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Description

The Fender Deluxe Reverb, originally issued between 1963 and 1981, is a cornerstone in the world of combo guitar amplifiers. Revered for its classic tone and reliability, this amp has been a favorite among musicians for decades, capturing the hearts of both vintage enthusiasts and contemporary players. With its 22-watt power output, it strikes the perfect balance between power and portability, making it an ideal choice for gigs, studio sessions, and home practice alike.

Its all-tube circuitry delivers a warm, rich sound that is both versatile and expressive, capable of handling anything from clean, shimmering tones to gritty, soulful overdrive. The onboard spring reverb is legendary in its own right, offering lush, ambient textures that can be tailored to suit any musical style. The vibrato channel adds further depth, allowing for dynamic and immersive soundscapes.

With its durable construction and timeless design, the Fender Deluxe Reverb not only sounds great but also stands up to the rigors of regular use. Whether you're a seasoned professional or an aspiring guitarist, this amp provides the perfect platform to explore and expand your musical horizons.

Key Features:

  • 22-watt all-tube power output
  • Dual channels: Normal and Vibrato
  • Classic spring reverb and vibrato effects
  • 12-inch speaker for full-bodied sound
  • Iconic Fender blackface design
  • Suitable for both stage and studio use

Product specs

Amp Type tube
Onboard Reverb yes
Summit Guitar School by Brett

Summit Guitar School by Brett

Is This Vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb Worth It ? -- How I Scored a Vintatge Amp for a Steal

Video thumbnail for Is This Vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb Worth It ?  -- How I Scored a Vintatge Amp for a Steal by Summit Guitar School by Brett

Is This Vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb Worth It ? -- How I Scored a Vintatge Amp for a Steal

Summit Guitar School by Brett

Summit Guitar School by Brett

Reviews

PROS

  • Exceptional clean tone, rich and sparkly with the stock speaker

  • Versatile gain control labeled as volume, offers saturated sound quickly

  • Equipped with both Reverb and Tremolo effects, including speed and intensity controls

  • Comes with an attached pedal for easy Tremolo and Reverb activation

  • Features a "Drip Face" trim for a classic aesthetic

  • Offers two inputs on the Normal side for different setups

  • Unique AB768 circuitry in models just before the switch preferred by many

  • Can be found mislabeled online, potentially leading to lower prices

CONS

  • Preferred AB768 circuitry not in all models, requiring careful selection/research

Add

5.0 out of 5

Based on 4 Reviews and 14 Ratings

5 star
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1 star
xaqary

Favorite amp. Silverface but with the AB763 (circuitry of the Blackface)

Yep, don't let the Silverface fool you!

I did my research and the 1967 Fender Deluxe I have is juuuust before they switched to the AB768 circuitry that put people off of the Fender Silverface amps & why the Blackface Fender Deluxe is generally held in much higher regard.

I double checked again before I started writing this review to confirm I was being accurate. This amp is just magic. No volume knob, just gain (it is labeled Volume, but it's gan) & it gets saturated fairlyquick & the tone. That tone!

At lower gain its clean tone is rich a sparkly (stock speaker it came with!)

On the Normal side you've got 2 inputs, Volume (gain), Treble & Bass.

On the other channel you've got the same but also -Reverb -Speed & Intensity (for tremolo) -Attached pedal for turning on & of Tremolo & Reverb (or both)

Plus it's got that beautiful "Drip Face" trim around the Tolex.

*Pro Tip- I have seen these miscategorised on eBay and several other places and as a result sell for for cheaper than they would if they knew what they had. Do your research & you might get lucky!

It's a blast re-amping thru this guy as well. Just hit play and blend & shape the harmonics & tone...

There are of course other amps I love. Some I have some I want but this guy keeps me so happy I generally don't think about expanding my amp collection much.

I always invite more input or corrections so feel free to comment & I'll be sure & update everything

UPDATE-more insightful information in the comment below by Jimmarchi1- check it out.

jimmarchi1

actually, the deluxe reverb enver changed schematically during its long original run.... while drip edge means close to blackface in most silverfaces, when it comes to princetons and deluxes the only thing in the guts that changed apart from a few component brands as suppliers changed was the positioning of the filter caps

xaqary

You are the rare man to know these things. For YEARS if I mention my 67 I always have someone say "nope, that's a 68 or later". I grown & try to explain. This was my attempt to speak directly to those people & hopefully hear less of that -with the knowledge I'll never change their minds on the overall BF/SF argument on a broader scale. Tried to keep it simple & address the common misunderstanding, (reason for the gratuitous "yes, I have researched this" remarks while I groaned audibly) but like the mensch you are-you filled in where I missed like always.

I just never wanna have that stupid 67/68 Backface/Silverface bullshit argument again at a gig again + it leads to the whole mythologizing amps & that culture is exhausting too me...Waxing over great tones, mods, oddball finds, etc? Love it. I could do that forever. The smug "cult of _______ amp(s)" talk? Ugh...awful.

jimmarchi1

I tech amps sometimes. I've seen a lot of Deluxes. A lot.

xaqary

That's a set of tools I really wish I had. Never worked on amps, but I'm planning on taking my 1st stab at it as I mentioned in my review of the Roland Jazz Chorus.

jimmarchi1

I would never start on a solid state, PCB amp... get a broken 50s Valco or something and Aspen Pittman's book. I honestly rarely agree to work on a PCB amp and NEVER work on solid state amps either. So much going on, so easy to burn up a trace just diagnosing a problem on some PCBs

xaqary

Ha, this occurred to me of course but I was feeling all ambitious- I thought hell, I know a bit-my wife is a mechanical engineer, one of my closest friends is a electric engineer & has focused his craft on everything music, I'll figure it out! 1st call to my buddy to kick things off he just said "step away from the amp".

