That tip for repairing damaged/lifted PCB traces is awesome. I always thought those were a lost cause once they lifted or got burnt out like that, requiring a jumper wire to be soldered from one point to the next to maintain proper continuity. This is so much more solid and doesn't require having a loose wire dangling from or running across the bottom of a circuit board. This is especially useful in those wacky cases where a PCB trace goes a long ways across a circuit board requiring a really long jumper wire to be soldered in. Thanks for the killer tip, and wish I would've known that sooner.
Another informative repair Terry. Oh, I have lost count on the time it takes to disassemble the main board for a five or ten minute repair; nicely done.
Thank you. Exact same problem for my 212 except it was the other post. Had to use your wire trick. Worked perfectly! Now on to the spring reverb in the bottom!
Very helpful, now I am confident in keeping mt Frontman 212R running long into the future. I like the 212R and find it good sounding with controls that actually do something.
Still playing through my 212R for the good tone. I was considering the new Fender Tonemaster Twin Reverb 212 200 watts but nah, I'm good because I was lucky enough to purchase my Fender Frontman for $200 back around 2012. At the time I protested the price but it turns out that I have a good sounding, rock solid transistor amp with 100 watts and (2) 12 inch speakers at 4 ohms. Real spring reverb too! I kid you not but when testing alongside my Fender reissue '59 bassman LTD. and Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 III tube amps. the Fender Frontman 212R has very similar tones. That is why I decided not to purchase the new Fender Tonemaster amps. I have no reason too! Oh, and believe you me, never in a million years would I have guessed that my Frontman 212R would sound as good as my wonderful tube amps.
Hey just wanted to say thanks for ironically diagnosing my amp! The exact same cement resistor was loose on my board and the solder pad had actually broken off the board. Ran a wire in place of the trace and she's good as new!
If it wasn't for D lab my frontman 65r I could never fix it the whole board had nothing bite cold solder joints cause of D lab as he would say it lives another day haven't had problems in over a year I learn so much from this channel one of my favorite channels on RUclips by far the top five on RUclips
I feel stupid for not just getting this, but that first tip with where to start is just the sort of thing I'm looking for; where to start when there's no power. Puts me one step closer to where I want to be which is precisely tracking down the problem as opposed to randomly poking around looking for the problem and hopefully stubbling upon it if I'm lucky.
Brilliant video! Instant repair after finding loose resistors + dry joints-(thermistor okay,but I've ordered a new one!) very informative and saved me loads of money.Many thanks
Another informative video once again! Worked on my second 212R today. Unfortunately, the primary winding on the PT was shorted...Fuse would blow upon power-up. They are a time consuming amp to work on, but I warned the customer that my solid stat rates are higher than tube because of designs like this. Good case history info here! Keep 'em comin :)
+D-lab Electronics Man I hate working on PCB amplifiers! Give me an eyelet board amp and I'm happy working on it. It's a poor design to mount those parts that get very hot so close to the PCB, and it's traces. I too used to repair those traces using the wire technique. But, I was never happy with the appearance of the repair afterward. Several years ago, while repairing a Peavey ProFex where the motherboard battery leaked and corroded all of the many traces around it to dust, I came up with a better method, aesthetically. I used traces that I salvaged from a donor PCB. I attached them to the board using phase change epoxy film (from Fastel Adhesives, no affiliation). After reattachment, I soldered the ends to the existing trace ends and painted on new solder mask. It was completely functional, and if you weren't aware of the repairs, you couldn't tell it was done at all. Now, I use this method for all PCB trace repairs. It's fast, and repairs look professionally done when completed. I hope you or others may find this useful.
Hi! In my case when i changed a very high power NTC (i think it was for 30 A rated) in a solar batt.charger, i used a 99%Sn 0,7Cu solder and i put a large amount of solder on traces.There is allot of heat generated on traces from those NTC's you know! As for wire jumber i used soldering wick when i have a broken trace.It work very well.
It's been 7 years, great video I have a question. how hard do you think it would be to replace all of the potentiometers on this board I just purchased one off of marketplace for real cheap and I either got to drill out and make the knobs have shafts or put new pots on.
My FM212R was my first "Real" amp back in '03 to the tune of $385. I've always liked the tone, but honestly, it has been a real pain in my ass over the years. Multiple replacements by Fender, multiple repairs by me after the replacements because it was out of warranty. I've had electrolytic caps poop out, transistors give up the ghost, twice. And to this day, it still has this little sound it makes at times that sounds like crumbling up a gum wrapper. Kinda comes and goes. I'm too lazy to diagnose it since I got into tube amps about 5 years ago. Now its just a speaker cabinet for my other amps, but every so often I fire it up and remind myself that I still like the tone I get from it. It doesn't have to tone like my Peavey Classic 30 or my Carvin V3, but it is a nice sounding amp. Interesting note: When I was doing the last repair, which turned out to be a bad output transistor, I decided to try something new and hopefully end the repairs, I lowered the bias on the output transistors, which dropped the running temp' by about 100 degrees, and I haven't had to do any further repairs. And it changed the tone of the amp for the better.
