Fender Vibrolux Reverb Reissue

I bought this vibrolux in the fall of last year, and I believe it was made that same year. Pretty straight forward tube amp. Two channels, normal and bright (I generally play through the normal because I'm not super into super bright sound)... The versatility for me comes from the effects I use- a lot of delay and reverb... It does its job of sounding loud and full (like a tube amp) extremely well. It's 40 watts are plenty for me in live settings (I use an amp microphone). The vibrato is pretty useless. Reverb is a typically wonderful Fender spring reverb. Very uncomplicated amp.

Brand new amps generally need some fine-tuning, but not having the money to do so, I neglected to look at the tubes or anything. I agree, there is a small hiss. To me however, it's not a big deal. I use this amp live only so the hiss is very unimportant. What is important is how great this sounds when cranked like tube amps are supposed to be. The vibrolux takes effects extremely well and just colors the tone beautifully.

So far, it's been six or seven months and all is good. Takes bouncing around in the car and playing weekly just fine. Although I just bought an ATA case to protect it a little. Seeing as I have sold all of the other amps I own (except a little Fender Frontman 25Wattt), I always gig without a backup.

I don't know. There is a warranty for 5 years maybe? I'm guessing Fender is rough to deal with.

I have been playing for six years live shows and such, and going through three previous amps (solid state junk), this is the best by far. If lost or stolen, I would buy this or save up for an AC-30. I think it's better than the other Fender amps in its class. I have played a Deville 410 and 212 and also a Twin Reverb when amp shopping, and while the are all wonderful amps, the Vibrolux impressed me the most. It's a great amp.

made in 2007 in the Fender Custom shop. single handedly the most versatile amp in my collection. features have already been listed. i have upgraded the speakers to Jensen Reissue C10Q's and the preamp tubes have been changed to vintage RCA 12AX7A's for the gain, JJ Tesla 12AX7s for the reverb and vibrato and an Amperex 12AT7 for the phase inverter. nothing i wish this amp had that it doesn't and it more than covers all my bases in the bands i play in and the places we play out at!

currently i use 2 Gretsch Electromatics- a G5129 that i swipped out the Dynasonics for P90's and an orange G5120 that i put in Firebird Minihumbuckers into, a parts telecaster (Duncan Firebird Minihumbucker and a Dimarzio Pre B-1 bridge pickup that i usually down tune to D or C), a Les Paul Special (2 P90's, a wraparound and a giant neck) and a Danelectro six string bass (really a baritone geetaer tuned an octave below a geetar)

i have used Fenders all my life (i'm going to be 27 in 2 weeks and been playing professionally since i was 13) and have had others very similar- a Silverface Pro Reverb, Silverface Twin, both of which i sold due to being too much power and too big for most of the stages i play on, then played Voxes almost exclusively for 4 years, then fell in love with the tone of a DRRI 2 years ago, got that and that just sounds too thin for most applications, although will rebias that one for 5881's in the power tube secion, then played through the Vibrolux last September and it has been my amp of choice since then. it isnt any louder than the DRRI, but it is WAAAAAYYYYYY thicker sounding at the same volumes as i play my DRRI at, which is very thick indeed.

i play in a psychobilly/merseybeat/old school rock n roll/50's style R&B/surf band called the Arkhams (please check us out at www.myspace.com/thearkhams) and we play with an upright player, which is somewhat finicky to get the volume perfect with on some stages. i dont need all that much volume, but it is necessary to get the amp just on the edge of break up and not past that. that goal is accomplished with the Vibrolux more than any other amp i have played through (although i am going to try out some 5881's in my DRRI to compare)

when i got the Vibrolux, it was VERY noisy, but that usually happens with some of the crappy tubes that they make these days. the day i got it, i put in the good tubes, and have been gigging with them 2-3 timers a week, and did 2 tours since i got it and not one tube failure in 6 months. i have a pair of reissue Tung Sol 5881's for this on the way. i shall compare them with the Sovtek 5881's that came with it. Reissue power tubes are usually not as much the problem with new amps as the preamp tubes that come shipped with it.

since i got the new tubes in it, it is as quiet as a mouse.

for outdoor venues, i have a 2x12 cabinet with 2 Jensen C12N's ran in 4 ohms that i can put this through. i rarely need to use it, though.

the sounds i get out of this amp are the ones i been hearing in my head- big and bold enough to hold their own, but arent overbearing and have never been thin sounding, as other amps i have had were. at almost any setting, this amp can go from clean to drive and fit that nice seat between them very nicely. theres not that much 'variety' but that is what i like about it. variety comes from my song selections and harmonies that i orchestrate, not necessarily the tone of the geetar, which the tone of this amp can shape for me with any of my instruments.

the actual distortion is not really 'distortion' at all- just a warm blend between clean and overdrive. the inherent 'note' never disappears wtih this amp. with P90's or my tele bridge pickup, it snarls and gets very warm sounding. with firebird pickups, its thinner, cleaner and twangier. i play .13 gauge flatwounds (with a plain .22 G string) and they are VERY responsive to my pick attack- I control how im going to sound with this vibrolux, not the amp.

as stated before, since i got this amp in October (7 months ago) i have played well over 100 gigs and not once did i have or need a backup. i do not neglect my amps. i keep them running well for a long time.

never dealt with Fender. dont need to. never tried to get it repaired and i dont need to. i got a warranty on this, but so far so good.

i have been playing for almost 21 years (professionally for 14) and have owned most types of gear at some point or another. right now, i own 6 amps- a Fender 79 Champ, Silvertone 1482 (comparable to a lower power (about 10W) Princeton that distorts WAAAAYYYYY quicker. a 90's Vox AC15 with the Celestion Blue Alnico Speaker, DRRI, this one, and a 1966 Bassman head that i use the Avatar 2x12 (2 Jensen C12N's in) this amp covers all my bases and all i need to do is hook up my 2x12 Avatar cabinet and i got more volume and low end if i need it (although that is rarely the case with my Vibrolux) i dont need to use any pedals with it, as i get all the tones i want with just this amp.

Made in 2006. Nice Clean Amp sound with an okay reverb. The Vibrolux is effect nice. Fender doesn't even try to throw in distortion with this amp which is a good thing as they don't do it well. It is pretty versitile as it takes pedals well. Very Loud.

This has more Hum than any amp on the market! I brought it home and plugged it in and it just sat and hummed. I unpluged it and moved it and still hum. I plugged it in with no guitar chord (so signal going in) and it was the same hum. Terrible. However, it does not hum when playing through it and it sounds very good then.

That being said, I couldn't take the Hum and took it back to G Guitars in New Haven, CT who were very good to deal with.

Seems to be reliable. Made in the USA

Don't know.

I took it back and got a Hot Rod DeVille. The DeVille is a much better amp for about the same price. The DeVille is a 2x12 vs. the Vibrolux 2x10 so the sound is more full. The Reverb is also much better on the Deville.

With the Hum this amp produces (as seen by all of the other reviews) don't bother with this amp.

Bought my Vibrolux Reverb in 2008, mainly because of the size and the weight.

I'm playing Blade R4 and Strats. I really don't like the noise, it's much to high. The volumen is hard to ajust at lower settings, and the sound is much to thin.

It's noisy, bad and cheaply buildt, and the sound is much to thin.

1996 fender vibrolux reissue, has a custom shop sticker? changed speakers to vintage 10s. i think this early model was a little better made, but i could be wrong.if anyone knows please post up.the tremelo is very good and reverb is good.this is a good country amp, i use a mister squishey compresser with thing and it's great..

strats, nighthawks, les pauls.country blues some rock, does it all good

96 still works

dont know

like it dont love it....

These reviews are completely mislabeling this amp and creating an unnecessary amp model review category. It is not a "Re-Issue" series amp at all like the 65 Twin Reverb or 65 Fender Super Reverb re-issues, but it is a Fender "Pro Tube" series (Custom Shop) design, called the "Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb". The idea was that it incorporates some of the better features of past Vibroluxes over the years in a more "modern interpretation." Also, the word "Custom" was added to the name, indicating the new design came from the Custom Shop and has some new ideas. Here's the Fender product link:
http://fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0215100000

Please put your reviews under Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb, to minimize confusion and give these amps their proper light. They are a "too" well kept secret due to all the confusion, ha.

You can read my review there under Nealix. Thanks for getting it right in the future.

reverb and vibrato with a normal and a bright channel

I have heard much better sounding amps!! the cleans are really good at lower volumes. it breaks up too soon for me, when I play blues this is ok and I mean just ok. i play strats,teles and les pauls, this is not a point to point amp. it doesn't even come close to a 60's or 70's vibrolux.The speakers are mediocre at best. I would recommend some webers or even celestions just about anything would be an upgrade. fender seems to sacrifice quality for mass production and this amp is no exception. like alot of others rewiews the amp is noisy, it hums, a little annoying but when playing you dont notice.I have heard great amps do this too.for me this amp lacks something.the tone is not great it is just ok. if you have a grand and you are thinking of buying a new one, I would spend my money more wisely and get someting better used.

I have used it several times at gigs it hasnt ever stopped working

fender is generally good in this area. they have helped me several times not with this amp though

been playing 20+ years and I play blues,rock,country.a blues or hotrod deluxe is a better value and it only has 1 speaker which is an easy upgrade the you can get one used for 400-500.if I had it to do over I would spend a little more and get a 70's vibrolux or a DR.Z . thank goodness I didn't pay 1000.00 for it. I would be angry. torres does mods where you can send the chassis in and they gut it and replace the circuit to pre CBS specs this would be the way to go with this amp http://www.torresengineering.com/ and upgrade the speakers.

I bought my Vibrolux Reverb (brown tolex) used and it was made -95 or -96. I play in a rock/country band and the amp suits very well for that kind of music. The reverb and the vibrato (included in both chanels (normal/bright)) are just brilliant. For the rehearsals the amp may be a bit too loud but for the gigs it's perfect. With louder volumes the sound brakes very nicely.

The clean is so good. Pure Fender sound! And as I said with the louder volumes the sound brakes up very nicely. With the max volume on your guitar you'll get a great fuzzy sound. And if you turn the vol of your guitar a little bit down you will get a cool crunchy sound out of it. I have used mainly Fender Stratocasters and Les Paul type guitars with the amp. With humbucker pick-ups the sound brakes maybe with a little lower volumes than with stratos single-coils. Sounds good with both!

My Vibrolux is over ten years old. No problems this far!

I have been playing for years and I own a couple of Marshall amps too. Before I bought this one I tried many other Fender (+some other companies) amps at the local stores and the Vibrolux sounded the best to my ears. Lucily I found it used so I got it with much lower prise than a new one would have cost.

Vibrolux Custom made in 1998.
Two channels, one normal tone and the other bright. This is a simple amp, and Fender makes no claims to it being anything other than that. This is enough for me. My stompboxes do the rest. Despite its simplicity, you can dial in a lot of different tones by just switching channels and turning the dials. Quite a novel idea, ay.

Plenty of power for small venues.

I play both single coil and humbucker guitars through this amp. My guitars range from an Eric Johnson Strat, PRS custom 22, Les Paul Custom 1975, Gibson ES 175. They all sound great through the Vibrolux, but the single coils have a fair amount of buzz. The humbuckers are really quiet.

