Added: 3 years ago
From: johnhguitar
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  • where's the buzz coming from?

  • where's the buzz coming from?

  • John: I'm still waiting for you to test the Fender 22 Super Sonic amp. See if you can get your hands on one. Thanks.

    Ken, Toronto, Ont.

  • There's a BK Butler real tube reverb on ebay right now. Best reverb ever made. Somebody should grab that up if you have the cash. I sure don't.

  • smooth..congrats!

    

  • Great sound, do you have any of your own music for sale I could download ?

  • Go to john h guitar.com 

  • @johnhguitar Excellent, I appreciate it!

  • Nice!

  • John does the deluxe reverb reissue have a circuit board ? as U said the sf does not it is point to point, what is the ri circuit board ?

  • Yes it does have a circuit board but a lot of people think it doesn't make a difference. I've used both and they both sound good but different. The newer Deluxe Reverb is brighter and harder on the ears so to speak.

  • Do u think the deluxe reverb reissue sounds as good as this one ?

  • These older amps aren't quite as harsh as the new ones. i like both.

  • @UKToneHunter John does the deluxe reverb reissue have a circuit board ? as U said the sf does not it is point to point, what is the ri circuit board ?

  • Would U say the DRRI has a better sound clean than the HRDx, or would you say they are similar , what I mean is do U think the quality is equal, because the DRRI is £200 more than the HRDx, does it stand out quality wise, or is the quality equal, as if you bought a £400 amp, the quality of that amp would be no were near a HRDx, please get back asap, as I am considering selling my HRDx to get a DRRI, just need lots of info first, and a practice on the DRRI as well

  • PLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!

  • I've always been a Marshall and Orange guy....but I REALLY want a Deluxe Reverb. They have the best clean tone to be found without a doubt. Especially the Blackface.

  • Cool review - but of course there's absolutely no difference between PCB and point to point in terms of their effect on tone, it's just that point to point is more easily customisable

  • Nothin like a Fender through a Fender for pristine tone!

  • Slightly sounds like Christopher Walken

  • John, great demo

    Do you remember your treble and bass settings for this video?

  • Treble 5 Bass 3  ????

  • @johnhguitar please answer- will a fender sound good with a les paul with a proco rat or a bad monkey for modern stuff as well as blues? I kinda play all kinds of genres. Everything but jazz and metal really.

  • less talking more playing...

  • hey fantastic little thingy u played there. it reminds me of the ren and stimpy theme but slower....

  • Beautiful amp tone. If they could build a small practice version so i dont blow everyone out of the house.

  • @journeyquest1 they do, it's called a Princeton Reverb

  • @dkrumrie123 Thanks. I bought a super champ/. My friend tried to sell me his vibrosonic cheap but it is too loud and heavy.

  • wonderfull playing. you brought a better sound out of a 70's fender better than anyone on youtube. May i ask what were you playing from 3:05 till the end? or at least some of it?

  • This was all more or less a blues improvisation based on the chords of 'Stormy Monday'.

  • Excellent playing I really enjoyed listening to you play.

    Thank you for the review and great music.

  • Don't talk, just play it.

  • Very Good !!!

    Wich kind of pickups do you have, on your strat ??

    Thank's

  • how loud can this thing gets before the clean sound is gone

  • The amp starts to break up around 6. How loud is that? I don't have a way to measure it sorry.

  • @johnhguitar i appreciate the help it has a speaker output so its not a problem, thank you

  • Wow. Very nice-sounding rig you have there, although I personally prefer a little more dirt in my tone.

  • I really like your reviews. Very detailed. Thanks.

  • As always, you get what you pay for.

  • I agree about the ptp versus pc board. Ptp is not inherently better sounding, however, the old amps used ptp AND whatever components were available at the time. Many times military surplus which were really good quality and super heavy duty. Therein lies the diff. in my opinion. Today's pc board amp co.'s use cheap crap alot of the times and the sound suffers. But you look at Bogner and others that use quality parts and pc boards, tone is top notch.

  • These are sweet little amps. I picked one up in 78... really wanted a larger amp, but could't afford it. Happy camper now!

  • Sorry to jump in, but PTP built amps ain't better than a well designed PCB.

    PTP amps are more prone to noisy/rat nests than PCBs and unless you use a ridiculously horrible layout the tone will not change (especially in a lo-gain amp like this).

    PTP are more robust and easy to deal with in case of reapairing/modding, but certainly not better sounding just because components ain't attached to a board.

    In fact fender amps use tagboards.

    Very few manufacturers use pure PTP (sunn,matchless..)

