How to Fix Fender HotRod DeLuxe Hum

A simple fix for this common problem due to low qualoity components

[@cloudconnect]

That cap-in-a-box is one of the most useful amp fixing tricks I've seen in years. Thanks so much.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes it's super useful!

[@carterbazzell6447]

How did you make that cap in a box??

[@terrywebb5380]

Yes I have one of these. Same problem concerning the cheap caps and burnt board. It’s amazing that after 25 years of producing the Hotrod Delux Fender has totally ignored this circuit problem that most of the good technicians have reported many times on KZbin. Psionic Audio in the States has taken his subscribers though the problems associated with this amplifier on numerous occasions and I don,t know how he kept so calm every time he encounters the same problems over and over again. . They are not cheap amplifiers. Thanks Stuart for adding to the cause. Your channel is very instructive and entertaining. Thank you.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Terry.

[@vintageguitaramp_guitarteacher]

Hello Stuart. If only every repair was that easy. Another good video. Thanks!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

I can only wish...

[@montygore1200]

Nice job as usual Stuart. Thank you for your time to video the fix.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Monty.

[@user-rf9me7xm1w]

Great video as usual, I always find it difficult to stop watching once I’ve started. I suppose it’s the nostalgia of seeing valve equipment in use, something I used to work on, and teach the theory of, in the distance past. BTW, own a 1975 fender pro reverb which still has all it’s original fender marked valves and it still sounds great. I did change the smoothing caps although they still worked fine and you’re quite right, they are expensive ! Look forward to the next challenge, best regards.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Great I'm glad you enjoy them! Glad to hear your Fender is still trundling along.

[@FixYahTv]

Another good video.. thank you so much.. i enjoy watching and i have learned so much from you..thank you so much sir..

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks I'm pleased you enjoyed it.

[@jimirox1928]

I HATE diagnosing hum. Great job as always Stuart.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes me too. My least favourite occupation.

[@campbellmorrison8540]

I am being sent one of these to repair, don't usually work on this sort of gear and definitely not with valves but its is exactly what I was hoping will be the problem. I don't like changing caps from the top as one can cause dry joints on the PCB but its such a horrid design that I totally agree, taking the board out could cause more trouble than its worth. Very helpful video thanks

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Campbell.

[@alexdeleon7135]

Well done, Stuart! A quick, and merciful sorting of this notoriously poor designed amp. The customer should have opted to have all the shite IC caps replaced; while the rear of the amp was already open. "Cost sensitive" was a clever euphemism. Stay safe and well.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Alex. Yes agreed but a fair few people these days are a bit skint!

[@electrolytics]

Awesome video. I have one of these and love it. Thanks Berkshire Amp Repair.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes great amps and LOUD. Just a handful of fairly easily rectified problems.

[@zbaby82]

Good job Stuart.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Cheers Zack.

[@s9plus20]

Great video. thanks Stuart for sharing!! IMHO the customer should have had you replace all the caps and also move the two ceramic resistors and the two zener diodes higher. In another 5 years the traces on the back of the circuit board behind the low voltage section will have serious issues!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Agreed. My view is that these amps are rarely gig critical and he can always bring it back if it goes wrong again.

[@edwardhannigan6324]

Hey Stuart, I bet that was a relief..A nice quick fix, even myself as a newbie following your videos and others; kinda' figured out the fault..Great video as usual..Thanks again for sharing your expertise..Ed..Uk..😀

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

You must be getting quite good now. How about starting your own amp repair business?! (the money, the girls, the advantages never end...)

[@edwardhannigan6324]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 You are funny Stuart..! I'd need a barrow full of electronic test gear etc..etc..I'd love to but it takes money to set up..😔

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

It's nice to have easy ones from time to time!

[@zummliller]

Mr Stuart thank you for your excellent videos, For your consideration, construction and demonstration of your own outstanding test equipment: variac/limiter set up. capacitor test box and dummy load, would be an outstanding episode.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Joe. Good idea!

