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Post subject: FM65R Amp Circuit Board Quality (or lack thereof)
Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 7:20 am
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My 65R failed a few weeks back so this weekend I opened her up to see what was wrong. I was completely dismayed by the horrible condition of the circuit board. The amp was supposed to be new but the circuit board has been reworked... and badly. It looks like something Lancelot Chimp (old TV show with monkeys) would do. Also don't know what they were using for solder but it left white "stuff" around the connections that were reworked. I used a plastic tool (called a spudger in days of old) and scraped most of it off. Finally found a bad connection to one of the driver transistors for the + side of the output. Used good old lead based solder to resolder the connection. It appears the amp was reworked, maybe at the factory, and sent out as new? The board also has stains all over it from whatever cleaning they do post wave soldering. Yikes! Fender, you guys should think about bringing manufacturing back to the U.S.!


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Post subject: Re: FM65R Amp Circuit Board Quality (or lack thereof)
Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:38 pm
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They should seriously consider giving up on that wave solder.


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Post subject: Re: FM65R Amp Circuit Board Quality (or lack thereof)
Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 6:41 am
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Yes I agree. Last night I was able to finish assembling that amp and it works just fine now. 2 of my 3 amps were down so feeling a little better now. Hard practicing with a Front Man 15 ;-). It was *just* loud enough when clean and has killer distortion. Just glad I didn't have to play a gig with it (whew!).


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Post subject: Re: FM65R Amp Circuit Board Quality (or lack thereof)
Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 3:32 pm
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:lol:

Art


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Post subject: Re: FM65R Amp Circuit Board Quality (or lack thereof)
Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 6:59 pm
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Art I agree, whoever does Fenders wave soldering does a pretty lame job.
darnet, You mean Lancelot Link? I loved that show!
He gave up amp repair and started a band.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal


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Post subject: Re: FM65R Amp Circuit Board Quality (or lack thereof)
Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 9:17 pm
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I LOVE IT! Great Pic.


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Post subject: Re: FM65R Amp Circuit Board Quality (or lack thereof)
Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 11:03 pm
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Get yourself a vintage Deluxe Reverb and say "sayonara" to the new-amp blues.

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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