I’m always blown away by the quality of what you do and your ability to seemingly fix any problem, but can we just take a minute and admire how difficult it must be to operate a sharp razor blade and a soldering iron with a camera between your face and what you’re doing? That shit seems impossible to me, this whole thing seems impossible to me, but especially that talent.
My favourite tool for these kinds of repairs is a retractable fibreglass pen that strips off the solder mask without any damage to the trace. Leaves the surface prepped for good solder connection.
Thank you so much for your videos and taking the time to educate folks. I have a 2002 HRD that was working fine( none of the common issues were showing in my particular amp, however I choose to be proactive) . I followed your videos/advice and serviced my amp myself. Replaced all the crap IC’s with F&Ts. I also did the same on my 2019 65 DRRI per your instructions. No problems with the replacement. Thanks again!
I am consistently referencing your channel for every repair I do, thank you. I currently have a '96 HRD, never serviced, with the board with that factory mod on V1B cathode, R10 and a 47uF cap, later referenced C56. It threw me. I didn't know it was an EC but here it is pictured on your Vid at 10:10 ... brilliant. Thanks for your vids, it's like having master advice available 24/7
Cool stuff. I had a 2008 HRD limited edition version that developed the PCB-cooking resistor problem about a year after getting it (amp switches from drive to normal channel by itself, and reverb goes dead; fixed under warranty luckily). I did the lower-gain V1 & V2 tube mod also(12AT7 & 12DW7), which did absolute wonders for the drive channel, throttled the muddy, dirty-in-a-hurry (to my ears) gain down nicely.
I bought a brand new Blues Deluxe in 1994. This "computer" sounded great except for strange, rattly noises. Amp tech cushioned all the wooden parts and tightened it up real well, but the noises continued. It finally came down to four or five of those tiny little pots, were filled with racket. Changed those out and used the amp for several years on weekends and never had any other problems with it! Oh yeh ... I took it all apart and shellacked and lacquered the tweed ... it looks pretty good, too!
I'm going to install a very small fan or PC fan (possible filter too) with a vent near the top to try to keep the heat down inside the amp. My amp will only be used in my recording studio so dust will be minimum. Great work there you really know how amps operate even better than companies that have been building them for years. It's a shame they cut 10-20 dollars off of parts to do it the right way but maybe they want these amps to be throw away so you buy another one? My whole life's motto has been quality of quantity. Have a good weekend.
A defective 4560 (U3) Operational amp was the culprit in another unit that I worked on +16v was getting loaded down due to internal short in the IC. FYI
I really like watching these videos especially this one because you taught me some things on here that helped me fix my Beacon Morris garage furnaces motherboard and after testing the roll out switch and the high limit switch after it blinking a 4 code saying it was both of these switches that were bad and they were good I ended up pulling the motherboard and found 2 out of 6 lugs on the plug the solder joints were bad like what's happening on this amplifier. So I took and reflowed them both and it's now up and running like it should again which probably saved me a couple hundred dollars on buying a new motherboard for it so thanks for showing stuff like this and what to look for . Any recommendations on a solder that's good because I remember you saying that a law was passed and that all of the solder that's sold now has no lead in it anymore ? I have some old stuff that was made before this law that I also use to seal up old brass car radiators at times but for the small stuff like circuit boards and speaker wires I am running low on the good stuff and want to know what a good recommendation is on a modern non toxic solder if that's even possible lol . I just subscribed so I hopefully can watch more of your videos to learn more so once again thanks !
Thank you for doing this! I just changed my 5W voltage supply resistors today, and all the snap/crackle/popping is gone. Will change the grid resistors soon for good measure (82k and 100k). Would you be able to recommend a place to source these from?
That low voltage supply fault always amazes me. They've been building them like that since the early 1990s. The fix is a C-shape crimp in the lead to make a standoff. That's what? A $5 dollar tool and two hand squeezes for about 5 components? I know, I know: accountants blah blah blah. But seriously...
