Please advise - which amps do what a Fender Hotrod Deluxe does?

jpfamps

Danny1969 said:

Clean channel is nice, but not amazing. Drive and more drive to me are a bit meh but then I'm a Marshall fan and as ICBM said they don't do a good Marshall type sound

What annoys me about them is the crap design, there's 2 x 470 Ohm 5 watt resistors used to drop the 47V rail to 16 volts or so to power the opamps that switch channels and the reverb. These always go dry jointed and cause all kinds of grieve. I've developed a mod that fix's this fault for good because I got fed up of fixing the same recurring fault. 

I've fitted mod kits on a some amps as well. This is normally a log pot in place of the linear to cure the hair trigger volume, some orange caps and some changes to plate resistors, plus the input jacks and a mod to the reverb. Only half that stuff is worth doing IMO 

Another annoying thing with these amps when your recording is how much noise they make  mechanically make from the valves vibrating in the chassis and such. You can get dampeners that help but every HRD I've ever recorded has had some noise .... that's the trouble when you hang the valves upside down 6 inches from the speaker I spose

I've not found the 470 ohm dropping resistors to be a problem on the later versions of the HRD (although they were a major problem on the earlier versions).

Wiring the amp to run on 240V helps to reduce dissipation in these resistors.

I would agree though that zener shunt regulation from a 47 volt rail is a poor way of generating the supply for the SS circuitry in the amp. 47 VDC is too high really to employ a cheap 3 terminal regulator, but an amplified zener using a MOSFET or BJT would be cheap to implement and result in much reduced dissipation.

In the Fender Supersonic one of the shunt zeners for the SS supply is next the to PCB track with the screen grid supply on it, and I've seen several where the heat from the zener has caused breakdown of the track insulation and the screen supply has arced over to the LT rail.

monquixote

EricTheWeary said:

monquixote said:

Peavey Classic 50 - Cheap as chips and Nile uses one so nothing more needs to be said. 

without digging around on t'internet for an hour I didn't think that was the case? At least, in the studio he has a pair of Peavey Classic combos but they are, IIRC, a much older design and not really the same thing as the current Classic 50 ( either the current far easten made ones or their immediate US made predecessors).Pretty sure he used a pair of Fenders (one of the HRD variants) on tour last year.

Having said that the Classic 50 is, I'm sure, still a good HRD alternative - just a quick look at the many Peavey vs Fender threads to be found on various fora seems to put the Classic 50 ahead of the HRD as a more versatile, better designed amp.You just have to live with the fugly Peavey logo.

There is a bit of debate about this, but the best information I have is that SRV gave Nile a pair of Classic 50s which he used as his main gigging amps for years (Previously he used Music Man amps). Officially the classic 50 wasn't available at the time, but if you look at them that's what they are so I assume SRV had some prototypes or similar. 

I'm pretty sure I've seen Nile on stage with Fender DeVille amps before as I expect he doesn't bother to ship amps for European tours. In the studio he very often goes straight into the desk via some rack gear so I don't think amps are that bigger part of his recorded sound. 

I've gigged with a Classic 50 4x10 (rented) and I was impressed with it's sound, manageable volume and though it was fairly big I don't remember it being insanely heavy. I'd be quite happy to own one.

ICBM

jpfamps said:

impmann said:

One for the techs (@ICBM probably) - does fitting a same value log pot actually *solve* the "hair trigger" volume on an HRD? To my ears they are great amps, ruined by this...

The volume pot is already log taper.

For the clean channel, yes - the MV pot on the Drive channel is linear.

To be honest I don't find it a problem. Just dial it in carefully - it can be done. If that doesn't work for you for whatever reason, a Volume Box in the FX loop (with a Log pot) is a far more effective solution than modding the amp.

jpfamps said:

What annoys me about them is the crap design, there's 2 x 470 Ohm 5 watt resistors used to drop the 47V rail to 16 volts or so to power the opamps that switch channels and the reverb. These always go dry jointed and cause all kinds of grieve. I've developed a mod that fix's this fault for good because I got fed up of fixing the same recurring fault.

I've not found the 470 ohm dropping resistors to be a problem on the later versions of the HRD (although they were a major problem on the earlier versions).

Wiring the amp to run on 240V helps to reduce dissipation in these resistors.

Agreed. Actually, I find them to be quite reliable amps now - given the number they've made and the price point, certainly.

impmann

OK thanks - I've tried the box in the FX loop and yes it did tame it a bit - but you do get a tone trade-off, in my experience (not as nice as without). Far better than an attenuator, though. 

I'll have to give a Mk3 a go to see if they have this design fault licked yet...

ICBM

impmann said:

OK thanks - I've tried the box in the FX loop and yes it did tame it a bit - but you do get a tone trade-off, in my experience (not as nice as without). Far better than an attenuator, though.

A well-made volume box should be totally transparent in the loop - it's just a volume pot. Unless someone used the wrong value...

What attenuator did you use? Just curious. The good ones are also pretty transparent at moderate settings - which is all you should need to make the taper a bit more manageable.

impmann

The attenuator was either an old Tom Scholtz one or my old Marshall Powerbrake (it was about 7 or 8 years ago... I'm a bit fuzzy which I used, tbh).

The volume box was the Torres thing (just a wire wound pot IIRC). It didn't seem to have the same sparkle with either the volume box or the attenuator - but the attenuator was far worse. 

To be fair, this was at bedroom volume - at stage volume it would probably not have been so much of a problem. I wasn't gigging at the time so sold the amp.

ICBM

That's more or less what I expected. Definitely don't be put off all attenuators and volume boxes! Those are either not good examples, or one that's not at all the best choice for that amp (Marshall Powerbrake) although it's one of the best for some.

You do also have the problem that reducing the volume *inherently* makes things seem to sound worse, particularly at already low volume. I think a lot of people write off attenuators because they don't always realise that. (Not saying you did necessarily!)

close2u

UPDATE

Said nephew has now bought a 2nd hand HRDX.

Many thanks for all comments / advice.

It has given me an idea for a new thread!

BenSirAmos

Right choice

Panama_Jack666

I want a 2nd hand Hot Rod Deluxe (before May 10th) The search continues... *sigh*

DartmoorHedgehog

Panama_Jack666 said:

I want a 2nd hand Hot Rod Deluxe (before May 10th) The search continues... *sigh*

@Panama_Jack666 Where are you?  There's a guy I know in Plymouth who is selling a Fender combo - offered it to me on Wednesday, but I'm not really after one.  I think it's a HRD.  If you're interested I'll put you in touch.

Panama_Jack666

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Panama_Jack666 said:

I want a 2nd hand Hot Rod Deluxe (before May 10th) The search continues... *sigh*

@Panama_Jack666 Where are you?  There's a guy I know in Plymouth who is selling a Fender combo - offered it to me on Wednesday, but I'm not really after one.  I think it's a HRD.  If you're interested I'll put you in touch.

Unfortunately a fair trek away from Plymouth, I'm up near Leeds! However, it may still be worth getting in touch with him if he's willing to post (and the price is right!)!

DartmoorHedgehog

OK, I'll find out the details and get back to you by PM

Panama_Jack666

DartmoorHedgehog said:

OK, I'll find out the details and get back to you by PM

Thank you, it's appreciated!