Just got this from the owner: "Will try to be brief here. Since owning a real '65 Blackface Deluxe Reverb, I have tried to get that sound back without spending thousands to get another original. I've had 2 '65 reissues and then got the '68 you worked on a few years ago. Took the 65's to various techs around Nashville in the early 2000's, even had a Mercury Magnetics O.T. put in one, but nothing sounded as good as what you did to the '68. I'd say it's your experience and common sense that produced superior results. Thanks again. BTW, the Mojo reverb tank sounds great. Thanks for recommending it. Well, back to playing too loud, really enjoying the sounds coming from the amp."
I just completed all the mods mentioned in this video. I have a new amp. The difference in tone is outstanding. Every frequency is present now. The mids pot is a must. And quiet - the noise is gone. That's worth repeating - the noise is gone. It's very responsive to every note I play. I set the volume to about 4.5, mids pot at about 6, bass and treble about half way on the classic channel and adjust what I want at the guitar and how I pick the strings (telecaster). The amp now responds to how I pick a string. Full rich, with everything the way it's supposed to be. I've got a pretty nice Mesa Boogie combo amp - I'll put this one up against it any day. It truly responds to my playing. Thanks big time for making this information available. I don't recommend doing this yourself unless you really know what you're doing. It's not worth getting hurt for or causing expensive damage to your amp. But, for those that have the experience and may be on the fence with this, you won't recognize your amp. It makes that big of a change.
Thanks for going to the trouble of doing this. It is a very helpful video, as you can pause/rewind, for those of us who are a bit slow on the uptake. Shows what a nice bloke you are.
Lyle , I binge warch your vids to learn more. I am a hobbyist amp type. I am a believer in clones of these iconic amps. These reissues are so so clones of the originals except they are Fender brand!!! People say why build a clone amp when you can get a reissue for the same money. I would love a vid where you take on a mojotone clone build and how to make it better. How about a brown deluxe??
Great information here I have the 68 deluxe Reverb I change the speaker and the Reverb tank, but how can I get some of the mids out of the second channel without the knob on the back?
Regarding the "wrong" negative feedback resistor, It's part of Fender's marketing for this amp. This is what they said,"Reduced negative feedback increases touch sensitivity and overdrives faster". I prefer the "proper" resistor. Amp sounds great. Thanks again, Lyle!
Yes, they were intentionally wrong. ;) The main result of their 1.5K NFB resistor was just a higher noise floor. It didn't radically change the output section behavior/sound.
Thank you for this! I am debating on whether or not to bring my '68 to one of our local heroes to do these upgrades. I THOUGHT I saw a comment asking about the reverb tank and asking for a direct link, but it seems to have disappeared. Could you please re-share which Mojotone reverb tank you used? Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for these videos. I've had this amp for a few years and while I like it, I know it can be much better. I want to do some of these mods soon. Could you list the values of the components you changed in the tone stack?
Thank you for the detailed explanation 👍I had such a hard time keeping up with yesterday's video. Especially the sound. My poor tablet took a beating. My poor headphones 🎧 Yikes 😆
I have scoured your videos addressing C5 when you cut the V1 and V2 Plate Link. Looking at the schematic it appears that C5 has to be reinstalled to link the custom channel back in. Also, I see you cutting the Green Wire out to V2 but never explained why. I know you are busy doing these instructive videos. And they are very productive. Could you address this please. Also working on a 2019 68 it appears they did not put that 18K R in the Custom Tone Stack.
Regarding the screen grid resistors: I've seen you re-locate them a few times now, and I've noticed that sometimes you jump the empty spots, sometimes you don't. sometimes you cut the existing wire connecting to the pcb. I also noticed that it appears that you have the black and white heater wires both connected to pin 2 of the first octal socket. I was just curious as to your reasoning behind those two things. I'm a fan of your work. Thanks for making these videos.
Depending on the layout and tube pin requirements you can't always jump empty pin spots as they may be tied to other parts in the tube. Not all 8 pin tubes have the same pin outs. In this example, Lyle left the heater wires to the board because it had the (hum) balance resistors already in place, but the heater current is now going directly to the tube sockets instead of through the quick connectors and board. The black and white heater wires are not connected, white is pin 2, black is pin 7, it does look like that because of the angle.
Absolutely loving yours videos, Thanks for sharing your extensive knowledge. If you were in the UK I'd Love to by one of your amps. Can you quote me a price?
Regarding R69, the 22 ohm in the Bias supply. If I may ask, you cited changing it to a 470 ohm 1/2 watt. I can't find a schematic with the 470 ohm. Can you suggest one? Also with R69, in another video you suggested beefing it up with a metal film flameproof of higher wattage than stock and didn't mention 470 ohm. Did I understand correctly? Regards and thank you. Gregory
Do I have this right? To remove the reverb from the Custom channel you remove the jumper between R11 and R23, install C5 (0.047uF, 400V), remove the jumper between R12 and R53, and install R12 (220k)?
Well I spent more time studying the schematics and watching more of your videos and went ahead and did what I said above. The amp hiss is greatly reduced, but not all the way gone. Going to continue to learn from your channel so I can continue to improve my amp. Thanks for the great content!
