All user reviews for the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

Amp 40w lamp very powerful ... (2x6L6 3x12AX7)
-Presence
-Reverb
-Master
-Middle
-Bass
-Treble
-Drive Select Switch
-More Drive
-Volume
-Bright Switch
-Standby Switch
-On / Off Switch
Two speaker outputs

USE

Configuration is very simple.
The sound is very good clean, but the distortion remains fender is aprciable.
The manual is clear.

SOUNDS

I made alternative rock and it's perfect!
I play a Les Paul in his dépote serious!
In terms of its clear, I have a sound Putôt bluesy, strong presence of medium and low distortion and a good crunch!
The crunch is a bit messy but it is corrected her with a good pedal.

NOTICE GLOBAL

I use it for an ego.
What I like the most is the clear sound, which I find very clean even the master pushed!
The value for money is spot on!
Yes I would do this choice, purchased from Cygnus, it has the particulartiré to have been built in the USA!

40 watt all-tube which dcoiffe !!!! 1hp 12 inch
2 inputs
1 entry footswtich
1 out Hp
1 effects loop.

USE

The config is very simple! it sounds live
the manual looks like a script 1000 BC. lol

SONORITS

The Alor is the big bed !! c The clear his fender. crunch are beautiful but not explosive.
it is a very good amp a phenomenal power is 40 watt all-tube but 40 Watt all-tube Fender's not kidding! I just not get the sound has more than 4 if exploz head and my little up until 12 Alor imagine full power!

NOTICE GLOBAL

Qualiter amp, compared qualiter average price.

Five good big lamps as capot..40w and basic rglages; do not search on these high-tech devices; but rather an excellent return of the beautiful vintage fender for a price abordable..le Mexican model is identical to the US model, same specifications and same components.

construction seems srieuse and robust.
Nothing to say but all the same weighs 22kg.
Sound with guitar at rest is a bit parasit ... not very quiet; it's roots ..

USE

The simplest configuration; frankly put the gold Satriani you can do everything on it.
It is very typ Fender me this is what I wanted. One could even say that lack of neutrality in that it colors the sound of many distortion pedals in faade .It was good to know ... because some will regret this can be appearance.

The knobs are effective one passes easily from some rich and fat sound a drier sound and grainy .. OV + is not great has its maximum; it has experienced more violent; Mtal lovers spend their chemin..mais dry oats ca for rock..pas of problem ..

SONORITS

it is appropriate at all and so it is a best seller; it's a bit of fender strat amp.
It is rather cute and looks like a kind of large mnager 50s device with clean lines.

Pure pleasure on the line, it's really a very good amp. Beautiful velvety for the Jazz. Wheat for rock..Reverb a little intrusive if pushed to del 4.




NOTICE GLOBAL

for 3 years with me, I do not think changing, and yet I had some good brands before; but for that price nothing to spit in the soup; it really is a fender a little "bell" in the clear, lovely .... what

In short ... His clear and mythical crunch ... but OV max a bit messy; no big deal we do not Lachte for it.

Excellent for a strat, a les paul; a guitar jazz ..
More than enough for repet group; funk for our group, we did not push the more than 4 by volume; even if the drummer beats more ..
Down regime; pageantry must play fine on the knob of very sensitive volume down a bit her lower trunk because it has seen its format.
The effects loop is very clean and dnature nothing.

Attention.Il no line out imitating the sound of a HP; it is better to prick it with a good shure sm57 facade for concerts and studio.

40w tube amp, two channels one clean a crunch / distortion and reverb fender very nice extra. A pedal to change the channel in the foot, traceable in jack. A look dad who made the legend of these amps. Manufacturing is serious.

UTILIZATION

the sound is clear on these amps but overall still good. The settings are standard: acute lower midrange presence and gain, so you do get what you want. The distortion is fine, whatever his detractors who can not adjust an amp!

SOUNDS

It can range from a beautiful clean the tough distortion through a great crunch. It is a machine that works well, there is the soft lamps, and has enough power to stand up to a deaf drummer.

OVERALL OPINION

I used 4 years, it is still weak, I tried a lot of amps, and for the price it should be a reference. I changed to a history of high mids too sharp.

Everything was already very well described ...

