Go back
Go back
G1BVV218_10.jpg
G1BVV218_11.jpg
G1BVV218_13.jpg
G1BVV218_12.jpg
G1BVV218_24.jpg
G1BVV218_23.jpg
G1BVV218_21.jpg
G1BVV218_20.jpg
G1BVV218_16.jpg
G1BVV218_19.jpg
G1BVV218_15.jpg
G1BVV218_22.jpg
G1BVV218_14.jpg
G1BVV218_25.jpg
G1BVV218_26.jpg
G1BVV218_27.jpg
G1BVV218_10.jpg
G1BVV218_11.jpg
G1BVV218_13.jpg
G1BVV218_12.jpg
G1BVV218_24.jpg
G1BVV218_23.jpg
G1BVV218_21.jpg
G1BVV218_20.jpg
G1BVV218_16.jpg
G1BVV218_19.jpg
G1BVV218_15.jpg
G1BVV218_22.jpg
G1BVV218_14.jpg
G1BVV218_25.jpg
G1BVV218_26.jpg
G1BVV218_27.jpg
#G1BVV218

Brownface Vibroverb® Style Guitar Tube Amp Kit

Mojotone is excited to introduce a new kit to our brownface lineup - the 6G16 Vibroverb. We're offering everything needed to build an accurate replica from the finger-joint constructed pine cabinet to the tapped 350k treble potentiometers. You'll be pleased to have such a rare bird in your collection. As with any of our kits, you get the finest components available.

The original (6G16 circuit) Vibroverb was introduced in February 1963. The speaker lineup and the output transformer were based on the Super amp of the time and the circuit based on the Vibrolux of the time, with no presence control and only one 12AX7 tube for the tremolo effect. It sported typical brownface cosmetics, with brown Tolex covering (introduced in 1959), and wheat-colored speaker cloth.

The 40 Watt amplifier boasted two channels (NORMAL and BRIGHT). Both channels had VOLUME, TREBLE and BASS controls; the single-control REVERB affected only the BRIGHT channel.

The tremolo effect (labeled Vibrato) had two controls, SPEED and also INTENSITY, which affected the bias of the output tubes and therefore both channels. To make room for the reverb circuitry (not found on the Super amp) a direct-coupled oscillator vibrato circuit was used which was found on the previous generation tweed amplifiers (which used two tubes fewer than the Super’s brownface vibrato circuit).

The TREBLE control was the same as found in many Fender amplifiers of the time (i.e., Pro Amp -6G5A-, the Super -6G4A-, the Showman -6G14-, the Vibrolux -6G11-). It was fitted with a tapped treble circuit, meaning that the treble control is flat at setting 5; cutting or boosting the treble was possible by turning the knob down (below 5) or up (above 5), respectively.

This incarnation of the Vibroverb was made for only a few months, and it is thought that fewer than 600 of these units were made.

If this kit shows as out of stock please check here for more information.

Please read our article 'Mojotone Amp Kit Building Primer' along with our amp kit disclaimer located in the Specs tab before buying this kit.
$1,245.00
Shipping calculated at checkout.
$5 U.S. shipping over $99
 Real support from real techs
Trusted by guitarists for 25+ years
SPECS

Weight: lb

* Note: If shown as out of stock, most amp kits ship within 2-3 weeks. Our team will contact you if we anticipate a longer lead time.

  • Class Type:AB All Tube Amplifier
  • Output:~40 Watts
  • Circuit:6G16
  • Bias Type:Fixed with an adjustable potentiometer
  • Build Time:~7 hours
  • Preamp Tubes: ECC83/12AX7 (6)
  • Output Tube(s): 6L6GC (2)
  • Rectifier Tube: 5AR4 / GZ34
  • Transformers:Power - BF Vibrolux / Tremoloux (MOJO758EX), Output - BF Vibrolux / Tremolux (MOJO770), Choke - for 6L6 Amps (MOJO777), Reverb Driver - (MOJO776)
  • Hardware:Vibroverb Small Parts Kit, Vibroverb Chassis, Small Cap Pan, Front & Rear Faceplates, Fender style 2-button Footswitch, 4AB3C1B Reverb Tank, Black Tolex Reverb Bag, Vintage Reverb Wire Kit, 10' Install Power Cord

Disclaimer: Some of the parts contained in this kit are subject to availability.

