Fender Vibroverb 1963 Reissue
Model/Circuit Number: 6G16 (Circuit varies from the original)
Years of Production: 1990 – 1995
Era: Vintage Reissue
Configuration: Combo
Controls: Brown forward facing w/ white screened labels, controls numbered 1-10
Knobs: Brown Round
Schematics
Faceplate
- Front: Normal: In, In, Vol, Treb, Bass – Bright: In, In, Vol, Treb, Bass, Reverb – Speed, Intensity – Pilot Lamp
- Rear: Fuse (3A), Ground Sw, 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:
Covering Material
- Tolex/Tweed: Brown Tolex
- Grill Cloth: Wheat Grill Cloth
Logo: Grill mounted, flat, chrome & black script
Weight: 46 lbs.
Speaker
- Size: 2 x 10
- Impedance: 4 ohms
- Model: Oxford 10K5(For more info, check out the Jensen Replacement Speakers)
Effects: Tremolo, Reverb
~Watts: 35 watts
Tubes
- Pre amp: 7025
- Power: 2 x 6L6GC
Bias: Fixed Bias
Rectifier: Solid State
Comments: The reissue differs in several ways from the original, most notably is the solid state rectifier, printed circuit board and hardwired reverb cables.
Hey, is this amp still available?
Not new. I see them pop up from time to time on the ‘bay or craig’s
I have been usung the ’63 Vibroverb Reissue ever sine I bought it new, in 1992. Never a problem mechanically.. I have been using all Groove Tubes for all the preamp tubes, since it was still almost new. And the 6L6s are the older Svetlana “Winged ‘C'” power tubes. All of the original tubes were Chinese, and some people gave them bad reviews, so I just replaced them all. The hugest improvement on sound was when I put a pair of new 10 inch Eminence 1028-K, [ALNICO], speakers in it… It was as if I took a thick wool blanket off it. It is the perfect amp for me. It sounds really good either at very low volumes or at very high volumes. I am always getting compliments on it’s TONE, when playing out with my 50s-60s R&R Band…..
I managed to find one of these new back in 1991 with the 2 X 10 Oxfords. Great little combo and very reliable. The only mod I made was to swap out the Oxfords for Jensens, made a huge difference in brighter tone. 35 watts may be an understatement in my opinion, this baby is Loud !
I put in 2 Weber 10A125,s and NOS tubes. Put in a bias pot and now it,s a tone monster! Takes pedals well. Plenty loud enough, too.
How did you install the bias pot?
Did you just replace R59 or 58, or did you add a pot and replace one of the resistors.
I’ve been looking for some instruction to do that but haven’t found any.
Installing a Bias Pot: Use a 10k linear pot. Mount the pot through the bottom of the chassis below and to the
pilot-light side of the tremolo pots. Remove R59. Solder two lengths of wire to the PCB where the resistor was.
Connect one of the wires to the middle and one end tab of the pot. Solder a resistor to the remaining tab and
connect the other end of it to the other wire. For values, I recommend starting with a 10k. What you’ve just done
is replaced the 18k bias set resistor with a 10k resistor in series with a 10k pot. Where before you had a
fixed 18k, you now have 10k-20k range. Button things back up and check your idle current. You will want to see
anywhere from 30-40mA per tube. If you can’t get the idle current high enough (which is likely if you use
NOS American tubes or the Telsa 6L6GC), replace the 10k resistor you just added with a 5k. If you use Svetlana tubes
the 10k works fine. Phillips 6L6WGBs may require the 5k. The Telsa 6L6GCs will definitely require the 5k.
I have tried the Svets, Phillips and Telsas in my amp. The Svets have nice mid range. A good sounding all around tube.
The Phillips are clean and bold at low volume and break up nice. A good blues tube. The Telsas remind me of 7581As.
They are big, full and clean. They seem to add wattage to this amp with lots of big clean headroom. They are also
tough as nails and can be run hard. The Svetlana are my choice for this amp. I run them @ 36ma per tube.
With an adjustable bias, you have options. Neat trick for adjusting the pot, I carved the tip of a skewer to slot.
Eliminates chance of electrocution! Please folks, be careful..