UTILIZATION

Very simple, except for the sensitivity of the volume potentiometer (not quite straight)

SOUNDS

With my Yamaha 812V (micro ducan), the sound is incredibly pure clean sound (this is what the fender!) Until a saturation very good for playing blues / rock, through a range to play full of styles and Solicitating the dire straits that I love ...

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for 6 months and frankly this is the best amp I had (marshall, vox, sunn ...) and I've tried for the style of music that I like (the clear , crunch, rock).
Paid 500 € used, the price / quality ratio is excellent.
Only small bémaol = the weight of the beast (more than 20Kg)!

If I had to do, I do it again without hesitation that choice.

See other opinions. Needless to repeat.

UTILIZATION

Easy to use. Style plug and play.

SOUNDS

Beautiful clear and deep sound: that's why we like it first. In contrast, the reverb is unbalanced: go slowly. Same for the button so unbalanced volume this amp is not made to play at home.
Side distortion must go slowly, it's Fender. Beyond the crunch it is better pedals that will put on good clear sound.

OVERALL OPINION

Reliable and popular that has proven for decades in all the scenes of the world amp.

The +

The Fender clean sound
So simple practice on stage
Reliable

The -

Reverb volume and unbalanced

40 w

UTILIZATION

that sounds serious!

SOUNDS

I play with a strat and a 56 gibson custom and in both cases I am completely satisfied

OVERALL OPINION

I own two Hot rot, and I must say that I have not found better than this little 40w sending wood. C then true that it has some defects, the volume knob that already has power 1 gives the impression of being thoroughly. Hence the problematic adjustment of the volume not obvious. Then there is the master, saturated sound that I don t like at all of the sudden I do not use and much prefer my TS10.La reverb yeah it's not bad but should not go beyond 2 power if everything is drowned. Aside from these few default, and we must find n I have nothing to add this amp is a joy when you know its handle!

two processing stages the sound of this amp is equipped with lights, everything else (reverb, effect loop, rectifier) ​​is driven by transistor
2 inputs (hi and low gain) knob to promote acute, clean and overdrive channel (or "more drive"), setting standard tone (bass, middle, shakes and presence) and common to the two "channels"
spring reverb and master (only drive / more drive channel)
effects loop and foot controller (for the selection of channels, not the reverb)
three lamps pre amp (ECC83) and two power tubes (6L6)
Eminence (Fender) 8 ohm
power: 40w

UTILIZATION

the major concern of this amp is the bad habit of placing a linear Fender knob for controlling the gains and volume, the result is that you still looking for the right level at the beginning of the race of your setting is very "touchy" too sensitive you are always too hard or not enough, but never at the right level ...
the (big) detail aside, do not rely too much on the effectiveness of tone controls, they are good to adapt the sound reproduction to the room in which you play but it is not used to "cut" a sound, you I have big pumps or low or medium "vowels" or sparkling treble, despite that and except for the metalheads I think it is a good EQ section (sorry, tone)
reverb is "poorly calibrated" and tends to drown out the sound, eat too much, use sparingly ...
And yet ... if you know how to use a tube amp (*), you get a very fast (very) good sound
(*) Active microphone? pedals? -> Low gain input, single coil pickups? -> No "bright", hambucker? -> Possibility of bright

SOUNDS

I play mostly with a Squier telecater custom, I have lots of other guitars but this one allows me to cover a wide range of sound without changing the stroke, I play music composed of loops and that's why I ' I need a guitar that gives me such a fan, I can easily play bass lines that sound "low", adding skins of clear agreements and then some intelligible good "solo"
I place a great effect section before amp (cry baby, EH micro Q-tron, MXR dime distortion, Line6 DL4 ...) and ME50 in the effects loop (EH + 2880)
So much for the context ...
this amp is well suited to what I do, it can be super clean with a dynamic and scale to fall on your ass while your sound pass, low round, deep, warm, well singing midrange and treble well neat, the drive / drive is a bit more difficult to control but once the mastery it's all good, the reverb ... uh ... how to say? ... buy a reverb pedal!
for the rest, if you have some experience you know that the sound is in the fingers, do not wait for your beloved guitar or amp to do for you ...

