Review of 65 Fender Twin RI, 65 & 68 Deluxe Reverb RI, & 65 & 68 Princeton RI

[Revelation Sound]

I recently have spent some time with the Fender reissue amps and I wanted to provide my opinion on them after trying them out with single coil and humbucking guitars. Opinions may vary:

Fender Twin 65 RI: This is a wonderful clean sound amp with lots of headroom, it looks great, has the tilt option, a wonderful tremolo, reverb, and can be loud while still being clean. 4 6L6 tubes in this unit which help provide that classic tone. Though the amp is heavy, it’s not any heavier than most two 12” speaker amps, or even the heavier Mesa Boogie Mark V combo with one 12” speaker. Granted you may want to add wheels to it or use a cart to move it if you are doing gigs. It has that wonderful chime, a sparkled sound that sounds amazing with any guitar I tried it on. Outputs 2 are quieter than output 1. The sound of the amp can sound a little more forward sounding with the tremolo off. Turn it on with the intensity on 0 and it will smooth out the sound a little more. This amp takes pedals very well from a Valvetronix pedal board, to a Mesa Boogie Flux Drive. No other amp on the market has the character of this amp. So if you want the Fender tube sound, this is the amp to get. I replaced my Fender Twin (red knobs) with this amp, and the clarity and sparkle on the RI was a big step up.

65 Deluxe Reverb RI: This is the smaller brother of the 65 Twin RI. With only 22 watts and one 12” speaker, it is lighter and easier to carry around. It still has the clean chime tone with some decent headroom up to volume 4. This is a good amp for small gigs, playing at church or at home. Around volume 4, it starts breaking up and at this setting and higher it can sounds great for rth guitar punch on multiple types of guitars. Push it up to volume 8 and now it can sound great for an aggressive lead guitar as well. This amp also takes pedals very well. If the 65 Fender Twin RI is too much or heavy for you, this would be a great option. The distortion of this amp keeps the bright chime character on every volume setting. Really like this amp.

68 Deluxe Reverb: This amp is silver faced has a celestion speaker and breaks up faster than the black faced version. The clean sound does not have the same bright chime tone but it gets you faster to the break up distortion. The input 1 on the left provides a slightly darker sound. This may be a better choice if you want more of a rockin sound. This seems to be Fender’s version of hot rodding their own amp. I would choose this amp if you want this crunchier tone and your not as concerned about that sparkled Fender sound. This amp also takes pedals well and will provide a more aggressive sound compared to the standard RI with the same settings along with your pedals.

Princeton RI is the smallest brother and is similar to the Deluxe RI however with it its 10 inch speaker and 12 watts, you will get a different sound that is lighter in tone over the Deluxe Reverb DI. This amp has been used on countless recordings over the years as well. Believe it or not this amp can get loud. With having less headroom than its bigger brother, it also breaks up faster. This is a great amp for home or studio use when you want distortion at a lower volume. It still is able to produce some nice sounding clean tones up to about volume 4. With the smaller speaker and lower wattage than the Deluxe Reverb RI it provides a pleasant brighter sound with less low end.

Princeton 68: This unit rocks more than the standard reissue version. You generally need to bring down the treble a bit to get some better sounds out of it. It is another great studio amp or small club setup with a PA. This like the DR 68 lacks some of the cleaner bouncy tone, so depending on what you are looking for, one will be better suited for you over the other. I would choose this amp as a second amp for someone who already has a bigger amp with more headroom and clean tones.

There are some who feel the original amps from the 1960’s or early 1970’s sound the best. Though many older amps do have a certain tone you may prefer, they all sound different due to the aged parts, how worn the speakers are, and if newer parts were installed over the years due to wear/tear, or updates to the amps. My opinion is that the Fender company has gone in the right direction with these reissue amps. Granted not one amp will provide the sound that every guitar player is looking for, these Fender amps have been used on thousands of recordings in rock, jazz, country, and blues which says a lot.

