Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Iii Western Noir

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III Electric Guitar Amplifier 180W - Black. 9 product ratings - Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112 80-watt 1x12' Extension Cabinet - Black.

The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe tube guitar combo can be found on stages around the world. Players love the Hot Rod amps because they deliver unmistakable Fender tone and are a great foundation to sculpt your own signature sound with. These no-frills amps are relable and pair extremely well with stomp boxes. This video is a comparison between the tones (sounds) you can get between the Hot Rod Deluxe III Guitar Amplifier and the Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue amplif. Cream City Music is one of the world's finest gutar shops with selections including the Fender FSR Hot Rod Deluxe 'Western Noir' 40W 1x12 Tube Combo Amp. All guitars sold receive a 35-point inspection, ensuring an incredible playing experience. Shop the top brands at. Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III Western Noir Limited Edition Cool as Cash and dressed in midnight black, the limited-edition Hot Rod Deluxe III 'Western Noir' combines faux-tooled leather black vinyl covering, a punchy Celestion® Greenback speaker and wheat grille cloth to.

The Fender Hot Rod Deluxe is a guitar amplifier manufactured and sold by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It was introduced in 1996 as part of the 'Hot Rod' line of guitar amplifiers and has been in continuous production since. The Hot Rod Deluxe is a modified version of the Fender Blues Deluxe from the earlier Blues line of amplifiers, and has a higher level of gain in its preamplification signal. This model, along with the Hot Rod Deville, were originally designated as F.A.T. ('Fender American Tube') amplifiers but this moniker was dropped in 2002 when production of this series of amps was moved from Corona, CA to Fender's Baja-Ensenada, Mexico manufacturing facility.

Specifications[edit]

The Hot Rod Deluxe is an all tube combo amp rated at 40 watts. It utilizes a single 12-inch Celestion A-Type Speaker. The Hot Rod Deluxe is a mono-channel amplifier featuring 3 switchable gain levels: 'Clean', 'Drive', and 'More Drive' selectable on either the control panel or footswitch (if plugged in). Other features include a Bass, Middle, and Treble EQ, Master Volume, Presence, Normal/Bright, and spring reverb (solid state for both the driver and the recovery circuits). Footswitch and External Speaker jacks are also built in.

Electronics and construction[edit]

As an all-tube (pre-amp and power sections) combo guitar amplifier, the Hot Rod Deluxe features a pair of 6L6GC beam tetrodes for the power section and two 12AX7 dual triodes for the preamp section. One additional 12AX7 tube is utilized for the phase inverter of the power section. However, the rectifier, reverb driver and recovery, and effects loop circuits are solid state. The power section uses a 'fixed bias' biasing scheme with an adjustable bias potentiometer installed from the factory. The factory bias is 60 mA total for both 6L6s.

The physical appearance of the Hot Rod series is based on the mid-to-late 1950s 'narrow panel' tweed amplifiers with accouterments such as a top mounted, chrome plated chassis and black 'chicken head' pointer knobs, but with textured black tolex found on Fender amps from the 1960s onward rather than the tweed covering.

Unlike 'vintage' Fender tube amplifiers, the Hot Rod Deluxe uses a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) construction rather than Eyelet Board construction. Internally, there are two sets of circuit boards. The main circuit board contains the majority of the electronic elements and provides the base onto which the potentiometers for the various controls, and the input and output jacks, are mounted. A secondary board provides the base onto which the tube sockets are mounted (although the pair of power tube sockets are mounted directly on the chassis with long leads connecting those to the secondary board).

Stock and other versions[edit]

At various times, Fender has released special versions or 'Limited Editions' of this amplifier. The stock version of the Hot Rod Deluxe features a 7-Ply 3/4' Birch/Maple Plywood cabinet upholstered in black tolex with silver 'sparkle' speaker grille cloth.

