Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

jellodog said:
Am I to infer the V3 is going surface mount?
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yes, the PDIP size OPA 2134 is obsolete. The SOIC size is not.
The price should get back closer to my $99 target, and my Parkinson's would love to have a break from soldering.

But there is still some magic in the old school PTH full size components. The V2 is pretty amazing ..against not just the stock FR pre, but a lot of stuff. They just don't build them like that anymore.

If anyone gets an invite for the V2 it will be for an incredible preamp, of which there will be less than 100 produced (plus a few dozen handmade ones from the very start of the V2 release)
 
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RockieDad said:
Just to clarify, does this mean that those who were later on the waitlist may not be getting a V2 after you run out of the current stock?
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Correct. But several on the waitlist will pass on the V2 and wait for the V3.

I have more folks on the waitlist than the 100 V2s I have been working through from my most recent pcb / assembly order.

As I scale it up .. it makes no sense to build out based on obsolete parts.
... but mostly blame Parkinson's . It is what it is.
 
WKSmith said:
Correct. But several on the waitlist will pass on the V2 and wait for the V3.

I have more folks on the waitlist than the 100 V2s I have been working through from my most recent pcb / assembly order.

As I scale it up .. it makes no sense to build out based on obsolete parts.
... but mostly blame Parkinson's . It is what it is.
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That is really rough. I am very glad that you've done this at all, just setting expectations.

Likely I will have to battle for a V3 when they post, but I don't frequent forums as often as I should to make sure I get in. Just hope I get lucky.

Thanks for doing what you can to take care of all of us.
 
WKSmith said:
Correct. But several on the waitlist will pass on the V2 and wait for the V3.

I have more folks on the waitlist than the 100 V2s I have been working through from my most recent pcb / assembly order.

As I scale it up .. it makes no sense to build out based on obsolete parts.
... but mostly blame Parkinson's . It is what it is.
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Even more thanks for doing what you do.

Now the decision will be whether or not to jump on a V2s or wait for the V3s. I might actually just wait.

What an incredible undertaking! And we are all the recipients of your hard work and skills.
 
I thought it best to give a heads up to avoid customers being upset about eventually not having the V2 available, or by buying one only to find out there is a V3 coming out soon.

I am scaling it way up. I ordered several hundred of the nearly unobtanium clear shaft volume pots today for the V3 production.
 
MicroMort said:
will the V3 let me get louder than the V2 before hitting the red light?
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It will clip later and at louder volume than the V2 but the light will indicate at much the same place as the V2.

I am keeping all OPA op amps like the V2 gold. The OPA2134 will still be up front with 2 different rail to rail OPA op amps for the 3 eq and crossover op amps in the V3 ..So they will take a lot more signal before clipping.

Also I am trying a different design for the active cut control circuit. That will make the entire eq much more efficient. It works exactly the same at lower knob settings, but full CW on the knob will turn off the horn. So way more range on the cut, and it reduces the 4 cascaded eq filters to 3. Which means more highs available from the whole eq which means less gain on the horn amp for even less hiss and heat at the exact same freq response. This is a major departure from the stock pre design .The gain stage would then be split between 2 op amps so the ultra low hiss of the V2 will be roughly cut in half again with these design changes in the V3. (Spreading gain across multiple amp stages is an old Doug Self design trick for low noise) this is another big design departure from the stock pre. This needs testing before committing to the final design though.

I am deleting the optional jumpers for mute and x-over bypass and also deleting 2 wires and the tiny aux board.. and instead using a custom wiring harness for power, low out, and horn out. The power LED simply plugs into the V3.

Same eq tuning, same premium 41 micro click pots, nice (likely nichion) caps and 1% film resistors.

Everything that we love about the V2, with more clean headroom and perhaps even less hiss than most every powered monitor solution available anywhere.
 
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WKSmith said:
It will clip later and at louder volume than the V2 but the light will indicate at much the same place as the V2.

