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Post subject: HodRod Deluxe vs. Blues Deluxe
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:47 pm
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I am trying to decide between these two amps. Can anyone tell me what the differences in sound are? I don't have a place near me that carries both models in stock to try them out.

I already have a Marshall amp that I use for crunchy, high-gain stuff, and I'm looking for something with really nice cleans to play rythm and "twang out" with my tele.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!


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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:50 pm
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I'd go for a DRRI. It's just an all around better amp.


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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:25 pm
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The difference is gain and more gain.

The Blues Deluxe clean channel is very clean and the drive channel does not distort appreciably- it overdrives to a blusey sound. In fact, I think it could use a little more drive so that it would overdrive at lower volumes. It needs to be fairly loud to OD.

The Hot Rod was developed from the Blues Deluxe and given a higher level of drive and 'more drive' (2 levels in addition to the clean channel) to appeal to somewhat 'harder' rock.

My BDRI has been reliable except for a faulty footswitch which was repaired under warranty (it failed mechanically) and rattling tubes which seems to be common with the tubes Fender uses (had the same issue with my Blues jr.).

I also have the matching tweed cabinet which gives the impression of higher volume/greater projection and adds bottom end.

Can't tell you what a tele sounds like through it. I only have dual humbucker and P-90 equipped guitars.

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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 4:38 am
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If you want twangy cleans from your tele, there is no better amp that will do it than the deluxe reverb.The difference between the 2 amps you mentioned has been explained above.I find the hot rod and the blues deluxe cleans as being pretty ice pickey.Also quality is not as good as the drri,not to mention the hr and bdri are really loud.


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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 5:09 am
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I had both amps and found the only difference was the extra drive on my hot rod, though to my ears, my blues deluxe seemed slightly warmer, could've been that individual amp. I always compare my amps, sound/tones at the same settings, as well as mixed settings to find different tones that appeal to my ears. forever in search of good tone. :)

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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 5:28 am
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The drive channels in my HRDlx were horrible. Fender's not really known for having good drive channels and besides that the EQ is shared on the HRDlx for the drive channels. Then there's the reliability thing. It's not really even a real 3 channel amp. By old school standards, it's not even a two channel amp.

I get the DRRI and a couple pedals.


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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:22 am
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By "DRRI" are you guys referring to the "'65 Deluxe Reverb"? This is it for spanky cleans, huh?

My only concern would be that it is only 22 watts... is this loud enough to play with a band without being mic'd? What are the features of this amp that make it so good? I checked the specs, and see that it uses more tubes, but is there anything else?


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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 10:42 am
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HouserPhan wrote:
By "DRRI" are you guys referring to the "'65 Deluxe Reverb"? This is it for spanky cleans, huh?

My only concern would be that it is only 22 watts... is this loud enough to play with a band without being mic'd? What are the features of this amp that make it so good? I checked the specs, and see that it uses more tubes, but is there anything else?
I guess it depends on how loud your band is,but I will tell you this ,the Deluxe Reverb cuts thru the mix way better than either the blues or hot rod deluxe.The misconception is that the blues deluxe at 40 watts is twice as loud as the deluxe reverb, but that isnt true.At 22 watts the deluxe reverb should be plenty loud for most gigs.My advice is try them both.The blues deluxe is pretty much tapped out volume wise at 3.The Deluxe Reverb starts to break up between 4-5.The difference in tubes is the deluxe reverb has a tube rectifier and the tremolo and reverb are driven by tubes .Those features on the hrdx and bdx are solid state.It helps attribute to the warmer sound.As far as the features that makes it so good,its the dynamics of the deluxe reverb that make it so good.The quality and character of the tone.It responds better to your picking attack way better.The drri is also built way better than the other two amps.Since I bought mine ,I havent really gigged with anything else.Initially I was using the blues jr for small gigs and the 59 bassman for larger gigs.I bought the drri to replace the blues jr at smaller gigs.What I found is I dont need the Bassman either , and with my bad back ,the drri gets the call.I couldnt be more pleased.


