Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

i guess 05, clean, drive and more drive, fx loop. loud enough for most venues but keep a sm57 in the back of the amp in case you need it. THIS AMP TAKES A WHILE TO BREAK IN. BOUGHT IN 4/06 AND NOW THE ICE PICK SOUND IS GONE TOTALLY . I EVEN USE THE BRIGHT SWITCH NOW. i almost returned this amp because the ice pick shrill but i decided to wait to see. im glad i kept this amp.

gibson LP's and american strat for hard rock surf and punk in bars. not to noisy but sometimes yes.clean channel is good and breaks up after vol. 2 with humbuckers. i like it. the overdrive sound is debatable, i like it a lot.ac/dc tones with bridge pk up on LP's. ive also added a Fender Super Sonic 212 cab for $499 and sounds great. i also like the reverb for surf stuff. to me this amp sounds better than a 65 Twin reverb RI. i bought one and recently sold it. they sound good at first but they start to sound kinda blah, and stale after a bit. i had it for 3 months and began to hate it. besides its made in mexico as well. buy a real USA Twin if you want one. trust me.

so far so good had it since 4/13/06. i always bring a back up.you never know.

i have had good service in the past, others have not . luck of the draw i guess.

gigging 20+ years using mostly Marshalls but this amp is good sounding to me and i like it. doesnt take up much room. this amp looks classy on stage. mine is the black one. i would like to have a blonde one to match my super sonic cab though. the tone is amazing using both together. the $599 price cant be beat but this amp needs to break in good before you fall in love with it. not the best out of the box sound but give it a chance, im glad i did.

Made in Mexico not sure quite when owing to the new serial # system. I play rock, southern rock, countryish r n r.
3 Channels (sort of, well covered in other reviews common EQ)
Has reverb, effects loop, neither of which I need or use.
40 watts is really enough for most shows, hard to get breakup in the clean channel at some gigs, if that is what you want.

I use a Gretsch duo jet with powertrons retrofitted.
The Hot Rod is pretty boxy sounding and characterless (3 sounds kinda all bad)
It is relatively quiet. Just doesnt sound sweet to my ears.

While I had this amp it was reliable (not long) the jewel light bulb blew, oh well. I do not have enough money to gig with a back up amp, and I never have ever had a backup. I have heard bad things, but there are an awful lot of these amps out there, of course there will be problems with some of them.

N/A

As well as my gretsch I have an old Taylor 410 (93) that I love, a boss tuner and sometimes a blackstone OD...thats it, I keep it simple.
I sold this amp, bought if off ebay thinking it would do the trick (after trying it out in the store) life is too short folks have ordered a plexi from ceriatone for around the same $.
I have owned 3 jcm800s (every one great), a fender twin silverface, a musicman, an old 63 Goldentone (aussie amp, should have never parted with it) and a gibson goldtone (good fun), but my real love is english amps (they play themselves really) hence the Ceriatone ( the best my guitar ever sounded was with a white anny marshall and 2 12, I need that again. If you play covers this amp could be ok it is pretty versatile, but if you need one great sound, don't find out the hard way.
I often read the reviews at Harmony Central, though I should give something back and post one myself, it is a great website...cheers.

I bought this amp brand spanking new back in 2003. I'd been to the ACM and loved it, so I had to get one. It's got 3 channels (Clean, Dirty, More Dirty), a couple of inputs (handy for when your other guitarist 'forgets' his amp...), effects loop and a damn nifty footswitch, with an even niftier way of storing it (it sticks in the amp, as it's magnetised). It's all-tube, with 2 6L6s for the output valves and 3 12AX7s (?) for the preamp valves.

Usual controls, but they go up to 12, and you get a 'Bright' button on the clean channel. Oddly, came with 3 sets of strings. I'd have preferred a couple more vavles...

This is a brilliant amp. It's probably one of the best sounding I've heard for the money, and in some cases betters many more expensive amps.

I play gigs/rehearshals/home practises, and it's suited to every single one of them. Only real gripe with using it at home is the rather sudden increase in volume when you're trying to get an appropriate medium for the volume (gripy Draconian neighbours...)

OK, let's analyse the channels...

Clean: Best clean channel I've used. It's got everything I'll ever need. It shimmers, and breaks up nicely past a certain point.

Dirty: Er... I used to like the distortion on this amp. I don't much anymore. OK, it's still got it, but it's not to my taste. But- objectively- it's a good sound.

More Dirty: WYSIWYG. Same as above, but a little mushier so it's harder to pick out when you're playing with your band. Someone will like the sounds more than me, though.

If you couple this amp with a cheap distortion pedal, it'll sound utterly amazing. It's what I did. BOSS Mega Distortion permanently borrowed from my bassist made this amp a winner.

I'm utterly stunned at this amp. It's had the same tubes for 3 years and been gigged mercilessly, but it still sounds as good as when it was new- I know, because I've compared it to new ones in stores!

This amp is the most reliable amp I've used yet. My old Marshall blew up on me, my next Marshall obviously thought the first one was playing a game and decided to do the same. The Marshall after that I pushed off the back of a speeding truck after I bought this amp.

Never dealt with them, don't really want to either. I think it has a 2 year warranty.

This amp is brilliant, it complements my gear really well. A couple of PRSi and a humbucking Tele really do this amp justice. I have a couple of American Strats that I used to use a lot with this amp, but I got bored of them.

If I lost this amp (yeah, right) I'd definitely get another one. If it was stolen, I'd get another one. If it blew up on me, I'd get another one, because I know it's led a hard life so far.

I compared it to a Marshall DSL401, Peavey Classic 30, Ashdown Peacemaker 40, and a Marshall AVT. It knocked all of them for 6.

One other thing I'd like to share- buy it and you won't be disappointed. It's full of features, but if you're into a good bit of rawk muzak, then buy a distortion pedal at the same time... just my $0.02.

2001 AMP. 2 channel, switching, effects loop sort of. I don't use the preamp out because it sucks, and I don't use the power amp in. This was originally a practice amp. But, I am going to try playing it on stage.

Here's why I'm submitting this review: Stock, the distortion stinks. It's kind of washed out and fizzy, lacking the punch of EL34s, and a closed cabinet, and lacking any definition with highs. BUT, there is hope. I replaced the power tubes with a matched set of groove tubes (no change there really) and changed the preamp tubes to POS 1, 12AY7 new old stock Electro Harmonix, followed by 2 12AX7s, the POS 2 being new old stock and POS 3 a GT modern one. Get at least 2 12AY7s, and 2 12AT7s and start tube switching. The sound I have now is sweet indeed, more classic blackface sound, with a revved overdrive. If you want more character or diff. tone, use a pedal too! It really takes this amp from a piece of junk to a realistic small hall performer.

I use 3 strats, 2 teles, an old LP, and a Heritage H575. I play rock, blues and jazz. The HR deluxe isn't real noisy and had, I think a very nice clean channel.

I had it go out on me in a practice and it really made me mad. It was, however a bad replacement tube I put in it. So, no complaints here.

Never dealt with em.

Played 35 years, own a pile of stuff, Matchless Chieftain, Carvin Legacy, Protools studio, 8 guitars. I hate that this is a cheap little amp. I don't trust it. But, you get what you pay for. Right now, it sounds very good. I enjoy playing it very much. Will that last? who knows. Try messing with the tubes. It's great and it really pays off with this amp.

I bought the American HR deluxe because I heard one played live and really liked it. Not sure if threre is a difference to the mexican one. Dual 6L6 groove tubes ..The clean channel is classic fender with alot of headroom .. hey ,this amp is loud. The other two channels are drive & more drive. Both are great . The 1st drive channel is amazing when dialed in right especially with a humbucker equipped guitar like a les paul and as with all fenders strats/ teles sparkle.
The more drive is great too if the dials are adjusted right( that's why they are there ) don't mind all the experts who probably never take this out of their bedrooms to really try it out. This is a really good gigging amp, not too big.

I use two strats and a les paul through this and my gretsch is great on the clean channel. I play mostly rock/ blues as well as soul. The amp has dials to 12..I guess all part of the hot rod thing. All the power the average musican would need. Sounds huge when miked. This amp really works best with just a bit of overdrive.

I bought a road case for this and am gentle on it as with all my tube amps..tubes being what they are. So far so good regularly used for 5 years. Just replace the odd tube when needed.

N/A never needed to call.

I've been playing for 20 years and own alot of vintage gear. Most of the older stuff is quite heavy and was built for a different time when PA's sucked so all your sound projection was from your stage amps. That's all changed now with better house systems. I've always liked the portibility of deluxes as well as the sound of the single 12" speaker. This amp is all the power you'll ever need to gig & not too heavy.

enough features for what i do. dont use the fx loop or reverb with my band. i use the reverb only for surf rock as a hobbie with an american strat. clean, drive and more drive.

this is an update.. gigged with band 1st time last nite.. this amp sounds awsome except for the ice pick sound. this amp is brand new though. using a gibson les paul standard 05 model, burst buckers. the ice pick sound was less the longer the amp was on though so maybe after full break in it will be gone , dont know yet.. but for some reason you could not hear the ice pick in the audience or threw the mains , only on stage standing infront of the amp. i walked out front during play to listen. all in all i was happy. also i love the drive and more drive. to me they sound awsome. maybe i have a good one dont know. the drive channels are perfect for what i need. jimmy eat world, the strokes, typical garage punk stuff. im just hoping the ice pick goes away altogether.. like i said by the end of the nite it was much better than the start. i did not hear the bad bass tone people complain about though. the bass was very clear on # 4, have not tried higher settings . in my small studio there is more bass. i guess the room is in fault of that. i am satisfied with the over all performance.

we will see. i always bring a back up no matter what. you never know.if this amp breaks , i'll get it fixed no matter what.

some dealers only do warranty repairs if you bought it there. others dont care where you bought it, so ask. go to fender's web site for repair centers and call them to find out. you may have to drive sometimes but its all part of the hobbie or territory as you will.

gigging 20 years. if stolen? well i'll decide then. probably would buy it again. its cheap, has tubes, its loud, doesnt weigh to much. i would keep the cheap tubes and just add a vintage 30 or weber and let it go. the audience only wants good songs and nothing more. other musicians in the crowd dont count because they will say their band is better anyway no matter what. ive heard bands that suck and the crowd goes wild only because the song selection was great. i have used a les paul special before with a blues jr with bad power tubes before and sounded terrible but the bar manager said we sounded stellar. go figure that one out.

what ever, for the price, 10

just got it home and sounds great. yeh it has alot of bass so i turn it down, crank the treble & presence. the knobs go to 12 because fender doesnt know what kind guitar will be played through this. hate the bad reviews from idiots. want a 599$ amp all tube ptp 2 eq's, built in metal zone type distortion, jj's as stock equipment and a vintage 30 in it from the factory? dream on !!!call the custom shop and they will laugh at you.so will i. marshall doesnt give you that. neither does mesa boogie, peavy,crate or any other brand. other people say there are better options but fail to name them. fine, buy a 401 dsl for 1100$ lets see, the 401dsl combo.40 watts? yes. ptp wiring? no. jj's factory installed? no. vintage 30 as stock ? no. ok, how bout high gain metal distortion? no. there is no amp made period that gives you everything. modeling amps sound thin and unrealistic amp models everytime. they only sound cool in the store, that is fact.i guess you can buy a marshall mg250dfx combo for this price and have everyone laugh at you, not with you. a peavy is a good choice .classic 50 maybe. but still peavy is not going to give you jj's, ptp, vintage 30 or a weber 12"r for 599$ are they? no.didnt think so.

dont care. fender warranty does work. at least at my store. in fact i cant wait till my HRD breaks down because the guy i go too will fix it and go through every solder joint and more the first time. i do have to travel 40 plus miles to get there but so what.i have back up. thats why there is a warranty . but try to find a good service center. even if you have to travel. its worth it.had marshalls before jcm series too. they flat out suck.sound good when they feel like it. very expensive and they need to be modded for control and for better overdrive just like the reviews here. even the tsl series. the mode 4 sounds terrible .besides you cant count the number of effects the big name pro's use anyway. keep it simple. unless your rich.$$$$

frankly my dear, i dont give a damn.

playing 4ever, own 65 twin,59 bassman,blues jr.and now the HRD. love them all. stock too. i know how to turn knobs. i have a good ear. i think all amps can be upgraded but dont see the need for any of my amps. i gig full time and done so for years.

i have one on lay-a-way now.ive always wanted one and now i will soon. 2005 or 06 dont know. its still in the box sealed. enough features for me. i dont use fx loops, ext.cabs. less is more so i give it 8 for no footswitchable reverb though.

ive never owned one. ive played these for years only in music stores and loved the sound. i sold my deville 410(big mistake) and bought a 59 bassman ltd ri. yeh the bassman is a 10 without any features to it.sounds unreal, but im afraid to take it out of the studio. its so beautiful. i have read all the horror stories on HRD amp but the fender service center in stuart,fl. is outstanding and hats off to those guys. yes the od in the hot rods are very good but made for solo's. chords sound good too when tweeked right. every amp reguardless of make and price gets a bad review from some people any way so 599$ + 200$ for jj's and a celestion upgrade is well worth it to a career club musician.still 300$ cheaper than marshalls 401 dsl combo( thats guaranteed to have problems forever )after the mods. but some like marshall sound. i like fenders.ive heard friends HRD with his band (stock) and sounds great to me.

dont care. Schumacher Music in stuart,fl is the best for repairs. no questions asked except is it still under warranty. they have fixed other amps & cabinets and such. very fast, most done while you wait or go to lunch and maybe the post office or something and go back , pick it up. just that simple.(depending on the problem and parts availability of course) that has been my expierence.

my service center is great

41yo played clubs for 20 years. i know what im doing. i know what i want and need to get the job done. i gig with a 65 twin reverb ri. the HRD will replace my blues jr as a back up amp. the blues jr will be used as a practise and studio amp.

1 channel with 3 voicings: Clean; Dirty; Filthy.
Has channel switching.
Wish it had better quality, that is, Fender knows that
the channel switching power supply is problematic yet
they havent done much about it. Maybe they havent heard about
'heat sinks'. Amp could ues better control over mids,
and really needs to tame that bass.

I use 'clean' and a Boss Blues Driver with single coils.
LesPaul sounds good clean, clean w/blues driver, OK 'Dirty'.
PRS McCarty sounds OK clean, a little farty on the neck PU,
(good for jazz), but sounds unreal "dirty' using the bridge PU.

BTW, re-tubed with SED 6L6's (biased @ 35 whatevers/tube)
V1 = 12AX7EH, V2/3 = Cheapo Sovteh 12AX7WA's.
Changed speaker to a Celestion V30.

I put a set of wheels on it. Raising it up a bit helps calmt he bass a bit.

It's no Twin reverb, but it sounds much better than it did when stock.

No break downs, just had problems with crappy tubes.
Snap crackle pop, 12AX7's that dont have adequate output,
early death, etc. Took a while to get it straight.

Concerned about those 470ohm ceramic resistors in the channel switching/reverb power supply. They really need heatsinks or an
internal fan, or something.

The warranty is 6 inches long.

Nothing is perfect.
Playing 17 years.
Lost / stolen? Where?
I love the plastic bag that the owners manual comes in.
I hate that you can't lick the 6L6's when they've been on for a while.
I compared it to some Peaveys (Delta Blues, Vlassic 30), and some other Fenders like the Vibrolux re-issue, Deluxe Reverb, Pro-Reverb
(the newer ones). Although the sound ain't the cat's meow,
the HRDlx's price point is pretty hard to resist: the audience can't tell... I wish it had 'naughty bits'. I'd like to share my dyspepsia with all.

You know the features. The only feature I wish this amp had was seperate tone controls for the Clean/Drive channels.

I have owned this amp 4 years now. I use various guitars through it in a working band. I primarily use a Les Paul Studio and Fender American Strat through it. I have used various pedals. Right now I use a Zoom GFX-1 into a EQ pedal into the Clean channel. This amp works very well with effects pedals.

Everyone says the amp has a great clean channel. It does. No, it isn't a Fender Twin. I get a little tired of people comparing this amp to amps that cost 2-3 times as much. My Ford Escort isn't as nice as a Porsche. Wow! No kidding?? But for the cost, this is a very good sounding amp with loads of warm tone. Crank it up and it comes alive.

Everyone complains about the Drive channels. I would agree that they are not the best, but you can make them work very well. I have found the secret to getting a damn good crunch out of this amp is to turn Gain (Drive) down between 4-6 depending on humbuckers or single coil pickups, keep Bass down between 4-5, Treble up to 10-12, and very importantly, Turn Presence UP. You can almost get a Marshall type crunch out of this amp at these settings. But you have to turn Presence up to put an edge on the overdrive.

I have tried some basic mods to this amp just for fun. I replaced the stock tubes with JJ's, they tightened up the bass, especially on the Drive channels, and took just a little off the Highs. So the amp is no longer harsh.

I also put a Celestion G12T-75 speaker in the amp just to experiment. I prefer it to the stock Eminence. It handles the big bass this amp has much better. This amp tends to rumble and howl with lots of bass at volume. The Celestion took care of that nicely. I can get some pretty great low-end chug out of this amp now. It also sweetened up the highs too. Overall this speaker gave the amp a Rock vibe. This is really a Blues amp. For Blues it is awesome, for Rock you need to mod it a little or use a good pedal. But with a little work this amp will do it all. It is a very versatile amp, it will do Blues, Rock, Surf, Jazz, just about anything. This is probably the best feature of this amp.

My amp was made in the U.S.A. and has been extrememly reliable. The only problem I have ever had is that it has gone through 2 jewel lights. I picked up 2 for $2 at an auto parts store. That's it. This is a solid and well built amp. I have played this amp at several hundred gigs, it gets a 10 for reliability.

Can't really comment on this, I have never had a problem, so I've never had to call Fender. The best customer support is a quality product to begin with. So they get a 10.

Been playing over 30 years, currently play in a gigging Classic Rock band. This is a very good amp for the gigging musician. It has lots of power and all in all a pretty great tone. You would have to pay a lot more to do better. If it were stolen, I would probably replace it simply because it has been so reliable and versatile for what I do. For the very reasonable price, this is a great amp, so quit comparing it to amps that cost double or triple the price. Sheesh, what do you want, everything?

Limited Ed Maple Dovetailed Cab with Jensen C12N. Clean, drive, more drive, 1 set of tone controls.

I bought this amp because I had previously been impressed with the clean HRD sound and loved the maple cab. Also, the Jensen C12N was hawked as an upgrade and several reviewers seemed to like it. With a strat or tele, the clean sounds really nice but no matter how you upgrade the tubes, the drive sounds are at best okay. My real gripe and the reason I'm writing this is that a LesPaul sounds horrible through this amp! I'm fortunate to have a very extensive vintage and contemporary amp collection and this is the only Fender amp that sounds like pure crap with a LesPaul.

With a 'Paul, the bass notes sound harsh, ripping, unmusical, ugly-and thats on the clean channel. Switch to drive and it sounds like the speaker is blown! Not even the old standard TS9 can get a good overdriven sound with a LesPaul. Mind you, Strats and Teles with a TS9 sound darn good.

I was resigned to the conclusion that this is a single coil amp. Then I started playing the amp with other speaker cabs and found that just about anything else made a LesPaul sound fine (Celestion V-30s, G1275s, Greenbacks, Weber C12N, Weber California, Reverend Alltone, etc). Initially I stubbornly resisted the desire to replace the speaker, considering how I hade paid extra for this "premium driver." Fortunately I opted to replace it and after some reading and listening opted for an affordable Eminence Redcoat Wizard (a cross between a Vintage 30 and a Greenback).

I've read all the many reviews on this amp and I'm now convinced that
there is a great amp lurking within but the Eminence and Jensen C12N are just bad speakers. Let me go so far as to say that the Italian reissue Jensen C12N when coupled with a Les Paul, played through any head sounds like garbage, especially with distortion tones. Ironically, Ted Weber's C12N sounds great, as good or better than the original!

I'm certain there are many other good choices, but the Eminence Redcoat Wizard is a fantastic match with this amp. Go to the Eminence site, listen to the sound clip. It will sound like that and better. Now a LesPaul can go from clean and sweet to a creamy TS9 distortion that is a pleasure to play and sounds as good as any of my classic amps. Strats and Teles love this speaker as well, for both clean and distorted tones.

Alas, even with a great speaker and the worlds finest NOS tubes, the HRD drive/overdrive remain, at best, okay.

(The rating below is with the Wizard Redcoat. Without the Recoat, a 4-5 because of the inability to use a LesPaul)

Once, lost almost all volume. I started switching out tubes and it returned. Never pinpointed the problem.

Buy from a reputable dealer who will serve as an interface with Fender and you'll be ok.

With a good speaker its a dream but stay away from the reissue Jensen C12N if you play a Gibson and like distortion.

Yeah, 3 chanels clean, od, more od. You can change the chanels via footswitch or buildt in buttons. two inputs which are equal if u use two guitars at the same time:), but the second input is a bit lower in volume. Volume control, mid bass treble, presence reverb, bright switch for clean chanel master volume for od chanel and a drive knob. What else...an fx loop and an external speaker jack for cabinets i guess, i have never tried it. 40 watts real tube power is enough, and too much, but its okay. I can use it at home in lower volumes, sounds ok and at the band or gigs is ... great. I play alternative music blues a little bit like jazz, grunge etc. etc.

Now let see how it sounds... I use mainly a cort G200 guitar ( modified, changed the bridge single coils to kent armstrong humbucker ) a Jolana les paul copy and a jolana Vikomot telecaster copy (modified, whit two different single coils in the bridge position). As for pedals distortion DS-1, BD-2, an mxr 6 band eq, boss ce-3 chorus and a boss DD-6 delay, both are absolutely great for me. The variety of sounds i can create with the amp and effects together are soooo huge. I can get nirvana or sonic youth like stuff, or so tipical fender clean tone, which is excellent for blues jazz...One thing is important its a 40 watt fender tube amp, NOT a mesa, or marshall or a Peavey roadmaster. Its "just a little fender tube amp" whit great features if you know how to use an amp. Every feature on this amp is acceptable for the price, compared to other ultra high popular guitar amps. When i decided to have this amp i wanted a low power tube amp which has an fx loop, it has, its fender, its sounds good to me, its enough for me:)
One more thing, as others mentioned the od chanel isnt that high gain stuff, but at low drive settings with the more drive knob on it produce a real good sound ideal for non tipical chords like 7s, 4s etc. for real distortion i use my ds-1 whit the mxr 6band eq in conjunction. The fx loop is great for effects what more, i like it.

Only have since 2005 december, no problems yet.

this is my first tube amp but i have tried many of them before i bought it and since then i try everything what looks interesting. I pluged my guitar in and the good sound came out. Never repent i bought this amp its so great ah enough of this $%^&, if u have possibility try it, if u liked it buy it.

By now you know the features. As features go, this one has a lot for an amp, and especially one of this price. Reverb, Presence, Master Volume, Bright switch...it's all here. Everyone bitches about the OD...but as far as I'm concerned tube amps aren't meant to have a built in overdrive anyway. That's what a volume knob and pedals are for. Look at all of your vintage and botique amps...they don't have overdrives. Enough with the bitching about the OD...it should only be used in pinch.
One feature that is also great about this amp is it's weight. Great for small clubs (why I got it) and a grab and go amp. 40 watts is also perfect for the smaller/medium clubs.

