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Post subject: DELUXE VM Q&A
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 6:12 pm
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Thinking about buying a used Deluxe VM. I've read a number of posts from various forums regarding how the tubes are supposed to work with this amp. Some folks say that its mostly solid state and the tubes don't do much. Others say that the power amp is tube driven but the preamp is mostly solid state with a little help from the 12ax7's for warmth. If this is the case, then will changing any of the tubes really make any appreciable change in the sound? Fender website says it is an amp with "Real tube performance"??? Does anyone know for sure what role the tubes play in this amp...or do they just light up and look good?


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Post subject: Re: DELUXE VM Q&A
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:26 pm
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I'm not totaly sure, but I know they go for about $800 new and they are calld hybird amps with DSP effects. For $200 more you could explore the realm of a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue. One big difference is the DRRI is a recreation of a blackface Deluxe Reverb, and the newer VM is modified with Micro components that make up the added limited effects as part of the electronics.

Also, as an investment the DRRI will likely hold it's value better than the VM. I've seen a Deluxe VM on craigs list going for $450. He tried to sell it for $550 3 months ago and could'nt get a buyer.


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Post subject: Re: DELUXE VM Q&A
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 7:34 pm
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It's a hybrid, and tube changes really don't effect the DSP polluted signal chain much at all. You never know, you may like the amp. The Vintage Molested series really don't do anything for me.

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Post subject: Re: DELUXE VM Q&A
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:59 pm
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Well, I figured I would go right to the source and try to ask Fender directly. I was pleasantly surprised when someone answered the phone right away but when I asked for tech support the operator said that he would try to answer my question first. The guy was very polite but his response was so quick that I was left with the impression that he was either reading from a script or he had been asked this same question 100 times before. He said that the amp was "all tube" and the only thing solid state about it was the digital effects section. I then asked, "you mean that if you took out the dsp section it would be nothing more than a 40 watt tube amp just like the HRD?" He replied with an affirmative, "Yes"... Hmm...so why am I still a little skeptical?

I should probably add here that I own a nice little blonde SCXD which is also a "Vintage Molested" series as 63supro so eloquently describes the vm's. I do love the little champ so I was hoping that the Deluxe would be a more powerful and more "gigable" version of its little 15 watt sibling. After talking to Fender I took the plunge and ordered a used DVM from GC today for $450. I already have a matched pair of Svetlana 6l6's and some miscellaneous preamp tubes lying around to try out in order to give the amp the full benefit of the doubt once it arrives. I'll post my initial impressions once I put it through its paces to let everyone know if it is a winner...or, if I too have been "molested"!


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Post subject: Re: DELUXE VM Q&A
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 6:36 am
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As soon as you add DSP effects, it ceases to be an "all tube amp". Try it for yourself. I really doubt you'll hear any difference at all. Personally, I would have went for a DRRI and a few nice effects.

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Post subject: Re: DELUXE VM Q&A
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:54 pm
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Good deal if you got it for $450 that's a bargan.


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