Omega Amps Hot Rod Deluxe 112 Mod

I bought my HRD new in 1999, I play blues fusion & classic rock. The amp was o.k stock but eventually started having problems with it. I am not an amp tech and so I just started buying different amps, went thru mesa boogies, riveras some newer fenders until I settled on a blackface super reverb. I liked my super reverb but it was just too heavy for me and really isnt suited for smaller clubs. I play small clubs & theater's in a 6 piece band with 2 drummers, keyboards, bass & 2 guitars. I was searching the web for mods on my HRD and ran across Jim's site. I must have e-mailed and called him at least 25 times before I finally sent him the chassis of my HRD. When I got it back, I replaced all the tubes with Tung Sol and put a 12at7 in the v3 position. When I plugged in my strat (which is a self built strat, 62 rosewood neck, swampash 3 tone burst body, 57 alnico's in neck & middle position & seymour duncan hotrail in the bridge)this modded HRD did some serious head turning. I have a celestion G12 speaker.

The tone & sound of my "new" HRD is freakin unbelievable. The clean channel is amazing, loads of head room but breaks up real nice at about 6-7 volume. I really don't use the o/d channels as I have found that I can use my guitar volume to control the sound I want. This amp is now my main amp, I sold the super reverb and I just pray this amp holds up as I would be lost without it. I am a tone junkie and it has taken me a long time to find the tone that was swirling in my head for so many years. The o/d channel is way more versatile and sounds great (it use to sound like a pile of mud) but like i said it breaks up really nice on the clean channel and sustains beautifully....................I love my amp.

Here's hoping I have years of no problems, but if I do, I have lots of confidence that Jim will help me out.

Like I said above, I have had no issues yet but have complete confidence that Jim will help out with any issues that arise.

I have been playing for over 30 years, my main guitars are a self built 62 custon Strat & a 2006 G&L ASAT deluxe semi-hollow thinline (my personal belief is G&L beats the heck out of Fender guitars)I play progressive blues, mostly a rhythm player, thorw in some leads when I get excited. I have played through so many amps its hard to say what my HRD mod compares to, maybe a 65 deluxe reverb with more balls is the best I can say. I do know this, Jim Price is a super guy that doesn't b/s and doesn't rip you off. He's am good guy that loves tone but he won't tell you his secrets and thats ok. The original Fender HRD are really great amps, especially for the price, and they become GREAT amps after Jim gets done with them. Replace the stock speaker with a Celestion or a JBL, replace the tubes and for about 800.00 you get a custom $2000.00 boutique amp. after you get Jim to add his mod to it. I would do it again in a NY minute!!!

early 00's fender hrdx (came in a brown with oxblood cab).

I play jam, blues-rock and various other crazy rock variants. I use custom made pedals and store bought stuff. Current chain for gigs is:

guitar>Orange Squeezer clone>Boss OC2>Budda wah>Ross Comp>BYOC TS9>Fulltone OCD>Korg dt10>BYOC Tremolo>fat boosterd>custom a/b loop switch: A = rebote 2.5>Hermida reverb (kit), B = Boss DD20. into the front of the Omega HRDX with either emi Governor or cannabis rex plus a wizard in a 1x12 closed back extension cab (sometimes I just use the 1x12) I use a custom tele style guitar with fralin humbucker and blues special single coils mainly.

Love the clean channel. Very articulate and open sounding and it takes any and all pedals like a champ. Plenty of volume even cutting through a twin reissue side by side as a 1x12.

i've tried other fender style amps but this works best for what I need:

- clean pedal platform
- defined high end but not harsh
- enough midrange to cut through mix onstage but not sound at all midrangy, still fender sounding
- plenty of headroom but not so much that I can't let the amp reach it's potential

I've a/b'd this amp onstage with fender twin ri's, deluxe reverb ri, vox ac30, 67 blackface guts silverface bandmaster (through same speakers), stock hot rods, 71 pro reverb (w/ weber speakers)

I preferred the omega to all these amps. cleaner, more articulate and tighter sounding. I could hear my guitar much better onstage with it than the others without dominating the volume. Sure the clean 'shimmer' of the vintage pro or the natural compressed crunch of the bandmaster was nice for some stuff but this amp was much MUCH more versatile.

i'm not using the drive channels so i'll let other people review that part.

if I had any improvements i'd want a little more low mids and slightly less high end but I have no problem running my treble at 2 as of right now.

well worth the money to me. much more open, full, articulate, responsive, and sweet sounding than a stock hot rod clean.

