Bad power supply capacitor can, bad output transformer, bad rectifier tube…and more. But, I do like working on the old blackface Fenders cause everything is so accessible…a pleasure to fix them!

Today I was working on a Fender Hotrod Deluxe,,,power was dropping-out…and a few loud bass notes were causing a crackling sound. These amps (really all amps!) can act-up in mysterious ways. After investigating for a while I found two bad connections that were causing the problem.

Debugging electronics is lke being a detective trying to solve a crime. You come up with possible theories, and make experiments to see if the theory holds together. When you finally get to the bottom of it it is quite a gratifying moment. Eureka!

Today I’ve been working-on a new-“ish” Fender re-creation of the 1964 Blackface Vibroverb amplifier. Not a bad amp, easy to fix (like the old blackface and silverface hand-wired amps). Some of the parts are kinda skimpy (like some 1/4W resistors), the chassis is not quite as solid as the old ones were, but overall it is fairly well built.