Custom shop Handwired 64 vibroverb ri questions.

They were made from 2001ish until 2009. I would agree that yours would be from 2006 60th anniversary year.

I have asked Fender about total quantity made and was told that Fender won't release that information. Which is sort of weird since they have limited edition guitars and amp and have runs of 300s or 500s or whatever.

My gut is telling me that the new '64 Deluxe Reverb Hand Wired will be a bigger seller for Fender than the '64 Vibroverb but then again, with no posted numbers we will never know.

 

I'll give you double that. lol

 

Ampwares says 2003 - 2008 but I know I bought mine new in 2009. I guess it could of been built in 2008 and sat in the warehouse for a year.

César Díaz passed in 2002 and I remember the Fender annual catalog saying it worked with César on the development of the amp in 2001. I think that's where the 2001 came from so I'll go with the 2003-2008 build years.

 

I'm not sure I will have the time to put this amp back together today.
It looks like it has never been used so, I'm trying to figure out a way to power it up slowly before hitting the standby .
It has a ton of Illinois capacitors in it so I hope they are of good quality.
So far I see no sign of leakage from any of the caps and all solder joints appear to be perfect.
When I fire this thing up and if it turns out to be a dog I will put it on ebay with a 5.00 buy it now.
Lol[/QUOTE]

Not a bad idea to bring the amp up slowly if it has been sitting. You can use a variac to control the voltage to the amp. This will reform the dialectic layer between the plates of the electrolytic caps and reduce the likelihood of internal arcing and shorting within the cap. Pull the tubes beforehand, turn standby on and gradually increase the voltage over a period of 12 hours or so.

I have never had a problem with Illinois caps and wouldn't worry about them. If I remember correctly they did have a problem many years ago that had been corrected a long time ago. The rage right now is F&T caps.

 

I'm not sure what, if anything, is mentioned in the manual about when to switch. Personally I would only switch the setting switch when the amp was in standby or off. Solution, no popping.

 

I had one of the first 6 or so off the line. A wonderful amp! I only sold it because I can't gig any longer because of physical problems.

They were actually made for only a couple of years, just cataloged a bit longer. As far as an exact count you could contact Fender and they may be able to tell you, but I'm not sure it's very relevant to anything. You may also be able to get a copy of the documentation - but again, it's not critical.

If not send me a PM and I can at least fill you in on the operation of it. I think I have the schematic as well. It's not that complicated but there are a few important details. You need to know one right now - DON'T flip the back switches when it's on!

When in "stock" mode it essentially *is* a '64 Vibroverb. I had an original that came with an Altec; they loaded a few different speakers in it during the short run, including...as I recall...a CTS 15" that was close to the Eminence loaded in the "reissue".

The amp is one of the few true "reissues" Fender has made. The "SRV" switches are benign as long as you don't use them, and the only other changes are things like the removable power cord - required for export sales and the 1/4" reverb/vibrato footswitch jack.

I have no idea what the medallion is - mine had a plain Fender Reverb/Vibrato footswitch.

 

I remember when I first got my '64 Vibroverb. At the time I thought my DRRI and my Allen Sweet Spot sounded great. (and they did / still do) But when you play the Vibroverb right after playing one of the other amps it was like there was a fullness or bloom to the sound that was clearly missing with the other amps. Hope you enjoy your amp for a long time, buckwalder.

 

Where are the posts requesting pictures?

Was it not the philosopher Rene Descartes who said 'pictures, or it didn't happen'?

 

Per your request: V-18 is the Allen Sweet Spot

 

How do we know it's a hand wired amp? Pictures or the Vibroverb must be pcb. Ok ok, here you go.

 

Here ya' go.

I posted the chassis pics because it's a very early one and different from most of the production - primarily in the use of Mallory caps.

 

I was wondering the same thing.