Mojotone reserves the right to change or substitute any and all of the parts contained in this amplifier kit without advertisement or notification to the buyer. Part substitutions made by Mojotone are guaranteed not to affect the integrity or operation of your amplifier kit. Time estimates listed are from start to finish. If you are new to tube amplifiers, additional time may need to be factored.

 When purchasing a kit from Mojotone, you will receive the following documentation.

1. Schematic

2. Wiring Diagram / Layout

If you purchase a kit from Mojotone and do not receive these documents, you can obtain copies by emailing tech@mojotone.com or calling 800-927-6656. The Mojotone staff is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST unless otherwise closed.

 Mojotone kits include the best quality parts that are available at the time of purchase. If a substitution is required, our team will use parts that are of equal quality to ensure the integrity of the kit build remains the same.

 Building a fully functional amplifier kit is not an easy task. Before building a kit, one should have the ability to properly solder as well as read and understand a schematic and wiring diagram. While we do our very best to ensure all documentation is current, the included documentation is meant to serve as an overall guide to building the amplifier. Simply following the schematic and wiring diagram does not guarantee you will have a fully functional amplifier. In fact, post build troubleshooting is a common issue across all builds.

 Our staff is available to assist with basic troubleshooting needs. There are plenty of online videos available that are helpful with most post build issues. Technical staff is available via email by sending a message to tech@mojotone.com. You may also call our sales team to discuss build problems, dial 800-927-6656 and press 1 for sales.

 Building a tube amplifier takes time, dedication, resources and most importantly... Skills! The experience of building an amp can come with some frustration, the reward of completing the build is definitely well worth your time. Please review the wiring diagram, schematic and manual (if applicable) prior to making your purchase. Mojotone will not accept any returns on amplifier kits and/or parts that have been assembled, soldered or modified.
DOCUMENTATION

The following documents are included. Please feel free to view and/or download them:

Brownface Vibroverb Schematic

Brownface Vibroverb Wiring Diagram

Vibroverb Power Transformer Wiring Diagram

Vibroverb Output Transformer Wiring Diagram

Overall rating: 4.6363635 / 5 from 11 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: [].

Review highlights

Reviews

WAS IT WORTH THE EFFORT

"A true work of art and a freakin tone machine. Looks great, sounds great and it is great. I got the cabinet with it and it all fits perfectly. Im a Ceriatone fan but id highly recommend this Mojotone kit and it does have advantages over The Ceriatone kits but some gutshots for referencing would be a great help. This maybe the best amp I've ever built and the parts supplied are all of the highest standard."

— Gator M. (5/5)

Great Amp Kit

"This is the first MOJO amp kit ive ever ordered. Ive built a lot of amps but normally I will source all the parts, separately, myself, because i want to control that .....better quality parts = better quality machine. I am very impressed with the kit i received. It is at least equal, in value/quality to anything i would have sourced myself and it's organized and put together very neatly. The cabinet i bought with it is perfect.It took every bit of 7 weeks to get it but they did state that up front and the people at MOJO were always available and helpful when i called with a question. I have no doubt this will be a great amp."

— Michael (5/5)

Edit: All's Well that Ends Well

"Mojotone has the best customer service of any business I have ever seen, full stop. It was scary how committed they were to making everything right. Even when the problem was awkward and hard to solve, they still made it work and I couldn't be more pleased. Yes, there were issues with the kit when I got it that I left an earlier review about, if that's important to you, but the customer service was too good and I'm walking away happier than I have with any company experience I can think of. Oh and the amp sounds fantastic and uses super quality parts and is amazing in every single way, but you knew that already since it's an amazing circuit. I just want to gush about the amazing help desk when so many other companies are so bad at being good to their customers. It took some time, but all's well that ends well."

