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Fender Vibroverb 63 RI mods.
I'm not getting into the quality issue about caps and resistors here. Some replace EVERYTHING. Go ahead if you want to.
I've bought mine in 1995 and only had to replace a filter. Apart from that it has sustained its quality. So here's my 2 cents' worth of modding: I've only changed 1 resistor, namely the mid resistor in channel 1, it's normally fixed (like channel 2) on 6.8k, giving you the scooped sound we all love. I changed it (R8) to 10k for channel 1. A little bit more mids. This channel (normal) is a little louder than the Reverb channel. Now i have a choice, depending on the kind of gig. Rock on ch1, easy channel 2. If you want you can loop ch1 to ch2 inputs, if you want to retain reverb. Next thing i did was a preamp tube swap. After having swapped a dozen 12AX7s with various results (specs differ with every tube, and i won't go into good or bad tubes here) i have now settled on 2 5751 preamp tubes. Look elsewhere for specifics (BillM etc), but it is exactly what this amp needs. Slightly less gain, but overall a big improvement. Have to push the pot a little further, but at least it loses the early breakup factor of the 12AX7 setup with this amp. I used to not be able to get past 4 on the volume. After that you couldn't get much more sound out of your amp, just more distortion.Ch 1 has a GE 5751 from the 1960's. An even clear sound that retains its structure when cranked up. ch2 now has an RCA long black plate. It's more dynamic and deep than the GE, but doesn't hold up as nicely as the GE when cranked up. That's fine, cause it's my 'easy' channel. And i put a 12AT7 in both reverb driver and PI. Last thing i did. I put 2 eminence speakers in, a Copperhead and a Ramrod, instead of the stock spikey ones.
I would say it's as good as it gets. Perhaps with better quality components it might make a difference. You might also beef it up by putting in bigger OT. I have no need for that.
I'm not getting into the quality issue about caps and resistors here. Some replace EVERYTHING. Go ahead if you want to.
I've bought mine in 1995 and only had to replace a filter. Apart from that it has sustained its quality. So here's my 2 cents' worth of modding: I've only changed 1 resistor, namely the mid resistor in channel 1, it's normally fixed (like channel 2) on 6.8k, giving you the scooped sound we all love. I changed it (R8) to 10k for channel 1. A little bit more mids. This channel (normal) is a little louder than the Reverb channel. Now i have a choice, depending on the kind of gig. Rock on ch1, easy channel 2. If you want you can loop ch1 to ch2 inputs, if you want to retain reverb. Next thing i did was a preamp tube swap. After having swapped a dozen 12AX7s with various results (specs differ with every tube, and i won't go into good or bad tubes here) i have now settled on 2 5751 preamp tubes. Look elsewhere for specifics (BillM etc), but it is exactly what this amp needs. Slightly less gain, but overall a big improvement. Have to push the pot a little further, but at least it loses the early breakup factor of the 12AX7 setup with this amp. I used to not be able to get past 4 on the volume. After that you couldn't get much more sound out of your amp, just more distortion.Ch 1 has a GE 5751 from the 1960's. An even clear sound that retains its structure when cranked up. ch2 now has an RCA long black plate. It's more dynamic and deep than the GE, but doesn't hold up as nicely as the GE when cranked up. That's fine, cause it's my 'easy' channel. And i put a 12AT7 in both reverb driver and PI. Last thing i did. I put 2 eminence speakers in, a Copperhead and a Ramrod, instead of the stock spikey ones.
I would say it's as good as it gets. Perhaps with better quality components it might make a difference. You might also beef it up by putting in bigger OT. I have no need for that.
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