rhythmjones
Tele-Holic
Looks pretty sweet!
(link removed)
(link removed)
George Benson Hot Rod Deluxe!
- Thread starter rhythmjones
- Start date
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teleprompted
Tele-Meister
Sweet. Quite a big price difference though compared to the stock HRD III. I was going to buy a HRD recently but instead chose a blues deluxe because some other members here advised me that the tone was a bit warmer, etc. Arrives in about a week. This hot rod looks awesome though.
rhythmjones
Tele-Holic
I didn't even notice the price. Considering you can easily swap the speaker and preamp tube yourself, I guess you are paying for the funky tolex. 
robt57
Telefied
My brain is red plating just seeing the text George Benson and Hot Rod Deluxe together...
JonesKY
Tele-Meister
The amp specs make sense, but the GB logo seems kinda silly to me...
fauxsuper
Tele-Afflicted
Direct quotes from Fender's website
"Unique Features:
12AT7 tube in V1 for cleaner tone, Jensen C12K 100-watt speaker for clarity and range, solid-pine cabinet for tonal resonance and reduced weight, gray-black vinyl covering, silver-strand grille cloth, "GB" logo badge."
Don't think it's electrically different, if there were circuit chages, Fender would have mentioned that to further justify the price. Interesting to hear how much difference the solid Pine cab will make.
Kind of a stange endorsement. I'm sure he can make it sound great. But i just don't see him being a big influence in people making a decision to buy an amp. It's not like the Hot Rod amp's been a key part of his tone or anything. I don't predict waves of jazzbo's selling their Henriksens to get one of the GB amps. Maybe they could make a George Benson model Jazzmaster?
"Unique Features:
12AT7 tube in V1 for cleaner tone, Jensen C12K 100-watt speaker for clarity and range, solid-pine cabinet for tonal resonance and reduced weight, gray-black vinyl covering, silver-strand grille cloth, "GB" logo badge."
Don't think it's electrically different, if there were circuit chages, Fender would have mentioned that to further justify the price. Interesting to hear how much difference the solid Pine cab will make.
Kind of a stange endorsement. I'm sure he can make it sound great. But i just don't see him being a big influence in people making a decision to buy an amp. It's not like the Hot Rod amp's been a key part of his tone or anything. I don't predict waves of jazzbo's selling their Henriksens to get one of the GB amps. Maybe they could make a George Benson model Jazzmaster?
Little Jay
Tele-Holic
I didn't even notice the price. Considering you can easily swap the speaker and preamp tube yourself, I guess you are paying for the funky tolex.
Don't forget the solid pine cabinet! That might be the biggest improvement.
I swapped the 12AX7 in V1 of my Blues Deluxe ('93 or '94 USA) for a 12AT7 and really understand George's choice for that tube! Turns the amp into a Jazz Deluxe
I had a C12K laying around and tried it. Sounded good indeed, gave the amp a solid feel and smoothed out the highs a lot. The Blues Deluxe is very bass-heavy though and the C12K did not improve that much, plus it brought the weight into Twin Reverb-territory (the lighter pine wood of the Benson HR compensates for that I guess). Since I also had a Jensen NEO 12-100 laying around (boy, I have too much stuff just laying around....) I tried that too and it stayed in there: same smoothing of the trebles as the C12K, a little more articulate overall and moore "airy" in the bass. Great!
(I also tried a vintage RCA 5751 for V1 and for low volumes that is even better for jazz! But too brown-sounding at louder volumes - made the amp get lost in the mix with bass and hammond in my quartet.)
Next thing to do is to turn those solid pine IKEA-bookshelves I have laying around into a new cabinet......
Alex Strekal
Tele-Meister
I agree. There is relatively little buzz and online feedback about this amp compared to other products, and I don't think many people are likely to buy it. That said, it seems nice enough for what it is - a signature model of a standard piece of equipment with a few tweaks that make it more suitable for a certain purpose (in George's case, pristine, loud, full cleans).
T Prior
Poster Extraordinaire
What I find interesting is really the primary change of one preamp tube...something many have been doing for decades..for $12.00. The biggest issue, to me, with this series , is that the OD channel is very harsh, I own own now, it's the 2nd one I have owned. I think these are nice 40 watt amps for USED money..but if Fender did nothing to improve the OD response we are paying for a badge and a 12AT7...which in all likelihood turns this 40 watt amp into an approx 30 watt amp....
