cheshirecatsmile
Well-known member
Hi there,
I run a small recording studio, and I see a fair number of different amps come through. I've seen probably 4 different Hot Rod Devilles over the past couple of years and 3 out of 4 have had badly microphonic tubes which becomes much more pronounced at higher volumes. I don't know what stock tubes are on these, but I suspect the Devilles I've heard were shipped with weak tubes. (For note--I still have the original tubes in my 1974 Fender Twin, and they still sound great). I actually really like the tone of Devilles (they record nicely if they're working properly), and it's handy having the channel switching on them compared with an old-school type amp like a Deluxe Reverb where you need a distortion pedal or another amp if you need to go clean to dirty within a song. I'd consider getting a Deville, but I wonder a bit about build quality too--2 out of the four I've seen had dodgy input jacks as well--looked like a cheap jack poorly soldered to a circuit board. Again, this is something that could be improved by a good amp tech.
They cost a bit more than an Ampeg Jet, but my favourite little amp these days is my Vox AC-15 (UK made, although I've heard good things from my amp tech about the Chinese ones). If you're going to get one of these, pay the extra money for the blue alnico speaker--it turns these into a different amp! (Greenbacks are ok too, but different tone). You can go from nice clean chime to a nice bluesy grit with a strat, and with a Les Paul ( or I should say, Love Rock!) you can get a great thick tone, all at fairly low volumes, and no pedals. If you need to really keep it down for the neighbours, just dial the master volume down. The AC-30 is twice as loud and more money--not what you're looking for. You could probably just about trade your Deville in for an AC15.
Good luck!
________
Starcraft replays
I run a small recording studio, and I see a fair number of different amps come through. I've seen probably 4 different Hot Rod Devilles over the past couple of years and 3 out of 4 have had badly microphonic tubes which becomes much more pronounced at higher volumes. I don't know what stock tubes are on these, but I suspect the Devilles I've heard were shipped with weak tubes. (For note--I still have the original tubes in my 1974 Fender Twin, and they still sound great). I actually really like the tone of Devilles (they record nicely if they're working properly), and it's handy having the channel switching on them compared with an old-school type amp like a Deluxe Reverb where you need a distortion pedal or another amp if you need to go clean to dirty within a song. I'd consider getting a Deville, but I wonder a bit about build quality too--2 out of the four I've seen had dodgy input jacks as well--looked like a cheap jack poorly soldered to a circuit board. Again, this is something that could be improved by a good amp tech.
They cost a bit more than an Ampeg Jet, but my favourite little amp these days is my Vox AC-15 (UK made, although I've heard good things from my amp tech about the Chinese ones). If you're going to get one of these, pay the extra money for the blue alnico speaker--it turns these into a different amp! (Greenbacks are ok too, but different tone). You can go from nice clean chime to a nice bluesy grit with a strat, and with a Les Paul ( or I should say, Love Rock!) you can get a great thick tone, all at fairly low volumes, and no pedals. If you need to really keep it down for the neighbours, just dial the master volume down. The AC-30 is twice as loud and more money--not what you're looking for. You could probably just about trade your Deville in for an AC15.
Good luck!
________
Starcraft replays
