Deluxe Reverb replica build

[martin manning]

Thanks Dave and Chopsauce. Yes, all new, but with the original look, save for the reverb and footswitch plugs and cables. Those are available, but not worth the cost, and not as durable, IMO.

At this point I'm rolling tubes, since noise (hiss) from V1 and V2 is the thing that stands out now. The JJ ECC803S I tried first were both noisy and microphonic (consistent with some reports on that long-plate design). The 12AX7EH that are in it now are much better, but I've got some gold pin EH ($$) on the way to see if they will lower the noise any further.

[beasleybodyshop]

Looks great Martin! The ultimate giggable Fender if you ask me. Can't go wrong with a Deluxe Reverb. Thanks for the tip on the Tuki padded back for the verb. I just snagged a few for some old projects that have sensitive verb tanks.

[Charlie Wilson]

Martin, question about the chassis. Looks great. I have heard that they may be slightly thinner gauge than the originals. What do you think? I need to build a Princeton reverb and I have been eyeballing those chassis.
CW

[martin manning]

Martin, question about the chassis. Looks great. I have heard that they may be slightly thinner gauge than the originals. What do you think? I need to build a Princeton reverb and I have been eyeballing those chassis.

I don't have an original to put a micrometer on, but it could be. If someone can measure one, at some point I can pull it out and measure. Seems to be plenty stiff enough, though, and I'm very happy with the overall quality and appearance. If you want an amp that looks like NOS, this is the way to go. The only thing I noticed is that the eyelets were a little difficult to wet with solder, which others have noticed too. I thought about replacing the boards with G-10, but in the end decided to use them. A little extra heating time is all it takes.

[martin manning]

Looks great Martin! The ultimate giggable Fender if you ask me. Can't go wrong with a Deluxe Reverb. Thanks for the tip on the Tuki padded back for the verb. I just snagged a few for some old projects that have sensitive verb tanks.

Thanks Dustin! I'm sure you'll be happy with those bags. Very well made, good looking, and works great.

[M Fowler]

Nice build Martin!

[Guy77]

Beautiful build Martin.
I see you used the Hammond 290BX power transformer. I was always impressed with how beefy those transformers are for a 22 watt amp.
Last time I weighed one they were around 5.5lbs .

Cheers

G

[martin manning]

Thanks Mark and Guy.

I see you used the Hammond 290BX power transformer. I was always impressed with how beefy those transformers are for a 22 watt amp.
Last time I weighed one they were around 5.5lbs .

Hammond products right across the chassis in this one. They have two PT's identified as DR replacement. I picked 290BX because it is specifically listed as replacement for BFDR, referencing the exact Fender PN (125P33A). It is the higher voltage, lower current version of the two. The CX has -10VAC and +42mA on the HT winding, +1.5A on the 6.3VAC, and references the '65 DR RI. That one would be good for 6L6GC power tubes, if someone were interested in that. With A 5U4 rectifier I am now at 395VDC on the plates, where the original Fender schematic shows 420. Switching to a GZ34 might add 20VDC to my plate voltage and change the feel a bit; I just haven't tried that yet. I kind of like the idea of running lower voltages. Both BX and CX have 3A 5V windings, so either one supports either rectifier.

The OT is a 1750H, which is also supposed to match BFDR spec. In a recent thread, the wire colors on a Hammond transformer were found to be reversed wrt primary-secondary phasing. I found the same in this case, which is odd since the exact Fender PN is referenced here too. Hammond's documentation (which is more complete than most manufacturers provide) indicates the phase, so I was able to wire it correctly straight away.

[ampbldr2]

Hi Martin,

What a great looking build. I think this will be my next build with a solandfa kit.
Now that you have had the amp for a while how are you liking the sound of it? Could you post a final gut shot of it?
Still following the changes you made.

Cheers,
Todd

[bepone]

Solanfa produce nice kits! Little bit expensive but you have all in there. I did several DRs with their chassis.

Interesting build with modern MF resistors original is all with the CC's..

Only just one detail that catches my eye ... at the top of the cabinet where the tolex overlaps , chassis straps are mounted with some "angle" , tolex is overlapping just below. Tolexing is not done following the original scheme? Top part of the tolex should go to the corners and bottom part should go to just overpass the strap...Just saying, not a critic, nice build overall.

Cabinet is also very important here.. i was experimenting a lot, it needed 6 years for me to get the sound move from "dry" to "organic with sustain"..

[martin manning]

Now that you have had the amp for a while how are you liking the sound of it? Could you post a final gut shot of it?

I don't have this amp at home any more, and unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the finished chassis. It was a Christmas gift (as a box of parts) and a first amp build and learning project for my son, who had been wanting a DR for a few years. I did the planning, and most of the talking, and he provided most of the manual labor, which was the reason for the build-and-test-in-sections approach. He learned a lot about tube amps, and we had a lot of quality time together. I do have a marked up Fender layout drawing, which I could clean up and post. It's still sounding great, and I would build it again without changing a thing.

Interesting build with modern MF resistors original is all with the CC's.. Top part of the tolex should go to the corners and bottom part should go to just overpass the strap. ...Cabinet is also very important here..

As mentioned above, this amp was not intended to be an exact copy, rather an improved version where improvements could be made. Components were selected from a Dumble point of view, so no noisy CC resistors. The slope resistors are CF, but that does not mean that I am in any way superstitious. The cabinet was bought already finished, and I did notice the Tolex seams on the top aren't in the right place. It doesn't really bother me though, and you are the first one to mention it ;^). Most importantly it is made from clear pine.

[Guy77]

Nice Build Martin! I love using Pine boards as well on all my cabinets and Birch for the Baffles. This combination sounds great, nice and open sounding.
My daughter is helping me with some of my builds these days. She surprised me with how good she is at soldering.

Cheers

Guy

[Ziggy]

Nice build! I built a Mojotone kit a few months back, still playing around with getting idle noise out. I’m going to try your mod with the tremolo switch.

[martin manning]

Nice build! I built a Mojotone kit a few months back, still playing around with getting idle noise out. I’m going to try your mod with the tremolo switch.

Thanks! Check to see which switch has the shielded wire while you're in there. That one goes to the reverb jack. The sticker on the housing is sometimes reversed... mine was.

[romberg]

Very nice Martin! I'm incorporating some of your ideas into my own build. Using the extension AC hole for mounting bias test points is a great idea!

What values did you use for the PI plates? 100k 110k and a 10k trimmer? I can't quite make them out with the gut shots and my ageing eyes.

Mike