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Fender Vibro King.... Opinions?? I'm think about picking one up.

In my opinion, a phenominal amp. Breaks up a little early
for surf, but I prefer it that way. Great for blues and rock.
Point to point wiring. Pretty pricey, though. If I found one
for under a grand, I would jump on it.

Bob

Bob

Our other guitarist Joe has one and it's nice but a little too "squaky" for my taste. I think Jake is right, it seems that the Vibroverb with the 1-15" would be a little more suited for surf, if you're looking for a lower wattage combo.

Or if you want higher wattage, if you can find a Dual Professional, I have one of those, and they make for a great surf combo amp.

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space

JakeDobner
The Vibroverb may be lower wattage but it is incredibly loud and it doesn't break up very early.

Doesn't it have a solid state/tube rectifier switch too?
Does that make any difference in the breakup?

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space

I'm with Jake on this...the 3-10" Vibro King combo works great for blues, but it doesn't work as well for surf, at least not to my ear. A single 15 or 2-12's makes a great gigging surf combo amp, as in Twin Reverb RI, Custom Vibroverb, Custom Vibrasonic, or Dual Professional (with changed speakers).

Then again, I just bought a '59 Bassman LTD to actually play BASS through in our semi-acoustic project, and it sounds awesome considering it is marketed as a "blues amp". Go figure. Try out the Vibro King with your favorite guitar and see if it speaks to you. There can be tonal variances in identical versions of some of the newer Fender amps, just as supposedly identical guitars can sound quite different from one another.

A word of caution - Fender made a minor circuitry change in the Vibro King after about the first year it was in production to correct some sort of problem that the early ones had. Make sure to get the later version if that's what you end up getting.

If you like the blonde/oxblood look, a Dual Pro with a pair of Weber Californias would be the bomb, albeit a very heavy bomb!

Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)

The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005), 2025
The Hula Hounds (1996-2000)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money (1978-1990)

Last edited: Jan 06, 2007 09:32:58

WoodyJ
A word of caution - Fender made a minor circuitry change in the Vibro King after about the first year it was in production to correct some sort of problem that the early ones had. Make sure to get the later version if that's what you end up getting.

There's a kit available, I believe it's a pretty easy fix.

WoodyJ
If you like the blonde/oxblood look, a Dual Pro with a pair of Weber Californias would be the bomb, albeit a very heavy bomb!

Recently put a 1-15 weber cali in mine and now it sounds killer!
And, yes a back-breaker too! I put casters on it a long time ago.

Paul
Atomic Mosquitos
Bug music for bug people is here!
Killers from Space

My bandmate Hans has one (bought new a couple of years ago).
So far great amp, allthough the onboard 3 knob reverb is not as wet as the standalone unit. It sounded good with the 3-10", but he uses it now through my speaker cabs.
BTW, when we tested it in the store, we played against all of the other Fender Blackface RI amps they had there, including a Twin Reverb RI with 15". It still sounded better: deep 3d sounds as compared to the others that sounded flat. We havn't encountered any breakup problems, and we play loud.
If they made a head version, and improved the reverb unit a tad it would have been perfect. It is pricey if you compare it to an old amp you can buy and fix up, but it's better value than the RI amps.
Ran

The Scimitars

The Vibroverb is incredibly loud. Its a modern Fender amp so its going to blow away a vintage Fender. I've never played a vintage Piggyback that can get near a modern Fender. And by near I mean many many decibels. The Vibroverb is very clean as well. The Vibrato is a lot better than the Showman's as well.

I own a '64 Showman by the way which I have turned up to 10 many times just for fun. The Vibroverb will never get near 10. I don't think I'd turn it above 6.

WoodyJ
A single 15 or 2-12's makes a great gigging surf combo amp, as in Twin Reverb RI, Custom Vibroverb, Custom Vibrasonic, or Dual Professional (with changed speakers).

Just wanted to chime in and second the Custom Vibrasonic. I have one (the only one I've ever seen, actually) and it's great. 100W into one 15" speaker. When you hammer the low strings on your guitar, this amp will reach out and hammer you back, and that's a good thing. The only downside is the weight.