Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm about to get rid of my Fender Blues Jr. and upgrade to a bigger fender tube amp and I would like everyone's help deciding which way to go. Currently, my 2 top contenders are a '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue and a '59 Bassman Reissue. I'm sure all you guitar players out there have opinions on this. I'm not interested in Marshall, Orange, Mesa, Laney, etc. I just want opinions on Fenders. Also, if anyone's got a Fender tube amp they are looking to get rid of, I've got a couple of tradable items including a Fender '62 Tele Custom (japanese), Fender Blues Jr. (with footswitch and cover), and a Warwick Corvette Standard FL 4.

Hey Brian..two very different sounds....the '65 DR has well...reverb and a nice tremolo..the sound is tighter, more focused then your other choice. The Bassman reissue is more open and woody sounding....and is the one I would buy IF I could live w/o the reverb...if you go for the Bassman please get the ltd version..not only looks better with the lacquered tweed but most important has a tube not ss rectifier...this is important on this model..good luck!

I myself, am a fan of the BF era, having had a '66 Bandmaster and currently an early '70s Princeton Reverb that in reality has the '60s BF circuit, something a lot of poeple don't know. I did briefly try a '59 BM RI but to me the quintessential Fender tone is the BF amps. Part of that I am sure is due to the reverb and the wonderful bias modulated tremolo on the PR amp.

The original BF Fenders are my fave also...it's all I play. The reissues are different as is the tweed Bassman,,natch. I think Fender did a much better job w/the LTD Bassmans then they did with the DR reissues...for me anyway. If I was after a DR now, I would look for a clone built point to point...

I've got a blackface Bandmaster ('66) and a blonde Dual Showman, both courtesy of George (above). I used to have a '60 light brown Pro (15" JBL). Those three about sum it up for me re: Fender faves.

Yeah, mid 60's Fenders for me, I like the black face Fenders, white's sound nice too. I've had black Showman's, Bassmans,s Bandmaster's and the little one (forgot the name), early silver faced amps sound pretty good too.

After trying ALL of them, I ended up with a new Fender Super Sonic.
3 Channels: Vibrolux, Bassman, and 'modern'.

It has a gorgeous tone and is as close to 'soul mate' as I've found in an amp.

After trying ALL of them...

Did you try a real '60s era BF amp?

The Super Sonic is getting good reviews...Jeff Beck's been playing through one...

Didn't like the Hot Rod series. I have a Deluxe which is pretty nice.

The biggest mistake I've made in all my guitar collecting days was to sell my November '64 Strat with the matching '64 blackface Vibroverb - the one with the 15" JBL. What a perfect combination. Sigh.



I've also used the first reissue '59 Bassman and '63 brown tolex 2x10 Vibroverb. A great pair in stereo, but I wasn't keen on running the Bassman alone.

I reckon you should go for the Deluxe Reverb - it is a very versatile amp and easier to carry than the Bassman. I'm a stickler for both reverb and tremelo so for me it would be a one-horse race.

Yeah, I'm definitely leaning toward the Deluxe Reverb. I'm going to be using it mostly for recording and small gigs, so I don't really need a bassmn or a super reverb, but I've just always wanted a bassman.

My favorite has to be the Super Reverb. My friend and former band-mate had both an early silver face Super & a black face Vibrolux, among others.

The Vibrolux was a really sweet, beautiful sounding amp that was almost showroom new, but it didn't seem to handle his '69 LP Goldtop very well, but for single coil pups, it was a beautiful amp, though not really loud enough for stage use in that band. It seemed to lose some of that sweet, clean, rich quality when cranked.

The Super, however, was a real versatile workhorse with awesome classic tone at all volumes.
Twin Reverbs are nice, but those 4 10" speakers of the Super just sounded wonderful with any guitar: Gretsch, 335, LP, Strat, Tele,...

I may be out of place by recommending a Deluxe Reverb as I just sold my SFDR. In fact, I haven't even shipped it to the new owner yet as I'm awaiting payment. It has served me well the past 8 years and I hope that I will not regret selling it sometime down the road. However, it's been replaced by a 2x10 Victoria Victoriette (6L6s).

I love the new '65 Reissue Twin Reverbs.