A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

[Cory_Dylan]

I went into the local shop a couple weeks ago and plugged into this amp and thought it was just what I've been looking for.

First of all, I've been using a Classic 30 through a 2x12 w/ celestions. I love this setup, but I feel the Classic 30 lacks a little bit of sparkle and definition. I was looking into a Deluxe Reverb, but was a little afraid it might break up too early and be more of an amp for distortion. So, I thought the Vibrolux might be just what I was looking for becuase it was about the same wattage as my Classic 30, which I like. When I played through this amp in the store it sounded really good, and my first reaction was it had what my C30 was lacking.

Two weeks later I bring the amp home, and I'm quite dissapointed in it. It does have a lot of sparkle, but it doesn't have the sweetness I get with my C30. It's very trebly even when you turn the treble all the way down. Overall it's just kind of a sterile amp and it's hard to get the most out of notes. In the normal channel is ok, but past 3 it's already too distorted. It breaks up even earlier than my C30 (much earlier). The speakers also distort badly even at this volume. The reverb also kind of sucks, you can barely even tell it's there when it's all the way up.

I tried running the amps together. Plugged into the C30 and from the FX send to the norm and bright inputs. Now we're about in business. This is a really good thing. Still though, the CVR has cutting highs that are ear piercing. I feel the only thing I can enjoy playing through this amp is rythms. It's just not what I'm after. I want more out the amp by itself.

Anything I should try to get more from this amp (change tubes, new speakers)?

Btw, I did get a pretty good deal on the amp. I got it for 695 and it was pretty much bran new. They are the original owners. Only one other person owned it and brought it back a few months later to trade for something else (I don't remember what).

Thanks!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

Sell it. What you're hearing is what a few guys have heard when they owned that model amp. Some like them...but those that don't are hearing something less than 100% pleasant. My guess is you'll never love it. Lew

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

What year is the CVR and what speakers does it have???

Those amps can sound good but they need new speakers and tubes to do so and to be honest even after that they are only gonna be alright...that will never sound amazing, at least not to me.

I had one, spent a good bit of time with it and traded it off after a while...don't miss it at all.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

What year is the CVR and what speakers does it have???

Those amps can sound good but they need new speakers and tubes to do so and to be honest even after that they are only gonna be alright...that will never sound amazing, at least not to me.

I had one, spent a good bit of time with it and traded it off after a while...don't miss it at all.

That's why I said: sell it! :laugh2:

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

What is it with this amp that sets it apart from all the rest?

Also, what amp do you think would be best for me?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

What is it with this amp that sets it apart from all the rest?
Also, what amp do you think would be best for me?

Im gonna be honest here, and Im sure I'll sound like a jerk in doing so but I am of the mind that 99% of new Fender amps sound like crap right out of the box...they ALL need new tubes and speakers at the bare minimum...at least IMO.

The CVR can be made to be a good sounding amp but it takes some work and like I said it will get better but I don;t think it'll ever be a great sounding amp. The CVR is based on the '63 Vibroverb reissue, which Fender also got wrong but made worse IMO by making it the CVR.

Anyway, What exactally are you looking for in an amp and what is your budget???

 

[Bludave]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

Get a Twin and a good OD pedal and your there. The Twin has the cleanest and the most headroom of all Fender Combos. They have alll the sparkle you could ever need. They are as clean as clean gets. The 2 major problems with Twins are they are very loud and they are very heavy. Go play thru a few. If you really want to get someting better look around for a SF Fender Twin or Super Reverb. They are very different amps but if you can find them together and play thru them sidei by side you will see what I mean. IMHO the Super Reverb is one of the best Fenders ever. 40W 4 10" speakers, they move more air then most combos . They have a stron bottom end and they don't break up to early, yet whenyou crank them up they sound awesome. The trick is to find a Non Master Volume SF. The MV amps were less then inspiring to say the least. A SF Fender from 1968, thru around 72 (not sure when they added the MV) are all really good amps. IF you do some tweaking they can sound as good as any black face Fender. They are priced about the same as the RI amps are.

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

Im gonna be honest here, and Im sure I'll sound like a jerk in doing so but I am of the mind that 99% of new Fender amps sound like crap right out of the box...they ALL need new tubes and speakers at the bare minimum...at least IMO.

The CVR can be made to be a good sounding amp but it takes some work and like I said it will get better but I don;t think it'll ever be a great sounding amp. The CVR is based on the '63 Vibroverb reissue, which Fender also got wrong but made worse IMO by making it the CVR.

Anyway, What exactally are you looking for in an amp and what is your budget???

