Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

[Funkwire]

I've been using mine since 2001. LOOOOOVE the clean sound. I used the drive/more drive channels for several years and found them very usable. Since I got my Digitech GNX2 with a Sparkle Drive emulation, I use that for my overdrive instead.

A good, solid amp that will cover most any application you need...sucker is LOUD...40 watts will take you far.

Sure, we'd all love a DRRI...if I could get one for the price of an HRD, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat. But I don't see those around!

[primeholy]

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. 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?

I just traded my PRS SE Custom for a Blues Deluxe today. Havent gotten to crank it yet but I like it so far. If anything I may swap out the speaker, but I will wait till after practice and a gig or two.

[steve_man]

They are the best selling tube amp line in the world for a reason, you know...

 

...great tone, great value.

[Faber]

Fender clean on a budget = HR series. Especially used.

In absolute terms, I think they are a jack of all trades, master of none deal - For fender cleans, they really aren't up there with the blackface reissues, and the drive channel can't compete with a good pedal. For what they're supposed to be though, which is affordable workhorses, they're hard to beat

[ThunderSqueak]

I love the clean channel on mine!

Sounds awsome with my Tele, pushes it over the top

warning tho, for home playing it can get a bit loud

[pekelnik]

There is one in our practice room. I sometimes use it, but it confuses the hell out of me. Has too many knobs and buttons and I don't know what they do. I should find a schematics one day and look at it. My principal problem is that it has 3 volume knobs. something like volume, master volume and drive. I just want to use it for the clean sound, which should be probably something like V: 5, MV:10, D:1 but the results are not outstanding. And I really hate the reverb. And of course, for anything dirtier, my 18W is much better.

[tlbonehead]

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

In a 4 hour gig, I might spend 5-10 minutes on a semi-clean channel. The rest using some sort of overdrive tone. So, if I can't count on a good overdrive tone from an amp, the amp is worthless to me. The HR has a decent clean tone and one of the most horrible overdrive tones I've ever heard. Must be modded to be useful, IMO. I've heard one modded by Omega and it sounds pretty good.

[tlbonehead]

They are the best selling tube amp line in the world for a reason, you know... ...great tone, great value.

If they said sounded exactly the same and said Crate, etc, on the nameplate, you'd never hear the end of how bad they sound.

[tlbonehead]

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.

 

Yes, if you want Fender clean a Deluxe is a definite step above.

[placeboemotion]

I bought one in May. And then in June a Tiny Terror. I thought that I would go with the HR for the cleans and the Terror for the punch. I did not get around to play any cleans in the last couple of months. The Terror was * SO * MUCH * FUN * ... the HR is a good amp for the price, but it did not really inspire me. I guess eventually I'll do that mod to get more head room for the HR (it crunches early with the P90s I use) and use an ABY switch for the two.

[Geeter]

If they said sounded exactly the same and said Crate, etc, on the nameplate, you'd never hear the end of how bad they sound.

 

 

Lots of folks who love Fender amps, dislike the HRD.

I am not particularly a Fender guy and I really like mine. I liked it stock for the cleans and am finding useful overdrive tones.

It's just hard to beat the performance/price ratio of this amp.

 

It is not better than it's more expensive brethren, but I have little chance of picking up a used DRRI or a twin for under $400.

[tlbonehead]

Lots of folks who love Fender amps, dislike the HRD. I am not particularly a Fender guy and I really like mine. I liked it stock for the cleans and am finding useful overdrive tones. It's just hard to beat the performance/price ratio of this amp. It is not better than it's more expensive brethren, but I have little chance of picking up a used DRRI or a twin for under $400.

Yep. Some people jump on me because of my opinion of them. And that's all it is. If someone is thinking of getting one, I certainly offer my opinion. But for those who like theirs, that's cool. Some of my amps get ragged on by others but I wouldn't change them for anything.

[steve_man]

Man, it's cool if you don't like them. Honestly, I played one at GC when I bought my Tele that sounded amazing. I then bought a used one that sounded horrible. Then, I start playing on the wine red one that I have. It has a Celestion in it, so I suppose that makes the tone more pleasing to me, but I'd put it's clean tones up against any other Fender I've ever played. I have friends that tour constantly all over the country, and their amps for 10 years have been a Hot Rod Deluxe and a Hot Rod Deville.

 

I would not call them a budget Fender. I've played a ton of "budget" tube amps that do not even compare to the Hot Rod. Even the Palomino I had could not even touch the clean tones on this one.

 

Again, the OP really just needs to go to a shop and try several amps. Then make his decision.

[wagdog]

Love my HRD, clean channel and drive channel - "more drive" I hate and never use.

[Josh S]

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?