I play both blues and jazz (a la Robben Ford/Jon Scofield) and I feel equally at home with both the Strat and ES 175. The vibrolux gives an extra ring and liveliness to everything I plug into it. I never reach for distortion and high gain, but I do play some U2 covers and it sounds great with a couple of Maxon stompboxes.

Fenders are traditionally reliable. I have a 1964 Twin that still sounds incredible even with garage storage.

If you are into jazz, blues, roots rock, this amp is for you. It's light, versatile, and simple. It's equally at home with single coils and humbuckers. This amp won't make you an SRV, but it will certainly make your playing a bit more fun.

bought this new in 1999 - 2 10s, reverb, vibrato, etc. Used for medium sized rooms - a few large rooms over the years. Has enough power. I mostly bought it because I was always a sucker for black-faced fenders ( I had a 64 DR when I was a kid ). points off for being so heavy for what you get.

Strats mostly - no humbucker guitars. Clean strat tone has always been what I go back to after I try other guitars. The over-all tone is a 7/10 - warm but loses big time for lacking sweetness if you know what I mean. The reverb - ok vibrato - nice.

heavy use until I sold it in 2004 - no problems

don't know

40 yrs - past 10 in a party/dance style cover band - lots of 60s - present. What happened a couple of yrs ago is that I heard a tweed bassman re-issue and it was all over - vibrolux sold. bassman bought. I had no idea how special tweed tone is compared to black-face. The cleans are sweet - woody. Also actually weighs less. I learned to stay away from amp reverb. I get better 'spring reverb' out of my E-H pedal compared to any real amp reverb I have ever owned ( go figure ) I love fender stuff - always will - but the amps need to be light-brown colored instead of black.

Fender "Custom" Vibrolux Reverb, 2005. Features are well-described here already, so I won't rehash.

The features are rather limited, but then this amp isn't designed for playing metal, ya know? Does what it does -- in a vintage vein.

Amp seems loud enough for most situations, but like most Fenders, it reaches high volumes very quickly, which I DON'T care for.

Sound is mainly clean, with some breakup at higher levels. Good for oldies, pop and blues. I loved the sparkle and the wonderful dynamic range of this amp. Alnico speakers are wonderful.

The noise, however, was the main deal-breaker for me. I've played for 24 years and never heard a hiss like that. Wow. It's so distracting that it just overshadows the Vibro's beautiful tone. If you put on the vibrato channel and turn the Depth full-up, it sounds just like a train as you increase the Speed control. ("ff-ff-ff-ff-FF-FF-FF" then add your own "woo-woooo!") LOL!

Shame on FMIC for not building a quiet rig. They could have possibly designed it to use DC current on the tube heaters, which is one proven method for minimizing noise. I'm sure there are other things they could have done better in the design, too.

The other part of the deal-breaker was the "cheapness" of the whole rig. It's one of those "I spent that much for THIS?" kind of things. I mean, for a USA-made amp, the fit & finish were just average at best, and it did not have a solid feel to it.

I didn't have it long enough to give a rating in this category, however.

Good warranty -- 5 years, transferrable. All Fender guitars & amps have this and I applaud it (even my son's little Frontman 15R amp). I once owned a Fender acoustic guitar, which Fender authorized repairs on, then later actually replaced the thing for me. Kudos to FMIC here.

I had this amp about a week and sent it back. I eventually got a new Vox AC-30 custom classic (also with Alnico speaks) which I am much, much happier with. I voted with my dollars -- for a Chinese amp -- but it's built better, it's way more flexible and is QUIET.

1997 Vibrolux, versitile (jazz, rock, blues, indie alternative)
Regular and Bright channels - both have high and low db inputs
Use large and small clubs and rehersals - everywhere
Very Nice Vibrato, very sensitive amp to what your playing ie pick force,pick rakes, scapes, bends.
Note this is a basic amp - thats what your paying for something that sounds good with just a guitar. I found this is the best foundation to start from your base tone. From there you can mess around with pedals like a Tube Screamer (works really well) and some delay for more reverb. Accepts most effects very well if used.
Rating of 5 is because it is a simple basic good sounding amp.
This is all I wanted. Id rather pay for a good basic amp and not an amp that has a ton of half decent effects and channels.

2002 Mexican Tele (Single Coils)- cudos on a good guitar Mexico although I picked a good one; it took me a year to find but it shows your capable.
1992 American (Beat Up) Strat - Stacked Seymore Duncan in the Bridge rest is stock.
1992 Gibson es135 Semi Hollow - P100's not the greatest pickups but I am my own artist and a different sounding guitar sets me apart from all the clapton, hendrix and SRV clones. Oh yes and I do play their songs very well but try to make them my own (blasphemy perhaps:))Gotta push music forward and stop living in the past thats rock and roll.

Awesome fender tone. Does hiss, Jensen speakers should be better, stock tubes should be better. Use better tubes and speakers and this is a killer amp as for the hiss turn the volume up to at least 3.5 since this amp is intended for that. Reading these ratings I found many differences of opinion. I'll sum it up Fender manufacturing has poor quality control and as a result these amps vary. I have tried 3 different ones all 90's models and they all had there own issues. I have found with fender amps amp you have to kick them around and beat them up for about a year and you should find all the problems. From there take it to a tech and tell him what you want. Cudos again Mexican Fender amps are pretty solid maybe because they have more of a stake in what their building. Maybe they should build vibroluxs and we can pay them some decent wages. I am a Manufacturing Engineer by profession so I know good work when I see it.

I think by now I have worked out all the problems. Not major ones but more like upgrades such as speakers and tubes. Good tubes also minimize hiss and I found hotter tubes smooth out the punchiness of this amp in clean and overdriven settings - may require biasing. I have destroyed the Jensens - cudos to me - am now shopping for replacements either Eminence copperheads, ragin cajuns, Webers?, Tone Tubbies I wish. Suggestions and experiences appreciated.HELP
I don't think you can blow this amp up unless your a maniac but it has minor issues.

I do better work than Fender does at least I care more. Nough said.

Would by one again but would try at least 3 to find a good one. Then I would abuse and work it for about a year. From there I would fix the problems. Use better Tubes (I prefer hotter tubes - seemed smother with less punch). Consider better speakers. Once this amp settles and you get some consistency it cant be beat. If you can't deal with that then spend the extra $500 to $1000 for a MESA Lonestar or a Vibroking or a English (not american or chinese) Vox AC30.

Any suggestions for speakers appreciated just email me.
Any questions feel free to email I love talking about this stuff.

this amp is an 2005 model, i play roy buchanan style music so i chose this amp as opposed to paying $3500 for an original.no effects loop, no channel switching just turn it up.I use this amp on 10, it sounded great out of the box, it would not break up or sustain so I took the amp at 2 days old to bob burriss in lexington ky, burrissamps.com and had bob to rewire this thing to an original 64. wow,wow,wow. after some breakin time that roy tone is finally here, with the help of a 52 reissue tele.

a 52 tele reissue pl;ugged in with just a cable turn the amp on 10 and go for it, the amp does hiss a little, and i asked bob about this and it is the nature of the beast.the vol. on 10 treble on 7 and the bass on 3. I also at the recomendation of bob put in some new copperhead eminence speakers, absolutely made a big difference for that vintage roy tone.now that the amp is starting to break in it will sustain very nice, but 10 on the vol. is the only way.there has been alot of places you cant turn up so for this i have the only pedal i own, I throwed the rest away, I have a boss ds-1, you know the orange one, it works real nice for sustain at lower vol.

reliability, well so far so good for now, if something happens i will take it to burriss amps even though it is under warranty, bob is just that good. as far as tubes he replaced the 6l6 fender junk sovtek/groove tubes, this is very bad taste on fenders part they sound really bad, but if you like the old sound you have to weed through the bad to get to the good.and the preamp tubes were same as the 6l6 tubes they were electro-harmonix and one j&j, bob is a genius, I played the amp today after some break in and it sounds so good you will not believe it, the pure tube sustain and in your face sound.

I have not dealt with fender I hear it is somewhat good and bad.

I have been playing 18 years 10 professionally i have had everything and was happy with none of it, so a 52 tele reissue and a custom vibrolux and finally i have tone and i owe bob burriss who knows nothing about my review everything for modifying this amp. if it were lost or stolen i would do it all over again, nothing out there new sounds good to me especially processors, pedals, if roy buchanan taught me anything, it was melody, tone and no gizmos, i miss the old days, so i with what money resources i had recreated what i wanted to sound like and that was good tone.throw away the junk and clutter and get back to playing the guitar and do what it takes to get good tone, listen to the older stuff and you wont hear that good tone in this junk being made today. very happy roy clone(if you think its easy, you try to play his stuff, wow what a genius)

This amp is very easy to use. It does not have alot of features but is very user friendly. Effects work in normal amd bright channel which is not found in most vintage type amps.

WOW! This amp sounds awesome. It does have the hiss everyone talks about but more than makes up for it in tone. I have played through a DR Z and this amp stands pretty close to that tone. It does break up at about "4" but it gives you that slight distortion found on many recordings coming out today. If you are looking for the clean classic country or early 50's sound then the DRR may be a better choice.I have never submitted a review before, but I really think this amp has gotten a bad rap because of the slight hissing problem. Do I wish that Fender would correct this, Yes , but when your at a live gig you don't even notice it. The band I play in uses a large house PA system and the noise is not even a factor unless you stick you head in the speaker! It may cause more problems for recording. Overall, this amp is the sound I have been looking for. It's bottom end is tight and the highs are not to brittle. It can be clean but gives you the edge when you need it to. After the first gig I played with it everone was amazed how good it sounded. Go buy this amp, You'll be happy!!!!

Just bought it

Have not had to use it. For ths price I paid, hope I never will.

Overall this amp is worth the price.Compared to the other high end amps on the market the CVR is in the same ballpark. The hiss is a slight issue but would not keep me from buying the amp. If it was lost or stolen I would run out and buy another one. I have been playing guitar for 35 years and this is the best sounding amp I have owned.

The features have all been covered. There is no master volume but you don't need it with this amp. If you want dirt at really low volume either use a pedal or another amp.

The sounds from this amp are wonderful, even stock they are good but mine has been modded with the "Vibroverb" MOD. I also added Weber C10Qs. Now it is REALLY wonderful and the Webers siginificantly increased the output and gave it a little more headroom. I play several guitars through it but my go to guitar for this amp is aa AmStd Strat with DiMarzio Fast-track pickups. It also like's my Suhr 2001 LE. The amp likes pedals and really sound's good when I use my POD plugged into the frontend. It's quiet. It's a good blues rock/classic rock amp. Fender...Fendeer genius.

Never had a problem.

Who knows??

I've been playing off and on...mostly on since 1964. My last band was in 1971. I started getting serious about guitar in 1997. Before that I just chunka-ed around on the acoustic. Then I got online...the rest is history. If it had not been for the internet I would have been very happy with Peavey amps...not to knock Peavey but the net really opened my eyes and my wallet. I bought this amp because of the sweet clean tone I got from it in the store at really low volume...man. I was looking at buying a Fender Prosonic combo but this amp just "spoke to me". Sometimes I wish I had the Prosonic too...

