"TONES OF CREAM"

I tested this amp out at my local music store (GC) and knew right away this was my next purchase. So I called up Dave at Sweetwater to make my purchase. Because, well after getting the kind of service you get from Sweetwater, I would feel like a real cheater not to give them all my business. BEST SERVICE AVAILABLE HANDS DOWN. Now about the amp. If your looking for a " Deep Clean Reverb Tone " this is the amp. Two channels clean and drive, the drive is not too much, just breaks up slightly with my Deluxe Strat. Heavy Metalers buy something else. I use the clean channel with my pedals to make a clean tone and an overdriven tone. on the drive channel I keep it dialed back clean and adjust the seperate volume knob low so I have a seperate channel for my E-Bow to keep the volume levels close together when switching back and forth. This amp sounds great anyway you play it, adding effect pedals or just plain Tube Tones. Buy it, you won't regret it.

I Need The Tweed

Wanted the tone of a vintage Fender tweed amp, like the Twin Amp, or the '57 and such. But those guys cost like large chunks o' change. This amp is priced fairly right, looks perfect, has great appointments, is almost all "toob" and has the powuh to roll yer eyeballs if needed, and it's got the . . . "tone." I love this amp! It's clean channel is so clean you want to record every sound for posterity. True vintage Fender vibe. When distortion and such is required, just add your favorite pedal in the effects loop and away you go. The covering is very well done too. No sloppy workmanship here.

Lot of amp for little money

If you want vintage, 'boutique' tone for not a lot of change, this is where you get it. C'mon, it's a Fender! They wrote the book on amp design back in the formative days of rock 'n roll! For me, I keep everything stock, and this amp is definitely at its best when cranked--the 'normal' channel emanates a warm, sparkly, spongy yet crunchy overdrive when maxed out, which is just the ticket for classic rock, punk, or hard blues. The 'drive' channel, with both gain and master knobs maxed, gives even more compression and warmth, though it may be too throaty and not focused enough for metalheads. It's great as a lead channel. Playing at max (if possible) also helps wear in the speaker and tubes, so that when going back to playing at bedroom volumes, you can get even more warmth and responsiveness. At low volumes, of course, the 'normal' channel exudes those pristine Fender cleans, and the 'drive' channel sounds very much like the 'normal' channel when cranked. The only complaints I have are that a resonance knob would be useful, as well as a half-power switch.

Roots!

This, right here, is the Sound of Rock & Roll. This is what you want if you play classic Roots rock, especially from the 1950's - 1970's era. No compromises in tone or punch, and it has PLENTY of power to get you heard. If you play any kind of classic rock, you smply can't beat this amp for the price. Period.

It looks the part, too. Sure, it's not as flashy as a Mesa TA-30, but it has a classic vibe and elegance that makes you want to just jack up and roar.

My only quibbles - 1) it;s hard to control at low volumes. In the basement, or garage, you will have the Master between 0 & 1, and it's touchy in that limited range. Solution: a volume pedal, or gain-sucking buffered effects pedals. 2) The channel selector button is parked right in between two knobs - one of which is the Master. Solution: use a channel-switching pedal.

Two MINOR issues (and half a star), against an absolutely fantastic amp. And c'mon, what do you really need to worry about? THIS is the Sound of Rock & Roll.

I smile every time I hear it.

Fender Blues Deluxe RI - Classic Fender Tone without the Bite

I bought this amp new a little over a year ago for that classic Fender clean and a crunch that I could use. I play a lot of blues and classic rock. This amp fits the bill. It is NOT light, it is LOUD, it sounds GREAT at home or at gigging levels.
I used a variety of pedals in front of this amp and eventually went back to the just a tuner and Blues Driver. The BDRI does the rest. Great tone, multiple tones and responsive to different guitars. I play an Am Dlx Strat, Am Tele and Gibson LP Std thru this amp and it responds very differently to each guitar. The best combination is with the tele. You can get great rocking/blues tones as well as classic rock crunch. I use the clean channel 90% of the time and use the Blues Driver or sometimes a FullDrive 2 Mosfet to get the crunch I need for rock.
Fender has done a great job with this little gal. She is ultra sweet.

Great value

I look for an amp that has a good clean tone to build off of that still can get a nice subtle tube "drive" at higher volumes. This amp has the ability to provide that but, like most stock amps, requires a little tinkering to get the best results. I swapped out the stock speaker for a Jensen C12K (very clean and powerful speaker), upgraded the power tubes to JJ's and RAISED the bias (it comes biased VERY cold from the factory), and then swapped out the 12AX7 preamp tubes for two JJ's 12AT7 - this lowers the gain in the preamp stage and has the greatest impact on providing more headroom.

This amp definitely has the quality of the "fender clean" but it is darker and less spikey than the Hot Rod Deluxe. More useable in my opinion. It is designed to have the "Tweed" character in its stock form so it will breakup rather early (around 4 on the volume) if played stock.

Depends on what you want, really. For just the "dirty blues" thing a la bassman/tweed tone - it's fine stock (maybe just a speaker change). But if you want more versatility then it will be great with just a few mods (total cost was less than $200 for the tubes and speaker). For me it has worked very well with all pedals and, with the mods, provides just the right amount clean headroom and slight breakup at around 6 or 7 on the volume so it is useable with a band in a decent sized venue. Great looking amp, not too heavy, not too expensive.