Fender has also updated the Hot Rod Deluxe periodically. From 1996–2010, the stock speaker is an Eminence Legend 1258 75 Watt (special design) speaker. In 2010 the updated version, (dubbed the Hot Rod Deluxe III) was equipped with a Celestion G12P-80 speaker. In 2018 it was updated again with a Celestion A-Type speaker, pine cabinet, smoother-sounding spring reverb and modified preamp circuitry.

Limited editions[edit]

From 2003 to 2004 Fender released two limited edition models in polished maple hardwood (no tolex covering). One of these had a classic three-color sunburst finish; the other was a stained natural finish (both with Jensen speakers).

From late 2006 to March 2007, Fender offered the Hot Rod Deluxe 'White Lightning' Limited Edition. Notable features include white tolex with white control knobs, dark black/silver grille cloth, white pilot light (instead of the stock red), and a 12' Celestion G12 Century Vintage 8-ohm, 60-watt Speaker.

Starting in early 2008, Fender offered the Hot Rod Deluxe in 'Texas Red' Limited Edition, main differences being a 12' Celestion G12 Century Vintage 8-ohm, 60-watt speaker much like the 'White Lightning' version. It also includes ivory chicken knobs.

Other limited editions have included:

• Emerald Green (V30, ivory knob, British emerald, grey grill)
• Orange Racing Stripe
• Wine Red
• Surf Green
• Red Nova
• Western tooled tolex
• Chocolate Brown
• Bluesman blue tolex
• Western Noir
• Python Snakeskin

Fender has also released Hot Rod Deluxes adorned in blonde tolex or tweed cloth (both with ox-blood grill). Alternate installed speakers have also included the Celestion A-Type, Jensen P12N alnico or Jensen C12N ceramic speaker reissues.

Hot Rod Deluxe III[edit]

In 2010, Fender released an update to the Hot Rod Deluxe with the following changes:

Cosmetic upgrades

• Easier-reading black control panel
• New badge

Electronic upgrades

• Graduated volume and treble pot tapers
• 'Tighter' overdrive

Other upgrades

• Celestion G12P-80 speaker
• New low-profile 'pedalboard friendly' footswitch

See also[edit]

References[edit]

The one thing that Fender are best known for doing exceptionally well, after their guitars, is making amps.

They have released quite the number over the years, and were one of the earliest manufacturers – they needed to make them for people to play their new Fender guitars through. It was a sensible business decision when a lot of people were probably still claiming the whole thing was just a fad!

The Hot Rod Deluxe first appeared in 1995, and since 2010 is on its third iteration. It has one of the best reputations around, so let's see what it can do.

Core Specs

Looking at the list of specs, and it's all very unassuming. It's a high-end amp, and that's something that's difficult to reflect in listing the components that go into it.

I guess with this in mind, it's the American construction and the Fender brand that you're paying for as much as anything else.

Output

This will work well for…

Hmm… it's easy to say 'people playing Fender guitars' here, but there are plenty of examples of pleasant humbuckery through one of these amps.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Iii Western Noir 2016

I would say that it would work well for anybody looking for literally the most classic of classic blues rock tones, whether they favor single-coiled Fender guitars or something with humbuckers, like a Gibson Les Paul or SG.

Obviously, you can do what you want with it, but when we start looking and listening, this amp was made for cranking gently: a bit more than clean, but the warmth of the tone would be wasted on anything too distorted.

Parts

Let's take a more detailed look at some of the core specs from above.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Iii Western Noir Limited Edition

The big sell apart from the brand is the tone. Those tones are determined by the valves involved. In this case, that's three 12AX7s in the preamp section, holding hands with two 6L6s in the power section. That's a standard looking setup for amps of this size.

It's also a considerable part of the weightiness of this amp!

Taking a look at the box that houses these valves, and it's made of 7-ply maple and birchwood. In terms of durability and that, there's nothing too exceptional about that. Sais ply comes with a traditional black Tolex covering.

