Omega Amps Hot Rod DeVille 410 Mod

This is an update 4 years after my initial review. I have gone to using a Grosh Strat into the Valvulator>tuner>clyde deluxe wah>TS-808>Ultra Vibe>guyatone delay>fat boost. See my review below for all of the specifics.

Absolutely amazing. The more I have played through this am, the less I am using the effects listed above. At my last gig this past Saturday, I only punched in the delay for about 1 minute for a solo. The rest of the night was just clean, drive, and more drive channels of the Omega! It was clean on the fast runs, bell-like on the chords, articulate in the drive. We were the opening band and no one wanted to follow the sound we laid down...Jim got a ton of press last weekend! I don't know what Jim does to these things, but it must be a little bit of magic and a whole lot of soul! IF HC would let me, I would rate this an 11!

Gig all the time and I have yet to need a backup...just keep fresh tubes in it based on how much you use it!

No one can touch Jim in this category. When you call Omega Amps, you speak with Jim.....period. He is never in a rush to get off of the phone and he will make sure you have exactly what you want.

I own several amps, rare ones, hand wired, run of the mill. And I have owned several more at various wattages, builders, and sizes. Whenever I play out or rehearse for a show, the Omega is the go to amp. With very little work, I can make any of my guitars (several different models) truly shine.

I have always played Fender Amps with Strats and Tele's and have always appreciated the Legacy and the History behind them. However, as good of a History as they have; let's face it, there is room for improvement in some areas. Jim at Omega amps addresses these needed improvements in a Royal Way!

I have a Fender DeVille 4X10 that I liked alot. Again, it's a part 'history' thing with me. But the Clean channel with the 4X10 speakers just seemed to offer a good dose of 'Thump' to me when needed.

I play a wide variety of music most of which I play at home alone. I am a part of a band that plays out about 4 - 6 times a year. Yea, the DeVille is a 'Lot-O-Amp'for Bedroom playing!

As most Hotrod folks know, the Drive and More Drive channels on the HR series is; well, not so good (that's being very kind to Fender). The Clean channel is decent. So, to offset the OD\Distortion tones I've been going through dirt pedals for about 3 years spending an unholy amount of money: buying, selling & trading till' I was just sick and tired of it. When I finally got a decent sound out of a grouping of pedals I looked down at my pedalboard and saw a Klon, a Analogman KOT v4 and a Keeley TS808. Along with my other pedals to enhance the tone, I was looking at way more money on my board than I was holding in my hands (ie, Strat).

I asked myself "Is there not an amp that can give me both good clean vintage tones AND good Overdriven \ Distorted tones?" Enter Omega Amps and Jim Price.

I discovered the Omega amp mods for the Hotrod series on The Gear Page Forum. My discovery seemed to come at just the right time. I found out that Jim lives just about one hour away from me. I picked up the phone and called; he answered and we talked for a good 30 - 45 minutes or so. I asked about his mods for the DeVille and he answered every question. He asked me what I wanted in my DeVille and I told him. He said that he could give it some "MoJo" on every channel and that it wouldn't sound the same ever again.

I pulled the chasis and mailed it to him on a Friday morning; we exchanged about 25 - 30 emails with questions he had for me during the next 3-4 days and on Thursday of the next week I got a email saying "Your DeVille is on the way home - Enjoy!" (Folks that's 6 days!)

I had every mod done to my amp that Jim does (atleast that's what I asked for). The Mod's included:

Basic Mod Kit \ Choke Upgrade \ Footswitchable PreBoost and Mid-Boost \ all new tubes \ extra power tubes \ and a couple other 'secret things' that he said he'd do

I received the amp on Thursday the folling week and put it back together. This is no exaggeration of truth: "Tonewise - it's a completely different amp on all channels"

All of the below review is still done with the amp on low to moderate volumes. I haven't been home alone yet where I can crank the amp past 3-4.

Clean: This definately sounds different and much, much better. More meat and thickness to it or, to say it another way; alot less brittleness. I'm not sure what people mean when they talk about 'tube amp sag'; I think I do and if I'm correct, this amp has alot more of it! In a word: WARM, WARM, WARM! This is what it is supposed to sound like. You can hear every string vibrate in a soul-full way. I liked the amps stock clean sound fine - but now I love it.