I am keeping all OPA op amps like the V2 gold. The OPA2134 will still be up front with 2 different rail to rail OPA op amps for the 3 eq and crossover op amps in the V3 ..So they will take a lot more signal before clipping.

Also I am trying a different design for the active cut control circuit. That will make the entire eq much more efficient. It works exactly the same at lower knob settings, but full CW on the knob will turn off the horn. So way more range on the cut, and it reduces the 4 cascaded eq filters to 3. Which means more highs available from the whole eq which means less gain on the horn amp for even less hiss and heat at the exact same freq response. This is a major departure from the stock pre design .The gain stage would then be split between 2 op amps so the ultra low hiss of the V2 will be roughly cut in half again with these design changes in the V3. (Spreading gain across multiple amp stages is an old Doug Self design trick for low noise) this is another big design departure from the stock pre. This needs testing before committing to the final design though.

I am deleting the optional jumpers for mute and x-over bypass and also deleting 2 wires and the tiny aux board.. and instead using a custom wiring harness for power, low out, and horn out. The power LED simply plugs into the V3.

Same eq tuning, same premium 41 micro click pots, nice (likely nichion) caps and 1% film resistors.

Everything that we love about the V2, with more clean headroom and perhaps even less hiss than most every powered monitor solution available anywhere.
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Whoa...

Keanu Reeves GIF
 
Yesterday spent good couple hours playing with the latest FW beta and my FR12's with the V2 golds. I've never had it sounding this friggin sweet. I still can't believe I'm hearing what I'm hearing from these FRFRs. I'm sure the new V3 will be amazing but if you're on the waitlist for the V2's they will not disappoint. Don't hesitate!
 
WKSmith said:
It will clip later and at louder volume than the V2 but the light will indicate at much the same place as the V2.

I am keeping all OPA op amps like the V2 gold. The OPA2134 will still be up front with 2 different rail to rail OPA op amps for the 3 eq and crossover op amps in the V3 ..So they will take a lot more signal before clipping.

Also I am trying a different design for the active cut control circuit. That will make the entire eq much more efficient. It works exactly the same at lower knob settings, but full CW on the knob will turn off the horn. So way more range on the cut, and it reduces the 4 cascaded eq filters to 3. Which means more highs available from the whole eq which means less gain on the horn amp for even less hiss and heat at the exact same freq response. This is a major departure from the stock pre design .The gain stage would then be split between 2 op amps so the ultra low hiss of the V2 will be roughly cut in half again with these design changes in the V3. (Spreading gain across multiple amp stages is an old Doug Self design trick for low noise) this is another big design departure from the stock pre. This needs testing before committing to the final design though.

I am deleting the optional jumpers for mute and x-over bypass and also deleting 2 wires and the tiny aux board.. and instead using a custom wiring harness for power, low out, and horn out. The power LED simply plugs into the V3.

Same eq tuning, same premium 41 micro click pots, nice (likely nichion) caps and 1% film resistors.

Everything that we love about the V2, with more clean headroom and perhaps even less hiss than most every powered monitor solution available anywhere.
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ferris-bueller.png
 
200man said:
The v2s are a keeper. If Liam comes up with a solution for a black knob with underlighting that would be perfection in my book…not often seen in this world BTW :) @WKSmith
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If I don't find the right acrylic washer I will get another laser cutter and CAD them mydamself 🤣

Or... a dual color power led and a clear jewel for the red power light might do the trick. Then we could have the same 41 micro click custom pot as the eq has ..for the volume too, with a stock black knob. That's what I want to happen. A cool color power light that flashes red on clip.
 
WKSmith said:
Or... a dual color power led and a clear jewel for the red power light might do the trick. Then we could have the same 41 micro click custom pot as the eq has ..for the volume too, with a stock black knob. That's what I want to happen. A cool color power light that flashes red on clip.
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Ooh, l like the sound of that idea.
 
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