Help me with a mid-life amp crisis

[charlie chitlin]

I am actually considering selling my '56 Deluxe and cool 5E3 in a wide panel tweed Pro cab (clones) with JBL D130 to get something different.

I would REALLY like something old and cool with:
Tube rectifier
15" speaker
Reverb and Vibrato

I think I need a '64 Vibroverb, but they are STEEP!
Thanks, Stevie.
Maybe a brown Pro with a reverb tank on top?
Anybody know anything about the Reissue '64 Vibroverb?
BTW...my Deluxe is cool, but FAR from original...and very shaggy.
Not sure what it would fetch.

[muchxs]

Originally Posted by charlie chitlin

I am actually considering selling my '56 Deluxe and cool 5E3 in a wide panel tweed Pro cab (clones) with JBL D130 to get something different.

I would REALLY like something old and cool with:
Tube rectifier
15" speaker
Reverb and Vibrato

I think I need a '64 Vibroverb, but they are STEEP!
Thanks, Stevie.
Maybe a brown Pro with a reverb tank on top?
Anybody know anything about the Reissue '64 Vibroverb?
BTW...my Deluxe is cool, but FAR from original...and very shaggy.
Not sure what it would fetch.

Man, this is too easy.

A Vibroverb is a Super Reverb sans midrange control and with an 8 ohm OT.

You have a D130.

There was a complete working AB763 Super Reverb chassis on FeeBay last week. It went out at around $500.

I'd say, "Screw it!" on the faceplate. I'd keep the midrange control on my Super, swap to a Twin Reverb or Bassman 10 OT to play nice with my D130. The cabinet is no problem, wood grows on trees...

Take the three grand you saved and go to Vegas...

That's how you cope with a midlife crisis.

[WireLine]

Keep those, get a Ferrari, a blonde Bassman, hook it to a 2-10 cab...then get a blonde, a ginger, and a good doctor.

Worked for me, anyway

[muchxs]

Originally Posted by WireLine

Keep those, get a Ferrari, a blonde Bassman, hook it to a 2-10 cab...then get a blonde, a ginger, and a good doctor.

Worked for me, anyway

Get a redhead named Ginger who happens to be a doctor. All the better if she owns a Ferrari.

You know you made the big time when she asks, "Can my blonde girlffriend play, too?

[jhundt]

charlie chitlin - you are old enough to know better! And you have been on this forum long enough now to know that changing those amps ain't gonna change a thing in the way you play and the way you sound. Stop looking here in the Amp Central Station - go play around on the Tabs, Tips etc. forum. You have some great amps already!

[Jim Dep]

Originally Posted by muchxs

Get a redhead named Ginger who happens to be a doctor. All the better if she owns a Ferrari.

You know you made the big time when she asks, "Can my blonde girlffriend play, too?

This girl is a match for all your criteria. Her name is Ginger, she's a PHD, owns a Ferrari, and digs "mature" guitar players that are in the market for an amp with a tube rectifier.

This must be MORE than a coincidence. LMK if you want her email.

[BobbyZ]

Thanks for that image Jim !
I may need to drink untill the part of the brain with that image dies !

[alnicopu]

Funny, I played with a band called Mid Life Crisis. A bunch of 50+ Year olds sitting around a garage playing old rock and roll while the wives cooked wings, made slaw, then talked about us in the kitchen while drinking wine. Great way to start a weekend.

Then we would compare hangovers on Sunday morning. Ain't it grand when the kids can leave on their own.

[birddog01]

Originally Posted by jhundt

charlie chitlin - you are old enough to know better! And you have been on this forum long enough now to know that changing those amps ain't gonna change a thing in the way you play and the way you sound. Stop looking here in the Amp Central Station - go play around on the Tabs, Tips etc. forum. You have some great amps already!

This is a funny thread, but thats the most sound advise I see and you know in the back of your mind it's True

Sometimes ya just gotta take a step back and look at yourself like someone else might.

[muchxs]

Originally Posted by Jim Dep

You must be lookin' at the wrong end.

[printer2]

One good think came of it. Took my little practice amp and plugged into a 15" bass cabinet with an Altec in it. Tried it once with a 68 Bassman head and it sounded horrid. Thought 15's were not suited for guitar unless they were specifically made for them. While not quite what I would want for guitar the Altec did not sound too bad with the little 5 watter. Guess that means the Bassman needs an overhaul as it is original and has not been used in over 30 years.

