fender vibrolux reverb

Bill Yoder · Post by **Bill Yoder** » 2 Sep 2007 2:59 pm

I just paid an amp tech,$186.00 to go over my 72 vibrolux,tubes caps,whatever it needed.does that seem high to you guys?the amp is a 9 out of 10.
Bill Yoder P.S.it works fine,but it doesn,t seem to have that fender twang to it.i,m using a tele thru it (nashville).

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 2 Sep 2007 4:06 pm

Well - I guess it depends exactly on what he did and what kind of tubes and filter caps he put in. Good tubes and filter caps aren't cheap. Then, if there were issues with the amp, he needed to diagnose what was causing the problems. There could be various resistors and capacitors that needed to be tested and replaced, solder joints fixed, leads redressed, and so on.

Then there's the matter of the value of his time. This is highly skilled work, and I wouldn't want anybody but a real expert to mess with my old amps. I can't imagine why anybody who's good at this would want to charge less than $30-40/hr, which is sort of a baseline auto mechanic rate, and some charge more. So if you figure even just a few legitimate billable hours and good quality parts, it can clearly add up pretty quickly.

As far as the amp not sounding like you want, that's a different story. But I find that unless I am very specific about how I want the amp to sound and what should be done, then the often amp comes back sounding like they think it should sound, and not necessarily how I want it. There is no "one correct" way to set up an amp - it's very much a matter of taste. A lot of guitarists have no interest in twang, but instead want more crunch.

Luckily, when I don't have time to do this stuff myself (which is most of the time), I have a guy who pretty much knows what I'm looking for. But even then, clear two-way communication is the key to success. I don't think it's reasonable to expect a tech to read my mind about tonal details.

None of this says that you got a fair shake on this. But if you really got a good tech to spend significant time diagnosing problems and fixing up your amp, the price itself doesn't seem so out of line to me. Still, I think an itemized bill outlining parts and labor charges is appropriate in any service bill.

There may be some simple things he could do to twang out your amp a little - cool the bias, try some different tubes, and so on. To me, a good tech should be willing to work with you on this kind of stuff if the sound isn't to your liking.

Just my opinions, YMMV.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 2 Sep 2007 4:34 pm

Assuming the split was about 1/3 for parts, and the rest for labor, I'd say that's pretty typical. The good news is you should get another 2-5 years service out of it before you have to make another such "tune up". The bad news is that the price may be higher next time.

Tube amps have become expensive to buy and maintain. They're now an exclusive-type item preferred by a minority of players, and their repair specialists (most of 'em, anyway) charge accordingly.

Colin Mclean · Post by **Colin Mclean** » 2 Sep 2007 11:25 pm

I wouldn't say tube amp users are in the minority. Perhaps among steel players, but they are still very popular among 6-string guitar players, and AFAIK there are more 6-string guitar players then steelers...who knows what the real sales numbers are though.

The local amp tech where I live (granted in a different area than some of you) won't even work on anything with a circuit board in it, which I would think rules out the majority of SS amps in use today. A hand-wired amp such as your Vibrolux is much easier to work on.

FWIW I just paid that tech about $350 to put new frets and a new nut on, and set up one of my Strats. For the quality of work done and the service life I expect out of it, I see that as a fair price to pay.

Just my 2 cents...

Ken Fox · Post by **Ken Fox** » 3 Sep 2007 5:00 am

Typical amp repair rates are as low as $45.00 per hour (Peavey factory rate) to $95.00 an hour. Depends on where you live in the US.

Around here in Georgia it is typically 65.00 an hour. I run my shop at $45.00/hr.

Considering you got tubes and caps (if complete cap job and new tubes) you got a fair to low price.

Sprague 20uf caps in filter section have gone from $3.50 to close to $8.00 each in the last year or so! Tubes are also increasing in price as well. Freight to get the products shipped have climbed rapidly as well.

Now tack on State Income Tax, Federal income tax, sales tax, local business license annual fee, cost of a shop (rent or own) and you can see the average tech is not getting wealthy repairing amps and such!!

Mitch Adelman · Post by **Mitch Adelman** » 3 Sep 2007 7:13 am

I have a 70's vibrolux and it didn't get the tele twang until I replaced the speakers with weber 10150T's. I also put TAD tubes 6L6's. Small bottle for vintage, earlier breakup (sweeter), large bottle for cleaner twang( more headroom, louder). Either way, the improvement will be huge and your tele will twang but it will cost you more money I'm afraid. It is definetly worth it and the speakers will make an enormous difference for you!

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 3 Sep 2007 10:05 am

I put a pair of Weber VST speakers in my '67 Vibrolux Reverb about four years ago, and the tone is amazing.
Bill, have you tried playing other guitars through your amp? There are a lot of variables, as mentioned by others. Simply changing the tubes can make a big difference in the sound.

Andy Zynda · Post by **Andy Zynda** » 3 Sep 2007 5:13 pm

A 72 Vibrolux likely has Oxfords (AKA Ox Farts) in her. They crap out at mid and high volumes.
Jensens, (P10q and C10Q, C10N if you can find them) Webers (Yum), and JBL D110f's sound awesome in there.
You wont believe your ears.
-andy z-

Stephen Silver · Post by **Stephen Silver** » 4 Sep 2007 3:39 pm

I replaced the speakers in my 65 Vibrolux with Tone Tubbys.....awesome speakers with all my guitars!

I wish I played as great as I sound (a riff from Jim...great tone, no chops guitar wise)

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 5 Sep 2007 5:12 am

Bill - It doesn't seem high to me. We've discussed this to death on amp boards, and the usual thing seems to be (at least in larger metro areas) that when someone needs a complete "tune up" of an amp (especially one that's never been or only partially been serviced) the not-to-exceed number is $300 unless there are serious hacks - swapped transformers, bogus circuit boards, etc. Speaker changes not included, but tubes yes, unless the buyer wants specifically all NOS tubes.

Caps can run $70-100 for parts alone...so start with that. An amp tech isn't going to get rich, I can tell you that. The pay-per-hour is pretty low on larger jobs.

FWIW a Vibrolux Reverb is probably the least "twangy" of the Fender AB763-ish circuit applications. They tend to break up a little early with the normal setup, and a lot of rock players like 'em for that.