The Fender Blues Deluxe - Is It Still The 'King Of Blues Amps'?

With instantly recognisable looks & tones, Fenders Blues Deluxe has always been a a go to amplifier for modern day Blues Guitarists! In this video Dagan ponders that in a world full of fancy boutique amps and great sounding digital amps, is the Fenders Blues Deluxe still an amplifier you should consider buying, or should Fender look to revamp it for the 21st century!
Get your very own Fenders Blues Deluxe at PMT Online here - bit.ly/3y4VN7U
The Fender Blues Deluxe Re-issue draws inspiration from the classic Deluxe and Bassman amps of the 1950s, and combines it with the modern versatility of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The original Fender Blues Deluxe launched in 1993, adding channel switching and reverb to an established Fender amp design from the post-war era. Countless Country, Blues and Jazz guitarists around the world took an instant liking to the boutique tone, pairing well with a wide range of stompbox effects.
As you'd expect from a Fender tube amp, the vintage channel serves up a great blend of cleans plus a bright switch for lead playing. The Blues Deluxe's drive channel pushes the 12AX7 preamp tubes harder and offers just the right amount of distortion.
A 40 watt output through a single 12" Special Design Eminence speaker delivers the perfect amount of power for small to medium-sized gigs, rehearsals and studio recording. If you're after authentic vintage valve tone for a creamy blues sound, this is the amp to get!
0:00 Intro Tones
0:57 Is It Still Good It In 2024?
2:35 The Way It Feels
4:16 Often Imitated, Never Duplicated
5:44 History Of The Fender Blues Series
6:14 The Overdrive Channel
8:40 It's Iconic Look
10:25 Volume & Size
11:19 Spring Reverb
13:22 The Controls & Tone Demo
#Fender #FenderAmps #Blues #BluesGuitar #BluesRock
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[@smudger6573]

I love this amp as I just plug in my Gretsch guitar and it just gives me the perfect 1950s rockabilly sound

[@kenbunkley1167]

It looks a lot smaller than my original 1995 Deluxe. I still love mine, but it's HEAVY! Like you said it's plenty loud for and bar gig and the spring reverb is second to none.

[@stryanx4395]

Nothing sounds better than a strat with a tweed

[@DavidShepard-ke9su]

I bought mine now 14 years ago. It is beautiful. I have replaced tubes and rebased it (which you can do easily), replaced the stock speaker with an Eminence Swamp Thang and put the Doc Watson $22 attenuator in the effects loop, and it's perfect.

[@christogeorgekurian]

that black strat has some real shine to it.

[@Summ3rhays]

I love mine. It’s been a great amp. It definitely benefits from attenuation. It’s so gloriously loud.

[@mstewart248]

I bought this amp two years ago. At the time I looked to see if you did a video on it. I had been trying to get higher gain tones with pedals. I got a Marshall DSL40CR a month ago. Now I AB the Marshall DSL and Fender Blues Deluxe and use the Fender as a clean amp. The Blues Deluxe works much better when you use it for what it was designed for instead of trying to make it something it’s not. It has a great clean sound and has a good distorted sound when you turn it up loud enough on the clean channel. I don’t care for drive channel but if you can get the volume loud enough on the clean channel it sounds really good.

[@gergemall]

Thank you

[@IamtheFerryMan]

I have a 95 BD. It's lovely!

[@WoodyBlueberry]

Suggestion : You should show the exact tunig knobs control on the amp, not just only show all the knobs setting to midi all the time

[@madade27]

I've recently got one used, with a Dr Watson "widget" in the effects loop, No regrets..Its GLORIOUS! (Dr Watson Lion Tamer for Blues Deluxe \ Deville - Master Volume Module)

[@DavidShepard-ke9su]

YEP. I FINALLY put the Doc Watson $22 attenuator in the loop and BANG. After so many different tries and different things, BOOM. Perfect.

[@patvidal8932]

I replaced the stock speaker with the Eminence The Wizard sounds Amazing, Not Cristal Clear like my Twin Reberb, but Super WARM and CREAMY. the best for Tele First, Strats Second, with Humbackers you must use the Bright switch i supossed but I didn´t try . Greetings from Chile

[@brandonbutler8808]

I love the Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue, I bought mine used during the pandemic and I got a good one, the fender Hot Rod Series which this is a part of can have long term maintenance issues, the capacitors are cheap and can go out, but it is my understanding that before parts of the board burn up for which this series is known for it can be taken in for longevity maintenance and after this the amp can last for a couple decades. Mine is still in good condition but I will have it serviced at some point. This isn't just this amp, new Marshall tube amps in this price range can have issues, maybe it's just a thing with economics where some things aren't just built to last the way they used to be. A lot of working/gigging guitarists use the Fender Hot Rod series, and I do love the way my Blues Deluxe sounds.

