Have a bad feeling about DRRI

[PsychedelicTrip]

Originally Posted by Captain Bb

Fender removed one component from the amp (the LDR) and replaced it with a digital circuit to control the Vibrato intensity instead.

So, they replaced this:


with these (two PCBs containing a total count of 106 components!):


After that, they found the new digital circuitry made the amp noisy in this otherwise all tube amp. So, they decided to then load all of the preamp tubes with a 10K resistor on the grids in an effort to kill the digital noise - which worked okay but caused the amp to then hiss and hum.

I've since had all that digital crap removed from my 2010 DRRI (including the 10K resistors) and the opto-coupler put back in. Yeah it ticks a little (I hear it at home but not in a gig situation) but the amp is a lot quieter now in all other respects, which is more important to me. I have tried different tubes in the V5 position which can convert the 'tick' to a 'whoosh' instead but it's no different to any of the vintage Deluxe Reverbs in this respect.

I've also had a cap job done, a new set of glassware and put in a Celestion Gold. It sounds glorious and I'll never part with this amp!

That's very silly we cannot have any more of this silliness(sorry saw Gram and had to). Do you know of anyone building these amps as in a boutique amp builder as they say? Aside from purchasing a vintage one(good recommendation) I think going with a skilled amp builder may even be better than original because of all the things that can go wrong and or were replaced with an elderly amp. Surely someone is re-making this amp the right way?

[Captain Bb]

I'm in the UK and only know of one boutique maker over here who will build you a PTP handmade Deluxe Reverb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPSor5mLnTA

However, they are almost twice the price of a DRRI over here (now that is silly! LOL)

[PsychedelicTrip]

Yes this is getting very silly. Perhaps my original idea to start with the basic tone foundation is not too silly? Of course now I have thew boarding house scene in my head...this is so and so one of outr oldest residents and here is Mr. Hilter. lol That amp btw sounds lush...here an amp calling me lushhh lush...I'm sure the basic building block of a low watt 6v6 amp can be found and just add some cool pedals.

[Captain Bb]

I agree...and I'm certainly more than happy at least when I run a reverb pedal and a tremolo pedal into the normal channel of my DRRI.

Could this be that 6V6 basic building block? http://www.drzamps.com/amp/z28/

[PsychedelicTrip]

Although I must say the tube trem on my vox Pathfinder is quite funky and warm. It's not exactly Link Wray but there abouts.

Yes definitely DR. Z if you've got the mucho dinero and you and Tuco just dug up a grave ;) But i'm sure there are others. 6v6 amps are kinda rare in the mass market these days. I think all the Vox, Ampeg low watters are EL84's. Ibanez has a tubescreamer amp? It's got 6v6 tubes. At $300 for the head it could be a building block who knows? Lots of cool pedals I'd suggest surfing pedaleffectpluswarehouse etc just to get idea also proaudioshops, Gearmandude videos, ummm Fulltone.com, lots of other places to hear the demos. If you're only recording a 1x12 cab maybe all you need. I'm looking for one myself. You could get the basic cab and fool around with speakers. Make it a Frankenstein amp! I highly recommend a Van Amps Soul Mate JR. for a cheap spring reverb with lots of vibe. Lots of ideas to be had out of the box. I wouldn't mind trying some of those Vox and Ibanez heads myself.

[Green Lantern]

Originally Posted by dan1952

Reliability issues or not, the Fender Reissue amps do not sound like the originals. Not better, not worse, but not the same. My experience is that the reissues are brighter, edgier, and generally have more of a "square wave" sound. I've played through dozens of reissues and originals alike, and they are different animals, tonewise. (And I didn't even address cheap jacks, MDF cabinets, or any other construction differences).

Play the amps through the same speakers and they likely won't sound all that different (I say likely because I won't presume to know about every particular situation). Also, the reissue amp cabs are made out of birch plywood.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by Green Lantern

To be honest, I'm wondering if those amps were really broken. Fender amps making a "ticking" sound with the tremolo turned on is normal. However, if it is very loud, then there is

It's loud enough to play to the music store where I bought it over speaker phone.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by Captain Bb

Okay, this is what Fender did:

They removed one component from the amp (the LDR) and replaced it with a digital circuit to control the Vibrato intensity instead.

So, they replaced this:


with these (two PCBs containing a total count of 106 components!):

Wow!

[Middleman]

Saw another DRRI on the floor at the Rancho Cucamongo GC in great LA.

[logan2z]

Originally Posted by Middleman

Saw another DRRI on the floor at the Rancho Cucamongo GC in great LA.

There's one at the GC in San Jose, CA too. But it is making a 'chuffing' sound with/without the reverb. To be fair, heaven knows what abuse that amp has experienced. Could also just be a bad tube.