Walk into any bar in Nashville and guess what amps they are using. 75% of them are Deluxe's. Perfect for a small club, grab and go, flexible tone, great cleans. Wether they are playing blues, country or rock...it's all here. It's a Fender...it's obviously not for high gain. The tone I was looking for when I bought this amp was Fender cleanly overdriven. It deliveres beautifully. The natural tone has everything you could want from a Fender...fairly warm, high end shimmer with a decent bottom end as long as you don't go too loud with humbuckers. Use a Tubescreamer and you get that wonderful Cougar/Petty/Blues overdrive. I put a Barber DD in front of it as well and is almost Marshall, with plenty of bite and attitude. I play a Les Paul 57 Goldtop RI, and an American Telecaster as my main guitars ...and this amp loves them both. The Telecaster is where it shines. I can go from beautiful Travis picking to wonderful blues with a pedal. There are so many knobs on this amp I don't know how you can't get a good tone out of it. As I said earlier, I don't even use the distortion.
For fun, I've changed out the V1 with JJ's...and it lowered the clean headroom. I'm still out as to wether this is what I want.

This amp is fairly new, but has gigged a few times without any problems. I've heard the input jacks can be a problem because of how they are hooked to the amp so I put a loop around the handle before going into the input. So far so good.

Never used it.

I have a wide range of amps. 83 JCM 800, Super Reverb RI, Orange, 60's Silvertone, Blues Jr and even a Fender Solid state for practicing. They all serve a purpose and all have their place, as does the HRD. I bought this as a backup and main amp for smaller gigs. The Super is too big, bulky and loud to lug around for smaller gigs. The 40 watts is perfect to get in that sweet spot during gigs where a 50 watt Marshall is too loud. I love that I can crank this a little and hit that overdriven nirvana. It works great with pedals, and especially shines with Tele's.
If it was stolen I would buy another one. For it's price and target audience it's perfect.
I compared this to the Limited Edition, Blues Deluxe and Deluxe Reverb RI. To me, this had the best warmth, clean shimmer and didn't have that boxy sound. It's a great amp at a great price.

My hot rod deluxe was bought in may 2005. Being a Boogie player for 25 years I bought this amp 'cause of his clean channel.
This amp isn't versatile at all. The only thing that matters to me is the clean channel. Can't use the drive channel it sucks!
The power is great and there is lots of headroom. Playing jazzy and blues stuff most of the time I changed the pre-amp tubes for Electro Harmonix ay7's. This halves the overall volume and makes the volume working more equal from 1 to 10. When you're a jazzy player try it! It's worth every penny! You get a smooth sounding amp wich, in my opinion, is far better sounding for jazz and blues.

My main instruments are Gibson Es335 and PRS custom, I also own a Schecter strat from the exotic wood series (discontinued). All instruments sound well and the amp does his work properly.
But............I sold it!

Owned it for 8 months, there's nothing wrong with reliability!

I wanted a Fender for the clean tone. Thirty years ago I started with Music man, marshall, Kitty Hawk and then Boogie cal50, mk2, DC5, studio pre-amp with 50/50 and Vtwin preamp (rack). The stereo set is sold after the decision to stop gigging. I only do simple studio things, I love it 'cause of the ability to take the time to make your tone and play your thing in the best way you can.
This is why I chose Fender. The hot rod de luxe is a disappointement to me 'cause of his overall sound. Too litlle of; articulation, treblespank, definition lower tones, and a complete worthless drive channel. It may suit your needs but I'm back to Boogie!
Compared a Fender '65 reissue deluxe reverb and a Boogie F-30 and bought the Boogie. The only thing I liked better on the Fender is the reverb. The sound of Boogie is very more ALIVE, never dull, more versatile, and that's what I need. It took me 8 months to sort this out. Anyway, it doesn't make Fender a bad amp, just not MY amp.

Clean channel rules everything else ????

Of course, nice reverb.

Save your money & buy a Peavey Classic 30,
Carvin Nomad or Laney, whatever!
Test drive some amps before you settle on one of these!
The clean channel is great, ton's of headroom. (That's it!)

The Dirt/Drive channel is POOP! You can try to convince yourself it
sounds good, but no matter what I've tried it sucks!
It has a Low/Mid thing going that farts out.
Plus it squeals like crazy at times.

These are vey reliable Amps.

Fender's not known for their "Great" customer service!

A friend of mine has one of these & I must say -- it sounds killer.
Every other Hot Rod Deluxe or DeVille I've heard or played through makes me want to smash my guitars into a million pieces.
I'm sure there's a mod that any Amp tech can do to give these amps a decent Overdrive sound. Unless you have that done, stay away from these amps.
Nothing sounds better than an old Deluxe Reverb or 50 watt Bassman . It's almost like Fender gave up when it came to finding a sound for the Drive channel on these amps.
If it wasn't for Fender there would be no Marshall.
You'd think Fender could come up with an Amp that could kick a little ass.
Fender missed it on this series!
I have found out the hard way, wasting a too much cash. Try a Peavey, Laney, Carvin or find a Fender Prosonic. You can find a Prosonic almost for the price of a Deluxe.

There's only on rreason these amps amps sell like they do.
The Fender name! Come on Fender spend a little more time &
develope an Amp that actually meets expectations!

Main features already listed in other posts. One great feature of this amp is the ease of modifying it and baising it when trying different tubes. Having an effects loop is a must and a good reason not to get a vintage reissue as they don't usually have them. Also having 2 channels is great for playing in different types of bands. I usually don't find multi-channels amps that useful for switching back and forth during the same gig, it never mixes very well. I set it clean for a jazz gig and use a pedal to add a little drive if needed or set it dirty for a rock gig and clean it up with my volume knob if I need a clean sound for a song. Number one feature: Portable volume!!!!! This thing delivers that for sure.

I am using this amp with an American Ash Tele with a Duncan '59 in the neck (sweet axe BTW). I play in a smooth jazz/funk/fusion band. I also play with different rock bands now and then. My gig experiences seem to differ with a lot of the other posts in that I rarely have a chance to mic my amp and go through a PA. It's really not possible considering the small stages and the ever changing personel on a jazz gig. Maybe a sax player will show, maybe not. We have 3 different keyboard players any one of which could be booked to do the gig, one of them sings and brings his own PA. Different people show up at different times and we play. An in depth sound check is not really possible as there is usually a crowd already there talking and drinking etc.etc.

This amp is not a "this is my signature sound" type of amp. But it is a great amp for someone who needs volume, portability and flexability for a gig. I find that the tones controls are similar in operation to a Mesa Caliber .50 or other mid '90s Mesa in that the bass and middle controls can only be turned up a little if at all ( maybe because they were designed to work with the bright switch engaged.. I don't know ). I usually have it set with bright=off, bass=off, middle=1.5, treble=9, and the presence set pretty high. These setting seems to eliminate the frequent complaint that this amp sounds muddy or farty. I usually have the volume at 9. I can get plenty of clean headroom by simpy backing off the guitar volume. With the '59 in my tele, I can get a nice warm, slightly overdriven, loud jazz sound at these settings. Perfect for heads and solos. When I need bite, I can switch to the single coil in the tele and it sounds kind of Keith Richards nasty but with a little more warmth. I use a Boss DS-1 if I need drive for fusion or solos and this pedal sounds great with this amp because the trebley characteric of that pedal mixes well with the darker sound of the amp. And again, never ran out of volume with this amp.

The Drive channel is very usable on a rock gig, though again, I don't think most 2 channel amps are great at switching back and forth at a gig, but setting up and using just the drive cahnnel for a rock gig works great. The key as had been previously mentioned is to crank the master almost all the way up and bring the drive up to about 4. When I did this, I got sweet controllable feedback and great sustain and crunch. BTW. I did retube with JJ power and preamp tubes from Eurotubes. I also tried the 6v6 tubes on a jazz gig and they were awesome, just cut my clean headroom a little too much so I switched back to the 6l6s, but I would defintely use the 6v6s on a rock gig. With the amp cranked, you can easily get an early VH-1 sound going with the 6v6s.

I have to go with a 9 on this amp because clearly there are better sounding amps, but for someone who needs a variety of sounds on a gig in a loud but easily portable package, I don't really see where this is lacking.

I been using it at gigs without a backup and with the volume close to maximum for 6 months. No problems yet. If I get several years out of it, I'll be happy. That's the great thing about a sub $600 dollar amp. I'm not all worried about it. If it screws me, I'll get something else.

Fender support is the worst. I experienced this with a guitar that had a problem...they were useless. I've not needed them with this amp.

I've been playing 25 years and have owned JCM800s, laney tube amps, peaveys. I currently have a Mesa Caliber .50+ and a Tech21 Trademark 60 ( this is a good amp but just couldn't keep up volume wise on gigs ). If it were lost or stolen, I wouldn't be too upset because it's not a vintage Fender, it's a tool for gigs and tools get lost, broken and stolen. If I could find something as loud and portable that sounded better and was within a couple hundred bucks of the HRD, I'd buy that, else I'd buy another HRD.

Plenty O features. You know em...

I bought this amp 6 years ago new. It's a 200 model. This is an update to a review I wrote on it a few years ago.

I'm still so glad I bought this amp. I feel fortunate to have it. I've owned many tube amps and still own 5 including this one, but none are better than the HRDx. I've played this amp next to vintage Fenders and PTP uber-expensive boutique jobbies and have never come out on the short end of tone.

This update is really just to state that I am still as thrilled with this thing as the day I bought it.

Not a single problem in 6 years of heavy use.

N/A

The amps I've bought since this one are a Marshall Studio 15, Skip Simmons Newcomb Pathfinder, Harmony H410 and a Fender Champ. I own too many guitars to mention.

i just bought a new Fender Hot Rod Deluxe from Sam Ash in Tampa Florida. I dont live there but ended up hard pressed for an amp that could play an outdoor gig that had good clean sound. I play a Fender U.S. Strat HH through a Roland GR-20 and a Line 6 XT Live Effects pedal system. Its got 2 channels with a clean / Drive / and More Drive option and Reverb. I would like the to have a little more distortion from the amp itself but in all honesty I didnt buy it thinking it would have better than it has. No headphone jack, so dont get close to this amp if you live in a apartment or condo that has thin walls. I will use it mostly for gigs and practice events that have nore noise restrictions. Its a full classic tube amp, and as far as the sound goes, it sounds just like a fender tube amp we have come to recognize as a standard in tube sound.

I play mostly Blues, jazz jamming music, like phish, Charlie hunter style funk and a bit of heavier tastefull rock with alot of high end. Its a very responsive amp. Seems the volume peaks at about 3.5 or 4 and after that starts to break up giving you a more blues feel. So, off the bat, you may play this thing at volume 2 and say "OMG, this things loud as hell" but truth is, its just enough for a small outdoor venue, anything bigger and I would turn down and Mic it. There is a good amount of headroom for cleans if you consider the overall cap of the loudness. Dont get me wrong, If your not familiar with tube amps you may say 40 watts wont cut it but It will trample most 250 watt solid state amps and never look back. I was looking for a super clean amp with classic reverb sound to digitally destroy, and after a band practice and a gig at an outdoor venue I can say I got what I wanted but, dont let the hipe about this amp being to loud fool you. I was just enough, and I mean just enough. If i turned the volume past 3.5 I was risking tone. Some people buy this amp for the tone that occurs after max volume but with me playing a GR-20 Guitar Synth attached that is not an option. The distortion is just what you would expect. Not alot of balls to scretch out the real constant consistant toned distortion, but has a very classic rock distortion sound. My saying's always been "If your playing metal have a pedal". This amp is not for heavy metal.

I used it on a gig day 2 of owning it without a backup. I was very confident in the product. I do not have the overall experience with it yet to tell you more, so it gets an 8

No problems as of yet. came with a 5 year warranty. electronics covered for 5, the rest (speackers, tubes) is a 90 day. The warranty is deceptive. Know what your getting.

I have been playing for 22 years. I have a Fender Accoustisonic, Fender Twin (1982), And the Hot Rod Deluxe. The clean channel is what you buy this amp for, nothing else. If you want more from it, as I do, make sure you own the gear to bring out the beast in this amp. I think Its a perfect amp if your playing regularly with a drummer, have small outdoor gigs on occasion, have $600 bucks for such things, and take it for what it is, a $600 dollar fender tube amp thats got good sound, a relatively loud amp but not as loud as other reviews may make it sound. Most importantly are looking for a classic clean Fender sounding tube amp thats affordable. If your tossed up between the Fender Blues Junior (15Watt Tube amp with Class A circuitry) or the Hot Rod Deluxe i would suggest one thing. If your playing outdoors without the abiliy to conect to a house PA or your PA with good PA cabinets, dont get anything smaller than a 40 watt from this line.

Made in mexico i believe, two channels, reverb....the effects loop sucks but then its a fender.....nothing special here, average set of features.

when i had it i ran various strats through this thing along with an ibanez prestige sometomes i believe.
the cleans are cool i guess. the one thing fender does know how to do.....nothing special though, this aint no blackface twin although i'm sure one doesn't expect that for the pricetag.
the overdrive though.....is nothing short of atrocious. you should get a part of your money back each time you hit the switch. flabby, nasty, undefined. when i bought it, i knew about this and had some mods, tube changes and speaker switching in mind but i realized its a waste of time.

reverb is ....not too bad from 0-2....cheesy and atrocious after that.

it is an import fender, i wouldn't personally trust it with hardcore use. i took mine out a few times and it was fine though

HAH

i've been playing for quite a bit and i'm a total tone junkie. I play everything from jazz/blues to very heavy metal, i like a lot of things and a lot of tones. currently i am running through a VHT pitbull half stack and looking for some soldano and carvin stuff. no use comparing because ...they're different 'kinds' of amps. but i was truly dissappointed in this amp.

i wouldn't advise anyone to get this if they actually need all the features this thing offers. if you just want a 500 dollar solution for decent cleans and aren't big on reverb, sure, go ahead. Get a carvin nomad, a traynor ycv40 or even a peavey classic....i'm sure there are other much better amps in this price range as well.

Mine is a 2005 blonde hot rod deluxe. It has been about a year since i got it and it is a really great amp. Its very versitile and can be used in many different ways. I really like the drive/more drive channel. It sounds really good. I mainly use the drive channel for rhythm and click on the more drive for soaring leads

My rig goes like this:
Guitar-epiphone elitist les paul custom
pedals-mxr distortion plus
amp-hot rod deluxe

This is pretty much the perfect amp for blues and rock. The amp is very quiet especially with humbucking pickups. The clean channel is awesome. just what you would expect from a fender tube amp. This amp's clean channel is not really meant to be driven, but you can get some dirt out of it at high volumes. The overdrive on this amp is really spectacular. you can really get some awesome tubescreamer-esque tones out of it.

This amp is fairly well built for a mexican product, but if you are going to be gigging alot, then a flight case is a must. the face plate is very delicate because all of the wiring goes right up to the face plate so if moisture gets in there, it could cause some damage. Also, the knob shafts are made out of cheap aluminum. So be careful if you don't have a flight case.

N/A

Overall, this a really great amp for the money. It sounds really good in overdrive and clean. If mine were lost or stolen, I probably wouldnt get another. I would go after a twin reverb or thd bivalve. But, this amp is really slammin for blues, rock, and country. If you intend to get serious with this amp, then i recommend putting new jj tubes in it and also getting a flight case, and changing out the stock speaker for a jensen or weber. Those modifications would make a huge difference

This amp is LOADED with features,PERIOD! Presents,Reverb,Bright Switch, Pre Amp out, Poweramp in, Good EQ, DRIVE/Volume, Drive/More Drive switching, Footswitch, blah,blah,blah...ect! LOADED! There is nothing more I could ask of an Amp at this Price. Mine are '96 models. Ampeg,Laney,Crate, and Peavey could not compare at the time, 0r now,and I tried them ALL.

I play mostly Blues and Rock. I use several Teles with any thing from High Output RED LACE SENSOR P/U's to aftermarket and stock P/U's. This amp Loves Teles! Clean sounds are quite nice, Drive and More Drive rock also. Keep in mind, it is a Fender! You buy it for the GOOD clean sounds! GET RID OF THE JUNK RUSSIAN/CHINA tubes and you have a very nice amp! A NOS 5751 GE/RCA in V-1 position is a Damn good start!!! DONT bitch about the price...They LAST FOREVER! I have Sylvania STR6L6GC in one and G.E.6L6GC in the other. THE STOCK SPEAKERS ARE FINE. The 5751 will get the MUD out of the Drive/MoreDrive. CHEAP FIX!!!

You can keep the COLD running stock output tube in until one dies...BUT get some nice NOS/USA ones and REBIAS THE AMP!!!! and get a nice NOS 5751 in V-1 NOW. Mine are played daily and have NEVER been serviced ever! IN ALMOST 10 YEARS. I have other amps, but my Tech only seen these Once, for a retube and Bias.

What customer support??? I have never had a PROBLEM, even ONCE!!! BUY REAL TUBES...USA from a REAL dealer, not Ebay, unless you know what you are doing. THEY LAST FOREVER! I have an amp that is 33 years old, and only 1 of 7 tubes have been replaced, in the reverb driver. Divide your cost over the years and they are LESS than russian/china crap, and YEARS more TONE.

Got my first TELE and Fender amp in '77. Both used, and still have them. Owned several, and Tried several More! The HRD is hardly Boutique, but can offer good vintage sound with good tubes, and Extreme reliability for a modest and fair price. If you want some thing nicer, trust me, you will PAY.

The features on the amp are well documented, and, they are what I was looking for when I bought mine - plenty of volume, nice simple/retro look, tubes, ability to get an overdrive sound, for what seemed a reasonable price (about 600.00 US). It gets an 8 only because if you want lots of dials and modeling options, this ain't the amp.

Ah, here is the problem. First, I play blues/jazzy funk/some rock, no metal. I play a Strat (single coils, of course) and a couple Ibanez models (AS83 semi-hollow body, and S470) so I have the ability to get a range of tonality. Not one of these guitars sounds good through this thing. It is harsh, flat, one-dimensional. Where's the warmth? The sweet overdrive? Not here, at least in the stock, off the shelf unit. I swapped tubes out, and got slightly warmer/better tone, but still not there. The overdrive is a bad joke perpetuated on unknowing buyers. It is just bad, not musical in anyway that I can see. The advice I hear is that I should swap the speaker out. Great, another 100.00 into the thing. So for the lack of what it should sound like, it gets a 3 - and even then only for the volume (it can be loud for such a little guy) and an almost liveable clean sound. But forget trying to get good distortion out of it, either through your effect boxes or the overdrive channel.

So far, it just sounds bad, but hey, at least it sounds bad and WORKS...

No reason to deal with Fender directly so far.

I've been playing longer than I care to admit, and I don't think I have unrealistically high standards. This unit just fails to meet my criteria for making good sounding music. I think a 40 watt, single speaker, tube amp with overdrive, for a reasonable fee, from Fender, should be a nice amp that has some real pluses, particularly for the blues/jazz/funk genres. I just can't find those pluses on this guy. If indeed all I need to do is swap out the speaker, ok, great, but man, I would have rather kicked in a couple more bucks up front and have it sound nice out of the gate. Is that too much to ask for? I would not buy another of these, unless someone could show me how the mods really do make a difference.

I have two of these which I bought just under 4 years ago. Both are U.S. made. As for features, they are covered in the 432 reviews before mine, so I probably don't need to repeat.

Features I don't use: drive channel. I like the "more drive: channel better, but found it better to use a good pedal for overdrive.

The amp needs separate EQs for drive and clean channels.

After lots of experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that the key to using this amp is to get a beautiful clean channel and then build on it from there with good effects. But how do you get there. Well, I have experimented with thousands of $ worth of different speakers and tubes. Here's to hoping my experiences help you get where you want to without spending a fortune.

SPEAKERS:
The stock speaker is better than most people give it credit for. With good tubes, it will deliver a beautiful chimey, clean. But it has a tough time handling all the bass this amp puts out. So if you're playing at bedroom volumes, its fine. If you need more, you'll need to change it.

The best speaker I have ever heard paired up with this amp is the Reverend Alltone. It is a thing of sonic beauty. It delivers a very 3 dimensional sound with amazing presence and detail. Oh, and they are no longer made. I'm lucky enough to have purchased six of them before they were discontinued. The only problem - once again -is the heavy bass. But with Reverend no longer making this speaker, Fender should give Joe Naylor a call and buy the rights to it. Then, they could mass produce it, stick it in their amps and have lots of very happy customers.

Until then, my experience is that Celestion speakers as a whole handle booming bass better. I wound up replacing the stock speaker in one HRD with a Celestion Greenback. I know: some folks love the Vintage 30. I tried it for a while. The Vintage 30 just kills this amp's beautiful clean tones. The Greenback handles the bass not quite as well as the Vintage 30, but definitely better than just about anything else. It still lets the amp's chimey clean tones, presence and detail shine through.

Other speakers I have experimented with in this amp include Celestions: Blue Alnico(very disappointing), G12T-75s(surprisingly good), Seventy/80's(surprisingly good for the $); Jensen C12N reissue(over-rated); Eminence: Legend 122 alnico (very good); Legend 125(which is the actual stock speaker); GB12; M12(pretty good) and others.

The Greenback is rated at 25 watts. The HRD is 40. The Greenback is perfect for bedroom practice playing. When needing more juice, I add an Avatar G112 extension which I have loaded with a Reverend Alltone 1250. The combination is perfect. I am very happy with the Greenback in the amp and the Alltone in the extension cab.

TUBES:
Very important. A good V1 tube will make or break your tone. The best sounding V1 tubes I have heard in these amps are by far the JAN GE 12AX7WAs. The JAN Philips 12AX7WAs are pretty good, too. A good Groove Tubes 12AX7M will sound good, but these tend to accentuate the bass - something you don't need. My experience has been that the GT 12AX7M's sound nice for about 5 hours and then start to dull out and sound like Sovtek 12AX7A/7025.

Everyone raves about the old Mullards. I have tried quite a few in these amps. They do sound nice, but I still think the GEs are a better match. In fact, I replaced a Mullard ECC83 last night and wnet back to a GE 12AX7WA.

In the new production tubes, I have tried them all. If you can find a good one, the Ei 12AX7 is amazing. The problem is that most of these are subpar. Believe me, I have tried and tested many. I have wasted more money in Ei 12AX7s than I care to admit.

My bias against the tonal mediocrity of Sovtek 12AX7A/Bs made me weary of trying the Sovtek 12AX7LPS. My loss. This is by far the best new production tube for these amps. The other Sovteks - 12AX7A/7025, 12AX7B or 12AX7C - do not consistently deliver good tone. And everyone I have tested has tested very strong for both output and transconductance.

Some folks like the EH 12AX7s. They are bright, but I have found that they lack the complexity of tone that others will deliver. JJ ECC83s tend to just be too dark.

So, NOS JAN GE 12AX7WA or new production Sovtek 12AX7LPS.

