Blues Deluxe Reissue - Dialling in tone

**SteveWig** · 08-30-2021, 09:14 AM

Hi all

ive got a stock BDRI and typically use either an epi Sheraton (with Lollar vintage pups) or an Ibanez George benson gb10.

I’d be really interested to hear tips on dialling in sweet tone on the amp..not my strong point ?

cheers
steve

**nevershouldhavesoldit** · 08-30-2021, 11:08 AM

We have one in our backline. If by sweet you mean warm & jazzy, use the clean channel. The problem I have with that is the taper on the clean volume pot. It’s hard to control and gets suddenly and dramatically louder at about 3 (the setting, which is at about 8 o’clock), making it necessary to dial your guitar’s volume way back. And many guitars seem to sound warmer and sweeter with their volume pots at or close to full on. I haven’t bothered changing the pot because almost everyone who uses it uses the lead channel or pedals (or both) and I use our Vibrolux or the Jazz 12.

You can substitute a lower gain 12AT7 or 5751 for the 12AX7 at V1 to warm it up and tame the clean gain a bit. As one side of V2 is in both clean and lead signal paths, swapping in a lower gain V2 will also warm up the clean channel. I tried 12AY7s, which have about 40% of the gain of an X, and one failed within minutes. I’ve read posts about instability with Ys, so I don’t put them in these amps.

The stock speaker could be warmer too. Your taste will determine what you prefer, so read up on alternatives before doing anything.

If by sweet you mean smooth overdrive, use a pedal into the clean channel. I have a Dumbler and a Rocket Touch that sound great to me through any of our amps. The drive in these amps is harsh, to my ears. But it’s a solid amp that’s done well on our stage for years.

**citizenk74** · 08-30-2021, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by SteveWig

Hi all

ive got a stock BDRI and typically use either an epi Sheraton (with Lollar vintage pups) or an Ibanez George benson gb10.

I’d be really interested to hear tips on dialling in sweet tone on the amp..not my strong point ?

cheers
steve

**st.bede** · 08-30-2021, 04:05 PM

I have used a blues deluxe reverb a lot. Mostly for blues, reggae, and jam oriented rock. That was around the late 90s into the 00s. It is a loud amp. I never used the dirt channel. I tried to swap out pre-amp tubes to get it a little warmer. That did not seem to do much for me. I think attenuating the signal is a good bet. I can not remember if I did that or not. The amp really needs to push, to get a fuller sound. On low volumes it is ungodly clean. I was not using many pedals back then. But when I would hit the front end, the amp responded really well to that. I basically used a wha. A lot of times just cocked. The amp really loves wha and envelop filters.

Those are the things I would try: attenuation and juicing the front end. Maybe a EP boost.

**Gitfiddler** · 08-30-2021, 04:58 PM

I also had a Blues Deluxe RI and agree that the volume taper is too abrupt, not smooth.

Here's what I did to bring out the best tone (for me):

Turn the Treble/Bass/Mids down to zero. Then set your desired Volume. Next, slowly increase Treble/Bass/Mids, one at a time to your desired frequency. Turn up the volume and repeat Treble/Bass/Mids adjustment.

Use an EQ pedal to reach the desired tone after setting the amp's EQ.

Swap the speaker for a more efficient one (e.g. Cannabis Rex or your favorite AlNico...Creme/Gold/Weber, etc.).

Tubes have already been mentioned, so I'll leave that up to you.

Good luck and trust your ears.