get a VHT because of the raves and friends I have heard..But for the money this is a great sounding Fender..I have learned that with the exception of low wattage botique amps..Maz 38 comes to mind..40 to 50 watts is just right as I have owned 15 or so amps or rack setups. being a Boogie guy from Mark 4 (awful amp) through many others to my now best fo show the Rectoverb (got 9.3 on sound) I am suprised how well the Fender holds up for half the $.. I will say that with an extension speaker..celestion...it really sounds huge fat but NOT muddy at all..lows are fairly tight...mids very smooth if you back them way down...very nice reverb IMUO...probably one of the best amps at $529..Another awsomw feature it weighs probably 15 to 10lbs less than the Recto.

Tube Combo
40 Watt
2 Chanels (Clean + Chrunch)
Fender Spring Reverb
Made in Mexico

This is a blues amp and I will not complain about his low gain as so many other.
If you??re looking for a high gain amp get something else!!!
Because this amp is called Blues Deluxe!!!
So I??m more a vinatage kind a guy. I only got one guitar a Gibson Les Paul and I play rock from Stones to Guns n Roses to... Whatever...
If I need more gain for maybe Guns n Roses kind of stuff, I put a distortion pedal between and it sounds amazing.
I??ve tried many amps over the years and I??ve owned a Boogie before.
This amp has the best chrunch sound I??ve ever get!!!
The clean channel is also very beautifull, nice reverb. Everything bluesy sounds amazing...
But if you put the reverb over 4 then it gets gets useless in my opinion, just to much...
My only complaint is the loudness of this amp.
If you set the amp??s controls as quiet as possible which is volumecontroll 1,5 then you got max volume for homeplaying..
2 is about three times as loud and i doubt you will ever turn it over 2,5. I??ve once gigged with a lokal rock-coverband i had the volume on 2 I was definetly the loudest. I know tube amps are loud and I ain??t a sissy man I had a Mesa before! But the volumecontrol is poor!
Ok this category is called sound so I give it a 10

Got this amp for over 6 months no, still love it, no problems at all

Never needed

I??m playing for 20 years now. If youre looking for a tube amp with a great sounding clean channel, a Stones to ACDC sounding crunch then you will love this amp.
But be carefull this amp will may be to loud...

This amp is very old, however it sounds amazing. The tubes give it a warm bluesy sound. This amp is quintessential for any blues player. I, however do not play blues, I play metal. This amp does not have much distortion, but when rigged with a distortion pedal it sounds killer.

it sounds most excelllent for blus and clean, and goes very loud but has little disortion

i bought this amp used in horrible condition with ciggarette burns all over it, i thinks its from the early 80's. however it still sounds awesome and has never let me down.

this is good

July 1995 as the serial number next to the speaker says FG
Blonde tolex,which was offered only in 1995,features Fender Blues Deluxe logo on front instead of Fender on the tweed version bought from a private seller who never took it outside his room
Still has the original set of tubes
440 euro was a good price (i am italian)considering that we can actually pay more than 700 euro for a mexican Blues Deluxe reissue
I give it a 7,would have been a 10 if an external speaker output was installed but u get what u need
Put it on the stage,turn it on and start to play

Guitars: 2xStrat Am.Standrad 2005 rosewood,Strat Vintage 62 maple,Tele Am.Series 2005 rosewood,Gibson Les Paul Standard 1999 -none of these guitar have been modified in the elctronics
0.10 mostly Ernie ball on every guitar
My fx chain is: Boss SD1- JH1 Dunlop wah- E.H. metal muff- Danelectro coolcat chorus- Boss DD6 - Vox volume pedal
George L'S cables and a warwick pedalboard with internal power supply
If u want to hear the real sound of a Fender guitar,no matter if Strat,Tele,Cyclone or Jaguar ... and u have a budget of 300-500 euro...no choice but this amp
Beautiful clean channel even at high volume,lots of bass and definition
I read about a useless overdrive channel...not true
Stop complaining about the drive,and start understand how to use the equalisation on a amp and how to set your guitar
Drive:7 Master:6 Bass:6 Middle:7 High:3 Presence:2
Try this on the neck pu of a Strat...rock it
Sounds real good on the Les Paul also,obviously more round but that's the Gibson and his humbucker
Tried it with many guitars...when it was sounding bad it was the guitar,not the amp :d
Reverb is nice and not noisy at all,after 4-5 is useless in my opinion
My speaker is a gold label Eminence,and it's very loud and clear
I don't use fx loop a lot,when i tried it sounded cool and not noisy even though i think is -2/3 dB on the output
When it comes to using your stomp boxes...surprise is coming...this amp with a good equalisation on the clean channel turns a good pedal into an awesome pedal
With the Metal Muff i can have from a nice 70's classic rock tone to a 80's hard rock and when pushed to limits u get the tallica with a bridge single coil am.st. pu believe it or not
With a nice overdrive u get anything in the between...from SRV to Eric Johnson
Try different settings on the drive channel and the overdrive will perform real good,keeping dynamics
For those of you complaing about noise...change power supply for ur pedals and buy good cables...and switch off ur mobile phones when playing (and old tvs :d)

12 years so far,stock tubes,never had a problem,built like a tank,never let me down
If it ever will,i would spend 2x to get another one

Never contact Fender,no need

For those of you guys out there playing old school metal...can u read it?It says Blues not Metal Deluxe...BUT...withthe right pedal u can do it!For classic rock and blues this is the combo
Been playing for 15 years,29 years old now...lots of gigs...they will hear u,for sure,and the drummer will kick your ass if u wont turn the volume down to at least 5-4
No need to use a microphone in small clubs
Not an amp to buy if you practise at home,40w tube amp is loud
It will become a classic

2 channel tone machine.

I'm a bassman guy & this amp is killer.

For 2 channel amp this thing cooks!
I play Hard Rock/Punk Rock.
The Clean channel is nice. Not Bassman or Bandmaster tone, but
very good for a 2 channel amp.
The Dirt Channel is Killer. I usually can't deal with Master Volume
Amps. I have owned a Hot Rod Deluxe & for great tone the Blues Deluxe
Kicks Ass all over the Hot Rod series amps. The Gain is smooth & the low-end doesn't fart out.

Well built!

Fender could have much better customer service.

It doesn't suck, yet it could be better.

If you're looking for an amp to nail down some Classic Rock tones,
look No further! This amp my have the best (Low-Gain) Drive channel I've ever heard. It will not do New Metal without a pedal.
In fact, unless you're playing Blues, Rock, Hard Rock or Country don't buy this amp. Fender should have spent more time dialing this amp in & less on the Hot Rod series. Is it the perfect combo? Nothing's perfect! Is it a great amp to take to rehearsal & to live shows? Hell Yes! The Overdrive on this Amp Rules. I'm not going to take a Matchless combo out to play in clubs. This amp has nice big transparent tone that you won't find in most combo amplifiers.

