Vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb

[Brock]

I've been getting into some vintage amps and reissues because each one does what it does best. I was curious about Fender blackface Deluxe Reverb and what they sell for because the new Custom Shop ones can be purchased for around $2,500. I figured the vintage one may be a little more. I looked on Reverb (I know some sellers are asking too much) to see what a vintage ones have sold for and they go for crazy money at times. Why are they selling for so much money? Lets say for an original, non modified 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb. Are they worth what people are asking and will they ever come down so some can get ahold and play some of these older amps? Appreciate your thoughts...

 

[rickc007]

Highly doubt they will come down.
i have a 1964, great amp.
also have the new hand wired version.


I get the pricing of them, you can get them for under $3000

ive seen Princeton reverbs even higher, some consider them the holy grail studio amp.

there is also a vibe to playing through the old stuff, specially if you’re an old guy like me

 

[HotBluePlates]

... the new Custom Shop ones can be purchased for around $2,500. I figured the vintage one may be a little more. I looked on Reverb ... Why are they selling for so much money? ....

IMO, it's because Fender put a $2500 price tag on their handwired copy. So folks figure their vintage amp must be "worth more."

I bought a 1964 Deluxe Reverb for $2500 in 2017. Fender came out with the handwired version later that year at NAMM. Sellers immediately started asking for $3000+.

I suspect Fender waited until the price on vintage amps rose to a level where they could profitably price/produce a handwired version, then released that amp.

Used to be that you could buy a 1960s blackface Princeton Reverb for $800-1000, and at the same time, used 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissues were $600. Fender didn't make handwired reissues at the time because they would cost more than the original, vintage item.

 

[Brock]

IMO, it's because Fender put a $2500 price tag on their handwired copy. So folks figure their vintage amp must be "worth more."

I bought a 1964 Deluxe Reverb for $2500 in 2017. Fender came out with the handwired version later that year at NAMM. Sellers immediately started asking for $3000+.

I suspect Fender waited until the price on vintage amps rose to a level where they could profitably price/produce a handwired version, then released that amp.

Used to be that you could buy a 1960s blackface Princeton Reverb for $800-1000, and at the same time, used 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissues were $600. Fender didn't make handwired reissues at the time because they would cost more than the original, vintage item.

I like your reasoning.

 

[buddyboy]

I love my 1965 DR. I bought it about 6-7 years ago for about $2,300, IIRC. It's very clean. It is the last in a long chain of old DR amps I've owned over forty years (first was a brand-new pull boost 1978). I removed the original Oxford and have put in a bunch of different speakers over the years. I'm glad they have appreciated over $3,000 today. I have a beautiful amp, which I gig all the time, which also is appreciating in value. I use an amp cover when I take it out and don't put drink/beer bottles on it (unlike the old days, lol).

What really surprises me are the guys asking close to full price for old Fenders with changed grill cloths, changed baffles, transformers, etc. Some of the prices of those are pretty ridiculous, in my book. But, a clean, mostly original old Fender is a great amp. I would certainly pony up and buy one of those as opposed to a hand-wired RI for almost as much.

 

[fiveightandten]

The going rate is not likely to go down. Yes, Reverb sellers are asking too much in many cases, but you also have to put into prospective the convenience of buying one. You basically have the following options:

-Reverb or eBay
-An online shop
-Forum classifieds
-Local classifieds (Craigslist, OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, etc.).
-A local shop

I'd say those are in order from easiest to least likely, but it depends on where you live. I have a '65 BF Standard Deluxe (non-reverb) that I happened to find locally in Craigslist. I also have a '67 BF Deluxe Reverb that I bought off Reverb. I looked for a while and nothing came up locally or in forum classifieds. Everything I saw online from shops was either priced higher than Reverb, or was gone before I could pull the trigger.

So you can search around for months and months and potentially save a few hundred bucks, or you can open yourself up to the majority of the amps out there for sale and wait for something reasonable. And there are some reasonably priced amps on Reverb/eBay. I got my Deluxe for $1,400 and the DR for $2,400, both in the summer of last year. Both had replacement speakers but original transformers. The original Oxfords are inefficient and aren't super robust, so having factory speakers would've just been so I could put the speaker in a box. I was ok with the replacements, one of them a period correct Jensen C12N.

I would recommend the following:
-Find what you can within what you consider a reasonable price (which at this point may be <$3K, realistically).
-Original transformers or pass
-Nothing that looks like it was used as a boat anchor. Watch out for rust or moisture damage to the cabinet.
-Any other deviations from factory are at your comfort level (changed speaker, grille cloth, signal caps, etc.)
-Plan on budgeting a trip to the tech if you're not handy with a soldering iron. Recap the electrolytics in the dog house and bias supply, check the power supply and output section resistors. Reflow any solders where the board is flexed or warped, or potentially even the whole board. I'm handy with this stuff and my DR came to me with some issues that were an easy fix for me, but would've been a trip to the tech if I wasn't familiar with working on amps. Shipping is rough on amps so a 55+ year old amp that was fine when it left the seller, may have some gremlins to sort when it arrives. Plan accordingly.

Here are the amps I picked up. My other amps have been collecting dust since I got these, both sound fantastic.

 

[steam boat]

I have an all original 64 DR in great condition that I’d list for $5k if I were looking to sell right now.

 

[DiPa]

Fender 64 HW DR increased price to $3K.