D
DLT
Guest
Have any of you played through this amp? What are your likes and dislikes?
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
Had one and I dug it but not enough to keep it...depending on what you are looking for it could be a great amp but don't expect Fender cleans out of it and the crunch is good but not a typical Fender tone either...
Had one and I dug it but not enough to keep it...depending on what you are looking for it could be a great amp but don't expect Fender cleans out of it and the crunch is good but not a typical Fender tone either...
Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
I've been using one for the last three years. First year of issue, blonde with the eminence alnico blue reissue speakers.
I personally love this amp. The overall tone is more brownface/blondeface than blackface fender, so the cleans are fatter. I tried mine up against blackface reissues and hot rods, as well as a couple of 60s blonde bandmasters, and preferred the vibrolux to any of them.
I had a minor mod done on mine: a negative feedback loop added and made switchable. -with the loop switched in, the tone has good clean headroom and is a bit tamer. With it switched out (stock), the amp is a bit more raw sounding and overdrives early for a 40 watt amp.
There is one weakness: the 10s tend to fart out a bit. I've learned to live with it, though i'm finally getting around to swapping out the speakers.
basically, it's a great amp if you want fender overdrive at club volumes. With my mod it's also an excellent club/medium venue clean amp.
Mine has been a workhorse for me onstage and in the studio, and I've had loads of compliments about the tone. For the purpose it serves in my collection, the only amps that I've tried and would consider upgrading to would be a Vibro King, a Bassbreaker or a tweed Victoria.
I've been using one for the last three years. First year of issue, blonde with the eminence alnico blue reissue speakers.
I personally love this amp. The overall tone is more brownface/blondeface than blackface fender, so the cleans are fatter. I tried mine up against blackface reissues and hot rods, as well as a couple of 60s blonde bandmasters, and preferred the vibrolux to any of them.
I had a minor mod done on mine: a negative feedback loop added and made switchable. -with the loop switched in, the tone has good clean headroom and is a bit tamer. With it switched out (stock), the amp is a bit more raw sounding and overdrives early for a 40 watt amp.
There is one weakness: the 10s tend to fart out a bit. I've learned to live with it, though i'm finally getting around to swapping out the speakers.
basically, it's a great amp if you want fender overdrive at club volumes. With my mod it's also an excellent club/medium venue clean amp.
Mine has been a workhorse for me onstage and in the studio, and I've had loads of compliments about the tone. For the purpose it serves in my collection, the only amps that I've tried and would consider upgrading to would be a Vibro King, a Bassbreaker or a tweed Victoria.
B Bent
Vibroluxologist
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
I played through Christians and didn't really like it. I was looking for more of a typical Blackface amp which as C said is not found in this amp! They are cool no doubt it just didn't suit me. I ended up with a real, vintage one and it rules!!
I played through Christians and didn't really like it. I was looking for more of a typical Blackface amp which as C said is not found in this amp! They are cool no doubt it just didn't suit me. I ended up with a real, vintage one and it rules!!
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
I shoudl also say this aboutmine...it didn't have the stock spoeakers in it still and the speakers that were in it I feel like were far better at clean sounds than overdrive but the amps strong suite was overdrive. I still think that with a different set of speakers it would have been a great amp but during the time I was trying to get it dialed in with tubes and speakers I bought a Mission Amps V Front 2x10 tweed Super clone so I just let the CVR go...
I shoudl also say this aboutmine...it didn't have the stock spoeakers in it still and the speakers that were in it I feel like were far better at clean sounds than overdrive but the amps strong suite was overdrive. I still think that with a different set of speakers it would have been a great amp but during the time I was trying to get it dialed in with tubes and speakers I bought a Mission Amps V Front 2x10 tweed Super clone so I just let the CVR go...
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AdmiralB
New member
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
It's identical to the older '63 Vibroverb reissue, with the exception of the lack of NFB and the reverb on both channels.
IMO the latter mod affects tone on both channels, in a negative way. The lack of NFB give the amp something of a Vox-y character and limits headroom significantly; I usually do as suggested above and add a switch or pot to put some back in.
I've converted several back to the VV setup - they use the same PCB, there are just a couple component differences.
It's identical to the older '63 Vibroverb reissue, with the exception of the lack of NFB and the reverb on both channels.
IMO the latter mod affects tone on both channels, in a negative way. The lack of NFB give the amp something of a Vox-y character and limits headroom significantly; I usually do as suggested above and add a switch or pot to put some back in.
I've converted several back to the VV setup - they use the same PCB, there are just a couple component differences.
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
The CVR and the 63VVRI do use the same PCB but there are more differences than just the NFB and verb/trem on both channels...not many differences but enough to make a solid difference, the other thing is that the 63VVRI was changed a fair amount from an original so they keep getting further away from a true vintage Fender circut.
All that said the CVR can be a damn fine sounding amp just not in a classic Fender way.
The CVR and the 63VVRI do use the same PCB but there are more differences than just the NFB and verb/trem on both channels...not many differences but enough to make a solid difference, the other thing is that the 63VVRI was changed a fair amount from an original so they keep getting further away from a true vintage Fender circut.
All that said the CVR can be a damn fine sounding amp just not in a classic Fender way.
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
I've always thought those were pretty cool little amps. Especially that 63 RI in brown. I first heard a chick wailing away in a club on 6th street in Austin playing one. Very tasty tone for the club. You can sometimes find great deals on them. I can imagine taking one apart and putting in a handwired board. That'd be the bee's knees.
