Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

Everyone please read this, i will set u straight about this amp.
this amp should be a 1 channel amp, IMHO the drive channel is useless, it's just all pre amp fuzz. if you want overdrive, do it the natural way, crank it and get those power tubes working, then, if you want more drive and sustain, do as SRV did and countless others do, put a pedal that gives you more of a clean boost than overdrive through it.
i'm giving the amp an 8 because i believe it should just be a single channel amp, and it would be perfect if it had vibrato.

IMO this amp has a great clean sound. sure you could prob get better with a vintage fender or say a new twin or something, but how much would you pay? I play originals in my band, and i play blues. i love the sound i get with this amp, great clean sound - crank it up to about 4, get a nice breakup tone, crank it to 5, you get a nice slightly overdriven tone, put a ts9 tubescreamer in front of it at this stage (drive on pedal set to 0) and you get excellant crunch, a smooth lead tone, excellant sustain, controlled feedback.
this setup is also very responsive.
i love the tone i get with this amp. (i don't use the drive channel)

i can depend on it now... i bought it second hand, and started playing around with it to get the tone i wanted, and was using the foot switch at high volume. apparantly there is a design fault with these amps that when you use the foot switch at high volume, you burn something out and it causes the amp to cut out... i had it fixed, but i don't use the drive channel now so it doesn't matter
i don't worry about a backup (i'm selling my backup)

n/a i bought it used

IMHO the bottom line is, if fender had just made this amp a single channel with vibrato, then they may have had themselves a highly regarded classic amp. instead, they tried to tried to jump on the band wagon '3 channel, high gain etc' and aimed it at the wrong market who would buy the amp expecting it to have great distortion and not ever realise how great this amp can actually sound.

I just got a brand new Groove Tubes model. Y'all know the features; it's pretty flexible. The clean channel is the reason to own this amp; the other two channels are quite good, but I may just use two amps onstage--this one for clean, and my Boogie for all the dirty work, so to speak. When it comes to the overdrive, there's just no competition whatsoever--the Boogie wins hands down! But again, I bought this amp for its clean tones. This thing has more than enough power for your average club gig. Overall, Fender has done a nice job on this amp.

I use primarily a Fender Lone Star Strat and Amer Std Telecaster. I play rock, blues, funk, and jazz...this is a great blues amp! For the heavier stuff, as I said above, my Boogie DC-5 combo is much better for leads. The Hot Rod Deluxe is generally a very quiet amp even with the drive above 5 or 6 on channel 2. I tried tossing an Ibanez Tube Screamer in front of it, and it really helped the situation, but I'm just very Boogie-spoiled right now. This Fender amp sells for less than half the price of a Boogie DC5, and the clean sound just puts the overly-midrangey Boogie to shame.

I've only had it a few days, but I've already played one gig with it without a backup. It performed quite well and I grew accustomed to it quickly. I'll have to revisit this category after I've put this amp through some more rigorous situations.

Never had to deal with Fender...and hopefully never will! This amp does come with a 5-year transferable warranty--which is really nice! However, you plunk down some bucks for a relatively simple and well-built piece of equipment, it should do its job reliably for much more than 5 years, with regular care and maintenance, of course.

I've been playing guitar for 22 years. I've owned a lot of crummy amps and a few good ones, and this is my first Fender, believe it or not! I would probably replace this amp--it really gets that great vintage clean Fender Bassman tone. It may not be the best amp for the lead voice I've developed in my rock playing, but it's probably my first choice for any blues jamming, either at home or onstage. This has got to be one of the best-sounding amps out there for the money. It's very lightweight for a loud combo (only about 45 lbs, compared to other serious tube combo amps weighing in closer to 55 or 60 lbs). I also tried out the Fender Blues Junior--nice for a practice amp--but the Hot Rod Deluxe has more power and is more flexible. Definitely worth the bucks. The 212 Hot Rod Deville is also kickin', but if I had some more dough to play with, I might've picked up the 410 Hot Rod Deville. The Hot Rod Deluxe is a best bet--biggest bang for the buck, indeed!

40 watts ALL TUBE, 1X12 Special Design Eminence loaded speaker, Effects send and return, foot switch with drive and more drive, black tolex covering, groove tubes, 2 inputs, and FENDER TONE, a different fender tone in some respects though......

OK, for the record, if you want to buy a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier (a.k.a. Triple Rectum Frier), then go buy one. If you want an unreliable Marshall, but want that tone, then go buy one. If you want a fender amp, with fantastic clean sound (SRV would have used this), a good overdrive/distortion channel, and an ANGRY more drive channel, GET THIS AMP. I use my deluxe super strat with this, which has the super fat, super strat pickups, which are very balanced, the neck pickup is the best I've ever played. I play in a country rock band, but I personally like blues of all generations, hard rock, heavy metal (metallica, not korn), funk, and everything else under the sun. It can do all that, though extreme metal will require you crank up louder, and this is a LOUD 40 watter! I play blues mostly (but love that new Kirk Hammett Metallica sound), and it works better than anything out there. It's only noisy with the single coils. The sounds range from Buddy Holly clean to James Hetfield palm muted crunch. I haven't had a chance to turn up the clean channel to see if it distorts at high volume, and if I did I may not be able to have children! It's got some freakin power. The distortion is, as I said, ANGRY. ANGRY and ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton woman tone to the metal zone.

I've had it for only over a month, after using a Peavy Classic 30 for a year. I gig with no backup proudly. It hasn't had a chance to break down, but it's a fender and is hard as a rock. But since I've only had it for a month, I can only give it a rating thus far, and so far it's great.

I haven't tried to mail in the warranty. But the bassist in the band, also my guitar teacher (and damn, there's nobody better), is an authorized fender repairman. He's helped me with regular guitar maintenance and things, and I don't think anything bad is gonna happen with this amp, but if it did, I'd have the help I need.

I'm going on 6 years playing guitar. I own 8 guitars (my strat, my '72 reissue thinline, peavy wolfgang special, samick artists series, etc.), and live I use an ibanez tube screamer, danelectro cool cat, and dunlop wah pedal. I get the sound I want. I would buy this amp again definately. The weight isn't too heavy, but the sound is. I love the sound, but again, if you want the brutal chunk of slayer, you might wanna look elsewhere. I chose this amp, because of course, good sound. For the price, it's the best. If you can afford an AC30, or a Heartbreaker or something, go ahead. But if you want the best sound for under $1000, make that WAY under $1000, this is your amp. I wish it had tremlo, but I can live without it. This amp just is too good a deal to pass up.

Hot Rod Deluxe: Post '98--Groove Tubes. 40watts of all tube power. Basically a two channel amp (clean channel has a bright boost and drive has a "more drive" switch) with reverb, and presence control to compliment its three knob EQ. Standby switch is a big plus for warming up the tubes and changing instruments-relevant to its two insert capability. Every one would love a seperate EQ for each channel, but you can live with out it...

I hate to repeat what every one already knows, but I have no choice. This Fender Amp has one of the best clean sounds I have ever heard. For years I have played every major amp brand and pushed them all to the edge. Never have I heard such a phenomenal channel. The Drive channel, set properly is a great asset for harder blues and Hendrix like sounds from a non-Marshall amp. I use a '65 Strat and a Vox wah to my own taste, covering everything from SRV to Led Zeppelin to Pink Floyd and all point in between.

The tubes sound great, though I am interested in trying the Sovtek's, and so far this amp has held its own on some tough nights. My only issue was a blown indicator light after a couple of days, but hey, big deal. I play at home, on the road and in the studio and never once have a needed a bigger, sturdier or better sounding amp. It responds fantastically at every level and has never lost its sound quality at high volumes or after long nights.

Fender is Fender. Find yourself a reliable technichian in your area who is a Fender dealer or servicer and stick to him. If you really need to talk to Fender put aside a few hours and take some relaxants...

Look for less than $500 you will never find a better sounding amp. When you make a million bucks (probably using this amp) you can go and buy whatever you want, but you will probably try to get the Hot Rod Deville 4x10 just because you loved this one so much. I love this amp. If you have a problem with the drive channel (some of the reviews harkened back to this) go spend a lot of money on another amp. However, remember that you will never find a better clean channel than a nice Fender tube amp and some experimentation with the EQ (which is pre-drive so it will affect the sound) will yield the sounds you desire. You will get your MOJO WORKIN' with this baby.

Bought new in 1998. Great amp for blues and rock; I play lots of blues. 3 channels, effects loop, but you all know that. Wish it had separate tone controls for clean channel. I gig all the time and this amp has plenty of power.

My primary guitar is a 1987 American Standard Strat. I've replaced all the pickup with Demarzios. HS-3 at bridge, HS-2 middle, Fast Track 1 at neck. The clean channel turned up is fabulous in large venues, but too loud in smaller ones. The overdriven channels are fine.

Never broken down. 5-year warranty is transferable.

Have dealt with the company when I bought my Strat and they refinished the frets for me at no charge. I was without this axe (I have others) for only a week. Got to say I'm satisfied, though others aren't as pleased.

I've been playing for 37 years and have lots of other equipment. My Fender Twin sits in the garage; too big and heavy for my current use. I've got a Roland Cube 100 that I like very much. I've got a 1964 Princeton Reverb that is absolutely the best practice amp. I used it miked on my last gig as an experiment and it was fine. Many of the reviewers have been critical of the reverb in the Deluxe. However, it behaves identically to the reverb in my old Princeton. I'd get this amp again if it were lost or stolen. The size, tone and weight are just right for my needs.

See below for all the features. 1 x 12, 40w. Wish it had footswitchable reverb, better reverb, and tremolo, but it would be more expensive.

Best clean sound out there for under $1500, I guarantee. Excellent note definition.

Had this amp for almost two years, play it almost daily, gig and practice with it weekly, never had a problem or even had to change tubes. Wow.

This is now my third review of this amp. I just like to talk about it. What inspired me was that today I went and played a Line 6 AxSys amp, tempted by all the effects and stuff. I would have to trade my Fender to get the other amp.

What I came away with, once again, is that 1) These modeling amps CANNOT do Fender clean. Maybe they can do all the Marshall/Boogie distortion stuff, but they can't get the beautiful sag/warmth/string definition of a Fender. Cannot. The digital effects are awesome on those Line 6 amps, just lovely, but I'm not giving up my Fender for that. Maybe Fender will come out with a digital amp that has lots of effect options, but is still all-tube and has the luscious clean sound. Are you listening, Fender? I would think that would be something that'd sell, since everyone is always comparing Fender clean to something else....it's the benchmark against which all other amps are judged in that category.

When I stand in front of my HR Deluxe, with Les Paul or Danelectro in hand, the tone just explodes from the speaker. Once again I'm not moving.

If you're thinking about this amp, and can't afford any more than $450 or $500, look no further. Unless you want to play Korn. But why would you want to do that?

Mine is a 1996, Pre-Groove Tubes.
All the normal features.
I play original rock / blues / jazz.
Wish it had seperate pre-amp settings for drive channel.

I have two uses for this amp. One is my normal live setup. American Deluxe Fat Strat, or LP Standard, or other guitar; into Fulltone FullDrive 2, into the amp.

Like most, I got this for easy size / weight / price ratio. I also love the Fender clean sound.

A lot of posts complain about the Drive channel. I find it very useful if I set the Drive down to about 6 or 5. I get a bluesy overdrive that is just a notch dirtier than the clean channel. Then when I select the More Drive, I get a full overdrive. I also use my Fulltone overdrive to drive each of the three channels with its two gain and overdrive stages. This gives me a total of 6 unique sounds... plenty of flexibility for my needs there.

My second setup is guitar into POD into PowerAmp In. This works great if you use the POD software to turn the AIR off completely and /or the amp cab emulation off. By using the POD as a pre-amp, and adding the warmth of the Fender's poweramp you get a sound that IMHO is far superior to the Flextone amps with solid state poweramps.The overdrives in the POD like the Marshall, Soldono, and Mesa models just sing with this setup.

