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A couple weeks ago, I posted that I needed to rent a decent three-channel amp for a gig. For various reasons, I decided on the HR DeVille.
Overall it was great. I played mainly classic rock-type tones with some SRV-style blues thrown in. For those sounds, it would be hard to find a better amp in that price range, especially one so versatile.
As far as I can tell, it's essentially a modernized version of the tweed Bassman circuit, with a couple of extra drive channels thrown in. There is a master EQ which is great for simplicity, but bad for versatility. For a rental amp, this was a big bonus because I didn't have to spend 90% of sound check trying to dial in my tone. I dialed up a good clean sound, then adjusted the gain levels for the two drive channels, and I was all set.
Clean is clearly this amp's strength, as is the case with pretty much every Fender amp. It definitely evokes the tone of the old Bassman. Gain sounded pretty much like you would expect: a hot-rodded Fender-y tone. It is not as tight a high gain sound as something like a Marshall, but if you want Marshall tone, you won't be buying this amp. The DeVille is for the player who loves the Fender clean, but needs some decent high gain tones to match it.
60 watts through 4 tens is about as much volume as you would need in most situations. I had the master volume up to 3 for the gig, which was in a medium-sized community hall (the amp was not miked), and it was plenty powerful (NOTE: the knobs go up to 12 on this amp, just like the tweed Fenders of yore). It sounded a lot bigger and fuller than the Hot Rod Deluxe I used to own, which is probably due to the big 4x10 cab. By the way, it's a pretty heavy amp, but certainly not heavier than a 4x12 cab.
The DeVille would be a great choice for a gigging blues and/or classic rock player who can't justify the expense of a half stack or a boutique combo. With some speaker changes, you could probably turn it into a killer amp, and I suspect there are plenty of mods available for this thing. Overall, very cool, and definitely worth the cash.
Overall it was great. I played mainly classic rock-type tones with some SRV-style blues thrown in. For those sounds, it would be hard to find a better amp in that price range, especially one so versatile.
As far as I can tell, it's essentially a modernized version of the tweed Bassman circuit, with a couple of extra drive channels thrown in. There is a master EQ which is great for simplicity, but bad for versatility. For a rental amp, this was a big bonus because I didn't have to spend 90% of sound check trying to dial in my tone. I dialed up a good clean sound, then adjusted the gain levels for the two drive channels, and I was all set.
Clean is clearly this amp's strength, as is the case with pretty much every Fender amp. It definitely evokes the tone of the old Bassman. Gain sounded pretty much like you would expect: a hot-rodded Fender-y tone. It is not as tight a high gain sound as something like a Marshall, but if you want Marshall tone, you won't be buying this amp. The DeVille is for the player who loves the Fender clean, but needs some decent high gain tones to match it.
60 watts through 4 tens is about as much volume as you would need in most situations. I had the master volume up to 3 for the gig, which was in a medium-sized community hall (the amp was not miked), and it was plenty powerful (NOTE: the knobs go up to 12 on this amp, just like the tweed Fenders of yore). It sounded a lot bigger and fuller than the Hot Rod Deluxe I used to own, which is probably due to the big 4x10 cab. By the way, it's a pretty heavy amp, but certainly not heavier than a 4x12 cab.
The DeVille would be a great choice for a gigging blues and/or classic rock player who can't justify the expense of a half stack or a boutique combo. With some speaker changes, you could probably turn it into a killer amp, and I suspect there are plenty of mods available for this thing. Overall, very cool, and definitely worth the cash.
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