I was curious enough to buy an HDRX 20 and it has become a favorite amp. I play it through an EVM 12L in a small ported cabinet and it sounds great in my basement studio. It has very flexible tone options and is a great alternative to playing my usual Fender and Fender-ish small combos.
Trying Hard to Like the HDRX20
- Thread starter Goesto11
- Start date
Lewguitar
Old Know It All
Thank goodness someone else gets it.
Me too! Favorite amp to play through since the moment i got it home. Love at first note!
I'll never sell my old hand wired Fenders (have some50's tweeds and some 60's blackface amps) but since I got the HDRX I have not plugged into any of them.
I guess it's not the right amp for everyone but it's the right one for me.
And you too, it would seem.
Longneck Tenon
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2023
- Messages
- 465
I would think a treble booster might sound pretty good with it…
Lewguitar
Old Know It All
It doesn't need more treble but if you mean more of a clean boost: YES! That's the ticket right there.
I have a Klon (actually a J Rockett "Jeff", although i do have a Klon KTR too) with the GAIN set to zero as an "always on" pedal.
With GAIN on zero it's not distorted or fuzzy at all.
It's just a boost to get a fuller, beefier tone.
Last edited:
DreamTheaterRules
I'm sailing!
- Joined
- May 4, 2023
- Messages
- 1,688
Last call before I move on to something else. Are you still not interested in selling me the "extra" amp?
Lewguitar
Old Know It All
There's some on Reverb used for $650 or so. New for $799 and FREE SHIPPING.
Seems like buying a new one for $150 more and getting a warranty would be the way to go.
DreamTheaterRules
I'm sailing!
- Joined
- May 4, 2023
- Messages
- 1,688
Agree with that, but I've seen a couple go in the $500s recently. But yeah, if it was over $600 I'd just buy new.
Longneck Tenon
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2023
- Messages
- 465
Treble Boosters are the most unfortunately named pedals. They do not boost treble but do take out some bass frequencies and redefine midrange frequencies as well. They aren’t as easy to master as a simple clean boost but can offer some great sounds with the right amp and guitar.
Lewguitar
Old Know It All
I forget what I paid for the one you're asking about. I think it was an auction and no one was biting so I think I got it for close to the opening bid.
For a basically new HDRX I remember it being a shockingly low price.
You probably remember better than I do!
Truth is, I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known someone from the forum was after it too.
It was just too good a deal to pass up.
DreamTheaterRules
I'm sailing!
- Joined
- May 4, 2023
- Messages
- 1,688
Yes, and I only didn’t bid because the bids stayed so low I kept convincing myself something must be wrong with it.I forget what I paid for the one you're asking about. I think it was an auction and no one was biting so I think I got it for close to the opening bid.
For a basically new HDRX I remember it being a shockingly low price.
You probably remember better than I do!
Truth is, I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known someone from the forum was after it too.
It was just too good a deal to pass up.
DreamTheaterRules
I'm sailing!
- Joined
- May 4, 2023
- Messages
- 1,688
Yes, and it still haunts me! LOLYou probably remember better than I do!
So, I don't like to complain here, and I have alluded to this before but it continues to the THE reason I don't have one of these. I could buy a new one now. Have had the money set aside to do so for well over a year now. But my whole desire for the amp was predicated on a pre-convieved notion that it and the Silver Sky would be magic together... and the Silver Sky continues to be a nightmare for me.
A few months back, I was so tired of the tuning issue that I threw it in the bag and ignored it for a while. When I got it back out to decide if I just wanted to try to trade it in on a Fiore or not, it was dead again. I mentioned a year ago, that it suddenly died, and I thought it was a pot gone bad. When I took it back to the dealer I got it from, he said the tech said the pot was fine but a wire had come loose inside, and he resoldered it. Well, it's dead again. No output. And, I'm pretty much done with messing with it.
I "adjusted" and didn't have a big issue with the neck radius, but after having it for over a year now I do not love it. I could live with it, and honestly think I would if I hadn't had the other issues with the guitar. So after decades of looking for the perfect all white strat, and thinking I FINALLY had it, I'm giving up on it. I know a good tech could go through and fix everything it needs, and I may have to do that just to get it ready to trade in, but the "magic" is gone and I'm ready to move on to something else. It MAY be a Fiore and if so, I'll probably go out of my way to try an HDRX 20. But it may be a 594. It might even be another Axis but this time the Super Sport version. Or, it could be one of them there shovels as they are called in some circles, or Majesty as it's formally known by most people. I think it's time to call my attorney and arrange a legal separation from the SS.
You're lucky that you occasionally have fun money!
Oh, I have PLANS for fun money, but the fun usually turns into things like, "You need cataract surgery, and I recommend these special lenses that your insurance doesn't cover."
Last edited:
I decided to get the Fender Eric Johnson model. It has a fat neck, but I really like it for the strat thing.Yes, and it still haunts me! LOL
So, I don't like to complain here, and I have alluded to this before but it continues to the THE reason I don't have one of these. I could buy a new one now. Have had the money set aside to do so for well over a year now. But my whole desire for the amp was predicated on a pre-convieved notion that it and the Silver Sky would be magic together... and the Silver Sky continues to be a nightmare for me.