I would buy it again. I wish it had only One Kick Ass channel.
Still a Killer Amp!

The only channel I use on the amp is the clean channel so I don't have much use for all sorts of other features. It's got two channels with independent volume controls for each channel. Reverb, bright switch, effects loop, etc. The amp I own was made in 1997 and came with an Emminence Speaker (not the fender special design made by emminence although it did sound rather simmilar). 40w

Anyone who owns this amp should do themselves a favor and put a Jensen P12Q speak in this amp. It turns the amp from an ok amp into a GREAT amp. I can use this amp for ANYTHING. Some of my other main amps are are a 65 Twin Reverb RI, Marshall JCM 800 combo, Mesa Dual Rec Head w/ 1x12 Mesa Cab, and a notable competitor of the Blues Deluxe, a Peavel Delta Blues 2x10. I might get some localized shining moments out of these other amps, but they're nowhere near as diverse as the Blues Deluxe with the Jensen speaker. Blues, country, classic rock, hard rock, jazz, even Metallica. I'm not kidding, this amp is good for anything. Only reason I bring a different amp out to a show is just to get the cobwebs out of the ones that are sitting.

Also, the amp's distortion is now worth of using with the new speaker and its actually quite a good overdrive.

I had to have it repaired one time which cost me about $150. Apparently there's a known problem with some of these amps and Fender had gotten a shipment of some bad capacitors and maybe some other parts. Sound cuts out and the overdrive channel light comes on. No problems since the parts were replaced (about 2 years ago).

Been playing 17 years and I'm a bit of a guitar gear junkie. I have some decent overdrive pedals and primarly play a PRS McCarty and a 1989 Fender Strat (my first guitar). Les Paul sounds great through this thing as well.

My is a Blues deluxe Tweed from 1994.I Paly mostly Stones/Berry style old rock&roll and for it it??s a very good amp I think.It have 2 well balanced channels you can swithc by panel or a 1 button footswitch included with the amp.I would like that it have a switchable reverb but i don??t use it often.For me it have enough power to use with a rock&roll band in any situation

Clean channels is a nice classic fender type channel.I also like the drive channel it??s perfect for the drive i want "ala Richards".I play with a mexican Tele Custom 72 with SD Broadcaster pickup on bridge and I get the sound i was looking for years

I would use it without backup cause i??m not rich and only have this amp....it broke down but only one preamp tube...it??s not related with amp only with use...

Never deal with them...i changed it from other guitarist for a Marshall JCM2000 DSL401

I been playing now for 4 years.I used Peavey Clasic 30(great amp for money),Marshall JCM 2000,Valvestate,JCM900...and i think that Fender gives me vintage sound similar to old Tweeds

This is a typical two channel amp - clean channel and a drive channel. Both channels share the EQ, Reverb and Presence controls, but have seperate volume controls. Comes with a footswitch to control the channel switching (can also be done on the amp itself via a button) and a reverb on/off. Also has an effects loop and a bright switch and two inputs (hi and lo).

The amps has 40 watts of pure tube power, which is more than enough for gigging even large halls if you mic the amp. This is an ideal club amp for country, rock or blues...

This amp really has two distinct channels.

First the clean channel. This channel has a rich, beautiful clean tone with a shimmering high end and a warm. tight low end. When you push the volume you get a great smooth tube breakup. This channel also works incredibly well with pedals to get a tube breakup at a lower volume. I usethis channel almost exclusively.

The drive channel I am less than thrilled with. When you switch channels the EQ of the amp totally changes and you get less low end and more high end. The drive channel is great for the SRV'ish blues, and does some good rock with humbuckers, but it sounds too thin and anemic as compared to the clean channel to my ears. I rarely use this channel at all. Since I use single coil guitars 90% of the time, the OD is not to my liking. It does work better with humbuckers..

The amp is really quiet, which is a major plus! I play modern country in the band I'm in (ie - 70's rock with a twang), and I play a wide variety of music when I play at church (folk to near metal...). The Blues Deluxe works well with everything up to metal stuff, and you would be looking at this amp if you wanted to play metal anyway.

Guitar wise, I play a Robin Ranger Pro (Tele, Strat, and Humbucker pups) and a Fender Strat. Both sound great through the BD...

So - a 9 for the clean channel and a 7 for the OD - overall 8..

I've had it for a few months an no problems yet. Usually any manufacturing issues would have surfaced by now. I may gig with this w/out a backup, but only because I don't have one right now. I need to get a backup option because this is a tube amp...

My only dealings with Fender were with a different amp, and they got the problem taken care of with no hassles at all...

I've been playing for quite awhile. I've owned dozens of amps from well respected (Dr Z), to fairly obsure (Lab Series). I love this amp. The drive channel isn't the greatest, but I don't need to use it. I use pedals and use the Bluyes Deluxe as a one channel amp. Killer cleans, takes pedals very well, fairly light (45 lbs). Everything I wanted in an amp at a very resonable price.

I play mainly my Robin Ranger Pro and a Fender Strat through this amp and it shines with single coils and humbuckers. I played a bunch of amps prior to buying this one, and it really stood out in my mind. I would not hesitate to buy this amp again...

Basic features - it is what it is. Two channels, but if you're looking for the Gain channel to give you anything other than "mildly overdriven", keep shopping. Personally, I use only the clean channel and step on a pedal for overdrive.

I bought this amp used and baddly-beaten at a guitar show. It sounded awful, but I've owned these amps before and gambled that with a little TLC, she could be brought back to life. I replaced the power tubes with Winged-C, formerly Svetlana (The Svetlana name is currently owned by a different company - if you liked the old Svetlanas, you want Winged-Cs now.) I replaced the preamp tubes with some NOS JAN Sylvanias.

Next I pulled out the POS Eminence speaker and dropped in a Celestion Vintage 30. Finally, I had a local amp tech go through her. While he was giving her a checkout, I shellac'd and laquered the tweed cabinet.

Price breakdown: $300 for the amp, $60 for tubes (good source for those NOS Sylvanias), $80 for the amp tech, and I had the Celestion Vintage 30 in the garage and had already taken full depreciation on the amp it originally came with. Total price: $440.

Result: Boutique tone for 1/4 the price of the lowest priced comparable new boutique amp on the market, or less than 1/3 the price of that same boutique amp used.