Everything is working fine so far. I probably will try the Groove Tubes when it's time to change them.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for over 20 years and have had a variety of Marshall, Fender, Peavey and other amps. My ears tend to like the tube sound and this amp delivers this very nicely.

I really like this amp. I intend to keep this no matter what additional amps I buy. The clean sound is unmistakably Fender!

The POD has given me the desire to check out other higher priced amps like the Budda Twinmaster, Dumble's, Soldono's, Vox's, and other amps sure to put pressure on my bank account. But the HR Deluxe will always be a fun tool.

Perfect for Blues
Supposed to be three channels Clean, Overdrive, More Overdrive. Foot switchable.
Features include 1X12 speaker, Extra speaker jack for 8ohm enclosure. reverb, effects loop, bright switch, two volumes.
It is the only amp I own right now, I use it for recording and live.

I use only Strats, usually with Texas specials. My main guitar is a '79 (weighs more than a Les Paul).
I have been playing for 16 years. Used to be a shredder, now I lean heavily on blues, and this amp is perfect for that.
Amp Can be noisy, but that is attributed to the single coils.
Distortion is Angry, Very Angry. But that is why it is so beautiful.

Very dependable, I would replace Grove tubes with Sovteks because it warms the tone up a bit. This is just my opinion. I have only heard that people have had minor problems. But I have owned it for a year everything works fine.

Fender is usually good about waranties and repairs. I have not had to deal with them yet though

First of all, I have read every one of the reviews for this amp. I am sick and tired of people whining that they are disappointed with the distortion in this amp. This amp has mean, gritty, angry distortion. I would even go so far as to say that if it existed when SRV was alive, he would have tossed the TS808. Make no mistake, you will not get that sloopy "Chunkity Chunk Chunk" distortion like you get from a Marshall or a Boogie. But this is a "players amp" it will not hide a lack of talent. It has alot of presence yet is warm at the same time. If you like Road House or Texas Blues, you wont find a better amp for the price. I don't really use any effects at all. I just plug-in and play. The drive does smooth out real nice at high volumes. But if you are not able to "crank" it, use a Dyna-Comp or something like it with the compression set low, and the level high. One thing that would be an improvement is a JBL or EV speaker. But then it would be more expensive.
I did compare this amp to the new line of Peavey Combo amps, Marshall Combos, Line 6 amp model combos, and Boogie Combos. Nothing cut throug like this.

3 footswitchable channels,clean,drive,more drive. effects loop, ex. speaker jack. 1 12" speaker, 40 watts, vintage chicken head knobs. open back cab. Tubes.

Iv been playing for 25 yrs and i think this amp sounds great. I play rock,blues and jazz. The clean channel sounds fat and tubelike , the amp has alot of clean channel headroom and is pretty loud.A presence knob adds a little eq variety. The reverb sounds very nice. the amp sounds almost as good as some of the vintage vibroluxes and supers. not quite as transparent and the reverb i dont think is tube driven and sounds slightly less lush. The dist. channel: forget it, both the drive and more drive channels sound lousy. Raspy, uneven, and preamp sounding. Not good, but just pick up your fav. stomp box for dist. and youll be alot better off.

Iv always had good luck w/ fender products

forget it , very hard to contact. they do give people a schematic w/ the amp for easier servicing

I think its a nice amp for smaller clubs ect. I would check out the one w/ 60 W and 2 12s for larger hall needs. I wish fender would make a tweed hot rod amp that was just simple. just 1 clean channel and lush reverb.

Full features here; but the much-boasted dual overdrive feature is over-rated The pre-amp out feature is WONDERFUL. I've used it to run an old Fender 75 (1 x15") to boost general sound and low end and have been very happy with the results

My "10" score applies to the amazing clean abilities of this amp. The two overdive voicings are decent for solos, but way too indistinguished and muddy for good, tight and distorted rhythm work. I fact, I never ever use the overdrive --preferring pedals instead. That having been said, this amp sounds GREAT for distorted leads and rhythm (single-coil & humbucker) if you use pedals (I use Daddy-0, old DeArmond, and Fulltone). My highest ranks for this amp go for the versatile tone and presence controls, and the great reverb. But, be aware that this amp is shockingly LOUD....so you may never know how the clean channel distorts if you're into home/apt recording. I've used the pre-amp out feature to run other amps (with tremolo and/or 15" speakers) and found that using this great amp as a pre-amp really improves the sound of the other amps----whose features I may desire (i.e. 15" speakers).

2 years of steady (home, not road) playing....no probs or complaints

No probs.....so no opinions

It's great!!! I have no intention of buying another amp. I do mostly home recording, but this thing'll fill any club you've ever visited. I've used the preamp-out

2 Channels. All Tube. Pre standard groove tubes. Deep, clean tube reverb-very nice. Effects loop. Master volume for the distortion channel. Presence control. It has a bright switch - nice feature. Footswitch and cover. I use this amp as a practice amp and it is overkill for this task. I could see using in small clubs, but you'd probably be better of with DeVille (2x12, 60 watt) model.

I use a Strat with 3 single coils. The clean is the best you can get - excellent Fender quality. Doesn't break up at all. The distortion channel is great. It has two modes normal and MORE DRIVE. It will get good and distorted in normal. And it will send you over the top in the MORE DRIVE mode. Very nice. If you like Fender (6L6) distortion, the Hot Rod model is a great choice. If you prefer the Marshall EL34 distortion, get a Marshall. The Fender distortion won't get as nasty as a Marshall.

No problems yet except the indicator Lamp burnt went out the first time I turned it on. Bought it used from original owner. It looks to be 2 years old.

I haven't had to call them. They have all the manuals online at their web site. They didn't have the lamp and sent me to their parts distributor. THe lamp was cheap but their shipping and handling prices were quite high.

I've been playing 20 years. Own a Mesa Mark IV with a 2-12 celestion cabinet. I would buy it again. I comapred to other amps of it's size (1x12) and nothing even came close. Including the Marshalls, Valvestates, etc. The Mesa's were more than I was willing to pay. If you like Fender clean and you like Fender distortion (ala Stevie Ray)- Buy it. You won't be disappointed.

Mine is post 98, with Groove Tubes. I have read that the old Sovtek's sound better. Would love to hear email on this topic. By now everyone knows the features. So far, I've found the drive channel subpar (anyone care to recommend a distortion pedal?) but i'm thinking it may be workable. Obviously the lack of seperate eq's for each channel limits tinkering with the drive channel's tone. The "more drive" feature was a great thought, but I wish it wasn't so noisy (but this shouldn't matter much if engaging it while the band is cranking). I'm a little concerned that my HR has less headroom than many other reviewers have described. Mine begins to break up around 4 on the clean channel. Any comments? I'm thinking about taking it into a store and comparing it to another one to see if mine is normal. For the cost, this unit has ample features, but there are definitely a wealth of amps on the market that offer more features. I didn't really consider features when buying this amp though, it was all about the...

The clean channel is amazing. The best I've heard of any amp, period. For 500 bucks I had to buy it. I'm waiting to see how it works with various distortion pedals (guess what I'm in the market for next). As I stated earlier, I'm a little concerned about how quickly I begin to get distortion on the clean channel, but this doesn't really sound terrible anyway and it may just be "my" amp and not all HRs. My guitar is equipped with a fender strat pickup and DiMarzio PAF's. This amp sounds beautiful with everything I put through it in the store, and also at home. I subtract one point because I think the distortion really could have been better....

I've been playing for around 12 years, various styles, but mainly attempting to develop my own style. If I lost this amp I might get another one, but I might upgrade to something bigger (although it would have to sound sweet). I've heard great things about some Carvin tube amps, and the Boogie Heartbreaker is a great amp too (great distortion) but it would depend more on my wallet and if I was gigging alot. I compared this amp to a Fender Deville, Twin, and ProSonic. It was the cheapest and in my opinion the best sounding by far (on clean channel, none had distortions I was really happy with). I give this amp an 8, but for the pricetag you might want to adjust my scale and give it a 10. I'm giving it the 8 in comparison to other amps regardless of the price.

Two and a half channel 40W all tube combo (Two channels plus a 12db boost on the drive channel). Normal 3-band eqalizing, clean volume, drive and master volume (drive) brightness and serial FX loop.
NO dry/wet poti on the (serial) FX-loop EQ works on both channels 2 inputs for active/passive guitars (different volume but no different sound characteristics)

This is THE BLUES AMP. Owning a Marshall JCM for some time now, I wanted something with a clean and warm crunchy sound. This is it. Once you accept the limited number of potis (Marshall gives you more buttons to play with..) you will be astonished by their effectiveness. The sound really changes, when you add one more point of mids or bass. I found my sound the first day I used it and never changed anything eversince. The clean channel is very powerfull and has enormous bass and mids. The treble and hights are sparkling all over it (brightness swich!), if you play a Startocaster (r have a Les Paul and want to sound like "under the bridge") you want to try this amp. I never put the drive channel to the limit. It's frozen at 3 and that's it. A brilliant and very lively clean sound, a warm and powerful blues drive and for the solo a booster. They don't come any better.
BUT: This amp doesn't adept to your sound. No Metal, no HI-Gain, no distorsion worth talking about. This is definately not an amp for the Eddy van Halen fanatic. There is a good overdrive available, but it is heavyly on the bass side, so it sounds very special and not very nice. Maybe if you use a disto stomp box, but then, hey, why not buy a Marshall Valvestate for half the price. The FX-loop has no bypass or wt/dry knob, so you have to put all the signal through some (cheap? digital?) FX device and if this device changes the sound (adds signal power, cuts hights, you name it) there is no way to work around. No parallel channel. This would be a cheap gimmick to add, so I don't know why Fender didn't put it in. Again, every Valvstate has it. And a Marshall JCM as well.

I played my last gig with it 3 days ago. It never let me down, but I always play two amps on stage, so I may not be too concerned about failure. Still no nay never a problem rates a

No repairs yet.

There are pros and there are a lot of cons to this amp. As a matter of fact I would rate it a 10 in every category, because I bought exactly what I wanted. An amp for powerpowerpowerful clean and warmwarmwarm silky smooth blues sounds. If this is what you are after, stop searching, you got it. If you are looking for an amp to play different styles of music (say, you are a playing in a TOP-40 outfit) you won't like it for it has only one (very "bassy") sound. I think noone will buy it as a first or second amp in his life, it takes years to come down to this.If you aren't shure yet, compare it to a Marshall JCM2000-401. It is the same idea with more distorsion and less clean power. My decision was made between those two (and I am happy as hell with the Fender)

Nsense in rehashing - see other posts here for the features listing. Two points subtracted for the lack of drive channel EQ. Big bonus is the light weight for such a powerfully loud amp. It's just right for my live band situation but may be a bit much for you bedroom pickers.

In a word - incredible! I use a custom Buscarino tele-style with DiMarzio pickups, an Ibanez strat-style with Bill Lawrence OBL HB and SC p/ups and a SD Hot Rails in the middle, and an Epiphone Les Paul. I have been able to get a pretty wide variety of tones (short of Death Metal shred) by the selective use of a few Danelectro and Boss pedals between the gtrs and the amp, and I only use the fx loop for delay and chorus (cool cat, DD5). I sometimes run my POD through it and it sounds pretty good that way too. The clean channel is the main attraction and I use it almost exclusively, but the drive channel gives a homegenous yet ballsy ZZ Top tone (even with the non-les paul guitars!). I have yet to find a good use for the more drive feature (too loud and too gritty for my taste). For Texas blues (a la SRV) and most Classic Rock sounds, this amp is fine. Even country-ish sounds can be gotten fairly easily, but if you want that big VH brown sound or any of the Vai/Satriani/Hair-band tones you'll be disappointed due mainly to the single 12" - I think a 4x12 is required for that. The Clean channel dirties up when I crank it over 6 - I wish it had a little more headroom - but I have no problem being heard and I play in a LOUD band. Even the other guitarist (with his 100W Marshall) hears me fine on his side of the stage. And he wants one of these amps BAD! Some people have complained of it's bassiness, and I think it is a little boomy on the low end, but I just hoist it up on a chair and it solves that problem right away.

