Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

See below

I've had this amp for 5 years now. I replaced one of the smaller tubes, and a off/on light. I play a variety of music, from country to jazz, excluding metal. There is some noise on the more drive channel, but I use another pedal for distortion anyway. I haven't had to drive this amp past 3. If I need it any louder it goes into the PA. I love the clean sound! It's pure Fender.

So far so good. It's never broken down and I don't bring back-ups. Just never felt the need.

Customer service is kind of useless. I've emailed them but never got any responses.

This is a fantastic amp. There are people that feel differently as you will soon read from below. I don't think this should be the forum for WARNINGS and such. Don't let the rantings influence you. Try the amp out and see for yourself.

As for myself, I have been playing for 36 years. I've reduced my instruments to a Fender MIA strat, Boss ME-50, and this amp. It's all I need for what I play. I'd replace it in a heartbeat. I did compare this amp to everything our humble music store had, including Peavey, other Fenders, Roland, and Behringer. No contest.

2005 used but like new.versatile? first Fender sets the tube bias at 60 which is to cold for the 6L6GC. I reset mine at 68 (major improvement). If you want to use the amps overdrive channel, change the inverter tube to a 12AT7 (thats the preamp tube closest to the power tube)Trust me! this will make it work the way you were looking for it too. #1 thing first off is resetting the bias. A must imo. Fender may have kept them set cold at 60 to make them last longer? who knows? after the tweeks i give it a 8

plastic jacks suck so be careful.

never contacted. Have you ever tryed to get up with someone from fender? lol! good luck!

after the tweeks and maybe a different speaker for some. It beats anything else thats tube in this price range period!

Used, less than 1 yr old, good enough for the money.
Features are pretty well known.

Play blues/rock using using Strat, LP, PRS McCarty.
Needed a couple of mods to sound decent:
Vintage 30 speaker;
SED SV6L6GC's;
Bias 36mA per 6L6;
12AX7EH in V1.

Sounds pretty good, drive selection actually sounds good
(esp. with LP).

My peeves are mainly that the controls have non-standard
working ranges. The Clean volume's useful range goes up to
about 5; the bass control is useless above 3; the mid control
- is it really a mid control? Drive gain, useless above 3 (to me);
The reverb control useless above 2.5.

The amp is the most mass produced amp in fender history, so you can bet that reliability will bite us all, at some point.

Todays tubes aren't as good as the old ones were; the filter caps
in there are from Illinois Capacitor - and come from anywhere
but Illinois (really not the best - at all); The wave solder job
can be 'iffy'; and the two 470 Ohm 5 Watt cement resistors (16 volt
switching circuit) get so hot that they ruin their own solder joints.

So why did I buy it?
A) I fix 'em myself;
B) A $1000+ Mesa F-50 has similar problems (a couple more too..)

In essence, reliability is about average.

Dont need it.

Not bad, not great, not expensive, easilly molded to perform adequately, portable.

I have both a Strat and a LP, but to me, single coils generally sound better than humbuckers through this amp. It has pretty good clean and low gain sound, but you have to crank it up a little to make it sound at its best. There isn't much headroom on this amp through, so the clean channel starts distorting past 10~12 o'clock. The high gain sound is just terrible, with lots of noise, thus making this amp not suitable for hard rock or metal application. You'll need pedals for that. The stock Eminence sounds full, clean and detailed at low volumes, better than the Jensen reissues, but do get a bit flabby at high volumes, where Jensens are a bit better. But the amp doesn't sound good at high volumes/gains to begin with, so stock Eminence speakers are really good fit.

At $200-300 for a used one, this is a good-buy, but at the street price (~$500) for a brandnew one, there certainly are better options.

2 channels, Amp needs pre & post eff's loop. Each channel should have it's own EQ, not shared!!!, after setting your eq for the clean channel great! but when you switch to ch-2 you'll need to reset your tone to get decent sound...not good!!! other then that not too bad.
I got the blonde tolex cover oxblood grill; MIM...

Each channel when EQ right sound great. I give it 6, if each channel had it's own eq I would have given it a 10!

Musician's Friend. The first one looked excellent but screamed like pig when turned up past 5, hay that with anything plugged in to the input, it was returned the next day. #2 arrived two weeks later sounded good but it did have the same loud howling past 8, but that's not all half the back washers on the hardware are missing, I don't know if Fender made this mistake or MF? I was disappointed and returned it for full refund. They gave me a full refund including the shipping cost, that was after I was told they found nothing wrong with the amp and I will be charged 15% restocking fee, Yes! I went off on them and refused to pay it, now the tables turn and they were wrong and gave me full refund. Sorry! Fender but I own other fender amp's (made in the USA) without issues ever! but your MIM amp Suck!

Never called Fender....as for MF...well if your right, your right!

The HRD is a nice sounding & looking amp, don't get me wrong, I love the fender sound, it's just they need to make the quality as good as any USA amp. Step up your QC department Fender...

it has enough features, but could obviously have more. having less knobs does help the vintage look of it though.

hmm. the clean channel is supposedely incredible? it sounds average to me, and as soon as you turn it up, it sounds horrible. even with the switch to JJ's, i still haven't switched the speaker so I don't know if that's a factor, but this amp just sounds like shit when i turn it up. the drive channel is unlistenable at high volumes. i had the amp checked out by a tech and he said it was fine. i don't know if he checked the speaker out, but i'm getting that thing out of there, and if there is no improvement, i'm selling it, counting my losses, and putting some cash towards the Traynor equivalent of this amp (can't remember the model, but theres a 40 in it. you guitar guys know what im talking about), or something else.

very depressing to get this amp after reading so many rave reviews. the distortion sounds a lot better after the JJ's, but as i said, terrible when volume is applied.

if you have any comments, suggestions, or misguided anger, please email me at chrismatchem@hotmail.com

i got it off ebay. it's from 2000, and is in relatively good condition.

i've read about all the problems one might encounter with it on that dudes 'unoffical hot rod deluxe page'. great website, by the way.

never dealt with the Fen

Features all covered in other reviews -this is a WARNING!

My basic idea was to buy a relatively cheap 1x12 combo, then upgrade it with good parts and mods to my personal taste, so that in the end i'd have spend some more but get an amp that works and sounds the way I want and need it.
I had been warned on this forum in regards to the poor build quality and the cheap parts, but what my tech and I saw here really is an insult to the consumer.
I ordered the amp new, they're pretty low priced right now, it got here boxed and sealed. i tested it for about half an hour, sounded so so, which i knew already as I had tried one before. The distortion sounded somewhat weird, but I thought it was just a bad layout and went to my tech to get all the discussed mods, new caps, changes in the current feedback circuit, different ranges for the tone freqs, new Celestion Neodyne vintage speaker - which works great btw.

I got there, played for 2 minutes to discuss what I wanted, and noticed some crackling sounds, the tech also said the distortion sounded like there was half the wave missing. He opened it and couldn't believe it:
ALL the solder joints from the power tubes were COLD!!!( broken!)
That amp was NEW out of the box. Not only that, but he said they had used the cheapest possible solder metal, containing a lot od lead and therefore breaking real easily. The other side of the board was just as catastrophic - half of the solder points had to be redone, tha caps and some other parts were the cheapest, low quality/price stuff imaginable.
When he was done replacing, retuning and all the business, the amp sounded just great - just as I had planned.
SO, what does all this tell us?
FENDER have, just like most of all businesses, sacrificed quality and reliability for absolute and ruthless profit maximation. Obviously no quality control, no thought whatsoever about the consequences of over cheap manufacturing processes and use of low quality components. Just sell sell sell - once it leaves the factory we don't give a damn anymore. You want decent ( meaning a no bullshit, normal quality ) gear? Ah, we have the "custom shop", charging thousands for not even high quality but let's say plain average, not bad quality stuff.
Seriously, spending, say, 20 bucks (maximum) more on small parts such as good caps or soldering material would assure a decent quality circuitry, make the amp sound better and save everyone a headache and Fender's reputation. What goes on in these managers' heads??? It is plain obvious that Fender don'd give a shit about the quality of their products as long as they just make huge profits. Nothing against huge profits, but possibly by selling good gear, not by saving every possibly penny by usingabsolute bottom of the line material.
no wonder the economy is going down the drain...

I don't even want to think of the bureaucratic nightmare of dealing with such a monster company.

I've been playing for 20+ years, owned tons of all sorts of gear, from cheap to top notch. I play fusion and jazz on a Suhr Strat.
Unless mega companies like Fender get their act together and give us decent, and common sensed quality products for our money ( which really shouldn't be that difficult unless you just want to make even MORE momey...) the industry will just lose more and more credibility.
Have they ever wondered why so many people play and use stuff made by small/boutique companies? Cause you just can't take that corporate bullshit seriously anymore!
Shame on you Fender.

3 "channels", comes with a gootswitch and a cover. Like 40 watts-ish.

Sound great for clean and you can get dirt, but the 3 channels is joke. First, the knowbs max out by 12:00. Second, the norma chan on anything above 3 sounds more like the gain of the chan 2 territory, and chan 2 ultimately produces all the gain you need. The kicking into chan 3 is just useless. They should really smooth all this out so that the clean channel stays crystal clean right up to 10, then you use chan. 2 for any range of very light/modest gain. Finally, chan 3 should open that sucker all the way. It' not a matter preference here, it's just logical.
Next, the reverb is decent if you like spring reverb.
The amp's tone overall sounds harsh and gravelly, and it grates on my hearing after about 10 it 15 minutes. I've tried other new amps in the stores with same results. It's the amp, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna get in ther and rip out speakers and be replacing tubes and swapping out caps for another 4 or 5 hundred bucks.

Eventally I sold it because it annoyed my terrible. I got a Deluxe Reverb RI and I've been in heaven ever since- what a nice amo THAT is!

Built as well as fender build all their amps today, which can be a little on the cheap side, but definately not Walmart cheap. I'd like to see a bit heavier duty contruction like Mesa makes, and I want to be able to get at simple parts like pots inside- changes one takes 5 minutes. But noe they want you round-tripping all you gear to CA. That's unacceptible, regardless of how good the guarantee is. It's like with cars- you should be able to change your own spark plugs.

Overall it's built well. You can sit on it and drink beer. The stock Blues Junior's a better amp, but I hesistate to say that, because if your going to replace most of the parts in it, well then it's no longer a Blues juior. Might as well get a different amp.

After 6 months I couldn't get into it. I bought the Deluxe Reverb and I'm a new player again.

I believe that the features have been sufficiently gone over in previous reviews.I'll give it an 9 here. It has what it needs for what it was designed for.

I play a variety of music, everything from jazz to classic rock to blues. I shy away from speed metal. For what I play it is an excellent fit. I also have a modded 1976 Fender Bassman 100, and the clean channel on this rivals just about every other Fender I've plugged in to. Guitars are an american strat HSS stock pickups, Highway 1 stock Texas tele, Gibson LP with burstbuckers and a Gibson faded LP with stock P-90's. Each guitar adds its own personal, distinct sound which this amp captures beautifully. Signal is from guitar to a Vox Area 51 modded wah to a Bad Monkey to a Marshall Bluesbreaker to amp. I use the pedals because the distortion on this amp,well, it sucks, for lack of a better term. It does okay with the burstbuckers, but any other pickup and it sounds like I stepped into a hive of bees. However, with clean channel and pedals, there isn't a tone I can't get out of this thing. Upon purchase I immediately took out the eminence speaker and replaced it with a Jensen reissue C12N, and it made a world of difference. Great harmonics, clean top end. I also run an Avatar 2x12 extension cab with this with 2 Vintage 30's. What a great combo. Loads of bass, even at top volume with the pedals engaged. Oh, volume. Make yer ears bleed. Don't let someone tell ya 40 watts ain't enough. If they believe that they're already half deaf. Oh, does great with my Ovation acoustic also. Very full. Almost scary..if you've ever had that kind of reaction to an amplifier before.

