Fire damage

[Doc Sportello]

Hi all,

Recently, I had the misfortune of a house fire that claimed my favourite Jazzmaster and damaged my 2 Fender tube amps (a Princeton Reverb and a 68 Custom Vibrolux). Noticed water inside on the bottom and parts of the tolex (mostly the top) showed burn marks and bubbles.

I put rice inside on the bottom plate to hopefully suck up the moisture then let them air for a few days whilst sorting all the other more pressing issues.

Now I was wondering: it safe to simply plug them in once everything appears dry to see if they’re still working or should I take them to a technician straight away?

Any help or advice is welcome, cheers.

[GilmourD]

Hi all,

Recently, I had the misfortune of a house fire that claimed my favourite Jazzmaster and damaged my 2 Fender tube amps (a Princeton Reverb and a 68 Custom Vibrolux). Noticed water inside on the bottom and parts of the tolex (mostly the top) showed burn marks and bubbles.

I put rice inside on the bottom plate to hopefully suck up the moisture then let them air for a few days whilst sorting all the other more pressing issues.

Now I was wondering: it safe to simply plug them in once everything appears dry to see if they’re still working or should I take them to a technician straight away?

Any help or advice is welcome, cheers.

Oh, man... All the mojo to you.

I've been through a house fire... It's no fun.

I would have a tech check it over because it's not the water that causes issues but the minerals it leaves behind when it evaporates.

[Brock the Mod]

So sorry to hear that

[MattK]

Also consider pulling and reseating the tubes in case the sockets retained some water.

[GreenKnee]

Sorry to hear about your house fire, must be really awful!

Definitely take the amps to a tech before plugging them in. It could lead to more damage if something in there is failed/shorting and so a quick once over is required. Heat could have broken down the insulation in the transformers and if you were to plug them in they could pop instantly, or once warmed up, and you'd know about it!

All the best with getting things sorted, losing your favourite JM must be hard

[BoringPostcards]

That’s terrible, Doc. I have no advice on the amps, just wanted to say I’m sorry this has happened to you. RIP Jazzmaster.

[Doc Sportello]

Many thanks all for sharing your insights and support, you’re grand as ever, bless. I’ll take the amps to the doctor’s for a thorough checkup! And wanted to share: another guitar survived, unfortunately not the favourite JM but a Squier Jag in a Fender case. The case was burned to a crisp whilst the jag survived with just merely some discolouration to the nut. Impressed by Fender’s build quality on these cases. So use your case if you’ve got them! The JM was out and not as fortunate.