The speaker is contained behind silver sparkle grille cloth. I know it's kind of a traditional Fender design point, but I'm not a big fan of it. I feel like something glittery would fit better if they were going for a full outrageous design. Behind that grille cloth is a Celestion G12P-80 speaker – that's been on Hot Rod Deluxes since 2010.

Not too many surprises on the top panel: two inputs – I'll talk about those in a bit; two volume controls – one each for the channel and for the master volume; your EQ and reverb knobs, and one for presence; channel selection switches; and an effects loop for you, which for some reason is called ‘preamp out' and ‘power amp in.'

Construction

Hey, remember that time Fender put out a product with their name on it that was so poorly constructed it fell apart when you looked at it? Yeah, me neither. That's not a thing.

If you're spending this amount of money on an amp, it's likely that you're a gigging musician, so you need something that's going to be able to survive the wear and tear of lugging an amp in and out of venues.

It's hard to imagine or demonstrate or test for that in a review. The best I can do is give it a gentle shake, and firm prods, and see if anything moves or rattles that shouldn't. That's what I did, and it all seemed completely solid.

Shaking and prodding aside, I took a closer look at the amp, and everything was cleanly put together. Everything that was supposed to be flush was. There was nothing that implied anything but the greatest care in the craftsmanship of this amp.

I feel that with amps, even more so than guitars, good quality electrics are super-important. I've certainly had more problems with such things in amps! I took a look, and it all looked fine, but honestly, I wouldn't call myself an expert on electrics.

Tones

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Iii Review

I tried a single coil and a humbucking guitar to try and give the fullest idea of what's going on. My default EQ settings are bass at four, and middle and treble each at six. My preference is for gain to be set at six – I like it driven, but not too dirty.

When I was going through the parts, I mentioned the Hot Rod Deluxe comes with two inputs. Let's take a look at them. Input 1 is a regular input, while Input 2 is slightly lower ohmage, which gives it a softer tone.

Plugging in a single coil guitar to start with. Uverworld burst mp3. There's no doubt it was rocking in Input 1, but I felt the brightness of the single coils made it a bit harsh for my liking, no matter what the channel. I' sure others would like it, but it wasn't for me.

Switching it to Input 2 though, that's where it was at. The warmest of cleans, and treading the line of dirt on the first overdrive channel would keep any lick-orientated blues rocker satisfied.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Western Noir

Pickup up a humbucker-equipped guitar, it was a different experience. Input 1 worked far better for it, and I may have nudged the gain a little beyond my standard setting for a one-way ticket
to riffsville.

Playability

I normally consider playability in terms of how much enjoyment a guitarist gets from playing a piece of kit, as that will determine how much they want to play it.

With the likes of a straight up, all quality, no frills, classic valve amp, there's less to say than with the likes of a modeling amp that does 784 different things!

Here's the thing. With something as straightforward as this, the most thing you have to enjoy is the tone. That's what it's for.

With the various channels and the two inputs, you might be surprised by how much versatility you can actually get out of it. If you switch between single coil and humbucking guitars during your set, the dual input will cover you, and the three channels should cover off most classic electric guitar sounds.

If you're looking for a solid gigging amp that will do all of the valve tones you'll ever need, you won't need to look any further than the Hot Rod Deluxe. If that's the sound you love, it's got all of the playability.

Pros and Cons

• Classic Fender amp sounds
• Lush warm tube tones
• Surprisingly versatile
• Solidly built
• An amp like this will never be cheap — Check out the latest discounts and prices here!
• Would be wasted on players who favor a heavily distorted sound
• It's far from the prettiest amp on the market
• Personally, I'm not sure of the value of the second driven channel

Alternatives to Try

There are plenty of alternative amps if the Hot Rod Deluxe IIIhas peaked your interest, but isn't quite hitting home.

Marshall DSL40C

I think it's actually illegal to talk about guitar amps without mentioning Marshall, so let's get that out of the way!

