The clean channel on this amp is excellent. I play alternative and hard rock-the drive channels arnt good for rythm guitar but really nice for lead or soloing. specialy the more drive channel. i havn't gigged with this amp yet (i've only had it for about a week) but i've practiced with my band. this amp is LOUD, i'm broke from buying the amp but i suggest getting a weber load dump. thats what i'm going to do as soon as i save up the money (75$). for now i run my digitech RP300 through the effects loop (for use as a volume pedal). Its not as good as the weber load dump but it'll do for now. I use my digitech for rythm distortion and use the amps drive for soloing, i suggest doing something like that if you're into hard rock or metal. the amp sounds great with pedals. The reverb on this amp is awsome. A+ I have it on around 2-3 all the time.

Nothing fancy, simple but gets the job done. Presense control is an avantage and really helps getting a good sound. Bright button is also good. the pedal is really good because it allows you to switch between clean and more drive without having to press the drive button twice.

usual fender quality. I expect to grow old with this amp. Make sure you get a cover for this amp...so incase you do one day want to sell it, little cratches and stuff won't bring down its price. yeah, i know some people are just shallow like that.

great price! a tube amp for this little. the only thing you have to take in account before you buy is the cost a weber load dump or a good distortion pedal, if you play the kind of music i do.

I've never had to deal with fender, don't think i ever will. i purchased a two year warantee from guitar center just to be safe though.

I really like having the controls on top because then i don't have to crouch to adjust them.

Alternative/Hard rock

I play a Fender American Strat through this amp and it rocks. I play Rock and blues mostley in a home atmosphere. I use the clean chanel the most, but this amp gives you more than enough crunch when it comes time to hit the more drive switch. the reverb gives plenty of adjustment. The amp is very responsive to pick attack. My brother plays his Gibson Les Paul standard through it when he comes over and this amp seems to love humbuckers. No mater how loud you play, this amp produces a tone that you won't get anywhere else for the price. I have played it outside ( I live in the country } with a full band and for only being 40 watts you won't cover it up. I love it.

The amp has everything you would want to play in the house or on a stage.

I listened to alot of amps in this price range from alot of manufactures and nothing came close to the warm tone this all tube amd can deliver.

Have never had to use customer support.

Rock, Blues.

I mainly bought this for the clean channel and I can honestly say it has delivered. The tone is so sweet, as a worship guitarist I needed something that had an engrossingly gentle and clear tone but with power behind it, I am completely satisfied.

Just the standard footswitch and cables.

The one I bought was used and unmodified. It was taken care of perfectly and never played out. There were no issues with this piece of equipment, and there have been none.

Yes, I paid 375 for it used, but it is easily worth more then double that, easily. The tone and sound quality alone would make it worth double, the looks just increase the value.

My experience was before I bought the amp. I asked a million questons and they answered them all just fine.

Tone and impact aside, this baby is sweet. The front facade is clean, no wacked out designs or even large manufacturer logos. Just a silvery woven face with a clean black frame foiled only slightly by a small metal plate that says "Fender Deluxe". Flawless uninterrupted beauty on the front, and if that wasn't enough, the controls, wisely, oh so wisely, recessed within the top at the rear use nice chicken head knobs the seem to "float" on a sea of mirror finished chrome. All in all a georgeous unassuming amp.

Active Musician

Christian Worship (Eclectic)

this thing sounds bloody huge for the price range it is in... all my friends use marshall amps (bloody heavy metal kids...lol) and their faces just dropped when they heard this thing going. whilst it is not the cleanest sound around (hence the non-10 rating) i wasnt looking for that anyway (hence the almost-10 rating) :)

i like the footswitch, although it would be much better if it was done with one switch for each channel (rather than a clean/drive and normal/more drive switch). the reverb sounds great for an amp reverb (i kinda like the 'fake' sound of amp reverbs) but the ability to turn it on and off with a footswitch would have been nice.

i dont know much about the internal quality but it seems quite solid to me.