Drive Channel: This, so far, is my favorite. As most Hot Rod amp users will testify, the Drive\MoreDrive channels are pretty crapy and that's why I'd never even opened the footswitch. Jim said that this channel would resemble (in tone) a thick chocolate milkshake and he was right. Tone is hard to describe but the tone that comes out of this channel now is the tone that has been in my head and heart for years. I've tried to get this tone with OD pedals including some very expensive ones. some of the OD pedals got me there or atleast pretty close. - and now I have it IN MY AMP! No OD pedals!!!

More Drive: Jim asked if I wanted this channel to be a big difference from the Drive channel or just more of the same. I told him when I stepped on the pedal for More Drive I want a wall of rich, harmonic, usable, head-turning Distortion (depending on where the gain is). He delivered in spades. Everything I just said is what it sounds like to me.

Keep in mind that what I've described does not include either boost function "ON". One boost gives a Mid-Boost and the other is a Preamp Boost (I think Jim called it). The Mid-Boost just seems to add a good dose of Mid-range to the tone with a small, but noticeable volume increase. The other boost function seems to not add any mid-range at all (to my ears) but does add a significant volume increase with 'hair'. Both 'on' at the same time is an incredible experience. They both do exactly what they are designed to do; take the amp OVER THE TOP. To get your tone out there over the edge for leads, etc....

On More Drive with both boost on I imagine it's like a Marshall amp. *I have never played through one so I'm not qualified to say. I've heard some dudes playing through a Marshall Mode Four at Guitar Center before with the gain cranked. The DeVille doesn't sound like that - meaning Heavy Metal tones; but it sounds like I imagine an older Marshall amp would sound. It's just some really good, over-the-top distortion. One more thought; Jim asked me if I played "OUT" or "IN" and I said that 95% of my playing is sitting in my recliner with family in the house.

I'm trusting in his reputation!

The best of the Best. Several phone calls and a multitude of emails; even one phone call when he'd traveled out of state and I'd left a message.

I believe that I own the most awesome amp on the Planet. The Tones are incredible and very hard to describe. I love every thing about it and dislike nothing about it (well, it's kinda heavy). Anyway, several have commented that Jim could charge alot more for what he does and I agree. I encourage you to give it a try - you'll probably be getting rid of those expensive boutique OD pedals!

I have your basic Fender Hot Rod DeVille 4x10 combo amp. It has two channels... clean and boosted (more boost). A big problem was that it didn't sound good and it is sooo very loud you can barely crank the master without hurting your ears. That means that you can't really get the power through the tubes to make the amp really sing without it being way too loud to practice with. So, I sent the amp to Jim Price at Omega Amps.

I spoke with Jim via email and phone many times as he is VERY concerned about what styles you play and what you want from your amp. He worked on it for over a week and called me to double check a few preferences. The end result is that he not only created the most awesome sounding amp, but he also found a way to tame the volume so that you can get the greatest sounds without blasting hearing. All in all, the sound is exquisitely awesome. For jazz it is lovely and it breakups so musically that it makes a Dumble humble by comparion. Simply outstanding.

I thought I had problem and sent it back to Jim. He "burned" it in for days trying to get it to mess up or fail. It turned out that I have a bad tube. It seems very reliable and I totally trust his electronic expertise. If I were landing jets on a carrier, I would want him doing all the avionics and electronics for me. In fact, that is what he did in the Navy.

For customer service... Jim Price at Omega Amps gets a 12+! HE is not satisfied until everything is perfect to his ear and to the customer's satisfaction. He exemplifies the way a true craftsman performs his art. He is also quite the hoot to talk with, most enjoyable, friendly and personable.

I don't usually give out "10's" in evaluations, but Jim Price at Omega Amps deserves it. He took a relatively inexpensive amp and with relatively inexpensive modifications $300.00, he turned my amp into a boutique amp worth six times the value. A sonic masterpiece.
I have been playing jazz, folk, rock and blues for 40 years... self-taught. I love love learing by experimenting and have had over 20 guitars and almost as many amps. This amp is a keeper. I put some Eminence hemp cone speakers in the cabinet and it improved the sound even more. Eventually, I will probably ditch the Fender cabinet and put the amp chassis in a head box and use it with a 1x12 or 2x12. Or better yet, I will save up and have Jim Price make me one of his own creations. I cannot recommend Jim Price and Omega Amps highly enough. Oh yes, when the amp is "on" it is perfectly silent until you touch a string. Amazing!