POWER TUBES:
The hands down winner is the JAN Philips 6L6WGB. It is not boomy on the bass - which is perfect for this amp - and has great detail and presence. They are very reliable. And since they are 25 watt tubes - not 30 watt tubes - you can bias them a little colder, which will be a little easier on your transformer and other components. And with the design spec plate voltage in these amps down in the 430 range, the 6L6WGBs will do just fine. I have yet to have to replace a single one.

In new production tubes, the SEDs are the winners by a mile. I found I had to set my bias at no less than 72 to get them to deliver, but they have a very nice, full, detailed tone that shines in these amps.

I was also surprised at how good the current production Shuguang 6L6GCs sound. And they are cheap, too! The Sovtek 5881, 6L6WGC; the JJs; the EHs were not in the same league.

PHASE INVERTER
Lots of folks have talked about using a 5751 or a 12AT7 here to tame the amp a little. I tried this for a while. I don't recommend it. It robs the amp of the presence, detail and chime that folks love about the clean channel.

One amp died at the three year mark. Cold solder joints were to blame. Simple: right? Wrong. The authorized repair service was pretty bad.

The authorized repair facility told me that the problem was the power tubes - a "repair" that obviously was not under warranty. I had tested the tubes before, so I knew that was incorrect. I had to take the amp back. After the second attempt, the repair facility assured me that they fixed it. When I got home, before turning on the amp, I noticed that the white lettering on the Fender Sovtek 5881s had turned brown - a sign that the tubes had been run too hot. The tubes were not in this condition when I took the amp in. Here's the really interesting part: the repair center had supposedly run a full diagnostic on the amp this time. But when I cranked up the amp, the tubes started to glow red. HOw could their "full diagnostic" have missed this? When I cranked up the amp, I had hooked up a Bias King in line. It started to read like 200. If you know anything about power tubes, you know these are all very bad signs. I shut the amp down right away. I popped in a second set of power tubes and got the same danger signs. REMEMBER: the repair shop said they had repaired the problem and done a full diagnostic. I have my doubts. I took the amp back a third time. They finally got it repaired.

The second Hot Rod Deluxe has continued ticking right along. No problem.

The five year warranty is great. As you can read, my experience is that the authorized repair service is not.

The "it's the tubes" excuse was used every time. It struck me as (1) simpy an attempt at avoiding warranty responsibility and (2) a way for service centers to get around being paid at the rate agreed to with Fender - which typically is a lot lower than what they charge you coming in off of the street with an out-of-warranty unit. Unfortunately, this is typical of how more and more businesses operate this day in age. I'm not happy about these practices.

I was ultimately able to get factory authorized repair work, but it was not consistently done right. One repair required three trips back. Another repair on a different FMIC amp also required three trips and took over 9 months before the job was done.

The Hot Rod Deluxe is the amp that brought me back to Fender amps. Fender's five year warranty was one of the factors that convinced me to roll the dice. But the mediocre repair service was definitely a factor in convincing me not to spend the $ I was ready to shell out on a Vibro-King. I instead experimented and bought a B-52 AT-100 triple rectifier tube head, which I am extremely happy with. And I saved about $1000.00!

Fender has some good products, but they have got to provide better service to their clients!

25 years playing. More modest gear - including speakers, amps, guitars and tubes - than I can list.

I absolutely love the beautiful, chimey clean tones the HRD delivers. Stock, it is not a "10", but it is a great sounding amplifier at a very reasonable price. With a little tweaking, you'll get close enough to "10". Still, a great sounding amplifier at a very reasonable price. On the other hand, unrealiable warranty service might very well keep me clear of buying Fender amps in the future. While I love my HRDs, if lost or stolen, I might very well buy something else.

I have tried to give credit and criticism, respectively, where each is deserved, and the results of my experiences. Hope this helps.

This amp is a pretty good amp, made in dec 2000. Its got a shared EQ, which isn't that big of a deal for me. Its got 2 channels, channel two having drive and more drive. The more drive on my amp isn't that much distorted than the drive, but one of my preamp tubes is microphonic. I tried it with newer tubes, and it sounds much better. I wish that it would have a boost function, but its ok without one, and you could buy or make a boost pedal.

I play a Fernandes Retrorocket-X, which isn't that great of a guitar, but it plays really well. Its a SSH setup. The most/best sounding distortion comes from the humbucker, which is really hot on my guitar. The mid single coil has a great sound too. The neck pickup has the best sound on the clean channel. It fits my style pretty well. I play everything, from jazz to metal, and everything in between. I've had some problems with my amp, so i'm gonna return it, but if you get one new with a warranty you should be OK. The one i got was the $1000 version with the celestion vintage 30. I've played it and the one with the eminence. The emeinence sounds really bad on the clean channel, but it sounds ok on the dirty channel.
The amp has a lot of clean headroom, as can be expected from a fender. It has a really nice dirty sound, and you can get from no distortion on channel two to a ton.

Well, the amp i got was used, so this won't apply to many people. First off, my amp is missing the grounding sleeve on input 1. I took it to a tech, and said that this caused the the amp to randomly switch between the two inputs(or channels, its been awhile) which overloads the amp, and causes it to sqeal on the more drive channel. It only does this on a non-conducting florr, so on concrete floors it works fine. It would cost $80 to fix. However, the problem is intermittent, which causes him to think that the amp has a cathode imbalance, but he also said the problem would be hard to trace. The problem with this amp is that in order to look inside, you have to take apart the front panel, and it is a huge ordeal. I'm gonna open it up one time before i return it, just in case i find a loose wire. Like i said, this rating is beause it is a used amp.

Never dealt with fender

Been playing for 3 years, owned a clean solid state amp and wanted a tube sound, but this wasn't reliable enough for me.

I bought this amp at 2004. I gave it a fair review in stock mode. Since then, my amp has been modified. It has three channels (clean, drive and more drive), effects loop, 2 input jacks (one high and one low), extension speaker output jack and it is a loud 40 watt amp. I do wish the reverb was switchable, and each channel had its own controls compared to shared, I also wish it had a headphone jack. My style is mainly rock and hard rock plus a bit of blues. This amp is very versatile and it is pedal friendly. It is loud enough for small to medium venue . If you need more volume, you can always mic it. Plus it has a 5 year warranty.

My amp has been modified. I changed the tubes to strictly JJs Electronic tubes (ECC803 preamp and 6L6GCs Power tubes). The stock tubes made by Groove tubes where harsh, muddy, and piercing. It was so easy to get muddy sounds while the highs were sounding like ice picks. The overdrive was just unbearable that it was unusable. The JJs took out the harshness and the piercing highs. It smooth out the tone. The next thing that had to go was the speaker. At high volume, it would fart out and sounded flabby I replaced with a Carvin GT12 speaker. The stock Fender speaker and the Carvin was made by Eminence. The Carvin GT12 sounds great in low, medium and high volumes. The overdrive is now usable and very mean. The more drive sounds like a stock Marshall JCM 800. It is very AC/DCish. If I put a tube screamer in front of the drive and more drive channel, I have a very nice brown sound aka Van Halen II "You're No Good". The lead tones has a woman tone with lots of bite. I use a Fender Heavy Metal Strat (with a Dimarzio YJM neck, HS-II middle and Evolution bridge) and an Epiphone Les Paul Standard (with a Dimarzio Air Norton on the neck and a geniune Bill Lawrence (from Bill and Becky Lawrence) L500L on the bridge). Both guitars sound great with the amp. They just sing. I also use a 2x12 Carvin Legacy cab loaded with Celestion Vin30 as an extended cab. The sound is much fatter and fuller with the cab. I get the my bottom from internal speaker while I get the mids and highs from the extended cab. I did not think a Fender could attain a Marshall tone, but it can. When I use a Boss MT2 (metal zone) petal though the clean channel, I am in metal territory and it absolutely rips. The amp becomes a fire breathing monster. The clean channel remains very clean and it starts to break up around 4 and 5. If you put an electric acoustic guitar through the clean channel, the sound is truly heaven. Last thing, I could never get muddy tones no matter what settings are used. As stock I would give it a 7. With the mods, I would give it a 10.

I had the amp for two years now. I lost volume in less then a year I own the amp. I had to take it to a Fender repair center and it was fix for free. It has been running great ever since.

I did not have to deal with Fender. Fender repair centers are all over place because most resellers that sell Fenders also repair them. It has a 5 year warranty.

This amp is a labor of love. I have been playing for 25 years and really love this amp. I also own a 1991 Carvin X100B head and a Carvin SX200 combo. This was my first tube amp. I was not happy with the amp stock. In stock form, it sounds like a blanket covered the amp. With the help from Harmony Central, I was able to turn this amp into a tone monster. I love that fact that it is portable and it sounds very good as a stand alone amp. I would recommend this amp only because it has the potential. It is like the girl next door that blossoms into absolute babe. It is all there. With few mods and the tubes and speaker broken in, you get an all round beautiful sounding amp.

Read all the others for features.

It sounds good. Breaks up pretty quickly.

Ok this is what I was waiting for...This amp is a piece of shit. I've had it for about a year, DO NOT gig with it, DO NOT play it over 2, baby the thing, and I've had more f*ckin problems than I can count. DO NOT BUY THIS AMP! I know it looks good because of the price and the glowing reviews, but you'll regret it. This model is rife with problems. Go to that unofficial HR Deluxe website and read all the things that have gone wrong with it. Terrible. I wish I had bought a Twin on eBay or something. It would have made more economical sense. BUYER BEWARE!!!!

My warranty is void b/c I had to fix the thing myself. Fender sucks.

Like I said, if you buy this amp you're buying a ton of problems/issues. And, as if to rub it in, the price on these things has gone UP! Do not make the same mistake I did. Why do you think there are so many on eBay? Everyone's getting rid of them while they still can!

It's all been covered many times. I do wish it had separate eq controls for both channels to set up the distortion right.

I use a 2001 american strat that runs into a mxr zakk wylde od, fulltone clyde deluxe wah, boss ce2 chorus then to the hot rod deluxe.
I play classic rock, reggae, blues, metal all of it. I find it suits all styles well as long as you have an od pedal for extra dirt.
It isn't noisy at all. I run everything through power conditioners and use good cable.
this amps clean channel is why you should buy it. I was playing my strat through an orange rocker 30 before i got this amp. I was ready to get rid of my strat because i felt it didn't have the full dynamic sound I wanted. I sold the orange and bought this fender. Holy shit my strat came to life. fender guitar with fender amp equals holy shit. the overdrive is awesome if you want overdrive not nu metal distortion. the clean channel has tons of headroom. i never turn it up past 3. I like the overdrive because you can have full chords ringing out and it stays under control. sounds very defined. This amp is extremely touch sensitive and breathes nicely. I have had mesa amps, orange, soldano and I'm kicking myself for spending so much damn money on amps when for 600 bucks you can beat the tone. seriously, it's fucked up. don't buy amps that just cost a lot of money and expect them to sound great. live and learn.

I just got it so I cant really say but it seems to be well built and the tubes do not rattle at all.

i've been playing for 6 years now. I would buy this amp again or maybe just a twin reverb and a good od pedal. definetly a fender though. I have had gibsons, prs, gretsch. I am set on fender strats and fender amps now. I wish fender would shell out for corner caps on the amp though to keep the tolex happy.

I got this amp as a senior in high school. I don't think there are many features besides reverb. I play a Gibson Les Paul standard

I sold this amp. I had an Ibanez turbo tube screamer ts9dx and dunlop crybaby hooked up to it. Basically this amp is boring and rattles a lot. It has a pretty classic fender clean tone and i have honestly never heard a worse distortion tone in my life. My 8" Peavey sounds better than this piece of junk. DO NOT BUY THIS AMP YOU WILL BE BORED AND DISAPPOINTED. Go with a Fender Blues Jr. they are so much better than this amp. I really hope no one wastes their time or money on this big rattling box.

I owned it for a while and played it a lot and I have to admit, i've never had a problem or anything. It has always been there when i needed it.

The volume control on this barely works!! On 2 it is loud enough to make your ears bleed and then it doesn't get louder! It's just one big piece of mush from about 4-9. There are pretty much two volumes on this amp...OFF and LOUD. That really bugged me, the insensitivity of the volume control. It isn't really impressive, just annoying. I hated this amp and I am very glad to be rid of it. Like I said before the distortion is complete crap and is almost embarrassing if your fellow musicians come over and flip it on. I play blues and I do have to admit it had a decent tone for it but for everything else it was terrible. A fender bassman or blues jr. is far superior and recommended over this one. I really hope no one wastes their money on this particular amp.

Features have been described thoroughly in other reviews.

I play a Fender Toronado through a Sovtek Big Muff Pi into this amp. A lot of people give this amp bad reviews, but really if you just fiddle with the controls for a good hour, you can find a really good sound for any guitar. I play Indie/Power-pop type alternative and Classic Rock through this amp (think Supergrass, Weezer, Ambulance LTD, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin) and I get the perfect sound I want. Its all about the settings. I have Treble and Bass on 9, Mids on 4, Reverb at 3, Presence at 6. I don't understand how people say you need a seperate equilizer to use the overdrive channel. This channel isnt distortion, its used to make the preamp tubes run hotter and produce a gritty overdriven sound. The More Drive Channel I use for bridges and solos, it adds a slight touch of gain to not drastically change your sound, but boosts the mids for more harmonics. Amp sounds good at any volume, best at around 6-9, the clean channel breaks up at around 7 and gets good.

This amp has survived getting wet from a thunderstorm, dropped, kicked, etc. Works as good as new, tubes are secure, everything is secure and durable in this amp.

I own a few Fender products, never had to deal with them. I heard they have bad service, but not having a firsthand experience I'll give them a 5.

I've been playing for 3 years owned this amp for a month (enough to make a review for it) This amp covers any style with the right pedals if thats what you're into. I play straight into this amp and I get all the sounds I need. Great amp, no wonder it has sold so much. But, always make sure to get a decent quality amp and test out the amp you are actually buying. Every amp sounds different.

I bought this amp brand new in the box in fall 2005. It's got three channels (clean, drive, more drive...actually one channel, three degrees). I play jangly rock and roll music like <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thesluggos" target="_blank">this</a>, and the amp has been awesome. I shopped around a long time looking for that killer tube tone, and this amp has it in spades. It's SO LOUD...Though this one "goes to twelve" (not eleven!), I have never gigged it with the volume knob turned above TWO! The only thing I might add (and that's a big "might") is a tremolo.

I play a 1980 Les Paul Studio/Standard with aftermarket Seymour Duncan humbuckers through this amp, and it sounds like God. The Hot Rod Deluxe is set up to "break up" at lower volumes, giving it that dirty, overdriven sound...I love how it sounds perfectly clean and chimey when I'm playing arpeggios, but if I give it a little SPANK, the growl is right there! Sounds awesome. When I want distortion, I find that I get a classic sound by using the "more drive" channel along with my REAL TUBE pedal. Between the clean and the dirty, this amp runs the gamut from early R.E.M. to early Black Sabbath!

So far, so good. I've never, ever had trouble with any Fender product I've owned, and I've had a few.

Never had to deal with 'em, because their products kick ass.

I have been playing for about 20 years, since my misspent teens back in the '80s. I've had TONS of off-brand guitars and amps over the years, and more than a few pieces of classic gear. Though I've rocked Mosrites, Jazzmasters, Telecasters, Rickenbackers and lots of other keen guitars through Ampegs, Peaveys, Univoxes and other amps, my current setup (Les Paul & Hot Rod Deluxe) just takes the freakin' cake. Anybody steals this amp, they better have life insurance. It looks great, sounds great, and considering what Marshalls sell for these days, the value is unbeatable. Want classic guitar tone from an amp? Buy one of these.

40 tube watts
2 channel plus OD boost (it's 3 channel; sort of)
22" reverb
includes cover
Special Design Speaker
you can plug in an external speaker
51 pounds

I play a USA Tele - USA Strat - PRS Soapbar Singlecut - PRS Santana SE through this amp. I love the tone. The Soapbar guitar sounds the best followed by the Tele.

The clean sounds warm, round, tubey.
The OD that I use is just slightly dirty and loud (like a tubescreamer). I happen to really like the OD edge and I like the boost for solo's. Perhaps it's the combination of guitars & amp but the Soapbar is amazing. I have played the Santana (Humbuckers) with lots of OD and the harmonics and sustain were just amazing.

40 real Tube watts are LOUD - -my nephew has a Marshall AVT (hybrid) 100 watt head and 4-12 bottom. The Deluxe can drown his amp. Tubes are nothing like solid state; you cannot even compare the power ratings apples to apples.

My only gripe is that from Master setting of 0 to 1 goes from no sound to shaking our china cabinet. This amp is really a loud amp. It's hard to play late at night with lower volumes but I have a Vox AD30VT for that.

My HRDX has been bulletproof.

Fender is good in general. I had a ground problem with my Tele 2 years ago. I called Fender's businessnumber inn CA and they actually transferred my call to a staff engineer and the helped me for 5 minutes. The business office let me speak to an engineer.

Very nice.

Great amp - I knoiw that I'll keep it for many, many years. I've already bought an older 1-12" Fender Extention cabinet to use with it at jams. Verty nice tube amp.

I bought mine at the GC in Brookfield WI. They always take good care of me.

((i thought id try the amp out for 3 months before posting a review..so i did))

Mines a Mexican 04

I play Blues, Jazz, and Rock. The amp really suits my playing style well.

As far as features i think its fine it comes with Reverb and Presence i use the Reverb at level 3 at most.. Presence i ve tried out but i dont really find and use for it at the moment.

I use this amp for home, practice, and gigs. Its a really loud amp, at home i keep it at level 2 volume wich i find perfect for home use.. but when im out any place else i keep it at 4-6. If it needs to be louder i just mic it.

Its a great sounding amp IMO. Ive heard different some various people tell me its the best manufactured amp to this date.. so cant go wrong with that :D

I play a Gibson Les Paul Vintage Studio, this guitar came with Burstbucker Pro Pickups which really sound nice and tonefull.. especially on this amp.

Once again i play Mostly Blues if not ROck.. i play Jazz one every blue moon.. but for Blues damn it sounds perfect.. for rock Id recommend you add your own Distorion pedal.. the distortion that comes on the amp isnt really all that good..

I really havent had any "Noisy" problems with it.. however the 1st day i got it, i was pissed to hear noise when i wasnt playing.. now.. that noise is gone. I take it the amp was just getting broken into since it was Brand Spanking new when i got it.

Ok as far as sounds..
**Clean: at level 1-3 is Very Very clear and warm.. at level 4-6 you get that nice classic fender tube amp sound warm but a little bit more bright.. i havent gone past 6.. ill blow my head off!!

**Distortion 1: I use distortion one ALOT for Blues.. however i only have the distorion setting at 2.5..(set up for a LP on Rhythm) I put the treble at 7, Bass at 6.5, and Mids at 5. Then Put the Reverb at 2-3..Presence 0.. Once again with a LP this setting sounds nice and warm you can put the volume at any preference.. this is how i get my blues sound..

**Distortion 2: I really dont use it.. unless i forgot my distortion pedal.. (which never happends) but i did try it out for a while.. I personally dont like it.. i dont use it.

This amp feels solid..I have giged with out a back up 4 times already with this amp.. shes still running smooth!

In the last 3 months no problems at all.. (ive only had it for 3 months.. got it new outta the box)

It came with a 5 year warrenty.. hopefully she lasts longer than that.. but i havent dealt with Fender CS

Ive been playing for 11 Years now.. I stopped playing for 4 years.. and got back to it like 2 years ago.. I got rid of all my previous gear.. (smacks himself) (..again) but for now all i have is my Gibson LP and my Fender Deluxe =D

If it were stolen id be pissed.. id most likley end up saving up more and buying a boogie..

I like how the amp sounds for blues.. its right on the money.. so for me its a perfect match.. im very very satisfied..

If your in the market for a good tube amp the Hot Rod series from Fender is never a bad choice..

I bought mine new in 2001.I play rock blues ,country.Or whatever I need to carve a living from this harsh land. It has two channels along with a "more drive feature" on the drive channel.I don't much care for the "more drive" tone though.It is pretty nasty with lots of brittle harsh sounds. The overdrive channel is usable but you would probably want an outboard pedal along with it.You can switch the channels via footswitch which has l.e.d.'s to let you know what channel you are using. It has an effects loop but I never used it.I have played this amp at a lot of gigs in rooms of every size.Not to mention arena's. I almost always had a 57 shure stuck in front of it.It's got lots enough power for me.A few times I have had to angle it back pointing upward because of a very loud stage volume but I would not want to have to do that too often.This little amp is pretty loud.

I have a 93 Fender Tele with seymour Duncan "five two for tele" P/u's and a Hamer handbuilt Strat with Duncans in that too.Both guitars are maple necked. I like a fairly fat tone with some bite to it when I dig in.Not thin on the high end.I use a Boss cs-2 compressor in front of it and that does it nicely for me,especially for the country stuff.I run the volume at around 4 or so.It is still clean and loud enough for giggin.It starts to break up after that though.I don't care much for the natural overdrive sound of the amp and always used an old Boss SD-1 for that.

I have never taken a backup amp along with me.I do well to remember my guitars, amps and stage clothes. But I always thought if it broke down I would use a D.I. box from my pedals to the board bypassing the amp. After 4 yrs of giggin the volume started to drop off so I took it in. And the diagnosis was "ya need new pre-amp tubes". So we put 3 12ax7a sovteks in it.The volume was right back to where it was when it was new.But the tone did get a little more high ended.....I think...?I'll get used to it. In 4 years of giggin the cabinet still looks pretty good and all I used was the cover that came with the amp.The speaker grill cloth is gettin pretty dingy from cigarette smoke and who knows what...but thats not the amps fault. There is a definate weakness in this amp though.The input jacks are made of plastic.In no time at all the metal nut will strip the threads that holds the jack to the frame.And I was careful with it too because I had been warned about it.It is not a big deal having them replaced or you can leave them loose and hope for the best like I do. It's still goin.

It's got a five year warranty but I have never taken it in for anything.I have never dealt with the company.I deal with my friends at the store where I buy my stuff.They look after me.If they don't I'm on their ass!

For the money this little amp has earned her keep. It don't sound as good as my 59 Bassman but it cost only half the money. I am very partial to a Fender tone.I learned to play on usually borrowed twins and super reverbs. This amp has a fender tone to it. The price was right at the time. This amp has done a good job for me.
I've been playing for 30 years.My back appreciates that this amp is not too heavy. Yeah, I wouldn't be afraid to buy another one.

the two channel are not comparable because to get a good clean and a good distortion require different settings from the shared eq. rendering foot switching useless. the more drive setting is ridiculous.

i bought this amp and was so disenchanted i returned it on the third day, then i bought a blues deluxe reissue and i love it, and as far i can find the only difference is lower gain white label 12ax7's. so i think the problems with th h.r. deluxe are fixable but it's one thing if you get one at a yardsale , but who wants to spend $600 on an amp you have get rebiased for different tubes right away.the problem i have with the h.r.deluxe's tone is it goes from a sweet tone with slight sour overtones to a grateing overdrive with raspy overtones with out any middle ground. i think fender is trying to impress young kids with this amps halfassed massive distortion that totally compremises the potentially great tone and dynamic response this amp could have , if that's what you want a good stomp box through a revamped h.r. deluxe or a blues deluxe sounds way better the the crap a h.r. deluxe dishes out the way it's set up from the factory. i'd try one and then tell the people at the music store to rebias it and you'll come back in and try it .

there's a great site on this family of amp at, http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/ ,lots of info on getting the sound you like out of one, if you checking these amps out do yourself a favour and try a blues deluxe reissue they sound so much better,and if your checking them out at music stores try them all out if they have more then one because there's a big difference how their set up from one to the next, and don't order one from a catalog. i love this amp but fender has droped the ball with this product, when you buy an amp it should sound right right out of the box..so i'm reluctantly giving it a 4.

