Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

This is one of the more "usable" amps I've ever owned. It is a two channel amp with footswitchable clean/drive/more drive modes. Essentially, its like having three channels. The amp offers good control over your sound. I like the top-controls because they are very easy to see and get to. The amp's FX loop is a nice touch and I like the fact that an external speaker cabinet can be used in Parallel to the amp. Fender includes the footswitch and the amp cover which is a nice touch. The 40 watts seem really powerful and this amp would make a nice club amp as well as a good practice amp for anyone looking for a nice warm tube-tone amp with lots of drive and bite.

Overall, I really like the sound of this amp. The sound can easily be tailored to suit your individual needs. This amp has tons of overdrive and can easily satisfy several styles of playing from blues to grunge/alternative and everything in between. Play a good Tele thru it and you'll get lots of spank. The special Fender design speaker seems to compliment the amp well. The clean is VERY clean and bright on this amp with lots of bottom end. The drive can be as warm or dirty as you want it to be. My ONLY gripe about the sound of this amp is the Reverb. Fender went waaaaay overboard with this reverb and thus, the player has little control over it. Even at a modest Reverb setting such as 4, the reverb is quite overwhelming. I'm starting to get used to it, though. Try it for yourself.

So far, so good. This amp seems to be built solid. I don't expect problems with it, but I haven't had it long enough to tell.

I don't think you can buy a better amp for $450. The 40 watts of power sound like 80 watts, and this amp offers a clean low noise sound that is VERY versatile. I would buy this amp again in a heartbeat! I love it. I've been playing it seemingly non-stop since I bought it and like it even more, every time. Go check it out.

A 2 channel switching amp with a boost mode for the distortion channel, Reverb, a serial effects loop and 1x12" speacker.

This amp has one of the best clean sounds ever. The Reverb is very full. At first I thought it was too full, but it really sits in the band mix really well. The distortion covers a nice range of sounds and is fully controllable with the tone controls. Since this amp uses the typical Fender tone circuit the settings of the tone controls really makes a difference and makes this a very versatile amp for distortion sounds. Having said that, I'm not sure the ultra high gain crowd will like this amp as much as a Boogie. The distortion has more of a clearness to each note, which is why I like it. The More Gain boost is great for extra sustain and especially for slide playing.
I normally use this amp with a Gibson Nighthawk (lately) and also with a Les Paul and Strat. It really lets the character of the instrument come through. I've played Boogies and Peavey classics and don't really like their thick and cloudy distortion.
I play Christian music, which encompasses a wide range of styles, from Rock to MOR to Jazz and Country flavours. The Rock side can range from Bluesy to Metal or Alternative and everything in between. This amp was a good choice for covering a bunch of styles.

I use it all the time and it has been excellent. I don't bother with a backup amp. This one has never let me down.

I haven't needed to call yet.

I've been very happy with this amp. It is the closest to an all in one combo with great tone that is easy to cart around. The workmanship and sound are excellent and I'd buy another without pause.

The amp is a straightforward combo. Controls include input gain, bass, mid, treble, presence, reverb, and master out. It is a two channel design (clean and drive) with a "more drive" option in the drive channel only, providing an effective third footswitchable sound. The clean channel also includes a brightness boost switch (not footswitchable). There is an effects loop, and the amp has an included two-switch footswitch (channel and drive/more drive). I intended this amp to be the heart of my main gig rig (run with a 2X12 cabinet and a Quadraverb for occasional effects). Unfortunately, it didn't serve this purpose too well, and I have since traded it in for a Mesa/Boogie DC-5. The reasons for my dissatisfaction follow in the "sound" section...

I have never heard a better clean tone. Running my gold lace sensor Srat in clean channel gives what I consider to be the perfect clean tone: clear, bright, dynamic, with plenty of classic Fender character. Just switching toggle positions on my guitar gave me every clean sound I needed. It sounds absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, I have never heard nor could I even conceive of a worse sounding drive channel. I have a piece of junk $39 Epiphone mini travel amp with a nicer distortion sound. Both the drive and the more drive have a goofy buzzy fuzzy sound with no real power, edge or tonal character. I figured the amp may have been designed for pure blues (explaining the total lack of crunch), but I couldn't even coax a tollerable blues tone from the thing. I know there are people who are happy with this amp, but I can only assume they enjoy sounding really really bad. In drive this amp hasn't a ball, let alone balls (and just so you know, I don't play over-the-top thrash metal. I run a smooth overdriven blues/rock sound somewhere between The Sundays and Stone Temple Pitots). It's too bad this amp sucks soooo bad in drive, because at what seems to me to be a very affordable price, its clean tone is amazing. I have since replaced it with another amp (the aforementioned Boogie DC-5) that is actually too brutal in drive, but at least I can back off on the gain (I run it at about 2) and still get a great sound. If you're looking for an affordable amp for small to medium gigs with super-sweet clean tone, and distortion isn't in your vocabulary, then this is a great buy. I, on the other hand, use distortion, so it was goodbye.

