Help! Ok, I've ditched the Mesa Express, how about a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe limited edition?

[menvafaan]

Ok, I took my AL MM90 to try some amps today. Didn't have much time, but I tried the Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 which I've been considering for some time. It sounded fine, but then I my AL into a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Texas Red limited edition, and the clean channel actually blew the Mesa away. The Mesa tone sounded good, but it sounded so compressed, "dead" and unpersonal, while the Fender tone really sounded alive. Although if I go for a Fender amp I'd definitely need to rely on stomps for overdrive and distortion.

When I google the Deluxe, though, the reviews aren't that stunning. Actually I think the Fender tone is what I'm after, but how does a modern Fender amp stand up againt an old Twin, which is more or less considered to be the holy grail by many? I tried a "new "Twin Amp" in the store, and I actually liked the Deluxe better.

I'd appreciate any input on Fender amps, new and old. What to look for, what to avoid and so on.

 

[andynpeters]

We all have our favourites....but it's your sound & your money......you say you really like the sound so why not? Doesn't really matter what others consider to be the "Holy Grail" ( a much overused cliche)
Fender have been making amps for 50 years now....they must know something....Mr Fender founded MusicMan.....he must have had some good ideas.
I would always check out a standard model before paying extra for a "Limited Edition" of almost anything

 

[wolfbone07]

I have a Hot Rod DeVille 410, which I like the best of all of the Hot Rod amps. There's a clarity in the low end you don't get with the 12s (to my ears at least). It is a loud amp, and it is a bit heavy. I have casters for mine. I also have a Fender Dual Showman head from the late '80s early '90s. It has the most amazing cleans ever, and it has great overdrive, which was not what I was expecting. It is also weighs a lot, and is one loud son of a gun. Trust your ears.

 

[phatduckk]

FWIW i've had a blues junior for 12 years or so and its pretty awesome.

 

[beachjammer]

I had a couple Blues Jr amps that were really nice. If I were going to just buy one amp though and wanted the Fender tone then I'd get the Fender Super Champ XD. I also had one of those for a while and it was a smok'n little amp. It works great for home and small jam sessions. I even played a small gig with it but the volume isn't very loud. It mixes tubes with modeling and does a really good job. If that's not what you're after then I think I'd get a Deluxe or Twin. I played a 70's model Twin a couple months ago and it made me drool! Another amp to consider is the Mesa Lonestar series. They nail the Fender tone with those amps IMO.

 

[Sweat]

Hey if the amp did it for you then get it, I have found an amp the hardest part to getting my gear in order, Texas Red??? never seen that Fender model. But I like the name.

 

[morsecode]

I just bought a Fender Super-Sonic 1X12 combo a few weeks, and I have nothing but great things to say. It has a "vibrolux' and "bassman" channels. I really like the beefier sound of the bassman but the vibrolux has some real nice cleans. The amp also has an overdrive/gain channel (burn) that has quite a bit of range. It's a great sounding amp and very versatile.

 

[candid_x]

I like Fender's cleans on most all their amps, including when overdriven, but their preamp distortion sounds anemic to my ears, almost a solid state kind of flat distortion.

 

[Slingy]

All limited editions have different speakers from the stock Fender Specialty Design(Emminence Legend). The Texas Red has a Celestion V30. There are other models made with Jensens as well. They will only make 800 of those, so resale shouldn't be a problem.

If you love the sound of it, go for it. They are not alot of dough anyway. You know Mesa started out as a modified Fender.

 

[guitarman23]

Hot Rod DeVille 410! i have it to and i love it, i get the sound i wan't and it works great sounds great!

 

[whitestrat]

My Fav for the Fender amps is still the 65 Deluxe Reverb... Killer amp for a 22w... I've had the EL84 tone nailed with a Laney... I'm yearning for a 6L6 now... or 6V6... Heh.

 

[menvafaan]

My Fav for the Fender amps is still the 65 Deluxe Reverb... Killer amp for a 22w... I've had the EL84 tone nailed with a Laney... I'm yearning for a 6L6 now... or 6V6... Heh.

Original or reissue? Seems like a lot of people are disappointed with the Fender reissues compared to the originals.

 

[Smellybum]

Hey
I've got a hot rod deluxe, (you know the colours don't make it sounds any different yeah?)

Compliments an Al nicely -

Despite being one of the worst players on the board you can check out the tone here.

YouTube - wallaceguitars2007's Channel

Also has my SUB through it too - the sound is low as my kids were asleep but you should get the idea!

 

[Rossie]

Plus the Hot Rod takes pedals very well!

 

[whitestrat]

Original or reissue? Seems like a lot of people are disappointed with the Fender reissues compared to the originals.

Reissue... I kinda like the reissues, but I'm not too bothered by originals or reissue differences.

That's like saying that a 59 Bassman today is totally different, and no longer worth buying? My studio experience tells me otherwise. Most of the time when other people I hear complain about modern equipment compared to vintage stuffs, I realise it's very much not the equipment thats not good enough.

I always think that it doesn't matter if it's a contemporary or vintage amp design. It's more a matter of what the guitarist does with it.

 

[mb99zz]

Great choice! I have a Hot Rod Deluxe and do like it quite a bit. My only complaint is that it can get really loud. I almost bought a 3rd party device to fix that and ended up just buying a Roland Cube 20x to practice with.

Since somebody mentioned speakers, my HRD has a Jensen "special design". I'm not sure if that was for a limited edition or not. My HRD was one of the last run made in the USA. For all I know, all of the US built HRD's had this speaker. I do have a limited color combo. They're great amps. Can't go wrong with Fender's clean sound (IMO).

 

[mb99zz]

I just bought a Fender Super-Sonic 1X12 combo a few weeks, and I have nothing but great things to say. It has a "vibrolux' and "bassman" channels. I really like the beefier sound of the bassman but the vibrolux has some real nice cleans. The amp also has an overdrive/gain channel (burn) that has quite a bit of range. It's a great sounding amp and very versatile.

Man, I've lusted after a Super-Sonic for years now. That's a fantastic amp. On a side note, why doesn't Fender offer the blonde/oxblood combo on more amps?

 

[yesandno]

What kind of preamps tubes have ya'll put in the HRD? I can only get clean if I use the low input, otherwise the guitars overdrives the preamp using the 'normal' input.

I've never tried using any of the low gain ax7 tubes. Would they allow using the normal input without overdriving it so it'll stay clean at louder volumes?
thanks

 

[Slingy]

I retubed mine with JJ ECC83/12AX7's and left the stock stock 6L6 Groove Tube power tubes. Just the JJ's in the pre-amp was a noticeable quality difference, I like the Groove Tubes for the power amp because I don't have to re-bias with the color coding.

Mine stays nice and clean pretty loud to about 7 on the dial, where it starts to get some tasty breakup on the clean channel. I purchased it in August of 98, made in USA with the Fender Specialty Design speaker.

Your guitar may just be too high output, do you have active pickups?

 

[yesandno]

Yeah, when I first got it I called eurotube bob and he sent me the jjtesla's as well as the 2 jjtelsa 6l6 power tubes.
I just remember the last time I was able to crank the volume it was breaking up on me on pretty early. We also know how the volume on these thing jump from 0 to Loud. As far as guitars, I was probably using a tele or strat at the time.
I'm just looking for it to be loud and clean. I just figured 12ax7's are too hot and I need lower gain pre tubes.

How about replacement speakers? Any good matches for this amp?

thanks