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Post subject: Hot Rod Deluxe - any good?
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 2:30 pm
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I'm in the market for a new amp and it's a toss-up between the Hot Rod Deluxe and Peavey Classic 30.

I play mainly country guitar, and love the clean sounds of Fender tube amps and the Peaveys I've played - but don't have hands-on experience of either of these amps - my choice is down to online availability, price and reputation.

I've heard mixed reviews of the HRD - some people seem to love them and others say it doesn't have the real Fender sound - can't trust review sites as they tend to be filled with reviews by people who have something to sell on e-bay!

Anyone with first-hand experience of an HRD who can tell me what they think of it - I'm particularly interested in hearing from country pickers who like the Brent Mason/Vince Gill Hot Nashville sound.


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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:15 pm
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I would go with the Deluxe Reverb Reissue if your looking for a real Fender sound. My Hot Rod Deluxe is way different sounding from any of the many Fender amps I've owned. Some people love them, I'm looking to get rid of mine. I found the drive channels useless until I changed out the tubes and speaker. It hasn't been that great in the reliability department and I miss having two real channels. The HRDlx is not a real 3 channel amp, and the tone controls are shared by all channels. My Twin is just too heavy and loud for the gigs I do now.
But, Twins are the cleanest loudest amps around. I'd go with a used Silverface.They can be had at reasonable prices and are great for country stuff. My PTP hand wired amps have been the most reliable I've ever owned. I haven't had much luck with the newer PCB amps.

Try out a bunch of amps. The Peavey Classic and Delta Blues are great, have been around forever too and reliable. The Ampeg J20 is also real clean and hand wired too and can be had for around 800 bucks. All great amps.

Good Luck


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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:32 pm
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If you like the fender clean then you wont find it in the Peavey.It has a great crunch, but not the chimey cleans of Fender.The DRRI is a great amp.It has that typical Blackface sound.Another consideration is the tweed clean of the Bassman circuit.I dont know what your price range is but the Drri goes from about 900 new.The HR goes for about 700 new.I know some people have had some issues with them,but they can be great amps.Also in that line is the Blues Deluxe and the Blues JR for a smaller amp.Along the line of the Blackface sound is the princeton and the champ.It all depends what you are looking for and what price you are looking for.


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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:55 pm
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Slightly used DRRI's can be had for under 700 bucks and is far and away better than a Hot Rod. Can you tell I really don't like my HRDlx. Also the volume goes from nothing to full blast by the time you hit 3 on the volume dial. It's really loud but runs out of steam. Also the DRRI cuts the mix better than a HRDlx . I was recently blown off the stage by a DRRI and it's only 22 watts. I should have brought my Twin. :D


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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:17 pm
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I do understand your frustration with the volume knob.I have had to fight with it on occasion myself.If i am unsure of the size of the venue i bring my blues jr.I had thought of getting a DRRI at one time ,but money was an issue and i bought my BDRI instead.Thankfully i havent had any problems with it.


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Post subject: HRD
Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:10 pm
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I used to run a Deluxe for a year or two until I was forced to sell it. I played a friends Classic 30 in comparison. The classic 30 was limited, very limited. Now the classic 30 had a decent tone, but you were stuck with what you had.

I play much different than country, in that I usually use trippy effects, distortion, drawn out entrancing solos, etc. But I can honestly say the Hot Rod Deluxe was the first amplifier that I played with a clean channel for over 3 hours straight. Just listening to that tone is amazing. It's not necessarily the glassy bell Fender clean, but a whole new thing. You could shape it to anything you'd like. After I put my Strat down and plugged in my friend's Tele, I almost considered changing my music style.

If you want a flawless tone, get one of the FSR (factory special run) editions of the hot rod deluxe. I'm pretty sure they made a Texas Red edition that had a Celestion vintage 30 speaker installed. That would seem to nail the tone you want. I've seen that edition for sale on ebay for about 700.

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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:58 am
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Thanks for the feedback - my budget is pretty limited, only up to 500 US, so I'm looking at the second hand market. What about the Blues Jr - again I've heard good things about it but my concern is that at 15w it won't have the clean headroom of a bigger amp. I don't play huge venues - just pubs and clubs - and I mike up for outdoor festivals. The tone I'm really after is the glassy Fender tone, but with maybe a slightly fatter feel, and just the very begining of break-up so I can pull out a bit of crunch for funky double-stops etc.
I should mention I play a Strat and use fingertips, rather than a pick, so I need a little support from the amp to push my sound out front and compete with my fellow guitarist and his humbuckered G&L and pick!


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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 3:28 pm
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If you dont play huge venues then a blues jr might do the trick.I have a blues jr and i have gigged with it alot.It has a master control and if you put the master on 12 and the volume to taste then you will maximize the most headroom.Also if you dont feel its loud enough, (like your drummer loves the bass drum) you can easily mic it.It is a great little amp and its all tube.You can find it mew for about 480 and used at around 300.The only limitation is it is only a single channel amp so you have to use pedals for overdrive ,etc.But that way you can tailor your sound to what you want.