A few months back, I was so tired of the tuning issue that I threw it in the bag and ignored it for a while. When I got it back out to decide if I just wanted to try to trade it in on a Fiore or not, it was dead again. I mentioned a year ago, that it suddenly died, and I thought it was a pot gone bad. When I took it back to the dealer I got it from, he said the tech said the pot was fine but a wire had come loose inside, and he resoldered it. Well, it's dead again. No output. And, I'm pretty much done with messing with it.
I "adjusted" and didn't have a big issue with the neck radius, but after having it for over a year now I do not love it. I could live with it, and honestly think I would if I hadn't had the other issues with the guitar. So after decades of looking for the perfect all white strat, and thinking I FINALLY had it, I'm giving up on it. I know a good tech could go through and fix everything it needs, and I may have to do that just to get it ready to trade in, but the "magic" is gone and I'm ready to move on to something else. It MAY be a Fiore and if so, I'll probably go out of my way to try an HDRX 20. But it may be a 594. It might even be another Axis but this time the Super Sport version. Or, it could be one of them there shovels as they are called in some circles, or Majesty as it's formally known by most people. I think it's time to call my attorney and arrange a legal separation from the SS.
Lewguitar
Old Know It All
Well, like i said, the HDRX 20 is, I think, for guys (or gals) who love old Marshalls but aren't playing stadiums or concert halls and find old Marshalls (60's/70's) too loud to play at home or in clubs these days.
I've owned handwired Marshall 50 watters and 100 watters and both were too loud. Even "back in the day".
So I'd sell it, miss it, and then, a year later get another one and try again.
I've owned some JCM 800's too. Didn't like the master volume on those.
I DO like the master volume on the HDRX 20 but the amp alone doesn't generate enough distortion to satisfy those who expect an amp to provide all of the overdrive. It's not a Mesa Boogie or a Bogner.
Gotta use pedals. Then it's a different ballgame because THAT'S what I'm sure it's designed for. Didn't PRS release thier "Horsemeat" pedal about the same time the HDRX was released?
None of my own favorite amps have an effects loop, so I don't want or expect an effects loop. All of my pedals are on one pedal board slamming the front end of the amp, not in an effects loop.
So as long as you know what you're getting because you've owned old Marshalls in the past, the HDRX is a killer amp.
Does it sound like a plexi Marshall? Not exactly but remember: it uses 5881 tubes like the JTM45...the FIRST Marshall. Not EL34's.
If you like old Marshalls and also like old Fender amps with 5881 or 6L6 tubes (almost the same tube) there's a better chance that you'll like the HDRX 20.
But like old Marshalls, unless you run it wide open (I don't) you'll need some pedals to push the front end.
It needs those pedals slamming the front end. It seems to be designed with that in mind.
The master volume works well. Better than the early JCM 800 master volume, IMO.
But the amp still doesn't generate enough distortion/overdrive to satisfy a metal player so he or she is going to need some pedals.
Maybe it depends which musical era you grew up in, because I'm old school and I still love mine.
I've owned handwired Marshall 50 watters and 100 watters and both were too loud. Even "back in the day".
So I'd sell it, miss it, and then, a year later get another one and try again.
I've owned some JCM 800's too. Didn't like the master volume on those.
I DO like the master volume on the HDRX 20 but the amp alone doesn't generate enough distortion to satisfy those who expect an amp to provide all of the overdrive. It's not a Mesa Boogie or a Bogner.
Gotta use pedals. Then it's a different ballgame because THAT'S what I'm sure it's designed for. Didn't PRS release thier "Horsemeat" pedal about the same time the HDRX was released?
None of my own favorite amps have an effects loop, so I don't want or expect an effects loop. All of my pedals are on one pedal board slamming the front end of the amp, not in an effects loop.
So as long as you know what you're getting because you've owned old Marshalls in the past, the HDRX is a killer amp.
Does it sound like a plexi Marshall? Not exactly but remember: it uses 5881 tubes like the JTM45...the FIRST Marshall. Not EL34's.
If you like old Marshalls and also like old Fender amps with 5881 or 6L6 tubes (almost the same tube) there's a better chance that you'll like the HDRX 20.
But like old Marshalls, unless you run it wide open (I don't) you'll need some pedals to push the front end.
It needs those pedals slamming the front end. It seems to be designed with that in mind.
The master volume works well. Better than the early JCM 800 master volume, IMO.
But the amp still doesn't generate enough distortion/overdrive to satisfy a metal player so he or she is going to need some pedals.
Maybe it depends which musical era you grew up in, because I'm old school and I still love mine.
Last edited:
Lewguitar
Old Know It All
Well I just got some new slip covers for mine. David Starr at Starr's guitars had them made for me. $30 each. This next gig will be the second time my HDRX 20 has left the house. But they'll be styling! At least one of them will be. No need to bring both.
Lewguitar
Old Know It All
Boom, boom, boom, boom...gonna shoot ya right down.
My annoyance is they made the amp super dark in voicing. Its as if they tuned the amp for the bridge pickup on a Strat.
I have 2 inherently bright guitars, and it works well for them. The others? Not really.
Pretty sure I'm going to move mine on down the road.
I have 2 inherently bright guitars, and it works well for them. The others? Not really.
Pretty sure I'm going to move mine on down the road.
