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The Bassman is not an amp often discussed here but...I found a silverface
Bassman 10 combo
amp and silver face Bassman 50 head at the local Guitar Center, and both seemed
reasonably
priced. The head was $259, the Bassman 10 was about $650.
Since it's virtually impossible to assess an amp at the raucous local Guitar
Center, I wondered
if either of these represented a good, clean surf sound, and if either was worth
the money. I
already have a hand-wired Fender Reverb clone, so no need for on-board 'verb.
I am relying on the expertise of the good people at SG101 to help me make this
decision, so
please, comment only if you know of what you are talking!
Many thanks!
Gavin
I have a Bassman (50) amp head in my collection and I
like it a lot.....It stays pretty clean but will, when
pushed begin to compress and get very musical.....Not
as loud a say a Twin Reverb or Showman ( Ok Ivan, a
Dual Professional) but for that money, it sounds like
a good deal.. Quick things to check....Make sure the
fuse is approximately what it is supposed to have in
it and also stuff your nose up in the back and smell
for anything that smells burned or smokey. Plug it in
with your tank and listen....It could probably use
some TLC but I think it has good potential. Most
issues with those amps are fairly easliy fixed....You
do want to start out with good transformers
though....everything else inside is fairly cheap and
easy to fix......eddie k
--- Gavin Ehringer <>
wrote:
> The Bassman is not an amp often discussed here
> but...I found a silverface Bassman 10 combo
> amp and silver face Bassman 50 head at the local
> Guitar Center, and both seemed reasonably
> priced. The head was $259, the Bassman 10 was about
> $650.
>
> Since it's virtually impossible to assess an amp at
> the raucous local Guitar Center, I wondered
> if either of these represented a good, clean surf
> sound, and if either was worth the money. I
> already have a hand-wired Fender Reverb clone, so no
> need for on-board 'verb.
>
> I am relying on the expertise of the good people at
> SG101 to help me make this decision, so
> please, comment only if you know of what you are
> talking!
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Gavin
>
>
>
>
>
__________________________________
Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click.
Gavin,
The head is worth way more than $250, any day of the
week. It's essentially a Bandmaster without the
"vibrato" circuit. That should be enough to make
you run back out and snatch the thing up. <g> Then,
go out and score a closed back 2x12" or 2x15" cabinet,
and sound like the Astronauts! <lol>
OTOH, the Bassman 10 shares the 4x10" open back
configuration of the Super and the Concert. Sadly, to
my ears, all of these amps sound muddy when played in
the lower registers at higher volume levels. Great
for blues, not so great if you're going for that clean
surf tone. Personally, I'd pass on this one, unless
they drop the price to where you can sell it for what
you paid for it if you end up not liking it. <g>
(Check eBay and craigslist in your area to see what
these units normally go for.)
unlunf
--- In , "Gavin Ehringer" <gavinehringer@e...>
wrote:
>
> The Bassman is not an amp often discussed here but...I found a
> silverface Bassman 10 combo amp and silver face Bassman 50 head
> at the local Guitar Center, and both seemed reasonably priced.
> The head was $259, the Bassman 10 was about $650.
>
> Since it's virtually impossible to assess an amp at the raucous
> local Guitar Center, I wondered if either of these represented a
> good, clean surf sound, and if either was worth the money. I
> already have a hand-wired Fender Reverb clone, so no need for
> on-board 'verb.
>
> I am relying on the expertise of the good people at SG101 to
> help me make this decision, so please, comment only if you know
> of what you are talking!
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Gavin
>
I agree with unlunf, leave the 10-er alone. it's too expensive
anyway. (btw, you mail doesn't say if it's a 50 watter or a later UL
70 watter, which would be even worse.)
with the bassman 50, you'd want to check ampwares and
schematicheaven - they underwent quite a lot of circuit-changes, not
sure how drastic they where. I love my '71 for sure, check my other
post on cheap rigs.
Bassmans are not bandmasters sans vibrato btw, they have rather
different OT's, to handle the bass output they where designed for I
guess. soundwise i'd say they sound a bit more 'wild' and have a bit
beefier low end. (but perhaps that's the difference between my
bassman and other bassmans, rather then between bassmans and
bandmasters)
good surf amp with great price/sound comparisson imo. comes in handy
as a low-wattage bassamp too, say, for recording.
btw, check out
the guy with the strat (2nd guitar mostly) plays a bassman 50. they
have soundsamples.
WR
--- In , "unlunf" <unlunf@y...> wrote:
>
> Gavin,
>
> The head is worth way more than $250, any day of the
> week. It's essentially a Bandmaster without the
> "vibrato" circuit. That should be enough to make
> you run back out and snatch the thing up. <g> Then,
> go out and score a closed back 2x12" or 2x15" cabinet,
> and sound like the Astronauts! <lol>
>
> OTOH, the Bassman 10 shares the 4x10" open back
> configuration of the Super and the Concert. Sadly, to
> my ears, all of these amps sound muddy when played in
> the lower registers at higher volume levels. Great
> for blues, not so great if you're going for that clean
> surf tone. Personally, I'd pass on this one, unless
> they drop the price to where you can sell it for what
> you paid for it if you end up not liking it. <g>
>
> (Check eBay and craigslist in your area to see what
> these units normally go for.)
