Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

features all nice just as expected

Excellent sound quality, can do jazz, blues, country, no metal.
The character, Barry Obamamau or whaever his F...... is, has no buisness giving ratings on Fender amps. His assasination on this Deluxe is pathetic. He gave no sound technical logic, just rants about how it was terrible. Get a life loser!

Never had a problem. Mine is the USA made, not Mexico, if that means anything

no problem. I've been playing professionally for 38 years and Fender has always come through for me.

As I said playing for 38 years, would buy this amp again if lost or stolen.

It was made in Mexico i think its a 08 or 07 I fell like its a great starting tube amp for the money. i play things U2, Coldplay Sigur Ros...ect

Im playing a USA telecaster with single coils. The distortion is not great with the stock speaker i would replace it if your looking for distortion.

Its never broke down yet and i play at my church 2 or 3 times a week. The only thing that happend was my springs in the reverb broke...?

Ive been playing this amp for about a year. Its really good, but try to find a used one it will save you alot of money! If it was stolen i would prob would not get it again, only because my style of playing has changed from the time i bought it. The pros of the amp are the clean channel and how warm the the tone is and it looks sweet. The Cons are the mids can really mud up the tone, the amps construction is deff not the best but it can take a beating. And the stock speaker should be replaced if you ask me after (i replaced the speaker I got much better distortion and overdriven tones). The amp is great for a first tube amp or somebody who only plays at home. But i play at my church 2 or 3 times a week so i have found myself wanting more tone.

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

I'm reviewing a 2008 HRD made in Mexico. I was well familiar with the model when I bought it, as three of my friends have owned one. I play in a reggae/funk band and wanted a decent clean tube sound. It has enough power for small to medium large venues.

Fifty tube watts are loud. The basic sound is typical Fender, as good as any and better than most. I wanted a loud clean "ching" for reggae and funk, and was at first a little disappointed. It was great at lower volumes, but was breaking up at around four on the dial, which I only noticed as a problem at an outdoor gig. I spent a c-note to replace the stock speaker with a Weber California speaker and was quite pleased with the result. It is as loud as most situations would demand, ballsy and tight. I mainly use the clean channel but get a good sound with the drive channel by turning the master volume way up and putting the drive volume at about two. This gives it a snarly but not too distorted hot sound. As others have noted, the overdrive/more drive is too fuzzy for most styles and not brutal enough for metal. If you want a metally sound use a pedal, or better yet buy a Marshall. For Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues or Country this is just fine.

Like all tube amps there is a risk of blowing a tube. Carry spares. I also have a Roland Cube 60 which I bring along as a backup. The Fender sounds much better to me, though.

No problems so far. If a tube blows, it blows, it's part of the package.

This amp has gone up in price almost $300 in the last ten years, so it may be overpriced. I previously had a Carvin Belair, which is a 212 and every bit as good, and somewhat cheaper, but more weight to lug around, and I'm old. I chose this one based on what I knew to be true---a good clean sound plus portability and plenty of power. This is a best-seller for a reason. Those who say it sounds bad will never be satisfied with any amp. Perhaps they ought to work on their technique. The Carvin tube amps are good and a viable alternative, but this has more resale value. The stock speaker is cheapish, but that is easy to upgrade. I give it a nine for this price range, not in comparison to an expensive boutique amp.

Well documented; no need to go into details; your standard HRD.

Very nice, well rounded tone; perfect for classic rock and blues; nothing much heavier than that - this is not a metal amp.

Many bars throughout Seoul use this amp. so all I do is carry 'round a LP with a Boss "Dual Overdrive" pedal then plug in - dials are all set midway on the clean channel; your good to go !

I don't use the gain channel; too muddy for my taste and the "more drive" channel is useless unless you use it as a lead boost.

I'm not a pedal user; one is too many for me !

So far so good !

Is Fender in Korea ?

She's a beauty; just what the doctor ordered. Sold my Blues Jr. for this one. A much better amp. for med - large sized venues.

The BJ is just a bit underpowered for playing live straight off the stage and I never liked playing through a PA. Too much dickin' 'round w/ sound levels!

We never have time for a sound check in these places and there's never a sound guy around to moniter the board; so the HRD is the way to go if ya wanna play straight off the stage.

