Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

I bought my Hot Rod new in 2006, and have found it to be as versatile as I have ever needed it to be, with the help of effects pedals. Since it has such a rich, clean tubed tone, you can throw anything on top of it and it will sing! I have been playing worship music for four years and find everything but the bluesy distortion completely useable (this is easily fixed with my Keeley Compressor). I am glad that the amp doesn't have many effects, because I am more interested in quality tone than digital Line-6 type of effects.

I play an American Standard Strat, and recommend this amp to any fender player. You really need to find a way to damper the deep bass tendency of this amp though (a Keeley Compressor will do). I would not recommend the distortion to metal players, it is very bluesy.

You can depend on this amp as much as you can any tube amp, which requires you to keep track of the life of your tubes. Besides that, the amp is completely reliable.

I have never dealt with the company. I am sure Fender does a good job though!

This amp can crank some BEAUTIFUL clean sounds! Like a typical tube amp, the dynamics are pretty touch-sensitive, but with my Keeley Compressor it sounds flawless. I would have rated this amp a solid 10, but it is pretty difficult to tweak the amp to get its perfect tone (it took a LONG time to finally find my tone). But this is a perfect tube amp for all who are looking for a crisp Fender clean tone for a little less than the other options. I would recommend this amp to anybody from Jazz artists to rock artists (stopping short of Metal guitarists).

This is a Mexican made amp made in the last 2 years. Bought for $1300 Australian. Its a reasonable cheap valve amp. And it floored all the other amps in its price range that i tried. Didn't try a Vox AC15 though.
It is a very basic tube amp, ideal for a first valve amp. Not many features, this is a two channel amp with the more drive feature on the od channel. Only has one eq which basically means you are stuck with one sound but get to add more gain by switching to the od channel.
For the price the clean tones are really good, but don't waste your time with the od channel, its all muddy mash.

Lets get it strait out there. This is a blues amp, plain and simple. If you play metal or hard rock, look elsewhere.

This amp has a big volume for its size, but low clean headroom. Mine begins to break up round 4-5 on the volume, i have seen others as low as 3. This isn't bad, its a blues amp, its meant to do this.

I use a US Strat and an Epiphone (Korean) Les Paul standard. I play a range of styles. This amps is in my rig for its clean tones. It is not your usual Fender clean, is has a heap of bass. That said, the clean is very usuable especially considering the price.

Don't even bother with the od channel, or the more drive switch. If you want lots of muddy, useless fuzz go for it but for tone, leave the foot switch at home and use a pedal. To use this for anything other than blues you need a pedal. It has a huge volume for its size, so with a decent pedal you can really work with it.
Don't bother with a cheap pedal. I tried my Taiwan made DS1 (unmodded) with it, and it was that horrible 'angry swarm of hornets in a tin can' thing. What you need with this baby (As stated in other reviews) is a high end overdrive pedal. My choice is the Crowther Hot cake for the heavy and a TS808 reissue for the mellow breakup. (Both in front of the Hot Rod) Both turn this amp into the perfect rig for my needs, especially with the Strat. For the Les Paul, the Hot Cake can be a bit muddy, but with the Boss GE7 also in my rig, i can clean it up with a flick of my foot.

My volume currently sits on 2 but i have a decent PA set up when i use it, so i don't need to go any higher. Without the Pa you could comfortably gig this amp in small venues.

this amp does not have much variety. Its a one trick pony really. It has a beautiful clean tone for the price, not much else. The eq doesn't have much effect on the tone. It provided the perfect pallet for building on with pedals, but a seasoned pro would probably not go for this. It was the perfect beginners valve amp.

Never had any trouble with it in the 1 year i have relied upon it. Have heared bad things about the Mexican build quality, but have not had any issues yet.
Never gig without a back up, I always have a little Marshall 100w Vavle state combo on hand for emergencies. Never needed it.

Never had to use it. Generally have a low opinion about customer service from big companies though. Hope Fender are different, but not holding my breath.

This is a perfect beginners vavle amp. Provides a very usuable clean tone to build upon. For boutique clean tones, look elsewhere, this amp works best when you use it for a base clean tone, and run a pedal or two. For the price, this is a great way to get into vavle amps. Also if you just want a decent clean sound for your effects, this is a good buy. For the purests (guitar, amp and nothin else) you will hate this thing.
For an experienced player, this is no good, there is much better out there if you have the coin. This is a beginners vavle amp period.

I love this amp because it was my first valve amp, and my US Strat get a beautiful tone through the clean channel. That said, i've been playing for a while now and after 1 year of running this as my gigging amp i am already eyeing of a Vox AC30 to replace it. This is not very versatile.

My amplifier is one of the FAT series models from the first couple of years - I think it's from late '95 or 1996. It is a fairly simple 40 watt all-tube amplifier with a single 12" speaker. It has two channels and includes a boost channel on the second of them. It offers an effects loop and comes with a footswitch that allows you to choose between the channels and engage the "more drive" option on the distortion side. The two channels share their tone controls, which are your standard bass, middle and treble.

The clean channel has a "bright" switch which I never touch, the "drive" channel has a "more drive" option which I also never touch.

It also has reverb, but I find it fairly useless when turned up beyond a minimum, and I don't have much use for it at all.

I use this amp to practice in my punk band. Believe it or not, despite the fact that it's a small Fender combo, it provides all the gain and tone I need. It's perfect for the basement and would probably be plenty for the small bars where we play - except that the other guitarist in the band is playing a 100 watt Marshall half stack.

I occasionally wish that it had separate EQ controls for the two channels, but in the last 12 years or so, I've managed to work around it.

My main guitar is a Fender Jagstang. It has a Seymour Duncan Invader pickup in the bridge, and these two items (guitar and amp) match my needs almost perfectly.

As I mentioned earlier, I play in a punk band. While most people wouldn't think of this amp as a punk amp, I find that it works for our band quite well.

One problem this amp has (and which has been discussed in great detail in the other reviews) is that it's incredibly bass-heavy. In fact, I turn the bass all the way down on it, and can still manage to get some pretty heavy "jud" sounds when I palm mute.

At least the way I use it, this amplifier essentially has two sounds. Perfectly clean, and a vintage-style distorted one. "More Drive" essentially makes the distortion louder and a bit more fuzzy... I find that it actually takes some of the bite out of chords, but works well for a solo boost.

My biggest issue with the tones out of this amp center around the reverb. As stated earlier, it's effectively useless and harsh turned up past about two. Fortunately, I don't use reverb to get my sound, so it's not an issue, but if you do this could be a real deal breaker.

