Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

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.

Having ?retired? from the larger venues and returned to the world of club gigs, I was looking for a good tube amp that wouldn?t break my wallet or my back and still leave me with enough strength to play the gigs. I bought it new in 1997? after a few years of getting to know each other, I?m finally ready to give it a believable evaluation.

Comes stock with 40 extremely LOUD watts, 12-inch speaker; 6L6 power tubes; 12AX7 pre-amp tubes, high and low gain inputs, channel switching, FX loop. Everybody knows the rest - some additional touches would be nice, and we'll get to them below.

Depending on where I?m playing and who I?m playing for, I?ll play everything from country to jazz - but no metal - and I spend most of my time playing blues and classic rock. This amp fills the bill for whatever I happen to play on any given evening.

I play an ES-335, a couple of Strats (one with ?62RIs and another with Texas Specials), a Tele and a Takamine acoustic/electric. These go into a Boss GT-3, and then into the front end of the HRD. Once the controls were properly tweaked, I have had nothing less than killer tone. One thing I really enjoy about the amp is that it lets each guitar?s individual ?personality? come out. There are no generic sounds. If I'm playing a Strat, it sounds like a Strat. If I?m hammering it with humbuckers, everyone listening knows it.

Like a lot of other reviewers, I?ve done the standard tweaks - fresh tubes and a new speaker. After a little trial and error, I settled on Svetlana 6L6s, Electro Harmonix 12AX7s in V1 and V2 and an Electro Harmonix 12AT7 in V3. I have to agree with everyone else - the stock speaker leaves a lot to be desired. I tried a Celestion Vintage 30, and although it was an improvement, I was a lot happier after I installed a Reverend All-Tone 1250. Nowadays, it not only sings, it sparkles. A temolo circuit would have been a nice touch, but let?s get real here. It?s obvious that Fender marketed this amp to a specific group - players looking for a solid, good sounding, dependable tube amp for around $500.00. Therefore, with the give and take involved, you get an amp with good potential with a crappy speaker and generic (read that as cheap) tubes. For less than what it would cost to buy one with a tremolo, you can do the mods and have an absolutely great amp. And if you still want tremolo, you can probably afford to buy a stompbox.

Much has been said about the amp?s three channels. Once again, let?s get real, here. If you bought this amp, it?s pretty much given that you bought it for the clean sounds. After all, that?s what Fenders are all about. While the drive channel is better off used as a boost, the amp?s distortion (even with different tubes) is a joke. The more drive channel? Forget about it. This is not, I repeat, NOT an amp for metal, grunge, or any other style of guitar playing that requires serious distortion. On the other hand, for blues, classic rock, country, jazz and whatever else requires great clean tone and/or some tasty overdrive, you cannot go wrong with the HRD.

I?ve been gigging with this amp on a weekly basis for over 7 years with no backup and no problems. It has never let me down. Keep in mind though, this is a tube amp, and it is only as reliable as you make it by maintaining it. Change the tubes when they sound like they need to be changed. Keep a set of spare tubes and a spare fuse handy. Tighten the screws every once in a while, and check your connections. A little preventive maintenance goes a very long way. A lot of reviewers have said that some corner protectors would be nice. I put some on, and yes, it was $8.00 well spent. You want a tube amp (or any amp, for that matter)to be reliable? Simple - take care of it off stage, and it will take care of you on stage.

I've never needed to have any repair work done on the amp. Past experience has taught me to forget about dealing with the factory and to find a good amp tech.

I?ve been playing for over 30 years, and have run the gauntlet of gear. Marshalls, Boogies, and other Fenders have come and gone. I have a couple of favorites in my closet, but when it comes to gigging these days, the HRD usually gets the duty.

If it were to get lost or stolen, I?d cry and be disconsolate for a while and then go out and get another one and start all over again. For the money, reliability, and positive results after modifications, this is a great amp.

All the features you would expect out of a standard tube amp. 2 channels, couple of "extended" buttons (bright, more drive) shared EQ. 2 Inputs-High and Low, same if used in tandem. Nothing crazy, not too limited. All workable features.

I am a professional musician that really hates equipment. I mean I hate BS. I want something that sounds as good as I play, gets my point accross, and that's it. I felt I needed to rate this amp based on my experience with it over this past weekend...

I do not own this amp. I flew in to Pittsburgh, PA for a recording session, and to play a College faculty clinic/recital. I told the percussionist to rent me a 40 watt tube amp, and that was my only requirement. He showed up with this little puppy.

I brought with me my trusty DS-1 and DD-3, pluged the DD-3 in the loop, the DS-1 out front, set it to the clean channel and went. In the studio, this was amazing, and on stage, equally amazing.

Amp gets very loud, very quick. Didn't get past 2 at either environment (recital was with a full kit, bass player). Didn't even experiment with the drive/move drivel channel. Seriously, I don't even know what the eq was set too! The thing sounded so beautiful clean, and with the DS-1 full out, my tone was very Eric Johnson-like, perfect for the piece, so I didn't even look at the settings. That my friends, it a sure sign that you are dealing with an amazing piece of equipment.

No problems during the 2 days I used it. Amp was on and being played for about 6 hours each day, no probs. I did notice a loud hum, but not from the speakers. Sounded like it was coming form inside the chasis, probably the tubes. Not sure if this is standard to this amp, but it did not affect the sound quality, and did not show up on the recording. I wouldn't worry about it, but would always bring some extra tubes just in case.

I've been playing for 20 plys years. I'm a session guitarists, and run the gamet on what I am hired to perform, from show tunes, to pop solos, to jazz-fusion...whatever. For the professional, this amp is awesome. Crystal clear, which is the perfect pallet to add the overdrive or whatever else you want to suit your taste. You're not stuck with any preset, uncontrolable overdrive characteristics.

I found I spent over an hour this morning with my Line 6 trying to emulate the sound I got this weekend with the Deluxe. I'm close, but given that I didn't even touch the eq on the deluxe...I'm dumping the line 6 for the deluxe this week.

This amp is not for the metal-head as is, but takes really well to pedals. This amp doesn't cover your playing with wicked good overdrive, or give you tone out the yin-yang that makes a G barr chord sound like God. Rather, it keeps you honest, and brings your playing to the forefront. For some, this is good, others this may be bad. For me, where concentrating on the piece being played and bringing all dynamics of the score to the front, and not ripping through a loud shred-fest (although with the right box out front, this amp can do it), this is a perfect choice.

I bought a standard Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a eminence special design speaker. I bought the amp in 2003. I am playing blues and speedrock. Chuck Berry, Ramones, The Hives, etc. So I do like to play rock and roll, punk and blues. In the beginning the amp was only possible to use for blues. But I made some modifications...
It has 3 channels: clean, drive and more drive.
1x12 inch speaker. And it is verrrrrry loud!!!
I wish it had a better placement of the tubes. The position of the tubes could be better. The speaker causes too much vibrations of the tubes.

I am using a gibson SG standard with it. But the sound was really bad.
I made some modifications:

Here are the modifications that I made

-SVETLANA 6L6GC power tubes
throw away those fender tubes.

-VOLUME BOX
still have to build one!!! Is much better for you ears and nieghbours.

-JENSEN C12N Speaker
WOW! It screams.

PREAMP TUBES:
I now have:
2 SOVTEK 5751 for V1 and V2
and a ELECTROHARMONIX 12AT7 in V3.

Please do this modification! It really changed the amp.

No comments. In the begin it made some cracks and terrible tube vibrations. It is still not gone. If someone can help me?

The amp was a few months in the store for repair. But the problem is still there... Fender europe is really not helpful.

A very good amp after the mods.

i just bought this amp about a week ago. Its a 2004. the features on this amp are great. I play a lot of blue/rock music and a lot of alternative too All three channels omn this thing are realy versatile. Beware this amp is really loud for a 40watt single 12. when i cranked it up , i cuold not beliebve it was a single 12 inch speaker. It has a lot of low end power

i play out of a Ernie Ball Musicman Luke model with emg pickups. Emg hum 81 in the bride and EMG single coils in neck position. The sound on this thing is amazing. I have been searching for this tone forever. I use to play out of a line 6 hd-147 head and a line 6 flextone 412 cab. This amp has 300 watts, i paid close to 2000.00 for the piece of crap. Digital amps SUCK!! Your guitar doesnt even sound like a reall guitar. IT sounds like a computer. Anyway, those of you who are playing with digital or solid state amps, quit waisting your time like i did and go buy this amp. You will be amazed at how much better tube amps sound! The clean channel on this is absolutely amazing. When i want to play some alternative rock i use a boss metal zone through the clean channel and it is great.

Only had it abouta couple weeks, so far so good

Havent dealt with

Overal this amp can do anything. Tone is amazing, if your thinkin about goin with a nice tube amp this is the best for the money.

I ws actually shopping for an ES335 when the salesmen plugged me into this amp. I was immediatly in heaven. I put down the ES 335 and plugged in a strat and fell in love. The tone is amaxing and its very verstile with its all tube 3 channels. I use it for home and lite giging. Its plenty loud for 40 watts. The volume pretty much taps out at 4. from 4 and above you bring in nice crunch. Same with the distortion setting. On challel 3 I use it at 3 for like Moby Dick or ironman. you dont need more than that. at 6 and above it gets bassy. On channel 2 i use it at about 5 for like Cold Shot or Empty arms. CHannel one works great for Wind Cries Mary or Little wing and Stairway.

I use an EC strat and a few Gibby Lp's. I play only blues and classic rock. There is no noise except the clean channel tends to distort when used with humbuckers at high volumes. Thats OK for what I use it for. If you play jazz or country then do NOT get this amp. The 2 distortion channels are great for like Zeppelin, Bad Company and sabbath. and the clean channel is great for hendrix clean like The Wind Cries Mary or Buddy guy, albert king stuff.

I just bought it a few weeks ago so its working fine at this point.

havent used customer support. warrenty is 5 years and transferable

Ive been playing 25 years and my other amp is is a JCM 900 50 watt full stack and a small crate GT 30 for practicing when the kids are in bed. I really didnt compare the amp a whole lot cus while i was shopping for the ES 335 the last thing i thought I needed was a new amp. I did try the classic 30 and the Fender Deluxe reverb. But the Hotrod deluxe was much more versitle.

You know all the features if you are reading this review

If you want your amp to come alive...Do the mods suggested by this web site.
http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/jvmods.html#master
I have changed the stock speaker to a vintage 30.
Preamp Tube I use regularly include:

Elite 12ax7 or 12at7 if you want to calm it down.

Power Amp tubes:

JJ/Tesla 6L6 and 6V6s

After changing out the tubes you will notice a that the high punch through and the bass is not as muddy. The celesian really fattens the tone so the teslas thin it out just a bit.

I have also performed the reverb suggested by Jason. Normally I ran the reverb at about 2 and it just swapped the signal. Now I run it at around 6-7 and it is much better sounding.

I haven't dropped it yet@?@

The mods will void the warrenty but are really necc.

Playing about 15 years mostly country stuff so a clean tone is very important. Nashville tele with a seymour ducan mini humbucker in the bridge position. I have had difficulty finding a disortion pedal I like if you have any suggesting feel free to email.

Brand - new, made in 2004, Mexico plant. I sold my Mesa mark IV amp head because it's standard e.q. seemed to be a bit on the midrange side for my tastes. This amp does everything I have been wanting an amp to do, mostly sound like the guitar, have plenty of tone shaping ability, and be portable and loud enough for gigs without an uneeded amount of power. I am playing Stratocasters through it. I use a Crybaby wha, an Ibanez TS-808 reissue pedal, a Boss DS-1 distortion, a Boss Chorus Ensemble pedal, and a Boss Digital delay in the amp's effect loop. It takes to pedals very well, and the wha pedal sounds like it should with no heavy midrange overload mid -sweep. We play Jimi Hendrix, SRV, ZZ Top, Creedence Clearwater, Aerosmith, Elvis, you name it, so I have craved versatility. Many of the songs require a clean sound and this amp brings out all the best of the guitar tones.

It has three channels, clean, drive and more drive. Contrary to what other reviewers have stated, I find this amp to be perfect on all the channels. It would be a total miraculous amp if it had tone controls for each channel independent of one another, but unlike some of the Marshall amps I have owned, the e.q. settings seem to fit right for all the channels and do not sound great for lead, then lousy when you go clean. It seems to be just fine. I play in bars about once a week with the band. I am 47 and have a lot of experience under my belt, and have always been complimented on getting good tones, so I am not a newb. The 40 watt rating is as loud as anyone would ever need to play any job. If you need to get a lot more volume or have a wish to destroy your hearing, mike it up! Best I can say is that this amp has clean tones so nice, it's a refreshing return to the days I had my first amp, a Fender Bandmaster reverb. I almost bought a Peavey XXL combo, but the distortion was too wooly around the edges for my liking. This HR Deluxw gives nice singing tones to the guitar yet allows it to still sound like the guitar you are playing should sound (i.e. a Strat sounds like a Strat, ad nauseum).

I play a fender American Series Strat with Kinman pickups in it. These are worth the $250 price tag, as they are the ONLY noiseless pickups out there that are truly noiseless and retain the signature clarity and highs associated with the instrument. As I said above, the amp suits every style from country to rockabilly to classic rock to hard rock. My bag is Hendrix, and it can easily get the same dgree of sustain and tone needed to do justice to a Hendrix solo.

The amp can put out a LOT of bass, if you want a lot of lows. If not, turn the bass tone control down to where it is acceptable. I am impressed that a single 12" speaker combo can disperse such an amount of low end, and that's a plus as my previous amps sounded pretty thin sometimes. he amp is not noisy at all, unless the gain is set way up and that's normal. The clean channel satys clean even when turned up. The volume control on the amp is for the clean setting, the master knob is for the drive and more drive channel levels. The distortion is not the typical, shitty scooped mids sound you hear all too often (in my old fart opinion), but it is not a wimpy distortion either. Quite focused. Now a lot of the guys I read have changed out the stock speaker for another, and said it yields a great improvement. I also see where a lot of them have modded certian electronic components to adjust brightness, etc. Ohters call for immediate tube replacement. I am not doubting that these "improvements" are okay, but I cannot at this time see where anything sounds poorly or needs improving, and I am someone who has owned a lot of amps from many manufacturers. This little amp is, in my opinion, one of the best kept secrets out there. I love it!

Have no issues at this time. I use no backup because I cannot afford to have two expensive amps on hand.

Contrary to all the laments about Fender being this big, uncaring corporation, I have experienced only good things when dealing with Fender. They have been prompt to take care of the few problems I have had with guitars and such over the years, and have done me right every time.

Short but sweet - I love it. It is the amp for me. It fits my style and the sound I have been wanting to get. had Marshalls, Mesas, Peaveys, Ampegs...all good amps, but this Hot Rod Deluxe really nails it for me. I can hear all the strings evenly when I play through it. I get the best clean tones I could imagine. The distortion is thick and sounds focused and picking dynamics come through very well. Good responsiveness. I have found myself more anxious to play as a result of obtaining this amp, it's that good, IMHO. Only thing missing is Fender could offer an extension cabinet for it, maybe, or built - in tilt legs. But it really needs no extension cabinet to sound tremendous, so I will say it's just an all - around great amp. I tried the Deluxe reverb Reissue, and the tones were excellent, but I was certain it would not be loud enough for my use, as well as I wanted an amp that could do some distortion and sustain without having to buy $500 worth of pedals to get there.

Buy one of these - you will love it if you are a Strat player and like classic rock, blues, etc.

Bought used in 2004--looks like it's only a year or two old.
FEATURES:
40 watts, 12-inch speaker; 6L6 power tubes; 12AX7 pre-amp tubes.
2 jacks--high gain and low gain inputs.
2 channels w/ footswitch. Treble, Mid, Bass, Reverb and Presence controls for both of them.
Clean channel has only volume control and bright switch.
Overdrive channel has gain and volume controls, as well as a "More Boost" switch (which just pumps the drive up another level).
Pre-amp Out and Power-Amp in jacks.
NO Headhpone jack--this is a big mistake, Fender. Every amp on the planet should have a headphone jack.

PROS:
Chicken-head knobs on top--easy to see and adjust.
Plenty of volume
GREAT sound (see below).


CONS:
No headphone jack
A little heavy for its size (45 lbs.)
Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence controls not in any logical order--confusing when you go to adjust your sound.
No boost on the clean channel. (Not essential, but it would be handy.)

I play blues (Robert Johnson, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan) and rock (Cream, Hendrix, Beatles) with a Gibson ES-335 and no effects. I was looking for a medium sized tube amp with a good clean channel and another channel that I could set clean or dirty depending. After reading all the reviews on this site, I almost didn't buy this amp because everyone complained about the overdrive.

Well, let me tell you, that would have been a big mistake. This amp is the absolute BEST! The clean channel shimmers and sparkles like something out of guitar heaven! Better than any amp I've ever had (and I've had a lot of them.) And the overdrive--I've spent years and thousands of dollars looking for this sound! If you want the heavy metal shredding sound, don't bother with this amp. It can't do it. But if you want that great bluesy, mid-range crunch and stinging treble (like Albert King or Eric Clapton), run out and get one of these amps. It was made for the blues!

For settings, I turn my guitar controls down to 5 or 6 so I can turn the amp up. (This is what most of the old-time blues players did. It gets the tubes working in their best range and gives you better tone and sustain.) The rest of the controls:

Treble - 4
Mid - 6-7
Bass - 2 (This amp has a lot of bass. Perfect for rhythm riffs)
Presence - 3
Gain - 6-7

Don't know yet. But looks very solidly built.

Don't know yet. Has a 5-year warranty.

I've been playing for 20 years. I've owned Peavey amps, other Fenders, a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV, a Roland Cube-30. I tried just about every amp out there looking for the right sound. This one beat all the rest, including the Peavey Classic, the Mesa/Boogies, the Vox, Rolands, Line 6 and Marshalls. But, as I said, it's made to play the blues and blues-rock. If you're into metal or hard rock, this is not the amp for you.

The only thing I hate about it is the lack of a headphone jack. But I would still buy another one if it was lost or stolen.

Plenty of features that i don't even use. I just plug in and play.
Line in and out? Nah. I do use all 3 channels. Reverb is not the best, but so what.

I get pretty sweet tones on clean with single coils. Humbucker on tele neck is too boomy. Sounds good with my George Dennis overdrive on clean channel and not bad on the boost channels. I've tried different combinations of tubes and it seems to like sylvania 6lgc's and at7's over ax7's.

I bought the amp used from a guy who stored it in a barn and rats had eaten the power cord, some tolex, and speaker wire. I replaced the speaker with a cheap peavey and replaced the power cord, new tubes... it works fine. Use it on gigs every week.

I wouldn't even attempt it.

Not a boutique, that's for sure. This amp is loud enough, clean enough, has a decent overdrive. For a poor working musician, it gets the job done and that's what it's all about.

bought it in '04 u all know the details

at first i hated the sound. i play alot of melodic heavy rock and the speaker was not able to handle the drive. i use a BOSS mega distortion, and it just sounded muffled.

but fear not! problem solved with a meir speaker swap. bought me a nice celestion G12-T75 and my friends, this amp kicks ASS!!!!

i think ive found my tone...i love it!!!

haven't had it long enough to know, but i gig twice a week, and that means hauling from car to stage twice a week. no problems yet, plus they give you a nifty little cover for it which makes you think that its safer :)

N/A

great amp!!! portable and powerful! i had a peice of crap marshall mg100 half-stack. dont get me wrong, i love the marshall but a solid state bottome of the line marhsall cannot be that good. anyway, the sound is great and i love it! i use a PRS mcCarty and its perfect!

Three channels, pretty standard controls. It is a hell of a loud 40 watter... good clean sound, drive channels lack the tone of even a decent OD pedal. Maybe with a seperate EQ for dive, it would be better.

I have had it for several years, it's been my backup... I've put a lot of guitars through it... Les Pauls, SG's, Strats and Teles. Good clean tone, with any guitar I've had. Drive is OK for blues, but I have a Visual Sounds Route 66 that makes the drive and more drive sound like crap. I use a Blackface Twin for all my purposes... this is a good sounding amp for the money, but if you want real tone, get a real pro's amp.

It's been really reliable, as I said, it's not my main amp, but I do play from time to time through it, no probs... good thing, Fender support sucks.

They suck, 5 year warranty, great if they would support it.

Great for the money, maybe for a first good amp it is perfect... but once you get to the point you want to get great tone, get a truly great amp...

stated below. three channels, all tube, (minus reverb) footswitchable...etc. basic EQ, volume, master,(seperate) drive presance...reverb. etc. preamp in, power amp in footswitch, 2 inputs. Bought mine brand new in'04

i use a fender telecaster custom FMT (not the musiciansfriend version, the real one.) and a schecter 006 (with an upgraded bridge pickup (SEYMORE DUNCAN JB) and upgraded neck (alnico II PRO) bot amazing pickups) i also use a strat with a humbucker and two single coils(squire, no upgrades, very basic)

I play mostly heavy rock, some blues, jazz, classis stuff, really anything i can learn. NOTE: I DO NOT USE THIS DRIVE CHANNEL FOR MY HEAVY DISTORTION. i use the clean with a DOD grunge (YES A GRUNGE. usually not a good pedal, but i got some sick tone with it)
i also use a boss mega distortion. DO NOT buy this amp for a heavy distortion. the drive is awsome for classic rock (led zepplin and stuff) but the main reason i bought this amp was for the clean. its abosolutly PERFECT. anyone who has the balls to bitch about this amps distortion sucking is a idiot, who the hell buys a fender for distortion?! use your heads people. im taking one point off for the reverb. its solid state spring. wish it was tube. its not horrible, but after three is just takes up so much of the tone, its worthless. recomend keeping it low, or buying a better reverb pedal if u like alot of it.

havnt had it long it enough to see ont his model. i work in a music store, we;ve sold aboue 15 of these in the last year and a half we've been dealing fender, we havnt seen one of them in on repair yet. i own a 1950 delux 1x12 that had NO mods or repairs to it when i got it, and i have done nothing to it. 54 years and not a single problem with it? thats what i call a dream.

working at am usic store, we've had to deal with them a few times. i cant speak for the whole fender company, but the people we dealt with were asses. they shipped us three times our order, and expected us to pay for the whole 30,000 dollar order in a month. not happening. we will have not worked out a deal with them, and they have been lazy in returning our calls or solving this problem.

this amp hasa 5 year limited transferable warrenty.

been playung 5 years. own a lotta stuff, dont feel like typing it out, this is about the fender, not my other stuff. i would buy it again if it were stolen, its the most reasonable, best sounding amp hands down in any where near its price range. when you get this thing cranked the tubes sing. VERY LOUD (40 watt all tube). i dont usally have it over 2. only gigged with it once, only had it about a month. it was icredibly easy to use out of the box, sounded perfect. only beef i have with it is its incredibly bassy, which im crediting to the speaker. i plan on putting a jenson in it, and experimenting with tubes, although the groove tubes sound awsome. maybe i'll check out the electro harmonix. No amp is perfect, this gets a 9.