  • this is a boost model so this particular amp aint 72, 73 try about 76 onwards

  • I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

  • @hq72hotmale

    You are correct, bout 78' onward. These amps are a dime a dozen.

  • If they made that 300$ cheaper for a day, they'd make a lot of money.

  • That is bull about electric going through Circuit boards compared to going through wires.

    HA Where did he go to school!!!!!!!!

  • Beautiful creamy tone, i believe you have to begin with this level of tone quality before you start to add overdrive etc, ie, the end result can only be an embelishment of the root tone, great classic amp and nice playing mate.

  • @musicfunkydude true that, although most of us doesn't start with a $1,000 dollar tube amp, that's the problem.

  • Strat + Deluxe Reverb = a perfect combination. I had a mint silverface DR when I was a teenager in the 1990s but I didn't understand tone and sold it. I thought it had a flabby low end when you cranked it. That was partly the speaker but mostly that's just how the old Fenders are...you have to learn to manage the low end. That was long enough ago that silverfaces were still seen as relatively undesirable. I bought it at a music store for $250 and sold it for the same. Wish I had it back.

  • wtf you mean "no necesario"?

    i mean, what's the point of demoing an amp or any other product if you don't want to show what it can do best??

  • There is a very practical reason to prefer a PTP amp over a PCB amp - serviceabiity. Any reasonably competent amp tech can take one of these old Fender PTP amps and do whatever needs to be done to bring it back to life in an afternoon. With a PCB amp? Not nearly so simple in many cases - and parts may be exceedingly difficult to find.

    About these DR's - too much of a one trick (blues) pony for me.

  • There is a very practical reason to prefer a PTP amp over a PCB amp - serviceabiity. Any reasonably competent amp tech can take one of these old Fender PTP amps and do whatever needs to be done to bring it back to life in an afternoon. With a PCB amp? Not nearly so simple in many cases - and parts may be exceedingly difficult to find.

  • I heard that its a bad idea to use both channels at once

  • @KedmenecMartin

    Yes, the two channels are out of phase with each other. Jumpering them won't hurt anything but it won't sound very good.

  • @1Doz

    I actually meant like if you use the amp for 2 guitars and plug the one guitar in the normal channel and the other in the vibrato channel.That realy hurts the amp :D

  • @KedmenecMartin

    It makes no difference. One guitar jumpered into both channels or two guitars into each channel --neither will hurt the amp.

  • wooow this guy talk so much.. show the review already!

  • the circuit board amps can have good sound but the traces have to be good quality and well spaced from each other.A good idea is to hand wire the output tubes and use high quality circuit boards for the preamp.

  • No point-to-point wiring in aircraft. I'm so sick of this pay so much more for hand wiring crap.

  • Wow. Study some physics or electronics before you talk about "bleed over". Point to point wiring can be the biggest source of electronic-magnetic crosstalk (Lenz's law) unless you route things correctly--EVERY TIME. A circuit board will give a repeatable signature, all things equal in terms of components. Durability and customizability, not tone, is the comparative issue. A thick, quality circuit board has excellent shock and corrosion durability.

  • lotsa hum.

  • Hi John, one question: I love this amp, but right now I play a MB Express 5:50 and I have bought a BOSS FDR-1 pedal. In your opinion: do you think, my combination can get the same sound as the FDR amp???

    Stupid question???? Hope not!

    Blues und Gruß Mike

  • Not familiar with either product sorry..........

  • I just noticed this but I have no idea sorry.

  • Is that a Fender Highway One Stratocaster?

  • I got the original 70s neck from a friend in Australia and assembled the rest of the guitar with parts the best I could. The body is a Bernie Hefner and the rest Fender custom parts. Thanks

  • John, speaking as an electronics technician of 25 years (and counting), I can assure you that the reason the original Deluxe Reverbs from the '70s vs. today has NOTHING to do with the modern versions of the amp having circuit boards. It's because the speakers of yesteryear were made differently back then. Also, companies no longer manufacturing various components (transistors, etc.). If you change most any component in the circuit (including the tubes), you change the sound.

  • I thought I said regarding old amps not having a circuit board? You know, point to point wiring? I figured that because a lot of newer amps have circuit boards, and the components were now different, because of that it changes things as far as sound is concerned right? A different speaker too?

    Why do you think o lot of people like that vintage sound better?