As far as "brutality" is concerned, I personally have no use for it... And if you do, you should probably buy a different amplifier.

I have been using this amplifier since I purchased it new in 1996.

It's been kicked around basements, dragged to shows in the back of moving vans, had beer spilled on it and yes, my cat even peed on it a couple of times. Nothing in it has ever failed or given me a moment of trouble. It has been in to my local tech twice in that time for a checkup and passed both of them with flying colors. Yes, it even has the original tubes in it.

While I would never suggest that a band play a gig without backup equipment, this amp has never let me down in a live situation - or any situation for that matter.

I have never dealt with Fender on warranty issues, so I can't speak to this category at all.

I've been playing since 1995. This was my second "serious" amplifier. Next week I will be purchasing its big brother, the Hot Rod Deville, and this baby will be relegated to practice in my home. If something ever happens to it, once I'm done crying I will not hesitate to purchase another one just like it.

Generally speaking, the clean channel sparkles, the drive channel has plenty of dirt, and it simply works perfectly for my needs. Plus, it doesn't weigh a million pounds but still gets plenty loud enough for my needs. I've played plenty of bands since I purchased this one, and I never found one that sounded or worked better.

I bought my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe in Jan. 2008. 2 inputs (hi-gain, lo-gain) 2 channels (clean, overdrive), more drive switch, bright switch, 40 watt's, fully tupe,effect loop, long spring reverb, ( what's a Fender amp without it reverb) external speaker output ( great for the new hot rod deluxe enclosure speakerbox).

The amp is versatile enough for any music style except metal or hard rock. Which isn't realy my thing anyway, I use it for jazz, blues and funk. The amp is definitely powerfull enough for at home player, gigs and recording. The only disadvantige is that is hasn't got a different EQ for the other channel. But hey, for the price you pay you will probably have some extra cash for an EQ pedal.

I use a Fender Strat and a ES-335 and it sounds perfect. Like I said before it's great for a lot of different style's. There is a lot of headroom in this amp which is great because it make's your guitar sound come out very nice. And what suprises me the most is that is very quiet especially for a tupe amp. The overdrive is only at 4 out of 12 being the max. plus a good splash of reverb. And my boss ds-1 for heavier sounds.

I haven't had a problem problem so far.

I have owned and still owne a lot of gear and tried out a hell of a lot and I really love my amp. I looks great ( someone actually thought it was a vintage amp from the 60's ) sounds great and just is great. I'am getting the enclosure speakerbox next week which will make it sound even more amazing. The only thing I can think of being NOT good is that is just one EQ and the reverb isn't footwitchable. Great value for money ratio. Is is one of Fender's most longest runnings product for a reason.

It's a 2003 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I have to play everything- in my spare time I like to thrash out metal, hard rock, rock, soft rock, glam rock, space rock, funk... yaddiyah. You get the idea. Handles everything I need it to and, if it doesn't, then I have 2 or 3 pedals that 'make it so'. I also run a function band (lots of cheesy funk/rockabilly) and use the amp for gigs/recording sessions most days.

Everyone knows the features... but still, Clean channel (+ bright switch) and a Gain channel (with a pointless 'More Gain' button).

The amp is stupidly powerful for its rating, I play mostly small venues and rarely need to use it above 3.

It has enough features to make it worthwhile. My pedal rig includes a delay pedal, a tuner, and an overdrive pedal. In that respect, I don't need anything more from the amp. It's got everything the average musician would need- footswitch, reverb, gain channel, volume switch.

I use two guitars with the amp. 1st- a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster with a DiMarzio Chopper, Mel's Lo-Noise Humbucker and a Tonerider Generator (neck to bridge). 2nd- a PRS Singlecut Trem.

I have been told my style is very smooth and refined, and that the amp suits it very well. Whenever I use the Strat & DiMarzio on the clean channel I feel very warm and fuzzy inside- beautiful sound, it just shimmers and chimes in only the way a Fender can. I just love the clean sound from this amp- with my two guitars there's no sound I can't get.

The amp is used every Thursday at a local gig, and it's the amp that all the guitarists there will choose (proud owner!). It flatters every guitar's sound in a way that most amps wouldn't.

The amp itself isn't very linear in its control of the volume, but what I normally do is just pump up the volume on the amp and use the guitar to moderate as necessary. It's stupidly loud though- if you have earplugs (necessary!!!) then it breaks up beautifully once you take it up to around 6.

The distortion on the amp is the only thing I don't like. On its own, it stinks. It's very thin, very reedy and quite muddy. What is very strange is how well the amp's distortion channel slots in with a band- once there's a bass, it cuts very well through the mix. The more gain control is, in my opinion pointless. I just use the guitar's volume control for that. So- two minds for the distortion.

The reverb is excellent, just right. The presence control I find a little contrived- even on zero, the amp still cuts like a knife!

If this amp were a person, it would be your mother (in the stereotypical sense). It's never ever let me down, it's only ever blown one set of tubes in 5 years, it always sounds absolutely fantastic. The only thing wrong- and this is seriously nitpicking- is a slight loose connection in the amp's jewel bulb. I've always used the amp at gigs with no backup because I sincerely trust it.

Never head to deal with Fender, so no comment. I don't expect to.

I have been playing live for around 5 years, and the amp has always accompanied me since then. In my time gigging I have owned a 1965 Fender Twin, a Marshall MG100DFX (shudder), a Marshall AVT100, a Mesa Engineering F50 and this amp. The Hot Rod Deluxe has outlasted them all. It's the best blend of clean and distortion, and is definitely the most reliable. As I write this, my Fender Twin (kept only as an investment- it honestly doesn't sound as rich and warm as the Deluxe) has broken down. ??3,000-worth of amp can't hold a candle to the ??529 Deluxe. The Mesa Engineering had a very thin, reedy clean channel and the distortion was of a similar level. Not very good when you compare the prices. As for the Marshalls... no contest.

If this amp were stolen or (God knows how) lost, I would not hesitate in replacing it. Not any of the stupid limited editions or the Blues Deluxe- just a straight, black Tolex Hot Rod.

This amp has made me extremely proud. In every live situation, people have commented on it. It always gets an admiring look from me across the practise room when I go in. There's nothing I specifically hate about the amp- the distortion is lacking, but that's nothing a Marshall Guv'nor 2 can't fix.

