Fender Factory Tour: How to Build a Handwired Amp

www.premierguitar.com PG's Rebecca Dirks is on location in Corona, California at the Fender Amps Factory. In this video we get to follow a Fender Eric Clapton Amp from start to finish. See more great videos at www.premierguitar.com/video

[@SlungStrat]

2:03 RIP headphone people

[@19RocketMan96]

BREEAAUUGGHH

[@guitarofdestiny]

Thanks for the warning 😉👍 Edit: it still got me 😞👎

[@philphillips1517]

They just drilled my brain !

[@manuelvillalba6168]

XD

[@GuitarToneFreak]

Very cool video! Those workers have more talent and patience than I could ever hope to have.

[@barret707]

Sweet. started building an old fender champ copy for college so its pretty nice to see fender still do it the same way.

[@shango02005]

Best video I've seen from you guys in a while! Thank you!

[@jakeblues3676]

Met Shane at NAMM and what awesome work, loved the TNT Champ Amp!!

[@sixstringfretter]

I used to work in a place that done similiar work that this place does, and he's right; the bench work that required the patients, dexterity and small hands were mostly done by women, and all the heavier, building trades were men. You have exceptions, of course, but it's probably 90% each way. I have one of the small Vibro Champs. It is good enough for studio work. Nothing beats a hand wired, tube driven amp for warmth and tone. The Fender nameplate just assures the quality is there!

[@WarBeer]

We've grown to love their tone because we love the songs from the great players and thus in and attempt to emulate and associate....we've got them ingrained in our ears. But Gibson guitars and Marshall/Vox amplifiers (etc.) are in our ears as well. The old players didn't have the gear choices that we have now. And they didn't fuss all about tone like we do today. Interestingly, if you look at what the old cats that are still around are playing. You'll find that most of them use modern gear now;)

[@TheWarped45]

very awesome video. I love building tube guitar amps on my spare time.

[@JudgeFredd]

Great video !

[@kjchicago1]

@premierguitar And those are the nicest amps ever! Great Job, Guys(and Gals)

[@Jasonweckard]

Nice to see some things are still analog and handmade in 2011

[@holmes1978]

Loved it !

[@zut25]

I whish one of those ladies were my mother lol she could bring me one of those amps she built with love :P

[@sscustoms4842]

Our thoughts exactly!

[@Notjay95]

You’d get it one piece at a time and it wouldn’t cost you a dime

[@americanmetalhead3954]

Alexis Zaragoza Lol

[@SIRONEDRAGON]

very cool : ) I got to go thru the Fender factory in Fullerton in 1983 .a Great memory for me

[@holmes1978]

Thank you loved it !!!

[@Champane97]

Rebecca's a stunner!!

[@obergfey]

That's awesome!

[@secretagentYTer]

I love this channel (:

[@santiush]

Sure! Happy Valentine to you too. Santiago, ARG.

[@JustMe-999a]

Doesn't seem very safe to be doing all of that soldering without a fume hood. Those fumes are not healthy

[@knikk77]

That little tweed champ is cute!!! Love the look of tweed!!!

[@OCVanSandmo]

Look at the tweed-pattern. It matches on each panel on the cabinet. Great video ! :)

[@geoffreycarter3981]

Just ordered a 57 Champ. So excited to have a handmade piece of history! Appeals to me so much more than the mexican made (fantastic amps in their own rights) amps that Fender offers.

[@grandtechnology]

Wonderful

[@holmes1978]

Fender Amps Undisputed historic Legendary !!!

[@0Heavy0Metal0]

@premierguitar Thank you. Isn't it amazing the amount of hate and anger that is generated by something so simple as an amp making video? It is disturbing how humans can de-evolve when they're not held accountable for their actions. I wish more KZbin uploaders would delete and ban some of these comments and people. Music, in particular guitars, is all about creating, sharing ideas, and finding that perfect combo of guitar and amp to move people. You guys help that by doing what you do.

[@MikeFreda]

I'm hoping this video may be out of sequence... but I'm shocked that they are soldering on the tube socket with tubes already in. This is a great way to shorten tube life! As a amp builder, this is a no no for me!

[@mct_lima]

yeah. and also the way they put the tubes in...handle with care they say...

[@faultlessguitarsandamps1116]

And no doubt getting knocked about in subsequent handling . Why not put them in last !

[@nikonmikon8915]

Those might be dead tubes used to stabilize the socket pins for soldering? Just a wild guess. It's definitely not necessary but who knows...

