Fender Bassbreaker 15 Watt Guitar Amplifier Head Red Plating Let's Fix it

[@steppenwolf_666]

One of the best videos I've ever seen! Not only does the man find and correct mistakes made by Fender, using his skill in electronics to do so, but then he proceeds to demo the repaired amp by rocking out quite impressively for several minutes before saying farewell. Hot damn!! Good job, sir, good job indeed!

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, thank you. This was an easy luck repair. These amps are a nightmare to strip down and fix. Having said that it did sound really good. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@RiffChord]

I just bought a used BB15 combo. Sounds great. I opened it up and snipped the diodes before they fail. 15minutes max, ez fix for a great sleeper amp

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. That's a good plan. It's the common failure with these amps. Thanks for watching and take care,.

[@petedazer3381]

That would be an expensive recap……great work sir!

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello Peter, thank you. It would indeed. The problem with these amps is that if they develop a fault, you have to take them to bits. So you can't test it powered up. It's hard to get the meter probes on where you want to test because of the way they designed the chassis. A great sounding amp but a throw away amp, sadly. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@pda49184]

Well done Martyn.. I watched another UK tech give up on one of these amps as the cost of stripping it down , fixing the issue and reassembly made the repair uneconomical for the owner. Still, you managed to fix it economically and it sounds very good indeed now. Glad to see you're better now. Hope you have a healthy and prosperous 2024.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello Pete. Thank you. Was that Stuart? I think I got lucky with this one. I am back to full emissions now thanks. I hope you have a great 2024 also Take care Pete.

[@pda49184]

@@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher Ha- ha.. Yes that was Stuart.. I can't say I disagreed with his comments on the construction of this otherwise very nice sounding and speced amp. I think Fender must have borrowed a design idea from Peavey 😅..Look after yourself and keep warm 🌡❄

[@electrolytics]

What a S.O.B. of an amp to get into and repair. Thing sounds really good though. Enjoyed your playing. Happy New Year.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, thank you. Yes, it would make a great high gain studio amp. Not made to repair though. Got lucky with this one. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@fiddlix]

It’s really too bad, Fender made a wonderful sounding amplifier that is completely unserviceable…way to go Fender. Excellent repair Martyn.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello David, thank you. I got lucky with this one. Hop you have a great 2024. Take care.

[@frankstetka7206]

Thank you 🙏 Thank you again, this amp sounds so good but this confirms why I don’t bother with modern Fender. Maybe best to look at the schematic and pick the good points from the circuit and build it right. 🥳

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello Frank. It's the same with most modern amps. Great sound but not built to last. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@honkytonkinson9787]

Welcome to the future! Tube technology with all the “benefits” of modern construction! We need a sequel of Wall-E with a giant trash pile of Katana and Fender amps

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, Ha Ha, yes, I think you right. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@gringopig]

What a nightmare to fix. It's like some deliberate attempt to make it unrepairable. In the bin!

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. It does make you wonder. I wonder just how long they will last. It's a shame because they are a great sounding amp. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@matthewf1979]

You are a saint, Martin! I have worked on one and only one of these amps. The “box tube” chassis is an insult to the owners and serviceability. I can’t imagine it’s easy to assemble either.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello Matt. What was wrong with the one you worked on. Did you manage to fix it?

[@matthewf1979]

@@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher It was a faulty tube. I changed out the bias resistors to cool it off and removed those diodes. I remember seeing forum posts about those diodes shortly after the amps were released.

[@archiepaton9263]

Another nice video. I felt your pain as I have had to fix mine with the same problem.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. It's a common fault with this amp. Just seems crazy putting diodes across the cathode resistors. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@sjgreaves]

Sounds great and nice to see an amp that _isn't_ beating EL84's to death from the factory (aside from the zener strangeness). Anyway I got curious and I found "The Electricity Supply (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 1994" where the UK government stated that all low voltage supplies to customers (I assume domestic mains) should be 230v reduced from 240v with a 10% tolerance. I beleive this was to be more compatible with Europe which at the time would have been largely 220v so by legislating for 230v across the board, equpment 'should' work in all countries. This is likely why Fender (and others) use this for UK destined amps and is probably the 'right' thing to do given the legislation even though it is typically not the best choice in practice. At least there is a tap for 240v...

