Bought a Fender HRD....

[duhvoodooman]

I decided I wanted something with more clean low-end "punch" for use with our church praise band than the modified Blues Jr. I've been using, so started keeping an eye out for something on the local CL. Last Friday, a guy listed a dead-mint Hot Rod Deluxe Ltd. Edition in lacquered tweed with a Jensen P12N alnico speaker for a price I'd expect for a regular HRD in similarly stellar condition. Saw & played through the amp on Saturday and snapped it up. Granted, this is no high-end boutique amp, but they're reasonably priced, quite rugged, and the clean channel, which is probably the only one I'll use, sounds very, very good (yeah, I know what most people think of the Drive channel!). I'll poke around on the 'net and see what kind of mods might be worthwhile doing, but I'm pretty happy with the stock tone as it is, especially after changing out the Groove Tubes 6L6's (actually re-badged Sovtek 5881WTX tubes) for a set of great sounding SED Winged "C" 6L6's. Beautiful glassy highs and taut piano-like lows. Sucker is LOUD, though!

So anybody interested in a Blues Junior with pretty much every BillM mod done to it?

Some pics of the new-to-me HRD:

 

[Spudman]

Very nice and congrats. I like my HRDX too, but I like the look of yours better. Mine is black. I was going to mention the 5881s too. I put them in mine and haven't looked back. It's been so long since I had the 6L6s in it that I forgot what it sounded like and almost made a swap, but then I'll play it for a bit and go, "nah sounds good as it is."

I've never really had a problem controlling the volume on mine, but I have seen a lot of guys use a Hot Plate with good results.

 

[Robert]

They are nice amps for sure! Congrats!

 

[marnold]

Is there a design reason for the circuit board to be oriented that way? I'd think that the speaker would rattle that thing something fierce.

 

[Jimi75]

Great amp and great platform for pedals. Congrats! There's a reason why you see the HDR on so many stages and why for e.g. Wildwood Guitars did so many demos using this amph. I never really tried the overdriven sound but heard pretty mixed opinions - do you use it and what's your impression? Regarding the loudness, I've heard lots of people complaining about the DeVille - I think the HDR can be regulated pretty well volume-wise.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Is there a design reason for the circuit board to be oriented that way? I'd think that the speaker would rattle that thing something fierce.

The chassis is a good thick grade of sheet metal and is anchored in place in the cabinet very solidly, and the PCB is securely bolted to the chassis, so I very much doubt that will be a problem. Besides, Fender uses this set-up extensively in their PCB-based amps, so I think it's a design that's well proven.

The advantage is the ease of service--pop the rear cover off and you have good access to everything. No need to remove the chassis from the cabinet. For example, re-biasing the power tubes after I changed them last night was a snap.

 

[piebaldpython]

Sweet score Vood.

When you get a chance......I wouldn't mind hearing about your Blues Junior and what all was done to it.....and a price. lol

 

[duhvoodooman]

I wouldn't mind hearing about your Blues Junior and what all was done to it.....and a price. lol

Official "For Sale" post is here: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/22167

 

[Eric]

What sort of PA does your church have, DVM? I've found DI to be a good solution these days, but it depends heavily on the sound reinforcement and monitoring situation.

 

[Duffy]

I have one just like that Vood. Lacquered tweed and P12n alnico speaker. It's a great amp and loud.