Hotrod vs 65 deluxe reverb

[Coolaid]

So, anyone have experience with Fender hotrod deluxe 40w and Fender 65 deluxe reverb reissue ?

Two different amps. Hotrod will be cheaper but more powerful. But how big is the difference in these two... I think it´s better to ask you guys who maybe have tried one or two of these out....

I play at home but hope in the future to get a band together. So the hotrod may be a bit to much as you cant crank it up in a home enviorment.. Mostly I am a clean player, so drive channels and distortion is not my thing. I dig reverb, and a nice warm sound. I would like a amp for playing blues, rockabilly, and mybe som jazzy stuff now and then.

I have a Gretsch 6120... Please share what you know about these amps...

[Fabio Sirna]

HI!I bought a Hot rod deluxe 3 years ago..I'm very satisfied!Clean is rich and "fat"-i love it in comping situations as well in solos-moreover valve saturation is great...reverb is also pleasant(to get proper amount you don't have to crank up the knob..it doesn't add much noise too).Price is reasonably low for such a valve amp!In reharsal room I keep the volume between 2 and 3...you don't have to crank it up (and destroy your hears!!) to get his "real sound".I use it with a strat for several kind of music...honestly i can't tell you nothing sure about 65 rev, never had one..maybe youtube tests?greetings!

[Coolaid]

Ahoy - Fab!

Thanks for your answer. 2-3 at reharsal room? Do you ever play at max`? I think that hotrod is a hell of a workhorse.... Is it like shit to drag around ?

[Fabio Sirna]

Almost impossible to play at max...it destroys my will to live at 5\6! yes...it weights a lot, but i think the '65 too is a fat guy...

[gravity84]

Depends on what you like, the HRD will have a bit more headroom because of the wattage, but because of sound systems and all no one really needs all that much wattage. Bill Frisell, in the most recent Guitar Player mag, said that he prefers the Deluxe Reverb when touring. I know that Eric Johnson uses them, too, and I think I saw Lee Ritenour rocking one as well. I know that what works for them might not be best for you, but it's something to think about, more power isn't always better. Also don't fall into the line of thought that wattage increases multiplicatively, it increases (for the most part) logarithmically. For instance, all other things equal apart from wattage, an amp that is twice as loud as a 10 watt amp would need a lot more than 20 watts, it would need to be 100 watts. Don't let Guitar Center people tell you otherwise! I had a guy tell me that I needed at least 120 watts to be heard over a drummer! I wonder what kind of crummy neanderthal drummers he was playing with to make him think that. That all those classic rock and blues players rocking a 18 watt Marshalls, Plexis, Deluxes, Twins, AC30's, they all must have been completely drowned out by their drummers, huh? A bit off topic, sorry.

Anyway, you also have to take into account which power tube character you like better (in this case the squishy 6V6 vs the punchy 6L6). Are you really going to use the amp's dirt channel in the HRD (a lot of pedals blow the HRD channels away IMO)? If you ever have session playing in the future, a Deluxe is a classic sound that is always useful on tape. For reference, (if you couldn't tell) I own a Deluxe Reverb myself.

[lpdeluxe]

I tried them both, loved the Deluxe, hated the Hot Rod. In the end I bought neither, but now have a Blues Junior NOS (tweed and Jensen speaker) and a Band-Master VM head I plug into a 1-15 cab.

The HRD is more rock and rolly, the DR has a compressed sound that I love -- on some material -- but I couldn't justify the price for its limited applicability. Maybe it would have influenced my playing more than the two I ended up with. I may get one yet.

[derek]

I disagree about the headroom on the HRD. They are designed to break up early, so you don't have to have paint peeling volumes to get that nice Fender natural drive. Of course, this can be accomplished with a power attenuator, but the whole HR series is designed this way.

I have a buddy who has one of each, and they are very different amps. So, really whatever floats your boat. Some guys like their tone with a bit of "hair" on it. If so, the HRD is a great value.