[Don]

Nice review! Thanks!

[Offshore Angler]

Mr. Sound,

I'm interested in knowing what your type of music is and experience.

For me, a DRRI can - and has - been used for anything from small clubs to outdoor venues with thousands of people. I can't think of a modern situation where I would want any more than a DRRI can deliver for stage volume. Give me a DRRI and a Classic 30 A/B'd and/or in stereo and I'm ready for anything.

Conversely, I haven't found very many uses for a Twin. IMHO, it's a dinosaur relic ( albeit a GREAT sounding one!) from a day when we didn't have the sound systems we do today. And that's coming from a guy who had a surf band at one time. (I sure miss Mikey!)

While I promise to be open-minded, I don't see any value in an amp once it starts to drown out the drums. Many huge concerts are played with small amps, look at Paisley - he uses a TrainWreck.

Also, if you can use a DRRI for home use - your wife is more tolerant than mine. They're loud little suckers. I rarely gig with mine past 3, and some people here who have seen and heard me will attest that at 3 it's killing them in a live setting.

I think Princeton's are lovely little amps but can be a little hard to mix into the stage. Fun for rehearsals or recording though.

My favorite Fender for recording is far and away the Champ. THAT's the sound of my 70's guitar heroes.

It's all good, as long as you dig what you dig we got your back!

[Revelation Sound]

Mr. Sound,

I'm interested in knowing what your type of music is and experience.

For me, a DRRI can - and has - been used for anything from small clubs to outdoor venues with thousands of people. I can't think of a modern situation where I would want any more than a DRRI can deliver for stage volume. Give me a DRRI and a Classic 30 A/B'd and/or in stereo and I'm ready for anything.

Conversely, I haven't found very many uses for a Twin. IMHO, it's a dinosaur relic ( albeit a GREAT sounding one!) from a day when we didn't have the sound systems we do today. And that's coming from a guy who had a surf band at one time. (I sure miss Mikey!)

While I promise to be open-minded, I don't see any value in an amp once it starts to drown out the drums. Many huge concerts are played with small amps, look at Paisley - he uses a TrainWreck.

Also, if you can use a DRRI for home use - your wife is more tolerant than mine. They're loud little suckers. I rarely gig with mine past 3, and some people here who have seen and heard me will attest that at 3 it's killing them in a live setting.

I think Princeton's are lovely little amps but can be a little hard to mix into the stage. Fun for rehearsals or recording though.

My favorite Fender for recording is far and away the Champ. THAT's the sound of my 70's guitar heroes.

It's all good, as long as you dig what you dig we got your back!

My style of music is blues like Eric Clapton, BB King, Stevie Ray, to rock - Stones, Beatles, Journey, Jeff Beck, and jazz - George Benson, Lee Ritenour, and Larry Carlton. Been playing guitar for over 25 years and have a recording studio.

The DRRI I personally would not get enough clean volume on a larger stage without the amp being heard well through a monitor next to me. I personally prefer the DRRI over the 68 as the break up on the 68 is more garbled sounding and I just prefer 65 version which sounds more like The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street guitar sound. Still like the 68 for certain things but most can't afford so many amps.

The Twin 65 RI I saw George Benson and Lee Ritenour play through on stage and they of course had an amazing sound. I play mine at volume 2-3 in my studio all the time. I add my Flux Drive Mesa Boogie pedal and can get a similar Larry Carlton, Mick Taylor sound. I also like a two 12" speakers for the fuller sound.

Love the old Champ amp as it was able to get so amazing tones.

[redisburning]

Mr. Sound,

I'm interested in knowing what your type of music is and experience.

For me, a DRRI can - and has - been used for anything from small clubs to outdoor venues with thousands of people. I can't think of a modern situation where I would want any more than a DRRI can deliver for stage volume. Give me a DRRI and a Classic 30 A/B'd and/or in stereo and I'm ready for anything.

