My main amp is a Hot Rod Deville and i love it!!! I have always just used the clean channel and used pedal distortions/overdrives and fuzzes. It's always sounded great!!!
Maybe they've improved. I used one for a few years and it was horrible. 2005 model I think. It fooled me into thinking the clean was good, but when I eventually compared to other amps, I found out how much it lacked. It made every guitar sound the same and my Strat never sounded good until I played it through the Orange amp I replaced the Deville with. Tone sucker. And the "Drive" channel. Lolololololololol
@@216trixieThe IVs have a better volume taper, a redesigned tone stack, better D/OD sounds and a different speaker - so yeah, they've improved. I still think they're using the wrong speaker … my fave for this amp is the Warehouse ET65. Treble 6.5, Bass 2, Middle 7 with Normal volume @ 5-7 through my P90 guitars is a killer sound - with the Warehouse. Stock, these settings were lacking.
Yeah sounding "good" is subjective. I mean can you make any amp sound pretty for a moment or two? Sure. Will it ever sound like a 65' blackface? Nope. Good is subjective. There is good and then there is GOOD. A great way to think about this is, steel string singers. Many a amp has sounded "good" while trying to sound like a singer, but there is good and then there is GOOD.
People like this guy and Pete Thorn can make almost anything sound good. My unique skill is I can make almost anything sound bad. Sadly I'm very under appreciated for that skill.
The need to drop the bass as the volume increases can also be explained by the "Fletcher Munson" curve. That curve describes the human ear's sensitivity to different frequencies at different volumes. It turns out the ear does not hear flat. When the volume is low we cannot hear the low end as well. That is why the old hifi stereos had a "loudness" button. It added back in the missing bass at lower volumes.
The brief chat about "bass dump" that starts about 8:55 and goes to about the end is something that should be taught to every guitarist before they start playing live. Complement the sound, don't compete with it! Bravo, Phillip! Awesome discussion.
This was a lot of useful information delivered in 10 mins. I really appreciate how Phil dug a bit deeper to demystify things like why people who intuitively know to do things like drop the bass off when you're upping the gain actually do that. It's really great to hear just straight facts rather than people waxing lyrical and fluffing around the actual science of what is happening with your amp when you're switching and dialing. IMO that's so important when you're considering adding pedals to your rig, if you're not sure what is happening to your signal at the amp, making even further changes upstream can just make it more confusing to arrive at a tone you're happy with except by accident, and then you need to take a pic of all your settings in case your kid wanders in and messes your tone up 😂
I like how the title is "can you make a hot rod deluxe sound good". The title should be "can you make it sound *BAD",* because everything I heard sounds amazing.
I've had my HRD 3 since it was released. As we know, the v1 volume can go from inaudible to way too loud with the slightest bump. I remedied this by changing pre amp tubes. V1 = 12AY7 V2 =12AX7 & V3 = 12AT7. The mod worked and now I can play with the volume on 4 at home without the neighbourhood yelling abuse 😅 and the tone is sweet! Another mod was buying a Dr Watson attenuator (no cables just 2 male jacks into the line in/out with a chicken head master volume knob. With this set-up you can really push the amps valves and get the best tones it has to offer on clean and overdrive channels 😉 the 6L6 valves love this set-up and fire up like a pedal using the attenuator for master volume. It's a inexpensive mod that will cut through any live mix. Give it a go, you'll be wrapped with the sound and tone. 👌🎶💯
I bought the Hot Rod Deluxe 1 by 12 combo in 1996 when it came out. I gigged the ship out of it and I still really love the tone. There's a reason this is one of the most popular amplifiers.
The thing with this amp, it sounds great. I get so many compliments on my tone. Simple overdrive pedal I have all the gain I need for classic rock. The clean is rich and gorgeous on any eq setting. The overdrive isn’t what I was going for so I just use a Boss OD
(1.) Put a simple potentiometer volume knob in the *effects loop*. (2.) Turn that all the way down to zero to temporarily silence the amp (3.) push the amp volume and master channel level up high enough, even 7,8,9, say, to get what ever distortion and tones you would like, crank it, turn it up because you wont hear anything due to the new volume knob in the effects loop being at zero. (4) now with the amp driven hard, just turn that “new” volume knob in the effects loop up just to the sound level you want in the room, it can be fairly quiet. You will have that knob almost at one maybe if you are really cranking the amp. Then, because the amp is actually being heavily pushed, the rig will sound very driven and full of articulation and making beautiful tones but it won’t have to be loud in the room to get that great sound pallet. Then do every thing this guy in the video was talking about to find preamp settings that make you happy on a great foundation of a driven amp, Without the new effects loop sound level knob, the problem most people have with this amp is because they can’t drive the amp hard enough to get the sound they want because it would be very very loud and drive you of the room, piss off the neighbors, cover the entire band, etc. The amp sounds great loud and not great otherwise is the problem imo. Driving the heck out of the amp to get the great tones possible and then turning down the sound level in the effects loop is a super good hack,really it is. If you think this can’t work please don’t tell me about that unless you have done this and observed the thing work this way. Try it, it works really well and transforms using the amp. Fender should put a potentiometer on the effects loop thing in the first place I think. I have turned into a big HRD fan after years of really not liking the amp much and a couple of my friends have done this successfully as well. (Note that you could use a Dunlop volume pedal ( dont use a digital effects pedal) in the effects loop if you don’t have a knob potentiometer with a plug-in setup available. Its so simple and easy and effective that its hard to know why its not just the way one uses that amp, period. Hope that might help somebody having a disappointment HRD!! They are actually really good amps it turns out.
Is great to see Rick addressing that the amp has a good sounding overdrive but you need to dial it in. He’s not just selling he’s explaining the good and bad of the amp.
