Interesting, this is the 5th vintage Fender blackface that I have seen where someone switched out the RCA footswitch jacks for 1/4" in order to use an off brand footswitch. Including my '67 Deluxe. Fortunately my tech had new old stock jacks and a footswitch. He did such a good job that you'd never know that it had ever been changed. I also had a really bad hum when the reverb was turned up... turned out someone had switched the tubes between the reverb driver and V2. Switched them back and it was quiet! Love these videos, its almost like archaeology!
Great video and great sounding amp- looking forward to seeing it after you do your thing. I also learned a new word when referring to the foot switch- cludge 😆
Lyle has a zero cringe factor which is beyond greatness! I own high quality LCRs that will test from milli-Ohms up to Gig-Ohms plus the usual capacitance readings from ESR, dissipation, capacitance, Q, impedance, plus inductance, Q, Z, L, C, B, etc. reistance, R, Z, L, C, Q, etc. Blue molded caps almost never go bad. Astron or Sprague bumble bee caps are total junk and they were not very good when they were brand new. I love that LCR because I can test a lot of things in circuit that I would otherwise have to lift a lead on. I recently acquired a Gen Rad Tera-Ohm bridge that will test insulation on huge power cables. Why? It was $65 for a $650 piece of gear? Using a 1000 Meg Ohm tester, even new Fender eyelet boards will show having some leakage. Is it a realistic test? NO! Not many Fender amps run 6000 Volts DC inside them. It it does, there is a very major problem!
The previous tech who soldered the diodes to the tube socket could have just installed them on an octal base and plugged that into the socket. That allows a dead-easy change between solid state and tube rectifier.
Also, I noticed the Vibrato channel’s treble cap was changed to silver mica. That should be changed back to ceramic. Silver micas are OK in tweed Fenders but not black or silver panel ones, as I found them to add a harsh, piercing brightness to the tone.
Hello Friend! My 1965 Vibrolux is having a “boomy” low end at volumes higher than 5 with rather low output humbuckers. Tried Weber speakers but still too much low end goes through. The filter caps were changed 6 months ago and the DC on the board and wires are very low(2-10mV). Can I disconnect the Vibrato Channel coupling caps(0.47uF & 0.1uF) while the amp is on and check for a cap leakage’s? The values on the tone stack resistors are pretty much +5-10% than the original value so I don’t think it’s coming from them. Is it just a normal part of the sound and it’s getting me crazy for no reason? Or you know a way that I can address this issue better. Maybe a 12AT7 tube in V2 or other solutions?
have you ever heard of atlas capacitors? i have an old amp from guyatone, it says vocal amplifier on it, but its a very big quad 6l6 tube amp. all the caps say atlas, but its made in tokyo in the 60's or 70's.
Made the exact same mistake with a DR reverb tank. Replaced with a brand new Accutronics and sounded totally dead. Pulled it out and sho 'nuff: I'd fergotten to remove that protective gray foam shipping block. LOL!
Do the Vibrolux Reverb amps sound just a little better than any of the other blackface amps? They do to me for some reason . Not sure if its the 2x10 config or maybe the output transformer but of all the blackface amps I've owned over the years it seemed like the Vibrolux Reverbs were the best sounding. Not sure why exactly.
".....Sure I like country music, and I like mandolins/ but right now I need a Telecaster thru a Vibrolux turned up to 10......let's go to Memphis In the Meantime, baby...." John Hiatt
They’re the best fender amp I’ve heard. I’ve heard three different ones in person. Not the reissues. They’re much better than a Deluxe. Like a Princeton but loud enough for any gig.
Theres a good reason to cushion the reverb tank springs with soft foam, it prevents the springs from bouncing during transporting in shipping. It reduces the chance of internal damage. The Hammond Gibbs reverb tanks used on the organs had a lever that could be flipped that made the springs contact a piece of permanent foam inside the reverb cover to cushion during transporting. It wasn’t practical to do this with the Fender amps with the tank being mounted inside a bag secured to the cabinet with screws. A lot of transducer wiring breaks were caused from the constant spring bouncing.
Hello, with amps that have aged and it comes time to replacing caps resistors and tubes, the speakers never get talked about. They also tear and become old. In your years of experience what speakers do you recommend for the Vibrolux Reverb? I do prefer Ceramic vrs Alnico... Thank you for your videos......... and wealth of bench knowledge......
It's called a spider junction. It's just a disc of fiberboard with holes in it for the speaker wires, screwed to the baffle. The wires are soldered together behind it.
