My old Fender Hotrod Deluxe finally needed replacing after 15 years ... it was a fantastic amp that I used for hundreds of gigs. But now I want to get something that is a little more versatile. I bought a used Mesa Boogie DC-3 from Guitar Center but returned it 5 days later after using it live ... it just didn't cover the ground that the Fender Hotrod did. I tried out a Blackstar combo amp which is a new company started up by ex-Marshall designers. I liked it a lot. It can be switched between Class A and Class A/B amplifier modes. Has anyone else got any experience with the Blackstar range?

Bought a small Blackstar for a young guy I sort of mentor. Sounded fine, but it was an under $200.00 beginners amp.

Today, I got a small, 5 W Kustom Tube head. Did a recording job in Louisville last week and heard one for the first time.

Simple as hell, and LOUD!

Thinking of ordering the 12" cabinet made for it.

Main amp line now is JazzKat. Have three and love them. They have a tube preamp section and on-board effects.

Still use new Super Champ XD, a Roland Jazz Chorus, a Polytone and a Fender Acoustasonic, depending on the job. Rarely, I'll use a Roland Cube 30 or 60.

Then, theres the rig I have with a 1973 Bassman head, two 12's (Black Widows) and outboard effects. That rig has wheels: it's heavy as hell! Whel I use it, "it's roadie time"LOL!

Hope the BlackStar stuff is fine for you. Nigel.


Let us know...



Russ

How is that Super Champ XD working out for you? Isn't that a tube amp with digital amp models included?

I changed my mind about the Blackstar tube amp ... while the clean channel seemed good the gain channel colored the guitar sound much too much.

I am almost thinking about replacing my 15 year old Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a new one. I just haven't heard anything better than that Fender sound in all my hunting around.

Maybe I am too picky about my guitar amp sound. I even had a Mesa Boogie for a week but returned it because it just didn't really cut it. I am going to try out the low wattage Marshall and Vox combo amps before I decide what to get.

Yes, the little XD is a tube unit (15 watts, I think), with a digital effects mechanism. It's GREAT for my little dining room jobs with a jazz guitar.

The JazzKats are really nice, but not for group work....sounds too clean, even with a tube pre-amp.

When I needed to replace the old 64 Jazz Bass I played for years (thought I'd ruin the value), I looked high and low, and bought...you guesed it, ANOTHER Jazz bass.

Sometimes, you don't mess with what works.

I'd get another Fender and just keep on ROCKIN!


Russ

Well I tried out Marshall and Vox combos and just wasn't too impressed with the way they sounded. Then I tried out an Egnater Rebel 30 ... wow what a sound it has. The clean channel just blew me away. It made a Fender Strat sound like a full bodied jumbo acoustic when I first hit a chord. I don't think I have ever heard an amp make a Fender guitar sound so electric/acoustic. It is a very interesting amp. It is 2 channels each with it's own wattage control from 1-30 watts. And it also has 2 sets of power tubes EL84 and 6V6 with a tube mix control that can blend between the 2 tube types.

I bought it. Never thought I would hear an amp that could beat Fender at clean tones. And the gain channel can make that wonderful brown sound that is so sought after. Egnater are designed in Texas by Bruce Egnater who has worked to achieve the guitar amp he always wanted to hear. It has renewed my faith in US designed guitar equipment.

http://www.egnateramps.com/EgnaterProducts/Rebel/Rebel30112/Rebel30112.html

Heard good things from several guys. Never played one. I'm sort of "locked at the hip" with JazzKat, but often play my Acoustasonic Fender with nylon string or a cool double neck acoustic Ovation 6 and 12 I have.


Russ

I've always thought those hotrod deluxes sounded nice. I think you might also like a vintage Vibrolux Reverb. Great sounding amps and in somewhat of the same vein. I love silverface fenders. They usually aren't as expensive and with a few tweaks can sound very good (sometimes they don't need anything at all in the way of mods).

Well the first gig I used the Egnater it worked fine for a set then at the end of the 2nd set the gain channel mysteriously cut out. I finished the set on the clean channel which was still working fine surprisingly. I powered the amp down during our break and it did work fine in the 3rd set.

But I dislike gear that isn't reliable. When I got home I read a number of reviews of the Rebel 30 and 4 other people had had the gain channel cut out on them too. None of them were able to provide info on the fix because of course when they sent it to a service center the amp never cut out then. Because the one I had bought off the floor at Guitar Center had damaged Tolex they had ordered in another to changeover for mine. However after 3 weeks it still hadn't arrived. And because I was starting to mistrust its reliability I returned it before the 30 days was up.

And yes I simply bought another HotRod Deluxe. It is revision III and they have made a few improvements on my old one but essentially it is the same amp. I used it at a gig tonight and it didn't miss a beat and sounded great all night. I guess it was meant to be.

Good choice, Nigel. Last Friday, I used the 1983 Super Champ heading your way some day (not too soon, I hope).

Sounded GREAT lined out into a PA. Way better than the new one.


Just warming it up to keep the capacitors from drying out.


Russ

By the way Russ, 777funk who posted earlier on this thread has a business that you may enjoy checking out. http://www.rocketfireguitars.com make hand crafted vintage style guitars to order. They even handwind their own pickups using wire that meets the spec of vintage Fender pickups. So refreshing in this age of mass production.

Looks NICE! I want to build double with a Tele neck on top and a Strat neck on the bottom. These may be the guys!


Russ

I mentioned to Nick ( 777funk ) what you had said on this thread about a double neck Tele/Strat guitar and he really appreciated your suggestion thinking it really could be the best of both worlds. While he would have to come up with a special body to pull it off I am sure he would be happy to chat about it with you if you are interested. Nick really is a down to earth guy who just loves guitars, I am sure you guys would hit it off.

Nick didn't even promote his own business on this thread, but I felt it was appropriate to point out the unique services he offers to guitarists.

Actually, Warmouth has a body I'm happy with. We may be able to secure that and let Nick handle all the rest of the construction.


R.

That sounds like a great solution. You can contact Nick at http://www.rocketfireguitars.com to talk about it.