Let's Help Brother Midnite Man Out W/Deluxe Amp Cap?

[STRATDELUXER97]

How many of you have removed the bright cap on the Reissue BF Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp? Bob tells me we need to find and clip Cap C10...Where is this cap located and what do we need to do to get to it?Help a brother out if you can ok guys...Thanks..

John

 

[Scott_F]

You gotta get the chassis removed which is the biggest pain in the butt. I believe the cap is located right around the tone controls. Hence, the bright cap name.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

You gotta get the chassis removed which is the biggest pain in the butt. I believe the cap is located right around the tone controls. Hence, the bright cap name.

Thanks Scott...I have an original 67 BF Deluxe and don't suffer from these types of problems..Bob and I spoke about this mod last night and we both figured the cap would be located in a tight spot either on or near the volume pot...It's a 47pf bright cap for the volume control...After you get the chassis out,how easy is the cap to access? In other words,is pulling out the chassis harder than snipping the C10 cap? Thanks Scott...

John

 

[proxy]

i've been looking for a schematic for you without luck so you could figure out where it is to something recognizable.

The fact that the amp will be point to point should save you some effort.

 

[Curly]

I believe the guys at the Fender Forum can help ...

bright cap mod

another


and another:

"It's soooooooo simple. Just unsolder one lead of the 47pF capacitor across the volume pot."

mod

 

[midnite_man]

Hey, thanks for checking this out for me guys. I was going to take a gander over to the FDP site to see what I could find out, but it looks like you guys already got my back on this one.
I have a '97 DRRI, if that makes a difference schematic-wise.
I love this amp dearly, but it's just bowlin' over my ear-drum follicles severely and leaving me ringing too much. I already have slight tinitis from years of loud music at concerts, alcohol abuse, and other factors from work (railroad), so I'm trying to conserve what I have looking forward into my golden years.
I know I'm going to have to invest into some good musical hearing protection here soon, but I never had such an issue with this much amp brightness until I acquired the DRRI.
I held off on pursuing this mod until I replaced the stock speaker with a Jensen C12N reissue, but found the Jensen to be too brittle so I put the stock Fender/Eminence speaker back in. Scott suggested that I try breaking the Jensen in with my home stereo CD player, running it for a few days continuously to see if it loosens it up some, and I'll try that probably this weekend.
But I think I still gotta do this cap mod. I can't tone down the treble too far or my tone goes flat.
Taking out the chassis is actually not any big deal at all, as I've already had it out twice when I swapped out speakers (had to in order to get 'em in and out). I'm not sure exactly which cap needs to ne snipped, but I believe I read somewhere that it was the C10.
I'll keep searching online, but please let me know if any of you guys discover that info before I do. I'll post it if I find it.
Thanks, John, for getting this thread going for me, and thanks to all you great guys for responding.
-Bob

 

[midnite_man]

Well, I think I found it

http://www.fenderforum.com/forum.html?db=&topic_number=346674

This post from FDP says the cap is between the vibrato channel input #2 and the volume pot.

I'll remove the chassis probably tomorrow and find it, and do the mod.
Hey Curly, thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

-Bob

 

[Curly]

no problem ...
I just did a quick search to see what I could find, but didn't really get the specifics ...

 

[midnite_man]

I did the same and just kept thumbing thru the pages until I finally found it.
Thanks again, Chip, for chiming in on this thread. I think between the cap mod and either my eventual "broken in" C12N or a new Weber 12F150 I should be sittin' pretty. It would've been nice if Fender would have inserted a "Brightness" switch into the DRRI's design like they did in many other of their amp models, but maybe the old DR's didn't have quite the severity of shrillness to their sound as the newer one's do.
I know John has an old '67 I believe, but I'm pretty sure he probably went the more technical route in attaining the right tone by going a bit further than just clipping a capacitor. You know how John is with electronic stuff....lol. The man's a mad scientist!
(Just kidding, John, 'cause I know you're gonna read this)

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

I did the same and just kept thumbing thru the pages until I finally found it.
Thanks again, Chip, for chiming in on this thread. I think between the cap mod and either my eventual "broken in" C12N or a new Weber 12F150 I should be sittin' pretty. It would've been nice if Fender would have inserted a "Brightness" switch into the DRRI's design like they did in many other of their amp models, but maybe the old DR's didn't have quite the severity of shrillness to their sound as the newer one's do.
I know John has an old '67 I believe, but I'm pretty sure he probably went the more technical route in attaining the right tone by going a bit further than just clipping a capacitor. You know how John is with electronic stuff....lol. The man's a mad scientist!
(Just kidding, John, 'cause I know you're gonna read this)

Oh you're such a kidder!

