Vibroverb Clone Project

blueslegend8

blueslegend8

New member
I'm starting a new project and it might be a first for the duncan forum. im taking a vintage Bandmaster Reverb and converting it into a Vibroverb Clone. I just got the basis for this project today in the mail, my 1968 BMR head. Its quite large thats for sure. Here's a picture of it riding piggyback on my Blues Deluxe.
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More Pics...
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Next thing on my to do list is order a cab and a 15" speaker for this bad boy.The cab is coming from J.D. Newell and the speaker is gonna be a Ted Weber VST Cali 15. Right now i just wanna get this up and running.

When finances permit later im gonna have it restored and blackfaced.
More Pics to come...
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Kyle,

You'll have some fun wqith this one, it looks great so far, that head is pretty clean and looks to be pretty well taken care of.

This will be a great amp when it's all over! I dropped you a PM but hit me up later on...
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Make sure that you change to GROUND to a 3-wire type. It might save your life and it's cheap to do.
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Somebody already changed the bias circuit and I don't see the 2000pF snubber caps off the tube sockets---so it might already be 'blackfaced'. Get the tech to put in 2 watt screen resistors instead of those big ceramics---they are supposed to go open if the bias circuit fails. Other than that, it's pretty clean---some replaced parts (like the dual 25/25's), but it still has the blue tone caps. Nice amp, good luck with it...

P.S. you might wanna consider that Cali 15 with a paper dome.
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

I just got a cabinet from Newell for a Deluxe Reverb chassis I bought on Ebay that did not include the cabinet. It's beautiful! Ordered it in Blonde Tolex and Wheat grill.

I'd like to see him use nicer looking screws on the back panels and not the zinc hardware store screws he used, but that's not a biggie.

He also used 3/4" birch ply for the speaker baffle rather than 1/2" particle board like the original blackface and silverface Fenders.

Your Bandmaster wants to see a 4 ohm speaker load. So if you have a choice, you should go for a 4 ohm 15" speaker for your project...most stock 15's will 8 ohms.

Lew
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

blueslegend8 said:
I'm starting a new project and it might be a first for the duncan forum. im taking a vintage Bandmaster Reverb and converting it into a Vibroverb Clone. I just got the basis for this project today in the mail, my 1968 BMR head. Its quite large thats for sure. Here's a picture of it riding piggyback on my Blues Deluxe.
Next thing on my to do list is order a cab and a 15" speaker for this bad boy.The cab is coming from J.D. Newell and the speaker is gonna be a Ted Weber VST Cali 15. Right now i just wanna get this up and running.

When finances permit later im gonna have it restored and blackfaced.
More Pics to come...
Click to expand...
Somebody already started black facing it.
I can't see what is under the dog house (where the main filter caps are) but if you look at the phase inverter (where the two big Orange Drops caps are), notice the two 220K carbon film resistors and the modified bias supply... that is more black face stuff.
Now yank out those two 47K resistors, replace them with the black face choice of 82K and 100k and you're almost there.
Also, get rid of the black and red, dual element, cathode bypass cap on the normal channel and replace it with two 22uF-25uF caps like the rest of the cathodes have.
I looks like someone installed a couple power tube current sensing resistors on the power tube cathodes.
Measure them and see if they are 1 ohm or 10 ohm... etc.
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

yeah man i dunno what all's been done to it but i definately see some new parts

have you fired it up yet?
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Wow, most of this forums best amp guys all in one thread.

Pretty cool


Am I the only one who's always liked the look of the blue Spragues?
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Kyle,
You are in my living room right now playing my Tele through this thing and I swear to God man, I hate to say this, but it sounds every bit as sweet as my Vibrolux. NICE SCORE. My BMR sounded no where near this great. It's clean quite and strong!! Reverb is to die for, tremolo is strong and is a keeper for sure!! I REALLY, REALLY approve!! Unreal man!
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

B Bent said:
Kyle,
You are in my living room right now playing my Tele through this thing and I swear to God man, I hate to say this, but it sounds every bit as sweet as my Vibrolux. NICE SCORE. My BMR sounded no where near this great. It's clean quite and strong!! Reverb is to die for, tremolo is strong and is a keeper for sure!! I REALLY, REALLY approve!! Unreal man!
Click to expand...

If he's basically behind you why can't you just tell him to his face? :scratchch

P.S. I'm talking to you on the phone right now! and NO I couldn't tell you that on the phone
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Beautiful man!! A BMR was my first EVER tube amp. I loved that thing. Traded it later on for a Princeton Reverb II..also a great amp :)

Good luck and I can't wait to see the finish product!
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

I just tried out this BMR through the 2 10's in Greg's vibrolux cab...it's a smokin' amp!!! It has had a little work done to it and to be honest I'd let it be as is for the time being! A cab and a speaker is all he needs now!!!
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Looks cool dude, good luck with the project. I was thinking about doing something similar, but I am leaning towards just getting a SF Pro Reverb
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

If money is not an object, see if you can snag a JBL D130F speaker. Even if it's messed up, get it reconed at 4 ohms and you'll be on your way. This is a fun project.
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Ya know yesterday I was paying a gig at an Air Force Base and halfway through the gig I just got tired of using my pedals. They weren't acting funny or giving me trouble or anything, I just got tired of them so I (between songs) plugged directly into my amp. Sometimes, I forget just how **** good old Fender's sound. My Super Reverb ROARED with life that I wasn't used to hearing out of it and it made me wonder why I needed pedals again...
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Ok so I know Greg and Christian have already posted about the tonal quality to this amp but OMG... This amp is a bad mother! Its been very well taken care of it seems because it sounds great. After I get the cab and the speaker im gonna have the rest of the blackface mods done, change out that power cord and im gonna move that middle tone control around to the rear so I can fit a Vibroverb faceplate on.:bling:

Im ordering the speaker and cab today (see other thread about speaker selection).
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Just ordered the cabinet for the 'VERB from J.D. Newell. It should be ready for pick up in about ten days. Who knew that one of the best cab builders in the business lived like twenty minutes from my house (Thanks again Christian)? That sure does save on shipping charges.

So the weber speaker should be here in another week and the cab in 10 days. the suspense is killing me.:banghead:
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

Kyle,
I am so jealous that your BMR turned out the way it did. that thing sounds immaculate man! It just proves that you can find old SilverFace Fenders for less than $600 that sound absolutely stunning!

I can't wait til' the cab is done bro. So can we assemble it and take pics at my house???

G
 
Re: Vibroverb Clone Project

ok, we can assemble it at the B-Bent crib. I need to order a speaker cable and a three-prong power cord don't I?
 
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