got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

drew_half_empty

drew_half_empty

Looking for Real Life
well, it's a 70's master volume one

right by the fuse theres a 3 way toggle, under it it says ground & to the side it says '60 cycles'. Anyone know what it does? I'm afraid to mess with it

also, theres an unmarked input jack on the very right (if you're looking at it from the back, anyone know what THAT does? I know its not for the cab cuz i found the main & extension speaker jacks
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

also, right now I've got it in an 8 ohm cab, how will hooking it up to a 4 ohm (correct load) affect the tone?
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

You shouldn't notice much difference with that switch. My Classic 50 has one of those, it doesn't sound any different regardless of position. If you notice excess noise, try the other position. As for the impedances, they must be matched up properly or you will not get maximum power transfer and your tone will be negatively affected.

Ryan
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

the toggle is likely a ground switch ... I'm guessing they changed to a 3 way on SFs. My BF has a 2 way.

I'm guessing the 2nd output is an ext. speaker. that's where mine is.

I believe the correct load for that amp is 4 ohm .. 2 - 8 ohm speakers wired for a 4 ohm load. A general rule of thumb for most Fenders is that the PTs are designed to handle half the load ... i.e., a 4 ohm ext. cab with a 4 ohm regular cab will give you a 2 ohm load, which the PT should handle no problem.

Please verify that, though, since I only know enough to be semi-dangerous.:)

AFAIK, going the other way with the load is harder on the PT.
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

If you are getting ground loop hum, flicking the ground switch will "lift" or "lower" the ground wire to try and get rid of the noise.
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

drew_half_empty said:
but what does a ground switch do?
Click to expand...

I'll take a wild guess at it. If it's like my JC 120 (which has an on-off-on switch), the other position reverses the polarity (or some such). That is, if you notice excessive noise, switch it the other way.

Of course, I could be horribly wrong, and by messing with that switch, your amp could catch on fire and burn your house down ;).
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

makes sense, okay, now, about impedances, what can i expect by switching to 4 ohm?
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

If you're running the amp in 4 to a speaker cab rated 8... maybe some magic smoke from the transformer? Not really sure on that one...
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

no, if it was the other way around maybe, but it's safe to run a 4 ohm head into an 8 ohm cab
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

i cant recognize a tonal difference between ohms settings with my hiwatt, 4,8 or 16....but the tonal difference should occur already after the fact the the ohms are correctly matched

you can be frying transformers if your mismatching ohms and what not, i honestly dont know what will affect what, or how it all works technically..but i do know from learning about some of it that its not a good idea to have the ohms mismatched constantly, so the idea of whether it affects tone or not should not even be questioned
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

The impedances need to match in order for you to get maximum power transfer. You'll probably get a thinner, less than pleasing tone if you don't match the ohms. I don't think you'll hurt the amp by doing that, but it's like buying a Ferrari and using cheap gas. You really need to match the ohms for best results.

Ryan
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

If your Bassman has a 3-prong AC plug the ground is or should be disconnected. The ground switch in the past was also called the "Death-Switch" since if you touch another piece of gear tou would get a not-so-nice electric shock. If it still has a 2-prong plug get it converted and it will be safer and have less noise too.

Brent
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

gt5litre said:
If your Bassman has a 3-prong AC plug the ground is or should be disconnected. The ground switch in the past was also called the "Death-Switch" since if you touch another piece of gear tou would get a not-so-nice electric shock. If it still has a 2-prong plug get it converted and it will be safer and have less noise too.

Brent
Click to expand...

hahaha, yes. My bandmaster head is the same way, damn those shocks hurt. Didn't play my amp for 3 weeks cause I was affraid of it :dance:
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

I'm also getting some popping noises & volume drops, could that be because of the cab mismatch or is a tube going bad?
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

drew_half_empty said:
I'm also getting some popping noises & volume drops, could that be because of the cab mismatch or is a tube going bad?
Click to expand...
Perhaps the filter caps need changed.
 
Re: got the bassman head, but what is this switch for?

well supposedly they took it to a tech & had him check everything out before they put it up for sale

I played it for like an hour with the volume on 7 & master on like 3, so it may be the tubes but i dunno
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Single Humbucker - 3-Way Switch for coilsplitting and killswitch - questions
Replies
15
Views
972
GeorgB96
G
alex1fly
Swap 3-way for 5-way in a Tele
Replies
2
Views
469
alex1fly
alex1fly
S
To the jack!
Replies
6
Views
394
Seashore
S
I
Bizarre 3 way toggle switch behavior
Replies
4
Views
861
GuitarDoc
G
DarthTangYang
Ok Then, Orange Pedal Baby It Is - But What About The Lack Of A Preamp?
Replies
17
Views
4K
DarthTangYang
DarthTangYang
Back
Top