Whaat D-lab working on a solid state amp lol 😅 Those sound thin, they cut a lot of the guitar low frequency with the input capacitors. They have brittle pcbs and traces. Not like good old tube amps. Cheers 🍺 -Max
Thats the problem with these circuit boards, the printed circuit copper foil is never robust enough for any high current device like a power lead or in this case a thermistor. I've had to do the solid copper wire soldered to the existing foil and preferably to the next soldered lead. Good work..better than new, because it will never fail there again. Are those power transistors only heatsinked by the metal chassis..yuk!.. talk about Fender cheaping out these days. For a few cents more, they could have included finned aluminum heatsinks and some silicon grease. Leo had the right idea with wires an turrent boards..never have a problem with them.
i have a 212 R fender frontman My question is.. foot switch and the correct cable to use the foot switch .i know its a 1/4" jack but i think this cable is 2 ring if that makes cents .. great video my dad use to repair TV back in the day i learned a lot from him pritty cool repair thank you
I have that 212r and I had BIG pops and cracks when idle, I fixed it... well 96 percent better because I could not (at the time) get my hands on 2 of the other transistors I wanted... It still makes some cracks sometimes (can be 5h without anything) but not even close to what it used to do, it is just a fraction of the loudness it used to produce...
Hey first off thanks, this video was immensely helpful. My frontman has a very weird scratchy hissing sound even with the volume all down. Any idea what components on the board to look for to remedy that? Would those loose white blocks also be culprits?
Thank you for sharing your experience and your time. I would like to modify a 65r frontman amplifier, and a princeton 65 ss . Do you have any video or information that could serve me? I live in a place in Mexico where it is impossible to find an engineer who can do this.
Hello there. My name is Abby and I was wondering if you can help me with a Fender FM212 DSP that I have tried to repair without luck. The problem that I have with the unit is as follow. Unit turns on but has no sound at all. I checked the amp section and all voltages are fine. I have realized that if I press the channel select button it won't change channel. I have been searching for the schematic diagram all over the internet without luck. Any assistence will be appreciated. Thank you..
question, why do you suppose those components came loose and the connections burnt the board foil up? does a faulty component create this or was it the lack of a proper connection from factory or not enough solder? should you have used a new resistor so that way you have enough lead to bend over onto the board foil plus have a brand new thermistor as you're already there in going through the motions? a matter of time waiting for it to arrive? I think these are like $2 parts? the power resistors what $3.69 or so? just curious? I guess if it burns again you'll replace it or both.. one more, I am not a amp surgeon but have seen my fair share of amp innards and videos to me this appears to be a very well made solid state amp as in its layed out very nice, easy to get at and service, clean so forth, wash pots all that.. I like it myself, also the way it's made and laid out upgrade or playing with tone and so forth looks easy enough anyone ever mod these up? good grief I have a what is it a Bugera Alchemist? its all tube but has effects, and they way they use all the different boards and then share here and there and have them jammed in so its a nightmare to get anything out is crazy, why its in my closet collecting dust, it worked but the effects are not working butman I cannot muster the energy to get at it such a nightmare.. I guess their biggest problem was the form factor, they wanted to jamb it all in a 3/4 sized head, no idea why they do this, not like it light or anything, use a full size head and have room, a little air to cool things off.. nuts I guess the $160 they saved on particle board and tolex for each amp was well worth it, "reputations, meh we don't need no stinkin reputations" watch; "anyone want a buy a cheap semi working Alchemist amp?"
Hi, could you please help me find out if the FX jack of my amp is working fine or if it has a connection fault? How and where should I put the tester probes with a multimeter to test it? Thanx!
Hi, I know this is a punch in the moon message of mine. I am hoping you can read this. I have a Fender Rumble 150 bass amp. There is power and everything is working except there is no out put sound on the input and auxiliary. I can able to make it work only if I connected the headphone port into different amp input. Sound is coming it, speaker is still good. I am so frustrated due to the fact that bought it new and used only for 5 hours over all in 4 years time. I had it check in Fender authorized repair shop in my area. They said its not covered by the warranty and there is no parts available. They suspect its a motherboard but I doubt it. They didn't even bother to troubleshoot it or open the amp head like what you've did on this video. Please advise me what is the best thing to do. Thanks so much!
i have one of these and actually it sounded ok in a guitar center i bought about 9 years ago but after a month of owning it, it started cutting out and making popping crackle sounds like a bad pot but is on both volume channels .. I did get some solder in replacement pots but then though why woudl both of them go? I didnt really care for it as a strait amp but with the effects loop i coudl make it sound pretty nice... anyway both columes cracksa dn hiss and cut out
Hey Terry, I've got one of those in my bench right now, from my brother-in-law's bandmate, with a strange issue where the amp distorts on the clean channel when turned up all the way. Have you ever seen that problem? What's the most common culprit in that case? Thanks for any tips!
@@martinlaferte Turns out it was one of the power resistors (the one right under the power transformer) that had a bad connection in one of the legs. Jumper wire j-hooked to the leg + soldering it to 2 points of the same foil so it doesn't move and it's rocking again! And the other techs (according to the client) all said it needed new speakers - B frickin S!!!
blackcorvo thanks for the reply, man! I’ve spent most of last night checking the amp on the inside, and my issue happens to be same as yours, dude. The only issue is that I don’t have any tools for soldering right now, but hopefully in the next days ;)
Thanks for the video. very nice of you to spare time to show us (me) that it's not that scary to dive into such repair. I have a fender stage 1600 which I bought from another guy. right after plugging it to test, I noticed this humming noise that comes from the speakers the minute in plug the jack in. it only happens if a jack is connected. I tried multiple cables and all result in the same issue. I read through various forms in which the closest I could come to as the potential cause of the problem is that the two main filter caps may need soldering. you think this is the case, or would there be another cause?
