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$1,200 sounds about right to me. If you're going to have an old Fender amp you also need a qualified amp tech. It will almost certainly need some maintenance sooner or later. The speakers are replacements so expect to have to replace them, although you never know. You may love them. You'll want it gone over to have caps and tubes checked, and to have pots and jacks cleaned. Whatever the purchase price may be, don't expect that to be the total cost.
But these are great amps and I wouldn't discourage you. They are heavy. They have enough power. And they're about 50 years old. And they sound magnificent when they're right. Good luck with your decision.
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03-21-2020 10:45 PM
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I passed on Silverface about 10 years ago. Same price from what I recall. In great condition. From what I recall I passed mainly on the headroom. I recall they could break up fairly early. Smaller power and output transformers as reported by Fender Guru website. ( Keep in mind I was not tuned into lower gain preamp tubes to deal with early breakup more headroom.)
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They are just great amps. If you gig and in need of a loud fender amp, it really comes down to sound preference between the Vibrolux Reverb and the Deluxe Reverb, as they are manageable in weight and more powerful than the Princeton Reverb.
Some good info here:
BF/SF Vibrolux Reverb | fenderguru.com
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FWIW, I got a '76 a few months ago for $1200. It's maybe a little cleaner than one in the OP, with no mods. I would think $1000-$1100 for that one.
They're great amps! I think you'll be happy with it.
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Mine has no discernible breakup even at painfully loud levels. I do have newer speakers and a solid-state rectifier in it, but no other mods that I'm aware of. I turn it on now and then, just to check, then go back to using the cabinet with my solid-state head. I like the sound of the dual speakers, but the small head is much more convenient and I can get almost the same sound. I wouldn't think of taking it out of the practice room because it's so big and heavy. I bought it about 25 years ago from a pawnshop, a very good deal at the time, and I could move it on the casters that were already installed. The casters have been removed, so it's pretty much immobile now. I have no idea about the value, since I've never tried to sell it, nor even looked at the current prices.
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Dear All,
Recently my beloving amp started to be very noisy. This video presents the problem:
I'm sorry for the mess in the room - the corona virus quarantine triggered some postponed repairs
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What might be the problem with the amp? Is it necessary to replace the tubes for new ones? Maybe this noise comes from the electrical installation in my flat (switchin' the grounding didn't help at all)? What are your opinions?
Best wishes,
Marcin
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Are the outlets in your flat grounded?
When’s the last time the power caps (filter caps), kathode caps and coupling caps, were changed?
Is the bias correct? Bias cap still healthy?When was the bias cap changed?
Some testing can be done:
Pull speaker and reverb cables out and plug back in a couple of times to clean any corrosion or oxidation from the contacts.
Pull all the preamp tubes, including phase shifter. Turn amp on. Still noisy? Then it’s a power amp problem. Could be the filter caps, DC-leaking coupling caps, power tubes, rectifier, bias cap, loose tube feet, loose contact sonewhere.... lots of options.
Quiet with preamp tubes pulled? Then it’s in the preamp. Start putting back the phase shifter tube, then the rest from left to right (seen from the back). If noise strat after placing a tube, replace that tube, if you’re lucky it’s a bad preamp-tube.Last edited by Little Jay; 03-29-2020 at 10:27 AM.
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Sometimes a bad or dirty potmeter can cause noise. Turn all of them up and down a couple of times to see if that makes a difference or causes more noise even.
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Judging by the video it’s a phase inverter tube or power amp problem, since it’s in both channels.
Try putting a fresh 12at7 in V6 - or if you don’t have one, take the 12ax7 from V1 and put it in V6 (won’t hurt anything) while using the Vibrato channel and see if the noise stops.
I am no expert, but it sounds a bit as if the AC-filtering (partly) fails. Rectifier - it’s a tube in the Vibrolux iirc - of filtercaps or loose conection/broken solder joint in that circuit I what I would look for.
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Seems quiet with nothing plugged in. The cable seems to be picking up interference. There will always be some tube hiss, that's unavoidable with tubes. What is the cable connected to? If nothing, that's probably the problem.