....and i'd buy it again.... that way i'd have two... that would be cool :)

havent needed it :)

anyone takes this thing from me and i will be incredibly pissed off.... looks nice too, i like the old fashioned look, suits the dirty sound.

whatever it sounds like it is...

Nice little amp. Plenty of volume. Basic features is enough for me. I just plug in and play using only the supplied footswitch and love it. You can achieve some cool vintage tones with this as well as some modern sounds. does blues and Punk very well. Great clean too. sounds great. love the dirty channel, sounds very old school. This amp will do AC/DC, Sabbath, Zepplin, Nirvana, Skynard with ease. Does the Surf thing pretty well too with a Strat. Im a full time gigger too and i should know. The controls do work good as opposed to some folks reviews. Works great with pedals but i dont use pedals.

dont use fx's or loops or the ext speaker jack but the speaker jack is cool. no frills is great. Why pay for crap you dont need? Less is more.

Hmmm, I bought it new and there was no manual included. Did get a footswitch and cover though.

These amps are known for trouble but save the reciept for 5 year warranty. these amps are way cool and cheap enough for the tone you get once you dial it in. there are still a lot of working usa models out there so its good. Ive owned a bunch of these and only had a problem with one of them. built well though. Always have a back up with any amp is my philosophy.

Great value for a tube amp that rocks

Great support!

Looks great

active

punk and surf

The clean sound is absolutely great. It is very warm and rounded, and doesn't cut your head off, but has lots of headroom. The dirty channels are nice, but could be better. I mostly use this amp for blues and some classic rock, but the overdrive is only really good for rhythym. It doesn't cut through the mix enough to use effectively for live lead parts.

This is a very straightforward amp. Key points to me are an FX loop, extra drive channel and a bright switch for the clean channel (very nice). The reverb sounds great, the hardware is good quality, and the stock tubes (GT 6L6 and AX-7s) lasted me a year and a half! The only problem is the master control. It gets loud VERY quickly, and then doesn't really get louder after about 4. This makes it sound a lot louder than other amps right away, but really it's not, and makes it hard to use as a practice amp. The best solution is to replace the linear taper master volume potentiometer with an audio taper one. Ta-Da! Excellent practice amp.

Like I said, very straightforward, but touchy volume. Also it is heavier than you would expect from an amp its size, but better than lugging around big 4x12 cabs.

Fender has made a very nice blues, country or classic rock amp. Quality parts, useful features, and a genuine Fender warranty.

This was my first tube amp for two reasons: 1. Because it sounded great and 2. Because it was in my price range!

Its a nice amp, but it's just another little amp. It's only a 1x12, so it won't do that great as far as sound distributiuon goes. Also the drive channels are only so-so, not for hard rock or metal. Its clean channel however, works great with pedals, so you can easily use a distortion pedal and get great sounds that way (the better the dry sound, the better a pedal will sound). I use an Ibanez TS-808 on the clean channel to get an AC/DC-ish sounding crunch, and through the dirty channel to sound more like GN'R.

Active Musician

Hard, Bluesy Rock

LOUD! I use the clean channel the most with 1/3 reverb and just less than 1/2 presence... sweet. I use the drive for clean lead boost, but the more drive has too much gain for my needs. Both drive and more drive add noise/hiss which is most noticeable on the more drive. I found using an OD or effects pedals work the best for distortion and/or modeling. This amp is loud but can be tamed by using 12at7 (60% gain) or 12au7 (12% gain) preamp tubes in place of stock 12ax7 (100% gain)use a 12at7 in the V2 and V3 position and have no problem practicing at home.

Reverb is solid state but with mechanical spring and although not tube circuitry is very sweet when used modestly. The presence really helps dial in some nice sustain. The amp can be boomy at times so a touch of the bright switch corrects that without having to re-equalize. Footswitch for jumping on those leads from chords is nice. Also came with the cover.