OVERALL OPINION

I bought this amp by chance there for four years, to help a friend who was in need of money, and sometimes really chance would have it
I have many other amps (see my gear section) and it is one where I play all the time, all those who come to play with me are in love, he saw to spend Fender (CBS, Japan , and Southwestern U.S.), of Gibson, Parker ... and every time he surprised at their owners what they heard from their stroke always seduced ...

The universal and perfect amp does not exist, if you check the forums you can read the complaints of many owners of this amp, but you also read all the possible solutions (changing lamps, change the HP, or modify such resistance this condo) for my part, I would change the component priority are HP (some screaming when you are in the axis) and the p * $% tin linear knob for gain, if this amp is a charm. ..
ah yes, I forgot, another drawback to this amp is that with such a gain entry, if you have a first lamp (the pre-EQ) that is a little microphonic, you will have want to cry, so be very careful as you place the lamp at this point, try several, to the wise ...

40W all-tube amp Fender.
1 speaker of the same brand, three 12AX7 preamp tubes and two 6L6.
3 channels: Normal, Drive and More Drive plus a bright button to make the sound more brilliant and typed "lamp".
Level knobs and others were left to right:
- 2 input jacks
- Volume (clean), Drive (drive channel gain and more), Treble, Bass, Middle, Master (which is incredibly misnomer since it is the drive channel volume), Reverb and Presence (setting the brightness of the sound).
- Input and output effects loop and finally the footswitch! (Phew ...)

Finally, an output for external speaker well hidden inside the box.
Provided a sign that despite the unorthodox arrangement regarding adjusting the knobs crunch but we made it.

UTILIZATION

It's pretty easy to take in hand, one branch is heated lamps we disable standby and made his settings!
Not really need the manual if you have ever been faced with an amp, especially a tube amp.
The sound generated is quite large and brilliant, as one might expect from a Fender.
However, the knobs go to 12, including two volumes which is totally useless because it gets too dirty and loud even clean above 7-8. Despite this, there was a clear and quite usable without the need to replant with a sound below this threshold.
In short, easy operation and ample power as we do not play at the Parc des Princes.

SOUNDS

Here we talk about the subject that is debatable.
I thought it would correspond to my style and this was the case until I turn the drive channel ... we will return.
The clean channel is really good, it can modulate many ways, with the 3-band EQ, presence of the knob, the knob reverb and bright. However, be careful not to shine too if you use a guitar with single coil pickups (strat or tele) because the sound is too fast and slamming it is truly unbearable.
I had heard great things about the reverb and I was extremely disappointed even bottom, it is an accessory to make the sound a bit further (and I stress the hair!). Reverb frankly overrated and useless even if the sound quality is undeniable came out.
Drive channel is the BIG black point of this amp. Drive by activating it disillusioned. A cold and messy to drive possible, even if you want the sound slightly cruncher you lose quality. Unusable!
I prefer not to talk about the More Drive is at the "famous" Marshall MG.
You'll understand that this is the level amp transistors!
One might think that just put the pedal to compensate for this loss, but no. The distos too hard are literally screaming amp and you soon realize his mistake.

To close the chapter of his HRD, do not bother to change the channel or hope to play a style of music too Hard it will not work. However you can always put a Tube Screamer overdrive kind of effects loop channel always clear: the result should be excellent.

But ... OCCAZ € 600 for something that I did not approximate point would have more seriously and I hope they raised the quality of the new version because € 800 nine "it" ... in short ...

OVERALL OPINION

To conclude, a well designed amp but way overpriced for the alleged qualities it offers. Clear sound to fall but the effect pedals that will sooner or later be added to the Fender Hot Rod will increase the overall price and ultimately fall back on as another model.

A sacred disappointment given the reputation of the brand and when I exchanged against a Vox AC15 better!

Fender has been the golden standard for guitar amplification for over 50 years. From the earliest RCA-inspired circuits to modern models like the Supersonic, Fender has been a prime player in the game every step of the way.

The Hot Rod Deluxe was introduced in 1995 as part of the Hot Rod series, which also included the Hot Rod Deville 4x10.