[Toto'sDad]

Wow, just wow! I didn't have a thought of unearthing all this stuff. After looking at all the replies, I can only conclude my chances of getting an amp that works right are slim to none. The only way would be if I were by some chance of luck were to get one that is two or three years old that has been sitting somewhere and hasn't had all the extra stuff put into it.

I went down to guitar center and talked with the guys there, and they say lets wait until the replacement shows up and see how it turns out, you never know it might be an older one and be OK. Hey a little ticking wouldn't bother me, and a little noise wouldn't bother me, as I said I had a Blues Deluxe for a couple of years I know they aren't perfect.

For the guy who wondered if they really were broken? What exactly would be the purpose in taking not one but two amps back, and putting myself out of an amp for at this point an unspecified time period, entertainment? No, I don't think so, besides the guys are so nice I wouldn't do them that way for any reason. They are more than willing to keep looking until we find a good one. I may even decide to buy a different model amp, but I'm not ready to give up yet.

Thanks for all the very informative replies.

TD

[Green Lantern]

Originally Posted by Toto'sDad

For the guy who wondered if they really were broken? What exactly would be the purpose in taking not one but two amps back, and putting myself out of an amp for at this point an unspecified time period, entertainment? No, I don't think so, besides the guys are so nice I wouldn't do them that way for any reason. They are more than willing to keep looking until we find a good one. I may even decide to buy a different model amp, but I'm not ready to give up yet.

There would be no practical purpose behind it, but it could be due to a guy having an oddly paranoid mind. I'm not saying that is the case, but I don't know you and anything is possible. It also made me a tad suspicious upon hearing there are no amp techs near Bakersfield, or Deluxe Reverbs, which, frankly, I doubt is true for either.

What I can say is that if all those amps were busted, your string of bad luck is certainly extremely uncommon. I've seen several Deluxe Reverb Reissues that aren't a couple years old that work fine. As a matter of fact, I have one here.

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by Toto'sDad

Wow, just wow! I didn't have a thought of unearthing all this stuff. After looking at all the replies, I can only conclude my chances of getting an amp that works right are slim to none. The only way would be if I were by some chance of luck were to get one that is two or three years old that has been sitting somewhere and hasn't had all the extra stuff put into it.

I went down to guitar center and talked with the guys there, and they say lets wait until the replacement shows up and see how it turns out, you never know it might be an older one and be OK. Hey a little ticking wouldn't bother me, and a little noise wouldn't bother me, as I said I had a Blues Deluxe for a couple of years I know they aren't perfect.
TD

If Fender did such a running change they were foolish indeed. Better is the enemy of best. The DRRI has the best trem of anything in its price range, why mess with it?

[Toto'sDad]

Green Lantern:

I am having a bad run of luck, I do not wish to include a pissing contest into the ordeal. You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but in the end I will have an amp of some kind, it just remains to be seen what it is.

There are to my knowledge no amp repair shops in Bakersfield, nor does Guitar Center recommend/refer one locally.

If Guitar Center could fill my order, why would they not do so since the amp is already paid for?

It has been Guitar Centers call all the way. I have not, nor will I be demanding in any way, I like and consider the people at Guitar Center my friends, and have complete trust they will resolve the issue to everyone's satisfaction in the end. I and many of my friends and family have been doing business with Guitar Center for years, and will continue to do so. As an aside, my brother-in-law accompanied me to the store today, and bought a cool little Strat while he was there, and was treated very well. There is no "issue" involved here other than a string of bad luck on amps.

I have personally purchased guitars from Guitar Center at the local store in Bakersfield, the one in Hollywood, and their store in Little Rock Arkansas.

[Captain Bb]

Originally Posted by Synchro

If Fender did such a running change they were foolish indeed. Better is the enemy of best. The DRRI has the best trem of anything in its price range, why mess with it?

Fender certainly made the change - those components pictured earlier were actually taken from my amp.

I was originally informed they only made the change to amps for the European market to overcome some EU B/S regarding the cadmium content in the LDR and that amps made for the US market were unchanged. However, I'm hearing more about US amps with the change too these days, so Fender might be making them all that way now.

It's an easy job for a tech to reverse the mod as the main pcb is still set-up to take the LDR (on mine at least), so it can all be put back to 'original' DRRI spec if need be. Again, this is my amp with the LDR back in position on the main pcb:

[Green Lantern]

I really don't mean any hostilities, but I will be upfront in saying something isn't quite adding up. Bakersfield is renowned around the entire country for its music. It even has its own recognized genre of music as a namesake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakersfield_sound

It is also a city with hundreds of thousands of people, and it's not that far from Greater Los Angeles, where there are about 20 million people. And... there are no amp techs... or Deluxe Reverbs? And on top of that, every Deluxe Reverb you touch is broken?

