Bassman Questions

W

WhoFan

Tommyologist
is a Bassman reissue combo sound clean all the way up on the volume?... Or does it break up and get crunchy. basicly what is the headroom like... I am thinking of getting another tube amp for using pedals for the gain.... so basicly all i need is a nice full sounding clean sound with reverb.... I'm using Peavey C50 and C30's right now but i'm looking for something different these days.

I saw Albert Lee using a Bassman reissue and he was getting some grunt out of it.... not sure about settiings on it, but he only used a delay pedal
 
Re: Bassman Questions

Definitely a crunchy amp, very Marshallish (being that the early JTM45s were pretty much Bassmans with british tubes in them). Half way probably gives you a little bit of a crunch, just like my Twin Tweed, maybe even less. If you want dead on clean at high volumes, go for a blackface model like the Super Reverb (which is a beastly amp, breaks up on its own as well but at pretty **** high volumes) and of course the jumbo Twin Reverb. Definitely give the Bassman a chance as it is arguably the best amp of all time.
 
Re: Bassman Questions

When I tried one out in the store, with a Gibson Les Paul with Burstbucker pickups, it broke up very nicely and had a smooth grunt to it around 5-6 on the volume knob. I remember it being very smooth but crunchy smooth, if that makes sense at all (which, reading it back to myself, it doesn't). Not a good amp for just clean tone. However, it's clean tone is wonderfully juicy sounding, more mids and fullness than a regular blackface Fender type clean sound, to my ears anyway.

Also, I see you wanted reverb in the amp, which is something the Bassman is lacking in.
 
Re: Bassman Questions

yeah tweed ones have been ripped off & made into the most famous dirty amps in history

mesa, marshall, etc.

plus they don't have reverb

soooo... look into another amp i guess, haha
 
Re: Bassman Questions

Although you're not really asking about it... I've had 2 blackface Bassman heads (IIRC both were 64s), my main complaint is that they went from clean, loud clean, and compressed. There was no nice in-between breakup- just saturated compression.
 
Re: Bassman Questions

thanks guys.... i'll have to have a look over at Fenders web site.... i was pretty sure they added Reverb to one of the Bassman reissues.... i could be wrong....
 
Re: Bassman Questions

dont think there is reverb on any bassman till the bassman reverb. if you want reverb and clean look at the twin reverb or super reverb.

the bassman with a reverb unit in front of it is one of the best clean tones youll ever hear
 
Re: Bassman Questions

They are naturally very glassy and also very bassy sounding. Sparkley/clean at lower volumes morphing into a glassy crunch when pushed with the amp volume turned up passed five or so. I've owned a number of old tweed Bassmans as well as a Victoria clone. I sold them all. That is just not my tone. That glassy crunch sounds shrill to me eventually. I like it at first and then after a while hate it. To my ears, tweed Fender Bassman's are way to bright and way to bassy - both at the same time. I love the way Buddy Guy sounds playing through one on some of those old Chess recordings, but its a tone that I get tired of quickly when I play through one.

I've tried them with 12's...when I was a kid in the 60's I recovered my tweed Bassman in orange Naugahyde and built a two 12 baffle for it. I felt it lost it's distinctive tone and sounded better with the original Jensen P10R speakers. So the 10's sounded better to me than the 12's even though they contributed to making the amp very bright...and bassy. Lew
 
Last edited:
Re: Bassman Questions

the thing i have found about the bassmans is that i much prefer the tone if atleast two of the speakers are p10q's rather than the more typical p10r's
 
Re: Bassman Questions

jeremy said:
the thing i have found about the bassmans is that i much prefer the tone if atleast two of the speakers are p10q's rather than the more typical p10r's
Click to expand...

I like the original late 50's ribbed cone P10R's a lot. But I'm with you. I like mixing a speaker with deeper tone and clearer bass in with my P10R's. In my '51 tweed Super, I have one '56 P10R and one '66 C10N. The P10Q has a bigger voice coil than the P10R and accomplishes something similar: adds a slightly bigger cleaner tone in with the easily overdriven P10R tone. Lew
 
Re: Bassman Questions

jeremy said:
dont think there is reverb on any bassman till the bassman reverb. if you want reverb and clean look at the twin reverb or super reverb.

the bassman with a reverb unit in front of it is one of the best clean tones youll ever hear
Click to expand...

+1 on the twin reverb for cleans. And if your planning on useing lots of pedals then a Twin is deffinately the amp to look at.
 
Re: Bassman Questions

I'm pretty sure just a few years ago Fender offered a special issue Bassman with some custom toys, Reverb being one.... i do not see it in the catalog any longer... Does not matter, i find i use Reverb less and less these days
 
Re: Bassman Questions

one of the reasons i think a Bassman might be for me is the fact i find a lot of amps don't have enough bottom end to them for me... a Bassman with a few pedals and a strat just may be for me... i went on a search to try and find one to try out and there was none around local shops....
 
Re: Bassman Questions

WhoFan said:
ya i always wanted a Twin....
Click to expand...

Everyone should own a Twin for awhile just to know what they sound like and to put more clients into Chiropractic offices.

I get the Jones for one every once in awhile...but all it takes is trying to heft one and thinking what it'll be like moving it from the ground to the back of a truck or SUV at 1:30 in the morning after a gig.....and suddenly that Jones just fades away!
 
Re: Bassman Questions

WhoFan said:
is a Bassman reissue combo sound clean all the way up on the volume?... Or does it break up and get crunchy. basicly what is the headroom like... I am thinking of getting another tube amp for using pedals for the gain.... so basicly all i need is a nice full sounding clean sound with reverb.
Click to expand...
bassmans have great clean tones -- not the same as blackface clean, but warmer and richer, IMO.

IME, most tweed Bassmans start to break up around 4-5, depending on how they're biased. Since it's about 45 watts though, that's pretty decent volume.
I think the trick it to get the amp close to breaking up, then use picking dynamics and guitar volume to vary between clean and crunchy.

personally, I prefer OD pedals with an amp that's pushed -- that seems to smooth the edges a little.

as always, everyone will say you've got to play one if you're considering buying one.

btw, I'm not sure I'd judge a Bassman by Albert Lee's tone. He plays very very clean - cleaner than a lot of tele players nowadays. If he did get some grunt, it's probably a credit to the Bassman.
 
Re: Bassman Questions

WhoFan said:
ya these amps had a good clean sound... i didn't like the dirt channel on those Hot Rods....
Click to expand...

I think the amp you're thinking of is a Blues Deville 410, like Drew said.
It looked just like a Bassman or PV Classic 50, but had 2 channels and reverb.
They were only available in the 90's, although I think they reissued 1 or 2 recently. The Hot Rod Deville replaced them in the late 90's, and had an extra gain stage on it's OD channel. Most prefer the original Blues Deville over the Hotrod.

To be quite honest, I think the amp you should really be looking at is the new Supersonic. Bassmans have some crunch but it's got to be earsplitting loud.
I've had a 90's Bassman as well as a Bassman LTD, and for the same reasons Lew stated, I sold them both. It's just not my sound. I know I'd enjoy the Supersonic much more....I think it's the best channel switching Fender yet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BlackhawkRise
How to read cabinet specs?
Replies
6
Views
546
Sam SG
S
F
Ceriatone 18W Questions
Replies
0
Views
229
fretburner
F
G
JB vs PG question
Replies
10
Views
689
esandes
E
jeremy
new head cab came out sweet!
Replies
10
Views
512
jeremy
jeremy
Ascension
New amp day PRS Sonsera 20 combo
Replies
0
Views
325
Ascension
Ascension
Back
Top