If you want a mid-level gigging amp that's all valve, buy this amp. If you want one that's solid state, buy a second-hand one- same price as a new Marshall AVT100 and miles better. Just buy one!!

bought the amp new in late 2007.
i have used the amp in a variety of styles, the clean channel is amazing!!! but the distortion is very useable also. i play now grungy rock/pop, but i have used this amp for blues, nu metal and classic rock.
two seperate channels, normal/bright and more drive and a pedal to go with it.
this amp has worked for small venues as well as slightly larger, the 50W power seems to be more than enough for me right now.

i use a fender strat with lace sensor pickups mainly with this amp, and the versatility of one seems to reflect in the other. for more twangy stuff my tele also works incredibly, as well as a campbell with seymour duncans for the heavier styles.
it is very easy to use, and you can't get lost at a gig with this amp, which is essential. i can always find the right sound for what i want to play (and my JCM900 head seem to have the same ammount of class when doing so, i prefer to use this amp).
the clean channel is very clear at high volumes, but with the right guitar and settings, it has no problems getting dirty!

i had one problem with this amp, which according to the guy who fixed it happens often these days. due to the fact that mass-produced tube amps need to make the holes for the valve legs slightly larger than they need to be and soulder them tight(because the machines sometimes could not get the valves in properly and bend the spokes), occasionally the valves will come loose and make a rattling noise- - nasty. the amp repairman souldered them up and now i know what to do if the problem should arise again. other than that everything has been perfect.

please read above. this person wasn't a fender repairman, or someone from the shop i bought it from, but someone i looked up locally. the shop i bought this from were rediculous. i took it in because of this sound and they called me up, failing to see something was wrong with it. they didnt want to look at it again, claiming i had made a fuss over nothing, and as soon as it had been on for 15 minutes, the rattling was there again.

this is not a fault of fender, but from the shop i bought it from.

i have been playing for 10 years and i am in uni, so this is a VERY expensive piece of kit as far as i'm concerned, so if it were stolen or lost, i would have to wait a while to get another. perhaps in a different colour :-p.i would miss it every day untill i had another.

for gigs im doing, i dont need anything more loud, as everything has a mic, and is hooked up to a p.a. i have had a peavey, and a jcm900 marshal, but for quality of sound, they dont match up. this is big enough for gigs and small enough for recording, and the thing i love about it is that it can hold its own next to anything and still sound proffessional.

there was an orange amp i was looking at with similar specs, but this was over ??100 pounds cheaper and the shop urged me to buy it, which i don't regret.

it would have been nice to have had two speakers in this cab for a more stereo sound, but volume wise i wouldnt notice, as i haven't had the need to pt it full volume yet (i have done and it sounded fine, but not in a gig have i needed to).

I've had this amp for about 5 months and the more time I spend with it, the more I like it. I bought this amp to replace a Vox Valvetronix modelling amp, which was my first amp. Reliability issues aside, the Vox was pretty good but this amp is in a whole different class. This amp, with it's vintage-vibe looks but modern sound, is a match made in heaven for my 2006 USA Strat. I'd imagine this amp would also sound great with a Tele or any decent guitar for that matter.

I don't believe any other tube amp on the market offers such good value and flexibility at this price. The clean channel on this amp is the only one you need in my opinion. I keep reading negative comments about the drive channels on this amp. If you bought a Fender amp expecting anything other than a really good clean sound, I say you bought the wrong amp.

I use a BOSS ME-50 in front of this amp for all my effects and I really like the sounds I can coax out of it on the clean channel. I also run a BOSS GE-7 EQ pedal in the FX loop for additional tone-shaping. In fact with this amp I think external EQ is a must, as it does have a strong upper-midrange honk.

This amp is LOUD! And I mean REALLY LOUD! I fell in love with the clean channel but the volume control goes from nothing to very loud extremely quickly.

I knew when I bought this amp that I'd have to do something about the volume as I only play at home so I invested in a Z Air Brake, which helps tame the volume very well without changing the sound of the amp. I wanted this amp for it's clean sound and was not going to let the volume issue deter me. I had compared this amp to a Fender Blues Junior, which in itself is a great little amp.

But for not much extra cash, it seemed silly not to go for the Hot Rod Deluxe. To get that great, big Fender clean sound at this price is a no-brainer. But I'm going to knock a point off for the volume issue. I wish Fender would do something to resolve this, after all decent attenuators are not cheap!

It's a Fender. I've no doubt it will be reliable and go on for years. I've not been playing guitar long myself but many of my guitar-playing friends swear by the brand and I've no reason to doubt them.

I've not had to deal with them but I'd imagine it's pretty good. It's Fender after all.

I think you can't go wrong with this amp if you are looking for that clean Fender sound without spending a fortune. Sure, it's not a Bassman or a Deluxe Reverb but it's nowhere near the cost of those amps. Apparently it's Fender's biggest selling tube amp so they must be doing something right.

As a relative newcomer to guitar playing I think this amp represents excellent value for money and with pedals, or a good multi-FX unit like a BOSS ME-50, you could probably coax just about any sound out of it.

But, like I said, the clean channel is the reason you'd buy this amp. With my ME-50 I can get some really great sounds out of this amp from slightly overdriven blues sounds to roaring heavy rock and just about anything in between. In fact with the right pedals and EQ, you can take this amp into pretty much any territory. It sure beats the artifical and fatiguing sound of amp modelling.

I lucked out finding this amp when I did. Some kid bought it at Guitar Center and his mom made him return it, but he had to sell it back to them because he waited too long. I got a new amp on the cheap. The Deluxe has a great beautiful clean tone, but Fender skimped on the distortion section of the amp. It's weak and solid-state sounding. That's okay, that's what pedals are for! I play blues, funk, rock, and experimental stuff, and the clean channel is the rock I build my tone on. It's 40 watts, but this thing never needs to go above 3!

I play an American Strat into a big pedalboard. I run (here comes the gear list) my Dunlop Hendrix wah, EHX Q-Tron+, Voodoo Lab Proctavia, EHX Big Muff, Pro Co Rat, BBE Soul Vibe, EHX Stereo Electric Mistress, EHX Nano Small Stone, Ibanez AD9 Delay, and Boss tuner. My pedals and the Deluxe usually play nice, but fuzz really doesn't sound good through this amp. Maybe it's my Big Muff. I'm looking for a new fuzz (possibly the MXR Silicon Fuzz) to see where the problem is. The Rat should be packaged with the amp, as it gives the creamiest overdrive to the most glorious distortion. Surprisingly, that combination works well for Tool songs. The wah sounds lovely on the clean channel, like "Superfly." Like I said, I don't use the distortion, so I don't know how it works with pedals. The greatest thing about this amp is the bass response. Someone did a good job at Fender, because this thing is SO bassy! You really stand out in the sonic spectrum using this amp in a band context, as you cover more frequencies. A gripe is that there is no control for the reverb after about 2.5. After that, it's a surf machine. There's a mod to give it a better control out there, though.

