Can You Make A Hot Rod Deluxe Sound Good?

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[@kochjb32]

Man, I love Olympic White strats with minty pick guards!

[@StallionStudios1234]

Yup got one faitly moded . Its my first guitar and first fender strat. Thing is 23 years old and still sounds good.

[@tendulkarification]

mee too but with a maple neck instead of rosewood because I prefer the feel off maple than rosewood

[@JRandallS]

The need to drop the bass as the volume increases can also be explained by the "Fletcher Munson" curve. That curve describes the human ear's sensitivity to different frequencies at different volumes. It turns out the ear does not hear flat. When the volume is low we cannot hear the low end as well. That is why the old hifi stereos had a "loudness" button. It added back in the missing bass at lower volumes.

[@AdoreYouInAshXI]

I like how the title is "can you make a hot rod deluxe sound good". The title should be "can you make it sound *BAD",* because everything I heard sounds amazing.

[@Ben59910]

Or "how to make it sound how I like playing it"

[@jgmatp]

I have one. Absolutely one of the best amps I've owned.

[@eddiesigerexperience9803]

@@jerryhatrick5860 Have you tried Bassman reissue?

[@donne9768]

Agree. I have one of the early US tweed ones, and it always sounds good.

[@fernandogarajalde4066]

Wow, using an amp designer to discuss how to use a guitar amp - so simple that 95% of the guitar bloggers missed his point. Congratulations Mr. McKnight for being smart enough to understand this.

[@jnh73]

The brief chat about "bass dump" that starts about 8:55 and goes to about the end is something that should be taught to every guitarist before they start playing live. Complement the sound, don't compete with it! Bravo, Phillip! Awesome discussion.

[@timothy6966]

Seriously? Lol. Can you make a Ferrari fast without any modifications? Can you make a fish swim in water without installing an engine on its tail?

[@Cadwallon85]

This was a lot of useful information delivered in 10 mins. I really appreciate how Phil dug a bit deeper to demystify things like why people who intuitively know to do things like drop the bass off when you're upping the gain actually do that. It's really great to hear just straight facts rather than people waxing lyrical and fluffing around the actual science of what is happening with your amp when you're switching and dialing. IMO that's so important when you're considering adding pedals to your rig, if you're not sure what is happening to your signal at the amp, making even further changes upstream can just make it more confusing to arrive at a tone you're happy with except by accident, and then you need to take a pic of all your settings in case your kid wanders in and messes your tone up 😂

[@Exit_343]

Ugh!!! Had this happen many times!!!

[@salmonline]

Man, I love a rosewood strat with 3 different shades of white.

[@JohnnyBeane]

My main amp is a Hot Rod Deville and i love it!!! I have always just used the clean channel and used pedal distortions/overdrives and fuzzes. It's always sounded great!!!

[@216trixie]

Maybe they've improved. I used one for a few years and it was horrible. 2005 model I think. It fooled me into thinking the clean was good, but when I eventually compared to other amps, I found out how much it lacked. It made every guitar sound the same and my Strat never sounded good until I played it through the Orange amp I replaced the Deville with. Tone sucker. And the "Drive" channel. Lolololololololol

[@williamlittlefield4749]

@@216trixieThe IVs have a better volume taper, a redesigned tone stack, better D/OD sounds and a different speaker - so yeah, they've improved. I still think they're using the wrong speaker … my fave for this amp is the Warehouse ET65. Treble 6.5, Bass 2, Middle 7 with Normal volume @ 5-7 through my P90 guitars is a killer sound - with the Warehouse. Stock, these settings were lacking.

[@slash2jimi]

Until you try a fender twin reverb....

[@williamlittlefield4749]

@@slash2jimi Have tried them and I like the HRD better - both in terms of sound and cost. Twin Reverb is a great amp, but so is the HRD.

[@bryanlettow4389]

What's the difference between the Deluxe and DeVille?