I've always thought those were pretty cool little amps. Especially that 63 RI in brown. I first heard a chick wailing away in a club on 6th street in Austin playing one. Very tasty tone for the club. You can sometimes find great deals on them. I can imagine taking one apart and putting in a handwired board. That'd be the bee's knees.
AdmiralB
New member
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
-The Custom Vibrolux has a 500pf-coupling cap from the 12AX7 of the reverb return to the pot. The Vibroverb reissue uses a .0033uf.
-The reissue Vibroverb has a 100pF shunting cap, C20, across the PI plates. This is absent on the Custom Vibrolux.
-The Custom Vibrolux has 3kV spike protection diodes on the OT, the Vibroverb reissue does not.
-The stock speakers are also different, the reissue Vibroverb came stock with Oxford 10K5 reissue speakers (these suck rocks IMO), while the Custom Vibrolux came with Eminence blue alnico’s which are far better than the Oxfords.
-The reissue Vibroverb’s ground reference resistors; R62 and R63 are 47ohms. The Custom Vibrolux uses 100ohm
As for the reissue Vibroverb and the original Vibroverb the biggest difference is the fast that the reissue has a SS rec where the original was tube another big difference is in the reverb circut...The Original Vibroverb runs a 12AX7 with a 1k 1w-cathode resistor as its Reverb driver. The reissue Vibroverb (and FWIW, the Custom Vibrolux as well) run a 12AT7 with 2.2k 1w.
Thats pretty much it...
-The Custom Vibrolux has a 500pf-coupling cap from the 12AX7 of the reverb return to the pot. The Vibroverb reissue uses a .0033uf.
-The reissue Vibroverb has a 100pF shunting cap, C20, across the PI plates. This is absent on the Custom Vibrolux.
-The Custom Vibrolux has 3kV spike protection diodes on the OT, the Vibroverb reissue does not.
-The stock speakers are also different, the reissue Vibroverb came stock with Oxford 10K5 reissue speakers (these suck rocks IMO), while the Custom Vibrolux came with Eminence blue alnico’s which are far better than the Oxfords.
-The reissue Vibroverb’s ground reference resistors; R62 and R63 are 47ohms. The Custom Vibrolux uses 100ohm
As for the reissue Vibroverb and the original Vibroverb the biggest difference is the fast that the reissue has a SS rec where the original was tube another big difference is in the reverb circut...The Original Vibroverb runs a 12AX7 with a 1k 1w-cathode resistor as its Reverb driver. The reissue Vibroverb (and FWIW, the Custom Vibrolux as well) run a 12AT7 with 2.2k 1w.
Thats pretty much it...
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
I was able toget some great tones out of my CVR but every other amp I owned just killed it...it was w/o a doubt the weakest link so I let it go...The reissue 63 VV is better IMO but it still lacks things. I think hat if someone were to drop a PTP board in there and maybe new trannys set up with a tube rec it could be a killer amp but by then you've also replaced the speaker (the stock VVRI speakers are junk IMO) and new tubes...at that point you have a load oif cash wrapped up in an amp that could never be worth it.
I was able toget some great tones out of my CVR but every other amp I owned just killed it...it was w/o a doubt the weakest link so I let it go...The reissue 63 VV is better IMO but it still lacks things. I think hat if someone were to drop a PTP board in there and maybe new trannys set up with a tube rec it could be a killer amp but by then you've also replaced the speaker (the stock VVRI speakers are junk IMO) and new tubes...at that point you have a load oif cash wrapped up in an amp that could never be worth it.
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
I know they have little to no effect on the tone but they are differences.
I know they have little to no effect on the tone but they are differences.
AdmiralB
New member
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
Well, in that case we should mention the different tolex, grill cloth, faceplates...oh, and the knobs.
Aside from the NFB and reverb changes, the only other significant difference is the speakers. The Vibroverb came with Oxford reissues (very accurate IMO, they absolutely sucked as hard as the originals), the early CVRs had the Emi blue AlNiCos, and the current ones have Jensens.
I like the Emis the best but they are rather fragile.
Well, in that case we should mention the different tolex, grill cloth, faceplates...oh, and the knobs.
Aside from the NFB and reverb changes, the only other significant difference is the speakers. The Vibroverb came with Oxford reissues (very accurate IMO, they absolutely sucked as hard as the originals), the early CVRs had the Emi blue AlNiCos, and the current ones have Jensens.
I like the Emis the best but they are rather fragile.
D
DLT
Guest
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
AdmiralB,
So the Jensen speakers are the better of all the different speakers Fender has put into the CVR?
AdmiralB,
So the Jensen speakers are the better of all the different speakers Fender has put into the CVR?
AdmiralB
New member
Re: Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp
The CVR has only had Emis and Jensens. Certainly the Jensens are more robust, but I like the sound of the Emis better.
I don't think Eminence makes the paper-former version of that speaker anymore; I think they only make the Kapton version which is rated at something like 30W.
I put Weber P10Qs (back before he renamed everything) in the Vibroverb I owned; I thought they were great but today I'd probably choose something like the Emi Ramrod as I prefer British speakers.
The CVR has only had Emis and Jensens. Certainly the Jensens are more robust, but I like the sound of the Emis better.
I don't think Eminence makes the paper-former version of that speaker anymore; I think they only make the Kapton version which is rated at something like 30W.
I put Weber P10Qs (back before he renamed everything) in the Vibroverb I owned; I thought they were great but today I'd probably choose something like the Emi Ramrod as I prefer British speakers.
