Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

2008 Sam Ash exclusive "black and tan" limited edition model,only 125 made.Made in Mexico with Fender quality control.Clean,drive and more drive channels,effects loop,long reverb tank,2 guitar inputs(one normal and one attenuated)extension speaker jack.40 tube watts(6l6 and 12ax7 tubes)Tubes are very secure and tight in amp(vibration-absorbing stabilizers around tubes).12 inch made in U.S.A Eminence speaker.Footswitch for channel select/drive/more drive.I wish the footswith had reverb on/off.Full selection of tone knobs.Amp needs to be biased(sets the electrical idle of the amp).

Using amp with Gibson Les Paul standard.Have had it for a year now.I did swap out the tubes for JJ's.Fender usually has the amp biased COLD from the factory.I turned UP the bias(their is a little knob you turn,and check at a test point with a radio shack multimeter)the amp is much better now!!I use the amp for cleans,blues and overdrive tones.In front of the amp I run a Peterson strobostomp tuner and Digitech bad monkey.I like the stock Eminence speaker.A lot of people I guess dont like it and some come back to it after trying others.I have been looking for an excuse to swap it out,but I like it.Maybe its because I am using it for mainly clean&blues(no metal).Maybe people dont give the stock speaker a chance to break in.Maybe its because I have a real nice guitar.I think the amp has really nice clean Fender tones,the drive channel is good for the blues,with some reverb added you get a 3d quality to the tone.The more drive channel needs more tweeking and I really dont use it.The more you turn the volume up the fuller the sound becomes.This amp is a lot of fun to play and the tones are great!!!

I hear their are maybe some issues with the input jacks breaking and maybe cold solder connections but I have not experienced these yet.

I have not dealt with the company yet.I have 7 years on the warranty(how sweet is that).5 with Fender and 2 more additional through Sam Ash music store.

I have been playing as a hobby player for over 20 years.I have been through a lot of gear.Currently I own a Fender Tremolux,Epi VJ(ver.3)stack and some solid state amps.If something were to happen to it I would get another.If you want Fender tone(add reverb) play this amp.It takes pedals very well.I like it,Its a keeper!!!

Three channels (one clean, two gain), effects loop, reverb. 40 watts. I got this amp after looking for a middle price range amp; I had my eye on the Super Champ XD and the Blues Junior. The BJ's sound was warmer than the SCXD, but the Deluxe had much more features, and I got a great deal on it--turned out to be cheaper than the Blues Junior and had way more features. It has more power than I currently need, but if I need it it's there.

I loved the sound of the Princeton, but I couldn't afford it. Plus the Princeton only had one channel (two inputs though) and I didn't like the on board effects; I like adding my own. I wanted that higher-priced amp sparkle, and the Deluxe has it. Takes a little tweaking of the settings to get what you want, but it's there. Stunning clarity and warmth. Also, I was surprised by how balanced the sound is. I have tried many amps that handle the different strings poorly, but the Deluxe gives each string it's own voice, and balances them together very well. The tonal range is wide and very manageable. I give it a 9/10 because the gain channels are a little too throaty. It's got a vintage grumble, but that's about it. If you want a cleaner more modern distortion or overdrive, I'd put a pedal in front of the clean channel; it handles them well. A compressor might be nice, too, since this amp can throw out some biting overtones that aren't easily rolled off with knob settings (they can be, but it takes a little fiddling with).

It's a fairly recent purchase, but it feels fairly reliable--not rock solid, but reasonably tough.

I am very lucky I got the deal on this amp that I did. The sound quality and features stand out over the Blues Junior. If it were lost or stolen I would be mad...very mad, but I would probably save up for another. If you are considering getting into the world of tube amps (especially if you're torn between a Super Champ XD and a Blues Junior) give this one a try. Hopefully you can find a good deal on it. I thought the Super Champ XD sounded a little thin and toy-like, and the Blues Junior just couldn't compete with the features of the Deluxe.

