Played through a '64 Fender Vibroverb....I'm now spoiled

Nathan Guilford · From: Oklahoma City

Borrowed the Vibroverb from a friend to do some recording. I took it to a gig to learn the amp and get comfortable. MAN!! The BEST sound I've ever had. But I certainly can't spend $3-4 thousand on an amp! Anybody think I could get that sweet fender tube and reverb sound for under $1000? I'm afraid I've touched nirvana and will never be happy now.

I've been playing through a Nashville 400 and like the tone very much, but .....whew. No comparison IMHO.
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Paul Sutherland · From: Placerville, California

Keep close tabs on your local Craigslist for a vintage Twin Reverb. They often come up for under $1000. But be prepared to spend more money for servicing, particularly filter caps, and tubes. Keeping a twin in good running condition will always cost more money than maintaining a solid state amp.
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Barry Coker · From: Bagley Alabama, USA

Hi Nathan The Vibroverb I'm pretty sure was a Fender Twin Reverb with a 15" 4ohm speaker rather than the standard 2 12" in a Twin. I have a 65 Blackface Pro Reverb and a Blackface Twin (clone) both sound great for steel with 2 12". I recently sold a reissue Twin custom 15 sounded good but no head room like the other two.

Long story short you can pick up a good Twin Reverb Silver face for 800-1000 dollars in good shape off Craigs list or Ebay and if the 2 12s don't soot you a new baffle and a 15 will make a Vibroverb. Do a little searching on the forum there is all kind of info about this subject. and by the way the sound you are hearing is Fender Tube sound in general.

Good luck
Barry
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Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

The '64 blackface Vibroverb is not the same a Twin Reverb. It's a 2x6L6 power section with tube rectifier. If you look at the circuit diagrams, it's pretty much the same circuit as a 4x10" blackface Super Reverb or 2x12" Pro Reverb but with an output transformer matched for a single 8 Ohm 15" speaker (ideally a JBL D130F) instead of four 8 Ohm 10" speakers wired in parallel for 2 Ohms (Super) or two 8-Ohm 12" speakers wired in parallel for 4 Ohms (Pro).

I get a very similar sound out of a very strong silverface Deluxe Reverb all set up with new good-quality electrolytic capacitors, NOS GE 6V6 tubes, and an old JBL D120F 12" speaker. Yes, it runs out of headroom a bit sooner than a properly set up Vibroverb with a good D/K130F, but most people are surprised how well it holds up in the proto-rockabilly/old-school hard-country band I'm playing with now. We have the same drummer as my surf/trash band - we're not obnoxiously loud, but I wouldn't call us quiet either.

Probably the best way to get a similar sound/power profile as the Vibroverb iin the general $1000-1500 range would be to get a relatively early silverface Pro Reverb ('68-71 or so) with the screwed-in, not dadoed baffle, and cut a new baffle for a 4-Ohm 15" JBL. I see nice Pros in the $1000 range periodically. I'd probably use a K130 (vs. D130) for the higher power of the Pro vs. the Deluxe. You could do the same with a Super but you'd have the huge box and have to deal with the 2-Ohm output transformer.

Mind you, I love Twin Reverbs, but IMO there is something special about the tube-rectified Vibroverb/Super/Pro group. Plus, they sound killer for guitar too without driving the sound techs through the ceiling. And quite a bit less weight.

Blackface schematics:

Vibroverb: http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/schem/vibroverb_aa763_schem.gif

Pro Reverb: http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/schem/pro_reverb_aa165_schem.gif

Super Reverb: http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/schem/super_reverb_aa763_schem.gif

Early silverface Super/Pro schematics are similar but with some straightforward and easily reversed changes.

There also was a handwired reissue Fender '64 Vibroverb, probably more in the $2000 range these days. Complete with Cesar Diaz/SRV mods which might not be exactly what you're looking for for PSG.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

And then there's the Fender Vibrasonic.
Basically a Twin Reverb with a 15" speaker.
Erv

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Hey, another possibility - I just saw this brand-new 40-watt amp from Mike Marsh for $1525 right here in forum buy/sell - https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=347239. I know a couple of guys that have his tweed Deluxe repros, damned nice amps. No tremelo, but this amp sports 3-knob reverb. If it's tube rectified, I'd be real interested, except that I'm up to my eyeballs in amps right now. I assume this is a hand-wired amp, but I'd ask Mike about the full particulars.

Godfrey Arthur · From: 3rd Rock

A Fender Bassman head will get a Fender-y tone without being in the Vibroverb stratosphere of Benjamins.

You won't have a verb and vibrato circuit but the clean tone is there.

Your choice of the Blackface and the Silverface.

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Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Godfrey,
I played through one of them for years.
I added reverb to it when Fender came out with this unit.