The features of this amp are common to most amps with the same category. Not much to say. Please visit the Fender web site for more info

The clean channel is wonderful. I am not interested with the drive or more drive. I seldom use them. My rating is for the clean channel only.

When I tested this amp in the store it died on me twice. So, I am not sure about the reliability.

The amp is pretty good but the price keeps on going up. I think there is a good demand on this amp and that is why the price keeps on going up. There are many-used Hot Rod Deluxe in the market and they are mostly made in USA. The new amp is made in Mexico. If you like this amp, I would recommend you buy the used. You will save a lot and you can use your savings to buy parts when it breaks years from now. For those of you who love to modify amp ? replace speaker, tubes, or whatever. Just buy use. If you screw up the amp it will hurt your pocket that much. Where to buy used? Go to ebay web site, read the paper ad, visit store near by, etc.

Hey Fender if you keep on raising the price of this amp people will be forced to buy used. So, think about that

By the way, I did not buy. $577 is too high for me. I am looking for a use one.

Of course, my overall rating is everything including the price which is high.

2004- very verstile...you know the features

I play on a Squier strat and my uncles 68' gibson ES-335 TD.. .both sound absolutely great thorugh the amp... the " more drive " channel is almost the same as the drive channel, and sounds fuzzy if turned up loud...

amp is totally reliable, and i would definately gig without a backup.

just got the amp, havent dealed with fender yet

ive been playin for 4 years now ( im only 15, but i know what sounds good ) if it were stolen, id find the theif and get it back... or mow a bunch more lawns and get another one. it sounds perfect for any SRV sounds, and i run my boss me-50 through it and i can play anything else i want.. from metal to blues or classic rock to jazz its perfect all around. i wish it had built in vibrato, and i wish the knobs went to 10 instead of 12.. cuz i have no idea why it should be to 12 instead of 10

The amp has three channels with reverb and a presence control. Forty watts with the Grove Tubes that were supplied with the amp. The amp also has pre amp out and power amp in for effects. I have installed THD Yellow Jackets in the power tube section of the amp which supposedly cuts the power of the amp and turns it into a Class A amp instead of A/B. With the open back cabinet the amp is loud and fills up the stage. Very loud amp more along the lines of a Boogie than a Fender Deluxe. I can't find an additional speaker out like older Fenders had. Also, the controls are on the top. I prefer them to be on the front for easier access especially if you use a tilted amp stand.

With the Yellow Jackets the amp has a chimey sound with a fender blackface background. The clean channel is relatively clean with kind of a Stevie Ray vibe. The other two channels will add as much gain as your would ordinarily need. You have to be careful not to have to much treble in your distortion as the Yellow Jackets add the chime that can get out of control. I use Strats with this amp and they sound wonderful. You get enough high end out of it without that scratchy-skreechy sound that Strats can get through some amplifiers.

Its a Fender. I've never had one go down in 39 years of playing. Once I had the Manager of the Fender Service Department call me from his home in Arizona to make sure that a problem that I had with a new Vibrolux was taken care of satisfactorily.

Ditto

I've been playing since I was 12 when I first heard Twist and Shout and bought a Duo-Sonic in 1964. I got the Fender because I was tired of having to deal with cabinets of gear etc. I wanted something that sounded pro and could be put in the backseat of my car. Without the Yellow Jackets the amp has a wonderful sound, similer to a Ampeg Reverb Rocket not like a Blackface Deluxe. The regular Deluxes have a darker sound and less volume with the 6V6s in the power section. The Blues Deluxe has a sweeter sound and more volume. With the Yellow Jackets the sound is very complex. Think of a Dr. Z or a Buddha with a little AC30 chime added. I love amplifiers. I own a lot of Blackfaced-simulcast-plexi-greenback-JBLed amps and cabinets. For the time being, at least I think I'm going to travel with the Blues Deluxe. Its that good.

This amp was made in 2004. The amp is very versatile but it gets better if you swap out the tubes and the speaker. I wish channels has its own separate settings but it doesn't. The effect loop is great. This amp was design for pedals and a rack system.

My Epiphone Les Paul and Fender Strat sounds good on this amp. It is even sounds better now that I replaced the tubes and the speaker. I ordered the tubes from Eurotubes and the speaker from Carvin. The drive and more drive channel is no longer harsh and muddy. The Carvin speaker took out the flabbiness out when the volume is turned up. Even with the mods, the clean channel remains very clean. The amp is so much better plus it also has so much more headroom, again thanks to the mods. I find the Carvin GT-12 100w 8ohm very similar to a Celestion Vintage 30. Very good speaker. I only paid $69 for the speaker and $60 for the tubes. I also use the Boss Metal Zone Petal for a good crunchy sound through the clean channel. My guitar just sings through this amp. The natural drive is now usable and no longer muddy and flabby. I am totally satisfied. This amp is so versatile now that I can go from jazz (clean channel) to early hard rock (Drive and more drive channel) to metal (clean with Boss Metal Zone. Plus it is plenty loud for 40 watts! I will give it an 8 for the stock version and a 10 for the modified version.

I have been practicing everyday at stage sound level and it takes a good licking and keeps on ticking. I am sure if I gig again, it will do just fine.

Never had to deal with Fender. I may have voided my warranty but I don't care. This amp totally rocks with the mods.

I have been playing for 20 years. I am a Carvin man and always will be. I decided to try something different. I was not very happy with this amp when I got it. I bought it from Musciansfriend. It was very much a crap shot. It was so easy to get muddy sounds on the drive channel but it was the clean channel that sold me. I realize that this amp has potential. I read the reviews in Harmony Central and one of the writes claim that this amp loves the mids. He is absolutely right! So I set the bass set to 3, treble to 4, mid to 6 - 7, presense to 6, reverb to 2.5. The drive and more drive set to 5 if I decide to use it. The clean channel is what makes this amp. You cannot beat it! It is warm, fat, and fluid. I absolutely love this amp!

Already well described in previous reviews. Straightforward amp. Not purchased for features. Purchased for tone.

Nails that classic Fender tube amp sound. Love it. Sounds great clean. In band rehearshals and live, I always achieve distortion by using it clean with good pedals up front. If I'm simply jamming with buddies, a Strat or Tele straight into the HRD using any of the 3 channels (depending on what we're playing) sounds great. Zero complaints about the sound.

Not a single problem since I purchased it 4 years ago.

I've never needed to deal with customer support.

Absolutely great value for the money. I read in one of the reviews that this amp will be discussed with reverence, a la Deluxe Reverb etc., years from now. I have to agree.

I need an amp that is portable, loud, and has great tone. The first two are a given, does it deliver on the third? Read on...

I hated the sound of this amp (especially the drive channel) after trying every concievable combination of guitar, pickup, tone setting etc. Then I decided to take some of the advice offered by other reviewers on this page. I changed the speaker to a Jensen C12N. I was amazed at how much better the amp sounded. Recently I changed the first two pre-amp tubes to Electro Harmonix 12AT7's. The lower gain tube in V2 affects the drive channel dramatically, it has far less distortion and is a bit smoother, although still sounds muddy to my ears. Kicking in the "more drive" button adds some presence.
Still not a great sounding overdrive though. Overall I find the low end response could be tighter and the high mids could have a little more bite. The Jensen speaker certainly helped out in that department.

I've been playing for over 20 years and played mostly Strats and Les Pauls through Marshall amps. I ended up with a Marshall AVT50 which had a decent crunch sound with the preamp cranked on the clean channel, but a good clean sound was not to be had, and the lead channel sucked. I traded it in for the Hot Rod Deluxe and at first thought I may have made a mistake. I was very disapointed with the sound of this amp until I changed the speaker. I'm still tweaking, trying different tubes etc. because the fact is I'm very fussy and never truly satisfied with my sound, but I'm getting there. Some people are saying it's bullshit to have to change the speaker and tubes in a new amp and that they think the amp sounds fine stock.
I guess that's a matter of opinion, because I was ready to trade this amp for something else before I decided to swap out the speaker and give it another chance. I think the clean channel sounds great but the drive channel is still lacking. I'm trying out different overdrive and distortion pedals to use instead. The drive channel might come in handy as a simple lead boost. I'll knock off a point for not having separate tone controls, one for a mediocre sounding overdrive, and one for having a lousy speaker. Seven out of ten.
Thanks to various reviewers who tipped me off to the Jensen speaker etc. and to Justin Holtons great Hot Rod Deluxe site
http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp, purchased new by me in March of 2001. Features covered earlier, Im giving it a 10 because it has everything I need to get the job done.

I use this amp with Les Pauls, and a vintage Gretsch Tennessean. Have used various Fender Stratocasters with it in the past, but have moved on to the Les Pauls. My philosophy is simple: Find a GREAT sounding CLEAN amp, and then add other flavors with foot pedals. I also own an early 70s Fender Deluxe Reverb, and consider that to be the best clean sound period. Anyhow, I have heard reviewers bash the tubes, the speaker, and the "gravely" distortion. I have owned several nice tube amps, and always come back to my Deluxe Reverb and the Hot Rod Deluxe. In my opinion, the HRD sounds fine. Its got that classic Fender vibe and sensitivity, and its fat and warm. With the bass, mid, and treble knobs I have no problem dialing in my tones. Then add the presence knob and bright button, and you have more tone shaping possiblities. Because I use Les Pauls, I find the presence knob and bright button very useful when I want to go clean. They help give some shimmer to the humbucker girth. The Gretsch sounds great through it also, as did the Strats. As for the distortion, yes, it is a bit on the "gravely" side, but, my question is, WHO BUYS A FENDER AMP FOR ITS DISTORTION?? Seriously now, if you want killer tube amp distortion, BUY SOMETHING ELSE!! When I purchased my amp I KNEW the distortion was not for me. I purchased the amp for the CLEAN tones. I play classic rock/metal, and blues, and have no problem getting any of those tones with the assistance of my Visual Sound Ultimate Overdrive. I also use a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, and these pedals sound great through the amp. When I want that nice fat clean tone, I just switch the pedals off and there it is. The Eminence speaker and the factory tubes sound just fine to me, I dont know what all the fuss is about. The amp is a LOUD 40 watts, and the volume knob is VERY touchy, you have to get used to it, a little bit goes a long way. Break up does occur around 4 on the volume knob, but its SO LOUD at that point, I never have to go beyond 1 1/2 or 2. If I play a venue that requires more volume than that, I simply mike the amp - problem solved. The one knock I have on the tone of this amp is the reverb. Dont get me wrong, it sounds good, but its solid state driven, not tube driven, so it can get a little tinny at higher settings, so I use it in moderation. No big deal. I think this is a great sounding Fender amp, I will take 1 point off for the reverb.

Its three years old now, and still has the original tubes, and still works GREAT. I used to own a Fender Blues Jr., and a Fender Hot Rod DeVille, and they never gave me any problems either, and they ALL were used on a REGULAR basis. If you take care of your gear, it will take care of you. Dont beat something to death and then complain about how unreliable it is.

I have been playing for 10 years now. I have owned several other tube amps, and always come back to my Deluxe Reverb and Hot Rod Deluxe. I like the Hot Rod Deluxe because it is loud, and portable. I used to own a Fender Blues Jr., and a Fender DeVille. The Blues Jr. sounded great but wasnt quite loud enough, and the DeVille was certainly loud enough but a little too heavy for my taste. The Hot Rod Deluxe is the happy medium for me. Its loud, and its easy for me to move around. I recently owned a Marshall DSL 100, and a Laney VC50 tube combo. Both were fine amps, but were too heavy, and lacked that pristine clean sound. I would not consider myself a professional player, but I can hold my own with just about anyone. I play classic rock/metal and blues. My favorite artists/bands are Led Zeppelin, U2, Aerosmith, Van Halen (actually Van Hagar), Gary Moore, and Zakk Wylde. I have no problem covering those styles/tones with this amp and my stomp boxes. I get lots of compliments on my tone, and am happy with my sound. I do wish the reverb was a little more tube-like, and the volume knob could be a little less touchy. Other than that, I love it. If your looking for a loud, portable amp that sounds great clean, then try the Hot Rod Deluxe. If you need some dirt, throw a couple of GOOD QUALITY stomp boxes in front of it. If this amp is not sophisticated enough for you, buy something else. It works for me.

2004 Hot Rod Deluxe. Features covered.

I was looking for a Jazz & Blues amp. This amp is that. I play all sorts of styles using Gibsons and Fenders and Marshall amps usually. I dabble with Fender amps now and again. I've had a few of their solid states as well. The tone of the HRD is bassy and bright. If you roll the bass controll all the way down, it's still way too bassy. Infact, if the minimum setting was the maximum amount of bass available, that would seem normal. The mid control is practically useless, and it does nothing to bring the tone up front or add clarity at all. The treble and presence controls give you the following: bright and brigher. Turn on the "bright" switch and plug in a Tele and you can kiss your hearing goodbye from about 2K on upward.

The clean channel begins to distort past 3 and distorts considerably beyond that. Infact, the only real difference between that and the gain channel is that you get the addition of a master volume control on the gain channel and a "more drive" switch.

Speaking of the gain channel, it's a very gravelly sounding distortion. You can dial in your choice of more gravel or less gravel. If that's not enough, there's a boost switch for even MORE gravel if you need it.

Seems pretty reliable, but one thing that annoys me continuously about Fender's amps these days is that there's always some kind of cabinet rattle or buzz going on somewhere. Can't they fix this shit? I get tired of tightening every screw on these amps and wasting time traching down the source of this crap. Get a humbucker guitar and turn the amp up at least half way, and there it is. And I don't buy this crap about it being normal for an amp to do this. It doesn't sound good and it's not part of the tone, so fix it!

I bought this amp after trying out in a store where it's not reasonable to turn the volume up really loud. I tried it with a cheap guitar, liked the clean tone, and bought it. It's a decent amp if you like the sounds it makes. It's the amp to die for, for many people. For me however, it's just an average amp once the novelty fades. You read here where people go on and on about changing out the speaker and tubes, etc. It just seems like a bunch of crap to have to do that.

It's a good amp if you like the tone. For mee it's too bassy, bright, and distorted.

I decided to write a review on this amp because I have recently purchased a Mesa Boogie studio 22,a Tech-21 trademark 60, and a Line 6 Flextone 2. They've all been sold and I still have this amp.To be fair I bought the tech 21 on ebay and the reverb wasn't working so there may have been other things wrong with it also.
I have owned the Hot Rod Deluxe for several years so I assume it's American. 40 watts tube. (If that makes any difference in quality?)I play a variety of music from Country to Jazz, and prefer a mellow blues based light distortion as opposed to a hard rock metal type sound.I mostly play smaller gigs with it, and do not use it for recording because it just doesn't sound that well with a mic in front of it. On a stage it sounds just fine to my ears.
It has 3 channels clean, dirty, and a third which I never use because there's very little control over it and it increases the treble. Using a strat this just doesn't work for me.It also has Fender Reverb which I love ,and effects loop which I have never used.
There's seems to be a lot of power for any gig I've ever played. Once you get the volume over three I think that's about as loud as it gets. I've never turned it up much higher.

I use an Eric Clapton Strat with Lace sensors. I have not found the amp to be noisy even with the gain turned up on the dirty channel. I'm not sure about the third channel since I never use it. I've played plenty of gigs with it and noise has never been a problem.
The clean channel has lots of headroom and high quality clean sound only a Fender can get.I wish there was less bass response and that it had a tighter sound expecially on the dirty channel, but onstage with everything else it sounds fine.
I'm not looking for an amp with a metal or Marshall type sound.I also own a Fuchs modified Fender Bassman 100 and of course it sounds better, but $2,000 better I'm not sure.

I bought it on ebay and it had a bad tube and a hum when I started it up. Some of you may cringe at this, but I kept the amp, and had a amp tech repair it. He replaced a tube and found some loose solder joints. This was several years ago and the amp works great to this day. I'm giving it a nine because I think Fenders are very reliable. I've owned many over the last 35 years of playing.

I've never dealt with Fender other than buying their amps.

I'm not sure if I would buy the amp again because of the loosness of the distorted sound. I wish I could justify a 30 watt Fuchs combo,but $3,000 is a lot for a 30 watt combo amp. At age 55 my playing days are becoming fewer and fewer,and since I still own the amp mabey I'll just try replacing the speaker. It's actually a pretty good amp all the way around and a great value for a tube amp.
The last thing I'd like to say is possibly I'm just getting older, but the quality of guitars and amps seems to be lacking these days.

2003......does everything I need......covers classic country, rock-a-billy and old rock and roll just fine.......you know all the features by now

I use Fender American and Mexican Strats and an American Tele....I have a 77 Les Paul Custom and a Epiphone 335 but do not use these guitars as they cannot cut the mustard for the country sounds I need........

I started out using Fender Twin Reverbs in the late 50's and 60's....I got hooked on the Peaveys during the late 70's till this year when I got got ahold of this hot rod deluxe....I'd been playing through this Peavey Classic 30 when this dude tells me about his Hot Rod Deluxe....as far as relibility I cant remember ever useing a backup amp....doubt if I'd need one now....there all reliable if you take a little care of them.....

I've heard folks have had trouble with Fender....just hope I never have to deal with them....this amp is used so no warranty......

You probably have guessed that I'm an old dude....so something lite is what I needed that had the balls of my Peavey Duel 212....this is it....the sound is great and its not killer heavy....but it aint lite either....it way ahead of everything I own....Peavey Classic 30, Peavey Duel 212, Crate 6212 Vintage Club and compares well to my old 72 Fender Quad Reverb

This amp was made in 2004. The features that is has, are all that i was looking for. The reverb sounds awsome, and the presence is great.
I usually use this amp for practices, and i might start to at shows. I havent played with it enough to really try it out. I can tell this amp has plenty of power for shows. It has three channels: clean, drive and more drive. I use moer drive, to me the distortion sounds better this way, but everyone has their own opinion, and the clean sounds great i could play it all day. It is a tube amp with a solid state rectifier.

I own a epi lp also 2004, a unkown aged guitar (i saw it on the revenge of the nerds at their little techno concert), and thats it. I mainly play with my lp but i sometimes play with my other guitar. The style of music i mainly play are blues and rock, i like to play alot of led zeppelin music, because they are an awsome band and he has some challenging stuff to play. I would say this amp is very good for their type of sound.

I have no opinion, i havent had it long enough to know.

never had to deal with em, and hope i never do

If this amp were stolen or lost, I wouldnt buy an new one, I would track down the theif and FUCKIN KILL to get it back. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sound this amp produces, ITS JUST GREAT. i compared this amp to the Marshall AVT50 Combo, I kno its hybrid, but i thought it wouldnt be that big of a difference. THE FENDER KICKED ITS ASS!

A 9 might seem pretty high with an amp that has so few features, but there?s a good reason for that. I really dislike how all the new amps make you pay for a huge effects section and a whole bunch of stuff you may not really want. The Hot Rod has only what you need, at what initially seemed to be a very high quality. I want to give a 10 here, except the whole "drive" and "more drive" things seem a bit unnecessary and useless, since I can barely tell which one is on most of the time.

Actually, I've decided to give it an 8, since it is fairly heavy for a "portable" amp.

My initial reaction was that this amp is loud and sounded awesome. I found the distortion I had always wanted, but never could get with a marshall or pedals or even other fender amps.

Within a couple hours of getting it home, though, I realize this amp has a HIGH amount of humm - even with nothing plugged in. If the guitar gets even fairly close to the amp, the humm gets annoyingly loud. There is also a crackly sound, similar to pop corn or cereal.

Within a few hours of home use, I took it back.

I (eventually) got an answer out of Fender, and it seemed like the humm is normal, but the crackling isn't. After reading other reviews, it seems a lot of these amps have bad resistors, which causes this crackle. That's not good.

Almost the worst I've dealt with. After searching their site for a support email for several minutes, it seemed the only way to get help was at their fenderforums website. So I logged in, posted a message on the forum, and within 4 hours it was removed and my account was suspended. To make a long story short, the moderators at that site are huge jerks and Fender should not have these people representing them.

I wrote a letter to Fender, and they eventually gave me their support email address. I'm still giving a 1, though, because they should not send people to that forum - OR they should get more helpful people to run it.

I've been playing for 12 years, and have used several amps. I've used about 10 different fender amps, 4 of which I own or have owned, and 2 of which my current bandmate uses.

I give this amp a 1 because it is a very dangerous find. It pretends to be an AWESOME amp for a relatively little cost... but after the initial floor room reaction wears off, you'll probably end up with a $550 paperweight.

Manufactured in the US in 2000. The Hot Rod Deluxe is a great 40 watt, three channel, 1X12 reverb tube amplifier. This amp has an awesome clean tone that matches all my needs for southern rock, country, rock and folk music. The overdrive is great since I put in some NOS JAN-Phillips 6L6WGBs and biased them at 68 mV (combined voltage measured at the bias test point). I run my guitar straight into the amp with only a tuner pedal and a Dunlop Cry Baby Wah abd am able to cover the entire spectrum of sounds I need to work my gigs. I wish it had a true master volume. The knob marked master is actually just the gain channel's volume. I use this amp for practice and gigs. This is one LOUD amp. My drummer tells me to turn it down all of the time just so he can hear himself.

I use a Les Paul Classic with Seymour Duncan pickups (JB in the bridge and '59 in the neck) running straight into the amp. I have to recommend that you swap out the OEM Eminence speaker for a Jensen C12N. You will kick yourself for not doing it sooner once you hear the difference. I play mostly classic rock, blues, southern rock and some country and western. The HRD handles these genres without breaking a sweat. I get compliments on my tone all the time after gigs. This amp can have alot of headroom if you bias your power tubes on the cold side but I prefer an early breakup and this is accomplished by biasing the JAN-Phillips 6l6WGBs to about 66-68 mV. The gain channels is that kind of smooth creamy fuzz akin to the intro to Satisfaction or Revolution.

I gig with this amp almost every weekend and it has yet to give me any issues. Most of my gigs are outdoor venues and in Austin during the summer you're talking 100+ temperatures.

I bought the amp used and out of warranty.