[StephaninMelb]

The Fender 64 VIBROVERB Valve Electric Guitar Amplifier Combo,50 Watts, Blackface, 1X15" Eminence Speaker. Classic looks and sounds from this superb customised, versatile, all tube, Blackface Fender Vibroverb.

The Fender 64 Vibroverb Custom merges classic design with professional custom modifications to deliver a versatile guitar combo. Late, great guitarist and “Amp Doctor” César Diaz - best known for caring for the amps of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and others - approached Fender in summer 2001, eager to collaborate on a Vibroverb amp that included some of his favorite modifications. He provided valuable input throughout the project’s early stages before his untimely passing in April 2002. The result - the ’64 Vibroverb Custom - is a hand-wired all-tube combo amp. Its solid finger-jointed pine cabinet provides thick, resonant tone perfect for the unique, throaty sound of a single 15 inch speaker. From the front, it appears to simply be a faithful reissue of the rare and collectible 1964 Blackface Fender Vibroverb amp, but a few surprise features can be found on the back that’ll kick the tone into overdrive! Diaz’s legendary Vibroverb modifications are on the rear panel - the mod and rectifier switches allow players to enjoy vintage Blackface tones and hot-rodded, cranked-up Texas blues tones bristling with sustain and harmonics. Other premium features include a 15 inch Special Design Eminence speaker with full, rich bass tone and top-end shimmer, and two powerful 6L6 Groove Tubes.

The main features of the Fender 64 VIBROVERB include:

Classic looks and sounds from this superb customised, versatile, all tube, Blackface Fender Vibroverb

• Type: All Tube Amp
• Output: 40 Watts into 8 ohms or 4 ohms (Tube Mode), 50 Watts into 8 ohms or 4 ohms (Solid State Mode)
• 8 ohm operation
• Speakers: 1-15 inch Special Design Eminence, 8 ohm Speaker with Ceramic Magnet, (p/n 0059660000)
• Channels: Dual Channels (Normal and Vibrato)
• Features
  ......All Hand Wired Circuit
  ......15" Speaker
  ......Solid Finger Jointed Pine Cabinet
  ......Circuit Modifications Designed by the Legendary Cesar Diaz
  ......Tube Driven Spring Reverb
  ......Tube Vibrato
  ......2-Button Footswitch
  ......Standby Switch
  ......Extension Speaker Jack
  ......Tube/Diode (Solid State) - Rectifier Switch
  ......Tilt-back Legs
• Controls:
  Front Panel
  ......Normal Channel: Bright Switch, Volume, Treble, Bass
  ......Vibrato Channel: Bright Switch, Volume, Treble, Bass, Reverb, Vibrato: Speed, Intensity
  Rear Panel
  ......Tube/Diode (Solid State) Rectifier Switch
  ......Power Switch
  ......Standby Switch
  ......Speaker and Extension Speaker Jacks
  ......Footswitch Jack
  ......Stock/Modified Circuit Switch
  ......Reverb Output RCA
  ......Reverb Input RCA
• Covering: Black Textured Vinyl with Silver Grille Cloth
• Weight: 52 lbs. (23.58 kg)
• Dimensions: Height: 20 inches (50.8 cm), Width: 25 1/8 inches (63.8 cm), Depth: 10 1/2 inches (26.7 cm)
• Tube Complement
  ......Power Tubes: 2 X GT 6L6
  ......Preamp Tubes: 4 X 12AX7, 2 X 12AT7
  ......Rectifier: 1 X GZ34/5AR4 Rectifier Tube Plus 1 x Solid-state rectifier (switchable)
• Fender 2-Button Footswitch for Reverb and Vibrato On/Off, p/n 0994058000, and Cover p/n 0059753000, included with this product

Fender '63 Vibroverb Reissue

Fender had in 1990 to 1995 the '63 Vibroverb Reissue. Unfortunately it wasn't an exact clone and had 2 x 10 speakers and SS rectifier. It looks nice though in its blonde Tolex with brown faceplate. Also with its PCB circuit it would be hard to do a conversion to tube rectifier and the baffle is glued in so hard to put in a single 15" to replace the 210 set-up.

