Great amp! I replaced the Oxfarts with Veterans – way better. I also got a attenuator for those low volume but with break up times at home. I will try my Tokai HLS-240 VOS Hibiki through it tomorrow I loaded it up with Tung-Sol 6L6’s and a Phillips 12at7. I just wound some pups for the HLS and they sound super amazing through my Line 6 Spyder 2×10 practice amp so should sound even better. I did do the resistor bias mod. I will hold onto it – hey it’s Fenders 1st Custom Shop amp
A classic one!! I wish I could have it
For anyone who ever thinks of owning one of these, this is an amazing amp. I bought one new. The speakers that came with it made it sound old school. It sounded pretty cool, though, with a breakup at lower volumes, considering it’s a 40 watt amp. But I could hear something better. This amp is LOUD! And when the volume is pushed, the breakup is to die for. It’s not like the new Hot Rod series. When this amp distorts, the distortion is perfecto, I mean absolutely perfect. I wish the Hotrod series picked up on this sound and incorporated it. I changed the speakers a couple of times, and used a pair of Kendricks blues speakers for several years, but ended up with a cool mismatch of a Jensen 10 rated at 25 watts and a Celestion V10 rated at 60 watts. The Celestion held a really tight bass, and the Jensen kept that Fender attitude and could break up at lower volumes, so you could get the growl that this amp is known for but with a tight punch. So I went from an old school paper cone sound to a bit of a muddy blues sound to this super tight, boutique amp sound. Anyone who comes across this amp should pick it up. Kendricks modified mine for me, replacing some caps and putting a bias adjustment in the back of the amp. I fried some tubes pretty quickly ONCE with that, trying to push them to the limit. Also, I experimented with some Mullard tubes and an assortment of top level replacements and that really made the amp sound even better. Unfortunately, I sold it but I got $400 more than I paid for it new. I had too many amps and played mostly through a Marshall 2061x and a Mesa Boogie Express Plus 5:50. Both of these amps are excellent, too. I think the Mesa represented pristine build quality, whereas that circuit board on the Vibroverb was a little concerning. I don’t know why Fender does stuff like that. It gives them a bad name. I had a Fender 70’s 100 watt Bassman head, which had days of headroom. I was fortunate enough to play it really loud for crowds of 2,000 to 8,000 people, and the rectifier tube created some magic, compressing in a way that responded to my emotions. It was a little dark. The Vibroverb isn’t quite as dark sounding. I don’t think it’s as loose sounding as the tweeds. It’s somewhere in the middle. The weight of this amp – it’s kind of heavy, but for gigging, it’s a perfect amp. The good thing about open back Fender combos is that they work in just about any venue, whereas my Marshalls and closed back cabs didn’t always work out, like where the walls are concrete, the floor is concrete. Fenders work really good in any environment I’ve been in. In modern times, bedroom levels are better, and this amp was so freaking loud that there’s no way i could play it where I live now. The days of gigging are over, especially in light of the Covid plandemic. Besides, the neighbors would have me arrested. I’ve had to resort to lower wattage amps, which are nice in living spaces.
I own one of the last of these (95) like it a lot i suppose thats why i have had it so long,i had a chance to pull the speakers,and substitute with pair of 1963 originals of the type fitted,very little in it i found,this may be useful to those considering going that route,mine has done very little live work,one show and a couple of rehearsals,doubt many in this condition out there,it is fitted with american valves,think output pair are Sylvania,whatever! they are in good order and well balanced,i also had a chance to pitch this against an original from 63,yes it had a valve rectifier,and totally original,owned by an English legend,i service his amps!! and it was not really much better soundwise,maybe a little warmer,and wound up the GZ34 rectifier sag giving some compression,but what are these selling for 5-6 k bit ripe that btw,fender have made better,being first with reverb the factor.Brown deluxe sounds nicer!! Still a great amp though!!
The Fender Vibroverb Reissue Owner’s Manual lists it as a 40-watt amp (https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10001/OM_leg_gtramp_63_Vibroverb.pdf). I’ve got Celestions in mine along with Mercury Magnetics components (https://www.mercurymagnetics.com). It’s an extremely nice amp — loud enough for smaller gigs — and as a bonus, it’s a real looker, especially with the Fender “flat” logo. My current favorite amp, though, is my Univox 202R. Believe it or not, I found it in someone’s trash with five inches of snow on it. I replaced all the tubes, but all it really needed were the two 6973 power tubes.