Solid build quality. Many owners prefer to change the stock preamp tubes, power tubes, and speaker. Although good out-of-the box these mods will get you to a specific tone to your liking. I changed the stock speaker to a weber 12f150 (Jensen c12n clone) for a cleaner tone. Some may prefer more drive/crunch of a celestion vintage 30. I developed a cabinet rattle after changing the speaker which involved removing the amp chassis. I found that when tightening the amp chassis back into the cabinet improperly will cause this.

A fender tube amp based on the 59 baseman at this price is a good deal. Would be double the price if reverb circuit was tube and point-to-point hand wired.

not used

If you liked the 59 baseman style you will like this amp. Also comes in tweed cabinet.

Rock, Blues

beautiful clean the od really works with humbuckers say 335 or paul I hardly ever use the more drive as it gets a bit buzzy as I run the drive high great creamy tone clapton santana etc..

I would have liked separate eqs for the channels but other than that I am very happy

could not be easier just use your ears set the clean and set the od and your good to go

it does have have a few problems from time to time but its usually tubes that need changing nothing really major

for the sounds you can get look vol etc its a steal put a few pedals and you have a 4 channel boutique amp for thousands less

n/a

very cool look tweed combo very vintage

gigging pro

blues jazz country classic rock funk r&b acoustic

This amp has a really nice clean sound with my American Deluxe Strat. I really enjoy the warmth the tubes bring out. I am really not a Rocker Guitarist so my opinion on the Distortion may be Distorted. With that said I really wish I could get distortion without all of the Backround White noise that comes in when I engage the Footswitch to the Drive Channel. If anyone can make a recommendation Please do as I'm not very experienced working with distortion. I guess it sounds strange but I'm looking for a clean distortion without all the backround noise. Other than that I love this amp and highly recommend it. I has a sweet warm sound.

Pretty basic with no real frills. Wish it had a direct out

Awesome for the Money

No opinion. Have not had to have any.

Hobbyist, Active Musician

Folk, Country, Christian, Blues, Easy Listening

I am not much to write reviews but after purchasing this amp I am inclined to. I never owned a tube amp and decided to take the plunge and I couldn't be happier! This amp sounds absolutely great for the style of music I am into. Great cleans and put a nice overdrive pedal on it (the Fender overdrive isn't that good) and your in business.

Great features but the overdrive pedal could have been better. I Fender would fix the volume issue.

Easy to use for me. I love to experiment with diffent sounds so ease of use is no problem.

There might be a slim amount of amps out there that are better (not sure which ones though) than this. I am very satisfied with this amp and would highly recommend it.

No support needed and hopefully none will be.

I purchased the "White Lighning" and it is very nice looking. It came with an upgraded speaker as well. Very nice sounding and nice to look at!

Hobbyist

Rock & Alternative

Great sounding amp. I've made it better. Installed some nice Russian tubes and got rid of the stock speaker, replacing it with a JBL D120 that I took out of my old Fender Twin Reverb. What a sound! Lost all that boominess of the original speaker.

Good enough. After experimenting, I use only the clean sound with a vintage Ibanez Tube Screamer.

Cheap plastic sleeved 1/4 inch jacks. Don't stress them or they'll break. Pilot light funkiness is a well known issue.

A decent value. The price has increased quite a bit since I bought mine.

Haven't used Fender support, but haven't heard much good about it.

I'd get another one if I needed to and make the same modifications.

Active pro, gig weekly for over 35 years.

As I age, the rock gets less and the blues gets more. Seems to be more accepted.

i rated it 9 because a 10 would be a blackface twin reverb.

it came with the cover, pedal and groove tubes as stock tubes wich sound very good.

fender always has high quality amps and guitars.they know what there doing and there #1 in my book.

i didnt need them but i heard one or two people have problems with them, but then again i heard many more people say how good they are.

i got to admitt i wanted the twin reverb a little more but once i got this amp in the mail... im gonna use this amp for a long long time.

musician.

"grungy raw rock"

I love the true sound of the Groove Tubes and the touch sesative feel you get only from a true all tube amp.