The Hot Rod Deluxe is a 1x12, 40 watt combo amplifier, powered by two 6L6GC's and voiced by three 12AX7A preamp valves. with a single channel and 3 switchable levels of gain.It has a preamp line out jack, as well as a power amp line out jack that allows it to use an extension speaker cabinet. There's also a footswitch jack for an included 2 button, 3 function footswitch.

UTILIZATION

The Hot Rod Deluxe is a master volume amp, allowing you to dial as much warmth into your clean tone or as much distortion into your overdrive as you want. A 3-band EQ helps further shape your tone, while a Presence control adds clean treble and a Reverb level controls the built-in spring reverb.

A rather interesting feature of the Hotrod Deluxe is its 3 stages of overdrive. Rather than having 3 separate channels crammed into one small combo chassis, Fender went the economical way and added an extra preamp tube to stack extra gain stages into the mix, essentially just adding more and more distortion to the bass tone. And this is where they strike out.

When demoing the Hot Rod Deluxe, one thing becomes quickly evident. The overdrive is pretty nasty. It's rattly, unfocused, and harsh, and I suspect the Jensen Special Design speaker that comes with the amp doesn't help matters.

The Clean tone is decent, however, and takes pedals rather well. And for this purpose the amp makes a solid grab-n-go or even a backline amp. But, I mean really, it's a Fender. They couldn't get away with having an amp with a bad clean tone. It's just sacrilege.

SOUNDS

The Clean Tone, depending on gain setting, can go from sparkly, spanky clean to slightly overdriven, tweedy goodness. The use of humbuckers drives the amp even farther, whereas single coils still allow the amp to breathe a bit by comparison.

Unfortunately, the clean tone, for most players, is the only usable tone in this amp. The Drive mode isn't terrible, but it isn't great either. It's a bit of a rattly omen of what's to come with the More Drive mode. More Drive pushes the amp into all out trainwreck (and not in the Ken Fischer sense) territory. The tones in this mode are harsh, muddy, piercing... it's just bad. It does a fine job of making your guitar sound like a $75 beater fresh out of the dumpster. Which is fine, if you're into that sort of thing. Not so much, if you're not.

EQ settings are decently responsive, though not so much in the overdrive modes. The amp has an underlying harshness no matter how its set, and I suspect the speaker choice has a large influence on that. Reverb is economical and mediocre in depth and texture.

OVERALL OPINION

The Hot Rod Deluxe serves best as one of those amps you buy for $300 on Craigslist, take home, do some mods to it, upgrade the speaker, and use it for a small gig amp where most of your non-clean tones will be coming from pedals. I don't consider it an intrinsically versatile amplifier.

The Hot Rod Deluxe III is said to have made considerable improvements on the overdrive modes, and I've yet to hear or play one, but I can only hope this is true. Still, the Hot Rod Deluxe has its uses, and it's not the worst amp out there, but I can think of several other models of Fender combo I would request as backline long before this one.

I am purchasing this amplifier in 1998 and at that time it was made in the USA.
Combo lamps, mounted in the original Groove Tube: 3 12AX7 and 26L6.
A master, an adjustment drive, one volume for the clean channel has a switch "bright", a common equalizer bass / middle / trebble, reverb and presence.
Effects loop and output for an external firm.
3 channels: Clean, Drive and Drive more. Pedal provided for changing channels.
Protective cover.
40W that sounds VERY VERY much!
The manufacturing quality is excellent. Really, everything is perfect as is the fination, bonding, general assembly, not a single false note.

UTILIZATION

Here we have a more conventional configuration and the manual is not necessary. It is now clear with the schematic of the amp.
Rapidly obtained great sound from a wide range of sounds available.

