Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

I just purchased a FR-10 from my local music store, and have been testing it out with my FM9. My store lets me have a week to return it if not satisfied, and I may do just that. There is a faint hiss even with the volume at 1, and it is diminished by increasing the Cut. They did not have a FR-12 to compare, as I would have preferred.

I am reluctant to open it up, as I may return it, but I doubt if it is a recent model, as the box it came in shows a shipping date from Fender as Nov. 28. The box also shows that they are made in China, which is likely the reason they are priced reasonably.

Despite the slight hiss, it does sound pretty good so far, although I wish I could compare it to the FR-12.
 
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Famous_Snack said:
Has anyone seen anywhere, not just here, end user photos of recent delivery FR-10s or -12s? I'm super curious to see if mine was just a fluke. I know that's very unlikely, but hey, I've seen weirder stuff.
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How do you open it up? I started to open mine up (new FR-10 direct from Fender), but the two screws I removed didn’t let me take the amp apart..
 
The box has a date code of 202310 (October, 2023), for reference.

I can’t explain why the box says Fender Europe on it…I live in the U.S.

I tried to find evidence of the unit being reworked, or even the box being opened, and I found none. Before going to grad school, I was a mechanical engineer for several years (yes, I realize I asked for instructions on how to disassemble this cabinet, leave me alone!). We launched a product with a bug that needed fixing after production (with 1000 units already produced). Part of the rework process was marking the boxes with stickers or some other indicator of the unit being updated. I didn’t find evidence of that here.
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Lysander said:
Tracks with everything i've seen so far about this issue. Ok, i'll need to announce this to the wider world, just so buyers are aware. I'll share your gut shots - with permission, of coruse.
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Permission granted. I value companies providing transparency, especially to early adopters who have unfortunately become beta testers in many product development cycles. It doesn’t sound like Fender has taken any initiative to be transparent. That said, if I had a unit that hissed, I would call Fender and file a warranty claim. They may act ignorant to the issue, but maybe they’ll send you a new unit.
 
Fotm704 said:


Alright folks, there ya have it. This is an FR-10 purchased directly from Fender two weeks ago. Appears to have the fix. No noise issues on my end whatsoever.


That said, I’m looking forward to trying out the WKSmith special
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Thanks man! Guess that makes it official.

Just a heads up for people ready to buy. Watch these speakers on Reverb. I watched a 10” and have an offer for $424.99 shipped. Not even the shop I was watching. I’m going ask them for the date on the box. It’s possible that this is pre-fix stock.
 
So Fender replaced 2 of the 3 applicable opamps and did so with versions that are, on paper, quieter than their original choice but still twice as noisy as the ones @Lysander chose. This makes me curious to hear one of these "fixed" ones alongside an OG (lol) model and a Lysander-modded version.

And that's not even mentioning the @WKSmith preamp that so many of us are drooling over. 🤤
 
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