I have a Fender Champion 100 and it turns on but no power coming thru the speakers. Inside everything is good like new including the soldering, I am thinking bad power transistors. What do you think ?
I need to replace R17, R11, R34 and R59 on a 212R that was given to me. Their shafts have been broken off. According to the schematic they are A and B type potentiometers where can I buy the exact replacement parts
HiTerry, 1 question...where to look when drive channel MED tone only does not work, knowing that the pot is in good working order. Is that caused by a Resistor or Capacitor attached to it?
hi, i have a Fender 212r, but the problems is, the R1 was burn it and i cant read the colors code for that reason, then do you can say to me what is the value of that resistence, is located betwen the input 1 and 2, i hope you can help to me.
Hi there,, im a big fan of your channel , i do repairs too, and i got a question...., how much do you charge for a job like that? thanks and regards from Monterrey, Mexico.
Hello, I have the that amplifier... And the only problem that I have is that clean channel Sounds really weak... Could you please help me? I have the schematics but I can't identify where channel 1 ends
Hey mam i have a problem with my fm212r the channel select isnt working its stuck in overdrive but when u turn the amp off the green chanmell light lights up right before itnpowers down
Great repair guy I have a Solid State Fender Amp JAM 25 watt with hum in the volume above 3 ??? Is that as easy to fix as this one was. The board is about 1/2 the size. I would try it if I had a life line. always great stuff thank you for sharing your talents.
Used your video and got a dead 212r working... Just to find out the speakers were toasted. Threw 2 v30s in it and now I am getting a loud hum/tone when plugged in. Any ideas???
Hello friend, Excellent video! I also got a frontman 212r amp. My problem is that it does a humming noice when I connect the guitar line into the input jack. I tried with different lines and the humming persists. I also turn down all the knobs and the humming still persists. The amp does not make the sound if it doesn't have any line connected. Any ideas of what could be the problem? Thanks in advance.
I just got one of these. It was good for couple of days. Now I have crackling and buzzing sound when I plug in guitar and cable. When guitar and cable is not plugged in there’s no crackling or buzzing. Im a little frustrated on what to do or how to fix it. Any ideas or tips will be appreciated Thank you!
I have a 212R and i was wonder "Could the amp suffer a damaged if i disconnect one of the speakers?" Hope you can answer and congratulations for your great work and channel :)
good day sir, i have a problem in may frontman 212r.. it's distorted on clean channel. both 1 and 2 input channels. can you help me fix it.. any idea how to repair it. thanks in advance...
could I send it to you for repair to check out - I also think the on-off swiitch may be wired up wrongly. that needs checked before checking why fuse blows that could be why?.
I have a similar 2x12 solid state fender amp and one speaker has a fizzy signal. The other is clean. I replaced the fizzy speaker and the problem still persists. Any idea of what to do? This amp is my baby and I have a gig coming up! Any help would be much appreciated!!
In this amplifier, the fuse isn't accessible from the outside- and there's a reason for that: with solid state equipment, when a fuse blows, you can bet that there's something damaged inside!!
hi! I learn a lot from your videos, hope you can help with my frontman 212r, it does make this radio like noise when my guitar cable is plug into the amp, but when I remove it, it doesnt make that sound, i tried different guitars and cables, same result. i would really appreciate your help, have a good day sir, :) thanks
I realize this video is 5yrs old but I have a weird audio issue happening with my amp & I'm not really sure where it's coming from.. I have a Marshall Valvestate VS100 Head that sounds great & works as it should, but when I stop playing & let the audio "ring out" naturally there's this odd "sizzling sound" that occurs towards the end of the audio fading out.. This sizzling sound is really noticeable when using headphones & it's happening across all 3 channels, I've replaced the tube but it's still making the sizzle sound so I'm not sure what's causing it.. It's a 1998 & the original owner played in a Death Metal band so I can imagine that this VS100 has spent most it's life cranked to 10 which makes me wonder if something was overdriven like a chip or a cap or something.. Any help/tips/advice would be greatly appreciated..
I'm a bit late in the comments, but I've got some issues with the drive channels, I've downloaded a good schematic, but could someone please enlighten me as to where the distortion circuitry is? Thanks.
I have a little 15" frontman that I couldn't get to power on. I replaced the fuse and now it powers on but produces a monotone hum that is not affected by any of the pots on the board. When I use the 8ohm speaker out or headphone jack all it does is "transmit" the hum to a different output. Does anyone have any advice on a good fix?
Hi, my amp turns on but when I connect the guitar in the jack amplifier nothing happens. I just hear a low noise like a "zzzzzooooo". I put a spray contact cleaner in the pots and nothing worked. What could have happened? Thanks for help.
