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Post subject: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:44 pm
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Hey guys,

I'm in a band and we cover a lot of alternative/pop punkish stuff (Blink 182, Brand New, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jimmy Eat World) and I'm looking for a way to get "that sound." I play a '72 Telecaster Deluxe, and I found a Hot Rod Deluxe (2003?) in super good condition for $380, BUT, I also found a Peavey Classic 30 for $350. I was hoping that you wise guitar gods would be able to point me in the right direction, before I go driving all around kingdom-come trying these amps out.

Any help is appreciated :)


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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 7:55 pm
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i'll try to help :) :D :wink: :!:

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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 10:13 pm
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I can tell you what I've learned here. A large, persistent group of well seasoned players think the Hotrod is a money pit of repair incidents and is prone to crap out on gigs. Highly not recommended. The Peavey Classic 30, they seem to like. Cheers. :)




PS - Welcome back Knitgirl. I've missed you. :lol:


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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:10 am
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Classic 30 or a DRRI. I use an Egnater Rebel 20 these days. My HRDlx was a dog. I seriously wouldn't buy a used one that old. It's getting ready for either a meltdown or a cap job. :wink:

The HRDlx will need maintenance real soon, I can guarantee it. Plus some board revisions were made in the newer ones. I'd pass on it. These amps because of their price point were not made for the long haul.

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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:36 am
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GTG wrote:
...A large, persistent group of well seasoned players think the Hotrod is a money pit of repair incidents and is prone to crap out on gigs....


Large group? Not quite. If you double check, it's a large number of posts for sure, but very few people making all of those posts (mostly one :lol: ). At least on this forum, there are more people that are happy with their HRDlx (and similar amps), than those that aren't. I am one that is happy with my HRDlx. I guess that I'll have to post 1000 times how happy I am with my amp, and you'll think that I'm a "large group". :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:39 am
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I had this question too, a couple of years ago. HRDlx, Blues Jr., or Classic 30. After playing all three, I decided on the Classic 30. Mine hasn't needed any maintenance, and has done a bunch of jazz gigs in the meantime. Less clean headroom than the other two, but breaks up really nicely. Good dirt channel. Reverb's all right, not as nice as a vintage Fender, but decent. Boost button ("Suck" button) is to be avoided. Overall sound is clear and warm, and lacks the "sparkle" people often associate with 6L6-style amps. It doesn't have Fender-style cleans - it's more of a British voicing.

It's a workhorse of an amp. I bought mine new for $600 CDN in 2008. Used, they're often found for much less.

Never had any other experience with the HRDlx.


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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 7:55 am
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shimmilou wrote:
GTG wrote:
...A large, persistent group of well seasoned players think the Hotrod is a money pit of repair incidents and is prone to crap out on gigs....


Large group? Not quite. If you double check, it's a large number of posts for sure, but very few people making all of those posts (mostly one :lol: ). At least on this forum, there are more people that are happy with their HRDlx (and similar amps), than those that aren't. I am one that is happy with my HRDlx. I guess that I'll have to post 1000 times how happy I am with my amp, and you'll think that I'm a "large group". :lol:


shimmilou, If you venture outside the Fender forum, you'll see just how large the group is. Almost every day someone has some sort of problem with a HRD series amp. It's not just me or Arjay posting thousands of posts about these amps. They even made a version III to address some but not all of the issues with these amps. You already have posted 1,000 times how much you love your amp. You've also posted a lot on how to repair them too.

Here's a couple of sites
Here's a whole site dedicated to repairing and modding them
http://www.justinholton.com/hotrod/

Here's another site from someone who turns them into a great amp
http://www.tjadamowicz.com/amps/convert.html

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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:42 am
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Having a problem with an amp, then getting it fixed right the first time, does not equal a "money pit". Yeah, I frequent many other forums, and see many more people that are happy with their HRDlx amps, than those that aren't. Typically, those that have complaints are much more vocal than those that are happy (naturally), and tend to post over and over about the same amp. Same on this forum, only a few posters making large numbers of posts complaining about their amp. On the "Fender Forum" for example, it's the same, you can read umpteen posts by one person who keeps blowing their amp up (one amp, one person). Just as you will never get another Hrd amp, I will never be convinced that the HRDlx amp is any more susceptible to problems than every other modern, mass-produced amp, there just happens to be ten times more HRd amps than any other amp in the world. Talk about hype! Sheesh! You hate 'em, I like 'em...."let's call the whole thing off." :lol: :)