[@littmus32ify]

I was shocked by which the soldering smoke (which is toxic) was simply going up to her face- no fan or exhaust to protect the worker.

[@Blueguitar007]

wow..the guy "testing" the amp just plugs an mp3 player into it for a second. you think they would wiggle the preamp tubes and twist the knobs etc... QC doesn't look very good. the guy even said he doesn't gave much time to check them out.

[@MikeGervasi]

They should run a sig gen into it and sweep the freqs. Check that out on a scope. THAT way you'll instantly see any issues with the entire circuit if the signal is noisy.

[@StraitUpSuburbanite]

Wow, pretty cool. It's kinda weird, kinda cool that they test each amp by playing music through it. I actually had no idea you could do that.

[@waltwilcutts37]

On the other hand, it sounds fantastic.

[@dreadnought45]

@GuyWithGuitars1: I agree with you. Ken, Toronto On. Canada

[@TheRaven0us]

Nice video =) That test guy at the end looks cool, lol

[@bareknuckles2u]

Interesting video

[@spider5001]

Really don't care how Fender makes their amps... just watching to see Rebecca =D

[@MADE2OWND]

sick!

[@rhymeskill]

The pros make it look so easy.

[@pinkhairedgnom4018]

Solder fumes and no mask or ventilation right near the worker's hands ...

[@dsummit]

It's not hot enough to melt the lead so no worries

[@sirena7116]

It happens all the time in Asia, but we don't see it so we don't care.

[@gordonbrace2173]

I wish I had one of those amps for my Washburn guitar !

[@greatvanzini]

The odd thing is I played one at a local store. There they wanted close to 1000. It did not sound good at all to put it nicely. 800 + on the net. I had a really small Fender tube back in the late 60's. It sounded great.

[@Panic42000]

greatvanzinni I have one and it sounds great. Maybe you have a hearing problem?

[@teleguy5699]

Speaker has to break in. I know this is an old post, but that needs to be addressed.

[@greatvanzini]

@@teleguy5699 Good point. I had a blues deluxe that sounded great. Sorry I sold it. Tried a newer one in the store & it just didn't have it.

[@thesjkexperience]

Dig the custom shop safety glasses! Do amps blow up during testing? Why the glasses?

[@diggy3746]

Wow, they can produce a high quality amp in such a short time. Oh how Ford has made business more efficient with his creation of the assembly line.

[@lpspecial1985]

It is nice to see that you are making an amp like you did years ago,people don't realize but the majority are printed circuit boards.from the blues Jnr. to your biggest tube amps,In fact those clapton amps are the only ones that are done like that. the bassman or deluxe you bought pre 80's,why don't you build them like that anymore.The pcb's have way to many problems.The only reason your older amps come in to be worked on is tubes or filter caps

[@shawnhuff3597]

fender all the time

[@Jeepjones85]

Cool hat !

[@JohnnyRock]

...and they still put groove tubes in these things

[@ChrisPippin]

@zachjal They should work right after their made, but after a trip down the highway, they might get a little white line fever, ya know what I mean? Nice thing about Fender is warranty though! If it comes not working they will fix it.

[@1971SuperLead]

And I thought Eric Clapton was assembling these amps! Why's his signature on them if he's not assembling them?

[@MrKadidle51]

Can anyone help a bro out and tell me/ link me to a good soldering station? Ive heard mixed things about weller. Any help?

[@Earnhardt12345]

@DuralastTurbo Wow, nice response.. Where did U get your degree in electronics? How many amps and guitars do U own? How long have U been playing?

[@prsplayer210]

true very true

[@stephenbeal9224]

Believe it or not most QC inspectors in assembly plants (not just amps) can tell when something is off without getting too involved. When I worked in an HVAC plant the QC guys didn't seem like they were paying any attention while testing but, they could spot the smallest things wrong with it (like even the wrong wire color on a single wire) It was crazy how laid back they were until you messed up.

[@Tibbon]

I'm curious as to why they would put the tubes in so early, prior to even soldering the connections. Seems easier to put them in very last.

[@sterlingindigo]

Nice knobs!

[@journeyquest1]

Fender had my SCXD 6 mo and finally gave me a new one. The 65 Princeton got exchanged for a better one. But it was a hassle. Service center is 1.5 hrs round trip from my house. I had to make 3 trips. That should have given me a coupon to save me on my next purchase?