This is a review of a used 1995 Blonde Vibrolux Reverb Reissue. The Tolex and Wheat Grill-cloth look like a million bucks - more beautiful than the Blackface versions. I do agree with many of the assessments that in stock form the tone is lacking (the hiss, reverb on both channels actually hurts the reverb and adds hiss...etc). I am giving it a 5 rating before the mods that had done (see below)

Fender made a reissue back in the early '90s of the 1963 2X10 Vibroverb. Maybe some of you have seen it...brown tolex and all. This was the amp that current Vibrolux wishes it were except the Vibrolux actually has better speakers - and even that is not saying much.
Here are some mods that I found and had done. I now rate this amp a 9 (nothing is perfect).
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Converting a ?Custom? Vibrolux Reverb into a ?63 Vibroverb By Mark Moyer

The Differences:

1. Reverb is present in the ?Verb only on the bright channel. It is on both channels in the ?Lux. This is accomplished by connecting pin 6 of V1b to pin 6 of V2B and eliminating R35, and R11, V1B?s plate load resistor (220k in the ?Verb), and using the R22/R23 combination as a common plate load resistor for both V1B and V2B. On the ?verb, R22 and R23 are 22k and 82k, respectively. On the ?Lux, R23 is dropped to 47k. The Lux has a significant amount of hiss and more pre-amp gain with lower headroom due to this circuit change.
2. The Lux has a 500pf-coupling cap from the 12AX7 of the Reverb return to the pot. The Verb uses a .0033uf.
3. The ?Lux has no negative feedback. The ?Verb has a NFB loop. Negative feedback loops tend to negate hiss and other unwanted noise.
4. R37, the lower cathode resistor in the PI, is 6.8k in the ?verb and 39k in the ?Lux.
5. The ?verb has a 100pF shunting cap, C20, across the PI plates. This is absent on the ?Lux.
6. The ?Lux has 3kV spike protection diodes on the OT.
7. The ?Verb has very cheap sounding Oxford 10K5 reissue speakers. The ?Lux has the decent-sounding Eminence alnico?s.
8. The Original Vibroverb runs a 12AX7 with a 1k 1w-cathode resistor as its Reverb driver. The Lux and Verb run a 12AT7 with 2.2k 1w.
9. The Verb?s ground reference resistors; R62 and R63 are 47ohms. The Lux uses 100ohm


The Changes

1. Reverb on both channels. This is a neat idea but IMO the negatives outweigh the positives. Adding Reverb to both channels of the Lux causes a significant amount of hiss. Going to a common plate load resistor and lowering R23 from 82k to 47k makes the pre-amp run hotter, which to my ear makes for less headroom. I also suspect some cross talk is going on. Further, the Reverb on the Bright channel improves by converting the Lux pre-amp back to the Verb. If you like Big Clean Reverb laden tone with no hiss you must convert the Lux pre-amp back to the Verb. To convert the Lux pre-amp back to the Verb unsolder the blue wire from pin 6 of V2 and solder it to the unused hole marked 6 on the circuit board where the rest of V1?s connections are made. The blue wire connects pin 6 of V1 to pin 6 of V2. Leave one end connected to pin 6 of V1. Replace R23 with an 82k. Place a 220k resistor in both of the empty spots pre-marked R35 and R11.
2. Fuller Reverb: The Reverb on the Lux is much more filtered out then the Verb due to the coupling cap in the recovery stage. C16 on the Verb is a .0033. On the Lux it is 500pf. This is a significant difference. I highly recommend replacing C16 on the Lux with a .0033 Silver Mica cap. This makes the Reverb come alive on the otherwise Reverb challenged Lux.
3. NFB: To further reduce the hiss found on the Lux and increase your headroom you must add a NFB loop to the ?Lux. Solder a 10k resistor in the empty space marked R41. Then run a wire from the speaker jack (positive, or tip, terminal) to the unused connection point ?2? above the right-hand corner of C37 and next to a green wire. ONE MORE THING! There needs to be a 470-ohm resistor between this point and ground! It?s R42 on the Vibroverb PCB. My 1995 Blonde had a jumper wire acting as R42. One Other Phase Inverter Change: Replace R37 with a 6.8k resister. This goes hand in hand with the NFB loop change.
4. Shunting cap: The Verb has a 100pf-shunting cap across the plates of the 12AX7 Phase Inverter. It is C20. I recommend placing this 100pf cap in the Lux as it is inaudible and greatly red

I've had good luck with Fenders - both New and Used. No problems here!

I haven't had to deal with Fender. I take my amp to a reliable amp tech.

If you want the best tone out of this amp, you must do at least some of the mods listed above. I recommend Weber speakers, and taking the reverb off the normal channel for sure. You really should pony up the extra cash to have the above mods done. I paid $110. Luckily for me the previous owner had Webers ceramics put in. You will be amazed how quiet this amp is after these mods are done. I was!

The amp is a 1995 model Custom Vibrolux Reverb with Blonde Tolex and a Wheat grill. Although called a Vibrolux Reverb it is basically a different amp from the new blackface models by the same name. It has the basic four input jack set, which I perfer over the newer amps with only own jack. It has a normal and bright channels, vibrato and reverb. From the Custom Shop, it comes with two Italian made reissue Alnico tens that bear a Jensen logo.

CAVEAT: The 1995 Blonde Custom Vibrolux Reverb that comes from the Fender factory only rates a "2" for reasons that will be explained. The amp after some serious modificiation rates a solid 8.5 or 9.

The original design of the amp was similiar to the 1963 Twin Amp. It has the baisic looks of the Twin but that where the comparision stops. Fender wanted to compete with the British market and the high gain amps. So a second gain stage was placed in the 1995 amp and a 12AX7 was used in the phase inverter.

This was a poor costs saving device. The problem is that there is too much gain for the whimpy Jensen clone speakers that Fender used. (The Twin used JBL's to handle the load.)

The net result is that the amp is unusable at levels over 2 in the tone and volume controls. Buy turning the both tone knobs down to 2 and by turing your guitar volume low, you can turn up the amp. Anything volume level over 3 or 4 is likely to produce a very muddy sound especially with humbucking pickups. It has poor note definition and creates more distortion then music.

The workmanship, speakers and tubes, as the amp comes from the factory, are all substandard.

Newer models with the blackface are a reissue of the 1964 Viborlux Reverb. This is a low gain amp, which uses a 12AT7 in the phaser inverter for a cleaner blackface tone. The 12AT7 has 40% less gain then the 12AX7.

I was able to salvage my Blonde amp by replacing the Jensens with 30 watt Weber replacement speakers with 40 ounce magnets. This added about 4 pounds to the amps weight and a much clearer tone.

The replacement speakers you chose is a matter of personal taste but get something heavey. I chose a mismatched set of speakers, one was a Vox design and the second a Marshall design. This also helped to eliminate the twangy sound the amp originally produced with my Strat.

The factory sodering job was poor and I had the amp resoddered and the electroinic cleaned.

I also replaced all of the Russian Tube with NOS. The Russian tubes only added to the noise and terrible hiss that the amp makes as designed.

For the power tubes I used Jan-Phillips with lots of head room. It's a late breaking tube to help give more chord definition at moderate volumes. I used a Jans AT7 in the Reverb Driver. In the phase inverter a Mullard 12AT7 (instead of a 12AX7) it was designed for. This helped reduce the hiss caused by the extra gain in the amps design to acceptable levels and smoothed the overall tone of the amp. The four remaining tubes are GE 12AX7's at $30 a each.

I have owned Fenders since the 60's and still own several vintage amp. They have held up over time. So I assume that this amp, even with the modifications, will preform.

I would rate the customer support as a 2 like their amp. I wrote a letter to Fender asking for guidance in how to solve the probles with amp. To my surprise, I did receive a call back. The young person from Fender was pleasant but was not aware of the changes in designed from the blonde to the blackface amp. He knew of the hiss that existed in the high gain '95 amps but went on to say that his Marshall was louder. He offered no ideas on how to fix the amp but only talked the party line about about the amp's great tone and how the hiss should be tolerated. He did confess that the Russian tubes used by Fender were overly noisy and that he too placed NOS in his own amps.

I have been playing over 40 years. I currently own a 1965 Tremolux, 1966 Band Master, 1989 Showman, and a studio amp. I have about 7 guitars, mostly Guild and Fender. I play blues, rock and jazz.

If it were lost or stolen, I would not buy another Fender. I like the amp's looks and the changes I have made. I regret that the amp was not designed to perform as good as it looks.

A note to those who have reported using their amp as a mini bar when gigging. The baffle on the new fender amps is not painted, it is dyed with a water base dye. If the grill cloth gets wet and soaks through the dye in the baffel with immediately bleed all over the grill cloth. The cloth will need to be removed, the baffel painted and the cloth replaced. It's lots of labor but little expense. No I didn't use mine as a mini bar.

Mine's made in '98. There is no "versatility"...except for the "Vibrato"...The 'reverb' is a joke. I get better reverb on my "S.S." (Reverb) "Blues Jr."-amp! The amp is too darn bright and has too much headroom for a Blues-player like me-I mean, "40W's & 2-10's", in a tiny Milwaukee bar, makes for resentful customers. Thier ears hurt, from all the "treble"! I know guys who "duct-tape" thier grill-clothes, just so they can keep this amp. I'm about ready to giver it up. Oh, it's fine, with my "Les Paul", but unless I use "Tex Spcls", I can't use a "Strat" with this gig! Forget it!! Nevermind, a "Tele"...! __And with all that "headroom" & brightness, in a BIG place, I can be "burried"; it's speakers just ain't powerful enough, I guess?

I used to use a Strat w/ Tex Spcls...Now, I made the mistake of buying the "new" '57/'62 pick-ups from Fender (I liked the "old" ones! More "crunch"!!)so I can't use my Strat with it at all now; even WITH a TS-8! Still too thin....It'd be "great", I think, if I 'could' play it Vol. on about "5, or 6"!? There "is" where the "natural distortion- IS"! But? "Where"? "Ears bleed", I'm telling ya...Beware.
And "NOSIEY"!!! HOLY COW. What a piece of JUNK, for "$850." You could buy a "Vintage-amp" for THAT amount of dough!!

I've had it for 5 yrs. and only "could" use it (Cuz it's "treble-crazy"!), maybe ten times...Like at "outdoor" Gigs...OR, like I said: If u buy/use "Tex. Spcls" (which a "dark"!) , AND use a "Tube Screamer", U CAN get, a good "Fab. Thunderbirds" sound from it, at lower volumes...

5 Year Warranty.
Tech Support is possible, but unlikely to "get thru" by phone...I've done it "once", or twice", I think, in my "life" (last 10 yrs)

I've been "playing", for 40 yrs. "Guitar" only 24 yrs. (I also play drums & Harp & sing).
I "did" compare it , to everything out there, & sadly! I should've just bought another "Blues/Hot Rod, DeVille" (40W's; w/ 1`-12"!AND, "Overdrive/Master Vol.; etc!)
I comparred it to my '66 Pro-reveb, & it broke-up earlier than "that" did...so I liked it , at first.
I "wish" it had a "Mas. Vol."; "BIG REVERB!!"; & an "Overdrive Button",like the DeVille's!
I would NOT "replace" this amp! I'd buy an "old" ('63-'82)"DeLuxe-reverb", put 2, "6-L-6's" in place on the 6'V'6's & have it "re-biased", for more headroom, thus, rendering me: An amp I can overdrive naturaly, w/o fear of "too much treble from 10" speakers"; and have about "30W's" (Close enuff!), and my prized, "Original", Fender "Reverb"..."Plus", original Fender "Tremelo" (B/F)!

This is a revised review of this product, since I have already submitted a previous review. You know from the other reviews the features of the amp. Your straight ahead two channel Fender.

