Any opinions on this SFDR?

[Heady Jam Fan]

Ryan said everything he did he kept it as close to stock as possible. He said, as an authroized Fender dealer, he got an output transformer from them. The part numbers he gave me are:

125A1A

and

041318

He says those are two different numbers for the same part.

http://www.classictone.net/40-18002.html

Thoughts?

Otherwise he thought it was a good amp. He said the reverb was a little noisy, but no more than is typical in these amps.

I wouldn't personally let any of the details you mention deter me from at least checking out, if not buying, a sweet old amp. I'm not sure how much the OT changes the value, but I still think $1K is a reasonable range. I'd probably try to haggle a bit because of the OT and seeing of he wants to keep the road case (and even speaker personally, but some people like the keep the original).

[Jkendrick]

Thanks for all the advice folks. I pulled the trigger. It sounds really nice. It definitely behaves very differently with my OD pedals, so I'm going to need to take some time to dial them in.

[Heady Jam Fan]

Thanks for all the advice folks. I pulled the trigger. It sounds really nice. It definitely behaves very differently with my OD pedals, so I'm going to need to take some time to dial them in.

looks great!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[Buffered]

Nice setup!

[Jkendrick]

One more question for you guys. Is the stock speaker really brittle or harsh sounding? I have tried to plug my cabinet with the Weber Cali into the amp, but the stock speaker is soldered in and I don't want to mess with it. So it's hard to discern whether the brittleness is absent through the Cali when the stock speaker is still plugged in. I think it is, but again tough to tell.

ETA: I think Google has answered my question and I should just do the swap. That said, I would still welcome feedback.

[Jkendrick]

I started to swap out the speakers today and realized I actually don't need to solder anything. But what I would have to do is remove the reverb tank and the chassis to get the stock speaker out of the DR. I called the local tech, Ryan, who worked on it in the past and he said it would likely be $40 to swap it out. I am nervous about doing it myself. Should I just plunk down the cash or should I do it myself? If it's the latter, any advice?

[Buffered]

I started to swap out the speakers today and realized I actually don't need to solder anything. But what I would have to do is remove the reverb tank and the chassis to get the stock speaker out of the DR. I called the local tech, Ryan, who worked on it in the past and he said it would likely be $40 to swap it out. I am nervous about doing it myself. Should I just plunk down the cash or should I do it myself? If it's the latter, any advice?

I've done it to my Fuchs to swap the speaker, there a youtubes on the procedure but it's really easy. If you have a small electric drill it's a lot easier than a screwdriver.I always put the amp on it's side when pulling the chassis first. Be careful with the tank, as the inducers in them are real fragile and once they break that's it.

As far as the speaker goes, I think it's up to personal opinion..

[Heady Jam Fan]

I usually don't take out the chassis and reverb to change the speaker unless its a massive speaker. But then you have to make sure the screws/lugs/bolt don't tear the speaker cone when your swapping them: there is usually JUST enough clearance between the bolt and the chassis (one of the transformers IIC) to get a speaker out (lift the speaker up till its over the bolt and touching the transformer, then slide it down toward the reverb, then up and out of the combo - a slip-up can result in a bolt going right through the speaker cone). However, I do take out the tubes a lot of the time.


If the reverb is in a bag, I don't think you'll hurt the inducer, but they are fragile.
Most importantly, if you take out the chassis, don't get shocked!

Also, pay attention to how tight the nut is on the speaker/bolt. Over-tightening can warp the speaker and ruin it. Under-tightening can result in rattling. I just turn the nut a little further after I feel it start to gain resistance from touching the speaker - to the point where the gasket is pushed on tight, but the metal isn't going to bend. I usually play loud for a couple hours and check the nut again - if they weren't tight enough, they usually loosen up and then you can re-tighten them (too loose it better than too tight).

Its just a matter of getting used to doing it. Worth learning because $40 is too much to spend every time you swap a speaker.

[Jkendrick]

Thanks. I'll look for some videos and see what i can do. I've read some people say to remove the grill cloth rather than go through the back. But that too doesn't seem obvious.

One more thing (again), I'm considering doing the bright cap mod. Anyone have any experience with that? Is it easily reversible if I don't like it?

[Heady Jam Fan]

Thanks. I'll look for some videos and see what i can do. I've read some people say to remove the grill cloth rather than go through the back. But that too doesn't seem obvious.

One more thing (again), I'm considering doing the bright cap mod. Anyone have any experience with that? Is it easily reversible if I don't like it?