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Build a kit, or have it built... vintage is crazy expensive right now.
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Patrick Ickes · From: Upper Lake, CA USA

I have a reissue Fender '64 Vibroverb Amp from about '95 or so. Has the Stevie Ray/Cesar Dias mods. PTP hand wired, tube or SS rectifier switched, cuts trem circuit for more gain, etc. Changed the baffle and installed a JBL D-130F. 40 or 50 watts depending on rectifier chosen. Reverb and Tremolo.
I like it!
Patrick

Godfrey Arthur · From: 3rd Rock

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Godfrey,
Yes, they're bringing big money. Very Happy

Erv

Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

Nothing really "magic" about the Vibroverb.. Basically, its a blackface Super Reverb that runs a 4 ohm load as opposed to 2 ohms..

the magic sound you are hearing in my opinion is common to ALL the 40 or so watt Fender amps of the era that used tube rectifiers.. Vibroverb/Super Reverb/Tremolux/Pro Reverb in the BF era, and joined later by the bandmaster Reverb.. Any of those amps with a good 15 [ JBL for my taste ] will do the trick.. the Bandmaster Reverb does not sound like the earlier amps in stock form, but can be made into the same amp as a vibroverb.. They are for sale often, and some techs build a lot of them, calling them "Vibroclones"..

Best bet?... I would find a BF Tremolux head paired with a good reverb unit and a 15 cab.. It will give the sound you want.. My Tremolux had an otherwordly sweetness for pedal steel.. Second best bet is a Super Reverb with a 4 ohm transformer from a Bassman.. You CAN use the Super Reverb as is, the impedance mismatch never hurts Fender amps, I have doe it for years with NO ill effects.. A plain old BF Super Reverb with 4 10's is a wonderful sound for pedal steel, in my opinion every bit as good as a Vibroverb, and a lot more attainable.. Best tone I ever had on a pedal steel.. Tremolux and Super Reverb.. bob
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Bob Carlucci · From: Candor, New York, USA

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Bobby Nelson · From: North Carolina, USA

I think one of the best values you can find, is a silver face Twin Reverb. I got mine for (a 1973) $800.00 and, as mentioned above, put a hundred or so into having it gone through - new caps and such. I also splurged for a set of factory reconed, but never used K-120 JBLs, which ran about $400.00 if I remember. At a later date, I had a set of Rick Johnson split cabinets built to cut the weight, and give me better tone.

I couldn't imagine a better tone, or more headroom without going the 3-4 thousand route. Another thing you'll get with the Twin Reverb, that you won't get so much from the 40 watt variety amps, is clean headroom. The only thing I use with it is a matchbox, which gives me tone and volume at the guitar, and adds a little something else I've gotten addicted to, and my Hilton vol ped.

As mentioned above, the Vibrosonic is the same amp with 1X15" speaker (It may have a different transformer, I'm not sure). I plan, in the future, to acquire one, and do the same treatment to it that I did to my Twin.

I totally understand your dilemma - I had an NV 400, and it was a wonderful sounding amp until I plugged into my Twin. Happy amp hunting.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

I bought a Twin Reverb in 1967 and ordered it with the JBL speakers.
It's a heavy sucker but you can't beat the tone!
The Vibrasonic uses an 8 ohm speaker, the Twin a 4 ohm. Very Happy

Erv

Tom Wolverton · From: Carpinteria, CA

I built up a VV clone from a Bandmaster-Reverb head. I did all the tweaks and mods to get it voiced for pedal steel. It was a very lovely sounding amp. But seemed to work in a rather limited vol range. I tried it with bands that had drums and bass and it just seemed to break up too soon. I quickly decided that for the weight, I would be better off with a Twin Reverb. The VV clone was about 50 lbs, with a neo speaker. I sold it to someone who was playing in quieter venues and I think it is working well for him. I have other amps that get the job done just as well that are much lighter. And for lower vol gigs, I prefer a non-reverb BF Deluxe.

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Josh Yenne · From: Sonoma California

Hey man...

Is that the first time you've really played your steel through a tube amp of any kind? Granted a Vibroverb with the JBL is KIIIIILLLER... a desert Island steel amp (I'm lucky enough to have one as well)

But you might just be getting off MORE on the tube amp side of things... the VV is probalby the most sought after of all the vintage fenders... if you need a ton of power like a lot of guys on here said vintage Twins are VERY easy to find and not too expensive... but you might be able to get by with a different real fender (hand wired not a reissue) or all the GREAT boutique fenders out there....

Granted... and I know.. kicking the dead horse on another thread.. I think Peaveys are TERRIBLE and it always amazes me that people love them so much..

but each to their own.. I hate solid state tone for guitar as well... just my opinion...

But you might just want to try playing some other tube amps.. the VV is on top of the mountain for many but I think you might just be "getting" the tube amp thing..

Rich Upright · From: Florida, USA

Try one of these for steel (if you can find one). Best reverb & tremolo on the planet!

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Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

In nearly 50 years of poking at this steely thingy through just about every kind of amp, my absolute first choice for amplification at moderate volume levels has become the '64 Vibroverb with a JBL D130F and a good reverb tank. The '64 Twin Reverb picks up the tab for louder work, and I also have a '65 Super Reverb full of JBL's and JJ's that has its own mojo, but the VV is the one sitting by the door.

Here is why the Vibroberb sounds "better" than the other AA763/AB763 BF Fenders: The single JBL 15" speaker moves the most air possible per watt without the phase-induced comb filtering produced by multiple speaker arrays. Result: The best distribution and response possible, particularly of midrange frequencies, both on stage and off, i.e. you can HEAR it better than the others, everywhere. Plus, it can play clean and sweet all night long, but when you lean on it you will discover why SRV swore by this rare little gem, and why a guy who found out I had two of them drove 100 miles to my house to trade me his car for my spare...

As mentioned above, you can easily find a decent SF Vibrosonic amp with a JBL K130 for under $1000. Similar sound with twice the power, but also heavier.

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