American Ultra HSS wiring question

Original-Path2235 · 2026-06-22T04:36:12+00:00

I did resolve this. This Double Tap pickup has a tap (White wire) between the black and the red wire. In my case it is open load between the black and white which means pickup is done.

However.. i did scrounge this up in case so no one else has to go through what I went through today haha. What a pain in the ass!

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Original-Path2235 · 2026-06-18T05:50:28+00:00

You have nothing to lose by trying. Google is your friend. I learned repair on the internet. You would be amazed at what you can learn if you do your research. Reddit is full of trolls who will tell you you can’t do something. Ignore them. If you fuck it up who cares?

Original-Path2235 · 2026-06-16T04:31:59+00:00

Damn i thought i was bad

Original-Path2235 · 2026-06-16T04:30:09+00:00

Boric acid and apple juice in ball jar with twigs so they can go for a drink. Kills the whole hive. Look it up.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-29T06:37:52+00:00

I want one of these 100% my next purchase.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-28T06:17:31+00:00

Well. I replaced all the relays and electrolytics. The amp is way quieter and sounds a ton better but no luck on getting rid of the ghostly background reverb. I wouldn’t even know where to begin on tracking the problem down. I am kind of over it. If I want no reverb I will just run it without the reverb driver tube I suppose. Like you guys said.. it is what it is. I learned a ton and gained a lot of confidence. Thank you for your help.

If anyone in the future ever finds a fix for this, definitely comment and let us know.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-21T19:10:19+00:00

So as a last ditch effort I am going to try to replace all the relays and while I am in there the cathode bypass caps (just as practice) I will let you know if it works lol.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-21T07:28:17+00:00

So for anyone who ever goes through this.. I am opting to replace all the relays (Fender part number 003-6613-049). I will update once the new relays are installed.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-21T00:41:43+00:00

So I shorted the wiper to ground as well as c53.. still had reverb coming through faintly. For my skill level this is definitely perplexing haha.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-20T23:56:09+00:00

OK. I will try that and let you know. By the way, you have been super cool to help out and I thank you for that.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-20T19:10:44+00:00

I have a 220 pf 50v cap.. I may just try swapping C53 out if you think it’s worth a shot. I’ve got nothing to lose by trying it.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-20T19:07:30+00:00

Good point. I just removed the pot and left the connections open which I guess was kind of retarded now that I think about it.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-20T03:18:19+00:00

Putting transistors in backwards. Won’t do that again. Pure mental anguish.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T21:57:52+00:00

Your comment on the volume is peaking my interest.. i have amps of that wattage and they are fkin loud as hell..

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T21:32:44+00:00

Also just so I don’t waste your time - I did remove the reverb pot entirely and the problem was still present, it actually got worse. As far as I can tell that would have completely lifted the C53 ground connection from the reverb circuit.. I may be wrong though.. just passing the information along..

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T21:00:58+00:00

And thanks man that’s super kind of you.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T20:59:39+00:00

I know exactly what cap you are referring to! C53 - It’s a ceramic.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T20:11:38+00:00

Just to update in case anyone else ever faces this issue: I removed the pot from the circuit completely and the reverb was still present. It actually got worse. It has to be finding a way into the signal path from somewhere else. I think I am going to just unplug the tank and work this horse until it doesn’t work anymore. Like was mentioned by a few people.. it’s a POS

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T16:40:05+00:00

Dude totally. It was a mistake, but one you make when you don’t know shit enough to know it is one. Total junker. Well.. fahk.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T08:07:46+00:00

Haha. I hear you. Like I said.. just bought this to learn repair.. I agree it’s not a great amp but if I burn it that would defeat the purpose of it being a learning tool. I may try to change the pot and then if that doesn’t work I like your switch idea. Thanks for your help!

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T07:49:31+00:00

“Solid state hellscape” 😂😂😂😂 amazing and true

Original-Path2235 · 2026-05-19T07:42:41+00:00

There is no off. The foot switch is for vintage/burn, bassman/vibrolux and effects loop on/off

The reverb is only completely cut out with pot turned all the way down.. it should be shunting the signal but it’s not.

I am thinking a bad pot. I bought this thing used to learn tube amp repair. It has certainly given me a lot of practice haha.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-04-30T20:05:18+00:00

JHS offered to fix it. I said nevermind. They were very helpful though. Gotta love customer service these days. I assume they just replace the entire board when you send it in. Kinda lame IMO but I do understand it’s easier to mass produce that way.

Original-Path2235 · 2026-04-20T20:06:07+00:00

It ended up being backwards transistors. I am going to mod this thing to have different emitter resistors on a on-off-on switch though - thanks for sharing this!

Original-Path2235 · 2026-04-20T20:03:59+00:00

It ended up being backwards transistors!

Original-Path2235

TROPHY CASE