Seems okay so far. Went around and tightened everything with a screw driver just to make sure, but seems tight enough. Hell, its so loud I wouldn't hear a rattle anyway until the damn thing came apart.

I've had to use them with previous equipment and they're hit and miss. Middle of the road.

Been playing 35 years, which is pretty scary in itself. This is a great amp short of slamming Korn. If you're looking for a great blues, rock rig, try this along with a good sealed extension cab to bring out the bass. You won't be disappointed.

Amp is a 2003. I traded my Traynor YCV 80 2-12's in for it. I had been searching a very long time for an amp that I'll be very pleased with. The Traynor was an ok amp, but for its sheer weight and physical size, it was beginning to be a pain to lug the thing aroound all the time. My Fender is truly a better sounding amp.
I don't play large gigs anymore, but when the boys and I jam, theres plenty of power here. I found that the amp sounds better at a larger level of volume; Theres almost a "sweet spot" if you can find it.

I play a Highway 1 stock Tele, mostly heavy blues and early WHO style music. I use my vintage Yamaha DI-10M distortion pedal because I dont really like the built-in distortion. This amp truly should have been built without the distortion effect. Superb clean sound and very loud!
I have yet to "crank it" for fear of repercussions from irate neighbours, but 4 is about right on the volume scale.

All the tubes are original and I take very good care of my equipment, so I trust this is a very dependable amp. As with all tube amps, so Ive been told, you should always perform a warm-up and cool down period to prolong tube life.

I've never had to deal with the Fender clan, and I'm hoping I don't have to. If there are any problems, I deal with our local music shoppe.

Ive been playing off and on for about 25 years non professionally and have owned alot of gear. I really have fallen for this amp and I think its terrific. I'd definately purchase another if anything happened to this amp. As I had mentioned before, I took along time and wore out poor Karens nerves out at Long and Mcquades before i found an amp that I'll keep for a long time. Although I don't use alot of effects compared to some guitarists, I still think the amp should have been built without the distortion/drive channel. Its far too muddy for me.

I bought mine new about 5 0r more years ago. I looked at quite a few solid state amps while I was shopping around. But I found them to be crisp an souless. Then my friend said I should check out some fender tube amps. At first i was hesitant. Because i didn't didn't understand the power rating. And figured 40 watts wasn't enough (oh how wrong i was.haha) But found the Hot Rod deluxe to sound great (exaclty what i was looking for) an it was in my price range. It has all the features i've needed especally a nice clean channel. an i like the pre amp out jack. Allso the cabinate is soild an heavy. the onyl thing i kinda wish it had. is those metal stands you see on super reverebs etc, so i could point it up.

I love the tone of this amp. especailly when I use one of my vintage guitars. Like my 1959 harmony stratotone or my 1956 Danelectro. But i ususally have my gibson SG pluged into it an it sounds great. I find the amp can play anystyle of music your into being rock blues jazz, country haha.you just gotta know how to set it right. And if your not satisfied with the distortion, it 's got a great clean channel for your pedals. People don't understand how the volume settings on tube amps work. an they complain about it distoring out at 4 6 what ever. Is that the volume isn't a gas pedal, the higher you turn it up isn't the more wattage you get.. but it's actually desighed to give it's full clean power at 4. Some guitars have hotter pick ups etc like at les paul has about 6 times the output of a rickenbacker. So the Amps desighned to give it's full RMS output with any brand of guitar. An thats why is goes all the way up to 12. If you want a louder clean amp you have to get a higer wattage rating. I use this amp an at everything, I mic it into the PA etc an find it's loud enough for me to hear at any gig.

Well never had a problem. So i depend on it. An tubes are funny things.. they can last 20 mins or 20 years. but i have't replaced mine yet an not planning to till they burn out. but the construction is solid an feels soild

Well i've been playing for 10 years. I love this amp an would recomend it to any of my friends. Id totally buy one again or move up to the next bigger one in the line up. if something happend to it.
i compared it to a few fender soild states an a marshall. but i felt the sound an quailty where far greater in this amp.
If you want a great sounding tube amp. but don't wanna risk buying used id tottaly goto the local fender dealer an give it a good try out. An if you have some old school guitars like i do. it's a must you get a nice warm tube amp.. or you may never be fully satisfied with the tone of your guitar. Like whats the point of haveing a Gibson ? if you don't have a sweet amp to go with it ?

I bought this amp in 2004 and never had a problem with it. It has the original tubes and it sounds fine. I can't really give an assesment on the overdrive channels because I've never used them.

In fact the foot switch still has the plastic on it. I use a Boss DS-1 pedal and a Boss DD-6 delay right through the front
input and it works great.

This amp is PLENTY LOUD as a stand alone in a small club or on a stage with a mic. It has lots of reserve power. I never got it past 4 1/2 on the clean channel. It has good tone too.

*****The guy that posted that he had problems with *****
three of them made one major mistake as far as
I can see. Read his post.

He did not do an ample burn in. Tube, in fact all
amps need at least 10 hours playing at low volume
or just being on before you crank it. Feather up
the volume slowly. Speakers need a break-in. Its new.

Would you buy a new car and drive it 130 mph after
just pulling from the showroom? NO.

Well maybe someone would.

Its a straight forward 40 watt tube rig. Its loud and sounds great.
It does have good reverb but I don't use that either.

Not noisy and great for blues playing. I play metal and some
simple blues.

I use a Gibson SG standard with stock pickups.

I also have a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 suppling the overdrive
through a Rocktron Intellifx to the HR Deluxe. (((Stereo))) :-)

Its an amazing combination. The Fender keeps up with the Marshall
to a point then I have to be carefull. The Marshall 1960A slant cab can pump lots of volume. The Fender can't go that high, but it can crank.

I have never had a problem with it. Never retubed or rebiased.

It is as it was the day it came out of the box.
I have no intentions of putting tubes in it unless the stock ones go KAPUT.

I respect all my gear and I get good service out of all of it.
Beat it up and it won't last long.

Called them about the FX loop. They were good.

Been playing thirty years and I am very critical about equipment.
I have been through lots of gear, rack systems, power amps, preamps,
solid state combos, and the pedal route.

The present setup I have is perfect for any style of playing and
is about as professional as any rig can get.

Have you ever bought something and you had mixed feelings about
it each day?........ I don't have that with my rig.

The Fender HR Deluxe and the Marshall blend well and amaze me each time I use them.

Fender HR Deluxe.....Its a good amp.

Not sure when the amp was made, bought it used on Ebay. Amp is versatile for what I play. Not great for metal, but with a Metal Zone, I'm sure it could be achieved. I love it for classic rock. 3 channels. Normal, Drive, More Drive. I use the channel switcher. No effects loops. Does have headphone jack. Wish it had volume control for the more drive channel. It's hard to use this 3rd channel because of the volume boost when it's kicked on. I use this amp mainly in my youth worship service at church. I can't put the amp above 1 1/2 in there. Wouldn't put it above 2 or 3 anywhere else except maybe a stadium. But would never come close to using full volume. Extremely loud Fender tube amp.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard - humbuckers. Not noisy at all on clean. Gets a little hum when gain is turned up high on drive channels. Noise isn't noticable at all when playing through it. Just switch to standby or clean channel when amp is on but not in use for total silence if you're that paranoyed about a little hum. I like to put the amp's gain on 2 1/2 so I can use that for standard overdrive but can always add more gain with the tube screamer or DS-1. Haven't ever noticed any distortion on clean channel. The overdrive is great on the drive channel. My only complaint that I listed above is that the More Drive channel has a very big volume boost which makes it hard to use live. However, you could find this useful for soloing. I prefer to use Boss SD-1 or compression. The clean channel is really sparkling and the drive channel offers one of my favorite sounding rhythm tones that could be achieved in any amp.

Very dependable. Never had a problem with it.

Been playing for 3 years. Own a total of 4 stompboxes which I like to use to put more gain on the drive channel (not because drive doesn't sound good, but for more versatility for gain) or for solo boosts. If stolen, I'd love to get another Hot Rod Deluxe. However, I don't know if I'd have the money on hand, so I might try to find a Blues Junior. Still 12" speaker and can go plently loud as well, just doesn't have the number of watts as the Deluxe. Thought about getting a Marshall MG Series 1x12. But I realized, I wanted a sparkling clean channel and a tube amp. Since I could get the Marshall new for $350 or the Fender used for $350 also, I went ahead and got the Fender. Extremely happy I choose this amp. Tube amp's are incredible. If given the choice between a Tube Fender, Peavey, Vox or solid state Marshall, always go with the tube amp.

features are OK, they tried to stuff a little too much into this thing. Mostly, they need to ditch the more drive. They need to replace the volume pot with one that doesn't jump. but they're not going to to that. too bad. But the FX loop is nice, eq controls are decent, they come alive with certain guitars and better tubes.

I'm using two different MIJ strats, one with stock pups for dark tones and one with alnico pups for bright tones. also using a stock epi LP special with stock ceramic pups that sound very cool. this amp sounds best with brighter pickups. The clean channel is awesome and sounds best when the volume is in 1/3 to 1/2 way up. I think it sounds like ass when it breaks up. I don't like power tube breakup, though. The drive channel is great to my ears, but the master knob needs to be put a little higher than 1 to sound good. don't like the more drive, it's too noisy and transistory. Reverb is very bright and gets too watery and crumby after 5-6. But even at that setting it has its purpose. it's a nice reverb with a big long tank.

I'm going to try the volume box in the fx loop and see what kind of sounds I can get for my living room. Overall, this is a great live amp because it sounds best when played a little louder, but not too loud.

This isn't a honeymoon review. I used to have one of these but my neghbors would bang on the floor if I played my electric unplgugged, so you can imagine how they would howl like wolves when I played the HRD. I ended up getting a Blues Junior, but after a few years I wanted a HRD, too. now I got both and I'm thankful.

Guess what? YOU CAN PLAY METAL WITH THIS AMP. Just use the drive channel and add the right pedal on top of it, maybe some EQ. It will be a little noisy, but that's the fun of metal. The only "metalheads" who like pristine sounds are not true metalheads. They're angry guys who go through a metal phase, but then decide they want to become jazz musicians. How many metal fans have come back from a metal concert and said, "well, you know it was heavy and loud, and there was some violence, but the guitarist's amp had a bit too much noise coming from it. Just a tad too much noise." Huh? that's right, it's never happened.

I don't know I bought this used, it was made in USA. My Blues Junior was mad in Mexico, but it's held up great. The good thing about the reliability is that so many of the manufacturing flaws are easily upgraded/repaired in that Unofficial Hard Rock Deluxe Website. link is available in one of the many reviews below.

never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 13 years and been through many phases. Now I'm chilling out and settling with a very ecelectic style, but it's original and it's "me".