2+ years gigging every weekend and NO problems. I take reasonable care of it, and it has never even hiccupped on me. I never take backups along. Typical Fender roadworthiness. It has the original tubes (NOT Groove Tubes - the earlier models used Sovteks I think), and it still sounds wonderful. Hope I didn't just jinx myself...

Never had to deal with them, but I too have heard the horror stories. Bottom line - deal with a reputable DEALER who will support you with loaners etc. and DON'T depend on the manufacturer. Do you send your broken down car back to GM or Ford?

Been playing pro since '77, owned LOTS of amps (and guitars, keys, PA's etc.). Worked at Thoroughbred Music and a few other retailers for the past 10 years so I know a few things about gear - this is the BEST modern-era (post '65) sub-$1,000 amp I have ever owned. If it was lost or stolen I would buy another one immediately. And I would kill those responsible for losing/stealing it. Like everyone else, I wish it had a tube reverb and eq for the drive channel, and I would ditch the more drive in favor of tremolo. It's not for everyone, but then what amp is?

40W, tri-mode, all-tube 1-12 combo amp w/ reverb and effects loop

Strat, Tele and Paul style custom built instruments. It sounds great with any decent guitar, and is loud enough to use in most reasonable situations. Not the most versatile beast around, but good straightforward classic sounds.

Yes, I would use it without a backup amp, but only after reinforcing the bodies of the input jacks to the circuit board with silicone or hot-glue; the solder joints on these style jacks are notoriously unreliable, and they need strain-relief. Very easy design to service, and I have worked on most of them.

I do my own repairs and modifications.

My overall rating is very favorable, but my main purpose for submitting this review is to address a few common misconceptions that I see in some other reviews: "This amp is REALLY LOUD, even at 1 or 2!" I presume these individuals are referring to the lead volume. This amp use a LINEAR taper pot for the lead master, and an AUDIO taper pot for the clean master. Both are 100k ohms. All vintage amps that I know of use an audio taper pot. A linear taper pot set at "1" will produce a volume equivalent to an audio taper pot set at "5", or half-rotation. When both are set at 10, they are identical. Fender did this purely as a showroom gimmic to get you to THINK the amp's lead channel is ridiculously loud, and it seems to have worked. The first thing I did with mine was to replace the lead master control with an audio taper pot so that I could play at practice-amp levels easily. It still gets just as loud when I turn it up, but now I can actually turn it DOWN. "This amp has lots of bass; I think it may be based on the old Bassman circuit." Yes, this amp has lots of bass, but for two different reasons. Primarily, the speaker and cabinet combination is remarkably bass-heavy. If you unplug the speaker and attach the amplifier to different speaker cabinets, you will immediately see what I mean. The other reason is that the wiring of the midrange control is unusual and prevents the bass control from being able to bleed off very much bass. This allows the tone stack to pass more overall bass than any vintage Fender circuit, including the Bassman. Personally, I wanted to be able to dial out more bass, particularly in live settings. I've since made the very simple modification necessary to tame this, and I will be glad to share the details with any interested parties. I have one other simple modification which allows me to control the high end of the lead mode POST-DISTORTION. This DRAMATICALLY improves the smoothness of the lead modes, creating instant Carlos-tone. With these mods, this amp's versatility is vastly improved.

This amp gets a 9 simply for a lack of seperate EQ for the drive channel(s). Everything else is there as far as your workhorse amp is concerned. Normal/Bright for the clean channel, Drive/More Drive for the dirty channel. Plenty of reverb, Plenty of volume, great tone.
Yeah, tube reverb, built in-tremolo, footswitchable reverb would be nice. But I've only got $500

I've got a strat and I wanted overdrive for blues leads and a clean channel for funk/blues/church music. This amp gives it to you and then some. Pretty much an ideal blues amp for $500.
I took at look at the one-channel Fender amps (Vibrolux, Twin Reverb, Deluxe Reverb) and they all sounded too bright to me. This amp is a lot bassier (I think it's based off the old Bassman's), offers a lot of warmth and moves a lot of air. It's got plenty of hi's, but I find I have to back off on the bass because the overdrive adds bass because it's an all tube amp.
The 2 drive voicings (they're not channels) fit a bluesman well. Drive is good for inbetween, SRV-ish (Note to self: I'm not Mr. Vaughan, I won't sound like him) sounds, while the More Drive will settle your Hendrix/Page needs. I don't think this amp will do metal.
Switching Drive/More drive adds volume, which is another strike agains this amp. I recommend a Marshall Valvestate to anyone who wants their clean/dirty channels to have identical volumes and EQ all at a quiet level in their bedroom. This amp is VERY loud, I have yet to take it above 2 for fear of blowing up my apartment building. (So I don't know where the clean channel breaks up) Can't wait to play this with a drummer and bass.

Built like a tank, which is good because I have yet to hear anything good about Fender's customer support. I'd gig without a backup, but then again I work a day job and don't place my fate in the hands of my equipment.

Heard horror stories.

If you want an all-tube, multiple channel amp for $500 that gives you great blues tone, this sucker's yours. Its sound makes me want to keep playing, which ultimately is what you want out of an amp. I just wish I woudn't be fiddling with the EQ so much. . . .

Brand new 1999 model - you know the features. Okay gang - I bought this amp because I liked both channels and I needed a 1x12 for recording. You won't hear me gripe about the OD or compare it to other brands. I play originals and covers in the rock and alternative world, and I have spent several years in pursuit of a slightly distorted yet authoritative tone a la Petty, Dada and Matchbox 20. I record at low to medium volume, but the HRD has gone head to head with a 100W half stack in a band rehearsal and was heard loud and clear by all (and complemented the sound of the brit stack nicely). The only lacking features are dedicated tone controls for the drive channel and a 3 button footswitch for clean/drive/more drive/reverb.

I play an Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette with H-S-H pickups, and the HRD gives me the clean, semi-OD and OD sounds I was searching for. For a scooped, high gain sound I use a Tech 21 XXL pedal that tonally fits hand in glove with the amp. This amp replaces an all-tube '94 Concert 1x12 and before that, a '90 Princeton Chorus. The Princeton Chorus was all I could afford at the time. The Concert never quite worked for me - too loud, microphonic reverb and tubes, gritty overdrive and rattles in the chassis. I read about the HRD here and in the forum at Fender's website (went there to share my Concert woes). I sold the Concert for $450 and plunked down $50 more to buy this amp, and I am very pleased. It's super quiet for a tube combo and has a "live" quality when you open it up past 3 that is just remarkable. It fills the room. The clean channel will distort if you want that sound, but at pretty high volume. The drive channel suites me best with the drive set around 4-5 and the volume at 5. I control the rest from the guitar. With the single coil or the combination pickup settings I get a really sweet, pleasing level of "simmer." Switch to the bridge humbucker and open the volume, and the thing just hits you like a sledgehammer - thick and meaty.

I haven't had it that long, so I can't comment. It's built really solid, and the Groove Tubes are a major improvement over the Fender-label tubes in the Concert. I take good care of my gear, so I'd gig with it without a backup, no problem.

It comes with a 5 year transferable warranty and there are 2 good service centers here. I haven't dealt directly with the company, but I highly recommend a visit to Fender.com's Forums section. There is a thread specifically for current Fender tube amps, and many questions and/or concerns are covered there - most are answered by Fender techs as well, including the team that designed this amp.

I've been playing for 13 years now. I own bass and recording gear as well. If this amp were stolen, I'd get another for sure. It's well made, sounds great and looks great, and you can't beat the price.

Check other reviews for this, my main concern in submitting this review is to warn Fender amp users of the terrible customer service.

Great sound, I love this amps clean tone.

My experience with my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe has been absolutely aweful. In my ten years of playing experience I have never had so much trouble with a product. Let me say first of all, i do not mistreat my equipment. I used it for live performance two to three times a week over a 1 year period and also for studio stuff, and I always treated it like it would break if I breathed on it wrong. A little over 3 months ago, the amp would act up, sporatically swithcing channels, reverb cuts in and out, so 2 months ago I took it to the place I bought it and they sent it to a "Fender Authorized" repair place to have it fixed. It has been 2 months and I have spent way too much time on the phone with Fenders "Customer Service" department. Basically, the repair facility is telling me they are waiting on parts to make the repair, and Fender is telling me they have sent the parts. Its a endless hell this Fender Customer Service thing. My experience with them has been absolutely terrible, and I would not recommend buying fender products unless you can put up with a ton of complete bullshit without going on a killing spree (which i have done). My recomendation if your fender amp breaks is to take it to a proffessional facility to have it repaired, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use your warranty unless you can do without your amp for a few months.

Absolutely pitiful, I would not treat a fishing lure like I have been treated by Fender "Customer Support". Read the "Reliablitly" portion of this review for further details.

Wish there was someone on this planet that could figure out Fender's customer support policies and explain them to me.

Brand spankin' new '99 Deluxe out of the box. Top panel you've got two input jacks (a friend of mine and I have found that this works very well both to mic a band at a gig and also have two guitars plugged in, just so long as they're at the same volume level), volume knob, gain knob, EQ, master volume (gain channel), presence and reverb, along with jacks for an F/X loop and the footswitch. All in good working order.

I've listened to a lot of people complain about the distortion settings on this. This is really stupid because if you expect to get your perfect distortion from the amp itself you're going to be in for a shitload of dissapointment (a lesson I learned the hard way). I chose this amp because it was the one and only amp I could find that would give me a good clean channel for my guitar. Marshalls, Mesa Boogies, Crates, and even other Fenders all sounded muddy and there was no definition to open major chords. This thing was bright, clean and clear. The overdrive channel can be good for blues or soloing, but other than that is pretty useless. The "More Gain" channel will give you more sustain but little else. You really have to monkey around with it to get the distorted tone you want. I run a Charvel Soloist (the best guitar for the money I've ever found) into a Dan-O Fab Tone (fuzz out the bloody window) and a couple others into this amp. I was initially worried that I couldn't get the Marshall crunch with my pedal through this thing. Damn was I ever wrong! If I sit the Dan-O in the F/X loop, engage the overdrive channel (gain at 3 1/2, volume at 3), and open the volume on the guitar up all the way I can get a crunch that kicks a Marshall's ass! I didn't think it was possible to get that great a fuzz out of a Fender. It gets a 9 because I'm still having problems finding a good setting for punk distortion. The volume this thing will do is just killer.

I haven't had it long, but it's taken quite a bit of punishment already. The jury's still out on this one.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

I looked long and hard for an amp that would compliment my rig. I had just about given up when I found this thing and just bought it on the spot. I use it for classic rock, a little blues, metal, grunge, punk, and softer stuff and it works for everything. I am damn glad I found it :)

See other reviews for features. Separate EQ for overdrive would be nice. Better-quality reverb would be nice. Footswitchable would be nice, too. On-board tremolo would be really, really nice.

I reviewed this amp more than a year ago. I play in a surf-rock band, and this amp still suits this style perfectly.
I have since bought and sold a Hot Rod Deville, 4 x 10 model. That's a great amp, too. But I must now say that this amp is nearly perfect for me. I have also considered the 65 Deluxe Reverb re-issue (22 watts) because if it's better reverb and tremolo. This is still very appealing, plus it weighs less! But that's a bright amp, which is fine. My Hot Rod Deluxe is still very cool, though. Still not fond of the overdrive channel, but when I stick my Boss Turbo Overdrive or Marshall Drivemaster (both highly recommended) pedals in front of it, and use my Les Paul, it does an acceptable Marshall drive just fine.
For live situations, I hook up a 1 x 12 Fender cabinet to the external speaker jack, and this gives me great added volume and versatility. It's fun to stretch the extension cab across my basement and hear Fender tone in stereo. Wow.
Currently use G & L ASAT (with the two P-90 looking pickups) with tremolo bar! Also use Danelectro, Les Paul, Epiphone Les Paul Special (double cutaway), Strat. All guitars sound great.
I still struggle with the drive channels. "Drive" is muddy, bluesy, I guess, not very crisp. More drive, I find, adds a little too much volume and a little too much gain. It's a crisper, more focused, gain, though. For a while now I have been using a Tube Screamer. All the hype about this pedal is true, by the way. No wonder everyone uses it. It's a perfectly balanced overdrive across the dynamic range, and a good match for this amp. Sounds good with all guitars. I would dearly love it if this amp sounded like a Tubescreamer on the drive channels. Add footswitchable reverb and tremolo, and it's the perfect amp.
Clean channel is darker than Deluxe Reverb, and yet still sparkly clean.