John

 

[midnite_man]

I just got through doing the C10 cap. mod to my DRRI and am happy with the results. It definitely curbed the brightness enough to make it a much more comfortable experience while cranking the amp to it's sweet spot. I didn't compromise any tone by doing it, either, IMO.
Scott, if you read this you were right about the pain in the ass it is to get to the cap. I didn't realize I was going to have to also remove all the control knobs, lock screws on the pots and jacks and all after removing the chassis from the cabinet, in order to get to it under the pcb panel. But it was well worth it. All I need to do now is break in this Jensen C12N and try it again, or pop a Weber 12F150 in there and I think I'm done.
Thanks for the help guys!

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

I just got through doing the C10 cap. mod to my DRRI and am happy with the results. It definitely curbed the brightness enough to make it a much more comfortable experience while cranking the amp to it's sweet spot. I didn't compromise any tone by doing it, either, IMO.
Scott, if you read this you were right about the pain in the ass it is to get to the cap. I didn't realize I was going to have to also remove all the control knobs, lock screws on the pots and jacks and all after removing the chassis from the cabinet, in order to get to it under the pcb panel. But it was well worth it. All I need to do now is break in this Jensen C12N and try it again, or pop a Weber 12F150 in there and I think I'm done.
Thanks for the help guys!

Bob...Glad to hear that the cap mod took care of your problem..Nice job and thanks Scott and others for the tips...I learned something also in the process.

John

 

[Lewguitar]

What cap are you guys talking about? The 47 pf bright cap across the volume control? If you don't want it just clip it out. I like it myself. If we're talking about the same cap it's the same principle as the bright switch on a blackface Fender except the switch switches in a 120 pf cap that's even brighter. In my Fenders with a bright switch, I removed the 120 pf disc cap and replaced it with a 47 pf silver mica cap and also installed a 47 silver mica cap across the volume control as in a DR. Now my Super Reverb is a little brighter than when the bright cap was switched off, and when I switch it on, it's brighter still but not as bright as when the switch switched in the old 120pf cap. Silver Mica sounds smoother and less grainy to me than a disc cap...

Maybe it's just me, but when I'm onstage I want my amp to cut through the din of a roaring rock band. Make your amp to warm by removing all the edge and you'll disappear onstage.

So many of these tweaks are done so a player can get a more comfortable sound at home or in the bedroom...but that's not what will always work onstage.

Lew

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

What cap are you guys talking about? The 47 pf bright cap across the volume control? If you don't want it just clip it out. I like it myself. If we're talking about the same cap it's the same principle as the bright switch on a blackface Fender except the switch switches in a 120 pf cap that's even brighter. In my Fenders with a bright switch, I removed the 120 pf disc cap and replaced it with a 47 pf silver mica cap and also installed a 47 silver mica cap across the volume control as in a DR. Now my Super Reverb is a little brighter than when the bright cap was switched off, and when I switch it on, it's brighter still but not as bright as when the switch switched in the old 120pf cap. Silver Mica sounds smoother and less grainy to me than a disc cap...

Maybe it's just me, but when I'm onstage I want my amp to cut through the din of a roaring rock band. Make your amp to warm by removing all the edge and you'll disappear onstage.

So many of these tweaks are done so a player can get a more comfortable sound at home or in the bedroom...but that's not what will always work onstage.

Lew

Hello Lew...Yes Bob and I were on the phone the other night talking about getting some of the low volume brightness out of his reissue Deluxe Rvb amp...We needed to locate the 47pf cap and we have...The post was to figure out where the cap was..We also know what a pain in the behind that 47pf cap is to get at on the reissue version!

John

 

[midnite_man]

My amp is still bright, but just not to the point of causing ear-bleed-itis. I'm not in a band and don't play gigs, yet, so cutting through someone else's mix is not an issue here although I'm quite sure the amp would still hold it's ground easily among other performers. I just want to enjoy my amp more. And that I now do.