Amp is a 2005.

I find this amp to be very versitile. I play classic rock, rock, blues, hard rock, and metal. Its not the best amp for high gain applications, but it does accept pedals really well. It sounds gorgeous with my blues driver and digitech hot rod pedals, although I need a metal zone for the metal tones I want. The OD channel is awesome for classic rock grit and crunch. I almost have a Jimmy Page-esque tone on the more drive channel.

The amp is 3 channel, clean, drive, more drive. Clean breaks up nicely around 5, but its too loud for my current situations. The drive and more drive are switched witha provided footswitch, but I dont like how the switche are so close together, at times i find myself hitting both of them. I probly just have to get used to it. The effects loop which i havent tried out yet because I dont have enough cables I guess works like its suppose to.

I use this amp in a band atmosphere, its far too loud to practice on, I by far have the loudest amp out of our musicians, and I play on volume 2-3 most of the time. It goes up to 12. The highest ive pushed it is 8, because I dont want to get too crazy with it yet.

I use this amp with a Greg Barnett Samick Formula. It has one humbucker(duncan designed, looking to replace with a SD Jazz HB), and 2 lipstick single coils(very unique, I like them.) The tone on the clean channel with the rythm pickup(the neck lipstick) is gorgeous. Its clean with just a slight bit of bite, and its got a lot of bass which is good for me because Im a rythm guitarist. When I switch it to the HB and add some overdrive, the tone is completely classic rock. Its great and I love it. The only thing I dont like is the hum on the more drive channel, that shhhh sound is annoying, but that comes with the gain, theres really nothing you can do about it.

Im pretty sure its reliable, due to the things Ive heard and Ive seen people who've had this amp for over 5 years. The amp gets hottt however, if you play for long periods of time. The one thing I wouldve done differently is put a fan somewhere in it, but regular household fans work well for ourdoor gigs in the summer and long shows. Never had any problems with it yet.

Never dealt with fender, probly never will have to. Ive heard they have great support, and there warrenties cannot beat, 5 years. They replace broken equipment, whether its your fault or not. Our bassist in our band got a brand new rumble 100 amp after his amp malfunctioned. There great.

Ive been playing for about a year now, avvidly. Usually I practice about 3-4 hrs a day, Ive had some realy good gear and some really crappy gear along the way and I think this is the best piece of equipment I've ever bought. If someone stole it, Id definately buy a new one, or get this one back with force haha. I compared it to the blues jr and the classic 30 when I was in the market, and it dominated the blues jr because of the volume and it had way more versitility. The classic 30s cleans werent as sparkeling and bright as the fender, however the overdrive beat it out. But I get mostly all of my overdrive tones out of pedals, so it doesnt matter anyway.

No special built-in effects, no loads tricky things, but you know - it's got great tone. Pretty standard controls; Volume, Drive, Treble, Bass, Mid, Master, Reverb, Presence. I think it's by far more important to get a great tone before fancy half-decent loads of digital effects.

I play a Samick (Greg Bennett redesign). It's not the best guitar but it sounds pretty decent. It's got the stock humbuckers in it. They've been treating me very well, so.
I play mostly rock/classic rock/blues/and a bit of other stuff (ska, for example :). It seems to fit most everything fairly well. A lot of people have pointed out the lack of metal tones... I don't listen to metal, and I only play a few riffs now and then to get people laughing.
I can get most everything I want out of this amp, and it's wonderful that it's a tube amp. My last amp was a 20 watt solid-state crappity-crap Crate. Incredible improvement

I've never had any reliability problems with anything. I'm poor (hell, I'm 16 :) and probably wouldn't worry about a backup. I'd like to say I'd have extra tubes with me at gigs, but I probably won't. That means I think it's reliable, I guess.

I don't know... I got it a few days ago. I hear Fender's pretty good... but I did buy it used. Shrug.

I'm 16, like I said. I've been playing for about 4 years...
If it were stolen? I'd resist violent action towards the stealer...because I'd be in jail, and couldn't play it! My birthday's in a few days... my dad and I drove down to Eugene (Oregon) to Guitar Center... looking, actually, for a Fender Stage 100. It's solid state; I'm incredibly happy I got a tube amp. The sound is such an improvement. That is, over an old, dead, half busted 20 watt Crate. Without a doubt an excellent buy. Hell, it looks awesome too! And loud? Ohhhhh, yes...

This is a follow up to an earlier review. The amp in its present form is extremely versitile and I regularly get compliments on my tone.

The drive channel is still just satisfactory. At louder volumes it gets better. Do yourself a favor and change out the stock power tubes with some Winged Cs and retube the preamp with some NOS from ebay. It won't cost that much and it'll be well worth it.

Also, change out the speaker with an alnico that can handle the watts. A Jensen P12n or similar Weber will do just fine. If you need to get an attenuator as well.

This setup is straight heaven for single coils and humbuckers alike. I swear to you, you won't be dissatisfied.

I've had my HRDx for 5 years without a single problem. I don't know what that the guys problem was that posted directly underneath me. I gig without a backup regularly, but bring spare tubes.

After these cahnges are made the warranty is null and void, but it's well worth it. Get one used and you won't have to worry about it anyway.

Been playing for 20 years. Own lots of equipment. Get one and get happy!

Check other posts or Fender site for features. I read half of the reviews posted below and now I know what this amp is all about. Thanks to all the people who contributed helpful information. After reading and having gone through three amps in a month, I decided it's not worth the waste of time to try to find a good one. Why? Read below.

Nice clean, agressive, not-bad sounding drive. Many people criticize the drive channel, but it can be made good-sounding, depends how you play. Definitely sounds better with a good ovedrive pedal. breaks up at 4 with humbuckers on the clean channel but can be given more headroom with different tubes. Sounds great at high volume on stage, can carry an auditorium easily, but not very useful in a studio.

OK, THIS IS THE REAL REASON WHY I WRITE THIS REVIEW. I've gone through three of these this month. The first one developed horrible cracking noise after several days. Thinking tubes were loose, I resettled them. Still the same. Took it back. The second one had a terrible built quality: loose parts inside shielding on the inside in shreds, top wanted to break every time I lifted it, noisy like hell. I only checked it when I took it home so it went back next day. The third one - checked and played in the store, everything OK. Took it home, played loud for half an hour and what do I hear? The same loud cracking as in the first one> reset the tubes, no change. Change tubes, rebias the amp (66mV, still cracks, but not so much[good tubes]. Change back to original tubes, re-bias, cracking is loud again. Found a possible source of the problem (faulty resistor) on this site
http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/
(check it, it's full of useful information)
Back to the store again. Took out my wallet, shelled out another $250 and got myself a '65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb. Sounds better, is not so damn loud and hopefully will be more reliable than the Hot Rod that, true to its name, is hot, so hot that it's good only for a short time and then it burns.

For what? to tell me that they tried to make a good amp on the cheap and it can't be done without comromising quality/reliability?

People who talk so much about modifying: have some common sense. Yes, swapping tubes can make sense if you want a specific result such as more headroom,qieting it down etc. But putting in a Celestion Vintage30 will not improve the sound that much and for the cost of tubes and the speaker you can upgrade to to Deluxe Reverb. If this is not loud enough, save some more money and get a Twin reverb. You have to be deaf not to hear the difference this investment will make. And if you want a powerful amp for distortion, get something else, even a Marshall AVT wouldn't be a bad choice, and it's less money. I can honestly say that after reading so many reviews, I realized (and heard) that this amp can sound good, but it is likely to give you a headache because of so many problems so many people had with it. The quality went down the drain since they started making them in Mexico, and the've sold so many they don't care. I have also owned a Pro Junior and it's much better built than Deluxe, and sounds good too, so if you don't have enough, do yourself a favour and forget Deluxe, you don't have to kill with decibels, and Blues or Pro junior is mighty loud and can be miked if need be.

Don't know what year it was made, but I bought it new in 2002. I traded a Twin Reverb in because it was too heavy for me, and was much more power than I really needed at the time. Three channels, reverb, 40 watts.

Well, I'm no tube expert, but all of my guitars sound good through this amp: Strats, Les Pauls, Rickenbackers, Gretsches. I agree with the first few reviews below mine....this is not a bad amp. You don't have to swap out all of the tubes and change the speaker to get a good sound. The distortion isn't bad. Is it Marshall-quality distortion? Of course not. Fenders are famous for clean sounds, not dirt. I've had this amp for three years now, and I can honestly say it has never let me down. Play it for a few months (or on a few gigs) and give it a chance to break in before you change all of the tubes and the speaker. The only problem I've had is that there was a slight crackle for the first few minutes I had it on, so I switched the 6L6's from Fender whites to Fender blues. The crackle is still there, but my amp breaks up around 4 or 5 on the volume now, whereas before, it would have to be on 6 or 7. I was pleasantly surprised by this. The bass player and lead guitarist in my band play way too loud (sound familiar?), and not only can I keep up with them, I get a nice bluesy breakup that really lets me be heard. Also, I think the reverb sounds fine above 2 or 3. I've played with it up around 7, and it still sounded good. Believe it or not, I like the reverb on this amp better than the one on my Twin Reverb. This doesn't get overly mushy, so the notes stay well defined up until 8 or so.

Like I said before, I've had this amp for three years and it has not let me down. Just keep some spare tubes on hand, because you never know.....

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 20 years. I have a Rickenbacker 325C58, a Gretsch 6122-62 w/TV Jones Classic Filtertrons, a Gibson Les Paul Standard, an Epiphone '56 Les Paul Goldtop reissue with P-90's, and a Fender American Stratocaster. All of the above guitars sound good with this amp. My Twin Reverb has a better clean sound, but the Hot Rod has a more well-rounded sound. It's got more body, whereas the Twin Reverb can sometimes be a little harsh. (see my review of the Twin) My favorite guitar to play through this is my Gretsch. It actually sounds better through this than it does through my Twin. I traded a Twin Reverb in for this amp, but then bought another Twin Reverb a couple of years later. The Hot Rod is good for average sized gigs, but I need the Twin for larger venues, and for playing outside. Other than that, the Hot Rod can handle anything you throw at it. A great amp. I hope Fender keeps making them.

I just bought this. It is a warm, super clean, full sounding little thing. I just bought it, and plan on adding effects, because it is such an amazing start to add to. I play experimental art rock, but bluesy warm tones are my liking, plus I am oddly into country music. I can make this guitar sound like anything I want. It has sustain, warmth, crunch, clean, volume, and fullness. I am using a 72 Fender Custom Telecaster with it right now. I just bought the thing and without 'breaking it in' it already sounds incredible.
If you think the 1x12 isn't good enough for your live performance, it is. But try it on top of an extension speaker and It really comes alive, you can feel it, and has a 3-d quality to it you just dont get with other combos run into ext. speakers. It looks pretty and this is my first real, full, tube amp. I am nowhere near a purist, but it will take some convincing to make my next amp anything not tube. It is very basic, but that means you can build on it, or keep it real. They didn;t just quit and give up thinking this was an easy design. Fender really made it sound nuts. The other guitarist in my band is buying one too now.

