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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:50 am
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Aspiring Musician
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63supro wrote:
KC9SYJ wrote:
Ever so slightly off the subject,...but when you talk about RoHS compliance,...Allen Organ Company of Macungie,PA,...and Rodgers Instruments(Rodgers Organs which is part of Roland Corp.)have to meet that RoHS compliance stuff with the solder they use,...not sure about Hammond,...but the other two have to. I don't want to get over confident,but I have reason to believe my HRD III amp will be okay! As to EL84 tubes vs. 6L6 and 6V6 tubes,...the 6L6 and 6V6 do have better tone quality than the EL84 in the Blues Jr. amps.
The Blues Jr. should have 6V6 tubes rather than the EL84s. Back to Allen and Rodgers for just a minute,...I don't play organ,but I have heard organs from both builders,...sound wise,they are pretty good for digitally reproducing pipe organ sounds,but I
would question the quality of the solder they use if it has to be RoHS compliant. I would buy an earlier non-RoHS compliant instrument,...probably before 2009 I think if I played organ,and if I could find one in really nice shape,same would hold true for a DR amp. Would I attempt building an amp on my own,...I don't know,...unless I had one of my ham radio buddies by my side who knows how to build electronic stuff to guide me.


It's not just the solder, the quality of the boards and construction shortcuts are also at fault too. Thin, narrow traces on single sided boards are no place for components that can produce a fair amount of heat. Couple that with RoHS compliance solder and you have a problem. Some of these issues were addressed with the HRD III series but not all of them. I wish the tube sockets were bolted directly to the chassis and hard wired to the board. Personally, you'll never see a spade or ribbon connector in any amp or pedal I build. Leave that garbage for computers.

Truth is, none of lower end amps are built for the long haul. Way back even the Champs were built for the long haul. Now they're pretty much landfill not long after the warranty runs out unless you keep them home and baby them. I gig with my gear on a regular basis and it needs to work.

I hope you have nothing but good luck with your gear.


Let me ask you this,...on the Vintage Reissue amps such as the DRRI,for example,...if I were to decide to 'upgrade' to that amp,...would it stand a chance of lasting for the long haul like the originals would? I tend to baby any of my electronic gear,...from my ham radio gear to my HRD III and Strat! My Yaesu FT-950 HF ham radio rig only went out of the house one time for an outdoor ARRL Field Day event,...I was not happy treating a $1,300.00 radio that way,...now she stays home where she belongs,...in the radio room. Guitar amps may be a different story,though,...you have to take them out if you perform with them,and you want them to be dependable. BTW,I do have a DRRI amp on my wish list at the music store I bought my Strat and HRD III amp at. Most times when I buy electronic gear,I usually have pretty good luck with it,anyway. For example,I have a 20" JVC TV in my bedroom I have had since 1999 and it has NEVER EVER seen a repair shop in the fourteen years I have had it. My HF radio is going on three years old and has given good service. Keep my fingers crossed that my HRD III will give the same level of dependable service!

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If it aint' broke,...don't fix it! I like to keep my amps and guitars factory original,...no mods necessary,...don't want them,...don't need them!

My gear as of now;
Standard Strat
Hot Rod Deluxe III amp
Champion 20 amp
'59 Bassman LTD Reissue


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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 9:03 am
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Rock Star
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I would do one of three things.

I would either look for a vintage Fender amp. Blackface or Silverface. They are built like tanks and easily repairable.

Buy a Victoria. They are IMO, the best Fender amps being built today with a Lifetime Warranty.

Build you own. I have started building my own amps.

I have a 5e3 Clone, A little five watt EL84 true point to point amp which was a really simple build, with no tagboard and a handful of little solid state kit amps.
I found a kit for a Supro Thunderbolt that looks pretty cool as well a a BYOC Royal Tweed kit that looks really cool combines a couple of different Tweed amps in one head.
You can build your own and save a lot of money and learn things to boot.
With kits, if you can read, solder and follow directions, you can build a kit.

Very cool stuff.

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 9:18 am
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63supro wrote:
With kits, if you can read, solder and follow directions, you can build a kit.


+1

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 9:34 am
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You can also build just about any style too, Marshall, Fender Tweed, Blackface, Bill just built a Trainwreck style amp that he tweaked to his own specs. You get a serious feeling of satisfaction when you build your own amp. My Tweed Deluxe clone is built on a a PCB, but the PCB is Mil Spec, the tube sockets are hard wired to the board and high quality the transformers are high quality and so is the workmanship. :mrgreen: I installed a Weber 12A125A speaker with an Alnico magnet that is truly a treat to the ears. Not an icepick tone in any of my amps. And I built this thing complete for $700. Less than a Hot Rod Deluxe and sounds light years better than the HRDlx I owned.

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 12:41 pm
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Aspiring Musician
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Okay,...if I want to go the kit route,where do I find some kits? I know I have two of my ham radio buddies I believe would help me out,especially on the electronic end of things!