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I have a Hot rod de luxe that is delivering less than half the power rated. Do you consider is a problem due to the aging of the tubes or can be any other issue? DC Voltage at power supply remains constant while playing the guitar. I really appreciate your help
I have a 2001 Model w/light usage & looked at it w-the back removed. It plays & sounds ok & the caps show no visible issues ( I know their old IC's ). Also see no heat damage from the l.v. resistors, but have experienced some rustling noises at idle. Considering having this done to mine & was curious abt. the cost, in 2022 $$s.
I just did a filter CAP upgrade on my Deluxe III. Which resisters did you use specifically? I have the same baked look on my board. Good information. Thank you.
Cool creative fix, soldering a bus wire onto the toast trace. Why would one not just jumper those terminals with a wire? Why directly contacting the old trace? To minimise spatial needs? To prevent shorts?
Great video! I noticed one of the eyelets for the diode was compromised. Whats the best way to repair that. Conductive copper tape I read online. Is that ok? thx.
Lyle, any suggestions for an alternative to the HRD or Blues Jr.? i love the tones and functionality, but do not want to deal with cheap components and poor PCB design....
I'm here to find out if my HRD has problems. It's clipping on the clean channel already at 2 or 3. Turned up to 8 it can be used as a crunch channel. Tried "Preamp Out" and it clips there as well. Been routing it through my attenuator two notes captor one. I think I have to turn it in for some service/repairs?
In my EVH 5150 iii 50 watt head, they used IC caps. Surprise surprise, it’s made by Fender. But they are black, not grey like these. I know little to nothing about components but someone online said that the black IC caps are the better ones that they make and are less likely to leak like the grey ones. Sounds hokey to me. It almost makes me want to have all the electrolytic caps replaced in it for a better, more reliable brand. Cost wise, would that be worth doing?
Great video Lyle as always.Do you ever see Many Laneys come in your shop I own 2 Laney Gh heads a Gh50 and a Gh100 they are getting old when should I need them recapped?
Not a lot of Laneys in Memphis. I've not been all that impressed by the ones I have had in, but that's a small sampling. I have one in now as a matter of fact, but a little 15W thing. As a rule of thumb, filters need to be changed every 20 years (or sooner if they give signs of failure).
i replaced the filter caps and replaced and raised the 5 watt resistors and diodes, clean channel works fine but the over drive channels fade in and out and crackle a little and are not loud, any thoughts?
Fender can bite me. If they had honored the warranty on my Deville, maybe I would play a fender today. I don't, won't and will not give them another red cent, including anything they are affiliated with again. That was the early 90's. I have spent thousands per year on gear, amps and guitars since, and I made absolutely sure not one bit of it had anything to do with Fender. Their bean counters and shit customer service cost them more than they saved with me. All they had to do was fix or replace my brand new amp and after two worthless techs did nothing, they claimed they had filled their obligation and refused to do squat. Color me done.
If I may ask another question re: reverb tanks in HRD's...the piece of cardboard inside the bag that the tank sits on...is it longer than the tank, or shorter, or the same length? I just gota Hot Rod Deluxe in a trade for a Bugera, and the piece of cardboard is a little longer than the tank itself, plus the tank/bag is not secured inside the floor of the cabinet...it appears someone has been in here before me...you told me the tank is secured with two 5/8" #8 sheet metal screws ( hope i remember that correctly) , so I'm needing to know this dumb little detail, as I've owned these Fender amps before, but nver had the occasion to open the bag, let alone verify the length of the cardboard inside! If this is somethign that you've seen, any help will be greatly appreciated sir. Your 'radio' voice is so easy to listen to while you think out loud...it's fun! Thanks for sharing.
Don't let those immature brats get under your skin. I've never seen a single UA-cam video with more than 10 views that didn't have at least one dislike. "UA-cam...you will never find a more wretched hive of snarky comments and jack@ssery" ~ Obi-wan
Oh, it doesn't bother me. It just seems weird. "I don't like this video." When I watch YT videos, I either Like it or I'm disinterested and I move on. I very rarely am motivated to Dislike a video. Especially without explanation, it just seems pretty.
They probably have IC caps in their hrd Honestly I have encountered some pretty spiteful and toxic people in tube amp land... if you don't do things their way, they'll can you for it
Does anyone know if this has been corrected at any stage in later manufacturing year Hot Rod Deluxe IIIs and IVs? I have a 2023 made George Benson HRD which is based on the HRD III and hope that this won't be an issue.
