Fender 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb

Used a 1996 USA Lonestar Strat & a series of guitar effect pedals going into the front of the amps custom channel with bass on 10, treble on 6.5 & volume between 4-6 in a smokey hotel bar residency 5 nights per week in Dubai - United Arab Emirates.

Played in 4 piece band (bass, drums, guitar, female vocals & backing tracks) Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Blues, Dance, Top 40 Chart hits music for 6 months. Set up the amp and kept it in the same place. Everything worked perfectly even when the hotels fire alarm shut all the power off on the stage randomly every 2 months without warning - The amp would always start back up again.

More than a year later with the same tubes and still sounds great. Only once has the amps fuse blown because it was plugged into a intermittent power supply.

This is a good 'workhorse' general purpose amplifier.

Pros:
1. Super clean tone
2. High quality reverb & vibrato can be used on both channels
3. Relatively lightweight & compact
4. Breaks up nicely at around 50% volume
5. Loud enough to keep up with a mature drummer(who doesn't bash the kit)
6. Looks beautiful

Cons:
1. No effect loop for external delays, reverbs etc
2. When micing the amp to a live mixing desk or for recording, it has a small hissing sound even with all volume & tone controls turned down and without any cables plugged in.

I love this amp..Perfect for pub and club gigs playing anything from classic rock, country and blues. i find it has just the right amount of power to get that classic fender breakup sound at small gig volumes.. back the volume off on your guitar and get great twin type tones.. if you have not used amps without pre-amp gain controls before you need to learn to use your guitar volume to control the gain or simply put an overdrive or distortion in front of it... they sound great with pedals.i use an ABY pedal to switch between the 2 channels or run both at the same time. both channels have different characteristics. custom channel is bassman sounding, vintage is more twin. having had twins and devilles in the past..its a joy to carry this amp. very small in weight but big in sound..

As a professional guitarist who plays a Gibson R9, I have mixed feelings about the Fender 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. The sound is undeniably impressive—warm, rich, and full of that signature "tube" character. It captures even the subtlest nuances of my playing beautifully, making every note come alive with expression.

However, the build quality could use some refinement. Certain details feel slightly underwhelming for an amplifier at this level. Another drawback is the volume potentiometer. Its sensitivity doesn’t allow for easy adjustments at low volumes, which is frustrating for home practice or smaller gigs.

While the amp shines in live performances, delivering stellar tones and dynamics, I’d love to see Fender address the flexibility in volume control to make it more versatile. All in all, it’s an impressive amplifier with room for improvement. 🎸 Let me know if there’s more you’d like to add! 😊