hot rod deluxe question(s)

M

mdg33761

New member
I have a 1995 hot rod deluxe and i have always loved it. stock fender/eminence 50 w. I started checking out pedals and settled on the keeley modded sd-1. Which i loved through the amps at the place i got it...of course. Their hot rod was a newer model w/some odd speaker i cant recall. after much testing, I just cant dial in a good "crunch" tone on this combo. I am considering a speaker swap and probably tubes as well, however i am afraid to make these changes and lose my awesome clean sound. Also, i have stock fender/groove tubes all the way around. Never had any issues with this amp ever...including now,but i know tube changing time is coming....sooo any advice on speaker tube combinations for an upgrade would be appreciated. My main guitars are schecter c-1's i use others but they have great necks so i just stick with em. They are stock pickups as well which i have considered upgrading as well. After my "research" ...hmm yeah we'll go with that..i have come up with a pearly gates for my necks and i'm still undecided on a bridge. I play in a blues/funk/r+b band but i side line a lot of rock/ballad type stuff with the occasional jazz or country show, so i rely on my clean sound a lot and again...i am fearful of changing it.
I have searched the internet high and low and ended up i think even more confused. So i think finding people who have done the guinea pig work is a better approach.
thanks
Mike
 
Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

How loudly do you play the HDRx amplifier?

The infamous linear taper Master pot on the Drive/More Drive channel means that, at low SPLs, the sound is below par.

Fender recommends their own Fender/Groove Tubes (Sovtek) 5881 for the output stage. I am inclined to agree with them. Better valves exist but, then, you have to start upping the plate voltages to get the best out of them, thereby exceeding the design capabilities of the HRDx.

The stock loudspeaker is an Eminence built to Fender specifications. Here is an interesting direct comparison demonstration of numerous loudspeakers. This might provide you with a starting point in your search for the best replacement.


My preferred technique for extracting crunch tones from a Fender Hot Rod series amplifier is to select the More Drive channel and then adjust the guitar's volume control(s) and my playing dynamics.
 
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Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

Occasionally outdoor stuff and loud but even then not that loud, ya hit a certain plateau and end up thru the p.a. anyhow so...i guess its just laziness im trying to avoid hauling 2 amps with me (other being a f-50). I use gtr vol cntrls as well etc...but trying to get the most i can outta this fender cause i love the clean sound...i've tried a few boutique amps etc but IMO none were there. So if im lucky ...i will find someone who has a mahogany esp w/ a mahogany neck and r/w board etc...who loves his hrdlx as much as i do lol...and did the swap of speakers and tubes etc...and says ...this is the speaker i ended up with and heres why etc etc etc.
Thanks much the speaker comp was helpful as well.
 
Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

I haven't swapped speakers yet, but I did swap power tubes. I used Tung-Sol 6L6GCs in mine and it sounds fantastic. I did lose a little clean headroom but now I get an awesome classic rock crunch with the clean channel around halfway up, and the drive channel starts getting into late 70s-80s gain, but actually sounds decent now.
 
Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

The newer hot rods just sound much nicer with gain o me. Not sure if this is due to a different speaker or circuit redesign. Getting a new speaker will drastically change the sound of your amp.
 
Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

The Bogner Extasy pedals sound great in front of a Hot Rod Deluxe, so I would go that route if it were me.

Beyond that, the stock Fender/Eminence speaker that you have is a decent speaker. They get a bad rap because they sound like ass in the Blues Jr, but in a bigger amp with some more watts, they sound fine.
 
Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

wait a sec....your tubes are nearly 20 years old?


Get a new set and have the amp biased before you spend any money on speakers or pickups etc.
 
Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

gibson175 said:
wait a sec....your tubes are nearly 20 years old?


Get a new set and have the amp biased before you spend any money on speakers or pickups etc.
Click to expand...

Yeah...Good Heavens.
If those ARE the original tubes, they are long passed expired.
Christ...at 20 years, even the Elytics are becoming suspect :-)

Popular Eminence in that amp:
Red White Blues
C Rex
Texas Heat

If you live near me, I would be happy to give your amp a looking-over...bias the tubes, etc etc.
good luck
 
Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

I have two HRDs from just about the last batch manufactured in the U.S.

I agree that the stock speaker - an Eminence Legend 125 - works pretty well in this amp, but it just can't handle the extreme bass. The Celestion G12M-25 Greenback sounds great in these amps, but it is only rated at 25 watts. The Eminence Private Jack has similar tonal qualities and is rated for 50 watts. It also handles the boomy bass pretty well. The amp also takes real well to the Eminence Red Fang alnico, which handles all the bass and treble just fine. I also recently discovered that the new Avatar A25 alnico likewise take to this amp real well. It sounds exceptional in an HRD.

Folks sticking with the stock speaker have reported better luck using a 12AY7 in V1. This also helps you get a more normal pattern when using the volume control. With a 12AX7 in V1, the old HRDs were almost as loud at "2" as they were at "9". Not so when using the 12AY7. A good 5751 might also do the trick.

And stick to a 12AX7 in V3. A lesser gain phase inverter just kills the amp's Fender chime.

As for power tubes, I loaded up on JAN Philips 6L6WGBs and SED 6L6GCs years ago. Nothing else sounds as good in these amps.
 
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Re: hot rod deluxe question(s)

I have a '95 Hot Rod Deluxe that is in the shop right now. The previous owner had upgraded the caps which was nice of him. But needs some more work. While its torn apart the shop says they can do some fun stuff to mod the gain channel...I'm interested in seeing how it turns out.

I love the clean channel of the Hot Rod Deluxe and just used pedals to get my gain/crunch.
 
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