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heads on fire « If it didn't explode, it would be my favorite amp. »
Published on 09/07/11 at 21:00Tube amp - 3 12AX7s, 2 6L6s
40 watts
1-12" special design Eminence® 8 ohm, 50W speaker
3 channels - clean, drive, and more drive
Master volume and gain controls in drive channel
Bright switch
Spring reverb
External speaker output
Effects loop
2-button footswitch for channel selection/drive to more drive selection
UTILIZATION
This seemed to be a great gigging amp - small and compact, didn't weigh too much, and looked great. The sounds were killer, and very easy to dial in. I could get great country, blues, jazz, and old time rock sounds out of it with no problem. Metal would be a bit harder to achieve - it took me getting out my dirt boxes to find a usable metal tone. But the drive and more drive channels were still great for inspiring solo flights!
SOUNDS
This amp sounds incredible. It has great, glassy, shimmery cleans with plenty of chime. And the dirty channels are pretty smooth - a bit hairy, but can be tamed by swapping preamp tubes for other manufacturer's products. The reverb is as good as you'd find on any amp, and the EQ section is sensitive, yet highly usable.
I played these amps with all kinds of guitars - Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, 335s, shredder guitars, and they all sounded great, but like themselves - the amp is transparent. And it takes pedals very well also. The sound of this amp is nothing to sneeze at.
OVERALL OPINION
The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a marvelous idea in theory, but in practice, the amp is bound to make you rip your hair out of your head. In using PCB construction methods, Fender is able to have a well-designed circuit be manufactured and sold for a very low price.
The problem is in the design - the tube sockets are mounted directly ON the PC board. What happens with tubes when you turn a tube amp on? They heat up. And heat is the enemy of solder traces, resistors, and capacitors - the heat from the tubes caused short circuits in my two HRD amps a total of four times, with the last two ending in literal smoke.
If you want a great sounding amp that you're ok with throwing away in a few short years, by all means, get this amp. It is the opposite of durable due to its fatal design flaw.
40 watts
1-12" special design Eminence® 8 ohm, 50W speaker
3 channels - clean, drive, and more drive
Master volume and gain controls in drive channel
Bright switch
Spring reverb
External speaker output
Effects loop
2-button footswitch for channel selection/drive to more drive selection
UTILIZATION
This seemed to be a great gigging amp - small and compact, didn't weigh too much, and looked great. The sounds were killer, and very easy to dial in. I could get great country, blues, jazz, and old time rock sounds out of it with no problem. Metal would be a bit harder to achieve - it took me getting out my dirt boxes to find a usable metal tone. But the drive and more drive channels were still great for inspiring solo flights!
SOUNDS
This amp sounds incredible. It has great, glassy, shimmery cleans with plenty of chime. And the dirty channels are pretty smooth - a bit hairy, but can be tamed by swapping preamp tubes for other manufacturer's products. The reverb is as good as you'd find on any amp, and the EQ section is sensitive, yet highly usable.
I played these amps with all kinds of guitars - Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, 335s, shredder guitars, and they all sounded great, but like themselves - the amp is transparent. And it takes pedals very well also. The sound of this amp is nothing to sneeze at.
OVERALL OPINION
The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a marvelous idea in theory, but in practice, the amp is bound to make you rip your hair out of your head. In using PCB construction methods, Fender is able to have a well-designed circuit be manufactured and sold for a very low price.
The problem is in the design - the tube sockets are mounted directly ON the PC board. What happens with tubes when you turn a tube amp on? They heat up. And heat is the enemy of solder traces, resistors, and capacitors - the heat from the tubes caused short circuits in my two HRD amps a total of four times, with the last two ending in literal smoke.
If you want a great sounding amp that you're ok with throwing away in a few short years, by all means, get this amp. It is the opposite of durable due to its fatal design flaw.