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Hi there, today I'll be giving my interpretation of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with black tolex. It's a great Fender amp that has 40 watts tube power with treble, middle, bass and presence EQ and 2 channel switching capability from the clean channel to the drive channel with a virtual 3rd "more drive" channel via onboard buttons or the included footswitch. I think the clean channel could be cleaner as when you hit 5 it's in the typical tube overdrive mode and the distortion channel gives you screaming over the top grunge anyway so in my humble opinion the clean channel is really not that at all. Ships with 3 red label Fender Groove Tube 12AX7s and 2 blue label Groove Tube 6L6s. I used an Electro Harmonix 12AX7WA in the preamp stage that has slightly lower output and that cleans it a bit up to 7 with no volume loss (the amp goes to 12 Spinal Tap fans). I also used a 12AU7 and it is even more clean but the volume gets affected by that choice. The reverb is also good sounding but not the best I've heard and has a short decay. In any case if you want a full tube Fender amp, these can be had for a good price used and go for about $700 new making it reasonably affordable for the masses. Still a great choice for blues or Rock.Read full review
I have this amp and I love it, it has a Celestion vintage 30 speaker in it.I don't really know what year mine is, but it was made in Mexico and it has the Fender Deluxe tag on the front like this one pictured. I'm a old guy 62 and have played guitar since I was 10 and had heavy twin reverbs and Marshall jcm800 half stack in the 70's and 80's and this amp rates right up there with them at a fraction of the weight. The blues juniors are great grab and go to a jam amps also.
Verified purchase: No
I've been playing guitar for 40 years. I'm gigging in a classic rock/country band. If you are going to use this at lower volumes, do yourself a favor and buy some kind of attenuater or power soak. It will sound incredible. At higher volumes the attenuater just makes the amp sound too thin. Too vintage, if that possible. I'm actually very impressed with the drive channels. I maxed it out, and was perfectly happy with the tone. Nice feedback! Sweet and defined. The amp has great sustain. The clean channel shocked me with how much sustain it has. The reverb doesn't sound good with metal type overdrive. The bass can get flabby when trying to get metal crunch at high volumes. Just roll the bass down a bit. It actually does come very close to sounding like a Marshall 50 watt JCM 800 half stack. I will probably try a Vintage 30 speaker. The effect loop works great. Just for fun I turned this amp up to stupid loud tonight, and my drummer and I were both very impressed at how it sounded. I have no idea why people don't like the drive channels. Maybe I got lucky, but mine sound sweet. Van Halen, Hendrix, Led Zep, Lynard Skynard, 3 Door Down, 5 Finger Death Punch, Brooks and Dunn, Vince Gill, etc are easy enough to cover.The only effects pedal I use is a Boss DM-2 analog Delay pedal. It's a lot more portable than a Marshall half stack and yet comes very close to sounding like one. Plus it can sound like a Fender too!Read full review
Most people are well aware of the portability and punch that this 1X12 combo amp delivers. However, that said, most are NOT aware that this no frills, gutsy powerhouse amp is the "signature sound" of many of the great guitarists of the present, and times past. You absolutely must bias this amp to the power tubes you are using, with GL6GC and 6L6GE Groove Tubes in "white," with a "Groove Number" of 6 being as good as it gets. If you end up with one of these amps with a set of "blue" 6L6GC Groove Tubes(from China), you should resign yourself to a rebias with a decent set of power tubes per above. I also got rid of the Russian-made(Sovtek)12AX7 Groove Tube preamp tubes, replacing each of the three of these with JJ's. As this amp is an alternate stage rig for me, I needed to broaden my sound field, so I also purchased the 1X12 extension cab, which has a Celestion Seventy 80 speaker(rated at 80W). For the sake of tonal balance, and since the factory Eminence Legend speaker is only rated for 50W, with a frequency response up to 4K, I opted to also replace the speaker in the Deluxe cab with an identical Celestion. The headroom in the clean channel and in the "drive" channel is unbelievable and substantially increased, also due in no small part to the JJ preamp tubes working with these Celestion drivers. Gain with grain you can almost taste, and cleans that chime and swirl with more pinch-type harmonics than you can imagine. A long-spring Accutronics tank reverb, an excellent effects loop, bright switch(treble boost a la VOX), and a "presence" control round out the most significant features, but the tone is what sets this amp apart....every bit on par with the Fender blackface Deluxe Reverb or Vibroverb's of the 60's, and would even give the Super Reverb a run for the money IMO. The noise floor on this amp is VERY low, and the shielding/grounding certainly helps with AC hum from external sources. I am not a big fan of the PCB-mounted jacks with the plastic barrels, but these can be changed out. This is a very gig-worth, professional combo amp platform with a lot of flexibility and versatility. My complaints are really minor and involve some personal preferences, which have developed over the years and across a number of amps. If you want primarily that signature Fender clean tone, play country, swing, jazz, or classic rock(especially surf guitar), you will thoroughly enjoy this amp.Read full review
I borrowed a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe from a good friend a while ago when my Peavey tube amp blew a power transformer. I loved it! The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe was just the perfect size! This amp has plenty of power. Mic it, or add the extension cabinet and it'll provide enough Fender tone for even larger gigs. It's a well-built amp; especially the older models that are US made. The Hot Rod amps are very versatile. They have more gain than the tweed Blues Deluxe amps, and you can dial in any tone from Fender Black-Face clean to a nice, tube overdrive with screaming sustain! I've been researching amps for a while, and I haven't found anything that I liked any better for under $1000. I haven't received mine yet, but I already know what an awesome amp these are! Can't wait for it to get here!
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