Are these Fender Deluxe amps the same? and other questions

Dennis

Only you can make the decision, but if you are willing to pay $540, why not go for the Super Limited Edition for $550?

It comes with the Jensen C12N, it also has a new set of JJ tubes, plus I like the color (but that's me).

There is only one thing. I would e-mail and see how much time is left on the 5 year warranty and if the owner has the original receipts. The warranty is transferable providing you have that receipt. It is true this amp sold for about $800. I think they came out last year so this amp should have 4 years warranty left.

Super Limited Edition HRD

Don't let me talk you into anything, do what you think is best and go for the amp you like.

Well Wes, I think you are my best friend! I've been following this post just to see what I need to know. Everyone has bee fabulous in helping me (ah, I love GN). I find it SO odd that this guy's

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3738721669&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

amp did not sell for $450+$50 shipping. And it was buy-it-now. I did not get home in time to buy it. Maybe a blessing? Wes, you said you saw this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3737780549&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

That's a buy-it-now for $550 + $50 (he's shipping from CA so likely about that much). So that one is $100 more.

Okay, now the fun. All you Fender-types out there? So, if we look at both the modified types above compared to the stock HRDx I could buy, which would you choose and why? (I sound like a dating game, sorry about that).

I'm ready to buy and I will. Throw the rest of my obligations to the wind. I have to pay $900+ in bills at end-of-month and I'll have enough to cover that and be cool. And (oh Lord) will have to come up with the $200 + expenses to go to the RSJ if I come up with enough, but hey, we're all struggling to fight expense vs. income.

Any takers on the question? I'd like to come away from this with a nice amp and a trophy wife. Oh, forget about that last part. Strictly amps with great features. As an added bonus, if you all think the “super HRDx” is a good thing, I have but a day to get responses. Oh I hope I get some response here quickly….

Man, everyone out there, I'm so grateful for your responses. Seriously, I'm blessed with your imput. :D

Dennis

I personally like the stock HRD. But I am not one of those super amp guru's that seem to be able to detect the smallest change in tone.

That HRD with the Jensen C12N is not an upgrade. That is the way that amp came from Fender. I guess they caught on that the Jensen was a very popular speaker for the HRD. Those speakers cost about $200 as compared to $70 for the Eminence that comes in most HRD's.

That Super Edition HRD was selling for about $800 on Musicians Friend last year. I do not believe that amp is over a year old. So $550 is a pretty good price. The JJ Tubes (Eurotubes) are also a very popular upgrade many HRD owners do. I have talked to the guy at Eurotubes myself. If you send him an e-mail and ask him what those specific tubes do, he will tell you. A great and helpful guy.

I imagine the owner of this HRD has the original tubes as well. See if he will throw them in. Then you will always have spare tubes. Probably about a $70 value.

Eurotubes

I also like this one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38074&item=3737862757&rd=1

This has a nice Jensen speaker in it. You can buy it and shipping for $500.
The seller has a perfect feedback rating which is important.

You have to remember that MANY different speakers have been tried in the HRD. But this is true with ANY amp. Amp owners are always trying different speaker/tube configurations to get that "perfect" tone.

I think this 2nd amp is a pretty good deal. I would e-mail though and find out if it is still under warranty and the owner has the receipt. I would be reluctant to buy an amp without the warranty.

And I don't think it would be bad to go down to GC and buy one brand new (just don't get the floor model). That way you have an amp no one has touched. It is yours! My HRD is completely stock and I like it just fine.
You would have it that day, and no shipping charges.

Sorry if I'm confusing you. You have to decide what is best for you.

Let us know what you do.

Hey Corbind. Want to thank you for starting this thread and a big thanks to Wes, and all the others for the information. If this month goes the way I think it's going to overtime wise. I will more than likely be the proud owner of an HRD by the beginning of september.:)

Way to go Twisty

It's a good amp. Go to Harmony Central and read the many reviews on the HRD. You will see a few that don't like it. But that is true with any amp unless somebody paid $3000 for it.

And I think that the ones that don't like it are looking for a Metal amp. The HRD is not a Metal amp. It is a Blues/Classic Rock amp. But I tell you what, you put a good distortion pedal in front of it and it will do Metal big time. I was playing mine this morning with my Danelectro Fab Tone. Sounds as good as a Marshall. And you will see many on Harmony Central who say the exact same thing. It has a great clean sound, maybe not as good as a Fender Twin, but heh, no amp sounds as clean as the Fender Twin, and the HRD is 1/3 the price.