[@tjnugent62]

Phill, this is one of the best interviews I have seen you do. I've seen anyone ask Rick Hines the depth of question from a player's perspective. This amp sounds like hell at home, but in a club with bass and drums it sounds great. It sits in the perfect spot.

[@jimwoodswrites]

Sounds like Guitar Center on a Saturday afternoon.

[@bryanlettow4389]

Definitely I'm one of those guys

[@shanec8224]

hahahahahaha nailed it

[@jonathanbrazee3846]

"Dont quote me on this" lol. Says the man who's in charge.

[@xocnibor]

So helpful. I have a HRD 4, that has mostly ran silent due to me getting crap tone out of it. Now all has changed. Thank you Phil and Rick!

[@Rooster7six]

Hell yeah! Hot Rod deluxe sounds great on its own

[@resistorstudios]

I played one finally used at GC. Took me about 30 seconds until I realized the amp sounded incredible. I have owned/still own other amps such as the Blues Junior NOS Tweed , 5150, JCM 2000, etc etc. Definitely would love one.

[@peachmelba1000]

Had one of these for years. Rarely had anything other than a tuner between it and my guitar.

[@PooNinja]

Can You Make A Hot Rod Deluxe Sound Good? they come sounding great so YES ! if you know what you want!

[@smiley19092]

of all people to be telling the truth in the comments, i didnt expect it to be poo ninja

[@godmode3359]

Yeah sounding "good" is subjective. I mean can you make any amp sound pretty for a moment or two? Sure. Will it ever sound like a 65' blackface? Nope. Good is subjective. There is good and then there is GOOD. A great way to think about this is, steel string singers. Many a amp has sounded "good" while trying to sound like a singer, but there is good and then there is GOOD.

[@tondebruijn5424]

People like this guy and Pete Thorn can make almost anything sound good. My unique skill is I can make almost anything sound bad. Sadly I'm very under appreciated for that skill.

[@blackie75]

Yeah mine sounds amazing. Although the gain channel not so much...but plug in a Friedman BE-OD and BAM! you're in Marshall land.

[@MrMiskut]

I agree haha they are not bad amps at all.

[@istvandejesus]

Is great to see Rick addressing that the amp has a good sounding overdrive but you need to dial it in. He’s not just selling he’s explaining the good and bad of the amp.

[@siavashmassoudi]

Been using my Hot Rod Deluxe III since 2012 and haven’t looked back since. One of the best amps I own!

[@robertrichter7702]

I love mine !

[@bluesrocker91]

They sound great, but watch out for problems with dry solder joint... These PCB amps are prone to it. Mine has been in for repair twice because of it.

[@dimitrisaivaliotis5616]

@@bluesrocker91 Hi paranoid, what do you mean by that? Sorry I'm semi begginer!!

[@brandonblanchard5726]

The thing with this amp, it sounds great. I get so many compliments on my tone. Simple overdrive pedal I have all the gain I need for classic rock. The clean is rich and gorgeous on any eq setting. The overdrive isn’t what I was going for so I just use a Boss OD

[@chrisdurham6517]

Great concept! I'd love to see this video format with the various settings for the HRD, clean, and a variety of pedal combos.

[@Humanleague002]

Very informative video. And it was nice meeting you at guitar center in Tempe this week Phil. Your videos are helpful.

[@twc1313]

Great content Phil, I think you've really upped your game in the past few months! As a bass player, I really appreciate the part about eq and how each instrument should stay in their respective frequency range. So many guitar players do not understand this. They think bedroom tone = live group tone....this is usually far from the case.

[@jimkostan9932]

After 15 years of owning the original version of the Hot Rod Deluxe came with the Fender Gold spkr. Got it" re- tubed" & it seems to sound better than ever! Was going to sell it. But after watching the video, I think that I'll keep it around for a while longer.

[@johnm3946]

Dialling an amp to full potential is an art

[@DonaldMerrit]

I bought the Hot Rod Deluxe 1 by 12 combo in 1996 when it came out. I gigged the ship out of it and I still really love the tone. There's a reason this is one of the most popular amplifiers.

