Fender FR-10/FR-12 noise reduction mod

[deadpool_25]

SOOOO much better!

Thanks. As more of a metal guy it would be cool if it had a Mesa aesthetic. Maybe I should have BFG Cabs make me a new enclosure with the same performance specs but a Mesa aesthetic. Might be an interesting experiment.

 

[Stone]

Fender FR Strealth

 

[dronerstone]

Fender FR Strealth

For that particular "amp not in the room" sound?

 

[deadpool_25]

Or, you could wait for a Mesa "FRFR" to come out (no I don’t know anything, just a theory).

How did you do the color? New grille?

Haha. Yeah they probably should.

I used this stuff

 

[Southpaw-DD]

I have a new FR-10 on the way from CME. Will post an update with what I find for the op-amps.

My FR-10 arrived and has the un-advertised factory op-amp mods. I ordered a second one for a stereo setup.

 

[Los-D]

Honest question: how does it compare (with the mods) to the Line 6 Catalyst (I know, I know, FR+IRs vs Amp FX return + no IRs) to run modelers at home for practice/jamming? That Catalyst speaker sounded pretty harsh at times.

 

[Stratzrus]

My FR-10 arrived...I ordered a second one for a stereo setup.

From CME? On their site it says "More expected April 2024".

 

[Southpaw-DD]

From CME? On their site it says "More expected April 2024".

Yep, CME. My second one arrived today so they must have been low on stock when I got them.

 

[Southpaw-DD]

Honest question: how does it compare (with the mods) to the Line 6 Catalyst (I know, I know, FR+IRs vs Amp FX return + no IRs) to run modelers at home for practice/jamming? That Catalyst speaker sounded pretty harsh at times.

I think the FR-10 (in my case) is significantly better than both the PowerCab and Catalyst. I returned the Catalyst real quick and did not get along with either the amp modeling or the speaker or both. The EQ on the FR series is great and you can tweak it just a bit to preference. I always thought the PowerCab took the character out of IRs or Kemper profiles, if that makes any sense.

One thing I've noticed with the Fender FRs and that I have not had much luck with is that I actually believe that I'm hearing different amp/cab combinations from the modeler. Using the FM9 and the FR-10(s), it is closer to feeling and hearing a Bassman 4x10, or a Fender Deluxe, or a Vox AC, and so on. I've always felt disconnected from that with other FRFRs.

 

[Michael4540]

Will you be a bro and record the process?

Did someone ever record the process for you?

 

[lolainnb]

Did someone ever record the process for you?

Sadly no

 

[Michael4540]

Sadly no

Ive just done my best attempt at doing so!
Hopefully this helps.

For anyone else interested, I had zero experience with a solder, let alone electronics but tried to gather what I could and powered through to get this mod done, and I could not be happier.
A massive thank you to Lysander, WKSmith and all everyone else who spend the time, man hours and dedication to find a fix for this issue, and helping so many such as myself.

I myself, having zero knowledge or an inkling of where to begin would have loved to have had a video or detailed images walking me through. For this reason I've done my best to attempt a detailed guide of the process, and drafted it up with photos in this google docs link.

Let me know if there is things that need to be changed, or amended as I'm confident there may be some errors/more efficient methods in my steps, and hopefully someone finds this useful!

 

[lolainnb]

Ive just done my best attempt at doing so!
Hopefully this helps.

For anyone else interested, I had zero experience with a solder, let alone electronics but tried to gather what I could and powered through to get this mod done, and I could not be happier.
A massive thank you to Lysander, WKSmith and all everyone else who spend the time, man hours and dedication to find a fix for this issue, and helping so many such as myself.

I myself, having zero knowledge or an inkling of where to begin would have loved to have had a video or detailed images walking me through. For this reason I've done my best to attempt a detailed guide of the process, and drafted it up with photos in this google docs link.

Let me know if there is things that need to be changed, or amended as I'm confident there may be some errors/more efficient methods in my steps, and hopefully someone finds this useful!

Bless you man. Your effort is much appreciated

 

[lolainnb]

Just finished reading your guide. Thank you again

 

[Iwastemoney]

My FR-12 came in today no hiss at low volumes. Using a Motu M4 -> Helix Native -> back of FR-12 input via TRS. Ordered from Fender a few days ago.

 

[AnikaGSD52]

Took delivery of two FR-12’s today direct from Fender. No hiss, well very minor with all controls dimed on both of them (moved cut back and forth also). Didn’t crack them open to check if mod was done, but if it’s not I got very lucky and got two extremely quiet ones.

 

[deadpool_25]

Just testing some stuff, I just had my FR-12 with Lysander 1604 Mod cranked up to max volume. I was playing a clean preset on the FM9 which had the output knob at 3:00. I hit 111.2 db (A-weighted using an SPL app on my phone). It was still perfectly clear as far as I could tell. Yes I had some decent earplugs in lol.

 

[DavieP]

Made an account to report another success installing @Lysander's mod on my FR-12.

Went in with 3x OPA4227PA and 3x DIP-14 sockets and very little soldering experience. I practiced soldering and solder-sucking on an old PCB while waiting for the chips to arrive as per @Michael4540's advice, and thanks to his disassembly guide I was able to have the mod installed and unit reassembled in about 90 minutes. No hiss, and sounds just as great as before. There seems to be a slight bit more of a 'pop' from the speaker when turning the unit on now, but of course that's no issue and I might be imagining it anyway.

Thanks all for all the great advice in this thread, and of course thank you Lysander for coming up with the fix.

 

[lolainnb]

Is this where we can talk about the board replacement fix or just the chip replacement fix? Mine is finally perfect

 

[lolainnb]

Please proceed.

If you good people haven’t been following this thread, here it is. Mine is now installed and I’m as happy as @paisleywookiee at PositiveGrid’s funeral

Fender FR-12 preamp mod : The Hissterectomy

Edit 3/20/24: The 1200+ following posts hacking the FR series preamps turned into a plug and play replacement preamp for the FR-10/12 that solves the hiss problem.. and has several other major design improvements... named the Archangel V2. If you are just getting here and trying to get on the...

forum.fractalaudio.com