Mexican made.

A favorite for backline and generic tones. Very consistent and reliable amp (Normal Channel only - more on that follows).

Easy to find tubes, replace tubes, set bias, etc. Easy to mod and really make your own...fun amp.

Use with single coil pups mostly (P90, Tele/Strat singles). Play all kinds of music (Pop/Rock/Country/Jazz/R&B/Blues/Americana) and lug the amp from studio to stage to church. Portable and toneful.

Nice jack-of-all-trades amp. NOt much personality (i.e. unique tones) but really good at getting the require job at hand done well. A little muddy and lacks that 3-D tone. But I wouldn't expect it from this amp...it's a mid-priced, general market work horse, not a tone box.

Normal Channel is great, OD channel is garbage - all the Hot Rod series are that way (have owned them all too and used them all on numerous occassions as backline for fly dates). Set the amp clean and use OD pedals for the various tones you need.

Sounds good stock, but really allows the owner to 'mod' the amp to personal tastes with ease of access to speaker, tubes, chassis and the 'guts' for reverb mods and changing volume pots to Audio taper.

Always blows folks away when I crank it up...no one believes it's a HRDx when they hear it.

Most dependable amps I've run across.

However, don't use Windex on the chrome control pannel of the Mexican series models - will take the silkscreening right off.

NA

I keep coming back to the HR series for workhorse/generic amp needs. Just reliable, easy to repair/use, toneful and get the job done. Good amps for the money - especially if you can find a mint one used.

05 hot rod groove tubes got it from my pops for my birthday wanted one since day one ...specs been covered right?

I have an old 60s harmony thats all fucked up and a gibson sg special from the old days when i thought i wanted to be like angus young or sumthing great guitar tho.... but my main squeeze is my epiphone casino with p-90s. holy shit man this combo is tiite. Theres a bunch of ppl who are insane and bitch about the distortion and all that on this amp and it makes me sick. i mean im young and havent been playing that long but i know tone damn well and if u run a compressor through this thing the tone is really really really good. it sounds good with humbuckers and all but ive noticed it sounds especially good with single coils. i use it in this order: casino to visual sound jekyll and hyde to jimi hendrix wah to hot rod deluxe and i couldnt ask for more. i dig the strokes alot right? this sound covers that damn good u know all tighty and clean and punchy and neatly overdriven but then i can get this raww overdrive tone to it u know this shredding fuckin sound u know? its great i never get bored with this thing and on clean i can get this real nice trebly modest mouse/pixies tone u know...and with the tubes its jus soo raw and classic like u know i think the phrase im looking for is its jus so pure and back to basics i love the hell out of it buy it man u wont regret it

man first of all i cant afford a back up but even if i could i wouldnt need it this amp is real reliable ive gigged with it like three times it soo loud man and sounds soo great turned up when u crank those tubes up not matter wut u do to this thing itll be fine trust me

nah i havent dealt with em

i already mentioned my gear...i play in a band we've been playin together for about 2 years now and my second guitarist and i both use this amp....fuckin great man its jus the opidemy or however u spell that of a tube amp...love it dude love it annd i dont know if you can say this on here but FUCK YOU! if you dont like this amp

I believe this is a 2001 model, 40 tube watts, 1 12" speaker, It's pretty versatile in that it is a good pedal amp. It has an effects loop, but no headphone jack, but its 40 watts so you really shouldn't be using it for a bedroom practice amp.

I'm using this with a les paul with P-90 pickups in it, and it sounds very full and warm on the clean channel. The distortion is not really good for anything unless you use it for soft overdrive, because when you crank the distortion it just sounds too ratty and transistor like. The clean sounds phenomenal though, and pretty much any distortion pedal I've put through it sounds great. I play rock/jam music from U2 to Modest Mouse, and it can handle any of that with the right pedals, but if you're looking for an amp to supply the distortion, don't go for this one unless you play blues or jazz.

It has been very dependable, except for the speaker blowing out once in practice. The input jacks are getting loose and I'm gonna have to replace those soon, but other than that, it's held up pretty well.

Never really dealt with Fender.

I've been playing for about 5 years-I own a peavey classic 20 also, as well as numerous pedals. My rig is as follows: Boss tuner-Daddy O overdrive-Rat 2-Ds-1-Fab Tone-Keeley Modded TS-9-Line 6 MM4-Line 6 DL4-Ernie Ball Jr. Volume-Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. If this amp were stolen I would probably look for another amp with better distortion, however this would always be a possibility.

bought new jan 2005.i play a mix of new and old covers,and origionals.and works well for what i want.it is very loud and i have gigged with it a couple of times.just a plain tube amp with no effects which is how i like em. i only use the clean channel and use pedal distortion & effects

i use a mix of guitars ,strat,schector,danelectro,ibanez.it is very noisy with ANY distortion pedal.the volume control pisses me off because its just as loud at "2" as it is at "4"they make them like that so they sound loud in the store tricking you into thinking it is louder than it really is...the result is the volume is either on or off which makes it too loud for bedroom practice.the clean channel sounds good with electro harmonix 6l6gc's the factory groove tubes are junk.the dist channel is 100% useless,grainy,flat tone with no bass.i had an old peavey blue marvel speaker laying around threw it in and belive it or not it sounded better than the stocker...hmmm blue marvels are cheap speakers.i do like the sound of this amp overall though

ok here we go...i bought this amp new and in 10 months its on its 3rd set of tubes. it rattles itself apart like a harley davison the tube sockets are cheap and flimsey, the bias adjustment drifts dramatically they are made in mexico with the cheapest parts and the thinest circutboard i dont abuse my gear.i bought it new for a reliable amp on stage which this is not.too loud for bedroom practice. was in shop the first time for 3 1/2 weeks,second time a month and now i just brought it. back in where now they are trying to dispute the warranty because i opened it up this last time.

they should have used locktite the first time they fixed it and maybe the bias wouldnt have drifted up to 85 and cooked the power tubes fender claimes a 5 yr warrenty. well see....

ive been playing for 25 yrs if it were stolen i would laugh and definantly get something else.why doesnt it come with corner protectors? a cheap ommision.i do like the sound of a fender twin but now that i know more about amps id have too look inside one first.the peavey classic 30 over drive channel sounds better than the hotrod.and i may consider one

OK, this is not a Matchless... But for what it is, it is a mighty fine amp if you ask me.

My amp is a US made late 90's version and I use the amp in two different band settings (Blues & Classic early 70's style Guitar Rock). I use both Channels a bit but have never played it past 3. The amp is very loud for its size. I have also only used it for practice situations so far and am waiting for a live opportunity to test it out better. My only wish is that the Reverb was foot switchable, other than that it suits my needs very well.

I have owned my amp for about three months now and am it's second owner.

Let me qualify all my statements about the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe by saying I bought a US made model. I have tried the new ones made south of the border and they are noisier, a bit brittle on the highs with muddy sounding lows. Maybe I just got a good one... I don't know. So please take that into consideration while reading this review.

I use a 1976 Stratocaster and a late 90's Les Paul Studio. I prefer the Les Paul for the way it sounds through the amp. A bit warmer I would say compared to my Strat... though this is hardly the case with my 67' Super Reverb. I don't know exactly why yet, but the strat has a harsh mid range tone with this amp.

The amp is a little noisy, but nothing I can't live with. I have found that I can dial in a great 70's Keef Richards live tone with this amp. All I had to do was play the opening line to Tumbling dice on this baby and I was sold! With my Keeley Modified Boss SD-1 I can also attain Mick Taylor like Lead tones. I use the secondary Channel as a lead boost more than for distortion. When I hit the More Drive button I get this Sizzle that I don't see anyone here mentioning. I would almost compare this with the sound Frampton gets on his Comes Alive album. Of coarse, I'm getting these sounds at fairly low settings. I may never get the chance to turn this baby up because I like to play smaller clubs anyhow and when I do play larger venues, I like to mic the amp.

This amp surpasses the quality expected for such a low price. I keep up with some very nice Mesa Boogies at both practice places and the guys marvel at the tones I am achieving.

So far... excellent!

I never have used CS for an amp.

I've been playing for 28 Years. I also have a 67' Fender Super Reverb. I have played, Boogies, Marshalls, Peavey and an array of old Fenders. I like this amp just fine in comparrison.

I would most likely buy this amp again if it were somehow "missplaced" by someone. I think the US made version I have is better and less noisy than the ones currently being made. I love the small size of this amp and the full tones I am getting, and the sweetness of those tones at the lower volumes (which are quite loud) I currently use it at.

This amp gives me the tones I love from the late 60's to the early 70's guitar rock. This is in my humble opinion a great amp for my R&R needs.

Hi all hot rod deluxe users.
I own a laney lc30 which is a el84 driven classA amp with a single 12 inch speaker with a british sound. Sure it has not got the clean jazz sound of a 6l6 driven amp but it is a honest british chime coming from the amp and the amp sound better as you turn up the volume.
I had to borrow a hot rod deluxe one evening playing with the band because a new guitarist was using my amp.
Here is the conclusion:
To much bass, and a certain low midrange resonance that I could not dial out. This offcause gets worse the more you turn up the amp.
I think mr R chungs review is spot on.
It might be better with a british speaker that have less bass but tighter bass and less of that resonance lower midrange, it should have more mids and less treble at 2,5-3 kh.
the resonance could be due to ratling of tubes, badly built cabinet in cheap materials that resonance at a certain low midrange to bass frequency or a error in the design that simply gives to much bass.
So i am very confused that this amp gets these very high ratings.
I would probably look at the canadien contender traynor ycv-40. It has a british celestion, built in ply birchwood, to give low weight with great strenght and better resonance character, and probably not that nasty boomy bass/low midrange that is imposible to dial out.
these are just my thoughts
reagards Anders

It's a 40 watt tube amp with one 12 inch Eminence speaker. It is loud. REALLY loud. You could knock over a small child with this amp. I play mostly rock and blues with it, I don't know if it would do heavy metal, but you could certainly try. It has good reverb, three channels (clean, drive and more drive) and a footswitch. With cowboy boots, sometimes it's hard to hit the right button on the footswitch, but that's my only complaint about the footswitch.

I am using a Fender Stratocaster and a Dunlop Crybaby with it, and it sounds amazing. It's an awesome amp for blues and rock. The clean channel is really warm and... clean (duh), and you can get the distortion just right for what you want to play most of the time.
Although I haven't cranked it past two, it's loud. Even at two, it's not suitable for the living room. But this is what I was looking for. If you want an amp just for your bedroom, don't get this one. If you need something to take to band practice, this is what I'd recommend.

Uhh... I just got it today, but I've heard that Fender has good customer service.

I also own a Marshall MGDFX20... or something. But it doesn't quite compare to this. The things I love about this amp are the volume, the tone (tubes are awesome) and the look. The one thing I dislike is that the buttons on the footswitch are too close together for cowboy boots, but hey, that's not that big a deal.

The amp was in 2003. Folks there is no amp that does everything. Don't waste your time and money looking for that ONE amp. However, if you play, blues, classic rock, jazz and even some metal...this amp will work just fine. You know what you are buying....it's a tube amp, not a solid state amp modeller. If you need all the different sounds, then feature-wise this amp is not for you. If you play clean, crunch, dirty blues, etc....you've found a very good amp feature-wise. Remember, they still build pedals if you're looking for a feature this amp doesn't have. If you're a gear head, you'll be happy to have an excuse to buy something else. It has everything I want.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Standard, American Made Fender Telecaster, Epiphone Riviera Jorma Kaukonen and an Ibanez Artcore AF85 (for Jazz). This amp suits all my styles very well. Like any amp, you have to play around with it to find the sound you like. If you are a bedroom/basement player, a little tip. Stand away from the amp when you test the tone/sound.....It does matter. It's very loud...plenty of volume to jam with. Great TUBE TONE!!!! Some don't like the distortion....they're probably looking for a heavy metal sound. You spend some time tweaking....I guarantee you'll find distortion you like.

Haven't had any problems (knock on wood). It seems like its built pretty sturdy...its not a Mesa Boogie, but it doesn't cost $1200.00 either.

Fortunately I haven't had a need to contact them.

Played as a teenager...stopped for 25 years (long story). Picked it up three years ago big time (obsessive). If it were stolen I would buy another one, but might take a look at the Deville for the extra speaker...don't know....I get bored easy. I've owned Line 6 amps, other Fenders, small Marshall....Like them all...they all had strong and weak points. I looked at Mesa Boogies and Marshall AVTs before settling on this amp. It blew the Marshall AVTs away and the Mesa couldn't compete for the money (Mesa makes an OUTSTANDING AMP). This amp is EXCELLENT. You can't beat it for the money. Great amp for someone looking to jump up from their practice amp to a tube, perfect for intermediate guitarists and I would imagine a pro would find some great use out of it as well.

clean, drive, and more drive channels- clean sounds great, drive is good too, but the "more drive" feature is pretty useless, you would probably only want that much gain for metal, which this amp does not do. EQ is pretty responsive, reverb goes pretty deep. Speaker is crap.

I use a Strat and a Les Paul with this guy, sounds killer in my humble opinion(after having replaced the speaker with a low-wattage alnico)clear, bell-chimey clean tones, nice burly drive tones, lots of versatality with a twist of the tone controls. The reverb is a little dark, buy a fender reverb tank-this is the only game in town for you reverb lunatics. I must be clear on one thing-- I live in a 1 bedroom apt, and haven't cranked it past 2.5 on either channel, but I've been playing 17 years and I got a good feeling about the higher volumes.

Speaker is an undeniable piece of crap.

Owned it 6 mo., hasn't let me down yet. I would back it up with spare tubes only.

never dealt.

If it were stolen(lost? how do you misplace a freakin amplifier?) I would probably buy another unless I struck it rich, then I'd most likely spring for an Alessandro. I wish it had that high treble capability of the bassmans and plexis and the like, but you can always install a high pass capacitor in your guitar, this adds some treble as you back off the guitar volume, and opens up a whole new world of tonal possibilities. I compared this to many amps including a Crate Palomino(crap), an Orange combo(no EQ on clean channel-no, not shared EQ, NO EQ!) and a couple others I can't remember right now. This blew them all away. Overall, a killer amp for the price, highly recommended. Buy a new speaker.

'05 Hot Rod Deluxe.
I'm an old geezer with a JV Strat.
Sounds real Fendery. I only use the clean channel, which has enough headroom for me.
Nice reverb.

It has stuff I don't use. The footpedal stays in my desk.

Switchable amps are fine, but I confuse easily.

I like OLD sounds from the heyday of Classic R&B, Instrumental Rock, Jazz, Blues, and Country.
With a Jimmie Vaughan Strat and this amp, I can bask in the crisp bouyant Fender reverb sounds I've always loved. Rich sounding.

Like a Tweed Bassman RI, but lighter and with reverb (and won't sound as good loud either, but that's ok -good clean headroom for my purposes and loud enough).

I keep it stock, and replace with the right spec Groove Tubes.
I have a bunch of old miniature pre-amp tubes around too, but so far have not needed any, though I toy with the idea of trying a 12AY7 in the first spot someday.
It's just that it sounds perfect, and has from day one. I suppose the speaker has changed some since breaking in but still gets crispy enough. Like new strings!

'Course, I'm a deaf old geezer, so YMMV.

Never any problem with this amp or any Fender amps. I have had many others, but Fender tube amps have a certain bouyancy and sparkle that's just a bit more to my liking than all the others trying to emulate it.

I've even had Ampegs fail on me, and that's unheard of, but not any Fenders that I can remember, even old highly molested wanna-be Boogie modified Showmans.

Tough as nails (though I always ride tube amps on the seat, not in the trunk or bed of a pickup truck or van).

Never tried.

I've been playing guitar since 1960, continuously. Been in the Musician's Union since 1970.
I keep a Tech 21 TM60 and a Tele in reserve but primarily use a JV Strat and the HRD. There's a Pro-Jr around here somewhere too, and a parts-o-caster project in pieces.

If I needed another I might try the reissue Blues Deluxe, because I only use the one channel anyway and tweed is nice. A friend has an old Blues Deluxe of mine. It looks terrible now though.

I used to use Showman piggybacks, Pro-Reverbs and Twin-reverbs, back in the day. This HRD sounds as good.
Also plenty of Ampegs and others, but a 6L6 based Fender has a certain sound I like, and the reverbs are usually nice.
I liked the blackface stuff in its day, but the HRD has some "tweed" mixed in there that I like a lot. Like I said, sounds like a Bassman RI only without as much paper moving the air.
I like 10" speakers and old JBL's, but this 112 sounds good to me, whatever it is.
Tried to like a cheaper Crate VC50310 once, but it didn't have the round bass tones or as nice reverb. I think you've gotta have 6L6's and a long reverb tank, and Fender tone stacks, which I pretty much leave at halfway for all on this. Sometimes the presence gets higher (my ears crave highs at this age).

I bought it 2002 'cause my '60 bassman began to burn down at a gig. Great show, pretty funny for the crowd watching me pouring down three bottles of beer on it.
Nothing more to say about the features. I played it 'til 2003 without any mod. To this point his amp was just useful to me at big gigs without PA because I needed to volume up to 4 to have my "sweet spots".
For smaller locations I used to play my Twin. (...that broke down half a year later!!! I should give up modifying my amps!)

I played it with Gretschs, Teles and other stuff, but with my Epiphone-295 with p-90 the sound was awesome. It makes a rich, clean Fender tone, that works perfectly with my blues, fingerpicking and rockabilly style. A little reverb, a little echo and Scotty Moore is right back on stage.
After my Twin got broke down, I replaced the speaker with a P12Q alnico and Tube Amp Doctors Tonebones, which tamed it down to 16-18 watts in class a with JJ El84 tubes. That is wonderfull!!! Small locations? Tonebones! Bigger Locations? Push in the original 6L6 without any BIAS settings and you got 40 watts tube power. It takes just a minute.
By the way, did you ever need 40 tube amp watts? I'd never! My band made some support acts for Brian Setzers Stray Cats in Germany and that where really big stages!!! I used my tonebones, 'cause you're always taken up to the PA at such gigs. No need to get in trouble with the sound engineer because you blow up his 2000 dollar mic.

Til now it worked fine. Never had any trouble. I must depend on it, because I'm not carrying two of this heavy f****** amps with me. But I always do have some tubes in it's back.

This amp is mine since more than 3 years and it works great!
I guess, it will work a few years more. It's solid made and sounds really good (with some mods) but for that music I'm playing, there are better offers ( I should have known before, I know). That's my opinion about playing hepcat music with it. Try it out!

All the features covered by now. I bought it used, near mint condition. Was made in the USA (98 i think). Cover and footswitch included. I wish the reverb was footswitchable.

I play a Epiphone Standard with Seymour Duncans and this little monster amp covers my music style (ska, reggae, rock) just perfectly. Very versatile, except for metal (if you're not using a pedal). Clean is not noisy at all and sounds awesome. Litlle (normal) noise on the drive chanal. I play it in a band and get still too loud sometimes :) Great sound and volume for a 40W amp.
I didn't make any mods (liked it how it was - everything original), i like the reverb, the drive and...oh, guess what?!? - the more drive too! It gives a nice sustain and punch. You just have to play around with the knobs a little.

Seems solid build. I never have a backup amp (just some spare tubes) when playing live. Looks dependable.

I once wrote a mail to Fender (about some other pice of gear) and got a fast and nice response.

I'm playing for 16 years now and own a Marshall and a Yamaha (for home use). This is my practicing and gigging amp. Before i bought it i compared it to a Peavey classic 30, a H&K Tube and a Laney VC30 - this one was the best sounding. I would buy it again if it was stolen. Great value for that money.

What the hell do you want on an amp that you can't get in pedal form anyway? In my opinion an amp should have at least one volume, treb/Bass (pref Mid), reverb and a speaker. This 1997 HRD has those. Jack inputs are a bit feeble but experience has taught me to loop the lead around the carrying strap. Dual channels work fine (not 3 channel as described). The best 'feature' is the tone of the amp - awesome. It would have been nice to have a tilt leg on it.

The amp is a bit noisier than my Peavey Classic 50 (2x12) but who cares if you can hear a little noise through an amp (other than your instrument) you can't be playing it! I have a Gretsch Tennesean (1964) Rickenbacker 360/6, 3 Tokai 80's strats and 2 Tokai LP's all sound individual and awesome (wish I could do them as much justice as the amp does). I like a full but toppy clean sound and a managable crunchy heavy sound (Who, Beatles, Pistols, Kravitz, Zep etc - yep Classic Rock) this amp is it!! Controllable Grunty Crunch & a Booming Glassy clean sound. Already cost me two days off work to get nasty with this thing :-)

Only just bought it on eBay. I think the guy sold it knowing it needed servicing. He did supply it with Solvtek tubes and gave me the full set of original (Russian) Fenders tubes which were more expensive than the ?30 service :-) Like most Fender tube amps THESE DO NEED BIASING AWAY FROM THE FACTORY SETTINGS

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Been playing for about 20 years - rejuvinated my love for guitars in the last 2 years. If it were lost... no I couldn't/wouldn't lose it, if it were stolen I would drop my Peavey Classic 50 on the banjo playin' inbred from a great height! I could compare the HRD to the Peavey, The Peavey has a slightly 'sweeter' sound but this could be due to the extra tubes and speaker. The HRD are very portable, VERY Loud (Maybe not as POWERFUL as some). Two minor things I would change would be the power lead (for a detachable 3-pin computer lead type) and also make it easier to slip the footswitch into the rear of the cab.

The features have all been mentioned already. At the price it's got plenty of features, though the reverb and tone controls are pretty cheesy sounding, especially the presence control. See my sound description for more...

Ok, here it goes: I owned this amp for about two years. In that time I've learned that the amp has a bad sound to it. It's hard to put into words exactly, but it's got harsh tone, the distortions are mediochre, and changing the speaker and tubes only marginally helped. The clean tone is not a true Fender clean tone; it sounds more like the Boogie Mark 4 I used to own. As a matter of fact, they sounded pretty similar when I side-by-sided them. My guess is the Fender designers were shooting for this kind of sound, thus the "Hot Rod" in the name (boogies evolved from hot-rodded fenders). In any event, if you put one of these side-by-side with the '65 Twin Reissue, you will see the difference between this amp and a true Fender clean tone. I ended up bypassing the preamp completely, and running my tube effects preamp directly into the "power amp in" of the effects loop in order to get a decent sound. I finally traded this amp in last weekend on the aforementioned '65 Twin reissue, and I couldn't be happier. I HIGHLY recommend to anyone considering this amp that you take a look at the twin, or if you can't afford it, then the '65 deluxe reissue. You can find both of these used on Ebay around $500 or so, and I'm certain anyone would be happier with them. Just get a pedal for distortion, because you would end up doing that anyway, after dealing with the Hot Rod's distortion for a while. Remember, you can always use a pedal to "dirty up" a clean amp, but it's almost impossible to clean up a dirty amp!

