Day 1

The prototype Victory Duchess V40 Deluxe combo has just arrived.

Having carried it down the hill and the steps into the house, I can confirm it is lighter than my Marshall VS50, my old Fender Hotrod Deluxe Nova and our dep guitarist Neil's Fender Deville. This is a good thing.

I put it down to close the front door and by the time I turned round it already had a cat on it. Great. Chances of this going back without cat fur: zero.



Slip cover off, quick look. Stunning. This thing looks absolutely gorgeous. The Victory team have really nailed the 'Deluxe' look. It should be noted that I own the normal Duchess V40 head and matching 2 x 12 cabinet.

There definitely feels like a quality step up between the V40 head and the Deluxe. Which is no mean feat given that the usual Victory quality is excellent already. However, If you buy something with a Deluxe tag you want it to have more about it. I've owned the normal head and cab for over 2 years and I've never had a quality issue with either but this just looks a little 'more'. (This is a prototype though so I've forgiven any 'rough round the ages' items that come from it being a prototype.)

That's it for the first day as it arrived in the evening and normal life is calling.

Tomorrow I will update my pedal board to allow for the valve driven reverb and tremolo, plug in and get some first impressions. Then tomorrow night a gig at the relaunch of a local hot spot hotel and bar!


Simon is a guitarist in Salisbury Classic Rock covers band Break Cover.
Break Cover website
Break Cover Facebook

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