18 Watt vs. Deluxe Reverb

[jaysg]

Has anyone A/B'd their 18W with a BF/SF Deluxe Reverb? I'm mostly interested in the volume levels and how it might balance in a 2 guitar band.

[ColinM]

Hi Jay
Yes, I have, beleive it or not, used my old original alongside a silverface DeLuxe! If you 'dime' them both, the Deluxe is noticeably louder, but breaks up in a somewhat 'nastier' way. The 18 watter sounded much more musical IMHO . If you wind the Deluxe back to a comparable volume, it cleans up nicely. It all hinges on the roles you guys have in your band! They're both nice amps (obviously!), but do a different thing to each other. A bit like comparing an Audi TT with a Toyota Landcruiser. They both do what they do really well, but can't be truly compared side-by-side (and I wouldn't mind owning one of each
In my experience, Fender amps bring the best out of good quality effects pedals including the likes of a 'tubescreamer' or a 'Guv'nor'.

Hope this is of some help,
Colin

[Wayne_Alexander]

Jay (and Colin) The choice of speakers makes a big difference to the volume output of an 18W. I've built a head, which I use with a 2x12 Mojave cab with Celestion G12H speakers, which are very efficient (close in output per watt to Celestion blues) and my 18W is as loud or louder than a Deluxe Reverb, both clean and dirty.

[jaysg]

It sounds like they're fairly well matched for a band, or for one guy A/B/A+B switching. I've always been suspicious of the 22W rating of the DR, but I have no data to prove it. My 18W does 15W clean into a resistive load with fixed bias. When it was cathode biased, I think it did 13W, which is closer to a Princeton.

Wayne, have you compared the two with the 18W as a 1-12" open back? I suppose this 12W to 20W range of amp may be more sensitive to speaker efficiency.