OT: Fender Deville Clean Headroom?

[Boy_Narf]

Hello Everyone,

Anyone around here play a Fender Deville? I was initially trying to find a crystal clean at stage levels that is around 20-30 lbs but it doesn't seem to exist. I have been told the Twin is the loudest cleanest monster in the industry, but they are 65+ lbs, and way up there price wise. I then got looking at the 410 Deville. Around the same weight and dimensions as my R30C (bit taller), and half the price of the Twin. Now I'm curious if anyone around here plays one. I'm guessing there are a few A/B rig setups out there in Orange land. Does the Deville stay clean at ear busting stage volumes, or is it also catered towards breaking up on the clean side?

Thanks everyone

[Love Panda]

Been quite a while since I sold my DeVille. It certainly had a LOT of clean headroom. Ear busting stage volumes while still clean? I would say yes if the venue is indoors, and maybe outdoors. I recall being able to turn the clean channel volume up to 4 or 5 with little to no hint of breakup. I think around 6 is where the amp stops getting louder and the volume knob only adds saturation. It was also the best pedal platform I've ever owned.

[Boy_Narf]

Cool thanks!

I keep asking people and they all say Twin. Not a single mention of the Deville.

Realistically, every gig will be miced, including outdoor gigs. The issue is the headroom for band practice. I typically run my amps a bit louder while jamming with the band as we only have PA support for the vocals.

Anyone else have experience?

[Ronnie Robinson]

Cool thanks!

I keep asking people and they all say Twin. Not a single mention of the Deville.

Realistically, every gig will be miced, including outdoor gigs. The issue is the headroom for band practice. I typically run my amps a bit louder while jamming with the band as we only have PA support for the vocals.

Anyone else have experience?

Bensnake's got one of these has n't he?

[thejay]

I have a deluxe reverb and at only 22w I can get it plenty loud before it breaks up.... I imagine the deville could get much louder at 65w without breaking

[Jondog]

I had a 410 deville many years ago. Clean was great on it. Only used it for pedals. Was ridiculously loud for what I was using it for, but I remember making the clean breakup a bit, but I think it was more speaker breakup than preamp. I sold it because I wanted amp distortion and the drive channel sucked.

[b80]

I owned a 410 Deville for several years and it was the LOUDEST clean amp I've ever played. If you're playing this on volume 6 or 7 you must be playing a huge outdoor show or something. Crazy amount of volume! I miss the amp, sometimes, because I had it for so long. But I don't imagine ever needing "that" sound again. I've been all Orange for some time now.

[bclaire]

I don't know if it is still like this or not but I tried one out - hit a power chord in the clean channel and then switched to second channel - the sound dropped way down in volume as I switched. Deal breaker.

[Jondog]

Drive channel is one of the worst on those hot rod amps.

[Boy_Narf]

Ah old bump, heads up I tried it an the headroom was pretty sad. Also tried the twin and it didn't cut it either. I hauled my old 500 Traynor bass rig out of storage, adjusted the EQ to be guitar friendly, turned up the tweeter, and the tone is perfect! Very chimey and Hi-Fi, and it stays clean all the way up. What I require out of a clean guitar amp just doesn't exist at this time. Of course I could have spent another few thousand on a 200 watt + tube rig, but I don't want to deal with the weight, or having to haul another massive cab. When I do get this show on the road, I will be looking into a high wattage bass combo. 10's seem to cooperate with guitar a bit better, so I'll probably be looking into a 210 500 watt something or other. My current bass cab is just over 70 lbs.

Thanks for the info guys. Played almost all the fender amps currently offered and honestly, they are not for me. Fun to test them all out though

[Lespaul12]

I might be late to the party but I gigged mine up till last year. Mine is the 60 watt 212 Deville. It is very heavey and thats why I used a cart to move it around. Inside gigs the volume was rarely above 3. Outside gigs the volume at about 4. got my dirt from pedals. If you want the amp to break up it would be to loud for the rest of the band and the the sound guy will turn it down anyway.
Now the reason I used this amp for so long is the fact it stays clean and you can shape the sound with pedals. The second channel was good if you use the drive in moderation and used the volume and tone knobs on the guitar. Thats the secret to the second channel.
I now use the Orange cr60c pro. lighter, plenty of power and sounds good. What more could you want, haha

[bobbythompson65]

I've got a 60 watt Hot Rod DeVille 212 that stays crystal clean up to at least 6 (Probably more, but at 6 it was so loud that the other guys were getting drowned out). While not as good of a clear as a vintage Twin, it is damned close. The other channel is basically crap as far as I'm concerned, but I honestly have never tried to work with it much.

Another suggestion for a glassy clear amp is of all things a V-series Crate amp. Crate made garbage, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. Just before they went out of business they finally built a decent all-tube amp. I have a Crate V100 half-stack that sounds as good clear as any Fender I've ever heard. The gain channel sucks and you really can't get it to distort much, but on the clear channel it will stay crystal clear to extremely high volume levels (Works great for pedal junkies!). And they're generally dirt cheap if you can find one for sale, just because of who made them.

[Gordy G]

Is this a Valve only thread?,if not the JC120 is the loudest & cleanest,by a massive amount,sadly it's also the heaviest.

[Boy_Narf]

Hey Guys,

I ended up using my 500 watt Traynor bass amp through a 210/115 cab. With the tweeter at full, and the treble backed off a bit, it's nearly perfect. I tried a JC40 (great tone, but no headroom), but never was able to find the 120. If I ever see one locally I will check it out for sure.