Holy S**t, I use this amp for all kinds of tones, with all kinds of guitars, and a combination of Voodoo Sparkle Drive and Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer. I regularly gig with it, and it's never let me down once (knock on particle board).

See for yourself if you'd like. There are MP3s at guitardavetaylor.com and also at myspace.com/guitardavetaylor.

The one downside the amp has that I've found is it is NOT A GOOD HOME PRACTICE AMP, unless your home practices regularly involve a full live band. This amp is for live playing, either in studio, rehearsal or onstage, all of which it does an amazingly good job at a great price point.

Had some issues that a good tech and I addressed when I first purchased. Since then, it goes in for a checkup once a year, and has been 100% reliable.

Have owned 9 older Fender blackface era amps, a couple of Fender silver faces, a 1959 Champ, a handfull of newer Fender circuit board amps like this one, and have never once had any need to or interest in calling the factory for support.

Just picked this up today. For blues and rock this amp has everything you will need in a tube amp.

If your looking for that SRV tone and distortion or any other 'blues' sound and tone this amp is a bargain! Great clean and over drive. You may not need that tube screamer (well...)

Its a tube amp from a tried and proven manufacturer. If something breaks replacements are easy to find!

Buy it. If it gets stolen buy another one.

The amp almost has too many features. I just use volume, mid, high & bass with a bit of reverb. 40 watts may not sound like a lot of power but remember the old Fender Bandmaster & Super Reverbs where 40 watts. There is plenty of power for most gigs. Also you get tube saturation (distortion) with out breaking your ear drums.

I use a Guild Starfire IV and a Modulus G1. This is a rock and roll or blues amp. It does an excellent job at that. It's a bit too gritty for Jazz or Acoustic guitar. You can use different tubes that have less saturation if Jazz or acoustic is your thing.

No opinion yet.

I have been playing for too many years... I also have a Roland Jazz Chorus JC120 with JBL speakers when I want a clean sound.

The Deluxe Blues is a rather specialized amp. It's excellent for what it was designed for. But it's not for everybody. I think it's an excellent buy. I think it would hold it's own next to a Messa Boogie !

Made in 2005. 2 channels - normal and drive. Has mid, bass and treble, reverb, presence, bright switch etc...all tube amp. These features are listed on the Fender site as well as numerous guitar storefront websites. The features are very basic and that's why I bought it. I was looking for a kind of basic/modern/blues type amp and the Blues Deluxe meets all the requirements for blues. Plus the vintage tweed look is definitely makes it an attractive buy. If you want more features like 4 channels and effects you should really look at other brands and models like Mesa Boogie or Marshall or buy a bunch of pedals.

This amp fits the kind of music that I play - a lot of early British and Chicago type blues and classic rock like Allman Brothers.

40w is indeed enough for gigs unless you play arenas and gigantic venues for a living. In my opinion 40w is enough for all of my normal gigs as well as at home practice and sessions. And if you really need extra volume and power just mic it up.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Standard w/ Burst Buckers, Robert Cray signature Stratocaster and a Jerry Donahue Tele with hot rails in the bridge.

This amp is suprisingly quiet. The only thing that I found annoying is the rattle of the tubes when I crank it up full blast. I suggest playing around with the settings to dial in the sound you want. For my Les Paul I put the bass at 4, Treble at 6 and mid at 5, reverb at 4, presence all the way to 12 and put it on the drive channel with the drive all the way to 9 for that Clapton Bluesbreakers tone. The sound of humbuckers are rich and full on the clean channel and when on drive it gets gritty and breaks up nicely with a very creamy warm kind of sound. The single coils are great as well for that classic Strat and Tele clarity and that distinctive cutting distortion when cranked on the drive channel.

When you crank this amp past 6 it still retains great sound quality but past that I find it to shatter hearing. I rarely crank it past 8 and this is during gigs as well.

The distortion is not for metal heads and wasn't made for that kind of playing in mind - hence the name. But for all other kinds of playing mostly rock, blues, country and others of that ilk it works like a charm.

I found the presence feature didn't really change the sound dramatically. More subtle than anything.

I uselly had to use a tube screamer for more musical distortion on my other amps but with this I just plug straight in.

Very reliable unless you don't know how to take care of your equipment like pulling out the tubes while the amp is still on (don't ever do that), messing with the chassis when you don't know what you're doing.

I've gigged with it and its great. Always carry a backup amp and extra tubes and fuses. Thats like a standard procedure for musicians. Easy for carrying around and loading into my car.

I haven't had the amp that long to change the tubes yet but it seems as if it can handle my gigs. I usually change tubes every 6 months or so.

Gaven't had any problems that needed dire assistance.

I've been playing for a little over 5 years. I consider myself still inexperience in the world of guitar gear (according to the standards of gear geeks and tone snobs) but I usually know what works and sound good for me and my playing.

I would definitely buy another one if it was lost or stolen.

I just love the classic sounds of plugging straight in and getting that chicago and british blues sound. People always try to chase these old classic sounds from the past and its rather simple to obtain unless you're looking for something else. I find plugging straight into this amp is what works for me because that's what the old blues players did and I think that its a tried and true method to those classic sounds that most players seem to be throwing pedals onto.

So if you're into classic Fender clean, and classic blues distortion then this is it! There are other amps that are twice as much such as the Twin and Super which I've own but I find that I didn't really need it for my gig requirements. Don't get me wrong those amps sounds awesome but the Blues Deluxe sounds great as well.

But this review is just my opinion. I suggest you get out there and try it out all the amps that sparks your interest and see which one is right for you. That's the only way because all of us have our own preferences and opinions on what a "good" amp is.

After a hundred or so reviews, the features should be listed by now. Doesn't have a reverb on/off switch. I tried buying a footswitch with one and it still doesn't work.

This is why I'm here. I've never written a review before, but I thought anyone interested in the Deluxe might want to know this. I previously owned the Blues Deville, and the amp is simply TOO LOUD for any conventional club playing. This is, if you want to get the most from this amp without a power break. So I bought the 1x12 Deluxe. It was a good decision. You can get the tubes warm and driven at a relative volume without the engineer/bandmates complaining. *NOTE- Groove Tubes are CRAP. Anyone who buys a Fender amp should replace these as soon as possible. I replaced my 6L6's with Svetlana "Winged C" tubes (about $40.00 a pair), and Electro-Harmonix 12ax7's. I'm sure you can find better preamp tubes, but for the price, EH makes pretty decent ones. Now this is KEY....replace the phase inverter preamp tube (it's all the way to the outside) with a 12AT7 tube, instead of a 12ax7. The difference is pretty phenomenal. Before the overdrive was just too brittle and had some unpleasant biting tones at the top no matter what I did to the EQ. Now it's a smoother gain, I can crank the pre up a lot higher and get an exact match of the Angus Young sound. This is with a '78 Les Paul Custom straight to the amp. You won't get any kind of palm mute "chunk", though. But that's not what I play. GREAT chord definition, doesn't get muddy. I HIGHLY recommend this change because I've been dealing with these amps for a couple of years now and this is the best I've heard from them so far!

