Vintage Tweed Sound & Style
Much to their credit, when the demand for vintage-style sound equipment began to ramp-up again during the early 1990s, Fender was right there on top of it — they released their new, but decidedly retro-cool “Tweed” series of all-tube amplifiers in 1993 and I was lucky enough to purchase one at a guitar show that very same year.
Amazingly, a few years later I would save my hard-earned money for nearly 6-months in order to purchase Fender’s awesome and iconic ’65 Fender Twin (see my review here) but today, going on eighteen years later, that big, black, silver-grilled Twin Reverb has long since been sold off, and the trusty old Blues Deluxe is my guitar amp of choice yet again. It was the hefty weight of the Fender Twin that ultimately did it in.
The Blues Deluxe, while not necessarily on a par with the Twin for sheer volume & clean headroom (hell, this thing was built for dirty blues, and at that it excels,) feels light as a feather in comparison, making it a pleasure to toss into the back seat of your car and haul into a dank club a few nights a week. In my younger days I could handle that hefty Twin. Nowadays, not so much.
Warm Tone, Powerful Output
No slouch in the features department, the Blues Deluxe sports modern channel switching (with both clean & overdrive channels,) a dual-button footswitch for quickly jumping between the two channels, old-school Fender spring reverb, a contemporary effects loop for your pedals and rackmounts, three 12AX7 preamp tubes, and two 6L6 output tubes –– with the whole 40-watts of power pumped through a single 12“ speaker.
Now if you’re looking for modern high-gain madness you’re just plain looking in the wrong place brother, but for a soft, bluesy, crunchy overdrive and sustain, Fender’s Blues Deluxe absolutely sings. In overdrive mode it can easily break out from behind your average rhythm section, and in its clean channel it produces the deep and shimmering bell-like tones that Fender’s amps are known for. This thing produces a warmth of tone that you can only really find in an all-tube amp.
As far as downsides go, there really aren’t many to speak of; I suppose that if I could upgrade the reverb unit in this baby I probably would. It’s not that it’s bad in any way, it’s just that the reverb produced by the Blues Deluxe is incredibly raw, and after being spoiled by “the Twin,” I kind of miss that truly lush, almost spacy reverb.
Pure & Simple
Ultimately what I like most about Fender’s Blues Deluxe, and what brought me back to this little tweed beauty even after experiencing the rock-solid performance of the Twin, is its all-inclusive nature.
I’m a no-nonsense kind of guitar player, and having a good reverb, plus both overdrive & clean channels all in one amp means less luggage to haul from gig to gig — no extra cables, no extra stomp-boxes, no extra nothin’… you just drop the Blues Deluxe onto the stage, plug in your guitar, and you’re ready to play. It’s that simple…
- REVIEW: Fender’s ’65 Twin Reverb Reissue
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- REVIEW: Swart’s Immaculate Atomic Space Tone
- The ’65 Fender Super Reverb: Real Or Reissue?
- REVIEW: Peavey Windsor Studio Class A Tube Amp
- Wanna’ Learn Some Robert Johnson? Notation & Tab For Love In Vain Blues
- See The BOSS/Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb Pedal In Action
May 13th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
This a great amp, Fender would be my choice every time.
September 7th, 2007 at 10:30 am
I have an original 1994 Fender Blues Deluxe. I’d be interested in a
review of how the Reissue Version compares to the 1993-1997 Original.
December 17th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
i have been looking to buy one of these, and i was wondering if it stands out anough over a acustic drum set. i have a horible fear of trying to play and not being loud anough.
February 10th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Loud enough? It will cover just about anything short of a large stadium show! It is the loudest 40 watts I’ve ever heard, especially with an extension speaker added. Beautiful, shimmery cleans and a nice edge when cranked. I’m not a fan of the overdrive channel but it does have its place with some songs. I prefer to crank it on the clean channel to get that extra oomph and hit it with an overdrive pedal when I want to get into heavier territory. It’s easy to get a dirty sound but much tougher to find a great clean sound. You can always dirty it up with a good pedal.
I do recommend replacing the tubes with Svetlana 6L6 and Tungsol 12AX7 tubes. They really add to the bloom of the sound. Some like the original tubes, though, so tastes will vary on this.
It will cut through any mix.
