'63 Brown Vibroverb RI - yea or nah?

[reverbbb]

The '63 Brown Vibroverb RI from the early '90s has recently come into my radar. I have been contemplating a tweed Bassbreaker with 2x12. I like the sound of it, but the size and weight gives way to a little bit of concern for me. But the #1 attribute is the sound.

There aren't any '63 Vibroverb RI around locally for me to test. But I heard someone playing one last week (totally different from actually playing myself).

I am after the 6L6 Fender clean and punch to round out my amp collection. I used to own a tweed Blues Deluxe with a 1x12. While it was a nice amp, I figured I had the Fender sound covered with my Blues Jr. But the BJ breaks up too much and has a single Jensen. The Blues Deluxe had an odd breakup sound that I did not dig so much either.

I really think the Bassbreaker is what my ears want to hear. But the weight and the cost are making the Bassbreaker less desirable to the Vibroverb RI. Plus, the Vibroverb has reverbbb and tremelo that the Bassbreaker does not have (which I may or may not ever use).

I know that a lot of folks are going to jump in and offer up another alternative, like a SF Vibrolux or such. But I am not wanting a lot more variables to make me even more confused (very easy to do). Any opinions on the two amps that I have mentioned?

[Bob Davis]

Hello,
Back in late 1994 I bought 2 of these amps and I've been beating on them quite heavily for what is now almost 10 years, and like that Energizer rabbit they simply keep going and going etc........ All I did was get rid of those Brown Oxford speakers that come with the amp, and I switched the 5881 tubes over to 6L6s.Since I did those 2 simple mods, I've had nothing but fun with these 2 amps and my Telecaster. I get lots of comments and questions about my tone, and a lot of that comes from these amps. They don't have that bright very typical Twin Reverb sound, but what they do have is what I guess is called the "Brown Sound". The reverb and vibrato in the amp is wonderful!! They are not real loud, but if you can run them with the volume up around 7 or 8 these amps really SING!! I'd enjoy hearing other folks comments who have used these amps. Also with the Tweed Tolex covering and brown grille cloth and the tilt-back legs they have a nice funky 50's look. Like I mentioned, I get questions and comments all the time even though I simply plug the guitar directly into the amps. To "daisey-chain" the 2 amps together I do a very cool Gatton-Barden mod that I got off this very web site.Using this mod, there's no drop-off on volume or tone on the #2 amp in the chain like you'd normally get. If anyone is interested in this simple but amazing modification send me a PM and I'll mail you a xerox copy of how it's done as described by Joe Barden(where are you Joe???). I hope this info helps you out............does anyone else have any experience with these tough little amplifers??

Bob Davis

[Jim L]

The blues band I was in at the time got to play a set at which a classic rock band was performing... their guitarist that night had a Brown Vibroverb Ri (2x10) and was using a handful of pedals to dirty it up. I loved it.

We got to use their amps/pa/etc for our set.

He played a goldtop Les Paul through it and it rocked. In my opinion it would be a nice addition to your stable and would likely impress you more than the Blues Deluxe you mention.

[bo]

I had one for several years. Yes, replace the stock speakers. I also pulled the tube that drove the non-reverb channel. This gave it a little more gain. Good amps. JBLs will make it a third again as loud (and almost twice as heavy...).

[Bob Davis]

Hi Bo,
Your 100% right about the volume increasing when you add top-grade speakers. A buddy of mine has an amp identical to my own '63 Re-issue and he bought a pair of superb 10" EVM Speakers. Although the amp is now twice as heavy.........it's almost twice as loud!! The "sound" with those EVMs is super powerful! I tried also pulling the tube in the non-reverb channel but I really didn't notice much of a differance at all. Maybe I should give it another try. I'd love to have one of these amps with a pair of 10" JBL Speakers in it. I'd have to put wheels on it, just to begin to lug it around.

Bob D.

[reverbbb]

Well, I should know better I suppose. I wanted to get some feedback and thanks for all that you provided.

The basis for my questions was because I saw one on eBay that was wrongly listed as a '62 Vibroverb RI. He had it up for several days at $550 and no bids. But then today, he changed it to $599 BIN. I knew I should have acted on it because it seemed like a good price. I checked other auctions and it show that $599 was amoung the lowest selling price here lately.

Oh well. If I come across another one for that price, I'm jumping on it right away. In the mean time, I'm turning my attention back to the BassBreaker. I played it again today. And it sounds just like what I want (today - I'll change my mind next week).

[Frankie]

I've been playing one for quite some time now. Replaced the stock speakers with Kendrick's, and added MoJo tubes. This amp flat sings, the bass player uses the word "sparkle". I'm playing in a "Blues" band a couple times a week and also Classic Rock band a couple times a month. I run the Teb @ 6, Bass @ 7 and Vol @ 5. I drive it with a Vox Valve Tone 710, and also have an old MXR 6 band in the chain with the mids pushed just a bit...
Have been playing it through a Weber Mass, with the Vol @ 7.5 with good results at practice. but haven't giged with that set-up yet..

I've seen these things go for $800 / $900 on ebay, I paid $500 through a recording studio I worked with..

[Tim Bowen]

I always respond to the '63 RI Vibro threads, because I love 'em! I have two... a used one that I bought last year for 450 clams, and one that I bought new when they were originally released. I have some pretty cool amps, but the Vibro is the most gigged, most recorded amp that I own. The 'in between small and large' format has a lot to do with that.

I love the fact that they get some signature Fender cleans, but without the over-the-top spanky high end presence of typical blackface tonestacks; as a result, it's just a far more dirt-friendly amp, to my ear.

I prefer blackface reverb, but there's nothing wrong with the 'verb in this amp. The trem/vibrato is deeper and more righteous than any BF I've played.