Man, I had this amp and thought it was terrible. Sounded OK alone but as soon as I put it in a band situation I couldn't hear it due to what I think was a lack of certain frequencies that didn't allow it to cut through. Sold it. Also, mine came from the factory with reverb and tremelo on both channels.
I had a very similar experience. Really awful amps, in my opinion. Couldn't sell it fast enough! Bought a hand wired Super Reverb clone and man, what a difference!! 👌
Hi Lyle. Just bought a used but like new 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. It is very quiet and everything works as it should so I'm not thinking about doing any of your modifications right now. I'm just enjoying having a Fender amp again. However, my question to you is... It came with the stock GT branded JJ 6v6 power tubes. They have a rated number 9 sticker on them. I was wondering if there would be any benefits in installing a rated number 5 set in the future and as backup? - Thanks for all you do here!
Very interesting video! Would it be possible to cut the whole reverb out of the circuit? Or would it effect the tone or something else... or is it not possible because of the circuit? I have an outboard spring tank and it sounds better than the stock verb on of custom 68 princeton?
"Wrong feedback resistor" ---- wrong resistance value ? (too much or too little feedback?); or fed back to the wrong point in the circuit? [Edit: Aah, a little later in the video you said the stock circuit didn't have enough negative feedback, so, presumably you lowered the resistor value].
Just got this from the owner:
"Will try to be brief here. Since owning a real '65 Blackface Deluxe Reverb, I have tried to get that sound back without spending thousands to get another original. I've had 2 '65 reissues and then got the '68 you worked on a few years ago. Took the 65's to various techs around Nashville in the early 2000's, even had a Mercury Magnetics O.T. put in one, but nothing sounded as good as what you did to the '68. I'd say it's your experience and common sense that produced superior results. Thanks again. BTW, the Mojo reverb tank sounds great. Thanks for recommending it. Well, back to playing too loud, really enjoying the sounds coming from the amp."
I just completed all the mods mentioned in this video. I have a new amp. The difference in tone is outstanding. Every frequency is present now. The mids pot is a must. And quiet - the noise is gone. That's worth repeating - the noise is gone. It's very responsive to every note I play. I set the volume to about 4.5, mids pot at about 6, bass and treble about half way on the classic channel and adjust what I want at the guitar and how I pick the strings (telecaster). The amp now responds to how I pick a string. Full rich, with everything the way it's supposed to be. I've got a pretty nice Mesa Boogie combo amp - I'll put this one up against it any day. It truly responds to my playing. Thanks big time for making this information available. I don't recommend doing this yourself unless you really know what you're doing. It's not worth getting hurt for or causing expensive damage to your amp. But, for those that have the experience and may be on the fence with this, you won't recognize your amp. It makes that big of a change.
Hello , i'd like to make this mods aswell , but i'm a completely beginner at moding amps, was it the same for you ?
Love the pairing of these two videos.. I'd like to see a three hour version of you swearing though.
I made the same modification to my amp minus the mid pot and this thing sounds 98% better thank you for the info.
Thanks for going to the trouble of doing this. It is a very helpful video, as you can pause/rewind, for those of us who are a bit slow on the uptake. Shows what a nice bloke you are.
Lyle , I binge warch your vids to learn more. I am a hobbyist amp type. I am a believer in clones of these iconic amps. These reissues are so so clones of the originals except they are Fender brand!!! People say why build a clone amp when you can get a reissue for the same money. I would love a vid where you take on a mojotone clone build and how to make it better. How about a brown deluxe??
Great information here I have the 68 deluxe Reverb I change the speaker and the Reverb tank, but how can I get some of the mids out of the second channel without the knob on the back?
I changed the mid resistor to 2.7k on the Custom channel. Sounds HUGE! What an improvement! Also put NFB back to 820R. Thanks for the tips!!
Hey guys, I just slowed brown Lyle at work with the settings..! He was on a mission at that speed..Great to watch the excellent service..Ed..UK..😁
Regarding the "wrong" negative feedback resistor, It's part of Fender's marketing for this amp. This is what they said,"Reduced negative feedback increases touch sensitivity and overdrives faster". I prefer the "proper" resistor. Amp sounds great. Thanks again, Lyle!
Yes, they were intentionally wrong. ;)
The main result of their 1.5K NFB resistor was just a higher noise floor. It didn't radically change the output section behavior/sound.
1:23 "by coffee...travelling over an exposed completed overhaul"...LYLE, you're gonna give me a heart attack!! Nice work on the amp.
I. Don't. Waste. Coffee.
@@PsionicAudio LOL! My wife would concur to that mindset.
Thank you for this! I am debating on whether or not to bring my '68 to one of our local heroes to do these upgrades. I THOUGHT I saw a comment asking about the reverb tank and asking for a direct link, but it seems to have disappeared. Could you please re-share which Mojotone reverb tank you used? Thanks so much!
Thanks so much for these videos. I've had this amp for a few years and while I like it, I know it can be much better. I want to do some of these mods soon. Could you list the values of the components you changed in the tone stack?
