Question about Fender Bassman

[Psyre]

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?

[bronzetalon]

Meh I would just save cash and get a used reissue which for a deluxe can be had for about $700. If you go twin you can keep an eye out for a sliver face, they are cheap and built well and you can get it modded to black face specs if you like. I've had no issues with my used twin reissue.

Oh and the main difference between the twin a deluxe is whether you want to get fender overdrive or not. The twin will not break up when cranked on its own and the deluxe has a nice breakup but less headroom.

[Psyre]

Really? So all the hype on vintage amps is just more of the novelty? Hmm maybe a Twin would be more my style. I liked the Deluxe due to it's smaller size though.

[Chankgeez]

Which amp you should get depends on what you want from an amp.

Twins have about four times the power of a Deluxe Reverb.

How loud to you wanna be? Do you want loud & clean? How many speakers? Is the amp going to be used primarily for recording or playing live with a band?

Lots of determining factors to think about.

[bronzetalon]

Well there is a difference between circuit board (new) and ptp (old) wiring and the ptp is more durable and easier to mod. But at the cost of one vintage twin or deluxe you could go through 3 of the reissues before you broke even. Your actual tone comes from the circuit design itself, your tubes, and your speakers (for the most part). It doesn't really matter if it was made in the 60s or yesterday if all those things are equal.

Save on a reissue so you can play around with tubes and speakers if you like.

[Psyre]

How are the Super Sonics?

[Fuzzy Picklez]

Super sonics are cool.

The best amp I've ever played through was a vintage vibrolux.
I will play reissues until I die, before I fork out what people want for those things.

If you want an awesome vintage amp, and don't mind heavy gear, go buy a Fender Concert II.
I shouldn't you how awesome they are, so I can hoard them all to myself, but I'm doing it anyway.
In my books the best two fenders are those, and old vibroluxs.
Of course, that means absolutely nothing, but oh well.

[CBGB]

I have a late 70s Twin, one with a master volume - so you can get breakup or keep it clean at high volume. Very decent amps, not especially cool or as sought after as the earlier ones, but they love pedals and are really bloody loud.

[Psyre]

Thanks for the input, I guess I'm not super picky, and I know it's high hopes but boy would I love to get an amp and be so content that I never look the other way. I have time though, I really don't want to spend more than $1,300 or so which really leave just about everything open, so who knows what I may come across this year.

[theavondon]

SILVERFACE, ALL DAY

Can be found for cheap, sound great.

Or, honestly, just go to a bunch of stores, and try stuff out.

[proroby]

You can get great vintage sounds out of non fender amps that sound just as great at a fraction of the price. Ampeg Gemini I or II, Valco made amps, Trace Elliot Veliocette (sp?) (these are from the 90s), and some more that are slipping my mind ATM. I have a silver face twin and I love it but it's loud in an apartment setting.

[Gone Fission]

If you can't find a silverface Twin for under a grand you haven't heard of Craigslist.

[Zounds Perspex]

yeah, dude, lots of options here. for $1300 or so, here are some of the things I'd recommend.
I'm assuming since you are on this board you want something that's super pedal friendly.

1. Depending on your power needs, but a used DRRI or SRRI (awesome!), then send it to Rick @ Vintage Sound Amps and have him rip out the circuit boards and PTP wire the thing back up. He will do all the mods to make these things beastly. The cool part about this option is that you can pay for it in stages. SRRI for $900 or so, play with it a little, try just rebiasing, what have you. Have an extra $600 to play with? Send the chassic off, get a real blackface recreation, play an awesome amp forever. For what it's worth, I've never been a big fan of the Deluxe. Too Scooped, and won't give up loud cleans.

2. silverface Vibrolux Reverb. I have the BF version of this amp, and it's so super, super killer. not as fuzz friendly as some, but it's also not as scooped as most non-tweed Fenders and just sings all by itself when you crank it.

3. If you really want blackface, look for a Bassman. Try before you buy, though. Obviously these are missing reverb and trem, and have even less gain than a VR, DR, what have you.

I'm one of those dudes who's not wild about Twins, either. They are incredibly loud, which is cool, but they also take FOREVER to break up, and then when they do break up it's not so pleasing. If all you want is a loud clean pedal platform, it's the classic option (although I prefer a V4 for that.)

oh, and there's a non-Fender option. You could totally buy a V4 half-stack for that, dude. Mine cost $850 for amp and cab I think? Hasn't required one dollar in maintenance or tubes, either.

[Narwhal-Industries]

I've repaired guitar amps for over fifteen year as a pro.
My Favorite Black-face Fenders
1)Vibrolux
2)Pro Reverb
3)Vibroreverb

Also on your current amp, I think they sound a lot better if you replace the speaker with a Jensen P12N and V1 with a 12AY7.

[tchen]

I have a silverface Pro Reverb... and it seems to be a good compromise between some of the old Fenders. It's 2x12 like a Twin... but with half the power stage and a smaller OT which means you get nice break-up at a usable level. And there's lots of little things you can do to make it more suitable to your style. ie, swap speakers, tubes, transformers, etc.

My personal opinion... if you're going to spend the money, dont get a re-issue. I think most of the time you can find a vintage Fender as cheap if not cheaper than a reissue, and the quality and value (and mojo ill admit) are superior to new amps.

I may try to sell my Pro Reverb in the near future, so if you happen to pass through central IL, let me know if you want to check it out.