Fender Deluxe Vintage Modified?????

didgijimmy

didgijimmy

vexed
Ok, went into the local music store to test drive a Peavey classic 30, they only had the 50, I was playing around when the guy says he wants to show me a brand new amp that just came in. It's a Fender and I'm thinking whatever, ive never been a big fan, but I'll give it a shot.
Dude, I thought I was set on a Classic, but now im not so sure.
From what I can tell this thing has the classic Fender clean (6L6s). Plenty of Headroom (40 watts). A great distortion (way better than the regular buzzy deluxe). It's all tube with chorus/vibrato, delay, digital reverb, all with a ton of tweakabillity. And the effects all sounded pretty good to me. Has anyone played any of these? I need clean jazz tones for gigging, and then smooth blues distortion for at home, and if I can get a decent heavy distortion (this thing has it) then even better. Also, all of the effects are footswitchable and so are the channels. Basically it's a step up from the Classic 30 for only $200 more. Has anyone found any downfalls with this? I'm gonna do a final compare and contrast tomorrow and if I don't find anything wrong I'm puttin a downpayment on this baby. Just want some opinions on it please.
James
 
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Good amps
Lots of fender amp lovers in this place but you will have to wait until tomorrow for a reply because they are old geezers like me but go to bed way earlier than I do:D

Oh wait, you may want to do a forum search I have no dout several threads will pop up.
 
Roguetitan said:
Good amps
Lots of fender amp lovers in this place but you will have to wait until tomorrow for a reply because they are old geezers like me but go to bed way earlier than I do:D

Oh wait, you may want to do a forum search I have no dout several threads will pop up.
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Actually I did. Numerous Fender stuff, but couldn't find any on the Deluxe VM. The local shop got the first one theyve recieved last week and from what I understand they started shippin out around the country early last month, so I can't find alot of online info on em. So you have played one?
James
 
didgijimmy said:
Actually I did. Numerous Fender stuff, but couldn't find any on the Deluxe VM. The local shop got the first one theyve recieved last week and from what I understand they started shippin out around the country early last month, so I can't find alot of online info on em. So you have played one?
James
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I could have swore I saw a thread on the Fender VM the other day here in the forum:confused: or maybe not
not me personally but a friend of mine who owns a local music store here in Rossville was noodling around on one the other day
and he was commenting on how much he liked it and how it had good specs and all that tecno BS but Ya it did sound good as he pretty much went through just about every setting while I was there.
 
Roguetitan said:
I could have swore I saw a thread on the Fender VM the other day here in the forum:confused: or maybe not
not me personally but a friend of mine who owns a local music store here in Rossville was noodling around on one the other day
and he was commenting on how much he liked it and how it had good specs and all that tecno BS but Ya it did sound good as he pretty much went through just about every setting while I was there.
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If there was a thread I cant find it.
Well its good to know that I wasn't just drunk on the looks and the footswitch and the effects and all that. You know sometimes you get that fever and then five days after buying your like "what was I thinking?"
 
didgijimmy said:
If there was a thread I cant find it.
Well its good to know that I wasn't just drunk on the looks and the footswitch and the effects and all that. You know sometimes you get that fever and then five days after buying your like "what was I thinking?"
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Ya Been there done that with a SX Jazz bass just recently as a matter of fact
the irony of that is i was in the process(well still am in the process) of building a Jazz bass. that plays 100 times better than the SX luckally i was able to send it back

but as for the Peavey classic 30 you are not going to find anything any better than that little tone monster at that price point. And I did order that little volume control box BTW, so we will see how that works prolly next week some time:D
 
Roguetitan said:
Ya Been there done that with a SX Jazz bass just recently as a matter of fact
the irony of that is i was in the process(well still am in the process) of building a Jazz bass. that plays 100 times better than the SX luckally i was able to send it back

but as for the Peavey classic 30 you are not going to find anything any better than that little tone monster at that price point. And I did order that little volume control box BTW, so we will see how that works prolly next week some time:D
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I agree, not at that price, but if I wait another paycheck and can scrape $200 more I can have equally capable tone (I think, will know for sure after further investigation tomorrow) plus a little extra headroom, $300 worth of effects, and a decent REALLY dirty channel, for wankin off the Van Halen.
I haven't ruled out the Classic 30, just considering others.