No problems so far. Haven't gigged with it yet.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

I've been playing hard rock for 10 years. You CANNOT BEAT THIS SOUND FOR THIS PRICE. I think the value will go up eventually like all great Fender amps once they discontinue them. For a few easy tube modifications, you can't beat this deal! If mine were stolen I'd definitely by another because of the value!

As discribed in other reviews. I hardley ever use the drive channel. I changed to speaker to a pair of Jensen P10R's (10"), see below. Let's see if my review can add something new to the countless other reviews.

I play blues (check my band at www.hiptwist.tk), jazz, soul (www.souled.tk) and more. I play mainly an old Framus archtop through it, with P90-like pu's. The amps sounds just great: punchy, warm, very responding, sensitive and bringing out the best of your instrument. This applies especially when played at relatively low volumes. It has a very good usable sound at higher volumes, but: a tendency to sound (too) bass-heavy, even with the bass-control all the way down, and it sounds somewhat "small" (no big wonder of course) and clinical. I always liked the sound of it as it was, but I recently changed the 12" Emminence speaker to a pair of 10" P10R Jensens (4 Ohms, lined up in series for the 8 ohms it needs). I'm glad that I did. Now the amp is a lot less bass-heavy and has a sweet singing "brown" tone. At high volumes, when the Jensens are realy crancked, the break up very nicely! It did loose a little funky-punch though, because of the Jensens responding somewhat slower. For me that's no problem, considering the styles I play, but if you only do funky rythms, the P10Q or the ceramic Jensens might be a better choice.
I never experienced much with the tubes, although I prefer to use Sovtek 6L6WXT+ (matched pair) for the power-tubes. The sound differs with different tubes, presumably because of different rates (the one pair running hotter or colder than the other). The pre-amp tubes I never changed and are still the factory-originals.

A few years back I experienced the same troubles as some other users described: the amp cutting out and switching channels randomly. This problem is described at http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/. Cause: broken solder-joints around the pot-meters and around the ceramic 470K-resistors (the resistors still intact). Solution: re-flowing the solder-joints (touching them with a hot soldering-iron). Never had any problems since, but I check the joints and resistors regulary and transport the amp in the back-seat (not in the trunk) of my car.
One of the jack-inputs screw-threat is worn, so it is kept in place with some tape now. I'll have to replace it sooner or later. The cabinet and chassis seem very well constructed though, but I regret Fender didn't point-to-point wire this amp, however understandingly form economical point of view. All in all some points off in this category.

Never dealed with Fender.

I like the Fender-tone (never cared much for Marshall). Love this amp, played it for over a decade now. It's relatively small and easy to handle, which is why I prefer it over a Twin Reverb. I played a lot of amps over the years and this amp always pleased me most (except maybe for some very expensive vintage or boutique-amps). With the recent speaker change it suits my playing even better than before. The reliability could be better, and is a result of Fender's choice to use PCB-boards and a wrong way of soldering the 470K resistors (see at http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/). Nevertheless I love it and it will probably stay in my set-up. For me, it deserves an overall 10-rating, now that I know

I am rating a 1997 modelyear limited blonde BDX.
I won't list all the features, as you all know already.
Just want to tell you, what is missing, to give it a 10 for the features:
The overdrive is not a separate channel, but more like just an additional effect.
The "effects loop" is not switchable and not perfectly matching all different types of gear.
The reverb is not switchable.
So I give it at 7 - that's more than enough

I am exclusively playing Strat-type guitars, as there are: a 2001 JB Strat, an early 80ies Squier JV-Series Strat (equipped with Texas Specials), a Squier '51 and a Starfield Altair SJ Custom.
For effects, I am a lot playing around with my gear, as there are a Boxx GX-700, a Tubescreamer, an old Ibanez chorus and a Treble Booster. But most of the time, I just play the guitar right into the amp and I use Weber MiniMASS powerbrake.
I play mainly Blues with sometimes some Rock or even Jazz mixed to that. My sonic heaven is the sound of SRV as well as of Eric Clapton.
That said, I have to tell you, that I am quite dissapointed by this amp. Bought it via eBay and I am currently selling it again via the same way. It lacks sparkle and depth. I checked out wether this is due to the speaker by cross-checking the BDX with the speakers of my Concert Reverb and vice versa - it is to blame on the amp.

For anyone, looking for some sweet BF tones - this amp is NOT for you. It reminds me more of some Marshall-type sounds and it sure has a nice Rock-attitude, but it is not what I expect from a Fender.

I am still unsure about the rating, because I don't want to blame the amp for not meeting my personal expectations - but I cannot give more than a 7.

Anyone who brakes this one - it's your own fault.

I am not happy with the European local support - but the HP with all those user manuals and circuit schematics is really nice.

I am playing electric guitar since 13 years now and always sticked to the Stratocaster and Fender-Amp formula (despite a 3-year romance with a Vox AC30).
I will not buy a BDX again.
Originally, I thought, this might be a cool alternative to my Concert Reverb - but related to price and weight, the BDX does not do the job.

At least, build quality and the good reputation let me expect to not loose any money due to selling it again.

This is a real tone machine!A Blues or Rock Players dream.The amp is a USA built version and not the Made In Mexico reissue.This is the most warmest sounding tube amp I have ever owned.At 40 watts I have more then enough power for any gig I may play.

I use the amp with both my Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster.I use an Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer in front of it.Thats all you need.The prices of these amps will go up in the future now that the Made In Mexico reissue is out on the market.

I have never had any problems with this amp.Tube amps can be quirky sometimes but this one semms to be very reliable.I play it 4 nights a week and have had no issues with it.

Never had to deal with Fender.

I have been playing 25 years.If I lost this amp I would buy another one in a minute (but not the reissue).The amp was worth every dime i paid for it.I am lucky to have found one in mint condition and I did not mind paying the price I did because of that.

This is a tweed amp. Built somewhere between '93 and '95 I believe. They stopped making these for awhile but they've been reissued now. It's a 40 watt all tube amplifier, with a 12" eminence speaker, driven by three 12AX7 preamp tubes and two 6L6 output tubes. It has a normal channel which includes a "bright" switch, and a drive channel. There's a footswitch for going back and forth, but there's a definate hiccup as it kicks in to the next channel, I assume because it's an all tube amp. That doesn't bother me at all personally. It also has an effects loop, which I never use, so I'm unqualified to say if it even does the job. It's got 2 inputs.

