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Post subject: New 57 Deluxe Arrived...... with "Safety" Changes
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 4:52 am
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Well, my new 57 Deluxe arrived yesterday.
As I was taking it out of the box I said "what the..."

Fender has installed rubber booted power and standby switches, and they substituted a plain nylon cover for the spec'd cotton vintage one. I called them and said it was because of "safety regulations". Really ? When did that start ? I bought a 57 Champ reissue and a Blues Junior NOS in the last couple of months and neither had these changes.

The amp of course still sounds great, but it doesn't look like a vintage, reissue amp with it's Ralph Nader galoshes on. They've gotta go... I'll buy some standard hex nuts.
I had to order the correct cotton cover from a dealer who had them.


I've been experimenting with the interactive channel volumes.
Very big, open and transparent sounding.
Great sounding amp.


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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:53 am
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What country are you located in? Safety regulations are different per country and Fender has to comply with all of them to keep selling amps there, whether the changes make sense or not.

Fender's Shane Nicholas is quoted in the Fender amp book "Soul of Tone" saying something to the effect that some countries have super strict regulations on electronics and Fender has to set aside some amps and make changes to them before they are shipped out to those countries or regions. And the changes make the reissue amps look different than the vintage originals. Like putting cages around the tubes so no one will touch hot tubes (no one these days has common sense in my opinion. if it's hot, don't touch it, duh!). Shane also mentions the rubber booties on the switches, and seems puzzled since he's never felt a switch get hot. The book came out in 2007, so these changes are not a recent thing.

In my opinion some pencil pusher in a government office that has never even touched a guitar before seems to think that he can make the world a safer place one little rubber bootie at a time. What next? Will we be required to wear helmets before we plug in? :lol:

Oh and congrats on the new amp!

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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:20 am
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metropolis74 wrote:
In my opinion some pencil pusher in a government office that has never even touched a guitar before seems to think that he can make the world a safer place one little rubber bootie at a time.


Why do you think the blackface re-issues don't have the AC convenience outlet on the rear panel as per the originals?

I spoke at some length about this issue (and others) with a couple of sympathetic Fender guys up in Scottsdale some years back when I bought my TRRI. Their rationale was a-freakin'-mazing -- but impeccably fathomable, given our government's penchant for "benevolent oversight".

"If God were a meddlesome bureaucrat, He'd be head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission!"

Arjay

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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:25 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
I spoke at some length about this issue (and others) with a couple of sympathetic Fender guys up in Scottsdale some years back when I bought my TRRI. Their rationale was a-freakin'-mazing -- but impeccably fathomable, given our government's penchant for "benevolent oversight".


Can you elaborate on the rationale they gave. "A-freakin'-mazing" got my attention.

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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:51 am
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metropolis74 wrote:
Can you elaborate on the rationale they gave. "A-freakin'-mazing" got my attention.


The high point of their concern was that some fifteen-milliwatt mental midget would plug a hair dryer, a toaster oven, or an electric trolling motor into the convenience outlet.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 1:25 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
metropolis74 wrote:
Can you elaborate on the rationale they gave. "A-freakin'-mazing" got my attention.


The high point of their concern was that some fifteen-milliwatt mental midget would plug a hair dryer, a toaster oven, or an electric trolling motor into the convenience outlet.

:mrgreen:

Arjay


I don't knnw about the trolling motor, but all they would have to do is hold their head/bread close to the power tubes to dry/toast them! :lol:

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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 3:16 pm
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You're absolutely right Bill, but you know how it is. It only takes one "rocket surgeon wannabee" who thinks it perfectly apropos to power a 2400-watt "Mr. Popcorn" with the convenience outlet to treat some eager F. Lee Bailey type to a new Lamborghini and a year-long vacation in the Bahamas courtesy of the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation's liability insurance policy.

It's the price we Joe-Sixpacks have to pay to live in a civilized-and-idiot-proofed world.

Arjay

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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 5:00 am
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This was a U.S. purchase made from music123.com
U.S. packaging.

First, I'd like to know what entity makes these safety decisions for guitar amplifiers ? ANSI ? UL ?