I have the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe v.1 Corona,Ca I play in a Beatles cover band and this amp coupled with a British tube emulator pedal [I use Aclam Dr.Robert] recreates some of the best late 60s early 70s tones. Very close to Vox sound. Then I'm able to get the crisp, accurate clean tones necessary for my Yacht Rock side project. It also rocks out when set to do so. So versatile, I will never get rid of this amp.
Wow, using an amp designer to discuss how to use a guitar amp - so simple that 95% of the guitar bloggers missed his point. Congratulations Mr. McKnight for being smart enough to understand this.
Phill, this is one of the best interviews I have seen you do. I've seen anyone ask Rick Hines the depth of question from a player's perspective. This amp sounds like hell at home, but in a club with bass and drums it sounds great. It sits in the perfect spot.
I've had an original DeVille 4x10 since I bought it new - my big tip is to use the lower gain input (2), I find it makes the amp much more controllable and a bit sweeter🍬
I've had a lot of compliments playing out in my rock band over the past 10 years and my main tone is the Drive Channel. Master is usually around 3, Drive 10, Treble 10, Bass and Mid at 6.5, Reverb between 3-5 depending on the room, and Presence always at 8. It's pure classic rock, AC/DC and Zeppelin tone. Having a guitar with great humbuckers is very beneficial. I also will push the clean channel with a MXR micro amp and it creates a great distorted drive tone. Underrated amps, you just have to know how to create good tone. With that being said, I loved my tone even more after putting in a Weber Legacy speaker, Russian groove tubes, and upgrading to a Monster internal speaker cable. The amp also sounds even better hooked up to a 2x12 running a total of 3x12's.
I gigged from 1996 to 2006+ with the first generation Hot Rod Deluxe, playing pop country and Blues. The only pedal I used was a boss compressor sustainer pedal. Still have that amp still love it.
I played one finally used at GC. Took me about 30 seconds until I realized the amp sounded incredible. I have owned/still own other amps such as the Blues Junior NOS Tweed , 5150, JCM 2000, etc etc. Definitely would love one.
After 15 years of owning the original version of the Hot Rod Deluxe came with the Fender Gold spkr. Got it" re- tubed" & it seems to sound better than ever! Was going to sell it. But after watching the video, I think that I'll keep it around for a while longer.
I have an American HRD and found a list of mods years ago that split the tone circuit so you don't drag bass up with every tweak. I also put switchcraft input jacks AND INSULATED THEM, that's a must. The intl. safety jacks suck. They only contact sleeve through a piece of thin sheet metal. It's been a pretty versatile amp ever since. The speaker that came with it was kind of flabby too.
The thing I did that best improved the OD tone was disconnect the negative feedback loop (Grey wire) going to the speaker output. The clean is not as pristine but has an interesting vintage quality to it. I inserted a push/pull pot so I can insert the NFB loop if I still want, but honestly the OD sounds so much better without it. You won’t get the glassy clean tone, but if you’re ok with that, look this mod up
I changed the speaker to a Warehouse G12C/S, and the first tube to a 12AY7. Sounds much sweeter and more tamed. I can use the amp now at home. The 12AY7 really helped bring the volume control under control - because we all know the volume control sucks and goes from 0-60 in 1 second!
I was given a gift of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Mod 3 and I love it! Especially with my JBL I made. Now I want to split my 2 heads. From my pedal board in which my outputs are divided by my 2 heads. My Bugera (built to use EL-34) simular to Marshall's circuits and now my Fender and their 40watt system using 6L6's.
A lot of dudes out there are bashing the hot rod deluxe for years. They just expect something else I guess. I have always loved the overdrive channel. When you set it just for a little breakup, then the more drive doesn't go over the top and is very nice. My only complain would be that I would like to have the reverb footswitchable. Now I use a reverb pedal instead... Let me add something. The stock eminence speaker on the older models are the best. I have tried like 4 other speakers because of some dudes saying they had "way better tone" with a swap, and each time I lost that Fender cristal tone. This amp is almost perfect. If you don't like it, by Vox or Marshall.
maybe i'm wierd but i played on one recently..and granted about 5 hours in one of the power tubes died...but before then...it sounded pretty good. shimmering cleans and smooth over driven tones...i liked it.
I only watched this video because I used to have a hrd many years ago. I didn't care for it. However, one time I was in 8th Street music and heard a cop playing a Strat into an hrd clean and finger picking. He sounded amazing!
Treble increases high frequencies in the pre amp, presence increases treble through the transformer I think, so that you can increase treble without affecting tone.
So I just bought a 2nd hand one, with the chrome control plate. The distortion is much saggier but if you refer to the manual it tells you how to dial in an Austin Strat tone. It's loud!
good and to the point explanation of how to work with a hot rod in case using the drive channel. its not a high gain amp of course, and the "more drive " channel doesn t really make it for me, but the first stage (channel) is pretty useful. love the slightly cranked blues /rock tones from mine.
I have 2 HRD's the II and the III. After some slight mods being done I am not going anywhere else for amps and I have had Marshall and other Fenders in the past to compare to. I find the OD channels are quite usable and sound great to me with lots of sustain for lead playing even when using single coils. Even before the mods they sounded pretty good although the modifications have solved the global EQ problem when going from dirty to clean sounds.
@@jbognap I only changed out the speaker in the HRD III for another Fender speaker I had laying around, that speaker was a happy accident. In the older HRD II there is a Celestion speaker installed,; also when the thing crapped out due to cheap original Fender parts I took it to a tech that is a friend of mine. He is well known in my city as a guru amp tech/builder. It was in his shop where I got to try a Dumble OD Special he was working with. I'm not sure if he planned to make some clones or if it belonged to some rich dude. Anyways long story short I paid him for the fix and afterwards he said sort of slyly something to the effect of you are going to want to keep this amp. I didn't ask what he all did but the amp is set it and forget it for the global EQ, whereas before I could only find that sweet spot one channel at a time. Everything is more alive and dynamic and the reverb actually sounds good now. Maybe that will give you a clue as to what he has done but like I said I didn't ask I was only hugely surprised when I got it home! In the past I gave him an old Jenson speaker he really liked the sound of I couldn't use it anyway so might be he was returning the favor??
