@fender @sweetwater Fender FR-10 at Sweetwater (affiliate) - sweetwater.sjv.io/Y9GAXO Fender FR-12 at Sweetwater (affiliate) - sweetwater.sjv.io/y2EY1D Subscribe for more videos like this!
Hey Aaron, wanted to let you know I received one of the latest FR-12's from Musiciansfriend (GC) today. They reported it was brand new from Fender's latest wave. And wow what a difference this speaker is. Now I understand what all the hype is about! No hiss on the noise floor, no interference, dead silent. I love how you can adjust how much amp sound or hifi sound with the cut knob. This thing is incredible! Thank you again for your video!
Just got my unit from Sweetwater yesterday, and happy to say that there is absolutely NO hiss from my unit. I agree that this speaker is a game changer!
My Experience with fr10: Purchase from guitar center in late November paid for new unit and was delivered a beat up gigged unit lol. Anyway tested it before I returned it, high noise floor (hiss as it is referred to). Second unit : purchased from sweetwater, same hiss but sounds great and I decided to keep it. After watching Aaron Short’s video I decided to contact fender. Fender rep basically acknowledged the issue and is sending a replacement. Maybe third time is a charm. I will update after I take delivery. Btw I used it in a live jam setting and you definitely do not notice the hiss in that situation. But at home as others have stated it is annoying.
Those of you who have received noisy speakers may find my April posting helpful. It includes updates that describe Fender's free fix and the serial numbers of affected units. The short (no pun intended, Aaron) of it is that Fender has corrected the problem. But, as some of you have found, there are still units from the early production runs in distributors' inventories. If you have a speaker with the dreaded hiss you can either exchange it or have it fixed. I exchanged mine, but the replacement was also noisy, so I had it repaired. Fortunately I live close to an authorized service center.
I was on the verge of getting one, and this video made me pull the trigger. I was not sure about that "hiss" thing. Got mine today from Cosmo Music, plug my FM9 in, and damn I was impressed. Absolutely no hiss. Of course, it helps to have clean power, but that thing was silent. Went from Headrush 112, to Powercab 112 Plus, to the ToneMaster. Acquiring gear is such a lovely journey.
WOW - I am amazed that any company takes responsibility for a mistake in this day of non-customer service. If they follow up and correct this (for everyone) I would have to say good on them - I am still suspicious though.
@@78tag I have no idea but that is why I returned the first two. I wasn’t willing to accept how it was but now it’s a best in class product. I’m glad they listened.
Nice to see the quiet ones are out now. A guy on the Gear Page forum figured the problem out and implemented a fix. It looks like Fender is using his fix; probably just until they run out of the old PCB boards and then they'll incorporate the design change into them. I'd like to buy one but I'm giving it a little longer to avoid ending up with a noisy model.
I returned the FR-10 back in November because of that hiss. I had no idea it was a common issue. I really enjoyed the sound of that speaker otherwise. Now I’m considering buying it again. That speaker with a UAFX Dream ‘65 on my pedalboard would definitely save my back from dragging my deluxe reverb to practice every week.
Mine arrived. I can hear a slight ssshhhh that just sounds like the speakers is on. You said yours is dead silent, but was that an exaggeration? Can you hear anything? If I had never known about this hissing issue, I don’t think I would consider mine a problem. But still, I don’t want to think I paid that much for one with the hiss.
@@DrGreenaway I hear hiss at 50% volume as you would expect to hear in any speaker. Not the loud hiss in the previous unit that I could hear while playing.
I got a new stock at my local music store. No hiss at all. Love this thing. It is AWESOME. Using it with my Kemper and with my Headrush Pedalboard. They both sound great. I have the Kemper 600w head and cab but the Fender sounds better running line out from the Kemper. Lightweight, Tone controls, kickstand, huge sound. Highly recommended.
Is there a serial number, date or something like that to know if it's a new model without hiss? What about the sound with the headrush? I've got a headrush Prime and interested in getting a fender Tone master FR12.
Hello!! Thanks for sharing this. It is very useful for everybody. Question, How do we know We will adquire a new batch unit? Is there a tricky thing we should check? Maybe serial number? Here in europe Im not sure how to ensure ir before buying. Thanks again!!