I am pretty sure most people already know the features of the Fender Hod Rod Deville 410, so I won't spend a lot of time here. Stock it has everything I need, effects loop, 3 channels and reverb. Jim didn't add the footswitchable boost to my amp, at the time he said that he wasn't doing that anymore. After getting the amp back I am very satisfied and I have a boost pedal anyways so I didn't need it. I got KT66 tubes put in it and he replaced the preamp tubes with JJ's.

This amp sounds Awesome!!! The only thing that I miss is the clean channel is slightly dirty. I can't get the same fender clean tone as before, but it sounds so much better now.(I also have a hiwatt if I need it to be absolutely clean) If I visualized it the notes come out shimmering with a platinum sparkle. What used to be an almost unusuable amp is now a monster on steriods. When I crank it past half way, It just blows me away. Now, for the drive and more drive channels. They sound angry. Before the mod, I thought the drive to be dull and I couldn't get the sound I was looking for. I can get the perfect amount of feedback when set on the more drive channel. This I couldn't get before. There are so many different tones in this amp. I would say anything from light blues to metal. I use gibsons with it. I have an 1980 firebrand SG that just smokes and 2 newer les pauls that sound awesome as well. There is no noise created with this amp.

It has been great so far. When I first got it back I had some problems with it, but that wasn't from the mod that Jim did.

Jim is great to deal with. When I first talked to him about doing the mod we talked for a while and he is very friendly and considers it a privilage to do these mods. I couldn't be anymore happy with what I've experienced with Jim. I did have to send the amp back to him after having some volume jump problems. I had got some bad preamp tubes twice! When he had the amp something did blow (After I beleive he had the amp cranked up all day mind you) and he only charged me for the parts not the labor. Jim is a good guy who stands by his work.

Overall, It is one of the greatest amps I have ever heard, in person or on a recording. I considered buying an orange amp, but decided to spend the 350 on this amp mod instead. It saved me a hell of a lot of money. Since I got the amp, I changed the tubes back to 6L6's and now I can get a cleaner tone on the clean channel. I like the sound of these better. The KT's are a little bit crunchier. I would definatley get another one if anything happened to this one. I might actually buy a used 2x12 fender to get another one done. I've been playing for 6 years and have already gone thru a lot of gear searching for the tone that is stuck in my head. I also own a Hiwatt and still consider buying an old orange head or a new rockerverb, but I will never sell this amp. Before the mod all of my pedals sounded like crap thru this amp and now they all sound wonderful. They seem like they are a part of the amp itself. Great job Jim.

Amp was built in 200?. With the tweeked 3 channels and the footswitchable boost that Jim installed this amp can do it all except maybe thrash metal but if you are looking for that than buy a rectumfrier stack. This amp has kt66s in the power amp section and Jim Price's revamped preamp. I have sold many Hot Rod Devilles over the years and this Mod is like getting a totally new amp. I use this amp every weekend and for recording.

Prs Custom 24,Many US Hamers, Strats, and stuff I built. I have used pretty much everything in my 30 years of playing. I have owned Rivera, Cornford and modded Marshalls, Soldano and own pretty much every modeling device out there. If you own a hot deville go to Jims Website, omegaamps.com and have this mod done. Do not wast your money on expensive boutique amps when this mod can be done at a fraction of the cost. This amp just breathes dumble style tones and is the most versatile tube amp I have everm owned!!!!!

I had a shipping issue with the amp when Jim Shipped it back to me and He was very prompt in turning it around and taking care of the problem. I truly beleive He would go to the end of the earth for his customers, very rare these days. As with any tube amp always bring a spare and extra tubes

Jim was the best to deal with on the phone, You just don't see service like this nowadays and I truly beleive he loves doing this

Have been playing for 30 plus years and am thinking about getting a second one for a spare, this mod is that good. yes there is some good sounding stuff out there but why waste your money. This mod transforms an OK amp into an amp that you will proably keep forever

1996 HRD 410 standard features. Jim removes the normal/bright feature and replaces this with a footswitchable boost. Jim replaced the stock output transformer with a Mercury magnetics FBFS-40 output tranny. Replaced the 6L6 tubes with KT66s and replaced the preamp tubes with JJs

Background: Band plays covers and originals; blues, classic rock, modern rock, and country.

Equipment:

Guitars: Gibson Les Paul Classic w/ Lindy Fralin PAFs; 8.0k neck 9.0k bridge Fender Lone Star Strat; stock items, bridge set flat to body using 5 trem bridge springs Monster cables

Effects: VHT Valvulator I > Boss TU-2 > Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah > Fulltone Fulldrive 2 S-FY > Ibanez TS 808 > Sweet Sound Ultra Vibe > Guyatone MD3 (digi delay) > Fulltone Fat Boost.

