Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

Deadpool_25 said:
I'm a little confused. People are still getting hissy ones new from retailers, but some people have gotten the sneaky "fixed" versions. Are the less just ones just coming straight from Fender? And where are all these hissy ones coming from now when everywhere was out of stock for months?
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I had the same questions.
 
pima1234 said:
Now I'm definitely all in for 2 V2s (yes, still gold). I was before, of course.

And here's the thing, I've noticed that the EVM starts becoming noiser the longer it's left on. I'm going to work on troubleshooting that, because I'm not having that mess. It goes beyond hiss to what sounds like some form of interference (pretty sure I'm not using a bad cable anywhere).
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I changed out the xlr and the input cable to the FM9 to brand new ones, and everything got so much better.
 
WKSmith said:
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I'm sorry if I missed it but what kind of guitar is that? It reminds me of my Pawnshop Offset Special.

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Well, I started this thread on Monday, and I've read all the way through now. Talk about a story "you can't put down". It's now 3:15 Tuesday.
I had intended to update my FM9, and work out some songs for a possible new band...and I ended up following the whole project instead...and stayed up half the night. I'm out.
 
WKSmith said:
That is one of my partscaster teles. They have all spruce bodies, Wilkinson trems, and lollar p90s in that one. I just ordered another neck for one that will get filtertrons soon.

I love that special!!
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Very nice! As Hannibal Smith used to say "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Mine is a partscaster too. I really liked the tones I was getting from the Pawnshop Offset Special with Jazzmaster hardware and humbucking Jazzmaster pickups but the neck was a maple board Fender neck with narrow frets and a vintage neck carve. I replaced the neck with one from a Fender Elite Series Stratocaster that had an ebony board, locking tuners, medium jumbo frets, a 9.5"-14"compound radius neck, and a C to D carve.

It's now one of my favorite guitars.
 
I have a PXM-12MP, and when Fender came out with a FR that got great reviews, I was extremely interested. Seemed like a great idea to have the EV in front of me, and the Fender behind me. Trouble is, I can't find one anywhere in Norcal to try, and I really like to demo something first, if I can.

I'm going to the Nashville area in about a week...maybe I'll see one there...course I won't have my FM9 with me.
 
Scooterjohn said:
I have a PXM-12MP, and when Fender came out with a FR that got great reviews, I was extremely interested. Seemed like a great idea to have the EV in front of me, and the Fender behind me. Trouble is, I can't find one anywhere in Norcal to try, and I really like to demo something first, if I can.

I'm going to the Nashville area in about a week...maybe I'll see one there...course I won't have my FM9 with me.
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If you end up with one of each, remember you might want to flip the phase on one of them (unless you like that out of phase sound).
 
Whilst I understand the concept of speakers being in/ out of phase with each other when there is more than one speaker, I'm still unclear whether phase matters if you are only playing through a single speaker. Can anyone clarify this for me please?
I know I've seen a setting in the Fractals where you can switch phase but wonder if this is significant with a single speaker?
 
Really not an issue with a single speaker. Many pedals flip the phase too. The issue is when you use an out of phase source with an in phase source.

An FR alone won't be a problem.
With a PA can be a slight problem (adjusted for distance though)

A pair of FRs with one out of phase.. or an amp with an out of phase FR is a major problem.. and it will suck the low end out of the air like a cardiod sub does. And it can add comb filtering with all manner of nasty artifacts.
 
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Scooterjohn said:
...or get the new pre-amp for the Fender. ;)
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🤣 @Deadpool_25 That guy ^ is a V2 beta tester, and was really helpful to me in getting the gain staged right on the V2. He is also the guy that convinced me to buy a FR-12 in the first place.

He not only has an original V2 proof, he has another gold plated one coming soon. He will get a chuckle from that for sure.

I am beyond grateful for my Beta Testers!

Lysander and I swapped notes on the stock FR preamp long before there even was a V2. His mod has more clean headroom I believe, from his using premium rail-to-rail op amps.
 
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So .. I had a few support questions that came up this week for the launch of the V2 I thought that I would share with the group.. that has faithfully followed my humble solution the the FR issues.

Question 1 ?
Are you concerned that the V2 can still hiss and is that false advertisement?

The V2 solves the Idle hiss of the stock preamps (including the stock "fixed" ones) at idle with no input connected and the volume down.. The stock preamp ..and especially the horn tweeter gimmick screaming hiss and self noise is gone. It has been exorcised with the V2.
However ... gain noise (resistor or Johnson noise) is still possible if you crank the volume, especially with a cranked source or gained up preset. The V2 fixes a lot, but doesn't change the laws of physics. The screaming hiss from the horn is gone. You can still make ugly noises with it though.
Try to not do that.

Question 2 ?
The eq is a lot quieter on the flatish setting and gets loud if I crank it from 12:00 to 3:00
what is going on?!?!?

The eq is set to match the stock freq curve with the knobs at 12:00 and the cut zeroed. If you boost the mids it flattens the eq out and boosts the overall level like 12ish dB.
The V2 at neutral ..is a lot quieter at bedroom levels and almost exactly matches the stock freq curve. But if you jack the mids..it not only gets flatter ... but much louder. It's doing what it is supposed to do. If you jack the bass .. stuff will start vibrating.
Try to avoid that too.

Question 3
My clip light doesn't stay on (or come on at all)

It only comes on with a hot input (Fractal can do +20dB) it can clip with the source volume cranked, the FR volume cranked, or the eq jacked. The light is just a reminder to keep it sane. If it stays constantly lit ...something is going to eventually fail badly.

With great power, comes much responsibility... yall be easy with it 😎

try to not break stuff. I left plenty of room for you to go crazy.

If you are the kind of person that wants to turn everything on 12 and hold it there. ... the V2 is the only thing in the FR that will last very long. Try to not do that either 🙂
 
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Just received my FR-12 from Musicstore (Germany) (they were out of stock for quite some time). I have to stick my ear against the cab to hear the hiss, the hiss stays the same at all volumes with no input connected. Standing up with the FR-12 on the floor tilted towards me, I cannot hear the hiss.
 
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