I think you're right for the most part, but I have played through some good sounding stock Fenders. Honestly, I reallyed liked the sound of the '59 Bassman and Blues Deluxe I played at guitar center. I know these are in another world from the Reverb amps, but I thought a more blackface style amp was what I'd want. I guess I should have spent a little more time with this one in the shop.

What I'm really looking for is a warm but sparkly and clear amp. I want a good creamy blues tone but stays clear and doesn't get distored too easily. I like to play at the point where you can play soft and turn the volume down on the guitar but can get some good grind if you dig into it. I'm not diggin the CVR because it's hard to get into that sweet spot. It starts distorting at a pretty low volume. I like where the break up begins on my C30 (around 7-8) and would like to keep it about that way. I'm starting to thing maybe something like the Aislin would be more for me...

 

[flank]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

sounds like a 59 bassman reissue would be good for you, they are warm yet clear with plenty of volume and overdrive (if you can turn it up)

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

I own a CVR, first year model with eminence blues.

As far as clean headroom goes, I had a cheap mod done to mine where a negative feedback loop is added to the circuit (literally into the holes in the pcb where it was left out). Mine is switchable. With the loop in it has slightly more clean headroom than a hot rod deluxe, and with the loop out it's like your amp is. Cool mod.

I've had good luck with the GT mullard 12ax7 clone in mine. I love the tone of my amp, as it's not annoying at all in the mids or treble, and I can play a two hour set without ever getting fatigued. There is a downside, though: the bass on my amp tends to overpower the 10s, making for a clunky feel. I've been meaning to experiment with the tone stack a bit but haven't gotten round to it yet.

There does appear to be a bit of variation amongst CVRs out there. My particular CVR is not especially bright at all, but I've played a couple of new ones recently: one was annoyingly bright (like yours?) and another was much less bright and had a nice round midrange like mine.

 

[Zhurh]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

I a/b'ed 5 or 6 fenders bout 2 years back at shop. Super Reverb sounded better than vibroking to my ears. None sounded like my 60's vibrolux reverb I once had.

I ordered a Bruno Cowtipper which sounds better than all those fenders put together; like a real 60's fender.

 

[Soujurn]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

Check out this sound clip. Might just be what you are after?
http://www.g2d.co.nz/sounds.php?Action=Play&MediaID=1

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

I might look into doing a little tube swapping (aka "amplifier blueprinting") on your Classic 30 to see if you can get a little more sparkle.

I would try a "bright" 12AX7, like the EH 12AX7 in the V1 of your Classic at a minimum. For $30 to $50, you can experiment with some different preamp tubes to get you closer to the sound you want.

Don't forget power tubes, too. A lot of guys like the JJ EL84s, but they are a little darker than the Russian '84s--you might try a set of the Mesa EL84s.

If you haven't changed tubes for a while, and have been running the amp hard, the loss of sparkle might be a sign that you are ready for new power tubes.

And with your Classic 30, you need to be very careful when using external speaker cabinets. You need to make sure that you don't go below 8 ohms. The Peavey Classic 112 combo, AFAIK, uses a 16 ohm speaker. If you have another speaker cab and you are using it ALONE, if it is rated at either 16 or 8 ohms, you should be okay. If you are using it WITH the combo's internal speaker--then your extension cab should be 16 ohms.

Might be worth verifying all of this with the techs over at the Peavey Forum--this is the way that the older Classic 30s that I know have been--I don't think they have changed this, but I could be wrong.

In any case, preamp tubes, power tubes, speakers, and speaker load impedance can all have dramatic effect on your amp. You may want to explore the possibilities in altering your Classic 30's tone with these simple changes.

Bill

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

Cory, the CVR was designed from the start to have a very low amount of headroom...even though it's 40 watts it has less headroom than some 20-25 watt amps out there.

Look into a Deluxe Reverb if you can get by with 20 watts, the reissues are decent sounding amps but again will need tubes and a speaker...I strongly suggest a Celestion G12H-30 for a DR. If you need more power look into Super or even a Twin that said 40 and 85 watts can often be too much power.

Im gonna make a suggestion that will require a little work but shoudl be WELL worth it in the long run...

Go and look around for a 1968 or 69 Bandmaster reverb head...the 1967 and eariler Bandmasters were non reverb amps but in 1968 CBS decided to offer both a Bandmaster and a Bandmaster Reverb. Get a Bandmaster Reverb head and a Bandmaster/Bassman cab then spend the time and money to get the head running 100%...cap job, tubes, needed repairs, etc and drop a killer set of speakers in the cab (get a repro can from Mojotone if you have to) and you'll be a VERY happy guy. You could also look into a Silverface Pro Reverb, Vibrolux Reverb, etc but since you really like the head/2x12 cab set upI think that a Bandmaster Reverb and 2x12 is the tic ket for you. If you want to look into a new Fender check out the Super Sonic...I think they need better tubes than Fender shipps them with but the cabs are loaded wiht Celestion Vintage 30's and if you spend some time with them and tweak them you can really dial in some very good tones.

