Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

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stevejamsecono
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Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Oct 18, 2006 9:58 am

Hey All,
I've had a Fender HRDlx for almost two years now. I'm fairly fond of the clean sound and reverb that I can get from it (at the very least the Fender sound period), and would like to stick with this kind of sound, however I've found that the bass response on it is pretty flabby, and just in general the sound is flatter than it could be. I play mostly small to medium sized clubs right now, so a Twin is too loud for my needs, but I wouldn't be opposed to something with 2 12 inch speakers for added sound projection. My goal would be something between 30-50watts max (although I've heard the 22w Deluxe Reverb isn't too bad) and I could probably get a nice Avatar 2x12 too if I wanted. I get all my distortion/wallo'sound/effects from pedals, so an overdrive channel on the amp is not neccessary (althought wouldn't be bad). Any ideas kids?

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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by TheMilford » Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:13 am

Sounds like you need a Pro Reverb.

around 35-40 watts... you might be able to find a silver faced era model for less than $1000

if you just want a head you could get a Bandmaster Reverb or a regular Bandmaster and use an EH Holy Grail for reverb.
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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by mezcalhead » Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:55 am

All good suggestions. Non-reverb Bandmasters are usually pretty cheap I think .. I'm often surprised at just how cheap the non-reverb blackface heads are in general for what they are, and the early silverfaces are even more reasonable and have basically the same circuit.

I'm not too familiar with the HRDlx .. is it a 2x10"? If you like the overall sound of the amp you might find that new speakers do the job .. maybe with a new baffle you could get a pair of 12"s into it .. probably the most economical solution and you can keep the old speakers and baffle in case you ever want to sell it.

Plus, if that doesn't quite work you can get an old (Bandmaster?) head, sell the HRDlx with original speakers and put the 2x12" speakers in a cab.
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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:23 am

HRDlx is 1x12, I'm not sure what type of speaker the stock one is. It's 40watts, 1 and two thirds channels. (1, some kind of solid state drive circuit, and then another gain stage added after that I believe.)

Pro Reverb eh? hmmm

I had thought about heads, I just would like to be able to bring a smaller combo to practices, and then amp it up with a cab for shows. I could be convinced however..
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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by Jay » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:30 am

You'd be suprised how loud the blackface deluxe reverb is...  and they can get a fairly good twin-like sound at less volume.  That's what I would go for if I were in your shoes.  I've had two pro reverbs that for one reason or another never worked for me. They were always a little dirty and not in a pleasing manner. Those were both silverface however, I imagine one that's been cleaned up and properly put back to black specs wouls be better.

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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by TheMilford » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:50 am

The silver Pros can sound a little bright.

I repaired a friends Blackfaced Pro a few monthes ago and it was AMAZING?
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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by Sauerkraut » Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:09 pm

Jay wrote: You'd be suprised how loud the blackface deluxe reverb is...  and they can get a fairly good twin-like sound at less volume.  That's what I would go for if I were in your shoes.  I've had two pro reverbs that for one reason or another never worked for me. They were always a little dirty and not in a pleasing manner. Those were both silverface however, I imagine one that's been cleaned up and properly put back to black specs wouls be better.
I thought silverface fenders sound cleaner in general, a bit too clean even. Did you have the master volume on 10?

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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by Sauerkraut » Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:10 pm

TheMilford wrote: The silver Pros can sound a little bright.

I repaired a friends Blackfaced Pro a few monthes ago and it was AMAZING?
what's up with the questionmark?

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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by TheMilford » Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:50 pm

Sauerkraut wrote:
TheMilford wrote: The silver Pros can sound a little bright.

I repaired a friends Blackfaced Pro a few monthes ago and it was AMAZING?
what's up with the questionmark?
Ooops I meant:

!
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Re: Alternatives to my HRDx/Another Fender Combo. Help!

Post by Sauerkraut » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:09 pm

TheMilford wrote:
Sauerkraut wrote:
TheMilford wrote: The silver Pros can sound a little bright.

I repaired a friends Blackfaced Pro a few monthes ago and it was AMAZING?
what's up with the questionmark?
Ooops I meant:

!
I've been thinking about replacing my silverface twin with a silverface pro reverb as it's much too loud, but pro reverb's are quite expensive so  :'(

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