Conversely, I haven't found very many uses for a Twin. IMHO, it's a dinosaur relic ( albeit a GREAT sounding one!) from a day when we didn't have the sound systems we do today. And that's coming from a guy who had a surf band at one time. (I sure miss Mikey!)

While I promise to be open-minded, I don't see any value in an amp once it starts to drown out the drums. Many huge concerts are played with small amps, look at Paisley - he uses a TrainWreck.

Also, if you can use a DRRI for home use - your wife is more tolerant than mine. They're loud little suckers. I rarely gig with mine past 3, and some people here who have seen and heard me will attest that at 3 it's killing them in a live setting.

I think Princeton's are lovely little amps but can be a little hard to mix into the stage. Fun for rehearsals or recording though.

My favorite Fender for recording is far and away the Champ. THAT's the sound of my 70's guitar heroes.

It's all good, as long as you dig what you dig we got your back!

a Twin doesnt sound that much like a DRRI to me.

more mids, way more complexity with two speakers; a bit of a stiffer attack and a lot more fullness at any volume.

Twins are the BEST sounding amps at low volumes IMO. actually because of the additional bass, it's my opinion that it's tons better as a bedroom amp than a deluxe reverb.

I dont want a blackface amp to overdrive, ever; I know people like that sound but it's awful to me. Marshalls, Tweeds, Mesas set with their clean channels goosed, Dumble clones the same way etc. all sound a lot better to me. A Twin overdriving is so loud that you make up for the inherent lack of mids in the circuit with sheer volume, plus again the Twin having more mids in its stack to begin with. plus if you want heavy a Twin can do it with an overdrive pedal or a muff, a DR will **** its pants and flub out. Princetons and Champs are even worse.

You say you don't have any use for a Twin; just a reminder that some of us have genuinely no use for a DR. You put me next to a drummer with that little thing and I'll have to turn it up past the point where I think it sounds OK. I've played all sorts of 'em too; stock reissues, reissues with new OTs, several vintage examples. This guy Steve Carr who lives an hour away from me can build you an amp that will smoke any of them for my taste with a very similar tone stack (and theyre a lot quieter when idle). Bruno can too. So can any good D style builder (Bludo, Krinard, Sebago, etc). So can Mesa. So can Marshall.

PAs or not I believe in big amps. The only small amp I like is a Tweed Deluxe and even then I'm one of those people that likes them as very dark clean amps and subsequently need mics even with jazz drummers. I'll take a Twin on 2 over your DRRI on any volume.

but then, a DR is like handing me a tube screamer and saying "this is the best tube screamer in the whole wide world. no tube screamer sounds better than this". yeah and? lmao I still won't like it and I'll show you my Klone which is fairly typical of its sort and I'll like it better anyway.

I suppose if you hear a twin and you just hear a louder deluxe reverb, then sure it doesn't make more sense.

[Offshore Angler]

a Twin doesnt sound that much like a DRRI to me.

more mids, way more complexity with two speakers; a bit of a stiffer attack and a lot more fullness at any volume.

Twins are the BEST sounding amps at low volumes IMO. actually because of the additional bass, it's my opinion that it's tons better as a bedroom amp than a deluxe reverb.

I dont want a blackface amp to overdrive, ever; I know people like that sound but it's awful to me. Marshalls, Tweeds, Mesas set with their clean channels goosed, Dumble clones the same way etc. all sound a lot better to me. A Twin overdriving is so loud that you make up for the inherent lack of mids in the circuit with sheer volume, plus again the Twin having more mids in its stack to begin with. plus if you want heavy a Twin can do it with an overdrive pedal or a muff, a DR will **** its pants and flub out. Princetons and Champs are even worse.

You say you don't have any use for a Twin; just a reminder that some of us have genuinely no use for a DR. You put me next to a drummer with that little thing and I'll have to turn it up past the point where I think it sounds OK. I've played all sorts of 'em too; stock reissues, reissues with new OTs, several vintage examples. This guy Steve Carr who lives an hour away from me can build you an amp that will smoke any of them for my taste with a very similar tone stack (and theyre a lot quieter when idle). Bruno can too. So can any good D style builder (Bludo, Krinard, Sebago, etc). So can Mesa. So can Marshall.