I mainly play with an American Telecaster through this amp, which has had all of the paint sanded off it and a Little '59 Seymour Duncan put in the bridge locale. I love the guitar, it has a little more beef and warmth than a normal American Tele, and I think it sounds really excellent through this amp. Having said that, the amp is a little noisy, which can be a problem if you record like I do. I don't really mind a little noise on a track though, I think it adds a more life-like quality. It may bother you though.
When you consider this amp, really consider the name, Blues Deluxe. It really is a blues amp. In my experience with it, it stays clean for a very short while. Put the volume up to 4 (on the normal channel mind you, not the drive) and you get a really sweet tube driven distortion. SO TASTY! Even at 3 it will start to break up depending on your pick-ups and attack. I think this is great personally, because I really like a natural overdriven sound, without having to make my ears bleed. Down at 2 or so it's pretty clean sounding, but never clean like some of the fender black-faced amps. This amp really colors the sound of your guitar in a bluesy way (for lack of a better word), so if you want the clean sound of your guitar to really show, I would look for something else. I plan on getting a Twin Reverb soon for that purpose, because I do play a lot of clean stuff and this amp isn't the best for it. But for blues, classic rock, etc. it sounds really, really cool. It's just not an all in one amp. Who wants that though, then you lose the excuse to buy more gear!
The drive channel on this amp is good, but not great. There's a reason you don't see metal and hard rock bands with tweed amps on stage --- it's not meant for that. Don't try it with this amp.

I haven't had this amp for that long and it's mainly a studio amp, so I can't really be the judge of it's reliability.

Never had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing about six years. I own a few guitars and another amp that's solid state (which I never use anymore). I play out a few times a month, but I use acoustics when I do, kind of a solo, folk review type thing. I really like this amp, it sounds really cool. Rich and Warm and Naturally dirty. Not muddy, that's not what I mean by dirty, but very colorful and sweet when driven a little bit. If it was stolen I would probably get a Twin Reverb instead, and then eventually get another one of this. I like this amp a lot, but I'm not married to it. It's clean sounds leave something to be desired, and it's a little noisy, but it sounds classic and unsterile and I like that. I give it an 8 overall. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, I would go check one out.

Few options, but most vintage enthusiast like it like that. All tube with a SS rectifier and SS Reverb unit. I agree that seperate equalizer would be nice for the two channel, or omit them at all. It's really a cross between the old tweed amps and the modern channel switchers.

I'm using a stock '81 Gibson Les Paul Custom. The amp had a great break-up, there is one catch though. A trick I learned with all master volume amps is the just throw the master all the way up, thus elimating the volume cut-off from the circuit, then use the drive or gain control as a traditional volume. The amp is very loud this way with a break-up that does sound much like an old marshall (albeit a little thinner on solo passanges, but this could be my stock pick-ups. Gibson pick-ups from this period onwards are horrible.)

I did notice some scratching when the pots when adjusted, but once you leave the thing alone this problem disapears.

By running the reverb really low and a high drive I got a great marshall like sound. By turning down the drive and cranking the reverb I got this snappy little country sound, good old chickin' pickin' at its best.

I think the distorted tone is much better than reported by others, but again I am eliminating the master altogether. Never ever crank the gain and hold off on the master, this chokes the tubes and gives a buzzy solid-state sound. Tubes are meant to roar, so let them

Amp feels solid.

Some hissing and scratching on the pots when adjusted but this isn't a problem once you stop fiddling with it

No comment

This is a great all around amp. It has the right amount of features to get the job done. A reverb tube would have been nice, but the difference is almost inaudible. If you like to messy around with the control during a set then you might want the have the pot looked at, but if your a player with good dynamics, good controls over your guitar, and a good playing style then this little devil is great. I highly recommend it (especially since most of these amps I've seen run under 500 used). If it was stolen I'd hunt the bastard down and beat him for daring to steal this lovely amp.

Very straight forward and simple to use. Basically a single channel amp with a variable gain boost that is foot-switchable and functions as a quasi drive channel. Other controls are: Bright Switch, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence and Reverb. Single 12" "Fender" speaker, 2 x 6L6 tubes + standard compliment of 12AX7 preamp tubes. Nice real tweed covering with a brown grill cloth.

Not a lot of extra bells and whistles, but I see that as a plus and not a minus. The only thing of would have done differently would have been to use a metal toggle switch for the "Bright" selector instead of the plastic pushbutton, (A very minor complaint)

There are several other things that could have been upgraded, (like speaker type), but then again it might have defeated the cost effective nature of this amp.

First let me say that I am NOT a huge Fender fan. I bought this amp to serve as a small, portable, practice amp that I could leave in our rehearsal space, and maybe use at smaller non-critical gigs.

My two main amplifiers that I use for live performances at least 3 times a week, are a Dr Z Maz 38 Senior 2x12 and a Soldano Lucky 13 2x12. Both of these amps are incredible in every way and are certainly deserving of 10's in every category. I really did not expect the Blues Deluxe to be even remotely in the same league as these amps, but I must admit that it is a lot closer than I would have thought.

I mostly use a Tom Anderson Cobra Special, Don Grosh Hollow Flat Top Custom, and PRS McCarty Goldtop, all with P-90's. My effects chain varies a lot, but a typical setup is as follows: Pete Cornish Line Driver > Teese RMC1 Wah > Analogman Bi-Comp > Maxon OD-820 > Fulltone Fulldrive TR100 > Fulltone Fat Boost > Keeley TS-808 > Analogman Clone Chorus > Fulltone Supa Trem > Maxon AD900 Analog Delay.

I usually find Fender Amps to be a bit too bright and a bit thin, but this little guy is quite warm and really leans to the dark side. For once I actually use the bright switch on a Fender amp. There are a lot of review in this section that talk about changing the speakers, tubes, etc., but I find this to be a solid performer as is. It will never replace my other two amps, but it is a great lightweight portable tone machine.

Seems fairly solid. I have not had any problems at this point.

No experience with Fender, but I assume that they are like the other big companies, which is why I generally steer away from the mass market gear.

