Is a Fender Deluxe Reverb loud enough to gig?

I am looking for a new amp and love the sound of the deluxe reverb. Im just wondering if the 22 watts is enough for gigging and maintaining that nice fender clean sound. Does anyone have experience gigging with it?

I played live 50 weekends/yr x 3 years with a 1964 and 1966 Deluxe Reverb. It was plenty of amp (we miked/ran all instruments thru PA). Most gigs I just used the 1964 miked. If it was large venue or outdoors, I would run thru both amps, just mike the 1964 Deluxe.
I ran a compressor most of the time, which helped it keep a clean sound.

I'm sure that someone that's played one in a Guitar Center store for 10 minutes is going to chime in that "it's not enough amp to play live with".

So, let her rip.........

Pictures are of my Deluxe Reverbs/Anvil cases.

I'd say it depends on the venue size, whether you are mic'd, and how clean you want to be. Mine is too loud for the clubs and bars we play which are usually 50-100 people seaters - if I'm driving the amp at all. If you're playing clean, I think it's about right. Sometimes I wish it had less power honestly. We usually have a PA we are amplified through, so loud isn't necessarily of great concern, accept if its too loud and interferes with everything.

I played live 50 weekends/yr x 3 years with a 1964 and 1966 Deluxe Reverb. .

I gigged with SFDR for years. Sometimes miced sometimes not.

If you want that sweat tube Fender breakup putting the volume on 6, DR is perfect. Anything bigger is gonna get loud on 6.

Mmm.. very common question, and one that can really only be answered with experience. "Loud enough to gig" seems like a simple question, but there are a lot of variables. Venue type/size, style of music, number/types of other instruments in band, how many of them are occupying the same frequency as the guitar, etc. However, there are some concretes. First off, the Deluxe Reverb is, without a doubt, a "loud" amp. It's not a toy, and certainly not limited to bedroom or studio/recording use. In a lot of ways it's the perfect working guitarist's amp. 22 tube watts through a 12" speaker can move a surprising amount of air. The wattage is right in that sweet spot where you can drive it a bit in medium-sized clubs without blowing the rest of your band away (and causing the first few rows of the audience to go deaf). If you're playing a small venue and have the amp either tilted up or on a stand and positioned correctly, you'll probably be able to be able to keep it pretty clean, even un-mic'd. But really, with PA sound reinforcement, you can mic any amp for clean sounds. I've used my 5-watt Marshall Class 5 for a church gig where I knew I was going to have a good PA, and it worked fine. If I'm playing a rock club though and don't know what to expect, I'll drag the Super Reverb out. I've played with as little as 15 and even 5 tube watts live without a PA, with mixed results, sometimes it works, sometimes not. So yeah, it really depends on your situation...

Quite honestly though, I think if you have the funds to get a Deluxe Reverb, there's a 99.999% chance you're gonna be happy with it. Just my $.02.

Good points above...

I never mic my amps unless it is a big place like the House of Blues, or an arena like at the race track, or a festival where the band is in the open up on a flatbed trailer / stage platform. I find the Deluxe Reverb to be plenty loud even when playing with a horn section at ground level outdoor gigs barefoot (un mic'ed).

My pickups are low output and heights are set down low. So, my DR plays Fender clean all the way up to 10 on the volume, and will drive a little if I lay into it, which is just about as perfect as it gets.

If you have typical pickups it will be louder and may break up some at the upper range of the volume, but the cleans will be plenty loud and the drive will be sweet and rich and within reach without microwaving the front row.

Bottom line is that the when the nature of the venue is such that the barefoot DR is not enough, you are already past the point where micing it becomes necessary... that is to say, the DR is strong enough and sounds so good that there is a pretty big overlap between the range of places where you don't need to mic it and places where you do. In either case the DR will sound great. Of all the amps that sound engineers are familiar with when working the board and PA, the Fender amps are probably best known and the DR is one they will know how to manage quite well.

You won't be able to get a loud clean out of it. I've experimented a with deluxe's and they never get loud enough clean and have way too much treble. I've tried using guitar volume and tone knobs.

If you want to gig a deluxe you'll definitely want to go through a pa.

To me a deluxe reverb is more of a studio recording amp. They have tone!

You won't be able to get a loud clean out of it.

But... I just wrote that he will. Now what?

You won't be able to get a loud clean out of it. I've experimented a with deluxe's and they never get loud enough clean and have way too much treble. I've tried using guitar volume and tone knobs.

If you want to gig a deluxe you'll definitely want to go through a pa.

To me a deluxe reverb is more of a studio recording amp. They have tone!

You'd be surprised by how small some of the amps used for big concerts really are while they have dummy stacks spread out across half the stage.

A DR is plenty of amp for any gig. Like has been said, lots of our smaller, local venues won't require you to mic it. Outdoors and larger venues, you will need to mic it.

OwnYourTone, have you tried turning the amp around backwards? It works for small venues where you need to crank the amp more than the venue can handle comfortably. And the closer to a wall or obstruction to the front of the amp, the better.

I believe that Dick Dale turned his amp around because he played so loud.

I know a local player that hosts an open jam and turns his DR backwards close to a wall. You need to keep a few inches away from the wall.

You need at least 100 tube watts to gig comfortably. Period.

You need at least 100 tube watts to gig comfortably. Period.

I am looking for a new amp and love the sound of the deluxe reverb. Im just wondering if the 22 watts is enough for gigging and maintaining that nice fender clean sound. Does anyone have experience gigging with it?

I have a peavey classic 30 and its plenty loud. I play unmiced in a loud band and have had no problems. Mind you I do get some "tube edge" on my tone.

Funny, I gigged my 7 watt tiny terror to around 200 people and was fine....

Of course you don't need 100 watts...

Btw, how have you been finding the Orange ? Are they as ballsy as they are made out to be ? Just curious as I've heard some pretty good reviews.

I was just being a smart-ass.

Of course you don't need 100 watts...

Btw, how have you been finding the Orange ? Are they as ballsy as they are made out to be ? Just curious as I've heard some pretty good reviews.

I've got the 1x12 combo and its exceptionally ballsy. Heaps of tube saturation, sounds heavenly with a les Paul. Then back of the grit a bit with the strat and it sounds like stacked overdrive pedals, but the real deal.

They're dark sounding amps, but I liked that. And they need to be at a decent volume to really hear the tone. But in terms of a simple tube amp to do gritty to dirty tones I don't think you could do any better.

Only downsides are it doesn't do sparkly clean, and it doesn't take pedals well. But for a gritty blues to 70s metal amp you can't beat it. The thing is in its prime cranked and dirty.

Sounds like pure Orange to me ! I've got to try one out the next time I'm down at the music store.

Cheers.

You won't be able to get a loud clean out of it. !

No brighter than any other BF of SF amp. You can always cut the bright cap (I put mine on a switch for those gigs when 6 is too loud - yea, that happens - and the bright can be a little too bright - like a twin on 3 with the bright switch on)

I have gigged tons of country and blues gigs on a Deluxe. Inside, outside, miced, not miced. Depends on the band, but no issues here.