View other reviews for this product:
King Loudness « Good gigging amp »
Published on 10/31/11 at 19:19The Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10 is a great sounding dual channel amp that offers the same setup as the classic Fender amps like the 4x10 Bassman or 4x10 Super Reverb. There is a clean channel and a drive channel with footswitchable boost. It puts out a LOUD 40 watts of tube power and is driven by 6L6s in the power section. It has onboard reverb as well to provide a bit of ambiance. It's a pretty common backline amp like the HR Deluxe and I've used a few of them at jams and festivals over the years.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this rig is pretty simple. The controls are pretty intuitive and it sounds good. Truth be told I've mostly used this amp with pedals providing the core tones, but even so, the EQ is good to dial in and the amp is quite dynamic and clear sounding even at high volumes. I particularly like the tone when in a band mix and using pedals such as my Diamond Compressor to enhance the tones. The EQ controls are easy to use, the reverb is fairly lush and the gain controls have a good smooth taper to them.
SOUNDS
I've tried this amp with various guitars, mostly all humbucker loaded solidbodies of various brands. It seems to sound best on the clean channel driving pedals. The clean channel is a nice clear and open sounding Fender clean that has a great open quality enhanced by the 4 10" speakers, which gives a thicker/fuller sound than the 1x12 Hot Rod Deluxe in my opinion. The drive channel is not bad but I find it to be a bit brittle sounding and not nearly as smooth as I'd like for fusion/shred lead work, but also not thick or high gain enough for hard rock rhythms. It's got a nice character, but even so I found myself using a dirt box into the clean channel or boosting the overdrive channel with a smoother overdrive for leads.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10 is a good buy for anyone looking for a loud and good sounding gigging amp that won't cost a fortune. They can be had for about $500 used which is a pretty good price considering the quality of tone. The drive channel isn't my favourite but the clean tones work well enough with pedals in front to be more than adequate for sure. Even considering the fact that I don't care for the drive channel, I still think this amp is definitely worth a look for sure.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this rig is pretty simple. The controls are pretty intuitive and it sounds good. Truth be told I've mostly used this amp with pedals providing the core tones, but even so, the EQ is good to dial in and the amp is quite dynamic and clear sounding even at high volumes. I particularly like the tone when in a band mix and using pedals such as my Diamond Compressor to enhance the tones. The EQ controls are easy to use, the reverb is fairly lush and the gain controls have a good smooth taper to them.
SOUNDS
I've tried this amp with various guitars, mostly all humbucker loaded solidbodies of various brands. It seems to sound best on the clean channel driving pedals. The clean channel is a nice clear and open sounding Fender clean that has a great open quality enhanced by the 4 10" speakers, which gives a thicker/fuller sound than the 1x12 Hot Rod Deluxe in my opinion. The drive channel is not bad but I find it to be a bit brittle sounding and not nearly as smooth as I'd like for fusion/shred lead work, but also not thick or high gain enough for hard rock rhythms. It's got a nice character, but even so I found myself using a dirt box into the clean channel or boosting the overdrive channel with a smoother overdrive for leads.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10 is a good buy for anyone looking for a loud and good sounding gigging amp that won't cost a fortune. They can be had for about $500 used which is a pretty good price considering the quality of tone. The drive channel isn't my favourite but the clean tones work well enough with pedals in front to be more than adequate for sure. Even considering the fact that I don't care for the drive channel, I still think this amp is definitely worth a look for sure.