Easy to use foot switch and tone controls.

Very sturdy and solid.

Over all youare going to pay more for a tube amp but this thing has a great sound and it loud as hell for its size without breaking up. I use it to gig with with no problem.

Top notch all the way. After all, its a Fender.

Old School look and feel, some of my friends actually thought I had bought an old tube am that was in " like new" condition.

Rock/Blues

If you change the tubes and the speaker the sound will be awsome

Super!! easy to make a sound

Too tight made box good at transportations!

Hobbyist

Rock blues mostly

I love this amp the sound of the tubes are beautiful. it can be more mello or the oppisite. I can play all music styles on this amp. and the two channel switch is awesome. I have one thing to say play it loud its awesome I broke glass the first day I had it. I am soon going to play a punk show soon and im using this amp. but i also like to play blues on this amp because its so crisp. I also really like th reverb with the fender grove tubes in this amp

I comes with a nice dust cover and a channel switch its great.

I had it up and running in no time. i also had my friend who was only been playing a month have it all up and running.

this amp is like a tank solid and beautiful I love how solid it is.

Yes yes yes i found this had a great value for its price.

I dont think there will be a problem with it because they have been making it the same amp with no changes for twelve years.

I love the color its nice leathery style black and has a silvery meth on the front and the fact that it says "hot rod" on the front helps alot

Active musician starting to record

Rock, Punk and Blues

Cleans are so gorgous I could never part with them... Ive used various different pedals to boost the distortion... whats worked best for me are metal distortion pedals and it gives it a good enough distortion for some of the better alternative rock... think incubus/science... another sweet thing has been a tube driven distortion such as mesa bottle rockets or v-twins

great features especially for the price... materials are great... stands up to wear

its very sturdy

for $600 this is a steal

i gave it a 10 cause i havent had any problems so havent had to deal with the company

only thing i would change is the fact that i dont like grey fender grills id like it better if it was a tan tweed

active musician

rock, (alt, blues, classic)

This amp is great for classic rock or blues. You can get a beautiful clean sound, very warm and colorful. The 2 distortions sound like 70\'s rock. I think they sound best if you back off on the gain. Very nice sustain. If you\'re into heavy metal, you will be dissatisfied with the distortion. You also need to back off on the Bass with the distortion channels. It\'s plenty loud, I use it in small clubs and have yet to get it above 3. It has beautiful reverb, probably the best I\'ve ever heard.

Straight-ahead amp. It has a bright switch that really makes a difference, and the presence control allows you to contour the sound a great deal. The footswitch is very easy to use.

This amp is very well built, solid and durable. You have to be careful with the cloth grille, but it comes with a nice cover.

It\'s a great tube amp for the price.

I haven\'t had any problems with this amp, and I use it 1-2 times per week in live situations.

It\'s not the sexiest looking amp you\'ll see, but it does have a look of quality.

Classic

Incredible sound - from very clean, blues & jazz to dirt this unit is solid. I'm playing a G&L and the amp seems to be made for it. I've also used it with a Les Paul & Ibanez; it adds a smooth component to shredder guitars.

Would like to see the unit have a few more audio adjustment options and a CD input.

Solid as a rock

Excellent value - all you need unless you're wiring up without micing

Rock, Alternative, Blues, Jazz --- anything

The clean is so warm and crisp. Nothing like a solid state amp! AMAZING! The dirty channel can sound bluesy, rocky, punky, you name it. Again, so warm sounding. Picking dynamics are phenomenal. I only gave it a 9 as I compared this amp to MESA's at 3x the cost.

Great amp cover, footswitch, great reverb. Its a no frills amp that just rocks!

Peice of cake. If you can't figure this amp out, you shouldn't be playing guitar.

This thing is solid. It will last many many years of giging.

$599 for a tube powerhouse?

N/A

It looks amazing. Many compliments on this. Retro yet modern. I love it!

a wanna-be rockstar.