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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 2:18 pm
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budglo wrote:
HouserPhan wrote:
By "DRRI" are you guys referring to the "'65 Deluxe Reverb"? This is it for spanky cleans, huh?

My only concern would be that it is only 22 watts... is this loud enough to play with a band without being mic'd? What are the features of this amp that make it so good? I checked the specs, and see that it uses more tubes, but is there anything else?
I guess it depends on how loud your band is,but I will tell you this ,the Deluxe Reverb cuts thru the mix way better than either the blues or hot rod deluxe.The misconception is that the blues deluxe at 40 watts is twice as loud as the deluxe reverb, but that isnt true.At 22 watts the deluxe reverb should be plenty loud for most gigs.My advice is try them both.The blues deluxe is pretty much tapped out volume wise at 3.The Deluxe Reverb starts to break up between 4-5.The difference in tubes is the deluxe reverb has a tube rectifier and the tremolo and reverb are driven by tubes .Those features on the hrdx and bdx are solid state.It helps attribute to the warmer sound.As far as the features that makes it so good,its the dynamics of the deluxe reverb that make it so good.The quality and character of the tone.It responds better to your picking attack way better.The drri is also built way better than the other two amps.Since I bought mine ,I havent really gigged with anything else.Initially I was using the blues jr for small gigs and the 59 bassman for larger gigs.I bought the drri to replace the blues jr at smaller gigs.What I found is I dont need the Bassman either , and with my bad back ,the drri gets the call.I couldnt be more pleased.


Yep and the DRRI is way, way more reliable too. I gig all the time with a 20 watt Egnater. No problem. It's not just the wattage it's also how it cuts a mix. My 20 watt Egnater cuts way better than my HRDlx ever did.


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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 7:10 pm
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Am I correct in saying that the channels cannot be switched without unplugging the guitar on the DRRI? Also, why are there 2 inputs for each channel?


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Posted: Wed Feb 03, 2010 9:11 pm
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You could use an A/B Box.
he second intput is attenuated by about 6db.


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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 7:29 pm
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There is a difference in the circuitry of the Blues Deluxe and the Hot Rod Deluxe. The BD using 3 of the 4 stages of the preamp tubes. When you channel switch it is adding a drive and master volume control to those stages and increasing the gain. The Hot Rod Deluxe adds another gain stage of a tube in addition to the master and drive when channel switched, thus more gain.
If you want to play with more tube distortion, go with the HRD. The BD is just that, a blues amp, although boosting it with a good overdrive pedal will make it scream.


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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:03 am
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No offense, but any amp is a Blues amp. Just because some marketing guy puts the word Blues in the amps title doesn't make it a Blues amp. IMHO the distortion channels in all the HRD series and most Fender amps in general is pretty awful. Fender never really had a good reputation for drive channels. The best thing to do with any Fender amp is to either just push the clean channel to natural distortion or use a pedal. Any transparent booster like the Seymour Duncan will get you there.

I never liked the shared EQ on my HRDlx. It's a shame it doesn't really have 2 real channels with separate EQ controls it would have added a world of versatility to the amp.


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Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 1:22 pm
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I've had both these amps, and now have a HRDx, DRRI, CVR, and SCXD. Previous posters have outlined the difference between the BD and HRDx, so I won't repeat them, but the HRDx can be easily modded into a better sounding and more reliable amp:
> replace the stock Eminence with a V30(gets rid of flubby bass, smooths out midrange so the Drive channels actually sound decent)
> replace the 5watt power resistors in the 16v supply with new ones that are not touching the circuit board(I believe new ones already have this mod).
> clip C103 in the reverb circuit to make the reverb warmer and smoother
> if getting heavy use, get a small fan and place it in the back of the amp during high stress gigs.(i do this with almost all my tube amps)

I know there are naysayers(Supro), but there are many thousands of these amp out there because they sound good and are reasonable reliable for a cheaper amp. The mods I mentioned will increase the probability of reliable service.

The DRRI is a great amp, but sounds different than the BD or HRDx. Much more scooped midrange.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:00 pm
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Actually, I wasn't thinking about the name making it a blues amp. I purchased mine brand new, and have had it for 15 years. It is most definitely a blues amp.


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