Members steve_man Posted August 10, 2008 Members Share Posted August 10, 2008 Buy it if you love it...if not...buy something else...it's that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GarysBlues Posted August 10, 2008 Members Share Posted August 10, 2008 Listen Steve, I've owned a couple and if you can buy a used for $3 bills then great. But a DRRI is the way to go for the bucks. Especially if your thinking NEW HRDel. I still have my BDRI in the Avatar, but thats a little different than a Black Tolex HRD, warmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members F.D. Neighbors Posted August 10, 2008 Members Share Posted August 10, 2008 The effects loop is tops for running a j-station or preamp modeler thru for the distortion thing.Great for loud bass heavy cleans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mouse464 Posted August 10, 2008 Members Share Posted August 10, 2008 The cleans are absolutley gorgeous!But the overdrive is actually pretty poor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ESchmidt Posted August 10, 2008 Members Share Posted August 10, 2008 I had one. It was a pretty good sounding amp. However, be sure to check out the Traynor YCV-40. Its about the same price and it not only has great cleans, but also a great OD channel. They are worth a look! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted August 11, 2008 Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 Listen Steve, I've owned a couple and if you can buy a used for $3 bills then great. But a DRRI is the way to go for the bucks. Especially if your thinking NEW HRDel.I still have my BDRI in the Avatar, but thats a little different than a Black Tolex HRD, warmer. Well, I like the tone of the Hot Rod, plus it beats the DRRI in the looks department for sure. But...to each his own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twisty571 Posted August 11, 2008 Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 A couple weeks back I met some folks for a motorcycle ride & we hit a little spot on the mountain we go to. Outside bar & stage and the band was great playing everything from country to all kinds of classic rock. The lead guitarist played 1 of those White Lightnings & a couple pedals & an Epi LP w/bigsby and he hit everything nicely. Ever since I have wanted 1. 1 of these days I might grab 1 if I replace the Laney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted August 11, 2008 Members Share Posted August 11, 2008 Yup, they sell more Hot Rods than any other tube amp made. Once again, that has to show that thousands of people find their "sound" with a Hot Rod model... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 Found a good deal on one and picked it up last night. Really loud, and awesome cleans - even better than I expected and I had high hopes! I plan to use pedals for the dirt. I need to fix the jewel light though - it intermittently turns off. I'm hoping a little solder will do the trick if I ever get to it. Also, if I decide to replace the tubes, is it true that I don't need to rebias if I use the same tube type? And where is the best place to buy tubes online for US buyers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 What about the Blues DeLuxe? Doesn't that feature the same clean channel as the HRDL, which everybody seems to love, without the drive channel, which gets comparatively few votes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 What about the Blues DeLuxe? Doesn't that feature the same clean channel as the HRDL, which everybody seems to love, without the drive channel, which gets comparatively few votes? The BD has a "drive" channel. I haven't seen one in person, but on paper the HRD looks to be the same as the BD with the addition of a "more drive" setting. Both amps cost the same new, but used the BD's seem to sell for more. I was looking for either one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caveman Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 The BD has a "drive" channel. I haven't seen one in person, but on paper the HRD looks to be the same as the BD with the addition of a "more drive" setting. Both amps cost the same new, but used the BD's seem to sell for more. I was looking for either one.I have both the BDri and HRD and you can't go wrong with either one. The HRD sounds really good with a Vintage 30 and JJs. If it hadn't came that way I wouldn't have thought there was a need to change it from stock. When I first got the BD I thought it was ice picky with my single coils. Eventually I discovered that all I needed to do was my pups a bit. I love both, hope you find a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members primeholy Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 Also, if I decide to replace the tubes, is it true that I don't need to rebias if I use the same tube type? And where is the best place to buy tubes online for US buyers? That is what my manual says. Google Hot Rod Deluxe manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 First day honeymoon period, but this amp has an inherently musical and sweet sound to it. Not using the drive channels of course. Using my OCD pedal with the drive all the way off adds a nice texture too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kingswebe Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 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. That was experience when I owned one from 2005 - 2007. Although I would add that the clean channel, while not bad, IMO was still lacking in getting that classic glassy Strat sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jean Genie Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 A little after I got mine (about 7 years ago) bob eurotubes sent me over a replacement set of tubes and it helped the sound somewhat. I saw in MF catalog there are now matching cabs available