Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

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blimpage
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Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by blimpage » Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:51 pm

I love the way Atomic Humbuckers sound through the dirty channel of a Hot Rod Deluxe. Based on what I've read, I think I'm the only person on the internet who likes either of those things, let alone the two of them together. :P

I play in a punk band and that's my main sound. I frequently get compliments on the guitar tone after our sets - take that, haters!

But now that we're starting to tour a bit more, I'm finding the combo amp to be a bit of a hassle to transport. It takes up a lot of boot space, and if we're flying then a big heavy combo isn't really a viable option. So I've been trying to find a head that sounds similar that I can use on the road, but haven't found anything that gets close enough so far.

I bought a Super Champ X2 figuring I'd be able to use Fender Fuse to program a custom sound that'd be pretty close to a Hot Rod, but I was actually pretty disappointed with the limited range of customisation options it offers. The closest I could get was a Super Sonic preset with some tweaked overdrive settings, but that still ends up sounding more Marshall-y than what I'm after.

So help me out! Where can I find an amp that gives me a dirty Hot Rod sound with a smaller form factor?

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by somebodyelseuk » Tue Sep 05, 2017 12:39 am

It's always going to depend on the speaker and cabinet you're using, and if you want consistent sound, you'll need to transport the speaker, too.
'If it were me', take the insides out of a HR Deluxe and build/get someone to build you a head sized box to put 'em in. That's all a Marshall stack is - a combo with the electronics and the speakers in separate boxes.

You don't have to destroy the original amp to do it - you can always have it put back together if you ever want to sell it.

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by Bad Monkey » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:15 pm

pick up a HRDx and stick the chassis in a head enclosure. easy peesy. As the other reply stated, it will also depend on the cab you play through, but HRDx extension cabs sound dead on to the combo and are common. should be easy to find on the road and in any case any of the fender cabs with 12" speaker will get you in the wheelhouse."

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by Embenny » Thu Sep 07, 2017 4:02 pm

somebodyelseuk wrote:It's always going to depend on the speaker and cabinet you're using, and if you want consistent sound, you'll need to transport the speaker, too.
'If it were me', take the insides out of a HR Deluxe and build/get someone to build you a head sized box to put 'em in. That's all a Marshall stack is - a combo with the electronics and the speakers in separate boxes.

You don't have to destroy the original amp to do it - you can always have it put back together if you ever want to sell it.
This is truly your best option. There are so many cabinet builders these days that you won't have to search far for someone who will do this. The only thing that sounds exactly like a HRD is a HRD. Why trade something with the tone you want for something that might not nail it?

I also agree that haters and internet tone-warriors should stuff it. HRD dirty channels and Atomic HBs don't get much online love, but until the Black Keys came around, I didn't see too many people clamoring for those "worthless" Goldfoil pickups, either.

Hit it big, and you'll have people posting on forums going, "I'm looking for a set of 2010's Atomics to run through my HRD for that classic blimpage tone"
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by blimpage » Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:15 pm

mbene085 wrote:Hit it big, and you'll have people posting on forums going, "I'm looking for a set of 2010's Atomics to run through my HRD for that classic blimpage tone"
:D Haha, shouldn't be long now!

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by somebodyelseuk » Fri Sep 08, 2017 5:17 am

blimpage wrote:
mbene085 wrote:Hit it big, and you'll have people posting on forums going, "I'm looking for a set of 2010's Atomics to run through my HRD for that classic blimpage tone"
Haha, shouldn't be long now!
Just remember to mention where you got the idea, when you're being interviewed in Guitarist magazine ;)

Additionally, if you go with my idea, don't put a Fender logo on the rig, make your own logo you're playing a 'boutique rig' and how you get your sound could be one of those 'holy grail' things that no-one ever figures out. ;)

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by NoiseNoiseNoise » Fri Sep 08, 2017 8:38 am

somebodyelseuk wrote:
blimpage wrote:
mbene085 wrote:Hit it big, and you'll have people posting on forums going, "I'm looking for a set of 2010's Atomics to run through my HRD for that classic blimpage tone"
Haha, shouldn't be long now!
Just remember to mention where you got the idea, when you're being interviewed in Guitarist magazine