Hey great video ! I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112 that has an other issue. When, and only when the bright button is on and the drive pot is up, when playing in the clean channel, even at 0 volume, there is residual sound coming from the drive channel. I've replace the relays, and still the problem persists.. Did you ever have an issue like that ?
Mine does this too. I’m not sure what it could be. I just replaced the tubes. It would suck if a new tube is bad. I swapped it out from V1 and it made it somewhat better but still there.
i have this amp and need a new OT. I mistakenly bought the DeVille OT which is 50 watts instead of 40. Can i put it in with no other modifications to the circuit?
A friend of mine just gave me one of these because it was too expensive to repair. It has all the issues you show in this video. One question: Do I need to use lead-free solder to fix it?
Does anybody know what it would cause a vibration sound when playing only the b note frequency? The guitar sounds perfectly fine. The amp that is until I hit a b note on the guitar when I do this, it produces a strange vibration sound no other note causes it so when I play blues and end on the b note , funny enough it buzzes.
Thank you for these incredibly insightful and strangely calming videos. Are there any smaller Fender combos you could recommend that don't hiss like hell and cook so much. I live in the UK (apologies), but will never stick a screwdriver in the back (thanks for that tip!). Are the custom wired ones a better way to go? I really like the fender sound and reverb but made the mistake of buying a Performer 1000 in the 90's and its just a hissing, popping, scary, malevolent box of ****!.
Why apologize for living in the UK? The Princeton Reverb and Deluxe Reverb RIs with some reliability improvements are fantastic amps in their price ranges, as is the Vox AC15C1. Orange and Victory are worth looking at, though I don't know the pricing on all their models.
@@PsionicAudio I'm not too fond of my current government and a little embarrassed, I'm just use to apologising to my European friends :-) Thank you so much for replying, I will look at the fenders you've recommended and see if I can find a nice quiet one, my old reliable is a jcm800 and two seventies tweed cabs but its a little over the top for a small apartment! Many thanks again.
I try to keep politics off here, but I can understand the embarrassment. I'll just say the bad haircuts on both sides of the pond have been discouraging. Depending on your needs, the Boss Katana might be a good choice as well. Yeah, it's SS modeling but it's very good, especially at the price.
I've replaced the 5W resistores, the large caps, refloated the tube sockets. When I assembled it back together, there is no sound coming out of the speaker. All tubes glow, all lights are on. The tube bias measures at 67-69 mVDC. I'm wondering if I could have damaged something? What could it be?
@@PsionicAudio I understand, was wondering where would you start, I checked the plate voltage on both tubes, around 435 volts, I get a little scratchy noise when I measure pin 3 or 5 on 6L6.
Measure screens on the 6L6s. Then measure plates on each preamp tube working towards the input with the volume at noon. If you don't hear it through the speaker when you measure plate voltage, you've found the problem area. You can start by just plugging into the FX return and see if you have signal. If so the problem is before the phase inverter (V3).
@@PsionicAudio Well, an interesting find. I took the tube board off and when I flipped it, apparently I've damaged the C30 cap by screwing it down to the post. So it crashed the cap and got its contacts exposed and touching the grounded metal case. I'm assuming the signal went no where past V3. R57 and R58 resistors look a little toasty now but still measure 82K and 100K. I'm wondering what else could have gotten damaged :(. I guess i'll replace the C30 cap and see what happens. Thank you for your great material Sir.
I’m sure most of the trouble free owners of that series, that the amp never left the house. I had the first series Blues Deluxe, and it became a turret board Pro Amp after gigging a couple years and it became unreliable.
Is there a better way to ask questions than to post them in this comments section? an email address that you respond to perhaps? I have one of these amps and the board is so blackened by heat in this exact same area that none of these tracers can be seen at all...the amp still works as I've done quite a bit to address a lot of these common Hot Rod Deluxe issues, but how does this area being charred effect the amp/sound/performance? thanks again...awesome videos and knowledge!