Omega Modded HRD that I've had for about one year. I got the mod, the pull boost with a footswitch and changed the speaker to a Cannabis Rex. I play classic rock, blues, jazz and country and this amp can do all of those styles easily. Two drive channels, one clean, plus a footswitchable boost. The two drive channels aren't drastically different on my amp, but I don't mind, as I find that I have four great sounds easily available by switching between dirt/clean and using the boost with either channel. Great amp for a small bar band, for outdoor gigs I'd consider getting an extension cabinet for a little more sound spread.

Sounds amazing, simply unbelievable. I once had a fuchs modded head, and this amp sounds much better and is easier to dial in. The cleans are pure blackface Fender, and the boost gives a nice slight breakup in this channel. The overdrive channels are pure singing, harmonically rich lead and rhythm tones. Depending on settings, I can get Dumbleish to early Marshall style tones out of the dirt channels, and I couldn't be happier. Very easy to get musical feedback at reasonable volumes, and the amp works well with both Gibson and Fender style guitars. There is plenty of gain on tap for my taste, and I'm sure anyone short of a full out metal player would be satisfied with the overdrive from this amp.

Haven't had any problems with it in a year's worth of use. Haven't gigged a lot, but it seems fairly dependable. The only worry is that Jim is pretty protective of his ideas, so it might be tough to service it if there is a problem down the road.

Jim is very friendly and willing to take plenty of time to talk about what you want. He spent a while on the phone with me to discuss what I was looking for and tweaked the amp to suit my needs, which was very cool. Don't call him unless you've got some free time, because he likes to talk tone! You can tell he's very excited about his work, and I found that to be very inspiring.

I've been playing for 27 years and have had many tube amps prior to this, including vintage Fenders, Marshalls, Dr. Z, THD, Fuchs, Boogie and Valvetech. Most of those were great amps, but the Omega modded deluxe does what I need, and is very easy to dial in. I think I'd replace it if it were stolen, as it is pretty much exactly what I need for most of the gigs I would do.

The amp was sent to Jim Price of Omega Amps, completely stock. Jim did the standard mod, plus adding a foot swtichable mid boost and foot switchable pre amp boost, and new tubes. The amp still has the three channels: clean, drive, and more drive. It was 40 watts stock but sounds more like 50 or 60 after the mod. I play small clubs and outdoor festivals but no stadiums yet. :)

I use all of the features on the amp.

I've been using mainly my Epiphone les paul with stock pickups, and my MIM strat with stock pickups. The LP sounds incredible, but I'm working on the strat's sound, still. I play blues, classic rock, and some jazz now, and the amp can do it all. The clean channels sounds very full and warm and the two boosts just add to it. The amp is very quiet on the clean channel. There is a fair amount of noise on the drive channels, but that is to be expected with any amp's OD. For the amount of gain the amp has on tap (which is a whole lot), I'm surprised that there isnt more noise. The amp can do anything from fender clean (of course) to light fender OD to marshall crunch to beautiful dumble OD. I can get the sounds of most any artists who uses humbuckers, and some single coil users. The clean channel starts to gradually break up at about 5 ish, and I like how it isn't an all out distortion, and how it slowly breaks up. The stock amp maxed out volume-wise at about 7 and just got more distorted as it was turned up. The modded amp gets more distorted, but also gets louder as it turned up.

Like I said, the amp a ton of gain on it. I don't play any metal, so I don't know if it has enough. The gain isn't for metal, I think, though. It's smooth and buttery, and sings like a Dumble. Not harsh sounding one bit.