This has me wondering how far these safety changes will go.
Chromed metal front panels too hot ? Must replace with plastic ?
Flame retardent materials only for cabinet designs ?
No tubes ?

This stinks.


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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 6:20 am
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markr01000 wrote:
This was a U.S. purchase made from music123.com
U.S. packaging.

First, I'd like to know what entity makes these safety decisions for guitar amplifiers ? ANSI ? UL ?

This has me wondering how far these safety changes will go.
Chromed metal front panels too hot ? Must replace with plastic ?
Flame retardent materials only for cabinet designs ?
No tubes ?

This stinks.


Based on your first post, the safety changes have no impact on the sound of the amp. If the rubber boots are simply a cover, they can be removed. Otherwise, deal with it and just play your guitar.

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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:36 am
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bluesky636 wrote:
Based on your first post, the safety changes have no impact on the sound of the amp. If the rubber boots are simply a cover, they can be removed. Otherwise, deal with it and just play your guitar.


Yeah, as I said, it doesn't effect the sound of the amp.
But when you're buying a $2K amp, you expect it to be as advertised.
Fender needs to put disclaimers on all it's amp listing and pictures sating "Actual unit may differ from image. All specifications subject to change without notice"
I had to order a bag of 3/8" hex nuts and the correct cotton cover.
Not what you expect to be doing with your new high end amp right out of the box. You gotta realize, this isn't a Frontmn 25.


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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 9:02 am
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markr01000 wrote:
Not what you expect to be doing with your new high end amp right out of the box. You gotta realize, this isn't a Frontmn 25.


That's partly responsible for the allure of "boo-teek" amps from Vintage Sound, Gramp's Amps, Victoria, etc who only turn out a few dozen pieces yearly. They're generally vintage-correct, lacking the government-mandated "Bravo Sierra" that spoils the vibe for many of the re-issues from the mainstream companies.

Arjay

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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:02 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
markr01000 wrote:
Not what you expect to be doing with your new high end amp right out of the box. You gotta realize, this isn't a Frontmn 25.


That's partly responsible for the allure of "boo-teek" amps from Vintage Sound, Gramp's Amps, Victoria, etc who only turn out a few dozen pieces yearly. They're generally vintage-correct, lacking the government-mandated "Bravo Sierra" that spoils the vibe for many of the re-issues from the mainstream companies.

Arjay


Yeah, I thought about building a Mission, but opted for the Deluxe reissue.


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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:23 am
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markr01000 wrote:
bluesky636 wrote:
Based on your first post, the safety changes have no impact on the sound of the amp. If the rubber boots are simply a cover, they can be removed. Otherwise, deal with it and just play your guitar.


Yeah, as I said, it doesn't effect the sound of the amp.
But when you're buying a $2K amp, you expect it to be as advertised.
Fender needs to put disclaimers on all it's amp listing and pictures sating "Actual unit may differ from image. All specifications subject to change without notice"
I had to order a bag of 3/8" hex nuts and the correct cotton cover.
Not what you expect to be doing with your new high end amp right out of the box. You gotta realize, this isn't a Frontmn 25.


Read your owner's manual. At the bottom of the "Specifications" page of my Blues Deluxe Reissue it says "Product Specifications are subject to change withut notice." On page 2 of my Blues Deluxe Reissue Service Manual it says "All specifications are subject to change without notice." On the specifications page of my Frontman 25 R it says "Product specifications are are subject to change without notice." I will bet the same notice is in your manual. I'm sorry, but I don't see why you are making such a fuss about this.

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Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 11:14 am
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bluesky636 wrote:
I'm sorry, but I don't see why you are making such a fuss about this.


Perhaps this isn't a big deal.

But it's also one of the primary reasons that many of us prefer playing Fender amps that pre-date the introduction of Chevrolet's Camaro as a corporate staple back in 1967.

Arjay

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 12:10 pm
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bluesky636 wrote:
..... I'm sorry, but I don't see why you are making such a fuss about this.



If it were my cheap, PCB mass produced Hot Rod Deluxe I wouldn't have cared either.


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