Okay, so I have been without an amp for a while. My last was a 112 Fender Blues Deluxe that I absolutely loved. Well, a gent I know has offered to sell me a Hot Rod Deville 2x12 combo, 60-watt for $400. Now I don't have a lot of money - in fact that is the MOST I have to spend. But they list for $800, so it seems like a fair deal.

This will just be for home usage, no gigging is in my immediate future. Has anyone out there played this amp? Thoughts?

60 watts is alot power for just home use. If you all you plan to do is play at home then you could get a less expensive amp say, a Blues Jr. which is a 15 watt amp. Still, $400 bucks isn't a bad price for this amp!

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ChrisM
60 watts is alot power for just home use. If you all you plan to do is play at home then you could get a less expensive amp say, a Blues Jr. which is a 15 watt amp. Still, $400 bucks isn't a bad price for this amp!

See that's the thing. I have a guy willing to sell me a Blues Junior (which is an amp I like very much) for $300. And then there's somebody willing to sell an amp that's 3 times the wattage and more than twice the size for a hundred dollars more. What to do??

I owned one for 2 or 3 years and used it in 2 bands over a period of about a year and a half, so I have a pretty good amount of experience with it, and I was never completely happy with the sound. To give you an idea of what I was going for, the main band was straight-up rock-n-roll, mostly originals, slightly glammy in sound, with a little late 70's punk influence too (and we did covers of Beast of Burden and Bitch ). The other was a total covers band, all late 70's punk. The DeVille, all tube, built to be overdriven, should have delivered but didn't. When I'm just dicking around at home, I tend to play pretty bluesy and I didn't like it much for that either. Fender's are supposed to be known for blues, but the clean sound is not what you'd expect from one at all, and the drive channels, especially the "more drive", aren't that great at low volumes.

The only time I was happy with it was playing live, when I could get it up around 4 or so and let, I guess, the tubes really do their thing. Otherwise, it mostly sounded like ass because I couldn't turn it up, even at practice. I just needed it up around 3-1/2, I wasn't looking to crank it, but that's what I felt was the problem with it- anything below three sounds like crap, and anything above it is LOUD. I will give it that, that 60 watts is deceptive, but it's also what makes it a bit of a one trick pony. My experience is, it's mostly a live amp, it's not really good for just playing with at home. Or around anyone who crybabies at practice about it being to loud.

So that's the thing really, especially in your case. If your just looking to play at home, I say don't waste your money, you'll likely be very disappointed. Unless you like it loud and can get away with it. But if your like most people, you probably don't like it all that loud when your by yourself, at least not all the time, and it really doesn't sound good at low volumes. I say get the Blues Jr., I've always heard good things about it, and that it's a good "bedroom amp" to boot.

Plus, Devilles weigh a TON, you'll kill your back just getting it home.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-01-23 12:11 by boogie1969.

By the way, I bought mine used from a store for $500.00 and change, so $400 is a good price. And I understand your logic, your getting 4 times as much amp for only a $100 more, but I don't think that extra $100 will add up. Especially if the Jr is something you know you like. At the very least, don't buy the DeVille without spending some real time with it first, if that's possible. Otherwise, I think your very likely to be disappointed with it.

It's a loud amp. I've got its 40 watt little brother and it's too loud to use at home. I only use it for live work with a full band and use (much) smaller amps for home use and smaller gigs.

If you do buy it, better get some earplugs for your neighbours.

The Hot Rod amps are big, loud, heavy, and sterile.

Get a low wattage tube amp for at home, e.g. a Blues Jr, Champ, or Peavey Classic 30. You won't regret it.

I've had this amp. I would agree from the majority of the comments on here. It is a very good amp.....but it weighs a ton, too loud, you won't be able to get it loud enough to appreciate the tone. I think at 400 bucks it's great value for money. If it works. You may wish to check if it's Mexican built amp or a USA built amp. For some reason and I think it's only a perception but the USA amps are apparently better made.

Hell I'd buy it at $400 but consider smaller amps or get one of those boxes that you can fit in the effects loop so you can dial the volume down but still get the tone. There's a guy on ebay who sells them.

Good luck if you decide it's for you.

NickB

You can't always get what you want.....

www.myspace.com/thesonkings

I have a Deville 2 x 12 (not a hod rod). The clean channel is not really clean, but souds good for blues and rock (not metal) if you can play it loud. For small clubs I use a "Hotplate" before the speaker, to turn down the volume. But they're not cheap. If your main goal is to use it at home and small clubs, I would advice you to go for the Blues jr.

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theimposter
Hot Rod Deville 2x12 combo, 60-watt for $400. Now I don't have a lot of money - in fact that is the MOST I have to spend. But they list for $800, so it seems like a fair deal.

If you were looking for an amp to use on stage then you should buy it instantly. But since you want something to play at home I would suggest looking for something different - less powerful.
I you are planning to do any gigs in future, then it would be worth the investment. It's a good price for a Hot Rod Deville 2 x 12".

I just never liked the range of Hot Rod and Blues Deville amps. These are all pre-amp distortion combo's and to my ears they just sound brittle and flat. Buy a 15 watt Tweed Deluxe and turn it up -that's pure raw power.

Mathijs