65' DRRI - Disappointed.

[fiveightandten]

The speaker is pretty lackluster and the amp is greatly improved with any decent speaker swapped in there. But "muffled" definitely isn't how I would describe any DR. IMO the DRRIs are overly bright.

 

[Wyatt Martin]

Good call on sending it back. I wish I would have done the same with my Twin Reverb RI.

A broke in speaker or speaker swap will make a difference but even still if a person isn't initially happy at the first play through with the new amp/stock speaker odds are slim you'll change your mind once the speaker breaks in.

It would never occur to me to buy an amp I wasn't initially happy with thinking maybe it would sound better later.

 

[DiPa]

I think the C12K in the DRRI is a muddy mess. Did you try it through any other cabs/speakers?

Yeah before returning it, at least try a different speaker so you can know

 

[ken374]

You can't run the bass high more like 2.5

 

[Guitar Dave T]

Speaker break in - Not my experience. If anything, new speakers sound too present and spiky - Breaking them in helps smooth them out. Never had one sound too distant.

Hum - Could be normal transformer hum, but IME, despite other issues I have with the DRRI construction, it's a relatively quiet amp by design. Hum is most often caused by mismatched power tubes, but can also be an out-of-box bad filter capacitor.

With both of these issues presenting on the same brand new amp, you did what I would've done - returned it.

Are you getting a replacement? If so, let us know how it goes.

 

[Geetarpicker]

It sounds like something was wrong with that amp. Especially at low volumes on the vibrato channel you will typically have a little too much extreme top end, with say the bass and treble at 4-6. Once you get the volume control up to 3-4, less of the signal passes through the bright cap, and the highs should seem a bit more natural. Once you get the amp up to band levels it may sound best with the bass knob backed down, and dime he volume and it might sound best with the bass on 0-4. The normal channel doesn’t have a bright cap, plus it’s lacking a preamp stage and will typically have less gain and less high end, Typically you should barely hear any hum on these, and if you do hear hum it’s more likely being picked up by the guitar.

 

[ken374]

Dont know why fender puts JJ high gain tubes in these amps, dont need to be any warmer and extra bass.

 

[Rubeus Hagrid]

Good call on sending it back. I wish I would have done the same with my Twin Reverb RI.

A broke in speaker or speaker swap will make a difference but even still if a person isn't initially happy at the first play through with the new amp/stock speaker odds are slim you'll change your mind once the speaker breaks in.

It would never occur to me to buy an amp I wasn't initially happy with thinking maybe it would sound better later.

I'm not the type of person who tweaks gear, so I'd likely never do a speaker swap. I either like it from the factory or it goes back.

What's weird is that the one I tried at the store seemed to sound much better.

 

[Rubeus Hagrid]

Are you getting a replacement? If so, let us know how it goes.

No replacement.

I think this experience has made me realize that I'm probably not going to find an amp that I like better than the ones I already have.

 

[Tone_Terrific]

No replacement.

I think this experience has made me realize that I'm probably not going to find an amp that I like better than the ones I already have.

There is only so much good tone to find and you may have already found all of it.

 

[HotBluePlates]

There is only so much good tone to find and you may have already found all of it.

Sorry, I've been using more than my quota...


Zero-Sum Tone

 

[snow and steel]

I get these in backline. The formula is simple. Plug into the normal channel, volume 3, bass 2, treble 4 [to start]. Play. if it needs more treble [depends on your pickups] you can go up - I've never been able to play one with the treble higher than 6 - if it needs less go down... My Deluxe [non reverb] I often play with the treble OFF! I've never wanted to move the bass much off '2', ever.

If that sounds good, then you can try the "reverb" channel, but it has a bright cap on it and it will not only sound different, but different at various volumes, and the bright cap can REALLY mess with your pedal tones.

Honestly, I always just plug into the "normal" side.... boring but it works and works damn well.

 

[big mike]

Not my experience at all.
Though it did sound better for me with a Scumback m75.

Sold it mainly because I’m really a Marshall guy

 

[Rockies]

DRRI doesn't sound good under 3.5 on the volume, at which point it's probably too loud for home practice.

 

[Steve73]

Yeah, get rid of the Jensen first and put in an Eminence Gasc-64. Then bias the amp hotter and it should sound light years better

 

[davidespinosa]

I was expecting a bright, near pristine clean.

That's exactly how a working Deluxe Reverb sounds.

What's weird is that the one I tried at the store seemed to sound much better.

There's nothing weird about it. You got a defective one.

No replacement.

I think this experience has made me realize that I'm probably not going to find an amp that I like better than the ones I already have.

You can't draw a rational conclusion from a defective amp.

 

[Fowleri Is God]

I am surprised that the #1 answer after spending that much money on an amp, especially one with such a well deserved good reputation- is some variation of “spend more money on it”. It should be great, and in this situation where it is not for whatever reason (I suspect something is wrong with it) I personally wouldn’t go deeper into the hole trying to “fix” it out of the box.

 

[davidespinosa]

I am surprised that the #1 answer after spending that much money on an amp, especially one with such a well deserved good reputation- is some variation of “spend more money on it”. It should be great, and in this situation where it is not for whatever reason (I suspect something is wrong with it) I personally wouldn’t go deeper into the hole trying to “fix” it out of the box.

Question 1: Is the amp working as intended ?

Question 2: Can we modify this amp to sound better ?

These are very different questions.

 

[Fowleri Is God]

Question 1: Is the amp working as intended ?

Question 2: Can we modify this amp to sound better ?

These are very different questions.

Indeed.

For me, purchased brand new for “real” amp money, it would have to be 99% of the way there. I wouldn’t keep something hoping that upgrading things would get me where I hoped to be in the first place… But used, cheap, or free? Game on.

 

[Alan Dunn]

What's weird is that the one I tried at the store seemed to sound much better.

Probably just the difference between a speaker that had been broken in and one that hadn't.
DRRI is a great amp but does its best work at much higher volumes than most would be comfortable playing at home.