A very practical gigging amp that's consistent and easily replaced 
by Toad L. Maven from Tatoville, OH, USA, March 2008
Music Background:  Severe addiction to old Fender Amps

To be objective as possible, the HRD is just a reliable, workmanlike, gigging amp. Not as sweet or worrisome as an old Deluxe, Vibrolux, etc., it can approximate some of those tones with suitable technique. Easily replaceable and consistent.

  Great cleans, awful overdrive 
by Alex from Santa Fe, NM, March 2007
Music Background:  Bluesy prosumer

My main gripe with Fender amps is how bright and "shrieky" they can be. Not the case with the HRDx. In fact, the cleans here are remarkably warm and full, and really doesn't break up too much at high volumes. Not as chimey as a Vox, but not nearly as trebely as a Twin Reverb. So, I like the clean tone quite a bit, actually.

The overdrive settings, however, are an absolute nightmare. The "yellow" channel is serviceable. It's got a little of that Bassman-like crunch. Lord help you if you ever decide to hit the "red" channel, though. I mean, it's just this fizzy mess. It is a weak, scratchy, utterly useless setting. I actually tried playing a bass through this amp, and found that with a little "yellow," it actually makes a nice fat, warm bass tone.

Don't underestimate how LOUD 40 watts is. Volumewise, this amp can handle anything.

So, overall: Great cleans. Really warm. Horrendous overdrive. Super fizzy.

  Hot Rod delivers 
by andy__woods from Grand Rapids, MI USA, October 2006
Music Background:  Active Musician

I just purchased the HRDx last week and am very impressed. I played around with different amps in the local store for a long time before buying this one, and am definitely satisfied.

This is one loud amp, I can't turn it past 2 in my apartment, and the volume is pretty touchy down there from 0-2. Great clean sound though, hit the brilliance and it adds some sparkle. Drive channel is ok, adds some crunch and very playable. The 'more' drive channel adds a lot of extra gain, but is mostly just added fuzz. For more drive I just use an overdrive pedal.

All in all its a good amp, especially for the money. Give it a try!

  Decent Amp 
by Matt from Virginia, USA, October 2006
Music Background:  student, hobbyist

Ive had this amp for about eight months now, and it hasnt failed me yet. It seems pretty durable and its not terribly heavy for carrying short distances. I mainly use it for my school jazz ensemble, because it has a warm, rich tone at any volume setting and a nice no-frills look to it. Though it sounds excellent when played clean, I have found it too dark for my taste when i use overdriven and fuzz tones. These tones become blurred and muddy, and idividual notes seem to blend together, even with bright mode on and the presence jacked up. I've played around with the internal bias trimmer, but it doesnt seem to do a whole lot. So basically, This is a great amp if you're planning on playing with clean or mildly driven tones, but otherwise try and get a brighter, snappier sounding amp than this one.

  Excellent Amp Choice 
by chris from Austin, Texas, July 2006
Music Background:  8 years behind anything that makes noise.

I've owned this for about 7 months now, and it still excites me to play through it. It's capable of drowning out a roaring drum kit.. and the tone is warm and clear all the way(on the clean channel. we'll get to the drives). The controls are simple and cool, reminiscent of Fender's vintage amps. The drive channel will crank out a sweet, thick sparkly tone, suitable for the lieks of oasis.. The MORE drive channel unleashes the fury. You can't exactly play with slipknot with it, but it's very satisfying for the alt/punk/experimental/indy rocker.
Is it any wonder coldplay rely on these amps show, after show?
No! Buy this amp!

Hot Rod Deluxe - Hard working Amp 
by Evens from Miami, florida, March 2004

I owned one of these amps a few years ago. It was a very solid amp with plenty of volume. It can to be used in most working situations.


It has a sweet sound that comes close to a great amp sound but, the eq was not allowing me to get what I heard that this amp held inside. I played with it for a few days. Still, I souldn't get "the magical tone that I was looking for so I pulled out my Yamaha graphic. I ran the graphic through the effects loop.


Bingo! The amp cleaned up with very litte eqing and a sound more reminiscent to classic Fender emerged with a loads more versitility than many older Fender's.


Using my pedals and outboard gear, I could go from Classic Fender to a Marshall to a custom rack tone in a heartbeat


This is a great amp for those who don't mind working a little to get a great sound.


Evens1

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