I like my HRD stock, but I can't get over how many people claim it sounds fantastic with a few inexpensive upgrades. I have talked to Bob at Eurotubes (JJ Tubes) and he has given me some recommendations for tubes that will pull the HRD down to about 30 Watts. This would allow me to crank the amp more and get into real saturation. The HRD really starts to sing when you crank it up, but it is one LOUD amp. It will hang with any 100W amp out there. He also gave me some recommendations on tubes that will tighten the bass up. The HRD has heavy bass response and some say it gets farty. I just turn the bass down around 4-5 and I don't think it sounds farty at all. Many claim JJ tubes really make a big improvement in the Drive channels. This is where the HRD gets the biggest criticism. I really think they're pretty good. But it is a Blues/Classic Rock type overdrive, not Metal distortion. You're gonna need a pedal for that. Anyway, the JJ Tubes are only $47 + $6 shipping. Cheap.

I am also thinking about putting in a Celestion 70/80 speaker. I have read a few reviews from people who I can tell know what they are talking about
say that this is a great speaker for the HRD. It is $29 + $8 shipping.

Many claim these inexpensive upgrades will make the HRD compete with amps costing thousands of dollars more.

So, even though I love my HRD stock, I am so curious to see if these minor upgrades work. I just may go for it.

Sorry about the long story.

Get that HRD!

Wes,

Keep us up-dated if you do deside to do those up-grades. I'm very interested in doing it myself (not that I think the amp needs it) but, I would like to know what the overall sound difference would be.

Thanks,
Mike

Wow, thanks for the compliment. And I thought my long-winded posts put everyone to sleep. Yea, I always have a bag full of questions so I post quite a bit.

I spent way too much time yesterday comparing so many different things in my mind about the HRDx. But it new. If new, traditional or blonde/oxblood? Online or at Sam Ash? Ebay has had some very interesting amps. One got sold yesterday after a guy relisted his buy-it-now price for $50 less. It's amazing the possibilities. Wes, that Fender Players forum has lots of info. I got sunk into all the info. I finally had to shut down the computer and go to practice.

:roll:

Whoohoo! I've gotten closer now. I sold my Digitech RP300 for $112, one Roland KC-100 for $187.50, and sold my other KC-100 in 20 hours for $200. That's about $500 less I'd guess say $15 in listing and Pay Pal fees. So I have maybe $485 net. I asked two guys to send me personal checks (the guys who bought the amps) so I'll be getting them later in the week. So by Friday I assume I'll have the funds.

Well, I went to Sam Ash and talked to “John,” a very helpful guy I've talked with a few times. I went there to get boxes to sent off the amps and he even walked them out to the car for me. When we got out there I said, “Hey, I saw on MF they're selling the HRDx blonde/oxblood for $500+$22 shipping. Do you think you could match that?” He thought about it and said, “Yea, I think we could do that.” I told him I'd be buying it in about 10 days (not thinking I'd sell all my stuff this quickly). But I forgot to mention to him I want that $522 to include Illinois tax (about another $40).

Another thing is they only have the standard HRDx's in black/silver. To boot, they only have floor models available now. But he said I could buy one, take a floor model, when a new one gets to the store, I could swap out. That's nice of them.

So, I just wanted to let you know where I am. I know no one should really care, but I wanted to share.

Now I'm to price/looks. The blonde model on MF is likely to be cheaper because I don't think John will be able to match $522 out-the-door. And, even if he can, it's cool to have a blonde model that is exclusive to MF. On the bad side for the blonde, I think it would show bangs, scratches, and abuse more than the traditional. Funny I'm even talking about cosmetics. I'm normally all about function compared to looks. But at least I'm at the last stage of the process. I should be able to get the HRDx (either normal black or the blonde) for hopefully the $522.

Any comments, suggestions, criticisms? I'm all ears. Well, for now. Once I get that thing and turn it to a volume of one I'll likely have to call for my roommate to detach me from the wall.

:roll:

Hmmm, I just spotted this on Ebay. The guy lives 20 minutes away from me and WILL NOT ship it. It's a local pickup only. Any comments if it's worth the extra $128 over the "normal" HRDx? Man, I'm just fully of questions today....

Dennis

You didn't leave a link, but I'm sure I saw it. It was the one in Naperville, Illinois. It looks nice. It doens't say which Jensen speaker. The one everybody raves about is the Jensen C12N.

