Fender Hot Rod Deluxe...Where Did My Reverb Go?

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ghetto3jon

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i have a fender hot rod deluxe 112. after a trip in a uhaul trailer, my reverb disappeared. everything else works fine, but my reverb does not work.

tomorrow i'm going to sit down and take a look at it, and i was just looking for some advice on what to check from someone who knows more about these things than i do. i know they can be dangerous, so i didn't want to do to much poking around without a little guidance. the only thing i can think to check is the connections to the reverb tank...is there anything else that could suddenly cause the reverb to disappear?

i've always found this forum very helpful when trying to diagnose a problem. i really appreciate all of your help.
 
I know these have a spring reverb in them. It's on the bottom under that cloth cover thing, perhaps it just came unplugged or you may need to take it off and reattach a spring.
 
It's very likely to be one of the small moving wires from a spring inside the tank.
 
All Hot Rod amps have solid state reverbs (not tube driven) that’s why they sound so lousy. First check the tank; if a spring has come off the tank you will need to replace it, they are cheap. If it is not the tank it is electronic. The Hot Rod series amps are notorious for breaking down.
 
bummer. i checked the tank, and all of the connections seems fine. i suppose the next step is follow the "in" and "out" cables from the tank up into the amp to see if anything looks suspicious...but i was really hoping it was a simple tank connection.

ps. i've noticed it still makes that "reverb rattle" sound when the amp is rocked back and forth (and it gets more apparent when the "reverb" knob is turned up, as it should). so it seems that the reverb is getting out of the tank into the amp, but there is no signal going into the tank. just thinking out loud.
 
ghetto3jon said:
bummer. i checked the tank, and all of the connections seems fine. i suppose the next step is follow the "in" and "out" cables from the tank up into the amp to see if anything looks suspicious...but i was really hoping it was a simple tank connection.

ps. i've noticed it still makes that "reverb rattle" sound when the amp is rocked back and forth (and it gets more apparent when the "reverb" knob is turned up, as it should). so it seems that the reverb is getting out of the tank into the amp, but there is no signal going into the tank. just thinking out loud.
Click to expand...
this means that the send from the preamp section to the reverb tank is faulty.

the return seems to work.
 
ghetto3jon said:
bummer. i checked the tank, and all of the connections seems fine. i suppose the next step is follow the "in" and "out" cables from the tank up into the amp to see if anything looks suspicious...but i was really hoping it was a simple tank connection.

ps. i've noticed it still makes that "reverb rattle" sound when the amp is rocked back and forth (and it gets more apparent when the "reverb" knob is turned up, as it should). so it seems that the reverb is getting out of the tank into the amp, but there is no signal going into the tank. just thinking out loud.
Click to expand...

That narrows it down a bit. Sometimes the tiny little wires that hook up to the transducers at the end of the reverb springs in the tank break off when the amp is subjected to a hard knock or repetitve motion that hits a resonance in the springs. I've had some success in soldering them back when that happens.
 
well, i swapped out the tank with a bandmates and it worked fine. so i guess the tank is bad, even though it looks fine. now i just need to find a damn tank before this afternoon when i need my amp for a show...damn.
 
my friend has a peavey transtube bandit in his basement...is it possible to temporarily put the tank from a peavey bandit in my hot rod deluxe (does the bandit have a reverb tank?!? i know nothing about this amp). just for one show this afternoon, then i'll just order the accutronics. i'm really in a jam...i have a performance at 4pm...
 
Double said:
All Hot Rod amps have solid state reverbs (not tube driven) that’s why they sound so lousy. First check the tank; if a spring has come off the tank you will need to replace it, they are cheap. If it is not the tank it is electronic. The Hot Rod series amps are notorious for breaking down.
Click to expand...

I have had one for something like 8 years, my brother and my friend also, none of us have ever had a problem at all. 2 of us play in bands, me once a week for past 8 years.
 
The tank in my Fender Blues Junior died, and the tank itself is to blame (swapped it with an extra from a dead Blued Deluxe). The thing looks perfectly fine, it was quite ridiculous. At the very least, it isnt the electronics in the amp :)

Accutronics tanks will run ya something like 25-30 bucks (for the little ones in the Blued Junior), but Id imagine for the bigger amps it isnt going to be much more.

As for your show (which already happened apparently), what was your alternative? Just went with no 'verb?
 
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