PAs or not I believe in big amps. The only small amp I like is a Tweed Deluxe and even then I'm one of those people that likes them as very dark clean amps and subsequently need mics even with jazz drummers. I'll take a Twin on 2 over your DRRI on any volume.

but then, a DR is like handing me a tube screamer and saying "this is the best tube screamer in the whole wide world. no tube screamer sounds better than this". yeah and? lmao I still won't like it and I'll show you my Klone which is fairly typical of its sort and I'll like it better anyway.

I suppose if you hear a twin and you just hear a louder deluxe reverb, then sure it doesn't make more sense.

When did I ever say a Twin sounds like DRRI? In fact, when did I say a DRRI sounds like an original blackface? I've always maintained a DRRI isomer siverfaced sounding.


As far as a DRRI not overcoming a drum kit - not a phenonima I've personally encountered. As far as amp size - my mantra has always been give me the smallest amp that will do the job. I like a small amp turned up to it's sweet spot over a throttled down big one any day. That's where an amp's natural compression and sustain come into play. It's also a lot more convenient for getting to and from the job. There is no way in hell I'm lugging a Twin around town. No way! And really, and again YMMV, but the low volume gigs I prefer the Fractal anyway. I find it sounds better at intimate setting volumes than the amps it emulates.

Again, all I do is show up, shut up and play my guitar, so my experience my differ from yours.

[redisburning]

When did I ever say a Twin sounds like DRRI? In fact, when did I say a DRRI sounds like an original blackface? I've always maintained a DRRI isomer siverfaced sounding.


As far as a DRRI not overcoming a drum kit - not a phenonima I've personally encountered. As far as amp size - my mantra has always been give me the smallest amp that will do the job. I like a small amp turned up to it's sweet spot over a throttled down big one any day. That's where an amp's natural compression and sustain come into play. It's also a lot more convenient for getting to and from the job. There is no way in hell I'm lugging a Twin around town. No way! And really, and again YMMV, but the low volume gigs I prefer the Fractal anyway. I find it sounds better at intimate setting volumes than the amps it emulates.

Again, all I do is show up, shut up and play my guitar, so my experience my differ from yours.

that's a very defensive post for you asking for opinions and all, you know.

although your post makes it clear you think your opinion is the only valid one.

I regret making an effort to justify why some of us like big amps; every time I try someone sticks their ****y sounding OD on a pedestal as if it's the only good tone that's ever existed. sheesh.

p.s. my 60W Boogie will out-sustain your DRRI easily, and do it without any real clipping, at any equivalent volume. also you can put a twin in a head and it makes it very easy to port, even if you like EVMs. also I didn't imply you thought they sounded the same, I implied your post implied that. because it did.

[Rickenjangle]

...plus if you want heavy a Twin can do it with an overdrive pedal or a muff, a DR will **** its pants and flub out. Princetons and Champs are even worse.

If this is the case with a DRRI, then you're setting your EQs all wrong. You might want to pull back on the bass control and add a touch of treble back in. The tone stack on the DRRI is such that you might have a setting that doesn't appear to make sense but works just the same.

You say you don't have any use for a Twin; just a reminder that some of us have genuinely no use for a DR. You put me next to a drummer with that little thing and I'll have to turn it up past the point where I think it sounds OK.

A Twin is a fine thing...one of the foundational tones of live music. As a Deadhead, I love that nice full, yet bright, clean tone. But I quickly lose interest in an amp like that when it comes time to load in or load out.

If you're playing in big venues with a couple of wideboys helping to schlep equipment, and don't have to carry your own PA and do all your setup, then sure. Why not have a Twin, AND a Marshall half-stack?

