Deluxe VM

[vivadeluxxe]

Does anyone have any experience of these?
I'm gonna be downsizing from my 90s Twin, which is a bit big for needs these days...
I'm still keen on having fender cleans and I quite like the look of this.
From what I've read so far it bears no real relation to a vintage deluxe, but I've never liked the Hot Rods and this looks like a similar priced alternative....

[vivadeluxxe]

Does anyone have any experience of these?

I guess that's a no...
I think they've got one at my local Dawsons, I'm hoping to try it out over the weekend so I'll report back if it's any good....

[kypdurron]

heard good and bad things, but never tried one. I am mostly afraid of the DSP stuff, but that seems to sound ok to most people. But as usual with Fender, they hate the overdrive section.

[Skip]

i read up on it and got scared away-- but who the heel knows for sure

[timhulio]

Were you planning to get one new? You should be able to get a second hand '65 Deluxe reissue on ebay for about £600.

[vivadeluxxe]

I have been keeping an eye out for a 2nd hand reissue too... but I'm playing with a fairly noisy band at the moment, so I'm wasn't sure if the 22 watts is going to be quite enough...
One of things that interested me about the VM is that it's 40 watts in a similar sized box...

[timhulio]

Yep it'll easily be loud enough, unless you want very clean cleans at high volume.

[kypdurron]

I'd say 20 W 1x12' amps have been loud enough for anything I did so far. I just purchased one of these Ampeg J 20s they blew out at 300 pounds. It sounds killer, is brutally loud, handwired and has a better trem than any Fender after 1963. Sounds very fenderish, too - If you can get one, think about that too

[Mustang Melx]

Yep it'll easily be loud enough, unless you want very clean cleans at high volume.

I really don't get it when people say this, I used to really struggle with a 30w amp.... I'm not trying to say this isn't the case for most people, but I can't relate to it at all.

[timhulio]

I've been using a 1x12 Musicmaster bass amp for the last 6 months or so. That's 12 watts and is loud enough to be easily heard above the drummer at half volume. By the time you get to breakup the amp is deafeningly loud and drowns out the rest of the band. It's loud enough to play every venue I can imagine, because you can use it in pub and club gigs unmiked, and anywhere larger your guitar amps will be mic'd up.

Was your 30watt amp solid state?

[NickS]

I've been using a 1x12 Musicmaster bass amp for the last 6 months or so. That's 12 watts and is loud enough to be easily heard above the drummer at half volume. By the time you get to breakup the amp is deafeningly loud and drowns out the rest of the band. It's loud enough to play every venue I can imagine, because you can use it in pub and club gigs unmiked, and anywhere larger your guitar amps will be mic'd up.

Was your 30watt amp solid state?

I think that's down to your drummer being sensible. At the pub, a Roland Cube 60 struggles against a dickhead with a pair of drumsticks.

[kypdurron]

Yep, but we're talking about tube amps. We did a rehearsal on loaned gear once, it was a Roland Cube 80 (80 watts?) and a Fender Blues Junior (15 watts). The 15 W Tube amp easily blew the whole band away, including the 80 watts ss amp and the drummer. I can't imagine a Deluxe Reverb or my Ampeg being too powerless ... maybe if you play venues of 200+ listeners without PA, it may be difficult to play really clean, as Tim said. But I never could crank really a Blues Junior or the Ampeg at Gig (mic'd) or rehearsal. And we are not that super silent at all ...

[mickie08]

Yep it'll easily be loud enough, unless you want very clean cleans at high volume.

I really don't get it when people say this, I used to really struggle with a 30w amp.... I'm not trying to say this isn't the case for most people, but I can't relate to it at all.

If you were struggling with a 30 watt TUBE amp, then the issue is one of these:

bad amp, not functioning correctly

it was breaking up too much. in that case get a different style amp not designed to break up as early

you guys were playing TOOOO loud.


Unless you are playing large (especially outdoor) stages, a 30 watt tube amp should be loud enough with no problems. It may not feel that way in a practice space, and that is where the TOO LOUD comes in. In a small practice space, sound gets bounced around so much that it is always hard to hear. The answer to this is lift/angle your amp at you (not on the ground where it all goes under your knees.... Other options if you have the $ is to mic everything at lower volume and use headphones for all the guitar players/bass players (you should still be able to hear the drums with the headphones on, or you can mic them too)

[the isaac eaton]

Yep it'll easily be loud enough, unless you want very clean cleans at high volume.

I really don't get it when people say this, I used to really struggle with a 30w amp.... I'm not trying to say this isn't the case for most people, but I can't relate to it at all.

.


dude same here, people always tell me there little class a's can get over a band fine, well not over my band. I have a fender 1964 princeton, nice little 22watt combo, on an amp stand a full volume you cant even here it over the drums. But im told that all amp watage is different for different companies so like a badcat 22 watt amp might be louder than the fender one. I have tried out twin reverbs in a band situation and I had it at about 4 and it was sounding great, thats about where I keep my cyber twin at too for band practice and gigs. If little amps work for people cool, but I need an 85watt twin for my self. Clean Cleans at high volume please. There's no such thing as too loud cleans in my book.

[Bill Oakley]

I'm with you Isaac. I've been in a lot of bands and have had people audition with ~30 watt tube amps and they just weren't loud enough to keep up with any band I have been in. Well, I shouldn't say that. If you mic the amp, it is fine and you don't have to crank it. I play loud though and my Marshall 2203 can drown anything out!

[Skip]

i guess the argument is always--- if you play a bar with twin- you cant turn it up at all-- if you play a 20 watter-- you can open it up a lot--
mic'd is always an issue-- but really- where can you play a twin cranked that isnt a concert hall?- which means you are a touring band playing large venues
i have never played anywhere that my deluxe reverb- (22 watts) hasn't been enough

[Bill Oakley]

I mostly played pretty big venues and I cranked my 2203. A trick I learned along the way was to put your amp on the side of the stage facing across the stage. Most sound guys will let you crank it a lot more because your amp isn't blaring straight out at them. Also, you can hear your guitar all the way across the stage. If you have two guitar players with both amps turned in on each side of the stage, right in front of the drums is heaven!

[Skip]

I mostly played pretty big venues and I cranked my 2203. A trick I learned along the way was to put your amp on the side of the stage facing across the stage. Most sound guys will let you crank it a lot more because your amp isn't blaring straight out at them. Also, you can hear your guitar all the way across the stage. If you have two guitar players with both amps turned in on each side of the stage, right in front of the drums is heaven!

good call