# Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb - Upgrades?



## NIK0 (Dec 6, 2007)

Hey guys, so far great site!

I own a Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb which is absolutely an amazing amp. I have gone through a dozen amps (buy/sell) in the past year and have finally stopped at this one as I could not get over the tonal qualities of it. Mine happens to have the Jensen's in it vs. the previous Celestions they used to have. 

Anyhow, I keep seeing upgrade options for so many different amps I was wondering if anyone here could recommend an upgrade package that would significantly change the tone. I do love the way it sounds now but there is always something you can do to improve it. I swapped out the complete set of tubes from Fender's Groove Tubes package to Tesla's. It made a big difference but there must be other things that I can do.

If anyone can afford some time and reply to the post, it would be very appreciated...


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

If you do a search on the fender forum and the plexi palace you'll find some detailed mods to improve the CVR. The biggest complaints are not enough headroom, hiss on the channels and a weaker reverb. 

The college where I work bought a CVR for the recording studio and I made a few mods to it that they seem pleased with. I removed the reverb from the normal channel and changed out a coupling cap which really opened up the reverb and made it fuller sounding. Removing the reverb from the normal channel also helped with alot of the background hiss. 

I also put in a negative feedback loop which these don't have. It took away the rest of the hiss and added some headroom to the amp. (one of thier complaints was the lack of headroom).

I also changed out the cathode resistor in the phase invertor and they changed out the stock speakers for some webers.

It is a really great sounding amp. The only other thing I would have done if it had been mine would have been to install an adjustable bias control.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

A set of really good speakers can make a BIG difference. The Jensens are decent, but you can quite easily get more of what you're seeking with speakers and not devalue your amp in the process.

I'd recommend Weber, Ted is a really easy guy to talk to, and depending on what you're looking for, he can recommend or custom build you a set to meet your needs.

I had one of these and replaced the original speakers with 10F150 Webers, lots more volume and headroom, tighter bottom, more clarity, very easy to do. 

I also have a set of the 10A125P's that I tried in it, great for blues/rock where you don't need the headroom, a lot less volume too.


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## NIK0 (Dec 6, 2007)

Great info.....I heard of upgrading choke, output and transformer from Mercury Magnetics can make a dramatic difference too. Do you guys know anything about that?

I'll look into the Weber speakers...


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

NIK0 said:


> Great info.....I heard of upgrading choke, output and transformer from Mercury Magnetics can make a dramatic difference too. Do you guys know anything about that?
> 
> I'll look into the Weber speakers...


A bigger tranny will certainly add more low end and firm it up, too. Heyboehrs are my favorites. I've had one amp with a MM tranny and it was good too, but the price... 

Better chokes improve the filtering a bit, I don't know that changing would improve the tone much. PT doesn't make much of a sound difference as long as its up to spec, big ones run a bit cooler, but i've never noticed much effect on tone.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Also, you have to ask yourself at this stage- "Where do I draw the line?"

There are so many corners cut on mass manufactured amps, from jacks to transformers to filter caps, why not just get one that's built correctly from the beginning? 

If you're putting in a set of speakers or some tubes, thats one thing. If you're upgrading a transformer on an otherwise very good amp (say a bigger tranny to firm up an old blackface Bandmaster) that makes a fair bit of sense, too. But spending big bucks upgrading a mass manufactured amp when there are good boutique amps for less money, that's harder to justify. 

You also have to consider it really won't resell well if you're not happy with the outcome, and want to go higher end. Adding aftermarket parts costs you $$$, and usually reduces the resale, its sort of a lose/lose thing.

Here's a good example (a vibrolux derived amp):

http://www.allenamps.com/encore.php

1699 for this one in a 210 combo, and its hand wired and al the componants are top quality. They come up from time to time used for a bit less. 

If you really want a Fender consider a vibroking, hand wired, good transformers, spectacular reverb. I've seen two in the last two weeks for sale used:

http://www.12fret.com/used/FenderVibroKingHH3038.jpg

The resale on these is excellent (if you sell down the road, its already depreciated) Bluehugh has one for sale as well.