Fender has really went downhill since his stuff is made over in Mexico or China now probably. I had a ultimate course that I bought 15 20 years ago and still have had bad solder joints since I bought it every now and then I'll have to go in there and clean them up and redo them
Hi! I have a fender frontman 212 (2010) and the problem i have on the amplifier is that the tip of the jack (of a cable) is stuck inside the input, may i have to open by myself the amp or its better to send it to a specialist? Thanks! Ps: very usefull vid!
can anyone tell me whats the trick to remove the knobs on the pot meter axe , i cant get the knobs of , the pot meter shaft breaks if i put a screwdriver to try to lift....
FIRST, check and make sure there are no set screws holding the knob on the shaft!!! ...next, if it's a push on knob- DON'T try to pry the knob off with a SCREWDRIVER: at best, that will leave marks- and at worst, it will cause damage!!! A proven technique is to slip the edge of a rag under the knob, and pull on the rag to remove the knob.
Hi I have a 212r and when you turn it on it gives an almighty bang sound. Then you play guitar through it normally, is this something I can get fixed or is it resided to the scrap heap. Thank you in anticipation
I have a Frontman 212r, made in China, probably from the 90's, the pots (especially the treble on the clean and the vol on the drive) cackle like crazy. Others like the bass don't make sound. Can anyone please advise me on what to do?
MedHawk i have had a thermistor arc and unload its stored potential on the chassis of an amp. Was still good. They tend to only go bad when they explode to protect the power transformer from going up in flames.
Hey! This video is pretty old but maybe someone will still see my question... I have a 212R too, and I opened it today. To do so I had to unplug both 12" speakers... what a surprise, one of them is not plugged to the amp ! The black and white wires only do a loop coming from the speaker to the same speaker...! Is this normal? And I noticed the second speaker is connected to the amp, but there is no second slot for another speaker...! Can anyone tell me what this is for?
Hi, I'm writing to you from Poland. I was wondering whether you can help me figure out the problem I have with my Frontman FM 210. It stops making a sound after 40-50 minutes of playing (volume less than half way up). It needs to be turned off and then on again after 5-10 and last time it was more than 15 minutes to be working again. It just stops making a sound (the amps stays turned on, the light is still on). I sent it to be repaired but the repair guy could not find the problem. Thank you
Hello, That issue sounds like bad solder connections in the power supply. The connections heat loose connection, amp dies, cools connection makes again and amp operates. Inspect the board solder joints with a bright light & magnifying glass. Bet you will see cracks and cold joints.
Hello again, I though I'd send you the reply I got from the repair guy, perhaps you can make something of it: "I tested at full power with many frequences and was ok, any problems .Problem exist with about half power.Power transisttors goes to62 °C and thermistor disconnect signal to the power state.With smalest signal no problem.With full power transistors has 53°C." Thank you
Have him double check the solder connections on the final output transistors and the power supply feeding them. Especially any power resistor leads, they grow bad connections. If the transistors were bad, they would act up at any level.
That tip for repairing damaged/lifted PCB traces is awesome. I always thought those were a lost cause once they lifted or got burnt out like that, requiring a jumper wire to be soldered from one point to the next to maintain proper continuity. This is so much more solid and doesn't require having a loose wire dangling from or running across the bottom of a circuit board. This is especially useful in those wacky cases where a PCB trace goes a long ways across a circuit board requiring a really long jumper wire to be soldered in. Thanks for the killer tip, and wish I would've known that sooner.
You're such a good teacher, Terry. Thanks buddy.
Another informative repair Terry. Oh, I have lost count on the time it takes to disassemble the main board for a five or ten minute repair; nicely done.
Thank you. Exact same problem for my 212 except it was the other post. Had to use your wire trick. Worked perfectly! Now on to the spring reverb in the bottom!
Very helpful, now I am confident in keeping mt Frontman 212R running long into the future. I like the 212R and find it good sounding with controls that actually do something.
Still playing through my 212R for the good tone. I was considering the new Fender Tonemaster Twin Reverb 212 200 watts but nah, I'm good because I was lucky enough to purchase my Fender Frontman for $200 back around 2012. At the time I protested the price but it turns out that I have a good sounding, rock solid transistor amp with 100 watts and (2) 12 inch speakers at 4 ohms. Real spring reverb too!
I kid you not but when testing alongside my Fender reissue '59 bassman LTD. and Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 III tube amps. the Fender Frontman 212R has very similar tones. That is why I decided not to purchase the new Fender Tonemaster amps. I have no reason too! Oh, and believe you me, never in a million years would I have guessed that my Frontman 212R would sound as good as my wonderful tube amps.
Hey just wanted to say thanks for ironically diagnosing my amp! The exact same cement resistor was loose on my board and the solder pad had actually broken off the board. Ran a wire in place of the trace and she's good as new!
Nice job Terry. It is amazing how many people start with the hardest things first.... you've made it look easy - Bravo !!! - Regards, Ron
If it wasn't for D lab my frontman 65r I could never fix it the whole board had nothing bite cold solder joints cause of D lab as he would say it lives another day haven't had problems in over a year I learn so much from this channel one of my favorite channels on RUclips by far the top five on RUclips
Nice job Ned Flanders.. I enjoy your work on The Sipmsons.. Hi diddly ho neighbour.
I feel stupid for not just getting this, but that first tip with where to start is just the sort of thing I'm looking for; where to start when there's no power. Puts me one step closer to where I want to be which is precisely tracking down the problem as opposed to randomly poking around looking for the problem and hopefully stubbling upon it if I'm lucky.