for it. Thats great. My only gripe with it is that it breaks up very early(which it is designed to do but did not know that until recently) so I use the lo-z input for clean clean.I'll probably toss a V30 in it too. Haven't used it in quite a while and would like to get back into it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DenverDave Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 What about the Blues DeLuxe? Doesn't that feature the same clean channel as the HRDL, which everybody seems to love, without the drive channel, which gets comparatively few votes? No.... The Blues Deluxe is voiced differently. It's circuit is loosely based on a Bassman circuit - thus has more of the Fender 'tweed' tone - a bit warmer. They also have a drive channel and it is not any better than the HRD drive channel. When I owned my BD I dropped a Vintage 30 speaker into it and it smoothed out the tone nicely. They can have a bit of a brittle top end at times (due to a fairly cheap Eminence speaker that is stock with the amp). But the clean channel of the BD does sound different than the clean on the HRD. When I bought mine I played the two amps side by side (literally) and the BD was more to my liking tonally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Z Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 As almost anyone will tell you the OD isn't very good, but if that's what you want in an amp don't buy it, get something else. I assume you plan to use pedals since you want an amp with a FX loop. In that case you will want a clean amp so you can get the most out of your pedals. Running the amp clean and adding pedals is really the best set up for most rigs. You can always add dirt to a clean amp but you can't add clean to a dirty amp. I don't know why you don't like the Deluxe Reverb but their a killer little amp. After owing 2 of them a '66 and a '72 I don't see how anyone can beat them, a real sweet sounding amp. Need a FX loop? you can always daisy chain the 2 channels and use the normal like a FX loop it works wonders most guys don't even know about. Still the HRD would be a great choice, and would be on my top 10 list of amps to buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 A little after I got mine (about 7 years ago) bob eurotubes sent me over a replacement set of tubes and it helped the sound somewhat. I saw in MF catalog there are now matching cabs available for it. Thats great.My only gripe with it is that it breaks up very early(which it is designed to do but did not know that until recently) so I use the lo-z input for clean clean.I'll probably toss a V30 in it too.Haven't used it in quite a while and would like to get back into it From here: If you're looking for max clean, you won't be able to get much more from a perfectly matched pair of NOS JAN Philips 7581A power tubes with a balanced 12AT7 phase inverter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted August 12, 2008 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 I don't know why you don't like the Deluxe Reverb but their a killer little amp. Everyone, including me loves the Deluxe Reverb. But used or new they're about $150-$200 more expensive. A used HDR ranges from $350-$450 used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Z Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 Found a good deal on one and picked it up last night. Really loud, and awesome cleans - even better than I expected and I had high hopes! I plan to use pedals for the dirt.I need to fix the jewel light though - it intermittently turns off. I'm hoping a little solder will do the trick if I ever get to it.Also, if I decide to replace the tubes, is it true that I don't need to rebias if I use the same tube type? And where is the best place to buy tubes online for US buyers? You should test your tubes about once a year, I'd test them right now since you just got it. Mosy Fender's I've had are easy on tubes, so I'd bet you can expect they will last a few years if you use good quality tubes, like I said test your tubes. I happen to like Ruby 6L6GCMSTR tubes they seem well made and I've had a set in a Reverend Hellhound for 3 1/2 years and they still test like new and this amp runs tad hot, can't change the bias on it with a PV of 485 way hotter than most Fender amps. This amp gets played all the time and they have held up well. Most Fender amps the bias is factory set and shouldn't need to be adjusted just because you change tubes. Poowie on all that hype about setting the bias every time you change tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Johnny Z Posted August 12, 2008 Members Share Posted August 12, 2008 Everyone, including me loves the Deluxe Reverb. But used or new they're about $150-$200 more expensive. A used HDR ranges from $350-$450 used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jean Genie Posted August 13, 2008 Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 From here: thanks man, nice HRD site...good info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goodhonk Posted August 13, 2008 Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 :thu:congrats on the new amp i've been playing the Blues Deluxe every time i see one in a store. i love the cleans. i tried the drri a couple of times and didn't like it as much as the BD. used to have an early 70's twin reverb, but was a dumb punk at the time, and couldn't appreciate it. gassing for a BD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted August 13, 2008 Members Share Posted August 13, 2008 First day honeymoon period, but this amp has an inherently musical and sweet sound to it. Not using the drive channels of course. Using my OCD pedal with the drive all the way off adds a nice texture too.Congrats, and welcome to the Hot Rod family! Did you get a black one?PICS are REQUIRED!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.