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I think I scored a '65 Vibrolux from a dumpster


Greg_In_Michigan

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Did I make a score here? I think this is an original '65 Vibrolux. How do I confirm this? I would like to restore it. :wave:

 

My roommate went with his girlfriend this morning to clean out her great grandmother's house where her great uncle also lived. Apparently he moved to Arizona sometime ago and left quite a few things and unfortunately her great grandmother recently passed. They came back and told me about the "old crappy amp" they threw in the dumpster. When they described it to me I was intrigued. :o They told me it looked just like mine (Fender '65 Twin Reverb Reissue) and it said Fender on it, it had a black face where the knobs are, and it was really old and dusty.

 

Unfortunately, it was missing the speakers and it did not have power tubes. Well, I decided to drive an hour to where the house was at and jump in the dumpster to see what it was exactly. I was pretty happy with what I found.

 

The cab is in pretty decent shape. It was dirty as hell but I cleaned it up. There are very few bad spots, no major tears. The front on top was dinged up because my roommate threw it in the dumpster. It did not have the original speakers. I have no idea what could have happened to them. The reverb plate is in great condition and was also attached. I removed it to inspect.

cabmf.jpg

 

I think this stamp means it's from 1965, I still have to look up and figure out for sure if it's an original. Given the rust and black face, I would believe it is.

datestamp.jpg

 

The inside seems to be in good condition. I found one wire that had broken off. I have not checked to see what it comes from. I think it's typical that you should replace the caps and clean the pots on something like this. I will get into that sometime in the next few weeks.

insideamp.jpg

 

Blackface. :D

vibrolux.jpg

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The inside of the cab on the tube chart says "AA864." The stamp on the tube chart says "0C" in BLACK ink, and the Production spot says "#2." Reading some various old posts of forums leads me to believe this is likely early 1965, January - July. I cannot find a serial number anywhere. There is a designation that seems to be "XF0765" on the bottom of the cabinet. The plate of the amp seems to say "rF0765" I am not sure if that's right. Is that July, 1965? F seems to be the model, Vibrolux. But what is the R or the X for?

 

The next thing is, what do I do to restore this thing? It has the original pre-amp tubes but I have not looked at them yet. They are still in the metal covers. The power tubes are gone. Should I replace all of the tubes?

 

The speakers are also missing. I will need to buy new ones. Should I get Jensens? Should I get some Webers? What's the best speaker I can put in this bad boy?

 

Should I replace the caps and clean all the pots? It looks like the thing sat in an attic for years. There is no way to know how much use it has, though. I believe caps leak and go bad even if they sit awhile. Should I try to do it myself or take it to an amp tech? I am pretty good with a soldering iron...

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FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

 

FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.....

 

That is CLEAN!

 

My lord, I've found some cool stuff in the dumpster, including a Sunn 2000s that just needed filter caps and tubes, but that is incredible!

Chances are it had some problem, unless the owner was a total idiot or someone else threw it away.

 

 

Check the filter caps in the "doghouse" to see if any are leaking.

check fuse, pull output tubes and fire up.

if fuse doesn't blow, put output tubes in one at a time.

 

jenson makes great replacement speakers for it, and Weber also has plenty of awesome replacements.

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FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU



im a really nice dude IRL. i really dont understand what the hell i did to the universe or my ancestors did that keeps me from having cool {censored} like this happen to me.

 

 

You're already a white male, what more could you ask for?

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know, other than a free amp. {censored}ers. THE LOT OF THEM.

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I turned it on, the tubes glow. :thu: I don't have any power tubes, they were missing when it was found. I briefly looked over the circuit and I see there are 2 connections that have broken. I believe they are chassis ground connections. I will study the schematic and try to run through everything when I get some spare time. I am taking a business trip to China soon so it will be awhile before I can really dig into this thing. :mad:

 

I'm really stoked about this. :D Should I go with some original style Jensen speakers or should I get something from Weber?

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Funny you mention the broken ground connections.

 

I have a '65 bassman on the bench, same parts as yours by the way, and it has a broken ground wire for V2's cathode circuit killing channel one.

 

man, how f-d up would it be if that's the only thing wrong with your amp.

 

Once again.....FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

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I am going to get some caps and tubes so I can check out the amplifier and make sure it's all good. Is this a good set of caps to get? I see a lot of people go with the Sprague Atom caps. Should I stick to that, or go with something different? I want to get the best quality components, but I want to maintain as best I can the original sound of the amp. I will of course, replace only what needs to be replaced. The speakers will have to wait a few weeks, but I want to start by getting the amplifier working properly.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RECAP-KIT-Fender-Deluxe-Reverb-Vibrolux-Reverb-/190460955402?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c585b8b0a

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At the risk of stating the obvious: Don't fire it up without hooking up a speaker.

 

I wouldn't consider firing it up until you'd given it a thorough once-over. Somebody tossed it for a reason (even if it was a stupid one).

 

If you are confident that you know what to look for & check, go for it. Just bear in mind that missing something important could risk frying a vintage transformer. If you have any doubts at all, pay a competent tech a couple of hours bench fee to do it right.

 

Great score. :thu:

 

... oh yeah, FFFFFFUUUUUUU... :mad:

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I am going to get some caps and tubes so I can check out the amplifier and make sure it's all good. Is this a good set of caps to get? I see a lot of people go with the Sprague Atom caps. Should I stick to that, or go with something different? I want to get the best quality components, but I want to maintain as best I can the original sound of the amp. I will of course, replace only what needs to be replaced. The speakers will have to wait a few weeks, but I want to start by getting the amplifier working properly.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/RECAP-KIT-Fender-Deluxe-Reverb-Vibrolux-Reverb-/190460955402?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c585b8b0a

 

Nice score. :thu:

 

The F&Ts and Sprague Atoms in that kit are top notch components and the price seems to be on the money.

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What is the reason the change it to a 3 prong cord? I see most people do that as well but nobody has explained why. I really want to do the work myself, but in the interest of time I may take it to Elderly Instruments, or Enzo at Shiawassee Technical Services (I think) if he is still in business. Elderly has sent me to Enzo in the past for my Twin Reverb.

 

Also, where can I get spray to clean the pots? I cannot find any.

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