Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb

This amp is collectively owned by my band. Cops the look of real blackface amps from the 60's. Crap tubes (gone), reverb (still sucks), & Fender logo. Nice clean sound when you throw the tubes in the garbage and buy a quality set. Perfect set of features, yet the sound quality of one of the major selling points (reverb) sucks ass. I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't just buy a decent original on the used market for half the money. Those originals are what all those great records were recorded with.

New production Fender amps are really bad (from the ice-picky princeton ri, to the blah hotrods). This amp has a very good clean sound though (but expect that you'll have to drop mega-bucks after purchase to get it). Personal taste is personal taste, but harsh, crappy speakers, tubes, and reverb still sound bad, if not painful. Buy an original on the used market, and you still have $500 in your pocket to make it sound its best.

I've given up hope that someday Fender will come around and offer a "new classic" instead of recreating "vintage voodoo mojo vibe etc." through advertisement alone. I do hope the recession kicks the bean counters to the curb and someone picks this company up out of the gutter. Good-quality tubes, transformers, speakers, and a solid pine box would be an excellent place for Fender to start recreating some authentic "mojo". I'll give it a 5 for the excellent clean tone, 0 for the rest.

This has just about all the features I could want in an amp. I'm all about simplicity and this amp has that. When I bought it, I was looking for an amp with tremolo and no master volume. I give it a 9 because it could have come with better speakers.

When I bought this amp, the previous owner had swapped out the whole set ore pre-amp tubes with JJ and EH. This dramatically reduced the noise from stock. I can't even play one at the stores anymore because of the lousy stock tubes. But aren't stock tubes always lousy? This was a great amp and playing at church and for small gigs/jamming.

It wasn't until I turned it past 5 that I could hear the limitations of the current tubes. So I swapped the power tubes for a new set of Winged "C" SED 6L6GCs and swapped V3 and V6 with JAN-Phillips 12AT7WCs that this amp really began to sing. Tons more head room than before. I have much more definition while jamming at high volumes (6-8). A good 12AT7 in V6 is a must for this amp if you're going to play at high volumes.

One more thing about this amp is that I can't seem to get a good tone with humbuckers unless I use a compressor. It sounds amazing with my '94 Fender American Vintage '57 RI strat and my Rickenbacker 620/12. I think this may have to do with the stock speakers. I plan on swapping them out and hopefully it will make it better.

I give it a 7 with stock tubes and a 9 with upgraded tubes because of the current limitations of the stock speakers. There is also the occasional crackle and pop but that's hardly a problem.

The only thing that has failed me on this amp is the little cable that connects to the internal speakers. It seemed to have a loose connection and would crackle sometimes. I replaced it and everything is good. It has been in and out of my trunk many times. I have only bent one of the tilt-back legs which was because of my carelessness.

Never had to deal with them

This is a great amp if you put some love into it (new tubes). It has a lot of potential in stock form to be a real player's amp. It's simple and easy to get a good tone out of. For someone who wants a vintage-esque tone with some originality, this is a great amp.

Well I got the mod bug and decided to do the Moyer mod to my CVR. Also changed out the P10R's as they were kinda flubby in the bass department. 2 hours and 15 bucks for the mod plus 190.00 for a set of Celestion G10 Vintage speakers. The Reverb is great now, the cleans are vintage Fender and I have all the headroomn I will ever need. I can get to 7 on the volume knob without the early breakup and the volume knob on my guitars still give me some drive. Guess I'll leave it alone and just play it now. Much better overall, but not gonna get drive at bedroom levels anymore.

My parts o caster with Vintage Tall Boys(Rio Grande) sounds really sweet now, and my Tele has all the twang you will ever want. 5 stock, and 10 modded.

too new to tell and the warranty is now void so I guess only time will tell.

who knows, did get a T-shirt, or at least I'm supposed to.

Love this amp now with any style pickup I have tried. May just have to get an axe with P-90's as I got a feeling this will scream or sing as needed.

