Using amp drive channel

lincolnblue

I keep my Fender Blues Deluxe clean and use pedals for gain. The amp has a drive channel which is lovely. Is it ok to use the drive channel as I would use a pedal i.e. using it just for a solo or verse etc?

Majorscale

Do whatever works for you! There's no rules...

lincolnblue

I didn't know if switching it regularly would damage valves etc? Never had a twin channel amp before

digitalscream

lincolnblue said:

I didn't know if switching it regularly would damage valves etc? Never had a twin channel amp before

Not even slightly. That's what they're designed for.

Majorscale

No harm will come of it. 

hotpickups

I've never had a two channel amp before until recently. I'm loving it and will be using it a lot I feel now. Less pedals etc. Of course a master volume is a must lol

ICBM

lincolnblue said:

I keep my Fender Blues Deluxe clean and use pedals for gain. The amp has a drive channel which is lovely.

Finally, someone who gets it .

99% of everything you read online about the Drive channel on this amp and the Hotrod will be people telling you that it's near enough unusable... they're all wrong.

It's absolutely true that it doesn't sound like a Marshall, Mesa or other typical 'overdrive' amp - it's not meant to! It's meant to sound like an overdriven version of the clean channel, which is exactly what it does.

lincolnblue said:

Is it ok to use the drive channel as I would use a pedal i.e. using it just for a solo or verse etc?

Very much so. You can keep the drive low and turn the master up to give a clean volume boost, or add a bit more drive and a bit less master if you want it dirtier.

hotpickups said:

I've never had a two channel amp before until recently. I'm loving it and will be using it a lot I feel now. Less pedals etc. Of course a master volume is a must lol

You might find it easier to control with a little gadget that goes in the FX loop - the other usual complaint about these amps is that the volume goes from too quiet to too loud over a very short range of the control, which to an extent is true.

If you do find that a problem, this is what you want - http://thesuperheroesonline.co.uk/Fender-Hot-Rod-Volume-Pot-Module.html - the neatest and best of them, made by our very own @Danny1969.

That will also allow you to turn both channels up or down at the same time, so you don't have to re-adjust the balance between them.

lincolnblue

ICBM said:

You might find it easier to control with a little gadget that goes in the FX loop - the other usual complaint about these amps is that the volume goes from too quiet to too loud over a very short range of the control, which to an extent is true.

If you do find that a problem, this is what you want - http://thesuperheroesonline.co.uk/Fender-Hot-Rod-Volume-Pot-Module.html - the neatest and best of them, made by our very own @Danny1969.

That will also allow you to turn both channels up or down at the same time, so you don't have to re-adjust the balance between them.

I've got one of the volune pot modules - brilliant thing!