Never had a problem in 2 years, but changing speakers is insanely difficult. You have to remove the entire amp unit to change a speaker!

One time I called them because a Strat I bought didn't come with the warranty card and manual. They sent them to me for free.

I bought this amp new from Musican's Friend so I know I'm the only one to have ever played it. It's now 7 years old. 3 channels, all tube, basic tube amp. I like the basic look of it too. I added some casters to make it a little easier transporting. 40 watts - at first thought that wasn't enough, since it's bigger brother, the DeVille, has 60 watts. But I've never taken this amp past 3. It's usually miked (sp?) through a PA so the power is just fine.

I use an American Lonestar Strat, a Paul Reed Smith early '90s EG II, an Ampeg AMG-1 from '99, and an Epiphone Dot Studio. The Strat and PRS, both with humbuckers sound full and have bite. The Ampeg guitar as Duncan soapbars and has a great tone. All-in-all, I haven't come across something that this amp doesn't do well.
I have replaced the tubes - preamps with Sovteks and that growled it up a bit - I like the new sound!

It's never broken down and I don't ever worry about it doing so. However, little things bug me like the nut around the footswitch jack came loose and fell off in transit. The light bulb went out on the power light. Not major stuff and all very easily fixed, but still annoyances.

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I've been playing guitar for about fifteen years but electric only seven or eight. I have 3 Taylors and one that I made while working for Taylor and a Mark Hoppus Fender bass. I also use a '75 or '76 Fender Super Twin amp and a Fender Acoustasonic Junior amp and a Tube Works 7200 bass amp. I would most definately replace this amp - probably wouldn't even shop around. I like this amp and I recommend it to anyone who needs a lower cost amp with basic functions but with the tradition of Fender and the tone it's famous for

See below

I've had this amp for 5 years now. I replaced one of the smaller tubes, and a off/on light. I play a variety of music, from country to jazz, excluding metal. There is some noise on the more drive channel, but I use another pedal for distortion anyway. I haven't had to drive this amp past 3. If I need it any louder it goes into the PA. I love the clean sound! It's pure Fender.

So far so good. It's never broken down and I don't bring back-ups. Just never felt the need.

Customer service is kind of useless. I've emailed them but never got any responses.

This is a fantastic amp. There are people that feel differently as you will soon read from below. I don't think this should be the forum for WARNINGS and such. Don't let the rantings influence you. Try the amp out and see for yourself.

As for myself, I have been playing for 36 years. I've reduced my instruments to a Fender MIA strat, Boss ME-50, and this amp. It's all I need for what I play. I'd replace it in a heartbeat. I did compare this amp to everything our humble music store had, including Peavey, other Fenders, Roland, and Behringer. No contest.

2005 used but like new.versatile? first Fender sets the tube bias at 60 which is to cold for the 6L6GC. I reset mine at 68 (major improvement). If you want to use the amps overdrive channel, change the inverter tube to a 12AT7 (thats the preamp tube closest to the power tube)Trust me! this will make it work the way you were looking for it too. #1 thing first off is resetting the bias. A must imo. Fender may have kept them set cold at 60 to make them last longer? who knows? after the tweeks i give it a 8

plastic jacks suck so be careful.

never contacted. Have you ever tryed to get up with someone from fender? lol! good luck!

after the tweeks and maybe a different speaker for some. It beats anything else thats tube in this price range period!

Used, less than 1 yr old, good enough for the money.
Features are pretty well known.

Play blues/rock using using Strat, LP, PRS McCarty.
Needed a couple of mods to sound decent:
Vintage 30 speaker;
SED SV6L6GC's;
Bias 36mA per 6L6;
12AX7EH in V1.

Sounds pretty good, drive selection actually sounds good
(esp. with LP).

My peeves are mainly that the controls have non-standard
working ranges. The Clean volume's useful range goes up to
about 5; the bass control is useless above 3; the mid control
- is it really a mid control? Drive gain, useless above 3 (to me);
The reverb control useless above 2.5.

The amp is the most mass produced amp in fender history, so you can bet that reliability will bite us all, at some point.

Todays tubes aren't as good as the old ones were; the filter caps
in there are from Illinois Capacitor - and come from anywhere
but Illinois (really not the best - at all); The wave solder job
can be 'iffy'; and the two 470 Ohm 5 Watt cement resistors (16 volt
switching circuit) get so hot that they ruin their own solder joints.

So why did I buy it?
A) I fix 'em myself;
B) A $1000+ Mesa F-50 has similar problems (a couple more too..)

In essence, reliability is about average.

Dont need it.

Not bad, not great, not expensive, easilly molded to perform adequately, portable.

I have both a Strat and a LP, but to me, single coils generally sound better than humbuckers through this amp. It has pretty good clean and low gain sound, but you have to crank it up a little to make it sound at its best. There isn't much headroom on this amp through, so the clean channel starts distorting past 10~12 o'clock. The high gain sound is just terrible, with lots of noise, thus making this amp not suitable for hard rock or metal application. You'll need pedals for that. The stock Eminence sounds full, clean and detailed at low volumes, better than the Jensen reissues, but do get a bit flabby at high volumes, where Jensens are a bit better. But the amp doesn't sound good at high volumes/gains to begin with, so stock Eminence speakers are really good fit.

At $200-300 for a used one, this is a good-buy, but at the street price (~$500) for a brandnew one, there certainly are better options.

2 channels, Amp needs pre & post eff's loop. Each channel should have it's own EQ, not shared!!!, after setting your eq for the clean channel great! but when you switch to ch-2 you'll need to reset your tone to get decent sound...not good!!! other then that not too bad.
I got the blonde tolex cover oxblood grill; MIM...

Each channel when EQ right sound great. I give it 6, if each channel had it's own eq I would have given it a 10!

Musician's Friend. The first one looked excellent but screamed like pig when turned up past 5, hay that with anything plugged in to the input, it was returned the next day. #2 arrived two weeks later sounded good but it did have the same loud howling past 8, but that's not all half the back washers on the hardware are missing, I don't know if Fender made this mistake or MF? I was disappointed and returned it for full refund. They gave me a full refund including the shipping cost, that was after I was told they found nothing wrong with the amp and I will be charged 15% restocking fee, Yes! I went off on them and refused to pay it, now the tables turn and they were wrong and gave me full refund. Sorry! Fender but I own other fender amp's (made in the USA) without issues ever! but your MIM amp Suck!

Never called Fender....as for MF...well if your right, your right!

The HRD is a nice sounding & looking amp, don't get me wrong, I love the fender sound, it's just they need to make the quality as good as any USA amp. Step up your QC department Fender...

it has enough features, but could obviously have more. having less knobs does help the vintage look of it though.

hmm. the clean channel is supposedely incredible? it sounds average to me, and as soon as you turn it up, it sounds horrible. even with the switch to JJ's, i still haven't switched the speaker so I don't know if that's a factor, but this amp just sounds like shit when i turn it up. the drive channel is unlistenable at high volumes. i had the amp checked out by a tech and he said it was fine. i don't know if he checked the speaker out, but i'm getting that thing out of there, and if there is no improvement, i'm selling it, counting my losses, and putting some cash towards the Traynor equivalent of this amp (can't remember the model, but theres a 40 in it. you guitar guys know what im talking about), or something else.

very depressing to get this amp after reading so many rave reviews. the distortion sounds a lot better after the JJ's, but as i said, terrible when volume is applied.

if you have any comments, suggestions, or misguided anger, please email me at chrismatchem@hotmail.com

i got it off ebay. it's from 2000, and is in relatively good condition.

i've read about all the problems one might encounter with it on that dudes 'unoffical hot rod deluxe page'. great website, by the way.

never dealt with the Fen

Features all covered in other reviews -this is a WARNING!

My basic idea was to buy a relatively cheap 1x12 combo, then upgrade it with good parts and mods to my personal taste, so that in the end i'd have spend some more but get an amp that works and sounds the way I want and need it.
I had been warned on this forum in regards to the poor build quality and the cheap parts, but what my tech and I saw here really is an insult to the consumer.
I ordered the amp new, they're pretty low priced right now, it got here boxed and sealed. i tested it for about half an hour, sounded so so, which i knew already as I had tried one before. The distortion sounded somewhat weird, but I thought it was just a bad layout and went to my tech to get all the discussed mods, new caps, changes in the current feedback circuit, different ranges for the tone freqs, new Celestion Neodyne vintage speaker - which works great btw.

I got there, played for 2 minutes to discuss what I wanted, and noticed some crackling sounds, the tech also said the distortion sounded like there was half the wave missing. He opened it and couldn't believe it:
ALL the solder joints from the power tubes were COLD!!!( broken!)
That amp was NEW out of the box. Not only that, but he said they had used the cheapest possible solder metal, containing a lot od lead and therefore breaking real easily. The other side of the board was just as catastrophic - half of the solder points had to be redone, tha caps and some other parts were the cheapest, low quality/price stuff imaginable.
When he was done replacing, retuning and all the business, the amp sounded just great - just as I had planned.
SO, what does all this tell us?
FENDER have, just like most of all businesses, sacrificed quality and reliability for absolute and ruthless profit maximation. Obviously no quality control, no thought whatsoever about the consequences of over cheap manufacturing processes and use of low quality components. Just sell sell sell - once it leaves the factory we don't give a damn anymore. You want decent ( meaning a no bullshit, normal quality ) gear? Ah, we have the "custom shop", charging thousands for not even high quality but let's say plain average, not bad quality stuff.
Seriously, spending, say, 20 bucks (maximum) more on small parts such as good caps or soldering material would assure a decent quality circuitry, make the amp sound better and save everyone a headache and Fender's reputation. What goes on in these managers' heads??? It is plain obvious that Fender don'd give a shit about the quality of their products as long as they just make huge profits. Nothing against huge profits, but possibly by selling good gear, not by saving every possibly penny by usingabsolute bottom of the line material.
no wonder the economy is going down the drain...

I don't even want to think of the bureaucratic nightmare of dealing with such a monster company.

I've been playing for 20+ years, owned tons of all sorts of gear, from cheap to top notch. I play fusion and jazz on a Suhr Strat.
Unless mega companies like Fender get their act together and give us decent, and common sensed quality products for our money ( which really shouldn't be that difficult unless you just want to make even MORE momey...) the industry will just lose more and more credibility.
Have they ever wondered why so many people play and use stuff made by small/boutique companies? Cause you just can't take that corporate bullshit seriously anymore!
Shame on you Fender.

3 "channels", comes with a gootswitch and a cover. Like 40 watts-ish.

Sound great for clean and you can get dirt, but the 3 channels is joke. First, the knowbs max out by 12:00. Second, the norma chan on anything above 3 sounds more like the gain of the chan 2 territory, and chan 2 ultimately produces all the gain you need. The kicking into chan 3 is just useless. They should really smooth all this out so that the clean channel stays crystal clean right up to 10, then you use chan. 2 for any range of very light/modest gain. Finally, chan 3 should open that sucker all the way. It' not a matter preference here, it's just logical.
Next, the reverb is decent if you like spring reverb.
The amp's tone overall sounds harsh and gravelly, and it grates on my hearing after about 10 it 15 minutes. I've tried other new amps in the stores with same results. It's the amp, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna get in ther and rip out speakers and be replacing tubes and swapping out caps for another 4 or 5 hundred bucks.

Eventally I sold it because it annoyed my terrible. I got a Deluxe Reverb RI and I've been in heaven ever since- what a nice amo THAT is!

Built as well as fender build all their amps today, which can be a little on the cheap side, but definately not Walmart cheap. I'd like to see a bit heavier duty contruction like Mesa makes, and I want to be able to get at simple parts like pots inside- changes one takes 5 minutes. But noe they want you round-tripping all you gear to CA. That's unacceptible, regardless of how good the guarantee is. It's like with cars- you should be able to change your own spark plugs.

Overall it's built well. You can sit on it and drink beer. The stock Blues Junior's a better amp, but I hesistate to say that, because if your going to replace most of the parts in it, well then it's no longer a Blues juior. Might as well get a different amp.

After 6 months I couldn't get into it. I bought the Deluxe Reverb and I'm a new player again.

I believe that the features have been sufficiently gone over in previous reviews.I'll give it an 9 here. It has what it needs for what it was designed for.

I play a variety of music, everything from jazz to classic rock to blues. I shy away from speed metal. For what I play it is an excellent fit. I also have a modded 1976 Fender Bassman 100, and the clean channel on this rivals just about every other Fender I've plugged in to. Guitars are an american strat HSS stock pickups, Highway 1 stock Texas tele, Gibson LP with burstbuckers and a Gibson faded LP with stock P-90's. Each guitar adds its own personal, distinct sound which this amp captures beautifully. Signal is from guitar to a Vox Area 51 modded wah to a Bad Monkey to a Marshall Bluesbreaker to amp. I use the pedals because the distortion on this amp,well, it sucks, for lack of a better term. It does okay with the burstbuckers, but any other pickup and it sounds like I stepped into a hive of bees. However, with clean channel and pedals, there isn't a tone I can't get out of this thing. Upon purchase I immediately took out the eminence speaker and replaced it with a Jensen reissue C12N, and it made a world of difference. Great harmonics, clean top end. I also run an Avatar 2x12 extension cab with this with 2 Vintage 30's. What a great combo. Loads of bass, even at top volume with the pedals engaged. Oh, volume. Make yer ears bleed. Don't let someone tell ya 40 watts ain't enough. If they believe that they're already half deaf. Oh, does great with my Ovation acoustic also. Very full. Almost scary..if you've ever had that kind of reaction to an amplifier before.

Seems okay so far. Went around and tightened everything with a screw driver just to make sure, but seems tight enough. Hell, its so loud I wouldn't hear a rattle anyway until the damn thing came apart.

I've had to use them with previous equipment and they're hit and miss. Middle of the road.

Been playing 35 years, which is pretty scary in itself. This is a great amp short of slamming Korn. If you're looking for a great blues, rock rig, try this along with a good sealed extension cab to bring out the bass. You won't be disappointed.

Amp is a 2003. I traded my Traynor YCV 80 2-12's in for it. I had been searching a very long time for an amp that I'll be very pleased with. The Traynor was an ok amp, but for its sheer weight and physical size, it was beginning to be a pain to lug the thing aroound all the time. My Fender is truly a better sounding amp.
I don't play large gigs anymore, but when the boys and I jam, theres plenty of power here. I found that the amp sounds better at a larger level of volume; Theres almost a "sweet spot" if you can find it.

I play a Highway 1 stock Tele, mostly heavy blues and early WHO style music. I use my vintage Yamaha DI-10M distortion pedal because I dont really like the built-in distortion. This amp truly should have been built without the distortion effect. Superb clean sound and very loud!
I have yet to "crank it" for fear of repercussions from irate neighbours, but 4 is about right on the volume scale.

All the tubes are original and I take very good care of my equipment, so I trust this is a very dependable amp. As with all tube amps, so Ive been told, you should always perform a warm-up and cool down period to prolong tube life.

I've never had to deal with the Fender clan, and I'm hoping I don't have to. If there are any problems, I deal with our local music shoppe.

Ive been playing off and on for about 25 years non professionally and have owned alot of gear. I really have fallen for this amp and I think its terrific. I'd definately purchase another if anything happened to this amp. As I had mentioned before, I took along time and wore out poor Karens nerves out at Long and Mcquades before i found an amp that I'll keep for a long time. Although I don't use alot of effects compared to some guitarists, I still think the amp should have been built without the distortion/drive channel. Its far too muddy for me.

I bought mine new about 5 0r more years ago. I looked at quite a few solid state amps while I was shopping around. But I found them to be crisp an souless. Then my friend said I should check out some fender tube amps. At first i was hesitant. Because i didn't didn't understand the power rating. And figured 40 watts wasn't enough (oh how wrong i was.haha) But found the Hot Rod deluxe to sound great (exaclty what i was looking for) an it was in my price range. It has all the features i've needed especally a nice clean channel. an i like the pre amp out jack. Allso the cabinate is soild an heavy. the onyl thing i kinda wish it had. is those metal stands you see on super reverebs etc, so i could point it up.

I love the tone of this amp. especailly when I use one of my vintage guitars. Like my 1959 harmony stratotone or my 1956 Danelectro. But i ususally have my gibson SG pluged into it an it sounds great. I find the amp can play anystyle of music your into being rock blues jazz, country haha.you just gotta know how to set it right. And if your not satisfied with the distortion, it 's got a great clean channel for your pedals. People don't understand how the volume settings on tube amps work. an they complain about it distoring out at 4 6 what ever. Is that the volume isn't a gas pedal, the higher you turn it up isn't the more wattage you get.. but it's actually desighed to give it's full clean power at 4. Some guitars have hotter pick ups etc like at les paul has about 6 times the output of a rickenbacker. So the Amps desighned to give it's full RMS output with any brand of guitar. An thats why is goes all the way up to 12. If you want a louder clean amp you have to get a higer wattage rating. I use this amp an at everything, I mic it into the PA etc an find it's loud enough for me to hear at any gig.

Well never had a problem. So i depend on it. An tubes are funny things.. they can last 20 mins or 20 years. but i have't replaced mine yet an not planning to till they burn out. but the construction is solid an feels soild

Well i've been playing for 10 years. I love this amp an would recomend it to any of my friends. Id totally buy one again or move up to the next bigger one in the line up. if something happend to it.
i compared it to a few fender soild states an a marshall. but i felt the sound an quailty where far greater in this amp.
If you want a great sounding tube amp. but don't wanna risk buying used id tottaly goto the local fender dealer an give it a good try out. An if you have some old school guitars like i do. it's a must you get a nice warm tube amp.. or you may never be fully satisfied with the tone of your guitar. Like whats the point of haveing a Gibson ? if you don't have a sweet amp to go with it ?

I bought this amp in 2004 and never had a problem with it. It has the original tubes and it sounds fine. I can't really give an assesment on the overdrive channels because I've never used them.

In fact the foot switch still has the plastic on it. I use a Boss DS-1 pedal and a Boss DD-6 delay right through the front
input and it works great.

This amp is PLENTY LOUD as a stand alone in a small club or on a stage with a mic. It has lots of reserve power. I never got it past 4 1/2 on the clean channel. It has good tone too.

*****The guy that posted that he had problems with *****
three of them made one major mistake as far as
I can see. Read his post.

He did not do an ample burn in. Tube, in fact all
amps need at least 10 hours playing at low volume
or just being on before you crank it. Feather up
the volume slowly. Speakers need a break-in. Its new.

Would you buy a new car and drive it 130 mph after
just pulling from the showroom? NO.

Well maybe someone would.

Its a straight forward 40 watt tube rig. Its loud and sounds great.
It does have good reverb but I don't use that either.

Not noisy and great for blues playing. I play metal and some
simple blues.

I use a Gibson SG standard with stock pickups.

I also have a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 suppling the overdrive
through a Rocktron Intellifx to the HR Deluxe. (((Stereo))) :-)

Its an amazing combination. The Fender keeps up with the Marshall
to a point then I have to be carefull. The Marshall 1960A slant cab can pump lots of volume. The Fender can't go that high, but it can crank.

I have never had a problem with it. Never retubed or rebiased.

It is as it was the day it came out of the box.
I have no intentions of putting tubes in it unless the stock ones go KAPUT.

I respect all my gear and I get good service out of all of it.
Beat it up and it won't last long.

Called them about the FX loop. They were good.

Been playing thirty years and I am very critical about equipment.
I have been through lots of gear, rack systems, power amps, preamps,
solid state combos, and the pedal route.

The present setup I have is perfect for any style of playing and
is about as professional as any rig can get.

Have you ever bought something and you had mixed feelings about
it each day?........ I don't have that with my rig.

The Fender HR Deluxe and the Marshall blend well and amaze me each time I use them.

Fender HR Deluxe.....Its a good amp.

Not sure when the amp was made, bought it used on Ebay. Amp is versatile for what I play. Not great for metal, but with a Metal Zone, I'm sure it could be achieved. I love it for classic rock. 3 channels. Normal, Drive, More Drive. I use the channel switcher. No effects loops. Does have headphone jack. Wish it had volume control for the more drive channel. It's hard to use this 3rd channel because of the volume boost when it's kicked on. I use this amp mainly in my youth worship service at church. I can't put the amp above 1 1/2 in there. Wouldn't put it above 2 or 3 anywhere else except maybe a stadium. But would never come close to using full volume. Extremely loud Fender tube amp.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard - humbuckers. Not noisy at all on clean. Gets a little hum when gain is turned up high on drive channels. Noise isn't noticable at all when playing through it. Just switch to standby or clean channel when amp is on but not in use for total silence if you're that paranoyed about a little hum. I like to put the amp's gain on 2 1/2 so I can use that for standard overdrive but can always add more gain with the tube screamer or DS-1. Haven't ever noticed any distortion on clean channel. The overdrive is great on the drive channel. My only complaint that I listed above is that the More Drive channel has a very big volume boost which makes it hard to use live. However, you could find this useful for soloing. I prefer to use Boss SD-1 or compression. The clean channel is really sparkling and the drive channel offers one of my favorite sounding rhythm tones that could be achieved in any amp.

Very dependable. Never had a problem with it.

Been playing for 3 years. Own a total of 4 stompboxes which I like to use to put more gain on the drive channel (not because drive doesn't sound good, but for more versatility for gain) or for solo boosts. If stolen, I'd love to get another Hot Rod Deluxe. However, I don't know if I'd have the money on hand, so I might try to find a Blues Junior. Still 12" speaker and can go plently loud as well, just doesn't have the number of watts as the Deluxe. Thought about getting a Marshall MG Series 1x12. But I realized, I wanted a sparkling clean channel and a tube amp. Since I could get the Marshall new for $350 or the Fender used for $350 also, I went ahead and got the Fender. Extremely happy I choose this amp. Tube amp's are incredible. If given the choice between a Tube Fender, Peavey, Vox or solid state Marshall, always go with the tube amp.

features are OK, they tried to stuff a little too much into this thing. Mostly, they need to ditch the more drive. They need to replace the volume pot with one that doesn't jump. but they're not going to to that. too bad. But the FX loop is nice, eq controls are decent, they come alive with certain guitars and better tubes.

I'm using two different MIJ strats, one with stock pups for dark tones and one with alnico pups for bright tones. also using a stock epi LP special with stock ceramic pups that sound very cool. this amp sounds best with brighter pickups. The clean channel is awesome and sounds best when the volume is in 1/3 to 1/2 way up. I think it sounds like ass when it breaks up. I don't like power tube breakup, though. The drive channel is great to my ears, but the master knob needs to be put a little higher than 1 to sound good. don't like the more drive, it's too noisy and transistory. Reverb is very bright and gets too watery and crumby after 5-6. But even at that setting it has its purpose. it's a nice reverb with a big long tank.

I'm going to try the volume box in the fx loop and see what kind of sounds I can get for my living room. Overall, this is a great live amp because it sounds best when played a little louder, but not too loud.

This isn't a honeymoon review. I used to have one of these but my neghbors would bang on the floor if I played my electric unplgugged, so you can imagine how they would howl like wolves when I played the HRD. I ended up getting a Blues Junior, but after a few years I wanted a HRD, too. now I got both and I'm thankful.