[@charvelguy]

@phriend2spin G&L didn't make amps when they were introduced - the product name made guitars/basses. Musicman was the name brand for the company that Leo had prior to G&L - post Fender, and they continued with production with the amps under that name.

[@premierguitar]

We encourage all sorts of commentary, but we will not stand for hateful, racist, sexist, or other types of personal attacks. Please keep the discussion civil or you will be banned from commenting on our videos.

[@zachjal]

@chrishpippin thats why they test them at the end.

[@Brycetation]

Please do a tour of Marshall amp factory please

[@grandtechnology]

Where the Marshall be?

[@ajjs02]

Kind of amazed at the comments, and how little people actually know about how some of the most influential amps ever designed were produced.Hand wired, with a Schumacher custom transformer is why this little 8",5w amp is so expensive. the EC tremolux 12" ,12w has a Mercury Magnetics custom transformer, and the EC twinlux has 2 -12" custom webber speakers,40w,MMC transformer. Pricing on these amps is comparable to one off hand built type A/B's from known builders.transformers can run you $500+

[@craigheavner8254]

I'm 10 years late, but does anyone know where to get that eyelet board holder/organizer that woman is using?

[@aussie_philosopher8079]

The older fender custom shop Amps were really well done. Some of the new fender hand wired amps are good but not like Dr.Z.

[@drakebloedje]

Haha well you'd be surprised about the amount of force you need to apply. I switched my tubes once and I really had to push and wiggle a lot to get them into place. Lucky for her those tubes are cold, so they won't get damaged that easily :-)

[@drakebloedje]

Because there's a big difference between point to point soldering and a PCB. It's a lot more time consuming and your amp can be fixed way more easily. I think that you're mixing up custom made and handwired. If something is custom made I think it should be made by only one person (custom shop Fender sucks mainly because of the fact they don't do it that way and still charge way too much).

[@Lespaulcoolio]

My names Dave and i test out every amp by playing my sweet guitar. Would be the best job in the world.

[@SerialPortExperiment]

I see Sprague Atoms at 1:45. Where do you see Chinese capacitors?

[@missionoc]

I wonder if there is a china handmade amp also, sounding as good as this one?

[@mvramos]

Vox Ac30s (including the handwired ones) are currently made in China, afaik.

[@Diax1324]

And they work great

[@kimhansen6384]

Tweed Tone 12, and Tweed Tone 35

[@alanbrooke-feather5403]

Why do Fender still use thermionic valves?? I assume there must be a good reason! Alan, UK

[@mikethemaniac1]

well, actually a lot of companies make valve amps I think most actually, the thing is guitarists are by nature ultra conservative and so there is a certain magic to having a tube(valve in england) amp, which has a smoother sound after you make the tube work too hard, which is what actually causes the distortion, where as transistors unless voiced by a digital preamp modeler generally have a more grating sound that can lead to headaches and a generally unpleasant tone. that's my thought on it anyway.

[@RCAvhstape]

+Alan Brooke-Feather If you play guitar or bass you'd know that they have yet to produce a solid state amplifier that sounds like a tube amp. You can do some tricks to get close but there's no substitute for the real thing when you want that sound. And as mike said, most amp manufacturers still make tube amps.

[@mikethemaniac1]

they don't cut it in my bedroom, any recomendations for a cheap low powered tube amp? say 20 watts or lower. Thanks

[@mikethemaniac1]

+Mitch Wild but can I get a nice distorted rock tone in adition to the nice clean- bluesy tone?

[@mikethemaniac1]

+Mitch Wild thanks man, I was looking at the vox Ac15 and played one, which sounds good, but I think it was clapped out because it was on when I came across it, sounded damn good when I pumped the power to damn near full, but it was almost hard to hear, that a common thing for 15 watts on a tube amp?

[@MrMurens]

What are those glasses for??

[@boleynali]

important question..does it go to 11.;-)

[@richardlirry8295]

full interest. i want to learn work fro you pls

[@stevesmith3033]

The only thing that Leo Fender parts would be the markings on the board... Umm yeah, and don't forget the pvc wire, the carbon film and metal oxide resistors, metalized polyester tape and wrap capacitors, slip on connectors, the lead free solder and the absence of the brass grounding plate. Other than that they're identical.

[@brm6969]

Rebecca so cute and does a good job reporting

[@jerryking7772]

why on earth would they put the tubes in before even the board went in then solder all the wires to the sockets?? I would of thought it would be aesier and safer to put them in after at least the soldering had been done??

