Verdict - Victory Duchess V40 Deluxe Combo Review

Quality 9.5/10

I have had this amp for 4 weeks. It has lived in my study, the car, on stages and in practice rooms. I have carried it up and down stairs and it has gone from hot to cold and dry to raining to dry again. It's been noodled on, practised with and gigged with. Basically for the last weeks I have used it in as many different scenarios I could and it has been moved around like a normal busy gigging band would move it.

It has some weight (24kg) but it feels lighter than, for example, a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe or Deville. It certainly feels easier to carry. It is a prototype so has or had some very, very minor issues. All of which Victory know or knew about. But I will mention them here to help demonstrate the quality of this combo:

The slip cover has a tear. It came like this and I have a sneaky feeling it is actually the cover from another amp in the existing range and is pending the correct cover for the production version.
The footswitch didn't work for the tremolo (although it did for the reverb) - easy modification made by me with direction from Victory (and I barely know which end of a screwdriver to hold). The footswitch now fully works and this had already been fixed in the production versions.
The labels for the switches are beginning to fade. I know that this was an issue on some early V40s but has now been fixed so I suspect this is purely a prototype feature. A little part of me thinks amp knobs should come without labels so that you have to use your ears to find the tones you like. But that part of me is always beaten into submission when I need to adjust the Master on stage in bad lighting. In a hurry. In the dark.

The prototype has black appointments which I love as it pairs ever so nicely with my existing V40 Head but the copper / brown of the production version really does help to demonstrate this is a different amp to the standard and to raise the Deluxe feel.

Like other Victory combos the amp is open backed and constructed of pine. It is covered well and feels finished and of high quality even though its a prototype. Something I would possibly ask for if I was looking to make this my own personal amplifier is for the top baffle/panel on the back of the amp to be at at the same level as the bottom of the electronics rear panel just to make access to the rear panel items on the underneath of the amp easier. As long as it didn't detract from the tone of course.

In my experience Victory make exceptionally high quality amps and this one is no exception. The other thing it is worth noting is the quality of support on offer from Victory. I have had the very odd occasion to contact Victory support for the various amps which I have owned for over 2 years. In one or two cases that need was driven by something I had done and on one or two by genuine issues. Whether genuine or user issue, in every case Victory have exceeded my expectations of what customer service looks like. In some cases just be being very knowledgeable and helpful and in others by going above and beyond to make sure my issue was fixed to meet gigging deadlines.(Additional note: both of my heads have very early serial numbers so I would expect the odd challenge for being an early adopter). The Victory Amp Owners Club group has many instances of this exceptional customer service. There is a demonstrated, real understanding within Victory that these amps get used by working musicians and they have to be reliable and on the very odd occasion they do go wrong they need to be sorted out. Not all amp manufacturers can boast this.

Sounds 9.5/10

This is a Victory Amp without doubt and the Victory V40 tone is evident.

However the V40 Deluxe is a different take on the tone to the standard V40 Duchess. Victory have listened to the feedback of some users who have been looking for a brighter, harder more American type of feel and have responded by not just appointing the Deluxe with a valve driven spring reverb and valve driven tremolo, both of which are excellent and for some would justify the difference alone, but delivering an amp reminiscent of those early to mid 60s amps, both American and British with the gain dialled up, whilst still keeping that distinctive, unique Victory tone.

What is striking about this amp is its versatility and how many of those historic tones are available from one channel by playing with the controls. High and Low power changes the feel; Voice 1 and Voice 2 do too; plus mid kick in or not - all make contributions to the tone, some of them subtle, some not so subtle. And that's before you actually play with any of the tone controls! Further tweaking of the Master and Volume controls also have a big impact on the playing dynamics.

What struck me was how much you could turn up the Master control, thus getting the best out of the amp, and still control the overall output of the amp to make it playable in most modern small to mid sized venues.

As previously mentioned, the reverb is exceptional and including a tone control really adds to the versatility. Whether it offers some of the extreme settings that those mid-60s amps did is open for debate but I found everything usable except with the Reverb Depth and amp Volume maxed out.

Likewise with the Tremolo, there are no extreme settings but everything is usable across the range of both depth and speed.. However, this is one of the nicest tremolos I've used or heard and I would challenge any pedal manufacturer to better it.You may get more extreme settings from a pedal but for pure era-correct, 'lose yourself in the moment' tones this Tremolo is one of my favourite things about this amp.

