Getting a new amp...but what should I get?

[BlueAngel]

Does anybody know if there's a difference between the Blues Deluxe and the Hot Rod Deluxe other than finish?

The Hot-Rod has an extra mode ('More Drive') on the distortion channel - but it's also slightly re-voiced and the other two modes don't sound exactly the same as the Blues either. Personally I think the Blues sounds slightly better, and although I can get decent tones out of the More Drive mode it still isn't all that useful since it shares all the controls with the Drive mode and simply has more gain - it isn't a 'three-channel' amp as it's often described, it's barely more than a three-mode single channel amp really since it has shared EQ between all three which can make it a bit of a compromise to set up.

Still, for what it does at the price and with straightforward controls I think they've made about as flexible an amp as they could and got the balance between the modes about right - especially as it takes pedals so well. If you want to use the amp's own distortion the trick is to set the EQ for the DIRTY channel, not the clean - even though the clean sound is so good it's tempting to start there. But the clean channel is less sensitive to the EQ, so if you fine-tune the EQ for the dirty channel you can get a better sound out of that without messing up the clean, more than the other way round.

[deaconblues]

Thanks, I'll try that trick with the dirty channel. That's really my only problem with the amp - it distorts fairly quickly in clean mode.

[BlueAngel]

That's partly because the volume taper is so steep, but if you're up against the actual power limit of the amp there's not a lot you can do to keep it cleaner at higher volume. If it's that there's too much gain (mainly if you're using a high-output guitar) and it's breaking up before the power stage is being driven fully, try a lower-gain preamp tube, especially in V1 (furthest from the power tubes). A 12AT7 is a good choice for gain (60 compared to the 12AX7's 100), but can sound a bit 'cold' - a 12AY7 (gain 45) is probably a better-sounding choice and is what was used in many Fender amps of the 50s. Old-stock ones of these aren't too expensive yet and are well worth the extra cost for both tone and life expectancy.

You can try different preamp tubes in the other two positions as well, V2 will have a little less effect since only half the tube is used (the second half is used for the overdrive modes on the Hot-Rod though). V3 is the phase inverter and will affect the tone more than the gain, and a 12AT7 works well there.

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

Go to a Guitar Center and try 'em all. Then buy an amp somewhere else.

If I needed to buy an amp right now I would probably go for a Vox AC-30...just an all-around great sounding, versatile amp. Another classic is the Fender Twin--extremely versatile. Both kick buttucks and sound especially good paired with a Rickenbacker.

[kiramdear]

Hey, Jake, how's the new amp treating you? Do I understand correctly that you had to work on a project for 5 weeks to earn it? That's cool, man, that shows some real character