I have a Mexican made model that's maybe 5 years old give or take. I've retubed it with JJ 6L6's recently and have been playing with input tubes a lot lately. If you're reading this, you probably already know about the other features...

I'll give it an 8 because it has an FX loop, but the speaker and the bass/mid/master pot kinda keep it from a 10 on features.

I have an original 1961 Strat, 1978 Strat, 2006 Strat, 1973 Les Paul, 1965 Gretsch, and a 2008 PRS DGT (awesome guitar). All guitars are original with no changes to pots/pickups/etc...

The amp sounds pretty darn good with every guitar. The amp has no mods yet other than the reverb mod from the studentweb.eku.edu site (highly recommended!). Put some JJ 6L6's in last year (haven't tried any others...yet). Have used original Tele 12AX7s and the new Mullard 12AX7s in the pre stage, but recently went to some NOS 12AT7s for a change and really like the sound. You can get a lot more range out of the amp it seems and the overall tone is nicer to me.

The bass is bit heavy (could be my smallish room I play in), but once I turn down the mid AND bass pot this amp sounds great to me. I've heard a Matchless 2 X 12 combo and a few other nicer amps, and although they are better, I can live with mine for now.

I've used it with pedals and a Boss GT 10 thru the FX loop and it works well. If you're not in to the drive channel, the clean works great with pedals (I don't think it's that bad on about 4 or so). With the GT 10 you can get pretty much any sound you could want.

Giving it a 9 cause there's ALWAYS something better out there. This amp is really great for the $$$...especially if you get one used and just do some tube rolling to get your desired sound.

No problems with mine.

Never used.

Been playing 20 years and also have an original '65 Twin that I fire up from time to time. Definitely spend more time playing thru the HRDx, especially since it's only 40 something pounds!

If it were stolen I'd prolly buy something else but only because that's how I am...always on the lookout for something new and different. Would like to hear the Laney Lionheart 15w sometime since I only play at home.

It has all the features I need and a great overall sound once you find a nice preamp tube match for your desired sound.

I'll give it an 8.5 overall.

All tube preamp and power amp supplied by 3 ECC83's and 2 6L6's =
Output 40 watts w/ a S/S rectifier/FX loop.
Combo = 12" Special Design Eminence?? 8 ohm, 50 watt Speaker
Three Selectable Channels (Normal, Drive and More Drive)
Features Independent Gain and Master Controls in Drive Channel, Bright Switch, Effects Loop, Reverb, External Speaker Jack,
Controls: Presence, Reverb, Master, Middle, Bass, Treble, Drive Select Switch, Drive, Volume, Bright Switch etc etc etc



I use this amp at home, but it has featured on my bands latest E.P... we're an extreme metal band; go figure.

I give it a 7, simply because it doesn't have a depth control... and also it would be nice to have it power more than just 1x8 ohm cab... FENDER... GET YOUR FINGERS OUT; THIS THING COULD BE A REAL WINNER

How brutal is the distortion... well I never:

So im in my guitar store; (Machinehead Music in Hitchin where I get all my guitars serviced) getting my guitar put back together after another ridiculous run of shows which culminates in me throwing one at our drummer for the giggles when they tell me they've fitted a kill switch to my guitar, how nice. Anyway, the amp rooms are full and all thats infront of me to try it out is this HOT ROD DELUXUE.

*perchink*

I plug in, thinking to myself; i'll try this out properly when we're at our rehursal space, just make sure it works.

I crank the little bastards gain knob, thinking there would be nothing on tap... BLAST it hits me, some really singing, tight honky distortion... it's on 'MORE DRIVE' at this point anyway, but... theres TO MUCH GAIN FOR ME, I knock it back to about halfway and start messing, with the E.Q. flat its a really fun little bastard and the clean is stellar. really stellar.
I complelely forgot I had a kill switch, so I ended up trying it, thinking 'ok now, back to this little bastard' and going right back to the amps front pannel.