Punk/Ska/Rock/Blues/Alternative

Clean sound is amazing, reverb is amazing (very wet; great surf/rockabilly/retro sound!) Volume is very touchy (goes from inaudible to very loud in just a fraction of a volume turn), dirty channel is ok but not what makes this amp soar (don't expect to drive this amp and sound like Slayer) That being said it takes effects very well! Tried several Line 6 amps, and many others in this price range and there is literally nothing even close.

Bare bones, no useless modeling or effects....and that is what you should expect in an amp

Turn power on, turn knobs, rock out....simple formula!

High quality stuff, chickenhead knobs are great - Stock speaker is good, but always consider upgrade

Hot amp for the price; versatile and great for most genres - if you can't afford vintage Fender amps the HotRod Deluxe will scratch your itch

Never used

I play Rockabilly/Surf and this amp gives the the allure of 'retro-ness', which is sexy - if i played for a living i would invest in vintage Fender, but this cannot be beat for the price

Weekend sleazebag

Surf, rockabilly, psychobilly

I have found the perfect volume regulator for the Hot Rod Deluxe: Get an ART Tube MP original($30.00) or V3($70.00) and put it in the effects loop of the amp. The effects loop does not color the tone, and you have a low voltage tube volume reducer with no noise and a great sound. The amp is very versatile, and Fender did a great job of matching the volume of the drive and more drive channels.

Mine came with footswitch and cover. The HRD is a compact versatile amp.

With volume, treble, middle, reverb, and presence, you can dial in any sound you need.

The only trouble I have had is a power tube that went bad, which is normal for tubes.

The clean sounds are fantastic, using humbuckers i can achive a nice blues sound, and with some tweaking a smooth jazz sound. headroom isn't bad, but i haven't had a problem as i've yet to use it anywhere where i've had to bring it to a level that breaks up. the distortion is a bit troublesome,however. its great for rythms, but when playing leads the tone is not sharp enough to break through. a boss os-2 overdrive/distortion works nicely, and when playing slide with the overdrive.

the amp does not have many features, but that's not really the purpose. Reverb sounds fantastic, but the tone knobs for the mids, treble, and bass do not have a drastic effect. the amp was made to sound a certain way so other effects are needed to change it. also i'm not a fan of he chickenhead knobs, they come loose to easily and don't allow for much percision, especially when adjusting the volume.

very easy to use. not to many knobs, very straitforwad. the only problem would be its weight, but there's not much to be done about that.

besides the knobs (loose when it came) it was set up nicely and ready to use.

i got it for 600, and i plan on using this amp for as long as it will last. i don't need anything larger as i won't be playing in anything larger than a club, small venue.

never had any

for a tone freak, this amp is a dream. the cleans are just so warm.

The clean channel is has a nice warm, clean sound,real ballsy too. I use the drive 1 most often, rairly use drive 2. I play a jap strat,a tele, and a homemade les paul, all with duncan pickups. They all sound good thru this amp.

a footswitch is a footswitch.

Pretty straightforward amp.

I've had the amp for about 2 years. After about a year the groove tubes took a dump.

I guess it might be worth it if it holds up.

I've had the amp for about 2 years. After about a year the 6L6 groove tubes took a dump.The power loss was very noticable. I couldn't fine the right color that the amp came with. Any change requires rebiasing the amp.I had to take it to a repair shop that did fender warrenty work. The shop is about an hour away.(not all that conveinent) Also the tubes are not covered under the warrenty. The repair tech had nothing good to say about the parts used in the amp. ie. transformer, switches,and so on. Also the numbers are wearing off around the knobs.

It's cool looking.

Sounds fantastic. Nice and juicy, warm tone...not unlike listening to a roast-beef sandwich. The drive channels are a bit lacking though. I, personally, don't use them. I run through a Rat for my distortion, and it sounds great.

Could use some tilt-back legs. Couldn't ask for much else.

It's a Beauty

Other than the drive channel, it is a tremendous sounding amp, and the value can't be beat.

I've got one, and I want another.

Varying styles of Rock and Roll.