I mentioned that the second dirty channel on the Hot Rod was a bit pointless, as getting to that level of dirt detracted from its valviness. If you need to play harder, but retain the warmth of a valve amp, Marshall's DSL40C should be a more than satisfactory alternative.

It retains all-valve goodness, looks as traditional as traditional can be, and is fudging loud! This one is very much for the rockers. I like it best with a set of humbuckers and some fat riffs.

The one thing that Fender are best known for doing exceptionally well, after their guitars, is making amps.

They have released quite the number over the years, and were one of the earliest manufacturers – they needed to make them for people to play their new Fender guitars through. It was a sensible business decision when a lot of people were probably still claiming the whole thing was just a fad!

The Hot Rod Deluxe first appeared in 1995, and since 2010 is on its third iteration. It has one of the best reputations around, so let's see what it can do.

Core Specs

Looking at the list of specs, and it's all very unassuming. It's a high-end amp, and that's something that's difficult to reflect in listing the components that go into it.

I guess with this in mind, it's the American construction and the Fender brand that you're paying for as much as anything else.

Output

This will work well for…

Hmm… it's easy to say 'people playing Fender guitars' here, but there are plenty of examples of pleasant humbuckery through one of these amps.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Iii Western Noir 2016

I would say that it would work well for anybody looking for literally the most classic of classic blues rock tones, whether they favor single-coiled Fender guitars or something with humbuckers, like a Gibson Les Paul or SG.

Obviously, you can do what you want with it, but when we start looking and listening, this amp was made for cranking gently: a bit more than clean, but the warmth of the tone would be wasted on anything too distorted.

Parts

Let's take a more detailed look at some of the core specs from above.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Iii Western Noir Limited Edition

The big sell apart from the brand is the tone. Those tones are determined by the valves involved. In this case, that's three 12AX7s in the preamp section, holding hands with two 6L6s in the power section. That's a standard looking setup for amps of this size.

It's also a considerable part of the weightiness of this amp!

Taking a look at the box that houses these valves, and it's made of 7-ply maple and birchwood. In terms of durability and that, there's nothing too exceptional about that. Sais ply comes with a traditional black Tolex covering.

The speaker is contained behind silver sparkle grille cloth. I know it's kind of a traditional Fender design point, but I'm not a big fan of it. I feel like something glittery would fit better if they were going for a full outrageous design. Behind that grille cloth is a Celestion G12P-80 speaker – that's been on Hot Rod Deluxes since 2010.

Not too many surprises on the top panel: two inputs – I'll talk about those in a bit; two volume controls – one each for the channel and for the master volume; your EQ and reverb knobs, and one for presence; channel selection switches; and an effects loop for you, which for some reason is called ‘preamp out' and ‘power amp in.'

Construction

Hey, remember that time Fender put out a product with their name on it that was so poorly constructed it fell apart when you looked at it? Yeah, me neither. That's not a thing.

If you're spending this amount of money on an amp, it's likely that you're a gigging musician, so you need something that's going to be able to survive the wear and tear of lugging an amp in and out of venues.

It's hard to imagine or demonstrate or test for that in a review. The best I can do is give it a gentle shake, and firm prods, and see if anything moves or rattles that shouldn't. That's what I did, and it all seemed completely solid.

Shaking and prodding aside, I took a closer look at the amp, and everything was cleanly put together. Everything that was supposed to be flush was. There was nothing that implied anything but the greatest care in the craftsmanship of this amp.

I feel that with amps, even more so than guitars, good quality electrics are super-important. I've certainly had more problems with such things in amps! I took a look, and it all looked fine, but honestly, I wouldn't call myself an expert on electrics.

Tones

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Iii Review

I tried a single coil and a humbucking guitar to try and give the fullest idea of what's going on. My default EQ settings are bass at four, and middle and treble each at six. My preference is for gain to be set at six – I like it driven, but not too dirty.

When I was going through the parts, I mentioned the Hot Rod Deluxe comes with two inputs. Let's take a look at them. Input 1 is a regular input, while Input 2 is slightly lower ohmage, which gives it a softer tone.