R

Not an Original issue

But I modded it to get it as close as I possibly could. I love this amp.

yannisbonin1974

A legend

Nothing more to say, got mine, a 67’ in the 90’s it’s a little beast from clean to dirt...

torssongeek

Best amp ever.

The ultimate Fender vintage amp.

Artist usage

Add artist
See how Tom Waits uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Tom Waits

Singer, Guitarist

Roy Orbison And Friends

...
Verified via Mixonline

Used for the electric guitar on Bone Machine, as stated by engineer Biff Dawes in this February 26, 2015 Mix Online interview.

Dawes describes what he recalls about placing those mics in 1992: “Usually I would take Tom’s guitar direct and I would close mike his amp [either a Princeton Tweed or a Fender Deluxe Reverb],” he says. “Sometimes I would tape mics to the guitar, and then we would add in the more distant mics from the room. Prairie Sun has a wide selection, so we used a lot of Neumanns: U 67s, U 87s, M 49s, that kind of thing."

See how Mick Taylor uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Mick Taylor

Guitarist

The Rolling Stones

...
Verified via guitarworld

Says here he uses an old Fender Deluxe along with a 50 watt marshall head.

See how Molly Rankin uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Molly Rankin

Singer, Guitarist

Alvvays

...
Verified via YouTube

Rankin uses the Silverface Deluxe on live shows At 3:11 you can see the amp behind her.

See how Peter Sagar uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Peter Sagar

Singer, Guitarist

Mac DeMarco

...
Verified via YouTube

In this video, Pete can be seen plugged into a Fender Deluxe Reverb amp.

See how Billy Strings uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Billy Strings

Guitarist

...
Verified via Premierguitar

For specific songs/effects Billy uses a silverface Delux Reverb. This amplifier is mentioned in 2019 Premier Guitar interview.

See how Rick Nielsen uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Rick Nielsen

Guitarist

Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes

...
Verified via YouTube

At 12:28 in this video interview, Rick Nielsen points out his 1977 Deluxe Reverbs, saying, “These are Deluxe Reverbs I have in here. I have the guts in here and these were made by Paul Rivera actually. If you look at it, it has a fat and thin switch on it, with a heavier duty transform in it and a master volume, which the normal Deluxes didn’t have.”

See how Brian Fallon uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Brian Fallon

Singer, Guitarist

The Gaslight Anthem

...
Verified via Guitar.com | All Things Guitar

On the electric side, he turned to his Telecaster and a simple setup that helped to bring the whole thing together as a single piece: a Tube Screamer, a Fulltone Solid State Tape Echo, and a 1966 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp.

See how Rebecca Lovell uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Rebecca Lovell

Singer, Guitarist

Larkin Poe

...
Verified via YouTube

In the YouTube video "BAD SPELL ⚡️⚡️ Learn The Riff" by Larkin Poe, Rebecca Lovell is shown using a Fender Deluxe Reverb (original issue, 1963-1981) amplifier.

See how Joe Goldsmith uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Joe Goldsmith

Singer, Guitarist

Lovejoy

...
Verified via Photo

Joe Goldsmith used a Fender Deluxe Reverb (original issue, 1963-1981) for recording samples, as indicated in an Instagram story by Luke Brealey, who worked on samples for Lovejoy.

See how Robbie McIntosh uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Robbie McIntosh

Guitarist

Wings

...
Verified via The Guitar Magazine

In the article "Private Collection: Great Pretender" from The Guitar Magazine, Robbie McIntosh is noted for his collection of instruments, which includes a Fender Deluxe Reverb (original issue, 1963-1981).

See how Hester Chambers uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Hester Chambers

Singer, Guitarist

Wet Leg

...
Verified via guitarworld

Hester names the gear of Wet Leg in the guitarworld.com interview

See how Kenny Burrell uses Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981)

Kenny Burrell

Guitarist

Kenny Burrell & Coleman Hawkins

...
Verified via Vintage Guitar® magazine

Didn’t he use your equipment on his first recording session? Yes. I was in New York, and when Riverside Records signed Wes, they brought him to town to record. I got a call from Orrin Keepnews, the head of Riverside, asking if Wes could use my guitar and amp. Wes didn’t like to fly and didn’t take his guitar on the plane. That didn’t make sense to me, but I said, “Okay,” because we were friends and I admired his playing.

I was working at the time, at the Village Vanguard I think, so I was using my L-5, but always had a couple other electrics, and so I let him have my L-7 for his first record (The Wes Montgomery Trio). I think he used my Fender Deluxe.

Used With

Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981), it is most commonly used with the following gear.

Community setups

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D

doby4343

Gear IQ 47

5 alternative and related items for Fender Deluxe Reverb-Amp Original Issue (1963-1981), curated by the Equipboard community.

Fender '64 Custom Deluxe Reverb

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similar sound cheaper alternative

The Fender '64 Custom Deluxe Reverb is a handwired, reissue version of the AB763 Deluxe Reverb circuit.

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The current reissue version of the AB763 Deluxe Reverb, introduced in 1994.

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