NAD Louis Electric Tweed Bassman!!

[stevebo]

A compilation of stuff from last week's gig with the LE Bassman. I've been able to play Lou's Bassman and my old Victoria side by side for about a week now. I'm pretty attached to the Victoria but gotta say, the LE is about as close to the feel of an old Bassman as I've experienced. It's a complete joy to play. Like buttah. I'd describe it as all of the good stuff and non of the not-so-good. The gig was very lightly attended and with a mostly empty room I couldn't get away with too much volume. Where it's lightly dirty it's a TS9 with just a hint of grit, the dirtier stuff (like the LP) is a Zen Drive. In a bigger room with more people I'd probably use the Tube Screamer a little less and just let the amp do its thing. The camera is a GoPro at my knee and a little off axis but it's a pretty decent representation of the sound in the room. Folks talking in the background gives you a sense of the volume in the room.

There are a few tunes in the clip with different tones and such so skip around a bit.



I'll make some notes on the differences between the Louis Electric and my Victoria in a bit. It's a pretty dramatic difference.

 

[rebellovw]

Awesome!

 

[DiPa]

Hey Steve thanks for posting, I been very much curious and interested in hearing the LE Bassman. I once compared the Victoria to the Kingsville Grammatico, the Grammatico ate it for lunch. So now I am curious how this LE compares to the Kingsville?
I always enjoy your clips.

 

[Bigtone]

Really great tone ,great amp right there, very nice playing,
thx for posting

I find it interesting how the old Bassman circuit is still tough to beat, clean to mean,

Bt

 

[beckstriad]

Sounds fantastic! Lou is one of the good ones!

 

[stevebo]

Hey Steve thanks for posting, I been very much curious and interested in hearing the LE Bassman. I once compared the Victoria to the Kingsville Grammatico, the Grammatico ate it for lunch. So now I am curious how this LE compares to the Kingsville?
I always enjoy your clips.

Thanks DiPa! Honestly not much of a contest for me between the two. The speakers are part of it but the LE just feels better, even through the Victoria's speakers. No experience with the Kingsville.

 

[stevebo]

Really great tone ,great amp right there, very nice playing,
thx for posting

I find it interesting how the old Bassman circuit is still tough to beat, clean to mean,

Bt

Thanks BT! Agreed, tough to beat a good Bassman.

 

[stevebo]

Sounds fantastic! Lou is one of the good ones!

Thanks! And yes he is!

 

[Trinehart]

Nice! Wish I could play the blues like that, you have a great swing feel to your style. Lou is one of the best IMHO! Cheers.

 

[MRscratch]

A compilation of stuff from last week's gig with the LE Bassman. I've been able to play Lou's Bassman and my old Victoria side by side for about a week now. I'm pretty attached to the Victoria but gotta say, the LE is about as close to the feel of an old Bassman as I've experienced. It's a complete joy to play. Like buttah. I'd describe it as all of the good stuff and non of the not-so-good. The gig was very lightly attended and with a mostly empty room I couldn't get away with too much volume. Where it's lightly dirty it's a TS9 with just a hint of grit, the dirtier stuff (like the LP) is a Zen Drive. In a bigger room with more people I'd probably use the Tube Screamer a little less and just let the amp do its thing. The camera is a GoPro at my knee and a little off axis but it's a pretty decent representation of the sound in the room. Folks talking in the background gives you a sense of the volume in the room.

There are a few tunes in the clip with different tones and such so skip around a bit.



I'll make some notes on the differences between the Louis Electric and my Victoria in a bit. It's a pretty dramatic difference.

i got a vicky
not sure how much better anything else really could be?
They have all the old specs from fender...
crazy good amp..

 

[stevebo]

Differences between the Victoria and Louis Electric...the obvious visible difference is speakers. LE has Emi 1028K and the Vicky has Jensen P10R. I played each amp through the other's cab to test the speaker difference. Quite dramatic. The Emi's just sounded better in every way. The P12R were bright and edgy in comparison, not as smooth or able to deal with big EQ moves. If I keep the Vicky I'll be swapping the speakers.

There's another big difference between the amps and that's the onboard reverb in the Victoria. I'm sure this has some affect on the response of the amp though I can't know exactly.

Lou also added a negative feedback control so you can dial in a lower amount, thus bringing some additional fatness to the tone.

Both amps played through the LE cab are closer but here again, the Victoria is thinner tonally, maybe lean by comparison. The breakup isn't as sweet and that thick smooth thing the LE does is absent. I've owned the Victoria for maybe 15 years and I know it well, recorded and gigged it a bunch. Amp to amp the Louis just sounds better. Can't tell you why. I'm sure they're both faithful to the original circuit, both extremely well made.

On the gig it was really easy to dial in something both present and warm, a remarkably difficult thing to do. Warm can turn to mush and present can get spikey and have people running for the exit. One of the folks that's a regular at this gig described it as 'creamy'. Yup!

 

[stevebo]

Nice! Wish I could play the blues like that, you have a great swing feel to your style. Lou is one of the best IMHO! Cheers.

Thanks! Totally agree re: Lou.

 

[stevebo]

i got a vicky
it sure how much better anything g else really could be?
They have all the old specs from fender...
crazy good amp..

I hear ya. I've loved my Victoria for years. Lou's amp has some extra somethin' going on that just feels right.

What speakers do you have in yours?

 

[Gridlock]

Sounds great and nice playing.

 

[splatt]

@stevebo

which model/year of Bassman is this derived from?
and:
does Lou offer a complete defeat of all negative feedback on that switch?

thanks!

 

[Bluesful]

Damn, that Tele tone is sooooo good.

 

[stevebo]

@stevebo

which model/year of Bassman is this derived from?
and:
does Lou offer a complete defeat of all negative feedback on that switch?

thanks!

Hey David,

Not sure on which year specifically but I'll check with Lou or get him to chime in here. @Tag might know

I haven't popped the cover but if it's similar to the Cobra NFB control it bleeds some signal through a cap even when the pot is fully off. Seems it would be easy enough to add a full defeat switch or a push pull pot.

 

[stevebo]

Damn, that Tele tone is sooooo good.

Yes! So much fun to play. Big, clear and creamy goodness. I have the tone on my tele wired to the bridge pu and I'm usually dialing it back at least a little. Not sure I did that at all on this gig but it's kind of involuntary so I'd have to watch the vid to be sure.

 

[stevebo]

@stevebo

which model/year of Bassman is this derived from?
and:
does Lou offer a complete defeat of all negative feedback on that switch?

thanks!

Just talked to the man. It's a 5F6-A.

 

[gkoelling]

Sweet tone, great playing. My time listening/watching was well spent.

Thanks for posting.