Additionally, if you go with my idea, don't put a Fender logo on the rig, make your own logo you're playing a 'boutique rig' and how you get your sound could be one of those 'holy grail' things that no-one ever figures out.
Now that IS an evil idea! :D
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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by Embenny » Fri Sep 08, 2017 6:23 pm

somebodyelseuk wrote:
blimpage wrote:
mbene085 wrote:Hit it big, and you'll have people posting on forums going, "I'm looking for a set of 2010's Atomics to run through my HRD for that classic blimpage tone"
Haha, shouldn't be long now!
Just remember to mention where you got the idea, when you're being interviewed in Guitarist magazine

Additionally, if you go with my idea, don't put a Fender logo on the rig, make your own logo you're playing a 'boutique rig' and how you get your sound could be one of those 'holy grail' things that no-one ever figures out.
You can go a step further by covering the circuit board in epoxy like Dumble, so that even techs won't be able to confirm what it is that you're using!
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by stevejamsecono » Sat Sep 09, 2017 7:36 am

People have definitely put the guts in head cabinets before, so that shouldn't be too difficult to do. And HRs are so cheap and ubiqiutous that the cost of doing it really shouldn't be that much.

If you don't feel like that doing that, supposedly they are based on the Bassman circuit, although I don't really hear it. There are a few cool fender heads (Pro and Supersonic for example, 80s Concert) that might fit the bill.
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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by Embenny » Mon Sep 11, 2017 4:52 am

stevejamsecono wrote:People have definitely put the guts in head cabinets before, so that shouldn't be too difficult to do. And HRs are so cheap and ubiqiutous that the cost of doing it really shouldn't be that much.

If you don't feel like that doing that, supposedly they are based on the Bassman circuit, although I don't really hear it. There are a few cool fender heads (Pro and Supersonic for example, 80s Concert) that might fit the bill.
It's the gain channel that he uses, though, and that's definitely not Bassman-based (at least not in the sense of being able to get that tone out of a Bassman). The Supersonic has a solid gain channel, but the Hot Rods (deluxe and deville) are a unique circuit.
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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by blimpage » Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:39 pm

mbene085 wrote:It's the gain channel that he uses, though, and that's definitely not Bassman-based (at least not in the sense of being able to get that tone out of a Bassman). The Supersonic has a solid gain channel, but the Hot Rods (deluxe and deville) are a unique circuit.
Yeah, exactly. There are plenty of amps I can find that'll give me a comparably nice clean sound, but that's not what I'm after.

I know next to nothing about the inner workings of amps and have a very unsophisticated vocabulary when it comes to talking about their sounds, but to my ear the Super Sonic's gain channel has a more crunchy distortion sound than what I'm used to from a Hot Rod.

Based on the advice in this thread I'm keeping an eye out for another Hot Rod combo locally so that I can take it apart and build an enclosure just for the head. That's definitely more work than I'd ideally like to do though!

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by stevejamsecono » Mon Sep 11, 2017 6:43 pm

blimpage wrote:
mbene085 wrote:It's the gain channel that he uses, though, and that's definitely not Bassman-based (at least not in the sense of being able to get that tone out of a Bassman). The Supersonic has a solid gain channel, but the Hot Rods (deluxe and deville) are a unique circuit.
Yeah, exactly. There are plenty of amps I can find that'll give me a comparably nice clean sound, but that's not what I'm after.

I know next to nothing about the inner workings of amps and have a very unsophisticated vocabulary when it comes to talking about their sounds, but to my ear the Super Sonic's gain channel has a more crunchy distortion sound than what I'm used to from a Hot Rod.

Based on the advice in this thread I'm keeping an eye out for another Hot Rod combo locally so that I can take it apart and build an enclosure just for the head. That's definitely more work than I'd ideally like to do though!
You could probably just order one? I've ordered from these guys before and they do great work. They'd probably do a custom HRD head for not too much cash: http://www.mathercab.com/price_list_fender.htm
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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by blimpage » Mon Sep 11, 2017 9:10 pm

stevejamsecono wrote:You could probably just order one? I've ordered from these guys before and they do great work. They'd probably do a custom HRD head for not too much cash: http://www.mathercab.com/price_list_fender.htm
Ooooh good to know.

Being in Australia means I probably need to budget for double the price (insane shipping wooo), but those are some very nice-looking cabinets.

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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Sep 13, 2017 6:39 pm

I have to imagine there are guys in AU who do this stuff, so I wouldn't worry about that.
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Re: Looking for a head that sounds like a Hot Rod Deluxe

Post by marqueemoon » Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:39 pm

What everybody else said. If it works for you just go with what you know.

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