I've been playing since 1985 and I've owned lots of amps. If this amp were stolen I would replace it the next day. As good as this amp sounds it's still portable enough (45 lbs) to make practices and gigs without sending me to the chiropractor. It is an outstanding value and I can't say enough good things about it.

2004. Nothing to add to features.

Am I the only person who thinks stock the gold label (read Eminence Legend 125s) are great sounding? These speakers yield a little bit compared to squeaky clean Jensons for instance. Nor do they sound like the legendary Celestion Vintage 30's - another fav speaker designed for a real strong Brit tone. Instead, they sound very warm and vintage. I think these speakers were designed with a certain goal in mind and are highly regarded in product reviews. I'm still trying to find out why everyone rips on these speakers...I think they just rip!! I don't think Eminence makes cheap stuff...in fact the vast majority of boutique amps are stocked with Eminence speakers, custom or stock. Moreover, the 10" little brother of this speaker, the Legend 105, is heralded by the Tonequest site as the ultimate 10" replacement speaker. Gobs of praise heaped on that 10" "thumper".

Also - the tubes used in this amp, while they may a bit harsh on the distortion side, accel on the clean side - my opinion of course. They're the much maligned SOVTEK tubes. Again - the issue here is design intent. These tubes are built for longevity/reliability with slightly lower voltage than other tubes. This lower voltage yields a bit harsher distortion tone (read the Groove Tube site). But the clean sound is great. So, if you're not going to use the Fender for overdrive (e.g. using pedals), why swap tubes? I think all of this upgrade discussion is more for personal tone taste vs. the stock tubes or speakers being inherently "shitty". Its all in what you want to hear. The stock stuff sounds great to me. I've played professionally for a long time so I think I have some idea of a decent tone. BTW - try running your axe through a Route 66, or Drivetrain pedal into this amp and decide if you think this amp sounds "shitty" stock.

Cool so far.

Read Sounds section.

All already stated above....bought it new in 2003....wish there was a wet/dry mix for the FX loop

Hate to be so repetitive, but this amp is simple. Get new preamp and power tubes, get the eminence speaker out of there, (I put in a California Weber for $130 with labor), and there you go. I fairly shitty amp suddenly becomes a tone MONSTER. Clean channel is unreal, drive is great. I perfer a Holy Grail reverb to the spring reverb, although the spring reverb is very good.

Make the mods, they are not that expensive compared to a half stack. All said, they cost me about $300

No problems so far

Never used it

Great, great, great Amp. If it were stolen I would buy it again and try some different modifications to see how they effect the sound.

The look is cool, three channels are nice but would be better to have seperate EQ's. FX loop, standby, loud 40w tube. eminence speaker, I prefer jensen for fenders, maybe even celest, but never heard with fender.

I have a tele and an epi supernova and both sound fine though it. distortion is a bit muddy, but the clean is nice. the preamp is noisy and even more so with insufficiant power at high vol. sounds better than a lot of other amps.

bought used on ebay. i never replaced the tubes or serviced it. it's a workhorse. still going.

If this were stolen I would buy something else. I had a peavey classic 30 before this and it sounded a load better and this is generally speaking. I like vintage and warm tones, which this amp has but on the bottom of pole. I have a sweet little box called a volume box. it's basically an volume taper that you run through the FX loop. you can pump up the volume knobs on the preamp and match them and control all volume with this guy. it gives you the volume easy of a single channel but the real glory is you can get the driven tube warmth at any volume. $20 on ebay, well spent.

no headphone socket, no emulated speaker out, no seperate eq for drive. drive channels are not good, no master volume

there are 2 inputs though, an FX loop and channel switcher

cleans are perfect, so Is cranked tone. drive channels let it down though. Not for metal really... TRY IT OUT!!

light broke instantly, tubes (or something else) rattled from day one. After a month, I took it back, and got a marshall dsl 401 insetad of a reoplacement as it suits my style more, and the features/drive channels are better

Superb Cleans, very loud, gigable. Probably too loud for most people at home without a band or anything. drive channels suck. very big and heavy. Looks cool - knobs are on top - very ahndy

try findign a good distortion pedal insetad of the drive channels on this amp. ant go wrong with the clean sound though

good for blues, classic rock, indie etc.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!

I own a 2003 Limited Tweed HRD. I play alot of Hendrix style music, overdriven blues and classic rock. This amp covers those bases perfectly for me. I'm don't think you could get that real crunchy distortion out of this amp without a pedal, but it can be done, and I do when the mood strikes me. The HRD has two channels, though I was dissapointed that there is only one set of tone controls for both channels, which can be inconveniant. The clean channel features a nice bright switch and the drive channel has a "more drive" switch. It also has controls for reverb and presence. The amp includes an effects loop which I haven't used yet, a pre-amp out jack and a power amp in jack. It also has a footswitch which is a must.
I play in my house normally and I will sometimes take it to jams to play with others. In the house I have keep the master down around 3, but I still get great tones from it. Playing with others is where the amp really shines. It really has what it takes to cut through the mix.

I play a 2001 Fender American Series Strat through the Hotrod Deluxe for the most part. It really is a great match, especially for the music styles I prefer, which again is classic rock and overdriven blues. Unlike a few of the reviewers here who complain about lack of headroom on the clean channel, I am very satisfied. I get no breakup until I crank it to about 7, and after that point increases in volume are minimal anyways. I should mention at this point that the clean channel is one of my favorite features on the HRD. It just sparkles. I have never played through an amp with such a beautifully clear clean channel. I like to run a Boss Blues Driver between my guitar and the amp on the clean channel for leads. What a sound!!
The drive channel is also great in my opinion. I love the sound of the distortion on this amp. It is not overly harsh, yet if you crank it, the sound will break up very nicely. Again, a great Hendrix tone.
I saw a few reviewers who bought the amp rate the drive channel with a 1 or another low score, which is fine as long as its their honest opinion, but it makes me question their intelligence. Why buy the amp if you don't like it in the first place. I get the impression that a few of these people expect to get good metal tones through it or something. It won't do that. At least not without some pedals.

I haven't had any problems with it. I've only brought it out of my house to attend jams at a small auditorium. It has never broken down on me, though I have had it for only 8 months. The Tweed cover holds up especially well. I'm sure no amp is perfect so I will give it a 9.

I have never had to contact fender about anything on any of their products I have owned. As their reputation would have it, their products are very reliable. Authorized service centers are easy to find in my area and the amp came with a 5 year limited transferable warranty.

I have been playing guitar for 4 years now and have gone through 6 electric guitars, 3 accoustics and this is my third amp and my favorite so far. If it were stolen or lost I am pretty sure I would buy another, maybe test other waters if I had the options available. I would try other amps not because this amp is bad or I dislike it, but because you never know if you might find something better. Though, yes, I could definetly see myself buying another HRD is the situation presented itself. I love the tweed look, the sound and the way it cuts through the bass and drums. I can't say I hate anything about it, though seperate tone controls for each channel would be nice. A short summary of this amp would be, beautiful to look at, even better sound, great value. Normally this amp would cost more than the 650 it cost me, but I work at a music store and get a nice discount.

I have the standard edition that came with an Eminence speaker and Fender tubes.

Like many people have already said here, this amp is not that great out of the box. You HAVE to modify it asap. I bought mine in 1998. And I modified it in 2003-2004. I can't believe I tolerated that amp 5 years like it was before.

Here are the modifications that I made, in order of importance (in order of obvious sound improvement)

-SVETLANA 6L6GC power tubes
(check on Ebay, or Torresengineering)
When I lit up the amp after putting those in, I litterally fell on the floor, and it happened to be just before a gig, happy me. Putting those tubes in make the amp VERY usable. All the highs get crunching (not overdrive, just nice brilliance), the headroom is great, and the bass is where you want it. It is vital to throw away those fender tubes.

-VOLUME BOX
(check on Ebay http://stores.ebay.com/Carls-Custom-Guitars, or build one yourself)
This box makes it so that you can turn the volume up to 12 and have the sound of screaming preamp tubes, but at the volume you want. It is Unbelievable.. believe me. It sounds like your amp has just taken 1000$ in value.

-JENSEN C12N Speaker
I haven't tried any other speakers in my amp except the stock Eminence, but the Jensen gives it great brilliance and deep warm bass. With the help of the Svetlana tubes, it gets rid of the last signs of muddiness, the highs are great, and it seems to respond more equally to all frequencies than the eminence

PREAMP TUBES:
I now have:
2 SOVTEK 5751 for V1 and V2
and a ELECTROHARMONIX 12AT7 in V3.
The one that really makes a difference is V1, ESPECIALLY with a Volume Box, since you actually hear the difference between tubes by checking how they react from volume 1 to 12 but at the same volume on your ears. For the Sovtek 5751: At volumes 1-4 the sound is clean, it starts getting an awesome twinkle clean overdrive around 5-8, and from 9 to 12, it's an awesome crunch sound. (Before having a volume box, I was stuck at the clean level since I could never go past 4-5 because it came too loud). Believe me, this gives many more tone possibilities to the amp.

I haven't settled yet for preamp tubes, I have tried the Sovteks, the Fenders, and the electroharmonix mentionned above, but the possibilities are so big that I will continue buying preamp tubes to compare and settle eventually. The Sovtek are great though.

-----------------

I haven't talked about the Drive channel at all.. Basically, it can go from great blues to pearl jam style.. Its just great, i dont know what to say. (With the mods of course. No need to say how unusable it was before).

For pedals: It will take what you give it. If you give it bad sounding pedals, it will sound bad, if you give it good pedals it will sound good. After the mods, this amp gets closer to a Vox AC30 in the sense that it becomes a very good amp, versatile for everything. No matter what you do with it, it wont sound bad. If you don't like it, it's a question of taste, but no more a question of quality.

WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO I PLAY?
-Reggae (Bob Marley style)
-Garage Rock (Strokes, Led Zeppelin style)
-"Smooth guitar licks over guitar-playing female singer" music
-A bit of jazz
-A bit of blues

Had a few buzzes after changing the speaker, but I believe that it was the speaker not being broken-in, it got fixed by itself,

-Wish Fender had put metal corners, but I can just shut up and go buy some.

No idea!

DO THE MODS. Don't hesitate, do them right now, and listen for yourself. They will cost you about 100$US / 150$CAN and everything is buyable from the web.
I wish I could express how sad I am that I played 5 years on this amp without modifying it. It is so great now. Go for it.

Features have been pretty much described by others. I play primarily blues, jazz, and Pink Floyd stuff.

Primarily I use single coil type guitars. The amp sounds great. The clean is where it shines. The distortion leaves something to be desired with the stock speaker. Once I replaced it with a Jensen it sounded 10 times better. It has that old school Fender sound and the distortion channel sounds a lot like SRV. If this is your bag, then this is your amp. You will not get heavy metal sounds nor the greatest rock sounds. Haven't tried any pedals yet, but then again I haven't needed to. Minus one point because the overdrive has a lot of noise.

So far so good. Seems as reliable as any other amp.

N/A

I've been playing off and on for about 10 years. I own a Hiwatt, have had a Marshall stack (too loud & heavy), peavy classic 30, G&L strat, and fender tele. If it were stolen or lost I would buy it again. For the price it's worth it. I like the amp stock, just wish it came with a Jensen vs. the emminence.

This amp does about everything I could possiby want it to (except work properly, see reliability...). The two inputs (one for pre-amped guitars like active acoustics) are a good idea, as is the "more drive" button, turning the gain up on the drive channel essentially, both footswitchable. The reverb is very excessive, but then I'm not a huge reverb fan anyway so I'm biased. The power is awesome, anyone who says this amp isn't loud enough for them needs their hearing checked (or at least will do after years of playing with this thing past about 4!).

I'm running a Tele and a box full of effects through it, and also an Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe (P90 jazz guitar thing) and the clean sounds are great. The dirty sounds have quite a gritty tone to them (not sure how else to describe it I'm sorry), which I love a lot. Only misses out on a 10 here because the Fender Deluxe Reverb sounds so damn good that this has become my new benchmark for tone.
As for how noisy it is, fine up until it went wrong, skip to next section...

Here's the thing, I've owned three of these amps in as many months, all of which have exhibited exactly the same fault, within 24 hours on the first one and about 3-4 weeks on the other two.

The fault was low-level (but audible) white noise with occasional clicking and popping, even with the volume turned all the way down and nothing plugged in. I'm fairly sure it's nothing I've been doing to them, as another unit at the shop has also developped this exact same fault, and my latest amp was shipped in from their main warehouse in Holland so as to try to avoid any batch problems.

I e-mailed Fender who said they had traced the problem to a faulty anode resistor, probably. But as of yet they've not done much further testing. I've also heard from other sources that a lot of these were made with faulty resistors, so I'm not going back to this amp again, unless I find a secondhand one that's been working for a few years already.

Well, the store I got it from says Fender eventually stopped returning their calls about this, but I got an e-mail response within a few hours, so I'd say it's good.

This is a tricky one, because it doesn't matter how much I love the sound and features of this amp, three of them have failed so I can't work with it really. Time to try Peavey I'd say...

made in 2002 i think...it's a hrd deluxe obviously. 2.5 channels, that more drive really isn't one. Shared eq, which is sad, but not too bad. i wish the volume and master pots were audio taper, not linear, which means up till 4 the volume goes like whoa, but after that not too much volume increase. audio pots would make it easier to control the volume at lower levels. effects loop that i haven't used, extension speaker jack that i haven'tused, reverb that is nice but i hardly use just because i'm not a reverb fan. high and low jacks (VERY IMPORTANT). it's actually too loud in most cases, but hey more power.

I actually use this amp for heavy crunch (NOT numetal god forbid, but like zeppelin plexi style and Van Halen) as well as blues and clean, and it works quite well. I take my EMG 81 equipped Jackson (don't scream, i hate modern metal as i've said before) plug it into the low gain input and set the eq at bass 3-4, mid 8-9 treble7-9 and presence 6-8 depending on the room your in. Keep the gain LOW between 3 and 5. i NEVER turn it above 12 o'clock. Don't forget though , this is with the highest output pickups i know of. I put an emg-85 in the neck to deal with the clean, and though it won't give you strat tones, when you turn down the volume on the guitar and play hard it can give you great boucy sounds. This setup works adequetely well for me with a wide variety of sounds. I recently used it playing guitar for a ton of peolpe at school and playing such wide varieties of music as billy joel, i will survive, i love rock and roll, James Taylor, and some Led zeppelin, and it worked well just changing channels and rolling off volume when needed. For all you people who can't stand the distortion, try these settings. It won't give you a Marshall distortion , but i don't know why you would look for it anyways, it's been overused. My buddies all know when it's me playing, because it sounds unique among crunches. I haven't really bothered with the other features, as i don't have money for delay pedals or anything. use the low gain input though , and cut the bass. Remember that the eq is predistortion, so adding pre eq bass is like turning back your tone knob, of course it will muddy up. So cut the bass. It makes a world or difference on the drive channel, and your clean will live.

Well like two weeks after i got it, a pre amp tube and the power driver tube died, but i got it replaced under warranty, and they replaced all the tubes with some nicer Sovteks. Nice of them, but i was kinda annoyed at the sudden death of my amp

never really dealt with them in person, just took it bckto where i bought it. They were licensed Fender repair guys though , so i suppose if that counts they're good

I've been playing 3 ish years, but i've been around music my whole life, playing violin since i was 4 and whatnot. I also own my Jackson, a wah pedal, and assorted cables. Hey, i like it simple, and i want a car. If it died on me, i'd get a deville 4X10 for the sake of more speakers. I wish the volume wans't so touchy. That's about it though. Maybe a better speaker, but this one functions. Don't get it to play nu-metal; it won't work and you'll lower it's ratings on this site with your whining about the distortion. It won't do Modern high-gain. Period. Go get a Crate. This amp's for old school rock.

1998 made in the USA. 3 channels - clean, drive more drive. Effects loop, reverb, two inputs, bright switch, 1 12" eminence speaker. Tube power and preamp, SS rectifier and reverb. Footswitch and cover included.

I play a fairly wide range of music, though my main style is rock and a little blues. Pearl Jam, Marcy Playground, ect. This amp does a good job at anything but dark death metal. If your singer sings like "bar waw waw waw satan! bar waw waw" this isn't the amp for you. Probably no Fender is for you. It also handles pedal effects very well.

I don't really mind the rectifier being SS, but I kinda wish the reverb was tube. It would also be nice if the channels had seperate controls. I also wish the volume was audo taper instead of linear so you could control the volume more effectivly. I hate this cheasy sales gimmick companies use. Not huge deals, but it would be nice.

This really is a great sounding amp. I'm using and Epi Les Paul and a Strat. The Paul sound absolutely great through it, real punchy mean to clean. The strat sings. I hear a lot of complaints about the speaker, but I like it personally. I also hear a lot of mod this and mod that, but I don't buy into that too much. My philosophy is you buy an amp for the sound that it has, not the sound you want. The speaker it has is good quality and there is nothing wrong with it's electronics. This little things are what makes it an individual. All these old amps we drool over had thier quirks. That's what made them stick out.

The amp can be a little bassy for me, but that's easily handled with the controls. Playing at low volumes can produce rattles with the bass string, but it's really just normal amp stuff and nothing serious.

I liked the drive ok at first, but I didn't like the more drive much at all. It had a very metallic sound. A set of JJ's from Eurotubes solved this problem, however. I really like both drives now and use them both quite often. They sound good alone and can really shine when combined with other od's or distortions. I use the drive channel with my DOD Yngwie OD to get a good Pearl Jam "do the evolution" sound. You can also get some really good old dirty blues out of these channels.

Unless your playing Madison Square Garden the amp has plenty of volume. If you play anything very large your probably going to mike it anyway. I've actually been considering trying tube combos to cut the wattage a little so I can saturate the tubes without making my ears bleed.

I bought it used but in brand new condition, the guy said it never left his house and I'm inclined to believe him. It still had the stock tubes in it when I bought it. I haven't had any problems yet and don't expect any really. I drag it to the ocassional jam session, but it mostly sits in my practice building outside my house. I trust this amp as much as I trust any tube amp.

Never dealt with them and hope I never have to.

This is my first tube amp to own, but I've heard and tried others. This is my favorite so far of the ones that are affordable and practical to carry. I think these will be sought after amps when they get some age on them. I started jonesing for a 65 deluxe reverb reissue, but I think I've talked myself out of it. I love my Hotrod too much. Bob at Eurotubes says he now has a way to knock the power down with some good tubes to get a little DRRI flavor out of the Hotrod. I think I'll try that route first and keep the versatility of the Hotrod.

I would definately buy this amp again if it were stolen. I'd probably shop a little first and would seriously look at the 65 DRRI, but I think I'd end back up with a Hotrod.

I bought this amp brand new for playing chord melody jazz (Johnny Smith and Joe Beck style). I play a Joe Pass and Johnny Smith tribute gig on the weekends with this amp. The clean channel on this 40Watt amp is powerful! Lots of bass and mids for fat sounding chords. Classic Fender tube tone. The 12" speaker has a very well rounded and warm tone for richness. This amp can carry a large room fairly well. It has two channels that share the same EQ section. The foot switch is used for switching channels and overdrive. Since I never play through distortion, the drive and presence sections are pretty much not used by me. So, I never switch channels. I use the second input for a microphone for talking between songs.

I play three guitars: Gibson ES-175, Ibanez AF120, Ibanez Artcore. They all get great classic jazz tones with this amp. As I mentioned earlier this amp has a lot of bass and mids. The 40Watt amp handles the bass frequency at moderate volumes without breaking up. Nice! In fact this was a big selling point for me (I'll rate it a 10 for this feature). Other guitar amps struggle with producing thick bottom a moderate volumes. They seem too focused on upper end. This one is great for rich chords and integral chord melody bass lines. I found the amp to be a little bright. So, this amp certainly does not have a flat response signature. In fact, I have the treble adjustment on the lowest setting with the bright switch off. This does allow the brightness to disappear.

After six months, it has done very well. I like the fact that Fender has protected the tubes with a panel in back (Mesa does this with an aluminum bar...Nice!) Check out the Peavey models, they have no tube protection. You could easily shatter a tube on one of those models.

No experience with customer support. I bought it a the local music store.

Nice jazz amp with plenty of power on bottom. Check this one out if you play chord melody jazz. A nice lower cost alternative to the '65 Reissue Twin. The 12" speaker is a real workhorse with massive dynamic range!

I think this amp is a little high on the price scale for being made in Mexico. They could shave another $50 off the price. Fender is probably getting a fair profit margin on this one. However, the amp is nice.

FUTURE PLANS:
I am going to swap the 6L6B Russian Groove Tubes for a matched pair of British designed 6L6GC Golden Dragons. These tubes create a nice sounding personality for most Fender amps.

You know the features if you read the other reviews...
I don't like that Master volume not being a MASTER VOLUME.
I see people talking about an FX loop...there definately is not one on mine. Maybe the Pre-amp out and Power amp in can be used that way...haven't tried yet.
Anyways, the rest of this is gonna be short probably

I use an American Deluxe Strat with lace sensors (blue, silver, red).
In my opinion, this amp isn't all that great by itself (without pedals/rack units, whatever)
But I'm just gonna break it down in its sections...

Clean: Very nice clean...when it's clean. With my strat it STARTS to break up at 4 with the guitar volume at 10. Somewhere between 5 and 6 is where it really starts to break up. I don't know, really don't like how early it distorts.

Channel 2: I can see why some like the distortion and some don't. It's definately not your typical "dirty channel" fender sound. Hell I really don't know what to compare this distortion to. It seems to just lack "character" as some here have put it. But, I do use it occosionally just because it does sound different from anything else. I mainly kick it on just to get feedback though.
(There are only 2 CHANNELS on this amp. The 2nd channel just has a 10-12dB boost you can turn on if you want)

Overall, this amp seems to be almost overpowered with bass and low-mids. I think this is fine, just doesn't suit alot of people. It does resonate and rattle badly with pretty much ANY bass note though.
The speaker probably needs to be changed. I suggest getting an ext. cab instead though.

I seriously recommend using pedals with this amp. The 2nd channel just isn't good enough to stand alone.
A MXR Micro Amp really helps pull this amp out of the "mud". With the volume down on your guitar it should sound good. With the volume up it will drive the amp harder depending on how you set the pedal. I DO NOT recommend Tubescreamers. I don't know how the new reissues of the originals sound, but I just can't see how people like those things. I personally think they sound terrible. If you can get an Aphek Peanut Butter (basically a hard clipping, true bypass TS with no tone knob and more transparent) do so. My Russian Big Muff (a year old) sounds "ok", I'm getting that replaced with something else though.

