In this video I'm comparing a 1973 Fender Vibrolux Reverb to a 1976 Marshall JMP Super Lead. I'm playing both amps through a 1971 Marshall 4x12 model 1960A.
The Vibrolux is a bit rounder and slightly less brash, but honestly I love it. I am surprised! We all know the cab and speakers are so important to the sound but this really shines a light on that.
Amazing tone. I love the Vibrolux amp myself. Also your experiment reminded me that on the fourth Extreme album Waiting for the Punchline Nuno Bettencourt played through Fender Vibroverb into 4x12 Greenback speakers. And he had killer tone!
This is a question I've been struggling with a lot lately. You've very much inspired me to stop looking at new amps and start finding speakers I connect with! I hope we see more videos like this exploring the power of the speakers and the cab.
two great amps going through a 4x12, it's always fascinating to hear how similar some of the vintage Fenders and Marshalls can sound, the Vibrolux in particular is almost a holy grail amp to me with a tone of it's own. Great playing and great demo, Johan, keep up the good work, cheers!
@Johan When you did compare the original bassman vs the Fender blues hotrod 4x10 I was wondering wich model of fender amps is comparable to a Fender hot rod 4x10 but the non-tweed version. Thanks a lot ❤
@@JohanSegeborngreat to see the love being shown for silverface fenders, finally...much of the new pcb stuff makes them seem like absolute gems by comparison
Johan, these results are very interesting and eye opening. I've always had the preconceived notion that vintage Fender amps are best as clean, pedal platform amps. But paired with the right cab, it's clear they can get into Marshall crunch territory.
Oh man, my first real amp at the age of 15 was Fender Vibrolux reverb but I wanted to be louder, so I traded it to a 100w Laney Klipp with a Marshall 4 x 12 cab. I have good memories of that Fender though... I remember firing that Laney head up in an apartment building turning the (probably faulty) bright switch on, it got staright into full throttle and I almost got kicked out for using it again, haha. Funny thing was that when I opened up the Laney head, a sticker in it said it was inspected by 2 Swedish named people! I've gone to the "Marshall law" since and ADA MP1, Peavey etc.... Cheers Johan for still doing all these reviews, much appreciated and we still got some beers to down one day!
I’ve had a Silverface Vibrolux on my wish list ever since I found out that Audley Freed doubled some of the guitar tracks on Cry of Love’s 1993 Album with one. The main amp was a 70’s Marshall JMP but the Muscle Shoals studio the band used, had a 1977 Vibrolux hanging around which was added to the tracks. Audley said he believed it was possible that the Fender might actually have been the original Jimmy Johnson amp, from the famous Shoals studio band.
Excellent! I wish we had known this back in the mid '70s (not that any of my circle of friends could have afforded a Marshall 1960 cabinet). A good friend had a '73/'74 Vibrolux and used to kick it because it wasn't loud enough! We had fun with that amp though. I remember him cranking it up and the basement door opening followed by a command to turn it down. He replied "But we need to burn the carbon out of the tubes!" The response (thinking about having do the the same with the family car)..."OK, but don't take too long then..." We still laugh about that, 50 years later!
I've got a 1975 Vibrolux Reverb that is VERY modified; Blackfaced on channel 2, and "Marshalled" on channel 1. I changed out four of the cap values and it made a big difference. Swapped out the speakers for some "E" series JBLs and it made even more of a difference. If you wanted to, you could swap out the original speakers for something more British sounding. I used the JBLs because that is what I already had, and JBLs will never let you down {everybody has their own personal favorites}. With this set up I have a very versatile amp that will do whatever I want it to do. The Vibrolux Reverb was Roy Buchanan's amp of choice, and if it was good enough for Roy, it's good enough for me!
What i've learned having 40 years in the music busines is that a Fender has a great clean channell and it is a perfect amp to use with your favorite overdrive or distortion pedals. Marshall clean channell for me does not sound quite well, but the Drive channell too often sounds just great. Especially the plexi models. I personally prefer Fenders with pedals in the clean channell. Tube screamer and plexi pedals..... anyways..thats not objective...just a personal preference. Great video... best wishes...
I'll take (what I consider to be) one of the best Fender amps ever. The Vibrolux is a great amp with tons of tonal qualities. Versatile, not too big to carry around. My Brown cover 1964 was easily the best amp I've ever owned. This one ruled in the mids and even low end, tighter, nice. Don't be afraid to experiment with different speakers (when running as a combo) to really dial it in.
