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Post subject: Hot Rod Deluxe or not?
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:20 am
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Im going out this week to buy a Hotrod Deluxe I think. I have read a lot of different problems people are having with them. How does this forum feel about the HRD? What problems have you been having and how about getting them fixed? I love the Fender sound and dont want to waste 600.00. Or does anyone have a different amp in mind in the 600.00 range?


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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:19 am
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I can assure you that your money will be well spent. It just can't be beat for the price.

I'll admit that people are having problems, but if your buying it new, it's nothing that the warranty can't take care of to get it straightened out. It's still worth it.

I have a Hot Rod DeVille 410 that I paid about $750 for and I keep getting the feeling that I stole it from the store. I also had a problem with mine, when I first brung it home it wouldn't do anything, it would come on but you couldn't get any sound out of it. I took it back and the guy looked it over and told me that Fender didn't solder a resistor good enough, so he did a cold solder on it and it's been as good as new ever since.

I couldn't be happier with mine, I probably wont ever buy another amp. That is, unless I run across a Dumble, only then will I get a mortgage, hehe.

I say get it, you will not go wrong, regardless of any problems you might experience, then again you might not have any.


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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:31 pm
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Mine was in the shop after just two gigs. It was not abused. It was brand new. It had bad solder joints on the tube sockets that were soldered directly to the printed circuit board. I also had some resistors replaced and a couple of caps. It sounds great with a tube change, but you may like it as is. I don't think it's the most reliable amp Fender makes. Sounds great though. I may build a Deluxe clone 5e3 kit. Some people don't like the stock speaker either, only your ears can make that call. My speaker is stock and I'm running JJ tubes.
Goog Luck. If you like it, get it. It does have a 5 year warranty.


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Post subject: Hot Rod Deluxe
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:37 pm
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I have had mine for 5 years and just put new tubes in it. I LOVE this amp! For the money it is worth every penny. I suggest that you fool around with it before you start making mods to it.


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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:00 pm
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If you mod it when it's new, you'll void a 5 year warranty. Many problems usually happen when inexperienced people start modding these amps use too hot an iron and lift the traces on the pcb. Like I said I like the way mine sounds. I am no stranger to tube amp, I have been using tube amps since 1963 so I do have a reference. It's not the best or most reliable amp I've owned, that would be a 75 Twin, but not the worst. I like it. Tthe Deluxe Reverb RI is really sweet, and much better constructed, but a bit more money.


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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:28 am
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I have read that a lot of people seeem to be having problems with their HRD's. I have had mine for two plus years and not one failure of odd sound other than my bad playing has ever come through. I guess post 2005 amps are being made badly.


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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:19 pm
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Nope, Mine is an early 2006. As a matter of fact, they were first made in the United States, then moved to Mexico. I'm not a Fender basher, I've been using their amps since 1964. You may be lucky. Mine and many others have not been real reliable. I gig and rehearse with mine on a regular basis. I think it's a fine sounding amp. Some of the problems many people have are bad solder joints at the tube sockets because they solder the sockets to the board. There is also a I believe a 5 watt cement resistor that goes south and causes random channel switching. Sometimes it gets so hot it lifts the traces off the PCB. Tube rattle is also a problem because of how close the tubes are to the speaker. I now use tube dampeners to alievate the problem. Some people never have a problem with them. I've owned many amps from Fender including a 64 Vibrolux Reverb, A Dual Showman, a Super Six, A 74 Bandmaster, and a 76 Twin Reverb. I still use a 76 Champ. I've never had a problem with any of them. I had my Twin for 30 years and sold it for the Hot Rod. The Hot Rod was in the shop after only a couple of gigs.


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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:03 pm
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I have had a Hot Rod Deluxe for 5 years and it is a great sounding amp. It has plenty of volume and even handles occasional pedal steel with ease. I find it a much more "fender" sound than the smaller Blues Jr. (I have one) or the Pro. The only caution I would throw up is that mine sits in a room, has never gigged or even been moved in 5 years! Reliability is a great unknown to me, but it seems plenty of folks have issues.

I would compare the sound to Boutique amps. It records real well, too.


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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:08 am
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I have had mine for almost 3 years and it sounds ok so far. When I hook certain pedals up to it, there will be a hum, but it's not the amp. I say go for it. You might want to check ebay, with shipping a slightly used amp is sometimes better than a new one and cheaper. thats how I got my Blues Deville 410, already reliced for a better price than a new HRD!


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Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 10:09 am
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It's a fine amp. I have yet to have any problems with mine.

Fender makes a lot of amps, try plenty of others if you get the chance.


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 11:56 am
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mine has never had any faults apart from the bulb going, but they cost pennies to replace so that doesnt phase me in the slightest. to only thing i would recommend is to not bother with the drive channels, and get a decent stomp box. (im aspiring to an ibanez tube screamer) the clean sound is all i could hope for. ive got an 'emerald' limited edition one so theres a couple of variations to the normal ones. most importantly, mine came with a celestion vintage speaker, as oppose to the normal eminence one. and it runs groovetubes, which sound the bollocks. id recommend this amp with all my heart, although i cant really pass judgment on the standard one. if its anything like my one, grab it. and dont worry about faults, its got a nice long warrenty and from my experience, you probably wont even need it.


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:49 pm
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I have noticed since moving the HDR up to my upstairs practice area ie: spare bedroom, there has been a very distinct hum when I hook up my pedals (Boss Chorus, Twin Reverb 65, Behringer CS100 Compressor/Sustainer and Vox Tonelab SE) when I hook straight in without the pedals, I am ok. Am I hooked up wrong or are my settings set to high?


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:10 pm
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unless you've got a gain cranked up too high sumwhere, youve got a duff pedal. start with straight into amp, then add one pedal at a time untill you find the one creatin the hum. my moneys on teh berinhger.


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:25 pm
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Good solution on tracking down the noise. Some types of pedals just seem noisy. I've got a dyna-comp that makes noise when cranked. At any rate anyone try a noise gate? What kind and how good is it? Does it record well?


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Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:34 pm
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Hearing about all these problems on the Blues Deluxe is really sad. Fender's got to do better. They're the leading brand because of what they offer and the warranty but also because the stuff works and if it doesn't then that's just not right. Fender, look behind you and Carvin's coming up fast and all the others are always there - Epiphone, Peavey, etc. We want to stick with you for that great Fender sound, but it's gotta work.


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