Just got my FR-12 from Sweetwater a couple days ago, and it's a similar experience - hiss is very minimal, to the point where you'd never hear any from the unit unless you've practically got it strapped to your ear! Originally I was a little bummed these were backordered, but now I'm glad I waited out the issues and didn't have to try and learn to live with a hissy unit. I love that these don't look out of place on a stage, have sensible EQ controls, and a dedicated pass-through XLR.
I emailed Fender about the hiss in my FR-12 and today they emailed me back and told me it’s a known issue for some owners and they now know how to fix the issue and will be sending the parts out to owners who tell them about it when they get the parts back in stock.
I ordered an FR-12 from Fender direct about a week ago because everybody has been out of stock, should be arriving tomorrow. I’ll keep you updated if it has the hiss issue or not. Will be using it with my HX Stomp XL
@hortmusic Received it, first impressions there is definitely a hiss on this one. This one is probably NOS from Fender since it was ordered two weeks ago. It's tolerable as long as I have the noise gate on the HX Stomp on (using an SH tele, twisted tele neck, dimarzio chopper t bridge), but if I can't work something out in my patches in the next hour or two I'm probably going to return it. I love the overall tone and it definitely captures the "amp in the room" bloom feeling while maintaining clarity and I'm overall pretty impressed vs the Powercab. But I'm cool with the "hifi" tone of PA speakers and will probably ultimately go with a QSC CP series so I can play electronic music or run vocals as well. I don't want to gate my signal chain if need be, and I feel like with the FR-12 I'll have to leave it always on. Until then, I'm cool with my Kali LP-6 mk1 for now.
I have not tried the 10. I like the idea of that for portability but it’s not much smaller. It’s likely that they are both ‘better’ with certain amps and in certain rooms so I think either would be fine.
Being that this has some "coloring" to the sound, how does it sound playing music through it? I'd like to get one for my boy who lives in a tiny studio apartment. He already has an HX stomp that he uses with headphones. It would be cool if we could use it as a stereo for listening music, a guitar amp and maybe a studio monitor for writing (not mixing).
I'm about to buy online a Fr-12 from 12/23 production. Would that be from the previous batches with the hiss problem? Would be safer to buy a 24 production model?
Great update!! Does this impact both the Fr-10 & FR-12?? Anyone have preference after trying both? I keep seeing mixed reviews on which one sounds better. More natural....love to know which has the better tone. Weight and volume aren't a concern.
I have the FR-10, which I use in a small room. (I don't gig... yet.) It has PLENTY(!!!!) of volume and low end oomph. The tone (which is subjective) is fantastic.
@@AnthonyBencomo You have to turn up the volume and really listen, just like any powered speaker. With my original one I heard it immediately and it bugged me like crazy!
@@aaronshortmusicI have this small his also on level 0. When I set the cut to 12 o’clock it’s more silent. It’s almost like the old ones but much more silent. So do you hear the speaker a little bit on level 0 ?
@@stephanmoeller5582 Everything at noon and cut at zero = no audible hiss in my room but with my ear against the grille there is hiss. This is how any normal speaker behaves. With the old ones I would hear the hiss sitting 3ft away.
I just got an FR12, and when I looked up the serial number, it says it was made in June of this year, so it should have the new circuit. However, when I have it plugged into power (I’ve tried several different rooms) with nothing else plugged into it, there is a hiss even when the volume is on 0. It is not extremely loud, but it is somewhat noticeable in my small guest room where I play. Is this to be expected with a speaker like this, or should I reach out to Fender?
Fender: "Let's stick to 'it's all in your head' for the time being." Yeah, but no need to flip on a prototype (or ten) beforehand and winch at all that hiss and go back to the drawing board. ("Shh! We have product to move...maybe they won't notice!") Funny how my Blues Jr. IV is _whisper_ quiet - close up in a quiet room. But that amp had been in production for ages in its previous iterations when I bought it. Not so with the FR10 and FR12. There's no such thing, btw, as _truly_ flat response - certainly not in this price range. And that's why the inclusion of tone controls is _the_ game changer for this amp, along with its relatively light weight, and the thoughtful inclusion of the lean-back props, etc. But I feel kinda sorry for all the folks who bought this amp before that significant and annoying kink was worked out. I did my research and balked - but I'm annoyed by the sound of a feather fluttering down on a pillow from ten feet away. I'm delighted to hear that there's a bunch more people like me. MUCH APPRECIATE this vid - I was wondering when Fender would correct this.
