Vibrolux Soaked! Help!

[JohnHHorvath]

After a recent job, some "helpers" who were moving our equipment had an accident, and my 1965 Fender Vibrolux ended up in the deep end of the swimming pool!

 

I've disassembled it and put it in the sun for about a day, and I've had fans blowing on it.

 

When will it be safe to put together, plug in, and test? Is there any likelihood this thing will ever work again? Anybody had any similar experiences?

[stanner]

sumbichhh-i hope someone answers yer question john,since i sentcha here...

s

[The Bear Jew]

Hey John...

My Marshall head once "took a bath" when the back of our van was left open little bit after a gig and we drove home in the rain. When I picked it up, I literally poured about a pint of water out of it. I dried it off with paper towels and ran a fan on it all night. The next morning I called an amp repair buddy and asked for advice. He told me to put it on and leave it on for a while (like 15 minutes) and then turn off the standby and try playing through it. I tried it. It was bad. I took it into the shop. I needed all new tubes and a transformer. Total cost: $300. Sounded fine after that. My advice is to take it in immediately. Chances are your speakers are done and you'll need tubes.

[GypsyTiger]

The electronics probabyly survived if there is no corrosion. The speaker is another case. That will most likely need to be replaced. If you're sure all the moisture is gone(I'd say after a week under a fan) turn it on and see if it works. Might want to keep a fire extingisher near by though.

[Binky_dup1]

Hmm

Worst thing about the pool is the chlorine, it may start corrosion. It should dry out OK with a day in the sun & the fan (depending on your humidity). But I'd guess the speaker is shot.

[JohnHHorvath]

EPILOGUE:

 

Let's just cut to the chase: My 1965 Vibrolux Reverb Amp WORKS!! Not only that, but the speakers appear to be unfazed by their adventure in the deep!

 

I don't freakin' believe it myself, but I've given the thing a hard workout for more than an hour now, and it just plain works and sounds like a million bucks!

 

Of course, it's got to make it through Friday and Saturday, when we go for five hours each night, but I've got the feeling that I'm in the clear.

 

I want to thank all those who helped buoy my spirits during these dark hours. I had a hunch I might be okay, but I also had this horrifying feeling that the amp that's seen me through almost 25 years of gigging may have met its end. And a damn good amp it's been, too!

 

This whole episode was a nightmare for me, and probably seems like an outright fabrication to someone reading this, but -- all I can say is, damn! Those Fenders were built tough!

 

Two Decembers ago, I had the misfortune to play a job for a radio station (M-105) here in Cleveland, Ohio, out on Public Square, about a week before Christmas. A snowstorm blew in off the lake, and the wonderful promoters and producers -- who in the past had a semi-roofed mobile satge in place with space heaters -- had no shelter for us AT ALL! We stood on a stage facing north, with the wind coming in at about 25-30 mph, laced with big wet snowflakes. I took a big blanket out of my car's trunk and covered the amp for that job, shaking off the snow after every third song. I remember how freakin' cold we were, and how we felt we had put our equipment through just about as much hell as we could ever face. (Let's give a nod to Gibson here, too, because that guitar did what no guitar should ever be asked to do.)

 

But fishing the amp out of the deep end of a swimming pool -- and then hearing it work just days later -- can never be topped! At least, I hope not. I'm in my late 40s, and any more excitement like this might kill me!