I agree with you, Space Alien. "What kinda question is that?!" I've always liked the Hot Rod Deluxe and I own some good amplifiers. For the money you can't beat a Hot Rod Deluxe.
I used a Hot Rod Deluxe for years with no pedals. Loved the clean, 90% happy with the OD. COMPLAINTS: too heavy for me now, (63 years old?) Hard to control in small clubs, goes from too quiet to too loud in a tenth of a turn. I hope they fixed that with the new model.
I heard the MK IV is now easier to dial in. Wish I get one in the following year. I plan to tame it through a volume pedal into the FX loop if it's still too loud.
Love the sound of mine type iv hot deluxe special edition ( tweed with sparkly grille cover looks perfect guitar center exclusive ) . Watched a video of speaker replacements ( about 7 of them ) Celestion creamback sounded awesome but it’s $320 speaker that clean was amazing but I doubt I’ll do it . Most other ones sounded equal or less to the factory which imho factory sounds great . But I definitely agree don’t bang out the knobs . Very clean and vibrant amp . There are a lot of Fender factory issues that they should address like get rid of the cheap capacitors . Pennies more for better ones . And upgrade the wattage of the resistors . Also lift the ceramic resistors up off the board so it doesn’t burn or melt the board . Swichcraft input jacks also . This costs lots of money for a amp tech to do but you’ll get 20 years out of it . Also tighten up the screws on it mine were all a turn shy of being tight especially the Handle ! I don’t get it fFender ? Charge an extra $50 bucks . I’m gonna get this all done to mine soon since it’s not a year old yet. Need to find a good tech in my area .
As a bass player, I wish more guitarists knew to cut their bass frequencies. As a guitarist I love my G&L Legacy cos its passive treble bass circuitry lets me control that from the guitar.
Nikolaki A I suspect a big part of the problem is that guitar players spend a lot of time playing alone. Big bass end is kinda pleasing when the guitar is the only sound. If there’s a bass guitar, or a keyboard playing with you, you’re just muddying up the waters.
been playing for decades and only now am understanding how to play fender amps lol would love to hear him talk about dialing in vox and using other guitars like the jazzmaster, telecaster deluxe etc. great video friend!
Phil, I would love to see a feature video on the Super Champ. I've owned both the XD and now the X2 and this is such a great amp for the money. I have never understood why the blues Junior out sells it when this is less expensive and more versatile.
Great content Phil, I think you've really upped your game in the past few months! As a bass player, I really appreciate the part about eq and how each instrument should stay in their respective frequency range. So many guitar players do not understand this. They think bedroom tone = live group tone....this is usually far from the case.
I love my HRD and my bass and mid stay really low, around 8 or 9 o'clock with treble set just after lunchtime. To be fair I stay on the clean channel and add a little bit of hair with a blues driver. But that's perfect for me.
I keep the bass completely off and the mid and treble anywhere between 6 and 10 depending on the room. Clean channel only with the bright switch off and presence off.
I usually have the bass just under 8 with the mids just above 6 and treble just below 4. But my guitar has lots of treble. Sounds great for distortion n fuzz tho
I have a Old Hot Rod Deville that I put Ruby Tubes in and that thing will not cave in on itself when cranked, I believe the setup changes the DNA of the sound.
I'm pretty sure when someone asked Joe Bonnamassa what amp one should buy if they can't afford something more premium, he said to find a Hot Rod Deluxe. These are great amps...
I used to have a Hot Rod Deluxe and a Hot Rod Deville 2x12. With my Tele (humbucker at neck and Lindy Fralin bridge) I ran the red light all the time and controlled the volume at the guitar. It always sounded great. I only sold them because they became too heavy to move.
Thanks for the info as I am looking for lighter gear to play out with with minimal pedals. However I wish you had an example with hotter humbuckers to see and hear that too.
I bought one in 97 and used the clean channel alone with a pedal board of modded tubescreamers , and 3 or 4 high quality pedals, this amp seems to flourish then
I like the sound of these amps but everyone I’ve known who’s had one has had problems with it (twin reverbs too) sometimes they sound great, sometimes they don’t know what’s going on haha. But I do love some gnarly fuzz into the clean channel
The treble affects what is going inside the preamp, and therefore changes what part distorts. Presence is a treble effect that happens after the preamp.
Ive had mine since 96 ( USA made ) you want your HRD to sound better easy increase the BIA's to between 74-76 and your amp will scream ,, i don't no why the come with the Bias set so low from the factory makes the rhythm and lead channels muddy ,, that and add an extension cab,, 210 or 410 will increase your headroom and bass 10x , i use a Marshall 410 with mine 99% of the time ,, nothing needs to be said about the clean channel other then it takes effects like no other its a Fender for christ sake ,, for larger gigs i also use my Fender ABY box and play a 83 Marshall JCM 800 50 wtt crunch the JCM and keep the HRD clean ,, it IS the tone
Hot rods have too much low end, I ended puttin' an eq pedal on the preamp to tame it at 100hz and a bit under 250hz. I also diminished the volume on the eq to rise with a better control the volume on the amp. I wish I had know this trick earlier
I have a version IV like in this video. Et90 speaker, 230-240 voltage change and nos Philips power valves just gave it another dimension. Very addictive amp, gives me inspiration when writing and once I start playing I can't stop. Hard to believe for the price I paid. It sounded good stock. Sounds Stella with the mods.
Older tweed Fender amps don't have Bass or Presence knobs ... just one tone adjustment ... and four inputs, two each for instrument and microphone, which have different tones.