SOUNDS

This amp is very versatile, it can sound like modern vintage as the tone controls are particularly effective.
It accepts all types of perfectly pedals directly in front or in the effects loop is excellent.
Reverb, beautiful, discreet and knows how, spent half the set, and present ample. It remains in all cases music.
The clean channel is superb balance, dynamic and ... clarity! An adjective symbolizes precisely this channel: it is articulated to perfection. Yes, every note, every chord resonates always untied. And what a catch!
Strat LP and love it because the combo known to give way to the ladies and respect. The two sound exactly like they are supposed to do and even a deaf will hear the sound signature difference between these two goddesses.
The drive channel has a very wide range of action in the crunch and it is a treat. It responds perfectly to the settings of volume and tone of the guitar (big advantage to the Les Paul in view of its better-mail) and to attack the fingers still great.
The drive channel proves more interesting if you do not pedal under the feet, it grows significantly Drive channel sound, adding the lower midrange. The quality of the guitar (his microphone and his violin) proved so fundamental because it is the absolute condition that the channel remains somewhat defined and articulated. For example: an LP Traditional in bridge pickup tone (4-6) on this channel is fantastic, an '50s Tribute LP Humbucker is significantly less comfortable (it just does not "safe" enough , here marks the limits of body "Chambered"), a middle position in U.S. Strat / neck and tone is impeccable intelligibilté 0.
Again, and this is valble for all products with a gain control or drive, it is absolutely worthless to push the knob all the way (unless you are adept at all is hum! !).

OVERALL OPINION

Here are fifteen years that Hot Rod Deluxe gives me complete satisfaction. I never had any problems, the reliability is not an empty word here. Of all the amps I've owned, tested in the last 35 years, he was among the best. Its quality also feels his behavior during tests or changments lamps and it's really interesting to vary the pleasures and patterns! lamps with different positions on the V1, V2 and V3. On my model the TAD ECC83 12AX7 Sovtek or RT0008 WA go very well, with a preference for the V3 Sovtek, Tung Sol's are wonderful also and even DD to € 8 show that their character can be well soaked!
In short, this amp, again known to be transparent and allowed to express the difference in nature between the sound lamps. But I am against any experimentation done on lamps amplification and have stuck with Groove Tubes, impeccable but expensive at this level.

Finally, the original HP is very good, although I've read here and there, but give it a try: connect to the external output a cabinet with a Celestion Vintage 30 and you re-discover this combo. Both HP marry to perfection and magnitude, the diffusion obtained is just exceptional.

The value for money? I say excellent, but without knowing the behavior of the current model made in Mexico. I have no doubt that Fender produce the same care with which he enjoyed in the U.S. factory because the factory is quite a beautiful Mexican labor.

I have been playing for over 40 years,dont play in a band but have in the past.I play a 1976 hardtail Fender Strat,a new Squier Bullet bought for a test bed axe,and a pair of vintage 1965 Silvertone solidbodys,Digitech 200 pedal.I love the Blues,Classic Rock,jazz music.I like to switch on the stereo or tv and play along and or jam with whatevers on so I have to be able to switch between styles quickly.

Purchashed at RICK's GUITAR SHOP Manhatten, Kansas.went in to check out a Blues Jr. and he was sold out Played the hr deluxe (which was my second choice)Love, Ta Da !!!!and Bought it 569.00,cash.Rick is a good ole boy and a players player no BS and he tried to get me to order the Jr.But cash in hand said take me home and plug me in NOW.

Versitility, lots of great reverb, very good distortions,excellent clean,Lots of room to move,and did I mention TUBE TONE like a milk chocalote on the tounge.Plenty of power and is very responsive.Seems well built and has great reviews.Warranty 5 years, Vintage looks and lots of classic Fender tone.

Volume pots to sensitive,Plastic jacks and speaker seems sort of cold or bright sounding.Don't get me wrong here it just sounds like there is more amp than speaker.Maybe just my ears.This sucker is loud and wants to show it!!!

It's a Fender Amp, Great no matter where or when it was built.Solid as a Rock,Top quality componenets, Cabinetry,above all sound Quality.9.5 Out of 10

Good buy for the Buck (or I never would have bought it)I did not consider anything but a Fender as I replaced my Princeton Chorus with this,Not the amp for any hardcore distortion but the right amp foreverything else.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I got this amp at guitar center in California just about 3 months ago. I first got it due to my guitar teacher recommending it to me. It is a GREAT amp. One of the LOUDEST amps out there. The list price is around 599.99$ but i got a good deal on it for 519.99$. It is totally worth the price.


I like the clean channel. It makes even my worst guitar sound great and it gives the classic Fender tone. Also the amp is very loud.

Somethings i dont like is the Drive channels. If your looking for a more distortion sound. I would suggest buying a pedal. Also the volume controls are alittle too sensitive.

