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Topic: Fender Hot Rod Deville - road worthy? |
Pete Ballard
From:
Detroit, MI, USA
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Posted 14 Apr 2003 5:07 am |
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| I'm thinking about buying a 2x12 Hot Rod Deville. I tested one out yesterday at a local guitar store and fell in love with the tone. Does anyone gig with these amps? How do they hold up on the road? |
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Bob Hoffnar
From:
Austin, Tx
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Posted 14 Apr 2003 7:48 am
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One problem I have found with the new Fender amps is that the input jack is part of a ciruit board. If you bump the cable input while it is plugged in it can crack the circuit board. This is a very expensive and pain in the ass thing to deal with. The old amp inputs are fixed by bending that little doohicky back.
Bob |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 1:36 am
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I Think the Hot Rod series are the best under rated amps out there.
I currently use a Hot Rod Delux, single 12 with 40 watts and am considering a 4X10 /60 watt amp which is the same as the 2 x12 60 watt Deville.
I don't think you can go wrong with these amps. Rugged , dependable and fine tone..
I personally don't understand why someone would go after an old vintage Fender amp for the bandstand at twice or 3 times the price of these amps, yes, true, the vintage amps are fine, but they do not offer the total package that these Hot Rod series amps offer.. in my view.
I recently passed on a 2x12 Deville Tweed amp, for around $300..I should have bought it..had it been the 4X10 deville I would have.
tp |
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Pete Ballard
From:
Detroit, MI, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 3:53 am
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Everything I've heard or read about these amps has been good so far. That is except for the printed circuit board, but all of the new non-custom shop Fender amps have them. I'm gonna give it a shot. Thanks for the input.
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Gino Iorfida
From:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 8:50 am
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Printed circuit boards in tube amps have been given a bad name by some of the boutique builders out there (read cheaper for THEM to do small quantities handwired vs. getting PCBs designed). PCB and handwired both have their advantages and disadvantages. What made this worse was some major amps when they switched from handwired to pcb technology, they downgraded other components as well (cheaper coapacitors and more importantly, chaper output transformers which make a MAJOR influence + a few minor circuti changes). Point is, a well designed PCB will sound absolutely NO different than a well wired handwired circuit.
ADVANTAGES
PCB:
Consistant from one to another
Much quicker assembly= lower cost (no need to worry as much about lead dress to avoid oscillations etc).
Drop in replacements
Handwired:
Cheaper for one off and low number production
easier repairs/mods
vintage mystique (bragging rights?)
DISADVANTAGES
PCB:
sometimes if stressed by flexing a tube or jack beyond where it should go, they can break
a little more difficult to repair/mod
Handwired:
prone to oscillation if lead dress is not 100% accurate.
require skilled labor
PCBs are NOT evil, but I do agree with Bob Hoffnar, if you do flex the jack too far etc, the repairs can be a pain in the rear, BUT when you look at it this way, all the big steel guitar amps out there (Peavey, Webb, Evans etc plus all the 'preamp' Processor and power amps for rack systems etc, DO use PCB, so you have the same issues there...
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Jack Francis
From:
Queen Creek, Arizona, USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 10:53 am
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I would suggest that you do a side by side comparison of the 4-10's and the 2-12's.
I did and found that the 10's had a lot thinner sound.
It is possible that the 2 units I tried are not like all of the ones out there...Just a thought.
(I ended up staying with my old hot rodded Twin,) |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 12:13 pm
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| Are these 6L6 or EL84 amps? |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 2:03 pm
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This link, BTW, addresses the upgrading of the input jacks
http://www.unclespot.com/inputjacks.html
He refers to the Blues DeVille and the Blues Deluxe and I'm assuming this applies to the Hot Rod series? I don't know if these differ.[This message was edited by Jon Light on 15 April 2003 at 03:03 PM.] |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 5:13 pm
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I believe these are all 4-6L6 amps.
My choice mentioned above for the 4x10 model is a choice for me for both the Tele and the Steel.
If it was Steel alone I would most likely opt for the 2x12 Deville.
tp |
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 15 Apr 2003 5:34 pm
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The Deville is a 2-6L6GC amp at 60 watts. The Deluxe is two 6L6GC at 40 watts. Both are great amps. I have had the opportunity to be under the hood of both for repairs. One was a factory unit that was a sample (Hotrod Deville) that used on the Fender production line for a sample. It was inherited by a former Fender employee who was on his way out when Fender closed the factory in Portland, Oregon. All I had to do was change the power supply transformer from a European model to the American model. I also set the bias on a Hot Rod Deluxe. I had a Blues Deluxe (predecessor to the Hot Rod). That series was plagued with false channel switching problems. Much discussion can be found about that issue over on the Fender Forum. The fix was replacing two 7 watts resistors and getting them up off the circuit board to allow for cooling. The resistors would get so hot they would unsolder themselves. The input jacks on the entire series are very fragile. Many a post about that on the Fender Forum as well. All in all these are great sounding amps. The advantages of the HotRod series over the earlier ones taht I could see was an improvement in the channel switching circuit and a true tube bias adjustment. Very good guitar amps but I think you would have serious headroom problems for a steel gig. I could see where they would be a great recording, practice or miked gig amp. If you are playing with a drummer and band that are a little more on the conservative side for volume, it might be work well. Again, it is 60 watts and not so different in power and/or headroom than a Super Reverb, Bandmaster Reverb Vibroverb.
These amp have some of the best tone I have ever heard out of Fender amps, period. The circuit boards are a nice rugged construction, the cabinets are excellent. They also have a very sweet reverb as well. The speakers could be upgraded for steel and make a lot of difference. If you like the warm speaker sound of a soft cone speaker, it is OK. A JBL or even Black Widow would be killer in the amps (12" models, not the 4-10" Deville). Of course that is a matter of personal taste and just my opinion! But a more effecinet speaker is always a cheaper way to gain volume (as opposed to adding more power). [This message was edited by Ken Fox on 15 April 2003 at 06:42 PM.] |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 16 Apr 2003 1:40 am
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Yes, correct, 2 6L6's not 4, I was not thinking clearly.
To take it a step furthur they are Sovtek 6L6's with fenders name on them. Fine quality tubes with good performance and life.
t |
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Ed Miller Jr
From:
Coldwater,Mi USA
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Posted 17 Apr 2003 3:51 am
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| I sell them in my music store. All Fender amps come with groove tubes. I've had my Hot Rod Deluxe for almost three years and it came with grooves. I love my Dekley through my deluxe but it can't carry a band. Plug my Tele into it and LOOK OUT!! [This message was edited by Ed Miller Jr on 17 April 2003 at 04:52 AM.] |
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