It's Fender and they build everything solid. I would take this to hell and back to play a show and it would come out sounding like heaven. It's never broken down.

I've never had to use it.

I've been playing for seven years, using up gear that can't handle my playing and establishing a good tone. This amp definitely helps. The distortion is lacking, but that's why this amp is so cheap. Like all Fender products, this thing can take a mod or two, and that's my next step. The speaker in there sounds satisfactory, but a higher quality one would help a lot. The amp is light, solidly built, and gorgeous sounding. I wish it had a footswitch for reverb.

I will not repeat what 500 people have said in previous reviews, other than add mine is a 1999 US made version.

It has all the features that you expect for an amp of this size and price, for me I would not want any additional features.

I play a PRS McCarty, Levison Blade, and a jackson Performer (first ever guitar, but has had extensive work). My PRS has Bare Knuckle "Mule Pickups" in the neck and bridge, my Levison Blade has Bare knuckle pickups neck and bridge, and my very old Jackson has a Tone Zone in the bridge, and Evolutions in the middle and neck.

I also have a Mesa Boogie Single rec head and 2x12 cab,

I have owned this amp from new, and it has been with me for almost ten years, some of those years has seen some heavy gigging, studio work, and countless jams.

For me I have always been really impressed with the clean channel on this amp, and have found it cutting, really useable, and have found that this little amp has cut through band mixes really well, no matter how loud the drummer gets. I replaced my first preamp tube with a 12AT7 and have found that I have a higher cleaner headroom than using 12AX7's. At higher volumes the bottom end does get flabby and loses definition but that is of course going to happen with being opened backed an only a 40watt amp. However it is rare even at large gigs that it is that loud.

I use a range of fulltone pedals my favourites being a Fulldrive 2 mosfet, and an OCD. I find that the Clean channel responds really well to this.

The Drive channel I never use, as in my view it is too brittle, and is generally muddy.

I sound field of this amp is quite narrow, but again I would expect this from a 1 x 12 combo. All in all I love my little HRD and will never part with it, and for the money it is an excellent little amp, which has served me well for many years. I also have a Mesa Single Rec Head and 2 x 12 Cab; however I still use my Fender for gigs, and to be honest I prefer the clean on my HRD, in addition I find it cuts through better in band mixes as well.

It is an awesome sounding amp, I love it, and always will!

This has never let me down, it has blown about 5 sets of tubes in ten years of service, and I have completely thrashed this out at times. I still have the orginal speaker. Currently I am running it at 71 m'amps Bias, which I know is on tyhe hot side and I currently have so cheapy Sovtek 6L6 power tubes in it which lasted about 6 months of heavy gigging at high volumes. My only critisim is the plastic jacks which are awful, mine are all loose and have been for years, but they have never come out!

Never used them

I love my little Fender HRD, and as I have said would never sell it, It was an amazing first tube amp for me, and for 550 pounds a complete bargin. It sounds excellent, and even when I have played more expensive amps, and big Marshall JCM 800's 900'S and my Mesa Boogie, to me I can hear this better in a live band, Its won't do metal, thrash, but everything else with the right pedals and guitar, it sounds a million dollars!

There are loads of comments on this amp so I won't re-hash the features for you! Apart from to say if you're buying this amp to play hi gain music then don't be fooled by the more gain feature, it sounds like the after thought it is!

I bought this amp to play in an 18 piece band playing all the usual Soul Music stuff. A pupil of mine had one and I noticed straight away that his playing slotted into the big scheme of things so much more musically than me and my JCM 2000 TSL. And I love that amp! So I went and got a deluxe straight away because 1. I don't like being upstaged by my pupils, it's bad enough when they play better than you, but better gear?! 2. It would be better for the sound of the band. I've used custom Les pauls, JJ Jewels with the p90's, Strats and Teles with it, and all you need to do is select the bright switch for the right guitar. It always reflects the pick ups that you're using and the guitar's tonal qualities. The gain channel is great up to about half way, this is not a hi gain amp, the more drive is awful. It has never needed a mic on it even in such a large band, for big halls I just plug it into the Marshall 4 12, and I love doing that!

Has it about 4 years. Sometimes it buzzes a bit, so I repair it the old fashioned way, hitting it on the top. If that doesn't work I try the modern way, turning it off and on again. The Marshalls I have had, both vintage and new, have had much bigger problems.

Never needed it.

I've been lucky enough to play through many vintage and new valve amps, and I still love this. The players I'm emulating seemed to stick by Twins and I've had those and would stick with the deluxe. This is an amp for a band where the guitar is not the feature instrument, if you need to complement singers, fit between keys and horns etc this is a great, honest amp. I love it, please stop slating it folks, it's meant to be an old amp that can kick up a fuss when needed to, that's what it does.

Bought new 08/16/2008
Play rock/pop. Clean channel outstandingly good. Despite majority opinion on here I prefer amp overdrive channel to the o/d via my Boss ME50 but then my style is clean stuff mainly
2 channels + "more drive" effects loop which I use for Boss ME50
Like amps simple. Previously used Line 6 Flextone 3
modeller - not even in the same legue as this Fender
Small/medium gigs ample power
Dipped my toe in the tube amp waters with a Grainger (Epiphone) Blues twin. Could not go back to tranny ammp now

Parker P38 & Fly mojo
Suits style fine
No noise problems so far
Clean & mild o/d . Not much variety but the clean is good enough basis for stomp sounds especially chorus & delay
Never had to crank it that high. In fact the volue is too high too suddenly so I tame it through the volume pedal of the ME50
not the best distortion but if yu want metal grunge stuff you wouldn't buy this amp

Early days so fingers crossed. Spooked by some of the previous reviews though

not applicable

8 years in band
Would buy again
Clean sound is awesome > Not keen on limited range of the volume control - a bit all or nothing
Marshall & Peavey. Clean sound did it for me
Anti gravity device we lug our own stuff to gigs

3 years old,
2 channel switching
Not many features
Vintage rock R&B dance band 14 years, playiny 40 years
7 'cause channel 2 is useless except for maybe blues but can't hang with high end stomps in channel 1

PRS '87 bought new, '53 tele my Dad bought new (yep real deal), PRS HB 2 McCarty, strat, many others..but gig with PRS HB2 and '53 tele
Lets' just be brief. Side by side the CLEAN is almost as good as my Boogie rectoverb, the clean sounds great if you spend time. What tis amp does BEST is high end stomp boxes.
Boogie V-Twin is UNREAL close to Boogie I was shocked. Channel 2 blues maybe, mostly useless.
Keeley BD2, Fulltone OCD makes this very close to Marshall for small gigs. It KILLS with high end stomp boxes ONLY! Keeley SD-1, Barber, Keeley TS-9, I have 15 stomps high end..none stock. For the $ the clean is probably the best buy..not even close to the BUDDA 18 watter but that is a whole 'nother level of sound and & $ (1400) and worth twice that!
As this is a 550 amp the clean is worth that...best buy at this price range new. Of course the '53 tele sounds awesome through anything..isn't that ironic after all these years and gabuddles of guitars available. leo fender got it right in his first 5 years! Spot on "Stones" and a rocker to a point..vintage.

