Vaughn, another valuable advice to eliminate the characteristic shrillness of the HRDx!!!
OTHER CHANGES TO CONSIDER
When I was experimenting with the tone control section, I did some research. Dave Funk of Thunderfunk Amplifiers has written an excellent text on tube amps. He recommended changing the bass cap (C5) to .022uF, changing the treble cap (C7) to 500pF, silver mica, and changing the slope resistor (R12) from 130K to 56K. I tried them all and like them. I didn’t hear much difference with the bass cap, but the treble cap and slope resistor made a noticeable difference. The increase in value of the treble cap basically shifts the treble response down and allows more hi-mids through as the treble control is turned up. This gives the amp more bite and cut-through without making it shrill.
now i play in a rock band and i notice that distortion seems to remain in to the amp, not a lot bite. I'm thinking about changing the speaker of my HRDX (now i have the ET65). What's your advice? (but without losing a good clean sound).
Hi Vaughn, now i play in a rock band and i notice that distortion seems to remain in to the amp, not a lot of bite. I'm thinking about changing the speaker (now i have the ET65).
What's your advice? (but without losing a good clean sound):
Got it working last week ... it had the usual burned resistors, plus a cold solder joint on a power tube socket ... so far, I kinda like it overall "stock", as long as you have no "preconceived notions" as to where the tone, presence, and bright switches "SHOULD" be set! (ie: it's NOT like my vintage Fenders). I almost took it out on my gig last Saturday ... a Halloween party with a big rock band crammed into a small stage ... wanted to go "no pedals" for space savings ... but ended up taking my 1x12 Bogner that's newly outfitted with a ET65 ... which worked out very nicely :-0
Should get the HRDX speaker shootout video done & posted within 2 weeks!
Another suggestion for the speakers shootout: the HRDx has a horrible drive channel, HRDx's owners use clean channel with OD pedals for rock or blues territory. It's important to understand wich WGS speaker drive better this pedals (for example a tube screamer) over the clean channel.
So, all the WGS speaker sound better than the stock speaker. The Fender-Emi stock sound thin and harsh, a 'radio-like' tone.
But, all my doubts were reals.... the ET65 is not the best speaker for the HRDx. Too warm and dark. Great sound from the G12C, great sound from the Reaper HP. I'll change my speaker........
And now.....we are waiting for the Supersonic 22 shootout!!!!
I had a couple to compare in mine. I'd bought an ET65 and a G12C/S to replace the two nasty things in my VM Bandmaster cab. I listened to both in my Hot Rod just to see how big of a difference it would make, and I must say you can't go wrong with either. Both speakers together handle the output from a Dual Showman just fine, thank you.
The G12 C/S impressed me enough, I have ordered one specifically for the job. I have plenty of headroom with it, and get none of the ratty mids or the teeth-clenching highs I got with the stock speaker. If you like a big fat bottom, narrow mid, but sparkling highs, that's how you want to go. the ET65 was nearly as good, but just didn't afford the top end clean I got with the G12.
And, as a side not, I have also replaced the power tubes with a set of 6L6GC's to add even more top-end and it REALLY booms through the G12C/S now.
I have heard several "modded" Hot Rods with different speaker/tube combinations, I have yet to hear a combination that sounds as good as the G12C/S speaker and the 6L6GC tubes. It sounds like an old blackface Fender Pro now, but with more clean top-end.
Hey WGS Team, Im also searching for another speaker for my Fender HRD. The G12A sounds good to me! Can you send me something about the speaker dimensions, or a frequency response chart?
Two things for the Hot Rod amp turned mine into a tone beast (in a very good way).
1. Replaced the stock coffee can with a G-12C/S. That helped a LOT, but it still suffered from a little bit of Mid-Overload.
so I did...
2. Replaced the power tubes with a pair of JJ's 6L6 GC's
THAT did the trick. Good, clear bass without any break-up. Crystal highs. Sparkles, but doesn't pierce. Mids now sound like mids, not cat caught in a steel trash can.
One thing to note that I've discovered a little more than 8 months and about 100+ hours later: As good as the speaker sounds when first installed, it gets downright amazing once it's broken in. I would compare the sound this amp produces now to a vintage Super Reverb, and maybe even a little better.
I swapped the WGS Reaper HD into my American Hot Rod Deluxe and am crazy happy with this. The Reaper HD smooths out the tone of the amp. The original Eminence just kicked me in the nuts too much with the mid range poke and high-end pierce that I found myself backing off the amp way too much yet I loved the clean tone of the amp.
The Reaper HD allows this amp to be enjoyed, and has a smooth tone, a hint more bottom end, and obviously a change in the middle, with the high-end still giving enough brightness but not too much. I find myself using some setting son the Hot Rod Deluxe I would never use before (like the dirty channel). The dirty channel on the HRD is now completely usable unlike before. The clean channel I can even bring the volume up to 3-4 and still be in the same room - note that power soak or attenuator is nice to have, and the Reaper HD will take it if you want to drive it with no problem. I find with the high chimy stuff that I bring the presence back up to 12, treble up more than it was before, and now even the bright switch is useful. The speaker is not dark by any means, just smoother and allows the amp to be FAR more enjoyable to use.
Sidenote - I also ran my Mesa Roadster into the Reaper HD as a single speaker while in the HRD open back amp, and wow, that was nice - a good alternative to the sometimes box-y tight sound of the Mesa closed-back combo. I found the Reaper really shines with some nice gain, even heavy gain into it - and doesn't fatigue you, yet the clarity is there. My Mesa Mark V also liked the Reaper HD a bit, although that amp has a tendency to have more high-end presence and chime, so at least I know the Reaper HD can take it if I want to give it.
I know this sounds like a commercial for the WGS Reaper HD, but after watching the video, listening critically, and even editing the audio side-by-side so I could listen more objectively, I found the decision to be a toss-up between the Reaper HD and the Blackhawk - so, the value of the Reaper HD pricing made the decision that much simpler. I am consdiering a 2nd Reaper HD to drop in a 2x12 cabinet I have with another speaker, just to have some flexibility in the studio without having to bypass the HRD.
Thanks for making the side-by-side comparison video of the WGS speakers in the Hot Rod Deluxe!!
Cool beans ... and yea, I agree the Blackhawk & Reaper HP were about on-par with eachother ... but one costs 4x as much ... so that is quite a powerful tie breaker :-)