Anyways, the amps ok, depending if you can take the early breakup on the clean and the kind of wierd dirty channel.

Have had absolutly no probelms with it. Bought it used.

Never dealt with Fender

Been playing for 4 years. I use in this order: Strat, Boss TU-2, Boss CS-3, MXR Micro Amp, Aphek Peanut Butter, Russian Big Muff Pi, Boss BF-2, Boss DD-3, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.
I got this amp only because I needed to get an amp within a week. I was borrowing a Super Twin Reverb :shudder: and the guy needed it back to use. I didn't go out "looking" at other amps because the guy I bought it from needed the money and let me pay only $150 for it. I payed the rest later.
I love the way the clean sounds and I like the sound of this channel breaking up. I just don't like how early it does break up.
This amp is definately nothing compared to a Twin or a Blues Jr. but it does pretty good for being between $400 and $500.
Anyways, this amp is not what I really want. I much rather have a modded JCM 800 (to use KT88s) or a JMP MK2 with 6550s. But I will be getting a cab first since its hard as hell for me to keep up with the other guitarist when we play outside. Actually I have no idea if anyone can even hear what I'm doing when we do. So a cab is definately a must if 1) you play with another guitarist who's using a stack, 2) if you're playing outside without being miced.

I recommend this amp for anyone who likes 2 channel tube amps (but still uses "distortion" pedals) and doesn't want to play a hell alot money.

I've had this amp since it came out in around 1996. I use it for everything from clean "60's" rock to heavier rock, but not metal. The 3 channels work very well for me. The "clean" channel is very Fendery, and the distortion and overdrive work well when the "drive" control is nearly all the way up. My only problem with this amp is that it's too loud (to get the tone I like). So I removed the 6L6 power tubes and replaced them with an adaptor that uses EL84's. This cut the power down by about half, so now I can get the sound I like at a reasonable loudness (we mike all our amps so we can keep the stage volume down to the "drums-level"). The tube distortion is still the best distortion I've heard. It only has reverb as it's only on-board effect, which is all I use (I like to hear the sound the guitar makes).

I've run many guitars through this amp with success. My main guitar now is a Carvin DC200, with humbuckers that have split switches to enable single coil operation (I should write the manual, huh?). I like using the single coil pickups with the clean channel, and the humbuckers with the distortion channel. I think that's how it was meant to be. With the tube modification I made, I can just start to break into slight distortion on solos on the clean channel (Vox AC30 sound at high volume setting), but clean rhythms are still very clean. And I now because I can drive both the pre-amp and power amp tubes to distortion, I can really crunch solos on either neck or bridge pickups.

I've had my amp for nearly 8 years with no problems. I think this amp was made in the USA in 1996, but I believe it is now made in Mexico, so I'm not sure of the reliability of those. I still haven't had the need to replace any tubes yet, except for what I changed to lessen the volume output.

The warranty was 5 years, which I am now beyond. But so far, no problems for which I had to deal with Fender (and I hope it stays that way).

I've been playing out for 28 years. I used to use all solid state amps with signal processing effects. Those sound great at low volumes in your basement, but live with a full band, everything just craps out. Tube amps sound great at the higher volumes, and natural distortion allows so many other things to happen (harmonic squeals, percussive attacks, etc). The headroom I have with a tube amp is much wider than a solid state setup can offer (play soft, is soft; play harder, plays louder). I would definitly recommend this amp. And at the asking price new, this is great value.

I play in a rolling stones, who, small faces-esque kind of band and this amp has all of the features I need. Nothing fancy but everything I need, 2 channels (plus a bit of boost) reverb and the usual bass, treble and middle controls. If you play heavy thrash stuff then dont bother with this amp. Get a solid state Marshall DFX or something. If you like bands like the Kings of Leon, then this is the amp for you. I gig a lot with this amp and its fantastic and VERY loud. Way too loud for bedroom, home use. I have a Laney LC15R which I use at home, and nothing compares with that now that I've replaced the speaker with a Jensen. But then again it all depends on your taiste. I dont do heavy thrash stuff, this is not the amp for that.

I use two guitars with this amp and both produce stunning results and complent the tone of the intstrument. This is very important to me and the style of music I play. I use an old 76 Tele Custom and a Vintage SG.

I've given this amp a four in this department, but for about 40GBP you can turn this amp into a tone machine, giving it 10 accross the board, easily. On the clean channel it sounded way too sharp and spikey with both of my guitars. It lacked the velvet rich side that I personally like. Even with the treble of it was still sounding a bit on the ugly side. This amp peaks at about 3, and this is very loud!

Heres what I recommend you do. Replaced the power tubes with Sovtek 6l6GBs. These add more shine to the overal sound and get rid of some of the harshness. Then change the power inverter tube to a 12AT7 to stop the power tubes from being so slammed. Then buy some good quality 12AX7s. The clean will now be much softer, with the customary Fender twang (with my Tele) and the overdrive/ distortion channel wont sound so muffled and wierd. After these mods the distortion on this things sounds fantastic. I used to use a Fulltone Full Drive 2 but I'm selling that because the amp is now far better than even that. Great pedal though. When I use my SG the results are also great and my SG sounds like it should do. I have no problems playing a bit of AC/DC on the overdive channel and the clean sounds rich and well rounded. These mods make the amp much more chunkier, thicker, bolder and fatter. When making these mods I recommend that you buy the valves and take it to your local guitar shop for fitting and re-biasing. Dont do it yourself unless you really know what you're doing.

I use this amp with a boss chorus, boss auto wah, cats eye fuzz face and a very old VOX wah. It likes pedals if you need to use them.

Power tubes need replacing after about a year. Its done a stirling job for 6 months.

Not had to deal with them, but I bought my amp second hand and Fender sent me a copy of the manual. Good on them.

I used to own a Marshal Valvestate 2000 and it was OK but had too much functionality for me. The clean wasnt great and the overdrive sounded synthetic and unreal. For home use I use a Laney LC15R and I love it now that I have replaced the speaker with a Jensen. It was a bit boxy before, but amazing now.

My advice would be to try as many amps as you can before buying, and try them with your own guitar/s. Really scrutinize. I would recomend this amp for gig/ studio usage, but you would have to make some tweaks. Otherwise buy Dr Z or Matchless but you'd be looking at spending a hell of a lot of money.

To be honest I really wasnt happy with this amp when I first bought it but knew what to do becasue my old man did the same with his. I've played a lot of quality amps, Matchless, Dr Z etc... and this amp AFTER the mods is equal to them. No mistake. It serves its purpose as a quality amp for gigging and studio work, and I wont need another for a while. After the mods this amp is 10 accross the board and excellent value for money. Without the mods its a tad on the harsh side and the overdrive is a bit rubbish.

New 2004.

It sounds good, but I feel that Fender should have done more to refine this amp in the development stage. The reverb is out of control loud on 2, the volume controls max out early, the clean channel distorts anywhere past 3 (the clean channel distorts so much it makes me question the need for a separate gain channel). I'm constantly chasing cabinet buzzes and vibrations, and the cheap speaker farts out at moderate volumes. As for the tone controls, the midrange is almost useless- the frequency is too low and the control's not intense enough. Like the reverb, the bass is too much on 2.

The basic clean tone is pretty and Fender-like of course, but the gain channel's tones are hideously mushy and gravelly. Sounds more like the ripped-speaker kind of distortion.

There's a lot of room for improvement. To me these amps are for beginners, people who don't play loud, or people who want a cheap amp they can beat up from carrying it to rehearsals and gigs. The Peavey Classic 50 2x12 is a far better value.

I've had it for 2 months. It seems pretty reliable, but I hate having to chase cabinet vibrations. They can be so hard to trace; you fix it here and then it pops back up over there, etc. It really disrupts my playing.

For under a grand, especially in the Fender line, you're not going to get a super high-quality amp that's actually stellar. This is a decent bang-around clean amp. I'll mostly use it for back porch jamming.

My amp was purchased new in 2003, made in USA. High & Low Inputs, Bright/Normal Switch, Volume (Clean Channel), Drive (Gain for Drive and More Drive Channels),Treble, Bass, Middle Tone controls, Channel select switch, Master (volume for Drive channels), Reverb, Presence, Pre-Amp Out, Power Amp In, Footswitch, Standby, and Speaker Out.
The HRD has nice features. The only downside is that seperate tone contols for the clean and drive channels would be a big improvement. So, sometimes you have to find a compromise. If Reverb was footswitchable that would be nice also. But still, plenty of options and everything works well.
I use this amp to gig regular. It has plenty of power for small and medium clubs.

I use a 91 Fender American Standard Strat with a DiMarzio humbucker at the bridge and Seymour Duncan humbucker at the neck. Stock single coil in middle. I also use a Squier Standard Telecaster with stock single coils, and have even played an Ovation Balladeer through it. I play Classic & Modern Rock. The clean channel is very nice. I can't believe the guy who rated this 1. Why did you buy it? It is very clear and warm. Starts to break up around 5 or 6, that's when this baby sounds bad! Especially through a Strat. I think the Drive channels are great. You just have to experiment. I can get a great slightly overdriven sound on Drive- sounds awesome. This is not a Metal or Grunge amp. It is Blues or Classic Rock like you would hear in the 60's or 70's. I actually like that sound. I use a Danelectro Fab Tone to get modern distortion and it sounds great. The Drive channels really start to sing at about 5. This amp has great sustain. The reverb comes on quick. Usually around 2.5 is enough. But turn it up and its great for Surf-Music. Presence works well. I like it best around 4. Crank it up and it can get piercing if that's what you like. This is a loud amp, but I still play it at home everyday at about 1 1/2- 2. The louder you play this amp, the better it sounds.

The one and only problem I've had is the little ruby-light bulb burnt out. I picked up 2 at an auto parts store for $2. That is the only problem I've had in a year and a half. It is built very well. It looks and feels like quality. Some complain about the plastic inputs jacks. Try pulling your cord out, not yanking.

No problems, so I wouldn't know.

The Hot Rod Deluxe is a gigging amp. It is a little loud for home if you want to crank it up for tube saturation. But get it out where you can crank it and it sings. It really cuts through. It is loud enough to play anywhere, has great tone, and won't break your back to carry it. Yes, I would buy another. Great for Classic Rock and Blues, if you want the modern sounds just get a good distortion pedal. If you want a good tube amp, this is the best bang for the buck out there.

Not sure when it was made. It does great for light rock - blues - country - classic rock... doesn't do that great for metal stuff but most people who play that kind of music would just buy a marshall or mesa boogie or something that is better suited for that style of music. It has three channels (regular, drive, more drive) but channel one is the only one I really use because you can't EQ channel two or three very well at all and the drive is cheezy sounding to me so I use floor pedals for my tone. I wish that it had a better sounding drive channel.

I am using an American Fender strat with dimarzio pickups. It does great for clear tones to overdriven tones but with that Fender sparkle on the high end. It is pretty quiet. The drive channel as I said earlier pretty much sucks. However the amp when it is dead stock is pretty weak. First of all, the speaker must be replaced if you want any tone at all. I have read that most people put in a celestion vintage 30 or a weber but I chose to put a Jensen C12N in it because I read the history of the fender amps and saw that Jensen speakers are what the old vintage fender amps came with for the most part as well as the limited edition hot rods and I can honestly tell you that it made a huge difference in the tone of the amp! Mostly in the low end but the high end is not piercing my ear drum anymore, with the stock eminence speaker the low end just kind of melted and fell apart but with the new speaker it was tighter and had more of a focused punch than a sloppy mess. I also changed out the power tubes (the two big ones) I read other reviews that say to change out the preamp tubes and the power inverter tube as well and I probably will sometime soon but the power tubes were a must for more clean headroom and a more full rich tone. The stock tubes breakup way too soon and don't sound that great at all. The reverb was improved as well, the drive channel was better but still not terrific. I understand that manufacturers are for the most part more concerned about using parts that are cheaper so that they can keep the price down and sell more because most people who buy the product won't notice the difference but if you notice it then change the speaker and the tubes and you will be golden! Check out this website for other cool mods and tips for your hot rod deluxe: http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/tubes.html

I found this website while browsing the net trying to find info and this site is killer for mods and practical information about your amp.

No problems yet but who knows. I have read other reviews about problems with the deluxe but not too many. But I am sure that I will encounter some sometime down the road. But it is to be expected I geuss.

Never had to deal with Fender for anything.

It is a great amp for clear tones to overdriven rock. Don't buy it expecting to play metallica or any new metal band, this is certainly not the amp! But for bluesy type of stuff it fill the need great! Just need a few adjustments and you are on your way. I would probably buy it again but I would look around at maybe a vox ac30 or something like that. I am really into U2 and coldplay type of stuff so it serves my needs great! I looked at the deville but it was too loud for what I am doing and didn't seem to be better at all, just louder and heavier so I chose the deluxe.

3 channels, reverb, 1-12" speaker etc.

Here's where this amp suffers... clean isn't sparkly like a twin reverb at all. Gain channels are both buzzy and harsh. Perhaps the mods the previous reviewer stated will help... Regardless, I find this amp to be a huge disappointment, especially since the Deluxe 90, Stage 100, and Stage 160 all kick its ass completely in every way... and all for less money. I was expecting the Hotrod series to be good after hearing how great the Dynatouch series (solid state) sounds.

I'll sum it up this way -- I have never come across an amp that I expected to love, yet I completely hate. Even the reverb sounds like crap. A sad excuse for an amp when so many solid state amps out there can kick its butt!

Won't know -- it couldn't go back fast enough.

Never contacted them.

I'll quote Ted Nugent on Jimmy Page and this is how I feel about this amp: "Grossly over-rated, a real fumble-finger!" If that doesn't say it, I don't know what else can. I suppose it could sound good if you get some heavy-duty ear plugs and then put rifle range ear-muffs over your hears and hum the star-spangled banner to yourself while you play... Can I give it a zero?

---------All ratings are with the modifications explained below-------- (for the original stock amp, take away 3 marks everytime)
Mine was a 1997 model with the Eminence speaker. I give it an 8 because I find the EQ doesn't respond that good, and the reverb is exagerated. I never set it higher than 1.2 / 12. Nothing to worry about though.. It sounds so good that you don't really need radical EQs.

I use a Japanese Vintage Strat. And I've used the amp many times with Les Pauls, Chet Atkins Tenessean, and others. No matter what guitar you have, the amp will make it sound good. If you have a strat, you'll get that fat bluesy tone, and if you have a hollowbody jazz guitar with humbuckers, you'll get that great jazz sound.
-Clean is great
-Distortion is great
(wasnt thrilled over the original amp. I had it five years before modifying it, and I regret the time when I had to stuggle to sound good, buying pedals, eqs, etc)

Somehow mine has a strange vibration when I play a low G, but that's something I'll fix when I get a chance, I think it's because I didnt tighten the reverb unit tight enough when i put it back together. In general, it's bulletproof. Hold on..... Thinking about it, that damn light bulb keeps burning on me... it lost a mark for that.

never had to deal with them

Mods that I recommennd absolutely:
Tubes: 2 Svetlana 6L6GCs, and 3 Sovtek 5751s. (I tried an ElectroHarmonix in the inverter position, but didn't see the difference.
Speaker: Jensen C12N
**Let's say someone doesnt have much cash, but still wants to upgrade the tone, I suggest changing the 2 big 6L6 tubes for 2 Svetlanas. I think these make the cheapest and most significant change in sound. The sound becomes much more clean, round, creamy, fat, precise. You loose a lot of the muddiness but there's still something missing. Then, when you change the speaker, you start hearing the high frequencies very precisely, the mids are beautiful, the bass takes it's place,etc.

It has three channels, I'd only use two but one extra couldn'tr hurt. I use it for my clean amp mostly, and the overdrive as a different dirty sound along with a Mesa Tripple Rectifier mainly for effects, and an Orange AD30. IT has plenty of power but it is mainly for clea and texture.

I use a PRS Custom 24, a Gibson Flying V', Univox H_FLIer, and a 69' Fender Mustang. I play moden effects oriented rock. The custom 24 and the mustang sound completly perfect through it. The clean is not noisey at all 100% pure warm clean tone unlike the clean channel on the rectifier which is aways a little pushed.

If you want an amp for an awesome clean tone this is the amp for you. Awesome for in the studio and its a good price. I give it an eight because it isn't really versitle but if you are only using it for its clean I recomend it.

Brand new amp (2003). Very versatile amp w/ 3 channels & footswitch. I stay on CLEAN channel 90% of time. Amp has plenty of power for small to mid-size clubs and it's VERY light. I switched from a Peavey Special Transtube, which was very heavy and still is Solid State, no matter how you slice it. The HRD kicks it's butt. Wheels would be my only suggestion.

I'm currently rebuilding my setup, but now it's:
Fender Tele-->DigiTech GNX2 multifx pedal-->straight into the amp.
It sounds great even though I'm tired of the efx pedal. I play Top40 Country(75%) & Classic Rock(25%). The amp has made a WORLD of difference in my tone. I had a Solid State Peavey before and would NEVER go back. TUBE is great! So warm & mellow. The amp is also very quiet. Clean channel is excellent. 2nd channel is Ok, and I never use the 3rd - it sounds a bit TOO over-the-top, tinty, and noisy, but that's just what I hear w/ my setup. Clean channel is unbelievable. Great for Country, Blues, & Rock sounds.

I've had it for about a year, and have had no problems w/ it. I bought an extra set of tubes, just in case, but haven't had to use them yet (knock on wood). No problems with this amp. It's so light, too - which is great on the Back.

Haven't had to. Warranty is 5 years, I think.

I've been playing for about 15 years. I play Country, Classic Rock, and Bluesy stuff. I'd definitely get another one if stolen. It's so light and SO powerful and great sounding for it's size. I'd never go back to SS after hearing those tubes. Even though it's light, wheels would be a *wish list* item maybe. Also, maybe a 3rd channel that isn't so harsh. I stay on 1st most of the night, sometimes onto 2nd. This thing has made me a BELIEVER in tube - I'd never go back. This is a great amp!

Brand New (2004)
Amp is really OK. Has 1 channel (take a good look at the schematic,
if you're able to understand it), with 2 "fuzz boxes" - Drive/More Drive. It's' got plenty of power. Maybe even a little too much power. I basically use the 'Clean channel',and I put a Vox Wah, Blues Driver, Metal Zone, Chorus, and Delay unit in front. I play clubs, weddings, and liposuction recovery rooms.

Using a PRS McCarthy, LP, Strat...
Gives fine tone, although a bit bassy with stock tubes/speaker.
Put in 3 12AX7EH's and they brightened up the amp. I'll get to the power tubes in 6 months or so. Also put in a Celestion V30 that I had laying around. Amp is less muddy than before. I think that the non-hardwood cabinet causes some of the fartz. But the V30 added weight.

Good workingman's amp. not too heavy. Simple to service.
No problems, to date.

Never delt with Fender. I'm sure that if I tried to contact them,
I'd come away still saying: "Never delt with Fender".

Playing 38 years. For smaller jobs, I use 1 or 2 Blues Jr's..
If the HRD were lost or stolen I'd probably pick one up, used.
I do wish that Fender hadn't used a linear pot on the Drive Volume.
They should use an audio taper pot. The amp also needs a Bright switch
so it can sound more like a fender, especially when using humbucker's. It's not a great amp, It's not a bad amp. And that's not
bad for $550.00, with a 5 yr warranty. And, if you ever want to get rid of it (without losing it or having it stolen), it has a respectable re-sale value.

Full tube ; 40 watts but REALLY loud.
2 channels (the third is useless).
It's a LIGHT amp, i like it. :-)

I replaced the speaker with a Vintage 30. What a difference in tone!
Maybe later i'll try the Jensen (it's on the limited edition).

Clean sound is awesome : full, rich, fat and with a little crunch at volume set > 7 (but it can hurt your ears!) It's the classic fender clean, different from a Twin Reverb, but still great. Love it!
You can easily play jazz, not only blues.

The gain channel (with Vintage 30) is also great: perfect for blues and rock-blues, even for jazz fusion, NOT for hard rock or metal. If you play metal, forget this amp.

The "more drive" function is crap: don't know how Fender could put this garbage on a beautiful amp like this.

P.S. With the basic features, you can't get a heavy sound, but try to use a good tube preamp and connect it to the "power amp in" jack, so you skip the fender preamp section.
I tried a Carvin Quad x Amp : the gain sound is AWESOME!!
Try it, and you can sell your marshall :-)

I had to turn and fix the screws, now it sounds great at higher volumes.

Clean, Drive and More Drive, all using the same EQ. Mine is Made in USA. I hear some of the new ones are made in Mexico. Points of for not having a separate EQ for the clean channel. See sounds as to why this matters.

You need to understand how this amp works before you judge the overdrive channels. 1st of all, $30 including shipping and handling will get you 3 JJ preamp tubes from Eurotubes-this will make the amp's distortion sound as if you spent $600 more on it- I didn;t believe it until I heard it. Bob will have the tubes on your doorstep in 2 days. I hear replacing the power tubes will improve your sound even more, but I havn't felt the need yet.
For starters, the eq is pre-distortion; this means you can't turn down the mid to get "scooped" distortion sounds. This amp loves the mids @ >7 to give you a nice full harmonic disitortion sound. The base on the other hand probably needs to be kept at <5 so that is does't get farty - this is much like the classic mesa combos. When driving this amp you want to keep your presence at <5 also or else the high ends get out of hand. Setting the mids high, bass low and the presence low may seem all wrong to those used to Marshalls.
The clean channel is very versatile, but you may have to sacrifice it some to be able to footswitch into the distortion sounds you want.
On the other hand, a good distortion pedal (I especially recommend the Zoom Hyper lead)in front the the clean channel can make this amp out perform any Marshall stack I've played or heard-no kidding.

As reliable as any tube combo. I don't drag it around, so I'm not sure how it would hold up.

Not been an issue. My local dealer is great - Marty's Music in Annville PA.

Doesn't have the bells and whistles of a high end Mesa combo, but I love this amp. It's beautiful to look at. I love plugging directly into it without any floorpedals, spinning the chicken head knobs and jamming away. I play a Fender American Deluxe Fat Strat & Gibson Les Paul Studio. Clean Jazz, blues and even VH style hard rock/metal. It's louder than you can imagine. The $30 for JJ tubes is pocket change compared to the cost of mods one would have to do on a Marshall to get it to sound half as decent at a reasonable volume.

pretty straight forward, most of what you want, though i think a graphic eq should be on every amp as standard

i dont get why people buy this amp and then say it sucks. who would buy something this expensive and say it sucks?


great clean channel, one of the best ive heard, though i dont play clean. great gooey reverb and lots of it. distortion is pretty cool i think. i never noticed a farty bottom end. the distortion on this amp is very distinct, its not pretending to be a marshall or a mesa. its very foamy and rubbery sounding, something which i appreciate for its individuality. I play a mesa now, and had a marshall jcm900, this amp is far more dynamic than the sterile marshall, but not as groovy as the mesa. there is plenty of gain, and it can get very saturated.

for the price, its a fantastic amp. it is what it is.

