Question about Fender Bassman

[tchen]

Or get a vintage Traynor!

[Psyre]

This was just posted today, the price is unbelievable so I am skeptical, but I sent an email. What's up with the Black grill cloth though??
http://littlerock.craigslist.org/msg/2781144072.html

[Zounds Perspex]

The original one might have gotten ripped or something. Go play it, if it's in halfway decent shape that's a great deal.

[bronzetalon]

Heres another one with a black grill http://chafinmusic.com/fendertwinreverb ... 01JI7CD8GF maybe they made some with the black grill. If its got the jensen speakers tubes and sounds good go for it. Even it its a knock off $500 bucks for a twin clone is a good deal.

[cheesecats]

i have a 1980 135 watt silver face twin with jbl's and a 2005ish 85 watt '65 reissue twin and frankly i can't tell much difference (i think i've been standing too close to crash cymbals for too long ). they are both crystal clear and loud and take pedals extremely well, which suits my style. it seems to me vintage amps are much more dodgy than vintage guitars and can run into hefty repair bills unless you know how to fix and maintain them. that's why i went with the reissue. my next will be a super reverb--i bought a silverface new in '68 and have regretted it ever since. beware--twins and supers are quite a load.

if you're looking vintage, i'll throw music man into the mix. i have a seventy-five head that i like as much as my twin.

[bennybanana]

I bought a 66 Blackface bassman for $500, with a nice cab it sounds incredible. It has alot of the attributes of a twin - great pedal platform, shimmery fender cleans - but at half the power wont take your head off. I didnt need or want tremelo or reverb, got pedals for those sounds. It is simple, basic, and easily moddable to early JTM45/Tweed or Blonde Bassman specs on either channel. Any decent tech can keep the old ptp Fender's running, and Ive never had a problem with it. But I'd recommend playing as many as you can, with your gear if possible or at the very least your guitar. That way you'll know when you find the one...

[Narwhal-Industries]

i have a 1980 135 watt silver face twin with jbl's and a 2005ish 85 watt '65 reissue twin and frankly i can't tell much difference (i think i've been standing too close to crash cymbals for too long ). they are both crystal clear and loud and take pedals extremely well, which suits my style.

Does your '65 reissue have the Jensen C12K speakers?

[cheesecats]

Does your '65 reissue have the Jensen C12K speakers?

no, it came with gold label eminence speakers, i don't know the model.

[Narwhal-Industries]

Does your '65 reissue have the Jensen C12K speakers?

no, it came with gold label eminence speakers, i don't know the model.

A few months ago I had two twin 135 Watt amps in here that I was working on at the time. One had vintage JBL D120 speakers, the other I was installing Jensen C12N speakers in. I was really surprised that the Jensen speakers were as clean and loud as the JBL speakers. I don't really care for the gold label Fender Speakers.

[cheesecats]

I have e-120s in the silver face--incredibly bell-like at high volumes. I like the gold labels fine--clean, with a bit less bite.

[Psyre]

updated original post

[Narwhal-Industries]

wondering about the Bassman, how do the Vintage Tweed compare to the Blackface Head/cab set up? Mainly just less clean headroom on the tweed?

Completely different amp. The AB165 Bassman which comes in black or silver face is one of my favorite amps.

[Gone Fission]

Holy thread edit!

Yes, different animals. The heads have low preamp gain and preamps generally close to the other blackface/silverface "normal" channels, usually stiffer power supplies, and better bass with their sealed cabinets. Vintage tweeds are somewhere in a zone between furrier sounding small tweed amps and very early Marshalls. Tweed reissues are stiffer in the power suplly, so they sag less and are in some ways a bit closer to a plexi Marshall.

Any of them should have enough clean headroom for most fuzzes.