A Fine and All Original 1965 Fender Vibrolux Reverb

1965 Fender Vibrolux Reverb

This is a wonderful, all original 35 watt 1965 "Black Face" Vibrolux AA 864 tube combo legend with its original two C10N 10 inch Jensen speakers. The solid pine cabinet measures 24 3/4 inches wide x 18 inches high and the depth is 7 3/4 inches at the top expanding to 9 3/4 inches at the bottom. The cabinet weighs 47 pounds. Nine tubes (1 x GZ34; 2 x 6L6GC; 3 x 12AT7; 3 x 7025), potentiometers stamped "137 6517" (Stackpole, April 1965), the speakers with stamped codes "220551 023036 C82842". The letter code on the tube-chart is "OA"  (O= 1965 and A = January). The serial number A 04328 has been stamped onto the control panel. The amp is in all original (9.25) condition and perfect working order. .

"The blackface version lasted until the fall of ’64, when it was replaced with the 2x10 Vibrolux Reverb. Fender would go without a powerful 1x12 combo, today a very popular match-up, for more than 15 years. It’s a pity they didn’t add reverb to the 1x12 two-6L6 blackface combo back then; it would today probably be the most desirable amp they made. The Vibrolux Reverb (Model AA864) had two 10” Jensens and appeared more like an early sixties Super amp than the Vibrolux amp it replaced. Internally, however, the rectifier, power, phase inverter, tremolo, and preamp sections were very similar to the preceding Vibrolux. The addition of reverb in the vibrato channel required two more tubes—a 12AT7 driver and a 7025 for the recovery section. A control for the Reverb (along with the proper labeling of the Normal and Vibrato inputs) was the only change to the front panel. Fender had a winning combination with this amp and kept it in the line, basically unaltered except for the standard cosmetic changes, until 1982, when all the old-style tremolo amps were retired… With the release of the “II” series in ’82, Fender made the unwise decision to retire the Vibrolux Reverb. (After bouncing between Super Reverbs, which seemed too clean at the desired volume, and Deluxe Reverbs, which seemed too dirty, the author purchased a ’66 Vibrolux Reverb in 1981 and found the amp of his dreams. Nearly 15 years and thousands of sets later, it still gets used regularly for gigs, rehearsals, and recordings. Is that a recommendation?" (Teagle and Sprung. Fender Amps. The First Fifty Years (pp. 100-101)