[@pierheadjump]

Thanks Phill great vibes. Love ❤️ the content, I’ve learned a lot ⚓️

[@54fighting5]

Another home run Phil. I'm loving these Gearhead U videos.

[@totalrobot]

I have the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe v.1 Corona,Ca I play in a Beatles cover band and this amp coupled with a British tube emulator pedal [I use Aclam Dr.Robert] recreates some of the best late 60s early 70s tones. Very close to Vox sound. Then I'm able to get the crisp, accurate clean tones necessary for my Yacht Rock side project. It also rocks out when set to do so. So versatile, I will never get rid of this amp.

[@lukesteward3979]

Rick Hines is so cool, just seems so down to earth and chilled, great player too.

[@Killer553]

That fender amp on the right looks amazing and so tempting.

[@Velkus96]

Absolutely! I freakin love the drive of the hot rod!!!

[@robertnewman1957]

Great vid Phil, HRD is the model and Rick’s explanations very informative. Thanks and cheers from Canada.

[@ragingchimera8021]

5:43 LOL, Phil's face says it all.

[@ragingchimera8021]

​@doobiewah357 LOL, don't push too hard!

[@zachomega187]

I only watched this video because I used to have a hrd many years ago. I didn't care for it. However, one time I was in 8th Street music and heard a cop playing a Strat into an hrd clean and finger picking. He sounded amazing!

[@themagnetc]

The thing I did that best improved the OD tone was disconnect the negative feedback loop (Grey wire) going to the speaker output. The clean is not as pristine but has an interesting vintage quality to it. I inserted a push/pull pot so I can insert the NFB loop if I still want, but honestly the OD sounds so much better without it. You won’t get the glassy clean tone, but if you’re ok with that, look this mod up

[@Larcansil]

I love mine! It sounds amazing to my ears compare to the other hughes & kettner attax 80 I have. No surprise, of course. ^^ That said, I use the clean sound with a very pedal board.

[@TheMikecheck101]

Best way to make an amp sound better: Play as well as Rick. Also, I find it interesting that he didn't use the foot pedal to select the drive channel.

[@tituschalk]

Phil, you made really good use of your access to the Fender guys. Thanks for choosing such democratic subjects to go over with them, it's much appreciated.

[@HereMikeWas]

Oh my, very very good video. I always wondered about that Fender amp guy cause mostly I think of him as a salesman for Fender. But in this video we really get to know Rick Hynes and why the Fender Amps are fun to play and sound so good. Thanks

[@jeday76]

I have enjoyed your videos before, but this right here made me a subscriber.

[@addisj]

I have a version IV like in this video. Et90 speaker, 230-240 voltage change and nos Philips power valves just gave it another dimension. Very addictive amp, gives me inspiration when writing and once I start playing I can't stop. Hard to believe for the price I paid. It sounded good stock. Sounds Stella with the mods.

[@DanielMoore-zr8rm]

This video helped me out so much. I set my eq about noon and dialed back the bass a bit on my Randall RD45H and clean channel just sparkles. Interestingly enough my delay pedals sound markedly different (boss dd3 and dm2w). The dm2w sounds wayyyyyy better now too.

[@rogerburk]

You’re a really good interviewer, dude! Nice vid.

[@AB-lx8cf]

been playing for decades and only now am understanding how to play fender amps lol would love to hear him talk about dialing in vox and using other guitars like the jazzmaster, telecaster deluxe etc. great video friend!

[@jeromestevenfaigin6059]

I was given a gift of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Mod 3 and I love it! Especially with my JBL I made. Now I want to split my 2 heads. From my pedal board in which my outputs are divided by my 2 heads. My Bugera (built to use EL-34) simular to Marshall's circuits and now my Fender and their 40watt system using 6L6's.