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, yes, it was EU that made fender set them at 230 Volts. But as you say it's good they have a 240 Volt tap. I really like this amps but not it's construction. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@steppenwolf_666]

Would it help to put a resistor in series with each zener so that, if it failed, there would still be a load instead of just shorting the cathode to ground? [edited for spelling]

[@trueworld3857]

I had the problem with a bassbreaker 30r I snipped both the diodes away and now its perfect.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. It's a common problem on these amps. Simple fix though. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@Paul-il5yn]

Really dont want one... cheers for warning me Not repair friendly at all Kite mark amp But hey you done it .. Allways helps to have good valves ha! Glad ya healthy again

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Thanks Paul. Take care.

[@motokev2727]

Very impressive.... I wonder with a USA model at 120 volts, if the diodes values are ok ?

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, thank you I couldn't say on that one. Would be good to know that info though. Thanks for watching and take care

[@brianmac8260]

HNY Martin. Good show!

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello Brian, thank you, take care.

[@csh9853]

sweet sounding amp.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. Yes It has a great sound. It's just hard to fix. This was a lucky repair. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@James_Carter65]

That thing sounds great! A mate of mine has the 7w version which also sounds awesome. I dont fancy maintaining it though.. unless i come to own it.. they are clearly a pain to work on.. that said, as mentioned below, we should be able to pick them up cheap in a couple of years when they are BER after getting a fault ... looking forward to picking a couple up and rejigging them...Still puzzled about those Zeners....just why are they there?

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello James. That chassis would still be a pain to hand wire. It could be done though.

[@bluesplayer59]

Love your playing gadge !

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, thank you. Take care.

[@markprentice7785]

Hi Martyn, in a few years time when these things become completely uneconomical to repair because of heat damage to components and the cost of strip down being more than the value of the amp, rather than going to land fill, there hopefully should be an opportunity to get them rather cheaply and rebuild a point to point amp. For not a lot of money you will get a chassis, transformers and hook up wire, and in the case of a combo, a speaker and box. These are the dearest parts of an amp. A few dollars/pounds spent on resistors, capacitors, tag strips etc and you will have a great, reliable, inexpensive amp.

[@SlickWilly79]

Shhhhh- I’m trying to buy every whooped hot rod series amp on earth for that very reason. I’m gonna add these to my searching 😂

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

That's always a good plan. I have done that a few times with amps that not worth repairing. In fact, I have few of them in the Que waiting to be done. Just got to get through all these repairs. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@halvach1998]

really wonder what those zeners were supposed to do?- limit bias voltage in case of a malfunction? clearly did the opposite, prob. cause they were under-rated?

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. Not a great idea but the amp did sound very good. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@jcwear89]

Sounds excellent! Thank goodness you could do an economical repair woukd be criminal for somethinf that sounds that good to end up in landfill !😊

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. Sadly, that's were many of them may end up in a few years. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@stringlocker]

Is that 100% tube Overdrive are there any of those diode thingies in there

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. Not sure. I didn't look at the schematic in depth. Luckily this one was a quick fix. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@SlickWilly79]

Great playing

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Thank you. Take care.

[@ОльгаКараулова-е9н]

Хорошо играете!

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Спасибо. Спасибо за просмотр и берегите себя.

[@TheWGLOVER]

Why do you hide the brand of the calculator, but not anything else on your bench?

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, it's just a bit of joke. It's a Sports World logo that's on the calculator. The BBC are not allowed to mention branding. And if they do by mistake then they have to say that other branding of the same nature is available. It's just my sense of humor. To be fair buying such a large calculator is daft in it's self. And I still manage to loose it. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@soapboxearth2]

It's a complete insult to the customer and the amp tech to design and build an amp like this. A slap in the face , really. There's no need if it ...

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, Yep, I read on a forum a Guy had worked out a strip down for one of these. he said it took him 45 mins. If its the same to put it back together that's 90 mins before have even fixed it. And of course you can't run it up and test it when it's all in bits. What will we see next. Take care.

[@jutukka]

Fender squared not only that logo font but the whole amp design. A nightmare to test, measure and service. And those useless zener diodes. However, it was proven again that (D)13 is an unlucky number. 👻

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Ha Ha, yes, the dreaded D13. A great sounding amp but badly thought out. Take care.

