Fender Vibrolux Reverb?

[Red Planet]

Anyone ever used one of these late model units that are just Standard Production . What dey sound like with a Tele and what do dey sound like with a littele gain for Solos?

[staxman]

"RC Cola and a moon Pie!"

Now that made my day. I was born and raised in South Carolina and hadn't heard that phrase in many years.

I don't currently own a Vibrolux, but they are used by many on this board. I've been toying with the idea of an Allen Encore amp which is loosely based on the Vibrolux--pricey, but I like to indulge myself once in a while.

[Red Planet]

Er at least a Jolt Cola!

Well I'm kinda staying away from the High End stuff these days. Just got rid of a Pricy High End Booteek amp that could not cut the Mustard. In its place I've got a Mesa Boggie Maverick w/ Celestion G12H30's in it. With its PCB it blows the High End Turret Board wonderfull this and that -- away! And I've got another like that. My Freakin Plexi. Of coarse its been Tweeked just a tiny bit.

Maybe its just a mid life crisis I'm going through. I've got a $3000.00 PRS that I never touch and been playing the **** out of my G&L ASAT and my $500.00 American Tele!

My favorite one lately is the $2700.00 Geetar Amp that comes with Chinese tubes (nos is Extra) ROTFLMAO!

Well its good to talk to a Nayber. Yeah aint nuttin like dem Moon Pies wid a RC.

[Skydog]

By "late model unit" I'm guessin' you mean the Custom Vibrolux Reverb (CVR) ..I have one, full tone, sustains, ..a loud (and very capable) live amp.

[Red Planet]

I guess so I'm not really up on what models are what with Fender. I meen the one that is available right now new. Its a regular production amp I think.

[Skydog]

Yep, that's it. I've had one for years and kinda like it.

[Red Planet]

What kind of guitar and (if any) pedals in front of it are you using?

And what kind of music you playing?

[tlpruitt]

If you try out one of the current Custom Vibrolux Reverbs make sure you are comfortable with the constant "hiss" sound that these amps are notorious for. Some people can live with it but some end up selling or having the amp modified to correct the "hiss" noise problem.

-Tim Pruitt

[eryque]

You should know that the current production CVR is not at all the same as a BF or SF Vibrolux Reverb, it's just that sometimes Fender runs out of names.

The voice on this one is somewhat brownfacey, I didn't like it because it didn't have much headroom and the way it breaks up just seems like grind, no sweetness or fullness to it. Keep in mind that the only times I've played one was at an open mic, so I didn't get a chance to really tweak it very much, but I wound up using this one pretty regularly and think that I got a good feel of what the amp can do.

[Red Planet]

Dont want that. My Maverick is bad about that. My Plexi used to be like that but I got it fixed. What mod do you have to do to get the hiss out?

[thornwithin5]

i just played my tele through my blond vibrolux reverb last night, i love it personally i think it's the
best combination of guitar and amp i have

clean it has a warm jazzy quality to it and running an overdrive pedal , it can sound a bit mean , the only thing
i really wish it had was a tube rectifier for a bit of tube sag , i really don't like the fact of using a ss rectifier
i guess i'm just too much of a tube purist , but the amp sounds good to me anyway , the ss rectifier does give
you a little more clean headroom though

[hearmytrain]

just this past weekend, I did all the conversions to my Custom Vibrolux Reverb RI to Vibroverb spec and then some(both RI amps use the same PCB) and i am really glad that I did...although I think the stock amp is pretty cool, it is a real one-trick-pony...by that I mean it has no usable headroom above 2 or 3 and a lot of gain...instant SRV grind if you want it, but that is about it...plus, as is generally reported, it really is a noisy amp because of some inherent design choices that were made... the conversion took about an hour and the amp has just blossomed for me...tons of clean headroom, much better reverb (tone and quantity) and the amp is close to being dead quiet...I also splurged and put in a pair of NOS RCA black plates (icing on the cake!)...the mods are very easy for someone with basic soldering skills and is aware of all the issues of working with potentially lethal voltages. I will also say that there are tricks that a skilled modder will figure out to make the process much easier (such as top-through soldering...tricky to do successfully and if you don't know what it is, you probably shouldn't try it!). Be aware that if you chose to remove the PCB to gain access to it's underside, you are adding a LOT of time to the process (make sure you create an accurate wire legend for all the various crimp-ons that must be removed) You will also have to remove all the pots and jacks to remove the PCB. I also own a late 60s Vibrolux Reverb that I did a before-and-after comparisons with, and, the modded CVR RI is now surprisingly similar to it --not the same, but pleasingly close. There is a good detailed description of all the mods on the web--do a search for "converting, Vibrolux Reverb, Mark Moyer"...this is an accurate and easy to follow "how to" article. I went one step further and added RCA jacks to the chassis for the reverb send/return cables (otherwise, you have to remove the tank from the bag everytime you remove the chassis from the cabinet.)
Brad

[Red Planet]

Thanx I'll have to check in to that. What were the mods you had to do?

[Tremo]

LOL, RC and a Moon. My dear old Dad used to say that a loooooong time ago.

I know what RC Cola is. What is a Moon pie?

[Red Planet]

Man where do you live Communist Russia? Just kidding. A moon Pie is like a soft Graham Cracker Pie with Marshmallow in the middle. You can get them coated with a Chocolate or Banna sauce. You can buy them at any grocery store.

