Members Zeptallica13 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 It seems thats what most have to say about them. Is the tone really not up to par? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 different iron, different wiring scheme (PC board versus hand wiring), different materials? they're similar circuits, far as i know, but they lay them out on pc boards and use different 'stuff', basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reauchambeau Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 cosmetically they look the same (on the outside, in the front), but that's where the similarity ends. I've heard they don't sound bad though. the originals were hand wired on tag boards, the RI's are PCB, yuk. the transformers were manufactured better in the old days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BusterBuster Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Only thing I could think of is the transformers had better iron back in the yesteryear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispsullivan Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Transformers and other components have slightly changed year by year. I believe the circuits in many of the reissues are close to the original. Oh and pcb doesn't affect tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grayeyes777 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Transformers and other components have slightly changed year by year. I believe the circuits in many of the reissues are close to the original.Oh and pcb doesn't affect tone. a cheap, crappy and thin pcb could probably affect tone in some small way... but definitely the longevity of the amp is affected more than anything. the answer is this: they sound almost the same but corksniffers will nit pick about everything and deem the old ones better because they're older and more expensive (most the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hecticone Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Speakers have a lot to do with it also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dewysoss Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Lots of differences. For one thing they aren't point-to-point wired. That makes slight tonal differences due to inductance differences. Nothing major. Not necessarily better but different. Also the components are different in that an old amp has component drift off from spec. Again not necessarily better but different. The new cabs are made from compressed wood fiber and not pine. Some people think the compressed wood fiber is actually better in that it has a more even frequency response.Then there's the different components like the transformers etc. At the end of the day, the reissue amps sound a little different...not exactly better but different I'm pretty happy with my reissue deluxe Reverb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Captain Commie Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 The only real downside to the pcb is that it can make repairs more difficult. As far as sound is concerned you'll get better bang for your buck if you buy the reissue than the original, since all of the BF fenders get marked way up in price. Unless you find that basement rotting BF amp at a yard sale you'll pay a ton more for an amp that is you probably sounds 99% the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dissentience Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 They don't have vintage mojoz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members milk bone Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 They sound damn good. The ones I've played anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reauchambeau Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 a cheap, crappy and thin pcb could probably affect tone in some small way... but definitely the longevity of the amp is affected more than anything.the answer is this:they sound almost the same but corksniffers will nit pick about everything and deem the old ones better because they're older and more expensive (most the time). I don't think it's corksniffery in this case. if you've used old Fenders and seen their guts, or had them repaired before, there's legit reasons to avoid the new ones. I have a friend who is a Fender amp guru, does bf mods etc. he will not work on pcb amps, because they're a pita. that alone would stop me.lets say you amp falls off the back of a truck or stage etc. a pcb can crack, chasing a crack in a pcb is brutal.also the pots and jacks are pcb mounted, changing them when they fail is a {censored}ty job on pcb's.the more i think about it, the more i realize what pieces of corporate {censored} Fender is, for making amps that look like the real thing, but are really no better than a made in China pos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LPSlinger Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Because they aren't exact replicas. There are cost-cutting measures that are applied and they have an effect on the tone and durability of the amps. Also there is usually an attempt made at some kind of "improvements" whether they be cap values or circuit tweaks/changes or something like that. They end up not being improvements for people who want a replica of the original. That said, I think the reissues are fine amps and the majority of them sound good (even if not exactly like their vintage counterparts). Then again 2 amps of the same model hardly ever sound or function exactly alike anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stephan1980 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 speakers, speaker break in, tubes, caps, transformers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grayeyes777 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 I don't think it's corksniffery in this case. if you've used old Fenders and seen their guts, or had them repaired before, there's legit reasons to avoid the new ones. I have a friend who is a Fender amp guru, does bf mods etc. he