Haven't had problem one in a year and a half of daily solo practicing, bi-weekly band practicing and monthly playing live.

If Fender ever comes out with a tube amp that has more focused overdrive (lose the 2nd overdrive channel, please) and includes footswitchable tremolo and reverb (basically a 65 Deluxe with overdrive), I will be there. Otherwise, this amp will be my mainstay forever. Lower wattage amps rule, too...don't have to push so hard to get the tubes moving....

3 channels (clean, drive and more drive), 40 tube watts, 1 12 inch speaker, effects loop and reverb. it uses the same eq for all channels which is kind of annoying but it has the standard features you need..

The distortion is weak overall, even on the more drive channel but that's where the pedals come in. I use a DOD Death Metal distortion through the clean channel and it sounds great. The clean channel is a really great warm tube sound, probably because of the factory equipped groove tubes.

I've had it for almost a year without a problem.

never dealt with 'em.

This is the best tube amp that can crank loud enough to play a club and costs under $500. The tone is great but you'll need a distortion pedal if you play metal. If this were stolen I would severely beat whoever took it.

Forty watts. Two channels. Effects loop (who uses those things?). All-tube (except for the rectifier). Reverb. Versatile. I play Latin Jazz/ oldies/ r&b, and it seems pretty well-rounded.

I use a Les Paul Studio with EMG 89's and a Mexican Fender Telecaster. Like I said above, I play usually mellow stuff. This amp has plenty of clean headroom, at least for my situation. I play mostly small clubs and the amp is TOTALLY quiet. I also use the drive channel, but just to get that pick-attack growl. The quietest amp I have owned that doesn't hum even when the reverb is on all the way. Reverb is not very usable past 3 (but gets a pretty decent surf sound fully cranked.) Very reponsive to picking(on the drive channelthe harder you pick, the dirtier the sound). Very accepting of pedals. I solo with a cheesy boss heavy metal pedal and it just soaks up whatever is in front of it(ie. sounds like a cheesy distortion pedal). Good, bright, Fender tone. Don't expect this to hit Blackface Reverb Deluxe country (the greatest tone I have ever experienced), but then again your spending considerably less than the $1100 '66 I borrow from a friend for recording ; )

I have giged this amp heavily for 8 months and mistreat it pretty regularly. It has not left me in a lark yet!! I am utterly impressed that this cheap amp sounds so good and takes soooo much abuse. But I don't depend on anything. I gig with a back-up cheesy Princton Chorus. It's the price of having a tube amp. Mine blew the indicator lamp and it started to flicker at odd intervals, but it still played. Still, I don't think these are the Fenders of yore. I would have the wiggeley input jacks replaced ASAP.

Service depends on the Fender tech your closest to. Fender never responds to you at all, you might as well ask for info from a brick wall. IMPORTANT NOTE . . . I am an amp snob so just to let you know. Some techs won't work on this amp because of the circuit board and the fact that many parts, including the tube sockets are GLUED in!! But hey, like I said, you get your moneys worth.

I have been playing for fifteen years and play in two different bands. I also own an amazing Seymor Duncan 84/40 that never leaves the house because it weighs too damn much! If this amp were stolen, I might consider the Hot Rod Deville 4X10, because it's about the same size and costs just $200 more. Definately something from the Hot Rod family. I love the versatility (use pedals you mosh crazy kids!). Like I said above, for under $500 hundred bucks, you get what you pay for. This was the best sounding amp that I could find on my budget. I also tried some a Crate Classic Valve amp and the Trace-Elliot Vellocette. The Vellocette only had one channel and not enough headroom, and the Crate had a better dirty sound, but the clean was way too squeky clean. The clean sound one the Deluxe was just superb: transparent, dark, and responsive--all depending on the equipment you use. Does this make sense? I wish Fender would use better parts in their amps, have some pride in your USA shit.

Mine's a '99, hot off the assembly line. Standard cabinet, single 'Special Gold Re-issue" 12" speaker, forty watts of power. Three 12AX7A's, two 6L6's. Three channels (clean, drive and more drive), separate master volume control for clean and driven channels (NICE touch!), drive, three-band EQ that's subtler than others, presence knob (essentially a mid-high harmonic boost, I think), classic Fender reverb. Preamp/postamp loop, included footswitch (two stomp buttons, clean/drive and drive/more drive). Nylon cover, bumpersticker. Nice chickenhead knobs and a 'red jewel' style power lamp.
Class and functionality all the way. I would have liked a tremolo just 'cause, but I don't really feel it needs one.
As for output, it's a wallshaker. Those forty watts hit hard. I keep mine perpetually a whisker's-breadth above 0 for living-room playing. Cranked it once, felt the air moving. Never pushed it up to twelve (Nigel, eat your heart out!).

Oh, how sweet it is.
I bought this amp because I was sick and tired of the limitations of solid state amps -- I wanted that ultrasensitivity to my picking, that subtle drive capability, and to watch the back of my amp glow. Haven't seen the last one yet, but I have the first two in abundance.
The clean channel is pristine, rounded and crystalline and tinted just a touch dark like a Fender should be. The bass is formidable but not overbearing, the mids smooth and full, the highs chiming and pleasant. Fender's sound is like your grandmother's slightly leaded glassware -- surreally clear but heavier and darker nonetheless, and the Hot Rod Deluxe captures it beautifully.
The Drive channel is equally beautiful, and scales very nicely from subtle to snarly. I typically keep my drive at about 4 for a very picking-responsive range of just-starting-to-overdrive to clean growling bite. Again, don't expect Soldano sound here -- this is a Fender amp, and its overdrive is expressive, not overpowering. However, *for* a Fender, it's pretty powerful stuff. Its a bit noisy, though, but I may be picking up interference from my nearby computer rig.
The More Drive boost (it's really just a boost, not truly another channel, to my knowledge) is designed for those moments when you miss your Marshall -- the highs get sharper and cut with a vengeance, the basses stay about the same, and the overdrive sizzles hotter. I can push hard rock tones this way, though not really the massive scoop sound of metal. It also kicks up the noise even more. It's not as nice as a true Marshall, but considering that you're getting a true Fender that can fake it when need be, it's a pretty sweet package.
I've tried a range of guitars through it, from a Strat with a blue lace sensor in the bridge to my '67 SG Standard and my modern LP Standard, to a Rickenbacker 330/12 and an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe. I can't seem to find a guitar this amp doesn't like. Humbuckers sound full but not overbearingly thick (I consider this good, others might not), single-coils sound a little fuller but still plucky and bright, lace sensors take on a new spatial depth.
One problem I've noticed -- switching channels via footpedal pops noisily. Maybe it's just mine, I'm not sure. But it's annoying.
I'd actually give it a ten, if it were just a little quieter.

I haven't had my own for very long, but I've played Hot Rod Deluxes before, and haven't known them to go out unless neglected or abused. C'mon, it's a Fender, for crying out loud. *laugh*

Never dealt with 'em. Hear they're terrible, hear they're great. I just buy a shop warranty on my gear and don't worry about it.

My goal was to buy a nice-sounding all-around workhorse amp that would be bright and snarly when I needed it to be (I like a chiming, rich overdrive that shimmers), but also let me fall back to a watery deep "lead-glass" sound for darker clean-channel work. Additionally, it had to scale down for household playing. I thought this would probably be impossible, but set my price range to $600-1200 and started looking.
The Marshall Valvestates just weren't where I wanted to go -- they had a bit of nice tube warmth, but my ear could tell the difference, and my style relies heavily enough on pick sensitivity that I really needed an all-tube path. The Line6 amps were impressive for their modelling systems, but still lacked the sensitivity I needed. The Fender solid-states were nice, but again, just didn't sound natural enough for me.
The choice came down to one between an AX2 and the Hot Rod Deluxe. I felt that the versatility of the AX2 was very desirable, but felt it couldn't produce anything that sounded as good as the old-fashioned Fender tube drive. So -- well, I cheated, and bought the Hot Rod Deluxe and a POD. ;)
If you want classic tube sound and are leaning toward the rock end of the spectrum, this amp's for you. It does steamy delta blues nicely too, but rock is where it shines.

Bought it new in 4/99.It has 2 channels plus more drive.I love the clean channel and reverb. It could use a master volume but Fenders don't usually have them. It could use a mix control for fx loop. It's real loud maybe too much but Fenders get loud at low settings so i am used to it. I use it for practice and band use.

I just got a fender deluxe strat with stacked humbuckers. I use the clean channel with reverb on 3. Any higher get's surf sounding.I am not wild about fender distortion and this is amp is a little better than what i am used to.I like the drive channel for blues but i use a Boogie V twin to get the real nice distortion.I found it quiet especially compared to the evil twin I had. That amp was so noisy when I had the reverb on and besides the amp rattled when past 2. It drove me nuts. The disortion was horrible on the twin so I traded it in for the deluxe and i am happy I did.The clean on the Hot Rod stays clean at high volumes. I don't play higher than when it breaks up so i am content.I give it an 8 since I am not in love with the drive channel.

This amp seems solid but then again it's a new amp. I have owned Fenders for years but never had any problems with them I found that all my other Fenders were real noisy when using the reverb,although, this amp seems rather quiet.I use 2 amps in stereo so I always have a back up but I don't bring 2 for safety reasons just stereo reasons.

I have called Fender many times asking product questions. I had to wait to get through but i always speak to someone and they're always friendly.I have heard horror stories about Fender but I have never experienced any problems.

I have been playing for 18 years and I own the Deluxe Strat I mentioned before, a G&L S500, An a Les Paul Standard.They all sound great through the amp. Even the Les Paul sounds good.I have a Carvin MTS 3212, and a Marhall rack rig as well.I'd buy it again if it was stolen. I love the clean channel and reverb. I like it cuz it's portable and relatively light. I like that there are "3" channels kinda sorta,but again I don't rely on the drive channel since I am using my V Twin pedal.I have compared this to other Fenders like my twin, 65 twin, Deluxe reverb.I owned Boogies, Marshalls,Ampeg, but I like this amp better than all of them . I thought this amp was better than the other Fenders mentioned . It sounds more like a Bassman than a Twin.I do favor my Carvin MTS 3212 though. The Carvin has an awesome clean plus has the best drive channel I have heard.But I have to have that Fender "tube and reverb" sound and I think this one is it. I don't believe you have to spend over a grand for a "vintage Fender" or any other to sound good. You can spend $500 for this amp and still be happy.Sorry Boogie lovers but i spent $1000s on Boogie amps and I sold all my stuff cuz that sound is not all it's cracked up to be. I also like the layout of the amp. It's easy to work since your looking face down at the controls so there easy to tweak.I wish it had an awesome drive channel and tremolo.But I buy Fenders for nothing else but for the clean sound so I am never disappointed. That's why I am giving this a 9.

im a 15 year old blues / rock influenced guitarist. ive been playing for a little over a year, and i just got this amp about 2 months ago. i love it!!!! the groovetubes on this thing just make it sound so sweeeeet! the distortion isnt brutal, of course i dont play heavymetal or anything, so i have no problem with it. plus i use a boss distortion pedal when i want to play those modern rock tunes.i plan to have this for many years to come.

ive had it for a month, no problems at all. still sounds perfect and ive never had to deal with fender.

overall, this is a great amp. if it was stolen, i obviously couldnt afford another one, but i would definately try!!!