Pictures Top to Bottom: (1) Fender '63 Vibroverb Reissue, (2) Fender '64 Vibroverb Custom (Reissue), (3) Fender '64 Vibroverb Custom Back, (4) Fender '64 Vibroverb Custom Guts #1, (5) Fender '64 Vibroverb Custom Guts #2

[Middleman]

Get a Harley or the Vibroverb.

[charlie chitlin]

Originally Posted by jhundt

charlie chitlin - you are old enough to know better! And you have been on this forum long enough now to know that changing those amps ain't gonna change a thing in the way you play and the way you sound. Stop looking here in the Amp Central Station - go play around on the Tabs, Tips etc. forum. You have some great amps already!

Are you sayin' you clicked my link, heard my playing and are suggesting that my sound is fine, but it's my chops that need work?!?!?
OK...point well taken.
This all came from the fact that I gigged my Peavey DB a couple nights ago, and I love the grab 'n go aspect of it and I was searching for something....OK...I'll admit it...cooler to gig with.
My original Deluxe isn't seeing much action and my "big" one requires the schlepping of the outboard reverb and has no vibrato.
I'm not so much chasing the tone dragon as trying to streamline.
I could also buy a nice Super Reverb AND another guitar with the proceeds of the sale of the 2 amps

[Jim Dep]

Originally Posted by muchxs

You must be lookin' at the wrong end.

Suppose you're right. Doubt if there's any snags on the other end.

[Toppscore]

Originally Posted by charlie chitlin

I am actually considering selling my '56 Deluxe and cool 5E3 in a wide panel tweed Pro cab (clones) with JBL D130 to get something different.

I would REALLY like something old and cool with:
Tube rectifier
15" speaker
Reverb and Vibrato

I think I need a '64 Vibroverb, but they are STEEP!
Thanks, Stevie.
Maybe a brown Pro with a reverb tank on top?
Anybody know anything about the Reissue '64 Vibroverb?
BTW...my Deluxe is cool, but FAR from original...and very shaggy.
Not sure what it would fetch.

How about a Reissue Fender 5B6 1x15 Bassman??? Toppscore

[RubyRae]

This is a funny thread indeed, but some good advise too. It's a tough one especially when potentially sacrificing some vintage smaller amps to fund a larger...
The questions I'd ask myself is what kind of clean headroom do you need? The brown vibroverb though a great amp isn't the samle clean as a blackface. The 2-10 speakers arent the same as a 1-15, etc. It really boils down to what you want. I have been circling round and round over this, and come to find the Allen Encore will suite my needs the best. You can do any size cab or speaker combo you want, has great reverb and clean tone, but with brown era tremolo, plus you can get the brown/tweed tones with the raw control. Lots of options, but not vintage.

I also agree with jhundt on some sound advise, be it's human nature to want more amps.
I must say tdpri is the best and worst thing that ever happened to me, but I wouldn't change a thing.

[Toppscore]

Originally Posted by Jim Dep

This girl is a match for all your criteria. Her name is Ginger, she's a PHD, owns a Ferrari, and digs "mature" guitar players that are in the market for an amp with a tube rectifier. This must be MORE than a coincidence. LMK if you want her email.

Does she have a good personality?
Or nice legs?
What does her mother look like?

[Jim Dep]

I'm addicted to collecting more amps. No getting around it. I do play a little differently depending on the amp's better characteristics. I've got a Peavey DB 210, Marshall AVT275 combo (takes pedals great on the clean channel), early 60's Beltone AP -22 1x12 combo 6L6's with tube rectifier, Peavey Stereo Chorus 212, VOX AD15VT. Now I'm really wanting a Marshall Class 5...I'm thinking it will give me a sound I can't get from the other amps...I doubt if that's true, but I'm convincing myself otherwise. I wasn't like this when I was younger, so I'm guessing the mid life crisis is over riding my common sense.

[Jim Dep]

Originally Posted by Toppscore

Does she have a good personality?
Or nice legs?
What does her mother look like?

Oh yeah! She's a doll. Legs? whoa boy. Nice and long, like her teeth. Go all the way up and make an *** out of themselves.

Her mother? Well, she's an orthodontist with a lovely smile like Ginger's. Man, you outa see the two of them on a cookout going through a stack of corn on the cob. Typical Iowa girl raised on a farm. Like her mother, I think she's kind of the possessive type, once she sets her teeth in ya. As I said, she'd like to find an older guitar player that's not afraid to try out a new amp, if ya know what I mean. A fine catch for the right guy, yes sir.