I seriously doubt GB uses the OD channel , Actually in the add it calls the OD channels " standard features".... so let me ask..$299 for a nice used one or $1100 for the GB model with a 12AT7 ?
The HR series is nice, Fender did well with it since the mid 90's, it looks like they are gonna keep ringing the bell...
I seriously doubt GB uses the OD channel , Actually in the add it calls the OD channels " standard features".... so let me ask..$299 for a nice used one or $1100 for the GB model with a 12AT7 ?
The HR series is nice, Fender did well with it since the mid 90's, it looks like they are gonna keep ringing the bell...
Alex Strekal
Tele-Meister
From my experience and preference, I definitely think the overdrive channel on the regular HRD is pretty harsh. I would actually be more interested if they made a 1-channel version, since I'd only use the clean channel on an HRD anyways.
- That is interesting about 12AT's. I see where a lot of tube-purist say not to use AT
as preamp, only as phase inverter or reverb , since the bottle was not built for that, but,, I have noticed in past uses of it, it is not as dark as a 12ax or a 5751...or even 12AY
as preamp, only as phase inverter or reverb , since the bottle was not built for that, but,, I have noticed in past uses of it, it is not as dark as a 12ax or a 5751...or even 12AY
When I had a HR Deluxe the only setting that worked for me was....
In the first Drive channel, mostly clean but with a bit of warmth from this side.
I could get a nice warm and clear jazz tone right there w an old 175.
I reckon George can pull a great tone from any amp.
IME ...The clean channel was harsh and brittle and if you ever used the drive channel for its true purpose ie overdrive, it went from bad to worse when you switched from the first drive up to the next. So i could never really use the full amp, i set it as above and stomp boxed the rest. These amps are incredibly popular and i did enjoy my time with one but I really wonder what Fenders sonic reference point is for these amps?
In the first Drive channel, mostly clean but with a bit of warmth from this side.
I could get a nice warm and clear jazz tone right there w an old 175.
I reckon George can pull a great tone from any amp.
IME ...The clean channel was harsh and brittle and if you ever used the drive channel for its true purpose ie overdrive, it went from bad to worse when you switched from the first drive up to the next. So i could never really use the full amp, i set it as above and stomp boxed the rest. These amps are incredibly popular and i did enjoy my time with one but I really wonder what Fenders sonic reference point is for these amps?
And pine cabinet and different speaker.
still_fiddlin
Friend of Leo's
Looks like $170 difference, street price, between GB and III. Doesn't seem unreasonable for the cabinet and speaker "upgrades" plus, presumably, a couple bucks for GB/marketing. And, it's still a hundred dollars less than an EC Vibro Champ (and $2100 less than the 40W EC Twinolux), so if I was looking for 40 Fender watts, I'd like to give one a try.
T Prior
Poster Extraordinaire
Over a nice clean USED HRDLX for around $300 ? :?:
Apparently they did nothing to improve the OD portion of the amp, which WAS and IS the primary feature of the amp..2 OD options.... which it seems many don't like and don't use !
Wood, a speaker and a tube....
but, that's just me...
still_fiddlin
Friend of Leo's
Just comparing new-new prices. You can make the same case for buying a used MIA vs. new AVRI, if you go that way. (Somebody has to buy the new stuff
) T Prior
Poster Extraordinaire
Somebody has to buy the new stuff
ok..someone else ! :!:
And they do, and then they trade it in or sell it and now it's USED...all USED gear was new once !
Actually I would consider buying NEW if something really grabbed my attention....
So the way I see it; The GB model is merely cosmetic with different tolex, a pine cab and easy user-replaceable parts like the 12at7 Tube and Jensen C12K speaker. Hmmm.
Also agree it makes no sense for GB to have a switching amp with OD Channel (where the OD is arguably the weakest aspect of the HRDx). Strange. Who wants to bet he plays it through the clean channel exclusively?
Also agree it makes no sense for GB to have a switching amp with OD Channel (where the OD is arguably the weakest aspect of the HRDx). Strange. Who wants to bet he plays it through the clean channel exclusively?
