How come Craigslist has a bunch of Fender Hot Rod Deluxes for sale?

CoolCat

CoolCat

Well-known member
Anybody got a clue?
Something in the workmanship?

They seem to be from a good series of amps, imo. I had a Devlle here a long time and it was great.

But I get skeptical when you see a lot of dumping of a certain product.
 
I'd imagine it may be something you would kind of grow out of. Fenders in general aren't quite as versatile as say marshalls and a few other companies. And they are not quite top tear when it comes to fender's products either. Reverbs and super-sonics being the more "top line" amps from them.
 
Fenders in general aren't quite as versatile as say marshalls and a few other companies.
Click to expand...
I have owned both Fender and Marshall amps, neither are versatile, but both are excelent at what they do. In my opinion, espicailly Marshall is a one trick pony, but no one else can emulate their exact sound.
As far as dumping Fenders on Craigs list, maybe Fender is going out of style? Seems these kids like these Line 6's????????????????????
 
That amp isnt very linear in its gain sometimes that can be a problem. You're either too loud or not loud enough and its simply a bit of pressure on the volume knob that makes the difference. Thats the way mine was.
 
fuzzsniffvoyage said:
I have owned both Fender and Marshall amps, neither are versatile, but both are excelent at what they do. In my opinion, espicailly Marshall is a one trick pony, but no one else can emulate their exact sound.
As far as dumping Fenders on Craigs list, maybe Fender is going out of style? Seems these kids like these Line 6's????????????????????
Click to expand...

I'd agree to an extent. There are a few very versatile marshalls and then some that are your one trick ponies.

Personally, I'd never go buy a fender amp for it's distortion only for the clean channel. And that's probably what a lot of young people are getting sucked into. It's their first amp purchase after their starter amp they see a cheap price and it has what seems like nice features, 3 channels in most, they're TUBED OMGMUSTBUY!

They get it, it's awesome for a while and then they realize they aren't getting their metal or hard rock sounds they want out of it like a marshall, black star, or mesa would. And sell it.

They're middle of the road amps.
 
The Hot Rod Deluxe is a pretty nice amp, in our humble opinion. Capt Hair above is most likely right, that the sound from the amp is not quite what they were after. The Fender clean sound is one of the best, though, and we'd heartily recommend it for that!
 
I have several Mesa's (my Mark V is my current fav amp) ..... several Marshalls ...... 4 old 60's Ampegs ...... and several Fenders including a Hot Rod deVille (4X10).

The Fender is absolutely as versatile as any Marshall. It can do some things better ...... some things not as well. Not everyone wants a metal sound.
It's all about what you need for your particular sound.
Since I'm a 'hired gun' 5 nights a week I have to be able to have the appropriate sound for whoever hires me.
There are gigs where the Fender wouldn't do the job. There are other gigs where the Marshalls would suck ass.

But the Hot Rod series are nice sounding amps with quite usable distortion up to vintage type rock sounds.
It won't do hi-gain at ALL though so if you're a metalhead don't bother.

Also ..... Hair is right about them being middle tier amps ...... they have some reliability problems if you haul them around much due to the price oriented design.

As for a bunch of them on Craig's list ...... coincidence I'd say.
 
I think that a lot of people aren't too fond of the gain on those amps. Also, apparently the volume knob was really... jumpy on the older ones.
 
The amp can be quite versatile after a few mods starting with the speaker. As for the Master Volume, Fender used a linear potentiometer instead of an audio taper one which gave the illusion that the amp was real powerful (ala 1-4 volume). Replacing this pot will help with the over sensitive Master Volume. A B250K is the stock pot which can be replaced with a A250K pot or A500K pot. Antique Electronics should still offer the A250K pot for the HRD/Deville amps.
 
CoolCat said:
Anybody got a clue?
Something in the workmanship?

They seem to be from a good series of amps, imo. I had a Devlle here a long time and it was great.

But I get skeptical when you see a lot of dumping of a certain product.
Click to expand...

LOL . . . excellent question!! I almost bought one. Tried it out in the store, and thought it sounded great. Went back the next day, tried it out again, thought I'd convinced myself it was good, and had it at the checkout. Had second thoughts, took it back in the booth and tried a couple of different axes with it, and went "WTH am I doing?"

I think the thing about 'em is that they're good, but not good enough. They don't totally suck (which is good), but when you think of the dough you coulda put toward something better, they just don't justify the purchase.
 
