If all goes well, I'll have a Hot Rod Deluxe by tomorrow evening.
A bit more power than I wanted, but it was such a deal!
$380.00!!
Tell me what I'm getting into!
If all goes well, I'll have a Hot Rod Deluxe by tomorrow evening.
A bit more power than I wanted, but it was such a deal!
$380.00!!
Tell me what I'm getting into!
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I'm sure you have heard the horror stories, but I have had mine for over a year with no problems at all.
I hate to piss on anybody's parade......
Yesterday I replaced my bought-new HRDlx with a several years-old DRRI. The Hot Rod's goin' down to my local store tomorrow to be put up on consignment. I don't care if I ever see that chingalero again.
Why don't you go down to Skip's and pick up a Deluxe Reverb?
(jus' a-trine ta be heppful heah......)
You, sir, have a way with words.Originally Posted by phantomman
What have we gotten into this time? Hmmm...let's see:
A - A fun amp that will get you the Fender cleans.
B - Set on the path of amplifier enlightenment by immersing yourself into research for repairs and/or mods. I call this a 'Gateway Amp' in this respect.
C - Headache after headache as you find yourself spending more time with it being down for repair.
D - A great start towards a Tweed build; hell, you've got cab, speakers, chassis, transformers, pilot light, switches...
$380 isn't a bad deal if it's cosmetically new and you have a speaker or tube upgrade as part of it.
If not, the Eminence Texas Heat is in order for this guy.
One thing you can do to lengthen the life of this amp is to get a new pair of 5W power resistors, installing them with leads long enough to keep them raised off the board about 1/4".
Have fun with it!
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Well, I can always back out... It is craigslist. you know how flaky those buyers can be...
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Well, NTGB makes some good (positive) points re the situation. Yours may turn out to be the virtual textbook "creampuff". And of course you can always spend $$$ on upgrades and tweaks to wring the best possible performance out of it.
In my case, the amp sounded great in the store but when I got it home I noticed all the noise in the drive/more drive channels, the muddy tone from the driver, and the el cheepo plastic jacks. Then the reverb went tits up for no apparent reason. I'd never gigged with the amp but had always brought it along as a spare "just in case".
I'm used to buying a Fender amp and playing it for ten or fifteen trouble-free years but my honeymoon with the Hot Rod Deluxe was over in less than 12 months.
As usual, DTTAH, YMMV, jus' mah 'pinion, etc etc etc.
However it goes, best of luck.
$380 isn't a bad deal for the parts you'll be getting. If the amp works well for a few years or more, you'll be ahead of the game. If it doesn't, as NTGB says, you have a jumping off point to a new homebuilt variation. If you're not interested in ever worrying about the amp or reapiring/rebuilding it, then take the pass on this one and put that money into the bank as a good start towards a different amp that will serve your needs well into the future.
POO DAT!!!
the hot rod deluxe is not as bad as some would lead you to believe, in my opinion at least...it is what it is, an entry level tube amp...but that doesn't mean that you can't coax some nice tones out of it...i don't use the drive channels, and i have played around w/ a few speakers only to return to the stock eminence....i'm running JJ 6v6's in it, as well as JJ preamp tubes...i love the way it sounds, and it does a gritty blues sound especially well...my silverface pro reverb is my go-to amp, but there are certain things that the hot rod does that the pro can't do..that warm, bluesy, dirty sound especially....i say, for the price you are paying, take a chance and play around with it...its definitely a fun amp to have...forget the naysayers, do what your ears tell you to do..in all honesty, its not as bad as some make it seem...its just such a popular amp that there are bound to be problems with some of them...if you treat it right (and check the quality of the solder joints), and don't try to mod it too much , it should be fine..good luck
"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything."
- Wyatt Earp
It is that bad. Mark, seriously, look at the amps forum right now and see just how many "Hot Rod Deluxe Problems" threads there are.
My advice is don't do it!!!
Mark -
Follow your heart on this one. You have a new job and can probably afford to step up.
Buy an amp that you have played thorugh...that talks to you.
This one might be just kind of babbling!
Seriously, it isn't too much more to stwp it up to a rig YOU are worthy of.
There are so many out there that ARE good ones.....Do you think this guy is selling his really good one?
I won't say "Go buy a DRRI" like so may will .......its a great amp - but get the one that talks to you.
