Fender Blues Deluxe Amplifier FAQ
The Fender Blues Deluxe is a reissue in the style of older Fender tweed series amplifiers. Fender tweeds are covered with a two-tone tweed cloth and are characteristic of Fender amplifiers made between 1948 and 1964. In a classic sense, the Blues Deluxe is a modern amplifier made in the style of classic Fender amps. Fender did not make a Blues Deluxe between 1948 and 1964. The modern Blues Deluxe recreates the sounds and look of that era, but is made for modern players. The Fender Blues Deluxe was made between 1993 and 1997.
Other People Are Reading
-
Cosmetcs & Controls
-
Cosmetic aspects of the Fender Blues Deluxe bring to memory classic Fender tweed styling. Tweed amps were early Fender amplifiers covered with a two-tone tweed material with controls mounted on the top of the amplifier. The positioning of the controls made changing settings easier for a guitarist. Controls on the Tweeds were numbered from 1-12 instead of the 0-10 of more modern amps. Controls on the Blues Deluxe include a power toggle switch and a standby toggle switch. A classic cut glass-style pilot light is paired with an LED than indicates when the drive channel is active. The amp features a spring reverb, master volume, treble, midrange, and bass controls as well as a drive or volume control for pre-amp overdrive and a presence control. The amp is a two-channel amp and offers a foot switch to change between the clean channel and the drive channel.
Tubes
-
The Blues Deluxe uses commonly available 12AX7s in the pre-amp and two 6L6 tubes in the power amp. 6L6 tubes are classic tubes used in American amplification. It is a derivative of a British tube developed in 1935. The 6L6 is still manufactured in a number of factories, including two in China, two in Russia, one in Slovakia and one in Serbia. 12AX7 tubes are manufactured in the same factories, along with several others in China and Russia. The pair of 6L6 tubes produce 40 watts of power. This amount of power makes this a loud amplifier suitable for unmiked use in small to mid-sized venues.
-
Speakers
-
The Blues Deluxe uses a single 12-inch Eminence Gold Label speaker. The Eminence Gold Label series is designed to be a lower cost alternative to the classic Jensen speakers used in the original Tweed series of amplifiers.
Reverb
-
Unlike classic Tweeds, modern reissues contain spring reverb. Spring reverb uses a series of coiled springs to delay the amplified sound of the guitar and then remixes it with the original signal. This gives the sound a reverberated quality similar to sounds played in a large, solid surfaced space.
Similarities to Historical Amplifiers
-
Aside from the cosmetic qualities of the amplifier, the sounds generated by the Blues Deluxe resemble classic Tweed amplifiers. The amp is updated with modern amenities like reverb and channel switching and uses solid state support components and PC boards in both the pre-amp and power amp, making this amp more reliable than vintage Tweeds.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photo: Paul Cooper, stock.xchng