Yea Fenders are reliable..not a Boogie or Budda but very good..65' twin my dad bought new still going strong

Have never called them

40 years guitar..45 drums...10.5 years drumming and guitar in college.
no I'd get another Buddah 18 for stereo! PLEASE go play a BUDDAH
I hate channel 2

why have 3 to 10 guitars worth thousands and a $550 amp? so common though. So many scrimp on amps.

8 for clean channel & price point and "stompability factor" is awesome! truly! great 1st amp with a couple good stomps

brand new in box. not shure of year. basic eq, clean vol. dirty vol and drive knod, fx loop, ext speaker out. only 8 knobs and 5 tubes, perfect!!!! A+

singles and hums. perfect amp for my style. LP standard gibson and strat. classic rock to punk, garage punk,90's alternative. there must be differences between each amp b/c mine sounds great to me. the clean side is awsome imo, warm and bright and clean. crank it and it breaks up. i like it but its very loud that way. the drive channel fits the bill. think black sabbath, zepplin, the strokes, queens of the stone age, social distortion etc...single eq is fine guys, learn how to play guitar and buy a good axe for christ sake. this amp sounds like a Fender.

i bought this amp and gigged it that night and it was good stuff. easy to dial in. I used a les paul standard using only the supplied footswitch and the crowd and manager was happy with the sound of my band.

well, you never know with these. some say they suck some dont with the hot rod line. my new twin in 2005 was in the shop every month. i tried a new vibrolux and it snap crackle popped like the rice crispy guys and the deluxe reverb reissue had problems too. bad luck i guess. save the reciept for warrenty service. this hrdx runs quiet. i use a fan behind all tube amps and it helps trust me. tubes get hot and melt every thing. use a fan man!!! A+

fender makes good on warrenty

20 years playing. ive owned these before and always go back to them. ive owned other fenders and marshalls. try the amp you plan to buy. the hrdx's with the white or blue label 6l6's will sound better than the red ones on the drive channel. earlier break up helps. the clean will still be loud as hell and clean enough for most folks. i also own the hot rod deville 410 and love it! nothing is perfect, nothing. remember that. but i like this amp for size and power and tone.

Fender hot rod deluxe, 2006. 3 channels, clean, drive and more drive, equalization, reverb, bright and fx loop. You can switch channels with the fender footswitch. I wish it had a different eq for the clean channel and the drive channel, but if you loose some time you can make sound good every channel. Is very loud for a 40w amp, very good for gigging and for small clubs.

I play a PRS custom 24 20th anniversary, with HFS and Vintage pickups. I play mostly rock/blues and sometimes a bit of prog metal and instrumental music like Eric Johnson or Joe Satriani. The amp is very good for rock and blues, need some pedals if you wanna play prog. I discovered anyway that is not really necessary to use stompboxes to get a good sound. It really depends on the amount of gain you really need. I've used many pedals, mostly OD, and it makes every pedal sound good, but I was getting tired of all these pedals, so I've loose some time adjusting the knobs, and I've seen that if you play AT ALMOST 3-4 of volume in the drive channel, you can get a really good crunch sound! The clean is wonderful, I've got almost the same tone of John Mayer with the neck pickup splitted, and I use for it, try and you will be surprised! I've not noticed problems with the clean channel, also at 5-6 of volume it remains clean, but I use splitted pickups for clean.

An year ago I've had problems with the amp, I've got to take it to a technician to fix it, he said to me that the electronics was really ugly and he needed to fix everything. After the fixing the amp sounds REALLY better. Take care when you transport it in your car.

Never used.

I've been playing for ten years, and I've played many other amps and guitars, mostly Jackson and Gibson, I like humbuckers, but I will get a Fender Stratocaster Eric Johnson as soon as is possible. If the amp was stolen or lost probably I would get a new one, but maybe I would like to try a Mesa Boogie mark IV first. The amp is good but there are some things that I really would like to change. I love the clean sound, the headroom and the loudness, is very good for small clubs and for gigging, but it really lacks of separate equalization for the channels and the crunch channel could be way better. I've compared it A/B with other amps of the same category before the buying: the Peavey Classic 30 really sucks, it sound like is closed in a box; the laney vc 30 is a good amp, the crunch is very good but Fender cleans are better.

Mexican model - a couple of years old. Same features as every other HRD on the planet.........

Plenty of power. Just not a great sound. Using a 72 reisse tele with Rio Grande pickups. This guitar should sound better....Play country, jazz, ragtime, Clean sounds is ok..early breakup not good. This amp just lacks character. Sure it's loud. I wouldn't buy it for tone though...What is it with other people, are their ears turned off, or haven't they owned many amps?
I just use a true bypass OD pedal and a guitar. What else do you need? Don't use the OD channel, you'll just embarass yourself...Messy reverb sound. Better buying a Fender from the days of your and just look after it.

Not keeping it long enough to find out! They just dont seem to make amps the way they used to unless you're paying thousands and thousands of dollars.

Bought second hand, but did have a problem with a new strat several years ago, and I must say that Fender Australia bent over backwards to help and the problem was rectified. Sure they're a big company, but staffed by real people. I always treat people respectfully and courteously and usually get great service and results in return....

Save your bucks and get something older (sounds weird, but true) or new and a lot more expensive. If you're a bedroom basher and want to hear your pod-korg-boss-I have 19 pedals in my chain and I'm a god sound through a mediocre amp, then go for it your tone is lost anyway.

2005 green tolex/Celestion V30 model; apart from that it is exactly the same and has the same features as the standard HRD which have been listed previously. Has everything needed for an amp of this class, isn't particularly heavy and is a decent, robust gigging amp.

I use several US Strats, a P90 Tele and a Parker Mojo. Out of the box the sound was loud, curiously sterile and lacked that Fender "sparkle" but I figured a few months of breaking in the V30 and letting the amp settle in would clean it up.