I've played guitar for 25 years. I've owned Peavey 5150s, AC30s, a boutique Savage, and Marshalls. I built a little 5-watt Champ. I've played through Riveras, Soldanos, Matchless...you name it. You know why people hate the Fender HRD? Because they're accessible and they don't come with the requisite "street cred." That's why. They're great amps, and a fantastic value. Give Larry Carlton or Robben Ford a Hot Rod Deluxe and a Blueline overdrive pedal and I promise you it'll make you reconsider your world. Both have routinely used them as backline amps when they can't transport their Dumbles. Get a HRD and swap out the tubes and invest in a good speaker. You're set.
Had a mod done on my HR 3. It was too loud for the gigs I do, so I had a valve amp specialist change the 6L6's for 6V6's dropping the power to 22 watts or thereabouts. I changed the celestion for a Jensen Neo which has a lower sensitivity, meaning I have to turn the amp up more and drive the power stage a bit harder. I also mounted a Hughes and Kettner Red Box speaker emulated Di in the back as a feed to the PA. I don't use the clean channels it gets way too loud way too quickly, even with the mods.
It’s both a pro and con with these channels. Pro, learning SO MUCH, about tone, EQ, volume control for FREE. Things I had no idea were so important and critical to being a great guitar player Con, these videoes and channels have barley been out for the world to see for about 1-3 years. From 2009-2016 ive been playing like sh*t
I love mine! It sounds amazing to my ears compare to the other hughes & kettner attax 80 I have. No surprise, of course. ^^ That said, I use the clean sound with a very pedal board.
Having never buying a fender amp and being more of a high gain guy I purchased the HRD IV. FedEx damn near killed it but it survived and I was able to get $100 knocked off. Overall I wasn’t sure If I liked the tone but it’s growing on me. Like others on here are doing I need the Friedman pedal..
I had one for 20 years when it broke, for the money of the repair I built a tweed deluxe. The modern deluxe sounded "good" everywhere I went, but the tweed sounds "much better" if you can make it sound good because its much more sensitive to the way you hit the strings. Much more interesting IMO.
This video helped me out so much. I set my eq about noon and dialed back the bass a bit on my Randall RD45H and clean channel just sparkles. Interestingly enough my delay pedals sound markedly different (boss dd3 and dm2w). The dm2w sounds wayyyyyy better now too.
Oh my, very very good video. I always wondered about that Fender amp guy cause mostly I think of him as a salesman for Fender. But in this video we really get to know Rick Hynes and why the Fender Amps are fun to play and sound so good. Thanks
My main amp is a Hot Rod Deville and i love it!!! I have always just used the clean channel and used pedal distortions/overdrives and fuzzes. It's always sounded great!!!
Maybe they've improved. I used one for a few years and it was horrible. 2005 model I think. It fooled me into thinking the clean was good, but when I eventually compared to other amps, I found out how much it lacked. It made every guitar sound the same and my Strat never sounded good until I played it through the Orange amp I replaced the Deville with. Tone sucker. And the "Drive" channel. Lolololololololol
@@216trixieThe IVs have a better volume taper, a redesigned tone stack, better D/OD sounds and a different speaker - so yeah, they've improved. I still think they're using the wrong speaker … my fave for this amp is the Warehouse ET65. Treble 6.5, Bass 2, Middle 7 with Normal volume @ 5-7 through my P90 guitars is a killer sound - with the Warehouse. Stock, these settings were lacking.
Until you try a fender twin reverb....
@@slash2jimi Have tried them and I like the HRD better - both in terms of sound and cost. Twin Reverb is a great amp, but so is the HRD.
What's the difference between the Deluxe and DeVille?
Can You Make A Hot Rod Deluxe Sound Good? they come sounding great so YES ! if you know what you want!
of all people to be telling the truth in the comments, i didnt expect it to be poo ninja
Yeah sounding "good" is subjective. I mean can you make any amp sound pretty for a moment or two? Sure. Will it ever sound like a 65' blackface? Nope. Good is subjective. There is good and then there is GOOD. A great way to think about this is, steel string singers. Many a amp has sounded "good" while trying to sound like a singer, but there is good and then there is GOOD.
People like this guy and Pete Thorn can make almost anything sound good. My unique skill is I can make almost anything sound bad. Sadly I'm very under appreciated for that skill.
Yeah mine sounds amazing. Although the gain channel not so much...but plug in a Friedman BE-OD and BAM! you're in Marshall land.
I agree haha they are not bad amps at all.
The need to drop the bass as the volume increases can also be explained by the "Fletcher Munson" curve. That curve describes the human ear's sensitivity to different frequencies at different volumes. It turns out the ear does not hear flat. When the volume is low we cannot hear the low end as well. That is why the old hifi stereos had a "loudness" button. It added back in the missing bass at lower volumes.
Man, I love Olympic White strats with minty pick guards!
Yup got one faitly moded . Its my first guitar and first fender strat. Thing is 23 years old and still sounds good.
mee too but with a maple neck instead of rosewood because I prefer the feel off maple than rosewood
Mint pick guards just look good on anything
@@tendulkarificationI prefer maple too but for this strat I think rosewoods looks best
The brief chat about "bass dump" that starts about 8:55 and goes to about the end is something that should be taught to every guitarist before they start playing live. Complement the sound, don't compete with it! Bravo, Phillip! Awesome discussion.
This was a lot of useful information delivered in 10 mins. I really appreciate how Phil dug a bit deeper to demystify things like why people who intuitively know to do things like drop the bass off when you're upping the gain actually do that.