Bought new this March 2004. Features already covered here aplenty.

I'm using an ES135, ES175, and a Strat. I bought this amp mostly for clean Jazz and a little bit of Blues, based on a tryout at the store where I didn't have the opportunity to really crank it. I also owned a Blues Jr. in the past, which I liked, but traded.

The amp has a beautiful clean channel. It lacks a little midrange, so I run that pretty high. Then again, I'm used to Marshall midrange. The bass and treble tend to dominate, which is good or bad depending on your preference.

One thing that confuses me is why this amp is advertised as a 3 channel amp (according to the specifications at the Fender website), yet the clean channel begins to break up above 3 or 4. If you're using the clean channel at higher volume settings, you've effectively got 3 distortion channels. It would make more sense for the clean channel to be completely clean all the way up to at least 8 or 9 like the Peavey Classic series or the Marshall DSL401.

I like the reverb a lot, but it's extreme even at low settings. Typically I run it at about 2.5, and that's a lot. This is kind of baffling as well.

The tone controls seem to function all the way from 0-12, although the mid control seems a bit on the weak side. Infact, the tone controls in general aren't as active as I'd like. The volume controls on mine are pretty smooth; no volume jumps at low settings, and still active above half way.

The bass can't really be turned up much above 3 when the volume is above 3, because it produces a low-end farty sound. Actually, I'm not positive if it's the speaker or not, it could just be the amp distorting. Something gets flubby or sloppy there. The bass is never what I would call "focused" anyway.

As for the distortion, the drive channel is good for a slight Blues overdrive and I can get about the same tone on the clean channel when turned up as on the drive channel. The "More Drive" is useless to me, though some like it. I don't like Fender-type gravelly sounding distortion, I prefer tighter, focused distortion like on Marshalls. But then again, I didn't buy this amp for gain.

It may sound like I'm being a bit hard on the amp, but I'm just being specific really. Like I said, I bought this amp mostly for clean Jazz, and I don't need it to be loud enough to fill a stadium. I would just feel a lot better if the amp were able to be turned up louder and stay clean.

I've only had it for a week, but I've played it a lot so far. Seems to be built better than my Marshall DSL401 combo, the US retail price of which has recently escallated to a whopping $900. (Nice amps when they work right, but nowhere NEAR worth a grand!).

Overall this amp is very nice. In spite of my pickiness, it's just a plain joy to play through. Nice crystal clean sound (at lower volumes), and lush, dense reverb. The amp needs more clean headroom, and the bass farts out at moderate volumes on any channel, but I don't really intend on using it much above 2 or 3.

By the way, the Blues Jr. is a nice amp too, in a smaller package. I'm thinking about getting another one of those again as well.

I'd definately buy this amp again for the same purpose.

The features have already been covered in other reviews. For its price point it is above average, but not the best. It's almost all-tube (SS rectifier)

I'm using a 2002 Les Paul Standard, and an Ibanez RG with DiMarzio pickups.

The clean tone is perfect. It gets no better. It's sparkly, but with plenty of body in the low end and tons of tube warmth in the middle. I've heard people say that there are headroom issues at gig volumes, but I gave up on being a rock star so I wouldn't know.

The overdrive channel has its good and bad points. I think a lot of people that rag on the o/d channel haven't let it warm up long enough. That said, it takes it about 10 minutes to warm up to a level where it's usable so I can understand that.

Before it warms up, it's awful. The brightness takes a while to settle down, but until it does, it's going to sound like a chainsaw in your ear, and it's going to be extra touch-sensitive. You need to work your tone and volume controls and adjust the presence as the amp warms up in order to keep it from sounding horrible.

Once it warms up, the distortion reminds me a lot of Alex Lifeson's tone in the early Rush era. It's a medium level of gain, with a very bright edge that makes it good for both lead and rhythm work.

I'll give it a 7 for the clean tone and the warmed-up distorted tone. The Burstbucker Pros in the Les Paul sound especially good with it.

I've heard people complain about it being fragile, but I'm not gigging right now so I can't make an honest response.

Honestly, I wish I would have bought something else. I was impatient and it bit me. I compared it with a few Marshall combos that were a little more expensive, and it sounded better in the store. Beware of this.

If someone stole it, I'd be pissed that I didn't get any money out of it, but I wouldn't miss playing through it. I want more sounds than this amp can get - though the ones it does get are good - and I think it's time to start my amp-to-end-all-amps fund. I'll give it a 7 based on the clean tone.

This was a 2002 model that I bought from Musician's Friend. It was considered a blemish, but it was new when I took out of the box. I already own a Carvin 200sx and wanted a more bluesy or versatile amp. Well this amp is it! Like my Carvin, I wish it had two seperate channels. I mainly play hard rock, classic rock, rock, and blues. This is amp is perfect. If I want 80s metal, I play my Carvin. So I got the best of both worlds. Oh by the way, this amp is loud for 40 watts. I think it is louder then my 100w Carvin.

I play a heavy metal Fender strat, Charvel Strat, Squier Strat (Made in Japan), Ibanez Destroyer, and an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. At first, it was hard to get an overdrive sound. I grew up listening to 80s hard rock and really love the sound. All my guitars really sound good with this amp, but my Les Paul sounds the best. I get a fat creamy tone and my Les Paul is stock. The clean channel is to die for. The drive channel is very muddy at low volume. It sounds better when it is turn up to 2 or 3. I believe this amp was made to play loud. When I want a more distortion, I use a Boss DS-1 with an Guyatone Noise Reducer 2. The natural drive is design for blues, rock and hard rock. I can get AC/DC sounds out of it. When I use the Boss DS-1, the amp just sings! I get a 80s hard rock sound that is fat, trebley and creamy. My settings for the drive is 10, Treble = 10, Bass = 6, Mid= 4, Presence = 10, Master = 3 - 4, and reverb = 2.5. If I use my pedal, tone = 2 o clock, distortion = 3 o clock, level = 12 o clock, drive = 2.5, Treble = 10, Bass = 6, Mid= 4, Master = 3 - 4, Presence = 10 and reverb = 2.5. the NR2 = 8 o clock. The NR2 helps eliminate feedback and noise at high volume. All my pedals are inserted on input 2 because it just sounds better compared to the effect loop inputs. I am still experimenting with it and so far the amp is growning on me. If you want death metal sounds, this amp is not design for it. But if you want balls out hard rock and blues then get this amp.

It is still new so I can't answer this question.

It is still new so I can't answer this question.

I have been playing for 15 years. If it was stolen or lost, I would get it another one. If not, I would get another Carvin. What I love about this amp is the versitility and it is loud enough to play for clubs. What I hate about it is the drive is muddy at low volumes. The DS-1 removes the muddiness when playing low volume. My Carvin amp is not muddy at low volume. The reason why I choose the HDX is because I wanted a blues amp and it is definately a keeper. Most of all, this amp is a sleeper.

Features for this particular amplifier have been stated numerous times on this site but I will not restate them. I like them. The Bright switch is a real plus but i do not use the Drive channels. At least not yet. I may in the future, but I like my Boss overdrive unit. This gizmo has "tons of swat" as the ad says. I have not taken it up more than 4 because I may crack the walls of my new house. However, I have a Boss equalzer, which I rarely use now with this amp because the tone is that good. This is a brand new amp that I purchsed a couple of weeks ago at a Guitar Center. However, I have yet to gig with this thing. I imagine that it will really perform because my best pal plays one and I saw a band where the guitar player used a similar guitar and this amp performed really well.

The amp is a little bassy and blaring but that is because I am playing a hollow body like the guy a previous post. In fact he has almost the same guitars as I do. I am playing an ES-175, ES-137, and a Steinberger Spirit Deluxe. Half jazz, Half blues. But, as I said, I saw a fellow use a big fat Epiphone Emperor Regent throught this amp and it sounded great. However, the sound between my Fender Deluxe 90 (solid state) and this amp are quite different and the tubes make it sound much jazzier and warmer. I have gotten it to the right settings and it is doing great. I just got my ES-137 back from Memphis for repairs and it is perfect through this amp. The Bright switch really helps. I imagine I am having the same issues and the fellow with the same guitars in the previous post. But adjusments can be made.

Fender has treated me well in the past and there are some guys out here who are authorized to fix them. (As was the case with an older Fender). However, after a gig/jam session last night where I played through and older Fender that belongs to this club; the amp was making crackling sounds, so as a result, I would always have a backup. Hey, things break no matter how good they are. That is why I am keeping my Deluxe 90 solid state.

Good support in the past. The authorized repairman did it fast.

This a great amp. Not superb for my needs, but for the time being, it will serve me well. I was very familiar with this amp before I bought it. Fender is always on the cutting edge of amps. I have been playing since 1972 with years off for career building, but I am a serious amateur jazz/blues player. I use all kinds of effects a I have made a custom pedal board in my shop where I mount my Boss Effects pedals. This amp seems to take them well either through the loop or directly. The real test will be in a week or two when I use it on a gig.

Blah Blah Buttons. knobs, etc Standard fare.
I play in a rock/blues cover band and gig 2-3 times a month. I've been playing for 20 years and have had all kinds of amps from an original Vox Ac-30 to a Line6 Vetta with several Mesa's in between.

I bought this amp based on the reviews at Harmony Central praising this amps clean channel. It sound good in a middle pickups setting on my 79' EMG equipped Strat. Any changes in setup and you start all over. I swapped the stock speaker out with a Mesa Black Shadow (EV) and it did improve. The bottom end is still flabby. The cabinet has some bad resonances ( I removed the handle and cured one right away, will replace with a leather handle). The Drive/more drive leaves a lot to be desired. Once again, I can dial in an acceptable tone but if I change pickup selection, I start all over trying to dial in a good sound. I tried another 79' strat with stock pickups and it did clean up a little. Overall, I am not happy with the sound of this amp. I am comparing it to my 67' Torres modded Bandmaster and my Marshall 25/50 Jubilee. Sadly , the best sound came from running my Line 6 POD 2.0 directly into the Loop return. However, I am not too discouraged. There are a ton of mods on the net and I plan to try them all. 1st order of business will be trying every possible tube combination. Then the MASTER pot needs to be changed to a "tapered" pot ("2" is about "8") . The reverb is insane and needs to be scaled back. The bass and mid tone controls are not very effective in cleaning up the low end "flab". The local amp tech is either going to love me or hate me!

I opened the amp up and can see that two cement resistors have been changed as well as the input jack. I bought this used (pawnshop special) so it's anyones guess as to the history other than it was owned by someone that was bad at handling money.

N/A

I'm glad I didn't shell out 559.00 for a new one. As an afterthought, I wish I'd kept my Peavey Classic 30 and pedalboard. I realize this is an "entry level" amp. I didn't expect it to sound like a new Savage or Matchless but I did expect more. My 13 yr old son will love this amp because it's loud.

Bought mine new on March 7th, 2004. Features already covered. As for the features rating, I'll give it an 8 because it's pretty much up where an amp in this size.price range would typically be.

This is a preliminary review based on about 4 hours of use after bringing it home brand spankin' new in the box. I'll update later.

I bought this amp specifically for use with my archtop Jazz guitars, which are an ES175 hollowbody and an ES135 semi-hollowbody. I find it to have an absolutely pristine clean tone, which suits my needs very well. I find the bass to be a bit on the extreme side, but I've taken other things into consideration such as where the amp sits in proximity to walls, pickup height, and the fact that hollowbody guitars tend to sound a bit bassy to begin with. The clean is just plain bold, punchy, and clear as crystal. I originally dug the tone of my Marshall DSL combo's clean channel, but it pales in comparison to the HRD. I've owned a plethora of amps: Ampeg, Marshall, Fender, Line 6, Peavey Classics, etc. A few of the others come close, but the HRD just does it for me. It's warm, yet bright, snappy, yet it's not shrill. You can certainly find better amps for Jazz, but not in this price range.

As for the gain settings, I don't really care about them and have no comment, except to say that I tried them and I like the regular drive mode set to a low amount of distortion for solos.

The only drawback would be that it's heavy on the bass, but then I'll bet you if you brought it to a big hall or an outdoor event, you'd have plenty of bass where other amps would lose their bottom end.

I'm not the least bit interested in this business about changing out speakers and tubes, especially with a brand new amp. If I have to invest another $200. on a speaker and tubes, well then I'd rather just buy a different amp. At about $550. plus another $200. worth of "upgrades", you can most certainly buy a better amp. The truth is, this amp sounds fine the way it comes stock, all the rest is just hype. I think too many people jump on the "modification" bandwagon too quickly.

Obviously I can't say yet, but I did own a Blues Jr. about 2 years ago and it was flawless. I was using it for Rock instead of Jazz, which is why I dumped it.

Like I said, I really dug the clean channel on my DSL401 combo until I heard this amp. The HRD is so much nicer for Jazz. I had a Fender Chorus DSP 2x12 (solid state/digital) as well. That amp was bassy too, but the bass frequency area was very narrow and irritating; if you turned the bass off, the whole bottom would drop out. Turn it up to 3 and it broke windows. The HRD is quite a bit better.

Covered well elsewhere. This is my second valve amp and I have used it for around 12 months. My first valve amp was a vintage Orange head and cabinet (which had had a very hard life!). The main things that sold me on the HRDx are:
1. The clean channel stock when compared to others in the store
2. The look, weight and price
3. Overall versatility

It is a very loud amp for its size, so if you are using it at home I strongly recommend using an attenuator of some kind. I use a THD Hot Plate which allows me to set up the amp as if I was gigging, but at much lower volumes, with very little tone loss. I cannot recommend this strongly enough - you can drive the power tubes into that nice, creamy overdrive, producing some very nice sounds on either the clean or drive channels.

My setup is CryBaby-->Boss DS1-->TS9-->Boss CH1-->Boss DD3-->Tuner-->Preamp-->PowerAmp-->HotPlate-->Speaker

I play a 2002 Les Paul Standard as well as a '93 American Standard Strat.

I have made the following mods to the stock unit:
1. Electro Harmonix 12AX7's in V1, V2, V3
2. THD YellowJackets for power amp (also have Svetlana 6L6GC's for some applications)
3. Weber 12F150 (C12N style) speaker

Although I really enjoyed the sound of the clean channel stock, as I became more used to to the amp over a 12 month period I began to look for ways to improve tone - response, removal of bass flab, clarity of sound on both channels. Apart from dropping overall volume or the unit, the YellowJackets seem to improve touch response. The EH preamp valves tend to smooth out overdrive on both clean and drive channels (although I keep it at low drive settings - around 2 or less).

When it came to the much maligned stock Eminence speaker, I was reasonably happy until I compared a stock HRDx with a Jensen C12N equipped limited edition HRDx in a local guitar store. I was very impressed with the improved clarity and response of the Jensen at shop volumes and decided on the Weber after some enquiries.

The result now is an amp that, while not perfect, produces some very nice tones. The drive channel in my opinion can produce a better (fatter but more natural) TS9 tone on low drive settings than the TS9 played through the clean channel. The clean channel, while breaking up earlier than amps like the twin, still produces that nice Fender clean tone. It breaks up ealier with the Les Paul than the Strat, which is to be expected as the LP pickups produce a stronger signal.

My pedals through this amp sound wonderful to my ear. The DS-1 provides an amazing, hard edged modern sound while the DD-3 and CH-1 sound clear. The character of each of my guitars comes through clearly - not something you can expect from digital modelling amps or related gear. The pedals plus channel combinations gives me a reasonably broad range of distorted sounds.

In setting this amp up I relied heavily on the fantastic work published in Harmony Central and the Fender FDP Forum, as well as the guys at the Guitar Factory (Gladesville, Sydney, Australia) and Greg at Retrosound.
www.guitarfactory.net
www.retrosound.com.au

I also refer frequently to Justin Holton's fabulous website on this amp which provides valuable information on a variety of topics (http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/). Well done Justin!

I think this amp suits someone after versatility at an affordable price, covering Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock, Modern Rock and variations. It is not a metal amp - turning up the drive to max will not give you metal tones, although the right pedals might go at least part way there. If you are going to play distorted tones most of the time, then you should try other amps like Marshall for comparison. For me however, a good clean channel is an important part of the mix.

You can control the sound of your amp with your guitar controls. On my Les Paul I tend to set clean channel to just break up with my neck pick up volume on max. I turn the volume down and the sound cleans up. Swap to bridge and it cleans up as well.

I don't use the effects loop for time based effects but will likely experiment over time to see if the tone improves. I will also experiment with lower gain valves and different brand over time (seems to go with valve amp territory in general!).

The amp is not noisy unless I am using my Strat on single pickup settings. But even then, the noise doesn't come through the mix.

Overall I am extremely happy with the tone. I haven't heard anything that comes close at this price point. There are better amps - but at a price. Try a Cornford Hellcat and you'll see what I mean! However, they are well over 2 times the price and you may not feel happy with gigging or modifying them.

The amp originally had a mechanical buzz when playing lower pitch notes. After having it reviewed by The Guitar Factory, a replacement amp was organised through Fender within days. In hindsight, the problem may have actually been the reverb tank springs, which seems to pop up a bit on the forums. However, my current unit is buzz and rattle free.

Since then I have had no trouble at all with the amp. The only backup I will have is a Pandora PX4 to run through the PA. My tone will suffer (although it is a great modelling unit) but I am not expecting to use it!

The Guitar Factory provided great support and advice. They are all experienced musicians and now their product well.

As noted above, Fender organised a replacement amp quickly. From my perspective, the overall support and service was top class.

For my needs at this point in time, I have to rate this as a 9. This takes into account sound, reliability, price point, versatility. It lacks a few things like a set of tone controls for the drive channel. However, it is a good workhorse that you can comfortably modify to needs in a number of ways.

However, a comparative rating on everything but price would put in down a few pegs against boutique amps.

If you are looking at a versatile small combo, then you should put this on your list and compare against other Fenders, Marshalls and the like. But give it a hearing. If you can, try the Limited Edition version as well - you will begin to see what the tone potential is.

Previously stated.

As I stated in an earlier review this amp gets good sounds for classic rock and blues. Lot of bang for the buck.

Here we go! This is the reason for this submission. I have had this amp for almost five years. At about the two year point the amp began switching channels by itself. I brought it to the dealer and it was repaired under warranty in about two weeks. Fine. Let me state that this amp is used on gigs 3 or 4 times a month on average. On a recent gig the channel switching problem popped up again. Back to the dealer, still under warranty (barely)it has now been two months of runaround still not repaired. see cust support.I still give this amp a 6 rating because in almost five years it has been used alot.

5 year warranty. I am still waiting on the latest repair, the dealer and the shop claim it's Fender that there waiting on for parts. This is a pretty standard amp, with thousands in service across the country. To wait two months for parts is beyond belief! No email on the fender site for customer service. Obviously this story is not over yet, but I thought I'd share this horror story.

I've been playing for over 30 years. I have five guitars including two fenders. Good amp for classic rock and blues I get complements on the tone. Plenty of club volume. Not the end of search for great tone but a good point along the way.

This review is a follow-up to the one below, i may have been too fast in critisizing this amp, however...

Since the last review i swapped the standard Eminence speaker for a Jensen reissue C12K, C12N's big brother, and upgraded the flimsy speaker cord. Big difference. Clean opened up nicely and is more relaxed now, the Eminence had a lot of compression in the mids. Very nice for blues with a Strat or for jazz with a semisolid or archtop Gibson type guitar. I can get a nice SRV lead sound on More Drive with a Strat, this is a Fender amp, it's a blues amp. If you really want to rock out get a Marshall stack.

I had a squealing sound on More Drive, turned out it was a microphonic preamp tube, i got a TAD (www.tubeampdoctor.com)12AX7A-C and put it in V1, voila, problem solved. Still i feel that a product with such a built-in manufacturing mistake as this amp's power resistors should be called back to the dealer for a free repair. I had to remove the amp chassis to swap the speaker, again i'm not impressed with the build quality. Plastic tube sockets, plastic inputs mounted directly onto the circuit board. For 450 euro(550 USD) new it's acceptible, for 850/900 euro new here in the Netherlands i call it substandard. You can buy some very nice used combo amps around here for that kind of money, Boogie mk3 etc.

I'm not the first owner so the warranty's gone. I solved my problems with this amp with "a little help from the Web", see below.

As stated below i'm an old guy who's been through a lot of amps. It's not as heavily built as many amps i've owned but OTOH it's more portable. I don't play in a regular band anymore so reliability isn't that much an issue. After some tube and speaker swapping (additional cost: 65 euro) i get a very good clean sound and a usable SRV type lead sound out of it.

This is one of the most idiot proof tube amps out there. No bias needed if you get the same match power tubes. They can last as long as 3 years. If you go that long you might want it tweaked after you replace them, but generally if you replace with the same you don't have to bias the amp. You can change the preamp tubes all you want.

This is a basic amp, Fender offers even more scaled down models, but this is the happy medium.

Alot of people post that this isn't a metal amp. True, and DUH! That's what distortion pedals are for(as some mentioned others not).
I've never used a distortion channel even on metal head amps for my distortion unless it's just rock or hard rock, however, you can scale back your distortion pedal for milder stuff. I've always preferred going off the clean channel with a pedal simply because adding distortion to a distortion channel doesn't work. On this fender you can use the 2nd channel as a boost since the EQ's don't change channel to channel. The only thing I would do different as far as getting a better metal sound is to swap the speaker out *OR* using the speaker out to a cab + disabling the internal. Yes you can do that with a dummy plug.

Why buy a solid state marshall for the same price when you can have a tube amp and slap on a distortion pedal???

In short:
#1 buy a great sounding clean amp(like this one)
#2 Get a distortion pedal you love.
#3 maybe an EQ or noise suppressor.

Well documented after ?380 reviews...

OK, Fender Hotrod Deluxe, got it used from a guy here in Holland. REDICULOUS price difference between ol'Europe and USA BTW. Great clean sound, warm,full,spacious, with enough edge. Reverb is typical Fender, alas the knob is more like an on/off switch...
Drive takes a while to get used to. I did the tube swap suggested below, ECC81(12AT7)in V3, ECC83(12AX7) in V1 and V2. Haven't set the bias yet, i'm not very technical. Drive and certainly more drive are a bit harsh to my ears, though an SRV blues sound with a Strat is possible. I guess i have to keep swapping them tubes and get a better speaker than the standard Eminence. For now i'll be using pedals like Marshall Guvner(Mark 1!)and Boss SD-1.

