i bitchslapped my hrd with a big muff and now it won't stop buzzing

[jem_jack]

so I forgot to check the volume level on the muff before i stepped on it.    If i had remembered i would have found that those mischivious pedal fairies had turned it way up.   
after this event i noticed my amp has developed an annoying buzz.  I swapped the tubes and the speaker.  really tho it's more like IN the amp, not coming thru it.  I think something is vibrating and I have tightened up everything i can think to tighten. 
it sucks because everytime I want to play i end up taking teh damn thing apart tring to figure out waht is goin on. 
So could someone help me nail this before i go have some cheese and whine.

[stereosanctity]

Dude, its the same thing with me. I have no clue what it really is.  But the noise of it is bad enough so that it makes the amp totally useless.  One of my worst gear purchases ever.

[Fiddy]

One of my worst gear purchases ever.

[OffYourFace]

what's an 'hrd'?

[stereosanctity]

Hot Rod Deluxe.

[StevenO]

I've been using a Hot Rod Deluxe lately and it does the exact same thing. It's annoying. It's not mine so I'm glad I don't have to deal with it. Not a fan of these Hot Rod Deluxes. Too temperamental. I don't think I know of anyone, personally, who has had one that didn't start doing something weird.

[stereosanctity]

Totally.  It's an absolutely atrocious amp.  Between the weird ass rattling/shaking/whatever, the ridiculous volume at 1, and the flat tone, I just have no use for it.  I even feel bad trying to sell it.

[Fiddy]

Totally.  It's an absolutely atrocious amp.  Between the weird ass rattling/shaking/whatever, the ridiculous volume at 1, and the flat tone, I just have no use for it.  I even feel bad trying to sell it.

I bought one and sold it whithin a week for those very same reasons you describe. I will never own a PCB amp for whatever is left of my musical life.

[sookwinder]

do do do do do do do do      you have entered the twighlight zone...

for the other side of the coin  (and a coin does have three sides) index.php/topic,16060.0.html

[RumorsOFsurF]

I've been using a Hot Rod Deluxe lately and it does the exact same thing. It's annoying. It's not mine so I'm glad I don't have to deal with it. Not a fan of these Hot Rod Deluxes. Too temperamental. I don't think I know of anyone, personally, who has had one that didn't start doing something weird.

Well you do now.  I've had ZERO problems with mine through 3 years of gigging.  I use my Twin as well, but not as often due to the back-breaking weight.  I dare say I've played 150 gigs with my 1-12 Hot Rod Deluxe with only two problems.  1 was a bad preamp tube, the other a burnt out jewel light....Both standard maintenance items.

Other than that, the amp's been flawless, and I think it sounds rather nice.  My ex-bandmate had one as well, and it worked great.  These amps do get bad reputations, but it's likely due to the sheer numbers produced.  There are going to be a few bad ones out of thousands produced.  I'd be willing to venture a guess and say they've been the most popular amps of the last ten years.  They're everywhere, and for good reason.  They sound pretty good for what they are, a relatively inexpensive (when compared to other NEW amps) 40 watt tube combo.

Brad's right about the construction, but I dare you to find another new tube amp with similar features that is hand-wired for under $1500.  Vintage wins of course, considering you can pick up nice Silverface Fenders for about the same price of a new HRD, but I'm speaking of new amps only.  90% of all of today's production amps are PCB construction, and none of them that are handwired come close to the HRD price point.

What it boils down to for me is that mine was $600 new, and I don't have to worry about it.  I've gotten 3 years of hard use out of it, and that's worth the price to me.  I don't have to be afraid of messing up a vintage amp, even cosmetically speaking.  If I had to do it again, I'd probably find a Silverface Deluxe Reverb.  Serviceability has become more important to me at this point, but I still stand by my old HRD.

[RumorsOFsurF]

I agree 100% with all your points.  I was ignorant about vintage amps when I started, and I figured why not a new amp with a warranty?  It worked fine for me, a N00B.

Once I discovered how serviceable vinage hand-wired (So-called PTP) amps were, and how inexpensive it was to have them repaired, I realized my folly.  Not to mention how inexpensive and abundant SF Fenders are. A properly maintainted Silverface Fender will almost always sound better, and will be more reliable than a  new one.  Same for Blackface(of course), which are constructed even better, and are much more expensive than SF models.

I'm just sayin'...my HRD has served me well, regardless. 

[RumorsOFsurF]

yeah.  If you are going to buy a brand new amplifier and are limited to about $600, then the HRD is probably about the best you're going to do. 

Price/performance they are a very good value among brand new amplifiers IMO.

But I've learned that there's really no reason to ever buy a new amp, unless it's from one of those fancy-pants boutique type builders, in which case they're too expensive for me.

[OffYourFace]

The only issues I've ever had with HRDs are the input jacks.  I've been to many rehearsal rooms where they have HRDs and if I find out ahead time, I'll bring a soldering iron 

A lot of my friends have/had them and I would resolder the jacks for them every 6 months or so.

I have a '90s USA made Pro Jr. that I love.  It's all stock except I completely replaced the jack with a wired-in switchcraft.  PCB-mounted jacks should be illegal.

[RumorsOFsurF]

  PCB-mounted jacks should be illegal.

Yep.

Punishable by whipping.  40 lashes. 

[sookwinder]

  PCB-mounted jacks should be illegal.

Yep.

Punishable by whipping.  40 lashes.  

agree totally  ... I've replaced the input jacks on my HRD and the Blues Junior I bought (2nd hand) for nephew with high quality jacks and they both feel like the rock of gibraltar.

well worth the $15 in parts and the 2 hours to do the change over