Guess what? YOU CAN PLAY METAL WITH THIS AMP. Just use the drive channel and add the right pedal on top of it, maybe some EQ. It will be a little noisy, but that's the fun of metal. The only "metalheads" who like pristine sounds are not true metalheads. They're angry guys who go through a metal phase, but then decide they want to become jazz musicians. How many metal fans have come back from a metal concert and said, "well, you know it was heavy and loud, and there was some violence, but the guitarist's amp had a bit too much noise coming from it. Just a tad too much noise." Huh? that's right, it's never happened.

I don't know I bought this used, it was made in USA. My Blues Junior was mad in Mexico, but it's held up great. The good thing about the reliability is that so many of the manufacturing flaws are easily upgraded/repaired in that Unofficial Hard Rock Deluxe Website. link is available in one of the many reviews below.

never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 13 years and been through many phases. Now I'm chilling out and settling with a very ecelectic style, but it's original and it's "me".

Amp is a 2005.

I find this amp to be very versitile. I play classic rock, rock, blues, hard rock, and metal. Its not the best amp for high gain applications, but it does accept pedals really well. It sounds gorgeous with my blues driver and digitech hot rod pedals, although I need a metal zone for the metal tones I want. The OD channel is awesome for classic rock grit and crunch. I almost have a Jimmy Page-esque tone on the more drive channel.

The amp is 3 channel, clean, drive, more drive. Clean breaks up nicely around 5, but its too loud for my current situations. The drive and more drive are switched witha provided footswitch, but I dont like how the switche are so close together, at times i find myself hitting both of them. I probly just have to get used to it. The effects loop which i havent tried out yet because I dont have enough cables I guess works like its suppose to.

I use this amp in a band atmosphere, its far too loud to practice on, I by far have the loudest amp out of our musicians, and I play on volume 2-3 most of the time. It goes up to 12. The highest ive pushed it is 8, because I dont want to get too crazy with it yet.

I use this amp with a Greg Barnett Samick Formula. It has one humbucker(duncan designed, looking to replace with a SD Jazz HB), and 2 lipstick single coils(very unique, I like them.) The tone on the clean channel with the rythm pickup(the neck lipstick) is gorgeous. Its clean with just a slight bit of bite, and its got a lot of bass which is good for me because Im a rythm guitarist. When I switch it to the HB and add some overdrive, the tone is completely classic rock. Its great and I love it. The only thing I dont like is the hum on the more drive channel, that shhhh sound is annoying, but that comes with the gain, theres really nothing you can do about it.

Im pretty sure its reliable, due to the things Ive heard and Ive seen people who've had this amp for over 5 years. The amp gets hottt however, if you play for long periods of time. The one thing I wouldve done differently is put a fan somewhere in it, but regular household fans work well for ourdoor gigs in the summer and long shows. Never had any problems with it yet.

Never dealt with fender, probly never will have to. Ive heard they have great support, and there warrenties cannot beat, 5 years. They replace broken equipment, whether its your fault or not. Our bassist in our band got a brand new rumble 100 amp after his amp malfunctioned. There great.

Ive been playing for about a year now, avvidly. Usually I practice about 3-4 hrs a day, Ive had some realy good gear and some really crappy gear along the way and I think this is the best piece of equipment I've ever bought. If someone stole it, Id definately buy a new one, or get this one back with force haha. I compared it to the blues jr and the classic 30 when I was in the market, and it dominated the blues jr because of the volume and it had way more versitility. The classic 30s cleans werent as sparkeling and bright as the fender, however the overdrive beat it out. But I get mostly all of my overdrive tones out of pedals, so it doesnt matter anyway.

No special built-in effects, no loads tricky things, but you know - it's got great tone. Pretty standard controls; Volume, Drive, Treble, Bass, Mid, Master, Reverb, Presence. I think it's by far more important to get a great tone before fancy half-decent loads of digital effects.

I play a Samick (Greg Bennett redesign). It's not the best guitar but it sounds pretty decent. It's got the stock humbuckers in it. They've been treating me very well, so.
I play mostly rock/classic rock/blues/and a bit of other stuff (ska, for example :). It seems to fit most everything fairly well. A lot of people have pointed out the lack of metal tones... I don't listen to metal, and I only play a few riffs now and then to get people laughing.
I can get most everything I want out of this amp, and it's wonderful that it's a tube amp. My last amp was a 20 watt solid-state crappity-crap Crate. Incredible improvement

I've never had any reliability problems with anything. I'm poor (hell, I'm 16 :) and probably wouldn't worry about a backup. I'd like to say I'd have extra tubes with me at gigs, but I probably won't. That means I think it's reliable, I guess.

I don't know... I got it a few days ago. I hear Fender's pretty good... but I did buy it used. Shrug.

I'm 16, like I said. I've been playing for about 4 years...
If it were stolen? I'd resist violent action towards the stealer...because I'd be in jail, and couldn't play it! My birthday's in a few days... my dad and I drove down to Eugene (Oregon) to Guitar Center... looking, actually, for a Fender Stage 100. It's solid state; I'm incredibly happy I got a tube amp. The sound is such an improvement. That is, over an old, dead, half busted 20 watt Crate. Without a doubt an excellent buy. Hell, it looks awesome too! And loud? Ohhhhh, yes...

This is a follow up to an earlier review. The amp in its present form is extremely versitile and I regularly get compliments on my tone.

The drive channel is still just satisfactory. At louder volumes it gets better. Do yourself a favor and change out the stock power tubes with some Winged Cs and retube the preamp with some NOS from ebay. It won't cost that much and it'll be well worth it.

Also, change out the speaker with an alnico that can handle the watts. A Jensen P12n or similar Weber will do just fine. If you need to get an attenuator as well.

This setup is straight heaven for single coils and humbuckers alike. I swear to you, you won't be dissatisfied.

I've had my HRDx for 5 years without a single problem. I don't know what that the guys problem was that posted directly underneath me. I gig without a backup regularly, but bring spare tubes.

After these cahnges are made the warranty is null and void, but it's well worth it. Get one used and you won't have to worry about it anyway.

Been playing for 20 years. Own lots of equipment. Get one and get happy!

Check other posts or Fender site for features. I read half of the reviews posted below and now I know what this amp is all about. Thanks to all the people who contributed helpful information. After reading and having gone through three amps in a month, I decided it's not worth the waste of time to try to find a good one. Why? Read below.

Nice clean, agressive, not-bad sounding drive. Many people criticize the drive channel, but it can be made good-sounding, depends how you play. Definitely sounds better with a good ovedrive pedal. breaks up at 4 with humbuckers on the clean channel but can be given more headroom with different tubes. Sounds great at high volume on stage, can carry an auditorium easily, but not very useful in a studio.

OK, THIS IS THE REAL REASON WHY I WRITE THIS REVIEW. I've gone through three of these this month. The first one developed horrible cracking noise after several days. Thinking tubes were loose, I resettled them. Still the same. Took it back. The second one had a terrible built quality: loose parts inside shielding on the inside in shreds, top wanted to break every time I lifted it, noisy like hell. I only checked it when I took it home so it went back next day. The third one - checked and played in the store, everything OK. Took it home, played loud for half an hour and what do I hear? The same loud cracking as in the first one> reset the tubes, no change. Change tubes, rebias the amp (66mV, still cracks, but not so much[good tubes]. Change back to original tubes, re-bias, cracking is loud again. Found a possible source of the problem (faulty resistor) on this site
http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/
(check it, it's full of useful information)
Back to the store again. Took out my wallet, shelled out another $250 and got myself a '65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb. Sounds better, is not so damn loud and hopefully will be more reliable than the Hot Rod that, true to its name, is hot, so hot that it's good only for a short time and then it burns.

For what? to tell me that they tried to make a good amp on the cheap and it can't be done without comromising quality/reliability?

People who talk so much about modifying: have some common sense. Yes, swapping tubes can make sense if you want a specific result such as more headroom,qieting it down etc. But putting in a Celestion Vintage30 will not improve the sound that much and for the cost of tubes and the speaker you can upgrade to to Deluxe Reverb. If this is not loud enough, save some more money and get a Twin reverb. You have to be deaf not to hear the difference this investment will make. And if you want a powerful amp for distortion, get something else, even a Marshall AVT wouldn't be a bad choice, and it's less money. I can honestly say that after reading so many reviews, I realized (and heard) that this amp can sound good, but it is likely to give you a headache because of so many problems so many people had with it. The quality went down the drain since they started making them in Mexico, and the've sold so many they don't care. I have also owned a Pro Junior and it's much better built than Deluxe, and sounds good too, so if you don't have enough, do yourself a favour and forget Deluxe, you don't have to kill with decibels, and Blues or Pro junior is mighty loud and can be miked if need be.

Don't know what year it was made, but I bought it new in 2002. I traded a Twin Reverb in because it was too heavy for me, and was much more power than I really needed at the time. Three channels, reverb, 40 watts.

Well, I'm no tube expert, but all of my guitars sound good through this amp: Strats, Les Pauls, Rickenbackers, Gretsches. I agree with the first few reviews below mine....this is not a bad amp. You don't have to swap out all of the tubes and change the speaker to get a good sound. The distortion isn't bad. Is it Marshall-quality distortion? Of course not. Fenders are famous for clean sounds, not dirt. I've had this amp for three years now, and I can honestly say it has never let me down. Play it for a few months (or on a few gigs) and give it a chance to break in before you change all of the tubes and the speaker. The only problem I've had is that there was a slight crackle for the first few minutes I had it on, so I switched the 6L6's from Fender whites to Fender blues. The crackle is still there, but my amp breaks up around 4 or 5 on the volume now, whereas before, it would have to be on 6 or 7. I was pleasantly surprised by this. The bass player and lead guitarist in my band play way too loud (sound familiar?), and not only can I keep up with them, I get a nice bluesy breakup that really lets me be heard. Also, I think the reverb sounds fine above 2 or 3. I've played with it up around 7, and it still sounded good. Believe it or not, I like the reverb on this amp better than the one on my Twin Reverb. This doesn't get overly mushy, so the notes stay well defined up until 8 or so.

Like I said before, I've had this amp for three years and it has not let me down. Just keep some spare tubes on hand, because you never know.....

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 20 years. I have a Rickenbacker 325C58, a Gretsch 6122-62 w/TV Jones Classic Filtertrons, a Gibson Les Paul Standard, an Epiphone '56 Les Paul Goldtop reissue with P-90's, and a Fender American Stratocaster. All of the above guitars sound good with this amp. My Twin Reverb has a better clean sound, but the Hot Rod has a more well-rounded sound. It's got more body, whereas the Twin Reverb can sometimes be a little harsh. (see my review of the Twin) My favorite guitar to play through this is my Gretsch. It actually sounds better through this than it does through my Twin. I traded a Twin Reverb in for this amp, but then bought another Twin Reverb a couple of years later. The Hot Rod is good for average sized gigs, but I need the Twin for larger venues, and for playing outside. Other than that, the Hot Rod can handle anything you throw at it. A great amp. I hope Fender keeps making them.

I just bought this. It is a warm, super clean, full sounding little thing. I just bought it, and plan on adding effects, because it is such an amazing start to add to. I play experimental art rock, but bluesy warm tones are my liking, plus I am oddly into country music. I can make this guitar sound like anything I want. It has sustain, warmth, crunch, clean, volume, and fullness. I am using a 72 Fender Custom Telecaster with it right now. I just bought the thing and without 'breaking it in' it already sounds incredible.
If you think the 1x12 isn't good enough for your live performance, it is. But try it on top of an extension speaker and It really comes alive, you can feel it, and has a 3-d quality to it you just dont get with other combos run into ext. speakers. It looks pretty and this is my first real, full, tube amp. I am nowhere near a purist, but it will take some convincing to make my next amp anything not tube. It is very basic, but that means you can build on it, or keep it real. They didn;t just quit and give up thinking this was an easy design. Fender really made it sound nuts. The other guitarist in my band is buying one too now.

I'm using a stock reissue 72 Custom Fender Telecaster, utilizing all pickup positions. The amp wouldn't conventionally fit my bands style, but that's what make our sound more unique now. Plus, jamming with friends or by myself, I can play anything I myself would want to play. It has a little amp hum from being new tubes, but I hear they'll go away, and if not it's nothing for me to chum over. I can turn my guitar down, or enjoy it for its beauty. I am adding effects to it, because it is such a great canvas. I am not a fan of distortion, so this prevents anyone from picking up my guitar to show me how to play Pantera. I love it. It has the right amount, maybe even too much for me, but that means great.

I've played it for about 6 hours straight, just getting it home from the store. It lasted! I gig regularly, so we'll see how it is after that.

Also, no time to have to dael with them yet.

I've been playing for 2 years. I previously have been playing/gigging with a Fender RocPro stack which I love, but needed to get something smaller for the trailer and for my own taste. This sounds better, and is in better shape. It has warmer feel to it and is more me now. I'm not attatched yet, but I think if it were lost I'd get this again or try out the other amps I was looking at. I figure I will have and experiment with many amps and styles in my lifetime, im just 18, so starting here will be great. Jimi always pawned his guitars. I wish it were a 2x12 but still sounds big with just 1, and is a ton easier to use, move,and set up that a stack.

I originally reviewed this amp on 7/30/2001 (scroll down to read) and I thought some of you may be interested in reading my thoughts after almost 4 years of HRD use.

Features you know. Straightforward and simple, which is why I was attracted to the amp. It's got everything I want, but if you like bells & whistles, this probably isn't your amp.

It was interesting for me to read the submission that said the noise factor of the amp diminished after is had been on for an hour. When I first got the HRD the drive channel had so much hum I doubted I could ever use it. The problem diminished awhile later. The band I was in changed rehearsal spaces about the same time, so I thought perhaps the wiring in the building was causing the noise. Now I'm not so sure.

The noise has not been a problem for years now. The last band I was in, I played all night in the 'Drive' setting. I played a 1984 Washburn HB-35 (ES-335 clone)and got that nice overdriven, just-starting-to-break-up tube tone. For solos, I'd go to 'More Drive' and get a slight volume boost with a little more edge. It sounded great!

The pots are not very linear, and the volume is very touchy. A friend of mine has swapped out the pots, tubes, and speaker on his HRD and is very pleased with the results. I haven't done any mods--I like the way it sounds. Unless you want to be Dick Dale, DON'T put the reverb above 2.5.

I have a Strat copy that I've played through this amp, and it sounds killer.

As time has passed, I find myself using almost no effects. I have a ZOOM pedal that I use mostly as an in-line tuner. A good sounding amp plugged into this guitar is an ideal set-up for my money. If you want a clean, blues-based sound, this is it

The HRD has never given me a problem.

Beyond mailing in my warranty card and deleting their e-mail spam, I haven't dealt with Fender.

This amp is everything I wanted and I am very happy with it four years down the road. If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely replace it. As it looks now, the HRD stands a good chance of matching or beating the 20-year-run of my previous amp.

At this point you should be familiar with this amp's features. If not just scroll down!

This thing ain't gonna do everything in the universe but it will make a pretty convincing blues/classic rock type sound.

I wouldn't call this amp, "very versatile" but it does do exactly what it claims to.

I'm using a mexi-strat w/ stock pick-ups.

At first I thought I made a big mistake buying this amp. I got it home, plugged it in and it sounded exactly like crap. I tried tweaking every knob on the thing and nothing sounded good to my ears.

I noodled around on it for about 40 minutes and then clicked on to "stand-by". It sat there like that for a few hours. I picked up the guitar again and started playing. It miraculously sounded much better.

I suspect a few things happened. First ( and probably most importantly) I started playing with more attack and heavy hands. It's also possible that the tubes needed to get good and hot and the speaker needed to loosen up a bit.

I also cranked the volume all the way up on the clean channel. After a few minutes I backed it down to 4 or 5.

The reverb even started to sound better after some break in time.

I'm now about a month into this amp and I'm loving it. Every sound that comes out of it is harmonically rich and throaty. It's very responsive to picking style variations. If I ease up a bit it smooths right out and delivers buttery tone. If I dig in a little more it starts to break up into a good solid crunch and if I tighten up on the pick the harmonics sing out effortlessly.

The simple fact is, this amp made me be a better player.

No problems so far.

Not needed.

I've been playing for over 25 years with lots of gigs under my belt. I worked steady every weekend for over 5 years in a classic rock/ biker bar type band. I have a degree in audio engineering and I have worked in some very high end recording studios and audio post-production facilities. I've done tons of live sound reinforcement gigs for local and national acts.
I've owned everything for tiny combo amps to 100 watt half stacks and a rack full of processors. Hey, it was the 80's.

At this point my rig consists of the strat a cable and the HRD. There is something to be said for keeping it simple.

I feel confident recommending the HRD to anybody interested in a tube combo. It has plenty of power for club dates and it sounds good at any volume. If I had to offer one little niggle I'd say I overpaid. I'm sure I could've found a used one for less money but I justified it with the knowledge that this amp is gonna have a lot of life in it for a long time.

I got this in i wanna say 2003, and i'm submitting this to offer a new insight into playing this amp, which i'll get to later. The pre-distortion eq bugs me at times, though it has it's uses, which i'll also get to later, and an eq pedal works anyways. It's a one or two trick pony, but for the money it's unbeatable.

Ok. Here's the two ways in which i set this up. I'm playing a Jackson Dinky with EMG 81s through a ts9 with a wah and phaser but those last two don't matter. The amp is completely stock. Ok, sometime when you don't need to worry about volume set the amp up in one of the two following ways (but this'll sound horrible with a strat so fair warning)
A) Plug into input one and aim to get the most amount of gain possible through the clean channel i.e. everything except reverb and presence (and drive channel controls) to 12 (since the eq is pre distortion as i've mentioned, cutting anything reduces the gain you are sending to the gain stages). Set the tubescreamer to tone 0 drive 0 level max. This setup won't sound muddy as the drive channel does since you're are only using 2 or 3 gain stages compared to the drive channel's 3 or 4. Instead of getting too much halfhearted gain from too many stages you are fully saturating every tube in the machine (including power tubes, the most essential of all), which gives you an amazing unique crunch which is great sounding, but not like every marshall on the block. Set presence and reverb to suit, and if this sounds horrible in a passive pickup guitar, don't kill me

B. Try bypassing the preamp entirely, which I'm sure almost requires some sort of active pickup, but who knows? Plug the amp into the power amp in jack. By doing this you are getting pure power amp distortion, which is what really is the key to good tone. Pre amp distortion on it's own sounds like a mosquito convention, and by setting the amp up like this to avoid the preamp grind, you have a great clean to mildly driven tone, and can use the ts9 to add crunch if you need to.

this thing actually died on me once two weeks after i got it. But it was fixed really quickly. It had a bad power driver tube

who knows? I hate calling people. I prefer hiding away in the coffin in my basement tinkering with things, which is how i came up with the 2nd idea

Please try these ideas out. If you want you can build a volume box to limit the volume when trying the super saturating idea. You're screwed when you bypass the preamp, so sorry. I've only been playing since 8th grade (i'm a junior in high school now), but no one seems to be really experimenting with amps the way they should. Swapping tubes and speakers sould be a last ditch attempt, as really what you're doing here is changing gain tolerances and eq characteristics that you can maniplate using booster and eq pedals. Try putting eq pedals at every stage of the game and tweaking them before you give up and change the speaker.

VERSATILITY: This is not versitile, which is a good thing. The Hot Rod a perfect, no-frills tube amp for blues players. An American Strat simply comes alive through this thing. If you want features like built-in effects, multiple channels, and 'endless tonal ranges,' then look elsewhere. The effects loop is effect for those of you who cannot resist unnecessary additions to blues tone.
FEATURES? I didn't by it for features. The second channel with "drive" up to at least 5, and a Strat, is all I need to sound like SRV's "Love Struck Baybe." Don't expect to sound like EVH, Metalica, or ACDC through this thing.
WHERE USED: The Hot Rod is perfect for the player who lives in an apartment, yet is beginning to venture out on stage. It's loud enough to fill a small venue, and yet can still be adjusted to lower volumes (to spare your neighbors) without sacrificing tone too much.
Overall I give it an "8" because for $550 it's still not a Twin Reverb, Vibroverb, etc. But considering how much those mules cost, this is worth the money. Also, in my view, there are tonal limitations -- i.e. you can't venture into metal with confidence. If you're just looking for an honest blues amp, though, this ia a 10.

SOUNDS AND MODIFICATIONS:
DO NOT MODIFY THIS AMP UNTIL YOU'VE PLAYED THROUGH IT FOR A MONTH OR TWO. I am alarmed at the many reviewers below who complain of this amp being too "muddy." Well, yeah it's muddy, like electric blues was meant to be. If you want high gain -- i.e. play metal -- or tha "ZZ Top" sound (although a different kind of blues), buy a Marshall or Mesa. Don't make changes until you get to know this thing -- you may find that you like it the way it is and save youself boo-koo money.
If you cannot resist making modifications, make them slowly. First, change the two super tubes with Svetlana 6L6GC's. That makes the tone brighter and more defined, but you don't loose the bluesy tone. Adding two Sovtech 5751 in V! and V2, and a 12AT& Electro-Harmonix will add more definition, but only slightly. I have not yet changed out the speaker and am reluctant to do so. As I mentioned, it sounds exactly like "Love Struck" when played though a Strat.
MORE ON MODIFICATIONS: Do the math! If you spend $550 on ebay, plus $30 for shipping, then $70 to replace the tubes, then $50 (conservatively) to replace the speaker, plus any service expenses and any added expenses, then you've spent nearly $700 or more dollars on a single-speaker tube amp. Why not save up $300 or more dollars over a few more months of waiting and buy a Twin Reverb? Something to think about...
COMPLAINTS: The Master volume control is way too sensitive when on the second channel, and the reverb is too outspoken over 5. If you're addicted to reverb you'll need your own support group after buying this thing.
RATING: Despite being VERY pleased with the blues tone, I give the "sounds" section an 8 because of the lack of versitility. True, the clean channel is clear and full of character, which is conducive to added effects throuugh the effects look. However, I feel limited in that I cannot venture out tonnally into Randy Rhoads, EVH, etc. territory.

I've had it for 5 years and NEVER had a problem, not one. But make sure you keep that owners manuel because it's inserted schematic and tips on using the tone knobs will be helpful to you when changing out tubes or figuring out the sensitive controls of this beast.

Since I never had a problem, I never had to contact customer support. The best support is the kind you never need! Thus, I give this a 10.

Again, this is perfect for blues players. It's the perfect size for an apartment and for a guy or gal whose just beginning to venture to the stage. If you have to make so many modifications to this to make it sound the way you want it, then you should just get something else. Metal minds, look elsewhere. I give it an 8 overall because it simply isn't going to meet every tonal need, and yet, it was not intended to do so.

Follow up to previous post/issue about excesive bass in HRDlx.

I put on a set of amp casters, cause I ain't getting any younger...

The casters raised the amp up 2 inches.

I was not expecting this, but when I played the amp I noticd that the excessive bass was gone. I even needed to turn up the bass, a little.

A pleasant and inexpensive surprise. Easy on the back too.

DIY.

Always thought that I had to mod this, and change that, to get my
HRD to sound good (Using sovtek 12AX7WA's SED 6L6GC's @ 36mA each, and a Celestion Vintage 30), but was not thrilled with the excessive bass. But now, inadvertently, the mud is no longer an issue.