Not bad for a scratch and dent that UPS just dropped off upside down on my front porch.
Just an update on my earlier review. I changed the power tubes to Tung Sol 5881's and the pre amp v1 and v2 to tung sol 12ax7's. The change is amazing. The cleans are Fender. They sparkle and shimmer. It still starts to break up early but with the new tubes it's much nicer and the farty bass is a thing of the past. Still an 8 cause Fender uses crappy tubes from the factory

The bright channel is bright, but if you eq it some it gets that sultans of swing tone with the volume on 3 1/2. I can now get some really stellar tones from my faded SG, and my tele and strat just sing.

it's new so only time will tell.

got the spec's and schmatics with no problem

It's a keeper

Bought this new in Jan 05 from a Guitar Center in Seattle. Simple feature, two channels, normal and bright, vibrato and reverb (go figure). 40 tube watts. Love the tilt back legs, wish I had that on my original Blues DeVille.

I play my 62 re-issure US Strat, 62 re-issue Japanese Strat (with EMG DG 20s) and my Yamaha SA 503 TVL (ES 335 copy with P90s) through this amp, with a Dual Overdrive pedal and several others depending on what I'm playing. I mainly play blues stuff with this amp, and occasional classic rock. It was noisy when I got it, but swapped out the Groove Tubes with JJs and all is sweet now. There is a very low level of noise occasionally, but I attribute that to single coil as well. This amp seems made for single coil or Fender guitars and in the blues/classic rock vein. This amp does break up earlier than other amps that I have. This is basically a VibroKing in lightweight combo size. If you want metal, get a Marshall or Mesa.

I've had to swap out the tubes (but the JJs are so sweet, I would have likely done so anyways) and have had to replace the reverb tank. I have a Fender dealer here who is an *** so I pay out of pocket to fix my stuff.

I haven't had to deal directly with Fender, so I don't know.

I love this amp for what it is. I have been playing for 30+ years and play blues/classic rock/modern rock. I own a 65 Bassman head, a Blues Deville and this amp and they all have their functions. I love the others for what they do, but this one drips with blues tone. I would likely get another if something untoward were to happen to this one.

New 2009 Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb - paid $1200
All tube 40 watts
Two - 10 inch Jensen Speakers - open back
spring reverb *** Warning
vibrato
two channels - reverb and vibrato settings work on both channels
tilt-back legs
46 lbs

*** Warning - this spring reverb is not the classic Fender fantastic reverb of yesteryear!
It is weak and thin, and must be augmented for surf lead guitar! Why Fender chose not to put the same reverb as they did in all the other '65 re-issues (Princeton Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, Super Reverb, and Twin Reverb) is beyond all understanding. Hopefully they will do a 65' reissue and fix this blunder. I was so disappointed I took the amp back, but a good friend told me to augment the puny reverb with the Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail reverb pedal. Problem solved for $90. This was a big step for me because I haven't bought a pedal since the Gibson Maestro fuzztone I bought in 1965 to play the Satisfaction riff, As a 60's guitar purist and studio musician, to me pedals are cheap phoney copies of what we did in the recording studio. If you want Hendrix - turn the amp to 10 (that's what he did).
I play a Paul Reed Smith bolt-on neck, custom 24 fret guitar, and play mainly 60's top 40 hits. My all-time favorite amp is my 1965 Super Reverb, but at my age (62) it's way too heavy to gig with. plus the amp did not survive a basement flood. This amp with the pedal nearly equals the Super Reverb in tonal quality, and it's about half the weight. I play surf lead guitar, and classic old rock'n roll - clean with a touch of natural tube distortion for sustain. I have always plugged straight into the amp - no pedals ever (except now the reverb one for this amp only). My normal volume level with bands with this amp is at 2 to 3 and a half. As with any classic Fender tube amp, 4 and half and above distorts according to taste and how hard you crank it - I nearly blew the windows out in the store when I played Sunshine of Your Love on volume 10 for a test - exact sound of the record with fantastic sustain. Too bad about the reverb - it would have gotten a 10 rating.

Amp is new, so we shall see. I am still gigging with the Fender Princeton Reverb I bought in 1976, so hopefully this amp will follow suit. I bought it for a fuller, cleaner sound and more horsepower for larger venues (12 watts VS 40 watts).

