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5F11 Vibrolux build - pics

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  • 5F11 Vibrolux build - pics

    Here are some pics of the 5F11 Vibrolux I've been building. The usual suspects in terms of parts: Mercury Magnetics transformers, Mallory 150 signal caps, carbon composition resistors. The speaker is a Weber Classic 10" - alnico magnet. Cabinet is from Mojo. Got the chassis on Ebay, you don't see many 5F11s out there, so I grabbed it when I saw it.

    I own a very original 1956 Princeton so I used it as a model and tried to follow the original wiring dress as much as possible. I have center tapped twisted pair filament leads and wired the main filters to one ground and the preamp filter, cathode filters and inputs to another to help keep noise down. I used the same style cloth insulation wiring and wire colors as an original for the most part. It won't fool anybody (not the intent) but it sure has a 50s vibe.

    The tubes are old U.S. made. No modern Russian or Chinese tubes here (lol). The knobs are real 50s Kurz-Kasch bakelite knobs, identical to the ones on my Princeton. The on-off switch is from my stash of 50s hardware.

    I still need to clean up the wiring to the speaker, have to find my stash of spade connectors, so the speaker leads are a bit jury-rigged for now. Also the original owner of the chassis had put a 9-pin socket where the trem jack should go - maybe he was thinking about making a Tremolux? At any rate, I took it out and just need to plug the hole and put a jack in it.

    Sounds pretty amazing, nice bass for a 10" speaker. The tremolo is the bias modulating type, sounds pretty cool. I've only put about 3 hours on it so far.

    -Kevin








  • #2
    Very Cool! What's the diff in sound in the three input jacks? (I was contemplating a 5F11 a couple of months ago - so I am still curious)
    Building a better world (one tube amp at a time)

    "I have never had to invoke a formula to fight oscillation in a guitar amp."- Enzo

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    • #3
      Originally posted by tubeswell View Post
      Very Cool! What's the diff in sound in the three input jacks? (I was contemplating a 5F11 a couple of months ago - so I am still curious)
      If the jacks are wired stock, virtually none... I think it was so you could plug a mic and another electric guitar in.
      About 10 watts output and the tremolo is very organic sounding in these.
      With the intensity pot turned up to max, you have to watch that you don't over heat the power tubes though, as the tremolo circuit is forcing the power tubes much hotter and then colder in bias to get that vibrato sound.

      The same amp with Deluxe Reverb sized iron and a 12" speaker KILLS....
      Brighter/snappier and cleaner, with about 5 more output watts then a tweed Deluxe, the amp modded 5F11 will kick a 5E3 right off the stage in a real live band situation.

      Here is a picture of what I think could be the last 23 Vibrolux chassis around... these ones have all been modified to accept the Deluxe size transformers and all my finished 5F11 cabinets are built with a 12" baffle board.
      I don't know if anyone is making the tweed Vibrolux chassis' anymore.
      Attached Files
      Bruce

      Mission Amps
      Denver, CO. 80022
      www.missionamps.com
      303-955-2412

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      • #4
        Wonder how much difference a 12" and DR OT would make in my tweed Gibson Explorer.....

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Bruce / Mission Amps View Post
          With the intensity pot turned up to max, you have to watch that you don't over heat the power tubes though, as the tremolo circuit is forcing the power tubes much hotter and then colder in bias to get that vibrato sound.
          Hi Bruce

          I see that the trem intensity pot for the 5G9 also goes to the grid bias of the output stage, so does that operate in the same way? (i.e. by biasing the output tube grids hot and cold?).
          Building a better world (one tube amp at a time)

          "I have never had to invoke a formula to fight oscillation in a guitar amp."- Enzo

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Bruce / Mission Amps View Post
            The same amp with Deluxe Reverb sized iron and a 12" speaker KILLS....
            Brighter/snappier and cleaner, with about 5 more output watts then a tweed Deluxe, the amp modded 5F11 will kick a 5E3 right off the stage in a real live band situation.

            Here is a picture of what I think could be the last 23 Vibrolux chassis around... these ones have all been modified to accept the Deluxe size transformers and all my finished 5F11 cabinets are built with a 12" baffle board.
            I don't know if anyone is making the tweed Vibrolux chassis' anymore.
            Hi Bruce -

            I had read your previous posts about a bigger OT and a 12" speaker, and gave a lot of thought to doing that out of the box. Then I decided I really wanted to build the amp 'stock' as a base and potentially change it later. The input jacks in my amp are wired stock (for now) so there is no difference in gain or tone between them.

            I believe you are right about the Vibrolux chassis - I'm not aware of anyone making them now. I'd be interested in a couple of those chassis if they're for sale.

            I also have a Tremolux chassis I'm going to build at some point...but the next project on the bench (aside from the vintage radios I restore...) will be a late 40's Valco clone.

            -Kevin

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