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Post subject: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2011 11:54 pm
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Hi all!

New to the forums and seemed like a good place to come for advice on all things Fender!

So I play an American Standard strat with a variety of pedals, into the clean channel of Hot Rod Deluxe.

The amp works really well for me, the amp takes all my pedals really well, but when it comes to tone the bass end isn't as tight or defined as I'd like it to be, and sometimes the highs have the tonal equivalent of nails down a blackboard.

I've been thinking about upgrading to a new Fender (some form of reissue, probably a Bassman) but is it possible to fix these issues with the HRD? Does installing a Vintage 30 speaker really bring this amp to life like I've read on a lot of forums.

What I'm trying to do, is get the richest clean sound I can out of the HRD to act as a platform for my pedalboard. I have no interest or need to improve the drive channel. If it can't be done, I'll look into new amps, but I'd rather not have to drop a whole heap of cash if my current amp is fixable! So I'm looking to mainly replace the speaker, and as a last resort, change the valves as well!

Cheers!

Matt.


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Post subject: Re: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2011 1:07 am
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The V30 would be be significant improvement over the OEM Eminence speaker, especially for contemporary rock tones. However, it will not deliver as much of the "rich/clean" sounds of a traditional blackface Fender like a Super Reverb or Twin Reverb would. Still, the speaker swap is worthy of consideration.

HTH and welcome to the forum

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 9:47 pm
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Okay, so I did some further reading and now I'm just confused.

Some say the v30 is great, while others say it's too bassy for an already really bassy amp.

The other suggestion was to look in an Eminance Cannabis Rex or some other form of Eminance speaker.

What I'm after, is the best clean tone I can get, tight bass, less brightness of the amp. I don't crank the amp to the point of breaking up as I use pedals for my dirt/drive. So which is the best new speaker for me?

Cheers!


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Post subject: Re: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:48 pm
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If "the best clean tone I can get, tight bass, less brightness of the amp" is your primary concern I would go with the Emi Cannabis Rex (or possibly the Swamp Thang). The V30 is very strong through the mids, which often extends to the bass frequencies. However, these caveats generally apply to an amp using a bass-reflex (ie: sealed-back) enclosure such as a Marshall 1960 or the various 4 x 12 clones. In an infinite-baffle cab such as your HRD, the V30's bass and mid response would be somewhat attenuated. That said, I'd still bet the ranch on the Emi for its superior clean punch.

I know this sounds vague but I hope it helps nonetheless.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2011 11:33 pm
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Yes that makes a lot more sense now!

I got confused as every forum seemed to say different things, that the v30 was perfect, then it created too much bass and didn't handle the brightness and so on and so forth!

Thanks for clarifying!


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Post subject: Re: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 12:07 am
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BTW, you never indicated how new your HRD was. If it's brand-new (less that twenty or thirty hours of use) the speaker is not yet broken in. If that's the case, play the amp for a few weeks to see if the tone becomes more pleasing to your ear. All new speakers are possessed of a certain stiffness due to the brand-new cone, suspension, and surround, along with the adhesives used to assemble these components. This stiffness will disappear as a sustained audio signal is applied and the difference can be very dramatic.

HTH

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:24 am
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It's coming up on 2 years old now, so the speaker is broken in!


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Post subject: Re: Help with Hot Rod Deluxe!
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:33 am
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Obviously the OEM driver does nothing for you.

:lol:

Take heart though -- you aren't alone.

Few of my amps have their original speakers still installed.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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