Vintage fender- which one.

[Dave H]

Personally, I think it is hard to go wrong with a SF Vibrolux Reverb. To my ears it's got that Fender tone. It sounds amazing. The circuit remained virtually unchanged through the 1970's. There are no bad SF years to avoid in my opinion. Awesome reverb. Not too heavy. Loud enough for a band. I'd avoid paying high prices for a BF model. The SF gets the job done just fine.

I see what you mean about the Blackface. It's more than twice the price of the Silverface!

Silverface

Blackface

[Sea Chief]

Keith I'm west wales.. & there's nothing for 200m away. basically Im in the worst place to shop for one of these! this is the reason I'm doing the thread- if I can nail down the one I think best to go for, I might have to persuade the seller to post it. Thats w'out trying it. I know. So I aim to just get the best/ most info 1st.. & go from there, see what happens.

The V'lux sounds good.. but I'm concerned about the high 35w. My DR at 22w is monster loud enough.. actual;y probably about right if I were to find some jamming beings to faff with (quite possible, once Ive got the amp in toe & Im buzzing with it/ a great amp just makes you play better/ play more.. its an instrument itself, if it -dfoes- have the fender X-factor Im on about (btw all yours will have it- its quite simply why you bought them!!).

[keithb7]

Sea Chief, just so I am clear: You have a clone of a SF DR. Correct? It is not working for you. Too bass-y. No real Fender sparkle or X-Factor. Correct? You like the 22W size and power. You want better from it. So you are interested in an original vintage Fender amp. If that's correct, I am sorry. Somehow I missed that you had a repro DR amp. Sounds like you have found a power requirement you like. Going down means a Princeton Reverb. Going up is Vibrolux Reverb. Same power means a DR. Now I get it I think.

You are considering selling your repro DR, and buying an original vintage DR, or similar. If you like DR power, and are missing the sparkle, then yes it sort of makes sense to sell the repro Dr and find an original. I get where you are going.

You may like my assortment of home brew amp demos. I have the same You Tube ID. Keithb7 I have done several comparisons and posted them. Sorry I am not a sound engineer, the sound quality could be greatly improved.
Go here for some vintage Fender entertainment. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=keithb7

[pdf64]

...The V'lux sounds good.. but I'm concerned about the high 35w. My DR at 22w is monster loud enough..

Just to check that you're aware of the relevant physics -

1dB is smallest change that can be reliably detected by the senses of a regular human? Have a play with Blind Testing a 1 dB Level Difference

35W is 2dB more than 22W.

the sound pressure level we perceive is the product of amp power and speaker efficiency.

doubling the number of speakers will increase SPL by 3dB, though the actual implementation of that will generally make it more of a low end reality, eg low mids/bass, ie so a cab with 2 speakers will be louder and have a stronger low end than a cab with one (as ever, all else remaining equal).

Also, it looks like by the mid 70s, J (35%) taper pots were used for bass controls http://schems.com/schematicheaven.ne...-bmstr_rev.pdf rather than the 10% pots of the BFs and earlier SFs.
So it may be that you would find an amp from that era onwards too bassy (at control settings you would like to use).

[Chuck H]

My guess is that if you plugged the speaker/cab of one into the chassis of the other (and set the knobs by ear rather than to a number), the tones would follow the cab.

Or pretty damn close.

If memory serves, RG Keen has described how frustrating it is that 2 apparently identical combos coming from production can sound somewhat different, and on investigation, the difference seems to be due to the cabs/speakers.

Mostly cabs and speakers for sure. But there is also component tolerance, layout, tubes, transformers, etc. These things can all effect variance on a design. I've experienced this first hand building amps based on prototype circuits with these changes occurring for one reason or another. But even then the difference isn't a deal breaker. Or even a detriment really. It's just a difference. Different doesn't mean bad. Worse means bad. To say that one amp doesn't sound the same as another implies nothing about the quality of the tone of either amp. And it should hardly matter anyway because due to low component tolerance stringencies and changes made through the early SF years at Fender you would be hard pressed to find two amps that actually sound the same. So how can the quality of the tone from these amps be defined at all?

I'm with Justin. SC should play amps in his target arena that are for sale at every opportunity and then buy the one that makes him chubby.

[Sea Chief]

Sea Chief, just so I am clear: You have a clone of a SF DR. Correct? It is not working for you. Too bass-y. No real Fender sparkle or X-Factor. Correct? You like the 22W size and power. You want better from it. So you are interested in an original vintage Fender amp. If that's correct, I am sorry. Somehow I missed that you had a repro DR amp. Sounds like you have found a power requirement you like. Going down means a Princeton Reverb. Going up is Vibrolux Reverb. Same power means a DR. Now I get it I think.

You are considering selling your repro DR, and buying an original vintage DR, or similar. If you like DR power, and are missing the sparkle, then yes it sort of makes sense to sell the repro Dr and find an original. I get where you are going.

You may like my assortment of home brew amp demos. I have the same You Tube ID. Keithb7 I have done several comparisons and posted them. Sorry I am not a sound engineer, the sound quality could be greatly improved.
Go here for some vintage Fender entertainment. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=keithb7

Yes exactly Keith- ok after reading pdf64's post of which I understsand only a fraction, but get the gist.. Im more inclined to consider the v'luxR as well. Does this have the bright switch? & are late 70's no-no's like the late 70's Twin Reverbs? (like my cheapo, still not back yet). I will try my TR thoughrally before going the original yet more sensible-wattage fender we've been talking about.. but that natural break-up is hard to resist.

Shame theres no bassman reverb, or bandmaster reverb. but I guess that whacks prices up to DR/ V'lux prices.

Still mulling.. I will dip into keith's clips & get jealous Im sure.

Thanks alot chaps- great info here.

[sgelectric]

Shame theres no bassman reverb, or bandmaster reverb. but I guess that whacks prices up to DR/ V'lux prices.

There is a Bandmaster Reverb which was produced from late '60s to mid '70s