P.S. 15 in a vibrosonic- what is it?

Steve Waltz · Post by **Steve Waltz** » 26 Apr 2005 9:18 am

I'm trying to learn about vibrosonics. I've seen D-130's and have heard they are the speaker to look for. There is an amp on ebay right now with a P.S. 15 speaker.

Any opinions about this speaker. And...is it worth it to wait for an ultralinear version for the power? How do I tell it is an ultralinear? Do I just try to see the power listed on the back at 135?

Thanks

Ray DeVoe · Post by **Ray DeVoe** » 26 Apr 2005 11:35 am

Hi Steve.

I am not the ultimate authority on tube amps but I do own 2 Vibrosonics.

(sounds alot like the commercial in which I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

They are the 135 watt version. A lot of the old Vibrosonics were outfitted with an Eminence speaker which had A Fender decal on the magnet. If you are talking about the one on Ebay with the orange frame, I cant really help you there. It may be a Jensen. I'm sure that David Doggett or some of the more advanced "tube amp men" out here may be able to answer that question for you.

As to Vibrosonics, the 135 watt models are a lot harder to find. The output will be marked on the back of the amp right below the main speaker jack. I found both of mine on Ebay.

One was in beautiful cosmetic condition. I had it retubed and checked out and put in a freshly reconed 8 ohm JBL K 130.

The other one had a poor cabinet and so I took the chassis out and installed it in an old head cabinet I had purchased. I use this with 2 Webb speaker cabinets. One cabinet has a freshly reconed D 130 F and the other a reconed K 130. The Bi-linear transformer allows the use of two 8 ohm speakers because of a second tap on the transformer which allows the amp to run at 4 ohms when both speaker jacks are utilized. The above combination does a great job even in larger rooms. One thing to remember is that the warm sound of a tube amp will not cut through as much as a high wattage solid state amp.

You mentioned a JBL D 130. Just be aware that a straight D 130 has a smaller voice coil and will not handle as much power as the D 130 F. The D 130 F (F stands for Fender) had a 4" voice coil. It is the more sought after speaker as it holds up better.
These were only originally rated at about 65 watts handling capacity. Most everyone will use a reconed D 130 F or K 130 in amps pushing a lot more power than the original rating.

I am using a single 8 ohm K 130 in my Vibrosonic amp which puts out 135 watts.
So far, it is holding up well and sounds great.

If you buy a tube amp, make sure that the power tubes are numbered and then removed and packed well before shipping. They have a habit of dropping out and breaking. Thats how my "mint" Vibrosonic arrived. Fortunately, it was insured and UPS helped retube my amp.

I hope this is a start as to the information you are seeking.

Ray DeVoe

Mark Herrick · Post by **Mark Herrick** » 26 Apr 2005 12:27 pm

I think, ideally, amps should also be packed upside down in the shipping box, so when UPS drops it, which they will be sure to do, the weight of the chassis doesn't crack the cabinet.

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Jon Light (deceased) · Post by **Jon Light (deceased)** » 26 Apr 2005 1:16 pm

Steve---yes, if it is 135w then it is ultralinear and if it is ultralinear then it will be 135w.

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I'm looking at the amp now on ebay and indeed, at 100w it is not ultralinear. I'm not expert enough to give advice on the subject but......I wouldn't personally have a firm and fast rule about ultralinear. I play a Dual Showman Reverb 100w head that would be identical to this ebay amp and it's plenty loud & clean. I also have an ultralinear Vibrosonic but it has never been right since I got it a few years ago and I've never taken it out on a gig so I've got no useful comparisons to share. [This message was edited by Jon Light on 26 April 2005 at 02:25 PM.]

Larry Clark · Post by **Larry Clark** » 26 Apr 2005 1:34 pm

The PS 15 speaker in that Vibrosonic is a Gauss speaker made by Cetec.

From the Fender amp field guide:

Year:
72-81
Model:
Vibrosonic Reverb
Circuit:
?
Config:
Combo
Control Panel:
Silver, forward facing w/ blue labels
Front Conrol Layout:
Normal: In, In, Bright Sw, Vol, Treb, Mid, Bass - Vibrato: In, In, Bright Sw, Vol, Treb, Bass, Rev, Speed, Intensity - Master Vol - Pilot Lamp
Rear Conrol Layout:
AC Outlet, Ground Sw, Fuse (2½A), Power Sw, Standby Sw, Speaker Jack, Ex. Speaker Jack, Vibrato Jack, Reverb Jack, Reverb Out, Reverb In
Knobs:
Black skirted w/ chrome center, numbered 1 - 10
Cabinet:
20" x 26 3/4" x 10 5/8" (50.8 x 67.9 x 27 cm)
Cab Covering:
Black Tolex
Cab Hardware:
Black strap handle, 5½" Chassis straps, 16" tilt-back legs, corner protectors, casters
Grille:
Blue sparkle grille cloth w/ aluminum frame (68-69), w/o aluminum frame (70-81)
Logo:
Grille mounted, raised, chrome & black script "Fender" w/ tail(68-76) or "Fender®" w/o tail (77-82)
Weight:
85 lbs (38.6 Kg)
Speakers/Load:
1 x 15"/8 ohms
Speaker Model:
Fender PS-15 (72-74), JBL D-130F (74-79), Electro Voice (79-81) or Gauss 15"
Effects:
Reverb, Tremolo
Output:
100 or 135 (77-82) Watts
Preamp:
Normal: 7025
Vibrato: 7025, ½ 7025
Power:
4 x 6L6GC
Bias:
Fixed w/ Bias Pot.
Rectifier:
Solid State
Phase Inverter:
12AT7 (long tailed)
Other:
Reverb Driver: 12AT7
Reverb Recovery: ½ 7025
Tremolo: 12AX7(photoresistor)
Comments:
Fender switched back to the blackface era cosmetics some time in 1980. Vibrosonic Reverbs produced between late 1980 and 1981 have a black control panel and silver sparkle grille cloth.
A Line Out jack, hum balance pot, and a pull boost sw. were added near the end of the models run.

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100W Vibrosonic Reverb Schematic 135W Vibrosonic Reverb Schematic [This message was edited by Larry Clark on 26 April 2005 at 02:40 PM.]

Paul Honeycutt · Post by **Paul Honeycutt** » 26 Apr 2005 2:29 pm

The PS-15 is a Gauss? That makes sense. I guess Fender used their own part number on speakers because the PS-12 is a Cerwin-Vega. I have two of them that I got NOS. They were used as an upgrade in a Quad Reverb (4 X 12" Twin Reverb).
Does the Gauss speaker say Fender on it?

Paul Honeycutt · Post by **Paul Honeycutt** » 26 Apr 2005 2:38 pm

I just looked at the amp on ebay. I think that's a Cervin-Vega speaker. It looks just like my PS-12's only bigger. The Gauss speakers look a lot like them, too. If you could see the whole label on the speaker it would say either Cerwin-Vega or Gauss.

Paul Honeycutt · Post by **Paul Honeycutt** » 26 Apr 2005 2:40 pm

It's a Gauss. I just looked at the pictures of my speakers from when I bought them. They both have orange frames but the design of the frame and the magnet structure are very different. Both are excellent speakers for playing loud and clean.

Larry Clark · Post by **Larry Clark** » 26 Apr 2005 5:18 pm

It's definately a Gauss. I used to sell them. The fins on the magnet are Gauss design.