Fender '59 Bassman LTD Reissue 410 Combo

Well. I have a RI 90`s model and just got my hands on a new oe right now(about a week ago).
Sounds creamy, really smooth or loud n shattering.
Its a dream amp, on stage and studio and truly I can compare it with other huge amps.
I also own a JCM800, and a twin reverb.
Damn... I love it.

Can take on any pedal and you still fell the tube warmth on its sounding. For me its the tube amp for small venues and small gigs. A giant sounding one...

Its a very very good amp for any classic tones, from the shadows cleans, thru jazz, to any classic rock...
The best amp for an all purpose night, with a single amp on stage...

My old RI still rocks... really hard... and believe me... not eve the flight case would be enough for the beatings it took aloong the years...
the looks, well... its a oldie, but souns like a new one.

Never needed!

If you`re looking for a valve amp, capable of endure on road... this is the best around. Mean machine on stage... sparkin cleans and a bit of classy distortions thru conbination with the knobs on the board, but... pedals... He takes them like I`ve never seen before...

Outstanding!!!

Been covered.

I'm lucky enough to have a '59 (holy grail!) bassman that my uncle left me. He was a great guitarist & decent on the maintenance front, so the amp was always maintained instead of kept as museum piece. I can't imagine anyone that's played a well-maintained original finding the RI to sound very close to the real deal, or very good. The RI doesn't come anywhere close to sounding as good as some of the "clones" made by boutique builders, and it doesn't have the build quality. It's a pretty average tube amp, all said--lotsa mass-produced amps sound this good! Grading on a curve, against what it's supposed to be, it gets low marks...

Again, compared the originals or similarly priced clones, this ain't close. Leo's amps in the '50s & '60s were nails, these are like thumbtacks. It's no wonder that he left f$$d%r to start his own amp company after CBS took over. But he'd probably coudn't have conceived of the the lackluster quality on what the modern yo-yo F$nd^r C0rp. is throwing out there for too much dinero. Purely speculative, but if LF was alive an' kickin', he'd probably chose to buy a bassm@n-esque amp from a co. w/ a better build!

The FM1C is now notoriously poor on this front

I'm with the folks that worship the early f#nd$r amps, but the RI is totally UNWORTHY. my ol' b^ssm@n makes me smile everytime I play it (& miss my cool ol' uncle even more), but these RIs just leave me puzzled...about who'd buy one...

Well, I've waited years to write this but I think its about time I give Fender the credit they deserve for creating such a beautiful piece of work! Absolutely the best all around amp I've ever owned in my life and worth every penny! You may ask how versatility could come from a two channel (really basically one) amp. The answer is... This amp takes any kind of pedal very well at any volume and it has the most musical, harmonic, voice at any level. More talk about that later. Not many "features" yet loaded with features due to its super useable tones at any volume level and its super adaptability to any pedal. No channel switching here. If you're spending big money on amps to go the "preamp" distortion route with amps that switch only preamp channels anyway, you might as well buy a bassman and put your extra money into a quality pedal board with a few good flavors of distortion on board. I'll guarantee you'll be happier in the long run. I certainly am after trying every amp imaginable and spending tens of thousands of dollars doing so. This amp, in spite of its "vintage" look, will give you any flavor you so desire with the right pedals to suite your style of playing.

I use all kinds of guitars and guitar pickups with this from les paul to telecaster. However, I primarily gravitate to a strat because of versatility and feel. I have a rock band, I am a worship leader at my local church, and I am a session player. Of all the amps I own, I gravitate to the 59 Bassman for just about all applications. I own more than one 59 Bassman, and I have both circuit board and hand wired bassmans. Although they do have different characteristics, they're all very close in performance and I love em all! I will add that I do have quite an extensive pallet of effects. Of course the fewer pedals/effects you put in front of it the better but the 59 bassman takes pedals super well. Pedals or none, the amp tone is amazing. I own many amps and I've had the chance to a/b and use lots of different amps for lots of different applications and still I always seem to go back to the bassman. I'm a huge VanHalen fan so I tried really hard to love marshall 100w plexi's more but now I see why Jim Marshall was trying to build a "high powered" bassman amp when he built them. He built a great amp! Clearly one of the greatest ever but Marshall is its own thing. The Marshall plexi's (all models) definitely grind but they all seem to break up too early for me no matter what type of tubes I use. I play everything from classic rock to metal to country to pop to hip-hop. The 59 Bassman gets it all! That's why it gets a 10 from me!