I have been playing for many years and have used a lot of different gear. In a world of over-hyped advertising, this amp is more than worth the price of admission. I am always surprised every time I use this amp, at how good it really does sound. I would replace it without hesitation if it were lost or stolen... If I could find another one used around the $400 to $600 range.

in terms of features, not too much. but, if you're considering this amp, you're really not looking much for that.
2 ch, 1x12 , od channel and bright button. reverb....

my setup: dano 56 u2 to a bunch of pedals to amp. i play anything from alt. rock to shoegaze, garage rock , grunge, you name it. although i'm not a blues player, it's easy to get an assortment of great tones through this amp.

it's awesome. i bought this after literally playing it for 5 minutes. it can crank out the power for a 40 watt amp. i have to put the drive up all the way, and it's a good sound(not really for you if you're into hi gain, but just get a pedal, like i did.....)

i love the reverb on this.

i bought this used, and i'm sure this must be one of the 90's versions. i have researched, but i'm not sure how old it is. mine just has some light tolex scuffing/ dirt for an older amp.

don't know... never had to contact fender over the years..

a damn good amp. i got it used, for what i thought was a good price, so i had to jump all over that deal.

it's certainly gig worthy. i think this amp will be very reliable.

i've been thinking about changing the speaker to a celestion v30.i saw one of these amps that had a lot of mods- rec. tube installed, all nos hi end tubes, and a new speaker.

1993, still 100% original.
400 usd from drunk Fender dealer (11 PM)

My stuff: Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster AM Deluxe...Cry Baby...Pro Co Vintage The Rat Distortion...Fender Blues Deluxe Amp.
I am playing alternativ rock. Something like Radiohead, Blur, Coldplay(but better then coldplay:). But I like old tube sound. This amp is one of best Fender Amps ever! Is like Ford Mustang. Classic look but with mega power. Clean chanel is like cold cristal water in mountains. Drive is like some Rolling Stone who looking for some fight. Drive id dirty but need to some booster. I think about The Rat or Big Muff. This amp is made for Fender guitars so if you are wonder of REAL sound of stratocaster or Tele so you should use this amp. Otherwise you don't know nothing about strats and tele. Was made only 3 (?) years so now it's a classic and special.

12 year for 1 hour every day. Still 100% original. Like new

but for what?

1994, 40W 1x12, 3x 12ax7's 2x 6L6's 2 inputs, FX loop, "master volume" channel, reverb, tweeeeeeeeeeD!

Channels aren't really actual channels, it's just some sort of boost. and there's a dumb delay when you step on the button, like the Hard Rock (cafe) Deluxe. as others said here, the circuit is Bassman-esque, so it's like switching between two old channels, one cranked high and one normal. But it's kind of usable. The FX loop is a big plus to me. The volume on mine doesn't jump from 0-1 like in the HRDlx. I just got this today from a friendly seller locally. It has the original tubes and they might need replacing, but the amp sounds nice.

The tweed is still very new looking and I'm thinking of putting something on it to protect it and also to make it a classy-lassy.Very attractive amp. Don't like the stupid vintage knobs with the dumb backwards numbers.

I'm using two different strats and a Epi LP Special with hot stock ceramic pups, the kind that everyone who plays this guitar loves.

The humbuckers can make the clean channel break up at 4-5 and the strat pickups can break it up at 6-8 (out of 12).
I like this better than the "similar" HRDlx. I used to have a Silverface Deluxe Reverb, but sold it because I hated the way the tubes overdrive, at least with my pickups. I'd describe the sound of this amp as a cross between a Super Reverb and an old Bassman. It has a nice sharp punchy typical 6L6 sound to it. Although it's 40W(alot in my book)it's easy to get it to break up if I want it to, and clean if that's what you need.

I use the drive channel along with a distortion pedal (Boss OS-2 Overdrive Distortion) and it really makes the amp crunch like a mutherfuckr. But you have to get the power tubes going a tiny bit, first. Nothing major, but the volume can't be on 2. 3-4 is OK.

Reverb is very nice, smooth. It works very very well and has long decay. It doesn't hiss.

I play all kinds of music, the main styles I got this for are prog-type rock with very clean sounds, mild crunch, and heavy distortion. Everyone says you can't do metal with a so-and-so amp. ENOUGH! Metal is not the result of the right amp, it's just hot pickups, hot pedal in front, lots of amp distortion, and EQ'ing. PLus the way the guitar is played. yes you can do metal with this, just not with a guitar and a cord.

i just got it today, so I don't know. It's a PCB (printed cicuit board), and the components are cheap, but you know what? I just got one of those "workhorses" that everyone talks about, a Deluxe Reverb, and had to pay $200 to have it serviced. Fuck vintage stuff. yes it's easy to service, but you have to pay alot to service it and in the end you'll just sound vintage. Don't you want somebody to love, don't you need somebody to love. fuck that, it's boring. it's like it smells like mold it's so old.

never dealt with Fender, but I love their products

I've been playing for 13 years. If it were lost I'd be alittle upset because the one I got is in really good shape and it seems like a good price. They're reissuing them. I'd probably get a Hot Rod Deluxe because it does have a nice overdrive channel.

This is a commentary or retort to some of the users reviews and some more observations. I recently bought a Hot Rod Deluxe so I will compare them a bit.

As for the rectifier/sag issue. This was meant as a modern incarnation of the Tweed and I like it much better. I prefer the tighter feel, power and snap that a SS rectifier gives. IMO tube rectifiers make some/most amps sound mushy. I think there was a reason Sunn started using (2)GZ34 tubes and Marshall went SS. More power and dynamics.
As for classic Tweeds not all sound good. In fact very few do. Compared to a Hot Rod Deluxe. It's similar but the Blues is cleaner with more natural grit and the Hot Rod sounds dark and buzzy. The more you turn the Blues up the better it sounds and the stock Eminence lends to that gritty stressed character. I tried other speakers and always went back because it seems to have a more musical quality about it. It's not perfect but that cone distress and ocassional woofiness is part of it's charm. 5881's sound the best with SED's making it a bit sweeter. JAN-Philips were nice but I suspect thjose and any other tubes besides SED's or Sovtek 5881's need a bias kit installed. The amp's sound was designed around Sovtek 5881's and sounds it's best with them. If you want a gritty Fender Tweed tone with balls this is it.

So far it's been reliable. It can get real noisy with single coils. The jacks are terrible. They need to be replaced with switchcrafts. I honestly believe Fender should re-release this model, Possibly with better jacks, bias adjustment, and an extra follower for the tone section like a '59 Bassman to put that unused section to use.

Fender authorized support is usually pretty good.

It's not perfect but nothing is. It's built for Blues. I have to put this in the same category as Blackfaced Fenders and Marshall 1987 50 Watters. For a modern amp design it pretty much captures how a good amp should sound. It's noisy, sweet, sensitive, bouncy, chimey, fat, obnoxious and loud. I wouldn't have it any other way. Like a good guitar it inspires. After 5 it starts coming alive.

