Fender Twin vs Deville

[strumminsix]

But, there are other way's to get jerry's tone than to use a twin>mcintosh power amp>3 JBL 120's.

Very much agree. Sometimes it's easier without their gear sometimes it is almost required! I couldn't get a good tone out of an IVP, UE400 and SS poweramp to save my life let alone a Bobby tone.

In my humble opinion i think getting close to Jerry's tone really depends on 3 things.

Dimarzio pu's> Fender Twin preamp> Jbl speakers

Bingo!

and above all the left side of Jerry's brain.

Cool! I'll take his right! Don't need analytical Jerry brain anyway!

[High Peaks]

True, i must have said the wrong side.

Anyway i'll take anything that would help me avoid cutting off the middle finger on my pickin hand!!

Thats where the tone REALLY comes from.

[weirimpressed]

true that high peaks.

the twim sold today, unfortunately I couldnt gather the funds quick enough to make the purchase...

Im looking at the deluxe now, and Im thinkin it might be a perfect fit for me right now in my playing. appreciate all the advice!

[strumminsix]

have you considered the deluxe reverb reissue?
alot of vintage guys say this is the best RI!

[tigerstrat]

Using a deville can make it easier to run the jerry combo of tube preamp>power amp>speaker cab than a twin.
...

if u run a deville preamp out>power amp>speaker cab you get a much sweeter tone. This allows you much more clean headroom and it just sounds better. I unplug the built in speaker so the sound only comes through the cab and it sounds great.

Do you remove the amp's power tubes when you do this?? My expertise on amps is intermediate at best but... that sounds like it might blow your Deville's OT, unplugging the speaker like that!! In my experience, plugging into an amp's "preamp out" jack does not shut down an amp's power section, so the amp still really WANTS to see an appropriate speaker load... or an attenuator of some kind. If you remove the amp's power tubes and it still outputs a preamp signal through the preamp jack, then it should be fine, but I would suspect that that jack is post-power section and will go dead w/o the power tubes. At which point you would need to find the correct point in the circuit to tap a lead from the jack, and actually do this very simple mod.

[tbv710]

Ive had several twins and own a 91 Blues Deville 4 x 10 and the key to getting a good tone with it as with any amp is tubes. I use Ruby 6L6 Output tubes (their great) and the preamp tubes change somewhat depending on my taste but for a good overall Jerry tone with nice cleans and some juice when pushed ala Jerrys 70s tone I put a GT12AX7 in the first stage, a EH12AX7-EH in the 2nd stage, and a JJECC83-S in the third stage. However since switching to Fender Vintage Noiseless Pickups which are terrific once you set their height to your ear and not to spec, I have decided that I want more drive out of the drive channel, so I ordered a Mullard reissue 12AX7 and a Tung-Sol 12AX7 (High Gain) and i will try them both to see what I like best.(waiting for them) I love the Ruby Power tubes but am tempted to try the GT-KT66C's which are supposed to be reminicent of the classic Fender tone of the tweed 50's and 60's amps..Their pricy sat 75 bucks a pair so Ill wait on those for now. The deville is a hell of a lot easier to haul around than a Twin..I LOVE Twins but they are monster loud and heavy as hell. so the Deville has been pretty sweet.(still almost too loud)...Id like to get a Fender Deluxe.... I played a gig with Rick derringer and used his Hot rod Deville with GT tubes and I couldnt get it clean. It was too too overdriven, but neat for a change. The Ruby tubes are great but its that 1st stage preamp tube that really defines your tone. I really like my Tweed Deville and Im a HUGE fan of Twins...They are bears though--lol Id suggest talking to Doug Preston of Dougs Tubes http://www.dougstubes.com/ and tell him what kind of tone you want . The guy is a tube genius!

[tbv710]

The Fender Deluxe amps are sweet if you can find one for a good price. They fetch a good buck even when beat up and the reissues are really overpriced but nice. and seriously the Deville 65 watts is blazing loud. the most I need is the volume on 4 and Im always louder than everyone else. You just dont need 100 watts anymore, outdoors with a good PA or in big clubs, and dinky bars forget it, you wont get the good warm clipping at low volumes with the twin even though the Master Vol is cool. The deville properly set up is really good for me. Wish the reverb was tubed but a Boss digital reverb delay lushes it out for me.

[squire758]

just got a blues deville 4x10 the other day. I like the clean channel alot, but not as much as the twin. hopefully i can find a way to get that reveb(new tank or something). i believe the drive channel is useful, but not above 5 for sure(and 12AT7 in P1). if you keep it smooth and warm, not excessively overdriven it does the job. it certainly doesnt have the bottom end of 2x12's but you can get most popular tones remembering the amps intention. it feels strong and doesnt feedback bad lt at all with my hollow body. but if you want to play every genre in the same day and end it with disco, you can always count on a twin

[Grateful.Ed]

There's a guy that mods Hot Rods with a good rep. Jim Price at Omega amps. I was considering getting a cheap HRDlx and sending to him. The mod is about $250.

From what I understand he corrects the design defects and manufacturing flaws. You end up with a reliable amp that has improved cleans and dramatically improved gains.

[gr8fullfred]

Caution JMHO:

Clearly the old hand wired Fender Twins are one of the best guitar amps ever made and possibly THE BEST guitar amp ever made. Its 40+ years since they first made the blackface models, and they are still among the most sought after amps out there. And despite their age, there are still a relatively large amount of them out there. I have no idea how many of them they made (blackfaces, silverfaces, 135 Watt Master volume models), ,but it must have been a heck of a lot, since there are still many out there. They may be pricey, but not rare.

I recently almost bought a 135 Watt twin on CL for $525. I have a 64 blackface with Altec 416 speakers and this amp is just heavy as SH*T. Sounds Great though!

I recommend if you do not have a Fender Twin, that you get one. My philosophy, good enough for Jerry, good enough for me.

The twins have two age old problems, their weight and the fact that they are loud. If you can haul them, you can probably turn down the volume control.

I have a Mesa 50 caliber combo amp that I think has a great clean channel. I have seen a couple of these go recently on ebay for about $425-450. I think that these work great, sound great and are pretty loud and 1/2 the weight of a twin.

You just can't go wrong with a twin, just ask Jerry!

[Staemius]

I've plugged it before - but I agree with the advice on Jim Price's (Omega Amps) mod on the deville. The 410 is a super amp but the drive is really poor without a good mod - which Jim can provide.

[donkeypunch]

IMO...I think a 70's Twin is the holy grail of amps.....I will have one someday...oh yes I will. I have the Hot Rod DeVille 212...love it. That warm Fender sound is what every amp should sound like.