[@millershane71]

I played a "Buggywhip" with the brown tolex and special speaker version a few months ago at Mass Street Music in Lawrence, KS and it was amazing. Volume is your friend on this ... but tho it's not "high" gain, the sound of this amp is so good at what it does. It snarls with this high end bliss that is amazing. I love mine!

[@prophet8photo]

Phil, I would love to see a feature video on the Super Champ. I've owned both the XD and now the X2 and this is such a great amp for the money. I have never understood why the blues Junior out sells it when this is less expensive and more versatile.

[@joe8124]

Short answer: Yes. Yes you easily can.

[@eal9698]

I've had an original DeVille 4x10 since I bought it new - my big tip is to use the lower gain input (2), I find it makes the amp much more controllable and a bit sweeter🍬

[@DonaldMerrit]

I gigged from 1996 to 2006+ with the first generation Hot Rod Deluxe, playing pop country and Blues. The only pedal I used was a boss compressor sustainer pedal. Still have that amp still love it.

[@budgrzo3361]

Love mine . It’s a workhorse wish I had bought one years ago .

[@RWulff007]

You bring lots of good content now Phil. Where will this end? Great video. 🙏👋🏼

[@dalepal]

I always value good advice and he certainly gave some good tips on how to dial in good tone from an amp.

[@dannegley571]

Great video,thanks guys

[@paulwitt1985]

Thank you! I’m buying one of these! 😎👍🏻

[@wayguitar69]

Right off you know that so much tone is in your hands, listening to that guy play.

[@ReverendHellbilly]

Love the original. Ritchie. Did a amazing job. Its kinda sad what they did to it. Not everone needs a metal tone.

[@MarkJohnsonJams]

My HRD IV sounds great.

[@RPSartre01]

I changed the speaker to a Warehouse G12C/S, and the first tube to a 12AY7. Sounds much sweeter and more tamed. I can use the amp now at home. The 12AY7 really helped bring the volume control under control - because we all know the volume control sucks and goes from 0-60 in 1 second!

[@khalaziafaqih367]

Clean Sounds really great at 01:03 perfect for my ears

[@GuitarHouseLima]

Great content, keep it doin it like that, Thanks!

[@shadowsong1]

maybe i'm wierd but i played on one recently..and granted about 5 hours in one of the power tubes died...but before then...it sounded pretty good. shimmering cleans and smooth over driven tones...i liked it.

[@j5homie552]

I use a Fender Super Champ x2 Head through a Orange 1x12 Cab and it sounds fantastic. Best tone I’ve achieved in some time.

[@adkinneyam]

I've had a lot of compliments playing out in my rock band over the past 10 years and my main tone is the Drive Channel. Master is usually around 3, Drive 10, Treble 10, Bass and Mid at 6.5, Reverb between 3-5 depending on the room, and Presence always at 8. It's pure classic rock, AC/DC and Zeppelin tone. Having a guitar with great humbuckers is very beneficial. I also will push the clean channel with a MXR micro amp and it creates a great distorted drive tone. Underrated amps, you just have to know how to create good tone. With that being said, I loved my tone even more after putting in a Weber Legacy speaker, Russian groove tubes, and upgrading to a Monster internal speaker cable. The amp also sounds even better hooked up to a 2x12 running a total of 3x12's.

[@THE_Secular_Conservative]

I am a metal guy, thinking about buying this amp for my headrush. But I have really been getting into blues lately. SOLD!

[@anusrepairman]

I have never turned my Blues Deluxe up past 3 live but i might try that bass dump thing.

[@cycling305]

Great information. He is absolutly right about bringing down the bass volume. and get on your guitar equalizer zone only, and mind your own biz only.

[@command47]

Awesome content Phil!

[@wileypurchase239]

I used to have a Hot Rod Deluxe and a Hot Rod Deville 2x12. With my Tele (humbucker at neck and Lindy Fralin bridge) I ran the red light all the time and controlled the volume at the guitar. It always sounded great. I only sold them because they became too heavy to move.

