Deaj
05-01-2006, 03:54 PM
I'd read about Omega Amps HRD mods several years ago and the idea piqued my interest. I spoke with Jim at some length back then and was impressed both personally and professionally - very knowledgeable and a heck of a nice guy! However, there were so many other amps that I wanted to demo that the Omega mod HRD got forgotten. After buying a Fuchs ODS50SLX combo and selling off my other amps I bumped into the Omega Amps website again and decided to bite. I purchased a used (minty shape) USA made Hot Rod Deluxe from an eBay seller and sent the chassis to Jim.
The stock HRD amp had very nice jangly Fender blackface-like cleans but sounded a bit harsh and unpleasant when the clean volume was pushed hard enough to overdrive. The transition from clean to overdrive was abrupt. Also the amp was very bassy and the bass could not be dialed down to a balanced level. The drive and more drive modes, as most of you know, were absolutely useless - bumblebee-in-a-can buzzy and unmusical.
The modded amp is nothing short of amazing! I haven't changed out the stock speaker or tubes - the circuit mod is all that has changed. My amp still has the stock output transformer - it sounds great so I've no interest in changing it. The cleans are very similar to stock although much improved - the character of the stock clean tone is retained but it's now richer harmonically. The bass issue was also addressed. As the clean volume is pushed the amp begins to subtly transition into a warm, full, sweet, harmonically rich Fender overdrive. There are so many great tones all along the sweep of the clean volume - the improvements to this mode alone was worth the money spent. The cleans are perhaps not as rich as my old 64 Pro (an amp I used to own that produced my favorite Fender blackface clean tone) but they're close - real close! I actually prefer this amps clean mode over that old Pro because its transition into overdrive is soooo much more subtle yielding a wider variety of tones - and the full volume clean mode overdrive of this amp sounds much better than that of my old Pro. The drive mode is thick and smooth - very old school Marshall (similar to my old 72 JMP50 in alot of ways). This mode makes for a great rock amp all on its own - would also have been worth the total $$ outlay as a single channel with just this voicing. There is such a wide range of gain available (from on-the-verge to saturated liquid smooth lead tones) and the amp sounds fantastic at every setting on the drive volume control. It also cleans up very well with the guitar's volume. This mode covers alot of sonic territory. It's a better sounding Marshall than most Marshall's I've played (my preference for Marshall amps is early 70's JMP50 for point of reference). The more drive mode is a gain boost for the drive mode and works very well for a rhythm/lead arrangement with the footswitch. There is an abundance of gain available in the more drive mode extending well into high gain territory. The subtle details in picking dynamics and other techniques are harmonically charged and very musical. While the Fuchs is the kind of amp one has to learn to play to get the most out of it (unforgiving but rewarding when well utilized) this amp is just plain FUN! Fun the way a great old Fender or Marshall is fun. Everything that comes out of it sounds great!
Reads like hype, I know, but it's true. This stuff is very subjective and everyone's ears perceive 'tone' differently. The cool thing about this amp is that I'm into it for less than $800 (including all of the shipping cost to receive it, send it to Jim, and have it sent back) and the resulting amp is one of the best sounding amps I've ever owned (long list, that).
The clips on Jims site don't represent the amp very well IMHO - not bad clip but they only briefly demonstrate the amp dead clean and medium to heavy overdrive. This amp really shines at the in-between tones - clean-on-the-verge and mild overdrive. I'll be working on recording clips here in the next week or two and I'll post them as I record them.
http://www.omegaamps.com/mods2.html (http://www.omegaamps.com/mods2.html)
The stock HRD amp had very nice jangly Fender blackface-like cleans but sounded a bit harsh and unpleasant when the clean volume was pushed hard enough to overdrive. The transition from clean to overdrive was abrupt. Also the amp was very bassy and the bass could not be dialed down to a balanced level. The drive and more drive modes, as most of you know, were absolutely useless - bumblebee-in-a-can buzzy and unmusical.
The modded amp is nothing short of amazing! I haven't changed out the stock speaker or tubes - the circuit mod is all that has changed. My amp still has the stock output transformer - it sounds great so I've no interest in changing it. The cleans are very similar to stock although much improved - the character of the stock clean tone is retained but it's now richer harmonically. The bass issue was also addressed. As the clean volume is pushed the amp begins to subtly transition into a warm, full, sweet, harmonically rich Fender overdrive. There are so many great tones all along the sweep of the clean volume - the improvements to this mode alone was worth the money spent. The cleans are perhaps not as rich as my old 64 Pro (an amp I used to own that produced my favorite Fender blackface clean tone) but they're close - real close! I actually prefer this amps clean mode over that old Pro because its transition into overdrive is soooo much more subtle yielding a wider variety of tones - and the full volume clean mode overdrive of this amp sounds much better than that of my old Pro. The drive mode is thick and smooth - very old school Marshall (similar to my old 72 JMP50 in alot of ways). This mode makes for a great rock amp all on its own - would also have been worth the total $$ outlay as a single channel with just this voicing. There is such a wide range of gain available (from on-the-verge to saturated liquid smooth lead tones) and the amp sounds fantastic at every setting on the drive volume control. It also cleans up very well with the guitar's volume. This mode covers alot of sonic territory. It's a better sounding Marshall than most Marshall's I've played (my preference for Marshall amps is early 70's JMP50 for point of reference). The more drive mode is a gain boost for the drive mode and works very well for a rhythm/lead arrangement with the footswitch. There is an abundance of gain available in the more drive mode extending well into high gain territory. The subtle details in picking dynamics and other techniques are harmonically charged and very musical. While the Fuchs is the kind of amp one has to learn to play to get the most out of it (unforgiving but rewarding when well utilized) this amp is just plain FUN! Fun the way a great old Fender or Marshall is fun. Everything that comes out of it sounds great!
Reads like hype, I know, but it's true. This stuff is very subjective and everyone's ears perceive 'tone' differently. The cool thing about this amp is that I'm into it for less than $800 (including all of the shipping cost to receive it, send it to Jim, and have it sent back) and the resulting amp is one of the best sounding amps I've ever owned (long list, that).
The clips on Jims site don't represent the amp very well IMHO - not bad clip but they only briefly demonstrate the amp dead clean and medium to heavy overdrive. This amp really shines at the in-between tones - clean-on-the-verge and mild overdrive. I'll be working on recording clips here in the next week or two and I'll post them as I record them.
http://www.omegaamps.com/mods2.html (http://www.omegaamps.com/mods2.html)