Sheepdog1969 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 I found, and ordered, this Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III 40w 1x12 combo tube amp 3 days ago from Guitar Center for under $500 total! It came today, is in GREAT shape and sounds amazing. Tons of power, awesome reverb, amazing clean channel, and I can't really complain about the the 2nd channel and/or the "more drive" 2nd channel option. It has an effects loop, which is nice, (as this amp really takes my pedals well),and it has a great array of black "chicken head" settings pots, which are all functioning and super clean. I am a very happy camper! 😊 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 Looks nice and clean!!! Congratulations and crank it on up!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 Congrats! Great Amp.. I used to have one.. But, needed something smaller as I already had a Twin & a DRRI.. I settled on a 65 PRRI.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narwhal6 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 Very nice! I bet the Epiphone sounds awesome through it, there's nothing quite like natural tube tone especially on the clean channel with a little reverb. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 2 hours ago, Narwhal6 said: Very nice! I bet the Epiphone sounds awesome through it, there's nothing quite like natural tube tone especially on the clean channel with a little reverb. Thanks. You described exactly why, after getting the 335, I felt compelled to get a tube amp that would compliment it, (and how/what I like to play.) I kinda have perma-grin after playing tonight. I'll see how my other guitars sound thru it this weekend, but tonight was all 335. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 a true workhorse. good purchase 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 It's become kind of a modern classic, like the old Peavey Classic 30's. It's hard to beat a small power, single 12, tube combo. My Blue Angel is my favorite bar amp ever. That's why I haven't sold it yet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Nice!!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Cant go wrong with that! Very nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 Congrats, that's a very good buy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted October 8, 2023 Author Share Posted October 8, 2023 Had a heart stopping moment this morning when my new amp suddenly stopped producing sound. I had lots of reservations about buying a used tube amp due to my concerns about tube longevity and not knowing how the previous owner used the amp. I said, "stopped producing sound", because the amp seemed to still be on and did not show any typical signs of tube/circuit type failure, (it wasn't smoking, humming, over heating, crackling or intermittent speaker output.) Obviously I switched the amp to standby and checked the tubes. They all were glowing that nice orange hue, and no leaks were seen. I employed Murphy's Law and verified the issue wasn't with my guitar or wireless rig, etc.. After verifying the 1/4 inch plug connection that connects the speaker to the amp, it hit me that I never checked the spade connectors at the speaker, which I should have done when the amp arrived, (and before I tried it out.) Sure enough, the positive spade connector had come loose and was just hanging there. It must have gotten jostled loose during shipping and then vibrated off as I played. After dealing with the return process headache due to the snapped off headstock on the first Epi 335 I received, my brain immediately envisioned going thru the same process with this amp. Thankfully I sit here elated after fixing such a simple issue. Lesson learned. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 On 10/8/2023 at 9:30 AM, Sheepdog1969 said: Had a heart stopping moment this morning when my new amp suddenly stopped producing sound. I had lots of reservations about buying a used tube amp due to my concerns about tube longevity and not knowing how the previous owner used the amp. I said, "stopped producing sound", because the amp seemed to still be on and did not show any typical signs of tube/circuit type failure, (it wasn't smoking, humming, over heating, crackling or intermittent speaker output.) Obviously I switched the amp to standby and checked the tubes. They all were glowing that nice orange hue, and no leaks were seen. I employed Murphy's Law and verified the issue wasn't with my guitar or wireless rig, etc.. After verifying the 1/4 inch plug connection that connects the speaker to the amp, it hit me that I never checked the spade connectors at the speaker, which I should have done when the amp arrived, (and before I tried it out.) Sure enough, the positive spade connector had come loose and was just hanging there. It must have gotten jostled loose during shipping and then vibrated off as I played. After dealing with the return process headache due to the snapped off headstock on the first Epi 335 I received, my brain immediately envisioned going thru the same process with this amp. Thankfully I sit here elated after fixing such a simple issue. Lesson learned. your concern is understandable, but don't spend a lot of time worrying about it. I've been gigging for 48 years and with the exception of a 6 year period in the late 70's to mid 80's I've used tube amps. never had one fail me. although anything can certainly happen to any amp or piece of equipment at any time. only amp I had fail in the middle of a gig was a Crate solid state. worst amp I ever owned. had a Lab Series L5 solid state amp. really nice amp ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10PoundLester Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 On 10/8/2023 at 7:30 AM, Sheepdog1969 said: Had a heart stopping moment this morning when my new amp suddenly stopped producing sound. I had lots of reservations about buying a used tube amp due to my concerns about tube longevity and not knowing how the previous owner used the amp. I said, "stopped producing sound", because the amp seemed