I enquired about borrowing it for this recording and soon enough I was in the studio with it, messing with it through a 4x12 and my GOD does it sound the balls. It sounds like a big fat sack without the 4x12, so you can imagine what it sounds like through a cab!

TRY ONE OUT PEOPLE. This amp does it hardcore!

myspace.com/aghastuk gives you an idea about what it can do (all be it blended with my ENGL Powerball, H&K Triology, JCM800 and Vintage Modern... just incase)

its a really varied little amp. I can really annoy anyone I want to with it and my selection of 80's metal riffs.

Never taken it on tour... probably wouldn't... unless.

Meh... Fender... who knows with them.

I WISH they made a head version of this... simply because I use Marshall 4x12's which run at 16ohms and this can only power one 8ohm cab... DAMN IT.

I'll get one and mod it with a depth/resonance knob and a bit more choice from the power amp...


other than that.

THIS AMP IS FARKIN' UNDERATED!

Just 2 weeks since the rig arrived. LTD Lacquered Tweed Combo w/matched 1-12 Cab. First test run, I asked what did I do?

After playing on a 70's Princeton Reverb for 15 years, I thought it was time to step up. The Deluxe offered more power, FX Loop, and optional extension cab.

Figured can't go wrong. Thus far, I was right. The Combo control sensitivity and features take some patience, but after a few trials I get it! With the bass up, treble down, and reverb tweaked, the Amp comes alive.

Alternating between Norm (clean) and Drive channels controlled by footswitch (included) works great with FX Loop effects. Have not found use for More Drive yet.

I play a 70's Fender Tele, which sounds great with any Fender Amp.

The Deluxe Combo came stocked w/Celestion Speaker G12P-80 and GT6L6Cs Power Tubes, which are a little noisy when switching between "Standby" and "On". The Reverb is not quite the high fidelity sound I get from my Princeton, but with a little tweak it provides enough presence.

The 1-12 Enclosure also came w/Celestion Speaker. The stack looks great. I played through it a couple of times. The sound is enhanced ten fold.

1x12 combo. MIM. I play a lot of different types of blues and rock. a lil jazz too. the amp is good for blues and jazz, but its not too much of a rock amp. its 2 channels with a "more drive" boost on the OD channel. this amp has probably the worst overdrive i've ever heard in a tube amp. its extremely brittle and shares the same EQ as the clean. its very hard to shape and the more drive just makes it worse. i do wish it had better reverb also. the reverb, just like the od channel, is thin and destroys the tone of the amp when turned past 3. i leave the reverb on 2 and its workable. the amp is 40 watts all tube. it has more than enough power for clubs but the cheap eminence speaker in the amp makes it sound very thin turned up. i've heard the amp with a celestion vintage 30 speaker and it helps a lot. it really improves the amp 110%.

i give it a 4 because it doesnt have many workable features. i find myself using a lot of different pedals.

i play my completely customized 07 american standard strat. right now it has 2 seymour duncan classic stack plus's in the neck and middle and a full sized JB in the bridge. the pickup combo sounds ok but i made it that way for versatility. now im thinkin of putting the dimarzio Area pickups in my strat. but enough about my strat.

the deville gives me a very workable clean sound and allowes me to use pedals easily. the amp isnt grounded very well but what do u want for a $650 amp made in mexico. so yeah it can be a lil noisy but who cares. like i said though, the clean sound is good enough, very workable and it will break up. not in a good way but it will break up. the eminence speaker really kills that amp for me. the v30 though really does sound nice broken up.

one thing about the amp is that it doesnt take well to every guitar. you really have to find a good match for it to sound good. so for that and the speaker and terrible OD, but great clean sound, i give it a 7

I've heard plenty of stories about this amp breaking down.