Six months later it was still the same, so I pulled the standard Eminence speaker from my Blues Junior and swapped them over. That got the classic chimey sound back again, but it still wasn't great. (The V30 went in the BJ and it was a perfect match for the EL84s.) I have lots of tubes here so I spent a few days swapping the preamp and power amp tubes, checking out different brands and types and trying a wide range of bias settings. I ended up choosing a full set of JJs (pre and power), biased around 65mA and that came closest to that warm, bright edged, chimey Fender sound. (Higher bias settings gave a warmer sound but cut the tonal spread.)

Still left a couple of problems - the reverb has a dreadful metallic "ring" if used over 4 and the master volume was very touchy, giving large increases in volume for small movements. A reading of Justin Holton's HRD site showed how to remove the treble bypass resistors from the circuit; that removed the metallic ringing and it now sounds like my Deluxe Reverb RI. I also replaced the linear master volume pot with the R-VHD-250KA audio taper pot as described in Justin's mods, which made it a lot more controllable.

So, better but still not brilliant. At this point I tried a set of THD Yellow Jackets for a bit of fun. Nice sound and it is worth keeping a set in your kit, but they break o too early and it is an EL84 sound after all. I asked Bob at Eurotubes about putting in JJ 6V6s, bought a set, replaced the screen resistors with 1.5KOhm parts and rebiased it to about 35mA. (A 6V6 normally operates around 21mV per tube. Setting the HRD bias pot to near the maximum setting takes it to around 18mV per tube or around 35mA at the test point.)

The result is fantastic. It has the same chimey, warm clean as the DRRI and now the (formerly) useless drive and more drive channels have that classic warm OD that is blues heaven. It is also still loud enough for gigging though it would be running around the 20-25w mark with the 6V6s. I use a Boss OD1 and a ProCo Rat for an OD pedal and I also have a Boss ME50 for effects, but since the change I haven't bothered with the pedals for OD. I use the Drive knob set on between 4 and 7 depending on the situation and it just sings. The last change was to wire in a THD Hot Plate, hard mounted on the back of the amp so depending on the size of the venue you can just lean over and dial in enough attenuation to keep the volume to bearable levels while the tubes are nice and saturated. The HRD is a seriously loud amp for a small combo, and I've owned Peavey Maces, Twin Reverbs and other monsters.

So, if you have a standard HRD you already have the Eminence speaker and the remaining parts (2 screen resistors and an audio taper pot) cost about $5 and it takes about an hour all up to do the mods. If you are careful you can replace the screen resistors with the board in situ rather than taking the amp apart. The amp unit has to be removed from the cabinet of course.

I have quite a few speakers here as well and I must admit I end up putting the standard Fender Eminence back in each time. It seems to work the best with the HRD. I also use an external 4x10 Celestion cab at times.

The HRD circuits appear to be well made and with decent parts so it should be reliable enough, plus it is one of the most common amps on earth so most competent techies would be able to repair it. The manual contains a full circuit diagram too. I've had a lot of Fender gear over the years and it has been very reliable.

12 month warranty to the original owner in Australia. Have never had to use a Fender warranty so I don't know how it would work out.

Been playing blues, R&B, swing/jazz and 60's pop for around 40 years. I have owned lots of amps from garbage to boutique and with the mods this is up in the top few; it is like a good DRRI but with a bit more presence. There are lots of them for sale used and they go cheap; the same mods can be done on the DeVilles too if you want a different speaker combo.

Fender wouldn't have sold so many HRDs if they weren't a decent amp.

I've had 2 of these, both were bought used. The amp is fine for what I do, which is indie rock. It has 2 channels, clean and overdrive with the option of more drive. I haven't actually used the drive channel in a while because I prefer pedals. It also has built in reverb which sounds great. I prefer the built in reverb over my Line 6 Verbzilla. I use this for gigging and have never had to turn the volume past 4 and it goes to 12.

I have an American tele, a 72 reissue tele and a epiphone dot and i usually have them set to the neck position to get a good ful sound.

I bought both of mine used so that was probably my problem. The first one I had came with a different speaker, I don't remember what kind, but it needed to be replaced but it got stolen before I could do that.

The second I bought from Guitar Center used and paid for the extra warranty which was good because the amp suddenly after 5 months of use started to distort and drop in volume. I took it to guitar center, they thought it was a tube, we replace it and it wasn't. They gave me a number to get it repared and I called the place and a week later they sent me a check for the amp and I still have they amp. I plan on trying to get it repaired. It wasn't the tubes, it wasn't the speaker, so I don't know what the problem is yet.

I think I've just had bad luck with these.

The Guitar Center warranty was worth it this time and it lasts a year.

I've been playing for 6 years.

I just bought a 70s Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp for guitar and have a small Marshall solid state that got wet and doesn't work anymore.

I'm currently borrowing a friend's Deville and I'm kinda bored with the Hod Rod's. I might stick with Fender because I love the clean, but kinda want to try something new.

I love the clean, the reverb and the tube.

I wish it came with casters because it's freakin' heavy.

built in 1996 American made... added hemp coned speaker and jj power and pre amp tubes which helps tone very much.

Was able to work some good tones after months of using

used the amp for about four years and then went down hill from there.. During a gig lost power and began to smoke out the amp.. along with non stop fuse blowing. Purchased a deville and same issues only much sooner.. Beginning to get very annoyed.. so all in all nothing but problems.. I would never again rely on and new made fender amps period.......

I play a range of styles, from blues and jazz right up to heavier experimental rock. This amp can cover most of these bases and the ones in between. The controls are responsive and very useable. The amps effects loop does its job well and the addition of a second channel is, whilst not normally needed, very useful. I have owned this amp for 3 months its already come in handy when teaching. 2 channels, clean and drive, treble mid and bass controls. The 'more drive' button can be very useful! I mainly use it, when i'm not in the studio or teaching, live with a PA, so its normally got an SM58 in front of it. The only thing that lets it down is that , as with all fender amps, completely unuseable as soon as the volume goes over 3, unless your playing for glastonbury main stage where you can probably get away with leaving it on 8. Its got 12 as its max volume setting, this is insane!

Clean channel - YOU WILL NOT FIND A BETTER CLEAN SOUND THAN THIS ON ANY OTHER MAKE OF AMP. Fender are renound for an amazing clean sound and this amp does not disapoint. I play an American Fender strat, and when i'm feeling a bit more rocky a Gibson Les Paul BFG, and on the clean channel this amp has more tone than any other. I compared it with the deville, same sound but ??200 more! and the twin reverb. Again a very good clean sound but for the price i could not see a noticeble difference! Its better, but not by ??700! this amp has its own unique tone which just sings. The controls alter the sound to what you want, without destroying the tone either. 10 for this side of the amp.

