The year of 1968 was a transitional one for Fender amps, with tone that was still pure Fender, but a look that was brand new. With a silver-and-turquoise front panel and classy aluminum "drip edge" grille cloth trim, the Vibrolux Reverb received a fresh new face as it remained the compact, gig-ready amp of choice for pros and amateurs everywhere. The 1968 Vibrolux Reverb featured a unique 2x10" speaker configuration, which delivered snappy twang and big tube tone, while still incorporating world-class Fender reverb and vibrato effects. For countless guitarists ever since, the Vibrolux Reverb has been the go-to amp for classic Fender tone.
The '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Amp pays tribute to the classic look, sound and performance of Fender's late-'60s "silver-face" amps. In a special twist, both channels boast reverb and tremolo, and the "custom" channel has a modified Bassman tone stack that gives modern players greater tonal flexibility with pedals. The amp also features quicker gain onset and reduced negative feedback for greater touch sensitivity. While fitting a sweet spot between the Deluxe Reverb and Twin Reverb, in respect to power and size, the '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb's dual 10" Celestion TEN 30 configuration and 35 watts of all-tube power deliver distinctive rock ˜n' roll flavor.
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Connoisseurs call the blackface Vibrolux the "Little Vibro-King". Well, yes and no. I have the Vibro-King.The features that are similar are:
All amps have two 6L6's. All amps have 10" speakers. The '68 Silverface Vibrolux and the Vibro-King have a tweed sound (Bassman) option. The Vibro-King has a FAT switch and the '68 Vibrolux has a Custom channel.
The Vibro-King combo runs 3x10" Jensen speakers down to 4 ohms; with the 2x12" Celestion extension speaker cabinet option, 5 in total speakers operate at two ohms. Pete Townsend of the Who finds the Vibro-King big enough to play stadiums with. Sometimes he runs two Vibro-Kings with the 2x12 extension cabinets. One Vibro-King pushes 60 watts.
The '68 Vibrolux pushes 35 watts at 4 ohms into two 10" Celestion rock and roll speakers.
Headroom. This is the big difference. The Vibrolux has less headroom when compared to the Vibro-King. The Vibro-King will scream when pushed. The Vibrolux will flap its speakers when pushed if not EQ'd or compressed to a certain degree. The '68 Vibrolux will overdrive nicely if you have it setup optimally with EQ and Compression. It takes some trial and error to nail the proper dynamics that will sound musical.
The Bright switch. Audience members complain how tin-e the amp sounds when the bright switch is engaged.
The Reverb effect. The '68 Vibrolux introduces a graduating level of hiss when the Reverb is engaged. The hiss is noticeable when playing in a quiet studio environment. I use the amp's reverb effect set low. The effect is pleasant sounding.
The vibrato effect. Tube-driven grid-bias vibrato. The Eric Clapton Fender amps have 50's style bias vibrato; the notes vibrate when you stop picking or strumming. That is cool. I also like the '68 Vibrolux and Vibro-King vibrato. The notes ebb & flow as you play.
The '68 Vibrolux is Deluxe size & weight. Handy. The Vibro-King is heavy. Not handy. With practice, the '68 Vibrolux can do lots of venues. A go-to amp. Buy it!
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
.I think the original Vibrolux is arguably one of Fender's best amps ever for most applications. Because of this it always seemed kind of strange that they never added it to their successful reissue line to bring back the original magic.
On paper it sounds great. The advertising makes it quite clear that this is not a reissue but rather a customized reissue with earlier breakup. To me it seems more like a Frankenstein type recreation. To be fair their previous version, the Vibrolux Custom Reverb (built 1994-2013) was also a Frankenstein version of the original, although to me, seemed to have a much more successful outcome.
Out of the box I would give the tone a solid C rating. It didn't sound like a Vibrolux and it didn't sound like a Marshall, it was sort of lost in no man's land somewhere in between with none of the personality or benefits of either. If an amp could sound non committal this was it.
After many extensive tube and speaker changes as well as tube bias adjustments I got it to sound like a solid B, but unlike the original it's just not a very vibey amp.
At this point I have a theory as to why I could never get this amp sound better than so so. The first is the Bassman channel (which by the way does not really sound anything like a Bassman). The problem is if you're playing through the second "Vibrolux Channel" its tone is still being shaped by the 1st Bassman channel even though you are not plugged into it. I think this is what kills the Vibrolux channel's tone (it really needs both channels and tone stacks dedicated to just the Vibrolux tone for the real deal), The second theory is that it is the quality of components, the caps etc. may be not of the highest quality. I somewhat also suspect this as the many speaker and tube changes I performed only slightly changed the tone which to me indicated I wasn't really attacking the real problem. Of course it could be a combination of the two as well. Either way I ended up selling it.
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
.Sweet sweet tone of a Twin Reverb that won't break your back., about 25 Pounds lighter. The Twin Reverb will give more clean volume, I love the amp. I wish it had the legs to lean it back. That's the only con, no legs. Purchase an ABY switch so you can go between Bassman tone stack input and the custom input. Probably good idea to get an overdrive or distortion if you require and don't already have one.
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
.This amp is the closest I've found in years to having the vintage sound and touch/feel of the originals....
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
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This amp has such a beautiful tone. The reverb sounds great, the tremolo is beautiful, but the real issue is the constant hum that you will not be able to get rid of. It is really annoying. If you are playing out it is not a huge deal, but for recording or at home, forget about it. I'm a bit ashamed of myself that I paid so much for an amp that has such an obvious shortcoming, but when I'm playing with the band and she is cranking out that beautiful lush tone I feel a lot better. I would recommend waiting before buying this amp until they have fixed this problem or trying another model.Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
.I love this amp! I bought mine about a year ago and it has been my steady ever since. Clean/vintage channel captures that silver face chime perfectly. The custom channel has a black face bassman tone stack and is great for using your pedal board. At 35 watts it begins to compress early and overdrives nicely - it's not for a large venue though. It's very light and has Celestion's with tiny magnets, but amazing sound.
The main complaint I've read has to do with hiss and it's likely one of the Groove Tubes that is the culprit - they are typically very "hot" high gain tubes, and that usually means noise.
Again I LOVE this amp
Right out of the box I hated the reverb - it was dark and distant and added a lot of hiss to the amp. The hiss went away with a reverb tube replacement (NOS Westinghouse 12AT7 ) which made a huge difference in noise. I then replaced the pan with an actual accutronics and bingo! Quiet amp with fantastic reverb.
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
.got this amp going on three months now the first one had a tube rattle in the power section, no problem MF sent me another one. you would think That for the money Fender wants for these new amps they would fix this hissing issue,Not that it is a bad amp it has a great sound with my Strat and tele I like the bassman tone stack takes pedals very well, also it has a great overdrive cleans are beautiful but it is unusable in a recording studio.the mics pickup that hissing sound even without raising the volume on the amp in a club or live venue you don't know it,s there.now the speakers in my humble opinion don't do this amp justice added a pair Jensen blue AlNiCo to it all i can say is wow love this amp, I will look into this issue of the hissing problem with my tech and take it from there otherwise if you can deal with hiss then enjoy it hopefully Fender might address this issue and turn a good amp into a great one.
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
.Great value and so ambient and touch sensitive... Especially with cleans...but it will stand out on the custom side channel too... Needs channel switching built-in
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
.Great and portable amp Excellent sound when played with a Tele,stratocaster and gretsch guitars.Speakers are good but I prefer the ragin cagin from Eminence much better sounding.Gave it 4 stars because of the hissing. overall a good amp for giging less heavier than my twin reverb
Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Guitar Combo Amplifier
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