Fender Amps - Blues Deluxe or Hot Rod Deluxe?

[ash96]

what are the differences?

I'm going to get a fender combo soon, but just trying to decide which to get. I've steered towards the HRD so far because its got the clean, Drive and more drive settings, however i've heard the Drive a bit cr@p.

Whats the drive like on the Blues deluxe?

[Plexi Ken]

This is an interesting (but short) piece about both,
http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/faq.html#bluesdeluxe

[Ratrod]

Best thing to do is to give 'em both a spin.

The Hot Rod is louder, darker and more agressive but is great with pedals. Unless you play blues with a Strat, the drive channel is useless, IMO.

The Blues Deluxe is a brighter amp but not harsh in any way. Not much overdrive but sounds alot better than the Hot Rod's overdrive.

I had alot of fun when I tried a Lite Ash Tele on a Blues Deluxe (with Jensen speakers). Great amp for rock n' roll, gritty country, blues and ZZ-Top stuff.

I used to have a Hot Rod but after I tried the Blues Deluxe, I preferred that one.

I have an Engl Classic now. To me that's the amp the Hot Rod should have been.

[Twinfan]

I've played both, and preferred the Blues Deluxe.  I recommended one to mate and he bought it and loves it.  The clean channel is really quite nice.  The Blues DeVille with the 4x10 speaker setup is my favourite of that range.

If you're going to use the gain channel a lot, you may want to consider a different amp.  It can be harsh when you crank it up, and it's only 'OK' at best really.

[dave_mc]

I've played both, and preferred the Blues Deluxe. 

agreed. Though it is a while since I've tried the blues deluxe, i just remember thinking it was a bit better.

If you ask me, though, i'm with ratrod's assessment of the drive channels of the HRD- they're useless. I don't play every type of music ever invented, but i play a bit of classic rock, blues, blues rock, 80s rock/metal and heavier metal, and the HRD's drive channel didn't suit any of those, for my playing style, anyway.

[badgermark]

Yeah like the others have said be prepared to use pedals. Also these amps are notorious for being too loud. A friend of mine has the HRD and the volume at 1 is enough to make his entire room shake. Even touring bands who use them have to use an attenuator.

[_tom_]

All I can say is dont get the Hot Rod Deluxe. I had one and it sounded ok but nothing amazing. The drive channel is cr@p and cleans are a bit boxy. The volume control is also quite sensitive and very hard to get a usable volume without an attenuator (which did help things a lot, actually). Oh and the jacks on mine were very temperamental.

Not the best experience!

[Ian Price]

Yeah like the others have said be prepared to use pedals. Also these amps are notorious for being too loud. A friend of mine has the HRD and the volume at 1 is enough to make his entire room shake. Even touring bands who use them have to use an attenuator.

Agreed - insanely loud. I ued to rehearse at an old church hall with my band. I once turned the volume all the way up on the clean channel just to see how loud it was. It was stupidly loud, my ears were ringing for quite a while after. We got asked to not go back to the hall due to excessive volume - apparently complaints were received from nearby residents.

[badgermark]

Yeah like the others have said be prepared to use pedals. Also these amps are notorious for being too loud. A friend of mine has the HRD and the volume at 1 is enough to make his entire room shake. Even touring bands who use them have to use an attenuator.

Agreed - insanely loud. I ued to rehearse at an old church hall with my band. I once turned the volume all the way up on the clean channel just to see how loud it was. It was stupidly loud, my ears were ringing for quite a while after. We got asked to not go back to the hall due to excessive volume - apparently complaints were received from nearby residents.

Apparently Fender chose the volume pot type to show off it's loudness. It sounds huge in a shop at 1, imagine taking it home and cranking it!

I like the look of the Blues Deluxe, could be a good complement to my Tiny Terror. One clean amp and a line switcher for the filthy Terror.

[Elliot]

A standard mod on any of the Hot Rod/Blues series is to  take out the linear pot in the volume and master and install an audio taper pot in its place - Its an easy mod that allows you to get more usable control over the volume controls.

Personally I'd get the 4x10 Blues Deville - but it is insanely loud!

[Twinfan]

Personally I'd get the 4x10 Blues Deville - but it is insanely loud!

Yep, great clean sound though for such a well priced amp  :)

[gordiji]

ash, i love fender amps having had a twin reverb and a pro sonic. If your looking for a very versitile combo however checkout the ENGL screamer 50. I've got one for 6months now.Great clean tones but it is a 2 channel amp with both channels having a boost so it gives 4 footswitchable sounds.... and then a footswitchable vol boost for solos or whatever.A bit dearer than the hot rods and the footboard is extra but is a seriously well made amp. Sounds great with my irish tours.Checkout the reviews by googling' harmony central'.Also if you google engl screamer 50 youtube
there's a nice guy called juca who does a pretty comprehensive demo. By the way i don't work for engl , but this is a great mid size amp.