Plugging in a single coil guitar to start with. Uverworld burst mp3. There's no doubt it was rocking in Input 1, but I felt the brightness of the single coils made it a bit harsh for my liking, no matter what the channel. I' sure others would like it, but it wasn't for me.

Switching it to Input 2 though, that's where it was at. The warmest of cleans, and treading the line of dirt on the first overdrive channel would keep any lick-orientated blues rocker satisfied.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Western Noir

Pickup up a humbucker-equipped guitar, it was a different experience. Input 1 worked far better for it, and I may have nudged the gain a little beyond my standard setting for a one-way ticket
to riffsville.

Playability

I normally consider playability in terms of how much enjoyment a guitarist gets from playing a piece of kit, as that will determine how much they want to play it.

With the likes of a straight up, all quality, no frills, classic valve amp, there's less to say than with the likes of a modeling amp that does 784 different things!

Here's the thing. With something as straightforward as this, the most thing you have to enjoy is the tone. That's what it's for.

With the various channels and the two inputs, you might be surprised by how much versatility you can actually get out of it. If you switch between single coil and humbucking guitars during your set, the dual input will cover you, and the three channels should cover off most classic electric guitar sounds.

If you're looking for a solid gigging amp that will do all of the valve tones you'll ever need, you won't need to look any further than the Hot Rod Deluxe. If that's the sound you love, it's got all of the playability.

Pros and Cons

• Classic Fender amp sounds
• Lush warm tube tones
• Surprisingly versatile
• Solidly built
• An amp like this will never be cheap — Check out the latest discounts and prices here!
• Would be wasted on players who favor a heavily distorted sound
• It's far from the prettiest amp on the market
• Personally, I'm not sure of the value of the second driven channel

Alternatives to Try

There are plenty of alternative amps if the Hot Rod Deluxe IIIhas peaked your interest, but isn't quite hitting home.

Marshall DSL40C

I think it's actually illegal to talk about guitar amps without mentioning Marshall, so let's get that out of the way!

I mentioned that the second dirty channel on the Hot Rod was a bit pointless, as getting to that level of dirt detracted from its valviness. If you need to play harder, but retain the warmth of a valve amp, Marshall's DSL40C should be a more than satisfactory alternative.

It retains all-valve goodness, looks as traditional as traditional can be, and is fudging loud! This one is very much for the rockers. I like it best with a set of humbuckers and some fat riffs.

Are you also looking for combo amps? In case you are, here are the top 3 best of the best, so you can narrow the options down once in for all.

Vox AC15

If you like some British flavor for your sound, but the Marshall is a bit heavy, the Vox AC15 will do the job. A lower output than the Fender or the Marshall, at 15 watts, it's a very refined sound. There's a debate of whether 15 watts is powerful enough to gig with, but if you're spending this much on an amp, your amp will be miced up and going through monitors, so it's no problem.

Blackstar HT Club 40

Blackstar amps are amongst the most highly regarded of the newer amp brands. Their HT Club 40 is one that this reviewer was very close to buying once.

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Amp

It's a unique amp, and I've never seen a valve amp like it. It essentially comes with a knob that allows you to adjust the voicing to more American or more British tones. As it's a knob, you can dial in as much of a balance of either as you want. Very cool!

My Final Thoughts

Hot Rod Deluxe Review

I would suggest the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III is an ideal amp for a mature musician, who‘s looking for quality tones, rather than just being the loudest person in the room. It's an ideal gigging amp for such a musician: it's highly likely they're beyond the days of trying to impress people with the size of their stack.

If you're looking for high-end, tube-driven blues or blues rock, I'd definitely recommend getting down to your local guitar store and cranking out a few licks. I'll be very surprised if you didn't like it!

Danny grew up playing anything that looked like a guitar. Since some kids just don't know how to grow up, he continues to write about guitars because you can do that these days.