comparing fender hot rod deluxe vs. blues deluxe

i have a deville, the deluxes big brother, the hot rods are great amps, don't know that much about the blues deluxe, i also have an american strat
and it sound beautiful through my hot rod deville 8)

Thanks for the input. Is your Deville a 4x10 or 2x12 configuration? I'm looking for that Texas blues, SRV kind of sound -- do you think the Deville fits that bill?

Also, I came across a limited edition hot rod deluxe that comes in emerald green and has a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker (an upgraded from the Special Design Emminence that comes with the regular deluxe). This amp is only slightly more expensive than the regular version. Does the upgraded speaker make a big difference or improvement to the sound?

Thanks in advance for any input or advice.

Just watched GuitarOne's review of the Epiphone Blues Custom. Sounds AMAZING. My neighbor has the Fender Blues Jr. Personally I'm not a big fan of Fender Amps. The Epi cost 500 new, 15 watt class A, 30 watt class B, two eminence lady luck 12" speakers, Tube everything (including the rectifier), Independent or Interactive EQ, Tube Reverb, Cool looks. GuitarOne says its the best blues amp in the price range.

I have the Epi Valve Special (lower down in the series) and love it. The thing is great. I'm sure the Blues Custom will be perfect fit for you.

But, on the HRD, or any amp for that matter. Speakers are EXTREAMLY important. Vintage 30's are known to be great speakers. I'm sure that upgrade is worth the dough

- Evan

i have the 4x10 deville, great blues tones, the speaker upgrade in the deluxe
your talking about is well worth it, the vintage 30 is the best sounding speaker
i have ever heard 8)

Well, I'm still debating over my selection of amps. As a matter of fact, in the time I've spent undecided on my amp, I've picked up another guitar - a 50th anniversary american deluxe strat. All I can say is it's SWEET!

Anyway, back on topic. I've been starting to lean towards one of the Deville models. I really like the Blues Deville, but I'm worried about some of criticism I've heard about the lack of overdrive. Since I plan to use it mainly for blues, maybe it's a moot point. But, I do want versatility to grind if I feel like it. I suppose I could use a peddle to get more dirt.

Is it worth the extra bucks to move up? I don't really intend to gig with this amp, but still I want good power and smooth tones. Opinions?

fivebyfive

I am late getting in on this, but I have owned a Hot Rod Deluxe for about 5 years now and it is a great amp that has served me well with no problems whatsoever. I feel, and most agree, that it's best feature is an outstanding Clean channel. It really has a beautiful, warm and full Clean tone, perfect for Blues, Jazz, or Country as is.

It's greatest fault is the Overdrive channels. They are OK, but it is difficult to get a "great" tone out of it. It is very 70's sounding, very similar to the tone that Santana uses. If you are into Santana, you will love the overdrive.

But you can't get any modern or Marshall "hard rock" type tones out of the Overdrive channels.

That's why I would recommend the Blues Deluxe over the HRD. The Blues Deluxe has a great Overdrive. This was one of the most popular amps ever. It was discontinued, but because of popular demand was brought back (I would have bought the Blues Deluxe if it had been out at the time). This is a Blues type overdrive, a very mild overdrive really, but sounds great. Think of ZZ Top tones for example.

With either amp you are going to need a good pedal to get the modern distortions. I have always used pedals for overdrive or distortion with my HRD and it is very pedal friendly. You can get great tones this way. Some use the effects loop, but I prefer to run all effects straight into the amp.

Right now I am using a ProCo Rat for distortion. A very good pedal, I can get Marshall crunch out of my amp which I love. For solos I use a Behringer TO800 Vintage Overdrive. This is an awesome pedal with fantastic tone for a great lead tone. Sounds as good as the Ibanez TS808 Tubescreamer. But I have used the Danelectro Daddy-O and Fab Tone too, they all sound good through the Clean channel of this amp.

So, what I am saying is that you will probably enjoy the Overdrive channel of the Blues Deluxe far better than the Overdrive on the HRD, and you are going to need a pedal for modern distortions with either amp.

Hope that helped a little.

Wes