...remember: it all starts with the power cord!
I'm a trained technician- and even I learned something from this video!!
Brilliant video! Instant repair after finding loose resistors + dry joints-(thermistor okay,but I've ordered a new one!) very informative and saved me loads of money.Many thanks
Hope you and family enjoy good days this end of year 2021..... And best in the future.
Thanks for your detailed work.
By the way,I found 6 dry joints! strip down and reassembly took 40 minutes + 5 to do the job as you said!
it only took 5 minutes and years of experience.
Another informative video once again! Worked on my second 212R today. Unfortunately, the primary winding on the PT was shorted...Fuse would blow upon power-up. They are a time consuming amp to work on, but I warned the customer that my solid stat rates are higher than tube because of designs like this. Good case history info here! Keep 'em comin :)
How do you know that the primary is shorted? The primary has a very low resistance anyway.
You are full of nice tricks you offer us viewers ! Many thanks....Chico, Novi,Mi
Thanks for another great video, I always learn something new.
Great repair video once again. Much appreciated.
Always enjoy your video's! Another fabulous job. Thanks for posting!
Thank you very much for such precious lesson Terry. Cheers from Indonesia.
I love the Solid State Cinema.
Great tutorial. I have one in the shop today...hoping it is "straight-forward" as well...lol
Thanks for sharing this. I have seen a lot of your videos, and they are very informative and entertaining.
+D-lab Electronics Man I hate working on PCB amplifiers! Give me an eyelet board amp and I'm happy working on it. It's a poor design to mount those parts that get very hot so close to the PCB, and it's traces. I too used to repair those traces using the wire technique. But, I was never happy with the appearance of the repair afterward. Several years ago, while repairing a Peavey ProFex where the motherboard battery leaked and corroded all of the many traces around it to dust, I came up with a better method, aesthetically. I used traces that I salvaged from a donor PCB. I attached them to the board using phase change epoxy film (from Fastel Adhesives, no affiliation). After reattachment, I soldered the ends to the existing trace ends and painted on new solder mask. It was completely functional, and if you weren't aware of the repairs, you couldn't tell it was done at all. Now, I use this method for all PCB trace repairs. It's fast, and repairs look professionally done when completed. I hope you or others may find this useful.
Thank you for very great and informative content!⁰
If you can keep them running the 212R is a clean, clean amp!
Hi! In my case when i changed a very high power NTC (i think it was for 30 A rated)
in a solar batt.charger, i used a 99%Sn 0,7Cu solder and i put a large amount of solder on traces.There is allot of heat generated on traces from those NTC's you know!
As for wire jumber i used soldering wick when i have a broken trace.It work very well.
It's been 7 years, great video I have a question. how hard do you think it would be to replace all of the potentiometers on this board I just purchased one off of marketplace for real cheap and I either got to drill out and make the knobs have shafts or put new pots on.
My FM212R was my first "Real" amp back in '03 to the tune of $385. I've always liked the tone, but honestly, it has been a real pain in my ass over the years. Multiple replacements by Fender, multiple repairs by me after the replacements because it was out of warranty.
I've had electrolytic caps poop out, transistors give up the ghost, twice.
And to this day, it still has this little sound it makes at times that sounds like crumbling up a gum wrapper. Kinda comes and goes. I'm too lazy to diagnose it since I got into tube amps about 5 years ago.
Now its just a speaker cabinet for my other amps, but every so often I fire it up and remind myself that I still like the tone I get from it.
It doesn't have to tone like my Peavey Classic 30 or my Carvin V3, but it is a nice sounding amp.
Interesting note: When I was doing the last repair, which turned out to be a bad output transistor, I decided to try something new and hopefully end the repairs, I lowered the bias on the output transistors, which dropped the running temp' by about 100 degrees, and I haven't had to do any further repairs. And it changed the tone of the amp for the better.
Drastic Measures how did you lower the bias?
Hay Terry , somemore nice work on soild state cinima. Hee,hee. Enjoyed!
Whaat D-lab working on a solid state amp lol 😅 Those sound thin, they cut a lot of the guitar low frequency with the input capacitors. They have brittle pcbs and traces. Not like good old tube amps. Cheers 🍺 -Max
Thats the problem with these circuit boards, the printed circuit copper foil is never robust
enough for any high current device like a power lead or in this case a thermistor.
I've had to do the solid copper wire soldered to the existing foil and preferably to
the next soldered lead. Good work..better than new, because it will never fail there again.
Are those power transistors only heatsinked by the metal chassis..yuk!..
talk about Fender cheaping out these days. For a few cents more, they could
have included finned aluminum heatsinks and some silicon grease.
Leo had the right idea with wires an turrent boards..never have a problem with them.
I'm pretty sure that the problem with the thermister lead was caused by a fractured solder connection.
thank you! this video is very helpful. working on the same amp at the moment. cheers :)
Easy repair. You should show how hard it is to get those damn chassis in/out of those cabs.
i have a 212 R fender frontman My question is.. foot switch and the correct cable to use the foot switch .i know its a 1/4" jack but i think this cable is 2 ring if that makes cents .. great video my dad use to repair TV back in the day i learned a lot from him pritty cool repair thank you
I have that 212r and I had BIG pops and cracks when idle, I fixed it... well 96 percent better because I could not (at the time) get my hands on 2 of the other transistors I wanted... It still makes some cracks sometimes (can be 5h without anything) but not even close to what it used to do, it is just a fraction of the loudness it used to produce...