Fender really hit the nail on the head with this entire line, cosmetically anyways. "Gain" and "More Gain" are stupid ideas. What ever happened to a simple circuit, with tremolo in the second channel, that reproduces (see amplifies) the guitars inherent sweet tones and clips softly into a smooth breakup when overdriven? As someone stated earlier, one of the greatest features of this amp is that no-one wants it shortly after they buy it, so they can be readily found for cheap in the classifieds, sometimes cheap enough to get me thinking about using the rather cool looking box to house a classic circuit kit (which are often cheaper than the current Fender crap) and some good Weber speakers. If I can improve on the golden era Fender designs for $700, why can't Fender, with all their resources and cheap labour, do it for over a grand? I am well aware that this model belongs to the "Hot Rod" line and not the "Vintage Reissue" line, yet a gem is a gem and a turd is a turd.

Flat, uninteresting, spikey. The reverb sounds like your usual pawnshop brand solid state junk... perfect for tone-deaf youtube wankers, for wanking away on youtube whilst imagining they look & sound something like Stevie ray Vaughan (these people should not have access to amplifiers, think about it). If you've never plugged into a proper running tweed, blackface, or silverface model, then please disregard my opinion completely.

I would not depend on electronics built by this company.

Where I disagree with the previous poster is that the tweed-covered 1990's "Blues Deville" I owned really sucked too. Spiky as hell. This company is selling nothing more than the logo and some decent cosmetics.

(Sorry about my english - I??m from Germany)
My amp was build in July 1996. I bought it used in superb condition in 2007.
I use it for Jazz, Soul and Funk. It is a perfect amp for those styles.
It has two and a half channels: one clean channel, and one overdrive channel with a more gain option. I only use the clean channel, and for overdrive I prefere to use a tubescreamer-like box.
It sounds best for me with the bass, middle and treble allmost cranked up fully to 10 (works well because of it??s a passiv tone-circuit, which does not change so much), presence up to 7, reverb to 1 or 2 (very effectiv spring).
I play the amp for practicing with the band (volume max. up to 2) and on stage (volume max. up to 3 or 4).
It is realy loud, don??t use it at home in a flat! Even for practicing with the band in a small room it??s nearly to loud.
The stock speaker is an Eminence build for Fender. I changed it once to a Jensen Alnico speaker, but 10 minutes later the Eminence was back to its place: you can??t improuve what is allmost perfect!

I am playing a Hertitage H-575 archtop jazz-guitar for Jazz (treble switch on the amp on bright) and a Fender Stratocaster American Standard for funky sounds (treble switch off).
Very warm classic jazz-sounds with the archtop with the treble on the guitar only to 1-2. Very punchy funky sounds with the strat. And with a overdrive-box it realy rocks, but no heavy metal, only classic rock and Santana-sounds, but that??s what I like.
Sure, at a volume setting of 5 the clean channel starts to distore. But open air with 200 people listening and no P.A. for the guitar the volume on 4 was enough.

Until now no problems.

No customer support needed.

I??m playing since 29 years as an amateur.
Other amps I had before: VOX AC 30 (from the 70ies!), Lab L5 (B.B.Kings choice), Yamaha G100-210, Yamaha G100-212 (like Mike Stern), Fender Pro Junior, Roland Cube 60 (my amp for practicing and small gigs).
If the Hot Rod were stolen or lost, I would surely buy it again.
I compared the amp with a lot of different tube-amps: Fender Blues Deluxe, Blues Junior, Pro Junior ..., Vox, Hughes + Kettner, Koch, Laney, Peavy, ... Sure, the Fender Hot Rod Deville has a fuller sound with more bass, but: if you need a small light-weight tube-amp for a reasonable price with a good clean-sound and a lot of headroom: forget the rest.
The Fender Blues Deluxe, Blues Junior, Pro Junior: they never produce a really clean sound, only that crunchy sound, too distorted for me for a good funk and jazz rhythm sound.
Compared with the Roland Jazz Chorus: the Fender has a sound not so extrem clean but with more live, more sparkeling highs, is cheaper and easier to carry.

2005 model with clean channel, overdrive and "more drive" channeling.I use the amp onstage and in club situations.Plenty of swat for the watt here!Prescence is a nice addition.

Straight forward cleans with Rock and Roll or Blues in mind. Could get by doing Jazz. But, not really known as a Jazzer's amp.I lucked out and have owned 4 of them in the past (this one has a fairly decent overdrive channel). 2 of my former Hot Rod Deluxes had lousy overdrive channels. As for the review from the guy just below me:He really doesn't sound like the typed of guy that has had quite the experience with a variety of amp (as I have over the last 45 years as a Pro).The amp is great at what it does and is intended to do. It puts out a decent Fender tone in a moderate price range and is used by many many Pros in everything from T.V. performances to indoor/outdoor concerts to small clubs.Is it a Dumble, a Bogner, a Victoria? No! Thank God. I've owned them all and there is good and bad about every amp.