I've NEVER had one break down on me. Had a jewel light go out once. That's about it.

I work very closely with a Fender artist rep who has been very kind and helpful. I would like to think all customer service is the same from Fender, whether you're an artist or a hobbyist.

I've been playing guitar for 32 years and I've owned too much gear to mention. I keep at least two of these around so if one did get stolen I'd be pissed but I wouldn't have to cry. If one were stolen or lost I would definitely replace it with another. I realize that rating music gear is about as subject to opinion as rating music itself but in my opinion, the 59 Bassman is the most versatile and sweetest sounding amp of them all. If someone said I was only allowed to have one amp for everything I do I'd have no problem picking a 59 Fender Bassman. ...any of them! Original, Reissue, or LTD RI.

I bought this amp used. It was made in 2003 and has been well looked after by its previous owners. If you aren???t already aware of the specs, the Fender website and the other reviews here will give you a much better technical overview.

The ???59 Bassman LTD reissue is the first tube amp that I???ve owned in my 18 year on-again-off-again relationship with the guitar. I???m a big fan of bluesy electric music and the SRV sound; I???d been looking for something that could at least put me in that sonic ballpark at home and when jamming with friends. With no plans for gigging, I???d actually set my sights on a much lower powered amp, the Special Edition Tweed Blues Junior to be precise.

Unfortunately, the local (Australian) price for a new Tweed BJ is around the $AUD1500 mark, which to me, just doesn???t seem to be good value. Plus since the stores I spoke to were only able to get them in on special order, so I could only base comparisons on YouTube clips.

I bought my Bassman sight unseen and unheard on eBay, which is something I wouldn???t recommend or do normally, but for less money than a brand new Tweed BJ it seemed like too good a deal to pass up - and I???m glad I didn???t.

I was concerned that the 50-watt, 4x10 Bassman would be too much amp for me (the 15-watt BJ would have been more than enough power already), but with the volume at 1-2 this amp is still a joy to play through without upsetting the neighbours. It???s actually quite compact too for what it is, and though it is heavy enough (24kg) to make you think twice about moving it, it???s convenient enough for one person to be able put it in the back of a car and transport it without too much of an issue.

The features of the ???59 Bassman LTD reissue aren???t really in the knobs on the top of the thing, or even in the cool looking tweed covering and oxblood grille, they are more in what it does for your sound. You can hear the characteristics of your guitar and the subtle nuances of your playing amplified and made more musical through the Bassman regardless of which channel you are plugged into or what settings have been dialled in. I???m beginning to appreciate why experienced players are so critical of amps of this calibre, and why replacing tubes and performing modifications seems to be the norm.
As someone who has only really had experience with solid state amps, the stock reissue Bassman is everything I need for a good sonic foundation.

I feel like I???ve been watching VHS my entire life and all of a sudden someone has shown me Blu-ray on a widescreen HDTV. That???s how differently I hear my guitar now. I???m not sure I can ever plug back into a solid state amp.

To me, this amp sounds fantastic straight up with no effects. I???ve been told multiple times by more experienced players that your amp is the other half of your instrument and I???m only now really experiencing what they meant.

In the past, I spent my money on some quality guitars (American Standard Strat and Les Paul Standard DC+), as well as a few cheaper ones (Danelectro U2 Reissue, Ibanez GAX 70) but up until now I haven???t been able to hear what they are really capable of. In fact, in the past few years I???d rarely even plug into an amplifier because I preferred the sound and response of an acoustic guitar.

That???s changed now with the Bassman. It???s so responsive and it just brings out the sound of your guitar and your playing. Little things like percussive string slaps and the sound of fingernails hitting the strings through finger plucked lines all come through with a pleasing musical quality.