[@1Dcorace]

I have an American HRD and found a list of mods years ago that split the tone circuit so you don't drag bass up with every tweak. I also put switchcraft input jacks AND INSULATED THEM, that's a must. The intl. safety jacks suck. They only contact sleeve through a piece of thin sheet metal. It's been a pretty versatile amp ever since. The speaker that came with it was kind of flabby too.

[@hhattingh]

Would you please share it?

[@Teachering]

I love guitar amps. My first tube amp was a Hot Rod Deluxe. I own two of them. Though I own much better amps than the Hot Rod, still, I admit I love the Hot Rods. I think they're cool. I can get a good sound out of them.

[@MindsetMastery75]

Of course! What kinda question is that?! They sound great, not just good. And they are one of the most selling amps of all time.

[@Teachering]

I agree with you, Space Alien. "What kinda question is that?!" I've always liked the Hot Rod Deluxe and I own some good amplifiers. For the money you can't beat a Hot Rod Deluxe.

[@MindsetMastery75]

@@Teachering Absolutely!

[@vividvulpe9842]

Love mine. I can’t believe I didn’t go with one in my high school days. I decided on lugging a half stack to school concerts like an idiot

[@rubentrevino6288]

Spot on guys, super video, thanks phil

[@Oneratus]

Great video! Something I'd like to hear more about is how "Presence" differs from "Treble" or how it fits into the EQ in general. Thanks Phil!

[@shaunduffy3912]

@csguitars has a video on this

[@hansgrueber8169]

@@jonthehermit8082 its delightful if you want to be haired.

[@54fighting5]

Matt Satterlee I look to Santa Claus for the best presence.

[@abraham1O2]

Treble increases high frequencies in the pre amp, presence increases treble through the transformer I think, so that you can increase treble without affecting tone.

[@Oneratus]

@@54fighting5 Haha! All he usually gives me is coal though.😖

[@davegonthier5916]

I hope you can!! I've been doing it for years

[@rawkinj6609]

What a great player this guy eh?!! He knows his sh*t!!! Thanks for doing this interview!! Don't fight the other instruments frequencies!!I love my deluxe hot rod too!! And your tip in another vid on changing out the preamp tube for a AT7 for more control on the volume is shweet!! Cheers from Montreal, Quebec!!

[@kendesjarlais7577]

I bought one in 97 and used the clean channel alone with a pedal board of modded tubescreamers , and 3 or 4 high quality pedals, this amp seems to flourish then

[@Simulera]

(1.) Put a simple potentiometer volume knob in the *effects loop*. (2.) Turn that all the way down to zero to temporarily silence the amp (3.) push the amp volume and master channel level up high enough, even 7,8,9, say, to get what ever distortion and tones you would like, crank it, turn it up because you wont hear anything due to the new volume knob in the effects loop being at zero. (4) now with the amp driven hard, just turn that “new” volume knob in the effects loop up just to the sound level you want in the room, it can be fairly quiet. You will have that knob almost at one maybe if you are really cranking the amp. Then, because the amp is actually being heavily pushed, the rig will sound very driven and full of articulation and making beautiful tones but it won’t have to be loud in the room to get that great sound pallet. Then do every thing this guy in the video was talking about to find preamp settings that make you happy on a great foundation of a driven amp, Without the new effects loop sound level knob, the problem most people have with this amp is because they can’t drive the amp hard enough to get the sound they want because it would be very very loud and drive you of the room, piss off the neighbors, cover the entire band, etc. The amp sounds great loud and not great otherwise is the problem imo. Driving the heck out of the amp to get the great tones possible and then turning down the sound level in the effects loop is a super good hack,really it is. If you think this can’t work please don’t tell me about that unless you have done this and observed the thing work this way. Try it, it works really well and transforms using the amp. Fender should put a potentiometer on the effects loop thing in the first place I think. I have turned into a big HRD fan after years of really not liking the amp much and a couple of my friends have done this successfully as well. (Note that you could use a Dunlop volume pedal ( dont use a digital effects pedal) in the effects loop if you don’t have a knob potentiometer with a plug-in setup available. Its so simple and easy and effective that its hard to know why its not just the way one uses that amp, period. Hope that might help somebody having a disappointment HRD!! They are actually really good amps it turns out.

