Amp guys..Help! Is this a good deal? '68 Bassman 1X15...

[73171]

'68 Bassman head in a 1X15 Crusty cab with a JBL D130

$600


Good deal?
Overpriced?

[KenTone3]

It's a good deal.
On eBay a '68 Bassman head goes for $425.00
and a JBL D130 goes for $175.00
The two of those = $600, so you're getting the cabinet for free.

Of course, that is if the '68 Bassman head is in reasonably good shape.
If the tolex or grillcloth is torn the head is worth more like $375.00.

[73171]

Ooops.....it's actually in Crusty 1X15 COMBO cab...still a good deal?

[1955Junior]

Ooops.....it's actually in Crusty 1X15 COMBO cab...still a good deal?


A good deal, not a great deal. Would be a great deal if the head were blackface from '67 or earlier. With a crusty 1x15 combo cab, I wouldn't pay more than $475.

[CitizenCain]

Aren't the '68 heads still blackface circuits? Sounds like a good deal to me.

[hasserl]

No, by 68 the circuit had changed. Easy to change back though, or to a combination of circuits. Makes for a great amp.

[1955Junior]

No, by 68 the circuit had changed. Easy to change back though, or to a combination of circuits. Makes for a great amp.

You're exactly right.

Again, this is a good deal - but not a great deal.

[KenTone3]

The 1968 Bassman head has the Blackface AB165 circuit.
It also has the drip-edge trim around the grillcloth, and the front panel says "Bassman Amp".
By 1972 it was labeled as the "Bassman 50" and got the AA371 circuit.
By 1974 it got an orange-stripe grillcloth.

Here is a 1968 Bassman Amp on eBay ....
http://cgi.ebay.com/1968-Fender-Bassman-Amp-Head-Vintage-68-Valve-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ270079610203QQihZ017QQcategoryZ 38074QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The "Fender Amp Field Guide" also lists the Silverface in it's earlier years as still retaining the Blackface AB165 circuit....
http://www.ampwares.com/ffg/

[KenTone3]

Yes, I think it's still a good deal.
If the chassis is in good working order, and in good shape, it's worth at least $200-$250.
A new Bassman 1x15 combo cabinet also goes for $200-$250.

So the chassis with the new combo cabinet would be $400-$500.
Add in the JBL D130 for $175 and you’re talking between $575-$675.

Since the cabinet is used, you could knock off about $100.
So the final price would be somewhere between $475-$575.

What shape is the chassis in. Does it need a cap job or new tubes?
Is there any surface rust on the chassis or transformers, and what condition are the faceplates?

[openbar]

This could also serve as a lesson to those wanting to build their own amps.

Let's say the guy got the Bassman for $200 (which is very low). Spent $200 on caps and tubes. $300 on the cabinet. And I think a D130 will go for around $200 if it's in tip-top usable shape. So he's up to 800-900 total, not counting all the time in it, and then there's people on the interweb saying that $600 for all this is not a good deal. Well, that guy just learned a $300 lesson - he shoulda wanted to keep it after all that!

Though I must admit, to me $600 for this rig sounds completely reasonable. If someone local offered this, I'd have a hard time not buying it. What else can you get for that kind of money? It won't even buy you a silverface Deluxe Reverb any more.

[hasserl]

The 1968 Bassman head has the Blackface AB165 circuit.
It also has the drip-edge trim around the grillcloth, and the front panel says "Bassman Amp".
By 1972 it was labeled as the "Bassman 50" and got the AA371 circuit.
By 1974 it got an orange-stripe grillcloth.

Here is a 1968 Bassman Amp on eBay ....
http://cgi.ebay.com/1968-Fender-Bassman-Amp-Head-Vintage-68-Valve-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ270079610203QQihZ017QQcategoryZ 38074QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The "Fender Amp Field Guide" also lists the Silverface in it's earlier years as still retaining the Blackface AB165 circuit....
http://www.ampwares.com/ffg/

AB165 is considered "Blackface"? I have a 65 AB165 Bassman, with a silver faceplate.

This circuit is quite different from previous Bassman circuits. It's not a very pleasant sounding amp, IMO, until you do a few minor tweaks. The good thing is the tweaks are minor, but there are several options you have. It's just a good platform for tweaking something out of. Not so good in stock configuration.

[billyguitar]

Resale will always be problematic.

[loudboy]

It's a good deal.
On eBay a '68 Bassman head goes for $425.00

Not w/o the original cabinet...

Loudboy

[KenTone3]

AB165 is considered "Blackface"? I have a 65 AB165 Bassman, with a silver faceplate.

If you go to the "Fender Amp Field Guide" and select Blackface Bassman you will see it came in three
different Blackface circuits which are AA864, AA165, AB165.
You are correct, each circuit is different. The most sought-after is the AA864 circuit.
(The true Silverface circuit is the AA371).

Most people consider the "Bass" channel as unusable for guitar, and use the "Normal" channel instead.
Some like to jumper from the "Normal" channel to the "Bass" channel for a mixture of both.

Originally, the Fender company’s full name was "Fender Electric Instruments."
CBS bought Fender in January 1965, and changed the name of the company to "Fender Musical Instruments",
and by April 1965 "Fender Musical Instruments" appeared on the front of the Blackface faceplates.
The AB165 circuit remained - nothing else was changed.

In late 1967 the front faceplate was changed to silver with blue labels.
The grill cloth changed to blue stripe, and for 1968 and 1969 there was an aluminum frame around it.
The AB165 circuit remained.

The Blackface AB165 can also still be found in some 1970-1971 amps.
These do not have the aluminum frame (drip-edge) around the grillcloth.
But their faceplate will be labeled "Bassman Amp" (not "Bassman 50").

hasserl, as you can see it’s mighty strange for you to have a Silverface faceplate on an amp as early as 1965.
Maybe the faceplate was changed, or someone before you slid the chassis into a Silverface cabinet.
What color is your grillcloth?

[KenTone3]

Not w/o the original cabinet...

Loudboy

Correct. The $425.00 is with the original cabinet.

[drbob1]

D130s are killer speakers, but easily damaged, just make sure it doesn't need a recone (because there's still NO ONE who can properly recone a D130-Weber and Orange County can get close, but it's not the real thing...).

[hasserl]

hasserl, as you can see it’s mighty strange for you to have a Silverface faceplate on an amp as early as 1965.
Maybe the faceplate was changed, or someone before you slid the chassis into a Silverface cabinet.
What color is your grillcloth?

I don't know, it's tucked away in a pile of amps right now. I'll have to pull it out to take a closer look at it. FWIW, I dated it months ago (maybe even back in 05) by the eia codes on the transformers, and am just going by memory now, but I thought it was 65. I remember a thread somebody else started on Weber's amp board not long after I dated mine asking about the appearance of the first silver face Bassman's, and the answers to that question in that thread was the first appeared in 65.

But again, that is from memory, and to be honest I've never gotten into the nitty gritty details of Fender model changes by date. I bore on the topic quickly. I'm interested in the particular circuit details of any amp I am currently working on. But other than that, I don't commit the details to memory. If I need to look up details of an amp I refer to my logbook.