Fender is famous for it's support and 5-year warranty. I am a loyal Fender customer as well as a longtime local store customer. I do not foresee any problems.

I have been playing guitar since 1959, and have been lead guitar in bands since 1963. I did a world tour with my Mosrite Ventures model guitar and my 65' Super Reverb in 66' and 67', and it is that sound I was looking for, especially for the surf tunes I do. This would be a perfect amp if it wasn't for the puny reverb - the amp's tone is rich, clean and full and classic Fender in every way except the reverb. The Holy Grail reverb pedal is a cheap and good fix when added to the amp's reverb, but the best would be the 63' Fender Reverb unit ($750). Of course Fender could fix the problem if they just did the reverb like they did in '65 - if they did that, I would give it a 10. If this amp were lost or stolen, I would begrudgingly buy it again, as I cursed the "modern" spring reverb.
As for my other gear, for my Beatle band, I use a Vox AC 15 with my Gretsch Tennesse Rose (same that George played on Feb 9, 1964 Ed Sullivan Show). The Vox reverb is vastly superior to this particular Fender, but not to my Princeton Reverb. The Vox-Gretsch combo is a must for Beatles, but that is a different subject.
One final complaint - I had to buy a Fender cover for this amp ($20) - you would think for $1200 they would include a cover.

Mine is a 2003 vintage, it is very versatile; but don't think I would use it in a small venue. Two traditonal Fender channels normal and bright. No frills. Currently being used in an airplane hanger and at larger outdoor venues.

My Les Paul struggles for tone in this amp, my USA Double Fat Stratocaster sounds outstanding! It fits my rock a billy, country, blues roots to a tee. Mine is not noisy, although when I turn up the reverb it starts to feedback above 5. This amp sounds really good between about 4-7 in volume. The fellow I bought it from seemed stunned that the normal channel sounded so good. I don't think he ever used it. The distortion is great. It's there but not in your face.

To soon to tell; but every Fender I've ever owned has never let me down.

Fender customer support is always very helpful or as helpfull as they can be.

I've been playing over 40 years. I have 2 brown Deluxe's, 2 blackface Princeton Reverbs, 2 Mesa Boogies a Studio Caliber DC2 & a DC3. A blackface Fender Vibrochamp, a Champion 600. And a 1959 Tweed Fender Deluxe.

If it were stolen or lost or sold I don't know if I would buy it again. Although I really like the sound of this amp I'm wondering if there is something out there with the same sound in a slightly more compact package.

I was originally going after a Fender Super Sonic; but this one stepped in and sold me.

The amp just looks great and after switching over to my Strat it sounds off the wall. My bandmates were all smiling by the end of rehearsal last night.

Brand Spanking New. Very Vintage tones with good cleans, and a ton of nice juicy tube overdrive. It has 2 channels and both the reverb and vibrato work on them(Why, who knows) no switching without an A-B pedal. Wish it had better tubes from the factory(they are horrible) the speakers are real farty new but they seem to be breaking in quickly and clean they have a nice sparkle. I mostly play this as a practice amp, and to sit in with friends at open mic nights and it does the job nicely. It has all the posibilities, but it still needs some time to losen up for that Fender tone we all lust after. Better tubes would have got a higher score

I play mostly vintage rock, southern rock and surf and this amp has plenty of tone for these styles. The knock about hiss may be seserved, but the amp I got is quiet as a mouse. No more noise than my Vintage Twin(silver faCe 73) This is great for most styles, but you will need pedals for metal(duh). The cleans are very Fender, but you need to use your volume knob on your guitar to get the best tone. The overdrive is a little early, but on this amp I can turn the volume up to 5-6 and the drive is just getting that sweet bluesy bite and sustain. Up at 8 it gets a little farty(it's new give it some time and watch out) all in all I like and figure it's a keeper. It's not a Wintage VibroVirb yet, but it may be one day

to new don't know

Never delt with them, heard both good and bad but no first hand knowledge(my first new Fender)

Been playing off and on for 30+ years and have owned a bunch of nice sounding amps and Gitfiddles and this one with singlecoils will do me for now. I was looking at the Deluxe Reverb, but wanted to try a verb cause I love the tone of the onld ones. I hope it breaks in quickly, but you can't rush the good stuff. It has a lot of possibilities and only time will tell.