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
you said that the HRD is more power than you wanted; that alone tells me you should pass. there is no nuance with that amp, it is either too loud or not loud enough, before you know it you're looking at mods and speaker swaps and power brakes etc. when all you wanted was a useable amp in the first place.
No, it's worse. As pc says, take a look at the recent thread titles in the amplifier forum. I think the failure rate on these given enough time is close to 100%
Pass and be happy you did! As PC stated above just look at all the folks having trouble..You can only polish a turd so far before it starts to smear...
just inserting a smart-ass avatar
do I look like I know what I'm doing?
Just as amatter of interest. Whilst waiting for my turret boards to arrive for my HRDx conversion, I decided to salvage as much of the useful components from the PCB. The board was already quite noticeably charred in the area of the 5W resistors. Nothing unusual there except my amp was bought new 14 months ago. The process of removing components really screwed up that flimsy PCB. Good thing I had no intention of ever using it again. If you are wondering why I have done this to an almost new HRDx, well it sounded great in the shop but when I gigged it I began to realise it wasn't quite what I thought I was buying. I'd have taken it back but I used money that my wife had earmarked for some new furniture so admitting my mistake was out of the question. I went down the modification path thinking I could make a silk purse from this sows ear.The improvements were never enough to make me completely satisfied with the amp.
When I first began stripping it down I felt a bit uneasy destroying something so new, but once I got started I realised just how cheap and nasty it really was.
Pete
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.
Henry Ford
Mark, I just wanted to iterate along with the crowd - pass on this one...I'd suggest an AC15, which are about six bills new - you could probably get a used one in great condition for about $450-$500. You know you like the Vox sound!
"I'm gonna find myself a girl
that can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."
I think I'm going to pass. I don't mind learning to work on it, but the more I think about it, in my bedroom. It will just be way too loud...
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I would honestly put that money toward something (substantially) better.
Tone is in the fingers, eh? Let's hear your Vox, Marshall and Fender fingerings then...
Uhhh...yeah!
Look for a Pro Junior, used or new. Those are good little amps.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
great amps
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
The power and output transformer in the HRD are barely enough for a 30 watt amp, no less a 40 watter!
Pass and you will save yourself from going thru a box of tissuse.
Huh?
Maybe if you run 6V6s in there you'll have problems getting a 40W rating. I've put one in stereo with a DRRI and it's definitely more powerful than the DRRIs 22 watts.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
aaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! !!!!!!
NTBLues.....
Your gonna get in trouble for saying that!
(or me for teasing)
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
My experience with it was that I liked the sound just fine, and it held up when I played it quietly in my room, but once I started using it with a band and in gigs, it burned out over & over.
And someone said it's a gateway amp. It was for me. But not a pro amp.
Then the DRRI was broken. A DRRI will crush a HRD at stage volumes, trust me. Ask Rickenjangle.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Well,
First of all, If you don't need all that power you should look for a Pro Junior or a Blues Jr (I know some people will arise to say they're junk, but I have a Bjr and it turned to be my main gig amp. Light and powerful). A DRRI surely, is a better amp and If you have the extra cash, don't hesitate.
All that said, I must be a lucky guy, since I gig frequently with a 1997 made in US Hrdx since 2002 and only last year I had to have it serviced for a bad power supply cap and new JJ's. It sounds pretty loud and good with the new tubes and a slightly increase in bias adjutment from the factory specs. I took this time to make a PCB inspection with magnifier lens and couldn't find any warning points or cold solder joints. Maybe I don't dime it enough playing around 2 and 4 exclusively on the clean channel. Who Knows....
Seriously engaged in playing the Blues!!!
www.myspace.com/bigalexblues
I should have clarified more:
The stereo rig was done at performance volumes. Maybe not 'stage' volume as you use the phrase, but more along the lines of a fusion/jazz performance. On a stage? Yes. On a stage, un-miked, in a stadium? No.
Also, it was my Tweed-converted HRD, which uses the same stock iron from the HRD. Maybe it's a circuitry thing compared to apparent volume you're referring to, but I'm actually going on what the iron specs at, and what it can do...
...not what the HRD circuit does with that iron.
Sorry for the confusion. It was the statement about the HRD iron not being able to run 30-40 watts that rubbed me the wrong way.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Yeah - Its impossible that even a rogue Ot rod running amuck could perform well enough to be as loud or louder than a DRRI (Oh the horror!)
could be that it was one of the good ones, and they played well together......who knows......