[@TheEnergyball]

Great interview and share.

[@jessd1952]

On my Tweed deluxe to deal with the bass "flubberiness" I got Weber to build a speaker with a ribbed cone to tighten up the bass. Huge improvement.

[@TheGazza83]

Sounds great on each setting. Just goes to show, it's all in the player. How you play your guitars.

[@olafurbaldvinsigursson7252]

Oh the "Gearheads dudes" from USA. Saw the pics from Steve in Boston nice. Thanks.

[@sir118]

Clean channel, volume on 8, treb 6.5, bass 6.5, mids dead center, reverb 3. Great fender scream.

[@cozmovox]

I had one for 20 years when it broke, for the money of the repair I built a tweed deluxe. The modern deluxe sounded "good" everywhere I went, but the tweed sounds "much better" if you can make it sound good because its much more sensitive to the way you hit the strings. Much more interesting IMO.

[@georgerac5926]

I had a lot of amps in my time ,got a hot rod for change ,one of the best iv had super happy with the tone the sweet spot is 7 by the way .🤟🤟

[@davidmchugh9306]

Great set bro. I just bought a hot rod and looking for some true input. Very informative, thanks

[@thomaswreck829]

Thank You! Great Tips!

[@robertrichter7702]

i have a Hot Rod Deville 410, and love it !

[@picksnsticksmusicstudio]

Great Video! I think Rick could make any amp sound great, but that amp does sound great.

[@ericcrapton8275]

I just bought one of these amps today and a Surf green 50s vintera strat. Im extremely pleased lol. p.s. great video its exactly the stuff i needed to know about the amp.

[@lars-fenin]

good and to the point explanation of how to work with a hot rod in case using the drive channel. its not a high gain amp of course, and the "more drive " channel doesn t really make it for me, but the first stage (channel) is pretty useful. love the slightly cranked blues /rock tones from mine.

[@gibsonguitarplayer]

I would love a HRDLX head with no drive channel and no reverb. It’s a great pedal platform and that’s it and a wonderful one.

[@LoveGuitar63277]

Yes. With a couple cap and resistor changes and using other preamp tubes. Oh - check the bias of the power tubes. And change the volume pot to an audio taper from logarithmic.

[@chainlightning58]

I'm pretty sure when someone asked Joe Bonnamassa what amp one should buy if they can't afford something more premium, he said to find a Hot Rod Deluxe. These are great amps...

[@jray5363]

Now that Dude knows his gear!

[@jixxxxer17]

Excellent video I learned a lot and no annoying chit chat just real talk lol Peace !

[@Chinaguitarsceptic]

What a sweet guy. Reminds me a bit of Robert Baker, perhaps in a few years mind. Great advice as always brother 😊👍

[@RC32Smiths01]

At the TGU, it seems that anything can be made to sound amazing! I love these videos at the event, and I wish I could have been there!

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

You, me and probably several thousand of us...like when can you really go into a music store and they let you do just about anything you want with their equipment without feeling like you have to buy something, right?!?

[@RC32Smiths01]

@@MusicTherapyLaz Ahhh exactly my man. Just thinking of that makes me feel envy of such an experience lol

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

@@RC32Smiths01 My first NAMM this winter was close to that feeling...though I was so excited being there the first day I hardly picked up a guitar! Crazy huh? 🙃

[@RC32Smiths01]

@@MusicTherapyLaz Dude that's insane! NAMM is definitely the place to be if you want try out anything and everything guitar related!

[@MusicTherapyLaz]

@@RC32Smiths01 True...but the noise leaves something to be desired for really trying out anything! Thankfully lots of booths had headphones set up...but the more isolated rooms at Thomann probably a better place to demo anything!

[@cryptotroll1232]

Great content. Thanks!