 

[More-Gear-Than-Skill]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

I would suggest a nice BF vintage twin, really. Loud, and weighty, but a clean gem...

 

[scottish]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

since we are getting a lot of fender amp talk here...how do you guys feel about the re-issue of the deluxe reverb? i was thinking of buyng one, but if all the tubes and speakers need swapped then ill just build it myself. the schematics are avialable and i have the skills/tools...just not really the time so if its a pretty good amp stock, id rather just spend the extra and buy it. Or is there that much of a difference that makes it worth hunting down a vintage one?

 

[ES350]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

No NFB in the CVR or VK---a Zinky trademark. Not much headroom, low damping, more noise, etc. The switchable NFB mod seems like a good idea, but if it's new, sell it and get something else.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

since we are getting a lot of fender amp talk here...how do you guys feel about the re-issue of the deluxe reverb? i was thinking of buyng one, but if all the tubes and speakers need swapped then ill just build it myself. the schematics are avialable and i have the skills/tools...just not really the time so if its a pretty good amp stock, id rather just spend the extra and buy it. Or is there that much of a difference that makes it worth hunting down a vintage one?

The truth is, the speaker needs swapping even in the original blackface DR's from the 60's. I have two original blackface DR's and the original speaker in each was nothing special at all. Christian's suggestion of the G12H-30 Celestion is right on...that's what is in both of mine. And a great and efficient speaker like the Celestion will make the DR giggable because the amp will louder and clearer both with clean tones and overdriven tones. Both tones will sound louder and better with the G12H-30.

So whether vintage or the new reissue, they both need a better speaker...and that new speaker, if it's a Celestion g12H-30, will make all the diff in the world.

I use only NOS tubes in my amps...especially when it comes to the the small bottle 12ax7 and 12at7. Great tubes are another thing that'll improve an amp tremendously.

Lew

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

No NFB in the CVR or VK---a Zinky trademark. Not much headroom, low damping, more noise, etc. The switchable NFB mod seems like a good idea, but if it's new, sell it and get something else.

Yeah, works great. My only regret is that I had the switch installed at the back of the chassis. I should have made one of the front knobs push-pull. Footswitchable would be even better, as the boost you get when the NFB is cut out is just about perfect for a solo boost.

 

[Cory_Dylan]

Re: A little dissapointed in the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

I might look into doing a little tube swapping (aka "amplifier blueprinting") on your Classic 30 to see if you can get a little more sparkle.

I would try a "bright" 12AX7, like the EH 12AX7 in the V1 of your Classic at a minimum. For $30 to $50, you can experiment with some different preamp tubes to get you closer to the sound you want.

Don't forget power tubes, too. A lot of guys like the JJ EL84s, but they are a little darker than the Russian '84s--you might try a set of the Mesa EL84s.

If you haven't changed tubes for a while, and have been running the amp hard, the loss of sparkle might be a sign that you are ready for new power tubes.

And with your Classic 30, you need to be very careful when using external speaker cabinets. You need to make sure that you don't go below 8 ohms. The Peavey Classic 112 combo, AFAIK, uses a 16 ohm speaker. If you have another speaker cab and you are using it ALONE, if it is rated at either 16 or 8 ohms, you should be okay. If you are using it WITH the combo's internal speaker--then your extension cab should be 16 ohms.

Might be worth verifying all of this with the techs over at the Peavey Forum--this is the way that the older Classic 30s that I know have been--I don't think they have changed this, but I could be wrong.

In any case, preamp tubes, power tubes, speakers, and speaker load impedance can all have dramatic effect on your amp. You may want to explore the possibilities in altering your Classic 30's tone with these simple changes.

Bill

My C30 currently has JJs, and the 2x12 is hooked up properly with the right impedance. It does sound entirely different with new tubes and speakers, but I don't think I'll be able to get quite what I'm after with different tubes.

Soujurn, that about hit the nail on the head! That sounds really nice. I'm thinking that maybe I should have gone for the deluxe reverb, becuase the most similar higher wattage amp to it is the Twin Reverb, and 85 watts is WAY too much!

I thought that I was going to get what I was looking for from the CVR, but no cigar. In fact, the more I play through this amp the more I dislike it. It sounds horrible distorted and sterile clean. I really hate having to sell this. Selling on Ebay is a pain in the ass.

How does the Deluxe compare to the Twin?