Fender runs hot and cold when it comes to customer support. You either Love em or Hate em. There's no middle ground in my opinion.

I own a Blues Junior, a Bogner Shiva, a Deluxe Reverb Reissue, a 69 Vibrolux, a Mark 4 Mesa and a Jazz Chorus 120. I would and have bought this amp again and again (4 times).It's just a great utilitarian amp with decent wattage and can be modded very easily.It has it's own sound that I enjoy.I believe in this case, you get more than what you pay for.

In my opinion the best features are: 1. Inexpensive to purchase, used. 2. Widely available. 3. Easy to sell to another sucker.
So there you have it. Unless you actually LIKE good tone, you'll write glowing reviews. If you DO like good tone, the moment you hear this amp at any/all setting, you will run from it. It's that bad. No, it's worse.

I'd rate the sound of this amp right up there with fingernails on the chalkboard, a roomful of shrieking toddlers, or an Obama speech. Ironically, it's cousin the Blues Deluxe is a wonderful sounding amp. I wouldn't walk across the street to urinate on the Hot Rod Deluxe-unless it was being used...then I would piss on the electricals to cause a short and blow it up. Am I being too subtle? IT SUCKS!

Hopefully it will die a quick death.

Fender guarantees it until you pay for it.

Overhyped, oversold PieceOf****. The happiest experience I had with this amp was receiving payment equal to what I paid for it-two weeks after purchasing it. Suitable for tossing from the nearest cliff perhaps, but as an actual musical instrument amplifier, please run away from this godawful PO*!

Mine is a 1998 proud USA made! You're all suckers if you got the crappy Mexy ones!

Man, this thing sounds incredible! It fits everything that I play, and it's just the perfect amp! I usually use it in venues where they try to limit stage sound as much as possible, so sometimes it's a bit loud, but other than that, I have no complaints. The only downfall may be that the tonal quality peaks at about 3, but that's also wayyyy too loud for some venues, so many times the full tone the amp may have never gets to come out.

I'm using an alder body Mexcan Strat with Tex Mex pickups. They sound gorgeous through the Deluxe. I've never heard the clean channel distort at all, which is really nice. The best part is, the tone is the same throughout the clean and OD channels! I've always hated going from one channel to the next, having my tone change suddenly without my knowing.

I also replaced the original speaker with a Hellatone 60, which is a Celestion Vintage 30 that has been played through for 15 hours to aged it slightly. It brings out the tonal quality very nicely!

I've always been able to depend on it. Never had a problem with it.

Never dealt with them.

I love every part of this amp. The warmness it gets is just sexual. It especially brings out the qualities of Fender guitars, making them sound like they really should! The spring reverb is also pristine. I couldn't ask for better.

You really only want the Clean channel

The distortion is lame.

But the clean seems to take pedals okay.

These are about 450 - 500 used. I do think this is a very simple, effective, no bs way to handle your tube-amp needs.

But, for me, the real-deal Super Reverbs are the way to go.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No problems with mine.

Never used.

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

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

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

I'll give it an 8.5 overall.

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



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

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

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

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

*perchink*

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

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

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

TRY ONE OUT PEOPLE. This amp does it hardcore!

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

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

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

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

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

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


other than that.

THIS AMP IS FARKIN' UNDERATED!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

i'd say for the money, its reliable

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

only had it a few days.

n/a

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No experience with customer service

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

Two channels, two inputs, reverb and presence controls. 40 watts into 2 6L6's. pre-amp has 3 12ax7's. Fender Special Design 12" Speaker.

I use a players deluxe strat w/ noiseless pickups. The clean channel is super glassy and works extremely well mid-volume with single coil pickups. I find the amp to be on the bassy side, could be the speaker or tonestack caps. Gets loud as hell really fast, I play bedroom volume at about 1.5.

The first overdrive channel has some utility, not much. Again very bass heavy and muddied, hard to get that touch sensitive, lots of attack definition. The more drive is completely useless. Just too much noise and mud, no note clarity whatsoever.

Reverb is a little thick, I play on 2, anything above that would have Dick Dale scratching his head in tonal frustration.

I'm thinking about switching out to some fresh power tubes. Maybe put fresh pre-amp's in with a 12at7 in the phase inverter portion. If I decide to keep it I will probably put in a brighter speaker as well, maybe a celestion or jensen. I will definitely change the tone capacitors (billm mods for deluxe!). Right now Im looking to trade this in for a NOS Blues Junior (anyone? :) ).

