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Post subject: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 12:40 am
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Aspiring Musician
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I'm curious to see how many here are into Vibro Champ amps. If you care to tell us about yours, or have getting one in mind. Please include any and all including regular champs as well. I have a 1978 Silverface. I got it used in June of 95 at GC in Fountain Valley, California. It did not have original tubes except for the rectifier tube. I still have it but I'm running all JJ Electronics in it. It did not come with the OEM Oxford speaker. I replaced the not so hot sounding one it came with. I put a Jensen ALNICO 4 ohm P8R, which has a delightful chimey tone! I feel this amp brings out a great true tone from my guitars. When turned up there is no hiss, buzz or hum. I feel the silverface ones are not as bright sounding as the blackface ones. The BF ones sound great as well! I've played the new VC XD at GC through an inexpensive Strat. I was impressed. I think they sound pretty good and the extra tones you can get with them are a nice extra feature as well. Your turn now!


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 12:57 am
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My Champ, Champion 600, VC, and Bronco amps.

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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 9:04 pm
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Jac, these amps often benefit from setting the amp back to tweed 5F1 standards. Bypassing the tone stack and dropping the global feedback voltage. I have done the mods on several silverface VC, which I've sold. Ppl like the results. Best is the mods are easily reversible (most important).

I've found that putting in good caps in the tone stack (silver mica 250 pico-farad) and some hi-quality hi-fi couling caps (like the Dynami-caps in the photo or some good Russian mil spec K140Y's) really helps the tone control sensitivity. Plus, recovers some of the midrange "scoop" that the original creamic mica cap inflicts onto the circuit.

The only other change that works well is a good WW resistor in the cathode-tied position on the 6V6GT. That, and a nice 1% tolerance grid-to-ground resistor off the 6V6GT keeps the output tube happy. Even at full volume, all day. A good NOS tube also helps. Even a good used one, like a nice RCA 6V6GTA seems much healthier in these SE amps than most new ones.


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:39 am
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Here's mine. Not sure of the year, late 70's I guess. Had my tech swap out the speaker input with a 1/4 inch jack so I could hook it to my extension cab with a 4 ohm 12' speaker. I'd like to try it out with a 2x12 someday. I hear the amp can get pretty loud that way.

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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 3:01 pm
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Very cool! Thank you for sharing! I'm missing the top back panel on mine. It came that way, when I picked it up at GC.


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2012 10:39 pm
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I have recently aquired a virbo champ amp and have been told that it is rare and valuable. Could anyone help me put a value on it? It has a serial number of A 01001, model number AA764, production #1, blue ink stamp of NJ and with the original speaker. It all seems to work. The cabinet is aged, but in otherwise good condition. I want to sell it and already got a very eager offer of $100 for it that I have a feeling is very low. Any help with appraising this amp would be greatly appriciated.


Last edited by mtib7789 on Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:56 pm, edited 7 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 1:51 pm
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Can you post some photos of it please?


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:52 am
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mtib7789 wrote:
I have recently aquired a virbo champ amp and have been told that it is rare and valuable. Could anyone help me put a value on it? It has a serial number of A 01001, model number AA764, production #1, blue ink stamp of NJ and with the original speaker. It all seems to work. The treble knob spins all the way around, but works. The cabinet is aged, but in otherwise good condition. I want to sell it and already got a very eager offer of $100 for it that I have a feeling is very low. Any help with appraising this amp would be greatly appriciated.


You are describing a blackface Vibro Champ.

This website will give you the technical information on the amp.

NJ is the date stamp. That would be October 1964. 1964 was the first year of production.

Value is based on the amp being original and its condition.

gbase.com is a website where dealers post their wares. The prices are their asking prices, not necessarily the actual market price. Seems like Dealers are asking $600 to $800 for those amps.


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:25 pm
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Here are some photos of the 1964 Vibro Champ

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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:00 pm
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mtib7789 wrote:
Here are some photos of the 1964 Vibro Champ


Nice looking Vibro Champ. Can we assume you're going to keep it? :D


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:41 pm
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The grill cloth could stand a thorough cleaning, the upper back panel is installed upside down, and good-gawd-who-repaired-that-plug?

:!:

Otherwise, a well-preserved specimen. The OEM CTS alnico speaker is noteworthy.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:56 pm
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Beautiful pre-CBS black face VC. It looks like it is in great condition! I have a Super Reverb with the same patina on the grill cloth as this one. Someone wrote it has a CTS speaker. I did notice EV on the speaker. Was CTS hooked up with Electro Voice? I'm asking and trying to learn more about these 6 watt beauties, if anyone knows! I bet they were better speakers than the Oxfords they were putting in them in the 70s. The black face ones I've heard have a chimey brighter sound then the silver face like mine. I would love to have a black face one.


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:40 pm
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Oxford's alnico 8H5 was a more common a fixture in the Champ/Vibro Champ/Bronco line during the blackface era than this CTS speaker or the Jensen C8R. Leo bought speakers from any manufacturer who would meet his price point on bulk purchases. But Jensen was always a loose cannon, falling in and out of favor several times with Fender. When the per-unit cost for Jensens became prohibitive, Fender (under CBS management) threw them under the bus beginning in late 1965 and started buying Utah's. By contrast, Oxford and CTS both held the line on prices and their speakers continued as standard equipment in Fender amps well into the late '70s.

As for Oxford speakers, they are possessed of generally unremarkable tone.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 3:26 pm
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I think would could include Jim Campilongo to the club as an honorary member.

Under his gear list:

"and a 70's Vibrochamp (the most amazing vibrato sound ever created).... "


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Post subject: Re: Vibro Champ Club
Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 4:54 pm
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I ran into some info which said VCs had Oxford 8EV for speakers. Does anyone know if these were ALNICO magnet speakers? Thanks to everyone for contributing info and photos so far.


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