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 4:55 pm
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I do not particularly dig the Hot Rod Delux... to be frank I think a couple traynor amps do what the hot rods do, but way better. For country????? The Delux is okay but I agree with whomever said try the blues junior


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:28 am
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Well - You're getting a lot of input from folks who aren't happy with their hot rods. Believe me, there are lots of guys who are very happy with them. Partly because of the price point...the hot rod deluxe is the largest selling amp ever. A lousy sounding amp just couldn't get that many sales, I don't care what the price.

That said, I have owned both the hot rod deluxe and the C30. They are both very good amps, and you cannot go wrong with either. The hot rod DOES have a Fender sound. In fact, it's eat up with Fender clean. It's just not "black face" scooped mid clean, which is not the only Fender sound.
It's drive channel is not as nice IMO as the C30. The amp is loaded with 6L6's and so that is the type of tone you get.

The C30 is loaded with el84's and so that is the type of tone you get with it. It is not what I would call fendery clean, but it is a nice clean....especially if you want to get it a bit edgey. Nice indeed. Believe it or not, I used the C30 in church....never the hot rod. Trust me, I wouldn't have used an amp that couldn't do nice clean in church. The drive channel sounds better than the hot rod. In fact, IMO the C30 works great at low volumes and higher volumes....with either of it's channels.

Still there's something about that warm tone of 6L6's that I enjoy with the hot rod. This amp sound great at giggin levels in particular and is very pedal friendly. I use the drive channel as a second channel on some songs...not really as an overdrive effect in the middle of a song. That works well at home. A hot rod deluxe has the tones for doing different things at different volumes. You just have to be willing to use the eq to get there.

In the end, I've kept my 1996 Hot Rod and have an attenuator to use at home if I want. It's 13 years old and has never given me a moment's trouble. I would have kept my C30 also, but I have a couple of pro juniors as well that cover the el84 tone.

It would be best if you could play both amps to decide which tone you prefer, but still, you can't go wrong with either amp.


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Post subject: Hmmm
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:46 am
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Crappy sounding amps don't sell well? I dunno man, ask crate ;) Just playin. I will say one thing I rarely hear people gripe about a quality issue.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:53 am
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It depends on the price point. I got a bad one and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I also got a bad GDec. I think I'm starting to see a very dissapointing pattern.I bias my own amps too with a Weber Bias-Rite, and I'll tell you what, the construction inside isn't that great on the HRDlx. Cheap Taiwanese caps and other imported components, a really thin pcb with thin traces and the list goes on and on. At it's original price point, I guess that's to be expected, but at the new prices I would expect better. Even the cabinet and speaker baffle is cheesy.
Fender sound? I've owned and still own Blackface, Silverface and a Tweed at one point and the HRDlx IMHO does not have the original Fender clean at all which is why I bought it in the first place. For something different. It's not bad sounding blues amp at all, but to make it sound like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread is ridiculous. The price point (another reason why I bought it) sells this amp not it's overall quality.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:52 am
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I never said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I used words like " very good" not "super great" or anything like that.

I also didn't say cheap amps don't sale well. What I did say is they aren't the largest selling in the world.

Some happen to dislike the hot rod for the reasons they have stated.

I happen to like it for the reason I have stated.

Two different experiences for sure.

The hot rod and the C30 are middle of the road, reasonably priced amps that sound good. And yes they are reasonbly priced....the prices are just going up. Everything is relative. I have numerous amps and could have any others that I want...except maybe a dumble. I could tell you it doesn't sound as good or isn't point to point wiring like my booteek super awesome hand made amp. But that isn't the point. Is the hot rod the favorite that I own? No, does that make it junk? No. They are not junk and they are not point to point booteek either. They are what they are. Good amps.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:15 am
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What aggravates me with the HRDlx is the amp has been around for what 13 years? They still haven't addressed the audio taper/linear taper pot issue causing it to go from zero to close to full power by the time you hit 3 or 4 on the volume knob, the heat related issues including the 5 watt cement power resistors generating enough heat to lift the traces and the cold solder joint issues.

They have the potential to make this a really great amp but settled for a just okay amp. I should just sell it and keep my blood pressure down and get a 57 Tweed Deluxe, now that's the real deal.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:19 pm
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I understand your frustration with your particular amp 63supro. You obviously got one that bit you. I absolutely agree with you on the volume pot too.

I sort of know how you feel though. My father bought me a 65 deluxe in the sixties when I was a kid. I played a lot with it, but it just never did work right. There were idiosyncrancies about that thing that popped up occassionally and sort of always kept me on guard. I was always thinking...what next. LOL I kept it for 25 years, and finally gave up the ghost. Got a nice penny for it too. That's why to this day I only have one vintage Fender....it's a 64 Champ. I would rather have a reissue than vintage.

So....don't keep it 25 years like I did. Save your blood pressure.

:-)


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