Let me know about the volume box, however someone made a claim that his buddies 50 was way too loud at zero, I played one tonight and with the master volume I was able to have the preamp cranked, post amp at like 2, and at a very low practice volume--so not exactly sure what he's talking about.
That's another plus on the Fender though--- Linear tapered volume.
James
 
Fender is doing a promo right now, if you test-drive one of their amps, you get a free t-shirt. I think I will haul my '77 Deluxe Reverb down to Sam Ash, and A/B the RI Deluxe Reverb, then get back to you. But I am sure the RI is a fine amp.

In my experiences, Fender amps have a bit more "tone," and deeper tremolo- but the Peavey Classic 30, and the tremolo-equipped Delta Blues 210 (only the 112 is still available, new) were very good amps, and great values. I like to look of the ones from a few years ago- they look more like... Fenders.

If you can do with less power, look into the Super Champ XD.

If the "volume box" is a true power attenuator, it's worth buying- but there are some yahoos selling some semi-crap stuff (usually on eBay, where else?) that are little more than an input volume control- which you already have, both on your guitar, AND your amp. Not worth a plug nickle, IMHO.
 
I have a new Band-Master VM due in tomorrow (the BM is the head version of the Deluxe VM combo -- they share the same circuitry and even the same manual) and perhaps I'll be able to report on it. I was wanting a Jazz-King, but by the time I was in a position to get one, it was discontinued. Since I have a spare 1-15 cabinet, I figured I'd give this combination a try.

I'm planning to plug my 335 into it. I'll report back.
 
stevieb said:
If you can do with less power, look into the Super Champ XD.
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I second that. Just bought mine off ebay two weeks ago, scary I know, but my faith was rewarded. Got it for $300 with Ragin Cajun speaker and footswitch, quite a deal considering the recent price hikes. Course if I had more money I might have gone for something closer to the Peavey, but I'm still having those oo and ahh moments with my new baby, as is our other guitarist heh. Plenty to fiddle around with considering the 16 voices and some very decent effects (vibratone sure is fun). This doesn't help with your Peavey/VM pickle, but it is an alternative
 
Fender -Deluxe -Vintage -Modified

Well, that's got just about every advertising ploy built right in there.
They forgot Boutique -Hand-wired -Real-tube - and Made in USA (assembled in ?)
 
ggunn said:
Historically, the Bandmaster has had a pair of 6L6s where the Deluxe used a pair of 6V6s. Did they change one of them?
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The Band-Master [not Bandmaster] VM and Deluxe VM are not related to the traditional Bandmaster and Deluxe Reverb models. They are new 2009 hybrid amps with a pair of 6L6 power tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes and digital effects [reverb, chorus and delay] and 40 watts rather than the 22 watts of the Deluxe Reverb Reissue. The two new amps are virtually identical except that the BM (how's that for a great abbreviation?) is a head and the Deluxe includes a 12" speaker. The front panel and rear panels are identical except for the names on the front and the speaker output designations on the back.

They resemble the blackface reissues, but only superficially. Looking at the control panel, they more closely follow the layout of my Jazzmaster Ultralight, with "clean" and "drive" channels.
 
lpdeluxe said:
The Band-Master [not Bandmaster] VM and Deluxe VM are not related to the traditional Bandmaster and Deluxe Reverb models. They are new 2009 hybrid amps with a pair of 6L6 power tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes and digital effects [reverb, chorus and delay] and 40 watts rather than the 22 watts of the Deluxe Reverb Reissue. The two new amps are virtually identical except that the BM (how's that for a great abbreviation?) is a head and the Deluxe includes a 12" speaker. The front panel and rear panels are identical except for the names on the front and the speaker output designations on the back.

They resemble the blackface reissues, but only superficially. Looking at the control panel, they more closely follow the layout of my Jazzmaster Ultralight, with "clean" and "drive" channels.
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Cool. Thanks.
 
acidrock said:
That four button footswitch that comes with the Fender Deluxe Vintage Modified make me like it.:cool:
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Yeah, I like the way Fender packages their amps (at least, the ones I've bought lately). My Jazzmaster came with a Speakon speaker cable, a footswitch, a cable for the footswitch, and an IEC power cord AND a nice bag that all of it (with the head -- and except for the speaker cab!) fits into. It makes it easy to take to a gig (the total 30 lb or so with the bag loaded doesn't hurt, either).
 
stevieb said:
Fender is doing a promo right now, if you test-drive one of their amps, you get a free t-shirt. I think I will haul my '77 Deluxe Reverb down to Sam Ash, and A/B the RI Deluxe Reverb, then get back to you. But I am sure the RI is a fine amp.

