The Hot Rod Club(the unofficial, unofficial)

[pete-strych]

Your 2 plate load resistors are bad & need to be replaced. Fender installed the incorrect value resistors in many older Hot Rod Amps. Eventually it will sound like bacon frying, or you will lose your volume as if the output tranny died. It's about $2 in parts. But a pain to get to. That is your problem. It's in the phase inverter section, so it makes the noise louder as it warms up, & is evident in both channels, right? I fixed loads of these about 6-7 years ago when I was repairing Amps in the surrounding Nashville areas where EVERYBODY owns a Fender it seems. My DeVille 4x10 is in a consignment store now & has developed a ticking noise. I will now have to perform that repair on mine. Don't chase ghosts here like so many people do with these amps. And don't pay some tech hundreds of dollars to dig around your amp & perform mods like replacing the input jacks & volume pots, etc. It's 2 stupid little plate load resistors.

I am resurrecting this thread by quoting myself. The wife & kids are away on a girls vaca/holiday with baby showers & girlie stuff, so I'm home alone building pedalboards, rewiring my rig, & repairing gear. Mission #3 to keep me out of trouble--get rid if the Common Hot Rod Crackle. 2+ hours...FIXED!!!! Annoying Bacon Crackle is gone. 1996 USA MADE Fender Hot Rod DeVille 4x10. Many were not put together incorrectly. R57 & R58 plate load resistors...once again. It WAS the 2 stupid little resistors. 82K ohm & 100K ohm--I used 1Watt resistors. I've uploaded photo of the replacement parts. If your favorite Hot Rod DeLuxe or DeVille is popping, hissing, sputtering, clicking, etc., or you think you blew the output tranny, DO NOT let an amp tech/repairman charge you hundreds of dollars chasing ghosts on his workbench. See if this simple repair to the lower PCB board next to the tube sockets works for your amp 1st.

 

[pete-strych]

I have a 1996 USA made Fender Hot Rod DeVille 4x10. I'm thinking about changing the Cathode Cap to a 250uF/6v & Cathode Bias Resistor to NOS 820 ohm like a Bassman 5F6 style or 5F6A? Anyway, This amp has been sitting around unused for a couple years. Last week or so I replaced/repaired the bad plate load resistors & it sounds pretty nice. I put a 12AY7 Tube back in V1 & 12AT7 in V3. I don't ever use the dirty channel.
Would this mod really give it more of a Bassman vibe? Should I only swap out the resistor & leave the existing 46uF cap. Would changing that cap make the amp TOO bassy? This is all just a whim, but might it add a little magic to my DeVille? I was going to sell it, but I could use it in a stereo situation 1 of my rigs. I just want to hear some educated feedback. It should be a real simple mod...I'm thinking the result could be pleasing.
Should I just go for it?
I posted this in the Amp Tech forum & got no response

 

[jb12string]

Worst case, you could change it back, right?

 

[pete-strych]

Worst case, you could change it back, right?

I could, but I don't want to. I'm hoping that the 820 ohm resistor will be the secret to some magical tonal bliss, or at least a minor improvement adding warmth to the circuit.

 

[OnlyVees]

Hey gang, count me in as a member; I just bought a gently-used HRD locally. It has a Texas Heat speaker in it, and a microphonic pre-amp tube.

How can I tell what year the amp was produced?

Is V1 really the furthest tube on the right? (looking at the back of the amp)

I look forward to running my Topanga reverb pedal and Strat thru the amp, and dispensing surf/spy music at high volumes.

 

[telexander]

Please save me 27 pages of searching; I have a 4x10 HRD, probably a '99.
I want max headroom before breakup; what is the mod/recommendation for this?
Also would do the range/sweep mod for the pots if it's not too involved.

Any ideas?

 

[pete-strych]

Please save me 27 pages of searching; I have a 4x10 HRD, probably a '99.
I want max headroom before breakup; what is the mod/recommendation for this?
Also would do the range/sweep mod for the pots if it's not too involved.

Any ideas?

