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Those of you who have followed Grouse Guitars for some time, or who used to see me perform in a past band, The Jumpdevils, would know how much I admired the amp-building skills of a fellow in Broken Hill, NSW, who meticulously hand-makes reproductions of classic amplifiers. In the Jumpdevils days my main amplifier was a Vox AC-15 clone he made, as it gave just the right thick, overdriven tone I wanted for the jump blues/R&B sound, often using electric archtop guitars. I also commissioned a Vox® AC-30® clone for a Sydney customer, which was (and no doubt still is) breathtaking in its appearance, sound and workmanship. It can be seen here. The 1963 Fender® Vibroverb® was the very first Fender amp to incorporate both reverb and vibrato (both of which I am heavily addicted to!!). Importantly, this is the ONLY Fender® amplifier with in-built reverb to have the original direct-coupled oscillator vibrato circuitry found on Fender’s previous generation tweed amplifiers. Every subsequent Fender® amplifer had the new blackface “optical coupler” vibrato circuit, which is quite different when playing, as it is not responsive to 'touch' at all. I personally have a very strong preference for the 'old' circuit (possessed by many classic Australian valve amps), where the tremolo can be 'swamped' by heavy input levels, and which then beautifully increases in intensity as the signal diminishes. The original '63 'brownface' reverb circuitry is also noticeably “warmer” than subsequent amps, due to the original reverb send and recovery circuit unique to the Vibroverb®. So when the opportunity arose for me to purchase this meticulously hand-crafted reproduction of a '63 Fender® Vibroverb® amp, one of the rarest and most highly-desired vintage Fender® amplifiers, made in 2007 by the same Broken Hill craftsman (for his musician brother), I simply jumped at it. It is highly unlikely I would ever find (or afford!) a Fender® original, as this incarnation of the Vibroverb® was made for only a few months, and fewer than 600 were made. The subsequent version, with the single 15" speaker, was made famous as Stevie Ray Vaughan's amp of choice - he owned numbers 5 and 6 off the 1964 production line! This reproduction (with date stamp 02/07/07 and build number 29 - the AC-15 was number 4) is completely handbuilt, with point-to-point wiring faithful to the original schematic, other than a very worthwhile modification in having an adjustable bias pot fitted to enable quick and easy biasing of the two 6V6 output tubes. Tubes are a JJ GZ34 rectifier, two Groove Tube 6L6s, and six JJ 12AX7s. Speakers are a pair of fantastic-sounding 10" 25-watt Fender® Blue Alnicos. The cabinet is made from high-quality waterproof ply, and has been expertly covered in original-pattern 'brownface' tan tolex, wheat grille cloth, and correct reproduction hardware throughout, right down to the tilt-back legs and Fender® grille badge. The amp is in as-new condition, and will be carefully gigged by me. The sound is unbelievably good - Fender® clean at lower volumes, but pushable to that legendary vintage brownface/blackface Fender® overdrive, with plenty of expressive 'squishiness' in between. I have played a 're-issue' Fender Vibroverb, and can say with absolute certainty that this and the re-issue are as alike as chalk and cheese! The 're-issue', produced between 1990 and 1995, has a solid-state rectifier and uses printed circuit boards (PCBs), which radically alter the way the amp responds to touch. I haven't had the luxury of comparing this to a genuine '63, but I am certain it will be damn close. Certainly MUCH closer than Fender's own 're-issue. For a start, this amplifier is an accurate version of the original 6G16 brownface unit, while the so-called 're-issue' departs from it fundamentally. (by contrast, the Cesar Diaz-inspired '64 Vibroverb Custom made by Fender between 2003 and 2008 was a very good-sounding amp - we sold this one some time back. Importantly, this amp had point-to-point hard wiring, as opposed to the printed circuit board found in most of Fender’s production line amplifiers today) Check out the photographs in the 'more pictures' link below to see the beautiful workmanship displayed in this amp. Proudly Australian-built!! Just like my favourite Strat® of all time, my '80s Kinman Blueprint photographed with this amplifier - this is a KILLER combination! Click here for Australia-wide shipping quote - just add your postcode, select whether you want the security of signing for delivery, and click the 'Calculate Postage' button! not for sale
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