Buying a Fender HRD - What to check for?

[thekiwidisciple]

Hi all,

Am buying a Fender HR Deluxe locally (off the bay) this weekend. I noticed the seller listed it as "Made in USA" where the label from the pic clearly states Made in Mexico. I asked him and he tried telling me that Mexico is part of the USA.:whatever:

So when I take my axe around to check it out, what should I look for specifically? I don't know enough about valve amps to do a detailed inspection off my own bat, so I need some advice.

Ben.

[deeaa]

Tube amps haven't very many places that can go wrong..they're extremely simple really. Just like any amp, I'd check for scratchy pots and overall that it sounds good and has plenty of volume. The only things that can go wrong and aren't maybe immediately noticeable would be bad tubes, bad capacitors and FX loop connections (sometimes on older amps you have to use a patch cable accross the loop if there's nothing there, they can cut out the sound thinking something's there when it's empty...I've had two amps do that, even my current Tech-21.

Turn it on and up...if it works and sounds good it's probably OK...it should be quiet without any weird 'pings' and rattles. Those would mean bad tubes somewhere...full tube job costs maybe ~60 bucks over here, dunno about there though. The caps are the only thing that could be expensive to fix and hard to know if they're still a-ok...sometimes they last 2 years sometimes 50.

Someone will probably give more pointers...

[duhvoodooman]

http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/usedfenderampl_symv.htm

Also, just be a little careful about dealing with anybody who tells you Mexico is part of the USA. :thwap: They're either dishonest or stupid, and either can be a problem, though I'd prefer the latter to the former....

[deeaa]

Hmm that article is pretty much concentrated on tubes, which I find funny...if I buy an used amp I don't care if the tubes are sort of bad, because I'd replace them anyway. As long as they work enough to test the amp. And always also keep spares. Currently I have about a dozen more preamp tubes I need and almost two dozen power amp tubes (my amp takes 4 of 'em at once). So I don't think good tubes are what you want in an used amp, really...they're a plus, sure, but about as important as having new strings in a used guitar - you'll change them anyway soon enough.

[M29]

Here is a valuable resource on the HotRod. http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/

There is a whole lot of discussion on the Fender forum as well just do a search over there on later Fender amps.

I used to have one and felt that is was a nice amp.

Mine had a plate on the back that said Made in the U.S.A. and I verified that by removing the rear panel.

If I remember correctly the jacks can be troublesome being mounted right to the circuit board. All this info in on the first site I mentioned.

I hope this helps.

M29

[Spudman]

M29 stated what I was going to say - check the jacks. Plug in your guitar, strum and wiggle the plug (just a little). If it cuts out then you'll probably need to do a resolder of the jacks. It takes time but it's not tough to do.

The other big issue is bias. If the amp is biased properly all channels will sound pretty good. Check out the site M29 mentions.

The last thing is the loop. Sometime this can cause some channel strangeness mostly from dirty jacks. Rare but it does happen. It might take a little contact cleaner on a Qtip to clean the female jacks.

Once you've done this get a Cannabis Rex speaker and put it in and you'll be golden. The stock speaker has a tendency to be flubby at higher volumes but a correct bias helps some with this.

[mrmudcat]

The only issues are tubes and or the plastic connected jacks as stated earlier!!!:master:

Link posted by M29 is the best ive seen on these as long as ive had it bookmarked 3-4 years !!!:master: :dude:

The earlier ones were USA the latter Mexico.....mine is a limited version with a vin-30 and this speaker rocks !!!!

I have a 1x12 reverend alltone 12-50 speaker/ cab I use for ext. cab and have heard lots of peeps use these speakers as replacements if ya can find them:rockon:

[M29]

There was an issue with the switching relays for the distortion channel mentioned in the website I listed if I remember correctly. These can be troublesome so make sure the footswitch and channel changing works properly.

Good tips from all. I always wondered how an alnico speaker would sound in it.

M29

[Tiremanws]

I must tell you that for the money it's one nice amp. I have a post on here now because of a blown speaker on my son's 410 model. I sure that it was his fault since he loves boss pedals and may have left one turned up higher than it should have been when he turned it on. I have a silver face twin reverb rated much higher in power but can't come close to this one's output.
Of course I'm alot older and don't play that loud anymore, sorry what did you say? LOL. Older does mean wiser, don't let anyone tell you different. That's what earplugs are made for.... Like I always said, if it looks and sounds good then it's a buy. Buy it while you're young, when you get older you'll have to budget new string purchases. Stay well and good luck

[thekiwidisciple]

Cheers all. I found another one on the bay which is closer, $100 less and not dodgy lol.

[Spudman]

Cheers all. I found another one on the bay which is closer, $100 less and not dodgy lol.

Make sure you check it over real good before you settle for keeping it if you have it shipped to you. A lot of things can happen during transit from cracks in the cabinetry to broken internal components. Take the tubes out and shake it to listen for small pieces inside the chassis moving around.

I hope you get a good one. :beer:

[thekiwidisciple]

I'm going to pick it up, so I should be right! Is there anything wrong with having it on it's back in the car?

[M29]

I would think it is ok to on it's back. Will be on a soft seat I suppose.

[markb]

Either on its back or, even better, wedge it in the rear seat footwell. It won't shift about there. In reality though, these things are built for gigging, there's no need to be too precious about them.

[Duff]

After you buy it, it is advisable to take it to an outstanding amp tech and have him go over the Hrdx in specific to check for a specific problem that sometimes shows up with them.

Evidently they started using the new lead free solder on them at some point and the Mexican techs had a hard time mastering the technique of working with lead free solder.

The unfortunate for us result is that a lot of Hrdx amps have what are called "cold solder joints" or "cold weld joints", caused by lack of expertise in soldering the joints on these amps. These cold solder joints heat up and cause in some cases severe damage to the amp.

The solution is very easy for a good tech: resolder the cold solder joints.

If it's still under warranty it is free, otherwise it is worth the small amount of money it will cost to have the tech resolder the joints.

This is a very very advisable thing to have done. Have a tech check the solder joints and correct any observed problems.

Mine was done when it was new and several cold solder joints were repaired.

As stated, cold solder joints can cause catastrophic burn out of the pcb board from overheating because of the poor connection at the cold joint. This is a well documented problem and easily prevented with some pro active moves.

Remember, these are great amps and deserve to be maintained properly. Not to sound arrogant or anything but this check is very very important if you plan to experience any longevity from the amp. You don't want to have premature failure due to burned out pcb boards when the problem can be easily and cheaply cut off at the pass.

Also, it might be a great time to have the tech put in all new JJ tubes and rebias the amp. I had my new amp rebiased when the cold solder joints were found.

It is an awesome amp. I love mine.