NAD: Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb RI

[Wally]

I was wrong about the rear panel, minibucker...thansksfor the pic. It has been a while since I was in one of those BF RI. IF you want to see the best built post-'85 Fender excepting the haandireds, take a look at the Pro Sonics. All of the frotn panel compnents are chassis,-mounted, too....built liek a mid-70's Marshall PCB amp. This is the on ly amp fender has ever built in that manner, ime.
I cna't post pics here...for some reason.

 

[Minibucker]

I had a Prosonic way back…probably 12 years ago. Got another one recently but wasn't really happy with it. I guess I liked it better back then when I was primarily paying a Strat. Actually, I returned it to Chicago Music Exchange and got the '68 CDR, as a coincidence.

To me, the Prosonic was basically like Fender's version of a Boogie. Even at the 'class A' 35W setting, it was loud enough to peel paint!

 

[68PBass]

Wondering if the tube layout is the same as its counterparts, 65 Deluxe reverb, and or a vintage Deluxe Reverb. I swapped the far right preamp tube yesterday, and the custom channel made some fuuuunky noises, almost like a bad cord, or dead battery type noise. the vintage channel seemed to respond ok, to a tube change. Anyone got some input here?

 

[Big Al]

I was wrong about the rear panel, minibucker...thansksfor the pic. It has been a while since I was in one of those BF RI. IF you want to see the best built post-'85 Fender excepting the haandireds, take a look at the Pro Sonics. All of the frotn panel compnents are chassis,-mounted, too....built liek a mid-70's Marshall PCB amp. This is the on ly amp fender has ever built in that manner, ime.
I cna't post pics here...for some reason.

I had a Prosonic bought new back when. Nothing but headaches, reverb was crazy, and the volume would jump up or drop down when playing. I had it F up on 3 different gigs and it was always in for repairs, BIGGEST POS I have bought new. I don't care how well they look to techies, they perform like rats ass. The amp techs had two different letters from Fender detailing major screwups and fixes for that amp. My techs could not solve the recurring problems so I dumped it at a big loss.

 

[Mr. Papa]

I'm reviving this thread because I might be in the market for a '68 Custom DRRI and wonder if anyone who has lived with one for a while wants to comment. I'm also interested in any of the alternatives from boutique builders, Allen, Dr. Z Z-Lux, etc.?

 

[Wally]

I had a Prosonic bought new back when. Nothing but headaches, reverb was crazy, and the volume would jump up or drop down when playing. I had it F up on 3 different gigs and it was always in for repairs, BIGGEST POS I have bought new. I don't care how well they look to techies, they perform like rats ass. The amp techs had two different letters from Fender detailing major screwups and fixes for that amp. My techs could not solve the recurring problems so I dumped it at a big loss.

Big Al---if you are still there, I didn't catch your replay back in November. IME, your amp had a simple problem....and your techs didn't have a grip on things, imho. I have had 3 of them....all 3 sounded exactly the same and were...and still are...great amps. Yes, there were 3 tech sheets on them....2 dated April 1997, and one dated a month or so later. Minor things....and the last one is not necessary. All 3 of my Pro Sonics left the factory with the tech updates....two of these amps were built in April of '97. The Lake Oswego amp, which is the one I kept, is dated Nov, 1996....and it had the April '97 tech sheets done at the factory.
ONe of these amps is gigged professionally regularly and has no problems since the young man got it as a present. The other April, '97, is used in worship services weekly and has not given any problems.
Ime, your PS had a simple problem.....and someone who didn't know what they were doing couldn't fix it. I will note this, I have turned mine on once and noticed reduced output and bad sound....I reached around and checked the power tubes.....one was loose in the socket and the heaters were not making contact...cold tube not working. Jiggled it and it came back. Retension the socket and all was well again. That is the only problem I have had with any of these 3 amps....over a period of 3-4 years. Nothing but great, versatile sonics. I wish I had been there to help you lose money on that one...better yet, I wish I could have 'cured' it of whatever was ailing it for you. (;^) Sometimes 'techies' know what to do.

Mr. Papa, if you are looking for a DR in particular and for my money, I would get a SFDR and have mods done to it. What Fender has done is not enough of a change, imho and ime. I regularly make the Normal channels sit up in two channel Fender reverb amps and bark in a tweed manner....and much more BARK! than the '68 Custom amps do.

 

[fcsnut]

I played one today in the custom channel with a firebird and it was juicy!!!

 

[sonar]

I've read some complaints with the early models of noise associated with the reverb. Is (or was) this an issue?

 

[SimonBarSinister]

I have one and it is a great amp. Upgraded the tubes to Phillips and a good rectifier and it sounds even better. I also put in a 10" Greenback as well. The stock speaker is ok but not as good as the Greenback

 

[Bluespower]

Try this with a '65 DRRI to get reverb and vibrato on both channels.

Jumper your '65 DRRI with Bass on 10 on Normal Channel .and the Treble at 1,
And, Bass on 1 and treble on 10 on the Vibrato channel. Volumes at 6 and 5.

It doesn't matter if it's out of phase with these changes in tone controls.
Reverb and Vibrato on both channels

 

[TM1]

Rob; Hi ya! These are PCB amps! Same crap components as their regular stuff, just a little tweak here and there to make it sound like the old ones. IU think if you put in some of your NOS valves it'll sound fine!

 

[garagemonkey]

I'm reviving this thread because I might be in the market for a '68 Custom DRRI and wonder if anyone who has lived with one for a while wants to comment. I'm also interested in any of the alternatives from boutique builders, Allen, Dr. Z Z-Lux, etc.?

I found one stupid cheap on craigslist several years ago and bought it just to try it out. I already had a couple big Marshall rigs, a '73 Deluxe Reverb, and a good 5E3 Tweed Deluxe boutique clone that were my primary go-to amps (as well as a smattering of other stuff I keep hanging around). It was upgraded with a Weber Ferromax speaker, but coincidentally my '73 DR had the factory speaker replaced with a G12 V-type from a Custom DRI and to my ears it's a perfect fit, so I'd wager the factory Celestion is just fine in a '68 CDRI.



The Custom channel has a Bassman tone stack and the Vintage has a blackface DR stack. Plugging into either you do notice a distinct difference, so with these two channels along with my '73 Silverface I've got my primary Fender colors more or less covered. For me it offers great flexibility with the different channel voicings, or I often jumper the channels and mix them like an old Plexi since both channels are in phase. I've had PCB fenders in the past that have gone down and developed problems of all sorts so I fully expected to have the same happen with this amp. If it ever gives me trouble I plan on sending it out to be converted to hand-wired (Alessandro, Psionic, etc) - but so far the thing just keeps chugging away every time I ask anything of it. Sounds fantastic too whether drippy clean or cranked into overdrive.

I think if you find a good used one for $800 or less it's money well spent. Mine has been dead quiet and reliable but here's a good smattering of videos covering some potential issues and common fixes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMluTMfz7OA84M4mx8HsmkYDctHHKiMMC

 

[Roman4405]

I had one for a while. It was awesome, for some stupid reason I traded it for something, I don’t even remember what, and have been kicking myself since. It’s a great amp.