I'm using a stock reissue 72 Custom Fender Telecaster, utilizing all pickup positions. The amp wouldn't conventionally fit my bands style, but that's what make our sound more unique now. Plus, jamming with friends or by myself, I can play anything I myself would want to play. It has a little amp hum from being new tubes, but I hear they'll go away, and if not it's nothing for me to chum over. I can turn my guitar down, or enjoy it for its beauty. I am adding effects to it, because it is such a great canvas. I am not a fan of distortion, so this prevents anyone from picking up my guitar to show me how to play Pantera. I love it. It has the right amount, maybe even too much for me, but that means great.

I've played it for about 6 hours straight, just getting it home from the store. It lasted! I gig regularly, so we'll see how it is after that.

Also, no time to have to dael with them yet.

I've been playing for 2 years. I previously have been playing/gigging with a Fender RocPro stack which I love, but needed to get something smaller for the trailer and for my own taste. This sounds better, and is in better shape. It has warmer feel to it and is more me now. I'm not attatched yet, but I think if it were lost I'd get this again or try out the other amps I was looking at. I figure I will have and experiment with many amps and styles in my lifetime, im just 18, so starting here will be great. Jimi always pawned his guitars. I wish it were a 2x12 but still sounds big with just 1, and is a ton easier to use, move,and set up that a stack.

I originally reviewed this amp on 7/30/2001 (scroll down to read) and I thought some of you may be interested in reading my thoughts after almost 4 years of HRD use.

Features you know. Straightforward and simple, which is why I was attracted to the amp. It's got everything I want, but if you like bells & whistles, this probably isn't your amp.

It was interesting for me to read the submission that said the noise factor of the amp diminished after is had been on for an hour. When I first got the HRD the drive channel had so much hum I doubted I could ever use it. The problem diminished awhile later. The band I was in changed rehearsal spaces about the same time, so I thought perhaps the wiring in the building was causing the noise. Now I'm not so sure.

The noise has not been a problem for years now. The last band I was in, I played all night in the 'Drive' setting. I played a 1984 Washburn HB-35 (ES-335 clone)and got that nice overdriven, just-starting-to-break-up tube tone. For solos, I'd go to 'More Drive' and get a slight volume boost with a little more edge. It sounded great!

The pots are not very linear, and the volume is very touchy. A friend of mine has swapped out the pots, tubes, and speaker on his HRD and is very pleased with the results. I haven't done any mods--I like the way it sounds. Unless you want to be Dick Dale, DON'T put the reverb above 2.5.

I have a Strat copy that I've played through this amp, and it sounds killer.

As time has passed, I find myself using almost no effects. I have a ZOOM pedal that I use mostly as an in-line tuner. A good sounding amp plugged into this guitar is an ideal set-up for my money. If you want a clean, blues-based sound, this is it

The HRD has never given me a problem.

Beyond mailing in my warranty card and deleting their e-mail spam, I haven't dealt with Fender.

This amp is everything I wanted and I am very happy with it four years down the road. If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely replace it. As it looks now, the HRD stands a good chance of matching or beating the 20-year-run of my previous amp.

At this point you should be familiar with this amp's features. If not just scroll down!

This thing ain't gonna do everything in the universe but it will make a pretty convincing blues/classic rock type sound.

I wouldn't call this amp, "very versatile" but it does do exactly what it claims to.

I'm using a mexi-strat w/ stock pick-ups.

At first I thought I made a big mistake buying this amp. I got it home, plugged it in and it sounded exactly like crap. I tried tweaking every knob on the thing and nothing sounded good to my ears.

I noodled around on it for about 40 minutes and then clicked on to "stand-by". It sat there like that for a few hours. I picked up the guitar again and started playing. It miraculously sounded much better.

I suspect a few things happened. First ( and probably most importantly) I started playing with more attack and heavy hands. It's also possible that the tubes needed to get good and hot and the speaker needed to loosen up a bit.

I also cranked the volume all the way up on the clean channel. After a few minutes I backed it down to 4 or 5.

The reverb even started to sound better after some break in time.

I'm now about a month into this amp and I'm loving it. Every sound that comes out of it is harmonically rich and throaty. It's very responsive to picking style variations. If I ease up a bit it smooths right out and delivers buttery tone. If I dig in a little more it starts to break up into a good solid crunch and if I tighten up on the pick the harmonics sing out effortlessly.

The simple fact is, this amp made me be a better player.

No problems so far.

Not needed.

I've been playing for over 25 years with lots of gigs under my belt. I worked steady every weekend for over 5 years in a classic rock/ biker bar type band. I have a degree in audio engineering and I have worked in some very high end recording studios and audio post-production facilities. I've done tons of live sound reinforcement gigs for local and national acts.
I've owned everything for tiny combo amps to 100 watt half stacks and a rack full of processors. Hey, it was the 80's.

At this point my rig consists of the strat a cable and the HRD. There is something to be said for keeping it simple.

I feel confident recommending the HRD to anybody interested in a tube combo. It has plenty of power for club dates and it sounds good at any volume. If I had to offer one little niggle I'd say I overpaid. I'm sure I could've found a used one for less money but I justified it with the knowledge that this amp is gonna have a lot of life in it for a long time.

I got this in i wanna say 2003, and i'm submitting this to offer a new insight into playing this amp, which i'll get to later. The pre-distortion eq bugs me at times, though it has it's uses, which i'll also get to later, and an eq pedal works anyways. It's a one or two trick pony, but for the money it's unbeatable.

Ok. Here's the two ways in which i set this up. I'm playing a Jackson Dinky with EMG 81s through a ts9 with a wah and phaser but those last two don't matter. The amp is completely stock. Ok, sometime when you don't need to worry about volume set the amp up in one of the two following ways (but this'll sound horrible with a strat so fair warning)
A) Plug into input one and aim to get the most amount of gain possible through the clean channel i.e. everything except reverb and presence (and drive channel controls) to 12 (since the eq is pre distortion as i've mentioned, cutting anything reduces the gain you are sending to the gain stages). Set the tubescreamer to tone 0 drive 0 level max. This setup won't sound muddy as the drive channel does since you're are only using 2 or 3 gain stages compared to the drive channel's 3 or 4. Instead of getting too much halfhearted gain from too many stages you are fully saturating every tube in the machine (including power tubes, the most essential of all), which gives you an amazing unique crunch which is great sounding, but not like every marshall on the block. Set presence and reverb to suit, and if this sounds horrible in a passive pickup guitar, don't kill me

B. Try bypassing the preamp entirely, which I'm sure almost requires some sort of active pickup, but who knows? Plug the amp into the power amp in jack. By doing this you are getting pure power amp distortion, which is what really is the key to good tone. Pre amp distortion on it's own sounds like a mosquito convention, and by setting the amp up like this to avoid the preamp grind, you have a great clean to mildly driven tone, and can use the ts9 to add crunch if you need to.

this thing actually died on me once two weeks after i got it. But it was fixed really quickly. It had a bad power driver tube

who knows? I hate calling people. I prefer hiding away in the coffin in my basement tinkering with things, which is how i came up with the 2nd idea

Please try these ideas out. If you want you can build a volume box to limit the volume when trying the super saturating idea. You're screwed when you bypass the preamp, so sorry. I've only been playing since 8th grade (i'm a junior in high school now), but no one seems to be really experimenting with amps the way they should. Swapping tubes and speakers sould be a last ditch attempt, as really what you're doing here is changing gain tolerances and eq characteristics that you can maniplate using booster and eq pedals. Try putting eq pedals at every stage of the game and tweaking them before you give up and change the speaker.

VERSATILITY: This is not versitile, which is a good thing. The Hot Rod a perfect, no-frills tube amp for blues players. An American Strat simply comes alive through this thing. If you want features like built-in effects, multiple channels, and 'endless tonal ranges,' then look elsewhere. The effects loop is effect for those of you who cannot resist unnecessary additions to blues tone.
FEATURES? I didn't by it for features. The second channel with "drive" up to at least 5, and a Strat, is all I need to sound like SRV's "Love Struck Baybe." Don't expect to sound like EVH, Metalica, or ACDC through this thing.
WHERE USED: The Hot Rod is perfect for the player who lives in an apartment, yet is beginning to venture out on stage. It's loud enough to fill a small venue, and yet can still be adjusted to lower volumes (to spare your neighbors) without sacrificing tone too much.
Overall I give it an "8" because for $550 it's still not a Twin Reverb, Vibroverb, etc. But considering how much those mules cost, this is worth the money. Also, in my view, there are tonal limitations -- i.e. you can't venture into metal with confidence. If you're just looking for an honest blues amp, though, this ia a 10.

SOUNDS AND MODIFICATIONS:
DO NOT MODIFY THIS AMP UNTIL YOU'VE PLAYED THROUGH IT FOR A MONTH OR TWO. I am alarmed at the many reviewers below who complain of this amp being too "muddy." Well, yeah it's muddy, like electric blues was meant to be. If you want high gain -- i.e. play metal -- or tha "ZZ Top" sound (although a different kind of blues), buy a Marshall or Mesa. Don't make changes until you get to know this thing -- you may find that you like it the way it is and save youself boo-koo money.
If you cannot resist making modifications, make them slowly. First, change the two super tubes with Svetlana 6L6GC's. That makes the tone brighter and more defined, but you don't loose the bluesy tone. Adding two Sovtech 5751 in V! and V2, and a 12AT& Electro-Harmonix will add more definition, but only slightly. I have not yet changed out the speaker and am reluctant to do so. As I mentioned, it sounds exactly like "Love Struck" when played though a Strat.
MORE ON MODIFICATIONS: Do the math! If you spend $550 on ebay, plus $30 for shipping, then $70 to replace the tubes, then $50 (conservatively) to replace the speaker, plus any service expenses and any added expenses, then you've spent nearly $700 or more dollars on a single-speaker tube amp. Why not save up $300 or more dollars over a few more months of waiting and buy a Twin Reverb? Something to think about...
COMPLAINTS: The Master volume control is way too sensitive when on the second channel, and the reverb is too outspoken over 5. If you're addicted to reverb you'll need your own support group after buying this thing.
RATING: Despite being VERY pleased with the blues tone, I give the "sounds" section an 8 because of the lack of versitility. True, the clean channel is clear and full of character, which is conducive to added effects throuugh the effects look. However, I feel limited in that I cannot venture out tonnally into Randy Rhoads, EVH, etc. territory.

I've had it for 5 years and NEVER had a problem, not one. But make sure you keep that owners manuel because it's inserted schematic and tips on using the tone knobs will be helpful to you when changing out tubes or figuring out the sensitive controls of this beast.

Since I never had a problem, I never had to contact customer support. The best support is the kind you never need! Thus, I give this a 10.

Again, this is perfect for blues players. It's the perfect size for an apartment and for a guy or gal whose just beginning to venture to the stage. If you have to make so many modifications to this to make it sound the way you want it, then you should just get something else. Metal minds, look elsewhere. I give it an 8 overall because it simply isn't going to meet every tonal need, and yet, it was not intended to do so.

Follow up to previous post/issue about excesive bass in HRDlx.

I put on a set of amp casters, cause I ain't getting any younger...

The casters raised the amp up 2 inches.

I was not expecting this, but when I played the amp I noticd that the excessive bass was gone. I even needed to turn up the bass, a little.

A pleasant and inexpensive surprise. Easy on the back too.

DIY.