I do not think those mods with the pots & input jacks are worth it. I used to repair Fender amps, & i own a Hot Rod DeVille 4x10. Put a 12AY7 in V1 & 12AT7 in V3. Replace your 6L6 tubes if they're more than a couple years old. Bias is necessary. Fender Groove Tube Sovteks 5881/6L6 are what came stock in those amps (so if that's what you got--it probably has not been re-biased) Those preamp tubes will give you more headroom, vintage tone & less harsh feel.

 

[pete-strych]

I meant to say "bias IF necessary"

 

[Davo17]

Please save me 27 pages of searching; I have a 4x10 HRD, probably a '99.
I want max headroom before breakup; what is the mod/recommendation for this?
Also would do the range/sweep mod for the pots if it's not too involved.

Any ideas?

I found that biasing to the slightly cooler end of the spectrum smoothed out the amps response. Its less harsh and more musical.

If you can, mess with bias a bit-it might save you from needing to buy other tubes.

IIRC the pot that has the goofy taper is only on the drive side.

A 12 DW7 in V2 will smooth the gain channel and make it less gainy.

 

[6BQ5]

I'm thinking about taking the suggestion many here have made and swapping a 12AT7 into v1. I've never tried to mess with tubes before. Is there anything I should know/look out for that isn't otherwise obvious? For example how much of a difference does that manufacturer of said tube make?

 

[RockerDuck]

Hot rod deluxe 3 owner here. I've owned three of these in 15 yrs.. How come this thread is so old? This is the most popular amp Fender sells.

 

[Pcaluaru]

Hot rod deluxe 3 owner here. I've owned three of these in 15 yrs.. How come this thread is so old? This is the most popular amp Fender sells.

That and the Blues JR (being the most popular...might be the most popular amps ever produced)

Love the The Hot Rod series. I've been into them for a very long time. I make the money to buy more expensive boutique/vintage amps but the HR series gives me what I want. IMO they are more "modern" a Fender tone than the vintage side. IMO Have much more midrange than the vintage side. & For the price... They have a great clean, to include a nice high head room: hence are a great pedal platform!

Yea they are of PCB construction. But as the many posts above show... there are a lot of 20yr old HRD still in operation today (a lot of them with serious miles on them) So the "Fragile" label/tag doesn't stick with me. However, If one is concerned with a component frying and burning through the PCB (it can happen....) after the warranty expires... send it off to a good amp tech. After 20 +yrs..... by now they know which components can be a problem (i.e. 2 main ones that are mounted to close to the board... and the generic caps leaking) Have a tech do the preventive maintenance and tune it up. Or do the research and DIY.

The HRD It's a working man's amp! (look how many "working Joe's" mod these. Its a beautiful thing!) Yet...IMO you don't have to mod it...it's great as is... (but cool knowing you can!)

I know a lot of guys who work by day... then grab their HRD and go work at night!

That Black Tolex and Gray grill cloth gives a vibe.. It says "hard working American blue collar musician!"

You either get it or you don't.

 

[Veeseaczar]

Hey all! Just joined TDPRI, but I've been reading posts here for awhile... Definitely the greatest board on the known web for this sort of thing.

So I inherited my HRDv 212 from the bass player in my band. It seems old. Probably definitely not a III model.... Maybe the late 90's early 2000s run?

Anyway, been playing it since last year when I joined the band. It's been across the whole country twice, and while I love it, it sort of blows for my needs.

I'm in a 6 person band, very bass heavy, and I compete with two keyboards and a vibrophone for midrange. The amp as it stands really lacks the midrange pluck--the kind I associate with a baseball card on bike tire spokes--that really carves out its own space, the kind of midrange and amp like the Vox AC30 has in spades. I've used a friends AC30 before during practice and found it really helped define the sound and cut through all those instruments. But I'm not the hugest fan right now of the aggressive midrange of a Vox-type amp. I prefer the Fender amp circuit, and the wash of an open back cabinet helps tremendously when playing house shows or in smaller venues where the monitors are a little lacking in power.

