Menu
Brian Neal wrote:
> Here is some text from Fender's website on the amp:
> "The Twin's Vibrato, Reverb, and crystal
> clean tones are great as always, and the
> 15's extra fat clear bottom end, smooth
> treble, and high power handling make this
> amp a godsend for guitarists in
> specific genres."
>
> I think they had surf and country in mind
> as "specific genres", but probably didn't
> want to mention them by name to avoid
> pidgeon-holing the amp. :)
In the 70's they did mention genres in their ad copy.
I don't have any quotes but I remember it being billed
as perfect for pedal steel and for archtop jazz
due to it's clean power that would go into smooth
overdrive without distortion (it had [has?] a master
volume push-pull switch). They went on to describe
how the single 15's massive magnet/coil and heavy
cone would tend to dampen sounds and be a bit more
mellow than typical rock-n-roll amps. It was clearly
being billed as an amp for styles that weren't dependant
on heavy distortion.
It was indeed a great jazz amp. With the master volume
and midrange control and plenty of horsepower, it was
very capable of playing different sized rooms without
the tone changing drastically as you reset the volume.
That's something that the British style amps didn't
do. They sounded vastly different on vol 4 than they
did on 9.
Keep in mind that in the early 70's a vibrasonic
reverb or a twin was considered a small amp. Just
a couple of years previous the massive backline,
multiple marshall/vox stacks, volume on 11 and
Treb/bass both up to full was the norm. Even the
garage bands and bar bands then tended to use
4' tall vox or silvertone cabinets with multi
12's or 10's.
At least that's what I was seeing in LA back then.
Lumpy
--
In Your Ears for 40 Years
My big question regarding the Twin Custom 15 and the
Vibrasonic is which one is the better choice? I've
heard criticisms of Fender amps from the mid to late
70's, and one from an earlier era would probably cost
too much to even consider for most of us. I've also
heard that the reissue amps aren't as good a they
could be, though Gavin seems to be pretty happy with
his. But to get any decent vintage Vibrasonic in
working order would probably cost close to what the
new Twin Custom 15 costs.
Richard
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
> My big question regarding the Twin Custom 15 and the
> Vibrasonic is which one is the better choice? I've
> heard criticisms of Fender amps from the mid to late
> 70's, and one from an earlier era would probably cost
> too much to even consider for most of us.
[...]
> Richard
>
Richard, you may also consider the "Custom Vibrasonic". This amp was made in
1995-1996; 100 Watts and 1 15" speaker. It had special controls for steel
guitars. If you can find one, it would probably be cheaper than a vintage
blackface or even silverface Vibrasonic. Ivan played one in the Space
Cossacks. I think Dano said he had one too at one point.
BN
Richard,
Don't fret Richard. eBay to the rescuuuuuuue!!!
ViewItem&category=38074&item=3729761023&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
ViewItem&category=38074&item=3729395661&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Even though I think the one with the JBL may be worth the price.
However, I think if you piece-mealed it I think you could do better
and buy a SFaced TReverb chassis and install it in a Fender repro-
Vibrosonic-like cabinet. You would only be down $700-800 if your
chassis is in tip-top shape. You would have a new cab and a new
speaker for under $400. The chassis ought to range between $300-400
an that's an un-modded recapped and retubed amp chassis w/ a new
reverb pan. You would end up with a point-to point amp that will
take whatever you can dish out and hold like rock. If you look at
the old schematic for the Vibrosonic-guesswhat? It has the same
chassis that the TR, the Super6, the Dual Showman Reverb and the
Quad Reverb have. The only difference is your speaker(s) preference-
more like backache preference. I wish more folks would do this and
not buy Fender's newer stuff at the outrageous price they offer at
retail. Fender made great amps when they were handwired. Forget all
the mumbo jumbo about the circuitry. You can always have that modded-
EASILY in an older hand-wired point to point amp-e.g. blackfacing.
Try doing that on a PC-board and you'll cry. Surf music gear should
not cost you an arm and a leg. My two cents. Dario
--- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...>
wrote:
>
> My big question regarding the Twin Custom 15 and the
> Vibrasonic is which one is the better choice? I've
> heard criticisms of Fender amps from the mid to late
> 70's, and one from an earlier era would probably cost
> too much to even consider for most of us. I've also
> heard that the reissue amps aren't as good a they
> could be, though Gavin seems to be pretty happy with
> his. But to get any decent vintage Vibrasonic in
> working order would probably cost close to what the
> new Twin Custom 15 costs.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
>
So is it spelled with an "a" or an "o"? Vibrasonic or
Vibrosonic? I could have sworn I have seen amps with
faces reading "Vibrasonic," or are they different
amps?
Richard
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
VibrAsonic. Sorry for the misspell. Dario
--- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...>
wrote:
>
> So is it spelled with an "a" or an "o"? Vibrasonic or
> Vibrosonic? I could have sworn I have seen amps with
> faces reading "Vibrasonic," or are they different
> amps?
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
>
I think the amps in the auctions have it spelled with
an "o", VibrOsonic.
Richard
--- reverbroad <> wrote:
> VibrAsonic. Sorry for the misspell. Dario
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
Richard,
According to the faceplate on the amps it is "Vibrasonic." There
are different ones made in 1959-1963 that had no reverb and then the
silverface amps which had th ereverb. Interestingly enough, during
1995-1996 a "Custom" Vibrasonic was made that had a "steel" input
along with a "guitar" input. I believe it now that they did cater to
the steel crowd with that one model only. Play more, pay less. Dario
--- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...>
wrote:
> I think the amps in the auctions have it spelled with
> an "o", VibrOsonic.
>
> Richard
>
> --- reverbroad <reverbroad@y...> wrote:
> > VibrAsonic. Sorry for the misspell. Dario
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
>
Ok, I'll get it straight now. The 1959-63 amps were "Vibrasonic." The
silverface model was "Vibrosonic Reverb." The "Custom" model
was "Vibrasonic." I don't have a schematic on the Custom so I don't
know if that one model is the same as the Vibrosonic Reverb and/or
the Vibrasonic. Wheww! Dario
--- In , "reverbroad" <reverbroad@y...>
wrote:
> Richard,
> According to the faceplate on the amps it is "Vibrasonic."
There
> are different ones made in 1959-1963 that had no reverb and then
the
> silverface amps which had th ereverb. Interestingly enough, during
> 1995-1996 a "Custom" Vibrasonic was made that had a "steel" input
> along with a "guitar" input. I believe it now that they did cater
to
> the steel crowd with that one model only. Play more, pay less.
Dario
>
>
> --- In , Richard <errant_jedi@y...>
> wrote:
> > I think the amps in the auctions have it spelled with
> > an "o", VibrOsonic.
> >
> > Richard
> >
> > --- reverbroad <reverbroad@y...> wrote:
> > > VibrAsonic. Sorry for the misspell. Dario
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________
> > Do you Yahoo!?
> > Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
> >
