Fender Limited Edition 120V '68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb Expired

I posted this a few weeks ago the last time this deal was listed at $800.00. Just posting it here again to share my experience with any potential buyers.

I have seen Adorama music equipment go down in price several times here, so I wouldn't be surprised if it goes down another $50 or so in the coming months. That being said, even at the current price, this is a steal for any serious guitar players!

I got my amp a few days ago and I have to say I am super pleased!

I ordered on the 4th and it did not come for a long time, I guess because the seller is owned by an observant Jewish family and they were closed for a Jewish Holiday. It was a little bit of a bummer having to wait so long, but overall not a big deal and I am glad that they are able to take some time to observe their holiday.

I have played several fender deluxe amps over the years that belonged to friends and thought they were great, but never owned one. I was a little bit hesitant due to this being a limited run special model, but as far as I can tell this amp is exactly the same as the regular Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb except with a Celestion Greenback speaker rather than a Celestion G12V-70.

Concerning the speaker, I was a little bit worried that it would not have enough clean headroom when I read "12" 8-ohm Celestion Greenback speaker for classic English grunt and warm breakup when pushed" in the description. However, for me, this amp has more than enough clean headroom and will only start to break up when really pushed hard. You also always have the option of easily swapping the speaker sometime down the road if the greenback does not float your boat for ~$99.00.

It's difficult for me to tell the difference between this and the the regular Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb with the Celestion G12V-70 that I have played in the past, but there would probably be an audible difference if you tested them side by side since they do have different speakers. That being said, this amp sounds great! I even find that it is somewhat difficult to get bad tones on this amp more so than many other that I have played. It is voiced very nicely and takes pedals very well.

The two voicings (custom and vintage) both have distinct sounds although both are very Fender sounding. One of the main differences to my ears is that the custom channel has quite a lot more low end frequency. You can roll the bass back to about 3 or so and it will still be quite bassy, in a good way though.

The "gunmetal grey" tolex covering looks much less silver than it does in the pictures. Based on the pictures, I was thinking this thing was really going to stand out (which I am not really into) but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is actually very grey/black rather than silver/grey and non-reflective.

For those in this thread saying that this is way too much to pay for an amp and a speaker, do your research. These are very desirable and high quality guitar amps that tend to hold their value due to their great tone, volume range, portability, and excellent built in reverb/trem making them ideal for home, studio, or live use. This is a professional quality amplifier used by many professional recording artists and performers. There are much better values for beginner/intermediate guitar amps, but for what you are getting in this compact package, this is a great value!

$800+shipping is the lowest price I am seeing anywhere else on used Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverbs. This one is brand new with free shipping. I even tried to price match this at my local Guitar Center and they told me under normal circumstances that they would, but that they were unable to because they would be selling at a loss. Definitely a slick deal for guitar players looking for a great sounding and highly portable amp fit for home use, recording, and gigging.

I would recommend this amp for intermediate to advanced guitar players, or at least be sure that you are going to stick with playing the guitar before investing this kind of money. There are tons of great very affordable options for beginners out there that will suit your needs without breaking the bank.

I hope this was helpful for anyone that is still on the fence! The deal is still live. Also remember this is all my own person experience/opinion, do your homework and know what you are buying before purchasing.