Ok so now tell me fr10 or fr12 which one should I get to replace a headrush 108? I use Helix LT and play classic rock. Not gigging and play in my office most of the time.
I haven’t played the 10 but I can’t imagine there’s much difference between them. I would go for the 12 as larger boxes usually sound fuller and you aren’t carrying it to a gig every night so the small amount of extra size and weight won’t matter.
I don't really need it, but I want one 😂 My Friedman ASC-12 is too heavy to lug around, and the Headrush 108... well, yea. 10 or 12 is the only question.
Hey Aaron, today I received my new FR-10 and i tested it first time with my new fender tone master pro. There is a very high hiss coming out of the speaker.. I have 30 days to give it back, but still i was so excited to get one.. I guess it is from year 2023.. there is some serial code at the back of it. Which digits give me the year?
I will change it for fr12, since you informed us that there is no hiss at all with the newest one. I wanted to thank you once again, you helped other musicians by doing these videos! Just another testing result for other people: when switch knob 'cut‘ from 0 to 6 , hiss is getting lower, but still i cant get rid of this annoying noise
My FR-10 had the same problem. You may want to read my April posting. Fender said the following serial numbers were affected: CHNA23XXXXXX through CHNI23XXXXXX, with “X” equaling any single-digit number. I don't know if these numbers include the FR-12 or are only for the FR-10.
Thank you for reply. Yes, mine was also with 23 in it. Here is a small update: I drove to music store, get a fr12 this time making sure that the serial number has 24 in it. I compared my FR10 CHN23 with my new FR12 CHN24. I can tell you the following: Hissing is reduced significantly( i guess around 65-70 percent) If you make absolute silent environment, you can still hear a bit hissing, but this time it is not that disturbing.. You hear nothing while u play. So i will keep my fr12 and send fr10 back to music store. I hope this information helps
Hi Aaron. Just contacted Andertons in UK to pre-order the FR-12 and they said Fender haven’t done anything and the noise is normal. I told the guy about your video where you proved it’s been fixed, and he kind of said “don’t believe everything you see on RU-vid” ?? Mm.. Do I take a chance on the purchase still?
No one gets it. People think the small amount of hiss in my current speaker is what I was complaining about before. ALL speakers have some hiss but the original 2 that I tried had LOUD hiss. If anything this latest one proves that some units are ‘normal’ and some are not. You should order one from a place with a good return policy or buy in person and from a different store that knows the products that they sell.
People are dumb. They talk out of their ass all the time. Be weary of that sales rep at that shop. Just yesterday some dude was freaking out that I was charging a battery wrong. Sent him a photo proof it was fine, he shut up. People just yap off before they think. Sorry if I seem salty.. I’ve been running into a lot of dudes with this problem lately. There are very intelligent and helpful folks out there too. Just fewer of them it seems.
@@AnthonyBencomo Some people are new to gear or simply doing it as a job. I get it but that’s why I post videos on here. I knew straight away that the first two cabs had a problem and I know that my new one is normal. Whether anyone chooses to believe me is up to them. I wish I had the original cab to make a comparison to but how could I have justified keeping a faulty product just for that?
@@AnthonyBencomo Haha. Well i guess its best to try out things yourself instead relying on other opinions from people - besides, the 30 day money back thingy will come in handy..lol
Have you any idea what sort of sound level the hiss would reach on the older ‘faulty’ versions? I’m asking as it would be a good way of knowing if I get a good one or a bad one. I’ve tried measuring the sound level my Powercab gives when it’s turned on, but nothing plugged in, and with the volume turned fully down. To my surprise the Powercab actually hisses a reasonable amount - I’ve never really noticed it before I came across all the talk about the Fender FR10/12’s hissing. Using a decibel meter app, the Powercab came to about 30dB on average; at home in a quiet room, with no-one else in the house. I’ve also managed to try the same with a Fender FR10, and to be honest, to my ears, the Powercab hiss actually seems louder. Would be good to know what sort of dB reading you’re getting with your FR12, especially as you say it’s almost silent 👍🏻
If you hear it then it’s the old one. It was very loud. The new ones are the same as any other powered speaker. All powered speakers have hiss but I returned the first one because it bothered me. You will know as soon as you turn it on.