It’s a great amp with wonderful tone and plenty of power. Always works and sounds great. Had the tubes replaced with American ones a few years ago which made it even better. Always loved the Fender “Bell Tone” and this one has never let me down. Previously had a Pre-CBS deluxe and a twin. I’ll put this up against both of those any day.
The Fender Vibroverb Reissue Owner’s Manual lists it as 40 watts:
https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10001/OM_leg_gtramp_63_Vibroverb.pdf
I have Celestions in mine, and Mercury Magnetics:
https://www.mercurymagnetics.com
It’s an extremely nice amp, loud enough for smaller gigs. As a benefit, this amp is a real looker, especially with the Fender “flat” logo. My current favorite amp, however, is my Univox 202R. It was in a guy’s trash with five inches of snow on it. I replaced all the tubes, but all it really needed was the two 6973 powers tubes.
I own one of the last of these (95) like it a lot i suppose thats why i have had it so long,i had a chance to pull the speakers,and substitute with pair of 1963 originals of the type fitted,very little in it i found,this
may be useful to those considering going that route,mine has done very little live work,one show and a couple of rehearsals,doubt many in this condition out there,it is fitted with american valves,think output pair are Sylvania,whatever! they are in good order and well balanced,i also had a chance to pitch this against an original from 63,yes it had a valve rectifier,and totally original,owned by an English legend,i service his amps!! and it was not really much better soundwise,maybe a little warmer,and wound up the GZ34 rectifier sag giving some compression,but what are these selling for 5-6 k bit ripe that btw,fender have made better,being first with reverb the factor.Brown deluxe sounds nicer!! Still a great amp though!!
For anyone who ever thinks of owning one of these, this is an amazing amp. I bought one new. The speakers that came with it made it sound old school. It sounded pretty cool, though, with a breakup at lower volumes, considering it’s a 40 watt amp. But I could hear something better. This amp is LOUD! And when the volume is pushed, the breakup is to die for. It’s not like the new Hot Rod series. When this amp distorts, the distortion is perfecto, I mean absolutely perfect. I wish the Hotrod series picked up on this sound and incorporated it. I changed the speakers a couple of times, and used a pair of Kendricks blues speakers for several years, but ended up with a cool mismatch of a Jensen 10 rated at 25 watts and a Celestion V10 rated at 60 watts. The Celestion held a really tight bass, and the Jensen kept that Fender attitude and could break up at lower volumes, so you could get the growl that this amp is known for but with a tight punch. So I went from an old school paper cone sound to a bit of a muddy blues sound to this super tight, boutique amp sound.
Anyone who comes across this amp should pick it up. Kendricks modified mine for me, replacing some caps and putting a bias adjustment in the back of the amp. I fried some tubes pretty quickly ONCE with that, trying to push them to the limit. Also, I experimented with some Mullard tubes and an assortment of top level replacements and that really made the amp sound even better. Unfortunately, I sold it but I got $400 more than I paid for it new. I had too many amps and played mostly through a Marshall 2061x and a Mesa Boogie Express Plus 5:50. Both of these amps are excellent, too. I think the Mesa represented pristine build quality, whereas that circuit board on the Vibroverb was a little concerning. I don’t know why Fender does stuff like that. It gives them a bad name. I had a Fender 70’s 100 watt Bassman head, which had days of headroom. I was fortunate enough to play it really loud for crowds of 2,000 to 8,000 people, and the rectifier tube created some magic, compressing in a way that responded to my emotions. It was a little dark. The Vibroverb isn’t quite as dark sounding. I don’t think it’s as loose sounding as the tweeds. It’s somewhere in the middle. The weight of this amp – it’s kind of heavy, but for gigging, it’s a perfect amp. The good thing about open back Fender combos is that they work in just about any venue, whereas my Marshalls and closed back cabs didn’t always work out, like where the walls are concrete, the floor is concrete. Fenders work really good in any environment I’ve been in.
In modern times, bedroom levels are better, and this amp was so freaking loud that there’s no way i could play it where I live now. The days of gigging are over, especially in light of the Covid plandemic. Besides, the neighbors would have me arrested. I’ve had to resort to lower wattage amps, which are nice in living spaces.