  • @johnhguitar Well, actually, it doesn't really matter if the amp has a circuit board or "point-to-point" wiring...the components are just not the same as they were a long time ago. Even the original amps really don't sound exactly the same as they did since their components have aged and changed. Even if you were to try and replace those components, you would still not quite be 100% successful. Play what ya like, but people like the "vintage" sound because they are just sheep. No offense.

  • I THINK YOU'VE SET YOURSELF UP FOR A VERBAL MASSACRE! THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WOULD TEND TO DIFFER. I LIKE WHAT YOU'VE EXPRESSED BUT DON'T BE SURPRISED AT HOW PEOPLE ARE GOING TO REACT TO THIS MR. AMPTECH! SHOULD BE FUN!

  • @johnhguitar Well, I'm not exactly aquainted with being "verbally masacred", but it sounds very unentertaining none the less. If any of these people that care to differ that actually has an education in this, they can feel free to do so. I don't want to go away with you thinking I was trying to insult you, just trying to make a correction. I have consulted others in my field, and they agree with me as well. By all means, you should play what ever setup you like. You don't have to agree.

  • Thanks for the friendly and thoughtful reply. I'm only talking about the people that swear by vintage amps. Thanks again.

  • @johnhguitar That's cool. I understand. I can also understand people swearing by the vintage amps. I personally am looking forward to buying my first higher end Fender amp (the new version of the Deluxe Reverb) which will be in a couple weeks. You have a good demo and good chops. Take it easy my friend and good luck to ya.

  • I actually learned some stuff thanks! :)

  • Very informative. I thought the talking and playing were both adequate. You discussed the amp in the beginning, and played the last two minutes. Don't listen to what those ADD kids like CODILLASKIN say. Nice blues, Man.

  • Thanks for the review...I'm seriously considering a Deluxe(getting sick of toting the Twin) seems like the Silverface has quite a bit more clean headroom...great info

  • If I bought one and turned the volume up would your voice come out the speakers? You make it seem that way.

  • don't dog him....he's giving a good review from his expertise on amps. he knows his stuff you should listen.

  • awesome playing man, keep it up

  • stop talking and let us listen to the sound of the amp!

  • It takes me 10 seconds to decide whether or not an amp or guitar sounds good. This isn't a concert anyway. It's a review.

  • These guys are so anal. I just want to hear the fucking amp!

  • Never heard that before regarding printed boards. Makes sense.

  • never cared for the later 70s ones used to wire the middles together

  • Beautiful tone! Great playing.

  • I agree, too much talk bro'. Had to skip it.

  • Good review - and wonderful ( !!) playing too. You tell us some of the things that are worth saying. I guess you are the best .

  • @johnhguitar you really do a great job, thanks from holland

  • I once played a 1963 Fender Stratocaster through this amp: best sound i will ever hear... HIGHLY reccomend this.

  • I've heard a million amps over my computer speakers. Thanks for the information. Some tone demo is OK too, but I appreciate the information.

    Big Ron

  • Less talk, more play please.

  • OK, but this is not a performance, it's a review. I don't really want to use the review format as an excuse to play but I try. The problem is it's hard to jack back and forth between a good review and a good performance. Try it sometime and you'll see what I mean. Thanks

  • @johnhguitar understood your purpose. i was misled by your title. and admittedly, i was watching demos of this amp prior to watching your video, hence my prejudice and unwillingness to accept a review more than a demo.

  • To some of you guys, first, dont blame the chinese if you find your amp sounds bad, it's the company's decision to use inferior components to bring down the cost.

    Second, circuit board is widely recommanded by many pro amp builders, that's to eliminate most of the production faults when amps are assembled by worker of monthly salary about $60USD in China, and that make sure the consistency of quality.

    If I were you, I would appreciate how they made those decent sounding amp more affordable.

  • Silver faces are much more cost efficient. My fav silver so far was a Super Reverb with 4 x 10s! The only amp I never tested was a Vibrolux. If you get the right one it can be a real singer.

  • that legendary all-fender clean sounds nice

  • PTP rules man... an old man who use to built amps in the 60's once told me that its the only way to build a valve amp. 800volt on a circuit board just causes wierd stuff to happen to the tone and dynamics.

  • thanks for the invite to join in recently. I've enjoyed the video's you've been producting for YT and the time you invest. Take care.

  • you are a great guitarist :D

  • My guitar is right behind you, I've got a Gibby SG just like that one.

  • in one of my first bands we plugged 2 guitars a bass and a mic into one four input alamo amp.

  • This video made me fall asleep. When I woke up this dude was still talking.

  • do the reissues have wiring opposed to circuitboards like you said?

  • That sounds so much better than my line 6 haha.