It's really great to hear just straight facts rather than people waxing lyrical and fluffing around the actual science of what is happening with your amp when you're switching and dialing. IMO that's so important when you're considering adding pedals to your rig, if you're not sure what is happening to your signal at the amp, making even further changes upstream can just make it more confusing to arrive at a tone you're happy with except by accident, and then you need to take a pic of all your settings in case your kid wanders in and messes your tone up 😂
Ugh!!! Had this happen many times!!!
I like how the title is "can you make a hot rod deluxe sound good".
The title should be "can you make it sound *BAD",* because everything I heard sounds amazing.
Or "how to make it sound how I like playing it"
I have one. Absolutely one of the best amps I've owned.
@@jerryhatrick5860 Have you tried Bassman reissue?
Agree. I have one of the early US tweed ones, and it always sounds good.
Been using my Hot Rod Deluxe III since 2012 and haven’t looked back since. One of the best amps I own!
I love mine !
They sound great, but watch out for problems with dry solder joint... These PCB amps are prone to it. Mine has been in for repair twice because of it.
@@bluesrocker91 Hi paranoid, what do you mean by that?
Sorry I'm semi begginer!!
So helpful. I have a HRD 4, that has mostly ran silent due to me getting crap tone out of it. Now all has changed. Thank you Phil and Rick!
I've had my HRD 3 since it was released. As we know, the v1 volume can go from inaudible to way too loud with the slightest bump. I remedied this by changing pre amp tubes. V1 = 12AY7 V2 =12AX7 & V3 = 12AT7. The mod worked and now I can play with the volume on 4 at home without the neighbourhood yelling abuse 😅 and the tone is sweet! Another mod was buying a Dr Watson attenuator (no cables just 2 male jacks into the line in/out with a chicken head master volume knob. With this set-up you can really push the amps valves and get the best tones it has to offer on clean and overdrive channels 😉 the 6L6 valves love this set-up and fire up like a pedal using the attenuator for master volume. It's a inexpensive mod that will cut through any live mix. Give it a go, you'll be wrapped with the sound and tone. 👌🎶💯
I bought the Hot Rod Deluxe 1 by 12 combo in 1996 when it came out. I gigged the ship out of it and I still really love the tone. There's a reason this is one of the most popular amplifiers.
The thing with this amp, it sounds great. I get so many compliments on my tone. Simple overdrive pedal I have all the gain I need for classic rock. The clean is rich and gorgeous on any eq setting. The overdrive isn’t what I was going for so I just use a Boss OD
Hell yeah! Hot Rod deluxe sounds great on its own
Man, I love a rosewood strat with 3 different shades of white.
(1.) Put a simple potentiometer volume knob in the *effects loop*. (2.) Turn that all the way down to zero to temporarily silence the amp (3.) push the amp volume and master channel level up high enough, even 7,8,9, say, to get what ever distortion and tones you would like, crank it, turn it up because you wont hear anything due to the new volume knob in the effects loop being at zero. (4) now with the amp driven hard, just turn that “new” volume knob in the effects loop up just to the sound level you want in the room, it can be fairly quiet. You will have that knob almost at one maybe if you are really cranking the amp. Then, because the amp is actually being heavily pushed, the rig will sound very driven and full of articulation and making beautiful tones but it won’t have to be loud in the room to get that great sound pallet. Then do every thing this guy in the video was talking about to find preamp settings that make you happy on a great foundation of a driven amp, Without the new effects loop sound level knob, the problem most people have with this amp is because they can’t drive the amp hard enough to get the sound they want because it would be very very loud and drive you of the room, piss off the neighbors, cover the entire band, etc. The amp sounds great loud and not great otherwise is the problem imo. Driving the heck out of the amp to get the great tones possible and then turning down the sound level in the effects loop is a super good hack,really it is. If you think this can’t work please don’t tell me about that unless you have done this and observed the thing work this way. Try it, it works really well and transforms using the amp. Fender should put a potentiometer on the effects loop thing in the first place I think. I have turned into a big HRD fan after years of really not liking the amp much and a couple of my friends have done this successfully as well. (Note that you could use a Dunlop volume pedal ( dont use a digital effects pedal) in the effects loop if you don’t have a knob potentiometer with a plug-in setup available. Its so simple and easy and effective that its hard to know why its not just the way one uses that amp, period. Hope that might help somebody having a disappointment HRD!! They are actually really good amps it turns out.
Hi @Simulera! You mean using the clean or the dirty channel? Thanks!
Is great to see Rick addressing that the amp has a good sounding overdrive but you need to dial it in. He’s not just selling he’s explaining the good and bad of the amp.
I have the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe v.1 Corona,Ca
I play in a Beatles cover band and this amp coupled with a British tube emulator pedal [I use Aclam Dr.Robert]
recreates some of the best late 60s early 70s tones. Very close to Vox sound.
Then I'm able to get the crisp, accurate clean tones necessary for my Yacht Rock side project. It also rocks out when set to do so.
So versatile, I will never get rid of this amp.
Wow, using an amp designer to discuss how to use a guitar amp - so simple that 95% of the guitar bloggers missed his point. Congratulations Mr. McKnight for being smart enough to understand this.
Had one of these for years. Rarely had anything other than a tuner between it and my guitar.
Phill, this is one of the best interviews I have seen you do. I've seen anyone ask Rick Hines the depth of question from a player's perspective. This amp sounds like hell at home, but in a club with bass and drums it sounds great. It sits in the perfect spot.
I've had an original DeVille 4x10 since I bought it new - my big tip is to use the lower gain input (2), I find it makes the amp much more controllable and a bit sweeter🍬
Dialling an amp to full potential is an art
I've had a lot of compliments playing out in my rock band over the past 10 years and my main tone is the Drive Channel. Master is usually around 3, Drive 10, Treble 10, Bass and Mid at 6.5, Reverb between 3-5 depending on the room, and Presence always at 8. It's pure classic rock, AC/DC and Zeppelin tone. Having a guitar with great humbuckers is very beneficial. I also will push the clean channel with a MXR micro amp and it creates a great distorted drive tone. Underrated amps, you just have to know how to create good tone. With that being said, I loved my tone even more after putting in a Weber Legacy speaker, Russian groove tubes, and upgrading to a Monster internal speaker cable. The amp also sounds even better hooked up to a 2x12 running a total of 3x12's.
