|
Home
>
Worthopedia – Price Guide
>
Entertainment >
1966 Fender Vibro Champ Amp
|
Terms and Conditions for using our site |
1966 Fender Vibro Champ Amp
Sold For:
 or Sign In to see what it's worth.
This amp left the Fender factory in the spring of 1966 according to the date stamped on it's tube chart "PD" (April 1966.) Also the serial number on the chassis A13313 checks out to this time. The large transformer has 606-5-52, and the small one 8316601 for their respective manufacture codes that fits the same time period. The amp is all original as far as I can tell, and according to the person I bought it from, except for the speaker change, it's leading wire, and several tubes. I made it clear to the person I bought the amp from, that I wanted a unmolested and unmodified Vibro Champ internally. And to the best of my knowledge, I believe that to be true. I was always proud of this amp, being my first Blackface Fender, It is very clean. T are no tears in the tolex, and no scuffs, except if you get right upon it, you can find a few traces of a minor scrape in the surface of the tolex. The faceplate has some pitting or flaking off of the original paint from it's black background. Most of them about the size of the tip of a pen w you can see to the chrome behind the paint, as well as several small scratches across the faceplate. That is it's main cosmetic flaw. I believe the pictures tell accurately of it's overall very good, and still attractive condition. I actually took a day to detail it not long after I bought it, vacuuming and cleaning with a soft brush and baking soda inside and out. It is virtually grime, dust and crud free. All the hardware, chassis straps, knobs, faceplate, logo, handle, have a shine and cleanliness, that is really uncommon among vintage amps. The tubes have also been replaced, except for the rectifier which is RCA and probably original. The power tube is a Tung-Sol and both preamps are Mullards. These were selected by the previous owner I bought the amp from for the best tone for recording. I have always left them and never tried swapping any more tubes, they do sound good. He had a Celestion speaker installed when I bought it, this was the only thing I changed, to get it back closer to it's original Oxford and alnico magnet sound. I installed a new Jensen P8R. I do believe it is a good match, very strong and full vintage tones to my ear. The amp overall is healthy considering it's age of 43 for original electronic components. If you can see by the picture of the chassis, I can't tell any replaced, leaking components, just neat hand soldering and bright colored, mostly cloth wire. T is one wire off the large transformer that has been taped off. I don't know if this is original or not. And a former owner wrote their name and date in t for identification presumably Better than writing it on the back of the cabinet like a lot of people do. At least you never see it until you open it up. Anyway the amp is not mint or completely original, but it is close. And most importantly concerning it's sound, it is pure vintage tone. The output is quite loud and strong, for 5 watts. Break-up is a little quicker when pushed than a non-vibrato Champ. And vibrato does work good still, operable from the controls on front. I didn't recieve the footswitch either when I purchased it. T is a slight hum that is normal for an amp of this age, you don't notice until you set your guitar down, or start to warm it up before playing. Also t is an occasional "tube gurgle" or "hiss" that comes and goes, that I have come to consider part of playing a vintage instrument. It could be that newer tubes would clear this up, or some other maintenance could be required in the future. I have several more vintage amps, that do the same, and I am happy to keep playing them, and consider it a part of the vintage scene. I belive the amp to be healthy, and will give the next owner many more years of pleasurable ownership, with proper care and maintenance. It is ready to play. I just sprayed all the controls with de-oxit. One more peculiarity, you will need to jiggle the on/off switch a little until it finds it's groove an...
Items in the Worthopedia are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.
View Similar ItemsMore Items from eBay
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Joining is free and gives you access to our Community & Forums.
If you are interested in our pricing data or other paid memberships, try our Full 7-day Free Trial Here.
By creating an account you agree to our Terms & Conditions