D Lab is CooL!! ... I LOVE D's videos!! :)
Your videos are damn awesome and helpful
Hey first off thanks, this video was immensely helpful. My frontman has a very weird scratchy hissing sound even with the volume all down. Any idea what components on the board to look for to remedy that? Would those loose white blocks also be culprits?
Thank you for sharing your experience and your time. I would like to modify a 65r frontman amplifier, and a princeton 65 ss . Do you have any video or information that could serve me? I live in a place in Mexico where it is impossible to find an engineer who can do this.
Greetings from Colombia. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I loved the video.
That excatly my problem
What is triste component "rt1" and where can i find it?
Thanks very much
Thanks
Hello there. My name is Abby and I was wondering if you can help me with a Fender FM212 DSP that I have tried to repair without luck. The problem that I have with the unit is as follow. Unit turns on but has no sound at all. I checked the amp section and all voltages are fine. I have realized that if I press the channel select button it won't change channel. I have been searching for the schematic diagram all over the internet without luck. Any assistence will be appreciated. Thank you..
question, why do you suppose those components came loose and the connections burnt the board foil up?
does a faulty component create this or was it the lack of a proper connection from factory or not enough solder?
should you have used a new resistor so that way you have enough lead to bend over onto the board foil plus have a brand new thermistor as you're already there in going through the motions? a matter of time waiting for it to arrive? I think these are like $2 parts? the power resistors what $3.69 or so? just curious? I guess if it burns again you'll replace it or both..
one more, I am not a amp surgeon but have seen my fair share of amp innards and videos to me this appears to be a very well made solid state amp as in its layed out very nice, easy to get at and service, clean so forth, wash pots all that.. I like it myself, also the way it's made and laid out upgrade or playing with tone and so forth looks easy enough anyone ever mod these up?
good grief I have a what is it a Bugera Alchemist? its all tube but has effects, and they way they use all the different boards and then share here and there and have them jammed in so its a nightmare to get anything out is crazy, why its in my closet collecting dust, it worked but the effects are not working butman I cannot muster the energy to get at it such a nightmare.. I guess their biggest problem was the form factor, they wanted to jamb it all in a 3/4 sized head, no idea why they do this, not like it light or anything, use a full size head and have room, a little air to cool things off.. nuts I guess the $160 they saved on particle board and tolex for each amp was well worth it, "reputations, meh we don't need no stinkin reputations"
watch;
"anyone want a buy a cheap semi working Alchemist amp?"
HELP - I bought a frontman 212R from the UK and it is 230 volt. Can you help me change it to 120 volt
Hi, could you please help me find out if the FX jack of my amp is working fine or if it has a connection fault?
How and where should I put the tester probes with a multimeter to test it?
Thanx!
Hi, I know this is a punch in the moon message of mine. I am hoping you can read this. I have a Fender Rumble 150 bass amp. There is power and everything is working except there is no out put sound on the input and auxiliary. I can able to make it work only if I connected the headphone port into different amp input. Sound is coming it, speaker is still good. I am so frustrated due to the fact that bought it new and used only for 5 hours over all in 4 years time. I had it check in Fender authorized repair shop in my area. They said its not covered by the warranty and there is no parts available. They suspect its a motherboard but I doubt it. They didn't even bother to troubleshoot it or open the amp head like what you've did on this video. Please advise me what is the best thing to do. Thanks so much!
i have one of these and actually it sounded ok in a guitar center i bought about 9 years ago but after a month of owning it, it started cutting out and making popping crackle sounds like a bad pot but is on both volume channels .. I did get some solder in replacement pots but then though why woudl both of them go? I didnt really care for it as a strait amp but with the effects loop i coudl make it sound pretty nice... anyway both columes cracksa dn hiss and cut out
Hey Terry, I've got one of those in my bench right now, from my brother-in-law's bandmate, with a strange issue where the amp distorts on the clean channel when turned up all the way.
Have you ever seen that problem? What's the most common culprit in that case?
Thanks for any tips!
I have exactly the same issue, and it’s been almost 2 years with it like that... never found an actual solution :/
@@martinlaferte Turns out it was one of the power resistors (the one right under the power transformer) that had a bad connection in one of the legs. Jumper wire j-hooked to the leg + soldering it to 2 points of the same foil so it doesn't move and it's rocking again!
And the other techs (according to the client) all said it needed new speakers - B frickin S!!!
blackcorvo thanks for the reply, man! I’ve spent most of last night checking the amp on the inside, and my issue happens to be same as yours, dude. The only issue is that I don’t have any tools for soldering right now, but hopefully in the next days ;)
@@martinlaferte glad that helped! Good luck!
Thanks for the video. very nice of you to spare time to show us (me) that it's not that scary to dive into such repair.
I have a fender stage 1600 which I bought from another guy. right after plugging it to test, I noticed this humming noise that comes from the speakers the minute in plug the jack in. it only happens if a jack is connected. I tried multiple cables and all result in the same issue. I read through various forms in which the closest I could come to as the potential cause of the problem is that the two main filter caps may need soldering. you think this is the case, or would there be another cause?