August 14th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
THis is my favorite amp. The price is right. The sound is beautiful. I have had a HIWATT head, Marshall heads, an old 65 SHowman, and this amp is still my favorite.
It’s light enough to haul anywhere. It sets up easily and it’s easy to mic up…nice reverb.
I think everyone should have one.
I play it for practice and for shows. It’s perfect for either…
January 20th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Whoa. Anyone worried about volume need not worry, PERIOD! This is one loud little amp. It is decidedly “old school” meaning that you’ll have to rely on your guitar’s volume pots to control the drive, tone and volume. Think, “Old School Fender” rather than modern. I’ve been playing Fenders for 30 years. This model is the absolute BEST thing that Fender has released in all that time-owing to the two channel operation, excellent reverb and true Fender tone. I compare it to my Blackfaced Bandmaster in terms of tone and “feel.” With a Tonebone Classic for overdrive on the clean channel it’s a dream rig. Go get one!
February 28th, 2009 at 7:10 am
some one was wondering about how loud it will go.well whats say this it could probly blow the windows out of a house.i can never stand to crank it up all the way.it gets realy loud for a 40 watt amp but to the human ear 100 watts only sounds like double the amount of 10 watts.but i realy love the fender blues deluxe you can realy get any sound you want out of it with the help of a nice pedal.
February 22nd, 2010 at 2:00 pm
I must be doing something wromg. I think it is too powerful. If I put the volume on 1, and the guitar volume all the way up, it is already way too loud. Is it really that sensitive?
May 7th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Fred, it really is that “sensitive”
I love mine—my main rig since 1994—but if I have one complaint, it is that I can never play it around the house! In rehearsal spaces or small venues I have to hoist it up & onto something at least waist-level so that I can turn it down somewhat yet hear it before it bounces around the room: otherwise (on the ground) I often get told to “turn it down!”
June 13th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
I have a 1995 Fender Blues Deluxe. I, too would like to know what the difference is between this and the reissue. It IS a great amp, and it is way too loud for home use but I love it.
July 31st, 2010 at 10:15 am
I just bought a Blues Deluxe reissue yesterday and wow, I love this amp. It was a floor demo at the GC on sale for $549.00 with full warranty. I play a Gretsch 5120 hollowbody, mostly blues, country and of course rockabilly. I also got a Ibanez Tube Screamer TS808 reissue. Simply put, these 3 together sound like a little slice o’ heaven. It was a toss up between the Deluxe and the Blues Jr tweed (Jensen spkr). The effects loop and channel switching on the Deluxe sealed the deal – and for the same price as the Jr. I don’t understand why people are saying this amp is too loud. They must live in apartments with rice paper walls. I can get a great tone at very modest volume levels. I played all last night with wifey and kids sleeping soundly upstairs – clean channel on volume 3 – no stress. Still haven’t quite dialed in my sound yet, but I’ve only had it for like 20 hrs.
My bottom line is: buy this amp. Looks great, sounds great. When you take it to play out, you will get respect.
~ Johnny
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:05 am
Congratulations on your new amp! You’re gonna love that thing, I have no doubt. It’s been 15 years since I bought my original Blues Deluxe, and its only gotten better with time!
And while looks may not mean too much, that tweed looks even better once the grime sets in ;)
BTW, the argument against this amp being too loud has to do with the fact that you can’t get great dirty tones out of its “gain” channel without blowing the walls down… the clean channel provides excellent tone at ALL volume levels, but if you want to avoid using a distortion pedal (like many of us do,) and would prefer to rely on the gain channel for your overdrive, you will find that it really takes a ton of volume to get the kind of tone you’re looking for.
But in your case you bought a Tube Screamer so you’re set! ENJOY!
December 30th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Got my amp yesterday and most of these reviews are accurate to my experience. In the house you have to keep the amp volume between 1-3 and control the volume with the guitar from there. That being said you can play it at comfortable quiet levels. It also is amazingly loud….too loud for my needs, but its nice that my guitar controls actually have an effect on this amp. Nice tones…like the drive channel especially. Really think it may be too much amp for my needs, but when comparing it in price to a blues jr…I think you get more for the money. It does have some speaker hiss to it when cranking the volume up to 7-12…but I don’t plan on going there!
Anyone have experience on speaker upgrades on this model?