All Fender Amp models are a crap shoot !!! Fender pricing keeps going up up, however, they all still use the same internal crappy electronic components!!!!! Sometime ago I bought a second hand Fender amplifier that was manufactured within a year. Unfortunately, the amp developed a nasty static noise when the volume was turned up above five for some length of time. Didn't come across this issue when I test drove the amp before purchasing. That being said, I didn't frown on the seller !!! For testing purposes, I pulled each tube out and replace the tube with a known good tube. I even had a brand new pair of power tubes, which I installed. Same issue!!! Therefore, I simply purchased a new amp online, and sent the faulty amp back for reimbursement!! If Fender made a decent amp product, then there wouldn't be all these repairs on various Fender model amps on UA-cam !!
I’m always blown away by the quality of what you do and your ability to seemingly fix any problem, but can we just take a minute and admire how difficult it must be to operate a sharp razor blade and a soldering iron with a camera between your face and what you’re doing? That shit seems impossible to me, this whole thing seems impossible to me, but especially that talent.
Hot Board Deluxe
A shorted CR28 (D28) 10V Zener diode was the culprit with "non-channel switching" in a Hot Rod Deluxe I recently serviced. FYI
Keep um coming, love it.
VERY useful trick. Thanks Lyle.
This video was perfect for the repairs I required to do recently
saved so much time finding the fault
Excellent repair, great tips and info..Top job Lyle..! keep em' coming..Ed..uk..😀
My favourite tool for these kinds of repairs is a retractable fibreglass pen that strips off the solder mask without any damage to the trace. Leaves the surface prepped for good solder connection.
Do you have a link for one of those?
Thanks.
Thank you so much for your videos and taking the time to educate folks. I have a 2002 HRD that was working fine( none of the common issues were showing in my particular amp, however I choose to be proactive) . I followed your videos/advice and serviced my amp myself. Replaced all the crap IC’s with F&Ts. I also did the same on my 2019 65 DRRI per your instructions. No problems with the replacement. Thanks again!
Nice ZZ Top allusion there. I appreciate that, my friend.
I am consistently referencing your channel for every repair I do, thank you. I currently have a '96 HRD, never serviced, with the board with that factory mod on V1B cathode, R10 and a 47uF cap, later referenced C56. It threw me. I didn't know it was an EC but here it is pictured on your Vid at 10:10 ... brilliant. Thanks for your vids, it's like having master advice available 24/7
Cool stuff. I had a 2008 HRD limited edition version that developed the PCB-cooking resistor problem about a year after getting it (amp switches from drive to normal channel by itself, and reverb goes dead; fixed under warranty luckily). I did the lower-gain V1 & V2 tube mod also(12AT7 & 12DW7), which did absolute wonders for the drive channel, throttled the muddy, dirty-in-a-hurry (to my ears) gain down nicely.
I bought a brand new Blues Deluxe in 1994. This "computer" sounded great except for strange, rattly noises. Amp tech cushioned all the wooden parts and tightened it up real well, but the noises continued. It finally came down to four or five of those tiny little pots, were filled with racket. Changed those out and used the amp for several years on weekends and never had any other problems with it! Oh yeh ... I took it all apart and shellacked and lacquered the tweed ... it looks pretty good, too!
This was nice, I watch it twice :)
I've repaired a lot of these things here in the UK, fender twins are the same, always have burn damage.
I'm going to install a very small fan or PC fan (possible filter too) with a vent near the top to try to keep the heat down inside the amp. My amp will only be used in my recording studio so dust will be minimum.
Great work there you really know how amps operate even better than companies that have been building them for years. It's a shame they cut 10-20 dollars off of parts to do it the right way but maybe they want these amps to be throw away so you buy another one? My whole life's motto has been quality of quantity. Have a good weekend.
Well, we now understand the "hot" in Hotrod.
Id like to take some lessons. Very knowledgeable!
AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what a great sounding amp however... what a piece of ...