If the problem was with the filter capacitors, the hum would be present with or without the guitar connected.
did you fix it? having the same problem but with a 212r frontman
I have a Fender Champion 100 and it turns on but no power coming thru the speakers. Inside everything is good like new including the soldering, I am thinking bad power transistors. What do you think ?
I need to replace R17, R11, R34 and R59 on a 212R that was given to me. Their shafts have been broken off. According to the schematic they are A and B type potentiometers where can I buy the exact replacement parts
Trya Antique electronics supply out of AZ.
HiTerry, 1 question...where to look when drive channel MED tone only does not work, knowing that the pot is in good working order. Is that caused by a Resistor or Capacitor attached to it?
The state was not so solid....LOL...LOL Great video, once again!
nice info well done thanks for the video.
hi, i have a Fender 212r, but the problems is, the R1 was burn it and i cant read the colors code for that reason, then do you can say to me what is the value of that resistence, is located betwen the input 1 and 2, i hope you can help to me.
Hi there I got a frontman and it was cracking and popping the one day no sound just a loud buzzing can you help guide me please Regards Paul
Hi there,, im a big fan of your channel , i do repairs too, and i got a question...., how much do you charge for a job like that?
thanks and regards from Monterrey, Mexico.
Please, Is there a way to make an aux entry in the frontman 212r fender? Thanks.
Hello, I have the that amplifier... And the only problem that I have is that clean channel Sounds really weak... Could you please help me? I have the schematics but I can't identify where channel 1 ends
Hey mam i have a problem with my fm212r the channel select isnt working its stuck in overdrive but when u turn the amp off the green chanmell light lights up right before itnpowers down
Great repair guy I have a Solid State Fender Amp JAM 25 watt with hum in the volume above 3 ??? Is that as easy to fix as this one was. The board is about 1/2 the size. I would try it if I had a life line. always great stuff thank you for sharing your talents.
It sounds like there are fractured solder connection(s) in the amplifier. This is a common problem with pcb's- and it can be DOGGONE hard to find.
Used your video and got a dead 212r working... Just to find out the speakers were toasted. Threw 2 v30s in it and now I am getting a loud hum/tone when plugged in. Any ideas???
Did you ever resolve your problem. I have a very loud hum whenever the amp is turned on.
I have a fender frontman 15 G that keeps blowing fuses. whats most likely cause to check out.
Hello friend,
Excellent video! I also got a frontman 212r amp. My problem is that it does a humming noice when I connect the guitar line into the input jack. I tried with different lines and the humming persists. I also turn down all the knobs and the humming still persists. The amp does not make the sound if it doesn't have any line connected. Any ideas of what could be the problem? Thanks in advance.
Hi my firend! Did you check the filter capacitors? Greeetings!
All the indications are that you have bad filter capacitors.
I just got one of these.
It was good for couple of days. Now I have crackling and buzzing sound when I plug in guitar and cable. When guitar and cable is not plugged in there’s no crackling or buzzing. Im a little frustrated on what to do or how to fix it. Any ideas or tips will be appreciated Thank you!
I have a 212R and i was wonder "Could the amp suffer a damaged if i disconnect one of the speakers?" Hope you can answer and congratulations for your great work and channel :)
You should NEVER run a high power amplifier without a load connected...this is ESPECIALLY true with solid-state equipment.
My 212r is dead on the clean channel. Crunch works and everytjing else. But no clean
How can i trouble shoot that?
good day sir, i have a problem in may frontman 212r.. it's distorted on clean channel. both 1 and 2 input channels. can you help me fix it.. any idea how to repair it. thanks in advance...
what is the secondary voltage of 212 transformer?
could I send it to you for repair to check out - I also think the on-off swiitch may be wired up wrongly. that needs checked before checking why fuse blows that could be why?.
I bought one at a pawn shop. It either makes no sound, or sounds like it’s at full volume when barely turned up at all.
I have a similar 2x12 solid state fender amp and one speaker has a fizzy signal. The other is clean. I replaced the fizzy speaker and the problem still persists. Any idea of what to do? This amp is my baby and I have a gig coming up! Any help would be much appreciated!!
Can you get to the fuse by opening up the little metal box in the back of the amp? Thanks in advance for you answer.
In this amplifier, the fuse isn't accessible from the outside- and there's a reason for that: with solid state equipment, when a fuse blows, you can bet that there's something damaged inside!!
Great video! Thanks, subscribed.
hi! I learn a lot from your videos, hope you can help with my frontman 212r, it does make this radio like noise when my guitar cable is plug into the amp, but when I remove it, it doesnt make that sound, i tried different guitars and cables, same result. i would really appreciate your help, have a good day sir, :) thanks
...are you close to a radio station?
I realize this video is 5yrs old but I have a weird audio issue happening with my amp & I'm not really sure where it's coming from.. I have a Marshall Valvestate VS100 Head that sounds great & works as it should, but when I stop playing & let the audio "ring out" naturally there's this odd "sizzling sound" that occurs towards the end of the audio fading out.. This sizzling sound is really noticeable when using headphones & it's happening across all 3 channels, I've replaced the tube but it's still making the sizzle sound so I'm not sure what's causing it.. It's a 1998 & the original owner played in a Death Metal band so I can imagine that this VS100 has spent most it's life cranked to 10 which makes me wonder if something was overdriven like a chip or a cap or something.. Any help/tips/advice would be greatly appreciated..