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## NIK0 (Dec 6, 2007)

Thanks very much zdogma...i should think a few things over before i make any upgrades to the Vibrolux. It's such a great amp though and the lower wattage is what convinced me to buy it over a Vibroking but then again the lux is still loud.

I really really appreciate your suggestions.


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## PlunkrD (Mar 24, 2008)

I've just made the transition to a sweet '95 blonde CVR from a '93 tweed Blues Deluxe. I had retubed the BD with Svetlana 6L6's and 12AX7LPS's and added a Celestion speaker making the amp very clear and articulate with no more flab on the bottom end. The BD was very loud at 40 watts; quite agressive, the CVR is loud but smooth at all volumes. I've begun swapping the 12AX7's around with some extra tubes I've had in stock; I find the CVR is very sensitive to different brands and types in the various positions. In my limited experience I've found that if you want to make some sonic changes to suit your style of playing you start with the preamp tubes, move to the power tubes, and finally the speakers.


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## nonreverb (Sep 19, 2006)

Ripper said:


> If you do a search on the fender forum and the plexi palace you'll find some detailed mods to improve the CVR. The biggest complaints are not enough headroom, hiss on the channels and a weaker reverb.
> 
> The college where I work bought a CVR for the recording studio and I made a few mods to it that they seem pleased with. I removed the reverb from the normal channel and changed out a coupling cap which really opened up the reverb and made it fuller sounding. Removing the reverb from the normal channel also helped with alot of the background hiss.
> 
> ...


Good post Ripper. I've done this mod on about 9 Custom Vibrolux reverbs. It's by far the most cost effective way to improve the sound of these amps:smile:


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## PlunkrD (Mar 24, 2008)

Now that I've had the CVR for a few months I can see some of it's limitations. The hiss level is tolerable if you turn down the volume on the channel your not using. The reverb is warm but lacks the depth I had with my Blues Deluxe, so I've been using a delay to add the depth. The Eminence Blue Alnico speakers seem adequate for now.
Because of my tendency towards playing a clear ambient mood I'm now more inclined to have the "Mark Moyer Mod" done on this amp; any recommendations of good amp techs in the TO area.


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## rwe333 (Feb 18, 2006)

PlunkrD said:


> Now that I've had the CVR for a few months I can see some of it's limitations. The hiss level is tolerable if you turn down the volume on the channel your not using. The reverb is warm but lacks the depth I had with my Blues Deluxe, so I've been using a delay to add the depth. The Eminence Blue Alnico speakers seem adequate for now.
> Because of my tendency towards playing a clear ambient mood I'm now more inclined to have the "Mark Moyer Mod" done on this amp; any recommendations of good amp techs in the TO area.


Martin Newall's a great tech in the Markham area - 905/472-6394, [email protected]


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## PlunkrD (Mar 24, 2008)

Well, I'm finally biting the bullet and taking the CVR in for Moyer mods at SuperFuzz Audio here in T.O.; the hiss has become intolerable. I'll post my
evaluation when I get the amp back.


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## PlunkrD (Mar 24, 2008)

I've got my CVR back from Superfuzz today. Most of the Moyer Mods have been completed. Moyer's suggestion of completing the mods in one hour are unrealistic, it's more like four hours. The noise level has been decreased by at least 50%, which is now very tolerable. The reverb has been brought back to life; it is now deep and luscious sounding with the range expanded. The vibrato is also sounding much richer. The normal channel has had the reverb removed but still has the use of vibrato; I really like the sound of the normal channel now, strong and clear vs a loud dullness before the mods. The overall sound of the amp has improved; much clearer and detailed and stays that way even as you turn up the volume. The amp now has great character and doesn't interfere with the sounds of the guitar; the inherent dynamics of the amp are still intact. Pedals as well are more responsive and interact well with the amp. If you are having any misgivings about your Custom Vibrolux Reverb, I highly recommend having it converted to the '63 Vibroverb specs.


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