the drive channel can be fine if you know how to dial it in. it wont sound like a marshall plexis on 10, but few things do. i have a hrd but barely ever use it and will probably sell it later this year, just cause i have a lot of stuff i dont use. a speaker swap makes a big difference, a volume pot swap also makes a big difference for those that find it gets loud too quickly. the blues jr, hot rod deluxe, hot rod deville, and blues deluxe dont give you classic bf/sf or tweed or brown/blonde tones, they are different amps. as backline amps, i dont mind them at all, at least i know what im getting into and ive spent enough time with them to know how to dial em in for what i want