It is well built. Very strong and can probably take a few beatings and still be good to go.

THIS AMP IS OVERALL GREAT. You should take no hesitation in buying it

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this from a local Fender dealer here in Kansas.650.00 w/ tax I could have bought it online for less,but if it breaks he wont fix it.so I hired a tech.

This amp screams Stones,The drive channel is Jumping jack flash,Brown sugar to a T.I have had many Fender products over the years and have had not one problem with any of them. This is without a doubt the finest tube amp you can buy for the money period.The reverb is to die for and the clean channel makes the neck pu on my strat sing jazz.

loud, Loud, Loud, did I say its Loud?They have built an amp that is great but you cant play it and have "Tubes a cookin"in the living room and the wife watching the TV.tHIS THING WANTS TO BE CRANKED and it does it very, very, well.

Very well built and what you would expect from Fender.

would recommend it to anyone, if you want metal buy a pedal.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was looking for a G&L ASAT Blues Boy with "F" hole. When I plugged the guitar into the Fender Deluxe and started playing the guitar, I was amazed at the sound of the amplifier. The amp took priority over the guitar. So, I left the store with the amp.

Paid $499.00 + tax.

I use the amp with my Gretsch G6128T-1957 Duo Jet. The Fender Deluxe truly brings out the tone of the DynaSonic pick-ups of the Gretsch.

The three channel option provides a nice range of clean to full blown distortion and utilizes all tubes that creates exceptional sound for the price paid.

The unit offer the typical control panel options (Inputs, Normal/Bright tone, Volume control, Channel indicator etc. etc.) and provides a nice speaker configuration option.

Moreover the Hot Rod is packaged in an attractive cabinet and has a nice little storage area in back for the foot switch.

A great unit for the price, and it's a Fender!!!

Nothing to not like about it.

Exceptional construction and quality

Exceptional sound and quality.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this amp to replace other gear that got stole. I got it at a music store here in town. I tried out several different amps before deciding on this one. The price and the fact that it was a tube amp put it at the top of the list. It had a list price of 579.95 but I got it for 475.00.

The amp has 3 channels and the 1st channel is clean up above 8 and that is way loud. It is a 40 watt amp but it is more than enough. The drive and more drive channels are extra nice.

This unit has reverb but not tube reverb and over 2 or three it stops sounding good.
Other than that I find it to be great. Unless you want it for metal.

40 watt tube amp with 1 12" speaker. Two 6L6 power tubes. It has chicken head knobs on the top with a sturdy case.

A good looking package and a solid performer. I had this one for 5 years and never had a problem and it stills sounds great.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Guitar Center, Seattle-WA USA $550.00

Really great tube one for not a lot of money.

first of all i want to say i loved this amp. However, I have been banging my head against a wall trying to solve a rattling problem for weeks. I checked the cab, I checked the speaker, I checked every tube. Finally, I took it to a authorized fender repair center and found out something in the chassis is rattling. I have now had the amp in the repair center for a week with no word as to whether or not it is covered by warranty and nothing has been done. I bought this amp less than nine months ago and fender has basically told me they can do nothing until they are told what failed by the tech. The problem is that there are two (yes that's right two) fender authorized service centers in Seattle, WA....not exactly the boonies right? and they are both booked and can't look at the amp for several weeks. The point I am making is that if this amp fails on you (p.s. I bought a telecaster a year ago and the neck warped within a year.) then good luck getting it fixed in a timely manner. Get a backup and make sure it works. I just spent several hundred dollars on a new amp to get me through the next couple of gigs because fender obviously didn't care about me as a person one bit. By the way, I called fender, sat on hold for twenty minutes and was told they can't do anything until the tech looks at it.

Also, there are only 3 (Yep count em 3) customer care reps for fender in the united states. This according to Ray in customer care at Fender who, might I ad, was very unhelpful. I don't mean to sound like a sourpuss...I just expected better...Really I did!!!!



see above

buyer beware

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I don't own this amp, but I would kill a man to get one. We were playing at a jazz competetion when our guitar player plugged in and started showing off. He sucks, but his amp is a really good Line 6 model. Another guitar player came over and started playing his Fender amp.