Overall the clean channel is what really shines for the HRD. I get my dirt on with a low gain rat and an HBE treble booster in the front, sounds miraculous. I foresee the drive channels getting very little, if any, use at all.

Also I use an extension cabinet with a 12" Eminence Patriot. If you can get one of these it really opens the sound up and throws it around the room. The speaker also has a much better treble response than the stock speaker and it kind of levels out the overall output.

Mine is an original 1996, made in the US. It even has that 50th anniversary sticker on the tag plate. Sounds good for being 12~13 years old, previous owner blew the original speaker, tubes have never been replaced (yikes!). Overall the insides look good, no blown caps or burnt resistors. The black amp covering always gets nicked and dinged, oh well. The metal face plate has little rust speckles, which is a cosmetic problem that could get much worse and eventually need to be replaced. Overall looks like it will see many more years of service rocking out hard.

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A little loud, Wanted a Blues Junior but couldn't pass up the inexpensive price on my particular amp. Drive channels are useless, Clean channel is very usable and versatile. I would recommend new pre-amp tubes, maybe new speaker and new tone caps to level out the bass response. Put a couple of decent to higher quality pedals in front of the clean HRD and your set to wail some sweet sounding blues licks. I would say a treble booster --> compressor --> good overdrive.

I purchased my hot rod deville amp from guitar center in 2004. The amp really spoke to me in the store. After readin some the reviews of this amp I was compelled to give my 2 cents worth. I have played well over 1000 plus gigs with this amp since I have owned it. I play a PRS and Gold top LP which everybody that has reviewed this amp seems to be playing fender products. Now we all know that a fender guitar sounds the special thru a fender amp however I have found that this amp works well with other guitars also. I choose the 4-10 60 watt combo because I felt it had a warmer tone overall. This amp is plenty loud enough for any situation I have encountered including outside gigs with no mic for the P.A.

Now to the distortion issue. I have been playing guitar over 25 years thru a vareity of amps,peavey,mesa boogie,soldano.. The distortion is really not that bad really. The more drive section of the amp is useless but the normal drive sounds good to me. Now I play in an original band that is cross between soundgarden and zeppelin so you will definatley not get a slipknot tone out it. I have also played in cover bands with the amp and have found it to quite versatile. I have been using a tube screamer and that helps with the sustain. I have listened to the 12 inch speaker versions of this amp extensively and I really think it takes on a whole new voice in the 4-10 arrangment. The clean channel is classic fender with the killer fender reverb.

As i stated before I have played well 1000 gigs and countless practice sessions with the amp and it has performed flawlessly. I would not hestitate to drive across the country with this amp.

Never had an issue with it

Well heres the pros for the amp. Versatile for almost all types of playing IMHO, I have also played acoustics thru it that sound great,Plenty loud enough for any situation,cost in comparsion to other amps in its class,sturdy easy to use controls and yes I would replace if lost or stolen. Cons: well it does not have the most over the top distortion but you are buying a fender right? if you want over the top gain then look eleswhere. The 4-10 cab can be alittle heavy at times. As with any amp... it should speak to you creatively and make explore your guitar playing. And from the very first time i plugged into this amp I have not been able to put it out of the arsenel.

2005 Hotrod Mexican make. Needs a good OD channel, Reverb footswitch. I use this amp in pubs and clubs and some outdoors events with great affect. Love the clean sound with just a touch of the reverb added. I run mine on about 5 which is were it starts to breakup, but this is good, because at this volume it sits nicely with the overall volume produced by the drummer and the other guitar players. Playing the strings easy at this volume produces a nice clean sound and playing the strings with a bit more gusto produces a nice early distortion.

I use a 91 American Standard Strat, 2008 Gibson Les Paul Studio, 2007 Gretcsh 5250. I play in a pub rock covers band, so the range of music and sounds required is very varied. This amp does a good job of providing a nice baseline clean sound to build on, which is exactly what is required in a covers band. As stated by many before me, you won't find a better clean sound for this money. I have not heard as good a clean sound out of amps twice the price. The overdrive channel is rubbish and I would have thought by now (15 years on), that Fender would have rectified this weak point and released a Hotrod 2, but I guess they won't be forced into this until the sales drop off. There isn't one person that owns this amp that has anything good to say about the OD channel. This is s true 40watt valve amp and provides sufficient power for most venues without the need of a mic. I agree with one of the other reviewers, that it would have been useful to make the reverb switchable on the pedal.

This has been a great amp other than having the valve sockets re-soldered once because the valves kept cutting out as if they had blown. Apparently a common problem that I believe Fender have now rectified by hand soldering the joints. While you can depend on this amp at a gig, any serious guitarist would always carry a spare amp. Never put your total trust in any amp.

