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Topic: Fender Custom Vibrolux Question - clean headroom |
Joseph Carlson
From:
Grass Valley, California, USA
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Posted 31 May 2007 8:41 am |
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Hi,
I was wondering which channel on the Fender Custom Vibrolux (the one with the white knobs) would give you more clean headroom, Normal or Vibrato?
Thanks!
Joe |
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 31 May 2007 9:44 am
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Joe. I have a Fender Vibrolux Custom. the vibrato works on both channels, BTW.
the Vibrolux is such a nice amp, I think both channels will give you what you want.
Normal is merely 'darker' sounding.
both channels seem to break up at the around the same point. |
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Brian LeBlanc
From:
Falls Church, Virginia, USA
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Posted 31 May 2007 10:41 am Darkness
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What accounts for "dark"
less gain?
I always ass-u-me'd that Normal was a little cleaner...
_________________
'Frenchy' LeBlanc...
ShoBud & Twins |
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Randy Reeves
From:
LaCrosse, Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 31 May 2007 12:22 pm
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Vibroluxs are a pretty clean sounding amp. two channels, one labeled normal. when I say dark it sounds like it; the high end is rolled off and the low and mid range feels pronounced.
the other channel has a bit more sparkle. or brightness.
again I have to edit. it is very true the reissues are different from the originals. my reissue has enough headroom for me. that is me. I have learned from past posts that this amp is not as clean for steelers. most of the time I play at low volume levels. it performs quite clean. at about five it begins to have character, in that it can break up. to my ears it gives the guitar a bit more guts. but not into the high gain realm or distortion.
if you want a really clean amp with tons of headroom, this perhaps is not what you want.
Last edited by Randy Reeves on 1 Jun 2007 7:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick
From:
Clinton, Missouri USA
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Posted 31 May 2007 2:03 pm
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| Brian.. Dark in steel language means not quite as much treble, more bassy sounding. (Edited) Sorry, the question had already been answered. |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 31 May 2007 6:40 pm
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| Quote: |
| Vibroluxs are a pretty clean sounding amp. |
The Custom Vibrolux is not the same amp as a Vibrolux or Vibrolux Reverb. It's a higher-gain, modernized amp with a much more "edgy" sound to it. As far as which channel has more headroom, there's no discernable difference - one is just brighter than the other. In BF/SF Fenders, the "Normal" channel has more headroom as it lacks the extra gain stage of the reverb channel (the "Custom" has reverb on both channels).
I haven't found the Custom version to be much of a clean-tone amp...and in 6-string circles the vintage Vibrolux Reverbs are known for early breakup, not for their headroom. Nice sounding for smaller gigs or practice, though.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Brian LeBlanc
From:
Falls Church, Virginia, USA
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 6:07 am Headroom...
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I'm using a 72 Deluxe for small places (most places!)
...Sometimes a 67 Vibrolux
always seems like I can squeeze little bit more headroom on the Normal side using a 72 6139 ShoBud
_________________
'Frenchy' LeBlanc...
ShoBud & Twins |
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Joseph Carlson
From:
Grass Valley, California, USA
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Posted 1 Jun 2007 8:16 am Thanks!
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Thanks for the info. I am trying to crack the age-old problem of playing tele and steel with just one amp without breaking my back bringing the twin and without a mess of cords from the Pod.
Looks like you can't get there from here, eh?
Regards,
Joe |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 2 Jun 2007 7:37 am
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It's tough, because to get an amp to "bloom" properly you have to be able to crank it up, and with steel then you need to make bias and/or tube changes to clean up the sound. You *might* be able to get away with it to a point with 1) a cranked amp and low bias setting, and 2) a good overdrive pedal *always* on with the Tele for a more guitar-friendly sound (just a touch of overdrive, controllable with the guitar's volume control), plus another overdrive for "dirt" tones. It's a real balancing act, though; if you know tube amps really well you can do it, but trying to get a tech to make the adjustments is almost impossible, as he won't hear what you're hearing...
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Twayn Williams
From:
Portland, OR
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Posted 3 Jun 2007 6:52 pm
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CVR's are quite "hissy", partially because they lack a negative feedback loop. They do break up fairly quickly. OTOH, I think they have the best tremolo on the planet!
For a light-weight steel/guitar rig, I recommend a '65 Deluxe Reverb RI. Immediately perform the following mods:
1. Clip out the bright cap on the vibrato channel
2. Replace the speaker with something very high efficiency (I currently use an Emi Cannabis Rex.)
3. Replace the rectifier tube with a Weber Copper Cap
And finally, use a preamp pedal with the PSG that will allow you to reduce volume, something like the Xotic RC Booster, or the Barber Tone Press. The idea is to try to let the input of the amp see the same amount of gain from both guitars, so you don't overdrive the input stage with the overwound steel pickup.
_________________
Primitive Utility Steel |
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Jan Jonsson
From:
Gothenburg, Sweden
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Posted 4 Jun 2007 7:15 am
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From an electronics point-of-view, the "Custom" Vibrolux Reverb is almost identical to the discontinued reissue brownface 2x10" Vibroverb. The circuit boards of the two amps are very similar (or even identical) so it is quite easy (if you're handy with electronics) to convert one model to the other. Schematics and layouts for both amps are available on the Internet.
I use one of these reissue Vibroverbs for my D-10 steel and it's quite useful for smaller gigs. It has more headroom than the CVR and is also much less noisy. I've installed a pair of Weber 10" California speakers to get a better low-frequency response.
-- Jan |
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