[UKToneHunter]

Originally Posted by lpdeluxe

I tried them both, loved the Deluxe, hated the Hot Rod. In the end I bought neither, but now have a Blues Junior NOS (tweed and Jensen speaker) and a Band-Master VM head I plug into a 1-15 cab.

The HRD is more rock and rolly, the DR has a compressed sound that I love -- on some material -- but I couldn't justify the price for its limited applicability. Maybe it would have influenced my playing more than the two I ended up with. I may get one yet.

Snap, I wish I spent the extra £200 to get the DRRI over the HRDx, at the time I thought the HRDx sounded great, it still does, I just think the DRRI has a more jangle clean sound, which is what I am into, I can get shimmering glass tones out of the HRDx with bright switch engaged ect, but I live in the UK, and the new HRDx cost me nearly £800, £200 more and I could have had the DRRI, which is what I will no doubt end up with anyway, unless I can get a used vibro king custom, which has one of the best cleans I have heard ever, the HRDx is louder, and people say U can not crank it in the house, but I think it sounds great on 2 in input 2, 2 and half is perfect in input 2 and its pretty much what U want.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by lpdeluxe

I tried them both, loved the Deluxe, hated the Hot Rod. [...]
The HRD is more rock and rolly, the DR has a compressed sound that I love

+1
HRD is for being loud and raunchy, DR is for letting your notes bloom.

[barrymclark]

Funny... I think I agree with everybody's responses. haha.

I had a Hot Rod D'ville a few years back.

It was a good amp.

It was HEAVY although not as heavy as my Vox AC50 2x12" was.

If this amp isn't loud enough, somebody is doing something wrong. haha. At halfway up, people will start to bleed. This amp slices through bands.

If you are wanting a bit more grind than a classic amp has and want headroom, the Hot Rod is your baby.

If you want more tube blossom (only way I think to describe this), the HR isn't quite there in this department to my ears.

My favorite amps are Class A and have only a volume knob.

I hope to build one based on an old Gibson BR series amp over the next year.

[Greco]

Another vote for the Deluxe. Wonderful amps.

Cheers

Dave

[BigMikeinNJ]

Originally Posted by Greco

Another vote for the Deluxe. Wonderful amps.

Cheers

Dave

I've had lots of amps in my 65 years, the older "real" Blackface Deluxe Reverb is my all time choice du jour. It costs more, they are heavy but doggone I just love that tone. The RI's I heard in stores (took my own arch top with me to test them) didn't sound the same. I guess those old creaky pots and caps give the sound a character my deaf ears still can hear.

An old Deluxe Reverb from '65 to '68 would be my Desert Island Amp.

[Jake Hanlon]

i've gone through 3 Hot rod deluxes... they're good for the money but if i'm honest the 65 is a way better sounding amp to me. I only use the HR's now at the occasional jam session or gigs where I need a more 'angry' sound or gigs with other guitarists. Once this one is finished I won't be getting another and probably will be investing in an older Fender tube amp from the early 90's.

The Deluxe is superior I think... power is not really that important, they're tube amps, it's a whole other thing.

[AlohaJoe]

I just did a session with a vintage blackface DR and it was the best sounding amp I've ever heard (to me). I ran to the store and tried out the reissue and it had a very similar character although not exactly the same. I've used a number of HRDs and I like them, but my ears still prefer the DRRI. Hopefully you'll be able to try them both with your guitar and let your ears decide.

In the end I stumbled across a deal on a vintage BF Princeton Reverb that does the job for me at a lot less weight. You can still find great sounding vintage silverfaces at semi-reasonable prices and they're plenty loud.

[cosmic gumbo]

I think the deluxe reverb is the best sounding all purpose tube combo amp ever created. Whenever I've played a gig with multiple acts, the other guitarists always rave about the tone.

[Jabberwocky]

Throwing a wrench/spanner into the works, how does the DRRI stack up against the Ibanez TSA15H Tube Screamer Head + 112 Cab? They are both driven by 6V6s tubes/valves. Forget about the built-in Tube Screamer for this discussion. Plug your git directly into its Return jack.

[max chill]

How does anything stack up to an amp design that's been around for 48 years? Time will tell...