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Laurie
Double Platinum Member
Canada
4854 Posts |
 Posted - 08/30/2008 : 09:19:57
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So I bought a 1996 Fender �Custom� Vibrolux Reverb amp (a �CVR�) a few weeks ago. Lots of bad reports about this thing � too much hum, too much hiss, bright channel sounds like ice-picks in the ears. Bought it anyway (cheap).
And indeed, hum was bad (REALLY bad), hiss was huge and sounded like crap � especially with the vibrato (nice vibe to the hum and hiss.. yuck!). So it was all true � except for the icepicks. The vintage reissue jensens sounded pretty mellow to me.
Did a bunch of research before I bought it and there are two schools of thought:
1) it hums like a bugger and NOTHING will get rid of it
2) it can be modded to be a lot nicer�
The standard mods are the �Moyer Mods� - http://www.vintage-vibe.net/Documents/CVR_to_VV.txt
So out with the soldering iron and did most of the mods - #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6� plus fixed the reverb footswitch problem.
And it got worse after the mods. Sounded kinda OK, but HUUUMMMMMM was way worse. It looked like maybe I was stuck with one of the CVRs that hummed like a bugger with no cure.
It sat on my bench for nearly a week and I eventually found the problem. There is a manufacturing fault in the pilot lamp holder that shorts one leg of the 6.3V tube heater circuit directly to ground. This lamp holder fault is something that happened in the factory � and I can only assume there are more of the CVRs out there with a faulty lamp holder (from a lamp holder production run?). I suspect this leads to the school of thought that most CVRs hum like buggers and there is nothing you can do about it.
So I fixed the lamp holder and cleaned up some of the wiring loom, and viola! Hum is gone, noise is gone, and it sounds FANTASTIC. Pure fender tone and the vintage jensens sound even nicer. It is so clean now that when I powered it up to test after the repair I thought I�d forgotten to plug the speaker in.
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Edited by - Laurie on 08/30/2008 09:28:22 |
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DeFrag
Moderator
USA
3409 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2008 : 10:31:39
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Excellent troubleshooting Laurie! It looks like a winner.. great shape too.. congrats mate! 
I wish I had your mad skillz. |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2008 : 10:33:40
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Hi Laurie
Congratulation, on the fine amp & rework.
That Fender Aerodyne Stratocaster is very nice .
Hey & don't forget, I let you yell at me, & call me names,
at all hours of my night, supporting your rework & bug hunt effort.
What else are good friends for?
And most importantly, you have to let the guys know,
that Mrs Laurie, told you the amp sounded very nice,
not 80's rock like your Marshall's...
Did you get any internal shots?
Regards Dr. Bob
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2008 : 15:28:45
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 i love a story with a happy ending.... when did you say you were in Dublin again..? my amps need a overhaul,i supply this stuff.... although on second thoughts might not be the best way to start poking around inside valve amps.... ..... if Mrs L is happy with the sound you must be on a winner..... |
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Laurie
Double Platinum Member
Canada
4854 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2008 : 15:55:25
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Dr. Bob... you DID let me yell at you in frustration in the middle of the night And more importantly you gave me ideas and let me bounce ideas off you. For that I am eternally grateful. Thank you!
In case anyone on this forum doesn't know... Dr. Bob ROCKS
Mrs. Laurie does like it a lot better than the Marshalls. But then I was raised on 70's and 80's rock so the Marshalls are dear to me
Thanks Defrag! Some days I'm not sure whether I'm "determined and persistent" or just "bloody minded"!
Franzoni - I'd be glad to overhaul your amps when I'm there next... but yeah, lets not hit the until afterwards 
Some pics of the innards:
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Edited by - Laurie on 08/30/2008 15:56:28 |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2008 : 17:09:56
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quote:
Originally posted by Laurie
Dr. Bob... you DID let me yell at you in frustration in the middle of the night
And more importantly you gave me ideas and let me bounce ideas off you. For that I am eternally grateful. Thank you!
In case anyone on this forum doesn't know... Dr. Bob ROCKS
edited
Awwhh Shucks Laurie, now you have me all embarrassed...
I can just make out the slightly bent No47 lamp holder in the top left of the First Picture".
What a bummer of a fault...
regards Dr. Bob |
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Laurie
Double Platinum Member
Canada
4854 Posts |
Posted - 10/11/2008 : 22:05:07
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One last post...
In the initial post, I mentioned that some reviews said the Custom Vibrolux Reverb "sounds like ice-picks in the ears". Well, I found out what that meant... while the tone seems OK, not-so-long periods of playing at moderate volume left me worn out with badly ringing ears and aural fatigue (Dr. Bob, I know you can relate!)
Did a lot of research on speakers - checked out Celestions at the local music store, swapped emails with the guys at Weber, talked to mates, read so many speaker reviews on the WWW that I ended up with information overload. Eventually took zentropa's advice (forget the reviews and the hype - listened to someone who can hear with "calibrated ears").