Personally, I'm a Vox and Marshall guy - so my Marshall is a Haze 15 watt with 2 1x12 cabs, and my main Vox is an AC15. Both get the job done and don't kill our ears (or the crowd). We mic them when we need to, and I don't have a bad back...

So if you need to turn a DR up to compete with a drummer, it just ain't gonna cut it, 'cause it just gets more overdriven past 4. BUT -both Chuck (OSA) and I played in a band with a loud, cymbal-happy drummer (RIP Mikey) and his DRRI on 3 was, as we've heard, the most "present" sound onstage. Notice I didn't say "loudest." That's because it doesn't need to be the loudest, just be EQ'ed properly to sit just right in the mix and cut through when it's time to solo.

I suppose if you hear a twin and you just hear a louder deluxe reverb, then sure it doesn't make more sense.

This is a patronizing and unnecessarily sarcastic comment. Not sure that it has any place on a friendly forum like this, but then again, I'm not a mod...but Offshore Angler and I have been around on this board since the old days and we really do know what we're talking about. And our ears can, indeed, tell the difference between a DRRI and a TRRI...for that matter, between a SFTR and a BFTR as well...

Pax

[redisburning]

This is a patronizing and unnecessarily sarcastic comment. Not sure that it has any place on a friendly forum like this, but then again, I'm not a mod...but Offshore Angler and I have been around on this board since the old days and we really do know what we're talking about. And our ears can, indeed, tell the difference between a DRRI and a TRRI...for that matter, between a SFTR and a BFTR as well...

Pax

why both of you have interpreted it that way is beyond me; not everything is a personal attack.

if you dont hear the difference between a DRRI and a Twin then it doesnt make sense to use a twin. do you disagree with this statement?

it was never about his or my or anyone in particular's ability to hear a difference.

I understand the need to have your boy's back but I would ask that you read the statement that I write, rather than the one you imagine it to be. if I wanted to be patronizing or insulting I would have been a lot more obvious about it. it was a general statement; and for all your "friendly forum like this" neither of you gave me the benefit of the doubt that I wasn't trying to throw some backhanded golden ears shade.

[Offshore Angler]

And we wonder why people are leaving this forum in droves....

It's OK for people to have opposing viewpoints. It's how we learn. It's healthy and it's what made this forum great in the day. You don't have to defend yourself and take personal digs at people who don't agree.

Heck, once on this forum I told a professor of literature that Hemingway was a windbag. We laughed over it.

I am sick and tired of the "Tone Police" turning this forum into what it has become, that you either agree to the master narrative of tone or you're somehow not worthy.

I've said it on many occasions, it takes some natural ability and then years and years of dedication and practice to become a journeyman musician, but any jackwad with a computer can brag about their "tone".

Good musicians will make what they have sound great. Bad ones blame their gear.

Robben Ford with a Squier into a solid-state Peavey is going to sound better than me most of the time. That's just life and I'm over it. I play in the band a couple times a week and I do it because it makes me happy. (Some people have told me I'm pretty good at it too.:headbang)

CONTRIBUTOR'S NOTICE: All of the above is merely the personal opinion of the author, your own opinion may be different and that's totally cool.

[Rickenjangle]

...if I wanted to be patronizing or insulting I would have been a lot more obvious about it. it was a general statement; and for all your "friendly forum like this" neither of you gave me the benefit of the doubt that I wasn't trying to throw some backhanded golden ears shade.

OK you're right about not giving you the benefit of the doubt. So for that, I apologize.

[Rickenjangle]

Heck, once on this forum I told a professor of literature that Hemingway was a windbag. We laughed over it.

Hemingway was a prick. But the real windbag...William Faulkner. Ye gods, trying to parse that man's sentence structure was no mean feat for a kid in college. Even as a professional writer, I'd have trouble with it, were I to succumb to masochistic tendencies and force myself to read more of ol' Billy F.

YMMV. Void where prohibited. IMHO.

Getting back to the thread's actual topic: You rotten stinkers in this thread have got me dreaming of a Deluxe Reverb. currently, I have no Fender amp.

