Conference napalm::guitar

    I wouldn't stake my life on it but I think I remember seeing one of
    these things in the Fitchburg Music Store (now called FM Music cause
    it moved to Leomister) when I was in there last thursday.  Give them
    a call.
    
    Good luck Bruce

    I just saw a blackface Vibrolux Reverb listed by a vintage shop
    reportedly in excellent condition for.........$700. Yeah, it depressed
    me, too.

    The Vibrolux/VibroVerb/Vibrolux Reverb series of Fender amps has gone
    through some of the most dramatic changes of any amp, save for the
    Bassman. They're all generally 40 watt amps. Although the Vibrolux
    Reverb (black and silver face versions) was always 2x10, earlier
    versions were 1x15. I'm just not sure which ones.

    I personally would love to have a Vibrolux Reverb. Given the current
    economic climate (in the north east U.S. anyway) you might sniff around
    and find a recent Vibroverb reissue.
    

        I don't  know  where  you  are,  or  if  you're interested in a
        VibroVerb  reissue (identical  to  mine)  -  Ted  Herbert's  in
        Manchester has a used one ticketed at ~$500...
        
        FWIW
        
        Andy
        

    	Well... I have had several single 12" a couple two 12" amps
    and I'm kinda of the notion I would like to get the two 10's. I
    	believe your Vibroverb is one 15" right? I have never tried
    	one. Currently I am borrowing someones 63 Vibrolux and I just
    	love it. That is why I am so interested in getting one myself.

        The '63 reissue Vibroverb has 2 x 10"...
        
        Andy
        

    Really! I assume it has Vibrato  as well? This person is selling
    this amp? How much power does the thing have? I would be interested
    in that!

    I re-read your note. Sounds like Ted Herberts is a music store?

    The Vibroverb is the first Fender amp to have vibrato and reverb. When
    Fender started making black amps they changed the preamp to be like all
    other amps (major design change in '63) and the name to Vibrolux Reverb
    so as to blend in with the rest of the "blah-Reverb" amp family. They
    are 40-45 watt as they employ a rather typical Fender style 6L6 pair
    output section (like the super). I think the Vibroverb is probably the
    best of the Vibro... series amps as it has 2x10s (a favorite of mine)
    and, I think, better preamp and tremelo circuits.

        Excellent summary in .8.  Ol' farts like me who staged with this
        stuff back in  the  early  '60s have a certain fondness for the
        sound, so make allowance  for  biases.  ;*) Fun thing is, I can
        duplicate Clapton's sound _exactly_ using the Vibroverb and the
        Plus on slow stuff like "Wonderful  Tonight",  where  you  have
        time to tweak the controls, but the Carvin Twin-Neck can't even
        get close in any mode.
        
        Anyway, enough rambling - Ted Herbert's is a local (Manchester,
        NH) music store which specialises in Fender products.   They're
        on  Elm  St.  beside City Hall, 603-623-0153, ask for  John  or
        Gary.
        
        If you would like to try a Vibroverb with a beer  on  the side,
        send mail.
        
        Andy
        

    	Thanks guys! I just picked up a silver-face Vibrolux in Derry
    N.H. Got it for 300 dollars. Have no idea what year it is. It says
    nothing about CBS on it anywhere and it's definetly been gig'd with.
    Acouple of questions? What is the first tube (it's as big as a power
    tube) for? This is the one furthest to the left if your facing the
    back of the amp. The reason I ask is because the black-face Vibrolux
    I was using had this tube removed and someone had plugged the socket
    with some kind of flexible epoxy - like they did'nt want anyone
    to try and use it. Yet every function of the amp seemed to work
    perfectly. I played out three times with that amp without a hitch.
    My second question is this. The silver face i just picked up was
    working perfectly all last week. I swapped the power tubes and put
    in Groove Tubes because the old ones were running unbelievably hot!
    Things were fine for a couple of days and then the Vibrato intensity
    started fading. I figured I was'nt driving the tube enough because
    I was on 2 on the amp. Sure enough I played it a little louder and
    the Vibrato kicked in strong again. I reseated all the tubes in
    the amp and powered it on again. At that point I started picking
    up a large hummmmm and the new 6L6's started heating up again. The
    Vibrato works but now I seem to have a grounding problem and some-
    thing that is making the power tubes run incredibly hot in a few
    short minutes. I don't know if these things are related - but I
    thought one of you knowledgable guys may understand the sympton
    or seen it before. I was thinking the tube bias may be incredibly
    off. But I don't know if that would cause the "Hum"? Any thoughts.
    

    
    In old Fenders, humm is usually the result of one or more power supply
    caps getting old and leaky. (It's 60Hz ripple on the power supply to the
    tubes.) I can't recommend a good source for replacements. (I myself need
    some for a couple old Fenders of mine.)

    The big tiube that you're asking about is the rectifier. GZ34 or 5AR7 or
    something. It should be on the tube chart inside the back of the amp.
    The thing that you saw in the blackface must have been a solid state
    replacement.

    Congrats,
    Ron