Always thought that I had to mod this, and change that, to get my
HRD to sound good (Using sovtek 12AX7WA's SED 6L6GC's @ 36mA each, and a Celestion Vintage 30), but was not thrilled with the excessive bass. But now, inadvertently, the mud is no longer an issue.

I have a recent(Mexi) model. Same features as indicated below. Enough
features for me as I like just a simple amp to operate but with a killer tone.

I play mostly classic rock, some country. I use an old strat and tele, both early 60s, stock, have been playing for 35 plus years. Here's where this gets interesting, I bought an HRDX when they first came out, did'nt own it for long, switched back to a Marshall and then Mesa. I had heard a friend playing a newer HRDX through a 4x12 cab. Again purchased the HRDX and changed the speaker to an old 60s Jensen I had in one of my old bandmaster bottoms. (Oh wow!!!) Changed power tubes 5 different times. I like the Svetlana 6L6GC the best. Not the best headroom, TADs were the best for that, but tighter, more edge, more tone all around. I have now changed to yellow jackets with Sovtek EL84s. I plan on trying some other EL84s. I like the fact I can switch between 6L6s and 84s on the fly. I did the reverb mod, big mprovement.
I also changed the GT 12AX7s to El Elites. Huge improvement. I should mention that I have never used the overdrive channel in any amp. I prefer the Keely modded (Vai) DS1 pedal.(incredible pedal). I play the amp in conjuction with a celetion loaded Mesa 4x12 cab. This combination is my bliss, heaven, summit. My Mesa was dark, My marshall was unpredictable and brash.

Never had a single issue.

Never had to contact them.

I've been playing a long, long time. I have owned alot of different equipment. I would certainly buy this amp again. I would have to go through the mod process again however. I also have a Marshall JTM60, Fender Tonemaster, Vox AD120, Mesa Mark III, Crate Vintage club 50, Fender Quad Reverb. I plan on doing the high pass filter mod on the HRDX. I am then set for life.

Bought in '03, 2-channels, standard Fender controls.

Stock amp was loud but harsh and condensed sounding.

Have had no problems - expect none.

I am a guitarist trying to get the most guitar sounds (clean Strat tones of ?Lenny? by SRV or ?Sultans of Swing? by Dire Straits to Satriani/Santana distortion) out of the least amount of gear. I have just 2 guitars, a Strat with DiMarzio Virtual Vintage pickups (Blues in the neck, VV Standard in the middle, and Heavy Blues in the bridge) and an Ibanez S470 with DiMarzio?s (Humbucker from Hell in the neck, Fast Track 1 in the middle, and Steve?s Special in the Bridge). I have one effects unit, the Boss ME50 (which goes a LONG way toward giving you a huge array of sounds) and one amp, the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, bought about 18 months ago. I did a side-by-side comparison of the HRDX to a Crate VFX5112 at Guitar Center in the ?loud room.? Back and forth I played each amp with the same guitars, primarily on the clean settings. I liked the Crate better. Its clean sound was soft and lush; the Fender was harsh and condensed. The HRDX was clearly louder at 40-watts than the 50-watt Crate. I bought the Crate then, although it cost $100+ more due to on-board effects which I didn?t need. (I wished they?d had a model with no effects and a lower price). The Crate began manifesting malfunctions. I took it back to GC and exchanged it. The 2nd one did the same thing. When I took it back, they said that others had experienced the same thing, so this time I exchanged it for the HRDX. Now I had a reliable tube amp that sounded harsh and condensed. Then I discovered this very web site and read all the reviews of the HRDX and the changes that guys made to improve the sound. HarmonyCentral.com is a God-send! I decided to change out tubes and speaker. I did each of 3 changes in steps and played through my amp after each one to evaluate the difference. First was the power tubes, I got NOS Svetlana 6L6GCs. If you read around, this is the single most important and definitive mod that will absolutely improve your HRDX. I first played my Strat on clean tones. The new sound was clear and smooth, and a little less harsh. I also detected some wonderful little harmonic ?things? that were happening occasionally while I played. Then I plugged in my Ibanez and cranked up some distortion from my ME50. Terrific! Smooth, clear, muscular. Those magic little harmonic ?things? were showing up. The biggest change was that the notes on the lower (wound) strings all had a life of their own with great tone that before had been only so-so. The next change was an Electro Harmonix 12AT7 to replace the GT 12AX7 in the Power Inverter position. The big change here was the sound of the bridge pickup on my Strat, the VV Heavy Blues. Whereas the other VV series sound great on my guitar, this one is harsh and ear-piercing. I?ve only been able to enjoy 3 of 5 positions on my Strat. The 12AT7 greatly reduced the harshness. This VV Heavy Blues still needs to go (I?ll go back to VV Blues for the bridge as it sounds terrific in the neck), but now I can at least use all 5 positions on my Strat and not pierce my ears. The final change was the speaker for a Jensen C12N. The clean channel sounds are bright and clear. When I play with distortion, there seems to be a little ?chirp? right at the point that the pick strikes a note. It kind of reminds me of a Randy Rhodes type distortion. But after the note is struck, the sound is super smooth and clear. I have read that a new speaker may need a ?break-in? period, so maybe the chirp will go. I?m not saying it?s a bad thing, but different. Back on the clean settings I can hear the advantage of the Jensen. One unintended benefit of all this is that the built-in Fender overdrive is now useable. I had dismissed using the OD channel at all and was only doing these mods to improve the clean but now I can see why a lot of guys have done the mods to improve the overdrive. I can get serious SRV tone with great mid-range growl and presence now, for a song like ?Crossfire,? the tone is dead-on. The end result for my Ibanez with distortion from the ME50 is

The features of this amp have been covered pretty well. It's pretty straight forward which is what I like about it. Separate eqs and a tremolo would be nice, but for the price, this amp does everything it needs to.

The sound is 100% why I bought this amp. It has a very natural sound to it. I play either a Fender Cyclone II (American Jaguar Pickups) or a Epi LP standard through a Dunlop crybaby to a proco turbo rat to a danelectro cool cat and then in. When I first got it I only had the cyclone and a Didgitech Hot Rod Rock Distortion. It was nowhere near enough distortion for me. I read a bunch of reviews saying that this amp couldn't do heavy distortion. I tried a DS-1 and a metal zone. The ds1 was ok, still not enough. the metal zone sounded aweful. Then I tried the Turbo Rat and my prayers were answered. THIS AMP CAN DEFINATELY DO METEL with the right pedal. I don't play metal, but I do like lots an lots of distortion with a clean sound to switch from. With the cyclone and the rat, I can go from crystal clear to dirty, growling, trudging... With the les paul... It just chugs! This amp is awesome. Very loud and sounds the way an amp should sound. GET THE TURBO RAT IF YOU WANT HEAVY DISTORTION!!!

So Far So good. bought it used and gig with it regularly.

This amp is exactly what I want. Straight forward, great sound, and with the turbo rat, extremely verstile. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably get another. I'm going shopping for a cab this week to beef it up a bit... Should be interesting.

Brand new 1X12 (Eminence speaker), black tolex, 3 channels: clean, diry, and 'more' dirt, comes with a footswitch...I rarely use 'more' dirt, because I don't play metal. I use this amp as workhorse local nightclub amp. I play funk, jazz, r&b, blues, rock n' roll, some country...you know most popular styles, except that metal business... this amp is versatile and compact and LOUD, at 40 watts. Reverb is classic Fender...brilliant, but I miss the Tremolo, which this model lacks, so I'll give it an 8--otherwise, a great amp

Classic Fender. Loud and clean, with good tweaks and taste, the first dirty channel is superb for the blues and 70's style rock n' roll.

What convinced me to buy a Hot Rod Deville is that I used one on 2 tours . It was provided for me by the artist I worked for. It withstood 2 tours: a total of 3 months of one nighters, you know in a van...very unglamourous circumstances. The only servicing I had to do was to change a fuse...ONCE. I was told that up until that point, that same amp had done a couple of other tours with NO servicing.

no experiences at this point

Great for a working guitar player doing just about everything, except metal. Wish it had that Famous Fender Tremolo, but this is not a perfect world----- ah well...there are plenty of nice Tremolo stompboxes out there... This amp is near perfect for me

2004 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe made in Mexico.
12" Eminence Speaker.
3 channels Clean Drive and More Drive.
Controls: Volume, Drive, Treble, Bass, Middle, Master, Reverb, Presence.
Two inputs, Effects loop, Bright switch.
Footswich and Amp cover included.

Guitars I use with this amp are a G&L S-500 USA, and a Peavey Generation EXP Custom ACM. The only effect I am presently using is an Ibanez TS-7 Tube Screamer. I almost always use the clean channel.
I used this am stock for about a year and was very disappointed. First there was an annoying rattle/buzz on certain notes regardless of the volume. I tightened all the screws but the sound seemed to come from the speaker. I took it back and the rattle was still present even with an external speaker. After they replaced the speaker I was told that it was a "resonance" within the amp. I tried another amp in the store and it had the exact same rattle so I took my amp home. I only accidentally discovered the cause a year later when I upgraded the tubes. As soon as I replaced the Groove Tubes the rattle was gone. When I put the Groove Tubes back in the rattle started again instantly. The tubes were not loose or vibrating because that produces a different sound.
Second problem was the harsh brittle "ice pick in the ears" sound of this amp. There seemed to be no setting that wasn't too shrill or too flabby sounding. I endured this for quite some time thinking it was due the MFD single coils in my S-500. After reading the many reviews here I decided to change the tubes and speaker, and what a difference!
For the Power Amp I used Tesla JJ 6L6GC, V1 & V2 Sovtek 5751 V3 Electro-Harmonix 12AT7EH and increased the bias from 58 to 68mV. Changing the tubes made the biggest improvement, I could now use my bridge pickup again!
The amp now sounded pretty good by itself but sounded terrible when playing with drums or other instruments.
I installed a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker and now the amp sounds fantastic under all playing circumstances. The first time I jammed with the new speaker I played for about 6 hours straight savouring that rich warm tone at all volumes. I can't believe how long I endured the stock tubes and speaker. For $250. Cdn. I now have an amp I am completely satisfied with. The only problem now is that the Vintage 30 caused the JJ power tubes to vibrate due to their location, and this created a ringing/jangling sound. To stop this I insulated them temporarily to stabilize and dampen the vibration which seems to work fine. I will probably try to build something a bit better, the pre-amp tubes came with a foam type insulator.
I'm still not used to the reverb on this amp, even at a setting of 1 you can still hear plenty of reverb. Anything past 3 it has a real jangly ringing sound, quite a clatter if turned up too much.
For stock sound I would rate this amp as 5 but it can easily be made into a 10 with the right modifications to suite your taste.

I use this amp without a backup but carry extra tubes just in case. I take the amp out 2 to 3 times a week and have had no problems. Overall the amp seems sturdy and solid with the exception of the front grill.

Have not dealt with the company

I have been playing for about 15 years mostly country classic rock and oldies. Other amps I have owned were a 70's Fender Super Twin and a 1994 Peavey Classic 50 2x12. I bought this amp to replace my Peavey Classic 50 which was stolen and probably should have shopped around a bit more. The HRD has a lot more volume than the Classic 50 and is a great value for the money. After modifying this amp I am very satisfied with the sound and tone. I will probably continue experiment with different tube combinations. I like the foot swich which has lights to indicate the channel and drive settings. With so many owners swaping out the Eminence speaker I wonder why Fender continues to use them. I wish you could by this amp without the speaker and tubes. If this amp was stolen (like my Classic 50!)I would probably replace it with a Yorkville/Traynor Custom Valve series.