"Dont quote me on this" lol. Says the man who's in charge.
Sounds like Guitar Center on a Saturday afternoon.
Definitely I'm one of those guys
hahahahahaha nailed it
I gigged from 1996 to 2006+ with the first generation Hot Rod Deluxe, playing pop country and Blues. The only pedal I used was a boss compressor sustainer pedal. Still have that amp still love it.
I played one finally used at GC. Took me about 30 seconds until I realized the amp sounded incredible. I have owned/still own other amps such as the Blues Junior NOS Tweed , 5150, JCM 2000, etc etc. Definitely would love one.
After 15 years of owning the original version of the Hot Rod Deluxe came with the Fender Gold spkr. Got it" re- tubed" & it seems to sound better than ever! Was going to sell it. But after watching the video, I think that I'll keep it around for a while longer.
I have an American HRD and found a list of mods years ago that split the tone circuit so you don't drag bass up with every tweak. I also put switchcraft input jacks AND INSULATED THEM, that's a must. The intl. safety jacks suck. They only contact sleeve through a piece of thin sheet metal. It's been a pretty versatile amp ever since. The speaker that came with it was kind of flabby too.
Would you please share it?
The thing I did that best improved the OD tone was disconnect the negative feedback loop (Grey wire) going to the speaker output. The clean is not as pristine but has an interesting vintage quality to it. I inserted a push/pull pot so I can insert the NFB loop if I still want, but honestly the OD sounds so much better without it. You won’t get the glassy clean tone, but if you’re ok with that, look this mod up
I changed the speaker to a Warehouse G12C/S, and the first tube to a 12AY7. Sounds much sweeter and more tamed. I can use the amp now at home. The 12AY7 really helped bring the volume control under control - because we all know the volume control sucks and goes from 0-60 in 1 second!
I was given a gift of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Mod 3 and I love it! Especially with my JBL I made. Now I want to split my 2 heads. From my pedal board in which my outputs are divided by my 2 heads. My Bugera (built to use EL-34) simular to Marshall's circuits and now my Fender and their 40watt system using 6L6's.
A lot of dudes out there are bashing the hot rod deluxe for years. They just expect something else I guess. I have always loved the overdrive channel. When you set it just for a little breakup, then the more drive doesn't go over the top and is very nice. My only complain would be that I would like to have the reverb footswitchable. Now I use a reverb pedal instead...
Let me add something. The stock eminence speaker on the older models are the best. I have tried like 4 other speakers because of some dudes saying they had "way better tone" with a swap, and each time I lost that Fender cristal tone. This amp is almost perfect. If you don't like it, by Vox or Marshall.
Seriously? Lol. Can you make a Ferrari fast without any modifications? Can you make a fish swim in water without installing an engine on its tail?
maybe i'm wierd but i played on one recently..and granted about 5 hours in one of the power tubes died...but before then...it sounded pretty good. shimmering cleans and smooth over driven tones...i liked it.
Great information. He is absolutly right about bringing down the bass volume. and get on your guitar equalizer zone only, and mind your own biz only.
I only watched this video because I used to have a hrd many years ago. I didn't care for it.
However, one time I was in 8th Street music and heard a cop playing a Strat into an hrd clean and finger picking. He sounded amazing!
Great video! Something I'd like to hear more about is how "Presence" differs from "Treble" or how it fits into the EQ in general. Thanks Phil!
@csguitars has a video on this
@@jonthehermit8082 its delightful if you want to be haired.
Matt Satterlee I look to Santa Claus for the best presence.
Treble increases high frequencies in the pre amp, presence increases treble through the transformer I think, so that you can increase treble without affecting tone.
@@54fighting5 Haha! All he usually gives me is coal though.😖
Rick Hines is so cool, just seems so down to earth and chilled, great player too.
So I just bought a 2nd hand one, with the chrome control plate. The distortion is much saggier but if you refer to the manual it tells you how to dial in an Austin Strat tone. It's loud!
good and to the point explanation of how to work with a hot rod in case using the drive channel.
its not a high gain amp of course, and the "more drive " channel doesn t really make it for me,
but the first stage (channel) is pretty useful.
love the slightly cranked blues /rock tones from mine.
5:43 LOL, Phil's face says it all.
@doobiewah357 LOL, don't push too hard!
I am a metal guy, thinking about buying this amp for my headrush. But I have really been getting into blues lately. SOLD!
I use a Fender Super Champ x2 Head through a Orange 1x12 Cab and it sounds fantastic. Best tone I’ve achieved in some time.
I have 2 HRD's the II and the III. After some slight mods being done I am not going anywhere else for amps and I have had Marshall and other Fenders in the past to compare to. I find the OD channels are quite usable and sound great to me with lots of sustain for lead playing even when using single coils. Even before the mods they sounded pretty good although the modifications have solved the global EQ problem when going from dirty to clean sounds.
Can you elaborate on the mods?
@@jbognap I only changed out the speaker in the HRD III for another Fender speaker I had laying around, that speaker was a happy accident. In the older HRD II there is a Celestion speaker installed,; also when the thing crapped out due to cheap original Fender parts I took it to a tech that is a friend of mine. He is well known in my city as a guru amp tech/builder. It was in his shop where I got to try a Dumble OD Special he was working with. I'm not sure if he planned to make some clones or if it belonged to some rich dude. Anyways long story short I paid him for the fix and afterwards he said sort of slyly something to the effect of you are going to want to keep this amp. I didn't ask what he all did but the amp is set it and forget it for the global EQ, whereas before I could only find that sweet spot one channel at a time. Everything is more alive and dynamic and the reverb actually sounds good now. Maybe that will give you a clue as to what he has done but like I said I didn't ask I was only hugely surprised when I got it home! In the past I gave him an old Jenson speaker he really liked the sound of I couldn't use it anyway so might be he was returning the favor??
