Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb
Model/Circuit Number:
Years of Production: 1995 – Present
Era:
Configuration: Combo
Controls: Black, forward facing w/ white labels, controls numbered 1-10
Knobs: Black or white round, unnumbered
Faceplate
- Front: Normal: In, In, Vol, Treb, Bass – Bight: In, In, Vol, Treb, Bass, Reverb – Speed, Intensity – Pilot Lamp
- Rear: Fuse, Power Sw, Standby Sw, Speaker Jack, Ex Speaker Jack, Footswitch Jack
Cabinet
- Dimensions: 19 3/8 x 25 x 8 5/8
- Hardware: Medium Chassis Straps 4 5/8”
- Handle: Black Strap Handle
- Feet: Glides
- Corners: Corner Protectors
Covering Material
- Tolex/Tweed: Blonde (95) of Black Tolex
- Grill Cloth: Wheat (95) or silver sparkle grill cloth
Logo: Grill mounted, flat, chrome & black script
Weight: 46 lbs.
Speaker
- Size: 2 x 10
- Impedance: 4 ohms
- Model: Jensen P10R(For more info, check out the Jensen Replacement Speakers)
Effects: Reverb, Tremolo
~Watts: 40 watts
Tubes
- Pre amp: 12AX7
- Power: 2 x 6L6GC
Bias: Fixed with bias adjustment pot
Rectifier: Solid State
Comments: Later models have black Tolex, silver sparkle grille cloth, and round white knobs.
I bought The “CVR” and put it through some modification that really helped. After a quality re tubing, I had all caps replaced with F&T and other highest quality caps. This quieted the amp down a great deal. It was a John Fromel “Supreme Cap Kit”. Then I had the second Fromel kit installed. This kit contained “The Moyer Mods” plus other changes to the tone stacks to the degree that it’s now a “Vibroverb” circuit.This brought out the reverb, ended the very early breakup quite a bit. This is the only Fender product that I have owned that actually required modification for me to like it. Channel one is brownfaced while channel 2 is blackfaced. It has the most beautiful tremolo I’ve heard. The 10″ P10R’s are fine for now. If I needed to turn it up substantially, I would perhaps disconnect those and use a 2×12″ cab.
I to have one from 2004 and I am looking at doing what you have done. I have a tech who will do the work ie negative feedback ( Moyer mod). I really am thinking about going to Vibroverb circuit changes.
Indeed, it is a noisy amp, but…it sounds amazing, very touch sensitive and more dynamic than say a ’65 Deluxe Reverb RI, ’65 Twin RI, Super Sonic 22, etc. The speakers really fit the sound of this amp. The reverb is a little thin and weak, but the tremolo is fantastic. Gets a little crunchy around 3. Very loud amp.
Brought mine home from GC they knocked off $300.00 as it was used to Demo
in the VIP room. And yea I did notice the hissing and the abrupt bumps on the start up
but it is the nature of the beast,.. until it’s moddded with the proper pieces and it has a
totally different sound too, this model doesn’t have the vintage tube rectifier and once
it’s been modded it will be minus the high end hissing and the lowend bumps! It is a greater tone machine
than the vintage models! Keep the two channel Tremolo/Vibrato & Reverb intact(easily removed)replace tonestacks
4 major pieces and you can have a Super Reverb ala the design’s 40 watts or as a Bassman’s mode with a nice biting tone but with Trem & Reverb!
It’s capable of a real nice headroom and with a lower gain twin triode,..you can use it for the Tele&Strat on one channel and the Les Paul&SG on the other,.. and at the 40 watts when tube rectified there’s 45 watts as the usual with the Solid State Rectifier and it’s loud! The extra 5 watts may not seem like much but when it counts in the saturation from 9 to 10 the break up sweetens up!
Jesse, that is an interesting concept and one I haven’t considered. I recently purchased a 95 fender custom vibrolux reverb and it was not the cleanest of amps from abuse. As you know Fender builds a tough product whether its a guitar or an amp and I have a fondness for every product I’ve owned with the exception of SS amps. I have a short buzz that accompanies the played note, I don’t know why but I have to take it in to get addressed. Because of your post I am wanting to know more. I am familiar with the Moyer mod, I bought the amp because it was clean and pure at a low volume but the amp turns into a beast after 3 and thats quite loud for my ears (sensitive). I am interested in what you said in regards to “keep the reverb and tremolo intact”. I thought the Moyer mod’s main purpose was to get rid of the hiss which was mainly provided because of putting reverb on channel number 1?
Could you elaborate more on your modded amplifier.
I’ve got one, I like it very much. I think people think it’s supposed to be a blackface sound, but it’s more brownface. The knobs.give it away.
