fender hot rod deluxe

[I <3 The Beatle]

The Hot Rod Deluxe is a pretty inexpensive tube amp at $600. I actually had one over here a few years ago and flat out can't remember how the thing sounds. I vaugely remember not being blown away... (I wanna say it reminded me of a Blues Jr....which would make sense).

How does it compare to the Dr. z's, Oranges, and Vox's?? ...the amp situation is pretty bad here these days and I am kind of looking to save a little cash...

But if I have to shell out that extra....thousand dollars .... I guess I will (this IS gearslutz ).

And of course I will audition before I buy..just want some advice

[dpianomn]

what type of music will it be used for?
for the price i really don't think you can go wrong with the hot rod deluxe, however it might not be best for harder rock/metal. when it comes to amplifying a rhodes, i actually prefer the deluxe to a current twin reverb...go figure. dave.

[Nu-tra]

That amp is a great workhorse. I think Steve Van Zant and a few other artists tour with them exclusivly.

V

[nathanvacha]

I love that series of amps, but I don't think it would be very fair to put them in the same league as dr. z, orange, or vox (old vox at least). If they were worth the price, they'd charge you for it. Fender isn't known for (or I've never heard of it) benevolently offering something below value, you know?

The thing is, you're going to find a lot of great sounds that you can pull out of this thing depending on what you put in front of it... but it will still probably not have the bite of an orange or the class of a vox or... well, I'm not sure how I'd describe a dr. z.

For the record, I really don't have time personally on any of your other three choices (well, a new vox I guess) and I do also like the smaller stuff in their line also like the blues junior, for example. With my two guitars and what I can borrow and pedals and stuff, It has not so far left me wanting for more... well... I'd love to have an orange

oh, and you know what's an even more impressive little tube amp? for $100?
I bought my brother one of those new little epipone amps for his birthday. It's a 5-watt class a head with only a volume knob... and you can crank it and pull out some great rock tones, or back it off to blues and jazz heaven. Does it replace the high end stuff? No, but damn it blows away all the crappy practice amps for a fraction of the price. w/ my sg through my randall 4x12 though, thumbsup

[sloanfiske]

hot rod deluxe is a completely different amp than orange, vox, and most dr.z's. it also, imo, doesn't have any of the mojo of the real deluxe.

i think money would be better spent on a 65 reissue deluxe reverb, if that's the flavor you're looking for. It's a one trick pony...and does that trick quite well. you can usually find them used for 600. and pretty much has that sound...the hot rod just misses.

as far as orange and vox. i've used them all. they're fantastic and usually can't go wrong with the ac-30 or an orange head/cab or 2x12. they are decidingly british class a amps. if you're looking at the vox ac-15, check it out first, the reissues we're prone to overheating. if you look hard enough you can usually find a recent ac-30 for 1000 or so.

dr.z amps...enough said. i always liked the ghia.

however, i think, if you can, go someplace that has a bunch of different amp flavors, take your favorite guitar, and go play them all. or put a list together and call a reputible dealer. many will ship an amp on approval. get it, play it, if you don't like it, return it.

my short list for cool amps to check out in the 500-1500 (used and new) range for you:

Fender 65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb
Fender 65 Reissue Twin Reverb
Fender 65 Reissue Vibrolux
Orange AD30
Orange AD15
Vox AC30
Vox AC15
DR. Z (pick a wattage)
Penn Pennalizer (expensive new, find used...i have a custom 50. unreal)
Carr Slant 6
Marshall Bluesbreaker Reissue
Silvertone 212 piggyback (from the 60's)
Ampeg Jets (1x12/2x12)
Tone King
Top Hat

[I <3 The Beatle]

Thanks fellas....I definetly have to bring my Les to a shop.

[simonv]

The HRD is a good amp for the price, especially if you buy it used. I've used mine for 8 years now, and after a lot of touring, I only had to change 2 resistors that failed and caused the channels to flip by themselves.

As I said, good for the price,

BUT

You MUST do the following, you'll thank me :

- Change the power tubes for Svetlana 6L6GCs. They sound A LOT better than the stock tubes. I will try some TAD tubes this week since my Svetlanas are dying. Maybe I'll report back to say how good they sound compared to the Svetlanas.. I heard good things about them.

-Change the preamp tubes.. You can get a bit of an improvement from the stock ones. It's not day and night, but you might want to try a couple different combinations.. It can help improving the headroom and getting a better overdrive tone.

