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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 4:17 pm
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Bill - that's what I think too. I pulled all the drive components, and even spent a long time looking at the PCB through a light behind it looking for trace cracks or anything unusual. I reflowed all solder joints. No change.
I'm pretty much done with these Fender PCBs. I'll stick to Garolite G4 boards.


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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 4:25 pm
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Sorry I couldn't be of more help. If you had a signal generator and O-Scope, it would be a simple matter to trace the signal through the amp.

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 5:07 pm
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teslasbrother,

Have you been able to resolve the issues with your amp?

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2016 8:46 pm
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bluesky636 wrote:
Sorry for the delay in posting my tone stack mods. I have been sick for the last few days with a bad sinus and upper respiratory infection. Not what you want when trying to write a detailed post. Anyway, tonight we are going to talk about modding the BDRI tone stack to the same configuration as that of the 5F6A Bassman.

CAUTION!!! Tube amps contain high voltages that can be lethal. Be sure to check the power supply caps with your DVM prior to working on your amp and drain the caps if necessary. Make sure your amp is unplugged and never stick both hands inside a live amp.

The BDRI tone stack is identical to the current 1959 LTD Bassman Reissue with the exception that the Bassman Reissue uses a linear taper treble control and the BDRI uses an audio taper treble control.

Image

The components we are going to change are circled in the above schematic and are located as shown here:

Image

The end result is a tone stack that looks like this:

Image

C7 is a simple change from a 250 pF ceramic cap to a 250 pF silver mica cap which gives a little smoother high end.

C5 is replaced with a 0.022 mF Orange Drop cap (600 VDC rating). This change results in a bass respone that rolls off a bit quicker below 100 Hz than with the 0.1 mF cap. It helps keep the bass from getting too muddy when used with a humbucker pickup.

The final change is replacing the 100K ohm s l o p e resistor with a 56K ohm resistor. Reducing the value of the s l o p e resistor results in an increase in the upper bass/lower midrange response without affecting the lower bass or treble. Note that many Marshall amps use a 33K ohm s lo p e resistor for the midrange emphasis that those amps provide.

The effect on the amp's frequency response is shown here. All tone controls are set at 50%. The green curve is with the stock component values and the red curve represents the modified tone stack. The picture is not great, but you can clearly see the bass roll off and midrange boost (about 3 dB from 200 Hz to 700 Hz) of the modified tone stack.

Image

The modified PCB is shown here:

Image

Note that I did not change C6, the midrange cap. It is already the desired value and its location makes squeezing in a 600 VDC orange Drop a little tricky. :lol:

We will wrap things up in the next couple of days by reviewing the total impact of the mods on the sound of the BDRI and look at a couple of mods I am considering but haven't decided to do. See you soon.


Quick question on the 250pf silver mica upgrade. Did you use a 1000v or 500v silver mica? I ask because I'm having a hard time finding a 250pf 1000v silver mica cap online.


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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2016 10:35 pm
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aaronj7117 wrote:
Quick question on the 250pf silver mica upgrade. Did you use a 1000v or 500v silver mica? I ask because I'm having a hard time finding a 250pf 1000v silver mica cap online.


500 volt.

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 5:12 pm
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Hiya all. I read through this thread and there are some great mod ideas here. Really generous of you to share them with everyone, Bluesky. I just wanted to say that I read on the Gear Page that the OT impedance load changes if 6V6S tubes are used, and requires moving wires on to the OT or using a 16 Ohm speaker to correct. That might be why the bass becomes unruly at higher gain. Not sure how to rewire the OT, but I'm sure someone can figure it out.

I also wanted to suggest using Miller capacitance on the V2 tube to roll off at ~2kHz if possible. Not sure how it's configured by default, but generating a lot of harmonics from above ~2kHz tends to create strong intermodulations with the progressively sharper guitar harmonics. You could go a bit lower to ~1.6kHz for a smoother Santana-like sound, but much higher risks harshness depending on the gain. Depending on where and how the roll off is implemented would dictate which tube type to use in the sequence. FI, you'd probably want the 1.6~2.2kHz roll off after V1 if it's a 12ax7, but could configure it after V2 if V1 is a lower gain tube. 3~4kHz after V1 or V2 may work if the path is moderate gain for light crunch or some hair on an OD pedal.


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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 9:45 pm
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Traded the BDRI and four guitars to buy a 2014 Gibson Custom Shop 1958 Les Paul Reissue (R8) and a Fender Classic Series 50's Lacquer Stratocaster. Recently added the anodized gold pick guard to the Strat which looks really great with the Candy Apple Red lacquer over the gold base coat.

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 10:31 pm
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Really gorgeous, Bill......both of them!

How do they sound through your 5F6-A clone?

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 6:55 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
Really gorgeous, Bill......both of them!

How do they sound through your 5F6-A clone?

Arjay


Thanks.

Heavenly. :D Especially with the JJ 5881s I installed this weekend. Playing through both the 5F6-A and Trainwreck clones simultaneously is just awesome. :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 3:15 pm
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I often wondered what a CAR '57 would look like with a gold-anodized pickguard......now I know.

It looks abzurdly AWESOME!

8)

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 3:46 pm
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Thanks. It even makes the guitar quieter. I replaced the stock pickups with Seymour Duncan California 50's.

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 4:36 pm
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Cool.

How do you like the R8 and how heavy is it?

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 4:49 pm
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A Custom Shop Historic Les Paul has been my dream guitar for some time. I got it last year after receiving a very nice bonus from work. Still had to trade the BDRI and the four guitars I had plus the cash to afford. It was worth it though.

I think it weighs about 8.5 to 8.8 pounds. Definitely less then 9. I don't have the data sheet that came with it handy right now. I replaced the Custombuckers with Seymour Duncan Joe Bonamassa Skinnerburst pickups. Smoother and thicker sounding with a sweet top end. Upgraded the bridge and tailpiece with Faber parts and better vintage correct plastic than the Gibson parts from various sources .

In my opinion, you only need two guitars: a Les Paul and a Strat. :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 6:02 pm
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My R9 flame top tips the scales at 8 lbs - 4 oz so yours is right in the same ballpark. Very comfortable instrument. By contrast my '78 Les Paul Classic weighs in at over 13 lbs. It's a real beast.

Congrats on the job bonus!

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Modifications To The Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue Amp
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 6:25 pm
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Spent quite a lot of time last year TDY to various CONUS sites, culminating with a week in Guam (plus travel time of about 3 days total) in December and 10 days on the Big Island of Hawaii in January. Been preparing for the last several weeks for another week long trip to Guam in August then hopping over from there to Bangkok for a week. If the flight time for that trip doesn't kill me, nothing will. :lol:

Two, maybe three more years and I hope to retire. 8)

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