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Topic: Fender amp experts - what's the story on this SFVR? |
Marc Stone
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2018 8:05 am |
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Just ordered this Vibrolux Reverb off reverb.com. 66 trannys, 67 chassis, silver face plate w no drip edge.
What's your best guess on this? Transition piece that Was thrown together at factory from avail parts? BF amp that had face place replaced?
Thx!
https://reverb.com/item/6213111-fender-vibrolux-reverb-1967-used |
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2018 8:57 am
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| I'm no expert but it looks correct to me for '68, which were the first of the silverfaces. The "drip edge" was discontinued after a year or so. Congratulations. You purchased one of the finest guitar amps ever built IMO. CBS didn't screw up the smaller amps until much later than '68. The circuit number is the key. Yours is likely an AB964, which was a good-un. Along about 1970 is when the engineers began "improving" them, with the AA270 circuit. |
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Brian Hollands
From:
Geneva, FL USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2018 9:46 am
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The reverb listing is down so no more pictures - post some if you can or when you get it.
It's not unusual to have transformers that were manufactured a year prior to the amps manufacture date. A face plate could be changed but for the cosmetics to match they'd have to change the grille cloth and plate on the back of the chassis too.
There's an ink stamped code on the inside of the chassis near the bias board that'll tell you when the amp was tech'd. A Princeton Reverb I recently went through had "T300668" which means that tech #30 checked the amp during the 6th week of 1968. Obviously, all the EIA codes will be earlier than that date.
_________________
'81 Sho-bud LDG, 2 EMCI's |
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Michael Butler
From:
California, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2018 11:23 am
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fender ordered tons of parts so some could be new and some old. check the trannys and the serial number on the back as well as numbers on pots, speakers and caps.
play music!
_________________
please see my Snakeskin's Virtual Music Museum below.
http://muscmp.wordpress.com/ |
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Marc Stone
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2018 12:40 pm
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Marc Stone
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2018 12:41 pm
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| obviously a lot of the caps have been replaced, incl the filter caps which i'm happy about. still has 2 prong cod tho... that's gotta go... |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 24 Apr 2018 6:23 pm
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I have used a few SFVR at rehearsals over the years and fwiw, they were extremely Treble-ee.
You might try one with the instrument you plan to use it with, before buying. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Apr 2018 6:58 am
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| Everything looks right for a 67-69. But man, that's a lot of money for a SF amp. |
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Marc Stone
From:
Louisiana, USA
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Posted 25 Apr 2018 7:40 am
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Sadly late 60s SFVRs are fetching those kind of numbers now. A 68 SFVR chassis only just got $1400 plus shipping on eBay and the only early SFs I see for sale are early 70s asking over 1,300 w ship.
As far as I can tell this one is all BF - 66 trannys, 67 chassis, BF circuit (I think? According to those more knowledgeable than myself), and I don't see any BFVRs avail for under $2k, most asking significantly more.
Hope I'm right.....  |
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Randy Owens
From:
West Central Indiana, USA
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Posted 25 Apr 2018 1:50 pm
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It's cool to see the similarity to my modern hand-wired Super's innards...
_________________
2003 Mullen Royal Precision, Walker Stereo Steel, Ampeg G-15, Telonics FP-100 |
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Brian Hollands
From:
Geneva, FL USA
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Posted 25 Apr 2018 2:25 pm
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Interesting amp. The silverfaces are known to have appeared as early as April 67 but this one looks to be March 67. Definitely transitional. Would have been nice to have seen it before the work was done.
I might enquire on one of the amp forums if anyone has run across an early silverface that did not have the drip edge trim.
_________________
'81 Sho-bud LDG, 2 EMCI's |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 25 Apr 2018 8:58 pm
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IMO it's a ...hmmmm..."sorta" stock one - but with ALL the caps except very minor, non-tone caps having been replaced with generic types (when I see loads of orange drops in a Fender I shudder, immediately thinking "whoever did that must have read Gerald Weber's 1st book and "become a home amp tech". My least favorite tone and coupling caps in Fenders.
The speakers are replacements.
I think it's overpriced for not having original speakers. As far as the year it looks like a late '67, lacking the vertical panel lines of the early ones. As far as '66 parts it's irrelevant - parts hung around the factory for years.
What's the serial number embossed on the back of the chassis? That indicates the actual "completion date" within a 6 month period or so. Parts dates are very misleading.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Eric Philippsen
From:
Central Florida USA
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Posted 26 Apr 2018 6:11 am
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Other posters have been pretty accurate in their comments. Here are a few of mine gathered from buying and selling vintage gear:
- Any day you sell an amp is a good day.
- The days of finding a 100% unmolested vintage piece of gear are few and far between and anything that's been changed or repaired is almost always reflected in the price.
Top price paid for this SFVR. It's an exception. |
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Carl Mesrobian
From:
Salem, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2018 1:06 pm
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The Vibrolux Reverb is , IMO, one of the best sounding amps for 6 string jazz guitar - I use my Pro Reverb and Princeton Reverb mostly now.
_________________
--carl
"The better it gets, the fewer of us know it." Ray Brown |
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