will not work on pcb amps, because they're a pita. that alone would stop me.lets say you amp falls off the back of a truck or stage etc. a pcb can crack, chasing a crack in a pcb is brutal.also the pots and jacks are pcb mounted, changing them when they fail is a {censored}ty job on pcb's.the more i think about it, the more i realize what pieces of corporate {censored} Fender is, for making amps that look like the real thing, but are really no better than a made in China pos. that's why i made the longevity comment. having said that... handwired is still not "better" than a quality pcb. I stopped by the mi audio shop in australia a few years ago and the pcb's they use are extremely thick and expensive... and it would be almost impossible to handwire a 4 channel monster amp and fit it into one head shell so it's necessary. Fender does have handwired amps just like marshall but you pay out the arse for them. Fender pcb quality is not the same as mi audio as well. You don't have to mount pots and jacks directly to the pcb as well i believe. Fender just sucks and cuts corners like most every other major manufacturer. The amps still sound good though. Don't drop them off a truck and they should last a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thefyn Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Speakers broken into perfection. Original pre tubes from yesteryear etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Captain Commie Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 The amps still sound good though. Don't drop them off a truck and they should last a long time. This, honestly if you buy an original you will have to start spending money to fix parts that just wear out with time. The PCB may not optimal, but if they did point to point you'd have to pay far more for the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El-Lardo Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Fender PCB amps aren't that bad to work on. You take the nuts off thejacks and pots and flop the board over. Adds all of 10 minutes to thejob. Other than that troubleshooting is troubleshooting. Since I've been an amp tech...I've gotten to play through lot's of the genuine oldies and also reissues. I seriously could not say that one was consistently better than the other. One of the best amps that I've ever heard was a bone stock beaten DRRI. I've also played through BFDR's that were, meh. Those old tubes do sound better...but, not many of the oldies still have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JRBain Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 cosmetically they look the same (on the outside, in the front), but that's where the similarity ends. I've heard they don't sound bad though. the originals were hand wired on tag boards, the RI's are PCB, yuk. the transformers were manufactured better in the old days. Yes, this is what I thought. I personally have no issue with PCBs provided that they're well made, though. Not to do with the RI stuff, but I also read a while ago that some of Fender's new designs, like the HRD, can suffer from overheating problems due to the layout? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gdwill2u Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 a cheap, crappy and thin pcb could probably affect tone in some small way... but definitely the longevity of the amp is affected more than anything.the answer is this:they sound almost the same but corksniffers will nit pick about everything and deem the old ones better because they're older and more expensive (most the time). I agree, I own a DRRI and have A/Bed it with a 1965 model and thought the DRRI sounded better. It's all cork sniffery and don't be fooled, even if the older model is in perfect shape the RIs are supposed to use the same circuitry only not PTP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reauchambeau Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 you might as well buy your wife a cubic zirconia, does the same thing right, just sits on her finger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pak1351 Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Yes, this is what I thought. I personally have no issue with PCBs provided that they're well made, though. Not to do with the RI stuff, but I also read a while ago that some of Fender's new designs, like the HRD, can suffer from overheating problems due to the layout? Yeah, I've seen a few that had some heat issues. A few guys I know that had the HRD or Blues Deluxe (both RI and the one from the 90's) ran into heat-related issues after around two to three years. Mostly cracked solder joints, two ended up with a warped pcb which was a real pita for the owners. Luckily I think Fender still has 5-year warranties on these things. I had a Blues Deluxe for three months and got rid of it before it {censored} the bed. Liked the sound, but not built to last, which is the main problem with these things. Price has been given precedence over quality. Perhaps the new handwired reissues are better, but for 2-3 grand might as well get a victoria or clark or some other boutique amp that has a good track record and customer service, and you know exactly what you're ordering down to the iron, caps and wood (and no groove tubes). Imho that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soapbladder Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 This, honestly if you buy an original you will have to start spending money to fix parts that just wear out with time. The PCB may not optimal, but if they did point to point you'd have to pay far more for the amp. +2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Parah Salin Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Original and RI's have a slightly different flavoring to them because some of the original components can't be found anymore. I wouldn't say one sounds better than the other, just different from each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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