Its a couple of weeks since I wrote about  fixing amps and I had not seen a Fender amp to fix for a few weeks and then along comes four all on the same day ! In the cover picture we proudly present four broken amps -At the Top a Fender Blues Jr III -Underneath is a Fender Supersonic 40 watter -to the left is a Princeton Reverb re-issue -to the right is a Hot […]
The Howl and the Hum fixing four Fender amps in one day Read More »
Many folks ask what the difference is between the standard EL84 and the more expensive Sovtek EL84M. There has been no data available and I see lots of questions on forums etc asking about where you can get a data sheet. I worked with the Sovtek team and pulled a product information sheet together out of Russian documents etc. First of all here is some background info as to why this was done The EL84
Sovtek EL84M More Headroom More Power Longer Life Read More »
A Fender Supersonic 60 arrived as it plainly liked to sing is own praises- when the volume was turned up it howled like a banshee! The issue was that the amp was totally microphonic. It would work at lower volumes but started howling at higher volumes The Fender Supersonic is a  complex design for a 60 watt amp. It has 10 valves, comprising of 2 x ECC81 ( 12AT7), 6x ECC83 ( 12AX7), and 2x
I found this link regarding the history of speakers in Fender amps. I found this useful so I thought I would share it. I found it on another blog. (UPDATE: Unfortunately, that site is now seemingly defunct.)
Rectifier Valve ? Many of the vintage amplifiers such as the Vox AC30 , Fender Twin Reverb  use a rectifier valve.  Other amps use modern silicon diodes. The rectifier valve  ( or diode) is a key part of your amplifier’s power supply. Its job is to “convert” or  rectify the AC voltage coming from the transformer into the high DC voltage needed by your valves in your amplifier. The output valves need the highest voltage
Fender Amp Serial Numbers There used to be a link on the Fender website for amp dating from the serial numbers. However Superior Music has done a really good summary and here is a link to their website. This will enable you to figure out the year your amp was made.Link ==>  Superior Music – Fender Amp, Amplifier Serial Numbers. It is also worth looking up  on the Fender website too.  I only found this