I really like mine and find the sound to be excellent ..... certainly good enough for gigging ........ but they're just not reliable enough for someone who gigs every night.
Maybe the new series have been improved (bought mine new in the early 90's I think) but I got tired of tearing mine down to fix it every 6 months.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I really like mine and find the sound to be excellent ..... certainly good enough for gigging ........ but they're just not reliable enough for someone who gigs every night.
Maybe the new series have been improved (bought mine new in the early 90's I think) but I got tired of tearing mine down to fix it every 6 months.
Click to expand...

Maybe I was being a bit too critical . . . not sure. For the price, they're definitely in the right ballpark, and I'd only come across some scuttlebutt about previous durability issues. Think the model I tired was the new III. What I'd heard for sure was that the gain stage had been tightened up with the III, and I'm certain that was part of the reason it sounded pretty good on first test. The clean channel was very good . . . nice Fender tone.

IIRC, I'm pretty sure there was a Deluxe RI in the booth, and when I went back and played both, the Deluxe had that gorgeous clean sound . . . not just good, but excellent (which is to be expected). I know you can't compare the Deluxe and the Hot Rod as apples and apples, but I'm pretty sure I came to the conclusion that the Deluxe sounded so much better clean, and even though the gain channel on the Hot Rod was decent, it was a 6 1/2 or 7 out of 10.

If I had to give an overall on the III, I'd have to say it was good, but kinda trying to be all things to all people and not excelling at either. Close, and definitely a decent value, but I knew I'd miss the clean of a Deluxe or a VOX, and the gain channel of the III was on the cusp. I could see how someone could buy one and be satisfied at first, but end up missing a top-notch clean or a nice chunky gain that has character. I'm talking about the III, so I can't speak to the earlier models.
 
I liked mine for clean and edgy country but hated the lack of control
with the volume pot. traded it for something different:)
 
I think it's simply because they are a mid-level amp that a lot of guys probably bought as their second or third amp and now those same guys aren't playing anymore or they realized the HRD isn't everything it's cracked up to be and moved on to something better.

Fender pushed those amps hard for YEARS and I'm sure a lot of guys bought them that would rather have had a Twin but they couldn't swing $1000 or find a big enough room to play it in.
 
I gotta say I'd much rather have my Hot Rod deVille than a Twin. I've had several twins and they're really only good for clean ..... plus they're heavy and stupid-loud.
Once you HAVE to go to pedals for dirt then any amp with a good clean will do and there's so many of them I'd rather have than a Twin.
 
I'm not saying it's practical.

But I think a lot of guys think they need an 80-100 watt amp and don't understand the difference between 100w PEAK and 100w RMS.

You gotta remember this generation has grown up with solid-state everything and don't get that a 100w tube amp is hella louder than the 100w amp in their home stereo.
 
drumslinger said:
The amp can be quite versatile after a few mods starting with the speaker. As for the Master Volume, Fender used a linear potentiometer instead of an audio taper one which gave the illusion that the amp was real powerful (ala 1-4 volume). Replacing this pot will help with the over sensitive Master Volume. A B250K is the stock pot which can be replaced with a A250K pot or A500K pot. Antique Electronics should still offer the A250K pot for the HRD/Deville amps.
Click to expand...

I'm not a Deville or Fender basher, but except for the speaker, those sound like mods that are not expensive- I wonder why Fender does not spec those parts. Fender amps have a pretty good warranty- five years, and transferable to the next owner- but monkeying with them like that voids the warranty. IMO, you should not have to do that.

Sudsy100 said:
...I'm pretty sure there was a Deluxe RI in the booth, and when I went back and played both, the Deluxe had that gorgeous clean sound . . . not just good, but excellent (which is to be expected). I know you can't compare the Deluxe and the Hot Rod...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd agree with that. I've had both- the DR is a silverface, if that matters, and the two amps are quite different in sooooo many ways- I won't go into them, here. Still have the DR, whereas the HR was traded for a Gretsch Catalina Maple drum kit (I really think I got the better end of that stick.) But, the HR was a good amp, and if not for that sweet swap, I kinda wish we still had it.

We've (my son/his studio, and I) had my share of Twins, too- Silverface 100 watt, silverface 135 watt/ultralinear, red-knob "evil twin," and '65 BF reissue- and yeah, they are heavy mofo's- esp. the one with EV speakers in it. I am kinda surprised they still make 'em, the days of the guitarist having to fill the whole place with his amp are pretty much over, IMO.
 
Last edited:
I love the clean channel on the hot rod deluxe but I don't particularly like the distortion. My Mesa DC-5 is the exact opposite. The clean channel is too dark but the distortion is nice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top