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Post subject: Need help with Fender Custom Vibrolux
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:05 pm
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I bought a 2008 FCV off ebay and when I tried it out at home it sounded great, but I did notice that I can barly hear the reverb even when I have it turned all the way up. Its not like the reverb soaked sound I'v heard from the Fender RI amps. Is this just how the amp is? Also, is there any way for me to improve the reverb effect? I noticed also that my amp has a spring reverb seated at the bottom. How does the spring reverb work cause I'm not sure i'm hearing it at all. Also, how is the reverb tank physically connected to the amp cause I have this one red one white cable coming from the tank and pluging into the back of the amp with the white on the left and the red on the right. Is this right?. Thank you for your time!


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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:45 pm
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Hi Floyd; If I can make some suggestions and comments, then here goes. This amp should have plenty of reverb. The tank connections that you described are correct, you might want to give them a slight twist, and do the same at the tank. V-3(12AT7) drives a portion of the pre amp signal into a transformer, then the spring tank, this tube would be my first suspect. The signal is pushed down a pair of springs which create a delay effect. A transducer at either end of the springs provides an electronic- mechanical link for the signal. V-4(12AX7) recovers the signal from the tank and sends it on down the line, this tube could also be a suspect. The reverb signal is then introduced to the rest of the pre amp signal and amplified by part of V-4 and off it goes to the power section. This is a simplified overview, but I hope it gives you some idea of how this effect works and the tubes you might want to replace. Just a question: are you using the foot pedal and how is the vibrato working? Good Luck! ART

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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:58 pm
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I'm still waiting on the foot pedal to come in the mail, but the vibrato works great. Now for the reverb tank should it be screwed down to the wood base of the amp cause right now I can move it around freely within the leather cover is protected with. Also, what are some good vintage style tubes to replace the current ones with.


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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 9:53 pm
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The tank itself does not need to be secured to the cab, in fact it would be subjected to the combos vibrations. Instead it should be free in the tolex envelope, and that should be secured at both ends to the cab. The only reason I asked about the foot pedal is because it's a newer amp. I'm a geezer and all the amps I work on are the old guys. They don't require a pedal for the reverb to function. As for the pre amp tubes, I usually go with NOS RCA's, Tungsol, Amprex, Mullard , GE, and Phillips. That being said, I prioritize where these pricey tubes are going in the signal chain. I've found the most important thing with the NOS tubes is the testing and reliable trusted vendors. ART

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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:12 pm
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Heres a few pics of how the amp is setup. I took the reverb tank out of its cover are all the plugs right? Also, is the spring reverb supposed to shake or do something cause when I turn the reverb up to 10 and play a riff. I dont hear anything from the reverb tank. Theres not even a big difference when I set the reverb from 0 to 10 what could be causing this? Thanks again. Click the images to enlarge.

Image

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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:35 pm
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When the tank is moved about, you should be able to hear the springs. I"m talking about moving the tank in a gentle shaking motion, not in a violent fashion. The springs need to be free to vibrate. Have you tried replacing the tubes? ART

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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:32 pm
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Do you hear any reverb at all? On my DRRI, the footpedal must be plugged in for the vibrato to work. It will not work at all without the footpedal, although the reverb will work without the footpedal. Do you have any kind of footpedal that is 1/4" TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) lying around you could try? One of my friends jumpered his footpedal jack to get his vibrato to work without the footpedal. If this isn't the problem, then I think it's one of the 2 reverb tubes that ART mentioned. You could lightly tap the tubes with a pencil or something whilst the reverb is all the way up and your guitar plugged in and strummed...

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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 6:08 pm
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Hey Floyd; I apologize for not answering that question about the hook up ! It looks fine to me.(nice pics) My experience is that the tanks fail slowly from being bumped around over time, causing the reverb signal to degrade. I've seen plenty of 40yr old tanks that work fine, although they look like crap. If you want to remove the cardboard on the bottom of the tank and visually confirm that all the wiring is intact, then go for it. I'm still going with V-3 and/or V-4 , as the culprits. ART

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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 6:35 pm
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I have one of the Custom Vibrolux Reverb amps as well, and the reverb is just not as present as in, for example, a Deluxe Reverb RI. This is not a surf amp, but more of a baby VibroKing: breaks up sooner, not much clean headroom. In fact, if I use a Les Paul or similar, if I want much clean at all, I plug into input #2 that is 6db lower in input.

All the other suggestions are good ones: shake the reverb tank while reverb is turned to 10 (with no footswitch, the reverb is always on) and you should hear the crash.

If you want more reverb, you might take it to a good amp tech to see what can be done in the circuit to make it more "deluxe" like. I don't know where you are located, but I use Val King in Santa Clara for amp work.


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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 7:43 pm
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Thanks for all the advice ART. Im ordering a new set of tubes, so I hope it solves my problem with the reverb. Also, I live in NYC. Do you know any good amp techs in the city.

Heres the tubes I'm looking at getting now. Are these good or would you suggest something else?

http://thetubestore.com/sba-fender-cust ... erb-2.html


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Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:26 pm
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Can't help you with NYC amp techs, Floyd, but there's got a be a ton of them. I'd ask gigging players using decent Fenders that play your style and tone. Ehh! That's not right! Ask every player you can! You might find an old Ampeg tech that can really help you out. As far as the tubes go; the winged C Svets are fine ; don't have any experience with the current production Tungsols. If you can afford it, I would get the JAN-Phillips 5751 with matched sections for V6(phase inverter). At $25 it's well worth it and should last quite awhile. You can read about it on their site. When you replace the pre amp tubes, I'd start with V-3(12AT7) and test. If no improvement, put the old tube back in and try the new V-4(12AX7). This better work or it's back to Fender! This amp should have a 5yr transferable warranty. The other pre amp tubes are probably fine, but you can swap them and listen for what you like.( one at a time) Hope this helps some. ART

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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:24 am
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Do you know any other websites that sell amp tubes? Oh also, I bought the amp off ebay and its a 2008 I believe, so I'm not sure if I can use the warranty if all else fails. Do I need any paper work if I would ever have to contact Fender about the warranty?


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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:09 pm
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Hey Floyd; You might want to try www.eurotubes. They seem to get good reviews and you can contact them in person to discuss your amp and playing style. There is also: www.kcanostubes or www.tubesandmore. As for the warranty; I'd think just a valid bill of sale should do the trick. I'd write Fender a letter explaining the situation and request a written reply. That way you'd have documentation concerning this inquiry. Maybe Edoates could advise us about his experiences with tubes and stuff like that ? Good Luck ! ART

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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 11:44 pm
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Thanks again ART! One last question here before I order the tubes. Should I get all 5 of the JAN-Philips 5751 tubes with matched sections, or should I just get one or 2 with matched sections? Thanks for all your help.


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Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:07 pm
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Hey Floyd, you will need only one tube with matched triode sections. It will be used in the V6 position, the phase inverter(pre amp tube to the right of the power tubes as viewing the amp from the rear). Which tube vendor did you decide to order from? ART

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