1x12" Laquered Tweed combo, 40 watts RMS with a 2x5881, 3x12AX7A tube compliment and reverb. Similar to a '59 Bassman control wise with a single channel with footwithable drive channel that uses it's own volume and master controls. Very versatile for a Tweed amp design without getting overly complicated. Easy to dial in. Stays away from that buzzing-bee preamp gain syndrome common with modern-amps which is a welcome relief.

Sound? Absolutely best sounding Fender Tweed I ever used. Fat, ballsy, and a great low-end and I mean great. My vintage Strat is so fat through it I have to back off on the bass and middle controls. Touch sensitive, harmonically rich and just plain nice. For Blues or Classic Rock look no further. Sounds equally well with a Strat or Tele. This is the Classic Fender sound and it does not get better than this. Tube brands make little difference too. Sounds great with them all. I have Jan-Philips in all positions.

No problems so far. Has a loose input jack which I'm told is very common.

No problems, no repairs.

Glad I stumbled on this amp and I'm looking for another one. It's everything I ever wanted in an amp. Can play it soft or loud with no compromisde in tone and nails that classic Tweed tone perfectly. It's well-suited to both a bedroom or a club.

All of the comments below refer to a 1993 model Blues Deluxe in
tweed.

This is a reissue amp (sortof) that is "all tube" although the
pre amp inputs and pre amp outputs go through solid state
buffers (read: opamps). Basic features, but this is a "blues" combo.
Panel features: 2 inputs, (clean, not so clean) Volume, Drive, treble, mid, bass, reverb, master volume, presence. On and Standby switches and
also has preamp in, preamp out and footswitch jacks. 12" speaker, its
an Eminence "specially designed" for Fender. Tube compliment is three
12ax7s and two 5881/6l6GC.

Using this setup with a Les Paul, it is nice at playing blues... it
could really use a better speaker. It does not have that real vintage tone,
even though they have tried to emulate the circuit, but with a solid
state power supply there is no "sag" and plate voltage/bias setup is
such that the tubes are very linear. Fender tries to overcome this
by matching this circuit with a severly undersized output transformer
to get that vintage tone (this is my opinion after having a good
look at the amp (more on this later))... they should have gone with
a larger output tranny, but I am sure cost was an issue.

This amp is pretty clean on the clean channel, but it does tend
to have a lot of internal noise with the volume up if the
12ax7 tubes (the first two gain stages, actually) are not chosen
carefully. Using a 5751 or a 12at7 in the first stage can calm
this down dramatically... using a very hot tube can put the "no
input" noise levels over the top at high volume.

I do not use the drive channel too much (if at all) and therefore
have no real comments on it.

Again, a speaker change is in order for a better tone out of
this amp. A Jensen P12N (even a new one) is a good option, as
finding an original is costly, and the Utah's are even more.
A vintage Fane would probably also fit the bill.

I have read various things on this site about reliability of this amp.
I will state what happened to mine (and also a friend of mine with a
HRD) and what I did to fix it, and also give some notations on this.

Preliminary: I used to be an electronics tech and I am a EE. I do
have a clue. At least sometimes. Well, maybe.

I purchased this amp used, and it worked fine. After several hours of
play it started to hiss and pop (loudly with no input)... common
problem, I figured bias has/was dropping, or the "flyback" diode was
arcing or dead. Well, the "flyback" diode was gone (that diode that
connects the plates of the 6l6's to ground... due to the solid state
power supply). After changing that and checking a few other things
I fired her back up. Still pop'n. I go back in and start to read
about this on the net. I find out there was a bad run on the resistors
that Fender recieved for this amp (some of them) and they have a
tendency to go bad. Hrmph. I start checking... of course, they look
good... to make a long story short, a _huge_ number of resistors and
ALL coupling caps on this amp were showing signs of intermittent
problems under load. I ended up changing almost everything.

It works fine now, but what a job. As I mentioned I have a friend
that has the same problem, and their tech told them the same thing.
(most of the resistors are bad, caps are failing, etc)... what a
nightmare.

My advice: when it starts to fail, bring it to a competent tech,
have them replace all plate resistors and all coupling caps, and
then check all PS caps under load. Then make sure to check the two
diodes from the plate to gnd of the 6l6's under high voltage spike
test. These will only fail at working voltage (not overvoltage,
mind you, but this will not show up under a standard DMM test).
After that you will have a good reliable amp.

In Fender's defense, I have read that they found out about this
problem later on, and fixed it... this was reported to only impact
the early BD and HRD. Mine is a 1993 model.

Didn't call them, it was 8 years out of warranty when I picked it up.

I have not been playing guitar for long, but have been a sound tech
for some time.

If it were stolen/lost I would look for an affordable Bassman or a real tweed. Right, like that would happen. I may look for another,
but a HRD may be a better choice with the larger output tranny.

I like the looks of it, and it is capable of nice tones, but I would
not give more than $300 for it, in mint condition.

This is a '94 Blues Deluxe, purchased from a seller on Ebay in 2004.

The amp is a very basic reproduction of the well-known Fender Deluxe, with a second overdrive channel. It's got an effect loop, and you can use it with an external cab if you like. It's got 40W of power, and is very loud.

The configuration is two 6L6C/5881 power tubes with three 12AX7 preamp tubes. It has shared bass/treble/mid tone controls, a master volume for the clean channel, and gain/master for the overdrive channel.

All in all, it doesn't have a lot of features - but what it does do, it does quite well.

I have used both single- and dual-coil guitars with this amp, and it sounds somewhat thin using single coils, which is to be expected. That's just how a Strat sounds through a Deluxe. With humbuckers, the sound is appreciably fatter, and actually a bit more pleasant to my ears.

The amp is practically noiseless, which is surprising for a 10-year-old amp. There is no hum or hiss until you turn the amp up very loud, and even then it is controllable by the guitar's volume knob.

The clean channel, with any guitar, is to die for. This is the classic Fender open-back amp sound that so many guitar players like. You can make it squawk, sing, or grind just with your fingers - it is very touch-sensitive.

As you turn up the clean channel to the 1/2 way mark, the amp opens up and the power tubes start to clip. The amp is at its absolute best at this point - some of the most wonderful overdrive can be had in this fashion. The amp is very, very loud at this setting, however - too loud for most club stages.

The overdrive channel shares the EQ section with the clean channel. The EQ also seems to come before the gain stage, so one must be careful with the bass settings to avoid the sound of the amp becoming too farty on the low end. It works far, far better with a powerful dual-coil guitar - there isn't much gain there to work with. But this is a "Blues" Deluxe, not a "Metal" Deluxe, no? If you need more gain, put a Tube Screamer in front of it. (I did.)

