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Hi All,
Got the oppertunity to get a Bassman 135 head for a decent price. All
seams very well taken care of and it comes with garantie from the shop.
Although it's the "135" model (late seventies) of which I heard bad
things, I'm still curious about it...
I intend to use it for surf stuff, but also perhaps for other stuff.
So what are the general opinions on this one? Any good? (BF stuff is no
longer affordable here on the other side of the pond, so not really an
option) I'm looking for a clean machine with enough power for outdoor
gig's etc....(non PA that is) my current Bandmaster Reverb comes a bit
short from time to time...
I'm also thinking I can always resell it later on. (should I not really
like it)
Thanks,
-Jerry S. (always aking before shelling the buck's)
Jerry, my 2 cents:
i've heard good things about the bassman 135 for bass. strictly for
bass that is, where the ultralinear output tranny seems to do its
work.
in my opinion, unless you can get it for absurdly cheap, don't buy it
for guitar. You're going to want to get rid of it quickly. as far
as 'fender tone' is concerned, the UL models dont have it.
if it's really cheap (say 250 euro's or less) it's worth buying and
rebuilding. this would involve connecting the output tranny non-
ultralineair, bringing down the voltage on the B+ rail (changing a
couple of resisters) and installing a choke tranny. not to
complicated, but prepare to spend a day work and around 50 euro's.
and you're still stuck with an only so-so output trannty. A standard
85/100w fender output tranny is around 80 euro's.
and it still wont be "that" fender amp. the only reason to do this is
for financial reasons.
If you decide to go for it i'll be glad to help getting the parts and
explaing what to do.
However, if the bassman is something like 400 euros, as i expect, you
might want to wait and get your hands on a 85 or 100 watt 4x6L6 amp,
either a twin, a dual showman reverb or a bassman. they pop up on
ebay germany on a regular basis. in the last two moths or so if see
two bf showmans (yes, bf showmens) go for around 700 euros, and a
shitload of (nonUL) SF's of all sorts for less. bf bassmans and
bandmasters as well. if you have time, they are available for less
then a new reissue fender..
and here's a confession: just because i happened to check ebay
germany at the right time, i came across a late sixties/early
seventies 85watt SF showman (no reverb), with alu trim on the
edges.... i suspect the one with bf interior.... it was posted like
20 minutes before and had a buy it now price of 375 euros, it was a 5
hours drive away.
so what did i do? i went home, and talked it over with the old lady,
cause 'i need to sleep over such a big investment'. that's what a
lame stupid mofo shitforbrains fool i am, i confess. alas, the next
day it was gone of course
now excuse me, remembering this, i have to go out and find a log to
hit myself in the head with...
wannes