I had never really been a contact with a tube amp. I knew they were good, but WOW! It almost sounded like the Line 6 was dead and the Fender was dancing. Tubes kick ass! I don't think the amp has good distortion for heavy rock, but for a clean channel solo that cuts through the mix, I've never heard it done so well.

I probably wouldn't buy one of these because I play some modern rock with higher gain than the Fender puts out, but I still have to give this amp credit. I'm planning to pick up a Behringer Vintager AC112. It has a tube and auxillary with some distortion controls. It should give me more of what I need. In a perfect world, I would love to play a high gain Marshall or Mesa Boogie for heavy chords, yet occaisonally switch over to a sweet singing amp like the Fender for solos, but I'll probably just keep dreaming.

Not really sure. Don't own it.

Although the kid playing it wasn't anything to right to Ripley about, the amp was definitely pretty sweet. It sells for like 500 bucks, which is more than I want to spend. But nevertheless, this amp is one of the best sounding things I've ever heard. (I've played and listened to Crates, Marshalls, Line 6's, and other top notch names.)

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Searching for a replacement amp (previous amp - different brand - too much background hiss). I spent time researching what I wanted and then visited a number of stores to see and hear these models.

Right from the start I liked the sound of the Hotrod deluxe but waited until I was sure about buying.

Paid $2000(AUS) at my local store where I buy a lot of gear. Which was a good price by standards here in Perth.



Beautiful sound. Clear and sparkling on 'normal' channel. But can add plenty of overdrive using second channel or 'more drive' selector. And I use Boss effects to create as much embellishment as I like.

Reverb and presence knobs work well.

Some reviewers have complained about sensitivity of the volume controls, but I don't agree.There seems to be fairly smooth increases in volume as the knobs are rotated. The only thing I notice is that the amp can get very loud indeed for its rated power.

Nothing so far.

Solidly built. Best looking amp.

Great having the controls on top.

No problems with reliability so far.

Excellent clear sound. Beautifully quiet unless you strike a note (no background hiss). No hesitation recommending this quality product.

And if the resulting beauty goes some way towards calming ill will in the world then that is a good thing.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this Fender Hot Rod Deluxe from Musicians Friend about 2 months ago for $429 (in the dent & scratch section). I already had a 4x10 Blues Deville in Tweed. Since the Deville weights a ton, and in most of the gigs that I play with my band I don't need the amount of power packed in the Deville, I decided to go for something smaller, but that would keep the same punch and tone of the Deville.

The Hot Rod Deluxe has essentially the same sound characteristics of its bigger brother, the Deville. Exceptional clean tones, and a bluesy fat sound in the drive channels that hooks you in the very first time you plug your guitar. The amp is smaller, lighter and easier to handle that the Deville. Also, because of the lower power (40W against 60W of the Deville), you can extract the most beaultiful tone of the tubes (with the volume around 5) at a decent bandwise volume, without becoming deaf (if you like your eardrums, don't do that with the Deville - I never set the volume higher than 3). And the cream colored blonde tolex is one of the coolest things you'll see in guitar amps.

I had a negative surprise when I saw the "Made in Mexico" label in the back of the amp. Apparently Fender moved all the production of the Hot Rod Amps to Mexico. Putting aside any sort of prejudice, I figured that the crafting quality of the amp hasn't been reduced. I coudn't see any production flaws, as we typically see in "Made in Mexico" Fender guitars. The dust cover would be much nicer if it would be brown (as in the old Blues Devilles and Deluxes from the early nineties) instead of the black that comes with the amp. That is because all the details are brown (the handler, the grill cloth).

Good construcion. It is made of plywood, but the tolex hides completely the low grade of the wood. Anyway, nowadays solid wood amps cost a fortune.

Good purchase. Worth the bucks.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

bought from musicians friend for 499.great deal couldnt pass on this

This tube 40 watt amp is loud.I wasnt sure if 40 watts was enough watts but it is more than enough.Clean channel is very good,bright switch is a useful feature with my rickenbacker,nice vintage tone.I bought the tan color with oxblood cloth.It is a work of art.Excellent controls.Drive channel is good,but the clean channel is what makes this amp.

