Guitar Center Product Reviews: Fender Deluxe Blues Reissue
Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue
Okay, yes the Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue is covered in tweed and that is pretty sweet. But that is only part of the story on this little beauty. I have never really been a Fender guy, however, they arguably have the best clean tone on the market and have for many years. And with the ever-increasing number of professional artist who swear by their Fenders chances are, when you turn on a Fender it’s going to sound good, if not great. Equipped with a Jensen speaker specially designed for this model, the Blues Deluxe Reissue is going to not only provide a classic Fender look, but sound as well. Blues, Rock, Country, Jazz, Rockabilly. This thing will pretty much do it all. Unless of course you are wanting to play Metal or Hard Rock, but let’s be honest, you wouldn’t be buying a Fender if that were the case. Fender knows who they make amplifiers for and they know how to do it very well.
Lately I myself have been moving closer to the less “aggressive” side of things musically, i.e. away from Metal, Hard Rock and so on. Until recently I haven’t really had much experience with “cleaner” sounding amps, but historically Fender seems to be a good place to start. After spending a good year or so trying out many different amp brands and models I kept coming back to the Blues Deluxe Reissue. Even some Fenders were a little too bright or thin sounding. The BDR just had the best of both worlds and seemed to have the warmest, fullest tone of all the amps I had tried out. I did have two main concerns however. The first being whether or not I was still going to be able to get a nice aggressive tone if I needed it without compromising tone. And the second being whether the 1×12 at 40 watts was going to give me enough power and volume. Going from a 4×12 cab to a 1×12 combo is quite the difference, especially in a live setting when your bass player refuses to use anything besides an 8×10 Ampeg rig.
Obviously on the clean channel it sounds fantastic. Crisp, clear, classic. No contest there. When switched to the overdrive channel it’s very easy to get a nice blues or classic rock tone. This amp is meant to cook a little hotter than a Twin or Deluxe Reverb. Now, I did realize that whenever I was using the overdrive channel most of the time I still had the Drive cranked to 12. It have more to do with my own personal tastes but if you tend to use high gain this amp might not be for you. There are some ways to work around this though, like throwing on a distortion or overdrive pedal. Or maybe for some the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III would be the way to go, which is another 40 watt 1×12 combo amp that has added a “More Drive” feature to the overdrive channel. As far as my concerns about the amp being able to hold its own on stage along side the rest of the band, I recently played a gig and had no issues. In fact I received many compliments about my guitar tone afterwards. Needless to say I am very happy with my recent purchase and upgrade in overall tone. Not to mention the fact that it looked pretty cool up there on stage.
Final Thoughts: This amp can be very versatile and handle a number of different styles. Light to heavy, clean to distortion. Whether you’re going for B.B. King to Clapton, The White Stripes to Muse or Grateful Dead to Nirvana this amp can get you there. Plus, it ain’t bad to look at either.
Online: guitarcenter.com/Fender-Blues-Deluxe-Reissue-40W-1×12–Combo-Amp-103231874-i1145956.gc
Travis Mason- Guitar Center Fort Collins, CO,
Category: Product Reviews
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