[FrankJohnson]

I don't post a lot I have to say because I hate the way it goes so often. I don't really care what someones belief/preference is at this point on most stuff, but hold A HUGE amount of value for their objective/observed/perceived experience is.

that said, I get to work with a LOT of different performers. I would say a small percentage of them bring Twins through the room where I work. most of them have a surprisingly good grasp on how to use them, especially in a smaller room (<200 seats - 40x50 x18 with a mezzanine). I get a handful of others who bring in Supers, devilles, various other 40-60 watt amps, and even some marshall cabs.

We had a SRV Tribute last week (Texas Flood) who did our room as a fly date, and used my 65DRRI and Blues Jr in stereo, and it was magnificent! I have had other guys tear peoples faces off with less. we had another blues Rock Performer (Anthony Gomes) with two marshall cabs/heads who had some of the best sound and tone - at a surprisingly well controlled volume. We have had people set photon torpedos to stun with blues Juniors, maz18s mustangs, V50's, DRRI's (silver AND black faces).

So..... I say all that to say this.....
as tone is in the fingers, it is also in how you have learned to set amps, guitars and effects. These amps all have their merits, and can be exploited to their best sound output but definitely have their strongest attributes before you even plug into them. I have had a couple of guys use my bass amps and coax sound out of them that I have never been able to get. Or maybe I couldn't hear it because of where I was standing? the truth is - as it is what we have done, seen and experienced which makes us who we are, it is so similar in our discovery of amp sounds, both real and perceived, I believe.

So the bottom line? I don't know.....not really.
Except for this..... Find THAT amp that makes you happy, makes you sound like you want to sound, and lets you do it in the most settings possible.

[blackonblack]

I'm chuckling at this amp rant. I found happiness with my AXE-FX. The tone I want at the volume I want. Had 4 guitarists this weekend ask where my Matchless was ISOed at LOL. Had to tell them the truth.

[Offshore Angler]

I'm chuckling at this amp rant. I found happiness with my AXE-FX. The tone I want at the volume I want. Had 4 guitarists this weekend ask where my Matchless was ISOed at LOL. Had to tell them the truth.

I hear that! I love my amps but day in, day out, my AXE-FX outperforms them at any volume. It goes into the sound system and monitors the same every night, it goes direct to record, it does everything and sounds great, and it's consistent.

In one of the cover bands we do Suite Madame Blue - I love being able to switch between a clean delay Fender sound to a screaming Cornwall at command. Very freeing. Plus, it integrates into the sound system so well that I now have a couple thousand Watts at my disposal so the bottom can really grind away and get the people moving. It's been a total rethink for me.

That said, many a time I'll just grab the DR or Classic and my Boss case. Still works great for venues with limited sound systems or when we just set up a simple board with a Crown to run everything such as at a reheasal.

Again, this is my experience and yours may differ and as always, that's cool.

[Don]

Many of us just like working an amp. I think playing mostly blues, not needing a lot of different sounds and not being a pro gives me a little more leeway in choosing gear that I find fun to use rather than a perfected end result.
A friend plays in a very successful local AC/DC tribute band. The stack that he has on stage at larger events is a prop. The don't even put it out at smaller places. The band sounds great every time.

I consider it similar to the fact that I own two relatively modern cars with manual transmissions. A modern automatic or DCT will outperform it (me with it, for sure). I just like the activity.

Regarding amp sounds, one of my favorites was playing quietly with a Les Paul Special (a "real" Special with two P-90s) plugged into an old Twin Reverb. Just a beautiful clean sound.
On the other hand, for my tastes and the band I'm in, a small amp working hard is what I really like.

[Offshore Angler]

For the record... I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with both of these statements. I don't own an AXE-FX (can't justify the price), but I do use another processor quite extensively. The tones created ARE the same, whether you're listening through headphones or from PA speakers in a stadium... That's a fact!