    I need some fender sound in my rig. Like now.

  • what about these solid-state amps with one tube in it to give the tube-distortion sound -- does that work decently? I miss the old days when all the hum and feedback and distortion made amplified guitar truly electric, like you were taking your life in your hands to go on stage and turn it up, it sounded ike something inside was about to explode

  • The beast sound for me is the amp cranked. The deluxe set on 7 so I don't blow it up is great!

  • @johnhguitar Hey John. I have two questions. How clear is the clean sound when playing at loud volumes and how much do I have to turn the volume to get a good distorted sound.(planning to use it for room as well)

    Oh yeah does it have an effects loop?

  • sounds ok but you got a buzzing sound in there maybe a faulty lead .

  • Damn that sounds great. Really tasteful playing as well.

  • jajaja, "no necesario"

  • I think it's awesome that you did the demo inside a YMCA shower room. The reverb is awesome!

  • Nice amp and nice blues playing. I just picked up a '69 Deluxe Reverb, it's nice! Thanks for the demo. TB

  • PTP is ALWAYS better but not because of "bleeding" or "tone" or whatever - it's because it is REPAIRABLE. Ask anyone who has had something fry or developed fissures on their PCB - impossible or extremely difficult fix. A lot of amp techs won't even go near 'em. A PTP amp is always fixable so they'll essentially last forever w/ upkeep and tubes. PCB amps are disposable

  • ogeskimo; that's good information and it makes sense, thanks. This amp sounds awesome

  • How does the reissue sound?

  • It's not bleeding. A PCB actually has less resistance than a PTP. However, what I believe johnguitar is talking about is the increased capacitance that the traces of a PTP create. PTP is not better than PCB as it is different sounding. Some prefer PCB and some prefer PTP. Although a PTP amp is more nostalgic and personal. : )

  • I need an opinion on what i should get. Right now i have a Squire Bullet Strat and a Hartke Amp. Idk what i should get a new tube amp or a new fender standard strat

  • It doesnt really matter...you know you'll buy both sooner or later!! :-)

  • guit

  • @thephamcookiemonster i'd say get the amp first

  • definitely amp. Think of your guitar as your tone source, and your amp as the gateway whch lets the tone through. You will not hear the wood and nuances of the Fender through a little POS hartke, but a good amp will let you get the most of what you have. Also, a tube amp feels different, and in most cases, it forces you to play cleaner.

    What kind of amp are you looking for?

  • I just got an amp by fender. the vibro champ

  • regardless of what amp you get,its gonna sound shityy,not saying squiers are bad,the CV series is the balls man,and even with a $400 guitar,itll sound bad through a cheap amp.Try a Kustom Contender "tube" amp,they sound amazing,and a used standard or classic vibe strat.A CV and the kustom should be less than $550

  • Yes, he can. I like the fingerpicking.

    He is correct about crosstalk being more pronounced on circuit boards. Good engineering solves it mostly, but improperly routed point to point wiring can also cause crosstalk and other inductive coupling, especially at the later stages, where there is appreciable current involved.

    Thanks for the demo, John and nice collection of guitars. I just got a Classic 1969 Telecaster Thinline (reissue); it is a beautiful guitar, and so easy to play.

  • WOW!!! Can this guy play or what???

    I pray to learn what he has forgotten.

  • I think it's the opposite, isn't it? You get bleeding with wires, and no bleeding with circuit boards.

  • sounds like the audio on this demonstration was made in the early 70's too

  • I have a 72-73 silverface twin the electronics are on an Eyelette board to give it stability but it is still point to point.

    your deluxe sounds alot more compressed my twin is so loud and clean I can use it in ANY gig situation

    great demo!

  • nice playing by the way

  • play the guitar!!

  • what year strat is that

  • The neck is a seventies and everything else is custom parts.

  • You have to be a beginner or from another planet to not know about one of the greatest small tube combos ever made.

  • a friend of mine uses one of these, unfortunately, oh its good for a litle room, or real small club, i almost hate reverb, from years of hearin his reverb, echo, way too high, an i said man, you need to rock, and it aint got enuff bottom for these big places we play, he has a blackface twin, an changed it to a 1,15 speaker, kinda vibroverb like huge chunky all you ever wanted tone, but he leave sit at home, cause of 20 more pounds weight or whatever, any fender with reverb on2 or more, no good..

  • flyfish777 - you gotta remember that reverb was a "new" thing for a whole generation of guitarists. More modern players have lived with it since the start. Anyone who has played surf music knows what 2+ reverb setting is for.

