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Anyone have any thoughts of these amps? I saw on Harmony Central that people seemed to either love them or despise them. I'm wondering if there's some middle ground..

I've had mine for a good six years now. Gigged with it, used it for recordings, etc. I think it sounds great for what it is, but it really depends on what you're going for, as it does have its limitations. As with most Fender amps, the drive channel is useless, so you can expect to use a pedal for that. And for anything really high gain, you'll find it doesn't have much headroom, even with tube changes. There are also a couple of really cheap components that have repeatedly failed (switches and jacks). Even so, it's extremely versatile. I do have to say though, if I could go back in time and buy another amp, I'd probably go with a Peavey Classic 30 instead. But really the Hot Rod has met all my expectations and I doubt I'll ever sell it. I say go try both of those out if you can and see which you like better.

When I was looking for a new amp awhile ago there was an AC30 and a Hot Rod Deluxe both second hand in the same shop for the same price. I A/B'd them and the AC30 was a hell of a lot nicer. The Hot Rod had a nice clean sound but the overdrive was not to my liking. It was far too gainy and just didn't sound natural to my ears, far too harsh.

If you want just a clean sound, it sounded great. I don't know how they react to pedals though and at the end of the day they're just not my thing.

I have a HR Deluxe and love it, got it for $400. I tried the Deville and hated it compared to the Deluxe.

The overdrive kinda sucks though, but this amp takes pedals really well.

Yeah, I'd go along with that- nice cleans, crappy distortion.

I recorded my friends' band a few weeks ago, and the guitarist' DeVille's overdrive sounded horrible, even worse than I remember from playing in a band with him using it. Maaaaaaaay have been ancient tubes though, I guess. I ended up having to use an amp sim it was sounding so fuzzy and farty.

No, the DeVille's overdrive is definitely bad, even worse than the DeLuxe's. Actually that amp just does not sound as good overall, IMO. But yeah, the HRDx does take really well to pedals I just wish it had more headroom, I've always struggled to keep up with a heavy-handed drummer without breaking up.

I'd normally recommend a Peavey Classic 30 over either of the mid-power Hot Rods because they're kind of similar, but the Peavey's are just better overall in terms of sound, as well as usually being cheaper. However, I've seen Classics on the rise, with a brand new Classic 30 costing something like £550 brand new or something daft like that. Hot Rods and Classics can be had at better prices secondhand (and there are alot of them out there, too), but the market for amps in this volume and quality bracket is pretty big now. Maybe have a look at the Orange Tiny Terror combo? Depends what sound you're after, I guess, but if it's distortion, then steer clear of the Hot Rods. The Classics blow them out of the water in that area.

I have one of the MIA Deville 4x10s. I think they're great amps as long as there are good tubes in it. It sounded sterile until I put some SED Winged C 6L6GCs and Jan-Philips 5751s. I wouldn't buy a new one though, they're way over priced considering the prices for silverface bassmans, bandmasters, and twins. I got my Deville used in 2003-4 or so IIRC and I didn't pay more than $450.

I have a 2x12 DeVille, I found the sound to be much nicer than the Deluxe series. The reverb is amazing on the DeVille amplifiers, and I haven't had a problem with mine. I would recomend the Fender Blues Deluxe though. You can buy them for around £600, which is round about the same price as the Hot Rod Deluxe. These amps are sooo much nicer. The clean channel is brilliant.

we have a hot rod deluxe in the practice room... and surprisingly it features a lot on our new record. they are a pretty reliable solid piece of kit that give good classic medium watt fender tones. IMHO of course

I picked up a bugera V55hd for kicks...Put a new set of jj in,,,Golden...The fender hrd is a great single ch amp..but thats it..Just somthing to think about.

I think they're okay, but you can do better in that price range with a Peavey or Laney IMO.

HRDx: Clean is pretty. Overdrive sucks. Takes pedal well.
If you want more headroom, you can always change tubes or speaker.

DGW wrote:I picked up a bugera V55hd for kicks...Put a new set of jj in,,,Golden...The fender hrd is a great single ch amp..but thats it..Just somthing to think about.

Did you adjust the Bias after putting the new Valves in??? The Bugera Bias sheet doesn't seem to list the V55HD. I want to swap out the valves in mine but I am unsure what the Bias should be set to???

Rayjaysonic wrote:

DGW wrote:I picked up a bugera V55hd for kicks...Put a new set of jj in,,,Golden...The fender hrd is a great single ch amp..but thats it..Just somthing to think about.

Did you adjust the Bias after putting the new Valves in??? The Bugera Bias sheet doesn't seem to list the V55HD. I want to swap out the valves in mine but I am unsure what the Bias should be set to???

No I did not adjust the bias..I just used the same kind of tubes...I looked around and couldnt find any info for the bias..I found Bugera/Behringer support,,I just registered and sent for bias info..soon as I hear Ill reply..

good clean, shite OD channel. I personally think its too trebley even with the treble way down. I believe that the Crate V50 is better. It costs less and also has a better distortion channel and crazy reverb and has a wide range of tones.

Berto - Yeah, the OD on the V55 aint the best, but love the cleans and it takes pedals well so shove a decent OD in front and you are laughing! I run it through a cab with 2X CR12s which I think are quite a warm sounding speakers so probably compensates for the over trebley sound you mentioned as I have never found this myself.

DGW - Cheers for the info, I e-mailed Bugera a while back about Bias info for the v55HD and they said they were going to release an update of the Bias sheet to include it.....still waiting.

This is the reply from Bugera/Behringer,,,buy the way you can see the bias area next to the output tubes..
Hello Jimmy,

Typically we leave the biasing to the service techs, rather then the operational tech's. This is do to the amount of involvement necessary. It's a bit invasive having to remove the amp chassis, and also to dismount the PCB. As a end user doing this would void the warranty. So this would be more ideally performed by the Authorized Service Centers. That said the target current for the 6L6-GC is 36 mA. The biasing method via the voltage is not that good, and would work better for graded BUGERA sets only. We suggest you leave the amp with a qualified technician

Hey Bugera: FUCK THE HELL OFF!!!

Who the hell wants to send his heavy-ass amp in for repairs if he blows a fucking tube?
How about people on the road? What now, dudes?

REAL WORD CALLING BUGERA... ANYBODY HOME????