Drive channel - A good sound. The more drive button kicks it up a gear and adds a but more, it is not a boost tho, i used to try and use it to big up my solo's but it just made the sound a but muddier! Is good for that blues sound, has a great tone, but in the end i get my distortion sound from a Fulltone, so i prefer that! Non the less, when i play at my church, i often just take my strat, a wah and this amp and i'm laughing. Can get all the variety i need out of it. It scores an 8 on the drive channel for not being the best, not being overly versatile and for the sound getting a little bit muddy when you push the drive up. But non the less a very good and useable sound.

I used to play an old marshall valve but played this and took it. So much more versatile. Tried it in comparison to a vox ac30, and a marshall vintage modern combo. I went for this.

overall, this amp rocks! my chain is american strat, morely pro volume, vox wah, fulltone GT500, boss OD-3, MXR phaser, small clone, TC Nova delay, fender hot rod. For my clean stuff i just use the amp. Not other pedals, just the amp. Says alot about it. Its enough on its own. Brilliant amp.

never had any problem with fender stuff. built like a brick, wheigh's it too!

never contacted, have heard good things though!

i no longer have any other amp, and i dont fel i need it. I have found my sound and it comes from this amp. Very versatile, easy to use, some crazy rocking tone, some bluesy stuff and the best clean sound that you'll ever hear. Its not the perfect amp, but for the price it might aswell be. I paid ??500 for it and would well have paid more. Highly recomended.

I bought this amp purely for clean sounds as I am A / B ing it with a Marshall DSL 100 for the crunch sounds. It has just enough power for backline before it starts to break up. All I needed feature wise were the Fender reverb which is awesome and basic tone control. Yeah it fits the bill.

Everyone knows that Fender overdrive is crap but as stated I didnt want it for that. The clean sound is gorgeous. Although we mic up the backline so it doesnt have to work too hard, it has just enoguh headroom without distorting. The clean sound rings like a bell, especially with my strat and Yamaha elctric 12 string. The perfect clean sparkle methinks !!

No problems at all.

Not needed !

For clean sounds only its perfect, for versatility it will not do it all so you would look elsewhere. For what I wanted its perfect. Only paid ??350 2nd hand and would get another if it got nicked !!

Let's see...features...well, it won't sneak up and kill you when you're sleeping-so that's about the only GOOD feature I can find with this terrible sounding POS.

Go ahead and look through these reviews. Guys who have experience with GOOD tube amps rate the HRD as mediocre. With good reason! This amp is a total poser. First off it's not a Fender sounding amp. The design is meant to replicate a "hot rodded" fender amp. I've owned a few hot rodded Fenders in my day and they were okay. This new HRD is a total piece of garbage compared to them-sound wise. In fact it's a loser compared to any of the new reissue "blues" amps of the same wattage-specifically the Blues Deluxe.
I actually bought the HRD amp for $500 on a "great deal" sale at Sam Ash. The price sort of blinded (or deafened) me a bit and I paid for her and took her home. For the next week I struggled and strained to get it to sound decent but no matter what I did, it would not seem to co operate with me or my guitars. Not only would it fail to deliver a Fender tone, it didn't deliver a useable tone and ran out of road at about 3 on the dial in the clean mode. Drive and more drive should be labeled "BAD" and "WORSE." My Barber pedals couldn't make the clean channel sound reasonably good. It's very VERY hard to get a Barber pedal to sound bad, mind you, but the HRD excelled at producing a terrible sound with my Barber collection. I was floored and kicked myself for being suckered by a low-ball price tag. You can't polish a turd and make it anything other than a shiny TURD. So I brought it back and did a little re-negotiating for a Blues Deluxe amp, which is a completely different amp than its Hot Rod cousin. In fact, it's very reminiscent of the old Fenders in appearance and tone. I paid another 140 for the Blues Deluxe and it's worth every cent. The entire HOT ROD line of Fender amps just leave me cold for the styles I play-country, rockabilly, rock and hard rock. I use Teles and Les Paul guitars.

Playing for over 40 years. Any time you read reviews that feature owners telling you how they modified their amp to get the tone they were looking for...BEWARE! If you can't buy a decent sounding amp for 400-600 bucks that rings your bell in the stock condition then save your money and pay the 800 to 1000 that's required. Don't ever buy an amp that you don't like and think you will MODIFY it into an amp that you will like. Been there, tried that, got the shitty amp and empty wallet to show for it. I took the HRD back, paid some more cash and bought an amp that I love. I'm way too old to get fooled but I ALMOST swallowed the hook to save some dough-a bad idea. Hot Rod Fenders just suck, period. That's my opinion. I wouldn't ever consider owning another Hot Rod.

LtdEd HRDLx, blonde tolex/wheat grille. Bought second-hand. Great versatility. Used to play quick, punchy, quirky, hurky-jerky indie-rock. Two channels, but I never use the built-in distortion channel (WEAK drive/distortion). The EFFECTS LOOP is this amp's saviour. If you use this amp and don't have a volume box - GET ONE immediately! This amp is insanely loud to push the tubes and get it to break up without making your ears bleed. Seriously, build a volume box - it costs $10. I rarely use stompboxes because the natural break-up is so nice. I nearly gave up on this amp before I tried running a volume box through the effects loop. Now I won't EVER get rid of it and I won't EVER play without a volume box. DIY - it's easy. Here's a link: http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/newland/2081/id3.htm

Played with a Jazzmaster/AVRI pickups. Awesome tone with volume box (again with the volume box). This amp alone is LOUD. VERY LOUD. "WHAT?!?!" Everything cranked and a volume box acting as a master volume really pushes this amp into a nice, natural distortion. I rarely use my stompboxes anymore... The second channel distortion is really thin and whimpy. It rarely gets used.

Mine has been pretty reliable. Sure, I would gig without a backup. I've heard that they can break down, but I've yet to experience that.

Blah, blah, blah. I'm a guy who's played guitar (bedroom and band) for about 15 years, but don't consider myself a "pro" by any stretch. I'm your typical guy on the street - except for the fact that I'm not pretending to be pro. Hahahaha... the main reason I'm writing this is because I wasn't overly satisfied with this amp and was planning to trade/sell it in order to get a Blues Junior. I found the link I provided above and decided to give building and using a volume box a shot. I'd never soldered anything in my life, but I thought I'd try. I ordered all the parts from SmallBear - it cost less than $10, made it up, tried it and fell IN LOVE with my amp. The breakup is so nice, I rarely use my OD pedals (honest). Trust me. Try it.

Bought mine in December 2007.