A defective 4560 (U3) Operational amp was the culprit in another unit that I worked on +16v was getting loaded down due to internal short in the IC. FYI
I really like watching these videos especially this one because you taught me some things on here that helped me fix my Beacon Morris garage furnaces motherboard and after testing the roll out switch and the high limit switch after it blinking a 4 code saying it was both of these switches that were bad and they were good I ended up pulling the motherboard and found 2 out of 6 lugs on the plug the solder joints were bad like what's happening on this amplifier. So I took and reflowed them both and it's now up and running like it should again which probably saved me a couple hundred dollars on buying a new motherboard for it so thanks for showing stuff like this and what to look for . Any recommendations on a solder that's good because I remember you saying that a law was passed and that all of the solder that's sold now has no lead in it anymore ? I have some old stuff that was made before this law that I also use to seal up old brass car radiators at times but for the small stuff like circuit boards and speaker wires I am running low on the good stuff and want to know what a good recommendation is on a modern non toxic solder if that's even possible lol . I just subscribed so I hopefully can watch more of your videos to learn more so once again thanks !
Cool! Kester 60/40 for most things. It isn't outlawed. You're just not supposed to use it for commercial amps anymore.
Thank you for doing this! I just changed my 5W voltage supply resistors today, and all the snap/crackle/popping is gone. Will change the grid resistors soon for good measure (82k and 100k). Would you be able to recommend a place to source these from?
That low voltage supply fault always amazes me. They've been building them like that since the early 1990s. The fix is a C-shape crimp in the lead to make a standoff. That's what? A $5 dollar tool and two hand squeezes for about 5 components? I know, I know: accountants blah blah blah. But seriously...
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I have a Hot rod de luxe that is delivering less than half the power rated. Do you consider is a problem due to the aging of the tubes or can be any other issue? DC Voltage at power supply remains constant while playing the guitar. I really appreciate your help
I have a 2001 Model w/light usage & looked at it w-the back removed. It plays & sounds ok & the caps show no visible issues ( I know their old IC's ). Also see no heat damage from the l.v. resistors, but have experienced some rustling noises at idle. Considering having this done to mine & was curious abt. the cost, in 2022 $$s.
I just did a filter CAP upgrade on my Deluxe III. Which resisters did you use specifically? I have the same baked look on my board. Good information. Thank you.
Cool creative fix, soldering a bus wire onto the toast trace. Why would one not just jumper those terminals with a wire? Why directly contacting the old trace? To minimise spatial needs? To prevent shorts?
Great video! I noticed one of the eyelets for the diode was compromised. Whats the best way to repair that. Conductive copper tape I read online. Is that ok? thx.
Lyle, any suggestions for an alternative to the HRD or Blues Jr.? i love the tones and functionality, but do not want to deal with cheap components and poor PCB design....
I'm here to find out if my HRD has problems. It's clipping on the clean channel already at 2 or 3. Turned up to 8 it can be used as a crunch channel. Tried "Preamp Out" and it clips there as well. Been routing it through my attenuator two notes captor one. I think I have to turn it in for some service/repairs?
I guess Fender thinks; why update the design if they sell anyway?
Thank you for these videos. I'll never buy one of these amps. I wonder if Fender is doing this on purpose? Planned obsolescence?
In my EVH 5150 iii 50 watt head, they used IC caps. Surprise surprise, it’s made by Fender. But they are black, not grey like these. I know little to nothing about components but someone online said that the black IC caps are the better ones that they make and are less likely to leak like the grey ones. Sounds hokey to me. It almost makes me want to have all the electrolytic caps replaced in it for a better, more reliable brand. Cost wise, would that be worth doing?
Great video Lyle as always.Do you ever see Many Laneys come in your shop I own 2 Laney Gh heads a Gh50 and a Gh100 they are getting old when should I need them recapped?
Not a lot of Laneys in Memphis. I've not been all that impressed by the ones I have had in, but that's a small sampling. I have one in now as a matter of fact, but a little 15W thing.
As a rule of thumb, filters need to be changed every 20 years (or sooner if they give signs of failure).
i replaced the filter caps and replaced and raised the 5 watt resistors and diodes, clean channel works fine but the over drive channels fade in and out and crackle a little and are not loud, any thoughts?