Like the sun rising in the east I could rely on that thing in drive channel to sound like a deranged AM radio. Reliable? It's all too reliable. Maybe if something blew it would sound better.

No experience.

Because the clean tone is so great (it crushes the Boogie in clean) I still might buy it again. But then I'd have to schlep two amps around to every gig, get some sort of A/B switch, and find some way to squeeze the Boogie the Fender the 2X12 cabinet and my big ol' fat ass into the tiny corner of stage left for me. No thanks.

Features are really great. I went in looking for a Marshall Valve State 100 and walked out with this one. Has the requisite features: Bass, Treble, Mid, Presence, and reverb. Has a drive and more drive setting (like my old Acoustic Boogie clone with 2 dirty drive volumes).

Nice, quiet, smooth, glassy, but vibrant, living tone.
Plus: Great tone! Wonderful Tone! LOUD for a 40 watt amp.
Minus: Starts to distort past 4. I was looking for something with a little more head room. Oh well. This is a GREAT practice amp OR if you go through a PA.
I'm using my Boss ME8 though it. Really love the sound.
Looking at the 4X10 Blues DeVille model for gigging for more headroom.

Had it for a month. SOLID. No problems.

Haven't had to deal with 'em yet.

I'd buy it again for smaller practice situations. For Band situations, it appears that the Blues Deville (2X12 or 4X10) would fit the bill.
Don't let the 40 watt rating fool you. This mother moves nearly as much air as my 100 watt Acoustic Boogie clone.

Not repeat here.

Clean is sweet and glassy that is Fender's trade secret and HR Deluxe gives you all. Drive and more drive(12.7db more gain) channels with the EQ I can dial in almost all the sounds(close enough) I want. For the price with footswitch and cover, I compared to Peavey Classic, Crate VC and Marshall JTM, this is it. 40 watts is bit too much for home practice but replace the driver tube(V3), 12AX7A, with a 12AU7 (GrooveTube) and it got tamed for home use. This way I won't void my 5-year transferrable warranty.

I just got it for 1 month.

It is perfect for a Strat.

Due to former reports I think you will allready know all its features, in short the preamp part has, a clean channel, drive channel with more drive option. Volume for clean channel and Drive with Master control for drive channel, and the usual treble , mid and bass controls. The Power amp section has Reverb and Precense control. The channels and more drive are switchable via a footswitch.

It sounds very nice, but the reverb has some overkill in the high frequencies. But adjusting it to 2 it gives a nice sound. I think the amp is great for clean and not to much distorted sounds, is more common usefull than the Blues the Luxe. I only had one problem I wanted to use the amp as a practice amp at home. Allthough possible the volume it not easaly adjustabl for home use. So I changed the amp a bit, V1 and V2 I changed from 7025 to 6072A end the third 7025 I replaced with a ECC81. Following I changed the the 5881WXT from penthode operation to triode operation (wich is very easaly done). Now it sound even better as the 'original' and it is very simple to adjust the volume to home usage. Don't be afraid it sounds to weak because it still can make a lot of noise allthough the output is tempered from 40 to 15 watts. (Due to the triode setting of the 5881WXTs) The overall sound is although still very clean now looks like a mix of Blues the Luxe and Hot Rod the luxe.

N/A I have the amp for 10 days, And due to my changes I think I spilled the 5 year garantee ( but it's worth it)

ChickenShit, I asked the pros at WWW.Fender.com before i made my change what they would think about it. And all they answered 'Do not apply such a change'

At the moment I would certainly buy it again and make the same changes i did. I was very in doubt buying a Blues Junior or the Hot Rod. I loved the sound of the Junior and the features of the de luxe. At the end i have both.

This amp is quite versitle for practice or the working guitarist. It weighs slightly more than the classic Vibrolux amp. It has a single 12" speaker custom made for Fender by Emminace. The nominal wattage rating is 40 watts and is plenty loud for small to medium clubs or jam sessions with several other musicians. The controls include: volume, drive, bass, treble, middle, master, reverb, and presence. There are also switches for bright, channel sellect and more drive. The reverb is a long reverb tank on the bottom on the amp which is solid state driven. You can carry this amp with one hand. The amp comes with a footswitch and a protective covering. Overall, its a pretty nice looking and transportable package.