In my personal experience, i've had it for 2 years and i needed it re-soldered at first because some of the soldering was half assed and i retubed it by choice, not because i had to.

i'd say for the money, its reliable

I've never really had to call in about anything. i've never had to deal with fender personally. i cant really say

I own a few other pedals like Jeckyll and Hyde V2, Vox Wah. im on my way to getting a fulltone OCD and a TS808.

if this amp was stolen, i'd probly never think of it again. I do love the fact that its nice and small. doesnt weigh much. it produces "fender like" clean tones. not exactly up to par with the Twin but u get the point.

the OD is completely useless and i wish they would put gain like the supersonic in it. the speaker is cheap but thats a quick fix.

it truely is the best amp for the money though. but a few hundred more and you could have something like an AC30 or even a twin. just a lil more than that, u could have a mesa boogie.

so really its not worth spending the money. just keep saving, be patient and you'll get much more for your money.

i'll probly trade mine in soon. im now looking at the JSX and JVM. which are in a completely different price range but after owning this amp, it has to be all or nothing.

dont get me wrong, its a great practice and rehearsal amp. i'd just rather not use it to gig.

This will be a short review as the amp does not deserve much of my time.
A 2004 reissue made in Mexico.
This is not my amp..I have a real valve amp...a Seymour Duncan Convertible.
I repaired this amp recently.

Way too much bass and a a linear Volume pot that fools the inexperienced into thinking that 'wow it's so loud on 2 ..imagine what it's like on 12 !'...well it's not that much louder on 12 than on 2.
The sound gets flabby at a reasonable volume due to the excessive bass.

Wouldn't trust it to work if I moved it from one room to another.
The soldering is below standard .
The power supply cap C36 failed and caused oscillation in the gain channel.
The Presence control did nothing until I soldered the grey lead at the ext speaker jack back on to where it had come loose from.

Luckily Fender provide schematics for this amp cause they sure are needed.

This amp can behave erratically....squealing etc from the gain channel...the cause is the power filter caps...C31 ,C33 ,C35 & C36 replace them.
Kill some of the extra bass by putting a jumper wire from the mid leg of the MID pot to the leg on the Mid pot that is closest to the channel select switch.

bought second hand, 2009, recent model made in mexico, cost 399.
2 channels plus all the stuff that people below have mentioned, no need to reiterate.

ok, so the clean is supurb. overall the amp is super loud!!
now, most people have slated the overdrive channell but i'm not! i'll put it this way. if you love WILCO, RYAN ADAMS, NEIL YOUNG and bands of this ilk then i can gaurentee that you will LOVE the overdrive channell. it's not a marshall but if thats what you want go and by a marshall. i own a 1972 marshall head and the hod rod deluxe, in my opinion, leaves it in the dust. i specifically wanted that fender overdrive, which is kinda fuzzy but breaks up lovely.

only had it a few days.

n/a

i love everything about this amp, the only thing so far that i don't love is the option of not having the reverb included in the foot switch. like i said i also own a marshall 1972 valve head and there is no comparison with the hot rod in terms of versitilty, marshall just gives you marshall, but fender gives you an array of options.
i recommend this this amp especially to people trying to "get that" alt.country sound, or even a grungy neil young vibe!

I have a 2008 fender hotrod deluxe, and though im only 13 and been playing for 2 yrs, i sound like im 40 and have ben playing 30 yrs., not 2 be ull of my self, just play 4 hrs a day, so basically im saying i know wat im talking about. I play rock, rock 'n' roll and hard rock(i idolize the beatles, love the who and i play some zeppelin too).it claims 2 have 3 channels, i would say it has 2, tho the distortion SUCKS!!! wat was fender thinking? with such a beautiful clean sound(by far the best ive ever heard) why wouldnt they put in great distortion?? well to solve this i reccommend a fulltone OCD distortion pedal, a "liverpool" distortion pedal, or a vox bulldog. NOT BOSS!! this amp does have enough power for me, i run it betwen 3- 4.6, then it starts 2 break up. dont worry though, this thing is LOUDD!!. wen its on 1.7, its louder than my friends vox ac15 on full...soon im gonna need a cab tho, but ive found so far, its good w/out a mic for up 2 600 people.

i use an epiphone es335, gibson SG, and a 12 string rickenbacker(370/12). this suits my style perfectly!! i find it perfect for rock, jazz, blue, and hard rock. This is very loud, i think it sounds best on 2.7. this amp is more versatile than anything ive ever heard. i only gave it an 9 in this cattegory because of the bad distortion.clean channel gets distorted at about 5 or 6. i find this this amp has the best sounds on theses settings:
VOLUME: 2.5-4
TREBLE:5.6-7
BASS:8-9
MID: 4.9-5.6
REVERB: 3.5
PRESENCE: 9.5.

