Fender Vibratone

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The Fender Vibratone is a Leslie speaker-style cabinet made for electric guitars by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. It is basically identical to the Leslie Model 16 except for the logo. The cabinet was introduced in 1967 and continued in production until the company discontinued it in 1972. It was most notably used by Stevie Ray Vaughan on "Cold Shot", as well as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

1 Mechanics
2 Physical Specifications
3 Sound and Style
- 3.1 Miking the Vibratone
4 Pros and Cons
- 4.1 Similar effects
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Mechanics

The Fender Vibratone operates on 117 Volts, 60 Hz A.C. current, and puts out 60 watts of power. It can handle 100 watts of power.

The Vibratone works as described in the following below:

The Vibratone is connected to the amplifier. The amplifier drives the Vibratone and fires the sound out of the main amp's speakers into the Vibratone's speaker.
The signal then fires into a "drum" made out of molded expanded polystyrene, also known as Styrofoam.
The "drum" is connected to a 2-speed motor by a belt. The belt is connected between a rotor spindle and a motor pulley.
The motor makes the rotor turn, therefore directing the sound to the top and side vents because of the design of the rotor.
The grille vents are miked because of no internal amplification in the cabinet, and is necessary in order for the effect to come through the signal.

As mentioned above, the motor has 2 speeds. The speeds can be selected by a foot switch, which has the same exterior as the foot switches of the Fender tube amps in the late '60's. There are two switches: one selects either the amplifier's output or the Vibratone's output (labeled "Leslie"), while the other selects between the two speeds (labeled "Trem"). The Vibratone basically works the same as a Leslie 16. In fact, it is the exact equivalent of the Leslie 16, except for the logo.

[edit] Physical Specifications

The Vibratone cabinet is 29 inches high, 21⅛ inches wide, and 14¾ inches deep, weighing 63 pounds, and the cabinet itself is a leatherette covered case made of finger-jointed pine, like most guitar cabinets. The rear panel on the cabinet is not removable, but the components are the same as the original Leslie Model 16.

Cosmetically, in the early models of the Vibratone, the models looked exactly like the Leslie 16 models, only a different logo. Around 1970, the Vibratone's had an aluminum frame around the grille cloth. In the later models of the Vibratone, it had a metal band going across the grille cloth with the Fender logo and "Vibratone" stenciled in red letters across it. Towards the end of production, the models were basically Leslie 16 models, but were manufactured under Fender's name. It still had the metal band going across it, but it said "Fender Leslie" on the metal band.

[edit] Sound and Style

The Vibratone has both amplitude and frequency modulation effects. Amplitude modulation produces a "tremolo" effect, similar to the "Vibrato" channel on Fender tube amps. Frequency modulation is pitch shifting, also known as the Doppler effect. The Vibratone produces both of these effects.

[edit] Miking the Vibratone

As mentioned above, the cabinet is unamplified. Therefore, the cabinet must be miked and runned through a sound system, and as a result, it can produce desirable effects.

[edit] Pros and Cons

Unfortunately, even when many consider the Vibratone cabinet to have a pleasing sound, there are good points and bad points in owning the cabinet.

One of the major reasons is the cabinet was discontinued in 1972 and no longer made, making it difficult for most to find a Vibratone in a music store.

The rotor's path is sometimes, but not always, a problem with live musicians. When the rotor rotates, the sound travels in a vertical direction, rather than a horizontal path of a Leslie. As a result, the sound is not always projected to the front of the room.

Although the Vibratone has some disadvantages, the Vibratone has changed the sound of guitar since the mid-1960's. For one, the cabinet produces a Leslie effect specially for electric guitars. It is also easy to connect, and most of the cabinet is just air, except for the rotor and electronics.

[edit] Similar effects

However, the rotary speaker simulators are an alternative to the Fender Vibratone and serve as a low-cost substitute for guitarists and musicians. These effects include: