Vibro-Champ Help

[dskowron]

Hi. This is my first post here, as you can see. The reason I joined this forum is that I'm about to embark on a Weber 5E3 build and after a month or so of looking around, this seemed like the place to hang if I want to learn anything useful. That said . . .

I have this same 1966 Vibro Champ. Mine is in totally original state and in fabulous condition. I've owned it for 20 or 25 years. I got it from someone in need of cash for $20. It even had a cover, but I don't know if that was original or not. Doesn't matter because my wife chucked it on me not knowing what it was. I digress. I use this amp with a stock MIM Strat and it kicks. It is what it is, and it's REAL good at it. I wouldn't dream of modding this amp but to re-cap it some day when it needs it. Even the speaker is stock, and it sounds just the way I'd expect it to. I might get one of Weber's 8" to play around with, but the amp sounds so good like it is, it would more or less be a waste of my time and money. It ain't broke, and boys, I ain't gonna try and fix it. My advice is play it and love it the way it is.

400 bucks is a helluva deal. I've heard of these going for almost twice that.

Later,

Dave Skowron
Ely, Nevada

[Rick1114]

Hi. This is my first post here, as you can see. The reason I joined this forum is that I'm about to embark on a Weber 5E3 build and after a month or so of looking around, this seemed like the place to hang if I want to learn anything useful. That said . . .

I have this same 1966 Vibro Champ. Mine is in totally original state and in fabulous condition. I've owned it for 20 or 25 years. I got it from someone in need of cash for $20. It even had a cover, but I don't know if that was original or not. Doesn't matter because my wife chucked it on me not knowing what it was. I digress. I use this amp with a stock MIM Strat and it kicks. It is what it is, and it's REAL good at it. I wouldn't dream of modding this amp but to re-cap it some day when it needs it. Even the speaker is stock, and it sounds just the way I'd expect it to. I might get one of Weber's 8" to play around with, but the amp sounds so good like it is, it would more or less be a waste of my time and money. It ain't broke, and boys, I ain't gonna try and fix it. My advice is play it and love it the way it is.

400 bucks is a helluva deal. I've heard of these going for almost twice that.

Later,

Dave Skowron
Ely, Nevada

Dave,
Thanks for your input. Sorry your wife chucked you vibro-champ (I mis-read here, she chucked the cover, not the amp!)! I would love to know this amps history, because this amp looks like it sure had one. It was dirty, grimey and sounded amazing!!! Very clear and bell like, but never harsh. It looks to be 100% original, and that is a thing of beauty. That being said, the amp does need maintenance. It is 45 years old...time for a cap job. It has 2 scratchy pots but I hope that can be fixed with contact cleaner. I spend a whole afternoon cleaning the grimey tolex with a toothbrush. I know what you mean about the speaker but I couldn't resist ordering a weber. I don't want to blow the original speaker with my dirtboxes....It's the most fragile speaker I've ever seen! Another bonus, there were 2 Mullards in V1 & V2, and they seem to working fine (that's worth almost 1/2 of what I paid for the amp).

Thanks,

Rick