Got me a new amp....

[jmv]

Just picked up a '67 Fender Bassman halfstack.

I LOVE IT!!! Its everything i wanted... great articulate cleans, and it'll get dirty with humbuckers even at about 4, which isn't TOO loud for the house, as long as no one is on the phone or trying to concentrate. And its in MINT condition, seriously, not a single scratch on it, and its all original, except for the caps and tubes, which were just replaced. Its also got some kind of really rare speakers, they're called 'blue back', or blue something... the guy couldn't remember. I bought it from a family freind, he's had it for quite a long time. He was the 2nd owner, he got it from some church that had used it once or twice and then left it sitting in an attic. He also included the custom made case for it, its specially shaped so you can just leave the head on the cab and slip on the cover, and lock it up. The only problem with that is, it makes it kinda big, and heavy (the amps 82lbs to begin with, this just adds), and its a real bitch to get up the stairs to my room... so, unfortunately, it won't be seeing daylight quite as much as i had hoped....

The guy who serviced it is a real fender tube amp guru, can't remember his name, though, but he said the only other fender bassman he's seen in that condition belonged to Billy Gibbons. Of course, Billy Gibbons gets a guy in Chorpus Christi to completely redo the guts of his guitars, which i would never let happen to this one....

Anyway, i love it, it rocks!! I'll post some pics when i can get ahold of my dads digital camera.....

 

[proxy]

very nice, there is a '70 bassman head at my local guitar shop for 700 i think.

I can't wait to hear any clips you might post with it.

 

[Scott_F]

congrats. you're going to love it. Blackface?

very cool.:banana: :dance: :headbang: :notworthy

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Good for you man !!!

Just get a smaller more portable 2x12 to take with you when you wanna leave. Like the Avatar cab Scott_F is selling!!! ;-)

 

[jmv]

Yeah, its blackface. The idea of getting a smaller cab is plausible, but...

1.) I don't want to move the head places without the nice case, because its completely unmolested... i would kill myslef if i ever tore the tolex or accidentally poked a hole in the grill cloth....

2.) Unless scott is selling the cab for dirt cheap, i can't manage it right now... i had to take a good amount out of my savings account for college, so i have to pay that back first.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Keep that thing for life. I always wondered when 60's Blackface
halfstacks were gonna shoot up in value. Probably, right around now. A few years ago, you could buy a 60's Super Reverb for
$600, now they go for $1500 + I presume the head/cabs will too. What tubes does it have? A new set of Tesla JJ's should bring it up to full potential, if the original tubes have years on them.

 

[Steve_R]

Dude that is soooo coool! I like that amp a lot. Blackface tone is one of those legendary parts of rock and roll. The bassman will compete pretty well with an animal drummer too... I say that from much experience

Good score bro

 

[jmv]

Wow, you sound almost as excited as i am stevo!!

Its got some new Sovtek power tubes in it... not sure about the preamp tubes, i don' t know how much of a difference those make.

The guy i bought it from said that if i seriously had to look at selling it for any reason at some point, to talk to him first, because he wants to 'keep it in the family'. we both know we'll never see another amp like this.

I got a question about it, if anyone can answer. I know that the Bass channel has one more gain stage than the 'normal' channel... and when you flip the deep switch down, it gets louder and dirtier. Is this what that deep switch controls, the extra gain stage?? Because with the switch up, it sounds alot like the normal channel without the bright switch.... anyway, its a handy little thing for when you gotta kick it on for a solo....

 

[mmguz]

Congrats

 

[Pandemonium]

Congrats on owning a classic! That amp deserves NOS tubes though. :wink:

 

[jmv]

My parents have already yelled at me 5 times to turn down.

Question about the NOS tubes... who makes them?? Aren't there NOS tubes from different manufacturers?? Does sovtek not have NOS tubes??

 

[sgstrat]

Congratulations jmv! Enjoy the Bassman and post some pics if you can.

"NOS" stands for "new old stock", meaning that it is an unused, unsold item that has been on the shelf or in inventory for some time. The term is often used for tubes but could apply to a guitar or any other item, for that matter.

P.S. It's good to have you back. You were missed here.

 

[jmv]

okay, so they're just old 'new' tubes...

does sovtek sell any of those?? Because if they do, these could very well be NOS, i don't know anything about them, just that they say sovtek.

 

[Curly]

I have a '66 - great amp, especially when *cranked*

my guess without looking is that the deep switch probably switches a cap in and out of the circuit

actually, my tech voiced my bass channel for guitar ...

other than that, mine was in pretty decent shape when I got it ... does need new filter caps, though

 

[Curly]

Question about the NOS tubes... who makes them?? Aren't there NOS tubes from different manufacturers?? Does sovtek not have NOS tubes??

as far as tubes, I'd recommend Phillips WGC's for NOS, or JJ's for new ones

try KCA NOS for the NOS tubes
KCA

 

[jmv]

hmmm.... that KCA webpage says that 7025s are nearly impossible to find... is that reffering to NOS ones, or 7025's in general?? Because thats whats supposed to be in the bassman... i don't know if thats whats in there now....

 

[jmv]

now wait a minute... i shoulda looked at the back of the amp more closely.... one tube is a sovtek, the other is a fender.... the sovtek is labeled as 5881 WXT, but the KCA site says "New production 6L6s include the ones mentioned above, which are most often marketed as 6V6s, Russian "5881/6L6WGC" (which are actually neither 5881s nor 6L6WGs),". So, i was thinking this was just a 6L6, but after trying to see the other side of the fender tube, i do believe it says 5881 WXT as well. So, do i have 5881s, or are BOTH mislabeled??

 

[Scott_F]

how much room is between those tubes? would they handle a slightly larger diameter bottle?

if so, you really ought to check out the KT66HP's from Groove Tubes. Really sweet, big fat warm round, power tubes.

But if space is limited or the tubes are too close together, they won't fit.

I'd recommend you grab some of the new Groove Tubes 6L6GE's if you're looking for new production 6L6's. Made in America by Groove Tube with the old GE machinery.

 

[mrid]

I'd go KT66 as well. 7025's are compatible with 12AX7's or ECC83's. Personally, I'd put 5751's in that amp.

 

[jmv]

holy crap, a matched pair of GEC KT66's are $360!!!

and yes, there is some extra room in there.

but about what exactly is in there now.... they DO both say fender, and both say sovtek 5881 WXT, but again, according to the KCA site curly posted, Russian tubes labeled as 5881s are actually 6L6's... can anyone help me figure out what is in there right now?? I'd like to have that as a basis for what i want when i get new tubes...

thanks!!