Your videos are AMAZING!! Thank you
Thank you for the detailed explanation 👍I had such a hard time keeping up with yesterday's video. Especially the sound. My poor tablet took a beating. My poor headphones 🎧 Yikes 😆
Thanks Lyle, great tips for those of us with this amp.
Could you put a push/pull switched pot on the reverb pot to manually switch the reverb to either channel ?
I have scoured your videos addressing C5 when you cut the V1 and V2 Plate Link. Looking at the schematic it appears that C5 has to be reinstalled
to link the custom channel back in. Also, I see you cutting the Green Wire out to V2 but never explained why. I know you are busy doing these instructive
videos. And they are very productive. Could you address this please. Also working on a 2019 68 it appears they did not put that 18K R in the Custom
Tone Stack.
Regarding the screen grid resistors: I've seen you re-locate them a few times now, and I've noticed that sometimes you jump the empty spots, sometimes you don't. sometimes you cut the existing wire connecting to the pcb. I also noticed that it appears that you have the black and white heater wires both connected to pin 2 of the first octal socket. I was just curious as to your reasoning behind those two things. I'm a fan of your work. Thanks for making these videos.
Depending on the layout and tube pin requirements you can't always jump empty pin spots as they may be tied to other parts in the tube. Not all 8 pin tubes have the same pin outs.
In this example, Lyle left the heater wires to the board because it had the (hum) balance resistors already in place, but the heater current is now going directly to the tube sockets instead of through the quick connectors and board. The black and white heater wires are not connected, white is pin 2, black is pin 7, it does look like that because of the angle.
Absolutely loving yours videos, Thanks for sharing your extensive knowledge. If you were in the UK I'd Love to by one of your amps. Can you quote me a price?
Regarding R69, the 22 ohm in the Bias supply. If I may ask, you cited changing it to a 470 ohm 1/2 watt. I can't find a schematic with the 470 ohm. Can you suggest one?
Also with R69, in another video you suggested beefing it up with a metal film flameproof of higher wattage than stock and didn't mention 470 ohm.
Did I understand correctly?
Regards and thank you.
Gregory
Nice!!!! Thank for the info.
any good amp tech recommendations in Portland, OR? Not confident to attempt some of these adjustments myself....
Do I have this right? To remove the reverb from the Custom channel you remove the jumper between R11 and R23, install C5 (0.047uF, 400V), remove the jumper between R12 and R53, and install R12 (220k)?
Well I spent more time studying the schematics and watching more of your videos and went ahead and did what I said above. The amp hiss is greatly reduced, but not all the way gone. Going to continue to learn from your channel so I can continue to improve my amp. Thanks for the great content!
@@spals328 Thank you, I've been looking everywhere for instructions on how to remove reverb from the custom channel. Can't stand the hiss.
Man, I had this amp and thought it was terrible. Sounded OK alone but as soon as I put it in a band situation I couldn't hear it due to what I think was a lack of certain frequencies that didn't allow it to cut through. Sold it.
Also, mine came from the factory with reverb and tremelo on both channels.
I had a very similar experience. Really awful amps, in my opinion. Couldn't sell it fast enough! Bought a hand wired Super Reverb clone and man, what a difference!! 👌
Beautiful work! Out of curiosity what type of shielded wire do you use?
RG174
Hi Lyle. Just bought a used but like new 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. It is very quiet and everything works as it should so I'm not thinking about doing any of your modifications right now. I'm just enjoying having a Fender amp again.
However, my question to you is... It came with the stock GT branded JJ 6v6 power tubes. They have a rated number 9 sticker on them. I was wondering if there would be any benefits in installing a rated number 5 set in the future and as backup? - Thanks for all you do here!
That number is pretty meaningless. The amp has an adjustable bias that a tech can set proper operation with a range of different 6V6s.
Very interesting video! Would it be possible to cut the whole reverb out of the circuit? Or would it effect the tone or something else... or is it not possible because of the circuit? I have an outboard spring tank and it sounds better than the stock verb on of custom 68 princeton?
as always, great insight!
Would you recommend this as a practice amp to play in an apartment?
With the reverb not in channel one, are the channels in or out of phase?
Out of phase, like the '60s amps.
Great video, I jsut bought such an amp and was wondering which value that midpot has? Is it 10K or 25 k perhaps? Thanks
I used a 100K A taper, so it's 10K at noon.
So…that’s a big one for Mid. I will try that, thanks
What is the cost of this rework? I have a 68 RI , just had the caps replaced. Would love to have your mods .
Lyle, can you link the mojotone reverb tank you like? I looked and there seem to be a few different ones and can’t tell the difference
I think its probably this one... www.mojotone.com/4AB2C1B-Reverb-Tank-Fender-Marshall-Ampeg-2-Spring?quantity=1&page=1
That's the one.
😊
“As God and Leo intended” I am here for the knowledge, but I forward to my friends for these little bits...
"Wrong feedback resistor" ---- wrong resistance value ? (too much or too little feedback?); or fed back to the wrong point in the circuit? [Edit: Aah, a little later in the video you said the stock circuit didn't have enough negative feedback, so, presumably you lowered the resistor value].
🤘
Tinning the tip...so to speak.