All connections between pedals made with George L cables. Pedal board to amp is Monster cable.

Amp: OmegaAmps Hot Rod Mod 4x10 w/ Mercury Magnetics Axiom FBFS-O40 (Black Face Super Reverb) output tranny, KT-66 power tubes, and JJ preamp tubes

Able to dial in a pristine clean sound with tons of headroom. Used drive channel 1 with drive at 10 o'clock master at 12 o'clock. Drive channel 2 for dirtier lead work. Omega amp boost used to fatten clean leads and cut through he mix for dirty leads. May have to sell the Fatboost!!

I run a generally flat EQ (all at 6 o'clock) but decided to push the highs a touch (7o'clock). I was able to go from jazz cleans to Allman dirt to SRV leads without the use of the pedal board. For a true SRV sound, I did punch in the 808 just to push it a little over the top. Touch dynamics are amazing. Each pick stroke was accentuated perfectly, regardless of attack. Guitar volume and tone knobs are more usable since the amp is more responsive. Rarely did I use more than 2 pedals at once (usually delay and vibe) because the natural sound of the amp had everyone in the bar floored. I am now able to rely on the amp for tone and just use effects sparingly for color; not so in its previous state where I had to find a horrid clean tone from the original Fender and the "fix" the tone with the pedal board. What used to "woof" now chimes; what used to pierce now rings.

When playing live, folks, including band members, comment on the organic resonance of the tone; it sounds like a guitar and amp should and not overly processed or muddy. The warmth of the neck pickup was perfectly matched to the clean channel and makes for excellent rhythm work all night; not too muddy and not too glassy and still able to pull off country fill and, when boosted using the boost mod, superb lead work. The only way I can describe the sound is that the amp seems to breathe. It's able to cover all territories in one song, or even one moment, without being in your face or washed out; again this goes back to the dynamics of the tone circuit creating this tension and release. The amp seems to have a palpable pulse which can be heard and felt by everyone in the house.

I can't say enough about the performance of this amp and I've only begun to feel it out. The tones coming from this amp are hard to believe but I suppose I have to. It allows me to change my sound mid song (or even mid solo) w/o the obvious coloration that pedals provide with nothing more that a flick of the toggle switch or by engaging the boost.

So far so good. Jim is a quality craftsman and a quality individual.

I spoke with Jim for over TWO HOURS the day the amp arrived and he personally guided through the intricacies of my new amp. He is a true pleasure to work with and I am proud to call him a friend.

There is no one like Jim. His work and ethics are impeccable. He is truly a great person. Jim obviously takes great pride in his work and only delivers the best. He worked with me to find the EXACT sounds I have been searching for.

Thanks for everything Jim. This amp is PERFECT!

My 410 Deville appears to be a 2003 model, Made in Mexico. Rated at 60 Watts. I would say it is a three channel amp - Clean, Drive, More Drive. An included foot controller handles these duties, but does not included a means to select Reverb on or off (a shortcoming in my mind). Includes an effects loop and an extension cab outlet, but no means to go direct to a mixing board for live sound. Standard controls including Clean Master, full range tone controls (B, M, T), Drive Master, Drive Level, Reverb and Presence. Three (3) 12AX7's handle preamp duties, two (2) 6L6's handle output duty. Four (4) 30W cones provide the voice for this amplifier. ****Jim Price of Omega Amps has modified this amp for to provide a purer, tighter voice in both Drive and More Drive channels, with increased clarity in individual picked or chorded voices, and a clean channel that truly chimes and bites (but is not harsh...very chime like). At my request, Jim also added an integral slave-out output for sending this amp direct to the board via a direct box.****

