As an 'FSR' model, these were a limited edition and this is one of the five models they released in the 'Red October' edition.
The models were:
Blues Junior 1 x 12
Hot Rod Deluxe 1 x 12
Hot Rod De Ville 2 x 12
Hot Rod De Ville 4 x 10
Pro Junior 1 x 10
What the 'Red October' moniker equates to is the red Vinyl Tolex with white piping and it alludes to the fact that Fender have fitted some VERY nice 'Red Coat' speakers, which give the amp a very different sound to the normal variant.
The speakers fitted to the Deluxe and De Ville 2 x 12 are:
Eminence Red Coat Wizard, 75w, 8ohm, 12" speakers. In my 2 x 12 they are wired so that they run at 4ohms.
The same 'Wizard' speaker is fitted to the Blues Junior but it's unclear what power rating they have fitted.
In the De Ville 4 x 10 they have fitted:
Eminence Red Coat RamRod, 75w, 8 ohm, 10" speakers. Apparently these can be run at 4 or 2ohms but as this isn't the amp i have, i am only going on internet research here.
In the Pro Junior 1 x 10 they have fitted:
Eminence Red Coat RamRod, 30w, 8 ohm, 10" Speaker.
I am sure @ICBM would be able to clear some of that tech stuff up for me but it think i've just about got that right. I am not as up to speed with tech knowledge and this is written from a players perspective.
What this does is give my amp, a distinct 'Classic Rock' tone when driven hard, not quite a Marshall sound but certainly not restricted to a purely Fender sound. This is not the Fender 'Twin' kind of rock tone, it's got a more 'Thin Lizzy' kind of sound when you're on the 'Drive' channel and on the 'More Drive' channel, it handles the extra gain very well without losing any clarity. Also, when using a fuzz pedal through the clean channel, these speakers lend themselves to an early 'Led Zep' sound very well.
They're really punchy and tight sounding but crystal clear in detail. I have found that raising the amp about 3ft off the stage floor gives a very nice projection / spread of sound without being too directional and it's an open back cab so no matter where it is, you can hear it properly. I'm not sure if the offset pattern of the speakers mounted in it's cab makes any difference to this or whether that's just to keep the width of the amp down to 24" - again, someone more experienced than me would maybe know the answer to that.
They have a tight low end and a more pronounced mid range but NOT as mid-rangey as a V30. It's almost like the perfect mix between a Celestion G75T and a V30. Low punch enough to rock and mid range enough to cut.
I can thoroughly recommend these speakers as a retro fit to any amp that needs that 'Classic Rock' kind of feel and the quality seems excellent. Hats off to Fender for the speaker choice here, it really suits the Hot Rod.
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