Harley Benton Hot Rod Deluxe Knock Off

chrisj1602

Anyone seen these? Black, red or tweed, under £300 for the black, Vintage 30 speaker.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_vt_30_bk.htm

BenSirAmos

4 X EL34? will that get anywhere near a Hot Rod Deluxe sound?

chrisj1602

Well, maybe not, and it is 30 watts and has a Vintage 30. I didn't say clone though, I said knock off, it's obviously supposed to look like one.

chrisj1602

It's EL84s too, not EL34s.

Skipped

Among the different colours there are 4 reviews (in German). With a bit of help from Google the jist of the opinions is:  minor electrical faults out of the box (resolved quickly by Thomann),  Excellent sound for the money, big  doubts about build quality, Tolex covering coming away very easily.
One of the 4 has returned item to Thomann.
Could be a cheap and loud amp for home use only?

BenSirAmos

chrisj1602 said:

It's EL84s too, not EL34s.

Yeah, typo: 8s and 3s look the same to me. Why make a look-a-like that isn't a sound-a-like? Does anyone do a HRD clone?

Richardj

The styling is obviously a shot at the HRD but it isn't going to get near the sound with EL84's, obviously more like a grown up Blues Junior. I haven't been impressed so far with amps from Thomann/Behringer (I think they all come from the same factory) a friend had a Bugera 22 and it was really thin and nasty sounding. It felt built to it's price point.

bertie

HRD knock off only in "looks"

BenSirAmos

So the Bugara V55 has 2x6L6 and goes for £3a4. Anyone know if that is close enough to an HRD to make it worth leaving at the rehearsal room? I'm tired of carrying amps about.

chrisj1602

BenSirAmos;181097" said:

So the Bugara V55 has 2x6L6 and goes for £3a4. Anyone know if that is close enough to an HRD to make it worth leaving at the rehearsal room? I'm tired of carrying amps about.

If not, It might be worth looking at the subzero 20r at gear4music which is apparently a blues junior clone and under £250.

BenSirAmos

chrisj1602 said:

BenSirAmos;181097" said:

So the Bugara V55 has 2x6L6 and goes for £3a4. Anyone know if that is close enough to an HRD to make it worth leaving at the rehearsal room? I'm tired of carrying amps about.

If not, It might be worth looking at the subzero 20r at gear4music which is apparently a blues junior clone and under £250.

Thanks but I think I need 2x6L6 - and I'll probably go for a 2nd hand HRD - but I was wondering if there is anything that sounds like an HRD but which looks less worth nicking. 

mart

BenSirAmos said:

... I was wondering if there is anything that sounds like an HRD but which looks less worth nicking. 

Get a HRD, remove the Fender logo and recover it in some old flowery curtains! Guaranteed not to be nicked.

chrisj1602

BenSirAmos;181234" said:

chrisj1602 said:

BenSirAmos;181097" said:So the Bugara V55 has 2x6L6 and goes for £3a4. Anyone know if that is close enough to an HRD to make it worth leaving at the rehearsal room? I'm tired of carrying amps about.

If not, It might be worth looking at the subzero 20r at gear4music which is apparently a blues junior clone and under £250.





Thanks but I think I need 2x6L6 - and I'll probably go for a 2nd hand HRD - but I was wondering if there is anything that sounds like an HRD but which looks less worth nicking. 

Fair enough, there's some good deals to be on them used.

ICBM

Looks more like a Peavey Classic 30 knock-off to me.

Dave_Mc

^ +1.

I haven't tried it, though, that's just guessing based on specs and the controls.

chrisj1602

ICBM;181267" said:

Looks more like a Peavey Classic 30 knock-off to me.

Yes, looks more like it spec-wise.

BenSirAmos

mart said:

BenSirAmos said:

... I was wondering if there is anything that sounds like an HRD but which looks less worth nicking. 

Get a HRD, remove the Fender logo and recover it in some old flowery curtains! Guaranteed not to be nicked.

I think this will be my strategy - I was going for relic'ed leatherette - but flowery curtains might be better

ESBlonde

There are some HRDs looking road worn now, and unlike guitars this does reduce their value appropriately. get a road worn one and paint the grill in a unique manner so that it's instantly recognisable. Then leave it (sans valves) at the rehearsal space.

BenSirAmos

ESBlonde said:

 Then leave it (sans valves)

Why didn't I think of this? Good idea

noisepolluter

ICBM said:

Looks more like a Peavey Classic 30 knock-off to me.

Was about to say the same thing - that or a Laney LC/VC30. Not making any quality comparisons, just looking at the spec.

bobblehat

the controls look like they have been lifted straight out of a VC30. Even the knobs and Type face are the same.