This is a tough one.Not much that i dont like.I have read reviews about the crapp speaker,but it sound very good.I was considering replacing the speaker but the emminence 12 sounds great.Maybe the older units had a different speaker.

Built like a brick.quality is excellent.this amp is heavier than i thought,which is good.Amp came with cover and footswitch.I tried my digitech effects pedal with the amp and it sure sounds better especially the texas blues and the overdrive settings.I think using this tube amp with the effects is the best of both worlds.

BOTTOM LINE great tube amp,excellent fender quality,best bang for the buck.I had to choose between a carvin nomad and this amp.both are very similar.I dont think you could go wrong on either.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought it in a loca music store, in Norway, where I live, for about 8000 Kroner, which is the same as 900US$.

This amp really has a stunning amount of power! I've played at stages outside using only a third of it's capacity! The reverb is also remarkable, and the clean sound is unbelieveable.

The knobs on this thing is WAY too sensitive...At least at the lowest levels, which make me a bit of problems when I want it to whisper in my bedroom at nights. This is not a big problem though, more a little annoying thing that seem to bother me.

The other thing about this unit is that it doesn't sound good with many distortion units...This has caused problems for me when using e.g. the Big Muff Pi, or the Boss MT-2 Metal Zone. The built in drive-channel of course gives you warm overdrive-sound, but it doesn't give enough if you'll play hard-rock! I think the problem with dist-units is that it colours the sound too much in the preamp-tubes, and you end up with a bit unsatisfying distorted sound.

The Deluxe is made of good quality wood,and is really good put together. The DogBone handle is also nice and sturdy, but this is a heavy piece of equipment for a small guy like me...(25 kg) It has to be mentioned that this is a tube-amp, and therefore it will have to be cared for, and not be roughly treated.

A nice guitar amp of supreme quality,but if you want the metal-distortion, you MAY struggle a bit. (unless you're an effects-expert)

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought at Guitar Center, San Jose. I paid $400 out the door on a blow out sale. I wanted to move up to a tube amp and this was one of the models I was considering. I also considered a Blues Jr. But at the price this was a step up for only a few dollars more.

I love this unit. I has brought out some sweet sounds out of my Strat. Before I was using a Peavey solid state unit. That sounds muddled compared to the depth that the Hot ROd Deluxe delivers. The drive channels are great for heavy sounding guitars. But if you are into Blues, or classic rock, well... this is the unit. It is fairly protable, and with the top mounted control knobs, easy to change ont he fly.

Nothing.

Quality is good. construction seems fine.

Buy it. Good value for the money

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Guitar Center. Paid $400 new on a blow out sale.

Eerything. The sound of a tube amp is sweet. Clean sound, Plenty of power for home or small club jamming. Top mounted easy to use controls. Great value. But at $16 more than the price of the Blues Jr. It became no decision. This is a great amp.

Maybe a touch more sensitive controls.

Great build quality. Solid unit. It weighs 45lbs. enough to move around, but not everyday.

I considered the Peavey classic 30 and the Carvin 50 watt amps. The decision was made on price - unbelieveable at $400, but now that I have played this, I would buy it at retail $575 because it is worth it.

One other factor in buying the fender unit was a local dealer vs. buying direct. I did not want to deal with shipping a unit back and forth if something went wrong.

The top mounted controls make adjustments very easy vs. face controls. I hate kneeling down to make changes. This is a much better way, unless you plan on stacking a large cabinet under it.


This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Bought it new, paid $559.00, which to me is a steal for any tube amp.I was looking for a good clean amp, distortion can be bought in a box.

The best clean sound I have ever heard. This amp finally gives my strat the ability to show its real tone.The look of the amp is excellent and the controls with the the drive and more drive give me plenty of growl.I noticed that you have to run the volume at around "3" to get the true tone of the amp.My amp is being mic'd so there is no need for anything else but what this amp has to give.

Whats not to like about it

Top notch workmanship visually appealing, and of course its a Fender so you know your getting the best.

If you are looking for a great clean sound and you don't need heavy distortion but like that vintage crunch this is the amp for you. I just wish I had the cash to get another so i can run stereo.I play mostly classic rock with some blues and this amp is just what I needed. Bottom line is, that if God played guitar he would play through this amp.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com