Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

[drjones]

I have always dug the fender tone, and i have finally got the cash to get one. I've pretty much narrowed it down to these two. I've noticed there are not that many mentions of the HRD on this forum, but heaps for the blues junior. It seems to me that the biggest complaint about the blues junior is the reverb. To me that it big part of the fender tone that i am after, and that is what steered me towards the HRD. I was after an amp to play mainly at home, and occassionly with band (reason i am looking for another amp is cause my marshall "almost" to big for home) which is i started leaning towards the 15watts of the junior. After playing the 40watt deluxe i was very impressed with it.

To me SRV is one of the greatest tones ever and i think i could get it with either of these amps. I also dig McCreadys yellow ledbetter tone, again which i think is doable with either amp. I would push the amp with a Maxon overdrive.

While im pretty much sold on the deluxe, i was just after a few opinions, general experiences, and things to look out for before I make the last step.

Thanks guys.

oh yeah, will be plugging hwy strat into it.

 

[B Bent]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

I like the Deluxe better of the two for myself. Now if you really want killer Fender tone and especially REAL(IMO) Fender reverb go get an old Silverface Fender from the 70's for not much more cheese than the HRD will cost new.

I have owned 2 or 3 BJS over the years and they are good little amps no doubt. I owned 2 HRD 4x10's in a previous life as well. The clean headroom is greater on the HRD and the BJ has some headroom, but not as much. I like the drive better on the BJ. My biggest complaint about the HRD is that even though it has a dirty channel that dirt channel still sux IMO.

You mentioned reverb. Now when I think of Fender reverb I don't think of modern Fenders. I think of old Black and Silverfaced Fenders. One thing to watch out for with the HRD is that the reverb circuit doesn't have as much verb on tap as say a 65 Reissue of some sort. You can crank the verb to 10 (or is it 12??) and you won't be swimming in verb at all. It is there, but not what you think. Matter of fact my bro Kyle has a Tweed covered HRD 1x12 and he likes everything about it, but the verb isn't strong enough for him. It's kind of like the same as a NEW CUSTOM Vibrolux Reverb amp. They just don't have gobs of that Fender Reverb.

In short for verb neither of these amps meet up to my verb/tremelo liking. However, I will agree that the clean tones are good if not great especially on the HRD. Get a great speaker and great tubes and you could really have a smoking amp with either of them. The BJ gets the nod for it's own cranked dirty tone and should really sound even nicer hitting it with the Maxon. And to be fair the BJ will have more verb on tap than the HRD. The HRD gets docked IMO for the unusable second channel, but there again hit the clean side with your OD and you'll be cooking.

I would go for the HRD just for the extra clean headroom if you need it. I am sure there are mods to bring up the verb some.

This is just my fair and honest opinion on the amps. At the end of the day ALWAYS try both with your gear and let your ears do the deciding.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

I've owned both.

The HRD was a nice amp but the tone just wasn't there. The only way it was playable was by using pedals as the tone, which never really makes it sound right to my ears.

The Blues Juniors I've owned two of; one has the Billm mods and a Reverend speaker. I've gigged it alot and always got great sounds out of it. When i was going through alot of pedals I was always amazed to go back to the amp without them and find how great the tone actually was. One of the best gigs I played was one I totally forgot the bag with my pedals in it!

If I had to choose between the two I would go with the Blues Jr every time.

 

[Kac]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

I've also owned both and have to agree with just about everything Skarekrough said. With a couple little mods such as a speaker swap, the Blues Jr. becomes the better amp to my ears. So if you're really convinced you want one of these 2 amps, then my suggestion would also be for the Blues Jr.

Rock On ~ Kac

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

the reverb circut on the hrd and jr is fairly similar and neither is great. i would try and find a used deluxe reverb ri. better cleans and reverb than either amp

 

[B Bent]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

the reverb circut on the hrd and jr is fairly similar and neither is great. i would try and find a used deluxe reverb ri. better cleans and reverb than either amp

+1 My main/only reason for choosing the HRD was just a clean headroom thing.

Does anyone know why the HRD and Custom Vibrolux has such weak reverb? And when I say weak I mean just lack of reverb overall. You can crank the reverb on either of these amps to max and it sounds like an older Fender on about 2.5-3.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

its ss driven and just a different circut

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

the reverb circut on the hrd and jr is fairly similar and neither is great. i would try and find a used deluxe reverb ri. better cleans and reverb than either amp

+ another 1, or a silverface with a stout speaker if you are trying to maximize clean headroom. That could end up being a bit of a money pit, though.

I just played at a jam/practice place that had HRD as the amps they let you use and I was pleasantly impressed with the HRD I used. The clean was fine (not as sweet as a BF Fender, but that goes without saying) and the dirty channel was nice too. The amp was not swoonworthy but it was a-okay with me.

 

[skyydogg01]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

get the blues junior and a Line 6 Verbzilla for your reverb. the spring is nice.

 

[drjones]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

How does the reverb in the deluxe or blues junior sound say compared to a JCM 2000 series marshall?

How would the hotrod deluxe or blues junior stack up against a peavey classic 30? in the cleans department and on the overdrive channel?

I intend playing them all some more but its nice to go amp hunting armed with a fair bit of knowledge on the amps your comparing against each other/and to what you already have.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

the reverb is better on either fender than the marshall

personally i like the jr better than the classic 30, im not particularly fond of the c30 or the hrd

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Fender Blues Junior vs Hotrod Deluxe

get the blues junior and a Line 6 Verbzilla for your reverb. the spring is nice.

I think this guy's got the right idea.