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Topic: Vibrosonic |
Rick Vizzi
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 6:59 am |
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I found a Vibrosonic in a music store that has a good number of old Fender amps.
The serial # is A970465. They want $630 for it. I went to try it out and after it was on for about a minute a line of smoke started coming out about from the middle (of the top), and I wasns't getting any sound from channel two. At the speaker jacks it says 135 watts. There's a 15" speaker in it that I never heard of.
Is this amp worth buying and fixing at this price, or should I try to get it for a lot less? |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 8:33 am
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| Rick, that is a rare Fender amp that is worth what they are asking. Ones in good shape can go for $800, and you'd still want to spend a couple hundred to have it checked out and upgraded. So around $600 for one that obviously needs work is not bad at all. This amp is basically a silver face Twin Reverb with a 15" speaker. But the neat thing about it is that it is built to take an 8 ohm speaker. So it can take the classic JBL D130F or any of the many other 8 ohm 15" speakers out there. A regular Twin (and most other large Fender amps) was designed to take two 8 ohm speakers in parallel, for a load of 4 ohms, and so cannot make good use of all the 8 ohm 15" speakers out there (unless you use two of them in parallel). So the Vibrosonic is better than a Twin, and so is one of the best steel amps ever made. They are too loud, clean, and heavy for most guitar players, and the 15" speaker doesn't appeal to them. But this amp is a steelers dream. In my experience the silver face Fender amps of the early '70s are the best amps ever made for steel. Guitar players prefer the earlier and more expensive black face models for the crunch and early breakup. But the cleaner and more powerful silver face amps are better for steel. And they were still hand-wired high quality amps compared to today's pc board amps. If you buy this amp and don't like it, you will find many buyers here on the Forum. |
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Jay Ganz
From:
Out Behind The Barn
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 8:52 am
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I had one in '75 for a few years. Great amp
but in '78 I bought a Webb when they first
came on the market. I eventually sold the
Vibrosonic for $350 a year later. |
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Mark Herrick
From:
Bakersfield, CA
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 10:05 am
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The speaker may be a Cerwin-Vega. I saw a late 60's / early 70's Vibrosonic Reverb with one of those speakers.
Smoke, eh? Sounds like you have some room to negotiate that $630 price...
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 2:27 pm
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Was channel the other channel still working well? Interesting, could be a lot of things! I would not give over $450.00 for it, as I am a tech and can see a lot of potential for spending money there!
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 2:31 pm
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| Try Musicgoround.com. There is one in Chicago for $599.00 that could be interesting. |
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 2:42 pm
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| Listen to Ken. The price for a good condition Vibrosonic Reverb w/ ultralinear transformer (135w) w/ JBL D130F should be around $700-800. The D130's alone are going for $200. A different speaker devalues the amp some. An amp ain't supposed to smoke. That devalues it considerably. I question if this is worth even a much reduced price---it has the potential to be a pain. Considering its condition, it could likely need a cap job and tubes---$200+. Also, any store that puts a smoker out on the floor is not likely to be very forthcoming about (or aware of) anything else you ought to know about the amp. I'd be leary. |
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 4:41 pm
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| More like $300.00 for darn good going over! I did not see the sepaker was not original. Offer even less! [This message was edited by Ken Fox on 15 February 2005 at 04:42 PM.] |
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Rick Vizzi
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 5:25 pm
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Thanks for the replies! I'm getting back to beginning steel again after having to sell a fine Williams D10 because of financial difficulties (you may recall). I have an SD10 Williams on order, and the amp will be next. So.......
Do I just get a Steel King and forget the hassles of tube amps, or do I go for the tube sound and use it for 6 string too? While checking out Mesa Engineering amps at the music store I was talking about (with many old Fenders) I saw this Vibrosonic, and was curious, after hearing them being talked about on this Forum. I know no one can say for sure, but is this Vibrosonic worth messing with, or.... would it be worth the big bucks to go to a Mesa Lonestar or head with cabinet and 15" Black widow? I know no one can tell me what I think I would like, but... I'm open to suggestions since I'm still new to steel playing. Any additional comments would be appreciated. Thanks! |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 15 Feb 2005 6:15 pm
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| Quote: |
| Do I just get a Steel King and forget the hassles of tube amps, or do I go for the tube sound... |
Only you know what you want, but I can tell you this...9 out of 10 steel players can't tell the difference between a tube amp and a solid state one, sound-wise.
On the down side, it's pretty heavy and not much good for straight guitar. On the plus side, it's a pretty good steel amp, and it won't depreciate like any new amp would. But, it will require $ome periodic maintenance that a solid state amp wouldn't.
So, I wouldn't give over $350-$400 if it's not working, and the cosmetics better be pretty good, too! This amp could easily require a new speaker ($150), a new set of tubes ($100), and a cap job ($150) to put it in A-1 shape.
Do ya feel lucky? 
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Mark Herrick
From:
Bakersfield, CA
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Posted 17 Feb 2005 12:18 am
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I'm very curious to know what the store would consider a reasonable offer for that amp. My suspicion, based upon my experience with other music stores, is that they won't knock off more than $100.
That amp could easily cost $300 to retube with some nice NOS puppies...not to mention whatever else is wrong with it... |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 17 Feb 2005 4:12 am
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A retail store..well..they will probably not give much off..they will have a tech fix it in 2 hours ..which is probably $30..and maybe another $20 in parts..
the issue will be did the tech fix it correctly..and long term..
I have been eyeing a Session 500 with 1/2 power output..they wanted $375 I offered them $150..they told me they have a tech that will fix it for a few dollars...they told me to take a hike..so I did...
the amp is still there in non operating condition..3 months now...
Personally on this Fender amp if it can not be had for a reasonable decrease from the inital price..I would walk..these amps need to be repaired by REAL techs that know these amps..maybe talk to the tech repair guys and see where they are coming from with these Fender amps...you will learn in a heartbeat if they are familiar with them...
by the way, the Fender/Eminance 15" speakers are not bad..they handle a ton of power as well.. have also heard that the K series JBL's are really the ones to have in the amp if regular bandstand use is in the cards, it is my understanding that they can handle way more power than the D's which we used to blow out regularly back in THOSE days...
t
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Mark Herrick
From:
Bakersfield, CA
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Posted 17 Feb 2005 2:34 pm
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| I thought the K-130 and the D-130-F were the same speaker, just re-named "K" to get around the price freezing that was happening during that time period. Seems I recall reading that somewhere here on the Forum. |
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