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Thank you All. It sounds like I need to go to a technician...
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YUP! Nothing works better than an O'scope for debugging noise whether it's from power filtration or in the signal chain.
Originally Posted by chemiorro
A trip to a decent tech for an estimate will save you a lot of time and money.
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In most cases a tube problem. BadPower tubes or/and bad rectifier tube.
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You did right to post the sound of it - that noise sounds just like live unterminated CA-TV coax.
Look for a wall mounted face plate where you would connect to the TV/internet and see if it is unused or not currently connected to something. Unterminatated means not connected to something (doesn't matter if the connected thing is on or off).
A live but unconnected CA-TV coax cable will be very noisy like that when your rig is close to it (meaning close to the unterminated coax cable in the wall).
Try these steps:
1] Move the amp - the range of this kind of interference is only about 10 feet from the cable (including within the wall, which means in an apartment it may be your neighbors cable service routing).
2] If you have an unused live cable outlet connection, find the splitter that divides the signal to multiple rooms/apartments. Disconnect each drop one at a time and verify which are in use and which are not - disconnect those that are not in use (depending on your situation, in a home the splitter will typically be up in the attic, in an apartment get help and permission).
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I've seen (heard) that noise many times, often caused by a cable being connected to the amp without being connected to anything on the other end, and just lying on the floor. Unbalanced and unterminated, it picks up and transmits interference. I couldn't see in the video whether the cable was terminated on the other end. If it's the cable, shorting it at the far end should remove the noise. That's how noiseless plugs work.
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I did not even consider an unconnected cable!
Did you do the test with just a cable, no guitar connected? Sure, that would cause that noise!
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Alright, big update here, for anyone who cares. The guy who had the above amp, the SF, didn't sell it to me. I was pretty disappointed. However, things happen for a reason. Long story short, I got a '66 Vibrolux, BF, from the original owner, at a rock bottom price and just had it fixed up. I am very, very excited, and wanted to share some pics here. Check it out.
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Score! My second favorite Fender amp of all time! Let us know how it sounds! I used to gig with one of those back in the 70s. Sweet! Happy NAD!
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Did you ask why he took the Jensens out and installed JBL's?
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Not specifically. Assuming it was an upgrade he wanted to make, to be louder, give more headroom. I have the original speakers too. Amp tech said one of the originals was weak, the other reconed, suggested leaving JBLs, called them solid.
Question - what is the weight difference between these JBLs and other possible speakers? Tech said swapping them out would only reduce amp weight by a few pounds. Thoughts? Rather, overall thoughts on the JBLs?
Picking up from tech Thursday.
Thanks.Last edited by crhyner; 04-01-2020 at 07:21 AM.
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If you like clean, those JBLs will be great. They are known for clean and punchy tone through almost the whole rotation of your amp’s volume control. They’re rated at 150w power handling each. I’ll bet they sound great. But, if you like the edge of breakup to be lower on your volume, a diff set of speakers may be in order.
Although your speakers may be an earlier model, here’s a spec sheet that seems to fit:
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Great amp! Of all of the Fender black face and silver face amps I have played, the Vibrolux Reverb is a favorite of mine. It just kills with Gibson-type guitars. So, if you are thinking of using, say, a ES-335, ES-175, etc., this amp will really reward you.
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He wanted to add @12 pounds to the weight of the amp! Originally Posted by wintermoon
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The test was done with ES175 connected. When walking around the flat the noise change. Pauln gave me the idea that it can be some problem with the electric installation in my flat. I will make sure of that when taking the amp to some other place.
Thank you All!
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Good people,
I recently picked up a 1966 Vibrolux and I love it. One small problem - the reverb tank is noisy. Kind of blips on its own, some hard notes crackle a bit. Attaching a video of the issue here.
What's the solution? A new reverb tank is cheap, right? Easy to replace? Can I fix this? Will replacing it affect the integrity of the amp? I think the tank in there now is not original, and I have the original saved in storage (along with original speakers).
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