>
>
> unlunf
>
>
> --- In , "Gavin Ehringer"
<gavinehringer@e...> wrote:
> >
> > The Bassman is not an amp often discussed here but...I found a
> > silverface Bassman 10 combo amp and silver face Bassman 50 head
> > at the local Guitar Center, and both seemed reasonably priced.
> > The head was $259, the Bassman 10 was about $650.
> >
> > Since it's virtually impossible to assess an amp at the raucous
> > local Guitar Center, I wondered if either of these represented a
> > good, clean surf sound, and if either was worth the money. I
> > already have a hand-wired Fender Reverb clone, so no need for
> > on-board 'verb.
> >
> > I am relying on the expertise of the good people at SG101 to
> > help me make this decision, so please, comment only if you know
> > of what you are talking!
> >
> > Many thanks!
> >
> > Gavin
> >
>
Gah! Where is this Guitar Center?
I've looking for a head to go with the old empty Vox Cabinet I picked up for
$15 and loaded with a nice pair of Weber speakers. I'd jump on a $260
Bassman head in a second (as long as it wasn't on fire recently!)
Z
On 11/1/05, Gavin Ehringer <> wrote:
>
> The Bassman is not an amp often discussed here but...I found a silverface
> Bassman 10 combo
> amp and silver face Bassman 50 head at the local Guitar Center, and both
> seemed reasonably
> priced. The head was $259, the Bassman 10 was about $650.
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
WR,
In my career, I've seen many 'voodoo' claims for one
transformer being better (for a given purpose) than
the other. I've seen so many amps over the years where
the output tranny was exchanged for the opposing amps'
unit, just for the 'tone value'. I couldn't hear any-
thing different then, and I certainly don't hear it now.
In point of fact, if you attempt to buy a standard
replacement unit (not claiming to be NOS), then you're
gonna find that the same part number will be shipped
to you, no matter if you specify a Bandmaster or a
Bassman. Check halfway down this page to see what
I mean:
<>
(However, I -can- hear some sonic differences between
the replacement manufacturers. Myself, I like the
units found on the above page. I've never had a
customer come back and ask for an exchange - they're
always happy with the tone.)
As for the difference in overall tone, a properly built
Bassman will have larger value caps in the tone stack,
and a "Deep" switch, adding yet another capacitor to the
circuit. Perhaps this is what you hear when comparing
your unit to others. <g>
unlunf
--- In , "mono_tones_1" <rockverb@h...> wrote:
>
> .....
> Bassmans are not bandmasters sans vibrato btw, they have rather
> different OT's, to handle the bass output they where designed for
> I guess. soundwise i'd say they sound a bit more 'wild' and have
> a bit beefier low end. (but perhaps that's the difference between
> my bassman and other bassmans, rather then between bassmans and
> bandmasters)
> good surf amp with great price/sound comparisson imo. comes in
> handy as a low-wattage bassamp too, say, for recording.
>
> btw, check out
> the guy with the strat (2nd guitar mostly) plays a bassman 50. they
> have soundsamples.
>
> WR
>
Hi Gavin,
I have a Bassman 10 with closed back 4X10 cab. $650 seems pretty high in my
opinion. Did you plug it in and check out the sound? I use mine as a back up and
second voice if needed, but I can't say I'm in love with it too much. Maybe it's
the 10"
speakers? It's got a bit colder tone than my Twin. Plus, it weighs a TON!
The Bassman head sounds like a good deal though.
Dale
Hi Gavin,
The Bassman head sounds like a good deal though.
Dale
Thanks to Dale, DP, Boulder Bob, and everyone else who weighed in on Bassman
silverface
amps. Armed with info, I go fourth to shop, confident in my decision-making.
Mahalo,
Gavin
"Landlocked in the Rockies"
go for it boy, go for it!
let us know how it went and how you like it.
WR
--- In , "Gavin Ehringer"
<gavinehringer@e...> wrote:
>
> Hi Gavin,
> The Bassman head sounds like a good deal though.
> Dale
>
> Thanks to Dale, DP, Boulder Bob, and everyone else who weighed in
on Bassman silverface
> amps. Armed with info, I go fourth to shop, confident in my
decision-making.
>
> Mahalo,
>
> Gavin
>
> "Landlocked in the Rockies"
>
ps: don't forget to take your guitar and reverb unit!
-dp
--- Gavin Ehringer <> wrote:
> Hi Gavin,
> The Bassman head sounds like a good deal though.
> Dale
>
> Thanks to Dale, DP, Boulder Bob, and everyone else who
> weighed in on Bassman silverface
> amps. Armed with info, I go fourth to shop, confident in
> my decision-making.
>
> Mahalo,
>
> Gavin
>
> "Landlocked in the Rockies"
>
>
>
>
>
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