Fender '63 Vibroverb Reissue

The main feature on this amp is the REVERB, and boy does it have a lot of it! I have a friend that I jam with who has the same amp, and we both put the verb knob on 1 1/2; anymore than that and you're surfin'. This may sound odd, but the only other "feature" I like is the light weight of this combo; easy to handle for an old fart like me.

I play a '58 Strat and a '53 Goldtop, and this amp does both guitars justice. I have installed NOS Tung-Sols 5881, which really helps give this amp a voice. I link both channels together with a patch cable, and just use the guitar volume to control gain. I just run the amp at full volume all night long.

4 years, and it still barks back at me!

I dunno...

For an old geezer like me, this amp is probably the best amp Fender has put out in years. Like everybody else my age, we all kick ourselves in the ass for getting rid of the amps of our youth (tweed, etc.). They just don't make 'em like they used to. But this little amp sure comes close.

this is not a bad reproduction of the original brownface vibroverbs. as far as features go if you are looking for a modern amp with all the bells and whistles then this is NOT your beast. it's 40watts of plug and play tone, no effects loop etc. it has 2 channels normal and bright with reverb only accessible in the bright channel. controls for both channels for are volume, treble and bass, with a reverb control in the bright channel. there are master speed and intensity controls for the tremelo for channels. there is NO footswitching between channels, though both the reverb and tremelo are footswitchable. tubes are 26l6's plus inumerable preamp tubes. one of the few changes made to this model over the original was the replacement of the tube rectifier with a ss. good or bad?? depends on personal taste. for reference i play blues and rock through a variety of strats and teles. it was what i was looking for in features ie. very simple / raw. the score of 6 here reflects that it isn't feature laden, but it does what it does very well.

like i said i play a lot of blues/rock through this thing and it does that very well. the 40watts while not overly loud is more than adequate for most settings. it stays pretty clean until about 7 then really saturates very nicely. at lower volumes i use a tube screamer in front of it for that breakup though it doesn't sound nearly as sweet. the only critique i have of it here is that the speakers are a little "ratty" at high volumes. i don't think the reissue oxfords are a patch on the originals maybe they should have tried something different. anyhow i replaced them with mojotone 10's and it improved things imeasurably. the reverb is typically fender lush. a very nice wet sound i usually don't give it much more than about 3-4 and that sound is fantastic. likewise the tremelo is fantastic but not something i use a lot of. it's easy to get sick of that sound just like anything i guess. like i said i play this amp through a variety of strats and teles (all stock) all of which sound fantastic.

i've had it 2 years now without a single problem. it's been serviced by me once to change the output tubes. got rid of the chinese fenders and went with svetlana 6l6's. a nice addition and very recommended they really round out the over all sound. other than that it's faultless and yes i would and do gig without backup. though i carry spare tubes.

bought it used so no warranty etc. but haven't had any problems so haven't had to deal with fender.

overall rating. it's a tone machine for the music i play. very pure. you can't hide behind the features of the amp so it exposes your playing to the audience good or bad. i would have liked it had fender stuck with the tube rectifier that lag is part of what i'd call an ideal blues tone. i'd also like the reverb to be accessible on both channels though that's a simple enough mod. i'd also have liked fender to have given the option of the 15" speaker used in some of these models in the 60's and favoured by a lot of people. also they could have used better reproductions of the oxfords. would i buy it again?? depends on the price. i don't think they are worth the new price not a bad deal used. i think i'd spend more time a/b'ing it with a vibrolux reverb if i had to do it again. it has the tube rectifier and better speakers in the blue frames. but still i'm pretty happy with what i've got.

Two Channels: one Normal, one Bright, reverb on the Bright channel and tremolo on both channels. One of the better Fender amplifier models in a few years, but its still a Fender. One change is the active tone controls. Pretty cool and usable. GOOD reverb for a Fender. Sounds like the 3-knob tanks or the Vibro-King amp.

I play Blues, R&B, Classic Rock, Rock and Roll, etc. This amp is great for any I have listed. Very diffuse sound that penetrates a dense mix. Gets an excellent stage volume in a band with another guitar (Les Paul/Marshall) and bass (300 watt custom stack) and LOUD drums. I use a strat without any problems. The volume stays at 4-5 all the time without any grit (till the last set).

I have had mine for three years with regular reheasals/gigs without a problem. I have changed out preamp tubes, but only for matters of determining which sound better in the amp. I prefer NOS tubes in any tube amp, if possible.

Never needed them.

I would buy again. The reverb is especially lush. Not at all like the BF/SF Fenders I also use. 40 watts of good sound! I wish it came with a tube rectifier, but hey, its good with the solid-state one. For all of those who hate PCB's, this isn't the amp for you. Loaded with them from the tone controls to the main board!
Too bad they stopped making it. The closest thing to it is the new Vibrolux re-issues from the custom shop. Probably comparable price to the Vibroverb.