You will be Vaporized..!

HansiR

Hi Guys... not sure if anyone else has one of these but I just bought a Fender 'VAPORIZER' valve amp... WOW!!! It not only looks the part with its 50s, retro shape and colour, it sounds fantastic and... it's loud! I found a 2nd hand one on GumTree to pair with my soon-to-arrive new Telecaster, but using it with my Squier Tele it sounds amazing enough already... love it!
https://www.vintageguitar.com/19532/fender-vaporizer-amp/

andy1839

Try putting it through a decent 12" speaker, made a massive difference to mine.
My reverb was noisy but upgrading the cable made a big difference to that too.

thecolourbox

I've always fancied one of these, as a huge White Stripes fan the aesthetic and the vaporizer "everything on 10" mode is rather appealing...

HansiR

I have to laugh every time I look across the room and see its quirky design... I've got the red one and it looks great. But, it's also about the sound and I love those 2 x 10" speakers! I have the reverb at only a quarter of a turn, the tone halfway, and the volume hardly turned at all, and I still have to keep the volume down on the guitar to keep it under control... it does sound nice though. I'm wondering what the updated pick-ups on my new Tele will sound like, I'm very happy with it so far...

HansiR

"My reverb was noisy but upgrading the cable made a big difference to that too."

What cable are you referring to Andy...?

Gagaryn

HansiR said:

"My reverb was noisy but upgrading the cable made a big difference to that too."

What cable are you referring to Andy...?

There will be a twin cable going from the chassis to the reverb tank. That one!

andy1839

Gagaryn said:

HansiR said:

"My reverb was noisy but upgrading the cable made a big difference to that too."

What cable are you referring to Andy...?

There will be a twin cable going from the chassis to the reverb tank. That one!

Exactly this.

I had a couple of nice RCA cables from my hifi stuff and used them and the hiss all but disappeared.

HansiR

Thanks, guys for this info... although I never understand situations like this. Can you imagine the scenario at Fender when the Vaporizer was finally completed and about to go into production, and the prototype was sent to the US for approval and was being checked out by the Fender technicians....

"Yes, chaps, we have a great little model here, this will sell like hotcakes!"
"But... what about that terrible hiss on the reverb? Shall we spend an extra dollar and upgrade the cable?"
.... a moment's silence while they scratch their heads and think about this...
"Na... nobody will notice, let's leave it like that..." 

Getting back to reality...sorry for sounding so stupid but, how do you know if a cable is better quality? I mean, where would I find one and how would I know before buying that it would be better than the one already installed? Is there a make and type of cable that would be suitable, and if so, any idea where I can purchase it?

andy1839

These range of Pawn shop amps were always made to a price point, but that's part of their charm.
I think it was mainly the earlier ones that had that issue with reverb hiss on extreme setting, but a lot of amps have that.

I found some thread about the reverb hiss while trawling the internet and someone said they'd changed the cable and it made a difference.

If I remember rightly it's a standard white/Red RCA cable, but as I said I didn't go out to buy any specifically, I just had some that were given to me by my father in law. He's really into his hifi stuff and I know this set weren't cheap, probably double the cost of the amp!

A lot of people will say it's snake oil and is a load of tosh, expensive cables,  but I can only tell you what I found; it did make a difference for me.

https://www.futureshop.co.uk/analogue/rca-audio-cables/all-rca-interconnects#page=1

I replaced the reverb cable in my Matchless with a QED one that was about £20.


If you get chance definitely try it through a more efficient speaker, the difference was amazing. Especially the tone when you roll down the guitar volume with the vaporizer switch in.

HansiR

Thanks for the link Andy... wow, I can't believe the price of some of the cables, unbelievable! They have an "ask an expert" section so I might just do that and see what they can recommend... at a realistic price that is! It would be nice to reduce the reverb hiss a bit but, to be honest, you don't really hear it that much while playing, at least while the dial is set at about halfway or less, so it's not too bad for every day playing. As you say though, it is part of their charm, and for me, it's important not to be too perfect and to retain that 50s  garage/surf feel... I grew up in the 50s and remember my two sisters rocking & rolling (jiving) in the lounge room to something looking and sounding very much like this....!

andy1839

HansiR said:

Thanks for the link Andy... wow, I can't believe the price of some of the cables, unbelievable! They have an "ask an expert" section so I might just do that and see what they can recommend... at a realistic price that is! It would be nice to reduce the reverb hiss a bit but, to be honest, you don't really hear it that much while playing, at least while the dial is set at about halfway or less, so it's not too bad for every day playing. As you say though, it is part of their charm, and for me, it's important not to be too perfect and to retain that 50s  garage/surf feel... I grew up in the 50s and remember my two sisters rocking & rolling (jiving) in the lounge room to something looking and sounding very much like this....!

Yeah the prices are mental, and for this application completely wasted on reverb. 
If you've got a mate who has any spare interconnects it might be worth trying them instead of shelling out first in case it makes no difference.

If you ask them on that site chances are they won't have a clue about using a cable in a guitar amp.

randella

If you have a soldering iron and know how to use it, you'd maybe be better off making your own cable.

On the other hand, if you have to buy a soldering iron and the kit it'll push the price right up and won't be economical.  I wonder if something like this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KLUCZ8S/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_bH8s5_c_x_4_w?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=XPMF0AH792N8Y1G6DS47&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=9b0dd13c-e980-5d47-bf6b-45043ffc920a&pf_rd_i=4085681 

...would be an improvement.

The cable in the amp, if it's picking up RF interference, will probably have crappy screening.  Something like the above should help.

randella

Nice amp by the way, looks very cool.

Vinylfan

Looks very cool indeed!

HansiR

Thanks randella & Vinylfan... these cables are certainly more realistically priced. I'm just wondering about screening... if it is a matter of the cable having poor screening qualities, is it not possible to wrap it with copper foil, or something like that? I don't really know anything about this sort of thing but I've seen the odd person on FB using copper foil behind pickguards, etc. so I'm just shooting in the dark here! The cables in the link that you sent would probably be an easier, and neater way, to try an improve the situation....

randella

HansiR said:

Thanks randella & Vinylfan... these cables are certainly more realistically priced. I'm just wondering about screening... if it is a matter of the cable having poor screening qualities, is it not possible to wrap it with copper foil, or something like that? I don't really know anything about this sort of thing but I've seen the odd person on FB using copper foil behind pickguards, etc. so I'm just shooting in the dark here! The cables in the link that you sent would probably be an easier, and neater way, to try an improve the situation....

No problem.

Copper foil behind a pickguard is eventually connected to earth in the amplifier via the screen in your guitar lead.  Or at least it should be if it's done properly.  To provide any functional screening on your reverb lead you'd have to wrap the cable and then somehow connect the screen to earth.  It'd be messy and you'd have a good chance of it not working.

For a fiver I'd have a punt on a hi-fi interconnect.  The one I linked to above has two screens in the cable - the usual braided copper wire, and some copper foil to boot.  I've used this sort of cable plenty of times to make my own leads and it works just fine.

HansiR

Thanks again for more informative info! Yes, I think I'll order one of those cables and see if it makes a difference... I'll let you know how it goes, cheers, Hansi