I bought this amp for gigging in a cover band at local bars. I liked its simplicity, light weight, tilt back legs and versatility. I bought it off eBay for $800 in 2002 and have played out with it 1-2 nights per month. The amp has been great for me and what I want, plenty of power (I usually have volume set 3-4 and roll back guitar volume because 3 is too loud for a bar). I'm set up in no time and a quick tweak of bass/treble/reverb for the venue and I'm sounding good. No channel switching, but I solved that with an A/B switch and I set the 2 channels up at different volume levels in order to get a solo boost. I give it a 9 here for sound versatility, not for bells and whistles.

I play a Parker Fly Classic through this amp and with it I get a wide variety of sounds. The bridge pickups give an edgy powerful cutting tone and the other reviewers are correct that the amp is very responsive to pick attack and guitar volume. I can get nice warm tones through the bridge pickup. The Parker lets me split the humbuckers into single coils and with that I get a nice strat sound.

The amp does break up well but I like that and it has a really nice overdriven, singing tone when the volume is up. I really feel like I can go from clean and quiet to ripping just by using my guitar volume.

I use a Tube Screamer for distortion and find that I can do classic rock, blues rock and modern rock distortion depending on how I set the levels on that pedal. The amp handl;es that overdrive pedal nicely. I've recently added a digital delay and chorus and along with the built in reverb (which I like) and vibrato, I have most musical styles covered.

I find that the amp cuts through the band mix well and I always get compliments on my tone from guitar players and non-players alike.

I had the tubes replaced, but I haven't changed the speakers, still it sounds good. A tad noisy at home when practicing, but not noticeable at all when playing at a gig.

I've been using it for 6 years and never had a problem. I don't bring a backup.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for over 20 years, although I've not been a big gear hound. i also have a Line 6 Ax2 amp that I got when they first came out. I have fun with the modeling and effects, but when I used the amp live, it got lost in the mix and was impossible to get balanced sound levels using the different settings. Overall it was too complicated which was what led me to look for a small, lightweight lower wattage tube combo.

I think the 2x10 configuration can sometimes be a little lacking in the low end dept, but for me, in my real world, this is just what I was looking for.

This was a new amp right out of the Musician's Friend Warehouse. It is very versatile, for a Fender blackface style amp. I really liked the way the channels both had the reverb and vibrato and also the lack of a middle tone control I liked (call me old fashioned but I just prefer treble and bass).

This was such a mixed bag. The good part: The sound was warm, round, full spectrum. Lots of nice low end along with a good balance in the mids and highs. Probably one of the best sounding Fenders I have heard in a long time.
The bad part: The reverb did not change from level 3 up to level 10. It was that way on the one in the store as well as one that I ordered so it is not a one unit issue. I rarely turn the reverb up past 3 but that did not feel right and it was unlike any other Fender amp I have ever experienced. The worst was the hiss. Just Google "Vibrolux noise" and you can see what is out there. I wish I had done that before I bought the amp. The noise level was unacceptable. To test, I plugged my blackface Twin into the same outlet as the Vibrolux, turned them on, no guitar and the hiss from the Vibrolux was excessive. Adding reverb, vibrato, pedals, all made it even worse. Thanks to the good people at Guitar Center (they own Musicians Friend) I took it back for a refund. I was not about to spend money on all of the fixes I saw on the internet to repair what Fender should get right in the first place. The Custom Vibrolux is a great little amp, right size, power, etc., but the noise is a problem. Due to the hiss I rate this down.

I have never had a Fender amp give me reliability problems and I did not keep this one long enough to find out.

Who knows about Fender--it is easier to get in touch with AT&T. Kudos to Guitar Center though for making it possible to return a piece with which you are unhappy. the rating below is for Guitar Center, not Fender (I am not an unhappy Fender customer,I have many of their guitars and two of their amps other than the Vibrolux).

Really wish they would do a PTP version of this amp. It is such a great configuration and without the noise, has such a great tone. With noise so bad it is not a keeper and Fender should be ashamed for putting out such an inferior product that retails for over $1000.