[@divebomb99]

Like it! Many years ago I tried a duet of Groove Tubes 6L6GE’s in my Hot Rod DeVille. They red plated quickly. Just about burned the silkscreen off the glass on the spot. I read years later on Eurotubes’ web site how those specific 6L6’s from GT cannot handle higher plate voltage. Of course Fender/GT never said anything about it anywhere.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

It's the same with standardJJ EL34s in Marshalls. They just can't handle the high plate voltages.

[@bobboyle7629]

Hmm. I think your customer is being "Penny wise and dollar foolish", lol. Those IC caps are garbage. I have a hunch you'll be seeing that amp again real soon. I agree completely with your decision to swap the cap form the topside. Others may not, but, there is a significant chance of inducing a second or third problem by removing that board. Removing it is a lot of work for nothing. Brilliant video, Stuart . I really like your McGuyver cap substitution box. I enjoy your channel. Best of luck from Canada!!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Bob.

[@michaelevans3852]

It seems that Fender is more concerned with a few dollars profit than a quality product. That's kind of sad. I recently sold my Deluxe Reverb RI and it had those same brand name caps. I didn't keep it long because I have several Fender amps and a few Peavey amps as well. However, this did play a part in my decision to sell. Thanks again for a fine video. I would love to see a close up or a diagram of how you are soldering that cap in from the top. Thanks again

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Michael. I just wrap the lead around the 'stubs' and solder. BUT... you muct be quick and not apply too much heat otherwise the leads wilkl become desoldered from the pads underneath.

[@lars-fenin]

yap, pretty bad design choice from fender.... the amp is 5 years old....

[@5barkerstreet]

I hope the next one is perplexing Stuart my man.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hmm... I wish for an easy life!!

[@miguelrichartmellado2834]

👍👍good jod Stuart.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Miguel!

[@bluesplayer59]

Splendid !!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ThePopPickers]

Hi Stuart great video. Was the hum on both the clean and drive channels. Mine only has the hum on the drive channel. The clean channel works perfectly.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

tbh I can;t recall.

[@scubaozy]

Nice video, do you have any hint to test the radial caps without removing them?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi, not really. If they are leaking then obviously change them, but in this case there was no sign of leakage. No need to test if you're not getting isues.

[@pda49184]

I seem to remember you and I having a rant in the past about Fender's "SCROOGE" policy on component choices .. I suppose the upside is that they keep electronics 'techs' in business , but the end users who purchase the equipment seems to be an afterthought in terms of reliability and longevity .. I'm sure your customer will be delighted that you managed to keep the repair cost down to a minimum but if Fender fitted decent electrolytes in the first instance, that would probably only add £5 to the purchase price of the amp. Crazy !

[@goldencoil]

Apologies if this is a stupid question. When you removed the capacitor from the top , how did you desolder the 2 legs out? Did you just partially cut the existing legs and used the same ones to connect to the replacement capacitor legs?

[@larrydering1598]

He used the legs of the old cap after twisting together for a solid mechanical joint. He has a video somewhere that shows this technique clearly. Amp techs use this a lot in the US to save on repair costs.

[@nenadrozic6980]

Is it ok if I connect an extra cap 47uf 500V in paralel on my Hot Rod Deluxe.?

[@noelbridgeman99]

Hi, many thanks for the vid, very informative. I have the same amp and only this morning it started making the same noise. I tried swopping out the valves but no difference so I'm thinking the board. I realize that the caps can be dangerous to work on but I'm wondering if there's a way to check the integrity of each using a multimeter rather than the cap in a box that you're using? Many thanks

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Noel. No not really. You can usually tell by looking at them, if they have leakage coming out of the end they are obviously faulty. Otherwise, dab another similar cap across each in turn to see if the hum goes away. Obviously be super careful with those high voltages.

[@noelbridgeman99]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Many thanks Stuart 👍

[@gingercat777]

When you solder in the new cap are you careful not to heat the solder under the board holding the original wires?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Well spotted! YEs it takes a light touch otherwise they would come unsoldered from underneath.

[@abrahamfinkelstein2058]

I'm trying to sell a Hot Rod Deluxe 3 that I have had for 8 years. Hardly left the house with it. Never changed any tubes/valves. Still sounds great. Any suggestions as far as a reasonable price I can put on it?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Alan not sure where you are based. In the UK these tend to go for £600-£700. Look on Reverb and see what they are going for at the moment.

