Bass thru a vintage Fender Bassman head?

[fuzzbox]

I got a 1964 Fender Bassman head, essentially a guitar amp but i decided to try it with a bass and I love the way it sounds. Vintage tone but not much headroom and not the best speaker cab. How did they manage to use these for bass back in the days and is anyone using them for that today? What is a good cab for it, a 15" or 2x10"? Don't want a big rig, just something for jams!

[archtop]

great amp... want to sell it?:drool

i use one quite often in the studio driven to distortion. The bass gets recorded on two tracks, with one being direct through a solid state pre, and the other the overdriven bassman through a 4x10.

Clarity and attitude when you mix the two together.:BEER

[TedintheShed]

A Bassman/4x10 combo is a perrenial favorite amoung bassists, especially when recording.

[megl]

I got a 1964 Fender Bassman head, essentially a guitar amp

No - essentially it's a bass amp ... guitarists just found it worked great for guitar too. Back in early sixties, there wasn't much difference between guitar and bass amps ... or PA systems for that matter ;-)

/megl

[John Phillips]

+1.

In fact, the Bassman head - actually the Brownface version, which came first - was one of the very first amps truly designed for bass. (Possibly some of the Ampegs qualify too.) Up to the '59 Bassman, bass amps were just guitar amps with a little more power and bass response.

Separating the amp and speakers, and putting the speakers in a sealed cab, using a solid-state rectifier and an OT specifically designed for extended low-end response, a DC coupled (no LF roll-off point) channel mix stage... all improvements in getting a solid, deep bass response from the limited power available back then. The only surprise to me is that they didn't go for a 100W version immediately, since it could have been done. (The Showman did not have all of those features, although it still makes a great bass amp.)

The Bassman having a Normal channel is the 'additional' bit... the fact that the AA864 Bassman's Normal channel is also the very best single tone Fender ever put in an amp for guitar too (IMO) is just an accident :).

[RickC]

I use one with a 1x15 cab; it's a good small room rig.

/rick

[flicker180]

i've got a 64...you want it, archtop? :P

i really, really enjoy my Bassman head....and my bassplayer does too. *shrug*

cheers,

dave

[mainsale]

Back in the olden days when I was gigging a '65 Fender Bassman with a pair of Fender 2x12 cabinets was what I used along with a Hofner Beatle Bass. Did I mention I was in a soul band? I got by volumewise, but only just. Having said that, the tone was outstanding and I wish I still had that amp today. It would be fine with todays PA's and it sure looked cool!!! By the way....I do still have the Hofner.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Mainsale/Guitars203.jpg

[fuzzbox]

No - essentially it's a bass amp ... guitarists just found it worked great for guitar too. Back in early sixties, there wasn't much difference between guitar and bass amps ... or PA systems for that matter ;-)

/megli know, but since most were/are used as guitar amps i called it as such!

[scottlr]

Hmmm, I've been meaning to try recording bass with my 64 Bassman.

Nice Hofner!

[pete kanaras]

for a single 15 the bag end S15L-D is hands down the best 15 cab i've ever used. it's the in-between size: 22x18x18. killer. and yeah, i use a bassman head with it.

[musicofanatic5]

In most cases the Bassman is widely considered under powered for bass. Back in "the day" it was common that the bassist would use the guitarist's Showman, and the guitarist, the bass man's Bassman. As a matter of fact my recollection is that the preference of most guitatists was for the bass channel, over the gtr channel on the Bassman. Hmmm...
I have enjoyed a Showman head for many years for fender bass (not so good with upright) that has been tightened up for bass (7581a power tubes, pro-bass resistor and cap value changes, etc.) Previous to thatI used a Twin Reverb chassis I had been given. Mounted in a Showman-style head box, it went to hundreds of gigs as my bass amp. Mostly used it with 12" and 15" thiele type cabs.
The fender "tone-ring", single speaker cabinets of the early sixties are tremendous, or at least (by my experience) the single 15" Showman cab is. A D-140 is a must. My fave for years. Must have smaller and lighter gear now (older) so no more fender bass amps for me. Sure was fun though...

[pete kanaras]

oops, i shoulda said the bassman head has been modded to hell and back! output wise now it's on par with a bf showman.

jon, what were the bass friendly cap/resistor changes you settled on?

[billyguitar]

I used to play with a jerk that used a stock blackface Bassman head into two Mesa Boogie 1x15 cabs with EVs. That amp had a lot of acoustic volume and could keep up with drummers easily. Great sounding rig.

[Chuck King]

A rehearsal studio where a former band practiced had a silverface Bassman 100 as their regular bass amp, and it got plenty loud for the room without getting too ragged, and I think it would have been fine for smaller gigs. Sounded good too.