I have a recent(Mexi) model. Same features as indicated below. Enough
features for me as I like just a simple amp to operate but with a killer tone.

I play mostly classic rock, some country. I use an old strat and tele, both early 60s, stock, have been playing for 35 plus years. Here's where this gets interesting, I bought an HRDX when they first came out, did'nt own it for long, switched back to a Marshall and then Mesa. I had heard a friend playing a newer HRDX through a 4x12 cab. Again purchased the HRDX and changed the speaker to an old 60s Jensen I had in one of my old bandmaster bottoms. (Oh wow!!!) Changed power tubes 5 different times. I like the Svetlana 6L6GC the best. Not the best headroom, TADs were the best for that, but tighter, more edge, more tone all around. I have now changed to yellow jackets with Sovtek EL84s. I plan on trying some other EL84s. I like the fact I can switch between 6L6s and 84s on the fly. I did the reverb mod, big mprovement.
I also changed the GT 12AX7s to El Elites. Huge improvement. I should mention that I have never used the overdrive channel in any amp. I prefer the Keely modded (Vai) DS1 pedal.(incredible pedal). I play the amp in conjuction with a celetion loaded Mesa 4x12 cab. This combination is my bliss, heaven, summit. My Mesa was dark, My marshall was unpredictable and brash.

Never had a single issue.

Never had to contact them.

I've been playing a long, long time. I have owned alot of different equipment. I would certainly buy this amp again. I would have to go through the mod process again however. I also have a Marshall JTM60, Fender Tonemaster, Vox AD120, Mesa Mark III, Crate Vintage club 50, Fender Quad Reverb. I plan on doing the high pass filter mod on the HRDX. I am then set for life.

Bought in '03, 2-channels, standard Fender controls.

Stock amp was loud but harsh and condensed sounding.

Have had no problems - expect none.

I am a guitarist trying to get the most guitar sounds (clean Strat tones of ?Lenny? by SRV or ?Sultans of Swing? by Dire Straits to Satriani/Santana distortion) out of the least amount of gear. I have just 2 guitars, a Strat with DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups (Blues in the neck, VV Standard in the middle, and Heavy Blues in the bridge) and an Ibanez S470 with DiMarzio?s (Humbucker from Hell in the neck, Fast Track 1 in the middle, and Steve?s Special in the Bridge). I have one effects unit, the Boss ME50 (which goes a LONG way toward giving you a huge array of sounds) and one amp, the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, bought about 18 months ago. I did a side-by-side comparison of the HRDX to a Crate VFX5112 at Guitar Center in the ?loud room.? Back and forth I played each amp with the same guitars, primarily on the clean settings. I liked the Crate better. Its clean sound was soft and lush; the Fender was harsh and condensed. The HRDX was clearly louder at 40-watts than the 50-watt Crate. I bought the Crate then, although it cost $100+ more due to on-board effects which I didn?t need. (I wished they?d had a model with no effects and a lower price). The Crate began manifesting malfunctions. I took it back to GC and exchanged it. The 2nd one did the same thing. When I took it back, they said that others had experienced the same thing, so this time I exchanged it for the HRDX. Now I had a reliable tube amp that sounded harsh and condensed. Then I discovered this very web site and read all the reviews of the HRDX and the changes that guys made to improve the sound. HarmonyCentral.com is a God-send! I decided to change out tubes and speaker. I did each of 3 changes in steps and played through my amp after each one to evaluate the difference. First was the power tubes, I got NOS Svetlana 6L6GCs. If you read around, this is the single most important and definitive mod that will absolutely improve your HRDX. I first played my Strat on clean tones. The new sound was clear and smooth, and a little less harsh. I also detected some wonderful little harmonic ?things? that were happening occasionally while I played. Then I plugged in my Ibanez and cranked up some distortion from my ME50. Terrific! Smooth, clear, muscular. Those magic little harmonic ?things? were showing up. The biggest change was that the notes on the lower (wound) strings all had a life of their own with great tone that before had been only so-so. The next change was an Electro Harmonix 12AT7 to replace the GT 12AX7 in the Power Inverter position. The big change here was the sound of the bridge pickup on my Strat, the VV Heavy Blues. Whereas the other VV series sound great on my guitar, this one is harsh and ear-piercing. I?ve only been able to enjoy 3 of 5 positions on my Strat. The 12AT7 greatly reduced the harshness. This VV Heavy Blues still needs to go (I?ll go back to VV Blues for the bridge as it sounds terrific in the neck), but now I can at least use all 5 positions on my Strat and not pierce my ears. The final change was the speaker for a Jensen C12N. The clean channel sounds are bright and clear. When I play with distortion, there seems to be a little ?chirp? right at the point that the pick strikes a note. It kind of reminds me of a Randy Rhodes type distortion. But after the note is struck, the sound is super smooth and clear. I have read that a new speaker may need a ?break-in? period, so maybe the chirp will go. I?m not saying it?s a bad thing, but different. Back on the clean settings I can hear the advantage of the Jensen. One unintended benefit of all this is that the built-in Fender overdrive is now useable. I had dismissed using the OD channel at all and was only doing these mods to improve the clean but now I can see why a lot of guys have done the mods to improve the overdrive. I can get serious SRV tone with great mid-range growl and presence now, for a song like ?Crossfire,? the tone is dead-on. The end result for my Ibanez with distortion from the ME50 is

The features of this amp have been covered pretty well. It's pretty straight forward which is what I like about it. Separate eqs and a tremolo would be nice, but for the price, this amp does everything it needs to.

The sound is 100% why I bought this amp. It has a very natural sound to it. I play either a Fender Cyclone II (American Jaguar Pickups) or a Epi LP standard through a Dunlop crybaby to a proco turbo rat to a danelectro cool cat and then in. When I first got it I only had the cyclone and a Didgitech Hot Rod Rock Distortion. It was nowhere near enough distortion for me. I read a bunch of reviews saying that this amp couldn't do heavy distortion. I tried a DS-1 and a metal zone. The ds1 was ok, still not enough. the metal zone sounded aweful. Then I tried the Turbo Rat and my prayers were answered. THIS AMP CAN DEFINATELY DO METEL with the right pedal. I don't play metal, but I do like lots an lots of distortion with a clean sound to switch from. With the cyclone and the rat, I can go from crystal clear to dirty, growling, trudging... With the les paul... It just chugs! This amp is awesome. Very loud and sounds the way an amp should sound. GET THE TURBO RAT IF YOU WANT HEAVY DISTORTION!!!

So Far So good. bought it used and gig with it regularly.

This amp is exactly what I want. Straight forward, great sound, and with the turbo rat, extremely verstile. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably get another. I'm going shopping for a cab this week to beef it up a bit... Should be interesting.

Brand new 1X12 (Eminence speaker), black tolex, 3 channels: clean, diry, and 'more' dirt, comes with a footswitch...I rarely use 'more' dirt, because I don't play metal. I use this amp as workhorse local nightclub amp. I play funk, jazz, r&b, blues, rock n' roll, some country...you know most popular styles, except that metal business... this amp is versatile and compact and LOUD, at 40 watts. Reverb is classic Fender...brilliant, but I miss the Tremolo, which this model lacks, so I'll give it an 8--otherwise, a great amp

Classic Fender. Loud and clean, with good tweaks and taste, the first dirty channel is superb for the blues and 70's style rock n' roll.

What convinced me to buy a Hot Rod Deville is that I used one on 2 tours . It was provided for me by the artist I worked for. It withstood 2 tours: a total of 3 months of one nighters, you know in a van...very unglamourous circumstances. The only servicing I had to do was to change a fuse...ONCE. I was told that up until that point, that same amp had done a couple of other tours with NO servicing.

no experiences at this point

Great for a working guitar player doing just about everything, except metal. Wish it had that Famous Fender Tremolo, but this is not a perfect world----- ah well...there are plenty of nice Tremolo stompboxes out there... This amp is near perfect for me

2004 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe made in Mexico.
12" Eminence Speaker.
3 channels Clean Drive and More Drive.
Controls: Volume, Drive, Treble, Bass, Middle, Master, Reverb, Presence.
Two inputs, Effects loop, Bright switch.
Footswich and Amp cover included.

Guitars I use with this amp are a G&L S-500 USA, and a Peavey Generation EXP Custom ACM. The only effect I am presently using is an Ibanez TS-7 Tube Screamer. I almost always use the clean channel.
I used this am stock for about a year and was very disappointed. First there was an annoying rattle/buzz on certain notes regardless of the volume. I tightened all the screws but the sound seemed to come from the speaker. I took it back and the rattle was still present even with an external speaker. After they replaced the speaker I was told that it was a "resonance" within the amp. I tried another amp in the store and it had the exact same rattle so I took my amp home. I only accidentally discovered the cause a year later when I upgraded the tubes. As soon as I replaced the Groove Tubes the rattle was gone. When I put the Groove Tubes back in the rattle started again instantly. The tubes were not loose or vibrating because that produces a different sound.
Second problem was the harsh brittle "ice pick in the ears" sound of this amp. There seemed to be no setting that wasn't too shrill or too flabby sounding. I endured this for quite some time thinking it was due the MFD single coils in my S-500. After reading the many reviews here I decided to change the tubes and speaker, and what a difference!
For the Power Amp I used Tesla JJ 6L6GC, V1 & V2 Sovtek 5751 V3 Electro-Harmonix 12AT7EH and increased the bias from 58 to 68mV. Changing the tubes made the biggest improvement, I could now use my bridge pickup again!
The amp now sounded pretty good by itself but sounded terrible when playing with drums or other instruments.
I installed a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker and now the amp sounds fantastic under all playing circumstances. The first time I jammed with the new speaker I played for about 6 hours straight savouring that rich warm tone at all volumes. I can't believe how long I endured the stock tubes and speaker. For $250. Cdn. I now have an amp I am completely satisfied with. The only problem now is that the Vintage 30 caused the JJ power tubes to vibrate due to their location, and this created a ringing/jangling sound. To stop this I insulated them temporarily to stabilize and dampen the vibration which seems to work fine. I will probably try to build something a bit better, the pre-amp tubes came with a foam type insulator.
I'm still not used to the reverb on this amp, even at a setting of 1 you can still hear plenty of reverb. Anything past 3 it has a real jangly ringing sound, quite a clatter if turned up too much.
For stock sound I would rate this amp as 5 but it can easily be made into a 10 with the right modifications to suite your taste.

I use this amp without a backup but carry extra tubes just in case. I take the amp out 2 to 3 times a week and have had no problems. Overall the amp seems sturdy and solid with the exception of the front grill.

Have not dealt with the company

I have been playing for about 15 years mostly country classic rock and oldies. Other amps I have owned were a 70's Fender Super Twin and a 1994 Peavey Classic 50 2x12. I bought this amp to replace my Peavey Classic 50 which was stolen and probably should have shopped around a bit more. The HRD has a lot more volume than the Classic 50 and is a great value for the money. After modifying this amp I am very satisfied with the sound and tone. I will probably continue experiment with different tube combinations. I like the foot swich which has lights to indicate the channel and drive settings. With so many owners swaping out the Eminence speaker I wonder why Fender continues to use them. I wish you could by this amp without the speaker and tubes. If this amp was stolen (like my Classic 50!)I would probably replace it with a Yorkville/Traynor Custom Valve series.

Folow up to a previous post.

Was having trouble with 'ugly' non-musical dlstortion on drive
channel, and on clean channel when using boss blues driver.

Experimented with all kinds of pre-amp-tubes, and bias settings.

Amp's schematic says set bias to 30mA per 6L6 (60 mA combined).
But it doesn't say if the 6l6's are 19, 25 or 30 watts.

60mA on a 25watt 6l6 gives 53% dissipation, I assumed this as 'spec'.

So, the same 53% dissipation on a 30 watt 6L6 works out to
a combined bias value of 72mA (36mA/tube), or +72mV at TP30.

huh?

The sound cleaned right up.

I see that lots of folks use th TP30 setting of 68mV, but that
turned out to be cold in my amp (445 on the plates...), it needed a little more... (And 53% dissipation is still cold!)

I also had tried GT-12AX7-M's and 5741's and 12AX7EH's,--
and found that the cheap Sovtek 12AX7WA's actually sound
better. (I think that the preamp may have been designed around
it's lower specs. This might explain the pre-amp's volume 'bleed through' when controls are at zero, that some have noted.

Same features as listed by many in this forum

I usually just play on metal tube amps and if I wanted to sound clean I'd use the stock clean channel on it. When I first started playing the guitar clean channels didn't mean dick to me hence the metal amps. With that said, many years have gone by and I decided to try out a hotrod deluxe for that clean fender sound everyone is so horny over. Well I'll say it. It's a fucking fabulous clean tone! It instantly made my clean channel on my metal amp sound like ass.

Well mine arrived with the reverb not working at all. I checked for loose connections but found none. Sending it back.

For $514 this is a great deal, but has flaws in the design: plastic shafts for the input, think particle wood frame and will eventually warp the back panel because of heat. I decided to go all out since this religious clean channel awakening of mine. I'm going for the 59 bassman.

All you need for blues, roots, country etc. etc. Anything except Hard Rock/Metal really. Jazz would need a bit more headroom if playing in a big band. If you need more power, use a PA.

Clean is great, very warm and full of life.

There seems to be alot of debate about the distortion and reverb on this amp. To be really honest, who would buy a Fender for metal anyway? Some of the reviews on this site crack me up. If you play a cheap Epiphone through this and want to sound like Kirk Hammet, what do you expect????

You don't need to use Reverb past 2-3 in most gigging situaitons, as the sound bleeds into the mix - less is more.
For what it was designed for - great.

As reliable as any other I guess. Any amp could pack up, it depends on alot of factors eg. how much and where you use it etc.

Fender aren't too great in this department, as many will testify...

It's a great amp. There are many other great amps on the market. The other main manufacturers make great gear, which is good if used in the right situations properly, with good guitars. It really depends on what styles of music you want to play...

2004 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. 40w. 3 channels, clean, o/d and more o/drive. High and Low inputs, effects loop. Shared EQ across all channels - Bass, Mid,Treble+Presence+Reverb. Bright Switch on Clean channel. Footswitch or push buttons for channel switch. Extra speaker socket.

These are enough for me. I tend to set the amp and play away. Tremelo would be nice but can't have everything.

Using Fender Strat Deluxe with S1 switching, Telecaster, Jaguar + Epiphone LP Custom.
It sounds good with them all. Fender guitars and Fender amps just go together IMHO.

Really sings with the Strat. Drive channel is OK but buzzes a bit when pushed. I use a Boss OD3 pedal on the clean channel to get driven sound now and it is excellent. Takes out some of the lows and boom when using the drive channel.

Clean is excellent and reacts well to playing style. I play blues, classic rock, some country.
Good surf sound from the Jag - reverb well up to it.

Had a Twin Reverb and switched to this to get more "grit" in my sound and it really is great. Lots of sustain too.

Silent pickups on the Strat make it really quiet.

Like almost all the posts here, the input jack is dodgy and I usually have to wiggle the cable to get it to work.

It's solid and well put together. I think it would gig without a backup.

Warranty is 5 years (I think).
I would take it back to the shop if it went faulty.

Been playing 20 years on and off. Also have Marshall MG100DFX SS combo which I thought was good until I got HR Deluxe. Marshall is ok with my Epiphone but not the Fenders now.

If lost or stolen I would get another, but would be tempted to listen to a Peavey Classic or Delta Blues first :-)

I love the sound of this amp. Clean is heaven, and with Boss pedal I can get SRV, Hendrix, Clapton, in fact most things. It may be modern but it is 100% pure Fender.

I tried a Hughes & Kettner Edition 20. Great for metal but no real reverb and mental volume control. As soon as I plugged into HR Deluxe I knew I was at that place.

It makes me want to play.

amp is from 1997 i think, bought new about 8 years ago.
has 2 channels and a loop, two inputs that work together, reverb, so really quite versatile, although i use just clean channel and use pedals.......
use the amp in studios and various venues from clubs to arenas..
too loud if anything...!!!

used mostly with single coil strat & tele.
after a couple of years i changed the speaker to a vintage 30, just because it handled the OD and distortion pedals better, it did change the clean sound a bit though, not worse just different.
i use this amp in many different bands with different styles from jazz (ish!!) to hard rock
and its great. i honestly think pound for pound ($$$$) this is the best amp in the world!!
i use a top hat ac30 type amp and a victoria tweed twin for some other things, because they have very specific sounds, but for an easily transportable versatile amp this is it.....it is heavier than the 2x12 tweed twin now the vintage 30 is in!! (was lighter before)

ive had this amp for 8 years now (roughly) and gigged it on average 3/4 times a week
its been recorded on films and tv and ive never taken a backup, even when the resistors died on me at a gig you could use it, clean sounds werent good but there was sound coming out!!! (even though i hated that gig i dont think anyone noticed!!)
after about 5 years the input socket got dodgy so that got changed for a hard wired switchcraft and of course the valves have been changed a few times (not a lot though, prob 3 sets of power tubes) lots of the 1st preamp tube.....it has 1 GT mullard reissue in pos 1 which is really nice, great for handling the pedals....

never used

i think for the money this is the finest.....
i have used various things marshall, soldano, tonemaster, matchless, top hat and victoria
i originally bought this cos it was light!! and i could get it around easily but i have used it more than any other amp....ive never owned a matchless, but they are v. nice but i did sell a soldano and a tonemaster because this is better!!! (better clean than both - and with pedals and a vintage 30 a fatter distortion than the soldano) they were really dissappointing....
anyway, never done a review before but i feel for the money this amp is great...i left it 8 years to see!!!!!!!

Bought Jan. 2004 Read the other reviews for the features, everybody's got that end covered very well. Classic Fender tone, great for any type of vintage music (blues, country, jazz, older rock). Very loud amp-haven't even had it up past 2 yet on the clean channel, and that's at gig volume!

Using a Fernandes strat, Les Paul Copy, and my trusty old Telly, playing vintage and modern blues, occaisonal classic rock. Noise level is typical for a tube amp, you're never going to get rid of all of it. This amp can very definitely nail the Fender clean tone, while the drive channel does well at medium gain settings (forget about real high-gain though, a pedal is definitely in order for that). That said, i really dig the touch sensitivity you can get by keeping the drive gain under half way. With the regular drive and the strat, I can perfectly get the old Jimmy Vaughn-T-Birds tone (Girls Go Wild era). The effects loop actually likes stomp boxes-I hooked a Danelectro Tuna Melt (tremolo) in with absolutely no problems. The reverb is beyond fender surf, I usually just leave barely cracked open, even for the surf medley I won't turn it up past half.

A few things that I have found out:
1) The More Drive is actually the full gain-regular drive introduces a resistor on the cathode of one the preamp tubes, knocking the gain down. My approach is to set the More Drive level first, the regular Drive will fall very nicely in after you set it this way.
2) The Bright switch only works on the clean channel, this is by design (the distortion could get too harsh). The Middle tone control feeds the bass tone control-turn up the mids and the bass will follow. This, BTW, is how the 4x10 bassman's tone controls work (and strangely, I found myself using exactly the same settings I used to use on that old Bassman).
3) Play the amp AT LEAST 8-10 HOURS AT GIG VOLUME before passing judgement on the speaker. Brand new speakers have a tendancy to sound very stiff, and they only loosen up after a fair chunk of playing. I had a Peavey Sheffield in my old amp, it sounded very harsh at first, but after playing it for a gig I could hear it soften up and get sweeter and more musical. This amp's speaker (an Eminence) sounded alright to begin with, but I could already hear it sweeten up after a couple of hours of playing.

It's a Fender, take care of it and it should last quite a stretch. Definitely carry extra tubes if you don't have a a backup.

We've all heard about Fender's "Legendary" support, I've never used them, but I have a good local store who can handle it (they are also authorized dealers)

Been playing 25 years, have owned nearly every old Fender there is, plus some others. The thing I liked best about it was the price/sound. It sounded as good as the Pro Reverb, at barely half the price. Sure it would be nice to have tremolo or other effects built-in, but then the price would go up a bunch, and make it less reliable

This is for all the quotes of "This is not a metal head amp" or "buy another amp if you like metal". This is correct to an extent, however, some people must not of ever heard of a distortion pedal. Sheesh. I think it's bad to sway the naive or newbies away from a amp due to lack of a heavy sound as if it were not possible. Most Metal heads add pedals to their metal amps because their distortion channel blows, just like you guys says the Hotrod's drive channel sucks. Did you guys ever hear of Metallica? They would buy an amp for a clean sound and add stomp a distortion pedal on top of it! Did you know that?....NOPE. If some of you knew anything outside your closed little blues world we'd have more people buying and discovering the great amp this is. In Stock form it's not for metalheads. Has anyone every been interested with a stock amp? NO! Why do you think distortion pedals sell?

This amp is phenomenal! I have gone through many a amp (custom Fenders, Laney, Music Man), and was very happy to find this one. It is the perfect volume for club level. I have yet to get it off of 3 in the CLEAN channel. The effect loops is ok if you want to place a digi-verb/delay thing in it. The forementioned channel switching is nice (especially for blues gigs when no fx pedals are required). It just honest works and sounds great. I even ran my pedal steel through it for a summer's worth of gigs (very low volume....of course)

I play country/rock/blues/jazz stuff with it and it sounds great. It can get a little treble-ee with my tele, but I personally like removing heads with high frequencies......

It has yet to break...no complaints! I have gigged without a backup (well....I have a pedal that does amp modeling if I am really screwed.....).

No dealings with Fender yet. I would probably repair myself or find an authorized center.

I found this in a pawn shop for $250. No kidding....it had been out of the store for a week before it was pawned...I snatched it up right away. After I got this amp, I got rid of my Laney 212. It is an amp that provides those great tube tones with no fuss or extra BS. For $250-500, you can get a great amp!

This is a 40 Watt, 1x12 Fender tube amp (mine came in blonde tolex) with a clean channel, drive channel, and a "more drive" button (which is pretty much a boost for the drive channel- NOT a third channel). It has the vintage "chicken-head" knobs on top.. very cool. Standard EQ controls. Preamp out/power amp in = effects loop.

40W is perfect for what I'm using this for. It's big enough to fill a club/large room, but small enough to break up at reasonable volumes. Stick a mic in front of it and you could play Madison Square Garden..

I play an American Tele and a Yamaha AES620 and this amp is all I use (though it is a little loud for a practice amp). It has amazing tone with the Tele, and the overdrive channel is sufficient for the Yamaha. This amp shines when clean, and more than gets by with the overdrive channel. Great tube tone.

The only problem is that there's a wierd buzzing on certain pitches, either coming from the speaker, or cabinet rattle, or.. I don't know. It's barely noticeable, but bugs me anyway. Not a fretbuzz problem, as I had all my guitars setup. Had the dealer check it out and they said they couldn't hear it.. whatever.

Solid as a rock. I would gig without a backup, but would definitely bring extra tubes.

They were helpful and prompt with checking on that buzzing thing, but said they couldn't fix it b/c they couldn't even hear it. Incredibly kind, but not very helpful.

Putting it as simply as possible, buy one. They really are easy to use, great amps. A little maintenance goes a long way. Do listen for that buzzing before you buy it though, it might turn some people off.