- You can also change the speaker. I had put a Jensen speaker in mine a couple years ago, but I ended up coming back to the stock speaker because the Jensen would rattle the cab horribly, even after hours of "breaking it in"...

- Get a better reverb. Let's be honnest, the reverb on that amp just sucks. I lived without it for years. Last month, I bought a Electroharmonix Holy Grail, and it is REALLY good. (And, it's a pedal, which is an advantage since there are no reverb footswitches for the HRD)

- Get a good overdrive pedal. Let's face it, the HRD is good for clean tone. The overdrive on that amp is a bit brown-mushy no matter what tubes you use. I use a Tubescreamer ts9 and it sounds great.

[6strings]

I've got one & like it a lot. Good deal for the money.

Pros:

-- Light and portable (affordable).

-- Distinct Fender clean tones

-- Drive channel sounds great with lower gain settings. (preferred over my Tube Screamer re-issue lately!)


Perceived cons:

-- using the fx loop robs tone. It seems to lose that tube "sparkle" even when just inserting a patch cable with no fx (did this for a test).

-- IMO, the overdrive ("third") channel sounds like poo. I don't touch it. (again, the drive channel with minimal gain sounds great, though!) I don't know if Fender thought people would actually use this channel for heavier rock stuff or what, but it don't cut it.

[sloanfiske]

Originally Posted by simonv

You MUST do the following, you'll thank me :

- Change the power tubes for Svetlana 6L6GCs. They sound A LOT better than the stock tubes. I will try some TAD tubes this week since my Svetlanas are dying. Maybe I'll report back to say how good they sound compared to the Svetlanas.. I heard good things about them.

-Change the preamp tubes.. You can get a bit of an improvement from the stock ones. It's not day and night, but you might want to try a couple different combinations.. It can help improving the headroom and getting a better overdrive tone.

- You can also change the speaker. I had put a Jensen speaker in mine a couple years ago, but I ended up coming back to the stock speaker because the Jensen would rattle the cab horribly, even after hours of "breaking it in"...

- Get a better reverb. Let's be honnest, the reverb on that amp just sucks. I lived without it for years. Last month, I bought a Electroharmonix Holy Grail, and it is REALLY good. (And, it's a pedal, which is an advantage since there are no reverb footswitches for the HRD)

- Get a good overdrive pedal. Let's face it, the HRD is good for clean tone. The overdrive on that amp is a bit brown-mushy no matter what tubes you use. I use a Tubescreamer ts9 and it sounds great.

By the time you spend all the cash for this, you might as well buy something that sounds great stock...

[Midlandmorgan]

I have one...never used in the studio, and take it out only for gigs in which I don't think my usual rigs will be safe, or when I'm just too lazy to drag out the pedalboard...it really (IMO) does not have that classic Fender sparkle, but it's not bad...the dirty side is OK, but its no TS808 or cranked 50 watt Marshall...the "more" feature is nice, though. Although its not a bad amp, it isn't anywhere near a Dr Z, AC30, BF Deluxe, Matchless, etc, so don't expect too much...again IMO its an amp without its own character voice, very generic sounding. Would I buy it again? Probably not.

Stock is just that - some people like differing speakers, and I'm still experimenting with a D120, Altec, or Weber California...Some have put in 5881 power tubes, others reported success with lower gain (IE 12AU7) in the 2d stage...

Somewhere on the web there is an entire site devoted to the HR Deluxe, with a bazillion tweaks, tips, etc...don't have it bookmarked, so all I can suggest is Google or whatever search engine you like...

[Musiclab]

for the money it's a great amp, it's flexibile and while it's not a magic amp you can tweak it and get some really good guitar sounds .

[simonv]

Originally Posted by sloanfiske

By the time you spend all the cash for this, you might as well buy something that sounds great stock...

You're right .. If I was starting over, I would definitively use my now trained ears and get something that sounds good stock. Back then, I bought mine about 350$, with about 300$ of upgrades.. that's not too bad for how it sounds, and for its volume and portability.
I think it's a good entry-level amp right in between a 15watts crate and vox ac30 .


And here is the link Midlandmorgan was talking about:
http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/

[feyshay]

If you want Fender, I'd go for the Twin, Deluxe or Super Reverbs over that Hot Rod.

[simonv]

Originally Posted by simonv

I will try some TAD tubes this week since my Svetlanas are dying. Maybe I'll report back to say how good they sound compared to the Svetlanas.. I heard good things about them.