...Just such a curious situation that it makes me wonder.
But regardless, best of luck in solving your problems.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by Green Lantern

I really don't mean any hostilities, but I will be upfront in saying something isn't quite adding up. Bakersfield is renowned around the entire country for its music. It even has its own recognized genre of music as a namesake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakersfield_sound

It is also a city with hundreds of thousands of people, and it's not that far from Greater Los Angeles, where there are about 20 million people. And... there are no amp techs... or Deluxe Reverbs? And on top of that, every Deluxe Reverb you touch is broken?

...Just such a curious situation that it makes me wonder.
But regardless, best of luck in solving your problems.

I found this and other references to the issue that Toto'sDad seems to be describing http://www.thegearpage.net/board/arc.../t-816263.html

Certainly my amp makes the noise - I just never noticed it because I don't use the vibrato. When I turn it on it is really very noisy. I use the reverb - but only on a setting of "2" and the amp itself sounds fantastic - it's my favourite - even better sounding than my Hot Rod Deville to my ears.

I didn't object much to that other posters point about the guitar techs around Bakersfield (obviously I don't know the area at all). It was just the nasty insults he made which most people would find pretty confronting.

I don't know if it bothers me or not. At the moment as I said I don't really use the effect. If anyone doesn't think it does it - I can record it and post it up.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by Toto'sDad

...If Guitar Center could fill my order, why would they not do so since the amp is already paid for?...

Because "the amp is already paid for." Salesmen work a lot harder for money they don't already possess.

Get your money back while you still can. Then YOU will be in control, and not GC.

No feelings need be hurt, nor relationships damaged. It is YOUR money, and you can use it as you wish.

Maybe the DRRI isn't the right amp for you right now, anyway. No harm in changing your mind.

Best of luck, Sidney

[Toto'sDad]

I wouldn't have returned the amp for the phut, phuting noise alone, the primary reason that I returned both amps, was a loud oscillating noise from the reverb section. I know they don't have to make either noise because the first amp I had GC was able to control the reverb noise, and it did not phut, phut ever. I would have been fine with that amp, but after a week or so of getting it put in order, it just plain died.

Sorry to raise hackles over just reporting my problems with the DRRI. I'm sure some of the people who have read these posts have learned something about their own amps, or gave them something to think about in purchasing a DRRI.

It seems impossible for some to accept the simple fact that there isn't a friendly amp shop you can just pop buy and have someone look at your amp in Bakersfield. The google searches (can't be wrong they are on the internet) all point to people who don't actually work on amps, though their adds state they do. In fact, after about an hour of calling electronic shops, I was unable to even unearth a AY7 to try in the Vibrato channel. They might take one in for you, send it down south, have it repaired and mark up the repair and the freight, but no, hard as it seems for some to grasp, there just isn't a repair facility that actually works on amps here in town, if there is they keep themselves well hidden from the public.

All of that is immaterial though, my point is if you shell out a 1000 bucks, you should at least get an amp that functions at some level of competency. Guitar Center believes this too. The amps since I bought mine, (and paid for) have dropped in price by 100 bucks, this doesn't bother me at all since I made the deal at the earlier price level, if I were someone who is paranoid, or malicious I would simply get my money back and start over, and be 100 bucks ahead. I don't want that, I just want the amp I have coming for the price I paid.

One fellow as I pointed out who purchased a very nice 60th anniversary Tele from me, had someone who does light repairs in his garage if you will work on his amp. It was to no avail, he still had to take it to the Amp Hole in Los Angels, which for those of us who live out in the northwest is still a 300 mile round trip, no matter what some may have deduced is the mileage, and yes he had to make two trips.

I would just as soon have this thread be closed as to have to keep defending myself from those who make statements about our local lack of repair facilities, who have no knowledge at all of the actual situation. The store manage at GC did offer to try and locate an amp from another dealer yesterday, but he, and I concur, thinks the best course of action is to allow the warehouse to send one of the new ones when they get them.

I have posted a note from Sweetwater saying they aren't able to fill orders on the DRRI. I don't have it handy, but I found someone as far back as January of this year who had a problem swapping out a DRRI, I wish I'd known what I know now before I got involved in this situation, but that's how you learn, you make mistakes.

[tap4154]

Toto'sDad, nevermind the mindless chatter from Portlandia and elsewhere.

Always amazes me the vitriol in some folks that gets vented in the most inappropriate ways, on forums that are supposed to be fun, and positive.

Even here in Orange County CA there's not that many amp techs, and most are one-man operations and slow to turn over repairs. Tubes are sometimes available in GC and Sam Ash, but not in abundance, and only a few types and brands are stocked, and prices are high. Using online sellers is the best way to get tubes.

I hope you get the issue solved soon.