i know alot of you guys have the hot rod deluxe and love it, any input on these amps
would be great, i'm going to trade my 120 watt crate solid state in on one. 8)
even god loves rock-n-roll
Happy Deluxe Owner here :o
All I can say is try it.... Then go back the next day and try it again. If you still like it buy it.
Oh yeah - Take YOUR guitar if you can.
Oh and Yeah - Give yourself enough time with the amp to mess with all the settings and what nots. If you go to a large GC type store, ask them if you can take it into one of the "Sound" rooms so's your not disturbed with the "Band Practice" :roll: :roll:
Wes Gigs with his Deluxe all the time and its plenty loud as is mine. (I rarely get mine above "2" on the volume). I don't know why I'd need a Deville (2x10 or 2x12) cab. A 30w valve amp is Plenty loud. :)
My .02 cents :) Have fun!! :o
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)
Dagwood has it. The HRD and the DeVille are really the same amp in my opinion. The DeVille is 60 watts versus 40 for the HRD, although I've seen articles that say the DeVille is really only 40 watts, and other articles that say the HRD is really more than 40 watts. Who knows? I am not a techie. But you can be sure, either amp will be plenty loud for any situation you run into.
I do think the DeVille is fuller sounding because of the multiple speakers. I have played one a few times at music stores. Sounds just like my HRD, but just fuller. I have read quite a few reviews on the DeVille, most owners say the 4 X 10 has the better tone than the 2 X 12.
While the DeVille is fuller, I believe the HRD is punchier. The HRD is an excellent amp for a lead guitarist. If you can get the volume up above 4, it will cut through any mix whatsoever.
The Drive channels on both the HRD and DeVille are more late 60's or early 70's sounding. You are not going to get Metal tones out of these amps without a pedal. But both have an exceptional clean channel and are very pedal friendly. I use a Zoom GFX-1 with my HRD through the clean channel and I can get pure Grunge or Metal easy. Sounds great.
If you are into Blues, these amps are outstanding. You won't need any extras. I know of several pure Blues players with the HRD, and they sound great. Just crank and go. :D
You might also look at the new Blues Deluxe Reissue. This is 40W 1 X 12. It is very similar to the HRD, but BD fans will say it's better. I have a friend who is a great guitarist with an old vintage Blues Deluxe, and man, he does sound awesome through it. He plays the clean channel only cranked up to about 6. It is loud! But this guy can really play with nuance and gets incredible sound out of it. But it is very similar to the HRD, I don't think most people could tell the difference whatsoever.
You are not going to go wrong with any of these amps. They are some of the best selling amps in the world. That is not because of hype. That is because they sound great.
Let us know what you get.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
wes
are the hot rods that loud? i have never had an all tube amp, my solid state 120 watt is loud, is 40 or 60 tube watts louder?
even god loves rock-n-roll
rocker
YES.
The Hot Rod Series amps are incredibly loud. I rarely get mine over 2 at gigs, and we are loud.
The Volume control on the HRD and DeVille goes to 12, but the truth is, these amps max out volume wise around 6. But believe me, these amps are super loud at 6. After that these amps really go into saturation. You can get just incredible sustain and feedback. You can definitely do all the Hendrix feedback tricks if you are into that. I am. :D
I have played with people with Marshall 100 watt heads and 4 X 12 stacks. The HRD can keep up easy. No problem whatsoever.
I did buy an 2 X 12 Avatar cab with two Celestion Vintage 30 speakers for my HRD. This was just to add fullness for gigs. Our other player plays a 65W Carvin head through a Peavey 4 X 12 cab. He likes to play super loud. So, I have no problem keeping up, but just needed a little more fullness to match up with his sound.
But volume wise, he is set on 7 and I am set on 2. I could blow him away with the HRD easy. But I am mostly rhythm, so I keep it down to get a proper mix.
Trust me, these are some of the loudest amps out there bar none. Scary loud. And the louder you play these amps, the better they sound. Then you will see what all the fuss is about.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Wes,
A friend of mine has a DeVille 2x10, and when he plays bass, I usually use it. I really like it, even though i'm generally from the closed-back school of thought. However, I was wondering about how you said the volume maxes out at 6, and they just go into saturation after this. Does this mean that on the clean channel, you're adding distortion after this point? Also, how does the whole multi-channel thing work on them? It has always annoyed me on that amp than I have to press a button on the floor to get some distortion, instead of just turning down my guitar's volume. It seems just wrong to me when the clean comes out louder than the distortion. Also, how does this amp sound turned up all the way??????