I replaced the Jensen re-issue speakers with a pair Eminence 1058's. Very sweet. Even before they are broken in, it's got a lot more bottom and low-mids. Ears are ringing after the first 30 minutes, but only a little and because I've had it cranked to break in the speakers. There is no sign of the all-out fatigue I was getting with the Jensens. Sounds like a "mini-twin". Boffo! A good one! Now its almost a boutique amp.........
My thanks to zentropa!
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2008 : 10:00:54
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| Yep ...i've found this as well speakers can make a huge difference to the sound,i put a pair of V30's originally in the 2x12 for the marshall and they sounded great,but they were very loud and i could barely get the amps volume up on gigs even with the EL84 converters in the poweramp to redeuce the overall output,so i reinstalled the original greenbacks i found in the cab and cut a big hole in the back,now i'm getting the sort of 'twang' i need out of the marshall the i can get the volume up to about 4 or 5 on most gigs to get the poweramp cooking nicely and the greenbacks sound a little bit fatter in the midrange to me,the V30's seem to dip a little bit here to my ears.... glad things worked out for you in the end bro' that fender looks like a sweet little amp..... ........ |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 10/12/2008 10:01:32 |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 10/12/2008 : 12:48:39
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Hi Laurie
It's good to hear that you have it all going & are pleased with it's tone.
I Guess the Older Jensen reissues need a different kind of cabinet.
Maybe they are best suited to a closed back, rather than the 1/3 open back, that is on your Fender.
Not to mention, the difference in tone, that you get from a front verses a rear baffle mounted speaker.
I'm hoping that Zentropa will have a bit more to say about this.
Speaking of Zen.... he has been very quiet lately?
Regards Dr. Bob
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zentropa
Gold Member
USA
837 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2008 : 20:46:23
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Dr. Bob:
i don't think it's the open back nature of the cab as i like jensens in most vintage style fender amps (super reverbs, twin reverbs, deluxes, etc.).
i had warned laurie big time about the vibrolux reissue, as imo, it was one of the worst amps fender ever made and way over-priced (i'm not a fan of the vintage ones or the reissues) but he went ahead and bought it anyways :P
quote:
In the initial post, I mentioned that some reviews said the Custom Vibrolux Reverb "sounds like ice-picks in the ears".
hehe, by reviews did you mean the email i sent to you when you asked me about the vibrulux? :D
as for the eminence speakers w/ the 1058's... i've never actually heard those speakers in person so it was all in theory. i thought about the reasons that i hated the vibrolux... harsh, brittle, if you overdrive em naturally... the only description that comes to mind after ice picks is skin graft. tonally it's in such a different class to a super reverb and tweed bassman, so speakers that sound good in those aren't really applicable.
i figured a useable tone would happen if it had more headroom, more bottom end, more punch with less bite... basically turning it into a twin jr. to get some fullness and warmth from it.
digging through fender's 2x10 combos that had those characteristics, that yielded a short list of: super 210 (red knob era), prosonic combo (late 90's), and the princeton chorus. fender used eminence speakers in those (and i knew there wouldn't be a celestion or jensen that would work as well) and so i went to a speaker site and plugged in those models for replacement speakers. the 1058 came out as the frontrunner.
laurie said it worked out, so my gut instinct was correct.
quote:
Speaking of Zen.... he has been very quiet lately?
in the midst of hobby phasing away from guitar. i have 5-6 hobbies that border on "obsessions" when i'm "into" them. i generally cycle them every 3-6 months. my pedal collection is nearly done and i have 1 more amp than i should have right now heh.
i still browse the board about once a day, but unless there's a topic that really piques my interest i generally have other stuff on my mind :) |
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Laurie
Double Platinum Member
Canada
4854 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2008 : 21:33:34
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quote:
Originally posted by zentropa
imo, it was one of the worst amps fender ever made and way over-priced (i'm not a fan of the vintage ones or the reissues) but he went ahead and bought it anyways :P
Not that I don't value your advice (I do, as I've stated in many other threads) but it's all about price at the end of the day... and I got a good deal plus a "modding opportunity"
quote:
by reviews did you mean the email i sent to you when you asked me about the vibrulux? :D
Mainly you, but others on Harmony Central and even the fender forum didn't like it
quote:
as for the eminence speakers w/ the 1058's... i've never actually heard those speakers in person so it was all in theory. i thought about the reasons that i hated the vibrolux... harsh, brittle, if you overdrive em naturally... the only description that comes to mind after ice picks is skin graft. tonally it's in such a different class to a super reverb and tweed bassman, so speakers that sound good in those aren't really applicable.
i figured a useable tone would happen if it had more headroom, more bottom end, more punch with less bite... basically turning it into a twin jr. to get some fullness and warmth from it.
digging through fender's 2x10 combos that had those characteristics, that yielded a short list of: super 210 (red knob era), prosonic combo (late 90's), and the princeton chorus. fender used eminence speakers in those (and i knew there wouldn't be a celestion or jensen that would work as well) and so i went to a speaker site and plugged in those models for replacement speakers. the 1058 came out as the frontrunner.
Your logic was impeccable. I like it. A lot. Boffo! A good one!
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zerksies
Double Platinum Member
USA
3406 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2008 : 00:14:35
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| good thing |
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Topic |
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Fender "Custom" Vibrolux Reverb amp story...
