[~j~]

Originally Posted by Schmigan

Hey,
I bought a Hot Rod Deluxe about 6 months ago and it is a very nice amp, absolutely beautiful tone. It's got a great clean sound, the dirty channel isn't too bad (If you're looking for a spectacular high gain tone, go with a Marshall), and the natural overdrive sounds GREAT. My only complaint is that it doesn't have a master volume knob, so in order to overdrive the amp, you have to have it playing LOUD. It will easily be loud enough to be heard over a drummer, and you'll be able to play most medium sized gigs fairly easily without needing to mic it. There's a bright switch on the clean channel, along with a second slightly darker sounding input, which is good for creating some variations in tone, the EQ is responsive enough, and the Reverb sounds great, as with all Fenders. Bob Womack is right about the linear-taper-pot volume control, it can be tricky to get your volume right on lower volumes as the knob is VERY touchy. But I like it that way - once you get it above 4 or so the amp doesn't really go any louder, it just increases the overdrive. I don't like the More Drive button very much, but that's probably because I usually play clean or with my tubescreamer anyways when I want some distortion, and I don't usually use too much. Email me if you have any question or want a recording or something.

Ryan

my deville sounds quite nice with the regular overdrive channel *plus* a tube-screamer. Smooth! =)