As i said i got it used, it's a 1996 USA built model. At home i discovered the amp generates a squealing sound on More Drive with preamp and master above 4. Even without a guitar plugged in. I found the excellent site http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/ , no NOT a Fender Inc. site, just a guy who puts in a lot of free time to help HRDLx users. So i found out that it's "The 470 ohm 5W cement resistors in the +/- 16V supply" . "The 5W resistor's leads are bent as soon as they come out of the body. You should NEVER bend leads like this." So it's a manufacturing mistake by Fender that causes this squealing sound and can even cause spontaneous channel switching and reverb dropping out! Nice! I can take my "new" amp straight to an amp tech for an expensive repair!

It seems that quality has increased since they started making them in Mexico...

I'm an old geezer (20+ years of playing) who went through almost everything ampwise in search of the Elusive Tone... Of course it's in your mind, your fingers. And there's no amp in the world that can produce every guitar tone, no certainly not the modelling amps!
As i stated above i'm disappointed to have trouble from day 1 with such a recently built amp, i've had 1970s Marshalls etc, no problemo. I wanted an amp that would give a nice clean sound for playing blues/jazz at home, with enough power to cut it at the occasional jam session. It seems to do that, and it's portable (very important for old guys!). I guess i'll have to bite the bullet and get the repair done, no use going on the road with an unreliable amp.

the hot rod is very versatile. it can handle all the styles i play except metal. don't even think about playing metal with it. they say it has three channels, but it's more like two with a gain boost on the second channel.it has reverb, but the reverb is solid-state. it's not usable past about 3 for me. its never left my bedroom, but it literally shakes the windows. effects loop. footswitch included.

im using a completely stock 2003 american stratocaster. i play blues, jazz, punk, classic rock, and raggae/funk stuff. it sounds awesome for all of those. it's kind of weak on the punk, though. the cabinet or something in there rattles on the bass notes sometimes. its not very noticable. the dirty channel on the right settings(drive=7,treble=7,bass=4,mid=8,presence=8) sounds very marshall-y. so does the clean channel when you max it out. thats really loud.

had it for 6 months. no problems, would definitely gig without a backup.

i dunno

its sounds awesome(cept metal) and it was an awesome deal. its one of the best fenders ever. i wish it had a good metal sound, but i have an awesome stompbox for that, so it doesn't piss me off. my only complaint is that the reverb is excessive after about 3. but it is still useable before three, and it's some damn good reverb.

you all know the features! very useable for gigging band. plenty of freakin power!!!!!!

very good amp for club gigs. i play every weekend in a country/rock band. this amp has plenty of power to do anything i need. it is great for the poppy country, chicken pickin', and distortion. i have even used the distortion in a new age alternative band i have been playing with. i dont know why everyone is complaining. it sounds awesome. it will run with my fender ultimate chorus anyday of the week. no distortion at high volume, but i do prefer to adjust the volume for the drive channel just on my guitar, rather than using the boost. much cleaner transition. perfect amp for my u.s. strat's and tele's.

had it for six months now. never had a problem. for the past 20 years i have used fender solid state amps this is my first full tube amp. i am very impressed with how roadworthy it has been so far. it has gone everywhere with me for about 6 months and never missed a tick!

have never had to deal with fender customer support. they just build great equipment! so everyone quit your complaining. it could be worse, you could be stuck with peavey......not funny!

been playing for about 20 years in road bands. if it were stolen i would buy another, no question! very versatile amp.

You know the features, seperate E.Q. for both channels would earn it a 10 if it had three seperate channels. In reality a shared E.Q.? 2 (3) channels ? 7 tops

I use a Fender deluxe super strat ash body as a main guitar, I have several guitars but this is the main axe for the whole show unless I blow a string etc..., pickups have about 30% more output than standard single coils so please take into consideration this fact on my descriptions noted below.
Dead stock this amp is a 7 to 8 on clean and about a 3 on distorted, everyone knows how muddy this puppy is distorted. I purchased this amp knowing I would change the tubes etc...well here goes. For about $80.00 bucks canadian you can turn your amp into a tone monster with 10's across the board, yes even that P.O.S. distortion can sound drop dead gorgeous, just do the following. Replace the power tubes with sovtek 6L6GB, they will add more shine and definition to your sound, not louder but cleaner all the way to the top. Need more power or headroom ? (ain't it loud enough now ?) Then use sovtek 6L6GC they will get you about 20% to 30% more power (ouch,getting real loud) remember always buy matched pairs. Next, for the love of God change the power inverter tube. It's the 12ax7 sitting all by it's lonesome between the power tubes and the two preamp tubes. Get a 12AT7, the brand does not matter it does not affect the tone at all, that's why it's called a p-o-w-e-r i-n-v-e-r-t-e-r. What it does is that it turns down the sensitivity of the power amp and the power tubes won't be getting slammed so hard all the time. It will liven up the clean considerably and the distortion will de-mud big time. Last but at the very least as important, get a good quality 12AX7 to put in the first position of the preamp (very first to the right if you are facing the back of the amp), don't bother changing position two, position one does about 80% of the tone, position two about 20%. I prefer the Amperex nos 12ax7 with the getter ring,(very pricey if you can even find them),you may find some good used ones at a tv/radio repair shop or look for a bright sounding preamp tube. Now do the following and I promise you great results. Plug your guitar into input 2 not 1, trust me on this, you will have a lot more control, instead of your volume peaking at 3-5 it will peak at 10-12 remember the game is to keep the signal clean, next, bright switch in, set clean volume where you want it, remember, a number on a dial means nothing, it's only there for refference. now here's where it get's really cool. Drive at 4,treble at 8, bass at 6, middle at 4, Master wherever it's needed to produce the volume you need ( it will be very close to your clean volume on setting, if clean is at 6 then master will end up about 6 ) reverb set to 4.5 (my taste) and presence at 8. Your presence control is part of the power amp not the preamp, think of it as the treble control for your distortion and reverb, a very subttle difference in dialing in your distortion edge is right there and will have very little effect on the clean channel. What can you expect tone wise ? Think S.R.V. for a second. Clean like on Riviera Paradise or Little Wing, Channel 2 drive will sound like a supper high quality tube preamp pedal or very similar to a ts9 original just on the edge of break up will a hint of growl. More drive will jump up and give you a 20% gain in volume and a beautifull growly r&r lead with a treble edge, the sound S.R.V. was famous for and still eludes many today. I play part time in a S.R.V./ Hendrix tribute band and I am also a recording artist in the blues/rock catagories. I have been playing for 39 yrs and considered by many as one of the best in the bizz. Trust me, the S.R.V. tone will be there. The only other things I use with this amp are a TS7 on hot setting for agressive leads, a crybabby original and I use a delay and a volume pedal thru the effects loop.My rating is after the above mods.

It's a tube amp, it's as reliable as it's age and will require some maintenance. Nothing negative, just facts. I always have a spare amp back stage but honestly I have had one breakdown on stage (bad power tube) in about 200 performances so really it's not an issue.

Fender ?, Customer support ? Really ?, Thank God for great dealers, dealer gets 10 Fender get's a 2, well at leats they design a good product for the money. I'll put 10 for the dealer's sake.

With the mods (inexpensive, just tubes)it is by far the best value out there. Good enough for me to earn part of my livelyhood with. Now as good sounding as anything, and I own a lot of amps, this is compact, light, powerfull and versatile. What kind of a prick would steal this good a sounding amp ? His concience would rot him inside out. If this one dies yes I will replace it in a heartbeat.

This is a classic Fender tube amp, and the only tone that I expected was the sweet, warm, inviting and classic tone this beauty gets. This amp was made right here in the US. Although this is a new amp, it gets those ravishing tones that the classic amps get. This amp is excellent for blues, rock and anything in between. I don't play jazz, but the jazz guitar does sound mellow, so this guitar amp would thrive in that catergory. It has three basic effects and your basic knobs. Oh yeah, this amp is really loud.

I play it with a tele and it sounds great. At high volumes the clean channel isn't distorted at all. The only complaint is that the distortion isn't to strong on level 10. Well, you can't have everything, and this is the only thing that this amp dun't have.

Fender has a great reliability department and it isn't like you'd ever need it though. This is a Fender amp. Never broken down, ever.

Great, although I've never needed it. I just hear that though.

For anyone wanting a tube amp with a warm, and full tone, don't waste your money on some boutique amp that'll cost you thousands. Buy a fender and you'll be just as happy (if not happier).

Already described. It's a Fender and sounds like a Fender.Use it for Blues and simple jazz. All the features needed are there.

Use it with a Tele: Having discovered that this seems to be the best match. The clean channel is as good as it could possibly be. The o/d is OK but I prefer a solid state pedal through the clean channel. The extra OD boost isn't for me...The distortion is great for blues. Highly interactive tone controls.

It works and is still working after three months. I'll judge this in a year or two.

Never had to deal with Fender.

For the money you'd better forget about hand made 'boutique' amps. Stunning value and much, much louder than you'd imagine. I'd buy another. Probably will be considered another Fender classic in the future. Could do with metal corners and wheels. Brilliant for clean to gritty sonds. The speaker projects forward in a remarkably focused way. I do not work for Fender.

As far as features go I think it has plenty for what it was meant for. One feature that I would have liked to see on it is a master volume that has effect on all 3 channels, not just the drive channels. The effects loop works very well on it. I play the amp in my home studio and I gig with it, pretty much every week. It is holding up great. This amp definitely has enough power for most gigs. Unless you have to have tons and tons of headroom, this is definitely enough power. I can't understand why people buy 100 watt heads and never turn them up past 4. Tube amps were meant to be cranked to take full potential of them and most people get their sounds from cheesy effects, instead of using the amp.

My main guitars are a 1998 Custom Shop Strat with vintage noiseless pickups, a 1994 Am. Std. Strat, and a guitar that I have been building with Jim Wagner SR pickups in it (These pickups nearly made me cry the first time I plugged the Ax in, check them out!!). All Single coils. I have also played it with a 1958 Les Paul , and some older Gibsons like Tal Farlows and 335's. This amp suits me great. I play almost every type of music out there, from The Ventures to Cradle Of Filth and Strapping Young Lad. As far as bluesy, surf, and rock sounds go this amp definitely cuts it. It was very bass heavy at first, so I ended up buying a set of THD Yellow Jackets. This cured the bass problem and made the amp sound even better. I don't care what some of the "Tone Junkies" say that use only Matchless', this amp sounds good. I think the reason for this is that the EL84's cut the power down, which allowed me to turn it up higher without going deaf. I played it right next to a 1966 Blackface Fender Deluxe reverb, and the HTR DLX hung right in there. For higher gain and distortion situations, the amp has OK distortion, but for anything past hard rock sounds I needed, even though I don't like using pedals, throw my Digitech Metal Master in the FX loop. I have played it with a variety of other effects, like my Mu Tron Phaser and Foxx Tone Machine. If anyone is interested in either of those, drop me a line. The reverb is Fender Reverb, nuff' said. The natural distortion with the Yellow Jackets sounds very much like that of a Carr Imperial. Even at low volumes.

Like I said I gig with this at least once a week. And I also go to 2 or 3 jam sessions a week too. Its been holding up wonderfully. Absolutely no problems. The amp has never broken down or cut out on me, never.

Never had to deal with them.

Overall I think this amp is a great buy for the money. I don't think I would waste my money on any of those boutique amps except an Emery Super Baby. If it were lost or stolen I would start looking for a nother right away. I compared this amp with those new Gibson's(sound good, but are way too expensive for what they are), a Carr, a Bogner, all of the amps in the Dr.Z. line(Which I would buy in a heartbeat) and many, many old and vintage fenders and Marshalls. It all depends on what your really looking for, but this amp was the best value and had some of the best tone, with the addition of the Yellow Jackets.

-model year-
2003.
-features-
inputs: 2, channels: 2, eqs: 1 treb|mid|bass, master+gain: on channel 2, presence, reverb, bright switch, drive boost (more drive), standby switch, power: 40w, tubes: 5 (3 12ax7)&(2 6L6), speakers: 1 12", effects loop: pre-amp out & power-amp in, footswitch: 2 button (toggles channel 1|2 and more drive.

-comments-
it would be nice if this amp had half or quarter power
switching capability (more cost though). i also wish that the volume/gain controls were smooth and linear. it screams at 5 or 6. also, a built in leg for tilting it back and a detachable power cord would be nice. the rating of this category is the average of the following: content 5, simplicity 10, ease of use (volume knobs) 3.

-guitars-
i use a traditional strat type mainly. i also use a traditional tele
type also. i have kinman hum-cancelling pickups in all.
-music styles-
i play pretty much straight forward rock, r&b, and soul.
-usability-
with the guitars i use, the amp sounds great. i seem to be able to leave the eq set and make adjustments on the guitar and get the sounds i need. i basically switch between clean and drive channels depending on the song. however, if you need real power tube distortion, you'll need to get a 50' cord and crank it. the clean channel is fantastic and the drive channel is nice. i don't really use the drive boost. with the alder body strat, the sound is very smooth. with the ash body tele, it really barks.

very little noise in the clean channel. about average from the drive
channel.

and, as said in other reviews, don't expect metal from this one.

the rating of this category is the average of the following: clean tone 10, drive tone 8.

can't say at this point. i have not taken it out yet.

never dealt with them.

i've been playing 20 years off and on.
if i had to get another amp to replace it, i'd look for something
that sounded like it, had about the same power, had less weight, and had near the same price.

i originally went looking for a small/portable 30 - 40w tube combo.
some were smaller, but this one had the best combo of clean tone, price, power, and weight.

Note: This review is pretty much here to give a short 'n sweet overview, since most of the reviews here seem quite specific.

Mine is a 99. You know the features

Here's my take: The damn thing sounds great with the stock speakers and tunes, as long as you're (a) playing a telecaster and (b) looking for either pristine cleans or "gritty" (but not fuzzy) distortion. Any other application may lead to disappointment or replacing components.

Never a problem

N/A

I've been playing for 30+ years; many styles, all in some vein of rock, nothing metallic. This amp was purchased for a gig. I was afraid it wouldn't be loud enough (outdoor show), but I never took the thing past "2" the whole night. Maybe I'm just easily pleased, but honestly, for an amp that cost less $500, it seems to be pretty damn nice. Those who want a Mesa/Marshall sound would probably be better served by buying one of those. I guess that's my chief complaint with so many of the reviews on this website: People buy a bargain instrument or amp, and then go online and rip it because it doesn't perform like an instrument or amp that costs four times as much. My first amp was a 1977 Fender twin reverb that probably cost about as much as this Hot Rod; given inflation, that makes this an incredible deal. Are ther shortcomings? Of course, but as I said from the onset, if what you want is what this amp does, then this is the amp for you. I personally am astounded by the power this produces, the huge bottom end, and the absolutely shimmering clean tones this amp, produces when coupled with a US Telecaster.

Not real sure of the manufacture date...maybe late '02 - early '03. This is my third Hot Rod Deluxe; regrettably, I let a couple of friends talk me out of my previous two (I think that says a lot about this amp). For me, this little amp does everything I need it to - everything from blues, country, classic rock, to hard rock and yes, even some heavy-metal. The features are pretty cut & dry: a clean and dirty channel (eventhough Fender says three channels). It would be nice, however, to have independent EQs for the two channels. Due to my regular job I play mostly at home just as a hobby, but I've played this amp at enough indoor/outdoor venues to know that it has more than enough juevos to level a place. Fender just has a knack for putting out some of the best amps ever made and all one has to do is look around to see how many players are using these Hot Rod series amplifiers, many of whom are professional musicians that can afford any set-up they could possibly want. The tonal range of these amps is just short of amazing, really.

I play a Strat mostly (set-up with with a DiMarzio PAF Pro humbucker in the bridge and Tx Spls in middle and neck). I get a pretty broad range of tones with this set-up, anywhere from bell-like cleans to a gritty raunch to face-rippin rock yet retains enough clarity and punch without being too bright or muddy and epitomizes the traditional warm tube sound. Stock from the factory, there isn't much headroom to the clean channel, breakup tends to occur around volume setting 4...which is loud as hell, though. It's got a real good tone from the factory with the stock components, i.e. speaker and tubes, but this amp will REALLY JUMP out at you when stocked with some better tubes and, my favorite, a Celestion V30. I grew up on hard rock and heavy-metal and still listen to it and play that style to this day, however, I've grown a lot musically and have learned to appreciate other styles as I've mentioned above. This is where this little amp surprises a lot of people. I've shown up to jam with some buddies or a gig with this Fender and I get some strange looks, but when I throw down some heavy riffs I almost have to smile when I see their mouths drop. My other guitars that I play occasionally are a LP Classic and more often a Schecter C1 Elite with Gibson 500T/498R p'ups config.

No problems through three different ones. I can't ask for a better track record. You have to keep in mind, though, that this is a tube amp and is therefore a bit more sensitive and costly to maintain than a solid-state.

Never dealt with them.

About 7-8 years. I would like to see this amp come equipped with metal corner protectors and a little better tubes than the GT/Sovteks. Also, being that Fender moved the production of these amps to Mexico they should lower the price somewhat considerably. I think it's pretty shameful that they're now making these amps in Mexico at a fraction of the cost compared to state-side wages yet are still charging the same comparable price. Two BIG THUMBS DOWN on that one Fender!!

This is a 97 or 98 made amp. It does great for everything I play. Which is almost every type of music. Just change the settings and your set.Most people know the features of the amp, amazing Reverb. Someone said the reverb was useless after "2". I don't know what this person was smoking, but Fender is known for its reverb, and especially tube reverb. I used the amp for practice,recording,and gigs; works well everywhere. More power than I need, I usually mic the amp.

I use a Fender Tele with a Seymour Duncan 59' Neck humbucker and vinatge noiseless pickup in the bridge(single) and a Epiphone Les Paul with Alnico 2's bridge and neck. I have many many pedals and effects, i don't use them for gigs, i just like gear. The amp is a bit noisy on the clean channel, simply because I had the amp re-biased for Sovtek 588 tubes, for a better drive channel. I love the distortion of this amp when using my LP, but not my Tele, so I use a Blues Driver when using the Tele.

Never broken down, but once one of the input jacks was shorting out. I bought the amp used, so I didn't know this when I bought it, but no problem, I just re-soldered it.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing for 12 years, been through a few amps. I think I am just going to get an old Fender Reverb to link the two amps together. Its not to heavy, 50lbs, and its not bad. I compared this amp to the Traynor amp, and I found this amp was more versatile and better sounding, especially the reverb was better.

Plenty of reviews here for anyone to know the features.Basic all you need and a little more.

This is my third HTRDX and here is the secret to great tones from these things for least money and time invested.Replace Speaker with 8 ohm Celestion 70/80 and all tubes with JJ's.I have tried five different speakers in these amps from Jensens to V30's and the Cel 70/80 gives that perfect Fender chime with good tight bass and very pretty when overdriven.The Jensen sounds good clean at low volume but stinks in od,very harsh.The V30 lacks low volume chime and is very stiff,also will rattle this cab apart with its monster bass.The 70/80 is perfect and half the price of the V30!The JJ's tighten the bottom and smooth out the od channels.Total cost for both under $100 and one hour to install then this is a whole new amp.I have the hardwood LE model with these mods and it blows away the little Traynor YCV20 with the Greenback I have also.The Traynor is too bright and noisy but that is another review.Good luck!

So far no problems in three years of these amps.

El stinko here.Use the independent Fenderforum for any needs.

Been playing 25 years so I know a few good amps.Owned Marshalls(many) and Mesa's and this one is just fine thank you.

I've owned a Hot Rod Deluxe for about a year now, and have used it on several gigs. It has a great clean channel and does well with pedals in front. Its biggest shortcoming (as with all amps like this one) is having to crank the volume up high to get satisfying tube tone. Plus, it's heavy, the volume controls are overly sensitive, the gain channel isn?t great, the reverb is useless beyond ?2?, the tubes and speaker are low-end, and it lacks basic things like corner protectors. Over the past year I've tried THD Yellowjackets and a complete set of NOS tubes in my HRDX to improve the sound. Next on my list was a speaker change, corner protectors, and other stuff. This was getting to be one expensive little unit!

Last night I A-B?d a Traynor YCV20-WR and my Hot Rod Deluxe in my home. The Hot Rod had its original tubes installed.

Results:
It was very easy to get a full, saturated tone from the YCV20-WR without blowing out the walls. The tone from the Traynor was much cleaner than my HRDX, very crisp and sharp with excellent definition (and this with a speaker that wasn?t broken-in yet). The Traynor?s pots are actually useable, and the reverb doesn?t go off into space after ?2? like on the Fender. At high gain, hiss and hum on the YCV20-WR was better than the Hot Rod.

The Hot Rod?s bass response was better than the YCV20-WR, and its headroom was better than the Traynor?s. But I don?t need a loud amp for the gigs that I do...I never had the Hot Rod volume during gigs above ?2.5? even when playing with a loud drummer. I want tone without my mates complaining about my volume.

In addition to this, the Traynor has corner protectors, it?s 15 lbs lighter, it?s cheaper than the Fender, it?s self-biasing, and it has an incredible warranty.

Never had any problems with the HRDX.

Never tried to contact them.

The Traynor YCV20-WR is gorgeous (maroon cover with oatmeal grille). It?s got a 12-inch Celestion G-12M Greenback, all-tube construction, with 15 Class A watts (EL-84 power tubes), reverb, effects loop, footswitch, and separate gain controls for channels 1 and 2. My mind?s made up ? the Traynor?s a keeper, and the Hot Rod is gone.

This amp has two channels with a boost .... but the boost doesn't seem to change the sound much at low volumes ... fender needs to make three channel tube amp with all three independent volume controls.One for clean , one for crunch and one for lead....

I use an american strat with three single coils. the sounds are good.

this amp is not too reliable iv'e had it two years and it has been in the shop five times already and needs to be in the shop now.....three times for the foot pedal changing channels automatically whenever it gets the notion. two times for the amp not amplifing , it just sounded like an am radio without any input signal.

the only good thing is the local dealer has repaired it free... thanks for the 5 year warranty,,,,i haven't called fender..

I have been playing in a band for 2 years, we play classic rock and country....i"ve been playing guitar for about 16 years....
I like the sounds of the amp ,but hate the reliability...
I have been reading reviews on a lot of amps at harmony central..
I'm wondering if any manufacturer makes a reliable tube amp anymore?
i'm gonna get a new amp but still can't find a tube amp with a good warranty, for a good price, with three channels..... the fender hot rod is going to have to go.