I have played on nothing but Gibsons over the last twenty five years, and they are without a doubt my guitar of choice. I have tried a variety of other guitars, but ALWAYS come home to my Gibsons. Presently I own a CS336, LP Studio, and LP Custom Shop Custom. My amp of choice has always been a Marshall and presently I own a pair of TSL100s (one head/half cab, one 212 combo - my bread and butter amps). Other amps I play out with are a pair of Tech21 PowerEngines using Tech21s great Tri-ac as the preamp, and a pair of Boss pedals for chorus and delay. I will also field a Line6 FlextoneIII 212 combo when I have to play outdoors gigs (I live on the Texas Gulf coast, and I'm not willing to subject my Marshalls to the elements). The guitars are all configured with factory installed pickups. I went through a variety of aftermarket pickups in the LP Studio (as a testbed) and came home to what Gibson wanted it to have in the first place. They all suit my style of play, no matter what I decide to play...I prefer blues and swing blues, but have made jags off into jazz, country, hard rock and metal. It doesn't matter, these guitars and amps make it work for me. With that being said, the Fender 410 Deville had a tough row to hoe, coming in behind my Marshalls and trying to cover the same territory. Unfortunately, it couldn't compete. It had a bright Clean channel (which I expected), but the Drive had no guts for the hard work. It was like playing a distorted marshmallow, just kind of flabby. The More Drive channel just made the Marshmallow a little bigger, and still as flabby. It just didn't have any teeth and at this point in time was going to be relegated to "got a friend coming over to play and he needs an amp" duty. After I found Mr. Jim Price (one of the most soft spoken, genial, and enthusiastic techs you will ever be blessed to meet or do business with) of Omega amps and spent a little time with him on the phone, he convinced me that there was hope for this amp, and so out came the amp chassis and tubes, and off to Jim for him to modify with his basic 410 Mod. After he finished with it and it came home and was reassembled, it was obvious that Mr. Price knows what an amp is supposed to do, because this one NOW did it. BIGGER Clean, TIGHTER LUSHER Drive and More Drive, without getting harsh. Full Chords ring with definition in the drive channel, and picking technique has become an absolute...no flubbing your way through music phrases...this amp speaks what its given to speak, be it hard, soft, single notes or chords, it says it all with clarity. Although this amp hasn't seen live duty yet, its not far off...I'm still "making Friends" with it, and learning to let go of the Marshall sound I'm after. This is a new amp, with tremendous vocal possibility. Only recently have I acquired a Fender Strat (H/S/S) and so all the above you just read applies to all my Gibson instruments.

For the little while I played this amp before Jim Price worked it, it never balked or stopped. There was a glitch in the worksmanship which was taken care of (and addressed in the next section of this review), and now the amp appears bullet-proof. I've been switching it on and off twice a day for about a month now, and dragging it around the house, "road testing" it and it hasn't fumbled yet. I'm feeling like I would take this one out of the house and put it to work without backups.

After Mr. Price finished his work on it and sent it back home, it was Sound Nirvana for the first thirty minutes. Then something happened inside the amp, and I lost the clean channel. The foot controller stopped working as well. I called Mr. Price right then (on a Saturday) and we started doing some basic troubleshooting. The rear panel covering the chassis came off and what was discovered was an add-on capacitor had come un-soldered, and vibrated just enough to cause the channel and footswitch shutdown. Mr. Price was beside himself and apologized endlessly, and had me send him back the amp (at his cost) to make the repairs neccessary. It was at this time that he made the additional mod incorporating a slave-out. He kept it and beat on it (at my instruction - only about three additional days) until he felt confident that there where no more issues, and he was ready to let it out of the house. Since I've received it back, its been rock solid, and boy does it groove. Mr. Price offers life time warranty against his work, and has proven to me that he ABSOLUTELY stands concrete solid, no questions asked, behind his work. Even with a small glitch like I experienced, it does not alter my first opinion of Mr. price and his work. I've already told him that when he goes to work doing Marshall Mods, that I need to know where the line starts so he can work some of his magic on my Marshalls. AAA+++ for Mr. Price's personal standards.

I've been playing for 25 years, and all the other gear I own has already been talked about. I very recently acquired one of the new Fender American strats (Hum/sing/sing) and am "making Friends" with it. It gives the Deville a whole new sound compared to the Gibsons. Its incredible. IF this amp were lost or stolen, and I somehow managed to come up with another, the FIRST thing I would do is send it Jim Price and let him turn it into the amp Fender SHOULD have made in the first place. I have never been a Fender person, but this amp is a turning point for me...its shown me new territory and musical possibilities. Mr. Price's love of music and technical capabilities have opened new doors for my musical aspirations. Thanks much, Jim!!!!

This is a mod by the very cool Jim Price of my very lame 410 Hot Rod DeVille. He does some wicked mojo to the tone circuit and converts the power section to KT-66's.He adds a footswitchable boost to all three channels and adds a fat switch that works on all three. Turns one of Fender's true mediocrities in to a great big bluesy monster.