I bought it last year here in Finland from a local music store. This amp has 3 channels, clean, drive and more drive. The price included also a cover and a footswitch and a cable for the footswitch. On the top the chickenhead-knobs are volume(only for clean channel), Drive, Treble, Bass, Middle, master volume(for drive and more drive channels),Reverb and Presence. Then there are some buttons; Bright/Normal (for the clean channel only), Drive/Clean button and a Drive/More Drive button, but I use the footswitch instead. The Bright button I don't use very often, since it don't sound very well with my Danelectro Fab Tone distortion pedal.

I'm using a cheap Mexico Strat -> Boss TU-2 tuner -> Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus (a great effect) -> Danelectro Fab Tone (not very good) -> George Dennis Tremolo-Volume pedal ->Hot Rod Deluxe Amp. The drive channel is good, but it's overdrive with a lot of middle its not good for heavy metal but for regular rock music it's great. The More Drive gives an extra edge to the sound and it sounds REALLY GREAT in solos. For a softer sound I turn the tone knob to about 3-5 on my strat and use the neck pickup and turn the drive to about 10. This sound is GREAT!!! But for a more "nasty" sound try the bridge pickup and use the same settings. The only thing I can complain on is that the More Drive Channel is rather noisy. The amp is suited for everything exept Heavy metal or "worse". I you want a heavier sound: use a distpedal.

Really I don't have any backup, so I have to trust on it... I've owned this amp about a year and nothing has happened. Actually, I don't think anything serious will happen.

Never dealt with them...

If it was stolen i would buy it again. I will never sell this, I think.
The original price was 5900FIM, but I got it for 4800FIM since I know the retailer quite well (80% of the original price). 5 FIM is about 1 US Dollar.

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This is just an addendum to a previously posted review, an update of sorts. After much fiddling around, I've figured out how to get some great distortion from the HR. You have to (literally) crank the "Drive" to the max, and be careful not to turn the volume up past about 3, or it starts to howl. Adjust with the guitar's volume control, and fiddle with tone controls as your taste demands, and rock out. This revelation came after playing with a series of distortion pedals, and finding that they all homogenized the sound of different guitars. The HR can give every bit of the distorted sound available from something like a Boss DS-1, or The Rat. I'm having a great time, especially with a humbucker guitar.

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This is a one-year evaluation of what I'd call a workhorse amp.
I'd suggest that Fender drop the Presence knob and the Fx loop as they seem unnecessary. I'd trade them for an AC outlet on the back of the amp so that - if I wanted to - I could plug in the power source for my wah, chorus and delay. Mention of the AC plug might date me: I'm 50 and have been playing since the 60's.
I also don't use the More Drive. There's plenty of texture and sustain within the Clean and Drive sections and the More Drive's sound seems blowsy.
I write tunes inspired by R & B riffs and by Mssrs. Vaughn and Hendrix and Pink Floyd.
The 45 pound box seemed a hassle last year. Too much shoulder strain. In the meantime I've come to appreciate the total package and somehow the weight and cabinet size have become manageable. It stands up neatly in the trunk of my Accord and leaves enough space in front of it for guitar cases. The nylon cover is effective.
I rehearse / jam once a week at high volume for 90 minutes with a gang of young players. We play concert-style shows in gyms or auditoriums every couple of months. The drummer is loud, the lead guitarist plays a Strat w humbuckers through a dual-amp Valvestate VS265R (rich chorus sound!) and the rhythm plays an SRV Strat through a Fender Ultimate Chorus. Both are loud-as-hell amps with twin twelves (the surprise to me is that the Ultimate Chorus sounds so full and ballsy for a fraction of the cost of the VS265R). The bassist can barely be heard through his 60 watt Peavey. Happily, the HR Deluxe is loud enough to hang with it all.

My butterscotch sunburst Peavey Odyssey is essentially a Les Paul. It has "distortion class" alnico humbuckers. The HR is a quiet amp, even with the gain racked. Not that it won't feed back and squeal if you're careless.
Countless times I've seen players say that the clean sound on this amp is marvelous. Yes, it is, but I don't find much clear headroom. These young cats play loud, so basically I turn everything up (I watch it with the bass control; have heard some unexpected speaker blatting when I turned the bass up too high). I've got just enough clean to get by.
The distortion pleases me and it sings and sustains forever. It can be controlled from the guitar's volume pots. Also, the Drive footswitch works really well for me. Solo time? Step on it and I get the additional creamy sustain and volume that give me comfort and confidence.
I like it that I have a darker, somewhat softer sound than the other amps. For a person whose consciousness was formed by the sound of tube amps, nothing else will do. Regrettably, I can't always control it well. There are some evenings when it's in the pocket, others when it's too distorted or loud or maybe even honky.
But the sound is rich enough so that I play without fx boxes most of the time. There's enough clean and abundant driven sound so I can save time and simply plug in and let the amp and my fingers define the textures. For a while I sporadically experienced a sustained, high-pitched howl at high volumes. It sounded like maybe the reverb was maxed and feeding back. Or was it a microphonic tube? Took it in to my dealership who couldn't find what I described and said "Show us what you're talking about." Well, I couldn't reproduce practice conditions in a damned store. Nonetheless I've somehow adjusted and haven't experienced the howl in a long time.

No serious problems in its first year. I do treat it properly.

See above. I bought locally rather than through a catalog so that I'd have backup in case of tube-related problems. Were they straight with me on the high-volume howl problem? Dunno. All's well that ends well.

The benchmark amp in my life was a 1960's Super Reverb. It was a brick house (it would even support a bass) and played clean way past any other amp around. For me it remains the Ark of the Covenant. Will I be able to afford to return to one some day? We shall see.
Immediately prior to the HR Deluxe I played through a Princeton Chorus for a couple of years. I liked its clarity and body at reasonable volumes. It wouldn't sing, though. I am planning to add a Pro Junior. Its combination of size, weight and scream are righteous.
The HR Deluxe I bought partly because of reviews from you, the H-C respondents. As someone pointed out, it sounds a-mazing in the store. Will you love it when your group cranks it up is the real question.
Am happy to say that I like it now better than I did a year ago. For its price - and size - I think it is definitely cool.

The features have been commented on extensively already, so I'll spare you all that bother. The rather rudimentary effects loop is better off bypassed, by running straight into the amp. The "more drive" channel is, to my ears, useless. "Drive" is more than sufficient for any normal human usage, in my estimation. I use it in my home, and never intend (as of this time, at any rate) to use it anywhere else. I just wanted a great sounding amplifier, that worked well for all types of music, since I play everything from jazz, to blues, to rock, to noisy arty psychedelia.

I'm using it with a Les Paul Studio, a Fender Mexi-Strat, and an Epiphone Riviera w/Bigsby. I don't particularly like what little distortion can be gleaned from the amp, but with a distortion pedal, the crunchy sounds are almost perfect. So far, so good in terms of pesky tube microphonics, and the like. Best of all, with a good ground, the Hod Rod is quiet as a church mouse, clean, and smooth as glass. It sounds best with the Les Paul and the Strat, dependent on whether I'm in a bluesy mode (clean channel, high gain) or crunchy mode (DOD distortion pedal, high volume). I didn't expect it to be as versatile as it is, either. It makes differences between guitars readily apparent. We forget how much guitar amps homogenize guitar sounds, so that on their clean channels, Les Pauls sound like Strats sound like SGs.

So far, so good. It's built like a tank, even given my demandingly high build standards, spawned by a love of high end home audio gear. The warranty also inspires confidence, and this is, and will be the only amp I will ever use. I haven't really had it long enough yet for problems to develop, even though they say that if something lasts for the first 90 days, it will probably last forever.

I've never had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing for almost a year, and as I said earlier, I run a Les Paul Studio, Epi Riviera and a Mexi-Strat into a DOD Distortion pedal, or a Bad Horsie wah as the mood strikes me. There is absolutely no question I would buy this amplifier again tomorrow. I don't like it's lack of naturally achievable distortion, but I don't play punk boy, or AC/DC often, so this isn't a biggie. I got out of a Valvestate VS65 for this amp, and there's no comparison, even though the prices are similar. The Valvestate was almost unlistenable at high volume, despite a number of things I tried to ameliorate the filthy high frequencies. Interestingly, it has all of the bass output that I was constantly attempting to dial into the Marshall. Plus, I love the chicken-head knobs.

Features seem to be fully discussed in other entries. For anything else, see Fender's website or pick up a Frontline magazine at a Fender dealer.

I played a Fender stratocaster squier series (made in Mexico, evolved into the "traditional" series, now discontinued, I think), a Danelectro '56 U-2, and a Ric 360. Sounded wonderful with the Strat once you dialed in the right eq, which I found to be the one in the owner's manual for "Skank 'n' Crank". You use the guitar volume pot to go from clean rhythm to grittier lead. Sounds great, but LOUD and I mean LOUD!! A review in "Guitar" magazine (don't remember the month, had Peter Buck on the cover) talked about how incredibly loud these amps are, and they were sure right about that. I generally had to keep the volume at about 1 or between 1 and 2, and this is when playing with my band.
Sounded good with the Dano, but I could never get a good sound with the Ric. Ric's may just need a Vox to sound good, I don't know. I didn't use the drive channel very much, but it when I did, it was a little hard to coordinate between the gain and the master volume knobs to get something that sounded good without being too loud. As for the "more drive", boy, you really had to be careful or you'd get a deafening squeal. I'll give it a 9, based on the clean sound with a strat, minus 1 point for being too loud.

Very well constructed, very sold. Only had it 6 months, but I expected it to be reliable. No problems while I had it, at any rate.

Five year warranty, two years on speaker. Never dealt with the company.

I ended up selling it for a good price to someone who needed an amp loud enough to be heard above a large band playing jazz. Well, I'm sure he got his money's worth with this thing! I liked the (clean) tone of the amp very much (with strat), but decided to sell and look for something else because (1) amp was too loud except with volume at 1, and I think a tube amp needs to be wound up in order to really cook, and (2) at 45 pounds, too heavy (and with wide body, too cumbersome) to carry up and down the stairs at the drummer's house.

This is an update to my submission below. What I thought was a microphonic tube may not be so. It appears that, with the drive control at full throttle, the amp howls, sounding similar to a microphonic tube. Has anyone else noticed this? Is this a genuine defect, or simply inherent, in the same way that you usually can't turn a fender reverb on full?
This may change things. I've found that using a Tube Screamer or Blues Driver in front really gets this thing going, but if I have to lower the drive level, then I may have to use more of the stompbox, thereby pushing the clean channel into unecessary distortion, unless I turn on the stompbox every time i switch to the drive channel, which could get tricky. Can someone help?

The features of this product have been described in previous reviews (see below).
I play mostly in a rootsy vein, so this amp is a perfect match.
Although I, like the others here, would like to see more features on this amp, the inclusion of those features would probably have priced it out of my immediate reach, and I would have been forced to settle for an amp of lower sonic quality. The only feature I really miss is an effects loop in/out switch on the foot pedal. As well, I miss those wonderful old Fender tilt-back legs, and will have to install them myself. More importantly, I would prefer the taper of the volume pots to be more gradual - it is quite difficult to dial in a low volume setting.
I really don't mind the eq sharing between the two channels. For one thing, the amp sounds so good that you really don't have to do a lot of tweaking. At first, I found the mid-range fatness of the in between "drive" channel a disappointment, but now see it as quite useful. The volume jump when you switch from "drive" to "more drive" also works in sync with my playing style as well.
At 40 watts, this amp is almost too powerful for the smaller clubs and low-volume rehearsals that are my environment, but that extra headroom could come in handy, for example at an outdoor show, a "dead" stage, or (sure, kid!) an arena gig.

