Members kman8898 Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 What are your thoughts? I currently have a sucky Fender Frontman that i can't wait to drop out of a window, but unfortunately it's my only amp right now. I've been looking at all different types of Fender tube amps, and I've decided that I'm just going to prowl around on eBay and Craiglist until i see any of the following amps for a decent price: Hot Rod Deluxe iii, Hot Rod DeVille (212 or 410, doesn't matter), Blues Deluxe Reissue, or Blues DeVille reissue. Obviously, the blues reissues are going to be a better (and more expensive amp), but what do you guys prefer? What are they key differences between the amps? Anyone have experience with any of the four? Anything is appreciated, and I play mainly classic rocks, if that helps at all. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 play as many as you can, i love mine. they are best with either a speaker swap or through an ext cab, and they are great with pedals. the onboard reverb is sweet too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike LX-R Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 When I decided to buy my first tube amp I decided I would start with a Fender. I played scores, new, used, and vintage. Do this. Play as many new, used, and vintage Fenders as you can. I wound up with a 1966 Pro Reverb and it's a beautiful amp. There's plenty of affordable options when it comes to Fender tube amps. Just plug in and LISTEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gspointer Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 I have a tone-master, I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samnite Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 I have not had experience with any of the amps listed in the OP. Sorry. But I currently play a silverface Bandmaster Reverb and a silverface Bassman Ten. I have also owned a mid-90's Prosonic. I wish I had never sold that Prosonic. Fantastic amplifier. All the points made above about Fender cleans, reverb, and ability to take pedals are absolutely true. You typically won't find a huge crunch on a Fender amp (aside from Prosonics, Supersonics, etc.), but you can get any distorted sound you want from a pedal anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 What are your thoughts? I currently have a sucky Fender Frontman that i can't wait to drop out of a window, but unfortunately it's my only amp right now. I've been looking at all different types of Fender tube amps, and I've decided that I'm just going to prowl around on eBay and Craiglist until i see any of the following amps for a decent price: Hot Rod Deluxe iii, Hot Rod DeVille (212 or 410, doesn't matter), Blues Deluxe Reissue, or Blues DeVille reissue. Obviously, the blues reissues are going to be a better (and more expensive amp), but what do you guys prefer? What are they key differences between the amps? Anyone have experience with any of the four? Anything is appreciated, and I play mainly classic rocks, if that helps at all. thanks The Hot Rods are decent amp, but I don't like the overdrive channels. The cleans are really good though, especially after a speaker upgrade. However, there are better options out there. I would look into an older silverface Twin or Deluxe (depending how much power you need) or even a reissue Twin or Deluxe. These are much better options than the Hot Rod series. The Blues Deluxe series is cool, better than the Hot Rod IMHO, but I would still prefer the options above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samnite Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 I agree. i forgot to add that you should definitely be looking for a SF over a new Fender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dicky sofa Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 Billy is correct The Hot Rods are decent amp, but I don't like the overdrive channels. The cleans are really good though, especially after a speaker upgrade. However, there are better options out there. I would look into an older silverface Twin or Deluxe (depending how much power you need) or even a reissue Twin or Deluxe. These are much better options than the Hot Rod series. The Blues Deluxe series is cool, better than the Hot Rod IMHO, but I would still prefer the options above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 what's your main beef with the frontman? curious that you say it sucks, as it's a pretty decent cheap amp that sounds like a fender to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kman8898 Posted June 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 The main reason i can't stand my frontman is the gain channel. When playing at low volumes, it's fine, but when i'm playing at gig level and need to dial in some distortion, it sounds more like a a bunch of hoarse men being killed instead of anything remotely musical. I can never get enough bass on the drive channel either. Also, mine starts breaking up on the clean channel when i go past about 5 on the volume. Yeah, it's a fine starter/practice amp, but it just doesn't have the tone of a better quality amp, and they aren't built that well. It seems like my issue with the clean channel breaking up is fairly common, and there are plenty more known issues with them. I tried a friend's Blues DeVille 410 the other day and fell in love. And billy, I always thought that the Twin and Deluxe were just way up there, price-wise. Would I be looking at spending a significantly larger amount on an older, used Deluxe than on a Blues reissue from the same time period? Does the Deluxe Reverb reissue sound pretty similar to the original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Peaveyaddict Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 All those amps would be good for blues/classic rock stuff. Unless you're playing a pretty big place, the Blues Deville or Hot Rod Deville might be too much. One amp that you didn't mention that I heard a guy using one night at a small club was a Vibrolux Reissue (If I recall correctly). It had two tens in it, and he had a beautiful tone going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 The main reason i can't stand my frontman is the gain channel. When playing at low volumes, it's fine, but when i'm playing at gig level and need to dial in some distortion, it sounds more like a a bunch of hoarse men being killed instead of anything remotely musical. I can never get enough bass on the drive channel either. Also, mine starts breaking up on the clean channel when i go past about 5 on the volume. Yeah, it's a fine starter/practice amp, but it just doesn't have the tone of a better quality amp, and