bassman head

[cream123]

there's this fender bassman head from 66 for $257. i'm probably gonna buy a 1x12 fender cab with it. does anyone know how these sound, i haven't tried it out yet, it's pretty beat up. it'd cost 'bout $425 with the 1x12. so i have enough money!
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[Lewguitar]

Re: bassman head

They need mods from a very, very experienced tech to sound great for guitar. But stock they still sound very good! But they are a great platform for mods that can make them sound even better. Lew

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: bassman head

I have a 71 Export Bassman that sounds great through my Marshall 2x12 cab.

I haven't modded mine as of yet, but if Lew says they sound better that way, then they must.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: bassman head

$250 is a steal for a handwired amp with great transformers, BTW! I'd say to buy it but expect to spend another $200 getting it fixed up. If you do it right, you'll have an amp head for around $500 that will surpass the build quality of just about any new amp head.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: bassman head

I have a 71 Export Bassman that sounds great through my Marshall 2x12 cab.

I haven't modded mine as of yet, but if Lew says they sound better that way, then they must.

:laugh2: They sound fine stock...so does the normal channel on a blackface Fender. It's just that they're designed for clean tone...not designed for modern guitar tones. And depending on the year, blackface Bassmans can have some very bizarre phase invertor circuitry that is not the typical blackface circuit. Dan Torres take a lot of heat, but in his Inside Tube Amps book he details some of the blackface Bassman weirdness that needs to be overcome to make them from "good" amps into truly great sounding amps.

 

[Curly]

Re: bassman head

I have a '66 or '67 head ... I still say they're one of the great deals left.

I've heard mine sound great, in the right hands. (my amp tech's)

just look around and see what the same kind of money will get you in a hand wired amp
the other good thing is that these amps have been around so long that lots of people know just how to tune them in.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: bassman head

I've had 2 Blackface Bassmans (Bassmen?) which I used with either a 2x12 and my 4x12. I didn't like them. They went from clean to compressed sounding to compressed distortion. It was a cool distortion, but there was no "in-between" clean and super-overdrive. I have no idea if those were modded before I got them- other than power cords.

 

[jdm61]

Re: bassman head

hey Lew.....what do you think about the blackface and very early silverface Bandmaster and Showman? They are not a cheap as they used to be, but they are still a damn sight cheaper than most of the combo's. I know Ronny Montrose used two Bandmasters with 2 2x12 cabs for a long time and sounded pretty good doin it.:fingersx:

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: bassman head

I like these amps a lot to just crank and rock with.

-X

 

[foo3001]

Re: bassman head

there's this fender bassman head from 66 for $257. i'm probably gonna buy a 1x12 fender cab with it. does anyone know how these sound, i haven't tried it out yet, it's pretty beat up. it'd cost 'bout $425 with the 1x12. so i have enough money!

Buy it.

Now.

I have a ´64 Bassman head, and it´s by far the best amp I´ve ever used. Of course it´s pretty clean, and is hard to get modern sounds from it but the cleans are divine. It´s the best. I use it with a Koch 2x12 cab.

PLUS it takes pedals like no other amp. It can sound modern combined with the right pedal.. The visual sound Jekyll&Hyde for example. The Fulltone Fulldrive II is also stellar through it..

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: bassman head

yeah i know tone is subjective, but IMO those amps sound fantastic. I do reccomend going with atleast a 2x12 though

if you're not getting the tones you want, try it with a TS, if you're STILL not, then go with the mods, keeping in mind the more you crank it the better it'll sound, with orwithout the ts

aaand also make wise descisions on your speaker choice, good amp + bad speakers = bad tone. No way around it.

 

[FenderStratRock3]

Re: bassman head

Bassmans rock, IMO! And $250 is a steal and a half. Snatch it up!

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: bassman head

Buy it.

Now.

I have a ´64 Bassman head, and it´s by far the best amp I´ve ever used. Of course it´s pretty clean, and is hard to get modern sounds from it but the cleans are divine. It´s the best. I use it with a Koch 2x12 cab.

PLUS it takes pedals like no other amp. It can sound modern combined with the right pedal.. The visual sound Jekyll&Hyde for example. The Fulltone Fulldrive II is also stellar through it..

I sold my silverface Bassman 70 just before I got my J&H. :smack: I would have loved to have put those 2 together!

 

[Stratman]

Re: bassman head

I use a AB165 bassman that has been modified to us EL-34 and that drives a Fender Vibratone - Really nice SVR tones, and better yet, it does have that Robin Trower / Jimi Hendrix (Little Wing) sound through it.

Buy that amp, get it brought back up to specs, and use a pedal for modern sounds.

You will not be sorry.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: bassman head

hey Lew.....what do you think about the blackface and very early silverface Bandmaster and Showman? They are not a cheap as they used to be, but they are still a damn sight cheaper than most of the combo's. I know Ronny Montrose used two Bandmasters with 2 2x12 cabs for a long time and sounded pretty good doin it.:fingersx:

I think they're very good amps but that they lack the gain I'd need for modern rock tones or even late 60's/early 70's rock tones. They lack reverb and the reverb circuit in a blackface Fender (like a Deluixe Reverb, Super Reverb or even a Twin Reverb) adds gain even if the reverb is on zero. It's why the reverb channel on a blackface amp with reverb always sounds alot ballsier than the normal channel. The non-reverb blackface and silverface Fenders are great amps but they excel at cleaner or semi distorted tones and are not as ballsy sounding as the reverb channel in a blackface or silverface Fender with reverb. Lew

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: bassman head

My buddy used to have one, with just a clean boost I was unable to stop playing it for 4 hours. Just jamming and jamming over everything. I'd actaully like to pick one up at some point.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: bassman head

My friend who is a vintage geek, just got himself a brownface blonde 63 head with cab.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: bassman head

I think they're very good amps but that they lack the gain I'd need for modern rock tones or even late 60's/early 70's rock tones. They lack reverb and the reverb circuit in a blackface Fender (like a Deluixe Reverb, Super Reverb or even a Twin Reverb) adds gain even if the reverb is on zero. It's why the reverb channel on a blackface amp with reverb always sounds alot ballsier than the normal channel. The non-reverb blackface and silverface Fenders are great amps but they excel at cleaner or semi distorted tones and are not as ballsy sounding as the reverb channel in a blackface or silverface Fender with reverb. Lew

i find that kinda hard to believe, the AB165 i played had as much gain as anyone would ever need

unless they play metal

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: bassman head

i find that kinda hard to believe, the AB165 i played had as much gain as anyone would ever need

unless they play metal

Well, it's the truth...:laugh2:...when it comes to amps like the Bandmaster. The reverb recovery circuit in all blackface and silverface Fenders adds gain to the signal and the reverb channel always sounds ballsier for that reason...even if you don't use the reverb. Bandmaster's without reverb are not especially ballsy sounding amps...especially compared to a Pro Reverb which is pretty much the same amp but with reverb.

Lew

 

[thucydides]

Re: bassman head

I have a '68 Bassman. Guitar sounds great through the normal channel. A '68 is silverface, but I think the circutry had not been changed from the BF. At any rate, I also often use a friend's '64 Bassman, and it is killer! Both have the classic Fender clean, and when cranked get a bit of very classic sounding crunch. With the right 2x12, and a decent OD, you can get a heavier sound, although not heavy enough for metal. Even if you have to spend a couple hundred to get the amp whipped into shape, I would say it is worth it!