Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

[Patzag]

Just got my FR10. Absolute silence. I have to get my ear to the grill to hear a very faint hiss.
These things sound glorious!
The hype isn’t.
I think the amp in the room feel is because of the cabinet construction. It resonates like a guitar cab, wood. So the IR plus the cab resonance does the trick.
Very, very nice.
I would recommend it to anyone.
And it is FAR too loud for my current environment.
If @WKSmith ’s preamp makes it sound even better, I will be astonished.
Even with an acoustic patch with my Parker this thing shines.

Hurry up would you?

 

[LolainNB]

I have to get my ear to the grill to hear a very faint hiss

This too shall pass

Right beta testers?

 

[WKSmith]

The natives are getting restless

I have asked my Alpha Testers to evaluate the V2 proofs this morning.

They are on my very relaxed schedule and unpaid (God Bless 'Em) They are also 2 Continents and 8 time zones apart. ... so be nice

I asked them to evaluate:

The Hiss (or lack thereof)
The build quality
The design esthetic (especially since it's now plug-n play)
The tone. Feel. You people get me.
The eq. The wide q mid, the extended low end.
The premium pots
The accuracy matching the stock AITR curve!
The new additions (clip light, phantom protection, etc

I am about ready to contract assembly for the first 100ish (or so ) V2s

You can believe ... they have been given all the Hell they can take .. and then some.

This will be the finest FRFR preamp on the planet for $99 (ish)

 

[200man]

The natives are getting restless

I have asked my Alpha Testers to evaluate the V2 proofs this morning.

They are on my very relaxed schedule and unpaid (God Bless 'Em) They are also 2 Continents and 8 time zones apart. ... so be nice

I asked the to evaluate:

The Hiss (or lack thereof)
The build quality
The design esthetic (especially since it's now plug-n play)
The tone. Feel. You people get me.
The eq. The wide q mid, the extended low end.
The premium pots
The accuracy matching the stock AITR curve!
The new additions (clip light, phantom protection, etc

I am about ready to contract assembly for the first 100v (or so ) V2s

You can believe ... they have been given all the Hell they can take .. and then some.

This will be the finest FRFR preamp on the planet for $99 (ish)

I can see you’re in it for the love.
That’s actually awesome prices!

 

[Patzag]

This will be the finest FRFR preamp on the planet for $99 (ish)

I hope my tired ears can fully appreciate the magic that you are creating.

 

[WKSmith]

I should mention, this is not a commercial endeavor. I am not advertising anywhere.

I ain't about to hire an influencer . Yeah. Nope!

I fixed the problem the right way. And I want to share with Fractal folks that actually give two craps about what a backline used to feel like. And barely cover costs.

I hope you love it like I do! Whatever makes you play more...what makes your tone match the ones you remember. Back when this was hard, and really heavy. Back in the day when tone meant something. ... when some folks built stuff like they loved it.
Some of yall don't know what I'm talking about and that's cool too!

I'm going to go ahead and tell you. This is a very limited edition pre! And at a ridiculous low price. I will end all orders when demand tapers off after filling your waitlist orders !

... because as much as I love y'all .. I ain't running a non-profit here and these FRs are only $500 or so . So the math doesn't work.

 

[PSea]

man, you guys make my life more expensive...in a fun way at least lol.

anyone using one of these as backline w an ev-pxm as a monitor in front of them? wondering if they ea need different eq'ing?

 

[Budda]

$99usd ish you say. Maybe I keep my matrix and wait for a used one on the market but get the goodness now hehe

 

[WKSmith]

$99usd ish you say. Maybe I keep my matrix and wait for a used one on the market but get the goodness now hehe

I'm am so trying to keep this thing $99
It sounds ridonkulous.

 

[stephanfm3]

thomann changed the fr12 delivery time back to 4 to 5 weeks again, so i am fine with the progress

 

[lqdsnddist]

Thinking about buying one of these and redoing it in tweed with brown/oxblood grill cloth…

Any reason why that wouldn’t be doable ?

 

[WKSmith]

Thinking about buying one of these and redoing it in tweed with brown/oxblood grill cloth…

Any reason why that wouldn’t be doable ?

Please post pics ❤

 

[WKSmith]

View attachment IMG_1483.jpeg
If you are wondering if it can hang with a tube amp backline.

Ummm yep

 

[jellodog]

View attachment 136090
If you are wondering if it can hang with a tube amp backline.

Nice pedal collection. We have very similar tastes!

 

[WKSmith]

Nice pedal collection. We have very similar tastes!

Man! ...I'm trying hard to replace the wampler euphoria with mini pedals and replace the H9s with dedicated strymons . It is a helluva thing to match up old school pedals and tube amps in the virtual world.

That stuff sounds great though so far



Here's my pre-plague pedalboard
2 wireless, 2 yellow comps, (I used to have 2 diamonds ) two euphorias, two H9s, two IR loaders, one noise gate. Midi contorol of H9s, One bad cat cub 15R (Matchless lightning) rig .

The dual paths are for piezo/ mags.
Piezo also had a HOF mini before the IR. Both drives are on the Mag side. (Spruce thinline teles with wilkinsons and lollar P90s)

Tone for days . 100 + shows a year.

This rig made me a lot of money, and I didn't have to do the whole bus/van with a bunch of stinky dudes for weeks straight thing.

 

[200man]

Nice pedal collection. We have very similar tastes!

It is a nice rig,

 

[Budda]

Any plans to move to the H90?

Checked our national fender dealer for fun, two demo FR10s for $655cdn before taxes (i thought these cost a lot more).

Quick, @nathan_393 invite me out so I can justify an fm3/fr10 rig hahaha

 

[WKSmith]

Any plans to move to the H90?

Checked our national fender dealer for fun, two demo FR10s for $655cdn before taxes (i thought these cost a lot more).

Quick, @nathan_393 invite me out so I can justify an fm3/fr10 rig hahaha

If I can move one DSP engine pre or post like the H9s !! Then hells yeah.

Otherwise , I may just add another H9 back to my collection. The ability to move it in the chain from in front of the amp, to in the loop (per preset!) is flipping brilliant

 

[WKSmith]

Any plans to move to the H90?

Checked our national fender dealer for fun, two demo FR10s for $655cdn before taxes (i thought these cost a lot more).

Quick, @nathan_393 invite me out so I can justify an fm3/fr10 rig hahaha

$665 for 2 FR10s!!! That is a helluva thing!!!
Sign me up

 

[nathan_393]

Any plans to move to the H90?

Checked our national fender dealer for fun, two demo FR10s for $655cdn before taxes (i thought these cost a lot more).

Quick, @nathan_393 invite me out so I can justify an fm3/fr10 rig hahaha

Man, if you're going to use me as an excuse to buy gear, come over any time. I can be free on the 10th