Folow up to a previous post.

Was having trouble with 'ugly' non-musical dlstortion on drive
channel, and on clean channel when using boss blues driver.

Experimented with all kinds of pre-amp-tubes, and bias settings.

Amp's schematic says set bias to 30mA per 6L6 (60 mA combined).
But it doesn't say if the 6l6's are 19, 25 or 30 watts.

60mA on a 25watt 6l6 gives 53% dissipation, I assumed this as 'spec'.

So, the same 53% dissipation on a 30 watt 6L6 works out to
a combined bias value of 72mA (36mA/tube), or +72mV at TP30.

huh?

The sound cleaned right up.

I see that lots of folks use th TP30 setting of 68mV, but that
turned out to be cold in my amp (445 on the plates...), it needed a little more... (And 53% dissipation is still cold!)

I also had tried GT-12AX7-M's and 5741's and 12AX7EH's,--
and found that the cheap Sovtek 12AX7WA's actually sound
better. (I think that the preamp may have been designed around
it's lower specs. This might explain the pre-amp's volume 'bleed through' when controls are at zero, that some have noted.

Same features as listed by many in this forum

I usually just play on metal tube amps and if I wanted to sound clean I'd use the stock clean channel on it. When I first started playing the guitar clean channels didn't mean dick to me hence the metal amps. With that said, many years have gone by and I decided to try out a hotrod deluxe for that clean fender sound everyone is so horny over. Well I'll say it. It's a fucking fabulous clean tone! It instantly made my clean channel on my metal amp sound like ass.

Well mine arrived with the reverb not working at all. I checked for loose connections but found none. Sending it back.

For $514 this is a great deal, but has flaws in the design: plastic shafts for the input, think particle wood frame and will eventually warp the back panel because of heat. I decided to go all out since this religious clean channel awakening of mine. I'm going for the 59 bassman.

All you need for blues, roots, country etc. etc. Anything except Hard Rock/Metal really. Jazz would need a bit more headroom if playing in a big band. If you need more power, use a PA.

Clean is great, very warm and full of life.

There seems to be alot of debate about the distortion and reverb on this amp. To be really honest, who would buy a Fender for metal anyway? Some of the reviews on this site crack me up. If you play a cheap Epiphone through this and want to sound like Kirk Hammet, what do you expect????

You don't need to use Reverb past 2-3 in most gigging situaitons, as the sound bleeds into the mix - less is more.
For what it was designed for - great.

As reliable as any other I guess. Any amp could pack up, it depends on alot of factors eg. how much and where you use it etc.

Fender aren't too great in this department, as many will testify...

It's a great amp. There are many other great amps on the market. The other main manufacturers make great gear, which is good if used in the right situations properly, with good guitars. It really depends on what styles of music you want to play...

2004 Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. 40w. 3 channels, clean, o/d and more o/drive. High and Low inputs, effects loop. Shared EQ across all channels - Bass, Mid,Treble+Presence+Reverb. Bright Switch on Clean channel. Footswitch or push buttons for channel switch. Extra speaker socket.

These are enough for me. I tend to set the amp and play away. Tremelo would be nice but can't have everything.

Using Fender Strat Deluxe with S1 switching, Telecaster, Jaguar + Epiphone LP Custom.
It sounds good with them all. Fender guitars and Fender amps just go together IMHO.

Really sings with the Strat. Drive channel is OK but buzzes a bit when pushed. I use a Boss OD3 pedal on the clean channel to get driven sound now and it is excellent. Takes out some of the lows and boom when using the drive channel.

Clean is excellent and reacts well to playing style. I play blues, classic rock, some country.
Good surf sound from the Jag - reverb well up to it.

Had a Twin Reverb and switched to this to get more "grit" in my sound and it really is great. Lots of sustain too.

Silent pickups on the Strat make it really quiet.

Like almost all the posts here, the input jack is dodgy and I usually have to wiggle the cable to get it to work.

It's solid and well put together. I think it would gig without a backup.

Warranty is 5 years (I think).
I would take it back to the shop if it went faulty.

Been playing 20 years on and off. Also have Marshall MG100DFX SS combo which I thought was good until I got HR Deluxe. Marshall is ok with my Epiphone but not the Fenders now.

If lost or stolen I would get another, but would be tempted to listen to a Peavey Classic or Delta Blues first :-)

I love the sound of this amp. Clean is heaven, and with Boss pedal I can get SRV, Hendrix, Clapton, in fact most things. It may be modern but it is 100% pure Fender.

I tried a Hughes & Kettner Edition 20. Great for metal but no real reverb and mental volume control. As soon as I plugged into HR Deluxe I knew I was at that place.

It makes me want to play.

amp is from 1997 i think, bought new about 8 years ago.
has 2 channels and a loop, two inputs that work together, reverb, so really quite versatile, although i use just clean channel and use pedals.......
use the amp in studios and various venues from clubs to arenas..
too loud if anything...!!!

used mostly with single coil strat & tele.
after a couple of years i changed the speaker to a vintage 30, just because it handled the OD and distortion pedals better, it did change the clean sound a bit though, not worse just different.
i use this amp in many different bands with different styles from jazz (ish!!) to hard rock
and its great. i honestly think pound for pound ($$$$) this is the best amp in the world!!
i use a top hat ac30 type amp and a victoria tweed twin for some other things, because they have very specific sounds, but for an easily transportable versatile amp this is it.....it is heavier than the 2x12 tweed twin now the vintage 30 is in!! (was lighter before)

ive had this amp for 8 years now (roughly) and gigged it on average 3/4 times a week
its been recorded on films and tv and ive never taken a backup, even when the resistors died on me at a gig you could use it, clean sounds werent good but there was sound coming out!!! (even though i hated that gig i dont think anyone noticed!!)
after about 5 years the input socket got dodgy so that got changed for a hard wired switchcraft and of course the valves have been changed a few times (not a lot though, prob 3 sets of power tubes) lots of the 1st preamp tube.....it has 1 GT mullard reissue in pos 1 which is really nice, great for handling the pedals....

never used

i think for the money this is the finest.....
i have used various things marshall, soldano, tonemaster, matchless, top hat and victoria
i originally bought this cos it was light!! and i could get it around easily but i have used it more than any other amp....ive never owned a matchless, but they are v. nice but i did sell a soldano and a tonemaster because this is better!!! (better clean than both - and with pedals and a vintage 30 a fatter distortion than the soldano) they were really dissappointing....
anyway, never done a review before but i feel for the money this amp is great...i left it 8 years to see!!!!!!!

Bought Jan. 2004 Read the other reviews for the features, everybody's got that end covered very well. Classic Fender tone, great for any type of vintage music (blues, country, jazz, older rock). Very loud amp-haven't even had it up past 2 yet on the clean channel, and that's at gig volume!

Using a Fernandes strat, Les Paul Copy, and my trusty old Telly, playing vintage and modern blues, occaisonal classic rock. Noise level is typical for a tube amp, you're never going to get rid of all of it. This amp can very definitely nail the Fender clean tone, while the drive channel does well at medium gain settings (forget about real high-gain though, a pedal is definitely in order for that). That said, i really dig the touch sensitivity you can get by keeping the drive gain under half way. With the regular drive and the strat, I can perfectly get the old Jimmy Vaughn-T-Birds tone (Girls Go Wild era). The effects loop actually likes stomp boxes-I hooked a Danelectro Tuna Melt (tremolo) in with absolutely no problems. The reverb is beyond fender surf, I usually just leave barely cracked open, even for the surf medley I won't turn it up past half.

A few things that I have found out:
1) The More Drive is actually the full gain-regular drive introduces a resistor on the cathode of one the preamp tubes, knocking the gain down. My approach is to set the More Drive level first, the regular Drive will fall very nicely in after you set it this way.
2) The Bright switch only works on the clean channel, this is by design (the distortion could get too harsh). The Middle tone control feeds the bass tone control-turn up the mids and the bass will follow. This, BTW, is how the 4x10 bassman's tone controls work (and strangely, I found myself using exactly the same settings I used to use on that old Bassman).
3) Play the amp AT LEAST 8-10 HOURS AT GIG VOLUME before passing judgement on the speaker. Brand new speakers have a tendancy to sound very stiff, and they only loosen up after a fair chunk of playing. I had a Peavey Sheffield in my old amp, it sounded very harsh at first, but after playing it for a gig I could hear it soften up and get sweeter and more musical. This amp's speaker (an Eminence) sounded alright to begin with, but I could already hear it sweeten up after a couple of hours of playing.

It's a Fender, take care of it and it should last quite a stretch. Definitely carry extra tubes if you don't have a a backup.

We've all heard about Fender's "Legendary" support, I've never used them, but I have a good local store who can handle it (they are also authorized dealers)

Been playing 25 years, have owned nearly every old Fender there is, plus some others. The thing I liked best about it was the price/sound. It sounded as good as the Pro Reverb, at barely half the price. Sure it would be nice to have tremolo or other effects built-in, but then the price would go up a bunch, and make it less reliable

This is for all the quotes of "This is not a metal head amp" or "buy another amp if you like metal". This is correct to an extent, however, some people must not of ever heard of a distortion pedal. Sheesh. I think it's bad to sway the naive or newbies away from a amp due to lack of a heavy sound as if it were not possible. Most Metal heads add pedals to their metal amps because their distortion channel blows, just like you guys says the Hotrod's drive channel sucks. Did you guys ever hear of Metallica? They would buy an amp for a clean sound and add stomp a distortion pedal on top of it! Did you know that?....NOPE. If some of you knew anything outside your closed little blues world we'd have more people buying and discovering the great amp this is. In Stock form it's not for metalheads. Has anyone every been interested with a stock amp? NO! Why do you think distortion pedals sell?

This amp is phenomenal! I have gone through many a amp (custom Fenders, Laney, Music Man), and was very happy to find this one. It is the perfect volume for club level. I have yet to get it off of 3 in the CLEAN channel. The effect loops is ok if you want to place a digi-verb/delay thing in it. The forementioned channel switching is nice (especially for blues gigs when no fx pedals are required). It just honest works and sounds great. I even ran my pedal steel through it for a summer's worth of gigs (very low volume....of course)

I play country/rock/blues/jazz stuff with it and it sounds great. It can get a little treble-ee with my tele, but I personally like removing heads with high frequencies......

It has yet to break...no complaints! I have gigged without a backup (well....I have a pedal that does amp modeling if I am really screwed.....).

No dealings with Fender yet. I would probably repair myself or find an authorized center.

I found this in a pawn shop for $250. No kidding....it had been out of the store for a week before it was pawned...I snatched it up right away. After I got this amp, I got rid of my Laney 212. It is an amp that provides those great tube tones with no fuss or extra BS. For $250-500, you can get a great amp!

This is a 40 Watt, 1x12 Fender tube amp (mine came in blonde tolex) with a clean channel, drive channel, and a "more drive" button (which is pretty much a boost for the drive channel- NOT a third channel). It has the vintage "chicken-head" knobs on top.. very cool. Standard EQ controls. Preamp out/power amp in = effects loop.