In my experiences, Fender amps have a bit more "tone," and deeper tremolo- but the Peavey Classic 30, and the tremolo-equipped Delta Blues 210 (only the 112 is still available, new) were very good amps, and great values. I like to look of the ones from a few years ago- they look more like... Fenders.

If you can do with less power, look into the Super Champ XD.

If the "volume box" is a true power attenuator, it's worth buying- but there are some yahoos selling some semi-crap stuff (usually on eBay, where else?) that are little more than an input volume control- which you already have, both on your guitar, AND your amp. Not worth a plug nickle, IMHO.
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I'm certainly not a Fender expert, and not an amp expert either, but I think we are talking about different amps. from what I understand the Deluxe Reverb is a different animal than the Deluxe RI and the Deluxe VM, what I'm looking at is different than the other two. I thought the Deluxe Reverb was only one channel with no distortion (besides tube breaking up). By the way, apparently the local shop has one of 100 made of the new Deluxe Reverb with a blue tolex-- sorta nifty ($1600).

Anyway, I spent an hour and a half doing an A/B with the Classic 50 ( i know i know its a bit different than the 30) and the Deluxe VM. The Deluxe VM won hands down in my book. The Classic 50 has a little more head room, and two speakers obviously, but the VM competed pretty close in volume and the clean stayed clear without the tubes breaking up badly at 9. You couldn't get the 50 past 7 and a half without them breaking up (prolly more a result of the nonlinear volume). The Classic has a bit of a warmer clean tone in my opinion, but the fender has the classic fender shimmer (excellent for the jazz i need). The 50 distorted a bit more after cranking the clean, but I found with the VM i could max out the volume and then give it a little gain on the drive channel and achieve a similar even better sound.

The VM has that extra mile of gain for some heavy classic rock and classic metal (not modern medal by no means but you have the clean to buy a great stompbox and acieve it with).

And the effects, I admit I couldnt care less at first, but after trying them I'm really impressed. With a little delay and the right amount of chorus/tremalo I could get that Hendrix Hey Baby (new rising sun) tone and very close to Little Wing. roll off the chorus a little bit and I'm right there with Stevie Rays Cold Shot. I feel like I'm givin a sales pitch or something but I'm really impressed with the amps versatility. I was even satisfied with my tone when playing Panama (gain at 10).

Anyway, you can see that to me the VM blew away the Classic, and I'll be getting the VM as soon as I know I'm getting the best price.
James
 
stevieb said:
If you can do with less power, look into the Super Champ XD.

QUOTE]

I considered it for a bit, but playing in the jazz ensembles where I attend college I'm not always going to be miced. I actually need the extra head room. I'm not sure if the Classic 30 would have given me enough even.
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lpdeluxe said:
I have a new Band-Master VM due in tomorrow (the BM is the head version of the Deluxe VM combo -- they share the same circuitry and even the same manual) and perhaps I'll be able to report on it. I was wanting a Jazz-King, but by the time I was in a position to get one, it was discontinued. Since I have a spare 1-15 cabinet, I figured I'd give this combination a try.

I'm planning to plug my 335 into it. I'll report back.
Click to expand...

I'd kill for a 335. I play through the neck pickup of my $600 les paul copy right now, though I'm pretty satisfied. I can tell your a Jazz guy. Do you play anything else? Either way I know youll be blown away by the Bandmaster VM, especially for the price. And the chorus is great for Jazz.
Definitely try cranking the volume on the drive channel and then turning the gain up a little bit. That way if your playing a clean rhythm and need the extra boost for a solo, swithch to the drive and its just enough.
Let me know what you think.
James
 
mikemorgan said:
Fender -Deluxe -Vintage -Modified

Well, that's got just about every advertising ploy built right in there.
They forgot Boutique -Hand-wired -Real-tube - and Made in USA (assembled in ?)
Click to expand...

Yeah thats why I was so skeptical at first. But I think it deserves the crazy name. And yup its MIM.
 
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