Thoughts on Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III, George Benson HRD, Blues Deluxe Reissue?

imalrightjack

After buying an Egnater Renegade ex-demo from Guitar Guitar that has sadly failed within two weeks, I’m considering one of the following:

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III;
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe George Benson;
Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue.

The style I tend to play is in the realm of slightly dirty blues rock, preferably capable of occasionally being pushed with an overdrive into heavily saturated for a wailing lead (you can, if you wish, have a listen to some of the band I play with at www.soundcloud.com/nosoapnoradio). But I’d also like to be able to use it in future for some jazz gigs.

Does anybody have any thoughts on what might fit the bill best? The Benson HRD has a different speaker, a slightly less high-gain valve in position 1 and a pine cabinet and is around £120-£170 more. I don’t know if its circuitry is altered. I don’t know much about the HRD but know less about the Blues Deluxe, although it doesn’t seem dramatically different.

Opinions welcome!

Fortheloveofguitar

Sorry to hear the amp failed on you. I hope Guitar Guitar are looking after you ?

imalrightjack

Yeah, no concerns there. Collection on Tuesday.

monquixote

The Blues Deluxe was the original version that had less gain and looked a bit nicer. They are very similar.

You can get any number of secondhand HRDs for bugger all second hand which would put me off buying a new one.

The Benson HRD is going to be Jazz focussed.

thecolourbox

I loved my HRD but sold it recently as I've no hope of gigging. Very versatile amp, lovely clean channel and reverb to do what the heck you like with, and either the drive channel or clean with a pedal to cover your driven bases. No complaints from me at all about the amp, were i ever able to gig i wouldn't think twice about getting another second hand. Going rate is around £350 i think, less if you're lucky and its local

ICBM

monquixote said:

The Benson HRD is going to be Jazz focussed.

So is the Roland Jazz Chorus.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/living2win/metallica gear/metkrank.jpg

If the Benson HRD has a lower-gain preamp valve, you can always put a normal one back in it if you don't like it. The pine cabinet will make it sound a bit different too, but is not so easy to change if you don't like it… although it's also more difficult to compare, so you might not know!

Just don't assume pine is always better. It is for some sounds - looser, more open and rawer vintage-type - but not for others - tighter higher-gain and heavy crunch.

monquixote

Yeah not to say you can't do any other styles with it, but the changes are going to be pushing it more to the Jazz than to the Rock.

ICBM

monquixote said:

Yeah not to say you can't do any other styles with it, but the changes are going to be pushing it more to the Jazz than to the Rock.

I'm actually not sure about that. To me a lower-gain V1 (presumably a 12AT7 or 5751) and a pine cabinet would push it more in a brighter, bluesy, possibly slightly raw Neil Young-ish direction… although that's without ever having heard one in a pine cab. It certainly won't make it woollier and muddier, anyway.

You can just as easily use that for jazz but it's probably more dependent on the guitar, strings and playing style (including guitar settings).

Tex Mexico

AFAIK the Benson HRD is only different from stock on the clean channel, where it's "fuller" for lack of a better term. Other than that, the tolex is nicer and you get an art deco badge. The gain channel is the same (Benson doesn't use it, signature amp my arse).

impmann

If you are considering an HRD, go for the latest MK3 one. I've owned an earlier one and the hair trigger volume control pissed me off, plus I didn't get on with the overdrive. The mk3 is massively improved in these areas... I gig one and I think they're great.

imalrightjack

I'll be buying new if I get one. I guess I need to go and try them all. Nearest dealer that sells them all is about sixty miles away

bluechargeboy

I bought a Hot Rod Deluxe III yesterday and it is bloody brilliant! BLOODY! BRILLIANT!

imalrightjack

Haha, that's it, I'm sold on it! What about the drive channel? I've read a lot of negative comments.

ICBM

imalrightjack said:

Haha, that's it, I'm sold on it! What about the drive channel? I've read a lot of negative comments.

If you can't get a usable sound out of it the problem is not in the amp . It never sounds like a Marshall, Mesa or other popular "distortion" amp, but other than that it's fine. It sounds like an overdriven Fender.

Set the amp up for the drive channel and let the clean channel take care of itself, not the other way round.

bluechargeboy

I like the drive, or I wouldn't have bought it. I think it does a nice job of retaining the character of the pickups. The tone controls are useful, and there is plenty of adjustment in the "bluesy breakup" realm. I compared with a Blackstar HT-40, which was "do you want clean or gain?". HRD was much more my cup of tea.

One thing: the amount of reverb available is demented.

imalrightjack

That's good to hear from @ICBM and @bluechargeboy regarding the drive. I certainly don't want it sound like a Marshall or a distortion amp, I want clean, naturally broken up and the OD pedal will do the rest. Depending on what happens with the Egnater (and valve/speaker tests with the Engl), I'm almost certainly heading towards a Fender.

monquixote

The whole "HRD drive sucks" thing is nonsense from people who are angry that it doesn't do TEH BROTALZ.

It does Fender cleans and moderately dirty crunchy Fender sounds. If you want a high gain channel then you want a Supersonic rather than an HRD.

imalrightjack

monquixote;330977" said:

The whole "HRD drive sucks" thing is nonsense from people who are angry that it doesn't do TEH BROTALZ.

It does Fender cleans and moderately dirty crunchy Fender sounds. If you want a high gain channel then you want a Supersonic rather than an HRD.

No, as I said, I can use OD to push it as necessary for full on leads.

Kebabkid

Just tried a Fender HRD George Benson today down at Andertons. Holy Moley!!!! Yeah, it does jazz but a lot more can be had from that fabulous clean channel and I don't know how Fender are marketing this one, but they're missing a trick if they're giving guitarists the impression that it's JUST a jazz amp. A couple of demos seem to be concentrating on the jazz side thus giving the impression that the sound is muted and dull. That clean channel is actually very lively, percussive and can get chimey too. There's no hint of breakup until you really wind up the volume and by the time you get there, it's deafening. It's actually a very loud 40 watter and sadly, like its' heritage, this model also seems to suffer from that volume jump between 1 (ok for home use) and 2 (very loud) - you could easily gig on
Vol 2.5 -3.

It loved my Keeley Compressor as well as my Strat and the Kotzen Tele I tried in the shop (GAS for the latter has gone as I've now decided, I don't like the neck proportions).

It doesn't sound boxy and the 100-watt Jensen® C12K speaker sounds good as does the cab. It's fairly light too at 43lbs (similar weight to a DRRI = 42lbs)

It takes pedals really well and I had my board with me and it's the perfect pedal platform. From low gain stuff (Catalinbread Formula 5FS) to an EP Booster feeding an OCD, it loved it.

The gain channel wasn't for me and a little brittle. I couldn't see myself using it but if you're looking for a really good, loud, clean sound for funk, country, jazz, soul and get your dirt from pedals, audition one of these.

Oh, not sure about the styling either. I wish it came in black!

jazzlemming

dindude

@kebabkid how does it compare to a regular HRD.