— Peter (5/5)

Total Success

"I wrote a review of the Kit now I'd like to say something about the complete amp. If possible it exceeds my expectations which were pretty high. It fills a niche i wanted for a mid -power "vintage" Fender combo , specially for my Fender guitars -for my Tele and for slide playing..Its perfect. The tele sounds fat played clean or cranked or with a tube screamer. The reverb is awesome IMO , it is the old wet, Fender reverb sound but without a lot of the spring noises. I did switch the stock Mojo tank for an old US made long spring 3 spring tank..dont know if that makes any difference. So this is absolutely the telecaster amp i wanted and it sounds great with Hawaiian neck guitars and my SG special with P-90s sounds better through this amp than any other"

— Marcus (5/5)

My fave amp ever

"My favorite amp. I have owned and used many Fender, Peavey, Vox, Marshall, Dr. Z, Bad Cat, Laney, Mesa, and Matchless amps. I still own 6 of those. Wonderful when played clean, excellent when driven and highly responsive. The treble control and your guitar's controls are all you need to get a huge variety of quality tube sounds. I looked at some of the 63 re-issues, which are around $2000 for a good one. Of course the handful of original 63s go for anywhere from $12-25 grand, which is absurd to pay. After a long visit with my amp tech, I realized that with the kit, the pine cab and his expertise in hand-wiring, I could have a brand new clone, but with better speakers and a few tweaks for around $2500-- about the same price as used re-issue that uses a PCB board. It was a no brainer on the cost side. I also picked my choice of speakers and had him install a neg. feedback cancel switch. Perfect amp."

— Ray R. (5/5)

Tripped at the Finish Line

"The chassis was drilled slightly off so the faceplate can't be used while still fitting into the cabinet. Such a frustrating end to an otherwise great kit"

— Marcus (4/5)

Fun project, great results

"My first build from scratch. I’ve maintained/repaired/modded my tube amps for the last 20 years. This kit wasn’t ‘easy’ and took far longer than a few hours, but everything was there and I had no issues. The only mod was the value of the bias resistor (1k in the kit) so power tubes could be brought up to 65-70% dissipation bias range (matched set of RCA Blackplates) & preamp tubes are NOS goodies from stash. Oh, and I ended up replacing faceplate w/a genuine-looking version). Speakers are Weber mixed 10f150/10a125. The 10F & a Copperhead was really good too but not as warm. How does it sound? Primarily running in the second channel= smooth and clean up to about ‘5’ on the volume. 6.5 volume (treb 6.5 and bass 5.5-6) gets a Strat, Tele, Lester or 335 style to either play nice or growl. An in between sound of Tweed or BF that’s good for blues, blues rock and some modern country. The cabinet is top quality, I added 16” Fender tilt back legs."

— Samuel (5/5)

Tripped at the Finish Line

"The circuit was great. The clear, well laid out schematic and wiring diagram made this kit very approachable, even though I'm not the most experienced. And of course it sounds great. It's a faithful rendition of an amazing circuit using many high quality components. The problems were everything else. Every order I've gotten from mojotone has had a mistake. This time it was knobs that didn't have all the set screws and the wrong footswitch. The customer support team is always amazing, so I'm honestly not even upset about it, but I wanted to warn people since this is a consistent problem. The part that I am really upset about though is that the chassis was drilled slightly off, so the face-plate can't fit and is unusable. It's such a frustrating end to an otherwise great kit. It's still an amazing amp and I had a good overall experience so I can't knock off too much from the score, but it still leaves me so sad to have such an end to an otherwise amazing experience."

— Samuel (4/5)

Legendary Amp Receives Accolades

"I've built two of these awesome performing amps and I'm currently building a third. One professional guitarist recently told me it's the best sounding amp he's ever heard. A professional amp tech who worked on Jim Messina's amps told me it's got the most articulate character of sound you could ever expect to hear. A hall of fame guitarist told me, "You sure knocked the ball out of the park on this one." Yes, I've upgraded certain sections only to enhance the rich fullness of sound. Thanks Mojotone for providing this most legendary amp Fender ever produced!!!"

— BM (5/5)

Great amp, but missing pieces.

"I ran into missing pieces multiple times. One resistor was missing due to a miscount on the kit. Another resistor entirely (470 ohm). It was on the layout and schematic but it wasn't in the actual parts inventory at all. They also didn't include screws to mount the cap board or reverb pan. And the final kicker was when I went to mount the chassis I discovered that the nuts to secure the chassis strap bolts were missing. Do not be careless with your lead lengths or you will run out of wire. I was very judicious with my leads and I still ran about 8" short of blue wire. The only wire I had a little extra left on was yellow. Verdict: Good quality stuff but better care needed in making sure everything is included."

— anonymous (3/5)

Q&A

 

MORE MUST-HAVE GEAR