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Post subject: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:32 pm
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In 2003, I bought this amp from a Guitar Center near San Diego. (Fender 2003 HR Deluxe) From the start, it was problematical. The reverb quit working by the time I got it home. It has always cracked and popped and been unreliable. I liked the sound for the most part, excluding the overdrive channels, so I didn't take it back within the 30 day period. The fact that I lived in Phoenix at the time didn't make it any easier. Needless to say, I stuck this amp pretty much in the corner and abandoned it. The fact I paid over $100 more for the Laquered Tweed cover and the vintage Italian speaker made it all the worse.

I bought a Budda Super Drive 30 (#103 of the first built by Jeff) and I bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Deville w/4-10's. They've both been wonderful amps. I never understood the Deluxes' failure until recently.

I had a friend who had the same Budda model of mine that lived very near. He did a little work on my Budda and it turned out well. (New rectifier socket and major cleanup) I coaxed him into looking at my Fender HR Deville as well.

He gave it a thorough cleaning and look-over and called me over. The look on his face was grim. He pointed out how super thin the board was and all the cracks in my soldering. He said he could go in and re-solder it all, but it would cost more than the amp was worth. He said it was likely to be in the same condition in 6 months even if he did. He said it was a newer and cheaper form of super thin soldering process they were using at the time and it would just not hold up. He said he'd seen it before. He said the best I could do was save the cabinet, and speaker and torch the rest.

I halfway believe him because the amp has been a nightmare since I bought it. I just have a hard time believing Fender would risk it's good name with such a shoddy board. Is there a grain of truth to what I was told? He had degrees in Electronics and worked for the Government doing that kind of work. Don't know why he would lie.

I am famous for babying my equipment. I have 6 amps, over 20 guitars, a keyboard, Banjo, mandolin. All look in new condition. The HR Deluxe was NEVER abused or dropped. It rarely left my house. (Maybe 2-3 times) Is the amp worth trying to have it repaired? Thanks for ANY help.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:55 pm
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If he goes by RJ, I wouldn't trust him. :)


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 1:33 am
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Sigh!

There are several thousands of these same amps with "super thin" boards, that work just fine. This amp was made prior to the switch to RoHS solder, that is a plus. The entire amp can be resoldered in about an hour, after a half hour or so to take it apart. Sounds to me like this guy that looked at it is either lazy, or just doesn't know what the heck he is talking about, or both.

Sure, you must use care when working with these amps, they do have very thin traces that can be damaged easily, but to write off the whole amp due to some lousy soldering is pure BS.

I have a HRDlx I circa 1998, and I have used it alot, hauled it all over the place, modified it a few times, and had it apart tinkering more times than I can remember, lots of desoldering/soldering and it still works great, and is still one of my all time favorite amps.

Put a little TLC into that amp and enjoy it. 8)

P.S.
Take the amp to someone who isn't FOS. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:04 am
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Thanks for your help. I was a little skeptical about his advice, but wasn't sure. He probably just didn't want to do the work. He did a great job on the Budda so I had hoped he would work on the HRD. Plus, he was very convenient and not too pricey. Guess I'll lug it to one of the recommended amp people here in town. It's just been kind of a dog since I bought it new so I was ready to believe anything bad about it. It occurred to me that if you could by a car "lemon", it was possible with an amp as well.

Thanks again....


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 10:16 am
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shimmilou wrote:
Sigh!

There are several thousands of these same amps with "super thin" boards, that work just fine. This amp was made prior to the switch to RoHS solder, that is a plus. The entire amp can be resoldered in about an hour, after a half hour or so to take it apart. Sounds to me like this guy that looked at it is either lazy, or just doesn't know what the heck he is talking about, or both.

Sure, you must use care when working with these amps, they do have very thin traces that can be damaged easily, but to write off the whole amp due to some lousy soldering is pure BS.

I have a HRDlx I circa 1998, and I have used it alot, hauled it all over the place, modified it a few times, and had it apart tinkering more times than I can remember, lots of desoldering/soldering and it still works great, and is still one of my all time favorite amps.