When I first plugged into the Bassman I started out with a poor attempt at some SRV style blues through a Keeley TS9DX Flexi, but by the end I was just so into the sound of the amp, I???d plugged into it direct (despite the true bypass in the pedal) and was plucking my Danelectro with my fingers as if it was an acoustic.

I???d previously thought the Dano to be weak and a bit harsh sounding on my solid state amps (Peavey Bandit 112/Peavey Rage 158), but through the Bassman on the normal channel, I get a sparkly jangle through chords and single lines have a certain warmth to them. Add the TS9 to the mix and it overdrives beautifully. The Bassman has rekindled a fondness for this guitar. Conversely, the hum buckers on the GAX 70 (which I tended to favour over the Dano through the solid states) sounded flat and lifeless through the Bassman. I???d say that???s probably more to do with the cheap pickups in that guitar though (a lot of people complain about them on the net) rather than an indication of how this amp handles hum buckers. I can???t wait to plug in my Strat and Les Paul DC to do a proper single coil/hum bucker comparison.

Years ago I played my Strat through an old Fender Twin that belonged to my mates??? dad. I fell in love with that Fender clean sound, but that amp could hurt ??? both in terms of volume and in terms of transporting it. Now I realise the Bassman is a different beast altogether, but the clean tone has that unmistakably Fender character that I???ve always wanted, with a warm round tweedy texture that is a pleasure to play through - a guitargasm, if you will. It???s the first time I can say I???ve been addicted to an amplifier. The only downside is that now I just want to try even more different guitars through it.

My search for a new tube amplifier started out with an attempt to emulate some of my favourite blues players, but it???s ended with me discovering more about getting my own sound out of the gear I???ve got already. This amp has been a real eye/ear opener for me.

I've just bought it so I can't say. However it was made in 2003 and it is still in as-new condition.

Never had to deal with them.

For me, this was an eBay bargain that I am really thankful for. For other home/hobbyist players it would probably be hard to justify the Australian RRP of one of these new (around $AUD3,000 if online retailers are to be believed) but if you can find one of these used or discounted you will really enjoy your electric guitars that much more, even if you???re not using the amp to its fullest potential (plus it will be a cool looking piece of furniture in whatever room you have it in).

If it were lost or stolen, I???d be heartbroken, but I???d get together the cash for a new one and then sample as many other amps in the price range using my experiences with the Bassman as a benchmark.

This amp has helped me see electric guitar playing in a whole new light and just makes me want to play more. With the history behind the '59 Bassman, and the generally positive user feedback around the reissues, if you???re looking to build up your guitar sound then this amp is a good place to start. At the very least try one out and use it as a reference point. Hey, if it worked for Jim Marshall...

Made in Corona, but I don't know what year (bought it used last year for $699 in almost mint condition).

2 X 6L6 at 50 watts through 4 X 10" blue Jensens in the open backed solid pine combo cabinet is plenty loud enough for any venue I play, including outdoors, mic'd or not.

Came with a manila packet of stickers, tags, etc., and a brown Fender dust cover.

I use a maple fretboard/alder bodied G&L Legacy (s/s/s) with G&L's alnico V pickups, for everything from Classic Soul and R&B, to Blues based Rock, and a little Country between the lines.

I love the clean tone of the Bright #2 (padded) input with the treble and bass turned down some (2 - 3), and the middle 7 - 8.

Sometimes I need effects for some leaders, so I use a Boss ME-50 inserted between the the Bright #1 linking over to the #1 Normal input. Then I use the onboard pedal of the Boss unit to ramp in/out the effects.
The extra distortion on the Boss unit can shake the tubes and induce microphonic squealing and mechanical noise if I'm not careful how it's set up (the amp still has the stock tubes).

Other than that it's my favorite rig though I have some smaller amps too for when I just don't need to bring the Bassman's power.

After a year it's just now starting to make a bit of extraneous noise when first lit off until it warms up, so there's a tube getting out of spec I guess.

I generally don't bring a spare amp, just fuses, solder, etc. I'll buy some new tubes soon and get them in there and keep the old ones for spares before they get any worse.

The light burned out too. They just don't make either like they used to.

