Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

I wouldn't mind if Liam gave me one of these shirts for my two attempts to bring his project to my amp, to Spain. If on the third attempt I manage to keep it from disappearing from the basket;)
 
Totally agree if that medal has a V3 hanging from it!
Star Wars Reaction GIF
 
Finally got my V3 installed :D Thank You Liam for doing this because it's a huge improvement.

I'm just wondering about the the "permanent" ground lift. Maybe it's placebo but I've noticed more buzz. This is NOT Hiss because it changes dependent on where I stand. I've got "dirty" power in my house so I deal with this with certain setups.

Just to clarify, what happens if I go in and set it back to the out position? I read something about phantom power but I thought the V3 took care of that. I have one of those phantom blockers if needs be. ANd I'm really not sure if it is real or imagined.

Anyway it ultimately doesn't change anything for me. I'm very happy and really dig the way the V3 EQ knobs work.

Time to get playing this thing :D
 
ballhawk said:
Finally got my V3 installed :D Thank You Liam for doing this because it's a huge improvement.

I'm just wondering about the the "permanent" ground lift. Maybe it's placebo but I've noticed more buzz. This is NOT Hiss because it changes dependent on where I stand. I've got "dirty" power in my house so I deal with this with certain setups.

Just to clarify, what happens if I go in and set it back to the out position? I read something about phantom power but I thought the V3 took care of that. I have one of those phantom blockers if needs be. ANd I'm really not sure if it is real or imagined.

Anyway it ultimately doesn't change anything for me. I'm very happy and really dig the way the V3 EQ knobs work.

Time to get playing this thing :D
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I'm glad you finally got one 🙂

You can bend the led leads and leave the ground lift out.
The ground lift recommendation is to protect the xlr in from getting hit with phantom.

The V series preamps are all protected from phantom. But I don't make the stock input boards. Those were made by clowns

The ground lift circuit is only connected between the xlr in and xlr out.
 
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My V3s have arrived and I have a couple of questions about the install.

I like the location Anika used for the clip LED install. Is there anything I need to know that will help with doing this?
AnikaGSD52 said:
Ok, first V3 installed. Did some minor mods, mounted LED between Volume and Treble and
put the Bright mod on a switch. Haven’t had time to try it out just yet… work always gets in the way of the really important stuff

Hope to have my second FR-12 done tomorrow if I can find the time.


View attachment 150462
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He mentions putting the Bright mod on a switch. Any suggestions regarding how I could do that? What kind of switch and where should it be located/best way to mount?

Do I need to do the ground lift? I'll be using my FM9 or my III going XLR out to XLR in.

Thanks, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
stratzrus said:
My V3s have arrived and I have a couple of questions about the install.

I like the location Anika used for the clip LED install. Is there anything I need to know that will help with doing this?

He mentions putting the Bright mod on a switch. Any suggestions regarding how I could do that?

Do I need to do the ground lift? I'll be using my FM9 or my III going XLR out to XLR in.

Thanks, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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1st be sure you are happy with the V3 before drilling the hole, which is 6mm and should be center punched first.. to keep the drill bit from walking and scarring up the paint.

The bright mod jumper can be replaced with a spdt switch with the leads terminating in a 3 pin female pin header connection. The lead spacing is 2.54
A two wire on off switch will work wired to the two pins marked on.

I don't recommend moving the jumper by extending those bright switch wires. That is a gain resistor bypass and needs to be close to the IC to prevent noise. It's a handy idea though.


If you never encounter phantom power from the xlr out (mixer) ..the ground lift is not important. I leave mine pushed in. The FM9 has phantom protection.
 
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WKSmith said:
1st be sure you are happy with the V3 before drilling the hole, which is 6mm and should be center punched first.. to keep the drill bit from walking and scarring up the paint.

The bright mod jumper can be replaced with a spdt switch with the leads terminating in a 3 pin female pin header connection. The lead spacing is 2.54
A two wire on off switch will work wired to the two pins marked on.

I don't recommend moving the jumper by extending those bright switch wires. That is a gain resistor bypass and needs to be close to the IC to prevent noise. It's a handy idea though.


If you never encounter phantom power from the xlr out (mixer) ..the ground lift is not important. I leave mine pushed in. The FM9 has phantom protection.
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Thanks for getting back to me Liam.

I'm undecided about the bright mod. I don't need it for Jazz or R&B but it could be helpful with some of the high gain lead tones. My inclination is to not do the bright mod or the switch and see if I like it as is.
 
stratzrus said:
Thanks for getting back to me Liam.

I'm undecided about the bright mod. I don't need it for Jazz or R&B but it could be helpful with some of the high gain lead tones. My inclination is to not do the bright mod or the switch and see if I like it as is.
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As Liam said, center punch, and make sure the drill is sharp. Measure twice, drill once… I did mine with a cordless hand drill and a block of wood underneath to support where I drilled. Took a little pressure but nothing crazy. I went from the top side in as to get the flash on the inside where it wouldn’t be seen (you can file it off or use a sharp blade to scrape it off also if the hole doesn’t come out totally clean).
 
stratzrus said:
Thanks for getting back to me Liam.

I'm undecided about the bright mod. I don't need it for Jazz or R&B but it could be helpful with some of the high gain lead tones. My inclination is to not do the bright mod or the switch and see if I like it as is.
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The cut filter is incredibly powerful. I say run the bright mod, and then cut highs as needed. The FR series is voiced a bit darker by default. I for one appreciate the extra "treble headroom" the bright mod affords you.

I think the V3 is its quietest (noise-wise) without the mod technically. I didn't really notice a difference in noise either way.
 
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Heart Attack Fred Sanford GIF by MOODMAN

Although I'm all for modifications - after all, that's why I'm following this thread - this is my gut reaction every time someone irreversibly drills a hole into an amp.
At the end of the day, why not, though? Especially if it improves the amp's functionality.
 
After a year of waiting for a unit, twice in the basket and gone, do I have to open a hole? When I get mine, I'll open the hole wherever I need it, even if it means opening another hole where my digestive system ends.
 
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