How to Fix Fender Blues Deluxe Low, Distorted Output

[@TheAxe4Ever]

This video reminds me of a very good tech I knew once about 30 years ago when I was a young lad. An kindly old gentleman that knew his way around an amp. I used to do guitar setups for many of his customers while he did the important work on amp repairs. He told me “my most valuable tool on my bench, especially for diagnostics isn’t my multi meter. It isn’t my oscilloscope. It’s my wooden stick”. Great stuff! Thanks for the video and the good old memory!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@studiofifty-six2327]

Thank you Stuart for providing this video showing how to fault find an amp issue. I have now been able to solve the exact same problem on my Fender Blues Deluxe. Very much appreciated!!

[@Charlie6969]

Some times the simple problems are the harder ones to find, good job!

[@HowdyOaks]

I have an *incredibly* similar problem with my Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue, going to try this fix and see if it works... thanks for filming this process!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

I hope it works!

[@brandonbutler9139]

I own the same amp here in the US, luckily it is working fine, it’s good to learn more about it!

[@OehlJim]

2 weeks ago I had this exact problem after replacing the filter caps. If I can identify the component, I can replace it...but, I am not great at diagnosing noises and other issues. After reassembling the amp, I misidentified the standard speaker jack and made myself a bit nuts trying to identify the problem. Thanks to your video my problem is solved!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi James Awesome, well done!

[@kevinmorris7722]

Just had the identical problem. Used an external cab. Being they aren't easily visible, and no labels. Did just what you did. Cleaned up and plugged in. Thanks for sharing.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Well done Kevin!

[@mikecorey8370]

I'll check all the jacks. I turned the amp off, let it set for awhile, turned it back on and the noise is gone. Bypassed the preamp, no noise. The amp had been left on accidently for a few days, so maybe it's a thermal issue. Great video. Thanks.

[@glenmurschel5939]

Well done, just got a 94 USA one, scratchy pots and drive channel seems weird, I'll try cleaning it up tonight (and the speaker jacks too!)

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Ok good luck!

[@glenmurschel5939]

got it, just neeed contact cleaner in the pots! @@stuartukguitarampguy5830

[@rocknking3]

Hello, Stuart ukguitarampguy! Thank you for getting good indirect experience and knowledge by watching your videos. I am replenishing information on amp repair on several channels on KZbin. Thanks to everyone. Thank you again Uncle Stuart ^0^~

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Glad you enjoyed it! OMB I'm 'uncle' now - watch out Uncle Doug, here I come!

[@littleglimmer2325]

I had the same problem last week. It was only when I looked closely, I could see that the speaker jacks are labelled!! I had reconnected the internal speaker into the extension socket after experimenting with a power soak.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

An easy mistake!

[@robertbuilder8001]

If it can go wrong - it will go wrong. Nice one Stuart !

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Robert!

[@peterjensen5001]

Maybe use a scope or meter to measure the signal chain while tapping. Start in the middle of the signal chain and watch if the signal changes when you hear the volume change. Then move back or up depending on what you measure. Should narrow it down quite fast. Well done by the way 🙂

[@emansell68]

My troubleshooting strategy with an amp provided with effects loop would have been testing the preamp with another Poweramp/speaker and then using an external preamp with the dut poweramp/speaker and at the last step, if the problem was the final circuit, using an external speaker. This procedure should quickly reduce the boundary of the problem to fix...

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Good thinking.

[@stevegarvey9530]

thanks Mr Stuart you were very entertaining and informative and that may be my problem

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Steve.

[@patrickostrom2762]

Good show,governor! Step by step!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Cheers Patrick.

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Marvelous work, I honestly knew at the start it was to do with the speaker out-put. I actually read the manual on mine and learned quickly to label the sockets...in case it was used by another person. Top tip was to Label the outputs..thanks.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Good thinking!

[@Claytone-Records]

I have a ‘93 model that works fine and I have got lots of use out of it. It is really loud. Just have to replace tubes. Looks pretty much like mine inside and out. I will clean my never used external speaker jack. I have the same cleaner, but never thought of cleaning what is not used. Great troubleshooting video. Question: are there 2 output jacks in the back of the reissue? I think mine (93 model) only has one.

[@mikedavis4427]

I'm only 12 minutes into this video, but it may be helpful. I own a fender "68 custom" twin amp, which ofcourse is the reissue that's not exactly a true fender twin. I'm having very similar issues with slightly lower volume and distorted tone . It's also not responding like it should. I've eliminated the possibility of the speaker it being a speaker issue. I did however replace the output Transformer. The problem existed before I replaced the transformer.. I hope this helps. THANK you

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Mike Watch the vid and see if you have the same issue. Unfortunately there are quite a few things it could be.

