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Post subject: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:53 pm
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...I'm a little skidish on buying after this review:

"I've owned one of the newer Fenders and the only thing I'd say is that the new ones aren't very durable, if you're gigging whatsoever plan to get to know a repair guy because they are wired idiotically in order to save money on the production line and insure that you'll have to give their licensed service techs some business (and, eventually, buy another amp). PCB boards mean that every problem will be dealt with by swapping boards, which is expensive as hell. I mean little things like jiggling one of the knobs can cause a short (because they are soldered directly to the PCB), which can then cause a component to fry, or a speaker or tube or transformer to blow. I played 2 shows with it and had it repaired twice, each time at about $100. I have 3 silverfaces from the 60s-70s and those are workhorses that have needed very little repair over the years and have endured lots of traveling and playing. I ended up using the case from the reissue Fender to make a 2 x 12 for my Showman, and threw away the guts and (blown) speakers because it simply was no longer worth fixing and I couldn't, in good conscience, sell it to another person. This is a widespread problem with newer Fender amps, many messageboard topics, comments, and reviews can be found via Google. I strongly recommend saving up your money and looking on craigslist for an older Fender amp or buying a newer (non-Fender) one that is wired point-to-point. I'm not a vintage snob, I think the newer Fenders sound fine and are plenty loud, but if they were as durable as the older ones, Fender would be out of business because there would be no demand for new amps."

...yer thoughts?


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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:14 pm
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New Fender amps sold in the USA have a transferrable five-year warranty.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 4:29 pm
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That review is so vague, it's to be disbelieved. The author lumps all newer Fender amps into this category, and doesn't even tell which amp he has. :roll: Does that go for the Deluxe Reverb or a Frontman, treating both as the same? Pshaw!!

Just one thing to say about that BS "review", the pots on your BDvl have nuts that secure them to the chassis, so that BS about wiggling knobs causing the amp to blow is absolute nonsense.

I will admit, and Retroverbial can vouch for, the older Fender amps are quite rugged, and some of the newer Fender amps are not in the same league. But, in the case of the BDvl, it is a decent amp. I would say that the weak point in this amp could be the input jacks and loop jacks, and they can be replaced if necessary to beef up the amp.

There are plenty of "newer" designed Fender amps out there that have been work horses for years, and the BDvl is among the better ones.

Don't worry about some JA "reviewer" that is obviously FOS. :wink:

BTW, I've never swapped one board out in any amp, and it is uncommon. Yet another point that the author is FOS about.

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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 5:03 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
I will admit, and Retroverbial can vouch for, the older Fender amps are quite rugged, and some of the newer Fender amps are not in the same league. But, in the case of the BDvl, it is a decent amp. I would say that the weak point in this amp could be the input jacks and loop jacks, and they can be replaced if necessary to beef up the amp.


+1

I'd add only that the R78 and R79 concrete resistors (not sure if the BDvl has this precise set-up) are periodically problematic but once they've been replaced using the improved mounting method the amp is pretty bulletproof. Some decent glass, a bias tweak, a more appropriate speaker, and you're off to the races. The HRDvl's "fizz" and "more fizz" channel modes are not the most palatable but the BDvl can sound pretty righteous with the right guitar/pickup combination.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 5:54 pm
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The HRDvl and BDvl are a little different than the HRDlx and BDLx in the +/- 16 volt supply where the 5 watt resistors are located. The Dvls are better in that the AC voltage supplying that circuit is lower to start with, less voltage, less wattage dissipated, so there isn't the same excess heat that the Dlxs have, and therefore the Dvls do not have the heat related issues of the Dlxs in that area of the power supply.

I am still not sure why Fender found it necessary to use such a high voltage to begin with for the Dlxs, only to dump the excess across those 470 ohm resistors. This is also where the myth of changing the 470 ohm resistors to 330 ohms came from, as the Dvls have the 330 ohm, and since they don't have the heat issues some people made the wrong conclusion about the resistors. They completely missed the fact that the voltage was also lower for the Dvls. Replacing the 470 ohm resistors in the Dlxs with 330 ohms, just shifts the excess wattage and heat to the zener diodes, and actually results in more wattage dissipated overall.

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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:27 am
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Thanks so much for the quick response...I feel a bit better about the BDRI now...I've been playing in one form or another for about thirty years, but much to my shame, I've only had experience with simple plug/n/play amps (except for that '78 Twin I usta have...wish I still did)...anyway, I'm so clueless when it comes to tube amp knowledge that I'll need to be leaning on this forum and others quite a bit if I get this amp...when I read about you guys electronic knowledge on these things, I'm like "duhhhhh", lol...all I know is that when I played that thing at the store, I thought I was going to come unglued because I've never had a sound that great come from my Les Paul...so to ask my first of many question, I ran across the following: "Now, if you want to play it home and not have intense ringing in the ears when you go to bed, they make a volume control device that goes in the effects loop. It merely reduces the pre-amp push so you can crank the tubes to the right sound."...is this the attenuator that I've heard about? Also, I understand some after-purchase tweeks might be in order? Maybe different tubes and such? Hope I'm not being too much of a n00b, but you guys really sound like you know what yer talking about. Just want to make sure I'm getting my money's worth as the price is way up there...btw, any comments on how this stacks up against the Peavey Classic 50 410? Haven't tried that one yet...again, thanks loads. :D


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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:43 am
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Sounds like a volume box, not an attenuator. The volume box goes in the loop, while the attenuator goes between amp and speaker. The volume box allows you to push the preamp section, while the attenuator allows you to push the output section. Preamp distortion with a volume box, power amp distortion with an attenuator. Use either to get the particular distortion at lower volumes.

Your best bet to improve the sound, and the first thing that should be done with any new amp, is to check/adjust the bias, and then allow time for the speakers to break in. After that, if you still are unhappy with the sound, experiment with different preamp tubes, which are relatively cheap. If still not happy, then maybe output tubes, and/or different speakers. Note that it gets progressively more expensive.

IMO, the BDvl 4x10 is a great amp, at least right up there with the Peavey.

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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:53 am
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You might ask yourself what type of playing situations you could conceivably find yourself in before buying any amp. For home use, garage jams, and casual play, you may discover that you don't need a 60-watt 4 x 10 powerhouse. OTOH, if you're a nightly-gigging professional then rock-solid reliability may be your primary consideration. Decide what you need the machine to do before writing that check. But keep in mind that, like buying a house, it makes more economic sense to grow into one than to grow out of one.

Best of luck, HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: The Blues Deville 410 Reissue sounds great, but...
Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:33 pm
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Your absolutely right...and this is my prob...a purchase of this sort would have made more sence back when my band (or the band I'm in) was more active...but now, alas, problems internally and the future's uncertain...still, lol...I'm currently running a Line6 POD HD500 thru a Tech21 Power Engine 60 which is fine for church and the occasional gig when miked thru a good pa...I may in fact want to go with a 2x12 config instead...still, lol...hope to be gigging much more in the future.


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