    This amp is not suited to big rock - one 12 inch speaker, that can rock, but not ROCK. Can't keep up with a quad box.

    And anyone who leaves their best sounding amp at home just bcos it's 20lb heavier is crazy IMO. Buy a trolley dude...

  • sounds like my 69 deluxe reverb.. wouldn't trade it for the world.

  • I have had mine for about 15 years it is also a 1978 and the stock speaker recently pooped out on me I ended up trying out a Altec 4178H and aside from the fact that it adds weight to the amp I love the Altec in the amp a little more head room than the stock speaker and just more range I mainly play teles through it and it spanks for that Don Rich tele bark....

  • i dont no about the amp but your voice has reverb too

  • I agree, you can't go wrong with a Deluxe Reverb. I have a 64, FEI, and love it. Sounds great when cranked. Just remember to use good 6V6s in them.

  • No Necesesario? Why, I mean it sounds great at low volume, But I would have liked to hear a bit of dirt to! oh well very nice playing!

  • really like the way you play the blues man. where'd you learn that nice chord comping style? i wanna listen to more of that stuff n learn a little bit too

  • becouse they sound good in the store but at home they wounld only get close to the sound I was listen to on CD toget the sound what the Pro's used! I listen to 50, 60, 70,80's music of all types! The amps that got closer to there's was the new pedals and the ptps they are far more better than any other pcbs amp out thereI

  • I am 34 years old every since I started playing the guitar Back when I was 12 years old and been throught countless of amps and my friends thought I was crazy becouse something didn't sound right something was missing! I pretty much growed up in many music stores looking for a realy good overdive amp becouse I love that Van Halen but I like to have a realy good clean channel as well! I worked night and day to buy amps

  • sorry, but this amp is one of the late 70ties, because the reverb-chanel has a push-pull volume for boost function. The weight of these amps is much higher - so they sound is a little bit like 'compressed'

    But nevertheless - good sound at all

  • very good, 1978 to be exact. We just recorded a new version of this review and looked up the serial#.

    -jc

  • The twin reverb 100w handles distortion much better... Use the bright switch.

  • just got one of these babies. i love this sucker. cranked it to 10, and got some of the most beautiful overdrive i've ever heard. overdrive pedals don't sound that great through the vibrato channel though, but through the normal channel they sound great!

  • do these amps handle distortion pedals well?

  • Try a Vintage Rat II

  • no thats why i had to sell mine......at least the one i had just could NOT do it

  • wow i learned alot from this

  • gosh i love it.

  • what's up with all the compression?

  • Probably the mic, anyways, youtube always compresses the crap out of the audio quality

  • I was horrified to find the Deluxe tweed reissue was 100% Circuit board. The Reissues are they point to point or chinese? WTF, should be a crime to build these amps in china now days or mexico...

  • i believe most of the fender reissues are circuit. just bought an old super - the new ones are circuit and sound thin and harsh when driven. not worth it if u ask me.

  • Try the Blues Jr very Small Amp but a butt Kicker in sound it's also a Tube amp

  • a little less conversation, a little more action please.

  • noticed a lot of hum.

  • fender supersonic is the way forward!!

  • that's a nice amp. but it's still not like this deluxe reverb. i've tried both.

  • i have one, and my m8 has a deluxe reverb, the supersonic is a much better more versatile amp, It cost about £300 more...

  • i have to admit, the versatility of the supersonic is great. but i just prefer the deluxe. the SS is great too, just not for me.

  • fair enough if you, personally, dnt like it, but the deluxe reverb is, by no shape or form, a better amp, it just has a wider eq band for clean tones.

  • never said that it is a better amp just fits my needs more.

  • you kinda did in the first comment, but anyway...

  • yeah, i hoped it wouldn't come off like that. just meant it still wasn't the same. didn't feel the same to me. guess im picky.

  • ok fair enough, this is why i hate talking to people on the internet!

  • Great video! Is that the original speaker in the amp? Thanks

  • Yes, original....

  • Just beautiful, been craving one of these for a long time, what gauge strings are you playing, and what size frets are those if you don't mind me asking? :)

  • 10's as far as the strings are concerned and 6150 is the fret wire size. Thanks...

  • less talky more play

  • I really love the sound of these amps. How good is the clean headroom on a deluxe reverb, bc I typically like to use a sweet sounding clean tone and use my keeley mod bd-2 pedal for overdriven sounds. Thanks for any info. Great playing btw. very sweet.

  • Beautiful tones bro, love the riffs and chords. Love it.

  • I know this is not what was being talked about but what year was that Fender?