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The 1963 Fender AB763 blackface Vibroverb is my favorite amp of all time. It will be forever linked to Stevie Ray Vaughan's amazing tone but building a blackface Vibroverb is a daunting task, even for an experienced amp builder. I designed the RR763 Blackvibe amp for builders who don't want to deal with the complexity of the AB763 circuit's reverb, tremolo and dual channels but still want its authentic Normal channel tone. Throw a Strymon Flint reverb & tremolo pedal in front of the Blackvibe and you have a Vibroverb Vibrato channel too.
Removing the reverb, tremolo and Vibrato Channel drops the preamp tube count to only two but the tone stays 100% Normal Channel Vibroverb. The rest of the amp stays true to the Vibroverb. This amp uses authentic Vibroverb power and output transformers and choke so voltage levels and power output are all blackface Vibroverb.
Note: All of my amp designs, Blackvibe, JCM800 Micro, Bassman Micro, RobRob Deluxe, etc., are released under the Open Source Hardware Association license. You may build, modify and sell my designs without limit. All I ask is that for amps you sell you include, "Design by RobRobinette.com" on your webpage and advertising.
It's very much a single channel Vibroverb with standard 6L6GC power tubes.
Blackvibe vs True Blackface Tone
Johannes Specht from Vienna, Austria built a Blackvibe 6V6 and compared it to his original 1966 blackface Deluxe Reverb. For a direct comparison between the two, Johannes recorded a Strat into a TC Electronic Looper to get exactly the same signal into both amps. He also used the same cab with a Weber 12F150 for both amps and recorded mostly dry with just a bit of dirt and reverb/delay in post production.
Here's his 66 Deluxe Reverb Normal channel mp3
Here's the Blackvibe mp3
You be the judge of the authenticity of the Blackvibe tone.
There is also a 6V6 and micro (12AU7 true push-pull) Blackvibe available.
Details of the amp are here: https://robrobinette.com/RR763_BLACKVIBE.htm
Removing the reverb, tremolo and Vibrato Channel drops the preamp tube count to only two but the tone stays 100% Normal Channel Vibroverb. The rest of the amp stays true to the Vibroverb. This amp uses authentic Vibroverb power and output transformers and choke so voltage levels and power output are all blackface Vibroverb.
Note: All of my amp designs, Blackvibe, JCM800 Micro, Bassman Micro, RobRob Deluxe, etc., are released under the Open Source Hardware Association license. You may build, modify and sell my designs without limit. All I ask is that for amps you sell you include, "Design by RobRobinette.com" on your webpage and advertising.
It's very much a single channel Vibroverb with standard 6L6GC power tubes.
Blackvibe vs True Blackface Tone
Johannes Specht from Vienna, Austria built a Blackvibe 6V6 and compared it to his original 1966 blackface Deluxe Reverb. For a direct comparison between the two, Johannes recorded a Strat into a TC Electronic Looper to get exactly the same signal into both amps. He also used the same cab with a Weber 12F150 for both amps and recorded mostly dry with just a bit of dirt and reverb/delay in post production.
Here's his 66 Deluxe Reverb Normal channel mp3
Here's the Blackvibe mp3
You be the judge of the authenticity of the Blackvibe tone.
There is also a 6V6 and micro (12AU7 true push-pull) Blackvibe available.
Details of the amp are here: https://robrobinette.com/RR763_BLACKVIBE.htm
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