Fender '59 Bassman LTD Reissue 410 Combo

This is another follow-up, I have the amp for almost three years now (2005 model).
Since I like it warm and deep with my RG7 strings axe (no nu-metal, only clean) I had to solve the flabbiness of the jensens while retaining their qualities.
I changed the two bottom speakers for 75 w bass celestions (took them from a Hughes&Kettner 410 bass box), perfect fit no frills.
Now the bassman weighs some more, but sounds like one.

The sound is rounder, a lot warmer, with good punch and precision. The two remaining jensens like their new companions, and this way I still have the same amp but better.
It is important not to loose the basic tone jensens give, and the two top ones are nearer to our ears so really there is no drawbacks to this way of doing (except the 8 pounds).
I also run the amp with el84 adapters so it is a whole lot warmer and rounder than stock, and despite 15 rated watts still loud.
I didn't fuss with the preamp tubes, but thanks to other reviewer's precious contributions I will try some ecc81-12au7 or some low-gain bulbs.
Playing only clean, or with my fav grindbox, I don't see the point of having only a third of gain usable (past 4 the clean ain't so anymore). Plus it complicates the settings since I run a pedal reverb in parallel on the second channel (too fast a big volume jump with stock preamp tubes).
Provided you know a thing or two, this amp is great and easy to tweak.

Like it a lot, next stop is lower-gain preamp tubes.
The good thing with el84 adapters is
1)you can choose between pentode or triode ones (the latter gives a very compressed tone when pushed, and are only 3-4 watt per tube. Also ideal to play earthy muddy grind stuff)and
2)you can have great sounding el84 bulbs for cheap (compared to the 60+ bucks the original gt costs) And you don't need to re-bias the amp!!!

Overall a very good value, and please note that despite my mods I didn't even have to open the amp (with those voltages inside you wouldn't want uh?)
Let's add: four jensens alnico plus a solid-pine finger-jointed tweed enclosure already cost you 750, and you still have no amp inside...
A good deal this bassman, and even if you don't use it you will re-sell it with profit in say 20 years.
Last but not least: beside the 57twin it is the best-looking amplifier ever!

The amp was made in the mid '90s and has square-backed Eminence Blue speakers. It is surprisingly versatile, and its clean and mildly distorted sounds are a great platform for effects and distortions, and I have managed to achieve some crushing Judas-Priest esque metal tones using a Fulltone OCD. The only feature I wish it had would be reverb, but a pedal can fix that. The Multiple inputs are great, and The controls are very responsive. Personally, I think that the most useful knob for shaping the tone on this amp is the Prescence knob, which is also very responsive.

I am using a Gibson SG Classic with P90s which offers excellent slightly overdriven, even stones-ish tones when cranked through the Bassman, and also a Fender American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster with Bare Knuckle Slowhand Set, which sings beautifully. The amp also gave a gentle, even vocal and jazzy quality to my P90s which was an excellent discovery. I play blues, jazz, classic rock, indie rock, fusion, instrumental, and some modern rock, and this handles all of the styles wonderfully with a distortion or overdrive pedal.

The amp has never broken down, shorted out, and the tone has not gotten any worse since I got it. But since I have not gigged with it so far, we will see.

Never had to deal with it.

I would definitely buy it again if it were stolen. I tried other Fender tube amps such as a 65 Princeton, a deluxe reverb, and more, but this made all of the others seem bland and personalityless in comparison.

A fairly basic amp, the new Bassman LTD features a nice channel blending option for versatility in tone. A basic EQ makes things simple, if not a little limited in scope, though the 4x10 setup more than makes up for this with a great overall sound.

At first i was a little skeptical (and disappointed) with this amp. The "ice pick" highes mentioned in other reviews, along with the "flabby" bass seemed unavoidable, despite my best efforts. However, having owned the amp for about a year, and playing her thoroughly during this time, i've found the speakers *really* need a chance to break in. I had considered replacing the speakers, but it's really not necessary. If/when you try this amp in the store, keep in mind it will be a little stiff and needs time to settle in. Soon after purchasing this amp, i changed the tubes to Sov Tek 12au7, 5881 and 5y3 preamp, power and rectifier tubes respectively. This gives a warmer sound which can be driven harder, without breakup well past 7 on the volume controls. Using this setup, bedroom volumes can be acheived at 5 on the dial while still pushing the power tubes for a tight, warm sound. The factory setup is fine, but a little too powerful for my tastes and, as a result, too loud without the warmth. In either case, the clean is absolutely phenomenal.