Is Walter withe of the amplifiers !!
How much does a two hour labor for simple resoldering set a customer back?
Hello, does the reverb only work on these working through the pedal?
I'm a bit late in the comments, but I've got some issues with the drive channels, I've downloaded a good schematic, but could someone please enlighten me as to where the distortion circuitry is? Thanks.
Excellent..
I have a little 15" frontman that I couldn't get to power on. I replaced the fuse and now it powers on but produces a monotone hum that is not affected by any of the pots on the board. When I use the 8ohm speaker out or headphone jack all it does is "transmit" the hum to a different output. Does anyone have any advice on a good fix?
Hello, sounds like the TDA2050 final output chip has shorted.
Hi, my amp turns on but when I connect the guitar in the jack amplifier nothing happens. I just hear a low noise like a "zzzzzooooo". I put a spray contact cleaner in the pots and nothing worked. What could have happened? Thanks for help.
What make/model of amp
@@d-labelectronics Fender Frontman 212R
Are you sure that the guitar is outputting a signal?
Fender has really went downhill since his stuff is made over in Mexico or China now probably. I had a ultimate course that I bought 15 20 years ago and still have had bad solder joints since I bought it every now and then I'll have to go in there and clean them up and redo them
Hi! I have a fender frontman 212 (2010) and the problem i have on the amplifier is that the tip of the jack (of a cable) is stuck inside the input, may i have to open by myself the amp or its better to send it to a specialist? Thanks! Ps: very usefull vid!
Hello, I do not know of a way to extract the tip. When these come in the shop, I change the jack. It is a PC mount type.
D-lab Electronics Oh, thank you anyway!
Great! Thx!
can anyone tell me whats the trick to remove the knobs on the pot meter axe , i cant get the knobs of , the pot meter shaft breaks if i put a screwdriver to try to lift....
FIRST, check and make sure there are no set screws holding the knob on the shaft!!!
...next, if it's a push on knob- DON'T try to pry the knob off with a SCREWDRIVER: at best, that will leave marks- and at worst, it will cause damage!!!
A proven technique is to slip the edge of a rag under the knob, and pull on the rag to remove the knob.
Hi I have a 212r and when you turn it on it gives an almighty bang sound. Then you play guitar through it normally, is this something I can get fixed or is it resided to the scrap heap. Thank you in anticipation
It sounds like the amplifier has a VERY noisy volume control...
Hopefully you fixed the bad power resistor connection?
@ ...me too!
I have a Frontman 212r, made in China, probably from the 90's, the pots (especially the treble on the clean and the vol on the drive) cackle like crazy. Others like the bass don't make sound. Can anyone please advise me on what to do?
Remove the knobs and spray them with contact cleaner, turn 'em back and forth to clear the dirt
How did you know the thermistor was not bad due to arching? Just curious as most of us out here probably would have replaced it, maybe unnecessarily.
MedHawk i have had a thermistor arc and unload its stored potential on the chassis of an amp. Was still good. They tend to only go bad when they explode to protect the power transformer from going up in flames.
It was obviously a bad solder connection.
Hey! This video is pretty old but maybe someone will still see my question...
I have a 212R too, and I opened it today. To do so I had to unplug both 12" speakers... what a surprise, one of them is not plugged to the amp ! The black and white wires only do a loop coming from the speaker to the same speaker...! Is this normal? And I noticed the second speaker is connected to the amp, but there is no second slot for another speaker...! Can anyone tell me what this is for?
Thom ETIENNE it’s not stereo, that’s normal
awesome!!!
Terry what brand of solder wick do you prefer?
Hi, I'm writing to you from Poland. I was wondering whether you can help me figure out the problem I have with my Frontman FM 210. It stops making a sound after 40-50 minutes of playing (volume less than half way up). It needs to be turned off and then on again after 5-10 and last time it was more than 15 minutes to be working again. It just stops making a sound (the amps stays turned on, the light is still on). I sent it to be repaired but the repair guy could not find the problem. Thank you
Hello, That issue sounds like bad solder connections in the power supply. The connections heat loose connection, amp dies, cools connection makes again and amp operates. Inspect the board solder joints with a bright light & magnifying glass. Bet you will see cracks and cold joints.
Thank you for your prompt response, I really appreciate that!
I'll ask my repair guy to do just that.
Hello again,
I though I'd send you the reply I got from the repair guy, perhaps you can make something of it:
"I tested at full power with many frequences and was ok, any problems .Problem exist with about half power.Power transisttors goes to62 °C and thermistor disconnect signal to the power state.With smalest signal no problem.With full power transistors has 53°C."
Thank you
Have him double check the solder connections on the final output transistors and the power supply feeding them. Especially any power resistor leads, they grow bad connections. If the transistors were bad, they would act up at any level.
Will do. Thanks!
Hey Terry I emailed you twine thru your web page take a look when you has a break! Thanks!
did he just call that a "circus board"? lol, that's what I call em on the Alchemist.. yeesh
I never have and never will buy a circus board amp. Oh Lord, please don't let me eat my words.
In a manner of speaking, you already have: do you own an iPhone...or a flat screen tv? They ALL have pcb's, and they ALL contain amplifiers-!!