Put a little TLC into that amp and enjoy it. 8)



P.S.
Take the amp to someone who isn't FOS. :wink:


+1000


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 11:20 am
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Just get it fixed up and sell it, then don't worry no more.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 10:14 am
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Rockerduck wrote:
Just get it fixed up and sell it, then don't worry no more.


+1 That's what I did. Mine was an unreliable POS. In the shop three times in 6 months and I bought it brand new. It was never abused, just gigged. The III series seem to be a bit more reliable. For the record, I know quite a few techs that cringe every time an older HRdlx comes into the shop.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 10:48 am
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63 Supro,
These amps need to see qualified tech for a reliable repair.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 11:55 am
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I purchased my American Blues Deville for $500 in brand new condition (stored in a closet since about 94). It worked for a short time. I could have sent it to a tech, but did'nt.......as i did'nt want to go on a wild goose chase until finding a qualified tech who COULD fix it right the 1st time.
After tinkering myself and noticing amongst other things, that the ribbon wire connections were in part broken, just put it away.........figuring i just threw away $500. I have other amps i like as well.
But then this year, i had the chassis converted to point to point for $500 plus about $100 total shipping....and am VERY happy.
So my investment in $ terms is $1100. But i now have an authentic hand wired botique amp....one of a very few like it.....lower powered blackface twin circuit with real tube driven reverb.
This circuit will be easily servicible (if ever needed) by most any experienced technician......and of course, sounds superior to the original Deville.
IMO, the $1100 total is a Good deal for a great amp.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 12:39 pm
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yomammaaho wrote:
I purchased my American Blues Deville for $500 in brand new condition (stored in a closet since about 94). It worked for a short time. I could have sent it to a tech, but did'nt.......as i did'nt want to go on a wild goose chase until finding a qualified tech who COULD fix it right the 1st time.
After tinkering myself and noticing amongst other things, that the ribbon wire connections were in part broken, just put it away.........figuring i just threw away $500. I have other amps i like as well.
But then this year, i had the chassis converted to point to point for $500 plus about $100 total shipping....and am VERY happy.
So my investment in $ terms is $1100. But i now have an authentic hand wired botique amp....one of a very few like it.....lower powered blackface twin circuit with real tube driven reverb.
This circuit will be easily servicible (if ever needed) by most any experienced technician......and of course, sounds superior to the original Deville.
IMO, the $1100 total is a Good deal for a great amp.


+1 you have a better amp than a brand new HR Deluxe

An second hand tube amplifier that is not used for several months often developes all sorts of problems. Among other things, a lot of contact oxidize or rust.
Often one has to replace the bases of the tubes because they can not be cleaned.

And worse your amplifier has not been used for years.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:08 am
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Any picture of this new board ?


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:37 am
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stratele52 wrote:
Any picture of this new board ?

Yea....go back into the lounge under my recent "Report Tube-Tone American Blues Deville rebuild".
The photo bucket for some reason did'nt give the resolution as well as i uploaded them.


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 4:42 am
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Thank's , I remember now and I saw them


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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:17 am
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stratele52 wrote:
63 Supro,
These amps need to see qualified tech for a reliable repair.


It was. The guy I go to is legendary in the Philadelphia, Pa. area and services many, many professional musicians and national acts. The issues I had were things that shouldn't have happened to a brand new amp in the first place. Exploding filter caps, fractured traces and solder joints and failed 5 watt resistors shouldn't happen in any six moth old amp. The issues happened at different times. My old 76 Twin went for over 30 years before it saw a shop and was gigged way harder than the HRDlx. I build my own now. At least if it fails, I only have myself to blame. I've been gigging my 5e3 clone for almost a year and so far, so good. Zero issues.

I agree, a good tech is essential and there are a lot of hacks out there. There are a lot of really great techs in the Philly area. At one time, the Philly music scene was one of the hottest on the east coast.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 2003 Hot Rod Deluxe printed Board.
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:21 am
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I agree with you , I see lots of cheap parts in those amps


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