I WILL NOW AND ALWAYS WILL COMFORTABLY USE THIS GIGGING W/OUT A BACK UP. super reliable, sounds great, heavy duty, and it doesnt break.i have never had it break down.

i have never needed fender becase this is such i good amp!:D

ive been playin 2 yrs, but like i said, im good trust me, better than anyone i know, and guitar is completely my life, so i no wat im sayin. I WOULD MOST DEFINITELY BUY IT RIGHT AWAY IF IT WERE STOLEN OR LOST. LOVE the clean sound,like magic, it makes me wanna cry its so perfect, best ive ever heard, hate the distortion. i compared it 2 a marshal JCM which everyone told me it was a super rare amp for way better value than this, but i found out that i can not stand the sound of marshalls. the only amp that i would possibly consider in place of this( which still isnt better) is a VOX AC 30 or AC 50.

40 watt 1x12 open back combo. Hi and low input. 2 or 3 channels depending on how you classify the "more drive" setting - footswitchable. Shared EQ. Clean Channel is non-master volume with a bright switch. Drive channel has a master volume type control. FX loop. Spring reverb.

40 watts is way too much amp for the rooms that I play, so I have to open by saying that I???m commenting on the amp running well below its intended sweet spot. I???m betting that there are more than a few people in the same boat, though, so here???s my take.

I play in a room that holds about 1000 people. Stage volume has to be kept in check with the overall venue volume controlled at FOH???so I???m running the amp mic???ed at 2 1/2 - 3 on the volume control of the clean channel ... just loud enough for me to hear myself over the drums.

Let me get the drive channels out of the way first. At the low volume levels to which I am restricted, I have not found the drive channels to be very tonefull. I???d say raunchy and rather flat. The clean channel is much better, however. Deeper, more 3 dimensional - that big, round, clean for which Fender is known. I have found using overdrive/distortion pedals through the clean channel a better sounding option than using the amps drive settings at low volume. In this configuration, this amp is usable, but still mediocre at best.

Having been sufficiently underwhelmed and frustrated with the tone out of this amp over the 2 years I have owned it, I have been out amp shopping for the past 6 months. I had been looking at amps that were, for the most part, more British leaning - a lot of el84 based amps. My favorite ended up being the Top Hat Super Deluxe 6V6. It has this great blend of British chime that I knew I wanted with roundness of the Fender that I found I really ended up missing in the el84 amps I tested. Unfortunately, the Top Hat is way beyond what my budget would allow. Before giving up on the HRDX, I decided to see what would happen if I replaced the stock Eminence speaker with the British voiced 50 watt Weber Blue Dog ceramic. The results were pretty astonishing. It didn???t magically transform my amp into that Top Hat ... but it???s a lot closer to that vibe than I expected, and more than enough to turn frustration into a satisfied grin when I play.

No issues with the amp's operation or reliabiity for nearly 2 years playing about twice per week.

No experience with customer service

So it seems to me that there is a decent amp hidden behind an iffy speaker. I went with more of a British voiced speaker, but I???m thinking that a better quality American voiced speaker could go a long way in improving the basic Fender tone that is already there. While I really do enjoy the amp now, if I could do it over again, I???d start with an amp more appropriate to my size and volume requirements and work from there. I definitely don???t recommend this amp for bedroom use, but it can be very usable at lower club level volumes. One of these days I'm going to find a place to crank it up for a fair evaluation.