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Post subject: My Montreux amp with my Strat......
Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 10:56 pm
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Now this might seem obvious to long time strat players, but I am amazed at the sound I get with my Jeff Beck strat through my Fender Montreux 100watt transistor amp (1 x 12 combo).

I have owned this amp since 1985 when I bought it new, but have always been a Gibson player. The clean channel sounded ok with humbucker instruments, but the distortion was always a bit dull and muddy. I have kept this amp because of the very transparent, loud clean channel. It really does let the quality of different guitars come through (and the reverb is to die for).

This amp is an entirely different animal played with the strat. Very nice clean strat sounds, and a great reverb also. The distortion channel screams with the strat. I am keeping this relative of course. This amp is not in the same league as a Fender tube, but it is a GREAT practice/jamming amp. Very Loud!

I know that Fender from the old days matched amps to their guitars, but I didn't think it would apply to a mid 80's tranny amp. Seems like got a new guitar AND a new amp!! 8)


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Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 5:22 am
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Thats awesome.I agree with you about the amp and guitar combo.I cant say if Fender intended on it , but I have a 59 bassman ri and it loves my 2 guitars with the Texas Specials, but when I play them thru my super reverb and blues deluxe it sounds ok , but not as good as my bassman.I also have an 2008 American Standard that loves my super reverb and my deluxe.


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Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:32 am
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I think you and I might be the only ones on this forum with a Montreux, Peter...mine needs some work, I bought it used about 12 years ago and the front panel switches are worn out. It's not reliable enough to gig with anymore but I sure do miss the sound. I've tried to find the right footswitch so I could bypass the channel/reverb switches but no luck. My mid-80's MIJ Strat sounds great through it, though. As you know, PLENTY of power and range for what I play. Gonna try to get the switches replaced soon, I'll probably never wear it out.


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Post subject: Fender Montreux
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:10 pm
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Here's another convinced user of the Fender Montreux. I bought mine second-hand in 2006 and play an Indie IRK5-12 and a Mexican Strat through it. The true revelation came when a started using a GT-8 with it. Together with the VOX AC30 pre-amp and some further tweaking, the Montreux delivers a unique Rock sound faintly reminiscing of Neil Young's Rust Never Sleeps phase. There is no big sound difference between plugging the board directly into the amp, or using the effect loop. Using the loop leaves you more options via the footswitch though. I liked the Drive channel always, but it really takes you out when you play slide (heavy wall): very creamy and fat.

However, the circuitry of the amp is somewhat moody. At times it breaks down and sports only a very croaky sound, either on one channel, or both, or on the effect loop in a very arbitrary fashion. A thumping or a kick on the left top sometimes takes it back to normal. As I learned from some forums my Montreux is not the only one with this shortcoming. I would be happy if someone could give me a straightforward and clearly defined clue what the error could be, so that I can convince my repair man that it is not the footswitch and some contact spray might solve the problem.


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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 5:03 am
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I just dropped my Montreux off to be fixed, I'll post results in a few weeks when I get it back. I can relate to the thump on the top solution but it's temporary and seems to accelerate the ultimate demise.


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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 8:50 am
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I worked on two of those amps for a friend of mine. The problem that I found with intermittent switching was the ribbon connectors inside the amp that connect between the switch board and the control board. The contacts on the connector and the pins used don't seem to match and they were very loose. I ended up resoldering the pins in the board and adding a layer of solder to the pins so that the header had more material to grab onto. This ultimately solved the problem. The pushbutton switches themselves were fine.

good luck,

Dave


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Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:16 pm
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Very nice technique and repair tip, Dave. Welcome to the forum! Art

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Posted: Sat May 22, 2010 3:50 am
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It took the repair man 3 months (January to March) to find the specific location of the problem. The amp worked fine for weeks, then stopped. He took the board out and the amp worked fine again. He reinstalled the board, the amp crackled again. This game went on for weeks until he succeeded in taking out the board and the error remained. Now he could solve the problem by checking the connectors and resolder the specific wires of the ribbon connector that came loose. The Montreux has worked fine now for months.

Price of the repair was 100€.

All the best




bluesdave wrote:
I worked on two of those amps for a friend of mine. The problem that I found with intermittent switching was the ribbon connectors inside the amp that connect between the switch board and the control board. The contacts on the connector and the pins used don't seem to match and they were very loose. I ended up resoldering the pins in the board and adding a layer of solder to the pins so that the header had more material to grab onto. This ultimately solved the problem. The pushbutton switches themselves were fine.

good luck,

Dave


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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 2:43 am
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As you by now know, it's the solder that cracks...just got mine back Thursday eve and my guy (Edtronics in Oregon, WI) told me he basically had to resolder the whole damn thing, which explains why it used to work fine until it warmed up. The switches needed a thorough cleaning as well but the only new part needed was the input jack. I could have had him fabricate a footswitch but decided I didn't really need one for the limited giggingI do. It was less then $200 to bring it back to life...I had almost forgotten how good it sounds because it's been about a year since it really worked well, but it never sounded like THIS! YEE-HA!


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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 4:00 pm
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I just received my Montreax back from Woody's music in Kent Ohio and they were able to fix it. The tech mentioned he had to resolder, clean connections and switches. So far everything has been OK. This amp has been down for over ten years with that crappy connection and sound. Previously, two other techs worked on this amp and couldn't fix it.

I was getting ready to build a tube amp kit in the chassis if Woody's couldn't repair it. Now it seems I have another amp for the inventory.


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Post subject: Re: My Montreux amp with my Strat......
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:21 am
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I've got a strat with a Montreux amp with a single 12" speaker. I bought them together in a second-hand shop in Devon (UK) about 15 years ago for £450 - what a bargain. Had to spend a bit having the strat re-fretted after it had been adapted for slide. Lovely sound on reverb.
Just bought a GT40 and am going through the 120 presets working out what's worth keeping, plus hunting for new ones through the app. Any recommendations greatly appreciated.


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