I haven't gigged with it yet, but it don't think it would for any reason.

At certain times, Jim's customer support was a ten. When he was good, he emailed back only a couple of hours after I emailed him. If it were always like this, I'd give him a nine.

Other times, Jim didn't email back for a couple of days, which I wasn't happy about.

At times, Jim didn't really answer my questions. I ask a lot of questions, but I expect them answered.

Anyway, whatever he lacked in customer support he sure made up for with the mod! :)

This is my only amp, and as long at it works, it will probably be my only amp. If it were stolen, I'd probably get something else, only because after buying the stock amp ($600) and getting the mod ($515) and paying for shipping both ways ($200) it was quite expensive. I'd probably want to try something new because that is just the way I am, unfortunately.

I recently played a Two Rock Custom Reverb and while its cleans were just as good as the Omega amp, it overdrive channel was crushed by the omega's. An amp that I put about $1300 into sounded better than a $6000 Two Rock and its cabinet with custom speakers.

Overall, I am stoked with the opinion.

This mod was purchased at the end of 2006. It has all the functionality of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a Clean, Drive, and More Drive channel, reverb, and a Birght switch, which after Jim got a hold of it, sounds much more like a Fat/Boost switch, which really comes in handy. Jim also changed the way the knobs work so that the more you turn up the volume knob, the more the volume goes up instead of leveling off at 4 or 5. So now not only does it get louder,the more volumer you put into it,the more breakup you get, but never does the breakup getto a point where its unuseable or not organic. Other than that I also had Jim replace the input jacks and I purchased a beautiful blue faceplate for it. Overall, the amp is the same all in one tube amp it was before, at least on paper.

This amp is a dream machine. Jim took a seamingly average sounding clean and turned it into this sparkly Fender clean that begs you to play it. What impressed me more though was teh Drive and More Drive channels. I was floored at how well they sounded, in fact I couldn't believe it at first. Say goodbye to the buzzy tin can sound of the old overdrive and say hello to a thick and rich overdrive that is more than willing to let your fingers do the talking. This new amp does an absolutely great job of letting out pinch harmonics and it roars through chords without ever getting muddy, even if you're playing 7ths or even 9ths. THe amp is also more keen on picking up mistakes in your playing too, but it's not too excessive and actually just adds to the textured sound it produces. The only critique I do have is that the drive channels sound dark compared to the clean channel at low volume levels, but as you turn the volume up, it dissapears. This amp in my opinion can cover absolutely any style of music, and I say that, because i've played just about every type of music on it. It can get your beautiful cleans for country and blues and it can get down and dirty for heavy metal and rock n' roll. I personally use this amp with a Rickenbacker 650D Dakota, specially modified with Seymour Duncan Blackbacks, a pickup splitter switch, Sperzel lockign tuners, and the heel of the neck shaved off. My recommendation is to put an Eminence Cannibas Rex into this monster as well (or maybe a Tone Tubby), it sounds absolutely beautiful and it'll also be worth your while to get some good tubes, it makes a difference with both sound and how noisy the amp gets.

It hasn't broken down on me yet, but at the same time I really haven't put it through it's paces, but looking at the quality of Jims craftsmanship and keeping in mind the durability of this line of amp to begin with, I don't forsee any problems.

Jim is the greatest. He always responded to my emails in a very timely manner and kept me updated on the progress of my amp. Not only that but he told me every recommendation he could give me, talked to me a while on the phone, and sincerely answered my concerns and questions with an upbeat attitude and never failed to be enthusiastic about the work he was doing. No one sentence replies 3 days after you forgot your question here. Jim cares and it shows in both the quality of his product and the customer service he gives.

I've been playing only a few years but am a serious musician and college student in pursuit of a degree in composition. I own this amp, my Rickenbacker Dakota, a Fender Stratocaster, an Epiphone Dot, a Pignose, and the list goes on. Without a doubt this is the best amp I own and I don't plan on ever getting rid of it. This coupled with my Ric is a great pair and nothing out there can top it, including all of those high priced boutique manufacturers which until I got this mod, was going to invest in either a Dr. Z amp or a Fuchs OD50. If this amp were ever lost or stolen i'd definately get it again.

