I didn't get it

Agileguy_101

Agileguy_101

Master of his Domain
The guy with the '68 sold it yesterday behind my back. Now I'm pissed.

This actually brought to my mind a few questions:

How often do Bassmans pop up?

Which circuit can't be jumpered? I read that the AB165 can be, and so can others, but I want to be able to jumper the amp so I need to know which ones to stay away from.

Craigslist and Ebay are a different game than going into music stores/pawn shops. If I were to find another '68 AB165 in a shop - what's the most I should pay, depending on condition?

I guess this means I gotta do a lot of looking - start calling pawn shops and music stores around the Bay Area. I almost had an amazing amp at a dirt cheap price, and next to no work put into finding it. ****
 
Re: I didn't get it

They pop up quite a bit, if you can track down an early 68 "drip edge" jump on it. The chassis inside will be stamped 67. Great amps, owned one for a long time til I got my 66 Ab165. They love to be jumped or y cabled if you have enough length for the jacks. Still among the best deals on the planet for a great blues and rock amp.
 
Re: I didn't get it

BF and SF Bassman heads are still a dime a dozen...just look, I bet I coudl find a dozen or more in Atlanta right now.

As for jumpering the channel ALL Bassman heads can be jumpered...
 
Re: I didn't get it

Yup. It's the guitar amps with Normal and Effects channels that can't be jumpered (without first having a simple mod). Bassman = jumper-friendly.

I need to find me a 68 Bassman someday soon. I played one a looooong time ago, and it was awesome.
 
Re: I didn't get it

All bassman heads can be jumpered, but some don't sound all that great when you do it. The ones with matching numbers of gain stages per side are supposed to do well when jumpered. AB165 is the only one I can think of off the top of my head that sounds great when jumpered. AA371 is horrid jumpered and the AA864 isn't good jumpered to my ears.

If you can get a real AA864 at a good price, jump on it. It's a phenomenal amp. Just don't mod it because they aren't all that common. AA165 is my suggestion (early silverface or late blackface). It's a pretty darned good amp right out of the box and it can be modded to be excellent.
 
Re: I didn't get it

the guy who invented fire said:
As for jumpering the channel ALL Bassman heads can be jumpered...
Click to expand...

Taken from a user on TDPRI

sjhusting said:
when you jump channels, you are running through them in parallel. As a rule of thumb, this gives you about 30% more gain. This is noticable, but it's not like a JCM800, where the high input adds a gain stage in series. The sound will be 'fatter.'

The issue is whether the signals that come out of each channel are in-phase or out-of-phase. This is determined by the number of gain stages - each triode inverts the signal. If they both have an odd number, or both an even number, of gain stages, then the signals will be in phase. It doesn't have to be the same odd or even number. If one has an odd number, and the other an even number, the signals will be out of phase, and you get phase cancellation. This is why you normally don't jump channels on a two-channel-with-reverb fender, the reverb channel has an extra gain stage for the reverb and the two channels are out of phase.

All the bassman heads are set up the same way (except the 6G6 and AA864 circuits); each channel has an input stage and a recovery stage before going to the phase inverter, so the signals are in phase, you can jump them. The 6G6 and AA864 will be out-of-phase. (the four stages in the 6G6 bass channel include a 'cathode follower' - which does NOT invert the signal, so there are 3 phase-inverting stages).
Click to expand...
 
Re: I didn't get it

Gr8Scott said:
All bassman heads can be jumpered, but some don't sound all that great when you do it. The ones with matching numbers of gain stages per side are supposed to do well when jumpered. AB165 is the only one I can think of off the top of my head that sounds great when jumpered. AA371 is horrid jumpered and the AA864 isn't good jumpered to my ears.

If you can get a real AA864 at a good price, jump on it. It's a phenomenal amp. Just don't mod it because they aren't all that common. AA165 is my suggestion (early silverface or late blackface). It's a pretty darned good amp right out of the box and it can be modded to be excellent.
Click to expand...

What would you say a good price for an AA864 is? Why do you recommend an AA165 over an AB165 - what are the differences?
 
Re: I didn't get it

Is it Bassmans or Bassmen? I mean, of course, ignoring the fact that all bass players are little girls.
 
Re: I didn't get it

Agileguy_101 said:
What would you say a good price for an AA864 is? Why do you recommend an AA165 over an AB165 - what are the differences?
Click to expand...

I screwed up the typing. AB165 is my suggestion. I'm unsure what the going rate is for the AA864 now. I thought it was $800, but seems to have dropped according to Ebay to around $560.
 
Re: I didn't get it

Gr8Scott said:
I screwed up the typing. AB165 is my suggestion. I'm unsure what the going rate is for the AA864 now. I thought it was $800, but seems to have dropped according to Ebay to around $560.
Click to expand...

And what's the average for an AB165?
 
Re: I didn't get it

I'm not quite sure. I just felt like it was almost where I wanted it to be, but it just came up a little short. Part of it may be that I don't like MV's in general - I don't like the way the channel volume interacts with the MV pot.
 
Re: I didn't get it

Ask a tech how much he'd charge to remove a MV from the circuit ...it's a quick and simple job. That way maybe you could pick up a MV model cheaply and have the MV taken out of the circuit. I've removed MVs from some silver-faced Fender amps, and they do sound better, particularly at lower volumes.
 
Re: I didn't get it

So I found a Bassman 50 - non MV - for sale locally with the cabinet for $200 bucks. How easily - or how much would it run me - to have it modded to AB165 spec? If it costs less than $200, I can easily afford it and I'd probably be able to pick it up this weekend.
 
Last edited:
Re: I didn't get it

BUY IT!!!! That's an unheard of price if it works. You could have the whole thing modded to any fender Bassman you want and still come out ahead.
 
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