The overall sound quality of this amp makes me question why people even bother with transistor amps. The sound is that much better.

The reverb on the unit is pretty good. From 0-3 it seems adjustable, but there doesn't seem to be much difference between 3 and 12. It's your classic Fender spring reverb, which is very distinctive.

This is a proven design and is not likely to break down any time soon. As noted in other reviews, the input jacks are soldered onto the mainboard, but I've never had a problem with jacks like these, even on amps that get gigged every night. As long as they're sturdily attached to the chassis, too, it's fine.

There's little chance of this thing breaking down just on the spur of the moment, so I'd take it and nothing else to a gig.

Fender will probably be in business for some time coming, so I don't see any problem getting parts or service from them. Since the amp hasn't broken, I've never had to deal with Fender directly. The parts I need for it (tubes, speakers) are always readily available and reasonably priced.

This is a great, versatile amp, and I recommend it to anyone who doesn't have incredible volume requirements. The amp is definitely not a metal amp, but with the right kind of pedal in front of it, can take on any character you'd like it to, practically. Because it's small, portability lends a lot of value to this amp to the gigging musician. I highly recommend it.

If it were lost, I would immediately purchase this exact amp. I can't think of another amp in this price range that would even remotely come close.

It compares directly to the Fender Pro Junior I have. The PJ doesn't have reverb or an OD channel, but the sound is similar. The PJ overdrives much sooner on the clean channel because of its configuration. The BD is simply a larger, deeper sound, because of the greater power and larger speaker (12").

For $340USD, this amp is a fantastic, toneful value. Highly recommended.

Check out the other 4,000 reviews! Basic 40 watt, single 12 tube combo amp.

Used it with a stock 71 tele, homebrew chambered tele w/ neck bucker and p-90 style bridge pup, stock strat with Lollar pups, stock 67 335 and a few other guitars. This amp is stock with original tubes & speaker. I was disappointed at the lack of clean headroom. Typical Fender tone. Reverb is pretty much useless over 2 1/2. Clean channel is decent, but the drive and more drive channels are utter crap. I borrowed this from a friend ( who dislikes it immensly by the way ) thinking it would be a great amp for running stereo with my Roland BC-60 Blues Cube. Actually, it worked very well for that purpose. I quess I expected it to surpass the Roland. To my surprise, the Roland held it's own and in some way's sounds better than the Fender. Again, with a speaker and tube upgrade, it would be a better amp. As is, I'll take the solid state Roland. I never thought I'd be saying that, but the ears don't lie!

I've been through an utter butt load of guitars and amps over the last 30 some years. Most have gone long ago to pay for rent, food and other vices. Now that I'm an old fart, I want to have few nice guitars and a few nice amps to cover my various foray's into the blues I love so much. I was hoping this would be low cost solution to get me by for a few years...and it certainly could be. But, I'm pretty dissapointed at the tone of this amp. I was hoping it would kill the solid state Roland...but NOOOOOO. Either the Roland is an exceptional solid state amp or the Blues Deluxe is a pretty poor example of a tube amp. Not quite sure yet.

I bought this amp new at Rondo Music in Union, NJ in 1997 (?) on the recomendation of a salesman. Features ? It has a Reverb, two channels and an effects loop. This is my workhorse amp, I use it for everything, practice and gigs. Since I'm pretty much an old school guy and really only care for a basic setup. this is the amp for me.

I use a recent vintage Gibson es135 most of the time. I also use a Dillion gold top Les Paul clone with P90's. I play mostly old school rock and blues and don't like alot of stuff between the guitar and amp. I can crank it if I need to but when we gig it gets run through the PA. I've never really dimed it but it's pleanty loud for what I do. The other guitar player in the band loves this amp and says it has the warmest sound he has ever run across.

Now this is something I can realyy atest to. Last summmer we played an outdoor gig and just as we were doing the sondcheck a huge storm blew up. Heartbreakingly the amp got soaked and I thought it was gone.
It recovered somewhat when in the next day but was never really the same. I took it to the amp guy at Toobz which is part of Raritan Bay Guitar Repair in Freehold, NJ. When he got done It sounded 100% better. I guess what I'm saying is you can't kill this Amp!

Who knows? I never needed anything done until the above incident and it was LONG out of warranty.

I started playing when I was 14 and I'm now 55. I have owned a lot of stuff over the years. In addition to the es135 and Les paul clone mentioned above I also have a tele, a very old Kent and some acoustics. I use a little kustom tube amp to annoy my wife with when she's trying to watch TV and a Peavey Classic 30. What would I do if this was stolen? I'd hunt the thief down and kill him! I love this amp. All I can say is the best sound I ever heard is a Gibson (or Gibsonlike) Guitar through a Fender Amp. I doesn't get any better than that!!!!!!!

One great sound.
Shared EQ - always bad. But, not as bad as others!
Goofy control layout - white letters UPSIDE DOWN from the front on chrome. IMPOSSIBLE to see without putting your nose on the tweed.
Doesn't weigh a ton.. Like my MB Nomad 55
Almost TOO loud, in fact it is for rehearsal in a small place, barely have it cracked. Looking forward to gigging with it so I can turn it up, that is if I can make the Mesa stay home...

Playing seriously about 10 years, mainly Les Paul-ish HB-equipped guitars, tele and strat as well. I brought this amp a) because I needed a practice amp and b) to help out a friend needing cash... I feel bad for him because it sounds GREAT!!!! as long as you don't need metal distortion.
Out of curiosity, I added a Torres BIAS adjustment kit, and this was the best thing I could have done. Setting the bias a bit 'cooler' to 29 ma made this thing just SING. (it was a bit over 30ma stock). The only reason it gets a 9 is those darn shared EQ controls...

These have a rep. for having bad solder joints. This one has been (I was told) gone through by a tech. and the bad joints fixed. They still look pretty bad, like 5-year-olds did the assembly. But, my Mesa Nomad is not much better. Seems as dependable as anything else with the care you need to give a tube amp.

never needed any so can't say. Got a schematic download for free though, guess that's something

I love this little amp and I'd cry if it disappeared. Not made any more, and I hear the Hot Rod Deluxe is NOT the same animal at all. I had a Peavey Classic 50 (nice amp, but not like this), Line6 AX2 (nice in the studio, doesn't cut through gigging), and gig with a Mesa Boogie Nomad 55. I'm glad I bought this AFTER the Boogie, 'cause I'd probably never have bought the Boogie if I'd heard this first (maybe that's bad....)