This amp was originally a stock 2000 Fender USA Hot Rod Deluxe. Jim Price of Omega Amps gave me a back a truly "hotrodded" Hot Rod Deluxe.
I'm gigging with a Top 40 band and I find the amp is versatile enough for most styles of music except for maybe heavy metal. I mainly play disco, funk, R&B, rap, hip-hop, rock in various cover bands I gig with. Features of this amp: input #1, input #2 (-6db), normal/bright switch, clean volume, drive, treble, bass, middle, drive master volume, reverb, presence, preamp out, power amp in, footswitch, standy switch and on/off switch. On the rear of the amp is the AC cord, 3A 250v fuse holder, internal speaker out, external speaker out, V5 & V4 6L6 power tube holders, V3 phase inverter and V2 &V1 12AX7 preamp tubes. Standard features of the typical Hot Rod Deluxe amp configuration. The amp has 3 channels which are the clean, drive/ more drive channels. It has channel switching via either the footswitch (clean/drive and more drive) or on top of the amp with the channel select & more drive buttons. It has an effects loop and no headphone jack.

Some of the features I wish the Hot Rod Deluxe has would be a footswitchable reverb, seperate EQ for the clean and drive channels and an adjustable level for the drive channel. The reverb is still touchy and I may mod that myself. I pretty much use all the features on this amp. The HRD's 40 watts of tube power is good enough to keep up with a drummer, bassist and keyboardist onstage. If I need anymore volume I can always run an extension guitar cabinet for more spread onstage. I also run the amp direct via a Hughes & Kettner Red Box into the P.A.

The stock HRD amp's input jacks, bass control and drive's master volume are some of the shortcomings of this amp. Jim Price modified some of the amp's original controls for me as part of his Hot Rod Deluxe mods. First off all of the jacks were upgraded to Cliff jacks that are installed in a "dead bug" setup. If you somehow manage to yank hard on the guitar cord, it won't pull the jack off the circuitboard, just the wiring. The power amp in jack is still the stock Fender jack though since it's a dual stereo jack. Wrap your cords around the amp handle to prevent this. The bass control has been adjusted so that it's not overly bassy in its range anymore. The drive's master volume control which was originally touchy since it had the stock linear taper pot, has been changed to an audio taper pot,now works in a normal fashion and is easy to set its level. I installed an Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker and a TAD 12AX7 high gain preamp tube on Jim's recommendation. It smoothed out the amp's brightness and gave it a good gain. Jim also moved the bias test point
to the top of the tube circuitboard so when I bias the power tubes, I don't have to reach around the bottom of the tube circuitboard.
I tried running the KT-66 power tubes, tried to bias the power tubes within their range, made the amp quite noisy and sent them back to Groove Tubes. I was disappointed, but will try the KT-66 power tubes in the future.

I'm using either my Hamer USA (Chapparal Elite 90, Diablo II, Studio, T-51),Fender Strat, Gibson Les Paul Custom or custom made Strat guitars with either the Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio or EMG pickups, depending on which guitar I use. The Omega Amps modded Hot Rod Deluxe suits my musical style quite easily since I've used it already with my Top 40 band onstage. It covers all my musical bases with no sweat. This amp is not going to cover heavy or death metal tones since there are other amps for this kind of music.

The clean channel was quite average sounding and congested in its stock from, after the mods now it sounds very blackface sounding. Push the clean channel past 3 and you're going into tweed territory. The clean channel overdrives in nice, smooth way that's pleasing to listen to and play on the amp.

