Hot Rod Deville 2x12 How good are they?

[Scotland]

Are they good for clean country pickin' ?
How would you rate it against a new Twin Amp for country sounds?

[Baard]

I have tried one in a shop, and it sounded like the 1x12" hot rod deluxe, just a bit more compressed for the lack of a better word, and louder.......... Not very much. It´s also a very loud amp, and it has a nice midrange to it, with the stock speaker, if you like that.but it seem to lack some of the smoothness of a say sf twin reverb. It would be a great gigging amp for clean country music. I havent tried a new twin amp.
The main difference of the hot rod series and the older sf series is the tone control. They seem to be more effective on the overall sound on the older amps.


Baard

[PeterUK]

Originally Posted by Scotland

Are they good for clean country pickin' ?
How would you rate it against a new Twin Amp for country sounds?

John

You went to see The Mavericks last October, right? They were supported in Nottingham by Kevin Montgomery and the guitarist from Steve Earle's band (his name escapes me at the moment).

Well, he played a Tele (with a Lindy Fralin bridge pick up he informed me after the show) and a Strat through a HR Deville, which looked to be a 2 x 12 from where I was sat.

I sounded GREAT. Classic country with the Tele (and the Strat), clean and lots of twang.

I've play through a HR Deluxe and it sounds good too, but I must confess that I'm tempted to change the PCB with a Point-to-Point kit available from Torres UK (cries of No! and gasps of disapproval from the Amp heads on the Amp Central!!). It's called the BBQ Bassman kit and it will turn a good amp into a superb one. I'm going to try and get down there in early Spring to try one. See if it's the "boutique" amp sound I'm looking for.

But to answer your question, good to my ear. And they're not a lot of money on the Bay!

Peter

[Zorba]

I got to pay through a HRD 2x12 a month ago, and fell in love with the sound. It's a hot rodded twin that has a great clean sound, and is easy to control the breaking point. I really liked playing through it! But I do a lot of country rock. The owner of the amp thought it was funny that I un-plugged the foot pedal and played thought the one channel all night.

My only complaint is that the reverb has a short spring. So it just saturates the tone with reverb, and washed out the sound. Easy solution was to turn it off.

[Rip]

This is a great amp!!!...I would have to say that the Twin is ultimately a little cleaner, but I prefer the tone of the DeVille...it's plenty clean, and way more versatile.Lots of power and a more controllable, ear-friendly tone. A good friend of mine just traded in his Twin for a HRDV....Big improvement. I've had mine for a while now and I really love it. Put it on casters and you'll have a great time. Some of the Boutique-types may look down on this amp, as it is built to a price, but I don't think there's a better amp out there for the money...and in some respects, regardless of price....There's a little more on this on my website under "Gear"

[Scotland]

I love my Twin Amp but it is just too darned heavy at 80 lbs and way too loud for my needs.
I had thought of getting a new one but I may be on the verge of finalising a deal on an unused and warranted one.
Thanks for the help guys.

[rcliffg]

I had always been a little disappointed in my HRD 212. In fact, I'd probably fired it up twice in the last six months. Lows muddy, highs harsh. I finally tried some new tubes in there (power and pre-)--they're JJs--and what a difference! I can't believe how great this amp sounds. I was prepared to try some different speakers and other mods, but I see no need now.

My recommendation: get one, and dump the sovteks immediately...

[Blaster]

I got rid of it and I wish I kept it.

I play every weekend playing CW and Classic rock and the HR Deville 2-12 did me well. I had a twin at one time and prefered the Deville which was lighter to carry and had a sweeter sound to it.

[Lew UK]

Originally Posted by PeterUK

I've play through a HR Deluxe and it sounds good too, but I must confess that I'm tempted to change the PCB with a Point-to-Point kit available from Torres UK (cries of No! and gasps of disapproval from the Amp heads on the Amp Central!!). It's called the BBQ Bassman kit and it will turn a good amp into a superb one. I'm going to try and get down there in early Spring to try one. See if it's the "boutique" amp sound I'm looking for.

Peter

Peter I live about 15 mins drive away from a Torress employee,who puts together alot of the UK Amps for uk Torress customers-and Kits,he does alot of guitar work for me and fixed my baby up(SFVR)when i bought it-broken-
Just PM me if i can help in anyway.His Amps are good.

[bender72]

I tried one out the other day and it was awesome. I play alot of country(old&new) and classic rock, as well as blues, and this amp covered it all. The only thing I don't like is the od built into the amp, but set it clean and run a good OD pedal in front of it and you'ld be set. This amp is very warm sounding and is very powerful. The guy at the music store let me try out some other tube amps in the same price range(marshall's, peavey's, other fender's) and none of them came close. I believe this will be my next purchase, once I save the cash. 8) 8)

[T Prior]

I too feel this amp (2x12 or 4x10) may be one of the best amp value's out there right now, I think on the used market they surely are.

I stepped up from my HR Deluxe which I bought new years back to the 2x12 Deville.

The headroom is leagues better than the HR deluxe and the output power seems way more than +20 watts.

I'm a country boy with a Tele and I also use this amp for my D10 Pedal Steel on many gigs so I don't have to lug around 2 amps. The amp can clearly cover bandstand volume for the C6th Steel neck..

I think these are great amps and I'm still using the stock Fender tubes..

I did gig with a Twin for 20 years..nothing bad to say about that baby , it's clearly worth it's weight. I do find the HR Deville way more flexible for bandstand use, covers any style very well..

t

[SweetJelly]

some good news about the deville. Seems it is looked over a lot. I have yet to try some decent tubes in it. But it is holding up well and very reliable through many situations. Plus I'm building up my strength to carry it around like a paperweight. The reverb is unfortunately a little over powering so it usually stays at 1 or below. I keep wishing to get a bassman but I just can't find anything wrong with the deville to justify it. Just a good all around amp. :)