I'm one of the lucky guys, got my fr12 several days ago and finally had a chance to mess with it. After all I've been reading I was a little concerned, so I plugged it in flipped the switch and nothing I thought it wasn't working the jewel light was on so I cranked the knobs around and I had to put my ear near the grill to hear it was on. It sounds really good I just need to learn how to set up my patches better, Helix floor
Fender Tone Master FR-10 and FR-12 "FRFR" cabs
- Thread starter Lysander
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Enchilada Jones
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Could the difference between those with the extreme hiss and those without be something to do with the signal being input? Gate….loaded gain staging in some people’s presets? Seems odd to not be consistent unless it’s a mixed batch of components at factory….one of the robots or slave laborers soldering a component in reverse orientation
jellodog
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Personally, I'm starting to believe that the amount of hiss is consistent across units; it's just that some people are more sensitive to it than others.
One man's "extreme hiss" is another man's "whatever".
It does hiss a little though... no mistake about that.
holoholo
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I'm wondering if it's a case of an "all knobs at noon guy" thinks there's more hiss vs the guy who uses Fender's recommended neutral settings (I read on TGP somewhere) is treble/mid/bass at noon and cut all the way left. That cut control will definitely change how you hear the hiss.
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Lysander
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I'm willing to bet half of all FR-12 users set the high cut at noon, thinking it's a center-neutral knob. This reduces a lot of the perceived noise.
But make no mistake, noise is just inherent to the preamp's design - the EQ section, in particular.
Stone
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Im Wondering if the Hiss is that bad?? I mean is it audible at low volumes ?
I have a very good Hi-Fi System and i hear Hiss, still play it everyday, my powered monitors Hiss , still use them, my Powercabs have no perceivable hiss but even if they did id still use them cause im sure i dont hear no hiss no where when playing or listening to music, or recording
I have a very good Hi-Fi System and i hear Hiss, still play it everyday, my powered monitors Hiss , still use them, my Powercabs have no perceivable hiss but even if they did id still use them cause im sure i dont hear no hiss no where when playing or listening to music, or recording
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Foxmeister
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In my opinion, it really isn't an issue, but that's not to denigrate those for whom it is an issue.
When I first got my TMP and FR-12, the noise floor of the TMP was a problem due to a bug with the AUX input, but once that was muted I had no problem and had to go "looking" for the hiss when reported as an issue with the FR units.
Lysander
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"Bad" is relative, but's absolutely audible at bedroom volumes.
paisleywookiee
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either that, or there was a batch with it, and now there isn't.
WKSmith on the fractal forum is in the process of re-designing it. It's inherent to the EQ design and the number of "just noisy enough" gain stages Fender used in it. Apparently the design is a strange mix of easily moddable, overly complex, and noisy.
Bypassing the EQ removes it completely (he added a switch to his to do it), and he's confident he can design an EQ that will work similarly without the noise. I think he mentioned also being able to make boards to replace it if people want to.
I'm anxiously awaiting the mods he comes up with.
Personally....I'd almost rather just not have an EQ on the thing. These cabs are made for modelers (or preamps/ir loders/etc.), and most of them have much more detailed and completely noise-free EQs anyway. I do get it...it's nice to be able to tweak the sound on stage without affecting the sound you send to FOH with its thru jack. But, that's an easily solvable problem for any of the more complex modelers (less so for things like the UAD pedals, IR-X, Ethos, etc.).
paisleywookiee
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Yeah IMO it sounds like they created a problem that didn’t need to be there.
JiveTurkey
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I'm the type of person that doesn't understand how to reproduce the "issue", can't hear the "problem" but still wants to buy a replacement circuit board because reasons 
Vic Winters
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I currently run my Helix (minus cabs) into the power amp in of a Katana 50. Can anyone who's used both tell me how they compare?
He's designing a replacement that has the same behavior without the noise.
I said that I don't care about it's EQ. Because it's just an EQ. And there are like a dozen of them in my fractal.
Just wanted to toss in my 2 cents on the noise issue. There definitely is a hiss, but it's not very loud and doesn't really scale with the volume knob. It sounds like any other amp in the fact that it isn't dead quiet. Maybe that would be ideal, but is it even possible to have it be dead quiet?
Honestly the fan on my Aguilar ToneHammer 500 is louder than this hiss. If you're in a bedroom and it's on in the background you might be bothered by it. I don't see how it could even factor in in a live performance setting.
I assume there will be some who require it to be dead silent, and that is 100% your prerogative, but for anyone playing along don't be freaked out by it, especially if you're going to turn it past 2 on the volume to use in a live setting. This thing is LOUD!
Beyond that, I've never owned an "FRFR" before, but using it with my Amplifire and with NeuralDSP plugins on the computer via MeloAudio ToneShift Mega, it's pretty great.
Honestly the fan on my Aguilar ToneHammer 500 is louder than this hiss. If you're in a bedroom and it's on in the background you might be bothered by it. I don't see how it could even factor in in a live performance setting.
I assume there will be some who require it to be dead silent, and that is 100% your prerogative, but for anyone playing along don't be freaked out by it, especially if you're going to turn it past 2 on the volume to use in a live setting. This thing is LOUD!
Beyond that, I've never owned an "FRFR" before, but using it with my Amplifire and with NeuralDSP plugins on the computer via MeloAudio ToneShift Mega, it's pretty great.
