Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

fatboywhitney

fatboywhitney

New member
I've been on a HRD for 4 years. First and only tube amp. I love it sometimes. Hate it sometimes. We're talking tone here. Just can't dial in sometimes.

I asked about this intermittent tone problem at my local high end guitar and amp retailer and he was saying that it's time for me to move up to a pro amp. I thought my HRD was one I wouldn't have to replace. I just put a complete set of Ruby's in it for a little more edge on the blues/rock scene but didn't seem to help that much.

Any suggestions?

--Mike
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

Mike..

I owned the same amp for about a year and a half, and had some of the same issues. What type of tone issues are you talking about? Clean tones, OD tones, too harsh, to grainy?

The main issue with me was I could not get an overdrive out of the more gain channel that sounded like I wanted. I was really looking for a Marshall sound, and the HRD was barking up the wrong tree for me. The clean channel was great, and loud as heck, but the drive stunk. The upside is that it takes pedals very well.

The one thing I wish I'd tried before I got rid of it was a speaker change. Look at the different specs of speakers and see which one might be a fit for what you're looking for.

It's a very solid amp, but there are a lot of great sounding amps out there. I'm not a Fender guru, but a lot of folks who seem to know Fender amps have said the HRD is a decent amp, but not the best offering by the company.

What kind of tone are you looking for, and what kind/style of music do you play?
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

It's a pretty harsh sounding amp in the overdrive channels. I can get a decent "More Drive" sound if I run my delay and volume pedal through the effects loop so I can crank the amps volume and roll back the tone and play loud on my LP. I put a BluesDriver between my guitar and the amps #1 input.

Clean channel is OK but could have more sparkle. My '79 Matao (Japanese) Strat with vintage staggered poles is way too bright and harsh except for the neck pup, tone rolled back. It does have a maple neck. My Hamer Strat has higher output sc's, rosewood neck and sounds substantially warmer.

I play Classic Rock (Page, Gibbons, T-Rex) Newer classic style rock(Kravitz, Collective Soul) and New and Traditional Blues (Mostly Texas/Roadhouse Style)

I was just doing a little forum research and it seems that a speaker change is something to try. Vintage 30's are the recomendation.

--Mike
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

If you want more of a British sound with the HRD, the cheaper G12-T75 Celestions sound pretty cool. You lose that pristine Fender 'bell tone' though. I did lots of experimenting with my HRD and that speaker surprised me, since I don't really like it in a closed back cabinet with my Marshall.
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

chopstherocker said:
Nah. I'm using V30's with my black face Fender and they still have that "bell" tone.
Click to expand...

Cool, I'm gonna give'm a try. Can't really do a new amp right now so I won't be dissappointed.

Any other suggestions with this HRD on tone?

What about another cab with another V30? Even better?

Stay on the clean and use pedals?

--Mike
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

If you don't like the drive sound, try swapping some of the preamp tubes.

Personally, there aren't many Fender amps where the overdrive is better than I can get with pedals. . .and I'm not partial to dirt boxes. I bought my HRDx with the intent of getting my overdrive from pedals. IMO, it's hard to expect a $500 tube amp to be without significant compromise. That's not to say it doesn't sound very good, though. I really like mine.
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

Very well put Alec. I was/am a budget musician. Have a day job and family. Maybe I can trade up or just pedal up, shut up and play. I don't dislike it just seems finicky on the drive channels. Guess I've never given up on them.

Thanks for the input. I feel better about the HRDx now.
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

chopstherocker said:
Try JJ's at eurotubes.com, they're cheap, but great tubes for overdrive.
Click to expand...

I asked my amp guy about JJ's and he issisted on Ruby's for my style and that amp. He's very reputable and our local Guitar Center used him and so does our vintage amp dealer. I'm not disputing you, I just don't know enough about tubes to know the difference yet.

--Mike
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

Nice. I think I'll concentrate on a speaker change - but before that I'll work on some pedals for a smoother overdrive. If I'm still not satisfied, I'll get shopping for some amp tone.
Thanks for all the input. This web forum is awesome!

