loading
reading
writing
saving
searching
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (Fromel mod) - $600 (White Rock)
QR Code Link to This Post
The Hot Rod Deluxe is the best selling tube amp of all time, it sounds good and is pretty reliable, other than a couple common problems. After these mods your amp will sound fantastic and be more reliable. The classic Fender tone is released through these changes. The flabby bottom darkness is gone, what you get is full warm classic tone with nice top end sparkle.
Additionally, the kit upgrades every electrolytic cap in the circuit with high quality F&T, Sprague or Nichon electrolytic caps. All the capacitors in this kit were specially chosen for great tone, reliability, and accurate fit in your Hot Rod Deluxe.
Please Note: The Supreme Mod kit includes both the "Complete Mod Kit" and "Recap Kit" that we offer and is the ultimate tonal upgrade for your own amplifier!
Included in the kit is all the components necessary to to get your amp in top shape and the detailed instructions via download to make the changes easy. If you have a basic understanding of electronics and soldering skills you can do these mods in a couple of hours. Included in this kit are the following upgrades:
Tone Stack - Get rid of that farty bottom, honky mids, and lack of clarity. High Quality WIMA caps with corrected values for the Bass and Mid Cap and corrected value for the slope resistor. What about the Treble cap? replace the cheap ceramic cap with a high quality Silver Mica cap. The result is an amp that sounds huge and warm with nice top end sparkle, not dark and buried in the mix.
Twin Mod - Fix the mids on the amp and get rid of that flabby bottom. This mod enables you to take all the mids out of the tone allowing more flexibility and versatility. This is accomplished with just a short jumper wire but the result is far better control of your tone.
Brightness - Like to play at low volumes but find the amp too dark? The brightness mod adds sparkle to your tone at low volumes. As you turn your amp up the brightness mod loses its effect so the amp never sounds brittle at high volumes.
Power Stiffening - Doubles the capacitance in the first filter stage, this reduces hum and increases reserve power for solid bass and better transience for incisive picking, This mod gives the amp the extra torque it needs to push through strong when you are playing hard. This also takes some stress off the output transformer increasing its life span.
Lead Master Volume - Ever wonder why this amp gets extremely loud after you turn it up past 2. Fender uses a linear taper pot for the Master Volume when it should be an audio taper. This mod gives you usable control of the drive channel so you can get good tone without playing at stadium volume.
Power Resistors- Many problems with the Hot Rod Deluxe, especially the older ones are from the power resistors that control switching. Two new power resistors installed properly will avoid many problems down the road.
Plate Load Resistors - Replace all the plate load resistors with 1% 1/2 Metal Film resistors. This amp can develop a loud crackle/static that is caused by the plate load resistors. This mod fixes or prevents this problem and using the same carbon comp resistors found in vintage and boutique amps you add rich harmonic overtones.
Reverb Mod - Why does the reverb in this amp become a complete wash after turning it up past 3 especially at low volumes? This mod makes the reverb more controllable, fuller, and more natural. This is an easy mod that is nothing more than clipping one wire but the result is amazing.
Switchcraft Input Jack - Your input jacks are soldered directly to the circuit board, apply some tension when the amp is plugged in and you could cause major damage to the circuit board in the amp. This mod gets rid of the wimpy plastic input jacks and replaces them with high quality metal switchcraft jacks that are panel mounted and NOT directly soldered to the circuit board. Included is a shoulder washer and isolation washer so the input jacks do not ground directly to the chassis and prevents ground loops. Newer Hot Rod Deluxe amps have a better quality Neutrik style input jacks which are better than the older amps but they are still attached directly to the PCB.
Proper Lead Dress - Take a look inside a boutique tube amp and you will see all the wires carefully twisted and placed for greatest reduction in oscillation and noise. The Hot Rod Deluxe has all the internal wires zip tied together. I give clear instructions on dressing the leads inside the amp for optimal performance, this results in lower noise and less chance for oscillation.
Electrolytic Cap Upgrade - Replaces all of the power filter and cathode bypass caps with high quality F&T and Nichicon caps. Older Hot Rods that are made in the USA are all getting due to have their filter caps replaced and many of the current Hot Rods made in Mexico are known to have leaky filter caps. The Fromel kit rectifies these issues.