new amp/bought not built

[phsyconoodler]

I just got a new amp,not another of my own but a silverface Vibrolux Reverb combo.
Absolutely pristine condition and it has all original tubes and speakers.
  More importantly it sounds awesome!

 I'm not much of an amp collector but when I saw this one I jumped at it.I'm glad I did!
Now to clone it! I've done a few clones before but not exact clones.Pretty happy about this amp!

[HotBluePlates]

Looks good! Not all silverface amps were bad. In fact some were every bit as good as the blackface models.

People also forget the CBS era began in 1965, though the new owners didn't tinker much with the amp lineup.

[phsyconoodler]

Funny this amp has all the Siverface nonsense inside like the plate snubber caps and a bias balance system,the smaller 47k plate resistors on the PI and such but it sounds beautiful.
 I did blackface a friend's Vibrolux,the same year and it sounded great before.After the blackface job it was spectacular. Got to resist the urge to change this one,it's so beautiful inside!The only thing changed were the filter caps and bias caps.F&T's. The speakers sound very,very good.I think I'm gonna leave this one alone.

[catnine]

 Looks great to me. And if it sounds great as is then let it be I say.

[Platefire]

Sweet! That one looks like it's been well cared for--Congradulations!

[Ed_Chambley]

Nice find.  Played a lot of silverface fenders that sound great.  What year is it?

[phsyconoodler]

It's a '77.  I played it all night and it 'aint getting anything done to it!
 My strat and this amp are soul-mates!

 

[Davidg]

Your making me cry That looks just like one I used to have and probably the only amp I TRULY regret selling on a regular basis.They are killer sounding amps.What kind of speakers are those cause mine was blue and I always thought were Jensen.Crank that sucker on 10 with a tubescreamer and you cpuld play classic rock withany Marshall only better.If you clone I would love to see the voltages and anything rhat measures out of the ordinary that you find or if you draw out a schem or layout or anything I would love to get a copy.

[phsyconoodler]

It has blue labelled speakers,ceramic magnets with baskets that look like CTS.The stampings look like CTS to me,but I'm no vintage expert.They may be Utah too,but who cares?They sound delicious.
  This amp has all the original RCA tubes as well,which likley contributes to some of the sweet tone.

It likely has been sitting in somoeone's studio or bedroom for all these years,cause it has no battle scars at all and it looks like it rolled off the showroom floor.

Not all silverface amps were bad

 The transformers and parts inside this amp are all just as good as the blackface amps and the lead dress is not that bad compared to the master volume amps.

 I have one of my clone amps here to compare the tone too and they are pretty similar,both amps are sweet sounding,with my clone having the edge for bottom end and earlier breakup.
  However the similarities stop there,cause my clone has EL34's(glassier tones) and a growl control so it's more versatile.It has a couple of P10R's.They sound pretty much the same as the real vibrolux does which is surprising.
 The EL34's don't alter the tone as much as you might expect,but they are glassier sounding with open chords.I'd actually give the overall edge to my clone cause the blackface circuit is better sounding.
  I need to resist that urge to blackface this amp!!!I never seem to be able to leave stuff alone!