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Fender Hot Rod Deluxe vs. Egnater Tweaker vs. Peavey Classic. Which one and why?


ColoradoBass

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So,Im looking for my first tube amp. Ive been playing guitar for a while now and Im ready to step up to tubes. I play a Texas fat strat (Texas single coils and a Pearly Gates) and like to think I have a diverse style of playing and musical taste.. rock / blues / metal / country sort of thing.

Thoughts?

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A fat strat with texas specials sounds dreamy with a deluxe...but I would probably try to pick up an older used one with point to point wiring rather than the hot rod, which has PCB construction, and has been noted to have some reliability issues.  The tweaker sounds pretty good, too, and gives you a few more options on the sound front, but nothing that is as purely good as the sound of a deluxe.  I don't know Peavey's, but lots of folks like them as affordable alternatives.

Also, I wouldn't look for the deluxe or tweaker to do metal well, especially with a strat.  They have nice cleans, but don't really do the high-gain thing very well.

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I've played all three but currently own the Tweaker and HRD. I was using the HRD for blues and country gigs, having swapped out the tubes for JJ's and the speaker for a WGS Veteran 30. I love the tube tone and portability (weighs a ton, though) of the HRD but because of the inherent vibrational nature of tube combos, I've relegated myself to head/cab rigs. The vibrations from the speaker wreak havoc on tubes because they sit directly behind the sound source. This wears down the tube life dramatically, especially if you play loud or run your tubes a bit hotter, like I do. Recently, my HRD started blowing fuses unexpectedly and I needed an immediate replacement for a studio session happening just days after this started happening. The HRD now sits in my closet.

 

Enter the Tweaker. I bought it as a studio replacement for my HRD. I use a Palmer PDI-03 rackmount speaker simulator mostly when recording electric guitars but when miking, I have several cabs from which to choose. My first choice is my Avatar 212 with greenbacks. Low wattage head with low wattage speakers, the amp still rips and the speakers break up nice and creamy. Actually, when I went to audition the Tweaker in the store, I was totally blown away with how good it sounded through the matching 112 cab they make for it. It went from spanky country to overdriven blues to hard rock in a matter of a few "tweaks" (see what I did there?). Matter of fact, there was a guy across the showroom playing metal/hard rock on a high-wattage half stack. Just for grins, I tweaked the amp (there it is again!) to try to match his tone, and it did, ALMOST EXACTLY. A 15 watt tube head through a 112 cab sounded as huge and insanely distorted as a 100 watt 412 halfstack. I was sold. I bought it immediately.

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Sorry, I forgot to mention this was with the Tweaker 15, the 15 watt tube head.  They also make a 2 channel, 40 watt head called the Tweaker 40.  It gets the same stellar reviews as the smaller version.  Also, this amp takes pedals VERY NICELY, as well.  You can feel confident this amp will deliver any tonal need you desire.  The only downside is the lack of on-board reverb.  But it does come with an effects loop...

Honestly, if I were buying my first tube amp, I would NOT buy what everyone else gets (...Fender, Peavey, etc) and buy what will give me the most bang for the buck.  At $399 for the Tweaker 15 head, I believe you can add the cab for another 200 or so, that's a KILLER deal and I would challenge most anybody with a HRD in a tone contest against the Tweaker.  The Tweaker just blows it away, IMO.

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