Definitely watch some videos, can't hurt.
Silverface amps have the grill cloth on a separate piece of wood velcro'ed on, but the baffle (the wood the speaker is screwed to) is not removable (at least on most SF amps). Removing the grill cloth will let you see the head of the screws, which is only important if you a) want to remove some of the screws in the baffle (you only need 4) or b) if the screws are loose and turn when you try to tighten on the nut. Otherwise, since the speaker should be backloaded (screwed onto the back of the baffle inside the cab rather then on the front of the baffle like Mesa does), there is no need or reason to remove the grill.

The bright cap mod is easy to do and reverse. Its a small capacitor on the volume knob:

http://fenderguru.com/amps/deluxe-reverb
You can snip or solder off one leg and leave it in the amp (just make sure the loose end won't make contact with anything), or completely remove it. I really don't think you will want to replace it once you take it out, but if you decide to, just solder it back where it was.

Also, if you haven't already, try pulling out the V1 tube (tube furthest to the right - farthest from the power/rectifier tubes - when looking at the back of the amp) when using the vibrato channel. It will give your amp more 'umph.'

[Jkendrick]

Cool. Awesome link. I'll definitely do the bright cap mod and remove the V1.

[Heady Jam Fan]

Cool. Awesome link. I'll definitely do the bright cap mod and remove the V1.

Just be careful working inside the amp. Maybe read up on some safety precautions:
- only using one hand inside the chassis and don't let the rest of your body touch anything that can complete a circuit. Doing so keeps electricity from going through your body - particularly your heart - if you happen to touch the wrong thing.
- learn how to drain the capacitors so you wont get shocked in the first place.

[Jkendrick]

Got the Cali in and did the bright cap mod. Wow! The amp sounded great before but now it's just amazing. Using the neck humbucker I can roll off the guitar volume for the classic shimmery Fender cleans. Roll up the volume to full and it's got slight crunch if you really dig in but is still very clean, but fuller sounding. The OD is much improved. I'm not sure if it's the speaker,  the bright cap mod, or both, but the harshness is now gone and the OD is as smooth as butter. Just loving it!

ETA: My wife wasn't feeling well and went to bed early so I got a chance to pull the V1 tube. I'm not sure I hear a huge difference, but this rig now sounds sweet and is very controllable. I can get perfect cleans when I want them, fatten it up for clean lines, and go all the way up to endless sustain while still feeling totally in control. Thanks so much all of you for the help and advice.

I'm still considering swapping out 6L6s for the 6V6s. Is that crazy? I already like this amp so much. I always liked the 6L6s more in my UniValve. I've got 6L6s lying around but I'd have to rebias the amp, right.

[Heady Jam Fan]

You can use 6L6's, but you would have to rebias.

In fact, 6L6's might run better in an SFDR because those particular amps are known for having very high plate voltages that can quickly wear out 6V6 tubes. 6L6's will handle that voltage no problem.

HOWEVER, 6L6's will make your power transformer work harder. I've read that you can tell if your over-working your transformer if it feels hot, but I'd hate to blow a transformer using 6L6's. My understanding is that a Weber Copper Cap will help protect your power transformer is you use 6L6's.

A good medium is the JJ 6V6S. To me, I think of it as a mutt between a 6V6 and 6L6 - the guys who want a traditional 6V6 sound hate it, but it certainly has utility in vintage DR's (with their high plate voltage) or any 6V6 amp if you want more bass and treble. I personally like the creamy, compressed mids of the regular 6V6, but the 6V6S is a bit fuller and cleaner. I've been rotating between two sets of ANOS 6V6's and a pair of 6V6S power tubes. Ultimately the 6V6S or 6L6's will be a bit cleaner, a tad bit louder, and have a tad more bass and treble, but all of those things are governed by the size of the output transformer. With a 6V6, the power tubes gets 'pushed' before the transformer, with the 6L6, the transformer is more likely to be pushed first. Leo Fender did this same thing old 6L6's amp, putting output transformers in them that don't handle the fuller wattage (particularly by limiting the bass) of the 6L6's tube, so he would limit the wattage of the amp and keep the speakers from blowing (since speakers back then didn't handle much power). Those amps have less bass (a sweeter tone) compared to 6L6 amps with big iron (output transformers).

Oh yeah, I think your supposed to use a 4ohm speaker with 6L6's too.?.

[Jkendrick]

Yeah, that was probably just over-excitement on my part (and a few IPAs  ). I think I kinda love the tone as is, so why mess with it anymore.