Best Alternative To a Fender Vibro-King

[DerekLarsson]

I'm looking for pro advice on Guitar Amps, and for the sake of this discussion, the money ($$) is not a consideration here to be worried about.

I used to own a Fender Custom Shop Vibro-King and I had a love-hate relationship with the amp -- which I will explain (and so I eventually sold it).

What was great about the Fender Vibro-King:

• Number one, this amp had incredible dynamics, a very big, 3D multidimensional room filling sound, and an incredible responsiveness to playing attack that exceeded any other Fender amp (including blackface).
• The amp absolutely nailed the Stevie Ray Vaughan Blues sound (very punchy and big toned) with no pedals ever required. I like the fact that the breakup/overdrive kicked in at only around 2.5 on the Volume (at usable volume levels). Finally, the breakup was very warm and ranged from throaty, smokey, "brown" Keith Richards sounds .... all the way up to serious, ballsy, Marshall Plexi grind and with a very tight bass.
• The 3-Knob Reverb was cool, and the tremelo was also quite nice. This was a single-channel amp, where you could go from clean to blues to crunch -- all from just volume control and pickup adjustments (at the guitar).

What was my problem with the Vibro-King:
After all that, you might ask "why did I sell it?"

• The main problem that I had was that the amp also had an "Ice Pick" in your ear high-end, that I could not ever really dial out with the EQ (or fix with various tube change experiments). I would find that I would play the amp for about 45 minutes, and then really need to stop playing because my ears began to feel fatigued and "hurt".

Typically, Fender blackface amps (including the Super Reverb and Twin Reverb) can be EQ-ed a little more so that they are a little more gentle on the ears than the Vibro-King was (which always maintains that hard attack), but they also do not do all the many good things that the Vibro-King did (the amazing dynamics, the tight bass, the quick breakup, and real great brown w/balls overdrive).

So I sold ita couple of years ago. Since then I've been using a Fender Bassman LTD (which was modified with a tube reverb addition), which is okay, but I'm not really that thrilled with it (the sound is just not as dynamic, responsive, and lush sounding, the amp won't breakup unless at totally unreasonable volume levels, and the speakers are directly wired-in -- so there is no speaker jack that I can plug-in for use with a power attenuator).

__________

So I'd like to find something that was closer to the Vibro-King.

So what guitar amp should I now look at and investigate as an great alternative that would be very similar to the Vibro-King, and have all those great qualities that I listed above, but also have a way to dial out the "ice picky" high end?



Some addition considerations:

• The Clean sounds must be absolutely awesome (Fender quaility at their best).
• I'm a Reverb guy, so amps that do not have reverb I would be less interested in.
• It doesn't have to be a single-channel amp, but I am skeptical of amps that would have too many knobs, channels, and controls (like Mesa ..) .
• It doesn't have to do Marshall-level crunch (which the Vibro-King did do), although it would be nice -- but it does absolutely have to do the warm bluesy overdrive thing excellantly, and at usable small-medium gig levels.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and recommendations (and/or your own Vibro-King stories). Let me know your thoughts....

[Dashface]

All I know is that you really saved me from gassing for this amp because of that con. Thanks

[Big White Tele]

Wouldnt a Super Reverb be the the answer?

[strings2wood]

I've never had the experience of the ice-pick high end.I was actually speaking to our lead guitarist about this today.
Vibro King for me is right up there as one of Fender's best made amps ever for all the reasons you mentioned.

Lots of headroom.
Cleans to die for.
A great reverb.
Takes pedals really well.
I've run lots through it:
Tim, timmy, BJF's, Eternity,
VK and Cornish SS-3 might be THE best combo you could use.
If I hit it with a Cornish G-2 or P-2 and KLON-
I would NEVER need a humbucker guitar.
It's fat British rock tones for days.

Finally what do all these DVD's and stages have in common?

'Standing in the Shadows of Motown'- 2 Vibro Kings on stage one for each guitarist.
'Page and Plant-No Quarter'-Jimmy uses an AC-30 and a Vibro king.
The Who- Live in Boston and Live at the Albert Hall-Pete Townshend with 2 Vibro Kings-
both with the 2 x 12 ext. cab. the extra one is just in case.
The Rolling Stones- Four Flicks, Bridges to Babylon etc. Ronnie Wood has 2 Vibro Kings on stage.

Given these guys are all playing in excess of 40-45 minutes-most could either through endorsement deals
or paying for them use any vintage/ boutique amp they can afford is testimony to the Vibro King
having plenty going for it and to it.

For me the only down side is the weight which makes it tilt straight away!
I've had nothing but praise by anyone who plays or hears mine.
Ít's Fenders best amp (IMO).
There are smaller good Fender amps (Deluxe Reverb, Vibrolux)
but:
'it's good to be da' King!'