Sounds good live, too NOISEY for anything else.

Here's the catch. Had it for four months and had problems. The first pre-amp tube for the Normal channel was always microphonic. I tried several new quality tubes and the same problem. I had the store's tech check it out and he found nothing wrong and could not fix the problem. Returned amp to store for refund. Was EXTREMELY disappointed with this product. Paid good coin for something that could not keep up with me (Again. This seems to be a problem with the "new" Fender amps.) I have gone through most of the new amps over the last 3 years and have had problems with all of the newer gear. The quality is not there at all. Driving my salesman nuts, since I have bought and returned a lot of Fender amps lately. I don't work my stuff that hard, but it seems that the gear can't do the job. Not like the old stuff anyway......

Dealt with music store where I purchased the amp. Never tried to deal with Fender. Looked on their web site and noticed that you can't E-mail them. Too bad, would love to drop them a line on this situation. (maybe that's why they don't????)

Looks cool but doesn't perform well at all for me anyway. If it had been stolen I would have been out the dough, but would have pitied the sap who stole it. Good Luck! Stick to the oldest Fender gear that you can find and afford, and leave the new garbage stuff for the fools. Glad that the store looked after me so well (thanx L&M) otherwise would have been stuck with a turd. STAY CLEAR !!!!!!!!!!

200? Fender Vibrolux Reverb "Custom-Custom"... I've customized the custom amp with a Master Volume, and this makes this amp disturbing cool. I suggest you try it. The amp is incredibly pure and simple, I.E. no effects loop, channel switching. The Groove Tubes must be replaced soon though. I don't like or trust em'. Awesome Jensen 10" speakers. 5 without the Master Volume Mod (more later).

My current setup is:

G&L Legacy -or- Fender Telecaster Elite
-to-
Crybaby Vintage White Wah > Boss EQ7 > DOD Stereo Phaser > Radial Tonebone Classic Distortion (the best OD pedal ever, barnone) > Digitech DigiDelay >
-to-
The Awesome Sounding Fender Vibrolux Reverb "Custom-Custom"

I play a U2ish, modern indie, hard rocking style with the occasional blues riff here and there. The amp isn't that versatile all by itself. It does a great clean sound and an semi-okay OD tone. Works well with open chords. Hense the "custom-custom"... I can take the clean tone a open it up to awesomely beautiful tones. The amp has a minor noise. The bright channel is a perfect pair to the Jensen Speakers. The Treble knob on the bright channel sounds more like a Treble-Mid Control (my opinion). I like this amp because it doesn't sound like the run-of-the-mill, lack luster Fender Amp. The clean sound has a british feel to it with more balls. The Tonebone Classic is an awesome pair to the amp.

The reverb tank is probably the best new reverb tank I've ever heard. It control quite nicely and a very full and broad spectrum to it's turn.

The vibrato (tremelo) has a great classic fender sound.

Definitely a great choice for a pedal pusher. Versatile is what it can be told to do.

N/A... Haven't had it but 3 months.

N/A... I assume it sucks... ala Fender

Seeing that I sold by Mesa Rectoverb for it... It's just awesome. And I love it. I'd buy another seeing that it has the mod. Great price new too.

Made in 2003, with the '64 transition look: black face with cream knobs, looks cool. Two independent channel amp with reverb and tremolo in both channels, a great feature. Also the one thing that I really like about this amp is the fact that there are only bass and treble controls for the tone. These days it seems that there has to be a whole lotta knobs to dial in a tone, and with this amp it is not required. Tone set up is very easy and effective with the basic controls. I have two older Deluxe's, and have owned other vintage fender gear and always noticed that there was only treble and bass, with possibly mid-range, and you can always get "your" sound out of those amps. With the Vibrolux it's the same situation which is ideal for me. And this is what I was looking for in an amp: pure and simple tube tone with real power tube overdrive. The reverb is very usable on this amp, not too strong, but does get up there at about 7 or so, and I use it around 3-4. (not a huge reverb fan) The trem is fantastic, strong and very smooth. Probably the best trem that I have ever used. I use this amp for gigging with a three piece blues/classic rock/ hillbilly type band and it works great. We play small to medium clubs and it's great in the medium sized rooms, and I don't mike the amp. Crank it up to about 6 and let 'er go. The only thing that I would like to have on this amp is a tube rectifier, but the way that it is means that I don't have to carry a spare rectifier with me to gigs. Also love the portability of the amp and the power that is has. Weighs 4 lbs hevier than my deluxe and more than twice the output.

I currently use an American Hot Rodded Tele (DH-1 neck, single coil bridge, 5 way switching) and a Mexican Fat Strat for slide. I set up my tuner pedal (Boss TU-2) in the loop for the strat into the normal channel, and run the Tele straight into the bright channel. With this set-up I get the sound that I need and want. We play stuff from Hank to Hendrix and I can get pretty well every sound that I need. The clean sound is great and the break up is amazing. I was using a Hot Rod Deluxe while I waited for the Vibrolux to arrive and what a difference. (day and night!) One of the reasons that I went for this amp is to have the two channels so I could dial in each guitar. Is it noisy YES; however I knew this already and talked to a couple of players who are using this amp and asked them about their concerns and here is the information that I received: this is not a practice in the living room amp, nor would I use it for recording. Too much hiss. But when you put it into the enviornment that it was designed for it's great. So I tried the amp at home for a while and it was unbearable to my ears, but when I got it on a stage I didn't notice the noise at all and it did not take away from the sound in any way. These amps are designed to be used live, cranked up, and let them do their thing, which they do exceptionally well. Some have said that this amp is a "one trick pony" and I don't know how to respond to that statement. A guitar amp is designed to amplify your guitar and break up when pushed. If you have reverb and trem then that's a big bonus. To me after that anything else takes away from sound of your rig. I don't use any pedals and the "sound" has to come from my hands and my ability. and some players may not want to have that, but for me I like to plug straight in and go, and if I can't get the sounds I want from that set up, then years of experience have shown me that it's me, not the rig. But that is just me and the way that I do things. The over drive is great on this amp and I just love it. This amp is very dynamic and musical, and by using my volume and tone controls on my guitar I can get whatever I want out of this thing. And I have found that you can dial in the amount of overdrive that you want by adjusting the volume on the amp. I usually run it between 5-6 1/2, and it does it's great "fendery" thing. I will say that you do need a fair sized room for this amp because it is VERY loud, and can get a way on you if you're not careful.

I have to rely on this amp every weekend and I don't gig without a back up. I don't want to have to carry around anything extra at all for various reasons. I know that I push my gear hard and DEMAND reliability from any gear that I use, so anything that doesn't comply is turfed immediately. And when something is brand new there should be a period of at least a year with no worries. Not quite there yet but getting close. I have not had a single proble with this product yet. Plug it in, turn it on, and give 'er. I know that tubes will have to be replaced, but I should not have any worries with an amp that carries the price tag that it does. I think that if Fender put this amp into the "Pro tube" line, that means that it's a Pro quality amp. Just my take on that, not referring to Fender's quality here.

Have never had to deal with Fender directly at all. Always go through the dealer who had always taken care of me since I been dealing there for over ten years.

Been playing for 30 years on and off, and played for a living for 10. Been with the latest band for 3 years playing pretty much every weekend. If it were lost or stolen would find a way to get another. There is no way to find a "real" vibrolux where I live, and can't afford the large price tags on them anyway. I have been through most of the stuff that Fender offers these days and this is the best amp that I could afford. Yes the "custom shop" stuff is better, but I am not that rich. What do I love about it? Simple: the size, the weight, the power, and the sound. I don't know if I "hate" the hiss, but I was hoping that an amp in this category would be dead silent, but for where I use it I can live with it. Why did I choose this amp? Two reasons; 1) It is the biggest 'little' amp that I can move around quite easily. I was using a '73 Fender Pro Reverb Amp which I loved, but I just couldn't carry it anymore. When it pulled my back out after hauling it into a gig I knew it was time for a change. 2)As I mentioned, I've tried most of the new Fender amps and this one does it for me. Another thing that I like is having the two 10's in an amp. There is a clarity and definition that you get that you just can't get with 12's. The Jensen's that come with the amp seem to match up very well with the amp, and do sound very "airy". Plus when I saw someone using the amp live for the first time it just caught my attention.

This is the 40 watt, 2x10" version with the cream knobs. Must say it's one of the sexiest looking fenders i've seen. I wanted more breakup than the twin i'd been using, so it looked good to me. 2 channels with the independent eq is always great for me since i play guitar on one and harmonica thru the other.

I play a coil-tapped les paul, so i have humbuckers and single coils both at the flip of a switch. I was really happy at low volume, just at the edge of breakup. Beautiful round tone. But any louder than 2 and a half meant more distortion without more volume. Ugh. The distortion itself was gorgeous, reminiscent of the lower wattage early blackface fenders, but i needed more volume. The single coils were definitely better, more defined, but the 'buckers were just mush any volume above 2. The "bright" channel was too bright, so I used the normal channel. One thing's for sure, the vibrato (actually misnomer for tremolo) is beautiful...like the smooth pre-CBS fenders. Bravo. However, the amp just has NO headroom.

Don't know 'cuz I took it back after 3 gigs. Another proud sponsor of the Guitar Center "rental" policy!

This would be a great recording amp, or amp for harp players, but on stage it just doesn't have the headroom I need. I ended up (on the advice of my local guru) taking out 2 power tubes from my twin (the outer OR inner ones only!) and putting 25watt greenback celestions in it. Perfect solution; should've done it years ago.

Been rehashed dozens of times over other reviews. It's a non-master volume Fender tube amp. It does anything you need it to do. Need high gain? Get a stomp box and you're set.

The Vibro King is my favorite amp, but it's too damn big for somebody like me who isn't even in a band situation right now. The Vibrolux doesn't quite have the punch of the King, but it's so damn QUICK. Almost instantaneous response. Great tone, too.

Only problem for me is that it doesn't have nearly enough reverb. If you ever try to emulate Dick Dale with this thing, no dice. Fortunately, I read up on it and found that rewiring the reverb to Vibroverb specs is relatively easy and cheap. I like Fenders that get TOO MUCH reverb if you top them out.

Stock tubes suck, period. In the first month (just playing at home at low volumes, mind you) the shop I bought the amp from ended up replacing all but one of the preamp tubes. The amp itself isn't a problem at all, but the tubes have to go.

?

Been playing about 15 years. I play only Telecasters. Dunno why, just haven't found any other guitar that suits my playing style. This amp, for me, is the second-best Fender made, the first being the Vibro King. It's also lightweight and relatively small. Coming from a Mesa Tremoverb Combo (almost 100 pounds), it's a godsend. Sounds great, too.

Probably a 2002. Suits me fine for blues, country, or rock. It's a Fender tube amp with 6L6 power tubes--what more do you need? I play the guitar, not the amp, so it has all the features I need. I occasionally use a chorus and a TS-9, only when I need extreme distortion at lower volumes. Tone comes mainly from your fingers anyway. Reverb is great--classic Fender. Trem is okay.