And so I'm replacing the speakers! They arrive tomorrow!! After playing a Princeton RI and a Deluxe RI with Celestion speakers, I decided that the best fix was to get a Brit sound from my American amp. I purchased two different speakers from Warehouse: their Reaper HP (a 50 watt variant of a Celestion G12h30) and their ET65 (a drop in upgrade for a G12-65), the mix of which I ran by the guys who work at Warehouse. They approved of concept, especially in this specific HRDv model run. I'm very excited to install them and see what happens.

BUT... I wanna do it myself. I don't have a way to drain the capacitors, so I basically just won't muck with the circuitry, maybe even wrap the back end of the chassis in saran wrap or something to keep my hair or an accidental finger from slipping in their and killing me.

What *can* I touch? I have to remove the chassis to get to the upper speaker. Is the metal itself storing a charge? Or is that all in the circuit board? Basically I just want to lift the chassis out of the amp. I even saw a tech do this while grasping the large black block on the interior plate of the case... Is that the transformer? Is that safe to touch if you haven't drained the amps power?


Help friends... I wish not to die.

 

[Veeseaczar]

Welp... I'm not ded.

Killer speakers. Basically have a Fender/Vox hybrid. Mmm.

 

[Pcaluaru]

Put both in... they will be a nice improvement. (Obviously from my posts here I use a HRD once in a while) Warehouse makes some nice speakers that really work well with the HRD series.

There is a demo of swapping out speakers on a HRD on Youtube.

 

[BillNeaves]

I'm thinking about taking the suggestion many here have made and swapping a 12AT7 into v1. I've never tried to mess with tubes before. Is there anything I should know/look out for that isn't otherwise obvious? For example how much of a difference does that manufacturer of said tube make?

Try a 12ay7 as well. I found the ay7 to be more natural sounding, but with lesser gain.

 

[fordguy_85]

Love my HRD 410!

 

[jmr102855]

Just bought a Tweed HRDiii, went ahead and put an Eminence Swamp Thang and JJ 12ax7's in, both improved the sound. I'm taking it out to a gig for the first time tonight.

 

[TeleBrew]

I am back in the club after many years gone. I used to have an oxblood 4X10 Hot Rod Deville, but it was too big for what I needed at the time. But I'm in an electric band again so I got a used 2010's 2X12 for $400. I think it's 100% stock, and I haven't changed anything and probably won't.

 

[anthrotony]

Trying to revive this mammoth thread again after I posted elsewhere with no response. But I just stumbled on this ten years' worth of 27 pages which I've just read and which answered some of my own questions, but still more outstanding...

You're welcome to read what I posted but the key points follow. http://www.tdpri.com/threads/hotrod-deville-users-some-questions.935519/

I bought my HRDv 410 new in 1998. Only mods are input jacks were replaced after failing, and the simple reverb mod (which really does improve the reverb). I did change tubes so that v1 = 12AY7; v2 = 12DW7; v3 = 12AX7; all JJs. This massively improved the volume sweep and also the general tone of the drive channels (though I think I still prefer pedals on the clean channel).

However, I play mostly at home, loud, clean volume at around 4 to 5. Super clean. I also use a volume box in the effects loop so I can push the preamp volume to 8 or 9 while lowering the level going into the power amp stage. This gives me a nice bite when I dig into my Tele or Strat, and OD with my ES-335. But I can't get real edge-of-breakup crunch even if I dime the clean channel.

So my main question is for those who use Devilles, and in particular the 410s, is what volume level do you begin to find that e-o-b crunch? Perhaps I might have to go back to a 12AX7 in v1 but I like the smoothing effect of the 12AY7? Or perhaps it simply doesn't exist on the 410... I've read many times that the Deluxe breaks up nicely at reasonable levels so I have to assume that the Deville isn't clean headroom all the way to 12!

My other question relates to the mid-knob mod, sometimes called the blackface mod. This is the one that jumpers two tabs and provides better response over bass and mid, and apparently also allows the user to get something like a blackface mid-scoop tone. I've held off doing this only because it requires removing the pcb in order to access the pot. In 27 pages, there is very little about how people find this in real life, so I'm hoping to get some more insight.

Cheers,