This is a brand new amp-received it on 19 January 2005 from American Music Supply. I am mostly a blues player with some rock. I am very pleased overall with this amp. I am still trying to get 'My' blues sound I want, out of it, but with some experimentation and time I know I'll get it.

I am using a LePaul which throught these tubes is very mellow. The only complaint I have is it has a loud bass. I have the bass control turned down all the way and my guitar volume controls down to 4, just to control the bass. the clean channel is excellent. I read some complaints about the distortion. I find them to be ok

Haven't had it long enough yet- But since it is a Fender, and the construction appears to be excellent, I don't think there will be any problems

Don't know yet

I have beeen playing right at 30yrs with a few breaks in between. UI would definitely replace it - The price, quality, sound is a real value in my opinion. I have searched the internet for reviews and asked fellow musicians for advice on tube amps. I kept coming back to this one. It is used in small venues. I am interested in changing the tubes to alter the clean channel -Looking for recommendations- Thanks

This amp is fantastic! Extremely versatile, has 3 channels (clean, drive, more drive), reverb, and effects loop. Not the most hi-tech amp, just simple classic tube tone. Crazy loud.

I play mostly blues and classic rock. This amp suits my style perfectly. Clean channel sounds amazing, can't beat fender tube tone. The drive channel sounds very vintage. More drive channel is kind of noisy and sounds a little less natural than the others. This amp does a terrific job of replicating your favorite Hendrix, Zeppelin, and SRV tones. If you're looking for a metal amp or heavy like that, this one isn't for you. I can't believe how loud this thing is. Only thing is that the bass tones can be overwhelming at hight volumes. Overall - excellent.

This amp seems to be really well made. The cabinet is really strong, makes an excellent chair. No reliability complaints yet! One of the preamp tubes (in position V3) seems to be microphonic, no biggie. Comes with a 5 year warranty.

Haven't had any issues to speak of yet, so I haven't had to deal with customer support.

I've been playing for a little over the year, I feel like this amp is something I can really grow with. If stolen, I'd definately get another one. I compared this to every tube and tube/hybrid under $1000, I just found myself always coming back to this amp. Deville's are nice also, but trust me 40 watts is more than enough; save $200 and your back and buy a deluxe.

40 watts all tube, 2 channel with drive boost on drive channel, 3 band parametric, spring reverb, effects send and return. 1 x 12 inch speaker. Cool knobs!
2004 model. Swapped it for my old marshall 100w. Probably not a good swap dollar wise, but I now have an amp that i can use in just about any room - and i can carry it in one hand! Also, I can get great driven power tube tone without pissing off the engineer. I am happy man.

Plenty of tonal variations are available with just the pressure you play. Just don't overdo the treble or the bass - treble can hurt your ears after 3 o clock and bass can get flabby with high vol, so set the amp up differently for each room....
The clean channel: normal mode lovely, warm, clear and bell like. With the bright switch down there is heaps of sparkle. Turn the volume up and the power tubes get driven hard to give a lovely, linear natural type of compression - the sound just gets "creamier" and a little more forgiving.
I have only used a Strat and a Tele with it, so the bright switch does not get used live much.
Drive Channel: this is where the fun starts. Roll back the volume or preferably just pick softly for rhythm, pick harder and all the rich tonality of your guitar come through. Play a big, open chord and really give it some stick and every note rings through - crunchy and warm but still clear and defined. If your sound comes from your fingers and not a row of gadgets you will really appreciate the sound.
Neck pickup: Blue and ballsy (think Jimi Hendrix -Red House). Neck and Middle: clear sparkly- just really "fender-ish" and clear. Middle pickup - loud and proud. Mid and Bridge - twanggg.... Neck - tele type cut. Bridge humbucker - pushes front end for fat warmth. This amp just seems to really deliver your guitar's sound without having to blow the walls off the room.
One more sound - if you set up the drive channel for that ballsy crunch sound, you can step on the "more drive" button and get a little extra gain for really dirty, but still responsive soloing>
My previous amp was a Marshall 900. The fender kills it in every sound except one - the wonderful, singing, cutting, endless sunstain type lead tone. Well- you can't have everything. So it loses a point to be fair. I have not used any stomp boxes- perhaps that will help to approximate the big Jim Marshall sound, but I dont really do the Eddie Van Halen thing any more. If you do -get a Marshall...'nuff said.
So- just luurve the sounds it does give me, BUT - the reverb so far really bites. Any level over 1 1/2 and it just sounds like loose metal rattling. I might get in touch with fender and see what they say. I thought fender reverbs were supposed to be the "holy grail". If I am stuck with this crap sound, then I will start looking for a mod, or (dare I say it) something (pleeease nooo) digital. It loses a point for the reverb so far.

Tube amps - specially combos need love and care. Havent had it long tho, so cant really say. Seems solid tho. Really like the heavy ply the cabinet is made of, and the knobs are protected by being recessed into the top of the amp.

Havent dealt with fender, But will call them about the reverb. I have had various strats and teles- my last two have been with me for over 10 years and done a fair bit of work - never a prob. Hope the amp is half as good!

Been playing 20 odd years. I try not to use any effects as they all seem to take away something from my basic sound before adding anything. I only really play fender guitars so dont know how fat les pauls sound in it. Just guessing but I reckon semis would just love this amp. The amp really delivers what I want - clarity and touch sensitivity - it is just really organic and responsive. Great amp for jazz, blues, rootsy rock - just about anything really except for that super high gain hard rock/metal sound. Said it before- but I wish the reverb was better.

2004 Hot Rod Deluxe. Bought it fresh from my local Fender outlet. I like uncomplicated amps, I can mess them up with my pedals and whatnot later. It has everything you need, and nothing you don't need, except the reverb, which I hardly use.

So far I have used it with a strat and a 335. It sounds great with them, if you like the blues. I also hooked it up to a 1965A Marshall cab, and I love the sound. The 4x10's plus this amp really seem to complement each other.

It isn't noisy at all (in fact, quieter than most amps I have played in my place). I'm not into nu-metal or metal - I just love the sound of a good guitar through a nice amp, and this is what I get here.

Can't comment. Haven't had it long enough.

Again, I can't comment. I have the standard fender five year transferrable warranty, but there's no way I'm going to get rid of this amp.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I own lots of other guitars and amps. If it were stolen, I would buy another one, or find the guy who stole it and tear him a new one. Like I said, I'm playing it through a Marshall 4x10, and it really gives it some oomph. It sounded good before, but this really puts it over the top.

This is just a wonderful amp. I compared it to the Peavey Classic 30, but with that one, you would also have buy the footswitch and the cover, both of which came included with the Hot Rod.

I'm not saying this is the best amp ever, but for the money, it can't be beat.

American 40Watt all tube amp, TWO CHANNELS(clean and gain/more gain), for complete features go to www.fender.com
Well, first of all, I'm a Marshall man but that doesn't mean that I'll speak crap about this amp or other manufacturers, so please read on...
I got this amp by trading some gear that I stoppped using, its a full featured small sized amplifier with a decent sound and enough volume, its not a Twin Amp or a Twin Reverb generally speaking but it does things alright, and for the features and the sturdyness I decided to keep it; I haven't used it live, but it comes with a serious volume level!!!(amps that comes equiped with 6L6/5881 tubes trend to sound louder than EL34's for instance), although I prefer using my Marshall JCM900 4502 for live playing.

I have tried other Fenders like Twin Amps and Twin Reverbs, those are pro amps already, I found this Hot Rod Deluxe more for studio or rehearsal/practicing use. Speaking about guitar amps, I like it simple, you know, a nice warm tube clean sound and a generous amount of gain on a dirty channel, maybe two separated EQ's for each channel and an effects loop, this amp has those features.
I already tried runnig all my gear with this amp but I like the way it sounds and feels with any of my guitars just straight connected, so I'm using it more for practicing and temporarilly as a stereo return for my TC Electronic G-Major, I use my Marshall as the main amp.

For a view of my current live rig setup see below.

Very reliable, I'm thinking about change power tubes anyway.

I've been playing guitar for about 11 years now, I've owned lots of amplifiers of different manufacturers and Marshalls have been always at the top of my list, but I like some Fenders too, most for clean sounds, and I feel good with this Hot Rod Deluxe, it sounds OK and features everything I need even my JCM900 still being my inseparable buddy.
Anyway I recommend the Hot Rod Deluxe if you're looking for a small but loud full featured amp.

My current live rig setup is as follows:

Guitars: some Ibanez models. JEM7VSBL, RG2020XTLB, RG7421XLGN and a Fender American Stratocaster with Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups.

Amps: Marshall JCM900 4502 50Watt 2x12 combo(as MAIN AMP), Fender Hot Rod Deluxe(as STEREO RETURN).

Pedalboard(Furman SPB-8): Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer, Digitech XP100 WhammyWah, MXR Wylde Overdrive, Boss NS-2 Noise Supressor, TC Electronic G-Minor midi foot controller.

Rack: Shure Wireless Receiver, Rack Rider power conditioner and light module, TC Electronic G-Major(connected to the effects loop of the JCM900. Right output goes connected to the POWER AMP IN of the Hot Rod Deluxe as the stereo return.

I'll continue using the Hot Rod Deluxe as the stereo return amp while I get another JCM900 4502, I hope to find another one soon.

2000 hot rod deluxe
very versatile
3 channels, all chanels are good for something, my opinion.
i use this amp because it sounds very good and it
offers more options than most fender tube amps, thus i give it 9.

well, this is my second hot rod deluxe. I also had a fender 410 deville. i use a fender american fat strat deluxe and my ernie ball axis sport with soapbars. no, its not noisy, very quiet. i can get very convincing gary moore tones from this amp. This is what i honestly think about tube amps. I have had so many, i feel qualified. I have come to the conclusion that 212s and 410s are difficult to play through. I think those type of amps are very ambient and great for clean jazz tones, but very difficult for the overdriven blues/rock tone that i love. I came to this conclusion after going years without a 112 amp and just playing the 410s and 212s. I will stay with 112s for now on. I play my fender fat strat through this amp. I personally think the american standard and my strat are meant for this amp. I just can't believe the tone i get with this amp. I honestly think playing a delay pedal with the amps overdrives helps a lot. My gary moore tone is: my fat strat using the neck pickup. i set the treble to 4, the bass to 8, the MID to 6. I set the reverb to 2 and the use some delay. i can get great tones with the yellow and red overdrives. yellow at 4 and red at 3. I bought this amp used and it came with 6L6B power tubes instead of the 6L6C. I think these tubes help. I love the amp and i'm amazed. I think the 112 amps have a nice tight feel versus the too ambient sound/feel of the 410s and 212s. Go to the local clubs sometime, you'll notice that the most common amps being played are the peavey classic 30 and the hot rod deluxe. my opinion, the hot rod sounds a lot better than the classic 30. I should know, i had two classics. I give this amp a 9 for sound.

the amp has been around. I bought it used and the previous owner had no issues. I hope he bias'd the power tubes.

don't know
i hear fender support is BAD
maybe they'll do something about it.

I love the amp and can't believe the tone i get. I get a nice tight gary moore blues/rock tone. I can get a great cold shot SRV tone by adding the yellow OD. I think delay helps the OD channels alot (hendrix used delay all the time). I recommend you try the delay. the amp has a very warm tone. some claim its to bassy, i don't think so. It doesn't have the fender brite vintage tone that most wnat from a fender, though. it has its own tone, which is very warm/beefy. I recommend trying other tubes with this amp if your not happy. I also recommend fender guitars or single coils with this amp. I don't think humbuckers were meant for this amp. I have played for a long time and have had many many guitars and amps. I like this amp and plan on keeping it. I also have a ROLAND CUBE 60 i love. Its a fun amp.

HAS ALL THE NECESSITYS FOR A GREAT RIG TO BUILD ON .

I play classic rock to modern rock styles .I have been stuck in the modulation rut for years now looking for the perfect amp with everything built in .I have a guitar builder in the family that builds some out of this world tele and strat style guitars for alot of famous guitarists .I love the sound of the guitar over everything ive played under $5,000. but it has led me down a path to find the most warm natural glassy tone I could .I have been in every guitar shop within 100 miles searching every brand and model over the last couple of years and I overlooked this amp for a long time because of the cheep price . I kept trying out everything in the 1000 to 3000 catagory which never suited me except for a bogner xtsy head but i wasn't looking for a head only and over 3000 without a speaker cabinet . When one day a drummer of all people was listening to my playing and said I had to try one of these . He got the amp brought it to me and forced me to try it . From the very first note I knew this was the best sounding amp I ever heard at any price . Thats without tweeking anything . very warm natural glassy ,great overdrive the building blocks to great sound for any style .
Beware thought it will sound like your guitar so if your playing a guitar not suited for your style this amp wont work without a guitar replacement for something comperable.

bring spare tubes always but thats a standard with any tube amp . seems to be rock solid

5 year transferable warrenty says it all . even if it takes some time to get it fixed it will be

Ive been playing for about 15 years and I like all style of music (10 of those was in the same rock band).I mostly play at home now in my studio I like to call it .I have never heard another amp like this that give me the sound I was looking for. It's like an amp should sound . lost or stolen I would replace in an instant for the same model .best amp ive played for any style .
PS. your guitar amp should sound the way you like it without any effects so you have a great sound to build on without drowning your tone and playing style

Well, it's got 40 freakin' watts, 3 channels: clean, drive & more drive. It's got an effects loop which is also useable as a recording output or slave out (Preamp -out), Bass, treble and mid controls. One volume control for the clean channel and drive and master for the two other channels, extention cabinet jack, footswitch jack etc.. God damned, this thing has everything I need!

I use the hot rod deluxe mainly for bluesrock tunes like Clapton, SRV, Gallagher, All Kings,Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Doyle Bramhall and some jazzy stuff like Jan Akkerman (Focus)and Kenny Burrel stuff.......

I also it with my band with all songs including Chris Rea, Norah Jones, Fleedwood Mac, Dire Straits, Clapton etc..
I can get all these sounds and the're ALL GOOD!

I use it mainly with my custom Tele and my 60's Strat, Buth I also use a humbucker-equiped guitar for some slide-stuff.......And with this amp I'm able to hear THE GUITAR instead of THE AMP.

This is why I bought this amp, this amp is able to extend the pro's of your guitar, so if your guitar produces some nice sound, this amp will do the same, you can't get wrong!!!!!

I definitely can depend on it! It never broke down, never changed the tubes by now. Maybe I have to buy a pair of tubes as spare parts.........But I handle this thing with care and never got into trouble with this thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've never dealt with the company, But I've always had a good impression concerning the fender company itself so I think it will be ok!

For every REAL guitarplayer who is able to produce some serious tones by his hands and any good guitar this amp is a WANNAHAVE!!!

I love it ,so does my Strat, Tele ,Gibby and my 1959 Framus Jazz-box!
(and off course my beloved girl-friend who inspires me and enables my to create some very nice music!!!!! ;))

Bought this amp, and was pretty disgusted. But since it's 1/2 the
price of other amps that I find inadequate, I figured that I'd experiment some. I think I got lucky, and wish to pass my findings on.

So here are some Tips for good HRD tone on the cheap:

Use Input # 2 (the low gain one)
Use a Tube Screamer / Blues Driver
Mid @ 1/2
Bass @ 1/4
Treble @ 1/2
Presence @ 1/2
Drive @ 3
Volume / Master / Clean / Drive / More Drive to taste...

Mod:
V1 to a 12AX7EH
V2 to a 5751.
V3 to a sovtek 12AX7WA (el cheapo)
Set 5881WXT Disipation to 15.25 watts / tube

You won't void the warranty.

My results from these suggestions:
Clean is less bassy.
Drive will actually sound good, like a hot tele.
A tube screamer or Blues Driver will take you over the top.
"More Drive" actualy becomes useful.
Can play at bedroom volume without a volume box.

Definately a keeper, now.

FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE 2004 MODEL
2 CHANNEL TUBE AMP WITH MORE DRIVE BOOST ON CHANNEL 2-SHARED EQ FOR EACH CHANNEL-40 WATTS-ARE THEY SURE ? - PRESCENCE-BRIGHT-REVERB ETC .
I PLAY IN A POWER TRIO PLAYING BLUES,ROCK N ROLL AND ROCK.
THE SHARED EQ IS NO PROBLEM AS I USE A FENDER STRAT DELUXE WITH S1 SWITCHING WHICH GIVES MORE THAN ENOUGH TONE CONTROL.
AS FOR POWER,THIS AMP IS SHEER DYNAMITE!
I DO NOT NEED ANY OTHER FEATURES.

SOUNDS
CLEAN CHANNEL-ABSOLUTELY FAULTLESS-BEAUTIFUL TONES-REVERB NICE.
DRIVE CHANNEL-PATHETIC FOR RHYTHM PLAYING WITH STANDARD EMINENCE SPEAKER-FARTY AND COARSE SOUNDING WHEN ANY DECENT AMOUNT OF GAIN APPLIED (LEVEL 3 PLUS).
I SWAPPED THE SPEAKER FOR A RECONDITIONED CELESTION 100 WATT ONE AND WAS AMAZED AT THE IMPROVEMENT-THE AMP HAS BEEN TOTALLY TRANSFORMED,BOTH THE DRIVE AND MORE DRIVE CHANNELS ARE NOW SOUNDING BRILLIANT . NOT A BAD RESULT FOR #20 .
THE RATING IS FOR STANDARD AMP-10 FOR CLEAN CHANNEL-0 FOR DRIVE CHANNELS S0 A 5.
THE AMP IS INCREDIBLY LOUD SO I USE A THD HOTPLATE TO CRANK IT UP WITHOUT BLOWING ANY WINDOWS-I AM AMAZED AT WHAT THIS MODIFIED AMP CAN DO .

I HAVE HAD IT FOR A YEAR WITH NO PROBLEMS AND USE IT FOR GIGS AND REHEARSALS.

NO OPINION.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR TWENTY YEARS NOW AND HAVE BEEN IN BANDS FOR FIFTEEN.
I HAVE HAD AMPS BY MOST OTHER MAKES , TUBE AND SOLID STATE AND WOULD NOT CONSIDER BUYING ANYTHING OTHER THAN TUBE AMPS BECAUSE OF THE SOUND QUALITY AND PLAYING DYNAMICS.
THE REASON I BOUGHT THIS AMP WAS FOR ITS SOUND IN THE SHOWROOM, SO YOU GET NO IDEA WHAT IT CAN DO-HENCE THE SPEAKER SWAP.
I ALSO USE A LANEY VC30 2x10 TUBE AMP AT GIGS ALONGSIDE THIS AMP WITH A YAMAHA PACIFICA 311-MS, DIFFERENT SOUNDS BUT I LIKE THE VARIETY OF SOUNDS AVAILABLE.
I THINK THAT #489 PLUS #20 FOR THE NEW SPEAKER IS FANTASTIC VALUE FOR AN AMP WHICH SOUNDS LIKE THIS ONE.

40 watts and loud!
1 channel worth mentioning the others it would appear are simply a distortion pedal /system bolted in.
I wish it had a tube screamer built in.
I use this amp at home. Read previous reviews on how to get a good sound. I found the cheapest and easiest way is to put a zoom volume pedal on the effects send and return and play through the clean channel. This gives you a nice overdriven tone at 5-12 without the volume.

Read this..... I USE A STOCK YAMAHA PACIFICA 112 AND I AM NOT ASHAMED!!!!Again read the previous reviews. It would appear that those who have electronics knowledge are able to turn their hot rods into mesa marshall twin bassmans, but we mere mortals have to make do with either stock or fork out enough dough to buy a 59 reissue bassman.

No, this amp is not the holy grail of cheap amplifiers, but it does an acceptable job on the clean end. The drive can be used in small doses and I found the more drive is useful for harmonica in low volume situations. DON'T EXPECT HEAVEN AND EARTH FROM THIS AMP. YOU MAY GET A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN.

I broke the reverb, although that was probably a good thing as it saturates the sound above 2. Then again, if you want mega reverb, go play in a cathedral. Natural is best and this amp does it at low levels ( overdrive / reverb)

Don't know, don't care!

I have been playing for 7 hours and 13 days and own a marshall deluxe bassman that Jimi Hendrix once pissed on as well as owning Buddy Holly's gretch broadcaster drum kit that his father Martin Luther King played on civil rights marches (in other words, does it mattter?)

If someone tried to steal this amp, they would be in my house and I would be stabbing them in the face with a borken beer bottle! If it was stolen from my car, no problem! I'd just go buy somthing else. Hopefully Fender would have brought out a one channel low reverb version by then.

I really do envy all these people who can mod their amps like previous reviewers, sadly, I'm too dumb for that and can afford an amp tech. Fixing the reverb cost me $70+ dollars for God's sake! If you buy this amp, just be aware that it gives a lovely clean tone which breaks up nicely at the right volume (here's where the volumne pedal comes into play from home use). and a sort of useful overdrive for the right applications. I'm going to hot rod my strat with vintage hot pickups and a Clapton mid boost so I can capitalise on the clean channel just by using the mid boost. other than that, an acceptable amp for the price. Perhaps Fender should just offer this amp with just the clean channel.

New 2004 HRDeluxe. Standard features.
Nice for blues, some classic rock. Good clean for jazz.
Very powerful "40 watts", plenty loud.
It would be nice if it had a true master volume.
Would be nice if it had less cabinet induced bass,
at least a stiffer baffle-board.

Use Strat, LPS, PRS McCarty, and homebrew hot tele's.
Works adequately with all axe's.
Nice, but unnecessairally boomy, "clean".
Drive selection (selection not "channel"), is "not all that bad".
More Drive selection, not all that good, but usable under some circumstances.
Not a "metal" amp.
Not a DR Z.
Not a Twin Reverb.
But I do hear some (SLM) Ampeg ReverbRocket, in the clean...

Hope it's gonna last. Found little balls of solder
(yes, "little balls") stuck to the PCB, and rolling around
the inside of the chassis, and solder stuck to a couple of the filter caps cases. Cleaned it out. Fingers crossed...

Say what?

Amp came with those Groove Tombs. The output 6L6GB's (sovtek 5881WXT)
are not terrible, biased cold to a little more than 50% at 15.25W
(V plate = 448). They sound fine and should last 7 years at that setting. The Supplied pre-amp tubes are GT's re-labeled Sovtek 12AX7WC (yes the chars "WC" do stand for "water closet" (toilet)).
These are some of the most uneven tubes I've ever played thru.
Replaced all 3 with: V1 12AX7EH V2/V3 12AX7WA. V2/V3 are lower
gain than V1, and as such clean up the Drive/More Drive without
leaving the 12AX7 family, for which the amp seems to have been designed.

All in all, not a bad amp, and probably the best you'll see for
the price. There are a zillion of them out there, so parts are available, only 5 reasonably priced tubes (in fact it doesn't like expensive pre-amp tubes!), and tech's can fix 'em without you paying for their learning curve.
Also built the ever necessary "Volume Box". Without it, the amp is
useless to me. Allows for bedroom volume, and removal of some of the
amp's cabinet generated excessive bass, when playing out.

Using the stock Emminence speaker. To me, swaping this speaker is a waste. It's the overly resonant cab that's the excessive bass culprit.

It's no MusicMan, but it'll do.