[Bassomatic]

Back in the olden days when I was gigging a '65 Fender Bassman with a pair of Fender 2x12 cabinets was what I used along with a Hofner Beatle Bass. Did I mention I was in a soul band? I got by volumewise, but only just. Having said that, the tone was outstanding and I wish I still had that amp today. It would be fine with todays PA's and it sure looked cool!!! By the way....I do still have the Hofner.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Mainsale/Guitars203.jpg

Still kicking myself for selling my Hofner some years back (and it was a mere - but wonderful - reissue). Yours is a beauty.

[musicofanatic5]

oops, i shoulda said the bassman head has been modded to hell and back! output wise now it's on par with a bf showman.

jon, what were the bass friendly cap/resistor changes you settled on?
Can't recall for sure, Pete, and now the amp is in the hands of another gp-type. I can say that the changes were inspired by an article or two by Gerry Weber in VG mag, with the input of the performing tech, Mr. Dan Schalbe. That baby stood tall as a bass amp, but I now imploy lighter, more hi-fi ish gear for bass.

[pete kanaras]

oh ok, i remember those arcticles. we're on the same wavelength then; smaller coupling caps like .22's, da da da. that's next. i got most of my input from my old tech in ny and aiken's arcticle on Blocking Distortion. unless the drummer is an absolute animal this thing just coasts along with a single 15. man it has got tone for days. i just love seeing bass players look twice and blink when they see that rig!

[Garbanzoman]

Just ask Leeland Sklar what he thinks of a Bassman :dude. He loved his.

He did a lot of records using a Bassman, though don't know if he's still using one in the studio.

Very cool Hofner, BTW!

[oakst8]

my bass player recently tried a bassman ('62, i think). he absolutely loved it but found that it didn't have sufficient power, which seems to be consistent with the consensus here. we have a big band and a loud drummer.

so:
any recs on amps that can provide something akin to the old bassman tone, with sufficient power for modern bass playing? just looking for a head, most likely.

[PeeWee]

for a single 15 the bag end S15L-D is hands down the best 15 cab i've ever used. it's the in-between size: 22x18x18. killer. and yeah, i use a bassman head with it. oops, i shoulda said the bassman head has been modded to hell and back! output wise now it's on par with a bf showman

And I can personally testify that this rig is the sh*t! Very warm and meaty with that classic "old school" tone. :bow After hearing Pete's, I'd kill to have a blackface Bassman.....just figuratively speaking, of course.

[pete kanaras]

so:
any recs on amps that can provide something akin to the old bassman tone, with sufficient power for modern bass playing? just looking for a head, most likely.

no, not really. a low powered 2 output tube head has this thang, a gutsiness and growl you just can't get with a 4 or 6 tube design. it's not so much about breaking up(i don't like a lot of dirt), it's about the touch. you can get louder with more tubes yeah but you lose something along with it. if i can't get enough stage volume(a very rare thing btw)i just mic up the cab. for outdoor gigs i treat the rig like my personal monitor and the foh guy gives everybody what they need, rather than me blowing out the stage with too much volume. it's a far better scenario ime; the bass amp is as loud as the kick drum is acoustically, not the other way around. drummers smile when they experience this rig. they smile a LOT. you need super efficient cabs. i prefer 15's, single or double.

2tube heads are about a commitment to a certain sound. they're not everyone's cup of tea, and that suits me just fine!

here's a partial list:

black/silver bassman(i prefer 'em over brown, more headroom)
ampeg B25(absolutely killer)
oliver B2000(very rare. got one, gonna have it gone through real soon)
sunn 200s
allesandro made a 2tube head awhile back

anybody else have a favorite?

[mbetter]

I bet the Dr. Z KT-45 would have been a killer bass rig. I wish I thought of this before I traded my old one away :(

[The Golden Boy]

Shit.

I saw John's post and was glad he was back. Then I saw the date.

[DesertHermit]

For my live rig, I'm using a Hofner v63 through a 70s era Bassman 135 with a 4-10 cab and it sounds wonderful.

[pete kanaras]

Hofner v63 through a 70s era Bassman 135 with a 4-10 cab

KILLER RIG, ouch!

[DesertHermit]

Hofner v63 through a 70s era Bassman 135 with a 4-10 cab

KILLER RIG, ouch!

Thanks, Pete. The tone from that setup is wonderful and fits perfectly with the band I'm playing with. Channel and Master volumes both on "4" and plenty loud.

[Belmont]

the tone from an old bassman head is awesome,great for recording.I run mine into a load box and then out to a mono bridged power amp into an Ampeg Svt 8x10,that solves the lack of headroom problem.

[skylabfilmpop]

Blackfaced and Silverfaced showman and dual showman amps make great bass amps as do the late 70's bassman 100's. also in a similar era but slightly more power the Guild Thunderbass amp is very cool. Several models were made, the last version was about 75 watts. Used by Jack Bruce, and sound like an ampeg b15 and svt combined.