[VaughnC]

I gigged a VK for 5 years and I really liked the tone...but its early break up was a mixed blessing. Worked well for a lot of things but would drive me crazy when I wanted clean...I just couldn't get the cleans at the volume I needed. I then added the VK 2x12 extension cab which helped...but then I was carrying around a 70 lb/3X10 amp and a 40 lb/2X12 cab and I thought there had to be a better way.

IMO, the VK is a one trick pony amp...but it does that one trick VERY well...and nothing else I've played quite does what it does. If I played in say a straight up blues band I think a VK would be my amp.

Long story short, I decided that cleans and ease of portability were very important to me so I sold my VK and went on a tone quest to find a similar tone but without the early breakup and weight.

A lot of UPS shipping charges & packing tape later I found what I was seeking in a Komet 60 amp (w/6L6GC RCA blackplates) into a 12/10 cab....which was my gigging amp for about 10 years. Then I got the urge to build a dual 6L6 combo amp from scratch using the 12/10 speaker format and have been using that homebrew amp ever since. Add a good Tube Screamer and its close enough for me.

Bottom line...I don't think you're going to find the VK's one trick nailed in any other amp. Its a very special tone. But when it comes to big/3D tone, a Komet 60 is right up at the top in my book...especially with a good pair of 6L6's in there.

[otaypanky]

I love my VK. It's one of the first ones out, blond with the EL84. I don't get the ice pick highs from mine though. I agree with Vaughn C on quite a bit of what he said. It can get a rich driven sound at reasonable volume levels and to get a bit of headroom, I back off on the guitar volume a touch. I typically use humbuckers or P-90's and that works pretty well for me.
For more headroom and/or a smaller, lighter amp, I use an Allen Sweet Spot or Encore
They sound great and I love 'em both, but there is definitely a signature sound from a Vibro King I have never heard from another amp

[Muzzy]

IMHO, the best Vibroking is a good Super Reverb.

[matchless]

not to be disagreeable,but I have a '65 super reverb-which sounds great ,and a vibroking which I really like,but has a different vibe. the super has a great blues,crisp sound,the vibroking is more earthy,grinds-more rock.like both,but not the same

[otaypanky]

Yeah, me too Matchless. I have a '67 Super and the two amps couldn't be more different
Totally different vibe.

[amc]

for a little more clean headroom with a fender type vibe, try a blackface super reverb.
yes, there are other differences from the vibroking, but it's worth a try.

otherwise, get another vibroking again and use a good outboard eq, and/or
get a great tech willing to work with you changing out a few cap values and such.......

[Storyville]

I have a Supro Tremolectric hand made by Bruce Zinky. Bruce designed the Vibroking and he is very approachable, just call him.
What I have found about my Tremolectric is that speaker and tube choices are critical.
Since installing NOS 5701s in V1 & V2 and NOS 12ax7s in the other, the amp has taken on a whole new character. To continue with dialing in the tone, I am installing two webers (blue & silver) this week.
It takes pedals very well and has all the classic Fender tones.

[jbp]

Originally Posted by Storyville

I have a Supro Tremolectric hand made by Bruce Zinky. Bruce designed the Vibroking and he is very approachable, just call him.
What I have found about my Tremolectric is that speaker and tube choices are critical.
Since installing NOS 5701s in V1 & V2 and NOS 12ax7s in the other, the amp has taken on a whole new character. To continue with dialing in the tone, I am installing two webers (blue & silver) this week.
It takes pedals very well and has all the classic Fender tones.

I've heard that the Tremomatic has WAY more clean headroom (if you want it) than the VibroKing. More like the Dual Professional. Truth or fiction?

[Baminated]

the zinky designs I know of have a really f*cked up design flaw - at least on the TM & PS fenders - 1.5k resistors on the input - wonder what he was smokin' when he thought of that - the standard is 33k/68k for the high/low inputs

That's what i believe is a common thread of the harshness of those amps

Originally Posted by Storyville

I have a Supro Tremolectric hand made by Bruce Zinky. Bruce designed the Vibroking and he is very approachable, just call him.

Not true - i called there and one of his lackies fielded the call and was very short with me and got me off of the phone in heartbeat when I had a question about the TM i owned at the time, because it was a Fender not a Zinky

[arthur rotfeld]

Just chiming in to keep up on the scoop....

I borrowed a VK for a gig a few years back, I thought it was great. Played around with the vol at 2-3 for a jazz/jam band kind of thing with my 335 and 175. Some of my buddies thought it was the best I've sounded.

[DerekLarsson]

So what do you guys think about the reissue Super Reverb? The Guitar Center where I live, doesn't seem to carry any "high-end" amps in the store anymore.

I'd also be interested if anyone has played the new SuperSonic-22 whether the clean sounds are top-quality or not?