In Australia, Fender don't tend to respond well to email. Given that they are steeped in old fashion tradition when it comes to making amps and guitars, I don't think they have discovered computers yet. The amp comes with the standard 12 month warranty, which is a joke. If you have faith in your product and you really believe your own marketing hype, you should be able to offer at least a 5 year warranty. That said, these are pretty reliable. Even more reason for Fender to take the gamble and offer a better warranty.

I have been playing for 35 years and like most have a ton of gear lying around. If this amp were stolen or lost, I would buy another, although there are always new amps coming out and I would test drive plenty before jumping straight back into a Hotrod. I have a Hotrod extension cabinet with mine to add more bottom end and it sounds good. Surprisingly, the Les Paul sounds good through this as well although it definately suits the 91 Strat. Get a good effects unit and a good strat and this amp sounds awesome if you like playing blues, Floyd, Dire Straits etc.
Be aware that if you are considering doing what some suggest and modifying the amp by changing the valve arrangement so that the amp doesn't breakup until it gets to 7, this does not mean that you will get more volume. It simply means that you will get more control over the increments of volume in the lower region. Remember, this amp was designed to work in a specific way and if you feel the need to mod it, then you probably bought the wrong amp for your needs. If you are considering buying this amp, turn the bloody thing up and really test run it loud, don't be bullied in the store to keep the volume down.

This amp has all the standard features, two channels. It also has a builtin reverb. The channels and reverb can be controoled by means of a footswitch.

I played a Telecaster through it. The clean channel gets loud very quickly, and if you want that that's great. But there's not much room for subtlety. The sound of the 2nd distortion channel is a farce, I hardly used. Instead I used a Tube Screamer with the clean channel.

Never had a technical problem with the amp.

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At first, it seems like a great deal, a real Fender tube amp for around $500 (second hand). But after playing it for a while, I found it impossible to find the right tone. The overdrive channel is useless, and the clean channel is way too loud - due to a wrong component used by Fender. It's also very heavy to carry around all the time. I am not surprised you see this amp pop up so often for sale - which I did. But for a beginner or someone with a limited budget who just wants to play loud, I think it's still agreat deal.

I have one of the last ones made in the US, Date's June of 2002, and I think I bought it new right about that time. I play a little bit of everything, Country, Blues with a heavy Jazz influence, to borderline Head Banger, and it fits them all. I hear every one calling this a two or three channel amp, (including Fender) where in my opinion it only has one channel that you can add some gain to, and then some more gain to with a foot switch. FX loop yes, Reverb yes, Headphone jack no. Fender should get rid of the drive end of this amp, pretty much useless anyway, and put a reverb switch in its place. I've played mine at a number of smaller bars to large outside venues and I've never had this above 5, this amp is LOUD. 40 watts tube with a solid state rectifier.

I play a US 62 reissue Strat from the mid 80's I think, a late 80's Guild Starfire, and a 77 Music Man StingRay 1, yes one of the real ones. My pedal board setup for right now is a DOD milkbox compressor >> Boss BD-2 >> Boss PW-2 >> CryBaby GCB-95 an old one >> Dunlop GCB-80 Volume Pedal >> Hot Rod Deluxe. And I have an ADA 2FX >> ADA 2.56i >> Sabine RT-1601 Rack Tuner, running threw the FX loop of the amp. And like I said above I play a little bit of everything, I do lean towards the Blues though, and this amp sounds great. It has that classic Fender clean tone that a lot of us love. The stock the amp is good, I will say that it does break up early though. But that is what the amp is supposed to do, it was designed that way, after all it's called a HOT ROD isn't it. So I did make some changes. Power tubes are now Sovtek 5881WXT and in the V3 side of the preamp (that is the Phase Inverter) I put a 12AT7 and wow what a difference I now have clean headroom to about 6 or 7 before it starts to break up. I also plan on adding a different speaker soon which should help even more. The drive side of this amp as most of the reviews state SUCKS. It is probably the worst sound I have ever heard. OK not the worst but close. Come on Fender what were you thinking.

Has never let me down yet. I did have some loose solder joints taken care of way back when, but that was it.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing a long time (44 years I think) I've played through to much gear to remember, and right now I probably have more stuff then I need. But don't we all. I do not ever see me not using this amp in some way. It's that good of an amp, if something ever happened to it I would get another one. What else I can say, this is an extremely good amp, notice I did not say great.
I played a gig about a year ago there were three bands with seven guitar players in all, and five Hot Rod Deluxe Amps. You do the math.