@@stratorarious It's cool to have an amp tech as a friend ;)
Clean channel, volume on 8, treb 6.5, bass 6.5, mids dead center, reverb 3. Great fender scream.
Short answer:
Yes. Yes you easily can.
That fender amp on the right looks amazing and so tempting.
Of course! What kinda question is that?! They sound great, not just good. And they are one of the most selling amps of all time.
I agree with you, Space Alien. "What kinda question is that?!" I've always liked the Hot Rod Deluxe and I own some good amplifiers. For the money you can't beat a Hot Rod Deluxe.
@@Teachering Absolutely!
Love mine. I can’t believe I didn’t go with one in my high school days. I decided on lugging a half stack to school concerts like an idiot
I used a Hot Rod Deluxe for years with no pedals. Loved the clean, 90% happy with the OD. COMPLAINTS: too heavy for me now, (63 years old?) Hard to control in small clubs, goes from too quiet to too loud in a tenth of a turn. I hope they fixed that with the new model.
I heard the MK IV is now easier to dial in. Wish I get one in the following year. I plan to tame it through a volume pedal into the FX loop if it's still too loud.
@@EddieOtool I down sized to Super Champ XD about 10 years ago.
Love the sound of mine type iv hot deluxe special edition ( tweed with sparkly grille cover looks perfect guitar center exclusive ) . Watched a video of speaker replacements ( about 7 of them ) Celestion creamback sounded awesome but it’s $320 speaker that clean was amazing but I doubt I’ll do it . Most other ones sounded equal or less to the factory which imho factory sounds great . But I definitely agree don’t bang out the knobs . Very clean and vibrant amp . There are a lot of Fender factory issues that they should address like get rid of the cheap capacitors . Pennies more for better ones . And upgrade the wattage of the resistors . Also lift the ceramic resistors up off the board so it doesn’t burn or melt the board . Swichcraft input jacks also . This costs lots of money for a amp tech to do but you’ll get 20 years out of it . Also tighten up the screws on it mine were all a turn shy of being tight especially the Handle ! I don’t get it fFender ? Charge an extra $50 bucks . I’m gonna get this all done to mine soon since it’s not a year old yet. Need to find a good tech in my area .
As a bass player, I wish more guitarists knew to cut their bass frequencies. As a guitarist I love my G&L Legacy cos its passive treble bass circuitry lets me control that from the guitar.
Yep, love my G&L's for that same reason
Nikolaki A I suspect a big part of the problem is that guitar players spend a lot of time playing alone. Big bass end is kinda pleasing when the guitar is the only sound. If there’s a bass guitar, or a keyboard playing with you, you’re just muddying up the waters.
@@Newnodrogbob Quite right!
been playing for decades and only now am understanding how to play fender amps lol
would love to hear him talk about dialing in vox and using other guitars like the jazzmaster, telecaster deluxe etc.
great video friend!
Phil, I would love to see a feature video on the Super Champ. I've owned both the XD and now the X2 and this is such a great amp for the money. I have never understood why the blues Junior out sells it when this is less expensive and more versatile.
Love the original.
Ritchie. Did a amazing job.
Its kinda sad what they did to it.
Not everone needs a metal tone.
I think I am going to buy a Fender Blues Deluxe and a matching 112 extended cabinet, put them together and have a Fender half stack.
Great content Phil, I think you've really upped your game in the past few months! As a bass player, I really appreciate the part about eq and how each instrument should stay in their respective frequency range. So many guitar players do not understand this. They think bedroom tone = live group tone....this is usually far from the case.
My HRD IV sounds great.
Best way to make an amp sound better:
Play as well as Rick.
Also, I find it interesting that he didn't use the foot pedal to select the drive channel.
On my Tweed deluxe to deal with the bass "flubberiness" I got Weber to build a speaker with a ribbed cone to tighten up the bass. Huge improvement.
I love my HRD and my bass and mid stay really low, around 8 or 9 o'clock with treble set just after lunchtime.
To be fair I stay on the clean channel and add a little bit of hair with a blues driver. But that's perfect for me.
I keep the bass completely off and the mid and treble anywhere between 6 and 10 depending on the room. Clean channel only with the bright switch off and presence off.
@@billducas nice, I'll give it a try
I usually have the bass just under 8 with the mids just above 6 and treble just below 4. But my guitar has lots of treble. Sounds great for distortion n fuzz tho
I have a Old Hot Rod Deville that I put Ruby Tubes in and that thing will not cave in on itself when cranked, I believe the setup changes the DNA of the sound.
I built a master volume pedal(very easy) and plug it into the effects loop on my HRD. Best thing I could have done for it
I did that too, then came the Dr.Watson Lion Tamer. I think it’s like 25.00.
Same here 🙂
I'm pretty sure when someone asked Joe Bonnamassa what amp one should buy if they can't afford something more premium, he said to find a Hot Rod Deluxe. These are great amps...
I used to have a Hot Rod Deluxe and a Hot Rod Deville 2x12. With my Tele (humbucker at neck and Lindy Fralin bridge) I ran the red light all the time and controlled the volume at the guitar. It always sounded great. I only sold them because they became too heavy to move.
Thanks for the info as I am looking for lighter gear to play out with with minimal pedals. However I wish you had an example with hotter humbuckers to see and hear that too.
Sure. Just play something GOOD though it.
I would love a HRDLX head with no drive channel and no reverb. It’s a great pedal platform and that’s it and a wonderful one.