@@aaronshortmusic Thanks Aaron. Did you get an idea using a sound meter or sound meter app (I've used one called 'Decibel X' on the iPhone) what sort of reading you got with the old one? I mean, I CAN hear my FR10, if I lean down with nothing else plugged in and put my ear pretty much up against the grille. But the same is true with my Powercab, and I had never noticed it before with the Powercab until I read all this about the hiss on the Fenders...
@@littlespaceman You don’t need to do that. When I put my ear against the cloth I hear hiss too but when I sit 5ft away I hear nothing. The old one sounded like the buildings steam heater was on but it was the amp.
One thing that I'm really intrigued by is how different FRFR speakers can sound from each other. I'm reasonably new to the idea of reference monitors for guitars, and as I understand it the FRFR concept is that you are getting a 'reference' sound, uncoloured by the specific speaker you might have in an average guitar combo. But the Powercab sounds actually quite different from the Fender - both sound great, and you can tweak each to taste of course (or tweak your modeller either per patch or using a global EQ) But I didn't think they'd sound so different from the outset.
I only tried the 12. It’s not like a traditional cab as it’s just reproducing the sound of the cab model or IR. I would say get the 10 unless you have a reason to get the 12 since it’s smaller, lighter and cheaper.
@aaronshortmusic So there is roughly a fifty dollar different between the two speakers... I own both of them for reference. And I kind of think that you should at least have played both of them together before giving this type of advice. You are correct that the ten is much smaller and lighter, although only by three pounds. You failed to mention is that the sound reproduction on the 12 is absolutely flawless. Where is the 10? It will leave you slightly lacking if you were to compare them next to each other. What exactly is lacking, Clarity in the low in mid end. For reference I have used both of these speakers going on four months. I have rehearsed and played them every friday for several hours in a full band setting
@@msi1985 Your reply comes across as rude on here. I said right away that I have not played the 10. Since I like compact gear and always cut the bass on most larger speakers I would recommend the 10” but like I said I haven’t tried it yet.
@@aaronshortmusic My intention was not to come across as rude. Instead, it was to inform your potential viewers who had asked you for advice on a fairly expensive gear purchase. I respect the fact that you clearly said you had not tried that speaker. I'm just baffled that you would default to suggesting it over the twelve if you hadn't tried it.
@@msi1985 If you have tried them both then offer your feedback to us. Don’t try to catch me out on here. If they do sound the same but the 10” has less bass then that would be my preference but as with all of these things it depends on the player, the room and the guitar etc.
FR12 is more louder and clear thans FR10, also you have 3 band eq, just lower the bass to get great mids. FR10 if you lower the bass sounds too bright and i play with lots of mids, I think FR12 is more versatil and louder, but both are great. Tested on guitar center and got the FR12. I try a headrush 112 weeks ago and I get rid of it next day. Fender Fr12 is the new standard. some people talk about Laney, but Im not sure. Heard this guy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-27jsBOKRJIQ.html
They fixed it due to bad press. They said it was normal and wasn’t a problem because they didn’t want to have to repair or replace a whole bunch of the first batch!
They’re now saying that they will. Asked me to stand by while they finalize the procedure and await parts to arrive in stock. Almost sounds like a recall is coming.
I'm not sure that being a "guitar/FR" is a great endorsement - kind of defeats the purpose of FRFR but if you are after a unit to amplify guitar (mid-range) specifically I can see where you would recommend this unit.
@@aaronshortmusic So true. I saw another video of an FR-10, FR-12, and Headrush, and he pointed out that it's strange that they are all considered FRFR, but all sound different, possibly because they're different speakers, even though the companies aren't trying to specifically voice it a certain way... Or are they? Muuuuuahahaha. Seriously, it's fun to ponder. Thanks for the updated review. My FR-12 should arrive this week.
I disagree, i order one and returned it the next dau because it sounded horrible. Ive been uses modelers with different frfr options for a few years now and to me this sounds the worst of all. It would have been so much better if they put a real speaker in it and no tweeter
I love it but we all want different things. A real speaker cab or a high quality PA speaker will both sound quite different to this Fender. It all depends on what you are looking for.
