Fender Blues Deluxe 1x12 Combo Questions Please

[Red Planet]

Going to be retubing one for one of my bandmates.

Best I can tell it has two 6L6's and three 12AX7's. I'm guessing it has a Bias Pot?

Can anyone tell me anything I should know before I get started on this thing?

What does V1, V2, and V3 do in this amp? Is V3 a Phase Inverter?

Any suggestions on different speakers?

Does the stock speaker get the job done?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Wesman61]

If You can read schematics there's one on schematicheaven.com.

[Guitar Dave T]

Going to be retubing one for one of my bandmates.

Best I can tell it has two 6L6's and three 12AX7's. I'm guessing it has a Bias Pot?

Can anyone tell me anything I should know before I get started on this thing?

What does V1, V2, and V3 do in this amp? Is V3 a Phase Inverter?

Any suggestions on different speakers?

Does the stock speaker get the job done?

Any help would be much appreciated.

No built in bias pot, just a resisitor. But very easy mod to have a bias pot added. I did, and highly recommend it.

V1 and V2 both affect tone, even in the clean setting. V3 is the phase inverter.

Stock speaker will get the job done, but a Celestion V30 is ideal for this amp. Ideal settings with this speaker are bright switch "on", treble and midrange around 40% - 45%.

JJ preamp and power tubes do very well with this amp, as do Sprague Atom filter caps.

I use a '93 Blues Deluxe as my number 1, the clean channel getting 100% of the use, with some decent OD pedals. This amp with a Jetter Gain Stage Red is a total boutique-killer.

[Red Planet]

No built in bias pot, just a resisitor. But very easy mod to have a bias pot added. I did, and highly recommend it.

V1 and V2 both affect tone, even in the clean setting. V3 is the phase inverter.

Stock speaker will get the job done, but a Celestion V30 is ideal for this amp. Ideal settings with this speaker are bright switch "on", treble and midrange around 40% - 45%.

JJ preamp and power tubes do very well with this amp, as do Sprague Atom filter caps.

I use a '93 Blues Deluxe as my number 1, the clean channel getting 100% of the use, with some decent OD pedals. This amp with a Jetter Gain Stage Red is a total boutique-killer.


Thanx GDT!

[Red Planet]

What is the Plate Voltage usually around on these?

[Janglin_Jack]

Cool little amp. I just used one tonight at a practice studio we rented. Good sound, would like a bit more clean headroom. Speaker flubbed out with some songs, but all in all, a very nice little amp.

Jack

[Red Planet]

Again anyone know what the Plate Voltage is?

[fuzzz]

If your amp is a reissued BD,it will have a bias pot(mine has one).As for the plate voltage,it measures around 470 volts.+1 for the v30,did an excellent job in my amp,far better note definition and sensitivity comparing to the stock eminence(a sweet speaker I must admit,but a bit muddy and "lazy").Also I highly recommend you to try a 12AT7 in the phase inverter slot(v3,next to the power tubes) as I'm finding it to tame the amp's huge bottom end without sacrificing mutch gain,giving a cleaner,more dynamic response overall.As far as power tubes are concerned,I strongly suggest you swap those GT Sovteks(I know they're reliable,but also find them to SUCK tonally...)and put some better sounding bottles in there(winged c's are great and so are TungSol RI 5881's,if you prefer an earlier breakup)...this is a very nice amp for the money that can sound even better with some simple tweaks...hope I helped!!!

[Guitar Dave T]

If your amp is a reissued BD,it will have a bias pot(mine has one).As for the plate voltage,it measures around 470 volts.+1 for the v30,did an excellent job in my amp,far better note definition and sensitivity comparing to the stock eminence(a sweet speaker I must admit,but a bit muddy and "lazy").Also I highly recommend you to try a 12AT7 in the phase inverter slot(v3,next to the power tubes) as I'm finding it to tame the amp's huge bottom end without sacrificing mutch gain,giving a cleaner,more dynamic response overall.As far as power tubes are concerned,I strongly suggest you swap those GT Sovteks(I know they're reliable,but also find them to SUCK tonally...)and put some better sounding bottles in there(winged c's are great and so are TungSol RI 5881's,if you prefer an earlier breakup)...this is a very nice amp for the money that can sound even better with some simple tweaks...hope I helped!!!

All very good tips, thanks.

Another noticeable sonic improvement for me: While some say filter caps don't significantly affect tone assuming values are the same, I found replacing the stock IC caps with Sprague Atom series really opened up my original 93 BD.

BTW, if you have an original like mine, installing a bias adjustment pot is relatively easy, and highly recommended.