There's a 5 year transferrable warranty, but I have no idea how old this amp is. I'm sure the speakers and tubes are beyond warranty.

I trust Guitar Showcase a lot more than I'd trust Fender to do the right thing about anything, though Joe Carducci the Gretsch boss (FMIC) is stellar and a standup guy. He should be made CEO.

50 years experience.
This is my main rig though I have smaller Kustom and Roland stuff too.

I love the straight-in tone. Plenty of grunt too.

It's a bit heavy but lighter than a 410 Deville I had.

Great tweed tube tone and response.

The presence control makes it everything I could need. The G&L Legacy is a great match because I can turn down the bass on the guitar if the speakers flap a little.

Its reliable and predictable and sounds good in all rooms.

I'd replace it in kind if need arose.

You know the features already. NOrmal channel and bright channel. 50 watts. 4 10 inch Jensen speakers. Brilliant simplicity

The amazing sound is why you buy a Bassman. The clean channel is crystal clear and articulate on the bright channel and thick and responsive on the normal channel. With single coils the Bassman stays fairly clean on the bright channel all the way up to 5 on the volume knob. It breaks up a tad earlier on the normal channel. All the clean headroom you will ever need. If you are willing to play at ear shattering volumes this amp has the most luscious natural distortion you could ask for, especially with humbuckers. Personally I put a Crunch Box in front and it gives me all the Plexi dirt I need. This amp takes pedals better than anything I've ever played.

Gigging with it for over a year. Only issue is the jewel light. It always flickers on and off. Doesn't really bother me.

Never used their customer support

My band plays mostly gritty, funky blues. Think ZZ top meets Black Sabbath. We have an occasional clean song as well. This amp is perfect. It only weighs around 47 lbs which is surprising considering it has 4 10's. I have been through Orange, Traynor, Egnater and Peavey amps. None of them could provide the sheer beauty and simplicity of sound that this amp provides. At gigs I jumper the channels keeping the bright channel volume a bit higher than the normal. It is perfection. When I need the grit I step on my Crunch Box and it feels like a wall of Plexi Marshalls coming to life. This amp has ended my holy grail amp search. Try this amp and you'll buy it!!

'59 Bassman LTD, 2007.

The control panel has been mentioned in other reviews.

The valves (tubes) are Groove Tube / Fender 12AX7WCs in the preamp and phase inverter, and 6L6GEs in the power section. The rectifier was a Fender / Ruby Tube 5AR4.

FOUR (4) INDIVIDUAL RCA-STYLE PLUGS FOR THE SPEAKERS. YES, ONE EACH. WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA???!!!

Meat. Potatoes.

At low volumes it's clean. Nice and responsive. But that's not why I bought it.

With volumes bridged, guitar into bright channel, vol 5, normal channel vol3, it overdrives very nicely with a Les Paul. Crunches well with a Tele, too. Strats are still pretty clean at these settings. However, these settings take overdrive pedals really well. A bit of level into the front end and it takes off into full rock saturation.

Still bridged, but vols at 9.5 and 5 respectively (on a scale from 1 to 12), it's fully saturated. Cleans up beautifully with volume control at the guitar. Takes O/D pedals well, to get out into very heavy distortion.

I run this amp with the bass and treble nearly turned off. The mids and presence are up very high.

It can get a bit woolly and woofy at high volumes if you don't tame the bass. This is a function of an open cab, but it needs to be mentioned.

I took out the Groove Tube 6L6GEs and put in some old Tung-Sol 5881s, as per the originals. This gives me earlier break up (i.e., more distortion at any given volume setting), and a nice nasally tone to the overdrive. I have also replaced the first preamp valve with an RCA 5751. This gets me a little more power-section crunch and tames the top end a little.

I have also used new manufacture Tung-Sol 5881s (from New Sensor), and they sound identical to the old US 5881s to me. They're a good choice for this amp.

I have also replaced the Ruby GZ34 with a NOS GZ34.

Semi-OK. Mine came with a crackle coming from the V1 valve base. It also had a rattling rectifier valve. These are warranty issues, and Fender (eventually) dealt with them.