[@copperaudio9664]

Nice work Stuart. 😎 👍🏿

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Many thanks.

[@kengevers8738]

I've seen that before. I question why Fender would put an external speaker jack in any amplifier. The trend is smaller amps, and most players just mic the amp to the p/a. The Deluxe is a 40 watt amp, so it should be loud enough for most rooms. Good catch. Cheers

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Ken!

[@Claytone-Records]

I have a’93 Deluxe and it’s loud still. The reissue looks pretty much the same, but I am keeping mine.

[@guidoperezfantini9690]

Thanks , great video,. Greetings from Argentina

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@andyholdstock4559]

Changed the speaker on my fender hot rod 40.putting the Shashi back on the aluminium tape came off of the wood were the Shashi fits in.question is it necessary to put more tape.lot of different opinions on the net.

[@s9plus20]

Nice going Stuart!!

[@waynewayne3709]

1 of my tips was to use a thin file and clean the Jack sockets up plus switch cleaner.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Wayne. I find a file is too brutall I use a thin strip of paper soaked in EOxit and use that to wipe the contacts.

[@crashercrusher]

If anyone watching this video still has the same problem, it is an easy solution! Check the ext spkr jack and see if it is touching the ground or not.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

And if it is, pick it up and screw it back into the chassis where it belongs! :)

[@aservclive]

I'm not an amp doctor, but knew straight away it was valve related, harmonic valve, seen it so many times before.

[@3MonkeysGarage]

ahh, the truth about diagnosing amplifiers... try everything until you find the "ahah!" :) Just for your notes, a speaker coil coming loose sounds very much the same as that did. That's another fun one.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes, had a few of those!

[@PJSScotty]

Do you recommend the Fromel upgrade kits?

[@josephbryant9273]

Can a bad output transformer cause the same symptoms?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes. But in my experience it's super rare for the output transformer to go. Possibly of course.

[@zbaby82]

Good job!

[@andreasfetzer7559]

Perfect, thank you.

[@brandonbutler9139]

Thank you for the Video!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

You're welcome Brandon.

[@bddmhopp5]

I have same amp and same problem. Hopefully it’s the same problem with my amp

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Let's hope so. Good luck!

[@RsqSqr]

Mr. STUART, i need a little help from you, just want to know can i replace the preamp with AT7, and the power amp tube to 6V6 for reducing the volume.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

You can definitely replace V1 with a 12AT7 that will reduce the gain a fair bit. I'm less sure about the 6V6 question without doing some work which I don;t have time for today.

[@RsqSqr]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Thankyou Mr. STUART, do take commmision builds?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

@@RsqSqr What did you have in mind?

[@RsqSqr]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 fender 57 tweed deluxe

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

@@RsqSqr Are you talking a kit here ir complete build from scratch?

[@birdmansclambake]

Great job 👏. Fascinating to see you isolate the sound problem via chopstick 🥢. Brilliant! Thx for posting.

[@barnabywilde374]

"well, we found the problem. We had to fix where apparently someone's been tapping on the circuit board with a wooden stick."

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Ho ho!

[@tjsogmc]

I've found so many broken solder joints that I automatically pull the board first thing and check. I do it first because I've learned that it saves time since I end up having to pull it anyways- so I might as well get it done first and that way I already have it removed if I need to change a component.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Are you talking about this amp in particular? I always try to avoid pulling the board of at all possible, particularly in this amp as those grey interconnect cables are very fragile.

[@tjsogmc]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 i know there's a risk with the ribbon cables being fragile but I feel it's worth taking. I can't risk giving an amp back to a musician and then having it fail during a performance because of a dry joint in a component that wasn't part of the original repair. Granted some of these modern PCB amps can be fragile as they either were built with sub par quality components or become brittle from heating. However, i am a "boutique" amp repairman (meaning that I do a good job but don't make any money at it) therefore don't need to rush the jobs or squeeze the profit margin. I sell the customer reliability and they know that it may take a while if I have to order special parts like ribbon cables and such. They also know that I won't give them back an amp until its 100% condition. I'll let them use a loaner amp if they need one, but most times they don't.

[@popitn2nd]

This is the reason why i don’t buy used amps because people mess around with it.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes I've sen some horror stories.

[@billycramer8066]

Tap Tap

[@roryoconnor31]

Very enjoyable thank you

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Rory