Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

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

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

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

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

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

Read all the others for features.

It sounds good. Breaks up pretty quickly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Features have been described thoroughly in other reviews.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My HRDX has been bulletproof.

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

Very nice.

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

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

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

Mines a Mexican 04

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mexican made.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Most dependable amps I've run across.

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

NA

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

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

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

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

nah i havent dealt with em

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

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

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

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

Never really dealt with Fender.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So far... excellent!

I never have used CS for an amp.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Speaker is an undeniable piece of crap.

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

never dealt.

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

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

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

Switchable amps are fine, but I confuse easily.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Never tried.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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