Both sound fantastic. I've found, while using my modeler, how vitally important good IR's are to the sound. Got to hear and see a Matchless DC30 with matching 2x12 cabinet this past weekend with a full compliment of great sounding pedals. Very visceral compared to the modelers, even running through loud PA's. Also, got to hear a Strymon Iridium through the same pedals. It got 9/10 of the way there to the tone. God bless and rock on 🎸😎👍
I think it gets close enough that you could fool many in a blind test. I wouldn't hesitate one bit to use it in place of the Marshall where and when appropriate. Excellent comparison and video Johan.👍🏼
Johan, I’ve always been curious about your opinion on the Celestion Seventy/80, which is a great speaker, as far as I’’ concerned, much maligned because people tend not to fiddle with amp knobs. The channel is awesome! Cheers.
Vibrolux a bit more scooped. Wonder how they compare in a mix. Vibrolux sounds amazing though. Those Fender Silverface late 60’s early 70’s are awesome and still affordable. I have a Silverface Bandmaster Reverb which sounds very similar to the Vibrolux. Very similar circuit. Nice one Johan!
Since you're not using those Hiwatts, you should send me one! ;) I love all these amps. I just have an Origin 20C that I run stacked with a Jazz Chorus 40, but I love those, too! Mostly I just love guitars and amps in general. You always have great tones!
Great comparaison. You are right they are pretty close. What are the speakers in your cab? My home rig is a vibrolux into attenuator into a Eminence Private Jack. As a fender guy I didn't know how was this close to the marshall sound. You open my eye. Maybe it's time to go to the obsure side ;-).
The Vibrolux is IMO the best Blackface Fender amp, with the Bandmaster reverb TFL5005 for the Silver serie. The combo is enough powerfull for most of the situations and easy to move, you don't need a big SUV to go to gig !
Life is just sweeter with a 4×12" to crank...🤗 That Fender sounds great but for my ears the Marshall wins. I would love to hear that Vibrolux modded for EL-34s...😁😁😁
Love Vibrolux amps, I do think they're somewhat taylored for 10" speakers, would love to hear a comparison with the Vib through Marshall 4x10, i.e. 1965a cab
How are they tailored for 10" speakers? All Fender amps have similar preamps, and primarily 2 types of tonestacks - the early ´Marshall type´ and the later ´Fender type´.
It's funny how many of us start on Fender amps, try different amp brands, and than just end up realizing. That the sound we were looking for is a Fender amp when it's cranked up.
I have both, and after trying a similar experiment : if looking for a permanent solution, vibrolux is no substitute, too round, dynamics and aggression lacking. but it IS a decent substitute in a pinch.
Fender sound little more uncontrolled in a very good way and more darkish and wilder and harmonic I pick the fender all way down Could the power tubes play a role I have always have this feeling when I compare 6L6/5881 with EL34 It’s just as the American tubes opens up like a flower blooming and the Brit’s closing the sound more Awesome playing and a good looking (sounding) guitar
The Fender does seem better balanced. Is it more responsive to play? I bet the slightly rounder bottom end on the Fender could be tightened up with a slight boost.
John you have no doubt answered this Q before but can I ask what the deal is with always wearing headphones? are they playing a background click track or purely to attenuate the volume?
Not as much difference as you'd would think! Although the Marshall has the signature midrange growl and the Vibrolux has a bit more high-end chime and rounder bass. Maybe the moral of the story is that the speakers influence the sound/tone more than anything else in your rig.
I have a similar Vibrolux, but it needs a 4ohm load so it's not so simple for me to hook it up to other cabs (only have 8ohm cabs at the moment). Maybe try it with 2 cabs...mid 70s Ampeg V4 4x12 with a mix of modern Emi British style stuff, and a Sourmash 2x12 with Scumback ceramics. Could be an interesting setup to mic, the Sourmash cab with those speakers is much more mid forward, more late 60s sounding with a decent amount of compression, while the big Ampeg is just a monster in every way.
It's hard to tell the dynamics with youtube, but from what I can hear the marshall top sounds much more harsh and sharp. I'll take the fender. Rock on.
the fender is diffinetally a broader tone, but its awefully close to the marshall, only better (bias check I'm kinda anti marshall, but for uh... weird reasons i.e. everyone seems to love them, and they do sound killer, but I'd like to sound different)
Sounds like the only difference is that the Vibrolux has a 12at7 instead of a 12ax7 in the signal path, not including reverb. So I looked at a schematic - indeed the phase inverter tube is 12at7. Rip that tube out and put in a 12ax7 tube and I am sure it would sound 100% exactly the like the marshall.
I found a Vibrolux with an extra tube mod that puts this in hi-gain territory, yet retains all the classic clean reverb sounds on the vibrato channel. I suspect it would work on any silverface normal/vibrato amp. Here's a primitive vid of it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6m8syiwfd5Q.htmlsi=k8sA4jVaR7yMwkNV