I use a '78 Strat with a JB Jr. in the bridge, stock '89 USA Strat, Tex-Mex Tele w/Gibson P-90 in the neck and JB Jr.,homemade Tele with high output Duncan bar pup in bridge, '91 LP Special w/P-100's, '62 Harmony Rocket w/Dearmonds, Squire Fat Tele w/Duncan Antiquity P-90 in neck, Fender '72 Thinline Custom w/ Fender HB's, Ibanez 335 copy w/ Gibson and DeMarzio Super Dist. and a '60 Supro lapsteel-whew! I play mostly a trashy Washington DC mix of blues, '50's music, rockabilly,and R&B with some oldtime country thrown in ala the Nighthawks, Bobby Radcliffe and Tom Principato-with some Bill Kirchen thrown in.This amp is capable of many different great tones. Jim has taken the decent, but boring clean channel, the awful hot channel, and the dreadful,unusable hotter channel and breathed some serious life into them. The normal channel now sounds like a good blackface Fender should. Great shimmering clean sounds with a nice nasty edge when turned up. Great click and definition on funky chords.The fat switch really does fatten things up at lower volumes. Everything you would want in a nice high power Fender. The first hot channel goes from a boring, muddy dog to a rockin, grinding machine. Depending on where you set the drive and master, it has everything from nice fat Stonesy tones to Muddy Waters Chicago funk to GREAT 70's classic rock tones. It would be a wonderful amp if this was the only thing that it did.But fortunately, it still has the "hotter" channel. Formally a terrible piece of crap, it is now, in a word, inspiring. It is a high gain, screamin' demon. You can cop Stevie, Jimi, Robben Ford,Bugs Henderson, Johnny Winter and any other high gain, high volume lead player out there. High gain but also great note definition. Uncanny! A true musical instrument. I play mostly blues, but you could play any style of music with this thing, now--including metal. The boost pedal provides just the right amount of extra volume to punch a lead thru the band. I sometimes ruin the sound with an Echoplex but this is a perfect amp to plug your guitar straight into and wail.

Although I haven't gigged with it yet, the DeVille was stone dependable before the mod. Jim Price is a first class, military trained tech. He garantees his work for life. Jim is a first class guy who stands behind his work.

Jim Price is a A-1 guy to deal with. Everything is detailed on his website, Omega Amps.com. He answered my E-mails in hours. My calls were returned the same day. I got the amp back in 5 days--round trip!Jim called me right away to ask me if I was happy with the amp. First class all the way.

I've been playing for 25 years and gigging in the DC area for the past 17. I have owned many amps, good and bad. I'm not gonna give up my Silvertone Twin 12's which I love, but this thing is hard to beat.Jim is a talented tech who has come up with a mod that turns Fender's very average Hot Rod series into a versatile world class workhorse. If it was stolen I would buy another one on Ebay and send it off to James. You should do the same thing before Jim turns his talents to bigger things and stops doing these. Truly one of the best deals going at twice the price. It's that good. Send your amp to Mr. Price, you won't be sorry.

This review is for a Fender Deville 4x10 modded by Jim Price. Jim replaces the 6L6 power tubes with KT66 tubes, mods the tone to get rid of the flubby gain, and adds a boost that works on all 3 channels. A jack to turn the boost on/off is added underneath, and the brite switch is replaced with a manual switch for kicking the boost in.

Well ... if you actually have heard a Deville, and like the clean sounds, you will love the fuller tone the KT66 tubes give it. Still sparkles, but fattens up single coils a bit. The gain channel is really where the goods are ... the boost mod pushes much more power tube distortion, and that flubby weak gain channel is replaced with quite a monster! Seriously, you can get many levels of gain, from Stones up through Metallica ... but you are limited some by Fender's 4x10 speakers, so don't get this exclusively for palm muting all night. This mod makes the amp better than any Rivera I have heard ... kicks the R100's butt ... just as versatile, and more cost effective. With the gain about 12 oclock, the master at 12 oclock, and the More Gain channel selected, this puppy pushes like a big thick Soldano. Wicked leads pour out, and chords are crunchy and yet still thick. And did I mention LOUD! Power to spare if you need it. Kick on the clean channel, and you still get that Fender sparkle. That's what it is all about!

Jim guarantees his work and does a pro job.

Always Emails promptly when I have a question.

Hey, we all think the Devilles are amps that coulda-woulda-shoulda been something greater than they are. Everyone is happy with the loud clean channel ... Jim's mod finally ads that wicked drive channel we all wish for and cures the flubby weak gain the original amp has. Highly recommended to get the most out of your Deville!