they aren't built that well. It seems like my issue with the clean channel breaking up is fairly common, and there are plenty more known issues with them. I tried a friend's Blues DeVille 410 the other day and fell in love. And billy, I always thought that the Twin and Deluxe were just way up there, price-wise. Would I be looking at spending a significantly larger amount on an older, used Deluxe than on a Blues reissue from the same time period? Does the Deluxe Reverb reissue sound pretty similar to the original? The silverfaces are not too expensive, you can find a bunch of them for about 500-700. The Deluxe Reverb reissue sounds really good. It's impossible to say if it sounds like the original, because the originals today have years of wear in the speakers, transformers etc.. which changes the tone a bit, sometimes for the better. But they're great sounding amps nonetheless. I would suggest you stick with your amp for a bit longer and keep saving and looking for a good deal on one of these amps, that way you only have to upgrade ONCE and you will save money in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kman8898 Posted June 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 I would suggest you stick with your amp for a bit longer and keep saving and looking for a good deal on one of these amps, that way you only have to upgrade ONCE and you will save money in the long run. That's exactly what I'm planning on doing. As of right now, I'm borrowing an Ultra Chorus for when my 1x12 won't suffice, so I'm in no hurry. I'm always keeping an eye out for deals on eBay and Craigslist and the like. I just needed to get an idea of what I should be looking for, and everybody here has helped a lot. Thanks to everyone who replied, this forum rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kman8898 Posted June 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 I would suggest you stick with your amp for a bit longer and keep saving and looking for a good deal on one of these amps, that way you only have to upgrade ONCE and you will save money in the long run. That's exactly what I'm planning on doing. As of right now, I'm borrowing an Ultra Chorus for when my 1x12 won't suffice, so I'm in no hurry. I'm always keeping an eye out for deals on eBay and Craigslist and the like. I just needed to get an idea of what I should be looking for, and everybody here has helped a lot. Thanks to everyone who replied, this forum rocks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flogger59 Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 Deluxes Super Reverbs are pricey, but deals abound for the less popular ones, Vibrolux, Pro Reverb, Twin reverb (big and heavy) , Bandmaster and Dual Showman Reverb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeppelin Rules Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 what's your main beef with the frontman? curious that you say it sucks, as it's a pretty decent cheap amp that sounds like a fender to me. Really? Like realllllllly? They're easily the worst practice amps out there. I had a FM15 that sounded like ratty ass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeppelin Rules Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 OP, a Deluxe Reverb is probably your best bet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike LX-R Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 Really? Like realllllllly? They're easily the worst practice amps out there. I had a FM15 that sounded like ratty ass thanks for saying that for me. i wanted to reply but didn't know how to, and his post was incongruous with his member status, which apparently means nothing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike LX-R Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 Deluxes Super Reverbs are pricey, but deals abound for the less popular ones, Vibrolux, Pro Reverb, Twin reverb (big and heavy) , Bandmaster and Dual Showman Reverb. I gotta say that if you like that big bell Twin sound but want a little bit of overdrive and grind that the Pro Reverb is an awesome way to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kman8898 Posted June 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 are the member statuses based on age or number of posts or what? Why do some just say "member" or "junior member" but some look like they've been edited by the user? Sorry if this is a really dumb question, I'm a complete noob when it comes to forums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike LX-R Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 are the member statuses based on age or number of posts or what? Why do some just say "member" or "junior member" but some look like they've been edited by the user? Sorry if this is a really dumb question, I'm a complete noob when it comes to forums you status changes after you post xyz amount of posts. Then, when you've proven that you REALLY have no life and have oodles of posts Harmony Central allows you to write your own member status. It's something we all aim for, and only the most pathetic of us have accomplished it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SnowStorm Posted June 28, 2012 Members Share Posted June 28, 2012 All suggestions are good. There is nothing wrong with the Hot Rod Deluxes though. The cleans are very good for an amp of it's price range. Buy a good distortion pedal that fits your classic rock needs and you'll be fine. Overdrive channels on most Fender amps are not very good. You may also want to look into a Peavey Classic 30 or a Classic 50. They do cleans pretty well and have a great classic rock overdrive channel and can be had for the same price. Getting a Peavey Classic is what I would really suggest to you unless your really set on Fender cleans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wayne2 Posted June 29, 2012 Members Share Posted June 29, 2012 Which Frontman do you have? I agree the onboard distortion is lousy but the clean channel is fine. Throw a distortion pedal in front of it, upgrade the speaker, and you could buy some time. Fender makes good stuff... that's a good plan there to save up and go try them out and get something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 67mike Posted June 29, 2012 Members Share Posted June 29, 2012 I would highly recommend a Deluxe Reverb:love::love:....I think that with a good distortion pedal and that amp...you could do ANYTHING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xrleroyx Posted June 29, 2012 Members Share Posted June 29, 2012 The Deluxe Reverb has been recorded constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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