Score! I traded my 59 Bassman RI for a SF Vibrolux Reverb!

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A good friend recently acquired this 1971 SF Vibrolux Reverb but he always liked my modded Bassman RI in terms of basic tone and volume. He needs more sound and presence onstage than the Vibrolux could deliver, and loved the way my '59 RI sounds (I modded it to true '59 specs). Anyway...he traded me straight across! The Bassman was too much amp for me; I love the tone but it is just too loud. The Vibrolux Reverb is just right, and it sounds really nice after I got those snubber caps off the output tubes and rewired the bias and phase inverter back to blackface specs. I had a little trouble with HF oscillation but careful arrangement of the wires around the preamp tube sockets fixed that.
The Vibrolux has all original tubes in it, and after the blackface mods it sounds heavenly!
My friend is happy too; he played a large casino room over the weekend and also did some studio work with the Bassman. So it's a win-win for both! I wish all my trades could come out that well...

[soldersucker]

Wish i had friends like him you did great on that one...Vibroluxes are the sweet spot.

[FFTT]

SF Vibrolux Reverb is probably the best overall value and most versatile
small club-recording Fender ever built, congratulations!

[blackba]

Very cool.

Do you have a thread detailing what you did the the Bassman RI?

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I'll have to get my schematic out and make one up. I've been meaning to. Where should I post it?

[PremiumPlus]

I wrote the changes to the '59 Bassman reissue and posted them in the technical forum...it's titled How I changed my '59 Bassman RI to original 5F6-A specs... enjoy!
Dave