Picked up a 65 RI Deluxe Reverb. Looking to mod to get a warmer/less harsh sound.

[bigwebb]

Like the title says I picked up one of these the other day to go with my strat. Love the amp. Great clean sound. However, with the tube screamer I use engaged it is a little harsh sounding which is the main complaint of other owners of this amp. I've ordered a NOS JAN Philips 5751 tube to try to warm things up a little bit but am interested in some of the mod kits as well as replacement speakers available out there. Was hoping someone who has a similar setup (trying to emulate SRV tone) can guide me. Are the mod kits out there worth it? What other tubes should I replace? and with what kind? What kind of speaker would be a good replacement choice? I like the sound I get when I crank the amp to 7 or 8 but am hoping to be able to get a similar sound to come alive around 4 or 5 on the volume knob. Any input on how to attain my goals with this amp would be greatly appreciated.



-Daniel

 

[Jon C]

Weber C12N (? trying to remember the nos.: 12A150? 50W light dope?) has done the trick for me more than once in DR/ DRRI.

 

[mjt335]

Cannabis Rex!

 

[Sean French]

I can't recall in the DRRI has a bright cap on the volume.
If it does, simply clip one end.

 

[fiftynine]

The bright cap on the second channel might not help. If you don't use channel one, consider the mod to bring reverb to both channels. That way you've got channel one for drive/pedals (no bright cap) and channel two for bright cleans.

The CRex is a good shout and doesn't take too much away from the classic BF tone.

 

[thedroid]

If you like the sound of the amp but not the amp+pedal, I'd suggest a different pedal.

I'm assuming you've tried rolling off the tone on the TS.

 

[bigwebb]

the amp is a bit bright as well. like I said I have the same gripe as most which is that it is a little harsh. I'm looking at the weber f150 (i think thats what its called) and the cannabis rex as those are the two most heavily recommended. I can say that I love the sound of the amp around 7 or 8 without the pedal when it starts to really sing (and it seems some of the brightness goes away as well at these levels) I want a speaker that will keep that characteristic but maybe take a little of the harshness away and maybe even give the same characteristics at a lower volume like 4. Which one do you guys think will suite my needs the best? The Rex or the Weber? and if the weber should i go 25 watt or 50 watt?

 

[fiftynine]

Weber 12F150 with the T cone was my favourite. 25w is a bit brighter and louder than the 50w. That said, I never found a Weber I preferred over the cheaper and much more available Emi range for classic BF tones.

 

[djw]

I have had a Weber 12f150 and Blue Dog Ceramic in my DR, and I think they're both a bit harsh at times. I'm curious about the Eminence, if it's warmer than the Webers.

 

[bigwebb]

I have had a Weber 12f150 and Blue Dog Ceramic in my DR, and I think they're both a bit harsh at times. I'm curious about the Eminence, if it's warmer than the Webers.

good input. Anyone with the cannabis rex have anything to say about the warmth?

 

[proreverb68]

yup.

try a Weber ferromax same speaker model as above I think.

This will warm it up.

5171 is cleaner tube than 12ax7...it adds headroom... I think not so much warmness.

find an old rca 7021

If I'm remembering correctly.

and yeh they are expensive...because lots of people want them and the supply is going down...

Weber C12N (? trying to remember the nos.: 12A150? 50W light dope?) has done the trick for me more than once in DR/ DRRI.

 

[ianb]

C-Rex is a great speaker for warming up Fender amps.

Another trick is not to just clip the bright cap, but replace it with a lower value, I prefer around 100pf, sounds less harsh because it has less effect on the high mids. You might also consider sacrificing the second input on that channel for a bright switch, a 3-way with a middle off position and 2 different cap values does it for me.

I don't know if this is much more difficult on a RI, it's easy on a PTP amp.

 

[candid_x]

good input. Anyone with the cannabis rex have anything to say about the warmth?

Very warm, very big, but takes some doing to break it in so the highs comes through and sounds overall musical. Someone said about 80 hours playing/break-in time. I'd say that's pretty accurate. I ran another amp through it with drum/bass loops, plus let a lot of single coil 60 cycle hum and white noise run through it (something I read that the late Ted Weber did), in addition to playing through it a whole lot, before I liked it enough to switch it back to the DRRI.

 

[candid_x]

C-Rex is a great speaker for warming up Fender amps.

Another trick is not to just clip the bright cap, but replace it with a lower value, I prefer around 100pf, sounds less harsh because it has less effect on the high mids. You might also consider sacrificing the second input on that channel for a bright switch, a 3-way with a middle off position and 2 different cap values does it for me.

I don't know if this is much more difficult on a RI, it's easy on a PTP amp.

I believe the stock DR/RI only uses a 47pf bright cap.

 

[Cottage]

The stock Jensen is a great match for that amp, once its broken in. Just clip the bright cap on the Vibrato channel and fiddle with the tone knobs. It'll sound great once you get it wound up. They never sound good to me until you get 'em past 6.

 

[Citizen_Insane]

First things first, which channel are you using? If you're using the vib channel then you need to clip the bright cap, fixed all my problems.

 

[gatornavy]

Adjust bias, turn up. My DRRI sounds pretty freakin' great stock.

 

[Bandalero]

I'm not sure that I've ever seen a single subject here on TGP that has been 'beaten-to-death' as vigorously or as frequently as this one has. There must be at least 200 threads addressing this very same topic ad nauseum . . .

a) Bright cap clip
b) Fritz mod
c) Speaker swap
d) Different pre-amp tubes

The sheer redundancy of it all is reaching an 'Epic' level.

 

[Joe L]

C- Rex and a 12AY7 in V1

 

[bigwebb]

I think I'm going to go with a c rex speaker and I purchased a JAN Philips 5751 tube for v2 earlier today.

On a side note. I've been playing exclusively through the ts808 reissue that my wife got me since I bought this amp a few days ago. I decided to throw my old analog man modded ts9 on to give it a try and much to my surprise the modded ts9 blows it out of the water. Why would this be? I thought the used the same chip? Anyway the overdrice on the ts9 is so much smoother and less harsh and warmer. If it weren't a present from my wife I would take the ts808 back.