Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

Just an FYI for everyone in here. I had ordered another FR-12 last night from Musician's Friend and paid additional for overnight shipping as on their website it was listed as in stock. Went to go check status of my order about 20 minutes ago and it didn't show as shipped or even being processed so I called Musician's Friend. Mind you, the transaction is showing as pending in my checking account and so now $582.31 (price/tax/overnight shipping) is tied up in my account for what will be several days. Talked with a very nice fella named Reilly, who informed me that they in fact didn't have it in stock even though it was listed as in stock and that they would not have it in their warehouse until July. They had forwarded the order to Guitar Center and that it would be fulfilled from one of their stores but would take several days. Not overnight as I paid for. Then I asked if it was sealed new stock, as I know GC unpacks everything and normally throws it on the sales floor. Knowing that I don't want a floor model that has been touched and handled, I inquired if it was sealed new stock. He called whatever store location they decided to fulfill the order from and turns out that with "90 percent certainty" they were planning on sending me a fricken floor model. So I cancelled my order from Musician's Friend and will be finding it somewhere else. I'm so ticked, but wanted to let everyone here know so you all are aware and cautious about your purchases. I've normally always had good luck with Musician's Friend but not this time and Guitar Center has not been the greatest in my past experiences. Yes, I know they are owned under the same umbrella but again, the customer service agent (Reilly) tried to go above and beyond with helping me. Anyway, end of my rant just wanted share the experience as many of us on this forum are talking about ordering a second FR12 if we haven't already. :mad:
 
And a good one I found.
ProAudio star had a "used" FR-10 for $439

Used and b-stock from them has always been brand new in a sealed factory box.

Who knows until it gets here what's in the box, but I have had awesome history with them. Including my Charvel and a Strymon pedal recently.
 
For anyone that is hunting for a hiss free stock fr-10, I just ordered one last week from GC - and it had the hiss. I returned it, ordered one direct from fender, which I just received. Also has the hiss.

I’m on the list for the V2 and was planning to install it anyway but just figured I might as well start with the hiss free version. Perhaps the fr-10 might still has more unsold stock of hissy versions I suppose. Looking forward to the V2 :).
 
I wonder if Fender only "fixed" a single batch, realizing it wasn't worth the cost / effort, and gave up. My brand new FR10 is pretty hissy, I doubt it has the Fender fix.

Also in regards to Musician's Friend. I had ordered mine a few weeks ago, knowing full well I wouldn't receive my unit until around June / July. However, mine showed up just last week. I think the projected wait times are probably a little longer than reality.
 
skolacki said:
Ah yes, but knowingly releasing a defective product make sense either 🤣
Click to expand...
Hiss doesn't equal defective. From all accounts, they are still quite usable... Besides, it's like a muscle car, remember?

But tooling up for a production change on a mass produced product isn't something they would likely do and then stop doing...
 
unix-guy said:
Hiss doesn't equal defective. From all accounts, they are still quite usable... Besides, it's like a muscle car, remember?

But tooling up for a production change on a mass produced product isn't something they would likely do and then stop doing...
Click to expand...

Disagree on the 1st, agree with the 2nd.

But I guess it depends on your viewpoint. The last time I plugged into my real amp rig the first thing I noticed was the 60hz hum. And most of the earlier amps had that until they started using DC heaters on the early stages. It wasn’t a defect, it was just the way it is with tube amps. And yes, it’s unlikely they would implement a fix and then backtrack.
 
The biggest mistake F-Corp made was to dismiss me and my unique support ticket with a solution to the hiss instead of a complaint.

Basically... "don't call us , we'll call you"... With a hint of "whatever, boomer"

Now I have set the bar so high, they can't afford to hit it.

So F-Corp suck it up, eat that pride, and license the V2 design, or don't ... whatever.
You are gonna kiss my arse either way.

😘🍑
 
WKSmith said:
The biggest mistake F-Corp made was to dismiss me and my unique support ticket with a solution to the hiss instead of a complaint.

Basically... "don't call us , we'll call you"... With a hint of "whatever, boomer"

Now I have set the bar so high, they can't afford to hit it.

So F-Corp suck it up, eat that pride, and license the V2 design, or don't ... whatever.
You are gonna kiss my arse either way.

😘🍑
Click to expand...
Liam,

How much more would it cost FMC to use your design and the same parts you're using in the Gold V2?
 
WKSmith said:
The biggest mistake F-Corp made was to dismiss me and my unique support ticket with a solution to the hiss instead of a complaint.

Basically... "don't call us , we'll call you"... With a hint of "whatever, boomer"

Now I have set the bar so high, they can't afford to hit it.

So F-Corp suck it up, eat that pride, and license the V2 design, or don't ... whatever.
You are gonna kiss my arse either way.

😘🍑
Click to expand...
Ashton Kutcher Burn GIF


F-corp…
Its Fine Burn GIF by Kel Cripe
 
WKSmith said:
Depends on how many they order.
The V2 would still sound killer without gold plated boards and with the standard V2 level low noise ICs.
It wouldn't cost much more (if any) than the train wreck of a stock pre and BurrBrowns on SOIC adapters. Maybe less.
Click to expand...
Speaking of Trainwreck, can you mod my Ethos TWE-1 to get rid of that hiss? ;-)

Great pedal, just noisy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom