TweedAS

[longtallronnie]

Picked up a Fender Blues Deluxe today courtesy of DarrenP of this parish (very nice bloke btw) and after a quick blast this afternoon I think I'm going to like this little box of tweedy goodness.

Being new to Fender amps, I've a couple of questions...

Is the BD considered to sound like a typical tweed amp? The cleans sounded more like how a blackface sounds in my head. Admittedly, I've not played either so have no experience of either of them!
The reason I ask is I've been gassing for a Bassman 59LTD and I'm wondering if there are any similarities (speaker config aside) or if the BD's tweed aesthetic is purely cosmetic. If I like the BD would it be fair to assume I'd like a Bassman or are they totally different?

I've noticed a few people swap the stock speaker for a V30, what's the thinking behind this? Better driven sounds? Higher clean headroom? I'm going to live with it as is for a while before deciding if it needs any changes but I'd be interested to hear what others have to theirs and why.

Anyone attempted lacquering one? Thinking it would give the tweed a bit of protection.

Finally, any suggestions for places that sell covers? Padded or otherwise.

Looks quite nice with 335!

[ICBM]

You're correct - the clean channel is somewhat (but not exactly) like a Blackface, and the Drive channels (again somewhat rather than exactly) more like a Tweed. Somewhere in between really, while having some characteristics of both. It doesn't have quite the glassiness of a BF clean or the crunch of a Tweed overdrive though.

The thinking behind putting a V30 into one I can only attribute to it being the only premium speaker many people seem to have heard of. The original speaker seems to have been chosen for maximum volume at minimum cost rather than tone, and is very shouty. The V30 is marginally better in that it's less boxy, but it's still not the right choice since it's still far too midrangy and harsh (in my opinion - and I like V30s in many amps). I would definitely pick something like a Jensen if you want to push it in the BF direction and a cleaner-sounding Celestion if you want to go for more of a Bassman sound, maybe a Classic Lead 80 or a G12-65, or one of the new Creambacks (which I haven't heard yet).

Lacquering them is an improvement in appearance, durability and (I think, don't laugh!) even tone... you can buy proper cellulose 'dope' if you want, but I've seen good results with plain (hard glaze) Ronseal.

Covers... several threads here, but basically anyone apart from Silverstone.

[Dave_Mc]

The thinking behind putting a V30 into one I can only attribute to it being the only premium speaker many people seem to have heard of. The original speaker seems to have been chosen for maximum volume at minimum cost rather than tone, and is very shouty. The V30 is marginally better in that it's less boxy, but it's still not the right choice since it's still far too midrangy and harsh (in my opinion - and I like V30s in many amps).

glad you said it so I didn't have to. Agreed I tried a v30 in an HRD (not exactly the same, but not a million miles away, either) and it was just a bad choice for the amp.

I know you don't like them, but I like the eminence american-voiced speakers I've tried, and they handle distortion pretty well too (unlike jensens, which i'm not really that familiar with, but which have a bit of a rep of being, well, not that amazing, i think. That being said, the little 6" jensen mod i have in my little fame tube 5 isn't too bad, so ).

you also have the likes of weber, harma, wgs (none of which i've tried )

EDIT: nice score, by the way And the guitar matches it nicely, too.

[fretmeister]

I had one of them.

Lovely amp that takes pedals so well.

Volume control is the usual Fender quiet quiet quiet LOUD rubbish - but I had a Minimass to sort that out!

[ESchap]

Just picking up IC's point about lacquering the tweed. I have a pre "LTD" Bassman. Came in the same anaemic tweed. I scrounged some orange / brown coloured cellulose laquer from a tame luthier and gave it 3 coats. Definitely makes the tweed covering a lot toughter to take bashes and scrapes etc. Also really has improved its look to my eyes. A number of people have commented that it actually looks better than a Ltd. as it has a "proper" aged look to it ...... Relic amps .... should I start a thread?

[longtallronnie]

Thanks for the info. I'll probably give it a few gigs before considering any major changes.

What are those "volume pot in a box" all about? I'm planning on running it clean and using pedals for dirt at pub gig levels so doubt I'll have much need for it but might be handy for rehearsals.

@ICBM
Is this the stuff you meant for lacquering?

@Eschap
That Bassman looks lovely, how did you go about doing it? Any tips? I'm not worried about making it much darker, more a case of added protection really. I'm assuming you stripped it down etc first?

[ICBM]

What are those "volume pot in a box" all about? I'm planning on running it clean and using pedals for dirt at pub gig levels so doubt I'll have much need for it but might be handy for rehearsals.

Just an extra master volume control that goes in the FX loop and allows you to get more useful range between ultra-quiet and weedy-sounding and good-sounding but too loud. They don't allow you to "drive the power valves" or any such marketing BS (you need a full-size power attenuator for that) but they work, and can be very handy for low volume playing.

@ICBM
Is this the stuff you meant for lacquering?

I think so, although I can only make an educated guess since I've never done one myself, just seen a couple that other people have done.

[ESchap]

@Eschap
That Bassman looks lovely, how did you go about doing it? Any tips? I'm not worried about making it much darker, more a case of added protection really. I'm assuming you stripped it down etc first?

Thanks, sounds even better! Doing it couldnt have been simpler, I got about 250mls of Cellulose Lacquer from a luthier, which he kindly added some orange / brown dye to. I took the chassis out, but didn't take out the baffle ... too much hassel. Just put it on with a 1 and a 2 inch brush carefully, particularly around the grill cloth. First coat just disappears into the cloth. Left it about an hour between coats. Three coats gave me the effect I was after.

[ESBlonde]

I don't know if it interests you, but I bought an HRD a couple of years ago and decided that I would 'upgrade' the driver. When I was with Nigel at Lean I bought a couple of celestions. I still have them at home sealed in the boxes because I never got around to doing the deed. If you fancy a day of fooling around we could try different drivers in different amps to see how the perform. I assume you're still in Har/d'court area?

[longtallronnie]

Young man!

Yeah still in Harwich so would be up for meeting up. Might be a while before I get a chance though as my weekends are pretty stacked with worknand gigs etc. You're near Ipswich aren't you? Or am I thinking of someone else? It was easier to keep track with avatars!