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
Is there some thought that a HRDx has some lack of volume?!
I've never heard that complaint. In my experience they have way more loud headroom than a DR. (And if you can ignore the cabinet self destructing, they don't sound all that bad when you get 'em loud enough--it's that "drive" crap that sounds so bad)
Am I totally lost (wouldn't be the first time)?
First statement:
My reply:
Next rebuttal:
To which I clarified more about my previous statement, although my statement had nothing to do with how well either amp cuts through the mix on stage.
If an amp's rated at 40 watts, I doubt it would have a transformer not capable of 40 watts. It's a big hunk of iron, even bigger than a Blues Deluxe.
That's what bothered me.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Frank, Frank. I thought you were the one who always tried to de-escalate so you could keep the wild moderator from banning someone?
Sure looks like you have an actual opinion yourself.
And guess what, it turns out that's okay too. Hang on, let me see if you're banned yet.
Nope. Looks like not.
J/K man. I'm only having some fun. Occasionally I feel like I'm allowed to.
er...?
"I haven't slept for ten days...because that would be too long." -- Mitch Hedberg
just my 2 cents, but i had an HRD and i could never just play and have fun with it, i was always hearing things that distracted me ,i can't remember one night that i was totaly happy with it and that's not including problems like sometimes when it was on stanby, it would just shut down by itself, i had to get some solder points redone,spent money on tubes, ext. cabs and that reverb sucks. so i traded it and naturally lost money, but i bought DRRI and its just day and night. left it stock, just upped the bias a bit and that thing is so creamy cool that now, most nights i forget i even have an amp, i never find myself focusing on the amp, it lets me have fun and that makes me play better. its about the music now and you can't put a price on that. that's the real beauty of a good sounding reliable amp and the HDR might be a good first amp but it won't give you that..
Right. "Er." Because you have no idea what I'm referencing. Heh.
Relax Eli, that's me saying it's all good. You don't have to make it more than that. Frank has always been a valued member of TFF, and always will be AFAIC.
I was just giving him some joking grief for acting out of his self-described modus operandi.
The Internet is a funny thing. Public forums are public forums. Everyone can read everything that gets written. Eventually, you see yourself called a Nazi and a KKK member enough (and let's not forget "liar through and through"), you start to get a little batty. You either have to laugh at yourself or get really, really angry at the world. I choose option A; there's less consequences for your cardiac system. I'm already a fatty.
Last edited by pc; 03-10-2008 at 04:47 PM.
(heh heh heh .....)
Your good PC - ........
Just standing on the edge........I dont do that often!
Whew! That was close!
If it was real serious....I would have gone out for ice cream!
(You can join me.......I too.....am oviously a fan of it!)
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
Threads about the HRD tend to bring out the best in us, though, don't they?
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Y'know, back on topic, you bring up a good point.Threads about the HRD tend to bring out the best in us, though, don't they?
I really don't care much about the HRD debate. As a long-time member of this board, I have seen the sheer, staggering volume of HRD threads. It's awful.
OTOH, the HRD is Fender's consumer-priced model. Looking at their sales numbers, way more of them are sold than any other amp. Thus, it stands to reason there would be more problems reported.
Furthermore, I myself used and enjoyed a Blues Dx for over eight years. I don't feel like I have room to diss, so by and large I stay clear of these threads (as a poster, not as a moderator).
However, I consider Mark (phtotweborama) to be a friend, and it immediately struck me that despite my relative ambivalence, I would NOT let a friend buy one of these amps without at least some idea of what he was getting into.
As another interesting aside, Mark posted this identical thread at TDPRI as he often does, and by and large the overwhelming response there was extremely positive toward the HRD series. Indeed, it was that thread that talked him out of it due to its loudness concerns more than this one and its reliability concerns.
Just shows to go ya--different strokes for different folks/forums.
And Frank I'm serious--it really is all good.
reason #4 melt down
do I look like I know what I'm doing?
PC - Yep never thought it wasn't......
I think they are a great idea poorly executed. I was serious when I advised Mark to do better for himself because of the true problems.
I do think it gets crazy when the aggressions start on this topic - either way.....
Yeah.....you got agood sense of humor on this one.....And Almost got me......but I knew ........
(Heavenly Hash?)
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
I'm actually a sherbet guy. Although you can't go wrong with straight-up chocolate.
Or my new favorite flavor... Mochatele!
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