11 comments
Great amp! I replaced the Oxfarts with Veterans – way better. I also got a attenuator for those low volume but with break up times at home. I will try my Tokai HLS-240 VOS Hibiki through it tomorrow I loaded it up with Tung-Sol 6L6’s and a Phillips 12at7. I just wound some pups for the HLS and they sound super amazing through my Line 6 Spyder 2×10 practice amp so should sound even better. I did do the resistor bias mod. I will hold onto it – hey it’s Fenders 1st Custom Shop amp
A classic one!! I wish I could have it
For anyone who ever thinks of owning one of these, this is an amazing amp. I bought one new. The speakers that came with it made it sound old school. It sounded pretty cool, though, with a breakup at lower volumes, considering it’s a 40 watt amp. But I could hear something better. This amp is LOUD! And when the volume is pushed, the breakup is to die for. It’s not like the new Hot Rod series. When this amp distorts, the distortion is perfecto, I mean absolutely perfect. I wish the Hotrod series picked up on this sound and incorporated it. I changed the speakers a couple of times, and used a pair of Kendricks blues speakers for several years, but ended up with a cool mismatch of a Jensen 10 rated at 25 watts and a Celestion V10 rated at 60 watts. The Celestion held a really tight bass, and the Jensen kept that Fender attitude and could break up at lower volumes, so you could get the growl that this amp is known for but with a tight punch. So I went from an old school paper cone sound to a bit of a muddy blues sound to this super tight, boutique amp sound. Anyone who comes across this amp should pick it up. Kendricks modified mine for me, replacing some caps and putting a bias adjustment in the back of the amp. I fried some tubes pretty quickly ONCE with that, trying to push them to the limit. Also, I experimented with some Mullard tubes and an assortment of top level replacements and that really made the amp sound even better. Unfortunately, I sold it but I got $400 more than I paid for it new. I had too many amps and played mostly through a Marshall 2061x and a Mesa Boogie Express Plus 5:50. Both of these amps are excellent, too. I think the Mesa represented pristine build quality, whereas that circuit board on the Vibroverb was a little concerning. I don’t know why Fender does stuff like that. It gives them a bad name. I had a Fender 70’s 100 watt Bassman head, which had days of headroom. I was fortunate enough to play it really loud for crowds of 2,000 to 8,000 people, and the rectifier tube created some magic, compressing in a way that responded to my emotions. It was a little dark. The Vibroverb isn’t quite as dark sounding. I don’t think it’s as loose sounding as the tweeds. It’s somewhere in the middle. The weight of this amp – it’s kind of heavy, but for gigging, it’s a perfect amp. The good thing about open back Fender combos is that they work in just about any venue, whereas my Marshalls and closed back cabs didn’t always work out, like where the walls are concrete, the floor is concrete. Fenders work really good in any environment I’ve been in. In modern times, bedroom levels are better, and this amp was so freaking loud that there’s no way i could play it where I live now. The days of gigging are over, especially in light of the Covid plandemic. Besides, the neighbors would have me arrested. I’ve had to resort to lower wattage amps, which are nice in living spaces.
I own one of the last of these (95) like it a lot i suppose thats why i have had it so long,i had a chance to pull the speakers,and substitute with pair of 1963 originals of the type fitted,very little in it i found,this may be useful to those considering going that route,mine has done very little live work,one show and a couple of rehearsals,doubt many in this condition out there,it is fitted with american valves,think output pair are Sylvania,whatever! they are in good order and well balanced,i also had a chance to pitch this against an original from 63,yes it had a valve rectifier,and totally original,owned by an English legend,i service his amps!! and it was not really much better soundwise,maybe a little warmer,and wound up the GZ34 rectifier sag giving some compression,but what are these selling for 5-6 k bit ripe that btw,fender have made better,being first with reverb the factor.Brown deluxe sounds nicer!! Still a great amp though!!
The Fender Vibroverb Reissue Owner’s Manual lists it as a 40-watt amp (https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10001/OM_leg_gtramp_63_Vibroverb.pdf). I’ve got Celestions in mine along with Mercury Magnetics components (https://www.mercurymagnetics.com). It’s an extremely nice amp — loud enough for smaller gigs — and as a bonus, it’s a real looker, especially with the Fender “flat” logo. My current favorite amp, though, is my Univox 202R. Believe it or not, I found it in someone’s trash with five inches of snow on it. I replaced all the tubes, but all it really needed were the two 6973 power tubes.