I play blues and '60-70's rock, and country when I have to. I tried my 335 through a Deluxe RI and this Vibrolux before I bought, and the Vibrolux sounded significantly better--tighter, brighter and ballsier.My '60 Strat Relic sounded great through it, too. I've owned a Victorilux, a Vibro-King, and a Super Reverb RI and must say I'm happiest with this Vibrolux. It has the tone of the Super Reverb without the "woofiness", is a lot lighter than the VK, and brighter and punchier than the Victorilux. Wish I'd bought it first. If I ever need to move more air, I'll tote a 2X12 extension cab along. It's no noisier than most tube amps. "What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety?"--"How brutal is the distortion?" Say what?? Who the heck wrote these idiotic questions, anyway? As with most Fender RI's, you've got to back off on the bass controls to at least 3 or 4 to get rid of "woof".

Who knows?

Fender HAS customer support?????

I've played for 36 years. I also use a '62 Bassman head and Dr. Z 2X12 cab (only use with Fender guitars) for larger rooms, a Victoria "Champ" for practice, and a Blues Junior "Woodie" for recording. I play various reissue Les Pauls and Fenders. Tried PRS's--pretty but no tone and no character. I bought the Vibro from Guitar Center and received the usual poor service and ignorant answers to questions. Guitar Center managed to lose the manual, tags, and the foot switch.

One of the first ones i think?early 90s.Great fat tone but very gutless.I changed the speakers right away.I still liked the sound of it but could not play over a hammond with a 60 watt leslie. .

Tried a 65 Tele and PRS and a new Strat Deluxe.All sounded fine.Don't use Chineese or Sovtek tubes.USA are much better tighter and louder..Still I wish it had more headroom...Maybe in a small club it would be ok but not against a 4 piece band with a Hammond and a sax on a packed weekend.My Rivera 30 killed it.Its a wonderful Jazz amp though,I play a Tal Farlow through it.I put 2 Line 6 eminence speakers in it.The originals where brutal and cheap....

Very reliable like most Fenders after my amp guy tweaks them.Factory tubes used to suck from that era but I hear Groove tubes are in all the new ones now.

forget fender support...Depends on your local dealer.

I have owned all the tweeds and blackfaces and like the tone of this thing.Very close.My only complaintthere is not enough gas to play in a louder situation.Playing over 30 years now in studio and bands.Full time musician since 1972.Kids starting out will love this thing.Good all round Stevie Ray Wannabe tone.

Mine's a '96, and this little makeover of a '65 Vibrolux is disquised as an innocent little combo, clothed in her sultry 2x10, 40 watts of 60's sparkle up to 5, and slap-in-the-face steam over 7, yet pair her with a smattering of single coil, a pinch of Tube Scream,....and presto...she becomes the Delta Dominatrix, and leaves a trail of crushed clubs behind, come Monday morning. Metalheads need not apply, this is pure tube blues, rock & R&B, eh Billy Gibbons?

Yup, Jim, I'm a one-trick pony...but look here, I can leave the house with a '56 strat, and my Vibrolux, and bite through the din of all those digital crunch channels, and string of stomp boxes, any time. I'm a bluesman mister, and if you know what you're doing on the fretboard, this is THE sound. OK Mr. Jazz purist, the Twin reissue is better for you cause she won't start sqwauking at you over 5. But for my taste, blues, rock, & r&b, mind you, this little swampdog reaches through it's silver grill, out into the crowd, grabs hold of both ears on those gyrating club-hoppers, and commands, "Hey...Pay Attention!". Say, look here neighbor, did I mention, for an aging blues fanatic...this is THE sound.

A tad microphonics at low volumes, a few recalcitrant crackles in the basement, but I never once heard a complaint from the stage.

Leo, you defined this industry...never had to deal with your company though...local dealers have been very supportive.

Look, don't look for extra jacks, nozzles, channels, here friend. This is pure valve crystal Jack. OK, I traded my Vibro (and others) for a '62 reissue strat, and though I love the guitar, I've become tone-depressed, moody and well, unpredictable. After a series of unsuccessful medication regiments my therapist finally quipped, "Look, you could end up in a pine box before you get your grubby hands on a REAL '65 blackface, so carry your sorry butt down the street and pick up another Vibrolux Custom!". Honey...is there gas in the car?...

'99 Fender Vibrolux "Custom" - (bought it w less than 20hrs use), 40watts, two channels (bright, normal), low/hi gain inputs, vibrato, reverb effects on both channels, 10" blue alnico speakers, ext. speaker out. Black tolex, drop back legs. Well constructed, simple, clean. Nothing more expected....its a Vibrolux. Replaced blue alnico speakers with Weber P10Qs a year ago.

Fender '58 relic Strat (maple neck)w Fralin-Vintage Hots, early '70 LP Custom w Fralin-Humbuckers, '52 Tele reissue, stock PUs. Play blues, rock, jazz with very few effects. Clean, spanking Fender tone at low & mid volumes (never cranked it over 6...thats what PA's are for)! Great bottom-end, breaks-up nicely, stock blue speakers were a bit shrill...and LOUD! REALLY LOUD! Rating with the stock blue speakers. Put Weber P10Q's in it a year ago....Ohhhhhh man! Its LOUDER, & sounds incredible, its definately a 10! Putting it into overdrive with a Menatone Blue Collar & it sounds like a Plexi! The Vibrolux cuts thru the muddiest mix & comes out sparkling clean. Rehearsal hall vol 2-3, stage volume 4-5 (mic'd) on a large theater stage.

Owned it since '99, gigged half of its life. No problems.

5-year warrantee, but nothings gone wrong with it. Never had to call Fender. Will take it in for a 3-1/2 year check-up/preventive maintenance.

Have been playing over 35 years through a variety of combo's & half-stacks. I want clean Fender tone & this Vibrolux does it very well. Its a "one-trick" amp, but it does the "trick" so well. Have thought about picking up a second one for backup & a stereo setup in larger halls.

Mine is a '99 model. It's not very versitile; I've had to learn to turn the "tone knobs DOWN", and the "Volume" knob "UP" (5, or 6: I play Blues); 2 channels: The "Bright", which I have NEVER LIKED, ON ANY FENDER AMP..is "almost usable in this amp", except you have the problem of it having way too much treble to "begin with"! It being a "Fender" (they ALWAYS work thru the "Treble circuitry alone"; and it having 2-"10" speakers!! I wish it had a "Master Volume" and "Push-button Drive", like my sweet, little "Blues Junior"(the "BEST" amp I've ever owed, bar none!) I use my Lux mostly at a small bar, with an even smaller, seperate room! So, I can't really play it past "2 & 3/4's", and MUST use a "Tube Screamer", or my "Blues Driver" (Preferabley the "T.S", as it's more "distorted" form jump-street!) It has waaay too much "power" for "me"; I'd like it to be more like "33 watts", like a 1960 Vibrolux my friend has...or, "30Ws" would be fine, too...In a BIG CLUB, I had problems playing with my "Johnny Winter-esq Buddy", who ALWAYS plays too loud, and uses so much treble, it'll "hurt" cha! I was on "9", with the Treb. on 7, and bass on 1 (This amp can't handle "Bass", at all, due to the cheep, or "weak", "speakers"-), and I was just some "external, NOISE, in the BACKGROUND, as far as that gig went...So, it's not for a BIG club. "Without" , my "buddy", recently I played a same-sized club, and at 4, I was "a bit too loud", and of course, "too trebley"...although, I've installed a "Carven, 65W, Vintage Series" speaker (just "one", and left the "Alnico?"-"Jensen" on the other-side...My tone sucked. Too much "treble", AND "too much Bass"!

I use an American Strat, with a set of Texas Specials, and the "Delta-tone" system (to control "Tone" on the rear pick-up)-It's a '95.
I also use a "P-90'ed", Ferandez axe;an Epi "62 SG-reissue"; and a "Standard Strat" I've up-graded by putting all "Alnico", stagered pole, pick-ups in (Don't know "what kind", ANY of them are-Ha! Except, "one" is a "Fender" (probably a "Fat 50's", I'm pretty sure...) The Strats sound the best to "me", cuz I like Strats...but the P-90's are cool, too, cuz I kind of go for a "jazzier" Blues tone...In other words: I don't LIKE a lot of "treble", which I "know", is the "secret to making Fender products sound their so-called, BEST", but I still don't like all that "Treble"...on "ANY" thing! I "need" my "ears"!
It DOES get the best, CREAMY, sound, when really "over-driven", and I have "fun" with that in my studio, but don't "play Jimi Hendrix" material...So.
"My" style, is ala "early" Jimmie Vaughn (T-Birds), and I go for that "Anson Funderburg" tone, or (I'm "dreaming", but...) I'd LOVE it , if I could get "Robert CRAY'S" tone, or even "Ronnie EARL", with my set-ups, but...no such luck. I CAN, however, NAIL the "T-Birds" stuff, and even "SRV" (who I "don't" care for, cuz he's a "Rocker", not a "Blues" player; I don't care what ANYONE SAYS!
I like playing this amp, WITHOUT "pedals", at about, "less than 3"! But, it's "risky", in that you HEAR all the clinkers! But it IS a great sounding Clean amp...and gets "natural" distortion, better than any amp I've ever owed, except my beloved, too SMALL, "Blues Junior" (I wish they'd make "that" amp, 30watts!!!!!!!)
It can't handle "Bass"...I turn it "off" COMPLETLY sometimes!
The "Highs" are too high...Seems to be NO "Mid-range", if you ask ME!?
I'm either too TREBLEY, or too BASSY!
But...there are no good amps out there today, in my opinion, except the "Super-reverbs" (too "large", and clumsy, for me to carry around), and the Blues Junior, which isn't loud enough to use as your main gigging amp...
So, the "Custom" Vibrolux-reverb, gets MY vote, but almost by default, more than anything. They should've put the Maste Vol. and push button Drive options on this amp, just like the Blues Junior.

I question the stock "tubes" in it, but I imagine it'll last about "half" as long, as the "Original" Fender amps (about 15 yrs. max)...Just a "guess"-?
No, it hasn't broken-down, but like I say, I'm MOSTLY, UNABLE TO "USE" IT ANYWHWERE: It's either "too loud", or not loud enough-?
I've had it for 3 years, and only used it about...oh, 7 times, max-?
I use the "Blues Junior", most places, and crank it up to "6, & 6" (Mast Vol, and "Vol."), and use regular Tone control setting; i.e; 8-Treble; 4-Mid; and 2-Bass.

I've been playing "guitar" (I started as a "drummer") since 1979.
The other gear I owe, is the "Junior"; SG; Ferandez-P-90'ed, axe; an Amer. Strat, w/ Tex. Spcls; a Standard Strat w/ "Vintage, Alnico pick-ups"; a Boss Blues Driver; a Dynacomp; a TS-"10" Tube Screamer; a Boss Delay/Reverb; and a "Carven-equiped", 2-10 ext. cab, with 2, "Vintage Series" 10's in it ("THAT" makes the Vibrolux sound BEST, when I UNPLUG, the crappy so-called, "Jensens"!!!!)

Basic retro amp. Two channels, bright or normal. Vibe effect and reverb. 40 watts into two 10" speakers. Mine is brown tolex with cream dials. Perfect size and power for my use. (recording and small/medium gigs)

I use vintage Humbuckers and single coils. Good with both...but needs adjustment to the tone controls for different guitars....pretty normal. Not much variety of tone but blimey what a tone. Goes from smooth and clean to overdriven and warm depending solely on the volume knob. The secreat of this amp Ive discovered after many sessions and gigs is to wind up the volume to 8 or 10 using the low power input.....but leave the bass and treble set all the way down at 2 or even less (yes 2 dammit!). The volume is perfect for onstage without killing the rest of the band...the sound you will make is phenominal....no other amp Ive tried behaves so responsively to every thing you inflict on your guitar. Its a pure rocknroll sound but very musical. Not metal in the slightest.....far too dirty for a lot of things too. But if its retro garage rocknroll boogie trash your after...then this is the way to set this amp up. If you wind up the tone controls at this setting you will encounter some serious brain damage noise however....so best not hey?