[@Twinhit]

Had BDRI in 2010-2017 put a Celestion Gold in it and it sounded great to my ears. 2009 Fender American Standard Strat and 2006 Gibson Les Paul '56 Goldtop VOS w/Bumblebee caps and.... my cedar top spanish classical w/undersaddle pickup sounded great. It can get pretty darned loud. For Fender, its not a bad amp, for sure. '65 Princeton Reverb is an excellent one too for smaller size venue and recording and '65 Deluxe is probably the BDRI's biggest compettitor for gigs as near as I can tell. Another great little bedroom amp knocking on the BDRI's door is the Supro Blues King(discontinued) or Delta King 12. Plenty of volume and useable three band EQ with nice gain, boost and vol and master vol. that compares reasonably with the BDRI that I had. The Delta King 12 is a direct competitor with the standard Blues Jr and to some ears better. The BDRI was really nice... sorry I had to let it go.

[@OldManandtheGHome]

I'm sold!

[@explorervango880]

That’s the Fender amp I bought. My other amps are AC30C2 and Friedman BE100 Deluxe to cover most anything I would want.

[@xxdr34m5xx_4]

Got them all in my fender TMP 🎉

[@explorervango880]

@@xxdr34m5xx_4 yeah digital I have a HeadRush. Nice to plug in and practice a little. Tube amps are special though.

[@xxdr34m5xx_4]

@@explorervango880 yeah for sure, for gigging purposes i sold everything besides my prs mt for home use and i went completely digital, never might come back to analoge..

[@doghousejt]

love mine it can be smooth as silk or blow the windows out of a small room!

[@Smart-Alex]

Sounds great but it's very loud (as you said). An attenuator is a must-have purchase too for "bedroom" players.

[@RoyvanRikken]

This is exactly what I’m looking for. I might have the chance to trade it for my Peavey Classic 30. I’m tempted……..

[@DennisHayes-tr8jd]

I thought I heard you say metal zone . I had to rewind it 17 times. You really said boss metal zone. I gotta go pick up my jaw now.

[@christophervincent8420]

It's an absolute pleasure to play an amp like that. Just can't own one. Lol

[@gkol69]

No SD-1 or TS-9? I'm surprised! And I was hoping for some Les Paul/humbucker tones, too...

[@kaptkrunchfpv]

I ran across a older (from the looks of it) Blues Jr, serial B-255951. I can get it for around $200, is that a good deal now days? Its nots pretty, but supposedly works as designed.

[@Tedanson]

It goes past 11!? There’s one on special at my local music store but I still can’t afford it 😩

[@tommyd5238]

I bought a Fender Pro Junior a few years ago as I couldn't afford the blues version, it's ok but it buzzes like hell, not so good for low volume playing, but how's the latest Blues ?

[@bobboitt3126]

Probably the power tubes....EL-84s and combo amps tend to rattle, perhaps try another set.

[@tommyd5238]

@bobboitt3126 Thanks, I'll give it a try

[@O_Towne_Bear]

Okay, have a question for all the amp-ologists on here. I love Fender amp tones but not that Fender glassy highs (nails on a blackboard). Now, I don't have a lot of experience with them - but can that be dialed back (or even dropped all together)?

[@beauwolf5729]

You can dial back the treble on the amp or on your drive pedal(s). In the extreme case you could replace the speaker ( i have done that) for a warmer type. A lot of Fender amps have bright speakers which are great for clean playing but not always great for playing with overdrive or distortion. It is up to the player what he finds more important; a clean or overdriven sound.

[@O_Towne_Bear]

@@beauwolf5729 Thanks for your thoughts. Cheers.

[@billpoplin2534]

12ay7 in v1 and ecc81 in pi. Lion tamer in e loop

[@O_Towne_Bear]

@@billpoplin2534 sure sure...

[@alinsandu7190]

Boss ge7 in the loop lower at 6.4k or tone knob on the guitar.

[@joeinterrante7873]

Settings?

[@southernpride2003]

Is this a tube amp

[@adiohead]

Yes!

[@millermonsterair]

Harley Benton/Monoprice offers a 15w all tube/valve amp and if you rip out the garbage celestion seventy 80 in it and swap it for a celestion 75w creamback, you now have an amp that is better than the blues Jr, and almost as good sounding as this, at a tiny fraction of the cost.

[@HALWASRIGHT]

The Fender will come with a better transformer, which will help for a better overall sound than a monoprice. Not to mention serviceability is not an financial option with the monoprice...just saying.

[@millermonsterair]

@@HALWASRIGHT go ahead and spend that kinda money for the name then. its not my money youre spending

[@millermonsterair]

@@HALWASRIGHT serviceability? that is why youre okay spending a $1,000 premium? are you serious? you cant be serious right now.... on the monoprice, the tubes are literally right there and take ZERO effort to replace, as needed. why you sending your amp to a tech and paying them, well how much money to do that exact same thing? literally, if youre buying the fender, at this point, youre ONLY buying the name. the monoprice with a creamback in it is superior to a blues junior. put them both under a 'scope and tell me you can still hear a difference. dunning-kreuger is strong in some people

[@99otari]

I have an early Blues Deluxe ('94). It's definitely not a bedroom amp as is. It's just way too loud 😬when trying to drive it into distortion. I have to use my 'power soak' or stomp box.

[@mstewart248]

It’s possible to play it at bedroom volume, you just can’t get the full potential out of this amp at bedroom volume. I wish he demoed cranking the clean channel. That’s where this amp really shines.