The drive/more drive channel was the shocker for me. In its original stock form, it sounded raspy, gritty and a lot of high end. A tube powered buzzbox. I thought this amp was solid state or something. Many players complain about the stock HRD's drive channel and this is the stock HRD amp's shortcomings. After the mod, it sounds smooth, musical and crunchy now. It reminds me of a good sounding late '70s Marshall my friend has or my B setting of my crunch channel of my '92 Marshall 30th Anniversary 6101 1x12 combo amp that I have. You won't need any overdrive boxes to distort the amp now!!! The drive is now useful and it sounds great. I'll still use my Analogman SD-1/808 clipping selector mod pedal in the clean channel for low gain blues/rock tones and the Keeley BD-2 Phat mod pedal for boosted clean leads or to push the SD-1/808 pedal for blues leads.

The more drive has good sustain, allows the notes to bloom and gives the leads a little extra boost for my solo tone. The drive/more drive channel can get a little noisy, but any amp will if you use a lot of high gain. The noise is minimal and not enough for me to get a noise gate, so that's good. I had some noise issues when I had my pedalboard connected to the Omega Amps modded HRD amp. I was able to remove the buzz by lifting the ground on my VHT Valvulator I tube buffer/power supply.


I installed an Eminence Cannabis Rex speaker (50 watts)in place of the stock Legend 125 speaker (50 watt version). Eminence is the only guitar speaker company licensed by A Broun Soun, makers of the Tone Tubby hempcone speakers, that's allowed to make this speaker from this material. I thought the stock Legend 125 speaker sounded like cardboard, exhibited a lot of top end bite and harshness that I didn't like. The Cannabis Rex took a few gigs to break it in, but it has good lows & mids with smooth highs. The speaker will open up as I play it more. I installed my own homemade "Beam Blocker" on it a few days ago. I liked the sound and I'll be installing a Weber Beam Blocker in a couple of weeks.

When I bought the stock HRD amp from it previous owner, it was a basket case. The tolex was torn on the corners and a couple of pieces was missing from the front. I took some hot glue and repaired the tolex the best I could. The input jacks were damaged, so I took the amp apart and reinstalled the input jacks on the circuitboard. The input jacks worked, but the #1 input jack's thread was stripped and I couldn't reinstall its bolt. Some of the washers for the input jacks and tone control were missing. The chicken head control knob was missing. I went to the local music store and was able to buy the knobs and got the washers free. After I did the minor repairs and replaced missing parts, the amp worked reliably in its stock form.

After the mods done by Jim Price, this amp's performance exceeds my expectations and standards of how this modded amp should sound. The upgraded jacks installed in "dead bug" fashion makes the amp roadworthy and will survive any abuse given to it. If the jacks suffers any impact, the wires will break off the circuitboard and not flex the circuitboard. Then it can be easily repaired by me, if necessary. Hopefully this will never happen.

So far the Omega Amps modded HRD amp has performed reliably onstage. Fender amps are quite tough and can take a lot of abuse. Like any other tube amps, I bring along extra preamp & power tubes and fuses along with my Hughes & Kettner Tubeman as stage insurance. I did manage to blow up one of the original preamp tubes when I was biasing the power tubes when I got the amp back from Jim. I couldn't figure why it had low output when it was just working about a half hour ago. I did a vibaration test on the amp with the back end of a pencil and found position V2 sounded funny. I swapped another 12AX7 preamp tube in its place and the amp worked again. I currently am using the stock Fender/ Groove Tubes in position V1, V3,V4 & V5. I have a high gain TAD 12AX7 preamp tube in position V2 for more gain.

I won't have to service the amp for awhile and I take good care of my equipment. The tubes will eventually wear out after use for so many service hours and will have to be replaced sometime in the future.

Fender's customer support is terrible. You might be able to buy parts from them or you'll be directed to their service center for unncecessary and costly repairs on products that just need to well designed. Jim Price of Omega Amps, OTOH, is great!! I can e-mail him or call him and he returns my phone calls or e-mails within 24 hours. He answered all of my questions and taken cared of my requests about the amp mods. He also provides great customer support after the amp mod is done. He wants to be sure that his customers are happy with his mods and workmanship. That's what I call real customer service. I found Jim to be very friendly, courteous and knowledgable in my business dealings with him. I couldn't ask for any more from an amp technician and Jim is one of the best on this level.