Change the power tubes if it still has groove tubes or sovteks. Anything but chinease valves will be a huge improvement.Its built solid except for a flimsy back panel. Still it looks like new after 30 or so gigs. No breakdowns yet.

no contact

Also have two Vox AC30s from different eras which both sound different to each other....and this Vibrolux as my 'modern ' amp. Once I changed the valves in the fender its as good as either vox in its own way. I try to avoid effect pedals and get the best sounds from amps and guitars. The Fender Vibrolux is perfect for this. Oh yeh and the vibe effect is very nice and highly useable. The reverb is a bit spacey and not so useful....but depends on what you want...its more of a wailing lead type reverb than a twangy tight reverb if you know wot I mean. This amp sounds great with either a ES335 or Rickenbacker 330 which are my guitars. Its also good with a Telecaster and any Gibsons (especially the single coils). Never tried a strat.

I bought it new at this oen has the the Jensen speakers...I play country and blues so this one is ideal for me.

I bought one new at Guitar Center. took it hoem and plugged it in and it had a nasty hiss. I took it back and got another one that was still in the box. it's MUCH more subtle but there is still a slight hiss which would affect recording but not a live performance. This kind of bugs me, you shell out $800 on a sweet amp that has a hiss. from the comments of others hear it sounds like this might be crappy tubes. well, you shell out $800 for an amp and the damn tubes should sing! I plan to take this up with the Guitar Center manager this week. Other than that, I love it! I use both a Gretsch 6112 and a Fender Tele and you can imagine switching back and forth is a real hassle since all the setting for one guitar will not sound good on the other. With the true two channel set up on this amp I can get them both dialed in without having to chaneg any settings. I use the normal channel for the Tele and the bright one for the Gretsch. I'm going to get a A/B box so I don't have to manually switch the cable when I switch guitars. The temolo and reverb are sweet! Playing the fat strings on the Gretsch with the tremolo on sounds very cool. We're talking honky tonk hell here!

Also, I used to use a Fender Blues Deluxe which I never got the sound I wanted, especially at low volume. I think that's due to the Blues Deluxe has less tube circuitry and only a 12" speaker. There is no comparison. And the Vibrolux sounds sweet at low volumes as well. I really like this amp, I'm glad I bought it. Now if I can just get rid of the slight hiss...The hiss keeps me from giving it a 10 rating.

I just bought it so I can't say anything about the reliability yet...the hiss give this a 6 rating!

I haven;t dealt with Fender before and I haven't had it worked on...yet...so no opinion.

I have been playing 30 years and this is the coolest amp I have ever owned and may very likely be the last amp I ever buy. If mine fell off a cliff and I had to get a new amp would I buy this one again? Yes, without question but I would listen for a hiss before I took it home and have them fix it on the spot!

I like this amp tonewise but... the thing that hacked me was the reverb (or lack of). I play a lot of surf music and it needs a saturated spring boinky boinky sound. On the older fenders it wouldkick in at a setting of 4 or so. You would be able to dial in too much reverb, but on this amp you can take it to 10 and not get enough. I bought this amp used mail order and you have to be careful when it says "exact same circutry" Because in a nutshell it is NOT. I tried to get a mod that would increase the level of reverb and found out that it was too costly and wouldn't guarantee the same results. Any suggestions out there? HELP! Lost in NON surfville

Fender Strat. Does Not suit the style. Not enough reverb!?

Contacted Fender about this and they were of little help

Playing 40 years. If it were stolen would probably try for an old Vibrolux or Super Reverb

As all all others

I have been in search of true mojo tone for 30+ years. I use 3 different Strats (w/Kinman pu's, Duncans & stock), and 2 full-bodied archtops w/DeArmonds. There is literally no clean sound out of this amp,(over 1 1/2 Volume setting it breaks-up) but I use it only for true, real blues tone,and that's exactly what I get.If you want SRV/Buddy Guy/Hubert Sumlin this is the rig! Total tone control with just Treble & Bass tone controls.I have none of the noise that other posters have mentioned. The Reverb & Tremolo are superb! Don't mess with anything else, This is the f++king real deal!!

I have had it for 3 weeks, so who knows, but if you've owned Fenders you know they're tough.

I've been playing since 1971. I've had a BF Fender Deluxe (wish I still did), Mesa Boogie, Peavey, Quilter (QSC), Carvin 100X, Musicman RD 50 1-10 (still have it, it rocks for clean), Line 6 Spider (No, it's not the answer),Kalamazoo ? (now, that was a nice amp), Ampeg Rocket sumthin'(Now, That Was A Great Amp!), Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (Unbelievablly beautiful clean tone, buzzed like a bee for distortion).

Made in '99, and bought in '99 for $500. Bought it off some dude who worked at Fender Corona that was selling it out of his garage, brand new, in box. It didn't even have the stickers on the back of the speakers.

You all know the specs, two channels; normal/bright w/ 2 inputs each. The #1 input has added 6db of gain for more a louder sound (is this standard in all fender amps?) You can switch on the reverb or vibrato via the footswitch.

This amp is great in small, lower volume garage bands or bedroom playing. Great reverb, great vibrato,...almost oozes with blues and rock n roll sounds. I leave the footswitch plugged in at all times and the metal on the footswitch causes some humming through the amp, but it's barely noticable. This amp has a nice crunch past 3, but I kinda don't like that because I would prefer to rely on a stompbox for that.

This amp was great for using at home, but I started playing in a real band, and I wasn't getting enough volume to compete w/ the other guitarist using a Marshall JCM 800 at 100watts, and our bad ass drummer. At shows I used a Fender Bassman Ext. Cab, but I was still cranking it to 9 and I was so distorted from the amps natural crunch that I was feeding back like crazy. Yeah that is kinda cool, but I got fed up w/ being yelled at by the other guitar player. So I bought a Fender Showman head and cab, but I'm not parting with my Vibrolux!

This amp is great for surf, blues, rock, just not hard rock. I use an Epiphone LP or Fender Jazzmaster (both w/ Seymour Duncans) through an original ProCo Rat, Compressor, Flanger to the amp. The Rat makes this amp sound like a marshall at lower volumes. Again this thing starts to get ugly past 3.

Solid as a rock. Tubes have lasted lots of abuse for more than 2 years. It's been dropped, rolled around in a trunk, kicked, knocked over, and who knows what else, yet still looks brand new and sounds great. It seems to have lost a little power from when I first bought it, but I could be wearing down the original tubes finally. I highly recomend this amp for recording and for anyones first real tube amp.

I called Fender to get a footswitch for the old Fender Showman I have, and they kinda give you the run around; they tell ya to call the local dealer near you, and I did, and all they did was yank their wanks on the phone with me. I'll just order one through an amp repair shop I guess. But their products are reliable, so I give 'em credit.

Yeah if someone stole this from me I would track em down and kill em. I love this amp. And I bought it at a great price.

This amp is a '98, from Lake Oswego, Oregon. For the most part it is a hand soldered point to point wired deal. 2 channels, with tremolo and reverb working on BOTH channels, which was a major deciding factor in my purchase. I love a good fender reverb and trem.

This amp has all the classic Fender 'clean channel' sound one could ever hope for. It is beautiful. I personnally could care less about the cranked to the max overdriven tube sound--I got stomp boxes for that. I rarely have the volume above 3 on any channel. BUYERS BEWARE: The stock groove tubes are of very poor quality. They are noisy, microphonic crap called SOVTEK. The preamp tubes popped and hissed (throw these away and retube with NOS). I replaced the 5881/6L6 Groove power tubes with Svetlana 6L6's for much better sound. I'm still working on obtaining some NOS for the preamp tubes--preferably Mullards at $45 bucks a pop. I recommend replacing the phase inverter tube (the one right next to the power tubes) with a 12AT7 instead of the stock 12AX7A. I have a hard time understanding how ignorant folks are about tubes and tube amps in general when it comes to noise and hum. I will enlighten you a bit: Change the garbage tubes that are supplied with the amps; remove the tube covers (which tend to mimic/exaggerate microphonic tubes). NOS tubes are generally good but not always, and Sovtek DOES make a new noise free tube called a 12ax7a LPS that is quite good (not the same as the groove tubes)--not to bash. Do this and the noise will be substantially reduced.

Very reliable. The red jewel lamp burned out after a week. Replaced it. No biggie.

A very nice sounding amp. I plan on replacing the Jensen alnico 25watt pr10's with something that can handle more bass response.
Other that that GREAT!

The features list is short and sweet - 2 channels, normal and bright, 2 switchable effects, reverb and tremolo. Two features I particularly like are the relatively light weight and the "tilt-backs". There's nothing worse than not being able to hear yourself because the amp is too close to your back and it's at the wrong height. I play every weekend in the "house band" of a decent size club. It has plenty of power to keep up with the rest of the band. I haven't played a larger stage with this amp yet - but I'm sure all I would need is an extension cabinet to be able to hear myself just fine. In my opinion, if this amp isn't loud enough for you, you either have permanent ear damage, or the rest of your band-mate's stage volumes are too loud and you're all pissing off your sound man. Seriously, this amp does just what a 40w tube amp should do - have a great clean sound with a lot of headroom for the soft & pretty stuff, and absolutely wail when you crank it up past 4 or 5. There's not a lot of advanced features on this amp - it's very simple.

First, let me say that I've dedicated the better part of 30 years to understanding and getting great guitar tone. I've worked with the best and some of the rest. Personal taste plays a huge part in this. I'll do my best to give an objective review of something that's very subjective. Now, to the tone of this amp. I love the bright channel. It is very "hi-fi" sounding at lower volumes. The midrange is there but it seems tweeked. There is no offensive mid overtone sticking out like you get with so many other tube amps. Honestly, the clean is as good or better than any amp regardless of price. Put a Tube Screamer in front of it and it's so sweet it will bring tears to your eyes. As you push the volume up, a really even distortion creeps in. At very high volumes, the tubes saturate out and sing their little hearts out just at the point where the speakers are coloring the distortion. In my opinion, the pre-amp, power amp, and speakers in this combo are perfectly matched to get optimal tone at any distortion level. No, it doesn't do the 100w Marshall scooped-mid crunch and it doesn't do the silky supercharged Boogie/Santana sustain forever lead tone. But - it gets lots and lots of tasty tones that those amps can't. Blues? Nothing better! Joe Walsh Rocky Mountain Way? Absolutely nails it! SRV Crossfire? Nails it too! For the dollar, you can't buy more versatility and tasty tone.

No problems yet. I ALWAYS have backup.

I've worked with Fender several times over the years on problems. They have always treated me well. This is a great American company that deserves the success they have.

