Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

WKSmith said:
I am sure they will order one, and perhaps consider licensing the V2. It is light years ahead of the stock FR preamp in many ways.
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Serious question… Is there an effective way for the public to put pressure, in a civil manner of course, on a big corporation?

Maybe you could say hi to Fender with a note with every preamp.

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VicWinters said:
Is the re-designed 4 band "flat" at the same knob positions or are they adjusted to be "flat" at the center position?
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Great question!
I built 8 pot taper resistors into the V2 board to tune the Eq curve when the pots are centered. I can cut or boost the eq with the knobs centered.

The normal pot taper will have a curve much like the stock FR.
I can also build a V2 with a custom tuned taper, to make it closer to flat (ish) with the knobs centered.. if you prefer.

..and of course their will be colorful charts and more details soon. (ish)
 
@WKSmith have you tried it with the F12X speaker? That is going to be my first experiment beyond testing the board upgrade with the existing speaker(s).
 
JiveTurkey said:
@WKSmith have you tried it with the F12X speaker? That is going to be my first experiment beyond testing the board upgrade with the existing speaker(s).
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Not yet. But I am wanting to try a few different co-axial drivers and an Ice Power amp in the very near future.
That will be my first test after the V2 also :)

But I am really impressed with the FR-12 now that it has a new preamp. ...even with the stock speakers.
 
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Rick said:
The FR-12 has all but disappeared from the market. Even on Fenders site… sold out/unavailable. Doing a fix for re-release?
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Maybe so. They were stocked in several stores recently because I was looking. Didn’t jump because I’m putting it off for a bit. I’m speculating they’re building new improved boards that have the fix built in instead of the patch job. If so I’m wondering if they’ll steal ideas off @WKSmith and get by with fewer op amps.
 
Rick said:
The FR-12 has all but disappeared from the market. Even on Fenders site… sold out/unavailable. Doing a fix for re-release?
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I thought I would make a small run of these preamps. Just to finish what I started. It's a very modest number of V2s that I will build by hand.. one at a time.

I fixed my FR-12 and thought I might do the same for folks here.

But moving past the FR-12.. there is the potential for another similar preamp that would work with an aftermarket power amp module like the IcePower stuff and a co-axial speaker, for a great sounding and affordable DIY FR solution.

I'm sure the FR-12 will be back. I am going to pick up a FR-10 next. They are a great platform for tinkering.
 
WKSmith said:
I thought I would make a small run of these preamps. Just to finish what I started. It's a very modest number of V2s that I will build by hand.. one at a time.

I fixed my FR-12 and thought I might do the same for folks here.

But moving past the FR-12.. there is the potential for another similar preamp that would work with an aftermarket power amp module like the IcePower stuff and a co-axial speaker, for a great sounding and affordable DIY FR solution.

I'm sure the FR-12 will be back. I am going to pick up a FR-10 next. They are a great platform for tinkering.
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I need to get on your list, this thread alone has been educational enough to support the effort!
 
Rick said:
The FR-12 has all but disappeared from the market. Even on Fenders site… sold out/unavailable. Doing a fix for re-release?
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I was fortunate enough to get two FR12s of the last few (fixed versions) from my area. I'm curious now if Fender will go beyond the quick fix they did recently when the new stock comes out.
 
I'm going to get in the list for sure, but first I need to be able to buy the FR-12 in the fist place, which seems to be impossible right now, specially here in Brazil, where there's nobody selling it anymore (the few units I saw around here were already sold out) .

And even if the unit I end up buying is hiss-free, I'm still interested in the WKS mod, since the phantom power protection and the clipping light are a must in my book.
 
WKSmith said:
I thought I would make a small run of these preamps. Just to finish what I started. It's a very modest number of V2s that I will build by hand.. one at a time.

I fixed my FR-12 and thought I might do the same for folks here.

But moving past the FR-12.. there is the potential for another similar preamp that would work with an aftermarket power amp module like the IcePower stuff and a co-axial speaker, for a great sounding and affordable DIY FR solution.

I'm sure the FR-12 will be back. I am going to pick up a FR-10 next. They are a great platform for tinkering.
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When you do obtain a FR-10, I would be interested in your observations of the differences between it and the FR-12, as well as your preference.
 
Tomr said:
When you do obtain a FR-10, I would be interested in your observations of the differences between it and the FR-12, as well as your preference.
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I will look at them both closely and put them to the test.
...And then I will likely buy a second matching one for a stereo pair, of which ever one is the best fit.
 
Tomr said:
When you do obtain a FR-10, I would be interested in your observations of the differences between it and the FR-12, as well as your preference.
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That would be awesome, since the only unit still on sale that I could find here is a FR-10. Unfortunately, it's an online-only store so I won't be able to test it properly.
Here in Brazil we have a laughable 7-day return policy and I doubt I'd be able to test the product properly during this short time-frame with my current work routine.
 
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