I've been gigging in various cover bands for the last 12 years and own numerous guitars and amps. If the amp was stolen or lost, I would buy another stock Hot Rod Deluxe for cheap and have Jim modify it again. I like Jim's modded amps that much. I love the work that Jim has performed to make a mass produced, P.O.S. combo amp into a professional sounding workhorse combo amp. The amp still has a shared EQ which compromises its total tonal diversity. I was able to find good settings to work with both channels and I have since put some masking tape on the amp and wrote the settings down with a Sharpie marker for future reference. I'll have to subtract one point. This is not a reflection on Jim's mod, but on the design of the amp by Fender engineers.

I have compared my Omega Amps modded Hot Rod Deluxe to the stock Fender HRD and my modded HRD amps eats the stock HRD for dinner!! I don't know why guitar players who own this stock amp have to put with the cheap & unreliable input jacks, overly bassy bass control, touchy drive's master & reverb control, horrible sounding drive/more drive channel and cheap sounding speaker. Fender should be ashamed of themselves for making such a cool amp sound bad. If the Omega Amps modded Hot Rod Deluxe sounds like this stock, I would have bought one a long time ago. Thank God, people like Jim Price has recognized the needs of working musicians to modify these humble amps into useful and great sounding workhorse amps for stage and recording use.

Jim Price also modifies other makes of amplifiers as well as build his own line of amps. Anyone who owns a stock Hot Rod Deluxe or a Hot Rod Deville, is dissatisfied with its performance as a stock amp, should contact Jim for his HRD mods. His mod prices are fair, quick turnaround, high quality work and great customer support after the mods.

This is a USA made Fender Hot Rod Deluxe from the late 90's. I purchased it used in dead mint condition from an eBay seller for $400 specifically to have Jim Price at Omega Amps mod the amp. The feature list is basically the same as a stock Fender HRD save that the 'Notrmal/Bright' switch is now a boost switch for the Clean mode. Though the amp has a Clean mode, a Drive mode, and a More Drive mode this is a single channel amp that, in practical terms, operates like a channel switcher. This is a tube amp with solid state reverb circuit and effects loop. The amps output is rated at 40 watts. Tube compliment is (3) 12AX7's and a pair of 6L6GC output tubes. The controls are: Clean boost switch, Clean volume, Drive gain, More gain switch (also foot switchable), Treble, Middle, Bass, Channel select Clean/Drive switch (also foot switchable), Master volume (Drive / More drive modes only), Reverb (foot switch defeatable), Standby switch, and Power switch. On the bottom of the chassis there is an additional speaker out jack for connecting an additional external cab. The mod that Jim offers for these amps is a revoicing that improves the tone and responsiveness of this amp in every regard and dramatically so. The mod was $250 plus shipping both ways. I'm into this amp for just under $800 and, considering how great this amp sounds, it was a bargain! I had Jim mod the circuit only. My amp has the stock output transformer, tubes, and speaker. The OT sounds great so it will stay. The tubes and speaker will get swapped out in due time but I'm enjoying the amp as is for now. I'm busy with a career and raising a family these days so I'm gigging regularly. I play open mics occasionally, get together with friends for jam sessions, play a yearly reunion gig with a band I I used to gig with with back east, and do some recording in home studios. I'm definitely what you would call a hobbyist. This amp covers alot of sonic territory and it's easy to dial in. I don't use effects loops so I cannot comment on this feature. The reverb circuit is not altered in Jim's mod. I use a touch of reverb occasionally and I find the reverb on this amp serviceable but not great. The decay is too long and it's a little too bright for my tastes but at very low settings it works well. The only real shortcoming this amp has is a shared tone stack for both the Clean and Drive modes. As with most amps that utilize a single tone stack for clean and overdrive modes it is likely that some compromise will have to be struck if utilizing the amp as a channel switcher. This is not an issue for me as I tend to set the amp for a specific tone and use the guitar's volume control to clean the amp up. Fortunately this is something that the Omega modded HRD does very well! This mod definitely makes good on the unrealized potential of the Fender Hot Rod series amps. I give this category a 9 because the main feature any amp should have (aside from great tone) is versatility. This amp has it in spades!