Fender must have been the dislike on this great video 👊😎
Fender can bite me. If they had honored the warranty on my Deville, maybe I would play a fender today. I don't, won't and will not give them another red cent, including anything they are affiliated with again. That was the early 90's. I have spent thousands per year on gear, amps and guitars since, and I made absolutely sure not one bit of it had anything to do with Fender. Their bean counters and shit customer service cost them more than they saved with me. All they had to do was fix or replace my brand new amp and after two worthless techs did nothing, they claimed they had filled their obligation and refused to do squat. Color me done.
If I may ask another question re: reverb tanks in HRD's...the piece of cardboard inside the bag that the tank sits on...is it longer than the tank, or shorter, or the same length? I just gota Hot Rod Deluxe in a trade for a Bugera, and the piece of cardboard is a little longer than the tank itself, plus the tank/bag is not secured inside the floor of the cabinet...it appears someone has been in here before me...you told me the tank is secured with two 5/8" #8 sheet metal screws ( hope i remember that correctly) , so I'm needing to know this dumb little detail, as I've owned these Fender amps before, but nver had the occasion to open the bag, let alone verify the length of the cardboard inside! If this is somethign that you've seen, any help will be greatly appreciated sir. Your 'radio' voice is so easy to listen to while you think out loud...it's fun! Thanks for sharing.
If the person who Disliked this video reads this, do you mind explaining that? Because I seriously don't get it.
Don't let those immature brats get under your skin. I've never seen a single UA-cam video with more than 10 views that didn't have at least one dislike. "UA-cam...you will never find a more wretched hive of snarky comments and jack@ssery" ~ Obi-wan
Some people are just muppets mate. Love your content.. learn so much!!
Some people are never happy. Seems like almost every video I watch has a small percentage of dislikes.
Oh, it doesn't bother me. It just seems weird. "I don't like this video."
When I watch YT videos, I either Like it or I'm disinterested and I move on. I very rarely am motivated to Dislike a video.
Especially without explanation, it just seems pretty.
They probably have IC caps in their hrd
Honestly I have encountered some pretty spiteful and toxic people in tube amp land... if you don't do things their way, they'll can you for it
Those look like cheap jamicons that were in there, do know what they used exactly? And what did you replace them with?
Does anyone know if this has been corrected at any stage in later manufacturing year Hot Rod Deluxe IIIs and IVs? I have a 2023 made George Benson HRD which is based on the HRD III and hope that this won't be an issue.
Hey old buddy what gauge bus wire should I order for this type of Job
Hey great video ! I have a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 112 that has an other issue. When, and only when the bright button is on and the drive pot is up, when playing in the clean channel, even at 0 volume, there is residual sound coming from the drive channel. I've replace the relays, and still the problem persists.. Did you ever have an issue like that ?
Mine does this too. I’m not sure what it could be. I just replaced the tubes. It would suck if a new tube is bad. I swapped it out from V1 and it made it somewhat better but still there.
Are the radial lead Illinois caps generally not a problem?
The radials don't have the same issues. They tend to last. Any electrolytic needs replacing eventually, but the radials are good.
i have this amp and need a new OT. I mistakenly bought the DeVille OT which is 50 watts instead of 40. Can i put it in with no other modifications to the circuit?
Still two 6L6s. Won't hurt a thing.
A friend of mine just gave me one of these because it was too expensive to repair. It has all the issues you show in this video. One question: Do I need to use lead-free solder to fix it?
No, but you need to remove the lead-free on any connection you redo with leaded.
@@PsionicAudio Very good. Thanks!
Where are you located? I need a good amp tech in the Cincinnati area
✌ 🎸
I'm replacing the 470 ohm, 5w resistors in mine as well. Do you have a specific part number recommendation for these (via mouser or otherwise)?
I use Vishays, AC or Psomething series usually (lower mass) from Mouser.
@@PsionicAudio awesome, thank you!
Great vid! What would that service cost, roughly?
The typical HRD is 3 hours labor depending on how burned the board is. Plus parta and assuming the tubes are good about $350.
@@PsionicAudio thank you!
Does anybody know what it would cause a vibration sound when playing only the b note frequency? The guitar sounds perfectly fine. The amp that is until I hit a b note on the guitar when I do this, it produces a strange vibration sound no other note causes it so when I play blues and end on the b note , funny enough it buzzes.