You already know this. Taking off a point for the lack of a second tone stack.

Out of the box: 10 clean, 5 overdrive. This amp sucks from the factory. But, with a few tweeks, you CAN make it sound awesome. Replace the speaker (I put a weber C12N in there cause I'm into that classic fender tone), and the tubes (EH 12ax7s in pre-amp, svetlanas in the power amp) rebias to 68mv, and love the tone. After these changes, I love both overdrives, and I absolutely love the clean.

8 'cause of the lack of features.
I've owned this amp for two years and love it with the modifications I listed above. I have been playing for 15 years and own several other amps (Marshall JCM800, Fender twin reverb etc...) I love the power-tube overdrive this amp gets when cranked, and I love the clean tone. I wouldn't trade it for ANY amp.

As above

Guitar~ All Mahogany, set neck with P90's. Clean- lovely. Warm & mellow. Not yet had it loud enough to see when it breaks up. Mainly use drive channel, for blues rock. I keep hearing that the 'distortion channel is no good'. This is because its NOT a distortion channel. Can you read? It simply says DRIVE, & it replaced the Fender Blues Deluxe so its designed to give a BLUES drive sound, which in my opinion it does very well. If you want mid scooped metal distortion, buy the right amp or use a box. The break up may be a little harsh for some styles but it really does growl if you like those fat, warm, bluesy harmonics.

Not owned for long but is built like a rock. Would gig with no backup because of Fender name/quality.

N/A

20 years of playing & never yet found an amp i really love but this comes close. May buy another due to the sheer quality of build etc I would prefer slightly smoother break up on the drive channel but this may improve once the amps been played in. Its not had much use yet. I may consider tube or speaker mods once I've given it a good working over, any sensible, uncostly suggestions? mail me. With slightly smoother harmonic break up it would rate 10

See other reviews for features

Fender Strat --> Boss Compressor --> Ibanez Tube Screamer --> Boss Noise Suppressor. Have a BBE Sonic Maximizer through the effects loop. Perfect clean sound. I do not use the overdrive channel because I couldn't get a good sound at a lower volume level.

Bought it used a year ago. No problems ever.

Never had to deal with the company.

My story: I bought this amp because I loved the clean sound. But like others, I found it to be a bit hard to work with for all the reasons other people have talked about in this forum: 1) Too loud 2) No seperate EQ for each channel 3) Speaker Quality 4) Tubes 5) Crappy drive channel) 6) No simple things like metal corners.

After fighting with this amp for a year and coming back time after time to this web page, a friend pointed out the simple reality that I had bought the wrong amp. For all of you out there who feel the need to replace the speaker, tubes, and complain about various other things, I submit to you that you have done the same thing. So what's the alternative? It's very simple: take a look at the Traynor YCV40wr (http://www.yorkville.com). Like me, you are probably stuck on the Fender name, but Traynor has virtually addressed ALL the problems pointed out in this forum and has made an amp that you will not have to re-build in order to like. It's almost like they were monitoring this forum while they designed it. They took all the good things about the Hot Rod and made it better.

I never used the drive channel on my Hot Rod. With the Traynor, not only does it sound great, but when I hit boost, the volume doesn't go through the roof.

As to the overall volume I was always trying to contain, I opted for their full featured 20 watt version (YCV20wr) and solved that problem as well. I was a bit skeptical switching to an amp this small, but the truth is, most of us don't need 40 tube watts. When I play out, I just stick a mic on the thing if I need volume. You'll never get that sweet tube amp sound if you can't turn it up a bit -- and I don't know about you, but I could never do that with the Hot Rod.

I do not work for Yorkville -- in fact, I went kicking and screaming from Fender because I truly wanted to stick with their name. I can't think of a single modification I would make on my new Traynor amp compared to all the monkeying around I did with the Hot Rod. It even has four metal corners!

I still love Fender, but Traynor has really trumped them on their own amp. The only thing Traynor has going against them is that it's hard to find their YCV Tube amp series on the used market (I always buy used). Maybe that's because people don't get rid of them...

I have a 2000 model; 3 channels- clean, drive, more drive; spring reverb, presence, 40w-tube; 1x12 cabinet and effects loop. I play in a small club like setting most often, mostly self-written blues/rock styles and the amp does very well. Over the last three years I have switched the pre-amp tubes to NOS Jensen and RCA's. I also switched the stock Eminence speaker for a Celestion G12T-75. The stock equipment left a great amp a little harsh sounding to the ear. The changes I made gave me the nice Fender sprarkle on the clean channel and a sweeter attack on the drive channels. The only other changes I might make yet are to change the power tubes. I'm still researching for the best choice. I give this amp an 8 to 8.5 as it comes from the factory. Most quitarists will find something they want to tweek to find their personal tone.
Also, the 40w tube should be sufficient for most settings. 40w tube is a great deal more than one might think. I can set my amp at 3 to 3.5 and blend well with the lead guitarist with a 100w solid state amp. Large venues would probably require a mic on the amp. Nothing unusual there.

I play a Fender Tele with Lindy Fralin pickups - nice vintage growl and sweet clean sound- and a solid body mahogany, maple veneer top clunker I got from the local music store. A refinish job, Semour Duncan SH-5 and Jazz Neck Model pickups later and I've got a nice looking Gibson style guitar. With the Tele I get sweet sustains, plenty of drive and awesome clean sounds. On the drive channels I have found the mid and neck positions too dark and muddy for my taste.
I have set up a Boss overdrive pedal for those positions and use the clean channel on the amp. The rebuilt guitar gives me a fuller, thicker sound; obviously so. I have set the EQ at 12- Treble, 6- Midrange, between 8 and 9- Bass; 5-Reverb and about 6-Presence. This is a set up that can fit both guitars and sound really nice. I can also go through a Danolectro Daddy-O (overdrive) and Dano. Fab-tone (Distortion)and get terrific results. Both pedals take a little tweeking but well worth the effort.
As others have said, the drive channels are not for metal enthusiasts.
Tweek the tubes a little and you can get a very desirable overdriven sound, then go to Drive 2 for lead. The clean channel is very sweet and very quiet all by itself. When you add modulation effects like chorus or flanger, the amp just sings. Very satisfying! After the modifications, I rate the amp at 9; I'm sure a 10 is out there, but I haven't found it yet. At least not in the same price category.

Outside of modifying for personal tastes, I've had no problems at all. After 3 years of playing 5-10 hrs per week, no breakdowns, no hassles, no back-ups thought needed. This amp is a real workhorse and could handle much more than I give it.

The owner of the local Guitar store is a factory authorized tech. He helped with modification choices and install. Fender is reputed to be slow in getting parts to you until you try getting stuff from Gibson.
I've not had to deal with Fender directly in relation to the amp but understand them to be reliable and fully stand by their products. A little slow but reliable.

The HRD is played at the same location 99% of the time. It really suits my needs and is consistenly reliable. I had tried the Blues Jr., Crate Blue Voodoo, and various other amps in the store, but for the price, features, and performance, I made a very good choice. I have a Tech 21 60w that is lighter for playing out. I can dial in the clean Fender sound and a variety of drive applications. With my pedals through the clean channel I'm able to duplicate the normal sound without breaking down all my equipment from the normal venue.
The HRD is one I'll probably keep. If my needs change I'll just add another amp later. I definitely would buy this amp again if lost or stolen. The features are useable and versatile. The power is more than enough and the modifications worked great for me.

I have a 2002 model, three channels. The clean channel is GREAT!! The drive is OK for blues and more drive are not the greatest, but appartently some people do like it. I actually have put the amp through a four ten cabnet with jensen speakers and both drive channels sound pretty good. Regardless I use pedals anyway. I play in a cover band that does blues, classic rock, funk, and some alternative, so I do not need that metal overdrive sound and have no way of.

I play an american strat with gold lace pick ups. I play in a cover band that does blues, classic rock, funk, and some alternative, so I do not need that metal overdrive sound and have no way of testing that sound on this amp. Like I said the amps clean sound is GREAT! The amp also takes pedals well, and is loud enough to play most bar gigs and the ones it can't do, you end up bing miked anyway. If your into blues/R&B/classic rock and don't feel like lugging 80lbs of amp around this is the amp. It is loud for "bedroom playing" though, I have a Webber Load Dump for that.

So far so good. I have had the amp for a year and no problems so far. I have changed out the stock preamp tubes (highly recommended for clean and drive channels sounds)and will probably do the same for the main tubes eventually, but for now things are still working fine.
If it broke I would replace it. I am only giving it an 8 due the short time that I have had it.

It has a five year warrantly, and I have a pretty good fender repair dealer near by, but have not used it for this amp.

I have been playing for 16years and have own various amps and guitars. I think this amp is a good buy and not over sold or hyped because of who plays one. When you take into consideration size, sound, and price this is great amp.

If I had one critique it would be the tubes, I wish fender would put better quality tubes, in especially the preamp tubes. (though, tubes are like guitars, no one type will satisify everyone)

I have heard that the speaker should be switched out, though the ones that I have heard with switched out speakers don't impress me to buy a new one yet. Most people are after a more full sound, but remember it only has one speake and changing the speaker won't change that. I confess I have not heard all possible speaker combinations. (beware if you spend more money on a speaker, you will make your self thnik it sounds better whether it does or not)If you want to fill out the sound a bit ad and extention speaker, the amp is equiped for it.
I think swithing out power tubes could make same difference, but to tell you the truth when you are playing in a club or just sitting in these differences are not noticeable within the context of other people playing around you. The amp gives a good clean sound, anything else you do is just tweaking this good sound.

2003 model,i have used this amp for 4 months now so here is my unbiased opinion.great basic amp,but fender uses tubes that make it way too loud so the overdive channels are useless.i imagine their research shows buyers want the loudest amp for 40 watts.I took the advise frome some one in this forum and changed the tubes.The big difference was in the preamp tubes.put in svetlanas.used a softer one in the 3rd spot and now the volume is controlable in the overdrive.i now put master on about 2 and crank up the drive to 10-12,and yes this amp does have good overdrive.I am now vey pleased with this amp

using guitar with humbuckers and acoustic bridge rickenbacker.not noisy at all in channel one,gets noisier in the overdive channels but is still acceptable.CLEAN channel is excellent.great for using effects.I use a digitech pedad and a boss acoustic pedal.distortion is great with a pedal.I have seen some posts about the speaker but it sounds.reverb is good up to about 4 for my tastes.

so far have no issues here.it seems to be heavy duty constuction.

no issues

overall i am satisfied with this amp.it does take some tweeking but it is well worth 500.00 I almost bought a carvin belaire,but liked the looks of the fender better.both are very similar.i dont think you can go wrong with either of these.If you desire a excellent value in a clean fender tone ,or as a basic tube amp to use effects with,buy this amp.I use a modeling amp also.but you cant beat a great clean tube sound

This is a 2003 New Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I purchased the amp because I wanted a decent tube amp as a backup for my blackface Pro Reverb. I also wanted a smaller package with plenty of punch. This amp delivers in spades. Nice size for smaller gigs, but plenty of oomph for bigger ones. Frankly, I don't see why people think this amp is "so loud". 40 Watts tube power IS loud. Still, I get along with this in my basement just fine. I purchased new for $500 and at that price there is nothing out there that can touch it. I only wish it had an adjustable slave out.

Ok, time to be honest. I know that 90% of the people that post here give their new purchase 9's or 10's on everything. The problem is that there is no reference point. I was comparing this to both tube amps in its price range and to the classic Fender clean tone and overdriven tone.

First of all, yank that speaker out of there. Tone is a matter of choice, but upgrade to a Jensen C12N or P12Q right away. This amp lost a point for the crappy speaker. Please don't put a Celestion V30 in there and expect it to sound like a classic fender. The V30 is sweet for high gain, but if you want a nice clean full or slightly overdriven blues tone, the V30 aint the speaker for this amp. This amp is voiced for throaty midrange, and the V30 doesn't do midrange as well as the Jensen. (For many applications, this is a good thing, but I think the V30 takes away from the beauty of this amp).

Second, through a telecaster I found the gain channel to be practically unusable. Through some humbuckers its more tolerable, but overall the gain channel is a failure. Crank the clean to get yer blues tone. Now, with that said, I did have great success with the "more drive" engaged, but the drive turned down to 2-3, with a TS-9 in the front. Still, I was really hoping for something a little different on the gain channel. It lost a point here. Plus it still amazes me that the clean is so quiet, but, given the fact that I don't consider it a high gain amp, the overdrive channel was noisy as hell. Bad tube out of the box? Maybe...

Third. Clean tone HOOORAY. Oh man this things a beut here. It's not as "shiny" as my silverface twin, but it is punchy as hell and the clean is beautiful. Played with my 1969 Telecaster, I got a punchy thick tone that I wasn't expecting. Having an amp that can put out clean solos without sounding thin and with a touch of crunch on the hard-struck notes is what blues guitar is all about.

Fourth. Ok, wassup with the reverb? It's instantly over the top at the 7:00 position. Sure it sounds great if I get out my tweezers to find that sweet spot, but GEEESH. Total surf city past 3. And what is up with going to 12? Man, am I 12 again? It was cool when it was on Spinal Tap, cute when Soldano went to 11, but just aggravating now.

Fifth. Great design on the cab. No buzzes or rattles. This is not a sound issue, but PLEASE put the middle between the bass and treble. Just makes sense there.

Sooo, if you want clean, yes, this can be a 10. But you need a new speaker to get there. Plus, the very limited overdrive brings the total asis package down to 8.

Don't know yet.

I've been playing for 30 years. I played the Amp with a 69 Tele, a 66 Strat, and 82 Les Paul, and a 91 G&L American Legacy Stat. My main rigs are a blackface pro, a silverface twin, and a Soldano-SLO 100. I'm proud to add the HR Deluxe to the family, but if they improve the distortion down the line and keep all the other good stuff, this one will be an orphan.

2002 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112 40 watt tube amp. This amp is exactly what I think a great amp should be! It has the most clear beautiful clean tone possible and the amps overdrive/distortion is perfect for that dirty overdriven sound. This amp is basic, it has two channels but for all intents and purposes has three channels with the more overdive option. It comes with a foot pedal that allows switching between the channels as well as reverb. It's nice and easy to dial in the sound I want plus I use effects to get other sounds. There's nothing worse than having an amp that's difficult to figure out and then having to dial in all your effects after it. I play at home and at gigs and this amp has plenty of power for both. I play in pretty large rooms and I haven't gone past 4 yet.

I use a Fender American Standard Strat with Bill Lawrence L280/290 pickups sweet! I play all kinds of music, jazz, blues, rock, alternative. The amp is pretty quiet. All tubes are going to have a slight hum but this is very silent. As stated before this amp has a great clean sound as well as a solid distortion. If you are looking for death metal then this probably isn't for you.

This amp is built like a tank! Just don't drop it off a two story building.

Don't Know never dealt with them.

Beautiful sounding and looking amp, everything I was looking for and then some. If you are debating whether or not this amp is worth it just buy it, you won't regret it!

Having the three channels basically to use is a nice feature. The apperance is rather awesome. The reverb is nothing short of perfection and the clean channel is all you can ask for. One line of tone controls is all this amp has to offer. That's ok because the amp sounds great on all channels on about any tone setting. The self-biasing system in the amp is a dream for those who like the sound, but don't want to mess with biasing jumble.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Studio and in honesty, Fender guitars do sound better with Fender amps. They add such a nice pop to the sound. The Les Paul sounded marvelous, but at times the darker, more powerful signal overloaded the amp a bit, especially with the neck pickup. A simple tone adjustment works miracles. The amp kicks into high gear rather fast on the volume dial. Such a feature is fine for most guitarists but might be a challenge for bedroom slingers. The clean channel is perfect. Very poppy and bright. Wonderful sounding clean! When you drive the clean channel to pieces by cranking the volume yo to 8 or so, you get a really nice crunch sound. Try it. Channel two is great for crunching up. The channel two sound is great for blues and classic rock riffs. Channel three is anything you could want in a hard rocking channel. The drive from this channel is hard hitting, farily grainy and all around awesome. However, an issue to consider when considering this amp is whether you prefer the Marshall drive sound or would enjoy something flavored a bit different. The Fender, due to the lineage of the way things are wired, are fantastic for clean. That marvelous clean sound is generated by where the tone controls are set (pre-gain). Marshall's place the tone station in a different area (post-gain). (Talk to your local music store about this for better detail than I can offer). The result is a slight flabbiness to the drive channels on the Fender amp compared to the tight hit Marshalls have to offer. The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is perfect sounding for achieving a wonderful vintage-esque tone in all departments.

The Deluxe is built well. The self-biasing tubes are a nice feature for some, which means you don't have to have a bias tech to change the tubes. The more simple nature of the self-bias process will be a nice asset to some.

Never worked with Fender Co.

I've played the guitar for several years now and still love searching the market for different sounds. The Hot Rod Deluxe is an amp that really proves great sounds and great amps do not have to cost a fortune. I recomend anyone to drop the bucks for the Hot Rod Deluxe at their local music store. I guarantee you will always find the Deluxe to be an awesome amp.

It's a beautiful thing. All I ever wanted in an amp - - almost. 1x12 combo with hi and lo inputs, ext. cab out, reverb, FX loop (pre amp out and amp in), all tooob. 40watts is plenty o' juice. Use it at home, but plan to use it for gigs/performances. While I am new to the guitar amp market, I am quickly learning what I like and what I don't like. I like this amp. But I go with a 9 since nothing is perfect: no headphone jack (not really expected, though), and effects are minimal (not expected, either, though it does affect it's overall features.)

I have a Peavey Raptor EXP plus with H-S-S. I like the way it sounds through this amp. I've tried solid state, including Line 6 (a Flextone II) and it gave me a headache. No kidding. This amp is sweet. No headache. I love the clean Fender tone, though I haven't done much with the drive and more drive settings, yet. For variety, I just add some effects to taste - - currently a digitech RP50, which sounds pretty decent in the loop. I give the amp a 7 on its own; with effects, it's pretty near a 10.

can't say just yet.

no comments, yet.

I've been playing guitar for, well, 20 years (ouch), electric guitar for considerably less. I've been researching amps and trying them out for the past 3 months or so, and I can happily say that this is my amp, no question about it - - and no regrets. I love the Fender tube sound, a matter of taste, I'm sure. And it tastes even better when seasoned with some decent effects. Like I said, the RP50 is nice, really nice. I haven't found anything about this amp that really annoys me; I don't mind not having a phone jack because I didn't get it for practice (though it does OK with the clean sounds on low settings). I play rockish/bluesy/folksy kind of stuff, mostly my own, but this amp will be versatile enough for me, expecially with the added effects.

Made in 1998, I bought it used. The tubes had been re-biased for the dirty channel. So now the clean channel has a little buz in it, but barely noticeable. The dirty channel is quiet when your not playing. More power than I will ever need, I've only been to 3 on the clean channel and 1.5 on the dirty channel.

I use a Fender Telecaster and Epiphone Standard LP and they both sound awesome through it, though the Telecaster was made for this amp. Great blues and rock crunch. I play in basements and outside and it gets hot but nothing to hard to handle.I don't know if the clean channel is distorted at high settings, because I've never tried it and don't really want to either. The distorion is pretty muggy, so i use a BOSS Blues Driver for "clean-distortion" and it sounds great.

I can't bounce around to much on stage or else the tubes "crash", in fact I'm gonna have that looked at. Otherwise no problems.

No warranty because I bought it used.

If this amp were stolen I would definetly buy another one, or at least heavily consider it. I love its sound, and I hate how its so heavy. That came to a surprise to me when I went from a 15lbs solid state amp to this thing, but I'm used to it now.

Made approximately 2001 or 2002. This amp is pretty versatile for a fender amp. It does more than any of my other old fender amps I have owned, (without tremolo though.) 2 channels and a "more drive" foot switchable channel switching, and effects loop. It would be nice if it had reverb on the footswitch, for me, but it has a ot of features in fairness. I use this amp with my band which has not done any gigging yet. I used to gig alot with bands, but we practice once per week these past 4 months or so. Anyway, it is loud. Take note of this if you are considering buying one, in most practice situations, your band will tell you to turn down if you are on 1. It is too loud for most situations, I am keeping it for reasons I willl discuss, but jut know it gets really loud fast and attenuators and volume boxes take all the tone out, and it already is one tick off the best fender tones. you should really consider a deluxe reverb if you want to crank it at all. I had read the comment about it being loud, but I thought that would be a good thing, because I have been short of power with amps in the past. I don't know what happens when you get higher on that volume pot, maybe it gets more reasonable as you go up. I may never find out.

Okay, it is definitely a fender tube amp. It sounds good. When I bought it on ebay, the previous owner had changed some tubes, and the speaker to a celestion vintage 30, which I was falmiliar with and is a good speaker. He had made a volume box and put a real heavy gauge speaker wire on. All good things right? Wrong. The celestion has more clarity, but it sounds a little "Scooped" It definitely brings out the bottom end and puts some more sparkle in your sound, but it actually doesn't sound as pleasing to me ultimately. *I put the stock speaker back in, with the old wire. It might be a little muddier, but I used to hear the term "brown" to describe that aspect of the fender amp sound. It is "browner" with the stock speaker. It is better.I play hard rock with a country flavor. I have a 62 american reissue strat, a MIM tex mex 50's style strat w/ texas specials put in, a tele with custom made pickups, and a musicman axis w/ P-90's. I keep the reverb at 3 or so because it gets out of control and sounds chorusy at higher levels (it is great reverb). The drive is best at 3 or 4 just going over the edge of that "fender on 10" tone. It is never going to be a marshall. It doesn't want to be. But over on the clean side a Marshall will never be a fender hot rod deluxe. You will miss the sustain and feedback that comes naturally w/ marshall tube amps.

I have not had noise problems. I find the distortion useable, but you have to know the fender sound, and you are a little limited because you cannot crank the volume for the power tubes to break up. I had a Weber Mass attenuator made for me, which is cool, it is also a high quality direct box. It was fairl;y expensive and very heavy, and I never use it. I prefer the sound at 1 to how much sound you lose with the attenuator. It is cool to hear the power tubes break up, but it sounds muted or something to me. It is a loud, good amp when played clean and slightly overdriven, it has the capability to overdrive into outer space, but it does not sound that good. It has that unrefined "Robbie Robertson" aspect which some wil never appreciate, but a certain guy like me looks for. I like it, it is close to perfect.