And the extra long reverb tank might be good. People complain about the reverb in the stock HRD, but I like it. You can get that Dick Dale surf sound easy. People complain if you turn it past 3 it's too much. "Don't turn it past 3 then"! People complain too much. If it was different they would complain you have to turn it up to 6 to get enough reverb.

Hey, go check it out. At least you'll save tax.

But, on the other side, you could always put a Jensen C12N in your stock HRD later. It is very simple, anyone can swap a speaker, even me. They run around $180, so there's no difference. As I told you before, I listened to sound clips of the Jensen and I didn't like it as much as the Eminence. The Eminence is brighter and has more sparkle. That goes good with my Strat, especially in the neck pickup position. But that is me. It is said the Jensen produces more of a "Rock" sound.

Your guitar is bassier than mine. The Jensen is supposed to be much tighter on the low end. That might be a good match. Go give it a listen. Take your guitar. Put it through the paces. Try different pickup positions, turn those tone knobs, presence too. Turn the bright switch on and off. Try the reverb. Try different degress of Drive/More Drive/Master.

On the HRD, if you turn Drive down, and Master up, it is more like a clean boost. Great for Blues solos. If you turn Drive up, and Master down, you get more overdrive crunch. Think "Heartbreaker" by the Stones. So try it both ways.

That's funny you already saw that amp on Ebay! They guy has not called yet. Yea, maybe I'll just buy a stock one and upgrade if necessary from there. I probably mentioned this before but, when practicing with the band, I have my selector switch on a mix of lead and rhythm (middle position). I put in all on the neck pickup sometimes but never put it only on the bridge pickup when playing with others. But when practicing at home I'll switch to all of them to see which I personally like.

Yea, I'd like to go over to that guy's house and check it out. He seemed flippant in his email response. Oh well.

Well, all this research and I think my search is over. I've been eyein' Ebay for awhile and I've seen them sell for all different prices based on features. I talked to a guy on the phone twice today about his HRDx. We've emailed a couple of times over the past two days. He sold his on Ebay for $350 plus shipping two weeks ago. The buyer did not follow through so Anthony emailed me because he saw I was interested in his at the time.

He bought it new at Sam Ash in NY in the summer of '01. So it's 3 years old but he said it has no cosmetic issues and works great/like new. He's a jazz guitarist so said he doesn't crank. He has many amps so likely he used the other ones more.

Anyway, he said he sell it to me for $300 plus shipping. I'll get his shipping quote tomorrow. I'm figuring maybe $25 or so. If that's the case, this purchase will be about $200 less than the new blonde HRDx from MF. And I figure I'll have two options. If I like the amp I can possibly do some of those upgrades Wes was talking about and still come in about the same price as a brand new one. If I don't like the amp I can sell if likely for what I paid for it and then buy something else.

:o

P.S. I still think this one looks better than any one I've ever seen and it's only 20 miles away:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3739669190&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

But I can't see lugging such a nice amp up and down stairs from my place, to practice, then to my buddy's place on the weekends. It would get banged up and that amp is meant to look pretty, too.

WOW!!! That's a nice lookin' HRD. I've always liked a nice wood finish.

Thanks Corbind, Now I want that version!!!

EDIT: After I posted that, I looked at my amp and it gave me an evil stare. I should go play mine so it doesn't feel unwanted. :cry:

Yea, that amp is the equivalent of a beautiful tall blonde in the t.v. world. It's a great amp but (to me) one that should not travel. Sit and look pretty. If I got an amp like that it would not leave the house. One of my hobbies is carpentry so I really enjoy beautiful woods and nice finish. That amp seems to have bother. Someday maybe we can both get one like that for home.

Yea, go console your amp and tell her you're not messing with anyone else. LOL.
:lol:

Dennis

They do sell nice cases for the HRD on E-Bay.

I'll just be glad when you get your new amp. Then you and I and all the HRD owners on GuitarNoise can talk about different settings.

By the way, I am going to try some of those JJ Tubes (Eurotubes) this week. Well, I'll probably order them next Monday or Tuesday. It is not that I do not like my HRD, but I have read so many reviews that said the JJ Tubes improve the sound, I just want to give it a try. Plus it is good to have a spare set of tubes. I may just order the 3 preamp tubes. This way I do not have to bias the amp. It doesn't look hard, but I've never done it. Plus, I'm short on funds right now. I have spoken to Bob at Eurotubes via e-mail several times. The tubes he recommends are supposed to tighten up the bass. We'll see. I will let everyone know the results.

I'm betting your shipping is about $50. The HRD weighs 45-50 lbs.

Get an amp soon. The suspense is killing me! :D

Wes