[@thesniffs4278]

Bad ass Skatalites for the test musiC!!

[@dadygee]

I would love to solder all day long..

[@sailorjohnboy]

I'm a little surprised at how little QC checking is done. You'd think they'd have someone actually play a guitar through it, especially for an amp in this price range.

[@sinjon]

Just because it isn't shown doesn't m an they don't do it

[@princessteach]

@chrishpippin That tattoo freaky person is my son and he is a really great guy.

[@carlrudd1858]

Who knew you'd find Dwight Schrute in the Fender Factory ??

[@ChrisPippin]

@princessteach He looks nice. He's got one of my dream jobs, working at Fender. But you have to admit, you wouldn't think to find him at your local bank. At least not up here in Montana, lol. No offense meant!!

[@mikef6833]

WOW, I can't believe they solder onto the tube sockets with the tubes in place! That's a good way for premature tube failure! Tisk Tisk! :(

[@Nomdeguerre]

Saw the video and my jaw dropped when I saw that. I wonder if the video was unintentionally edited in a way to make it look like that? It's almost too wrong to believe it's true.

[@EclipseAtDusk]

Because judging a person based on how they decide to express themselves is always completely accurate, yes.

[@tyhgbn789]

at 3:51: place the nails on the amp's screen to bounce around as you're hammering. Then set the hammer on same screen. Then slide hammer across screen as you pick it up to hammer again. Yikes

[@prsplayer210]

ive watched alot of gear reviews factory tours ive never really liked fender amps all that much but after seeing the piss poor soldering, no organazation to wire routing no real quality control using unskilled workers good job fender your definitely something for other musical equipment manufacturers to look up too

[@stillsupro46]

Were is Rebecca dirks these days???? We all miss you journalist of thyne rocken rollers finger tippys to the frets

[@knikk77]

This is how ALL amps should me made! The old way!! DIG!!!! :-)

[@jonnybeck6723]

They're overpriced, and she's underpaid...

[@victhestick93]

Jonny Beck truth

[@Panic42000]

Victor Stellato Blah,Blah,Blah I’m sure everything to you is overpriced broke ass! If you want the good stuff you have to pay for it. That goes for everything not just amps.

[@victhestick93]

Panic42000 lol let me know when you have early 60s fender amplifiers in your home. Or Mcintosh amps. Assuming you're a spread fan by your username. Lol fuckin awful music. You probably like twiddle too. Since we've moved to personal insults. Degenerate loser.

[@mrounds1510]

@@victhestick93 I'm with Victor on this one. BenS123 confirmed sheep.

[@MuscleDad420]

3:52 Dude looks like he stepped in out of the Fender factory circa 1955. Cool.

[@demetribazan8528]

churp churp churp? I am kidding you.

[@BuzzMcCallister]

When are they going to tour the mexican factory?

[@TheWarped45]

it seems like they have there work cut out for them smelling the harsh fumes of solder makes me sick after building one board.

[@jimihendrix19999]

I want work by fender!!

[@brianleary4970]

2:03 AAAAHH!! MY EARS!

[@knikk77]

That's the way all amps should be made! Hand wired, P2P. Less components = better tone! :)

[@ChrisPippin]

@chrishpippin Not saying that I wouldn't love a job doing this, but human hands are capable of human mistakes.

[@raytheprinter]

What is the purpose of using Eric Claptons name on the amp other than to raise the price?

[@marvin19966]

profit

[@thzzhoho]

Test Guy Dave!!!

[@princessteach]

@chrishpippin Sorry, Chris - but mama bear came out. You are right - no bank jobs for him, lol I always told him "not to get the tattoos, because people will judge him by the way he looks". He is the nicest guy and would do anything for people. It is his "dream job" too. He loves going to work everyday and feels very blessed to be working at such a great company. They treat their employees very well.

[@pezzjune8928]

sure and then you put Illinois caps to increase the leakage

[@Landotter1]

Seems like too much work at a single station. i think i'd break it up... Stuff the board in one station and wire it at another.... But, Fender has done it for a lot of years and they obviously know what their doing...

[@thephotoyak]

Some QC there. "Yeah I look at it sometimes, takes a bit to warm up, it's playing some elevator music and I can hear sound so yeah it's good." Least one could do is make sure controls are working as intended and the thing isn't overly noisy.