No problems in 6 months of use. I use the standby switch to warm up and cool down, the tubes are going to last a long time because the volume is set so low. I have owned 4 or 5 fender amps. I have never had problems other than wear and tear and sporadic maintenance few and far between.

Never tried.

Been playing 20 years. I love a portable combo, with an OD channel, good clean, good reverb, this amp does these things well. I bought it because I thought I needed the wattage, because I had a deluxe reverb one time that was 20 watts or so, and I would run out of power when gigging especially outside. The Hot Rod Deluxe is so loud though. I bought it based on the features, price and reviews. I feel that the stock speaker is a complement to the tone and lends a little more vintage feel to it, that is totally subjective and a personal opinion. It sounds really good. Although I go back and forth, if it were stolen, I may buy another because I like the combination of features so much and I like the tone pretty well. At some point I will get a 22w deluxe with the tube rectifier and of course vibrato, to fill the volume gap between my old vibro champ (6watts) and this monster. This is a professional level amp that sounds great and is about 1/2 the price of an equivalent wattage all tube fender, but if you are planning on recording with it or something, I cannot stress enough how early in the gain it gets way loud. I would do it again, but even though it is a good deal $500 is alot of money and I do not want to have to replace it.

I like what it offers.

I Checked it out with An American Strat and a Nashville Tele. This is the amp you want to get if you are a Fender guitar owner looking for an upgrade from a solid state amp but don`t want to spend a grand. Forget about the other low cost Fender amps, this is the one that makes you smile. It sounds great clean, distorted with or without reverb. The clean channel is classic Fender clean and the Overdrive channel is pure tube tone that is a cut above solid state overdrive. I love it and will buy one ASAP.

na

5 yr warranty

I am looking to upgrade from my Behringer GX212 which by the way is a great low cost unit but cannot compare tonally to this Hot Rod Deluxe.
I have my heart set on this unit and will purchase it ASAP. It is a perfect match for my American Series Strat.

new 2003 blond tolex,features same as all other reviews.I like the prescence control on this amp..the brighness button also is useful if you want a good acoustic twang.overall nice controls for a basic tube amp THIS AMP IS LOUD.

I use a rickenbacker laguna with the acoustic bridge.has humbuckers also.this amp really does this guitar justice,the prescence control and brigtness control give a great acoustic sound if i need it.i can get a good nashville sound with the bridge pickup blended with the acoustic bridge,very nice to my ears.great clean sounds to just dirty are possible without a pedal.metalheads you guys need to use your pedal with this amp.i have a digitech pedal i use mainly for chorus and some bite.this combination works.i have read most of these reviews and many dont use the drive and master controls correctly.that is why they are getting blasted by the volume and gain.When you use the 2 drive channels try adjusting the master knob to "2" also the drive control to"2".Put volume on "2" now use the fender footswitch to change to yellow-red.adjust your guitars volume.Now try red-red.This should be noticably louder,so turn down your guitars volume.If i use my pedal i can turn the master and drive to about 5-6.and turn down my pedals volume quite low.talk about crunch!!Try different tone settings.I have settled on 3 on bass.6 on treble 6 on mids.prescence on 6-7.If you have just humbuckers,try the bright switch or more treble.Overall i am very pleased with the sound.I like the speaker and tubes may not be great but when they burn out i may replace with jj s or something else.

Really cant comment on this since it is brand new,however it appears to be well made and very sturdy.Also the foam around the tubes are a nice touch for vibration

havent had to use them

I am usually a bass player but would like to broaden my skills.I play at church and occasionally out.I use 2 carvin basses,a rick bass,washburn acoustic bass,fender telecoustic guitar,and ric guitar.ALSO have pearl master drums and electronic pintechs.I would recommend this amp for anyone.I have an old fender amp and carvin bass amps,and the Hot Rod definitely hols its own.

Not sure of the year 1999? 2000? Tube pre and power amp sections, clean and drive channels with more drive switch and reverb. 40 watts.

Some reviews here say the amp is very heavy, but that's not at all true compared to other 1x12 tube amps. In fact, I was surprised by how light it was compared to my Peavey and Mesa 1x12's. The speaker magnet in the HRD is *much* smaller than either of those amps for a start.

I think the HRD is a nice little amp - great for practice or the bedroom or moderate level jobs. I'd consider it a single channel amp though and skip the drive business. The reverb is good to my ear, but I'm not a heavy 'verb user.

I used the amp in a cover band situation. mostly current rock, with gobs of 80's and 90's thrown in and a few 60's tunes (motown and such)

This is a good 'for the money' type amp. Reasonably priced with pretty good sounds. Mainly used it with a Fender Am. Strat. upgraded with Kinmans in the neck and middle and a Seymour Duncan rails in the bridge.

I give the amp a 7 here because I really liked the clean sound, but could never get anything pleasant out of the drive channel. Worked well with distortion units though (I used it with a Chandler Tube Driver or a Fulltone Fulldrive II.

The amp is fairly loud, but at louder gig (larger club) volumes the clean channel will break up more than I wanted. Breakup seems to start at about the half way point on the volume control and continues from there. I'm sure it depends on the pickups though. Luckily, the breakup sounds good on the clean channel, but still... If you want that clean sound at higher volumes forget it with this amp. That said, 90% of the time at gig volume this amp was plenty loud enough.

Other than the clean volume limits reliability was the only other 'issue' I had with this amp. I never had anything serious after a year using it, but there were many minor things. First, overall the construction is a little cheesy I think. Although I think the HRD looks cool, it doesn't appear to be (or feel) as solid as my other 1x12s. In transit the power tubes loosened up regularly. Not a huge deal, but if I forgot to check them prior to turning the amp on there'd be all kinds of whistling and noise and such. This is the only amp I've ever had that happen with. I never had the amp blow up, but I never totally trusted it either.

Bought used, no warranty. Never contacted Fender. Lots of web and usenet support around though.

If you like this amp buy a used one in good shape for no more than about $350 or so. I got lucky and found one locally for $305 that was like new. For that it's worth the price. Still, I ended up selling mine to the singer in my band. It sounds real nice with his tele. I would never pay the new price for one.

I've been playing over 30 years at this point. My main guitar these days is a strat that I've modified with different pickups and wiring. I also use a Les Paul and a Carvin.

Compared this amp side-by-side with my Peavey Triumph PAG 60 (~50 watt 1x12) and my Mesa Blue Angel (1x12 max 38 watts). Both the Peavey and the Mesa are louder clean. The Mesa is sweeter to my ear. The HRD clean is nicer than the Peavey. The Peavey is more flexible and has better sounding crunch & distortion.

If the HRD felt more solid and didn't have the loose tube issues I would've kept it and added a cab for those occasions when I needed a little more volume.

1998 USA made Hot Rod Deluxe

All the features you've probably already read. 40 watts with tub pre and power amp. clean, drive and more drive channels with footswitch and split controls between clean and drive channels. effects loop, external jack for a cab. reverb and presence(solid state reverb and rectifier).

I personally am pretty happy with the features of this amp. It really has all I care about. The amps 40 watts provide plenty of volume(really, it's loud).

I'm play through a Epiphone LP Standard with styles covering about anything except country and this nu metal crap. To my ear this amp has an excellent clean sound and with help from Bob at Eurotubes on retubing both drive channels are pretty nice too. I use both farily reguarly now though I would have to say I use the first drive more. I also use a variety of pedals, including an Yngwie malmsteen dod overdrive which, when used in conjuction with my first drive on the amp, provides a very good pearl jam "do the evolution sound". This amp will by itself do almost anything short of death metal. The clean channel has good head room(even better since the tube change) which is something I like.

This amp has great tone and I feel the drive channels are pretty nice. I think some people are really too picky and some people huff gas and listen to way too much megadeath.

I've owned the amp for about 7 months now and have had no problems. No problems so far. The guy I bought it from said it never left his house and wasn't really used that much, so I'm sure that helped. I on the other hand crank her up at least 4 or 5 times a week and have moved around with it a fair it. So far I havn't had any of the commonly mentioned problems but I'm prepared. I'm going to give it a 10 because I feel it's about as reliable as you can expect any portable piece of electronics to be.

Never dealt with them, hope I never have to. My amp is out of warranty anyway. I have a friend who is a tech and can do any repair work I need. In fact he owns a Hotrod too(part of what influenced me to buy this one)so he knows the amp pretty well.

I've been playing for several years but admit I'm pretty new to the tube amp market. However I have heard other amps and I'm really glad I bought this Hot Rod. It came with a high reccomendation from my tech friend and I havn't been dissapointed. If it was lost or stolen I would definately buy another, though I might consider moving to the slight larger devilles if I had the cash. I love everything about this amp: looks, tone, volume, weight, price - it really is a great amp. Possibly a classic several years down the road.

Like another person said, don't let dorks tell you that just because it's affordable that it's a "beginners amp" or that it's crap. This is a perfessional grade amp. And, like he also said, unless you're playing the astrodome this really is all you need. I've seen guys with marshall half stacks that never even got close to cranking them up. The truth is, buying something like that for most of us is like a soccer mom driving cadillac suv. Just something for our friends to look at. Save your money, buy this amp,and then get a better guitar or effects!

Made in Corona in the USA in the late 90's.

Both channels share the same EQ which inevitably leads to some kind of compromise but adjustment of your guitar's pick-up selector- switch, tone and volume controls will work wonders. That's the thing with this amp - you've got to work at it a bit. It's organic, it's real, it's got character and it can be shaped - by your guitar, by pedals - it's an alive thing and it needs to interact with other alive things.

It's not a modelling amp. You can't just press the 'HRDx' button and 'Hey Presto!'. The person you fall in love with never has perfect features - if they do it's cos they've been to a plastic surgeon and that kind of fake perfection is the least perfect of all. So I'm giving this a '10' for features cos I love how the chicken head knobs go to '12'. I love how the Reverb is too much anywhere beyond '2'. I love how it always wants to be louder before it'll drive properly on the Drive channel. I love the illogical layout of the knobs and the unsuitable use of a 'footswich casing that we've got loads of lying around the factory from other amps' and I love all the features of this amp cos together, in all their glorious imperfection, they make this amp what it is - GROOVY!

CHARACTER.

The first time I played the clean channel on this amp I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It is easily the best clean I've ever experienced and I've played through a fair few amps with loads of different guitars. I haven't really played through any vintage Fender amps and I'm quite prepared to believe their clean is even better but for something affordable to a working stiff I reckon you'd have to pay a couple of thousand bucks to get better than this. AND the clean channel also works perfectly as a blank canvass for the tasteful addition of decent quality effects pedals (but remember - HRDx says 'No!' to MultiFX - it's like pouring sugar into its gas tank).

So then we come to the much derided Drive channel. It's true that you need the Master pretty loud to drive this channel properly and that means pretending to turn it down when the sound guy complains at the soundcheck. But apart from that you can get a nice Stonesy overdrive from the bridge pick-up of a Tele - no problem. It's not a 'wild-overdrive channel', it's not a 'mad-distortion channel', it's not a 'scooped-mid-mayhem' channel, it's just a nice Drive channel. Remember you can get any of the aforementioned sounds by applying the right stomp-boxes to the clean channel - but then again, if you wanted those sounds to come as standard with your amp you wouldn't even give one of these 50's Retro Radio Boxes a second glance would you?

Lastly, the equally often derided More Drive feature which can give sound guys a nice surprise when employed at just the right moment. It's like I imagine it must have been in the really early days of Star Trek when they'd just discovered Warp Drive and the first guy they showed it to said 'Woah! That's fucking amazing Ensign!' but now everybody takes such things for granted. It's not a third channel it's just a feature that can come in handy sometimes.

Anyway, the sounds this amp can do are 50's, 60's, the 7o's bits that harked bck to the best of the 50's and 60's (punk), almost nothing from the 80's (apart from the very few who harked back to the best of the 50's, 60's & 70's - count these guys on the fingers of one hand) , and since then worthwhile guitarists have been trying to get back to the honesty and integrity they can hear from the 50's and 60's and so their backlines are full of Vox, Orange, classic Fender (and the odd HRDx), classic Marshall etc and their hands are full of older-style-definitely-not-pointy-guitars.

Personally, I think that of all the nice guitars that are out there a Fender Hot Rod DeLuxe sounds best with a Fender Telecaster. I think they just suit eachother. But if I had a Gretsch I'm sure it'd get on fine with the Rod.

Obviously, I give this a 10 for sound quality.

You can reliably count on this amp to gradually, gradually destroy some tiny little resistor things that live somewhere deep inside so that evenually after about three years regular use the channels will start to do their own thing at a time of their own choosing just when the amp's nicely warmed-up and you're in the middle of your set. You'll be convinced that it's the footswitch's fault cos it happens when you engage a new channel and the LEDs start acting strange. But it isn't the footswitch. It's the little resistor things that have got this disease that make them go crazy when they're hot.

Because you can reliably rely on this happening 100% and because it's a well known fault and because it's pretty easy to fix - well that's what I call 'Reliability'...so I give it a 10.

Fender are this huge money-making organisation who operate on the legacy of some long-dead guy who designed some things that rock'n'roll artists used at a time when there wasn't much choice and some of the guys who work there have at some time or other managed to make some more fantastic-looking and sounding rock'n'roll artefacts. And the best support a customer can get is to buy something that works properly in the first place. And so on that basis I give the Fender Hot Rod DeLuxe a 10 for Customer Support cos I'm very proud of the guys who made it.

TEN!

LOVE IT!

You probably already know. 40 tube watts, one twelve inch speaker, 3 channels, and can be used for many clubs and even outside. However versatility is not a feature on this amp.

I use a Fender Stratocaster and and Les Paul. Personally this amp is not myt cup of tea. First of all if you want to play ANYTHING with distortion, DONT buy this amp. This amp gets good cleans, but there is absolutley NO distortion on this thing at all dispite what you may think (because its third channel is suposed to be a "more" overdrive channel, but it's not). It gets fairley loud. It breaks up faster than a 100 watt tube, but that really goes without saying. You could play this thing at any bar or club and it will be loud enough. You could even play in larger places out side IF you miked it.

Built like a rock.

I have been playing for quite some time now, and im more of a Marshall/Mesa kind of guy. Fender amps just don't seem to accomplish what i want to do. The only reason it has any kind of value is because the price is cheap for a 40 watt tube. If you want vesatlity. Get a Marshall or Mesa tube.

I'm updating the review I did early a couple of months ago (see danny at 05/31/2003 21:43).

I had a hum problem with my amp the first day I got it and I noticed the hum seemed to be getting louder so I figured it could be a tube problem, so I checked the 1st preamp tube and switched it with the 2nd tube (just switched the two around) and the hum went away. I'm going to replace the second tube (that was in the 1st slot originally) pretty soon ... I put that tube in the second slot since that slot is mostly used for the 2/3 channel (which I really don't use). But ever since changing the tubes around no hum problem.

Made in 2001. Features adequately covered in other reviews.

De-Armond S-73, Gibson SG Standard, Charvel Strat copy Epiphone hollow bodies with Gibson P94R/T pickups 490R/T pickups. Absolutely beautiful clean channel with nice presence. Gain channel tends to have like a "clanky" kind of tone. I play lots of 60s covers, classic rock, new wave, some punk, no metal, no indie, no country. I checked out a gig in the Tampa, FL area one time where the rhyhthm guitar guitar player wsa playing one of these through two Avatar 2 X 12 speaker cabinets. It was RICK330MAN from these forums. The lead guitar player was GEDDYENTWISTLE from the forums. They were cool and spent lots of time showing me how they got their sound. I wrote everything down and copied the set up. Each 2 X 12 speaker cab had one Eminence Legend 122 (the alnico one) and one Reverend All-tone. The tubes were V1: NOS GE JAN 12AX7WA, v2: NOS JAN GE 5751 and a JJ ECC 81 in V3. The power tubes were JAN Philips 6L6WGBs. This set up gives amazing clean and chimey tones.

2 years with no major problems. Issues related to tubes are not really a Fender problem.

Never dealth with them. Never had to, so that kind of suggests the quality of the product has been good, so far.

Great amp for what I play. I would replace it in heartbeat if stolen.

The older made amps are always the better ones, Features are as stated before by other users.Some suggestions from all, greatly contribute to this amp,May I suggest changing The tubes, to Gold Areos from ebay 6L6s and get yourself some 5751s for #1 and #2, nos (new old stock)..12at7 should go in the phase inverter socket and most important, change the speaker,any vintage type or reproduction, something with a heavy magnet..

This subjects questions refer to the instruments I play,Let Me just say a Santana prs sounds great with this amp, need say no more!

Depend on this amp, I hope so! It's a Fender : ) the only problem with this amp I've had is the bass is really,really loud but by changing the speaker it does't vibrate anymore...

Never dealt with company.although Rose Myles from blueprinting amps was pretty helpful.you can catch him at his web sight...

I've been around the sun, about 42 times, been playing more than half that time.If this amp were stolen or lost I'd be willing to get another, but a tweed.The amp is good for blues,although You can even get a nugent sound on the more drive channel..only thing I'd like to add is ,give aramat a try on his pedals..808s, fuzz,you can catch him on ebay...I use them...

2002 model,bought new from dealer;i added some casters and changed the stock speaker to a celestian vintage 30.I like all features except the more drive channel;i play blues and jazz and this amp is incrediby versitile for both styles;i dig the 2nd input for playing warm and mellow.Plenty o reverb.

iplay a gibson es335 a fender telecaster,and strat.i love this amps clean channel,and ialso dig the drive channel to add a little hair to the sound.my tube screamer makes this beast growl.after owning this amp for 2 months i decided to change the stock emminance to a celestian vintage 30(95 bucks)which really warmed up my sound even more,plus great bottom at higher volume.i never use the more drive mode,its way trebly thin.

this sucker seems rock solid.real men dont use backup amps.amp cover provided seems to protect from sratchs and such.

fender service centers are everywhere.the have always treated me fair its got a 5year warranty

ive been playing 20 years and love the size power and tone of this amp.A GREAT DEAL.i recomend changing the stock speaker to improve this amp even more;its easy to do.

I'm sure you all have been through this.. 40 watts, 1x12 75watt speaker, 2 channels and a gain boost, reverb etc... Quite a versatile little amp. Although I can't quite call this little.. It really is quite loud and does great in live situations. I never use the extra gain boost, and hardly ever touch the dirty channel. I play at home and live. The only thing I kinda wish it had was a 4x12 marshall cab to go under it.. The thing just sounds glorious through a marshall cab... But too loud for me. This amp has everything it needs and a few things it doesn't.

ALSO : This review is after I changed the speaker to a Celestion G12T-75 unless I say otherwise.

I use a 2001 American strat>marshall shredmaster>analog man silver mod tube screamer>original script logo MXR phase 90>Boss DD-5>HRDx.

I can get just about any kinda sound I really want out of this setup. The Deluxe responds great to anything I throw at it, especially after I switched the stock speaker for the G12T-75. I play all kinds of rock, some jazz and classical and a whole mess-a-blues. This amp delivers everything I ask for.

The clean channel holds out even further and has much better bass response at high volume levels AFTER the speaker change. Not to mention, the distortion is semi-usable now.

It only gets better than this if you go vintage, and that ain't near as cheap. I had a '65 reissue Twin reverb and no, it didn't sound as good, Plus I got real sick of it having problems and being too damn heavy/loud.

The deluxe shines on high volumes, but also is very usable at lower volumes. The tube screamer seems to bring out the blues animal in the amp. I love it.

Yet, I've played vintage amps that actually have that "cream-your-pants" amazing sound. So an 8 is the best I think I could give a newer amp.

I bought it used and I've never run into any problems with it. I only use this amp, can't afford a backup. I've gigged and will gig with it, without fear. It's a beast. Even as heat and electronics don't always mix well, I have faith it won't ever fail on me. Not a single problem.

Never delt with fender.. Heard lots of both sides though..

I've been playing almost seven years, and owned 6 amps, 7 guitars and way too many pedals. This is a setup I can say I will hold on to though. I am a tone freak.

I'd replace this amp the second I lost it, with either another deluxe or a vintage deluxe.. Or maybe a 60s vibroverb, if I had the cash.

This amp has great tone for it's small price and is perfect for bedroom or live playing. Everytime I buy a new amp I kinda move up in tone quality. The '65 reissue could've been better, but it wasn't. For the non-speed metal player, this amp is everything you'd ever need. I think I may change out the stock tubes sometime in the future though.

Im not going to waste your time here. Goddamn it fender needs to stop trying to make the do everything amp... get rid those two aweful channels and give us back our tremolo.

The Clean is wonderful, but the bass gets muddy and overwhelming beyond 3 voulume unless you push your mids. Distortion blows, big surprise, its a fender-- death metal fans, stop reading this, you have no buisness buying/playing a fender. Clean sparkles lightly at higher volumes, but gets overwhelmingly loud. I bought a volume pedal to control the volume jump between 2-3, I recommend everyone does the same.

Treat your amp with care, and this wont be a concern.

Same as above.

I actually bought a Carr Imperial hoping to get rid of this thing, assuming that the hand made class A bullshit was true. Nope, I returned a $2600 amp to keep what I have now. Dont be fooled people, please... more money does not equate to better tone, so take this thing seriously even if your wallet is burning a hole in your pocket. Perfect for blues, jazz, classic rock, funk. I think I might upgrade to one of those new 64 Vibroverb reissues, we'll see what happens there.

features are ok but it should have seperate eq.
the 40 watts is good enough for any club or church it can get very loud,but it also has good sound at lower volume for bed room practice
the stock speaker is very bassy.i give it 7 because of the speaker and
the one eq.

i use a fender strat u.s standard. i play blues, r&b, gospel,rock
it does a great job at all styles, after i changed the stock speaker
i put in a jensen c12n-50watt this is the same speaker that is used in the pro reverb 1-12 also the twin use the 100watt version it keepS that great fender tone the speaker was 80 bucks it is easy to change it your self the sound is awsome the clean is the best, overdrive-1 is smooth and even od2 will screem i dont care what style music you play
this amp with the speaker change and good axe i would put it up against any amp the only pedals i use is dunlop wah, boss ge7-eq by using the eq this amp screems turn the eq off switch to clean and you have the best clean out there. for the money this amp cannot be beat
the sound rating after the speaker change is 12 but i can only enter 10. this amp is a buy.

no problems yet.

i have been playing evey day for 3 years. if it was stolen i would buy another as soon as posible.
i also have a marshall vs100 that i have put down ,this deluxe is my new baby.my advise to new players is dont buy alot of equipment buy a
quality amp,guitar,wah,overdrive or eq pedal and thats it dont worry about stuff learn chords and scales,play,play,play.