I'm a very cautious individual when it comes to gear hype. I play blues and rock mostly and I try (in vain) to play some jazz fusion stuff. I'm rusty these days (work and raising family are my main priorities) but I play as often as life allows.

I have, over the last few years, been granted an open checkbook by my favorite person (my lovely wife) to update my guitar equipment to suit my current and (hopefully) long-term needs. As a result I've had some very nice amplifiers (and pedals) pass through my hands in recent days. I have, over the years and recently, owned or have had the opportunity to play test all of the following amps in band practice, jam, and/or gigging context (not a complete list but fairly comprehensive):

1958 Fender tweed Deluxe,
1961 blonde Bassman head,
1964 1x15 blackface Pro (non-reverb),
1972 Marshal JMP 50w head & 1973 'B' cab,
late 60's Traynor YSR-1 Custom Reverb Head,
Late 60's Orange Graphic 120 head,
1967 blackfaced Fender Super Reverb,
Jim Hanley modded Jackson 50 (very close to a model 2204 Marshall JCM800),
THD Plexi head,
Fender Super Champ,
Rivera Jake Studio combo,
Rivera Rake 55 head,
lightly modded Marshall model 4104 JCM800 1x12 combo (2204 chassis),
THD BiValve head,
THD UniValve head,
THD Plexi head,
Dr. Z Maz 38 2x12,
Dr. Z Carmen Ghia head,
Fuchs ODS50SLX 1x12 combo,

I've also demo'd the Two Rock Onyx and Jade heads, Carr Mercury and Hammerhead2 (both stellar), Marshall HW 1974x, Vox AC30CC, Bogner Metropolis and Extasy, Reinhardt 18 (this one's a killer), Allen Accomplice, DR.Z Route 66 and KT45, Tone King Meteor 30 and 40, VHT Putbull45 and Deliverance 60.

Additionally I've demo'd most of the new and RI Fender tube amps on the market, most of the Marshall new and RI amps, most of Peavey's tube amps (including the Classic 30), the Crate VC/V series, and the new Traynor amps.

I like a variety of tones, most rooted in electric blues, classic rock, and those of session players like Larry Carlton, Steve Lukather, others. I like some heavy stuff - early metal - Judas Priest and the like. I like big Fender cleans that transition into overdrive smoothly and seamlessly. I like a smooth Fender overdrive. I like Marshall drive tones milkshake thick even when just mildly overdriven. I like overdrive that cleans up nicely with the guitar's volume knob - I'm not much for channel switchers. I like the thick, smooth, textured OD tones one associated with the Dumble Overdrive Special. I don't like gritty, buzzy overdrive at all. The 'crushed glass' overdrive sometimes associated with Marshall amps (70's and 80's) is cool but there must be enough harmonic complexity to make this sound musical. An amp must bloom easily into harmonic feedback, must respond expressively to varying technique or it doesn't last very long here.

Of those amps listed above there were a few standouts: The 64 Pro had beautiful blackface cleans. The 58 Deluxe was a monster blues amp. The 72 Marshall JMP50 was a killer rock amp. The THD Plexi head was a great lead amp. The Rivera Jake was a great amp for pedals. The Fender Super Champ was a great grab-n-go amp. The THD BiValve was way fun to tweak.

The Fuchs ODS may be the most musical amp I've ever played through. It's so harmonically rich and touch responsive. If I could only have one amp this one would stay.

I'd read about Omega Amps HRD mods several years ago and the idea piqued my interest. I spoke with Jim at some length back then and was impressed both personally and professionally - very knowledgeable and a heck of a nice guy! However there were so many amps to try locally that I soon forgot about the Omega mod. After buying the Fuchs and, subsequently, selling off the others I bumped into the Omega Amps website again and decided to bite. I purchased a used (minty shape) USA made Hot Rod Deluxe from an eBay seller and sent the chassis to Jim.