Let me discuss the sound in three parts 1) clean sound, 2) reverb, and 3) distortion. 1) The clean sound on this amp is supurb. It captures the classic fender sound and stays relatively clean up to at least 5 or 6 on volume. I was actually surprised how good the clean sound was for the price paid and a single 12" speaker. I have owned new and vintage amps that cost twice as much that didn't sound this good. I have to rate this a clear 10. If you want the "Fender sound", look no further. You will not be disappointed. 2) To my ears the reverb sounds horrible. It sounds very artificial, non-dimensional, tinny, much to trebly and nothing like the classic reverb sound of the twin or the vibrolux (which sound GREAT). This may be OK for the beginner, but if you want the classic reverb sound, for surf music, rock-and-roll, etc. then this ain't it. I rate this poor sound a "2" on a scale to 10. Sorry Fender, get back to the drawing boards on this one, fire the engineer who came up with this cheezy circuit. This is a big disappointment for an otherwise great sounding, great valued amp. I currently own a vintage 65 Vibrolux, a Princston chorus, a Marshall acoustic soloist and now the Hot-Rod Deluxe. In the past I've owned a 65 Twin Reverb and a classic Princston Reverb. This reverb may be the worst I've ever heard in my 30 years as a guitar palyer. Fortunately, my stomp box has a good sounding reverb and I can get around this problem. 3) Distortion can be subjective depending on your style. This amp has a very good distortion for my needs which is blues and rock-and-roll. I don't do metal or grunge so I can't comment here. The distortion is not quite as sweet sounding as on the Peavey Classic series but I think it's versitle and adjustable enough to satisfy a wide audience. My rating here is a 9. My overall rating for sound including the crumby reverb is "7".

It's a new amp but it seems to be constructed well. Too early to tell.

Never needed any.

I probably would not buy it again, but not because of the sound or features. There are so many great amps out there, I would try another one first. I would first look for a similar sized, similar sounding amp with a better reverb. Possibly the Prosonic.

This amp is a 40 watt,1-12 combo, with three channels. It is basically a newer version of the Blues Deluxe. The amp has channel switching between the three channels (clean, drive, and more drive) and a great reverb! It is an all tube amp that uses two 6L6's for power tubes. It is easy to get a great soundout of this amp!

The clean channel is just what you'd expect from Fender. Strats have a great beel tone coming through the clean channel. The drive channel adds an over drive to the sound and even when maxed out is more prone to blues flavors. More drive takes drive one setp farther. It makes for great rock tone! If your looking for Metal or Thrash tones this is not your amp. I'm playing new country and the amp is ideal. I can go from clean rhythm to a slight overdrive for leads and then hit "more drive" for my slide work. I love this amp! I use it with an assortment of telecasters, a strat, and an ES-335 and the amp lets the identity of each guitar shine on through.

I've only had the amp for a month and a half but have played 17 gigs with no complaints. In my experience, I have never had a problem with any Fender amp I've owned. I've found them to be very reliable so I'll rate this a 10.

i've never had to use Fender customer service but I'm sure they stand behind their products.

I'd definately buy the amp again. I think that it has alot of "bang for the buck" and sounds as good or better than some amps costing 3 to 4 times more. I checked out many of those amps and even leave my Mesa Blue Angel at home to gig with the HOT ROD Deluxe.

Amazing versatility from jazzy blues to crunch. It has foot switchable dual channels. Dual inputs. Power amp in, preampout, nice reverb, dual stage gain (also foot switchable), presence, brightness. It'd be nice to have separate tone and reverb controls for each channel and a headphone jack but I'm just being picky...I use it for everything from practice on up. 40 watts is enough for me, especially when I can mike it if need be. Also about $200 cheaper than the Hotrod Deville, which at 60 watts is a bit much for me around the house, just ask my wife :) Comes w/ nice cover.

I like to play blues to grunge. Amp seems noticeably quieter than my Crate VC2110R. Great distortion in the "MORE DRIVE" mode. Killer clean/reverb sounds. Using w/ Fender Strat Plus and Gibson Les Paul.

Just got it, no probs...

Can't help ya' here either...

LOVE IT! Very warm, very loud 40 watts, great distortion, good price. You won't be sorry. Has cool little 50th anniversary logo on back worth the ticket price right there :)