--Mike
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

I don't care for the HRD, I had one, but couldn't get what I wanted out of it, sold it after 2 weeks.
Another guy I know put some of those Yellowjackets in his, hooked it up to a 2x12 Jensen cab, and it sounded pretty good.
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

Jeff_H said:
...I was really looking for a Marshall sound, and the HRD was barking up the wrong tree for me.
Click to expand...

I'd look in a Marshall amp for that ;)

I had my heart set on a HRDx for some time. It was just a little pricey. And now you're crushing my had-been dreams ;) Then I had the option to buy a Twin Reverb for 800 CAD but opted for a 380 CAD Fender Performer 650 (damn hybrid piece of ****, oh I was so inexperienced).

I then looked at a Traynor tube amp, but never quite got to explore the full possibilities of one.
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

One of my buddies uses his HRD with a closed back 1 X 12 cab with a V30 speaker in it. The closed back cab helps to give a little more bassy punch to the hot rod . .. you might look into somthing like that.
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

the Hot Rod series is cheap and plentiful.... about 7 years ago every bar band i went to see in this town had a Hot Rod amp and a American standard strat, and a Boss Blues Driver as well... everyone seemed to of had the same rig...

That being said i figured that since they were so popular i should have a closer look at them... besides the clean tone i couldn't get used to them... I'd use them for the clean channel and add distortion boxes but i hate the OD channels... Guess i'm a Marshall man
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

ditch the more drive channel.

If you're playing distorted, buy a ts9. Trust me. You WILL NOT regret it. IMO it is by far your best & most versatile pedal option for this amp.

as far as speakers i'd go with an eminence wizard. If you want the v30 tone go with an eminence governor. The extra 15 watts will work to your benefit & the gov doesn't have the harsh frequencies a v30 does, and, well, in a 1x12 open back the last thing you want is harsh frequencies

there's a thread in here somewhere about preamp tubes for that thing, do a search & you can probably find it. Talks about 12ax7's & 12at7's used in different positions & the result of each
 
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Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

fatboywhitney said:
Stay on the clean and use pedals?

--Mike
Click to expand...


. . . don't know if this will help, but i always had this "vision" that a Hot Rod Deluxe would sound fantastic with either Radial Tonebone Classic (lotsa $$$, i know), HAO Sole Pressure, or a Toad Works Lil Leo, between the guitar n' amp !

PS

. . . all three boxes mentioned is Fender-voiced too, so that might help push the HRD into the right direction.


My 2 cents
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

Are you guys talking about the old ones or the new ones? I just got one and put some Sovtek LPS preamp tubes in it and it sounds pretty dang good. I'm going to put a different speaker in it after I do some research and later a closed back 212 or 112 and I don't think I'll have anything to complain about. I've also noticed people complain about the drive, but I usually don't think Fender when I think distortion anyway. My distortion sounds good, but maybe it's because of the Sovteks, which I've heard are among the best preamp tubes out there. I think this amp will satisfactorally cover any style except metal, and maybe that with a good EQ pedal and distortion pedal! (sorry if this has been said before)
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

I had one. The speaker change will definitely do a lot of good. The BOSS DS-1 will give you a much Mashall-ier tone than the built-in overdrive channels, especially a modded DS-1. I would also look into a BOSS GE-7 for some tone shaping. Good luck.
 
Re: Fender Hot Rod Deluxe: Mistake?

C'mon guys, where's your community spirit? What about ditching the overdrive channel and using an SFX-03?

A speaker swap might help, but they tend to get pricey if you guess wrong. Try mixing & matching your amp with some friends' speakers - try dioffernet cabs, or jumper your amp to the speaker in their combo. Experiment. YOu may not find the exact speaker you like, but it'll help you narrow it down. Then you can buy speaker with some level of confidence.

Tube swaps are for fine-tuning only - they won't change the fundamental tone of the amp.
 
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