[@itsonlyme9938]

My mains goes up 248 volts I use a auto-transformer to bring it down on my amp to 238v. I guess the voltage is different depending where you live.

[@musterionsurly]

great idea

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. I have never seen it that high here. Most I have seen is 241 volts. take care.

[@goodun2974]

Martyn, you really could use a smaller pair of cutters!

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Got some on order. They should be delivered today. Take care.

[@musterionsurly]

i saw a vid where Chris from "The Guitar Amp Tech" channel had the same experience. apparently (thanks fender) if you own one of these you need to crack it open and snip out those zeners. another good reason to stick to traditional or at least readily servicable amps. it's a shame because it seems like a versatile amp otherwise. reminds me a bit of the peavey classic 30 sounds good but wtf were they thinking with the tri-board haha

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, You are right it, it is a bit like a Classic 30. I had forgotten about those. I had one of those in the 90s. Not a bad amp as I remember. Take care.

[@frankstetka7206]

And IC capacitors?? Puts a bad label on made in the U.S.A. 😂

[@MichaelSmith-rn1qw]

Despite the amp's name, I can't imagine this was designed to be a bass amp, with the EL84's, high gain and reverb. Nice repair on this otherwise "disposable" amp.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello Michael, yes, another addition to the dustbin range. Or the dumpster range if you live in the States. it's a shame. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@75YBA]

Traynor amps are sometimes 50-75% lower than Fender, Marshall, VOX, etc. Probably not many in the UK, but if you’re over here nab one.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. I had a Traynor amp years ago. Someone borrowed it and never returned it. Still peaves me to this day Thanks for watching and take care.

[@frankstetka7206]

Traynor is superior to Fender almost always.

[@sylvainbiensur7370]

Mine had the same problem, fuse went, one tube gone, zener became a small resistor, took them off (15 min job thanks to youtube) amp is ok. I dont think fender engineering is that stupid, there is a reason they put them in. Trust me fender is so cheap they would have preferred to save money and not put in any.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. You have point there. According to a lot of info I have gleaned about Fender, they were Penney pinchers. They don't need the diodes though. This one has never been back in the workshop. I repaired it in January. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@electrokatt2246]

Gordon Bennett, I thought Mesa`s were bad enough, modern day Fenders aren`t what they used to be for sure, wonder what the thinking behind those zeners are ,certainly don`t do amp techs any favours. As long as they last the 12 month warranty period I guess that`s all modern day manufacturers are bothered about, its a throw away society ,a very sad state of affairs.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

I know what you mean. Mind you,you could have said that about the Blues Juniors when they first came out but most them have last a good few years and are still going. Speak soon.

[@itsonlyme9938]

I have a Blackstar combo amp 40 Watts and its a hybrid Valve/IC'S I cannot repair it if it goes wrong but I have built a Modulus JTM45 and I can repair it if I need to no stupid switching IC'S and all of that crap

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. I get a lot of my parts from Modulus. Brilliant company. Take care.

[@shane011471]

How that thing is built it looks like nothing but e-waste because the price to fix would exceed the price of the amp (If it was something that was hard to get at because of said build.) Fender amps now are not built well and only "Good Enough" just to get through the warranty period and not much else.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

The Fender E-Waster. A much better name for it. thanks for watching and take care.

[@mtbmadman011]

Fender Corp Round Table take note, Way too many new amps in last 10 years are consistantly failing prematurely. They are no longer easily serviceable due to circuit board design and cheap components. Even the hardwired series are arguably no way near worth decent value that you are charging. Cut the suits salary sitting at the round table, get back in the shop and get your shit together

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello. Well said. That's the trouble with the whole world; to many suits. Take care.

[@Splattle101]

What a dog of a design. Clearly, it's supposed to be disposable. It's such a shame because they're a good sounding amp family. May as well be a Katana for serviceability.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, yes, I wonder if we will get to a point were tube amps are impossible to fix. It's getting closer. Thanks for watching and take care.

[@ali2ndmail]

I don’t know why anyone would buy one of these amps. Modern Fender design is awful. Bad construction, cheap parts and usually biased too hot.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello, Yes, not great and not cheap either. Sadly it's the way of the world now. Take care.

[@frankstetka7206]

Biased hot is why they sound so good; problem is that they are not up to the task and wow, I remember people complaining about Vox. Of course this was the really old stuff and I will gladly take the Vox !!