40W is perfect for what I'm using this for. It's big enough to fill a club/large room, but small enough to break up at reasonable volumes. Stick a mic in front of it and you could play Madison Square Garden..

I play an American Tele and a Yamaha AES620 and this amp is all I use (though it is a little loud for a practice amp). It has amazing tone with the Tele, and the overdrive channel is sufficient for the Yamaha. This amp shines when clean, and more than gets by with the overdrive channel. Great tube tone.

The only problem is that there's a wierd buzzing on certain pitches, either coming from the speaker, or cabinet rattle, or.. I don't know. It's barely noticeable, but bugs me anyway. Not a fretbuzz problem, as I had all my guitars setup. Had the dealer check it out and they said they couldn't hear it.. whatever.

Solid as a rock. I would gig without a backup, but would definitely bring extra tubes.

They were helpful and prompt with checking on that buzzing thing, but said they couldn't fix it b/c they couldn't even hear it. Incredibly kind, but not very helpful.

Putting it as simply as possible, buy one. They really are easy to use, great amps. A little maintenance goes a long way. Do listen for that buzzing before you buy it though, it might turn some people off.

This is a brand new amp-received it on 19 January 2005 from American Music Supply. I am mostly a blues player with some rock. I am very pleased overall with this amp. I am still trying to get 'My' blues sound I want, out of it, but with some experimentation and time I know I'll get it.

I am using a LePaul which throught these tubes is very mellow. The only complaint I have is it has a loud bass. I have the bass control turned down all the way and my guitar volume controls down to 4, just to control the bass. the clean channel is excellent. I read some complaints about the distortion. I find them to be ok

Haven't had it long enough yet- But since it is a Fender, and the construction appears to be excellent, I don't think there will be any problems

Don't know yet

I have beeen playing right at 30yrs with a few breaks in between. UI would definitely replace it - The price, quality, sound is a real value in my opinion. I have searched the internet for reviews and asked fellow musicians for advice on tube amps. I kept coming back to this one. It is used in small venues. I am interested in changing the tubes to alter the clean channel -Looking for recommendations- Thanks

This amp is fantastic! Extremely versatile, has 3 channels (clean, drive, more drive), reverb, and effects loop. Not the most hi-tech amp, just simple classic tube tone. Crazy loud.

I play mostly blues and classic rock. This amp suits my style perfectly. Clean channel sounds amazing, can't beat fender tube tone. The drive channel sounds very vintage. More drive channel is kind of noisy and sounds a little less natural than the others. This amp does a terrific job of replicating your favorite Hendrix, Zeppelin, and SRV tones. If you're looking for a metal amp or heavy like that, this one isn't for you. I can't believe how loud this thing is. Only thing is that the bass tones can be overwhelming at hight volumes. Overall - excellent.

This amp seems to be really well made. The cabinet is really strong, makes an excellent chair. No reliability complaints yet! One of the preamp tubes (in position V3) seems to be microphonic, no biggie. Comes with a 5 year warranty.

Haven't had any issues to speak of yet, so I haven't had to deal with customer support.

I've been playing for a little over the year, I feel like this amp is something I can really grow with. If stolen, I'd definately get another one. I compared this to every tube and tube/hybrid under $1000, I just found myself always coming back to this amp. Deville's are nice also, but trust me 40 watts is more than enough; save $200 and your back and buy a deluxe.

40 watts all tube, 2 channel with drive boost on drive channel, 3 band parametric, spring reverb, effects send and return. 1 x 12 inch speaker. Cool knobs!
2004 model. Swapped it for my old marshall 100w. Probably not a good swap dollar wise, but I now have an amp that i can use in just about any room - and i can carry it in one hand! Also, I can get great driven power tube tone without pissing off the engineer. I am happy man.

Plenty of tonal variations are available with just the pressure you play. Just don't overdo the treble or the bass - treble can hurt your ears after 3 o clock and bass can get flabby with high vol, so set the amp up differently for each room....
The clean channel: normal mode lovely, warm, clear and bell like. With the bright switch down there is heaps of sparkle. Turn the volume up and the power tubes get driven hard to give a lovely, linear natural type of compression - the sound just gets "creamier" and a little more forgiving.
I have only used a Strat and a Tele with it, so the bright switch does not get used live much.
Drive Channel: this is where the fun starts. Roll back the volume or preferably just pick softly for rhythm, pick harder and all the rich tonality of your guitar come through. Play a big, open chord and really give it some stick and every note rings through - crunchy and warm but still clear and defined. If your sound comes from your fingers and not a row of gadgets you will really appreciate the sound.
Neck pickup: Blue and ballsy (think Jimi Hendrix -Red House). Neck and Middle: clear sparkly- just really "fender-ish" and clear. Middle pickup - loud and proud. Mid and Bridge - twanggg.... Neck - tele type cut. Bridge humbucker - pushes front end for fat warmth. This amp just seems to really deliver your guitar's sound without having to blow the walls off the room.
One more sound - if you set up the drive channel for that ballsy crunch sound, you can step on the "more drive" button and get a little extra gain for really dirty, but still responsive soloing>
My previous amp was a Marshall 900. The fender kills it in every sound except one - the wonderful, singing, cutting, endless sunstain type lead tone. Well- you can't have everything. So it loses a point to be fair. I have not used any stomp boxes- perhaps that will help to approximate the big Jim Marshall sound, but I dont really do the Eddie Van Halen thing any more. If you do -get a Marshall...'nuff said.
So- just luurve the sounds it does give me, BUT - the reverb so far really bites. Any level over 1 1/2 and it just sounds like loose metal rattling. I might get in touch with fender and see what they say. I thought fender reverbs were supposed to be the "holy grail". If I am stuck with this crap sound, then I will start looking for a mod, or (dare I say it) something (pleeease nooo) digital. It loses a point for the reverb so far.

Tube amps - specially combos need love and care. Havent had it long tho, so cant really say. Seems solid tho. Really like the heavy ply the cabinet is made of, and the knobs are protected by being recessed into the top of the amp.

Havent dealt with fender, But will call them about the reverb. I have had various strats and teles- my last two have been with me for over 10 years and done a fair bit of work - never a prob. Hope the amp is half as good!

Been playing 20 odd years. I try not to use any effects as they all seem to take away something from my basic sound before adding anything. I only really play fender guitars so dont know how fat les pauls sound in it. Just guessing but I reckon semis would just love this amp. The amp really delivers what I want - clarity and touch sensitivity - it is just really organic and responsive. Great amp for jazz, blues, rootsy rock - just about anything really except for that super high gain hard rock/metal sound. Said it before- but I wish the reverb was better.

2004 Hot Rod Deluxe. Bought it fresh from my local Fender outlet. I like uncomplicated amps, I can mess them up with my pedals and whatnot later. It has everything you need, and nothing you don't need, except the reverb, which I hardly use.

So far I have used it with a strat and a 335. It sounds great with them, if you like the blues. I also hooked it up to a 1965A Marshall cab, and I love the sound. The 4x10's plus this amp really seem to complement each other.

It isn't noisy at all (in fact, quieter than most amps I have played in my place). I'm not into nu-metal or metal - I just love the sound of a good guitar through a nice amp, and this is what I get here.

Can't comment. Haven't had it long enough.

Again, I can't comment. I have the standard fender five year transferrable warranty, but there's no way I'm going to get rid of this amp.

I've been playing for over 20 years. I own lots of other guitars and amps. If it were stolen, I would buy another one, or find the guy who stole it and tear him a new one. Like I said, I'm playing it through a Marshall 4x10, and it really gives it some oomph. It sounded good before, but this really puts it over the top.

This is just a wonderful amp. I compared it to the Peavey Classic 30, but with that one, you would also have buy the footswitch and the cover, both of which came included with the Hot Rod.

I'm not saying this is the best amp ever, but for the money, it can't be beat.

American 40Watt all tube amp, TWO CHANNELS(clean and gain/more gain), for complete features go to www.fender.com
Well, first of all, I'm a Marshall man but that doesn't mean that I'll speak crap about this amp or other manufacturers, so please read on...
I got this amp by trading some gear that I stoppped using, its a full featured small sized amplifier with a decent sound and enough volume, its not a Twin Amp or a Twin Reverb generally speaking but it does things alright, and for the features and the sturdyness I decided to keep it; I haven't used it live, but it comes with a serious volume level!!!(amps that comes equiped with 6L6/5881 tubes trend to sound louder than EL34's for instance), although I prefer using my Marshall JCM900 4502 for live playing.

I have tried other Fenders like Twin Amps and Twin Reverbs, those are pro amps already, I found this Hot Rod Deluxe more for studio or rehearsal/practicing use. Speaking about guitar amps, I like it simple, you know, a nice warm tube clean sound and a generous amount of gain on a dirty channel, maybe two separated EQ's for each channel and an effects loop, this amp has those features.
I already tried runnig all my gear with this amp but I like the way it sounds and feels with any of my guitars just straight connected, so I'm using it more for practicing and temporarilly as a stereo return for my TC Electronic G-Major, I use my Marshall as the main amp.

For a view of my current live rig setup see below.

Very reliable, I'm thinking about change power tubes anyway.

I've been playing guitar for about 11 years now, I've owned lots of amplifiers of different manufacturers and Marshalls have been always at the top of my list, but I like some Fenders too, most for clean sounds, and I feel good with this Hot Rod Deluxe, it sounds OK and features everything I need even my JCM900 still being my inseparable buddy.
Anyway I recommend the Hot Rod Deluxe if you're looking for a small but loud full featured amp.

My current live rig setup is as follows:

Guitars: some Ibanez models. JEM7VSBL, RG2020XTLB, RG7421XLGN and a Fender American Stratocaster with Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups.

Amps: Marshall JCM900 4502 50Watt 2x12 combo(as MAIN AMP), Fender Hot Rod Deluxe(as STEREO RETURN).

Pedalboard(Furman SPB-8): Boss CS-3 Compressor/Sustainer, Digitech XP100 WhammyWah, MXR Wylde Overdrive, Boss NS-2 Noise Supressor, TC Electronic G-Minor midi foot controller.

Rack: Shure Wireless Receiver, Rack Rider power conditioner and light module, TC Electronic G-Major(connected to the effects loop of the JCM900. Right output goes connected to the POWER AMP IN of the Hot Rod Deluxe as the stereo return.

I'll continue using the Hot Rod Deluxe as the stereo return amp while I get another JCM900 4502, I hope to find another one soon.

