Off Topic What Tubes for my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe?

[Hendog]

My Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is about 5 years old and it sounds a little weak these days. Looks like it has 3 X 12AX and 2 X 6L6. Should I replace these puppies? And what should I use???

I play lead and we cover 70's, 80's, and 90's rock and have a bunch of funky rock originals.

 

[jamminjim]

Take a look at Eurotubes.... they have a complete set of JJ's for ya that'd I'd recommend.

Eurotubes

Fender HRD Retube Kits

https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=7&sub_category_id=32

 

[Hendog]

Take a look at Eurotubes.... they have a complete set of JJ's for ya that'd I'd recommend.

Eurotubes

Fender HRD Retube Kits

https://ssl.eurotubes.com/cart/index.php?page=view_products&category_id=7&sub_category_id=32

Cool site. Thanks!

 

[Slingy]

Here's what I did, I replaced the preamp tubes with the JJ 12AX7/ECC83 set, I forget exactly. But I replaced the power tubes with color matched groove tubes because I didn't want to have the amp biased.

It was a drastic improvment to my ears, though I no longer have this amp.

I also recommend a volume box or line level volume pedal in the effects loop with this amp so the preamp tubes can grind a little without being extremely loud.

 

[sandman@midlife]

I changed the tubes to 6v6's, and did some of the mods listed here,http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/, plus some other mods. Greatly improved the sound. The 6v6's brought the wattage to about 25 watts. The tone stack mod let me turn the amp up without getting that icepick sound.

 

[Hendog]

Here's what I did, I replaced the preamp tubes with the JJ 12AX7/ECC83 set, I forget exactly. But I replaced the power tubes with color matched groove tubes because I didn't want to have the amp biased.

It was a drastic improvment to my ears, though I no longer have this amp.

I also recommend a volume box or line level volume pedal in the effects loop with this amp so the preamp tubes can grind a little without being extremely loud.

So as long as I replace the power tubes with Groove Tubes, I dont need to bias? And I can replace the pre amp tubes with whatever???

So adding a volume pedal in line from the guitar (not in the effects loop) will allow me to turn the amp up and get a better sound without the total output volume being rediculous? I wanted to get a a volume pedal anyway. Would a non powered unit like this be ok?
Buy Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal | Volume & Expression | Musician's Friend

 

[fbecir]

So as long as I replace the power tubes with Groove Tubes, I dont need to bias? And I can replace the pre amp tubes with whatever???

Yes : you need to bias the amp only if you put different valves. If you out the same GT (same model, same color), no need to bias. It is explained in the Fender documentation.

So adding a volume pedal in line from the guitar (not in the effects loop) will allow me to turn the amp up and get a better sound without the total output volume being rediculous? I wanted to get a a volume pedal anyway. Would a non powered unit like this be ok?
Buy Ernie Ball VP JR. Passive Volume Pedal | Volume & Expression | Musician's Friend

I have a Fender Blues DeVille, so it is more or less the same amp. On Justin Holton site (The Unofficial Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Owner's Guide!) you have a nice explanation why the HotRod / Blues DeVille seem so loud. Take a time to read the articles, they explain a lot of things.
Concerning the volume pedal, the EB volume pedal works perfectly in the effect loop. But what you can do is to build a "volume box" and keep the volume pedal in front of your amp.

 

[Hendog]

I changed the tubes to 6v6's, and did some of the mods listed here,The Unofficial Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Owner's Guide!, plus some other mods. Greatly improved the sound. The 6v6's brought the wattage to about 25 watts. The tone stack mod let me turn the amp up without getting that icepick sound.

How is the sound?

 

[candid_x]

I've used JJ 6L6's for ages, and still do in one amp, but have gone to Svetlana/SED winged C logo. JJ's are nice, but they give every amp the same signature JJ sound, imo.

They all have a rating system, not just GT. There's a mixture of hype and truth to all that. Yes, it's better to just get a matched set in "medium" range distortion. Some rate them by color, some by number. Chances are if the amp was set to medium bias at the factory, you'd be fine just ordering matched mediums for it throughout its life. A good biasing can make a big difference, however, it's just not a mandatory thing. Mesa, by having fixed bias amps, try to force or scare you into only buying their replacements. Like I said, lots of hype in the mix.

I get most of my tubes from Doug. Tubes geared to your sound - Doug's Tubes

I like Tung-Sol 6V6's.. yummy cleans.

 

[jamminjim]

Personally, I check and if necessary reset the bias after each and every retube of the power tubes. If you don't have a tube checker how do you know the tube is good? Or how good? (I have a tube tester too) How do you know it survived the transport to your house? Even though anyone can match tubes, how do you know how well matched they are? Or even if they are? People make mistakes. If you check the bias you will know. And you might just catch something before it gets bad and costly. Running duals or quads in an out of balance state isn't a good thing. I also suggest the use of a balanced phase inverter tube.

This is what I do, YMMV.

I recommend the JJ's, and there are many different sets now. I'd even try the 6V6s after I increased the value of the the screen resistors. The EH's aren't bad nor are the winged C's. All good tubes. The JJ's are rugged and should last long.

How and amp sounds and tubes in it sound is an individual thing and only your ears can tell what you like. You'll have to try different tubes to see how they sound to YOU. Even two separate identical amps can sound different. Lot's of variables here.

 

[Slingy]

Here is the exact volume box I used.

TUBE AMP VOLUME BOX for FENDER Hot Rod Deluxe/Deville - eBay (item 130301782696 end time May-21-09 20:48:38 PDT)

The added benefit is that it works as a master volume for the clean channel, so you can balance the volume of each channel with a single knob.

 

[sandman@midlife]

How is the sound?

Sounds MUCH better. I also changed the speaker to an Eminence Cannabis Rex. The clean channel is warmer, and at about 5-6, it starts to break up in a good way. The OD channel was modded, and is very usable. The speaker made the biggest difference, and the tone stack mod after that. It sounds more like a Bassman now. If I knew then..... what I wanted was the sound of a Deluxe Reverb. or a Princeton. Now I know.