The stock HRD amp had very nice Fender blackface-like cleans but sounded a bit harsh and unpleasant when the clean volume was pushed hard enough to overdrive. The transition from clean to overdrive was abrupt. The drive and more drive modes, as most of you know, were absolutely useless - bumblebee-in-a-can buzzy and unmusical.

The modded amp is nothing short of amazing! I haven't changed out the stock speaker or tubes - the circuit mod is all that has changed. The cleans are very similar to stock although much improved. As the clean volume is pushed the amp begins to subtly transition into a warm, full, sweet, harmonically rich Fender overdrive. There are so many great tones all along the sweep of the clean volume - the improvements to this mode alone was worth the money. The cleans are perhaps not as rich as my old 64 Pro but they're close - real close! I actually prefer this amps clean mode over that old Pro because its transition into overdrive is soooo much more subtle yielding a wider variety of tones - and the full volume overdrive of this amp sounds much better than that of my old Pro. The drive mode is thick and smooth - very old school Marshall (similar to my old 72 JMP50 in alot of ways). This mode makes for a great rock amp all on its own - would also have been worth the total $$ outlay as a single channel with just this voicing. There is such a wide range of gain available (from on-the-verge to saturated liquid smooth lead tones) and the amp sounds fantastic at every setting on the drive volume control. It also cleans up very well with the guitar's volume. This mode covers alot of sonic territory. It's a better sounding Marshall than most Marshall's I've played! The more drive mode is a gain boost for the drive mode and works very well for a rhythm/lead arrangement with the footswitch. There is an abundance of gain available in the more drive mode extending well into high gain territory. The subtle details in picking dynamics and other techniques are harmonically charged and very musical. While the Fuchs is the kind of amp one has to learn to play to get the most out of it (very unforgiving but rewarding when well utilized) this amp is just plain FUN! Fun the way a great old Fender or Marshall is fun. Everything that comes out of it sounds great!

The HRD amps do exhibit some noise at high gain settings. The modded amp does curb some of the noise but noise does come with gain in most circuits. The noise level is more than acceptable - certainly lower than with any of the Marshall JMP's (cranked) I've owned.

I give this category a 10 without reserve. This may be the most fun I've ever had with an amp. It just does everything right for me. I am normally more conservative about rating the sound of an amp. This is a very subjective category and everyone will hear a given amp differently. I'm just overwealmingly pleased with how toneful and responsive this amp is! It belies it's modest beginnings and reasonable cost considering how much one would have to spend to get this kind of performance from an amp in the boutique market. Trust me on this - nothing at this price point (or even twice the price) will deliver this level of performance.

I have only had this amp a short while so I cannot comment on its reliability. I know that there have been some reliability issues with the stock Fender Hot Rod series - most of which have been caused by the delicate PCB mounted input, effects loop, and footswitch jacks. I know that Jim has replaced the jacks on HRD mods when requested. I'll be replacing the jacks on mine with Switchcraft chassis mounted jacks with insulating washers. Following the mod I went over the boards checking all wire and component solder joints visually and I see no sign of future trouble. The amp has performed flawlwssly both before and since the mod's completion. Time will tell but, after becoming familiar with the amps construction and taking care of the weak jacks I don't expect to have any trouble with it.

Jim is a knowledgeable tech and a great guy! He has provided professional, friendly service from my first contact with him several years ago. From all reports Jim really stands behind his work. From my experience I'll rate this category an easy 10.

I've been playing for 25+ years now. My current gear is as follows: Guitars: USACG Strat, 1988 PRS CE24, Tacoma DR-20. Amps: Fuchs ODS-50 SLX 1x12 combo, Omega modded Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12 combo. Effects: Analogman Mini Bi-Comp, MXR script logo Phase 45, Love Pedal COT 50, Love Pedal Eternity, Clay Jones OD, Fulltone OCD, DLS EchoTAP. Should something happen to this amp (lost, stolen, destroyed) I will buy another and send it to Jim to be modded. Overall I'm very pleased with this amp! I'll rate it an overall 9. What a great sounding guitar amp!