DRRI & Tweed Deluxe Differences?

[tinkercity]

I'm looking to get my DRRI more along the lines of a vintage Fender Tweed Deluxe tone. Now, I know that it may be impossible and if those of you who have knowledge of the difference of a blackface circuit and tones vs. a tweed deluxe I'd greatly appreciate it. My knowledge of the difference is very little just in my liking the warmer tones.

A little about my DRRI. I've upgraded the all the tubes to NOS and put a Reverend Alltone in it. Great sounding amp and I may just need to get a tweed but for the sake of good old G.A.S. is there any way?

Would it help to change out the speaker? Something like a Weber Alnico maybe?

Cheers,
Mike.

 

[phalanges]

To quickly sum it up: Same brand, different circuit.
There are many excellent tweed replicas and kits for reasonable bucks.

 

[roadfilm]

The Tweed Deluxe is an unkempt hairy beast with jagged teeth. The DRRI is a well groomed clean shaven gentleman with capped teeth. Both awesome at what they do.

 

[Steve Dallas]

I think there are just too many differences to make that happen for you. Sorry.

 

[CADdrafter]

I've got a Clark Beaufort (premium tweed Deluxe clone) and my buddy has a premium blackface Deluxe Reverb clone (half built and tweaked by Dave Smith of Dabeck Amps). first off, both amps sound like angels singing.

my buddy's Deluxe Reverb: pristine, chime, sparkling cleans, midrange scooped OD but god does it sound good! she can get loud but cleans with a little hair on them is his amp's calling card. a lady in the street but a freak in the bedroom.

my tweed Deluxe: an all out no holds barred street walking whore. she gets mad......FAST.......over nuthin'! snarls, growls, spits, bites, punches me in the gut then takes all the money from my wallet. rich, organic, loose, fat in the midrange if you like your women "thick".

both circuits are famous and both style amps have been recorded millions and millions of times.

it all boils down to are you a tits man (blackface sound) or an ass man (tweed sound)? whichever camp you fall in you can't go wrong. (and both camps will defend their choice of tones to the death)

 

[re-animator]

tweeds are ratty and raw. They can be very pissed off sounding.... but have tons of dynamic range.

blackfaces have a mid scooped "clean" (even when its distorted) sounding vibe.


blackface amps like the DR have a mid scoop/gain eating preamp to keep things tight and clean. Tweeds are loose in the bass and compress more.


There is a mod you can do to a DR, to bypass the tone controls on one channel and get it a much tweedier vibe... and you still get the blackface sound on the other channel.

 

[tinkercity]

There is a mod you can do to a DR, to bypass the tone controls on one channel and get it a much tweedier vibe... and you still get the blackface sound on the other channel.

Very interested in this part... Could this mod be done on a DRRI w/the circuit boards etc...? I think maybe I'm just in the market for a bit more midrange and a little more snarl... i.e. less of the scooped mid but not completely changing the tonal characteristic of the amp's circuit. Thinking of changing the Alltone too...been looking at Alnico's. I love the Celestian blue but a little afraid of popping it.

 

[dk123123dk]

Maybe rewire it to Allen specs with a Raw knob?

 

[Rick360]

Howdy,

Never played a tweed Deluxe, but everyone says i should have one. See, i'm a Keef disciple currently getting my Ya-Ya's out through a SF Vibro Champ. Sounds great, btw. I've owned two SF Deluxes and was somewhat disappointed in thier harsh overdriven tones and lack of headroom. I know, I know, doesn't make sense.
CADDrafter's review is a riot! On a more serious note, I'm nervous about shelling out big dough for an amp i've never played which also has so little headroom. I've played a Carmen Ghia and loved it, fwiw.

Rick360

 

[jazzwannabe]

I've got a Clark Beaufort (premium tweed Deluxe clone) and my buddy has a premium blackface Deluxe Reverb clone (half built and tweaked by Dave Smith of Dabeck Amps). first off, both amps sound like angels singing.

my buddy's Deluxe Reverb: pristine, chime, sparkling cleans, midrange scooped OD but god does it sound good! she can get loud but cleans with a little hair on them is his amp's calling card. a lady in the street but a freak in the bedroom.

my tweed Deluxe: an all out no holds barred street walking whore. she gets mad......FAST.......over nuthin'! snarls, growls, spits, bites, punches me in the gut then takes all the money from my wallet. rich, organic, loose, fat in the midrange if you like your women "thick".

both circuits are famous and both style amps have been recorded millions and millions of times.

it all boils down to are you a tits man (blackface sound) or an ass man (tweed sound)? whichever camp you fall in you can't go wrong. (and both camps will defend their choice of tones to the death)

This might be the coolest amp review I've ever seen.

 

[tinkercity]

This might be the coolest amp review I've ever seen.

:RoCkIn I know eh? Loved these descriptions and it totally hits the nail on my DRRI. What do you guys think of Alnico's in a DRRI?

 

[strattoad]

CADdrafter has outdone every review,article,or opinion i have ever read or heard on this subject. Short an to the point. Tweed has big swinging ass,Bf nice and tight. Is it a whiskey nite, or a wine nite?I have to leave now and clean up my computer screen,that happens when you blow coffee through your nose laughung.

 

[daddyo]

I'd either get an Allen with the raw knob or a DRRI and a stomp box for the raw tweeds. Or both amps in true TGP style.

 

[go7]

The Tweed Deluxe is an unkempt hairy beast with jagged teeth. The DRRI is a well groomed clean shaven gentleman with capped teeth. Both awesome at what they do.

I have both. Just couldn`t go through life without a 5E3. Over 40 years have owned many 5E3 incl. originals. I currently am very happy to play a clone [Mission ].
The DRRI; I really tried not to like this amp [cork sniffer], my buddy had one. Gave in and got one. Have sold my "boutique" stuff. Really fine sound.
These 2 amps are completely different , which I find a good thing.
Making 1 sound like the other.. not a snowballs chance in hell.

 

[5E3]

I have both a DRRI and TD (Richter). As others have said they are quite different. If I were forced to choose one or the other, the DRRI is more versatile for me. YMMV

 

[Telecaster62]

Wow 5E3, with those two I could cover any gig.

 

[tommytomcat]

It would be a pain to do on a DRRI, if not impossible... But, the closest you can come would be putting an allen raw control mod say on the normal channel. The raw control is simply a pot placed between the tonestack and ground. Up the resistance, less gain/freq are bled off to ground, you get a progressively bigger midrange boost. I haven't read all the posts, but the circuits are very different.

Deluxe Reverb: guitar > preamp > tone stack that drops mids big time > tone stack recovery preamp > reverb mixer > reverb recovery preamp > long tail phase inverter = signal comes off the plate of the two trodes > power tubes.

Tweed deluxe: guitar > preamp w/treble bleed tone cotrol which doesn't kill gain nearly as much as a tone stack > PI preamp > split tail/cathodyne PI - signal comes off the plate and cathode of a single triode.

FWIW, the sound of the two PI's is very different.

 

[Totally Bored]

Pull the 5AR4 rectifier in your DRRI and put in a 5Y3 and ReBias your amp.

It will drop your volts and you'll loose some headroom and it will give you lots more sag like the old Tweed amps.

 

[5E3]

Wow 5E3, with those two I could cover any gig.

"Thank you, thank you very much!"
:BEER

 

[tinkercity]

Pull the 5AR4 rectifier in your DRRI and put in a 5Y3 and ReBias your amp.

It will drop your volts and you'll loose some headroom and it will give you lots more sag like the old Tweed amps.

Interesting.... I will look into this. Is there any way to get more midrange out of a DRRI? Is there a mod to take some of that scoop out?