Thank you for these incredibly insightful and strangely calming videos. Are there any smaller Fender combos you could recommend that don't hiss like hell and cook so much. I live in the UK (apologies), but will never stick a screwdriver in the back (thanks for that tip!). Are the custom wired ones a better way to go? I really like the fender sound and reverb but made the mistake of buying a Performer 1000 in the 90's and its just a hissing, popping, scary, malevolent box of ****!.
Why apologize for living in the UK?
The Princeton Reverb and Deluxe Reverb RIs with some reliability improvements are fantastic amps in their price ranges, as is the Vox AC15C1. Orange and Victory are worth looking at, though I don't know the pricing on all their models.
@@PsionicAudio I'm not too fond of my current government and a little embarrassed, I'm just use to apologising to my European friends :-)
Thank you so much for replying, I will look at the fenders you've recommended and see if I can find a nice quiet one, my old reliable is a jcm800 and two seventies tweed cabs but its a little over the top for a small apartment!
Many thanks again.
I try to keep politics off here, but I can understand the embarrassment. I'll just say the bad haircuts on both sides of the pond have been discouraging.
Depending on your needs, the Boss Katana might be a good choice as well. Yeah, it's SS modeling but it's very good, especially at the price.
I've replaced the 5W resistores, the large caps, refloated the tube sockets. When I assembled it back together, there is no sound coming out of the speaker. All tubes glow, all lights are on. The tube bias measures at 67-69 mVDC. I'm wondering if I could have damaged something? What could it be?
I don't have a crystal ball, sorry. Too many possible things for me to remotely diagnose.
@@PsionicAudio I understand, was wondering where would you start, I checked the plate voltage on both tubes, around 435 volts, I get a little scratchy noise when I measure pin 3 or 5 on 6L6.
Measure screens on the 6L6s. Then measure plates on each preamp tube working towards the input with the volume at noon. If you don't hear it through the speaker when you measure plate voltage, you've found the problem area.
You can start by just plugging into the FX return and see if you have signal. If so the problem is before the phase inverter (V3).
@@PsionicAudio Well, an interesting find. I took the tube board off and when I flipped it, apparently I've damaged the C30 cap by screwing it down to the post. So it crashed the cap and got its contacts exposed and touching the grounded metal case. I'm assuming the signal went no where past V3. R57 and R58 resistors look a little toasty now but still measure 82K and 100K. I'm wondering what else could have gotten damaged :(. I guess i'll replace the C30 cap and see what happens. Thank you for your great material Sir.
I’m sure most of the trouble free owners of that series, that the amp never left the house. I had the first series Blues Deluxe, and it became a turret board Pro Amp after gigging a couple years and it became unreliable.
Lead free solder is nasty stuff!
Certainly not designed to last.
Is there a better way to ask questions than to post them in this comments section? an email address that you respond to perhaps?
I have one of these amps and the board is so blackened by heat in this exact same area that none of these tracers can be seen at all...the amp still works as I've done quite a bit to address a lot of these common Hot Rod Deluxe issues, but how does this area being charred effect the amp/sound/performance? thanks again...awesome videos and knowledge!
Fender does not care. Do they?
All Fender Amp models are a crap shoot !!! Fender pricing keeps going up up, however, they all still use the same internal crappy electronic components!!!!! Sometime ago I bought a second hand Fender amplifier that was manufactured within a year. Unfortunately, the amp developed a nasty static noise when the volume was turned up above five for some length of time. Didn't come across this issue when I test drove the amp before purchasing. That being said, I didn't frown on the seller !!! For testing purposes, I pulled each tube out and replace the tube with a known good tube. I even had a brand new pair of power tubes, which I installed. Same issue!!! Therefore, I simply purchased a new amp online, and sent the faulty amp back for reimbursement!! If Fender made a decent amp product, then there wouldn't be all these repairs on various Fender model amps on UA-cam !!
I'm surprised they honored it. More likely the seller did and took the hit.
Lyle, are you having problems with receiving emails? I sent a message 2 days ago but never received a reply. Thanks!
I check emails about once a week right now. Have patience.
@@PsionicAudio OK Lyle, Thanks!
@fender, fender for fucks sake. What is this?