Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

Greg Ferguson said:
I think that the priests at Fender would find it blasphemously offensive. Thankfully they don't visit this den of iniquity. :)
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I think we're due for a Syrinx update. Our great computers and such...
alex lee GIF
 
Trying to install... Not sure it's made clear in the instructions...

Does the preamp mount this way relative to the chassis? Or do I flip it upside down? I believe it will technically fit either way.

EDIT: It is installed reverse of what is pictured, for anyone referencing this image in the future. Flip it upside down relative to the ToneMaster.

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WkSmith my brother....

This thing is a work of art. Install is basically dummy-proof and it looks so clean once its all in there. The notched knobs feel amazing. I was hoping I didn't do something wrong when I first fired it up because I heard absolutely no change from its off state to being on.

Sounds absolutely killer. The EQ is now ungodly powerful. You can boost the absolute-ever-living shit out of each band now. I'm pretty sure you could blow the speaker in real short order if you ran the bass very far past 3 o clock at volume. The bass output is absolutely bonkers.

Love the way you've tuned the mid band. That's easily the most useful knob for guitar, since thats where we live. The entire range of the knob is a sweet spot. And the treble knob can get real sweet or real piercing, whatever you need.

Also this thing is loud as shit. It was loud before.

I went ahead and pulled it apart again to try the bright mod. I think I'll keep it on bright mode. I figure I can always roll on some cut if it gets too out of hand. Besides, the FR series are inherently darker voiced IMO, so the bright switch seems very sensible.

On that note, what is the difference between running the bright mod vs just boosting the treble? The bright mod lifts the entire upper frequency range right? Boosting treble alone would result in more of a peak shape?

You went entirely too hard on this one WKSmith. I went from loving my FR10 to wanting to be buried with it when I go. Amazing job.
 
Jkist7 said:
WkSmith my brother....

This thing is a work of art. Install is basically dummy-proof and it looks so clean once its all in there. The notched knobs feel amazing. I was hoping I didn't do something wrong when I first fired it up because I heard absolutely no change from its off state to being on.

Sounds absolutely killer. The EQ is now ungodly powerful. You can boost the absolute-ever-living shit out of each band now. I'm pretty sure you could blow the speaker in real short order if you ran the bass very far past 3 o clock at volume. The bass output is absolutely bonkers.

Love the way you've tuned the mid band. That's easily the most useful knob for guitar, since thats where we live. The entire range of the knob is a sweet spot. And the treble knob can get real sweet or real piercing, whatever you need.

Also this thing is loud as shit. It was loud before.

I went ahead and pulled it apart again to try the bright mod. I think I'll keep it on bright mode. I figure I can always roll on some cut if it gets too out of hand. Besides, the FR series are inherently darker voiced IMO, so the bright switch seems very sensible.

On that note, what is the difference between running the bright mod vs just boosting the treble? The bright mod lifts the entire upper frequency range right? Boosting treble alone would result in more of a peak shape?

You went entirely too hard on this one WKSmith. I went from loving my FR10 to wanting to be buried with it when I go. Amazing job.
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That is awesome stuff!!

The bright mod just boosts the gain of the horn amp a tad.
The treble knob boosts (or cuts) the whole signal to both speaker and horn.
 
WKSmith said:
That is awesome stuff!!

The bright mod just boosts the gain of the horn amp a tad.
The treble knob boosts (or cuts) the whole signal to both speaker and horn.
Click to expand...
I had the chance today to do a side by side comparison between my V2 FR12 and the stock one I’ve loaned to my guitar buddy I do duo gigs with. They both sounded good, but what I noticed was the very usable EQ ranges of the V2 preamp. It was a very easy to dial in (or out) needed or offending frequencies while the amp remained very musical. I don’t know how to describe it other than to say it that way… more musical than surgical, if that makes sense. I didn’t dislike the Fender adjustment options, but experienced a real improvement in the ease of getting right to the sound I’m looking for because the tonal range starts from a more centered place, to my ear anyway.

Looking forward to trying a V3 when they make it to the masses.
 
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From your experience with modding the FR12 and your work in the pedal industry, why the fender is a better product?

It's clear that with your invention it's now pushed to a level maybe beyond what will be on the market for a while, but even the stock version is so much better than what is available (with hiss).

For the reference, I compared both the powercab (112+) and fender, without touching nothing (just jack in) fender is a s tier by far, the powercab felt very very boxy and dark like there is a carpet on it.

The A/B test took me more than a week, because I wanted to believe on line6 offering.

I just can't understand why the FR12 works better.
 
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