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Post subject: Re: What tubes for earlier break up on a 68 Custom Vibrolux
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 1:52 am
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GTG wrote:
Power tubes used to come in three settings. Easy break up, mid, clean. Look up some JJ easy break up.


For a break up around 3-4 on volume knob ? I would not bet on that.


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Post subject: Re: What tubes for earlier break up on a 68 Custom Vibrolux
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:21 pm
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I just bought a 68 Princeton 2-Days ago, and I know exactly what he’s talking about with fuzz pedals. They sound like total $@! through the Princeton.

I got a good deal on the 68 Princeton ($450), but so far it has been a 2-day Kung fu fight with the breakup tone.

Vol 4 and under, I have to find sweet spots with pedals like TS808 or my OCD.. But fuzz pedals sound really bad. Especially anything over Vol 4 (on a Princeton).

This line has me scratching my head as to why Fender thought the bass modifications were a good idea. I’m lucky, I have 30 guitars. But only a few sound good through it for my taste. Vintage powered pickups mainly. Humbucker equipped guitars don’t fare too well. Some are ok. And it appears to be useless to use any neck pickup for the breakup.

I’d probably be pissed if I paid $900-1,000 on one of these. For that price, you shouldn’t have to fight a Kumite with it. It’s kinda hard to make a Duncan 59 and Gibson classic sound unimpressive but this amp has found a way in breakup mode. Oddly, a JB sounds fine, so did a Fender Atomic, but it’s an odd battle. It’s very sensitive to pickup differences.

This is the first time I’ve bought an amp of this caliber according to the original price tag that I immediately feel like needs mods. 2-days into it, and I’m already tube pondering, speaker shopping, searching mods, and taking notes of which guitars not to use. That shouldn’t happen for something in that price point in my opinion.

And it has me wondering what Fender was thinking. “The bass situation” isn’t something that should ever be talked about with a newer Fender line, and yet it’s front and center and the elephant in the room.

I don’t have a problem with how it sounds clean really, but the breakup ranks right up there with a Roland JC gain stage underneath a 2-ton slab of bass. (With certain guitars anyway)

Tremolo Arm, I’ll be tube rolling it in a couple days, I’ll let you know what my thoughts are afterward ok.

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Post subject: Re: What tubes for earlier break up on a 68 Custom Vibrolux
Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 10:07 am
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OP are you using the custom channel? That side has good breakup and takes pedals very well. The vintage is very clean unless you crank it.

You could also try vintage single coils. The low output will allow you to crank the amp to the sweet spot without it being so loud. Moving to the Deluxe may be your ultimate solution. Just remember if you get loud the drums and louder amps might drown you out. I think the amp you have is great. Give the custom side a try and let us know.


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Post subject: Re: What tubes for earlier break up on a 68 Custom Vibrolux
Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:33 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
tremolo arm wrote:
So let me get this right. You are saying that in order to achieve more break up, I should have both the Treble and Bass tone nobs on the Custom channel set at 0. Is that right?


Or you can trade it in for a Deluxe Reverb Re-issue, an amp that seems far better suited for your purposes.

This.
Vintage amps were designed to be loud and clean, and Fender was probably the most successful at accomplishing this goal. Fender didn't respond to the demand for "dirt" really until the 80s, but even before that, we've fought the need to get above the drummer when stage mixing with the problem of being too loud at smaller venues and when the amp is properly mic'd.
My next amp will probably be a SuperSonic 22.

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Post subject: Re: What tubes for earlier break up on a 68 Custom Vibrolux
Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 3:27 pm
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Tremolo Arm, I did some tube swapping today on my 68 Princeton. I’m going to write a detailed post about it in a new topic since I’m dealing with a CPR and it can be referenced by future passer by readers.

I don’t think you’re going to achieve earlier breakup. But I did find a way to make fuzz pedals usable. I have a Big Muff singing through the amp now, and even complimenting the breakup tone just fine. So I’m going to be eating some crow on my earlier post, and maybe even halfway apologizing to Fender about my initial reaction to the amp.. Halfway.

You’re going to want to read my later post regarding the preamp.

Ted

Here’s the link:

https://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=110334

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