Fender Hot Rod Deville III 212

Frank De Vincenzo · Post by **Frank De Vincenzo** » 27 Sep 2014 2:39 pm

Hello all,
I have an opportunity to purchase a hot rod deville III 212 for a really good price to use for pedal steel. I don't need another six string amp, so the question I am asking is, is this a worth while amp to use for pedal steel guitars? Anybody up on these fenders? Anybody use this model currently? I did a search of forum topics and came away empty.
Thank you in advance,
Frank

Jonathan Cullifer · Post by **Jonathan Cullifer** » 27 Sep 2014 7:09 pm

I had a Hot Rod Deluxe for a while. Not a bad amp, but I didn't care for the speaker (a little too chimey), but plugged into a cab with a Black Widow it sounded great.

Waisznor · Post by **Waisznor** » 28 Sep 2014 3:04 am

I had the first DeVille (made in USA) and have now the DeVille III 212. Both are very good for Pedal Steel; but I use a 12AY7 in V1.

Frank De Vincenzo · Post by **Frank De Vincenzo** » 28 Sep 2014 6:07 am

What does the tube swap do?

John Limbach · Post by **John Limbach** » 28 Sep 2014 7:26 am

Lowers the gain (and in effect, noise) of the first stage of the preamp. I did the same with my Traynor YBA-1, which like this amp has no lack of gain.

Frank De Vincenzo · Post by **Frank De Vincenzo** » 28 Sep 2014 8:08 am

That's great to know. Thanks for the tip!

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 29 Sep 2014 5:13 am

Frank, my advice is to grab that amp, but my opinion is based on this: I have a Hot Rod Deluxe (single 12" speaker) on loan from a friend. I used it Saturday night on a gig and was very impressed. I have it the rest of this week, so I have been working with it a lot here at home. I want one for my own and I want to try exchanging the stock speaker for a Eminence EPS 12c speaker that I have.

Here was my chain: Zum D-10 guitar, Black Box, Goodrich 120 pedal, Wet Reverb in the amp effects loop.
Since having it at home, I have added a Lil Izzy at the guitar and am getting really clean and clear sound. It sounds really good with or without the Izzy, I will have to decide which sounds best to my ears is a band. My gut feeling is that it will be the Izzy because the notes will probably cut through the mix better.

If the amp is in good condition and you decide to pass on it, let me know. If the seller is willing to ship, I might be interested.

I realize I am talking about a Deluxe and you about a Deville, so the playing field is not totally level, but the two amps are first cousin's. I don't think you can go wrong, especially if you can get it at a good price so that you can sell it off at a good price later if it doesn't work out.

Frank De Vincenzo · Post by **Frank De Vincenzo** » 29 Sep 2014 8:37 am

I feel confident that this Hot Rod DeVille will work for my needs. Thank you George for your evaluation of the Hot Rod Deluxe. That would have been my next choice had not this opportunity presented itself.

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 29 Sep 2014 10:34 am

I would really like to know if anybody has done a shoot out between the Develle and the Deluxe. I will probably add one or the other to my stable of amps before too long.

I am concerned about the weight of the Deville. Also, I only have one EPS 12c speaker. I would really like to try it in either amp, but I would have to buy another EPS 12c if I get a Deville. That is another $200.00. But, the EPS 12c speakers would be lighter in weight so that would help on the weight issue. The Deluxe is 49 LB, but I am guessing the Deville will be in the high 60 LB range.

I read on the forum, a long time ago, that Lloyd Green was using the Deville with good success.

Frank, if you go for the Deville, I am really interested what you think about it.

Frank De Vincenzo · Post by **Frank De Vincenzo** » 29 Sep 2014 1:07 pm

I know weight is the enemy but I just can't resist. Worst case scenario, I attach casters for most of the moving. I also use a collapsible hand truck for the bigger amps, if need be. At close to 60 years, I am fortunate to still be in sound (pardon the pun) shape.
I'll post a review as I become familiar with this amp.

Waisznor · Post by **Waisznor** » 30 Sep 2014 12:52 pm

Deville and Deluxe differ only slightly in tone and in volume. If the weight is an important factor, take the Deluxe.

George Kimery · Post by **George Kimery** » 30 Sep 2014 1:09 pm

I downloaded the owner's manual for both the amps. According to the specs, the Deluxe is 53 LB and the Deville is 58 LB. This doesn't seem right. The Deville has two speakers and a larger cabinet. It says the Deville cabinet is 24" wide, the same as the Deluxe, but it is taller. The two speakers must be off center from each other, not side by side. In the Deluxe that I have sitting here, the speaker is off center to allow for some tubes to hang down on the other side.

If the stock speakers in the Deville were replaced with Neo speakers, the weight of the Deville would be less than the Deluxe.

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