What's Hot
BintyTwanger77 Frets: 2248
November 2015 in Amps
How does everyone rate this? Looking to use this more at home, as my HRD III would have to be cranked to 4 or 5 to get the best of the clean headroom in it, and I value the structural integrity of my house...
I have a sizeable pedalboard and want to be able to hear my effects through a decent clean channel that won't cause an earthquake but it still big, clean and full of lovely sparkly tone.
Would I get this from the Pathfinder 15R, or is there another practice amp with a clear clean channel that would suit my needs better?
Cheers!
0
LOL 0
Wow! 0
Wisdom
-
ICBM Frets: 72858
November 2015
Why would your Hotrod have to be cranked to 4 or 5? You get the best clean headroom when the volume is set really low.
If it's a big sparkly clean sound at low volume you want the HRDIII is an excellent choice - better than the old version because the pot taper isn't as touchy.
That said the Pathfinder is not a bad little amp either, and will disturb the rest of the house less than a HRD even set to the same volume because it has a smaller speaker and less bass response.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
0
LOL 0 Wow! 1 Wisdom -
BintyTwanger77 Frets: 2248
November 2015
@ICBM I've been told that level on the HRD is the sweet spot, I dunno, just going on reports.
Don't get me wrong, I love my HRD, it's a fantastic amp, could just do with something clean I can practice with.Do you know how the Pathfinder is with a lot of pedals in the front (2 big Strymons, a Red Panda Particle, 3 Minifoogers, plus dirt pedals)?
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
ThePrettyDamned Frets: 7504
November 2015
It won't be as good as your hrdx for pedals as it'll have so much less headroom and a smaller, inferior speaker/enclosure.
They're (hot rod deluxes) great amps at low volume. It might have a sweet spot but if it sounds good, it sounds good, I think @meltedbuzzbox uses a Hiwatt at home and @icbm uses a dual rec.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
BintyTwanger77 Frets: 2248
November 2015
@ThePrettyDamned Maybe I'm subconsciously succumbing to a lot of the negative comments about HRDs...and I'd be wrong to, it's cracking amp, and it must be used a lot by pro musicians for a reason. I suppose the clean at 2 even is brilliant.
Maybe I'm just mindlessly gear-hankering.
I do fancy a 2nd amp, though. Would love a Deluxe Reverb, but, y'know... £££££££.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
JezWynd Frets: 6130
November 2015
I use a Pathfinder 15R at home and often with several pedals. I like it very much, in fact I used to run two as a stereo pair but my present gaff is too small for that. The reverb is okay, slightly weak but ample for my requirements and the tremolo is excellent. I usually play a Princeton Recording Amp at home but every now and then I fancy a change and the Pathfinder sounds nearly as good to my ears - slightly lacking in Fender glassy cleans dept. but quite okay for practice. I've heard of people gigging them too - very cool little combos.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
ICBM Frets: 72858
November 2015 edited November 2015
BintyTwanger77 said:
@ICBM I've been told that level on the HRD is the sweet spot, I dunno, just going on reports.
Yes, if you want that pushed-amp, just-breaking up tone.No, if you want a big sparkly completely clean sound with pedals- that's exactly the point at which the clean headroom disappears, so no good for a very pedal-heavy sound, it will turn to mush.
It does puzzle me how much nonsense there is out there about amps being "too loud" or "needing" to be turned up to that sort of volume to sound good. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of amps I've ever played (out of hundreds of models, literally) of any size or power rating, which don't sound good if you just turn them down - *especially* if you want a clean sound.
BintyTwanger77 said:
Don't get me wrong, I love my HRD, it's a fantastic amp, could just do with something clean I can practice with.
The HRD is as close to perfect as any amp for that.The Pathfinder is good too, but the Fender will be better. The Pathfinder might struggle a little at anything above very low volume with that amount of stuff going into it.
But, if you want something different as well, the Pathfinder is still good - it's light, good-sounding, reliable and cheap. You can use it places the Fender might still be slightly too boomy even when turned right down, or too physically big to take.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
JezWynd Frets: 6130
November 2015
Re-reading your original post, if you just want a clean sound for practice then your present amp will be fine for that - it will sound as good as, or probably better than a Pathfinder, running it clean on 1 or 2 and getting your drive sound from pedals.
The Pathfinder's a great amp but I doubt it can compete with a Fender valve amp. So unless you have a yen to get a Pathfinder for other reasons then you might be better sticking with what you have.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 1 Wisdom -
jimmyguitar Frets: 2475
November 2015
I have a Pathfinder 15r I never use, happy to sell it to you for a very fair price if you're interested. The trem is a bit temperamental but all else works as it should. It does sound lovely.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
BintyTwanger77 Frets: 2248
November 2015
Right, settled. I'm going to stick with the HRD III, and save for a Deluxe Reverb. Why have 1 fantastic amp amp when you can have two, right?
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
meltedbuzzbox Frets: 10340
November 2015
I use a twin and a hiwatt at home. They are perfectly usable. They still sound good without flooring the place with volume. As long as you get the cones moving its all good. IMO ymmv and all that other jazz
The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 1 Wisdom -
sw67 Frets: 234
November 2015
Put a volume pedal in the effects loop - it tamed my blues deluxe for home use.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
andrew Frets: 47
November 2015
I use a little Pathfinder 10 for a plug in and noodle home amp and can't fault it for that, saves having to warm any valves up and is great for just trying out a quick riff or run. Got mine second hand for £30 from Andertons
Sarcasm is often hard to detect in writing. If in doubt - yes, I was taking the piss.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom -
BintyTwanger77 Frets: 2248
November 2015 edited November 2015
I've done some maths...and some budgeting...and some thinking...and playing...and as I'm just able to do it, I'm 90% sure I'm going to sell my HRD III and get a Deluxe Reverb instead. I think this is the right decision.
0
LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.