2000 hot rod deluxe
very versatile
3 channels, all chanels are good for something, my opinion.
i use this amp because it sounds very good and it
offers more options than most fender tube amps, thus i give it 9.

well, this is my second hot rod deluxe. I also had a fender 410 deville. i use a fender american fat strat deluxe and my ernie ball axis sport with soapbars. no, its not noisy, very quiet. i can get very convincing gary moore tones from this amp. This is what i honestly think about tube amps. I have had so many, i feel qualified. I have come to the conclusion that 212s and 410s are difficult to play through. I think those type of amps are very ambient and great for clean jazz tones, but very difficult for the overdriven blues/rock tone that i love. I came to this conclusion after going years without a 112 amp and just playing the 410s and 212s. I will stay with 112s for now on. I play my fender fat strat through this amp. I personally think the american standard and my strat are meant for this amp. I just can't believe the tone i get with this amp. I honestly think playing a delay pedal with the amps overdrives helps a lot. My gary moore tone is: my fat strat using the neck pickup. i set the treble to 4, the bass to 8, the MID to 6. I set the reverb to 2 and the use some delay. i can get great tones with the yellow and red overdrives. yellow at 4 and red at 3. I bought this amp used and it came with 6L6B power tubes instead of the 6L6C. I think these tubes help. I love the amp and i'm amazed. I think the 112 amps have a nice tight feel versus the too ambient sound/feel of the 410s and 212s. Go to the local clubs sometime, you'll notice that the most common amps being played are the peavey classic 30 and the hot rod deluxe. my opinion, the hot rod sounds a lot better than the classic 30. I should know, i had two classics. I give this amp a 9 for sound.

the amp has been around. I bought it used and the previous owner had no issues. I hope he bias'd the power tubes.

don't know
i hear fender support is BAD
maybe they'll do something about it.

I love the amp and can't believe the tone i get. I get a nice tight gary moore blues/rock tone. I can get a great cold shot SRV tone by adding the yellow OD. I think delay helps the OD channels alot (hendrix used delay all the time). I recommend you try the delay. the amp has a very warm tone. some claim its to bassy, i don't think so. It doesn't have the fender brite vintage tone that most wnat from a fender, though. it has its own tone, which is very warm/beefy. I recommend trying other tubes with this amp if your not happy. I also recommend fender guitars or single coils with this amp. I don't think humbuckers were meant for this amp. I have played for a long time and have had many many guitars and amps. I like this amp and plan on keeping it. I also have a ROLAND CUBE 60 i love. Its a fun amp.

HAS ALL THE NECESSITYS FOR A GREAT RIG TO BUILD ON .

I play classic rock to modern rock styles .I have been stuck in the modulation rut for years now looking for the perfect amp with everything built in .I have a guitar builder in the family that builds some out of this world tele and strat style guitars for alot of famous guitarists .I love the sound of the guitar over everything ive played under $5,000. but it has led me down a path to find the most warm natural glassy tone I could .I have been in every guitar shop within 100 miles searching every brand and model over the last couple of years and I overlooked this amp for a long time because of the cheep price . I kept trying out everything in the 1000 to 3000 catagory which never suited me except for a bogner xtsy head but i wasn't looking for a head only and over 3000 without a speaker cabinet . When one day a drummer of all people was listening to my playing and said I had to try one of these . He got the amp brought it to me and forced me to try it . From the very first note I knew this was the best sounding amp I ever heard at any price . Thats without tweeking anything . very warm natural glassy ,great overdrive the building blocks to great sound for any style .
Beware thought it will sound like your guitar so if your playing a guitar not suited for your style this amp wont work without a guitar replacement for something comperable.

bring spare tubes always but thats a standard with any tube amp . seems to be rock solid

5 year transferable warrenty says it all . even if it takes some time to get it fixed it will be

Ive been playing for about 15 years and I like all style of music (10 of those was in the same rock band).I mostly play at home now in my studio I like to call it .I have never heard another amp like this that give me the sound I was looking for. It's like an amp should sound . lost or stolen I would replace in an instant for the same model .best amp ive played for any style .
PS. your guitar amp should sound the way you like it without any effects so you have a great sound to build on without drowning your tone and playing style

Well, it's got 40 freakin' watts, 3 channels: clean, drive & more drive. It's got an effects loop which is also useable as a recording output or slave out (Preamp -out), Bass, treble and mid controls. One volume control for the clean channel and drive and master for the two other channels, extention cabinet jack, footswitch jack etc.. God damned, this thing has everything I need!

I use the hot rod deluxe mainly for bluesrock tunes like Clapton, SRV, Gallagher, All Kings,Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Doyle Bramhall and some jazzy stuff like Jan Akkerman (Focus)and Kenny Burrel stuff.......

I also it with my band with all songs including Chris Rea, Norah Jones, Fleedwood Mac, Dire Straits, Clapton etc..
I can get all these sounds and the're ALL GOOD!

I use it mainly with my custom Tele and my 60's Strat, Buth I also use a humbucker-equiped guitar for some slide-stuff.......And with this amp I'm able to hear THE GUITAR instead of THE AMP.

This is why I bought this amp, this amp is able to extend the pro's of your guitar, so if your guitar produces some nice sound, this amp will do the same, you can't get wrong!!!!!

I definitely can depend on it! It never broke down, never changed the tubes by now. Maybe I have to buy a pair of tubes as spare parts.........But I handle this thing with care and never got into trouble with this thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've never dealt with the company, But I've always had a good impression concerning the fender company itself so I think it will be ok!

For every REAL guitarplayer who is able to produce some serious tones by his hands and any good guitar this amp is a WANNAHAVE!!!

I love it ,so does my Strat, Tele ,Gibby and my 1959 Framus Jazz-box!
(and off course my beloved girl-friend who inspires me and enables my to create some very nice music!!!!! ;))

Bought this amp, and was pretty disgusted. But since it's 1/2 the
price of other amps that I find inadequate, I figured that I'd experiment some. I think I got lucky, and wish to pass my findings on.

So here are some Tips for good HRD tone on the cheap:

Use Input # 2 (the low gain one)
Use a Tube Screamer / Blues Driver
Mid @ 1/2
Bass @ 1/4
Treble @ 1/2
Presence @ 1/2
Drive @ 3
Volume / Master / Clean / Drive / More Drive to taste...

Mod:
V1 to a 12AX7EH
V2 to a 5751.
V3 to a sovtek 12AX7WA (el cheapo)
Set 5881WXT Disipation to 15.25 watts / tube

You won't void the warranty.

My results from these suggestions:
Clean is less bassy.
Drive will actually sound good, like a hot tele.
A tube screamer or Blues Driver will take you over the top.
"More Drive" actualy becomes useful.
Can play at bedroom volume without a volume box.

Definately a keeper, now.

FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE 2004 MODEL
2 CHANNEL TUBE AMP WITH MORE DRIVE BOOST ON CHANNEL 2-SHARED EQ FOR EACH CHANNEL-40 WATTS-ARE THEY SURE ? - PRESCENCE-BRIGHT-REVERB ETC .
I PLAY IN A POWER TRIO PLAYING BLUES,ROCK N ROLL AND ROCK.
THE SHARED EQ IS NO PROBLEM AS I USE A FENDER STRAT DELUXE WITH S1 SWITCHING WHICH GIVES MORE THAN ENOUGH TONE CONTROL.
AS FOR POWER,THIS AMP IS SHEER DYNAMITE!
I DO NOT NEED ANY OTHER FEATURES.

SOUNDS
CLEAN CHANNEL-ABSOLUTELY FAULTLESS-BEAUTIFUL TONES-REVERB NICE.
DRIVE CHANNEL-PATHETIC FOR RHYTHM PLAYING WITH STANDARD EMINENCE SPEAKER-FARTY AND COARSE SOUNDING WHEN ANY DECENT AMOUNT OF GAIN APPLIED (LEVEL 3 PLUS).
I SWAPPED THE SPEAKER FOR A RECONDITIONED CELESTION 100 WATT ONE AND WAS AMAZED AT THE IMPROVEMENT-THE AMP HAS BEEN TOTALLY TRANSFORMED,BOTH THE DRIVE AND MORE DRIVE CHANNELS ARE NOW SOUNDING BRILLIANT . NOT A BAD RESULT FOR #20 .
THE RATING IS FOR STANDARD AMP-10 FOR CLEAN CHANNEL-0 FOR DRIVE CHANNELS S0 A 5.
THE AMP IS INCREDIBLY LOUD SO I USE A THD HOTPLATE TO CRANK IT UP WITHOUT BLOWING ANY WINDOWS-I AM AMAZED AT WHAT THIS MODIFIED AMP CAN DO .

I HAVE HAD IT FOR A YEAR WITH NO PROBLEMS AND USE IT FOR GIGS AND REHEARSALS.

NO OPINION.

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR TWENTY YEARS NOW AND HAVE BEEN IN BANDS FOR FIFTEEN.
I HAVE HAD AMPS BY MOST OTHER MAKES , TUBE AND SOLID STATE AND WOULD NOT CONSIDER BUYING ANYTHING OTHER THAN TUBE AMPS BECAUSE OF THE SOUND QUALITY AND PLAYING DYNAMICS.
THE REASON I BOUGHT THIS AMP WAS FOR ITS SOUND IN THE SHOWROOM, SO YOU GET NO IDEA WHAT IT CAN DO-HENCE THE SPEAKER SWAP.
I ALSO USE A LANEY VC30 2x10 TUBE AMP AT GIGS ALONGSIDE THIS AMP WITH A YAMAHA PACIFICA 311-MS, DIFFERENT SOUNDS BUT I LIKE THE VARIETY OF SOUNDS AVAILABLE.
I THINK THAT #489 PLUS #20 FOR THE NEW SPEAKER IS FANTASTIC VALUE FOR AN AMP WHICH SOUNDS LIKE THIS ONE.

40 watts and loud!
1 channel worth mentioning the others it would appear are simply a distortion pedal /system bolted in.
I wish it had a tube screamer built in.
I use this amp at home. Read previous reviews on how to get a good sound. I found the cheapest and easiest way is to put a zoom volume pedal on the effects send and return and play through the clean channel. This gives you a nice overdriven tone at 5-12 without the volume.

Read this..... I USE A STOCK YAMAHA PACIFICA 112 AND I AM NOT ASHAMED!!!!Again read the previous reviews. It would appear that those who have electronics knowledge are able to turn their hot rods into mesa marshall twin bassmans, but we mere mortals have to make do with either stock or fork out enough dough to buy a 59 reissue bassman.

No, this amp is not the holy grail of cheap amplifiers, but it does an acceptable job on the clean end. The drive can be used in small doses and I found the more drive is useful for harmonica in low volume situations. DON'T EXPECT HEAVEN AND EARTH FROM THIS AMP. YOU MAY GET A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN.

I broke the reverb, although that was probably a good thing as it saturates the sound above 2. Then again, if you want mega reverb, go play in a cathedral. Natural is best and this amp does it at low levels ( overdrive / reverb)

Don't know, don't care!

I have been playing for 7 hours and 13 days and own a marshall deluxe bassman that Jimi Hendrix once pissed on as well as owning Buddy Holly's gretch broadcaster drum kit that his father Martin Luther King played on civil rights marches (in other words, does it mattter?)

If someone tried to steal this amp, they would be in my house and I would be stabbing them in the face with a borken beer bottle! If it was stolen from my car, no problem! I'd just go buy somthing else. Hopefully Fender would have brought out a one channel low reverb version by then.

I really do envy all these people who can mod their amps like previous reviewers, sadly, I'm too dumb for that and can afford an amp tech. Fixing the reverb cost me $70+ dollars for God's sake! If you buy this amp, just be aware that it gives a lovely clean tone which breaks up nicely at the right volume (here's where the volumne pedal comes into play from home use). and a sort of useful overdrive for the right applications. I'm going to hot rod my strat with vintage hot pickups and a Clapton mid boost so I can capitalise on the clean channel just by using the mid boost. other than that, an acceptable amp for the price. Perhaps Fender should just offer this amp with just the clean channel.