I use a Strat Plus and a Tele Deluxe, both with Gold Lace Sensors, and a Zoom 508 Delay (highly recommended!). I sold my Tech 21 (SansAmp) Trademark 60 (also highly recommended) to buy this amp, after trying out a Flextone Line 6 (see my review under that listing) and the Rivera 30/12. The Rivera has Fender beat for saturation, among other things, but is almost twice the price.
I bought the Hot Rod Deluxe mainly for that classic Fender clean sound, but now find that I am equally impressed with the overdrive stages. The reason? Sweet, singing sustain, with very little buzzy, fuzzy distortion - I had always wondered how to go about getting that sound. Plus, the transparent quality of the overdrive exposes playing mistakes that used to be masked by distortion, forcing me to work harder.
I would, however, like to somehow squeeze a little more "juice" out of this amp. I would like to "push" the amp a little, maybe with a pre-input stompbox. A friend of mine suggested an MXR Dynacomp (Dunlop reissue), and that may be the answer. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I don't want to change the sound I'm getting, just "kick it up a notch" (apologies to "Emeril" fans).
Of course, the clean sound is unmistakable. As many will testify, no one can touch Fender in that area.
I don't have a problem with the reverb, provided I set it at "2" or less. Then again, the higher reverb settings can be quite exquisitely trashy, especially if someone requests "Pipeline".
On the other hand, some of these reviews have me intrigued about the merits of tube reverb.
It has been suggested that one replace the speaker with a Celestion Vintage 30, and I'm planning to do just that, provided I can assure myself that I won't lose any of the existing tonal characteristics. For example, the bottom end falls apart when you push it, but in such a "musical" way that I'm not sure I want to fix it.
As mentioned above, the middle or "drive" channel is voiced a little differently, set to a more bluesy mid-range. At first I was disappointed, but now appreciate this added variety in the tonal palette. I also appreciate that both overdrive channels react wonderfully to reduced pick attack and guitar volume, so that the only time I switch to the clean channel is when I need that absolutely pristine voice.
I have only used this amp for a couple of weeks, and am convinced that there is much to discover here. What I most enjoy is the "I can't wait to plug into this thing" feeling, which I haven't experienced for a very long time.

I've only used this amp for one show, so far, and discovered that at least one tube is microphonic. The dealer (12th Fret in Toronto, Canada) has assured me that they will replace the tube(s) under warranty. Obviously, I will carry spare tubes and a fuse but, this being a Fender product, I really don't anticipate any unwelcome "surpises".
While I can't in all honestly give a rating in this category after owning the amp for only a couple of weeks, I wouldn't hesitate to speculate that, ultimately, it would be a ten. Consequently, I use it without a backup.

Unlike Rivera, where Paul Rivera himself reponds to your questions, Fender is one of those dreaded monster corporations, and probably expect you to address ALL of your concerns to your local retailer. The warranty, however, is for a full FIVE YEARS!!! As well, almost any self-respecting tech knows his way around a Fender amp.

I've been playing almost 40 years, and this amp is like coming home.
I had forgotten how gorgeous that Fender sound is. I recall going to see local instrumental bands in my hometown when I was in my early teens, and being awestruck by the look and sound of those 60s silver face Fenders.
I can't remember ever owning a Fender amp, although I may have used a Bassman head through a pair of Traynor PA columns back in the very early 70s. I haven't played through a tube amp in at least a couple of decades!
If it were lost or stolen, I would probably buy this amp again, although I would also try a single channel '65 Deluxe Reissue, using a stompbox for the overdrive. I am also extremely impressed with Rivera, so I'm eager to check out their line again, especially the Chubster, introduced at NAMM last week.
Fender has been doing this for a long time. They got it right almost from the start, and the the number of very expensive amplifiers dedicated to replicating that classic Fender sound is ample testimony.
This also inspires a sense of personal pride when plugging a Fender guitar into a Fender amp, an intangible quality.
I certainly can't imagine ever willingly parting with my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

40 watt, tube preamp and power section, clean, drive, more drive channels, 12" speaker, effect loop, ft.switch and cover included. Two 6L6 groove tubes in power section. I use this amp most every wkend for club dates, has power to spare even at loud band volumes, however I do use an ext. speaker loaded with a 15" electro voice Force. Still 40 watts is 40 watts. This amp replaces my previous rig which included a peavey special and a Lab Series L9, a total of 220 watts stereo and I have just as much useable stage volume as this setup provided, possibly more.

I'm using a Fender Telecaster equipped with S.D. alnico pro 11 pickups, a DOD pedal type compressor and a Zoom 507 for minor effects. With this setup the amp delivers a nice, fatish clean tone, typical Fender. The control pots are lineur taper so its easy to dial in EQ as needed. I can't offer much of an opinion on the OD channels since I normally have little use for that type sound, same for the reverb. However, what little I have demoed these features sounded typical. I think the true value of this amp is its clean tube tone and the afore mention standard features. The almost unlimited gain is also a big plus.

Has been reliable so far, approx. 6 months heavy work

The amp comes with a 5yr. warranty. Haven't had to deal with Fender yet.

I've been musically active for 35 yrs, the last 20 in country. I would happily buy this amp again or the Deville model. I compared this amp in store to a Ultimate Chorus, hands down no comparisome. If this amp won't deliver for about any guitarist in just about any style of play, my advice is look to the hands 'cause it's not the equipment.

Lots of reviews here so I won't go too deeply into the feature set except to commment on weird, or absent, features.
1) Lack of separate eq between channels: I wouldn't have considered this amp because of the single set of tone controls except that it has a bright switch on the normal channel. I was looking for a bright Fender tone on the normal channel and a smooth overdrive on the "dirty" channel. The HR Deluxe actually works really well this way thanks to the bright switch.
2) No Master Volume: this is just plain weird. Without a Master Volume you have to set the normal and drive master each time you change volume. It's a little thing but an annoying thing.
Also, on the Master Volume issue: the power amp in part of the effects loop passes directly to the power amp with no attenuation control. This makes it a challenge to match effects in or use the HR Deluxe as an extension amp.
I will have to wire up a master volume box and insert it into the effects loop. I wonder if I'll have buffer it?
3) Drive/More Drive: this is promoted as a kind of three channel amp. I'd say the Drive/More Drive switch is more just a change in voicing on the Drive channel: as others have noted the bump in volume when you switch in the More Drive setting makes it difficult to use live. If you think of the amp as a 2 channel amp with footswitchable lead voicing it makes more sense.
I give the amp a 7 on features. It would be a 9 with master volume, direct recording out, and separate eq for each channel. A 10 would have to include the kitchen sink (MIDI switching, multiple power tube configurations, etc.)

I use several Ibanez guitars. My favourite is an Ibanez super strat that is a maple kneck-through-body, SSH, Floyd Rose trem beauty. I can't remember the model number. This is a very clear sounding (thin?) instrument that is greatly enhanced by the Deluxe's warm low end. I also play an AS-100 335 style Ibanez for more straightahead jazz. I was using flat wounds on the AS-100 but have switched back to light gauge round wounds as the HR Deluxe's warmth turned the flatwounds into mud. This isn't a complaint - I don't like flatwounds anyway, I was just using them with my Boogie as it is a very bright, tight sounding amp.
I'm very impressed by the reverb on this amp. Typically I don't use much reverb as it sounds pretty clangy on my Boogie. With the HR Deluxe I can use more. The reverb tank is twice the size on the HR Deluxe compared to my Boogie 50 Caliber so it makes sense.
My favourite guitarists are fusion guys: Allan Holdsworth, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Wayne Krantz, John Scofield. I'm not trying to sound like them but I like their sounds. I have Quicktime samples at http://www.islandnet.com/~cpmanuel/music/music.html that illustrate the sound I'm going for. Note that these are all recorded with the Boogie. I bought the HR Deluxe for a lower gain overdrive sound which it does much better than the Boogie. Eventually I'll get some Deluxe samples up at the same site (maybe even some MPEGs).
The normal channel sounds great cranked - no matter how loud I play my Boogie in the clean channel it never breaks up like the Fender. The sound of the clean channel overdriven a little is another reason to go for a Master Volume mod. I'm pretty sure it's preamp tube distortion first.
The tone controls don't have as much range as my Boogie; the HR Deluxe doesn't do that glassy skank sound that almost sounds DI. But that's out of fashion now anyway ( I kept the Boogie to cover it though).
The Drive channel at low gain is just about perfect. It might be perfect with better guitars driving it. I'll have to steer clear of that thought ...
The More Drive channel still doesn't offer the gain of the Boogie but it does offer its own interesting texture: it's more akin to an older Marshall sound. This isn't a sound I was looking for so if you're going to look to the HR Deluxe to cover the raunchier end of the spectrum then you may be looking at the wrong amp.
Overall, this is an amp that blues, classic rock, jazz and fusion players will feel inspired by.

I rarely gig, just play at home in the home studio/cocoon. I don't expect to have any problems with the HR Deluxe. Although tube amps are higher maintenance than SS the HR's 2 6L6 output tubes are rated at 40 watts so it should be easy on tubes. Most 6L6 powered amps are rated between 50 and 60 watts.

I've been playing 22 years with waxing and waning enthusiasm. Right now I'm in a "play alot" head space. I used to be more of a solid state kind of guy (Roland JC 60, Super Cube, Traynor Bloc 100) as I was into guitar synth. Since I bought an ADAT and a Mac running Cubase I've pretty much dropped the synth as MIDI tracks stink compared to guitar (IMHO). I even bought a couple of bass guitars to replace synth bass. So far I've resisted buying a drum kit and I'm stuck using samples. Maybe some day ...
Tube amps, and the HR Deluxe lately, inspire me to play. The touch and sound just seem so much more musical. For clean tones and medium gain overdrive I think you'd have to pay alot more to find a better amp. I was going to get a Boogie Maverick until I tried the HR Deluxe. Granted it's not a Boogie but it's half the price.

For my purposes, a very versatile amp. 3 channels with footswitch, effects loop, no headphone jack. This amp has more power than I will ever need. I deducted points for the lack of indpendent equalization for each channel and no switching for the reverb.

I play a deluxe Super Strat and play mostly blues and rock & roll. This amp suits my taste perfectly! The tone is absolutely beutiful! The clean channel on this amp has to be heard to be fully appreciated. It is classic fender warm tube tone galore! The drive channels are decent and as stated by others your never gonna thrash with them, but this is nothing that a decent pedal won't solve.

Have no idea yet. Just bought it this week!

same as above. Came with a 5 year warranty.

I've been playing off and on for about 15 years mainly as a hobby and this is by far the best amp I've ever owned. I would definitely buy it again. The only other amp I was seriously considering was the Marshall VS65. It is also a nice amp, but the hot rods tube tone won me over. If your looking for kick ass distortion the Marshall is your ticket, but if you want an all around great tube combo go with the HR Deluxe.

Clean and gain channels. Same equalizer. 40 watts. Reverb. Good features, but separate eq would be better.

I use a epiphone les paul (which is a great guitar), and the amp sounds good. It does seem to be a little thin, but not twangy. A quiet amp with a good sound. I at first thought that this was the best sounding amp out there for the price. Good clean tone, can do jazz and blues. Rock and alternative is no problem either. I almost ended up buying this amp. But after looking around some more, I found another amp that I thought was better. The Carvin BelAir 212 is a great amp. It sounds like the deluxe, but a bit more bassy, with a sweeter reverb. I am lucky because I have a Carvin store right near my house. I would never buy anything from mail catalogs.

Don't know. Just tried it out a few times.

Don't know.

I just bought this amp in September so its a 1998. I play blues rock and it is the sound I have been looking for at a low volume. I can get the same tone a high volume playing in a band or low volume playing in a studio. This amp sounds great distance miked. I wish that there had been seperate eq for the clean and drive channels but I can live with it. I handels pedals well I used an old MXR distortion plus. I also would have liked a switchable reverb but this reverb sounds great I dont mind leaving it in. I use the amp on stage and in the studio and live radio. This amp has more than enough head room. -1 for the eq section.

I use a strat and a gibson explorer and it works great for both. If you want to hear it go to http://www.mp3.com/johnturnerband and listen to roundhouse boogie. Thats the amp on both guitar parts.