I am currently playing a '62 Strat and a Carvin H-S-S through the Vibrolux. My effects are; Guitar> Phaser> Compressor> Overdrive> Amp. Sometimes I put a Wah between the compressor and the overdrive. I can get any sound I need - my band plays 50's-70's dance music & rock 'n roll. I would recommend this amp to anyone who is not playing death metal, butt rock, or grunge. I think it is perfect for everything else and it doesn't break your back or your budget.

i don't have it in front of me, but i think you can get the big picture from the other responses. 2 channels, reverb, vibe, footswitch, mine happens to be tweed. the only reason i'm giving this section a '9' is because i recently just got a lab series (call me crazy) and found that it is the amp i've wanted since i was a kid! it does everything, but it's also solidstate, so i MUST keep the fender around. but the labseries has some really cool eq options that i just love. vibrolux isn't as versatile, but who cares about that!? you get great fender tone! (proceed to "sound quality) [pretty good segue, eh]

wow, i thought i was the only one with the problems i see everyone else has! i'm annoyed with the hiss, but it hasn't gotten in the way in live or recording situations. but i don't usually use the reverb, which is when it REALLY gets noisy. i wish there was a cure! anyone? anyone?
before i go further, i gotta tell you that it's hard to take stock in a critique given by someone you don't know. so here's me (you may be SHOCKED). i'm 23, i've been playing for maybe, oh, say 10 years now. the first years were on some cheap ibanez through my parents' stereo system given to them as a wedding present back in the day! back then i was mostly playing camp songs. in college i got really good a classical guitar and got into jazz. i was also in a punk band (which is how i got 'hooked up' with my vibrolux [please don't hate me, i was naive at the time]). i'm now in grad school for vocal performance but play electric guitar for a couple hours a day.
SO...for the punk band, i was playing through a peavy bass amp that my mom picked up for me at a garage sale for 5 bucks. i needed something louder. the GUY AT THE STORE (see, i'm not to blame) told me that the vibrolux would fill a club. so i slapped down the cash and my peavy, and left a satisfied, naive college kid. i think just the aura of this amp somehow infested my musical interest, and i bought srv cds. then indigenous (i'm from south dakota too!). so then i started getting into blues. then i found out what a dunce i was for playing it for a punk band. so now, here's how i rate the sound!
since i live in close quarters, it's only been up to 5 and 6 during spring break. holy crap! it's like i'm punching my american standard strat repeatedly in the gut! but the usual sounds that i'm graced with are at low volumes. i keep it at like 1 (blah) and run a vox valve-tone through it. that's a pretty sweet tone, very crunchy, but the switched-on pedal doesn't take anything away from the guitar or the amp. just adds to. pretty sweet. i also have a tech 21 xxl pedal which makes me sound like hendrix if i want! it's pretty cool with that amp, too. i have an mxr distortion+, which i don't know if it sounds so good with the vibrolux. it's just is kinda 'wide open' and just sounds like a little kid yelling at you or something. the valve-tone is the best compliment to the amp. oh!! and i got a 15band mxr eq, which will totally give the amp a kick in the pants! wow!! i can kind of get rid of the hiss, AND boost the mids or whatever i want and get pretty much any clean tone that any fender has ever made! (to me, good eq is a MAJOR key to finding 'that special tone.' any rig overlooking eq should really get something in there; at LEAST experiment w/ it1).
one last thing--i found that with an electric mistress (or any other flanger i'm sure) and the trem going at the same time, you get some pretty cool grooves going. but i'm sure many of you already knew that! remember, i'm an ex-punker and i'm only a 3 year old blues player.
9 because it rocks and because of that nice experience i had with it turned up to 6, but the buzz really gets on my nerves and is even worse with the reverb on (so i don't use the reverb).

it's been through a lot. lots of gigs--remember that these are PUNK gigs...at bars...with beer...on stage. nothing terrible has ever happened, but it's been cranked with lots of nasty sounds pumping through it. i also used it to record a couple very contrasting style cds with two different bands, and it did the trick for both.
i'm considering doing some of the mods ya'll did, sounds like a plan. but this thing by itself is great! AMAZING if you're me and you're still surprised sometimes at how crisp you can play those mato nanji licks. i plan on replacing the tubes, just in hopes of getting rid of the f***ing buzz!!

alan is my man. he told me to try and replace the tubes, but said nothing about the voice coils. i suppose HE wouldn't really admit that one should replace ANYTHING on his product. i don't know how busy he is, but i left a message and got a response that week. not bad, not great. but he was very helpful to a young player like me.

here's what the reviews ask you to comment on, and here are my comments:
* How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
i've been playing guitar for around 10 years... actual blues rock for like 2 or 3. i recently bought everything that ebay had, so now i have a labseries L5 (review coming soon as soon as i dink with is somemore), vintage memroy man, electric mistress, tech 21 xxl pedal, vox valve-tone, new mxr distortion+, mxr dual 15band eq, and enough monster cable to break any man's bank! vibrolux will be my clean and L5 is going to be metal myhem!!
* If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
i'm not going to lose this thing! if it leaves me for some twist of fate, i'm going to shop around for another fender amp, but not necessarily this one. i don't NEED vibro or lux, you dig? i definetly DON'T need that friggin' buzz! as a more seasoned player and tech head, i think i'd stick with fender, but something simpler and quieter.
* what do you love about it? What do you hate?
i hate that damn buzz!!! i love its look, its tone, its weight, and it seems to know its place in my rig. i like that. i love that not many people seem to have them, too.
* Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
compare? no. why that one? because the guy at rhapsody music told me to buy it.
* Anything you wish it had?
power switch on the front or top. dolby noise reduction...to get rid of that damn BUZZ!!
* Anything else you'd like to share?
listen up, kids--do NOT buy this for punk. even if you can afford it! if you're doing punk, go peavy, go line6, go marshall, heck--go get a lab series somewhere! they're way cheaper and rock pretty hard!
to all the weathered, grizzled bluesmen and fender enthusists (sp?)--i'm sorry i ever played punk on this amp! i'm learning all the ins and outs of blues tones (all that ts808 tube cream mod jargon) and i'm lucky that the guy in the store made me buy this one. it's a grea piece!
in all seriousness, this is a BEAUTIFUL amp. i love it. it does what it should (gets that fender sound [just listen to like half of all the recordings made in the last half century]) and after that, what more can you ask for? i'm not old enough to know what the original sounds like, but for a 'reissue,' this amp is absolutely gorgeous.
but i hate that damn buzz!

This is one of the blonde tolex, wheat grill cloth models that I purchased new when Fender released this amp, about five years ago. I'll admit that I was first attracted to it because the cosmetics reminded me of an old '63 Bassman that I had owned and loved. I played it at low volumes in the music store and purchased it only to later realize what a really great amp this is. In my sizeable collection of classic vintage and modern amps this is a great favorite. I play classic, blues and country rock styles for which this amp is well suited. Like an old Fender combo there are 2 channels but the custom reissue twist is that the reverb and "vibrato" are available on both the Normal and Bright channels. There is an external speaker out put (4 ohms) and a typical Fender footswitch. Otherwise this supposedly "modern interpretation" of a great classic is very basic, and thats just fine. I have used this amp unmiked for small to medium gigs and miked for larger and outdoor gigs.It is more often used in the studio.

Let me make something clear that some of the other reviews have only hinted at. The outstanding and unique thing about this currently made Fender amp is that it is a non- channel switching amp that has both great clean and fantastic overdriven sound. People talk about how much they like the old Fender clean sound on this amp, but turn it up to six, with a Les Paul, and it has an absolutely wicked and very usable overdrive lead tone. Smooth, sweet, Cream, and Page sounds. Much richer, more overdriven and not bottom- flabby than a Deluxe Reverb. You realize that it was actually specifically designed to do the clean to overdrive volume thing and that it isn't an unintended idiosyncracy. Roll down the volume and, on a Gibson, it cleans up beautifully. A Strat also sounds great clean or overdriven, but a characteristic of the Strat is that it loses highs and clarity when the guitar's volume control is rolled down. If the volume of the overdriven tone is too loud, set the amp on three and use a Tube Screamer for a similar but lower volume sound. Unlike a Gibson, for lead, a Strat sounds better with a Danelectro Daddy-O than a Tube Screamer.
I will go so far as to say that I prefer this amp's natural distortion sound over my vinatge Marshall Super Lead's. Granted, the Marshall is an entirely different beast, but they both offer great natural overdriven tones. I prefer the Vibrolux for a number of reasons: It also has great clean sound, it has sweet tube reverb and other-worldly tube vibrato, and for its volume it is light and portable. I know of a few very expensive amps that can do the clean to drive volume control thing but none sound nearly as good nor do they come with tube reverb and tremelo.
On the downside, there is a louder than usual idle background hiss which is normal for this amp. I'm used to it, its present on some of my old Fender amps, and no longer bothers me. A co-guitarist who leans toward jazz didn't like the limited clean headroom, but that is obviously the intended nature of this amp.
After three years, the amp developed a low E string fuzzy noise that would disappear after about 15 minutes of playing; it turned out to be a damaged voice coil. I decided to replace the stock Alnicos with Weber P10RTs, due to my high satisfaction with a Weber C12N in my DR. The C12N is a godsend to the Deluxe Reverb and the P10NTs are also a good match here although the improvement isn't as dramatic as the Weber in the DR. They have more bass and highs and sound even better with distortion tones. (The Weber P10NTs are also superior to Jensen P10R reissues-I have a 4x10 cab with them).

Highly dependable. I gigged routinely without a backup. No break downs but a subtle voice coil problem requiring a speaker change at three years. Replaced one preamp tube. Gigworthy even with these problems uncorrected.

I am very fortunate to have a great, friendly, small local Fender dealer. They will do anything for their customers and manage to get good results through their Fender reps and repair people. I know this not from the Vibrolux but from several problems with other Fender products. I'm not sure how to rate this- my dealer's great, I'd be concerned about Fender reliability and support in the setting of a mega music mall sore

Playing for more than 30 years, I own or have previously owned many great Fender, Marshall and Mesa amps as well as many modern amps. I am a collector and have a recording studio. Because this is a limited edition white Tolex model I've been thinking about getting a black tolex model for gigging. Yes, I'd buy another. This amp is a delight and I think it may be underappreciated by youthful buyers who can easily be seduced by DSP multi-effects and emmulated "tube tone" amps that sound dead next to a great vintage style tube amp like this; that's why I decided to write this review.

1999 Model with 2 X 10" Jensen "Special Design" speakers. Compared it to the same amp with Alnicos...Jensens won my money. Play a Fender Clapton Sig. Strat and a Gibson ES-335 with PAFs Humbuckers. This amp is made for the Strat. Gibson needs a Vox. Standard Fender controls. The reverb works in both channels...that's a plus. Bright featues adds real punch. Nice tight reverb...great for blues or funk NOT for surf songs (recommend a Deluxe Reverb for surf music).

This is the best sounding "new" amp I have heard in a while. The Jensen Special Designs have a clean sound that I can dirty up with the Clapton TBX control (Mid boost). MexiStrat (backup) single coil 'vintage' pick-ups are noisy...but they are supposed to be. You need a Full Drive 2 to make this thing distort. The Gibson really sings at higher volumes, but my apt. neighbors don't understand the need to wail. Want to plug a Tele or G&L ASAT next.

Nothing has gone wrong yet. I grew up with Fender amps and never had one "go" on me. I don't play professionally any more...if I did and money is always an issue, I would recommend having spare tubes and a solder kit.