It took me a while to figure out some of these "amp purists", but if you look at it... If I were playing nothing but blues or jazz all night, I wouldn't need anything more than an A/C 15, and possibly a microphone, depending on the size of the venue. However, for me, this is NOT the case! The last band I was in, was a quartet with keyboards. We covered some Pink Floyd, some Genesis and other stuff, which required some pretty wet signal chains. A processor makes these signal chains MUCH easier, with much less noise and they sound the SAME in any venue...

CASE CLOSED!!!

Thus making the Twin a dinosaur relic... LOL! But when you think about it, there's a lot more music we have to cover today than when the Twin was new. Clean headroom? Yep, a Twin is awesome at it, but so is a SS Roland Lab series at half the weight.

Hey, it's all good. Just dig what you dig and enjoy.

[blackonblack]

It goes into the sound system and monitors the same every night, it goes direct to record, it does everything and sounds great, and it's consistent.

Exactly! Even if the tone wasn't as good as it is, for me, consistency at venues is worth the price of admission. The only other musical investment that has been as good were my JH Audio Pro 16s.

[Rickenjangle]

Clean headroom? Yep, a Twin is awesome at it, but so is a SS Roland Lab series at half the weight.

Chuck, I think you're mixing two things here...the Lab Series, made by the parent company who also owned Gibson, vs. the Roland JC-120.

Both of which do feature awesome cleans and take pedals exceptionally well...but as a former owner of not one but two JC-120's (at different times) I can tell you that the Roland amps' downfall is that they weigh in at roughly one hernia per year, give or take a slipped disc.

[Offshore Angler]

Chuck, I think you're mixing two things here...the Lab Series, made by the parent company who also owned Gibson, vs. the Roland JC-120.

Both of which do feature awesome cleans and take pedals exceptionally well...but as a former owner of not one but two JC-120's (at different times) I can tell you that the Roland amps' downfall is that they weigh in at roughly one hernia per year, give or take a slipped disc.

Hey Johnny, you working next Saturday? I've got a big motorcycle festival gig in the afternoon and if you want to sit in for old time's sake it would be a fun. I can throw in a country-rock set at a biker job so material would be no prob.

[Rickenjangle]

Hey Johnny, you working next Saturday? I've got a big motorcycle festival gig in the afternoon and if you want to sit in for old time's sake it would be a fun. I can throw in a country-rock set at a biker job so material would be no prob.

Next Saturday, Chuck? I'm playing at Nor-Win Campgrounds at 6 but boy that sounds like fun. We haven't played together in a long time.

If I can get there and play and still be out in the ol' countryside by 5 I'd love to sit in.

[Revelation Sound]

In conclusion, Fender makes some great sounding new amps, in all different sizes, and wattage. I think its safe to say one or two of these amps will make just about anybody very happy.

Thank you Fender for making my year with my new 65 Fender Twin RI

[Cogs]

love the reissue amps that Fender has come out with. I want a Deluxe Reverb but that will have to wait until I deal with more pressing issues!

[renderit]

Most excellent review. I have actually played the DRRI next to my actual 65 and was impressed. Slightly harsher, but I am sure after a year of use you probably could not tell the difference.If I want the blackface the DR does it in spades.

[Offshore Angler]

renderit, agreed on the sound, I did the C10 mod to mine and that smoothed it out nicely.

[redisburning]

a speaker, tube and transformer swap takes DRRIs from "plenty good" to really good.

played one in my local shop with MM trannies, old rca tubes and a new speaker (dont recall the excact one). if I recall correctly it was $900 with fresh tubes and all the work had been done by a very good tech. I'd have bought it if I had more sense.

that being said, I still think the old ones are worth the money, as are the Carrs/Morgans/Tone Kings/Vintage Sounds of the world. horses for courses, I suppose.