to still be on and did not show any typical signs of tube/circuit type failure, (it wasn't smoking, humming, over heating, crackling or intermittent speaker output.) Obviously I switched the amp to standby and checked the tubes. They all were glowing that nice orange hue, and no leaks were seen. I employed Murphy's Law and verified the issue wasn't with my guitar or wireless rig, etc.. After verifying the 1/4 inch plug connection that connects the speaker to the amp, it hit me that I never checked the spade connectors at the speaker, which I should have done when the amp arrived, (and before I tried it out.) Sure enough, the positive spade connector had come loose and was just hanging there. It must have gotten jostled loose during shipping and then vibrated off as I played. After dealing with the return process headache due to the snapped off headstock on the first Epi 335 I received, my brain immediately envisioned going thru the same process with this amp. Thankfully I sit here elated after fixing such a simple issue. Lesson learned. I always solder my speaker connections. Makes a huge difference. Too many problems with the push-on spade connectors coming loose. I've been on tube amps since the early 70's. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 18 minutes ago, 10PoundLester said: I always solder my speaker connections. Makes a huge difference. Too many problems with the push-on spade connectors coming loose. I've been on tube amps since the early 70's. What kind of difference does soldering the connection make? Durability or sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 Nice amp! I like the HRD IIIs a lot. I like them because you turn them up to 2, they are already cranking haha! Enjoy 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 4 hours ago, Karloff said: your concern is understandable, but don't spend a lot of time worrying about it. I've been gigging for 48 years and with the exception of a 6 year period in the late 70's to mid 80's I've used tube amps. never had one fail me. although anything can certainly happen to any amp or piece of equipment at any time. only amp I had fail in the middle of a gig was a Crate solid state. worst amp I ever owned. had a Lab Series L5 solid state amp. really nice amp ... Maybe it’s just me but when I think of Crate, I think crap. My first practice amp was a Crate and it sucked poop. Those Blue Voodoos - one of their “best” amps - I read had issues too… I played through one a few times and they were OK, but I can think of so many more better ones. And I forgot the name of the SS Crate head I used years ago, but that thing would just cut out on you intermittently, then come back minutes later like nothing was wrong… The tone was pretty bad too with a decent cabinet I might add. GC offered me $100… I took it and ran. Wasn’t going to gig with that thing if it was the only amp I could get. It would screw you over… So maybe I got this whole Crate thing wrong, but I think some would agree with my feelings about the brand. I’ll pass… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 14 hours ago, Karloff said: had a Lab Series The Lab amps and the Rolands were the only respectable solid state amps with any following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 One more. Steel guitar players loved those old Peavey Nashville 400's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 Anyone thinks 40 watts isn't loud, plug one of those in and find out. I had one. Nice amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 11 hours ago, NighthawkChris said: Maybe it’s just me but when I think of Crate, I think crap. My first practice amp was a Crate and it sucked poop. Those Blue Voodoos - one of their “best” amps - I read had issues too… I played through one a few times and they were OK, but I can think of so many more better ones. And I forgot the name of the SS Crate head I used years ago, but that thing would just cut out on you intermittently, then come back minutes later like nothing was wrong… The tone was pretty bad too with a decent cabinet I might add. GC offered me $100… I took it and ran. Wasn’t going to gig with that thing if it was the only amp I could get. It would screw you over… So maybe I got this whole Crate thing wrong, but I think some would agree with my feelings about the brand. I’ll pass… I agree. I'm not a fan. my Crate would do the same thing. the dirty channel was so bad, I would just use the clean channel & a pedal. but I was broke & had to try to use whatever I could afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Murph said: The Lab amps and the Rolands were the only respectable solid state amps with any following. I honestly liked that amp. it really sounded good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 My only negative is anything past 3 on the Reverb sound all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 18 minutes ago, Karloff said: I honestly liked that amp. it really sounded good. There is a local player here who was still using an old Lab Series the last time I saw him. He's a fantastic player with great tone. He must have a good tech, man those amps are old, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 30 minutes ago, Murph said: There is a local player here who was still using an old Lab Series the last time I saw him. He's a fantastic player with great tone. He must have a good tech, man those amps are old, eh? yes they are. I wish I kept mine. used mine from '80 thru '86. I'm not sure when they quit production and I'm not sure why I sold it. the 80's ... I hear BB liked them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 2 hours ago, Murph said: The Lab amps and the Rolands were the only respectable solid state amps with any following. I had a JC120 back in the day. Very loud and clean. It fell offstage once (I let the keyboard player use it) and still worked perfectly. My Micro-Cube has a 'JC clean' setting which is very accurate; that's what they sound like. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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