Absolutely! I freakin love the drive of the hot rod!!!
Great set bro. I just bought a hot rod and looking for some true input. Very informative, thanks
You bring lots of good content now Phil. Where will this end?
Great video. 🙏👋🏼
I bought one in 97 and used the clean channel alone with a pedal board of modded tubescreamers , and 3 or 4 high quality pedals, this amp seems to flourish then
I like the sound of these amps but everyone I’ve known who’s had one has had problems with it (twin reverbs too) sometimes they sound great, sometimes they don’t know what’s going on haha. But I do love some gnarly fuzz into the clean channel
For Strat I keep the presence pretty high, roll back treble to 2-3, mid to 5-6 and bass to 7-9.
Okay! You convinced me to take my HRD out of storage and try again. It's version III.
The treble affects what is going inside the preamp, and therefore changes what part distorts. Presence is a treble effect that happens after the preamp.
Ive had mine since 96 ( USA made ) you want your HRD to sound better easy increase the BIA's to between 74-76 and your amp will scream ,, i don't no why the come with the Bias set so low from the factory makes the rhythm and lead channels muddy ,, that and add an extension cab,, 210 or 410 will increase your headroom and bass 10x , i use a Marshall 410 with mine 99% of the time ,, nothing needs to be said about the clean channel other then it takes effects like no other its a Fender for christ sake ,, for larger gigs i also use my Fender ABY box and play a 83 Marshall JCM 800 50 wtt crunch the JCM and keep the HRD clean ,, it IS the tone
Hot rods have too much low end, I ended puttin' an eq pedal on the preamp to tame it at 100hz and a bit under 250hz. I also diminished the volume on the eq to rise with a better control the volume on the amp. I wish I had know this trick earlier
I have a version IV like in this video. Et90 speaker, 230-240 voltage change and nos Philips power valves just gave it another dimension. Very addictive amp, gives me inspiration when writing and once I start playing I can't stop. Hard to believe for the price I paid. It sounded good stock. Sounds Stella with the mods.
Very informative video. And it was nice meeting you at guitar center in Tempe this week Phil. Your videos are helpful.
Turn it up to 4 1/2, Put a Fulltone OCD in the mix, Plug in a LP Junior, and you're golden!
Older tweed Fender amps don't have Bass or Presence knobs ... just one tone adjustment ... and four inputs, two each for instrument and microphone, which have different tones.
I've played guitar for 25 years. I've owned Peavey 5150s, AC30s, a boutique Savage, and Marshalls. I built a little 5-watt Champ. I've played through Riveras, Soldanos, Matchless...you name it. You know why people hate the Fender HRD? Because they're accessible and they don't come with the requisite "street cred." That's why. They're great amps, and a fantastic value. Give Larry Carlton or Robben Ford a Hot Rod Deluxe and a Blueline overdrive pedal and I promise you it'll make you reconsider your world. Both have routinely used them as backline amps when they can't transport their Dumbles. Get a HRD and swap out the tubes and invest in a good speaker. You're set.
Good points. I don't play guitar but what tubes and what speaker would you recommend for an electric piano?
Hrd best amp all time hands down. Total bad assery!!!
Had a mod done on my HR 3. It was too loud for the gigs I do, so I had a valve amp specialist change the 6L6's for 6V6's dropping the power to 22 watts or thereabouts. I changed the celestion for a Jensen Neo which has a lower sensitivity, meaning I have to turn the amp up more and drive the power stage a bit harder. I also mounted a Hughes and Kettner Red Box speaker emulated Di in the back as a feed to the PA. I don't use the clean channels it gets way too loud way too quickly, even with the mods.
Right off you know that so much tone is in your hands, listening to that guy play.
I put 12ay7 tubes in my hot rod deluxe and it sounds great not so ice picky
Great concept! I'd love to see this video format with the various settings for the HRD, clean, and a variety of pedal combos.
It’s both a pro and con with these channels.
Pro, learning SO MUCH, about tone, EQ, volume control for FREE. Things I had no idea were so important and critical to being a great guitar player
Con, these videoes and channels have barley been out for the world to see for about 1-3 years. From 2009-2016 ive been playing like sh*t
I love mine! It sounds amazing to my ears compare to the other hughes & kettner attax 80 I have. No surprise, of course. ^^ That said, I use the clean sound with a very pedal board.
I had a lot of amps in my time ,got a hot rod for change ,one of the best iv had super happy with the tone the sweet spot is 7 by the way .🤟🤟
I have a first generation hotrod deluxe and I get some of the darkest tones without pedals.
Thank you! I’m buying one of these! 😎👍🏻
What Fender Hot Rod Deluxe model are you using in the demo ? I have the USA model. Thanks
Having never buying a fender amp and being more of a high gain guy I purchased the HRD IV. FedEx damn near killed it but it survived and I was able to get $100 knocked off. Overall I wasn’t sure If I liked the tone but it’s growing on me. Like others on here are doing I need the Friedman pedal..
I had one for 20 years when it broke, for the money of the repair I built a tweed deluxe. The modern deluxe sounded "good" everywhere I went, but the tweed sounds "much better" if you can make it sound good because its much more sensitive to the way you hit the strings. Much more interesting IMO.
This video helped me out so much. I set my eq about noon and dialed back the bass a bit on my Randall RD45H and clean channel just sparkles. Interestingly enough my delay pedals sound markedly different (boss dd3 and dm2w). The dm2w sounds wayyyyyy better now too.
Mine has that same hiss on the overdrive channel, even louder when you press the “more drive”
I have enjoyed your videos before, but this right here made me a subscriber.
Oh my, very very good video. I always wondered about that Fender amp guy cause mostly I think of him as a salesman for Fender. But in this video we really get to know Rick Hynes and why the Fender Amps are fun to play and sound so good. Thanks