[Red Planet]

If your amp is a reissued BD,it will have a bias pot(mine has one).As for the plate voltage,it measures around 470 volts.+1 for the v30,did an excellent job in my amp,far better note definition and sensitivity comparing to the stock eminence(a sweet speaker I must admit,but a bit muddy and "lazy").Also I highly recommend you to try a 12AT7 in the phase inverter slot(v3,next to the power tubes) as I'm finding it to tame the amp's huge bottom end without sacrificing mutch gain,giving a cleaner,more dynamic response overall.As far as power tubes are concerned,I strongly suggest you swap those GT Sovteks(I know they're reliable,but also find them to SUCK tonally...)and put some better sounding bottles in there(winged c's are great and so are TungSol RI 5881's,if you prefer an earlier breakup)...this is a very nice amp for the money that can sound even better with some simple tweaks...hope I helped!!!

Thank you sooooooooooooo much. I needed the VP's , might try the V30 as well though this is not my amp and I dont have it yet. Wanted to get some suggestions before I get started.

[Red Planet]

How about the ohmage on the speaker output jacks? What does the amp offer?

And what is the difference between the Blues Deluxe and Hot Rod Deluxe?

[fuzzz]

Well,the speaker output jacks are both 8Ω parallel connected,so when you use an extension cab(along with the combo speaker),the overall impedance drops to 4Ω(you can visit fender's website and download the amp's manual for more accurate info and speaker\cab configurations!),The BD and HRD are basically the same amp(same cab,speaker,transformers and power stage),the difference is the modded preamp stage of the HRD(the "more drive" channel).I'm not sure about the specific differences of those preamp circuits(technically),but I can tell you there is a difference in the clean sounds(the BD sounds much sweeter to me..).Anyway,I'm not a fan of either amp's drive channels,'cause they're simply not usable in live situations.The big gap in bass and treble response,between clean and drive channel in both amps(clean channel tends to be bass heavy,while the drive channel lacks bass and sounds tinny) results to a situation where you will have either a nice clean sound and a crappy drive,or the other way around(...they share the same EQ section).What I do,is typically IGNORE the drive channel(haven't swithed it on for the last two years or so,can't even remember where the footswitch is...),tweak the EQ for a nice clean sound and let your pedals do the rest(the BD is an excellent pedalbase)...hope I helped again!!

[Guitar Dave T]

Well,the speaker output jacks are both 8Ω parallel connected,so when you use an extension cab(along with the combo speaker),the overall impedance drops to 4Ω(you can visit fender's website and download the amp's manual for more accurate info and speaker\cab configurations!),

Not sure about the HRDx or BD RI, but my original 93 BD came equipped with an unused 4 ohm tap on the output transformer. Relatively simple to wire the 4 ohm output to a couple spare speaker jacks wired in parallel, so when you want to use an extension 1x12, 8 ohm speaker, you plug it into one of those jacks, then you plug the combo speaker into the other.

[fuzzz]

Same as on my RI...and if you want to drive a single 4Ω enclosure,all you need to do is plug an open jack to the main speaker output and use the other one.I've never had the chance to play an original US made BD,but have heard(and read) the best about them BTW...

[zzmoore]

A similar story with the one we had. It was $400.00 used. Installed a Emi Governor, JAN 5751 in V1, TungSol 12AX7 in the other slots, kept the GT power tubes, checked and re soldered a few of the connections, varnished the tweed. For the money, they are a pretty decent amp, "it is what it is". It worked very well with a Fulldrive pedal, it was the blue one (is that number two? ). Never did use the OD on the amp, just an OD or Treble Boost at the front. A guy could gig with one of these for a long time and never be unhappy. We traded ours, not because it was a bad amp, just a trade that both parties benefited from. They have a nice sound.
Good luck with yours. :AOK

[Red Planet]

Thanx guys very much. On the Ohms question wanted to know what I would need regarding a V30 stuck in it.

I have heard many tales about not using the OD channel cause it sucks and just hit the clean with a Pedal.

Havent gotten it up here yet will report back.

[Guitar Dave T]

Thanx guys very much. On the Ohms question wanted to know what I would need regarding a V30 stuck in it.

I have heard many tales about not using the OD channel cause it sucks and just hit the clean with a Pedal.

Havent gotten it up here yet will report back.

Definitely get some decent tubes (Winged C or JJ's are the perfect balance of price and value in my experience) and have your amp tech put a bias control in it if it doesn't already have one. With this control, I easily rebias every time I replace my output tubes.