I will say as a young guy (<30) I actually appreciate that people are so into small amps right now. Old twin reverbs are a good 500-1000 cheaper than deluxe reverbs; 100W mesas are impossible to sell for any real money unless they're the big two (dual rect, IIc) even though for a good number of reasons I actually feel that small mesas are idiotic from a conceptual standpoint, and the best is I picked up my Germino JTM100 for considerably less than 2k and it's the best amplifier I've ever played (including the original 59 Bassman that was numero 2). just about the only thing you can buy for a reasonable price for us these days that's old is a 100W Marshall. refin strats go for 10k but metal panel super basses are 12-1400.

we actually live in a great time to use a 100W amp due to the myriad volume mitigation strategies and you can barely give them away.

[renderit]

I got one of those MGL's last year of his and thought it had problems on the second channel. I called him up and he laughed then explained to me how the second channel was supposed to be like that and then proceeded to tell me how to tweak some absolutely monsterous tones out of the amp. Talked for a half an hour! Excellent dude!

[Revelation Sound]

One more thing I want to add, there is advantages with a one 12"" over a two 12" and visa versa. The one speaker has a brighter sound and is of course lighter to carry. However a two 12" cabinet provides a fuller and more satisfying wall of sound. It also has more low end and your EA adjustment will be different because of it. I would say 75 percent of the time I prefer the fuller sound of the two 12" over the one 12" but the 25 percent of the time my smaller amp provides the right sound I am looking for

[pc]

I know I mention it a bunch, but I can't rave enough about the '68 Custom line--the Deluxe Reverb, the Twin Reverb and Princeton, especially the DR. The DR's vintage channel already has no bright cap, and the second channel on each amp is now a 50s Bassman tone stack, Celestions as mentioned in the original post, with verb and vibrato available on both channels now. Killer sounds and versatility.

[renderit]

I know I mention it a bunch, but I can't rave enough about the '68 Custom line--the Deluxe Reverb, the Twin Reverb and Princeton, especially the DR. The DR's vintage channel already has no bright cap, and the second channel on each amp is now a 50s Bassman tone stack, Celestions as mentioned in the original post, with verb and vibrato available on both channels now. Killer sounds and versatility.

I have had a ton of peeps tell me it is a better amp with more tones.

[NTBluesGuitar]

Dinosaur Relic!

[NTBluesGuitar]

Dinosaur relic?

[Cogs]

[renderit]

[NTBluesGuitar]

[Revelation Sound]

Just wanted to say the more I use the Fender Twin 65 RI, the more I love it. If it is playing clean channel with my Fender Strat or Les Paul, to playing a Seymour Duncan 805 over drive pedal, with their Vapor Trails delay, the sound I am getting is so satisfying. I usually have the volume on 2 to 2 1/2. Love having two 12's speakers for that fuller sound.

[BAT340]

Mr. Sound,

I'm interested in knowing what your type of music is and experience.

For me, a DRRI can - and has - been used for anything from small clubs to outdoor venues with thousands of people. I can't think of a modern situation where I would want any more than a DRRI can deliver for stage volume. Give me a DRRI and a Classic 30 A/B'd and/or in stereo and I'm ready for anything.

Conversely, I haven't found very many uses for a Twin. IMHO, it's a dinosaur relic ( albeit a GREAT sounding one!) from a day when we didn't have the sound systems we do today. And that's coming from a guy who had a surf band at one time. (I sure miss Mikey!)

While I promise to be open-minded, I don't see any value in an amp once it starts to drown out the drums. Many huge concerts are played with small amps, look at Paisley - he uses a TrainWreck.

Also, if you can use a DRRI for home use - your wife is more tolerant than mine. They're loud little suckers. I rarely gig with mine past 3, and some people here who have seen and heard me will attest that at 3 it's killing them in a live setting.

I think Princeton's are lovely little amps but can be a little hard to mix into the stage. Fun for rehearsals or recording though.

My favorite Fender for recording is far and away the Champ. THAT's the sound of my 70's guitar heroes.

It's all good, as long as you dig what you dig we got your back!

Marty Stuart, and his guitar partner Kenny Vaughan both use Fender Princeton's live.