The tolex started to peel off of the top but the dealer took care of it

The dealer I bought it from, Carpenter's World of Music has been great. Nothig major yet but if there is a problem I feel that it will be taken care of

I love this amp. I am more pleased with this purchase than any other amp I have ever bought. I played with another guitarist who had a half marshall stack. After the set he told me that he was going to replace his rig with one. This amp cuts through the mix. It kills

By now everyone knows the skinny on this amp. The one thing I don't like is having one EQ for the clean and drive channels. I have to compromise the clean ch becasue I have the EQ dialed in for the drive ch. I'm just starting out and I'm not in a band but I do jam with who ever, when ever. The one thing I hate is the weight, but it is actually light for a tube amp. It's still a pain.

I have a Jimmie Vaughn strat (my first strat but not my last!) that is totally stock. I play mostly blues, blues/rock and this amp is fantastic for that style. The clean channel is just that CLEAN, Fender clean. I haven't been able to turn it up far enough to break up, it is very, very loud. When I first got the amp and I switched to the drive ch I was dissapointed. It sounded like I was using a Wah-wah stuck in the down positon, it was awful. I messed with the EQ and the tone pot on my guitar and found the sound I was looking for. The more drive ch sounds perfect for my style. It is not a saturated Soldano distortion but is very tight and focused. I put the treb mid and bass on 10, the pres on 3, the dirve on12 and the reverb on 2.5. The tone pot on my guitar is on 1. This setup might seem strange but it works great! When I switch from more drive to drive the tone is a creamy blues overdrive HEAVEN. Clapton's woman tone is there. Headbangers look else where for your amp. The amp is not noisy at all. The reverb is not very good in my opinion. It sounds cold and layered. Maybe if it were tube generated I would like it.

I've had it for about 4 months with no problems. I use it everyday to practice or jam with.

Haven't had to call on them yet

I have been playing for about 2yrs now. I own several effects but since I got this amp I don't use any of them. The tone of my Strat directly into the HR is all I need and it makes the setup easy, just plug in and wail. I think that says a lot about the pure tone of the amp. If it were lost or stolen I would buy one just like it. I have to deduct a point for the shared EQ, and two points for the reverb. This is supposed to the famed Fender reverb, I know its not tube but still it could sound better, a lot better. Over all my rating is a solid 7, a thumbs up in my book. You can compromise on the EQ without too much fuss and find a good outboard reverb unit. The amp I had before this was a horrible Fender R.A.D (remember those) solid state. When I got the HR Deluxe I sounded like a BLUES GOD! Okay maybe not that good but there was a HUGE improvement in my tone and my motivation

40 watts all tube. point deduction for only one eq shared by both channels

i got an SG. Ive had this amp for about 6 months and it sounds great. its really bassy and fat. fender claims it sounds like a bassman on the clean channel and they are right. the drive is a great boost and more drive is excellent and chunkier but i just dont really like it for solo's, it just doesnt have enough sustain. i still love the fat chunky distortion. btw im into radiohead, foo fighters, smashing pumpkins (older stuff) and all that other "grunge music"

i dont think there will be any problems here. always ahve extra tubes on a gig though.

not know and im not going to find out

this is an amazing amp for the money. i compared it to a vibrolux which i was initally going to purchase and this this sounded just as good. there was definately not $300 dollars of difference between them. great amp for the money.

This is a very versatile little amp. I play mostly blues and boogie woogie. (SRV type stuff) It does good for that, but obviously not as good as some "blackface" stuff, but pretty close for the price. It has 3 channels Normal, Drive, and more drive. Drive sounds nice, but more drive comes in too loud. The best part is the clean channel. I have only used this amp for a few weeks, so don't take my advice totally. It is a fully tubed amp, (two power tubes, 3 preamp tubes) Comes factory equipped with Groove Tubes, which was a plus for me. the reverb sucks, and I usually keep it on 1 or 2. Any higher and it sounds milky. I use this amp for practice and home use, plenty of power.

I use single coil pickups, I play a Strat. It suits my style very well. It is not noisy at all, even at high gain setting. It is noisier than lower ones, but no reall hissing or anthing of that nature. It breaks uo around 5 or so, anything below that is very clean. The distortion is really driving on the more drive channel. Only one EQ, so you have to even things out.

Never dealt with Fender. but the company I bought it from is musicians friend. They are great, I'd reccomend businness with them anytime.

I have been playing for a couple of years. I own a strat, wah, distortion pedal, all the basic stuff.
If it was stolen I would probably get a Vibrolux instead.

Reverb, channel switching, gain boost all very handy to have but this amp executes them with varying success.

I A/B compared it to a Classic 30 that I have modified, my Soldano SLO100, my 58 tweed Deluxe and a Crate GT-60. The clean sound is O.K. but not as good as the Crates, thinner than the Soldano's (which both have tons more headroom)and similar to the Classic. When you start turning up the gain you really see the shortcoming of this amp. It in general, lacks the complexity of tone all the other amps (except the Crate) had. The sound is thin and one dimensional compared to the Classic at all volumes and I had to "max" out the controls to get anything near the "thickness" of distortion that the Classic and Soldano achieve. The reverb sucks and the amp has a "peak" in the 200-400 Hz frequency range that I first percieved as good bottom end but compared it to the other amps I found it "colored" the sound and is truly annoying. In use with a band the sound gets lost and lacks definition. I am unimpressed and think if you want a clean sound go with the Crate (it's cheaper and has no tubes to replace) and for more distorted tones you would be better off with a Classic, Crate VC or Boutique amp (Soldano, Matchless, Naylor-especially the Naylor) if you can afford one.

Amp is only a couple of weeks old - don't know yet.

40 Watts all tube Combo, 12" Speaker, 3 channels (clean, drive and boost drive), shared EQ, Reverb, Prescence, Efects Loop, Footswitch for channel switching (no reverb switching) preamp out, power amp in, NO Headphone jack. It's very simple,,,,Cool for ME!!!!!!!!!

I own a Gibson SG with Seymor Duncan 59 pickups and a Fender USA 62 Reissue with EMG's and both of them sounds perfect through this AMP, Sweet and FAT tones with both guitars. I've 8 years of experince and I play a lot of styles (Classic Rock, Alternative, Pop Music, Jazz, Reggae,,etc..!!!!!!) and this Amp suits all my styles, I'm very happy with it.
I use this amp for practice and sometimes I "JAM" with a another guitar player&singer, a bass player and a drummer (40 Watts are enough, this thing is very loud) . For pracice I used the clean channel at a very moderate volume with no effects (guitar directly to AMP), the sound is Awesome even at high volumes. The drive channel also sounds cool but sounds great at high volumes.
When I jammed I used it at high volumes through a couple Boss pedals (Compressor, EQ, a little bit of chorus or flanger, sometimes Delay) ,,The clean channel is great at high volumes and the distortion is great for classic rock. The other guitar player has a Marshall VS-65 and he admits that the Deluxe sound better!!!!! I give it a 9 because I have played other amps that sounds better. But for the value, I think is great. Never use it on Stage but I think it could do a good job.

I have this AMP only 2 years,,,Very Reliable,,Looks and feel very Solid,,,,Of course I would use it on a gig withot backup!!!!

Never contact Fender

Like I said before,,been playing 8 years, this is my only Amp, If it were stolen or lost, I will buy it again or the Deville if I wish more power. I wish another EQ and a footswitchable reverb!!IMHO this Amp sounds better than CRATE tube Combos or Marshall Valvstate combos,,BUY THIS AMP, I Recommend it to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can e-mail me if you have any specific questions.

Your basic tube-based combo. 40 watts, one 12" speaker, three channels (clean, drive, and more drive), a main volume and a master for the drive/more drive, three EQ levels (treb, bass, and mid), plus reverb. It came with a footswitch. Apparently Fender doesn't include the cover anymore, 'cause I didn't get one with mine and I bought it brand new.
The power is operated by means of a main and standby switch. Standby is useful...it keeps it warm while you go off to take a leak durin a practice, and it can also save on your tubes and electric bill a bit.
There are two inputs, a footswitch jack, and an FX loop/preamp in/out (plus an output jack down underneath everything in the back). The two inputs come in handy if you haven't got an A/B box and don't feel like switching cables in mid gig. They're also great for doing "weird" stuff, like feeding your amp back on itself (you don't have to unplug your guitar, just run a short cable from an open input to the preamp out and twiddle the knobs). As usual, the effects loop is so-so...I recommend it for recording but little else. The out jack on the back is something I haven't messed with as I don't have a cab.

I run a Strat into the thing and between the two, classic rock and blues are a snap. The overdrive is warm and quite nice for a built-in, and fits blues/classic rock well. More drive is good for soloing...I found that it can help get a mildly Hendrix-like tone if you hook up a wah. The only downside is that tube overdrive isn't really distortion. This was my first amp, and so I thought it did distortion good, until I realized it's too warm for alternative, metal, and anything else that requires a heavy crunch. So go get a stomp box (I decided to get a Fab Tone, which I'm waiting on right now) and patch that in, and you'll have a nice pallette of tones to work with.
The clean channel is pretty sweet if you're working off single coils. Very good for clean rhythm, all right for jazz and ska. I don't know about humbuckers on the clean...if you have push/pull pots it'd probably work well 'cause you could "coil tap" to single-sound.
Reverb is okay. Could be better, could be worse. I like cranking it up all the way because it adds space around a solo and sounds really odd, though there's little practical application. I always have reverb set around 4, just to give my guitar some "room" but not too much.
Complaints? Well, like I said, the drive/more drive is just overdrive, so forget getting heavy without a dedicated fuzz/distortion box. The footswitch pops audibly when kicking back to clean from drive or more drive, but that has to do with the difference between the volume and master (tweak it and you can cancel it out). I wish the footswitch had a reverb on/off, but you can't always win.

It's a Fender. Durable, reliable...just let me get my thesaurus and I'll tell you how quality this thing is. Be careful of the tubes, but that goes without saying. All in all, a real workhorse.

Never dealt with Fender. The warranty is five years, so I should be all right. Hope I'll never have to utilize it. Seems like I won't have to.

Good amp. Not the greatest I've heard, now that I've tried some nicer things like a Boogie and some half-stacks from Sunn and Marshall, but unless you're pro it's great. Perfect combo for playing in the garage/basement/barn, in your room, or at a small club or in a park or in a church (whacked as that would feel) or any other small venue. Reliable, nice tone, 'nuff said.

Three channel, 40 watt amp. One set of tone controls. All-tube. Reverb.

I play in a modern surf-rock band, using Fender Strats and Teles, and also use the amp in our church band, which runs a gamut of styles from country to alternative. I also occasionally use my Gibson Les Paul Custom and Epiphone Sheraton through it. The clean channel stays clean for my purposes, I never turn it past three or three and a half. At that volume it is absolutely beautiful. The Fender tone is amazing, and makes you thankful and blessed that you learned to play. There's a Bright switch that makes it a littler brighter, I usually have this on. It only affects the clean channel.
The second channel adds overdrive. For surf stuff, I have usually set the drive at 4 o'clock or so. It's not heavy, that's for sure. Then for leads I would kick in the third channel for "more" drive and a bit more volume. Let share some thoughts on this amp's overdrive: I've had it for about 11 months now, and I really struggled for awhile to enjoy the drive on it. It's not a pleasant overdrive, rather harsh in fact. Seems like it lacks bass or something. Just raw. Let me comment on the tone controls, too: they change the tone in VERY subtle ways. That's not necessarily negative or positive, just a fact. The other guitar player in my band uses a Strat with a Hot Rod DeVille 4x10. What I also came to grips with is that when everybody's rocking, you hear less and less of that individual tone. You can drive yourself crazy, which I did, sitting in my basement experimenting with "tone" all you want, but to a certain degree, some of those lovely subtleties that you'd get with a Matchless or Vox amp are lost when the whole band is going. I noticed that some of the harshness of my overdrive ended up sounding, when the whole band was going, just like an overdriven guitar, which is what I wanted! I'm not suggesting that it wouldn't be totally awesome to have a higher-end boutique, Class A tube amp, I'm just saying that I'm trying to be happy with my $500 Fender amp. In fact, I played a $1000 Fender Prosonic at lunch today, and thought it sounded worse, clean and dirty, than my Deluxe. How's that?
All that said, I tried a new setup recently to improve the sound. I have a Boss Turbo Overdrive pedal, where you can hook up an external footswitch to it and move into Turbo OD mode. I highly recommend this pedal. It's versatile (can literally go from simply a volume boost to pretty molten tones), sounds great, and kind of serves as a two-channel amp. What I've been missing in my setup is a clean boost for clean solos. (I've never been a volume pot manipulator guy...turning down the pot always seems to muddy up the tone for me). So recently I've been using my Turbo OD in place of the Deluxe for Overdrive purposes, and using the second channel on the amp (drive) for a clean boost (have the drive set at like 2, it's pretty clean). This works great.