[@rickditchdigger1817]

Need your opinion, Hotrod deluxe when I have the channel switched pushed and the light shows and strum the guitar hard it cracks and the light goes out and volume drops and then the light comes back on like normal. But before the crack happens I see the light starting to dim. Any ideas?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Rick This is almost certainly caused by vibration (the speaker vibrates the PCB) and there's a dry joint on the board. See if you can reproduce it by tapping the board hard in various places with a suitably insulated object (chopstick etc).

[@jeromestevenfaigin6059]

Hello, I own a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Mod 3 too! I will look at it innerds, when something at home fails or a must do if I need it for work. The resistors where burning the board! The stupid ceramic resistors. That's board damage.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes it's not great design is it?

[@thesloaneranger1]

I wish I lived closer (Im just outside Glasgow), as I would love you to work your magic on my 1977 Marshall Master Lead Combo :( Hums, crackles... and after my uncle "having a go", its worse than ever! If you have any recommendations of who to take it to up here, I would be ever so grateful xxx

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Unfortunately I don;t know anyone up there. Good luck!

[@thesloaneranger1]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Thank you anyway. Have a good week x

[@Bret_Sanor]

I understand customers being cheap and price sensitive, but it is a disservice to them to not do the repair properly by pulling the board. They may want a cheap repair but when their amp burns up and they have to replace it, they will wish they had spent a little more on repair and preventative maintenance. Every customer I ever dealt with on amp repair wanted it done for extremely cheap and in an hour. I just told them the truth and showed them pictures of what is wrong. Several problems with these amps well documented by others that when fixed, can make the amp very durable. Broken solder joints are common which is why I always pulled the board. On this amp, you can see the board was burnt from the low voltage supply resistors and zenor diodes. The next time it needs repaired, and it will need repaired, it will be a lot more money and time to fix the ruined traces, replace tubes and the rest of the caps, not to mention the screen resistors.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Bret I don't think there's any right or wrong approach on this tbh. I almost never get an amp back after I've repaired it, so that's something. Also, 99% of my customers do not have gig critical amps - they're mostly playing for a hobby. So IF the amp goes wrong again, they can just bring it back. I'd sway more to your view if the equipment was very critically important. And, of course, I do pull boards on many occasions!

[@mpojr]

looks like some of the resistors rated wattage to low need to be bigger,,burning the circuit board.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yep one of the many issues with these amps!

[@tjsogmc]

Funny that you forgot the power tubes. I literally just did that today on a 1954 Grundig radio I finished restoring with the EL12/6V6. It took me 10 minutes to figure out why it wasn't making any sound......

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yep, amazing how easy it is to make silly mistakes like that.

[@tjsogmc]

@stuartukguitarampguy5830 thank you for keeping in your mistakes. It's refreshing and inspirational to see that a skilled and experienced repairman is human after all. 😉

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

@@tjsogmc Yes I like to do that. My main reasons for doing this channel is to help aspiring techs.

[@grahamkelly8299]

I changed the same cap and now the reverb and drive channels do not work why??

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Graham. Almost certainly unlrelated to the cap. SOmething else has happened.

[@eddieb8337]

Your guitar has drifted sharper over time, it's around a whole tone sharp now...

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Honestly, these people with perfect pitch. Sigh. Ok I'll tune it just for you!!

[@eddieb8337]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 I just thought it might save your fingers a little pain... :-)

[@Zac.J]

Will Fender ever get rid of those IC caps?....

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

I'm totally astonished they are still using them tbh.

[@Zac.J]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 It's crazy really, that they would ignore such a simple fix for years. Maybe one day they will hear us, the common people....

[@ianaintsaying1625]

Illinois Capacitors are the worst. IMO they should be replaced in any amp that uses them regardless if they are leaking or not.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Agreed but it's money which sometimes people don;t have. My view is also that if the amp is not gig critical, the who cares if it goes wrong again on 3 years or whatever.

[@christianboddum8783]

Those ribbon cables should be banned by law IMO

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes you have to be super careful with them.