C-10 Mod on a DRRI...

[VintageToneGuy]

....I've wanted to remove the C10 cap from my DRRI for the longest time to help make my amp a little more distortion box freindly. Can anyone tell a 'somewhat novice' how to do this safely without taking my only amp to my local amp guy and leaving it for 2 - 3 weeks. I promise that I'll follow instructions.

vtg

[Dave C]

The 2 solder spots circled in the pic are the legs of the C-10 cap. Unsolder both and push the legs through the board.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j310/kemo6178/DRRI2cs2.jpg

[VintageToneGuy]

That's All? I've recently done alot of pedal mods and a few byoc stuff, so desoldering this cap is no problem. I've just heard about getting zapped when messing with caps so I wanted to be careful. Thanks for the information, I really appreciate it very much!

vtg

[hudpucker]

The 2 solder spots circled in the pic are the legs of the C-10 cap. Unsolder both and push the legs through the board.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j310/kemo6178/DRRI2cs2.jpg


Or just clip one end if you might want to someday make it stock again.

[mbratch]

That's All? I've recently done alot of pedal mods and a few byoc stuff, so desoldering this cap is no problem. I've just heard about getting zapped when messing with caps so I wanted to be careful. Thanks for the information, I really appreciate it very much!

vtgDon't leave the cap rattling around inside of the amp. Make sure you retrieve it after poking the legs through. :)

As far as cap voltages, it's not the little caps that will get you, it's the big ones. That's even if the amp is unplugged. They can hold a charge for a long time (weeks). And they run live voltages to various points of the amp. When working on it, just don't poke your fingers around other places.

You might want to drain the big caps when you first open the amp up. You can do so on this amp by connecting a clip wire from pin 1 of the first pre-amp tube to ground and then switching the standby switch ON (leaving the amp unplugged of course, and power switch can be OFF).

Of course if you're careful and don't touch anything else, you could do the bright cap (C10) mod without going through all that. But if you're not sure you can be careful, then it's an easy thing to do.

[VintageToneGuy]

Thanks for all the information. Consider the C-10 mod as good as done! I am very careful and respect electricity very highly. Can anyone give me some other mods to do on this particular amp? Perhaps links and information? Thanks, vtg

[VintageToneGuy]

It's done and I'm still breathing. Very simple mod to do. Took more time pulling the chasis than it did to remove the cap. It was desoldered and it fell through the pcb board and I retrieved it and put it in a plastic bag and stapled into the owners manual just in case I need to reverse the mod in the future.

Will give it a try with a dirt pedal later in the day when no one is home as that's the only way I'll know if I've accomplished my goal.

vtg

[Cottage]

I think I screwed up. I desoldered the bright cap and poked it through the board, but I couldn't see where it ended up. I turned my amp on and immediately blew a fuse. What to do. I'm worried that I've A) shorted something out or;
B) applied too much heat to the board when I was tring to loosen the cap and really buggered things up;
C) All of the above.
Luckily, our drummer is an amp tech, but I thought I'd try it myself; incompetant Ass that I am!

[brad347]

The capacitor probably fell somewhere it wasn't supposed to and caused a short. What you need to do is try and find it/get it out to remove the short.

[Cottage]

Thanks Brad, I'll give it a go.

[brad347]

I'd be looking near the pilot light, the filaments, the power tubes, the power transformer, the output transformer, etc.

[VintageToneGuy]

Let's see if we can take this farther. Does anyone know how to make the reverb work on channel one?

[Jazz guru]

Google Fritz Mod - have written instructions as well as a diagram. I have done it (without removing C10) and you can jumper the channels as they are now in phase with each other.

[Cottage]

I'd be looking near the pilot light, the filaments, the power tubes, the power transformer, the output transformer, etc.

Hey Brad, thanks for the tip. I managed to retrieve the offending cap and it was exactly where you suggested it might be - next to the pilot light!!!! I grabbed it with a pair of chopsticks--you guys have made me paranoid of electrocuting myself. Anyway, the amp works like a damn and the C10 mod seems to have warmed the DRRI up considerably. Thanks again. What would we do without this forum?:phones

[timmers]

Google Fritz Mod - have written instructions as well as a diagram. I have done it (without removing C10) and you can jumper the channels as they are now in phase with each other.

Hey guys - reviving this thread. I'd like to Fritz Mod-ify my Deluxe Reverb RI, & have google'd around for the wiring diagram, but to no avail. Anyone have a direct link to the 'Fritz Mod' they'd care to share?

Much appreciated!

[Dave C]

Try here :

http://www.fenderforum.com/userphotos/index.html?recid=48201

[Fritz_D_Cat]

Hi, Fritz here. Just posted a picture of that mod -worth a thousand words, right?

http://www.fenderforum.com/userphotos/index.html?recid=64923