No problems so far. Reading other reviews makes me concerned, but after using it weekly for gigs and practices for almost a year, I feel pretty secure with my amp. No backups. Cover is nice touch.

Never dealt with them.

This amp is by no means what I think I'd like to have the rest of my life, but it's definitely useful for my purposes now. It's not too heavy (although I would like to know why it's waaaaay heavier than it's older brother, the black and silver-faced Deluxes). It's loud enough for a club surf band, yet sounds good at lower volumes for church purposes.

40 watts, single 12" speaker, 2.5 channels with shared EQ, reverb, preamp out, power amp in, ext speaker jack (8 ohm only), two function footswitch. Would like to see separate EQ at least for the clean channel. I view the More Drive "channel" as simply a boost switch for the Drive channel, that's why I call it 2.5 channel. Would also like to see impedance selector for ext speaker jack.
However, if taken just in terms of other tube amps in it's price range, I'd give it a 9. Can't expect high end features in a bargain amp.

First things first. Compared to other reviews, I don't consider this to be a one trick pony, or blues only amp. Still, I wouldn't get one of these and expect to duplicate Dream Theater or thrash either. Anywhere from country to jazz to blues to classic rock to any other mid-gain sounds, this thing is great! I run an EBMM Axis and a Mexi-std Strat through it, and usually also use a Mesa V-Twin pedal and Boss CH-1 Super Chorus.
The clean sound is very nice! Even with the Axis, I have not had any trouble maintaining a crystal clear clean tone when playing in a band situation, although we don't usually get very loud. If you push the clean channel, it breaks up very nicely in a bluesy way. I beleive that this channel is sort of based on the bassman circuit and sound.
As was noted, the EQ is shared between channels. Although it would always be nice to have independant EQ (and I would prefer it), I can't really complain about it. I'm pretty happy with the sounds I get sharing the EQ. I find the tone to be a tad bass heavy for my taste, but it's easy to tame it and most other people now would probably like it better this way. The reverb is also shared by channels, and there is one level control and it's not footswitchable. Although it certainly would be nice to set separate level per channel, or footswitch it off, I can't really complain with it. The charicter of the reverb is very smooth. I tend to use just a bit of this though, just enough to give the sound some depth.
The Drive channel can pretty much cover any distored blues or classic rock stuff. The distortion is a very tight and smooth type, not fuzzy. This is the way I like it. I've played numerous high end amps by pretty much every manufacturer, and for classic rock type sounds, this is my favorite regardless of price! Just wish it had more high end features.
The More Drive channel basically just adds a preset amount of gain to the Drive channel. To me, the character of the distortion on More Drive is very much like a Boogie, but doesn't get anywhere near that saturated. It just has that type of tone. This channel to me is really more of a "solo" channel. For any of the rock stuff, if you go to More Drive from the Drive channel it just gives a bit of a volume boost and a bit different tone.

I've had this for about 9 months now and not had a single problem. Although I don't gig with it, I do lug it around for jams. I do make it a point to be careful, and always use the included cover. I don't see anything that would make me question how well it's made.
Personally, I'd never gig without some type of backup, no matter what gear I use. Let's just say that I don't think this amp would demand that you bring a backup. I also have the V-Twin that I could run through the PA in a pinch.

5 year warrentee. I haven't needed to have anything done, so I can't comment. Given the size of Fender, I wouldn't think it would be hard to find a certified repairman.

This is actually my first tube amp, and I'm exceptionally happy with it. There are certainly other amps that have a better list of features, and some even sound better. But not in this price range! If I were to buy again, I'd probably go for the DeVille 410 for a bigger sound, but it's essentially the same amp.
If you want heavy metal, this isn't the amp for you unless you're prepared to use a distortion pedal. If you've got a pedal that gives you the sound you want, then this is a fantastic amp to provide the base for it!
For any other type of music, unless you have a specific desire to exactly replicate a sound or want maybe a VOX tone, you should be happy with this.
Although I've given it an 8 overall, that's based on everything else available. If you're not into thrash/HM, then for the price I'd give it a 10!

This is a clasical fender amp with two chanels (clean, drive) with reverbe and ,presence. This amp is not to versatile, but it s yust perfect for me. I play rock. I was suprised how can 40 watts amp scream .The only thing that i miss is foot switch for reverb.

This is the best amp i ever trayed. I play fender stratocaster Roadhouse with tex-mex pickups, fender telecaster custom with fender humbucker on bridge, les poul black beauty(76) . All three guitars sounds yust perfect on clean chanel, problem is just drive chanel with les poul (noise)

No problem

I play guitar for about 5 years. If a lost this amp i ll buy it agin, but i wont, maybe try VOX ac 30. Great value for money.

Yoy know them. Too many for my small mind.

I play an Epiphone Les Paul special double cut away/ 2 P90's. Also a '62 Melody Maker. This is my first tube amp in 20 years. Well not really (more latter). The Clean channel does sound great as others have said. The drive and more drive channels though could be better. I prefer them to my Arion over drive though. The reverb is fine to my ears but I would much like to have a foot switch for it. The master volume should also be available to both channels,which brings me to my other tube amp, the Pignose G40V. I bought that first and it sounded great. And I mean GREAT!.One channel with a master and drive control, bass, middle, treble, all I need! The UPS guy dropped it and it had to go back.They were out of stock and offered to subsitute the Fender at a much reduced price. I could not refuse. I was dissapointed with the Fender at first but could not see returning it as it is of much higher quality. After playing it more I have settled on the following settings, Clean- brite off, tone all they way save for bass-3, presence-6. Drive-3 master to needs. Even at 3 it is still bassy. Plenty loud for clubs.

no problem to date

no need yet

If it were stolen I would go for another Pignose, or maybe try a Sovtek. But I( won't sell this any time soon.

This is a very simple amp, but there are just enough features to make it versatile. 40 watts of all-tube (6L6) power; three channels with shared EQ, presence, and reverb; series effects loop; footswitch jack; Eminence 12 inch speaker.
Don't be fooled by the 40 watts -- this amp is seriously loud! It has plenty of power for gigs, but unlike most tube amps it sounds great with the volume way down too. Some would prefer a different EQ for the gain channels, but from what I can tell such a feature would be unneccesary and would also detract from the brilliant simplicity of this amp. Fender also throws in a really solid footswitch (with the option of using a longer cable should you so choose) and a vinyl cover which is perfect for rainy days. The amp itself has a cool '50's retro look with the silver speaker covering, the chrome panel, and the "chicken head" knobs. Very nice indeed. I can't think of a feature I'd want to add to this amp.

Played with a Fender Strat with Texas Specials and a stock Epiphone Les Paul.
The theory behind the tone of the Deluxe is this: start with a great clean sound and build your overdrive on that. This is what players have been doing for years by running distortion pedals into their Bassmans and Twin Reverbs. As a result, the clean channel on the Deluxe is outstanding. The sound is rich and lively and very dynamic. Add some of that reverb and you're in vintage Fender heaven. The Strat sounds perfectly plucky and the big 'buckers on the LP compress sweetly and naturally. This channel alone is worth the price of the amp.
So that's it, right? Wrong. The two overdrive sounds are equally impressive. Drive gives the Strat a bluesy crunch perfect for ... well, blues, and a nice mild rock sound. The gain is very warm, smooth, and full of low end. You may have to turn the bass down at high volumes. More Drive is thick, rich, fat rock gain with loads of compression and harmonics. Try this setting with a Les Paul and a chorus pedal -- it is the biggest, fattest sound in the universe! Despite this huge overdrive, each note is still distinctive and solos are lively and can be dynamically controlled very handily.
The sound of this amp is beautiful. No matter where I set the tone controls I still get a sweet tone. This isn't to say the EQ is useless, but you'll struggle to find a harsh, nasal tone or a scooped-mid metal sound. For the majority of us who don't want to sound like that, the Deluxe is killer.

The Deluxe looks and feels very solid. All the parts are first rate; even the Tolex covering is tough. I never do a gig without some sort of backup (usually a friend's amp), but I have supreme confidence in the Deluxe. It has never broken down, and I don't expect it ever will. The only reason I don't give it a 10 is because it's not indestructible. I wouldn't want to rough it up at all.

I have never dealt with Fender, but they get high marks just for the five year transferrable warranty. They included a wiring schematic with the manual, but there's no way I'd crack this baby open myself. I can't speak for everyone, but my local Fender dealer / service center is excellent.

I have been playing for at least six years and tried countless amps, and this is by far the best I have ever played on, let alone owned. If it were lost or stolen I would go out and buy a new one as soon as I stopped crying. It's perfect for blues, rock, funk, reggae, and all the other stuff I play. There isn't a single amp out there that can compete with the Deluxe, with the possible exception of Boogies that cost three to four times as much. If you need more power, go with the DeVille (60 watt equivalent) but I don't know anyone who would want an amp louder than this. A big venue will happily (sometimes they will force you to) mike it up and use the PA for volume.
In any case, if you are looking for a versatile, medium-sized amp, you should definitely give the Hot Rod Deluxe a test drive. (God damn that's cornball, but I just had to put it in!)

You know the features I paid 540 for this down at the store every time I plug it in it seems to sound different sometimes good sometimes bad so I put a Weber 12 in it and it brought out the ear piercing highs of it . there have been about 50 50 pro and con on this amp. for the money I think it is worth it with all its faults.the drive channel does seem to smell a bit but with the third channel kicked in it screams okay with enough volume used.

two strats and a tele usually through a boogie 2 12 cabinet. through this Deluxe it seems to really work well with the volume on just under 3 , a daddy o pedal set at low distortion and med. volume, treble on low. the amp setings on the first channel without the daddy o sounds okay but a bit thin, with this set up I get amazing loud and clean tones . this amp is very very loud.I set the eqs on about 3 treble a little higher and use the clean channel usually I could imagine this amp at a gig without some kind of effect. the reverb I set sometimes on 5 and it gets a real loud country kind of sound very deep and tolerable if you dont have any others around. Its not very noisy with this setup either because I can set the voulme knob on the guitar about 5-8 and can really have avariety of sounds to work with.

dont know probably needs looked at a lot seems sturdy but with fender you never know one music store sales guy commented after I told him fender was kinda slow getting out their products to the midwest said yeah they are the only fender on the block though and that is true

5 year warranty is fair for this amount of money

I should have taken my time before I bought this it was an impulse because I would hhave gotten something different for a little more money so now I have to settle for a 25 watt mesa boogie, 16 watt Soldano, and this fender hot rod, its not so bad I am waiting on a hand built fender deluxe copy and then I hope I am through with this madness. anyway there are so many different styles of amps out there new and used this is a very valuable forum and I wish I had discovered it sooner.

40 watt combo. All tube except reverb. Nice controls. Perfect! No headphones but who cares! Nice vintage setup!

Best Combo today. Blues to Rock. Use a MT-2, Zoom 5 and it does wonders. Clean is the best feature. Overdrive is good too. No problems. Sounds even better with a good dist. pedal. Play a strat and it's a perfect match.

Perfect so far!

Never had problems. 5 year warranty. Awesome! There are lists and lists of shops that service fenders. WOW!

playing 14 years. Strat diehard. Buy it again in a split second. Love everything. A classic reissue. GO BUY ONE FOLKS