New Fender Eric Clapton Amp

[RicharD]

http://www.fender.com/en-US/products/clapton

Hand built point to point on fish paper just like back in the day.  Finger jointed cabinet.  MM transformers.  Fender clones itself.

[FYL]

EC Vibro Champ $1399
EC Tremolux $2799
EC Twinolux $4199

Street prices will be quite lower.

[FYL]

And a video : Fender Factory Tour: How to Build a Handwired Amp
Titled "Fender Factory Tour: How to Build a Handwired Amp "

Tubes before board, I'd say How NOT to Build a Handwired Amp.

[EL34]

The Assembly tubes (not the final tunes) are probably in the sockets for the same reason I used to do that.
The pins on the tube sockets all fall into perfect alignment.

Then you pull out the assembly tubes after all the solder ing is done

If you solder up the sockets without any tubes, it can be very difficult to get a tube to go into the socket later.

[Willabe]

Huh. Still looks like quit a lot of spade lug connectors, but I like the chassis vents and tube cage.

That clip with Buddy sounded kinda buzzie/fuzzie to me, guess you would have to play it/hear it in person?

Titled "Fender Factory Tour: How to Build a Handwired Amp "

Tubes before board, I'd say How NOT to Build a Handwired Amp.  
:

      

Are they doing that to keep the solder out of the tube sockets pin holes? Even so you'd think they would do that last, wouldn't you?

Someone here will get there hands on one and let us know what they find/think about it. Maybe there not bad?    


             Brad        
        

[rafe]

Nice Amps.....They should have been doing this all along......I guess they finally realized what a big chunk of the market share they were losing to their own cloned products ....They absolutely can beat the boutique price and most likely the kit prices too.......

[FYL]

The Assembly tubes (not the final tunes) are probably in the sockets for the same reason I used to do that.

They are the final tubes...

 

[EL34]

I was just saying that is how I assembled my amps
I had old 12AX7's and 8 pin tubes on the bench that got installed while soldering all the wires to the tube sockets.

Makes a huge difference having the tube socket pins all aligned correctly.

Looks like Fender is installing the final tubes
Must work ok for them or they would not do it

[Ritchie200]

Hmmm, no solder fume hood or suction hose?  Wow, they are going retro!  I'm surprised at that.  All our fuse manufacturing with solder HAD to be exhausted.  

I'm sure they can beat the boutique prices but they will not.  Look at the Marshall hand wired models (was it 1974 and 1959?), they cost a fortune.  But it has the Marshall nameplate.  This one has the Fender nameplate.  You KNOW how much those nameplates affect the tone....

Jim

[Madison]

$999 for the Vibro Champ.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ECVibroChamp/
Me thinks pretty competitive.

[LooseChange]

Hey, where do you get those cool gloves the assembly people wear?

[rafe]

Hey, where do you get those cool gloves the assembly people wear?

At the Boutique?

[Madison]

Is it a requirement to have tattoos to work there?

[FYL]

Is it a requirement to have tattoos to work there?

And piercings.

[FYL]

Makes a huge difference having the tube socket pins all aligned correctly.

Sure. I use dummies (pins + base).

Looks like Fender is installing the final tubes
Must work ok for them or they would not do it

Must be somewhat cheaper that way.

[HotBluePlates]

... I like the chassis vents and tube cage.

I don't know, but I think that cage around the output tube and rectifier was just for the european market (that was a euro export amp shown at the test stage). Product safety regulations are more strict over there; the exposed larger tubes present a burn hazard to children.

I'm thinking that won't be present on the US version (besides, we usually say, "I told the boy not to touch the stove, but he had to find out for himself...").

Are they doing that to keep the solder out of the tube sockets pin holes? Even so you'd think they would do that last, wouldn't you?

To understand what Doug is talking about, you need to plug a tube into a loose socket, not installed in an amp. As you insert the tube, you'll see the pin solder lugs wiggle all around. Therefore when you build an amp, if you solder all the wires to the sockets without at least a sacrificial tube in the socket, sometimes you will have the connecting wires holding the lugs in a manner that makes actually inserting a tube pretty tough. Placing a tube in the socket before wiring insures things will fit as they should later.

$999 for the Vibro Champ.
...
Me thinks pretty competitive.

Hoffman's old axiom was you can buy an amp cheaper than you can build it. For once, we have here an amp you can build cheaper than you can buy it, even after the "sale price".

[jjasilli]

This could impact the boutique amp business.  Still I'm happy to see a venerable American company, making great products, in America.

[drew]

Is it a requirement to have tattoos to work there?

And piercings.

And your mom has to be one of the ladies that build the chassis.

[Madison]

Is it a requirement to have tattoos to work there?

And piercings.

And your mom has to be one of the ladies that build the chassis.

Ok.
Looks like I qualify for two of the three.
I'll have to wheel out my old granny mom to apply for a job.