Replace the reverb tank with a three spring 9AB3C1B. Reverb will be lush and controllable.
I bought mine used in 2008 or so at Parkway Music in Clifton Park, NY to use for recording. My only worry when I bought it was that it was a bit noisy. The owner switched out the 12AX7 in the #1 spot for a 12AT7 and that fixed it for me. Nice and quiet. As far as Blackface/Brownface; I’ve owned at least 7 Blackface Vibrolux Reverbs since 1968 and I am super happy with my CVR. I DO use a Fender Princeton Recording amp for recording now. It is the BEST!!
I owned a Custom Vibrolux reverb. Bought it on e-bay and was highly surprised @ how noisy it was. Had the Fromel Supreme installed and it is one of the finest amps I’ve ever owned. I have always wondered why Fender let this amp out until they figured out how to make it right.
It’s noisy because both channels share reverb and tremolo. The secret known to most experienced players of brown/black/silver face amps is to pull the V1 tube, so voltage only goes to the second channel. Bruce Zinky designed this amp to have one or the other channel manually disconnected by the user. Those who know, know.
I recently acquired a Custom Vibralux Reverb-amp in a trade. It does say Made in USA on the front black panel and has the white knobs. I appreciate all the comments above about the specific mods that have been made to what already appears to me to be a pretty nice amp. The reverb is not working right now but what I’m really intrested in finding out is how to date this thing. The serial # is AB009076…
I have the same amp that was made right before yours was made. SN# AB009075!
February 1990
I have CVR serial number AB022836…..and type CSR 8….has the 10″ Jensen speakers…do you know year of manufacture??
I recently acquired a Custom Vibralux Reverb-amp in a trade. It does say Made in USA on the front black panel and has the white knobs. I appreciate all the comments above about the specific mods that have been made to what already appears to me to be a pretty nice amp. The reverb is not working right now but what I’m really intrested in finding out is how to date this thing. The serial # is AB009076…
I bought a MINT 2007 Fender “Custom” Vibrolux Reverb Vacuum Tube Amplifier from Guitar center for $500.00. It came with the manual and all of the hang tags in the factory original plastic zip lock bag. It also came with the footswitch. I was wondering if these amps came from the factory with an amp cover? If so, mine is missing. If not where can I buy one?
My amp has the same hissing sound as many others have mentioned. I really love the platform of 40 vacuum tube watts and the 2X10″ Jensen Driver’s. I figured for $500.00 I could purchase the “Formal Mods” and have my amp tech do the installation. He told me he has done the “Formal Mods” on ’65 DRRI’s but never a Vibrolux. I am certain he can do it no problem. Ya’ know, I contacted Fender to have mine dated month/year. The Fender “Customer Service Representative” fully admitted in writing that this amp has noise issues. He went on to say that he owned one and did the “Formal Mods”. This kind of bothers me as Fender Musical Instruments, Co. knows this amp is faulty yet they have not offered any kind of “recall” or offering to make the amp right. I suppose it’s just like many 1970’s 3 Bolt Neck Stratocaster’s with that awful “White Metal” all in one bridge and tremolo block with those horrible bridge saddles. I owned (2) 1975 Fender Stratocaster’s one White and one Black. Both Strat’s would not stay in tune, the tremolo would knock the guitar way out of tune no matter what I did, and the pickup’s were crazy microphonic. I read that Ritchie Blackmore said “Fender did make some really good Strat’s in the 1970’s”. While I believe this to be true, I have never found one that was great. At least I didn’t spend a lot for my Vibrolux so purchasing and paying to have the Formal Mod’s installed should work out for me financially.
I second that! I want to add, a lot of Bruce Zinky’s custom shop designs seem to have quirky decisions.
None of them have negative feedback loops – causing the “hissing” sound associated with the Custom Vibrolux Reverb. It just doesn’t sound very “Fendery” in cleans, IMHO. Some of them have the “gain adjustment” resistors (plate resistors) on the phase inverter flipped over for no apparent reason. E.g. Prosonic, Custom Dual Professional (R31/R29 in that schematic). Some of them have an arbitrary mismatch in output impedance – e.g. the Dual Professional has a 16 Ohm speaker load connected to an 8 Ohm secondary tap.
One of them – the Prosonic – even has shunting capacitors across the first gain stages, of which he himself states “remove them. I don’t know what I was thinking”. And then they all have those Celestions, regardless if their voicing matches the amp or not. Who on earth puts Celestions in a surf-related amp like the Dual Professional?
It seems that Zinky experimented a lot, to no particular end. It seems unfair that Fender would demand $3000 for amps that just are not finished or thought through.