Mgic Flute Music in San Rafel CA are GREAT and they are an authorized Fender repair shop. Confidence in Magic Flute. I never used Fender's Corporate office as a contact for repairs

Been playing a long time and still a 'student', but I know the difference between good/distinctive and junk. If you have a Strat or Tele this amp is a good 'match'. My Gibson sounds good with a Vox AC 15 ans 30 or a Peavey Delta Blues. If you decide on this amp and want distortion, a Fulltone "Full Drive 2" or Tube Screamer is recommended. This amp has too much power for my apt. situation...but to get that warm tube sound found in this amp is tough to find. The Peavey Delta Blues w/1 x 15" ran a close second. Will test drive a Fender Jr. Blues Tube Amp as a possible back up amp.

Purchased new appx 9 months ago. I think this is one smartly designed amp for several reasons.
Reason #1. It's only clean. Every amp I have ever owned that had built in distortion circuitry eventually crosstalked into the clean channel. No problem hear. (so you will need a good distortion pedal like a Fulldrive 2).
Reason #2. It REALLY has 2 channels. Two independently controlled channels that you can plug into separately. Not one input jack that is switched by a footswitch. So with the addition of an A/B box you can switch from your uncolored true-bypass effects to your digital processor.
Reason #3 They now have reverb and tremolo on both channels (footswitchable). This is a big improvement over the old Vibroluxes and probably why this model isn't officially a "reissue".
Reason #4 Fantastic tremolo!!! Different/better than a twin.

I play an American strat with Seymour Duncan pickups (stacked humbucker in the back). The amp sounds great for country, jazz, classic rock and newer pop/rock. It is NOT a heavy metal amp. Before I bought the amp I had to call 8 different music stores until I found one that had all three "new" blackfaces. The Twin Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, and the Vibrolux. I sat in front of all three and A/B'ed them for three hours. The Vibrolux just had that extra punch that the other 2 did not (probably because of the 10" speakers. The tremolo sounds better two although it is slightly noisier than the others. I have done 2 things that greatly improved the sound as well. I replaced the Alnico blue speakers with Celestion Vintage 10's. This gives you much better low end and I replaced the drive tube for the tremolo circuit which was a Chinese tube (all the others were Groove tubes).

So far it has been superb.

If you want a good sounding mid-size tube amp you cannot beat it. I play small to medium size clubs and usually have it set around 4. As I said before I really like the 2 independent channels. It is a unique bird in that respect. Nobody else had it. I did not want my processor coloring my tone but wanted to be able to use it for special sounds. This way you can have the best of both. I would definetely buy it again.

This is a 2000 model, 2 channel, 40 watt, all tube amp, reverb and vibrato - pretty basic Fender stuff. No channel switching, effects loops, headphone jacks, etc. It says "Custom" on the face, but it's not hand wired, etc. They make it on a different line, I think. They imply that they take more care in its construction, but, who knows for sure. It seems well built and detailed, and I haven't found anything wrong with it so far. It has all the features I ever use, and it has plenty of power for garage jams and an occasional small club gig. If I play anything bigger and need louder clean tones, I'll mike it through the mains. I'd like to find an amp that sounds like this one with channel switching and good distortion, but haven't found one with clean sounds that I like. I play old rock, some country, a bit of blues, and some new cover stuff.

I use mainly an ES 345 and a Hamer Tele. The Vibrolux sounds good with both guitars with a minimum of knob twisting when you change between single coils and humbuckers. That's one of the things I like about this amp - fewer knobs to keep track of. I use a few pedals, but otherwise really like to keep it simple as I can. The Vibrolux is clean up to a point, then starts getting dirty if you drive it too hard, say above 5 or 6 - this is a good thing if that's the tone you're looking for. It has some hiss you can hear in a quiet room, but I don't notice it when I'm playing. It has a good variety of sounds available, as the two tone controls seem to work well together. But, mostly it has that "Fender" tone which is what I was looking for. Now, for me, that Fender tone is a 10. If you want metal or other heavy tones, look at some other amps - I like the Boogies for that.

All my other Fenders have been pretty much bullet proof. It's new, so I can't say how reliable it will turn out to be in the long run. After I get it broken in, I'd probably gig without a backup - I know a lot of players think that's nuts, but what can I say, I'm too lazy to carry the extra amp.

I don't know about customer support from Fender. I'd guess that they'd try to help, but they are a huge company. I'd think you stand a good chance of getting lost in the maze with them. Use a good local tech for minor stuff, and only resort to the company if the amp self destructs.

I've been playing for 35 years since the required high school rock bands. I have a fleet of guitars including an ES 345, Tele, Strat, Gibson Nighthawk, D-28, Guild 12 string, plus a few more and growing. I currently own a 90's Fender Blues Deluxe, and an Acoustasonic Pro amp. I have owned Twins, Supers, Deluxe Reverbs, Randalls, Ampegs, and one monster Kustom half stack back in the early 70's when my back was a lot stronger (and my ears much better). The Deluxe is a good (read adequate for it's price) amp and sounds pretty good with all of my electrics. But, I wanted a really good pro amp, so I started my search. I was looking primarily at Fender and Mesa, so I played Vibro Kings, Prosonics, Concerts, Blue Angels, and a host of other Mesa amps. I really liked the Vibro King, but it's a little too big, and a lot too expensive. If I was still doing a bunch of club gigs, I'd probably pop for the Vibro King - you can use the 60 watts in a noisy club (sometimes). The Blue Angel was close to what I was looking for, and I liked the concept of various power for different gigs. But, it ran totally out of clean headroom before I was ready. I finally ran the Blue Angel and the Vibrolux head to head. The Vibrolux has better dynamic feel, and just plain responds better to your playing nuances. Slap on a good stomp box and high gain sounds through this thing are fantastic. The pure power section distortion at higher volume is sweet and musical - it just feels good. The clean "Fender" sound is what I grew up with, so I can't seem to like any amp that doesn't have it. For what I do now, I haven't been able to find a better amp, and that's including all the older Fenders I've owned in the past. Some of them were "JUNK!" Fender does make good and bad amps, for all of you out there that think all old ones are fantastic. Maybe if you looked around and found a "good" old BF Super in good condition for a fair price - I must be dreamin', yeah? Otherwise, I'd buy the Vibrolux again in a heart beat. To my ears, it compares favorably with some old Supers I've heard. I can't say I love this amp right yet, since it's too new. It does have reasonable power (enough, but not too much), the sound I was looking for, and it's not too big or too heavy. From my initial response to it,I can't see me buying another amp in the near future.

This amp is the 1998/9 reissue of the classic Vibrolux Reverb. True to its vintage upbringing, this 45 watt all tube amp has two channels (normal & bright) which are not switchable. Reverb and vibrato, which are active on both channels (nice), are switchable. The tone circuits, often referred to as "Baxandall Tone Stack," allow unique midrange shaping--the reason I bought this amp.
This is a limited purpose amp--best used for studio and practice. The high "8" rating is given because, while it is bereft of features common to newer amps, it has two features rarely found on new amps: 1) the cool tone controls and 2) it sounds great at low volumes. The fact that it will play quietly is a feature in itself--every other amp I have ever owned had two volume levels--off and loud.

I use this amp with several guitars: ES-335, Carvin doubleneck, fender Strat, Steinberger GM4TA and a G&L ASAT Classic 3. At stage level volumes, this amp cannot produce a clean tone with a humbucker. The G&L is the only axe that makes a clean (albeit bright) tone come out of this amp. The inherant overdrive is true blues--true classic Fender. At quiet levels, the tonal versatility is surprising.
The 2-10 speakers don't give this amp much low-end punch. A sealed 2-12 would help. Other postings have suggested replacing the blue Fender speakers with Celestions. I haven't tried this but I am inclined to agree.
The "idle" noise is the weakest point of the amp. The "vintage" 100% tube circuitry also means the heater filaments are powered by AC current which adds lots of "hiss." A modification to DC powered filaments would help this considerably. Better shielding would help too. I rehearse in a room that is close to several radio towers--and I get them all coming through my amp at all times. My Marshall Bluesbreaker, on the ohter hand, is dead silent in that respect.
So, given that you aren't trying to play ear-splitting arena rock below a radio tower its a good little (read: very portable) amp.

Zero problems so far (it is only 3 months old) with few to none expected. I have heared that Groove Tubes can be problematic but these sound and work fine. Since the amp is only delivering 45 watts from its two 6L6/5881 output tubes (as opposed to 50+ watts), I imagine they aren't running them too hard which shouldextend lifespan.

I have never had luck speaking with Fender. Too big, too corporate. Haven't needed it with this amp, though.
It is always fun to listen to 15 min. of "music on hold!"

This is a neat amp and I have enjoyed it greatly, but would replace it with an older twin or another Marshall should it go by the wayside. The $900.00 sticker is a little steep for an amp that will be used for writing/practice and occasional studio use. I wish it had more punch for its power as it is the most portable amp I have ever owned (it fits in the passenger seat without hitting the door). I also wish the power/standby switches were on the front panel.

Reissue of the blackface Vibrolux Reverb Amp: 2x10s with 40 watts of output(original had 35 watts), very basic classic Fender amp setup: two channels (bright and normal), each with volume , bass, and treble. Unlike the original, the reverb and tremolo are shared with both channels which is a practical improvement. This amp, like newer Fenders came stock with Groove Tubes. Also has a footswitch for reverb and trem and tilt-back legs (cool!). For , it has all the features I need so I give it a 10

I use two guitars for most of my work, Fender California Strat, and a Gibson Les Paul DCS(double cut studio). I will sometimes use a 335 in place of the Paul. Playing for 30 or more years all styles except true jazz.
I have done two things to this amp upon buying it new that effect the tone greatly: 1. installed Celestion Vintage 10 speakers (took out the Fenders) 2. Installed New Old Stock Sylvania 6L6 power tubes (but left the stock Fender Groove Tubes in, these are SovTeks relabeled for Groove Tubes and work fine). This amp cannot produce a bad tone, believe it. I have had it for five months and use it daily for recording, or gigging, or practicing and continue to be amazed. It WILL NOT do the Marshall thing so buy a good foot pedal...it will produce glorious overdrive when pushed but this is classic Fender Black Face tone and not JCM or plexi stuff since we're only dealing with 2 10s here anyway. I do have one question and I would ask someone who has one of these to respond. That is: at idle (ie; no playing, low volume, quiet room) the amp is noisy with some degree of hissing. I normally associate this with bad filter capacitors if it was an older amp but cannot imagine that with these. I played three others in the store and even brought this one back but they were all the same. what gives? This annoyance goes way once your actually playing but I am curious if anyone else knows the answer to this.

I have only had this one for five months and have experienced zero problems (five year warranty is comforting too). This amp is not a Fender Custom Shop product but shares some of those production features such as solid input jacks, some degree of hand wiring inside (which is cleanly done by the way, I did open it up to see), and an overall solid fit and finish. I do not anticipate any problems.

Have not needed it so I cannot comment.

For what I paid and for What I need and for what it does, this is as good as it gets. Yes it's a solid 10. Tone, tone, easy to use, not too big not too small (FYI: the vintage original Vibrolux Reverb Amp is now the most sought after vintage amp on the market), more tone, prints to tape like a dream, etc. etc. I do , however , recommend the Celestion re-speaker thing. the amp was a 9 out of the box,,the Celestions bring it into the 10 zone. Interestingly, Fender uses these speakers in the Prosonic combo but will not factory install them in any other amp. One other thing, the "tremolo" circuit in these amps is the true pitch shift stuff from the legendary '63 Vibroverb. If you like this effect, you'll find another reason to love this amp like I do.