I guess that the DRRI is junk too, because there are websites about their problems. Here's one that a guy had three different DRRIs crap out while he was performing. If he were to start posting here on this forum, we could have "large numbers" of DRRI problems. AAMOF, do a search on this forum for DRRI and see how much trouble these amps are. Many of the problems that you read about with the HRDlx, can be attributed to a poor job done by the "techs" that work on them. Having to "fix" the same problem over and over isn't the amps fault. :idea:

http://aga.rru.com/Events/MM-DRRI-rebuild/

Here's another about gutting and rebuilding the DRRI.

http://deluxereverb.waynereno.com/

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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 9:27 am
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I've been using the same tech for 25 years so I guess I can trust him to do a good job. I'll do minor stuff, he does the major stuff if I need it. He's also a good friend of mine and is one of the best techs in the Philadelphia area. He's the one who pointed out all the design flaws to me in the HRDlx. He told me he's repaired more HRDlx amps than any amp in Fender's lineup.
He recently told me the III series has been showing up but not nearly anywhere near the rats as the older HRDlx amps. I think I would trust his word over yours.

Just one question. Do you gig on any regular basis? And no, sitting in your living room once a month with your friends does not count. Have you ever played professionally for the long term? Does you amp leave you house more than once every couple of months? Do you even belong in a band. Not that any of these things has anything to do with how you play, but how your equipment holds up.


I could never in good conscience recommend a HRDlx that is 8 years old to anyone. And $380 for an eight your old HRDlx is ridiculous when you can get one a couple of years or old even less with the warranty for $425-450. The market is flooded with them. There are 7 alone at our GC and four more at Sam Ash. That's another clue. If you want to see how good a piece of equipment really is, look on the used market. If it's flooded, people are dumping them for a reason.

The comparison between thr DRRI and the HRDlx is funny too. There are no where the number of posts about the DRRI problems as there are the HRDlx. The two amps are worlds apart as far as tone and build quality are concerned.

Any time someone says something negative about the HRD series amps, you come to the rescue. Good for you. You own them and love them great. Collect them all. Not all people on this forum fix there own amps. You also love Groove Tubes, I don't. But to recommend an 8 year old amp when even the one I had had some improvements is laughable.

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Post subject: Re: Hot Rod Deluxe for pop punk/alternative/punk
Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:34 am
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You have way more experience than I do, I rarely gig in a band, not in some time and never professionally, I'm not even very good, lol. I value your opinion and experience, especially about tone and gear, I just want some balance here, so I post about my experience too. I'm sure that your tech is fine, can't say the same for everyone that claims to be a tech and works on a HRd amp though, lot's of hacks out there you know. I mostly play at home now, just about every day, sometimes with another guitar player or bass player, and mostly use my HRDlx. Recently I hooked up with a drummer and of course have to travel to his place, but the HRDlx has become too heavy for me to move easily, so I carry the BJr. For the first few years after I bought it in '98, I used to lug my HRDlx around to 3 different friend's places who each had a complete setup, PA, mics, drums etc, about once a week. We occasionally had small groups listening to us at parties, but I don't do well in front of people, so I prefer private jamming. I considered myself at least a part time member of the former "The Kitchen Band", consisting of a great singer/bass player, a couple of different drummers alternating, myself and another guitar player. So, I'll have to bow to your expertise in performing and I'm sure that I would enjoy hearing you play. My son lives in VA, so who knows, maybe I'll be in your area some day. :)

You're right, the comparison with the DRRI may not be fair, but illustrates the point that all amps can have problems. It just stands to reason that if there are many times more HRDlx amps made, there would be a proportionate increase in the number of websites about them, and a proportionate increase in the number of problem amps also. I can really only see one consistent problem area with the HRDlx, and that is the two 5 watt resistors in the power supply that cause unnecessary extra heat, exacerbating the solder joint/thin circuit board problems. The poor solder joints and cheap circuit boards are a plague in all modern amps these days, not exclusive to the HRds by any stretch. There are a couple of different fixes for the hot resistors, as you are well aware, that should only need to be addressed once and done. For example, if an amp tech fixes the solder joints several times on the same amp, then he screwed up and should have gotten them all the first time. Having to repair the same amp a few times isn't necessarily the amp's fault, :wink: :idea:

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