Poor. Fender has a local dealer and a local repair man. Between Fender's slow response time, and the repair man's turn around time, it took two weeks to get a simple warranty job done, and he still didn't do it right!

On the up side, they did acknowledge that the faults were warrantable, so I didn't have to get into an argument over that.

I like this amp. It does the Tweed thing very well. I like the valves that came with it, too. The GT / Sovtek 12AX7WCs are a good, strong, reliable 12AX7, and the 6L6GEs are simply superb. I took them out of this amp and they now live in my Super Reverb where they belong. They sound terrific.

I DON'T like the four individual speaker outputs. This makes the use of an attenuator a pain in the ar$e. It is just a stupid idea.

I remain unconvinced about the Jensens, but overall, this amp sounds great, and does the rock and blues thing very well.

If you want an amp with built in effects and all the bells and whistles, look elsewhere. This is as straitforward an amp as you can get. No reverb or vibrato but that doesn't take anyhting away from this amp.

I have has this amp for a few years now and just recently found the SWEET SPOT. So for those of you who are not happy with the overdrive they are getting out of this amp, flabby lows and ice pick highs, READ ON.
My mistake with the amp was the normal channel. I never gave the bright channel a chance because I though that the normal channel was bright enough. The trouble with the normal channel is when you start to turn the volume past around 5 or so. Things start to get unballanced in the sound. Bass gets flabby, highs get harch.

This is the exact opposite with the bright channel. At lower volumes to me its a little too bright but when you get up around halfway on the volume, everything balances out. The breakup sounds like nice smooth, warm, natural overdrive. You can get some sweet Rolling Stones stuff out of it.These are the settings I use.
Bass-0 Middle-12 Treble-0
As far as I am concerned this is the only way to set the amp.I do have to note that I did retube the amp with JJtubes which I highly recomend. I am not sure how these settings sound on stock tubes. So these settings might get you part of the way there and a retube will get you the rest of the way

Have had the amp for a few years and aside from a loose screw one in a while, no problems.

Nothings broke down.

I hope this review will help some poeple out who could never get a nice overdriven sound out of it. It has given me a new love for this amp. Hope to have one as long as I play.

The bassman LTD Needs changes to make it sound like a great AMP You dont need , A Hand wired that sales talk . I have playing for 50 years .

My 59 bassman LTD made in 2005 brought in New Jersey and shipped to the united Kingdom so first thing was to buy a Stepdown transformer . to 110v .it was to loud with the Grove tubes 6L6 a very nice tube. So brought down the voltage from 485 to 460 volts then change tubes to NOS 5881 Tungston. Then changed rectifia to a NOS Mullard GZ34 . Changed Preamp tubes to Grove Tubes 12AX7M Then Changed two Bottom Speakers to Weber 10A125-0 which have the 40oz magnet . Now you can play the amp at home . on vulume 3. I mixe the two channels and play out with the amp on vulume 5 to 7 using Fulltone overdrive I have three Custom strats With lace sensors and also have a 1971 LP custom and a 345 gibson . to me the LP and the Strats sound best for playing the Blues and Rock Blues soloing . It costs a little to do the Changes But then you will have a Great amp and one that you can carry . Twins can
not compete with four for speakers

No Problems

The amps is Customised so no warrenty

50 years

2 bright and normal inputs perfect for stacking (where you put a small chord from normal input 1 to bright input 2 and plug into bright input 1) bass mid and treble knobs and separate volume knobs for both channels and a presence knob.(I have a add on master vollume box that goes on top but it doesnt come with tha)

I am in 2 bands and also play for my church in one band i need some heavy distortion and this if you use it right can get like classic rock but cant get quite enough amp distortion for metal. good thing it takes pedals very well. i swapped out the tubes for smaller power cutting tubes and it made it have a terribly screeching noise when using some pedals. the 4 10 inch speakers are very sharp and even when you turn the treble down its still bright.NOT A PRACTICE AMP unless you have a master vollume added or just have no close neighbors.

its built like a rock

awsume the perfect amp if you like sharp classic rock tones and not extreme distortion or weird effects (i had a 150 watt line 6 dont get them they are very quiet and not really the watts they say)