And, as you've discovered, the V30 needs to be 8 ohms. Also, as mentioned here earlier, buy a Hellatone 60 from Avatar, which is a V30 that's been broken in and private labeled. Otherwise a new V30 is going to be somewhat harsh sounding until it breaks in..

[dk123123dk]

Another vintage 30 style speaker that gets favorable reviews is the Warehouse Veteran30. Might save you a bit of cash.

dk

[Guitar Dave T]

Another vintage 30 style speaker that gets favorable reviews is the Warehouse Veteran30. Might save you a bit of cash.

dk


Maybe so - $65 is not bad. Hellatone 60 will run you $20 more and you can peal off the Hellatone sticker to reveal a real Celestion V30 sticker underneath if that's of any value. Either way, sounds like some great deals on a speaker type that used to cost significantly more.

[Red Planet]

Well I have a 16 ohm V30 laying around. The amp would not be as efficient (which might not be a bad thing) but it is well broken in. I also have an 8 ohm Celestion/Mesa MC 90 and a Eminence 8 ohm Private Jack.

May try all for kicks.

For Tubes I have a set of =C= and a set of JJ's I can stick in it as well as some choice preamp tubes to get them Sovteks out of it.

Should be fun when I get him back up here with the amp. Gonna call him right now and try to schedule us getting together on this thing.

[Janglin_Jack]

Cool little amp. I just used one tonight at a practice studio we rented. Good sound, would like a bit more clean headroom. Speaker flubbed out with some songs, but all in all, a very nice little amp.

Jack LOL - I just came across this thread and realized my post from 3 years ago was about a Tweed Blues Jr, (not the Blues Deluxe). My bandmates have some Blues Jr's and one put in an old Oxford and it sounds great. The other guy put in a Weber Alnico Blues and that Jr is loud and sounds great.

Anyhow, I had a Blues Deluxe and it was loud! I found it a bit to bass heavy. I found some mods to warm up the reverb. I changed the input jacks to switchcraft instead of the cheap circuit board mounted ones. I also found a mod that utilized an extra half tube for tube OD on the gain side. I am getting the amp back and the other mod I plan to do is to put in a V30 and change the bass pot from 1M to 250K. Will let you know how it goes, but this was a very good sounding amp!! I thought the Fender Special Design Eminence sounded good, really good in fact. Anxious to hear what the V30 will sound like.

Mike

[ES330]

I bought a Blues Deluxe when they first came out.
Endless tube changes and speaker after speaker.

The Weber C12B Ceramic Blue Dog, lightly doped, (50W or 35W don't remember)
NOS Tung Sol 5881

[ocripes]

No built in bias pot, just a resisitor. But very easy mod to have a bias pot added. I did, and highly recommend it.

V1 and V2 both affect tone, even in the clean setting. V3 is the phase inverter.

Stock speaker will get the job done, but a Celestion V30 is ideal for this amp. Ideal settings with this speaker are bright switch "on", treble and midrange around 40% - 45%.

JJ preamp and power tubes do very well with this amp, as do Sprague Atom filter caps.

I use a '93 Blues Deluxe as my number 1, the clean channel getting 100% of the use, with some decent OD pedals. This amp with a Jetter Gain Stage Red is a total boutique-killer.

Hey Guitar Dave: Did this put the Omega modded amp out of a job?

[Guitar Dave T]

Hey Guitar Dave: Did this put the Omega modded amp out of a job?

No - the opposite. Sold the Blues Deluxe last Fall.

The Blues Deluxe is still an incredible amp for pedals or for just cranking up the clean channel, but the Omega is just a friggin' monster.

[ocripes]

No - the opposite. Sold the Blues Deluxe last Fall.

The Blues Deluxe is still an incredible amp for pedals or for just cranking up the clean channel, but the Omega is just a friggin' monster.

Oops, didn't look at the date of the original thread. The Omega is indeed a monster.

[Guitar Dave T]

A friend of mine bought a used Blues Deluxe shortly after I sold mine. He took it to David Smith at DaBeck amps (Guitar Shop in Richardson, Tx) to have it bullet-proofed and found out it was one David had already redone (It's about a $120 job, and is very comprehensive).

David also replaced the filter caps with Sprague, Atom series.

When my friend brings the amp out to jams, it is the amp everyone want to plug into. I actually had the honor of playing a full set with Bugs Henderson, who plugged into that amp. Just friggin' awesome sounding - no pedals, just plug into the clean channel and crank it up.

Now Fender sells the same amp new, with better input jacks, and they sound every bit as good as the originals.