Digital Clef

  It was bound to happen one day, but after dodging it for 3 years, it's my turn to get the Spicy Cough. I had just gotten over a bronchitis... I'm five times vaccinated, and all those shots prepared my body to handle the infection in the most efficient way possible and minimize symptoms. This is part one of, uh... I don't know... maybe two, three, at most? I'm six days post-diagnosis and the infection is still running it course, so plenty more can happen until I'm fully recovered. All the planned gear reviews are on hold until I can actually think straight and play somewhat properly. Moral of the story: get vaccinated . T-4 - Wednesday, January 18th It seems my bronchitis finally went away. The course of antibiotics I've been prescribed is finished, and I have no symptoms anymore except a nagging, slightly wet cough. All of my COVID tests were negative, including the one I took this morning (you can never be too safe these days). T-3 - Thursday, January 19th We...

First and foremost, Happy New Year! Back in August, I purchased a Fender Bassbreaker that I reviewed (sort of) here . I ended up returning it because of some issues with the effects loop, the insane temperature it reaches while in operation, and a general feeling of "it could be so much better". I instead ordered a Fender Hot Rod DeVille IV 212 to replace it, and I regret not purchasing that in the first place. Note: this review is not totally unbiased since I previously owned a Hot Rod Deluxe II and it's very close to my heart, being the first expensive pro-ish quality hardware I ever purchased (and the first tube amp I owned). I'll try to be as objective as possible. Amp specifications The Hot Rod DeVille is, for all intents and purposes, a Hot Rod Deluxe on steroids. They both share the same PCB and most of their parts. The main differences being the Deluxe has one 12" speaker and 40 watts of output power, while the DeVille has two 12" speakers and 60 wat...