Just popped in the TADs, not much difference from the Svetlanas, they both sound good.

[Mr. Friend]

If you want better tone out of your current amp, trying kicking it, or pouring a hot beverage all over the grille. Works great when my Gorilla is giving me troublethumbsup

[ben_allison]

Nothing will be a Dr Z

My Z28 is in the mail and I'm stoked!

A Hot Rod Deluxe is not bad. If it's just for recording, look at the Pro Jr or Blues Jr.

I'd take a Bassman Reissue over the Hot Rod Deluxe.

In any case, a modern day Fender is really going to benefit from new tubes, and better speakers.

They're so so stock, and leaps better with these simply changes.

Why not save and get something like a Dr Z, Rivera, etc? Also, look at some lesser known makers. Valvetec make great amps for not a lot of money.

[zkaudio]

my sovtek mig 50 lays down SOOO nice... f'ing too loud but such a great sounding head... I run mine through an open back 2x12 greenback cab... it's like butter and bite all in one shot.

[ben_allison]

Never heard a Sovtek, but have read good things.

Just get an Airbrake or Ultimate attenuator to tame volume, and you're set.

[I <3 The Beatle]

I think I might be going with the MAZ28 Sr. and 2x12 cab.

[sloanfiske]

Originally Posted by I <3 The Beatle

I think I might be going with the MAZ28 Sr. and 2x12 cab.

fine choice. the cab is great...you'll wind up becoming a "head" junkie.

enjoy

[ben_allison]

Originally Posted by sloanfiske

fine choice. the cab is great...you'll wind up becoming a "head" junkie.

And really, who isn't a head junkie !

I've played the Maz 18 jr...man was it sweet. Best amp I've played, ever. And it even had a faulty tube that was buzzing like crazy!

Dr Z is amazing. To get an amp of similar sonic quality, you could easily spend 2-4 times as much, and it still might not be as good (Two Rock, Fuchs, Carr, etc).

[allencollins]

The hot rods ar just 'OK' get the newer fender twin called the "evil twin"
by far their best basic amp. I had one. I hate fender products and this
impressed even me. Also the prosoniq is pretty damn good to.

the hot rods and blues jr's are not terrible but they are kinda sterile and thin sounding kinda like a bad a/d converter

suck it up and get the twin or the prosoniq
or get a vintage twin wih a tube rec. those sound unbelievable

[gracejames]

I would look at it as a complement to an Orange, Vox, etc.
Fender has its own flavor which i think should be in every studio.

What about the CyberDeluxe? What do you guys think of that amp?

[iceberg]

I have a HRD and it is tits. I love it. Gigged with it for 5 years and it still is in great shape. btw, I have KT66's in mine. great amp, great tone.
I really like the HRD over the 60 watt versions (cant remember the name).
buy 2

I would get the HRD over a twin anyday. I do like the sound of twins but I like to be able to push the amp without blowing the new roof off my house.
I would never say that a HRD is sterile and thin. Mine is thick and punchy. It was this way even before the tube replacement.

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by gracejames

I would look at it as a complement to an Orange, Vox, etc.
Fender has its own flavor which i think should be in every studio.

What about the CyberDeluxe? What do you guys think of that amp?

I agree, in my place I have a 65 blackface Princeton Reverb, a HRD, a Vox AC 30, a Legend 50 and a Marshall JCM 800. That combie covers most bases, although for me personally I'd love to add a Hiwatt.

[cletus]

I own one! I really love it. I think it's a great recording amp. I much prefer it over my mesa dual rec for recording. The differences between the HR deluxe and the orig deluxe are subtle IMO although if I had the extra cash I'd go with an orig.
Buy one bro you won't regret it!

[mjlamie]

You're better off getting an amp thats not straight out of Fender factories.

Find a fixed up one at a shop or on Ebay, or just find a Fender anomoly type amp.

I found an anomoly amp basically.

an AMERICAN made Fender Deluxe with a Jensen speaker. I looked for ages at amps, then I found this beauty on an Ebay shop located near me. It was a limited run amp as far as I know. it was bulit summer of 96. Never really used at all. I threw some Mesa Boogie Tubes in it and BAM!!!!!!!! MELT YOUR FACE OFF


anyways what im saying, find the amp that you were destined for, hopefully a unique one, not just a junk one on a website, you know

[Matt Grondin]

The build quality on those Hot Rod amps has been pretty shitty in my experience. Mine and a friend's have both broken. Buyer beware.