Re: Hot Rod Deluxe Problems..

On Nov 19, 8:40 pm, "Phil S." <psymonds_no_s...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
<soliloquismicalit...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:ad9fe672-27ea-4a75-b0a8-5d0887261b4d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



I just got a Hot Rod Deluxe with a Celestion Vintage 30 in it.

This is my first (real) amp, before it was a pignose and before that
was the strat pack amp I'd played on for the previous 2 years.

I've had it for a week. My friend sold it to me (kind of) because he
had no use for it, but I haven't paid him yet. My last paycheck from
my job I no longer have is on friday. I've made it a point so far that
I love the amp and for sure want to buy it, but I'm having second
thoughts. The EQ is way too muddy for me, not at all versatile. Once I
manage to dial in a decent EQ, I'll start jamming out only to learn
(the hard way) that with the wah on and wahing the treble is way too
high and really hurts my hears, even on the bedroom volumes I've been
playing the amp on. This is starting to really piss me off because
I've made it clear to Connor that I would purchase the amp from him. I
have an amp in mind that I know sounds better because before I took
the Deluxe from Connor, I had been going to the music store with my
axe and jamming out on it. It's a solid state Bass amp though, and so
far all I've heard from people is; don't get a bass amp, you idiot. It
can't handle all the frequencies - blah blah blah and crap like that.

The Hartke has a 7 band EQ that I was able to dial in a good setting
on in just a couple of seconds. And an overall really clear, crisp but
deep warm tone to it. I've never heard my guitar sound so good.

Switching from Tube back to Solid State? Wha?

I've certainly never considered it, until recently.

I'm not sure what to do, because I know the Deluxe has a lot of hidden
potential (I'm told at least). And I'm still not sure how to pay back
the 450 he let it go for in the 6 months I have (+ if it's even worth
it).

Suggestions?

How old is the HRD?

Original tubes?

Even if replacement tubes, were the used hard or not?

What brand of tube? You can pull each one and look. Gently wiggle them
with a bit of a circular motion while pulling and they will come free. One
at a time, you don't want to mess with forgetting which one was where. They
are keyed, so they only go in one way. Study the pins on the small ones to
see where the gap is. Not all tubes are equal.

Any maintenance ever done on it? If so, by a hack or someone who knew what
he was doing?

Finally, get another job and buy both amps. You will get tired of the
Hartke. Meanwhile, you might get some maintenance on the HRD and learn how
to dial it in.

3 years old I'm pretty sure. Original tubes, not used much.. No
maintenance done, 5 year warranty is still good.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'get tired'. If I can get tired of an
amp, I can just as easily get tired of another amp... The fun is in my
effects set up and - most of all - in the playing of the guitar. All I
want is a good sound, and loud enough to play gigs with..

I'm not sure what I would get maintenance on, the amp is in mint
condition and extremely lightly used. I'm also not sure that there is
much learning to be done about messing with 4 knobs and a bright
switch, I've been up late for a week and a half dialing in and haven't
found a good setting yet.

I don't know what kind of tubes they are, and don't particularly feel
like jiggling them loose right now.

Let me know what you're thinking...
.

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