Fender Deluxe Reverb

Blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb (Reverb link).  

The Blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb (“DR”) is an amplifier with as classic a Rock and Roll pedigree as anything you’ll find.  The best production years of this amp were from 1963 until about 1968, when the CBS takeover of Fender lead to changes in design from the coveted “AB763” circuit to a higher headroom version, in addition to making cosmetic changes.  The amp’s clear, loose, and bubbly tone at low volumes and beautiful sonic distortion when cranked earned it a place in the finest studios in the world and, as a result, some of the greatest rock albums of all time.  Its low-wattage made it a great choice in the studio, and it’s been called the “most recorded amp in history.”  It has built-in reverb — also celebrated for it’s 3-dimensionality — and tremolo, as well as bass and treble controls.  Trey’s DR is modified to include mid controls on both channels.

This amplifier appeared in Trey’s rig in the 90s and has also been used in a lot of different formats.  In the photo above, the DR is unmic’d and being used as a head, with the signal running to the Tony Bruno 4×12 sitting next to it, which is mic’d.  This combination of the Bruno and the DR appeared as late as Coventry, in August 2004.  Below left, in a shot from the Island Tour (4-3-98), the Deluxe Reverb itself is mic’d and the old Languedoc Cabinets behind appear as if they are mic’d as well.  It may be that the GT Dual 75 and Deluxe Reverb are both in use during this period.

  

In Summer 2016, the DR returned, unmic’d, next to the gear rack, as you can see in the photo above right from Wrigley Field.  Some have suggested that it is serving as a monitor, but that seems unlikely as Blackface Fender amplifiers would be fairly uniquely ill-suited to that task.  Note: As I noted during LOCKN’ 2016, it appears the Deluxe Reverb was the primary amp for Summer 2016, running as a head with a speaker out to the 2x12s and the internal speaker serving as a monitor.  It was the only amp Trey used for LOCKN’ 2016. It continued to appear sporadically during Fall 2016, alternating with the JTM45HW.

Trey’s DR has a 12AT7 in the first of it’s 6 pre-amp tube slots, an additional knob for mid-range boost/cut, and a Tone Tubby Purple Haze Speaker.