All of the above refers to Voice 1. I have found that, for me personally, on this amp, I use Voice 1 with the mid kick off. As a V40H user I am used to the "Tweed" setting of Voice 2. This is just a personal preference thing as I find that setting takes pedals better and gives a better tone. On the Deluxe I prefer the Voice 1 tone and it is just as good at taking the pedals as I am used to. The added presence means that I don't need the mid lick on either and that keeps the amp cleaner for longer. What this does mean is that using the two amps together I can voice them differently to give separation.

On a big stage and given its head this amp roars. Making use of the head room and presence this amp dominates a stage. Everything you play is immediately conveyed to your audience and using playing dynamics to get a variety of tones is a wonderful experience. If you get the opportunity to play on High Power over 60% or 70% on the Master you can get that special something that happens to all valve amps at volume but it is just more of what you are getting at 10% or 20%. The versatility of this amp is truly staggering.

Edit> We've been sent this audience video so we posted it on our band Facebook page. The Reverend has the bass roll off on minimum to act like a single coil and the grit is coming from a ThorpyFX Peacekeeper.

When these are released there will be a bunch of video reviews from all those people who are good at that sort of thing and I know it will perform beautifully. What these videos won't show is just how incredible it is in a band mix. Sadly our video of the night failed and I've only seen the one audience video above that tries to capture the impact of this amp. However, let me be clear: if you are using this in a band it can help project you as a guitarist like never before. I cannot get across how much of a gigging amp this is. It sound amazing at home - it really does and I can noodle on it for hours but in the band this is an absolute legend.

One tiny quibble on the Deluxe: the Treble control works for me in a very specific point at about the 1 o'clock position. If it moves ever so slightly away from the that it gets too bright or too dark. I could do with a bit less sensitivity in the production version.

Value 9/10

At the time of writing the Deluxe combo is going on sale at £1,569. With the hope of not being sued for stealing a famous slogan: that is Reassuringly Expensive. As was recently quoted elsewhere: nice things aren't cheap.

But.

This is not expensive either. If you look at other hand-built, high-quality, single channel amps; there are many in this category with significantly higher price tags. Clearerly the whole Brexit, exchange rate thing is going to have an impact on the actual price you pay for an amp depending on where you are and where the amp is manufactured. But even so, this amp plays in a market segment with some very expensive competitors. Against those; this amp has to score highly just because it is so versatile. If you want American massive cleans they are here. Mid-60s trem, check. 60s British roar? Oh yes. Introduce pedals, which this loves, and you open up every sonic possibility. And that's before you talk about the uniqueness of the Victory tone, quality and service.

Is this the last amp you'll ever need?

Probably.

In which case it's really not that expensive.

The Blurb (from Victory)

V40 Deluxe is evolved from our award-winning Compact Series V40 The Duchess head. (Guitarist Magazine Gear Of the Year 2015)

V40 Deluxe is a 2 x 6L6 powered all-valve amp for classic American cleans through to '60s British Drive, all from one versatile channel. It has high and low power modes, a hardbypassable series effects loop, plus footswitchable valve driven tremolo and spring reverb. The reverb has controls for level and tone, enabling you to have a relatively darker or brighter tone to the reverb. V40 Deluxe comes in two formats: a 1 x 12 widebody combo with Celestion G12h-75 Creamback speaker (as reviewed), and also a head in a traditional wooden sleeve.

The V40 Delxe is part of the Victory Heritage Series.

Verdict 9.5/10

If you are in the market for this type of amp and you have the opportunity of comparing the standard Victory Duchess V40 to the V40 Deluxe then I would strongly recommend trying it in person as they are different and could easily be used to do different jobs.

The tone difference is entirely subjective and some will prefer one tone over the other. Others with more funds available may choose both as they are genuinely different and work brilliantly together when voiced differently. For example:

The added presence on the Deluxe makes it feel different and gives a more vintage correct tone although you still get to choose from American or British tones.
Both Ducesses handle pedals really well. The V40H handles gain pedals better in Voice 2 whereas the Deluxe handles them in Voice 1 exceptionally so you can have an extremely clean setting and then manage crunch, dirt and lead by pedals.
The gain at the top end of the Volume allows you to ride the volume knob better on the Deluxe if you like a guitar straight into an amp solution

This amp is clearly beautiful in looks, but also in playability and tone.But can also be an absolute monster if called upon. Elsewhere I stated that this can be both Beauty or the Beast.

Personally I have an exceptionally hard decision to make now as I use a combination of Victory heads and cabs live and a combo doesn't really fit into that scenario. But the tone, tremolo, play-ability, tone, convenience, portability and tone of this amp is doing a great job to persuade me I can't live without it.