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If it aint' broke,...don't fix it! I like to keep my amps and guitars factory original,...no mods necessary,...don't want them,...don't need them!

My gear as of now;
Standard Strat
Hot Rod Deluxe III amp
Champion 20 amp
'59 Bassman LTD Reissue


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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:18 pm
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Weber, Mojotone, and Mission Amps all offer DIY kits. I give the nod to Mission for offering a better grade of parts in many instances but all of those company's models can be built into nice dependable replicas.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:22 pm
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Hey guys!

Thanks for all the replies, you're giving me alot of confidence into building my own clone! There are a few problems though. First, I don't know really what I want. I need something that's gigable but yet useable at home. I was thinking something like the Tweed Super (5F4) or the Deluxe Reverb (AB763). What do you think about that? What do you think would suit me tone-wise? As I mentioned earlier I play mostly funk, but also a fair share of everything (but nothing with alot of distortion though), and I', currently using pedals for my drive sounds. I'm a real sucker for tweed amps, but the DR maybe suits me better tone-wise?

The second problem is the shipping. Since I live in Sweden, I'm guessing the shipping-cost could ruin it all. But I've already sent a mail to Weber. Or are there any European companies selling amp kits?

Cheers :)
JL

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2013 4:29 am
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Don't know about Europe. Could be costly. Be aware Weber and others do not supply step by step instructions, only a wiring diagram and schematic. Tube Depot has two Teed kits a 5e3 and a 5f1. I built the 5e3 Deluxe. It's on a PCB, but is still a fine amp. The plus side of a PCB is less wiring problems. Sometimes if the wiring is routed a little off, you get a noisy amp or parasitic oscillation. The PCB minimizes that problem. The board is Mil Spec and manufactured in the United States. The amp comes complete with a nice Pine Cabinet, speaker and all the parts. They call it a 5e3+ and puts out roughly 18 watts. You can download the instructions for free here
http://site.tubedepot.com/pdf/tweeddeluxekit_v14.pdf The instructions are step by step.
Build Your Own Clone has the Royal Tweed and the instructions are step by step.
Allen amps are also step by step. Really nice kits with high quality components but a little pricey.
If you're not familiar with diagrams, I'd opt for a kit with instructions.

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:57 am
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IMO, the build quality of today's amps is just not up to snuff compared to say at least 20 years ago or so, when most of Fender's product was USA made. Yesterday I was fortunate enough to have scored a Mint condition, Studio 85 which I posted on the forum page. It's a 1988 model which sounds like it just came off of the assembly line. I always tell people that if you're looking for a amp, go to Guitar Center's website , www.guitarcenter.com ,and click on their used gear section at the top of the page . They usually have a lot of Vintage Fender amps available for sale along with Marshalls , Peavey's ,etc. I'd rather spend my money on something that was made over 25 years ago than any of this made in China modeling crap .


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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:13 pm
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Roadie
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save your sheckles and buy a better quality amp. Be it Fender or other....


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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:03 am
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It looks to me as though this is a relatively new problem and that if you find a DRRI or any of the other USA made reissues made before 2010 ish you'll find a very sturdy and trustworthy rig.

While I put myself in the same place with many of the other long time Amp guys here in saying you just can't beat Fender 1968 and earlier or Clark, Victoria, Kits etc....
There are thousands of the RI's pounding out sweet tunes all over the world without issue.

The one issue that continues to plague many of the RI's is the lack of GOOD ! rectifier tubes
I had three DRI's in a row that had Rattles from cheap GZ34 Rectifier tubes, that literally
rattled in your hand.
I found that the TAD worked fine and without any rattles.

Back to the original topic Right now in my guitar space is an older Bassman LTD RI that has had the test of time, sounds amazing (mullard rectifier in it) an amazing 12AY7 (thanks Steve) and some other gems in the power section.

so to add to the mix of Vintage, boutique, or build it yourself, I would say find an RI with some hours on it used that has stood the test and most likely you'll find a long lasting capable amp.

Image

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 1:52 pm
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BB, Those VHT amps are a really sweet deal IMO. Hand wired, very affordable and easy to mod or repair if need be. They sound great too.

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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:16 pm
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Ya 63 Supro, I had been looking for one to match my 1x10 cab I made, the last one I had sounded so good unmodded that when this one came up for sale at 130 including shipping I pounced !!!

I put an old but very solid RCA 6V6GT and a sweet 5751 in it and off she goes, I may upgrade some caps in the future.

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Keepn' the Blues Alive

2004 50th Ann. Limited edition AMSE Stratocaster
2017 50's Baja Telecaster BSB

1968 Bandmaster with 2X12 cab C-rex speakers
VHT Special 6 Ultra combo

Visual Sound Route 66
Cmatmods Signa Drive


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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 7:24 pm
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For a quality Fender BF kit I'd go with Allen Amplification.


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Post subject: Re: I'm afraid of buying a Fender amp. Again...
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:08 pm
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Allen Amps are a bit pricey, but the components are first rate. Great kits.

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