I suppose you dont know what grits or hominy are either.

And my favorite salted peanuts in a Mountain Dew with a Slim Jim.

[Silverface]

A moon Pie is like a soft Graham Cracker Pie with Marshmallow in the middle. You can get them coated with a Chocolate or Banna sauce. You can buy them at any grocery store.

I suppose you dont know what grits or hominy are either.

And my favorite salted peanuts in a Mountain Dew with a Slim Jim

Any grocery store..where? I'm with Tremo - didn't know what a moon pie is. Never seen one.

I've seen cans of grits and hominy in the store, but I don't know anyone who's ever bought the stuff.

Peanuts *in* a drink? Uhhh...what the heck?

Oh, well - sound like stuff I wouldn't want to eat. Glad we don't have those disgusting White Castle things here either.

Then, Tremo and I both live in California where humans primarily eat human food...

[Ringo]

Hmm
I doubt what ya'll eat in CA would even qualify as food down south
Especially if you are a vegetarean, some folks around here feel like veggies is what food eats!

FYI Moonpies are a sandwich of graham crackers with marshmellow filling covered with chocolate. They also come in banana and some other flavors too.

check it out
http://www.moonpie.com/

how about another southern delicacy Goo Goo Clusters?
http://www.googoo.com/

and they are both from Tennessee , how about that!

I suppose ya'll ain't ever had grits , or turnip greens, or blackeye peas? How about cornbread cooked like pancakes?
My wife's from Lousiana - but down there you get into a whole 'nother thing - crawfish, jumbalaya, gumbo, gator
Dang I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

[BrianF]

those look really tasty right now! the online ordering looks tempting. Moonpie's kind of look like ready-made Smore's which we make when camping...toasted marshmellow, with chocalate pieces in a graham cracker sandwich.

Growing up in NYC we had Drakes cakes as our local junk food delicacy...Yodels, Devil Dogs, Yankee Doodles, and Ring Dings....we had White Castle too Silverface! you have to eat them at 4AM on the way home from a night out to appreciate them! Although you usually didn't appreciate it the next day LOL

http://www.hometownfavorites.com/sho...1&id=740&newp=

[Skydog]

What kind of guitar and (if any) pedals in front of it are you using?

And what kind of music you playing?

Mostly CS tele, no pedals. CVR lives in the trunk of my car ..handy for gigs & jams. Early-gain-breakup is myth mostly, they're loud kinda like a Super Reverb (for decades my primary amp was a BFSR). With neck pup you can get "Wooden Ships" and "Déjà Vu" tones (CSN&Y). Hiss is not an issue (I've recorded, can't hear any). Also, CVR's don't need mods, they're balanced. Blond is a must for looks.

[Red Planet]

Grits dont come in cans. Yes Moon Pies are Tasty. You must eat one while drinking an RC Cola though or you loose the hole effect.

[thornwithin5]

i'm with skydog on this one , i don't have a problem with early breakup , it doesn't really start to grind
until i get a round 4-5 depending on the guitar , my tele keeps it clean longer , but my buddy guy
strat breaks it up earlier , i've had some hiss trhough it but nothing to be annoying , problem i have with
pedals is that i can't seem to find one i truly like , i've tried ri tubescreamers , boss blues drivers , right
now i'm trying a marshall blues breaker 2 pedal , it's not bad if i keep the gain down low , but it's not
bad , not he holy grail of tone

i can run any guitar through the cvr and it has a completely different tone , from tele to les paul all totaly
night and day but yet sill retain the fender amp tone , i think the cvr is an often overlooked little
jem of an amp

[hearmytrain]

hey y'all...just to restate my position, I think the stock VLR RI is a really good amp and is a lot of fun to play...For me however, being a tinkerer (no, not a Tinkerbell!) I love messing with stuff...this particular conversion, for what I was after, was fantastic (i was seeking a more "traditional" performance envelope)...and, this conversion is completely reversible if one were to decide that the outcome wasn't what they wanted...here is the link to the Mike Moyer text:

http://www.vintage-vibe.net/Documents/CVR_to_VV.txt

Brad

[tlpruitt]

The stock CVR has no negative feedback (NFB) in the circuit. The lack of negative feedback is one of the main reasons why the CVR distorts differently that the classic BF and SF amps and the main reason why the CVR has a certain amount of "hiss" noise. All of the classic Fender amps that used 2 or more power tubes had negative feed back in their circuits.

If you want the CVR to sound more like a BF or SF Vibrolux Reverb and reduce the "hiss" then the mod that adds negative feedback is the one to do first.

As stated above you only need some basic soldering skills to do any of the mods and all the mods are reversible.

I guess being from Maryland I am lucky to have not only RC cola and moon pies but also Drakes and most importantly "Tastie Kakes" available to me. We get a little of everything here on the Mason Dixon line.

-Tim Pruitt

[Doug S.]

I've had 2 CVR's and an original blackface VR. All were good amps. Personally, I prefer the tone of the CVR with both my Nocaster and '54 LP Historic. Perfect for me. Yeah, they his a little, but I never notice it on stage. It's part of the design. It can annoy the studio and living room guys.

[Mik]

[quote="Silverface"]

Oh, well - sound like stuff I wouldn't want to eat. Glad we don't have those disgusting White Castle things here either.

I'll bet you do have sliders. Look in the freezer at Von's and Ralph's.

I concede that you may not consider anything in a supermarket freezer as human food.

Mik