40w all-tube amp with overdrive channel (gain and "more gain") and reverb. Nice to have both of those on-board the amp. "More gain" setting, however, seemed so over the top as to be unusable.

As has been oft-said, the volume pot goes from nothing to hellaloud in no time, giving the impression in the shop that this amp could fill a stadium. But it can't: read below in the Sound Quality section.

Using it with a Fat Strat and Les Paul, playing a variety of rock cover songs, plus some driving blues.

Having started with a Fender Blues Jr, I felt that the HR Deluxe was its big brother and a logical step up in power for small gigs. This, to some extent, is true. At low volumes (<3) on the clean channel, the amp manages a deep and rich tone, though too bassy. Getting close to 3 on the volume, the natural break-up starts to happen, which is nice if you're playing alone in a big room, jamming some blues.

The problem with this amp - and the reason why ultimately I had to trade up -- is that for all it's loudness and power, it has very low headroom, so that even in practice situations it was impossible to stay clean. Yet it wasn't dirty enough for rock overdrive, yet adding an OD pedal in front at these volumes results in a flabby mess. Even for smallish gigs, therefore you'd probably want to mic it so that you could keep the volume knob as low as possible.

The gain channels I simply gave up on because they are just to flabby and "farty" sounding at anything above 2.

In my opinion, the Blue Jr remains a better amp and is more easily controllable.

So far, so good -- but has been relatively lightly used.

N/A

Been playing for about 4 years. When people say that acquiring guitar gear is a "journey" rather than a destination, they are describing my feelings about the Fender HRD. I don't regret getting it as my "next amp" after my Blues Jr for my first few gigs, but as your playing gets better you become more discriminating in your desire for a nice, controllable amp with good cleans (even if you play dirty). I think, to be fair, the price of the HRD is too low for anyone to expect the stars of it.

Incidentally, I am now trying my luck with a Fender Super-Sonic head and 2x12 cab. That should give me some headroom.

amp was bought new in 2007, so it was made in 06 or 07. you can get a decent clean sound from this amp on the lower volumes but the volume knob is very sensitive and any small adjustment can increase the volume quite a bit. When the amp is opened up it sounded good but a better speaker and tubes could do wonders. The drive settings I found too harsh. More then enough power with 40 watts powering a 12 inch speaker. Loaded with plenty of features and easy to use. A vibrato unit would be nice but would drive up the cost and i don't know if there is room in the amp for one.

It can cover a wide range of rock and blues sounds but i found that it didn't really do any of them all that well. the amp distorts early so anyone who wants a clean amp sould look elsewhere. If you want a dirty amp that you can tailor to your sounds, (ie. speaker replacement or mods and tube swaps) it is a good starter amp. As far as the pickups go, it likes single coil and humbuckers fine. Overall not a bad sound for the price range but lacks the kind of tone and build quality handmade amps have.

can't say as i only owned it for a year and just sold it because i bought another amp more to my liking.

why bother trying, if you need it fixed see your local tech.

I've been playing for 14 years and i've owned a 70's twin, peavey classic 30 and am now playing a early 70's all tube Garnet deputy I amp head into a 4x12 Marshall cab. I ended up selling this amp because it didn't give me the Fender kind of clean I was looking for. It did have some nice natural powertube saturation, from about 6 to about 9 i found it was at it's best but it is really loud.

I'll never buy this amp again seeing as i've already moved on to other amps. Again this is not a bad amp, it's just not that great either. Some changes or mods could bring it alive but for me it wasn't worth the expense.

Amp was purchased in 2006.

I play a fender stratocaster. I swapped out the single coil pickups and put in some humbuckers.

I purchased the amp for it's clean sound figuring I could get any distortion I needed from pedals. I gigged in a classic rock band for the last two years with this amp and although have been playing most of my life am fairly new to playing rock in clubs.

As far as power I am shocked at what it can do. I have played outdoors several times without miking the amps and this baby was more than loud enough. Played on volume setting 4-5. I am not sure why guys mess with stacks when a small amp like this is more than enough. Indoors / small clubs it will always have more than enough volume.

Although this amp was louder than #%$ for its size. The tubes would breakup up fairly soon on around volumes 3+. Some guys buy tube amps for just this sound. I personally dont like it. When the band is playing a slow mellow tune outside or at loud volume I want clean. The problem I found out was that the factory preamp tubes are very high output. This also explains the reason the overdrive channel is so over the top and dirty.

Heres what I did as recommended by the good folks at thetubestore.com:

"Changed the V3 12ax7 pre-amp tube to a 12avt7 to smooth out the od
channel clean this amp up I strongly suggest you try 12AT7 tubes in the V1 and V3 positions, and a 5751 in the V2 position. These tubes are 100% compatible with 12AX7's but have less output and therefore can not overdrive as easily as regular 12AX7 tubes do."


Worked like a charm. Clean at higher volumes with no tube breakup and the best part is that the overdrive channel is now much smoother. With the drive set on about 6 this baby sounds more like a Ibanez tube screamer. You get some nice texture instead of a nasty buzzing brutal overdrive that comes factory.

Another problem with this amp is the volume control. The volume control tapers way too fast and was done so that on the showroom floor the amp would appear to have loads of power even on settings 1 and 2. Hard to practice in the house with at low volumes. I replace the 100k volume pot woth a 250k and now it tapers very slowly. You have to get it up to around 4 before you get any real volume out of it and thats nice for guys that like more control over volume or in smaller settings.

The amp has been criticized for being a but muddy . I did the midrange control modification which is soldering a jumper between the left and middle terminals of the mid control. You can see it and many other mods here:

http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/jvmods.html

Sounds much better and less bassy.

I also did the reverb modication which is clipping Resistor R103 which rounds out the reverb somewhat.


The amp now has exactly the sound I was looking for. Believe it or not I now play rhythm using the overdrive channel set at lower levels. With the new tubes it sounds great.

Very reliable amp.

Input jacks of course went out but had them replace with some higher quality jacks. Safety regulations require Fender to use plastic jacks because of the way the jacks ground to the chassis. So plan on replacing these within the first 6 months with some higher quality jacks. Not a big deal.

I buy important pieces of equipment from the local dealer. They will replace anything that is defective. I am a huge fan of buying on the internet but want local service on electronics and music equipment. If you develop a relationship with them they will be more likely to give you a loaner when yours breaks down.

Been playing for around 30 years.

If this was ripped off I would replace or upgrade to the Hot Rod Deville. I think the four ten inch speakers in the Deville are a definite plus when it comes to delivering some great tone.

I chose this amp based on the reviews here. I usually dont mess with reviews but thought I might take the time to give back a little by submitting my own review.