JJ's tubes and Reverend Alltone 10's for mine. PCB construction, but I've gigged the living crap out of this amp for years, with no problems.

Purists enjoy beating up on this amp from time to time, and they're welcome to do so. For the record, there's also in the stable a '63 brownface Deluxe - which is a super vibey amp... but the Vibro is more versatile, and gets more use. Lots of folks have problems with SS rectifiers, but I don't, as it tightens the bass. For the price point, I think the '63 RI is one of the best mass produced amps Fender has produced in the last 20 years or so. Certainly gets the call more than my DRRI, Pro Junior, or my old behemoth Twin, which I really should just sell.

'63 RI sounds righteous mated with VOX amps, and is great for rounding out the EQ curve with BF Fenders as well.

Snap 'em up!

[jkats]

I've owned a 63 Vibroverb RI for several years now, and I also recommend it as an affordable, good-sounding and relatively lightweight Fender amp. I've owned everything from a 50s tweed champ to a first-year BF Fender Twin Reverb with Altecs to a BF Bassman with JBL D-120s to Music Man amps and lots in-between. In a perfect world, I'd play a BF Vibrolux Reverb or Twin Reverb, but the cost of the former and weight of the latter are prohibitive, and besides, are you really going to bring a now $2,000 BF Vibrolux to jam night? The 63 VVRI makes sense as a reasonably priced alternative to a comparable 40 watt 2 6L6 amp. It may have a PCB and no rectifier tube, but most Bassman amps and Twin Reverbs also have SS rectifiers, and there aren't a lot of complaints about those amps.
However, you might want to consider a few things. First, the 63 VVRI is voiced as a brownface, not a blackface, so the mids are not quite as scooped as the blackface. I've adapted, but my previous amp had been a (very tempermental) 66 Pro Reverb, so I had to make an adjustment in tone expectations. Second, if the amp is close to stock, it probably will sound "dark" and lack clean headroom until you replace the Oxford speakers (which have a lack of high end and break up quickly). I used the cheaper Jensen C10Qs, but others have had good luck with Webers, EVs, JBLs and other brands. New power tubes (SED 6L6s work well for me) also increased the headroom and simply sounded better than the original Fender tubes. I changed the bright cap value (C 11) from 47 pF to 120 pF (very easy to do and the cost of the cap is under a dollar) so that I didn't have to turn the treble to "10" to add "air " to the sound. Finally, early production models were underbiased -- a Fender Tech advisory that still is floating around the 'net advises which amps need a higher value bias resistor, what value to use and how to replace it.

All in all, I think the amp is a great value in a recent issue Fender that, with a few tweaks, will sound close to a vintage amp and will outperform comparably priced and powered Fender amps such as the Hot Rod Deluxe and DeVille.

[Tim Swartz]

The reissue Vibroverb is a pretty cool amp, nice breakup and very nice trem. As mentioned above the stock speakers are horrible. These typically come biased ice cold... No bias control, but I've installed several (replace the bias resistor located on the circuit board that the trem pots are mounted to with a pot).

Another amp to consider is the reissue Vibrolux, which replaced the Vibroverb in the late '90s. It is essentially the same amp with a few minor "enhancements", namely the speakers were upgraded to the same blue alnico Eminence they put in the Bassman, reverb and trem on both channels and I believe a different feedback resistor (or maybe no feedback resistor?).

The down side is that as nice as these amp sare, if you have that BassBreaker tone in your crawl, these amps are going to be pretty whimpy sounding in comparison. They just don't have the beef.

[reverbbb]

Whimpy? I think that is a big horror attribute for me. That is something that I am concerned about since I have not actually played one. The beefiness of the BassBreaker is a sound that has appeal to me.

I wonder if I should buy both the BassBreaker and a Vibrolux from GC and return the one that is less appealing? I was able to finally break through the "locked" price that they had listed on the BB. The only thing that help me back was "should I spend the money?". The answer was easy - NO!

I would need to sell a few things to justify the expense. But I am running out of things that I want to part with. Up for consideration is a MIM Strat with all MIA elctronics and Tx Spl pups, '50s Classic Tele, Marshall 1922 cabinet, and a Crate VC-2110. I love all that stuff. Plus, it will take me many weeks to sell, by then the amp will be gone.

The '63 VVRI would have been less of a delimma due to the lower cost. I could have kept more stuff .

[charlie chitlin]

I've been using mine for...oh my God...let's just say I bought it when they first came out.
It's got a million gigs on it and it sounds great.
Original speakers. They get dirty at pretty low volume and I like it that way.
This amp sounds incredible on 10.
Took me a while to get used to the tone controls. They seem to work differently from other Fender amps and it reminded me to use my ears and not just remember what nunbers to set it at.
The only modifications I made were to take off the Fender script and put one fron a '56 Thunderbird right in the middle, just for fun.
People think it makes it sound better.
"Thunderbird?!? What is that? It sounds great!!"
Heehee.

[drasp]

My '63 VV RI brought me to this forum via. a Google search.

I've only had mine ~6mos. Since I got it I've done 1x Weber 10F150 + 1x Weber 10A125, SED 'Winged C' 6L6s, Mullard CV4024s for the Reverb Driver & PI & have used GT 12AX7Ms, Sovtek 12AX7LPSs & Tung Sol RI 12AX7s for the v1 and v2 spots.

This is, hands down, the best amp I've ever played through. It has the sound in my head & works killer clean, 'on the edge' and with my collection of overdrives and fuzzes. Yay '63 VV RI!!!

[Tremo]

I've never been impressed with the RI brown Vibroverb. In stone stock form they are just plain weak.