They'll probably win - they have more lights, I'll bet I mean, we work hard, but we're not 50-ish like them

[Josh S]

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

I used to use the dirty channel when I first got the amp in '99 - I didn't really understand at the time, since I'd just started playing. To be honest with you, I am still very able to get sounds out of the dirty channel that are perfectly useful... People just pretend that it's terrible because it doesn't have a Klon built in or what have you, of course

That being said, I much prefer pedals with this amp. I have very regularly used the following with the HRD: Sovtek Big Muff, Sovtek Small Stone, EH Q-Tron, about a million wahs, a TS808, a TS9, a few different boosts, a WH-1, both of the original ToneBone distortions, a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, Fulltone Soulbender, a Chandler Tubedriver, a couple of different delays including an original Dan-Echo and a DD-20, an EH Electric Mistress, a Voodoo Labs microvibe... I mean, the list goes on...

The HRD sounded fantastic with all of them... I can't say any single guitar sounded best, since they all were great. To give you an idea of the variety, I played for years with a Clapton strat through it, then two cross-Canada tours with a Howard Roberts and an R4 Historic LP, then about a zillion bar-band shows with my trusty LP Standard, tons of gigs (and recordings) with a 62RI tele...

So - the long and the short of my recommendation to you is this: as you can see, I've put that HRD through everything (or, I should say, I've put everything through the HRD ) and it's always sounded great. I've got a Hiwatt now (because of the band), and the other guitarist has an AC30... And I have to say, I still like the sound of the HRD best

(PS - lots of people will till you that Bassmans, etc, will sound better... I say - it's in the ear of the beholder, but I don't agree. My bandmates have had many amps of those types, and I've always preferred the HRD and _always_ got a better sound from it. I was lent a beautiful vintage Twin to record with a year ago, and I ended up re-doing every track with the HRD. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is )

[scolfax]

Wow, thanks for all of the replies! JoshS - was your amp stock? Did it sound the same as any other stock HRD you ran across? Sounds like a great amp! Are there any audio clips online?

 

I've been looking around at Craigslist ads and *just* missed out on a HRD for $400. So then I see a '65 DRRI for just a bit more and start comparing the two. It seems that the consensus here is that the DRRI sounds better. But as I read on I see that the HRD gives you much louder cleans (the DRRI starts to get dirty around 3). *If* you're going to use pedals for dirt, it sounds like the more inexpensive HDR is actually a more versatile choice.

[Cougarbruin]

DO IT!!! Best amp I've ever owned, and it sounds even better than it looks! And...If you need it, you can add an extension cabinet.... The Twin was just TOO LOUD and too expensive...and you can't beat the Hot Rod for the price!

Twins are heavy bitches, but their volume sweep is much, much better than the HRD. Deluxes go from nothing to LOUD in very short order. Yeah my Twin CAN get loud, but its far more controllable than any HRDs I've tried out.

Good looking amp you have there, BTW.

[Cougarbruin]

They are the best selling tube amp line in the world for a reason, you know... ...great tone, great value.

 

 

Yeah... that's why. :poke:

[steve_man]

Twins are heavy bitches, but their volume sweep is much, much better than the HRD. Deluxes go from nothing to LOUD in very short order. Yeah my Twin CAN get loud, but its far more controllable than any HRDs I've tried out. Good looking amp you have there, BTW.

 

 

Yeah, I've seen the volume sweep problem on these before, but the one I have now is great, and does not seem to have that issue.

[steve_man]

Wow, thanks for all of the replies! JoshS - was your amp stock? Did it sound the same as any other stock HRD you ran across? Sounds like a great amp! Are there any audio clips online? I've been looking around at Craigslist ads and *just* missed out on a HRD for $400. So then I see a '65 DRRI for just a bit more and start comparing the two. It seems that the consensus here is that the DRRI sounds better. But as I read on I see that the HRD gives you much louder cleans (the DRRI starts to get dirty around 3). *If* you're going to use pedals for dirt, it sounds like the more inexpensive HDR is actually a more versatile choice.

 

 

Man, check Guitar Center's website. You can catch some great deals on their used stuff. If you find something you like, post on here. Chances are that someone on the forums will go check it out for you!

[Naranolic]

If you haven't bought the HRD yet your in luck.

They just released a limited edition HRD and Blues Deluxe. Unfortunately its only available @ samash.



Search for Limited Edition Black and Tan Hot Rod Deluxe for results.

[steve_man]

mmm....not bad...but no thanks...

[jrockbridge]

IMO the problem with the HRD is that it's not very versatile. It will do clean well if you swap V1 for a 12AT7. It will get do light gain well if you put a Tungsol 12AX7 in V1 and put some TAD 6L6GC in the power section. Then, you crank it up to about volume 4 on channel 1 and it's loud, but you get a nice, light breakup. From there, pedals make it sing. It LOVES a modified DS1! The dirty channel should only be used as a slight thickener if at all. It is a bit of a one trick pony without pedals, but I'll certainly take it over a Blues Junior, Champion 600, Vibro Champ, Champ, Super Champ, or Frontman.

[googoomuck]

People just pretend that it's terrible because it doesn't have a Klon built in or what have you, of course

Come on, I've played a HRD and I'm not pretending it has a bad OD, it really does. That's not to say you can't get decent stuff out of it, but as OD channels in combos around that price bracket go, the one in the HRD is pretty unacceptable.