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Fender Hot Rod Deluxe


scolfax

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I thought there was a thread on the Fender HRD recently, but I can't find it. Anyway...

 

My Ampeg 120watt is too heavy, and I haven't liked it too much lately, and my Fender Pro Jr. sounds great but I wish it had an effects loop and possibly a 12" speaker. So...

 

I've been thinking about ditching both for a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

 

hotrod_deluxe_f.jpg

 

The price and features seem about right, but I haven't had a chance to hear one. My friend just bought a '65 DRRI and it sounds awesome, but it's expensive and has some features I don't want/need.

 

I seem to remember some folks loving the HRD and others hating it. Is this assessment about right?

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The general consensus on the HRD is that the clean channel is fantastic but the overdrive channel is pretty blah. That's been my experience with them as well - great cleans, but if you want gain it's best to use pedals rather than the gain channel. I've never actually owned one, however, so that assessment is only based on playing through a few of them at stores and the tweed one that a friend of mine owns.

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I'll be the naysayer and say that I am not a fan. I really can't imagine a situation where I'd rather than a HRD than a super reverb. Or a vibroverb. Or a bassman. Or pretty much any other mid powered blackface fender.

 

Me no likey the HRD. If you want modern mid-powered fender rather than a re-issue, I'd go Supersonic.

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Found some clips for ya...

 

Here is a clip with OD - WARNING: This guy has a beautiful Carvin ;)

 

[YOUTUBE]LtT5WzqMsxk[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

The White Lightning HRD OD clip

 

[YOUTUBE]k9yOny4t6LQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

HRD review

 

[YOUTUBE]z0mgUGoP7_0[/YOUTUBE]

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I used one for eight years on every tour, every show, every recording... With all sorts of guitars, from Les Pauls to strats and teles to the Brian May guitar... No matter what, the HRD always sounded great.

 

A lot of people are naysayers just because they don't like the gain channel - well...... If you don't like the gain channel, don't use it! The cleans are wonderful, the amp is small-ish, light, but very loud. It loves pedals more than anything.

 

What's not to like? It's a great amp and you'll love it :cool:

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I used one for eight years on every tour, every show, every recording... With all sorts of guitars, from Les Pauls to strats and teles to the Brian May guitar... No matter what, the HRD always sounded great.


A lot of people are naysayers just because they don't like the gain channel - well...... If you don't like the gain channel, don't use it! The cleans are wonderful, the amp is small-ish, light, but very loud. It loves pedals more than anything.


What's not to like? It's a great amp and you'll love it
:cool:

 

Canadian Pink Floyd? If you and Australian Pink Floyd are in the same city at the same time do you fight, and if so, who wins?

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WARNING: This guy has a beautiful Carvin
;)

 

Ha! You're funny!

 

Thanks for the clips, the cleans on that Blues Deluxe and the White Lightning guy sounded great. Since the HDR is a modified BD, I assume the cleans are the same. Strange that both amps cost the same, but the HDR has more features.

 

The third guy didn't sound as good, but I'm sure that's a recording issue. I wasn't blown away by the drive channels, but that's not a deal-breaker for me - I'll definitely need to hear that in person. BTW, don't you hate that most "reviews" don't ever tell you the problems with a product? I'd like to see GuitarWorld or whoever record a review of something and say that it was a complete piece of crap.

 

As far as the comments about the Super Reverb, Twins, etc - I bet they do sound great, but they are more expensive and surely heavier than a 1x12". I'm trying to downsize!

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I'm not that fond of the cleans on the HRD, with chords it seems to lack clarity and turn things into mush. Quite a bassy amp, due to the cab I believe. I would advise saving for the DRRI but if you play an HRD and like it, go for it. If it sounds good to you, nothing else matters.

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I used one for eight years on every tour, every show, every recording... With all sorts of guitars, from Les Pauls to strats and teles to the Brian May guitar... No matter what, the HRD always sounded great.


A lot of people are naysayers just because they don't like the gain channel - well...... If you don't like the gain channel, don't use it! The cleans are wonderful, the amp is small-ish, light, but very loud. It loves pedals more than anything.


What's not to like? It's a great amp and you'll love it
:cool:

 

Wow, that's a solid recommendation! What pedals do you generally use it with? Do you use the dirty channels at all?

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I like my HRD a lot. Been gigging it for 2 years now and it's been great. Sounds real good with all of my guitars, especially the LP's. Like everybody else, I find the drive channels to be limited but I do use them on a couple of songs. Clean channel is really nice and effects loop is great. I've seen used ones on CL going for $400 or less. Great amp for that $$$.

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I'm not that fond of the cleans on the HRD, with chords it seems to lack clarity and turn things into mush. Quite a bassy amp, due to the cab I believe. I would advise saving for the DRRI but if you play an HRD and like it, go for it. If it sounds good to you, nothing else matters.

 

 

I find the cleans on my Hot Rod to be extremely good, and not overly bassy at all. Granted, mine has a Celestion in it, maybe that makes a difference...

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i have a hrd and i think its really good. the clean channel is delicious, not a big fan of the dirt channels on it though, but i got a tonebone plexitube that takes care of that. id say go for it, its a great amp! and as others have said before me, it takes pedals well.

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I'm the original owner a '94, 60 watt, USA Blues Deville 410. I think it's similar to the HRD. It has great Fender clean tones! The reverb is great! It takes pedals well. I like overdriving the clean channel. I'm not a fan of the dirt channel, but it can be ok for light gain. I agree that the more expensive Fender amps, like the DRRI and Bassman sound better...not surprising considering the price.

 

For amps in the same price class, I think it comes down to tonal preference. After all, there's a reason some pros use a Fender for clean and a Marshall for crunch...no single amp can completely master the full spectrum of sounds from clean to dirty. In the end, it comes down to what type tone is most important and where you are willing to compromise.

 

In case it helps, I've compared my Blues Deville to a few Peavey Classic series amps and they are different animals. I think the Fender BD does a clean that is way better than the Peavey Classic Series. Yet, the Peavey Classics do a crunch that is unlike the BD or HRD crunch.

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I had one of the tweed ones for about a week and I didn't like it at all. Clean tone was nice enough but the breakup was harsh and unmusical compared to the older Fender amps I've owned. I sure see a lot of touring musicians use them, so obviously they've got something good going on. But not for me. I much prefer the DRRI, or better still, the original.

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