I can't really say much about the reliability, though a circuit diagram is included with the amp, so it should make repairs fairly simple. Although i haven't lugged this amp around to gigs, it handles constant use well and seems very, very solid. My only concern is the lacquered tweed covering - it's a beautiful finish, and i hope it stands the test of time (or at least ages well enough to make it look cool, and not just tatty).

I've heard bad things, so i hope i never have to contact Fender. From my previous dealings with their inquiries department and speaking with my local music shop, it seems as though it's a miracle that they should ever answer their phones, let alone provide any "customer support".

I've been playing rock and metal for about 15 years, and i'm just starting to develop my own sound. My gear includes a Gibson LP Standard Faded with Duncan Antiquity humbuckers, a stock Fender Custom Shop '56 Stratocaster Relic, and a few other guitars running through a Big Muff Pi USA, and some other pedals. This amp takes pedals very well and can either be run straight into the front end, or between channels (Guitar > Channel 1 Input 1 > Channel 1 Input 2 > Pedal > Channel 2 Input 1). If I lost this amp, i'd definitely buy another one. It's really the only amp i'll use now, and i've used a few (and tried every amp in the store, including some two or three times the price). The very best thing about this amp is simply the fact that it makes you *feel* like nothing else i've played. There's a soul to it that can't be described, and it takes a litle time to fully appreciate it for what it is. All that's missing is a good distortion in front of it (and of course, a nice guitar).

The original tweed amp this was based on was designed for bass, guitar, vocals, pedal steel and keyboard use. How much more versatile can you get? The only amp that comes close would be a Vox JMI AC30 which I have also owned.

This amp is all about TONE. It's one of THE tone monsters of all time. I was frankly shocked at how well the new USA made Groove Tube power tubes sounded. I'm used to putting NOS tubes from the 50's and 60's into all my amps. This one rocked with factory installed tubes straight away. The amp I bought has sat in a local music store for two years (it was made in '06) so it's been played alot and broken in well. I'm sure this has helped the tone of it considerably. I use a Fender Jazz bass thru it as well as electric guitars (telecaster, rics, LPs) and it sounds wonderful with all of them. I cannot understand the "flabby bass tone" comments by others here. It's tight in the low end, powerful and authoritative in all frequency ranges. Not a loud amp compared to a 100 watt Marshall stack but perfect for medium gigs and the studio. And for the brittle high end comments I read here - Leo Fender and Freddie Tavares were going for a "hi fi" amp capable of handling all frequencies. The highs sound smooth and bright - but if it's too high for you roll them off with your guitar's tone knob to suit yourself. You can get KILLER tones from this amp folks.

Never ever killed a Fender amp in 35 years of playing. and I own some vintage tweeds. nuf said.

Never had to contact Fender. However, their website is very helpful with scematics and such.

10s across the board. This is a fantastic amp. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not know the history of Fender and just how huge this amp's footprint has since it's inception in the early 50's.

OK so this doesn't have channel switching, not fully loaded with effects etc. What it does have is a very straight forward circuit with nothing much to get in the way of tone. This is one of the reasons it is so touch responsive.

I play blues and for this it is perfect. I use a strat with SCNs and I can get very good tone out of it. Far in excess of my DRRI.
Now for the flabby bass experienced by users, I found I really need to turn the bass down when I turn the volume up, and visa-versa. Also please make use of the advice about blending the channels. It really works well. I have put a Keeley Blues Driver into this and am impressed with the tone but really it's one of those amps that you just plug straight into. Clean or dirty I'm impressed. Surely this is one reissue Fender got right.

Sorry, only had this for 1 month, still it should be straight forward to repair as it's a basic circuit.

I'm not anticipating any issues with reapirs as I have a long standing relationship with my dealer.

Playing seriously for 3 years, have DRRI, and sundry affects pedals. I would buy it again no probs. There's really nothing I don't like about it as it suits the blues stuff so well. I love that it's so straight forward and I don't have to spend much time fiddling with knobs to get a great tone.

Mine is a 2002 model, bought used back in 2005. There seems to be a controversy on H-C in regards to how to rate the features of this amp. I have seen justifiably low ratings based on the fact that it is a bare-bones amp. Others rate it higher based on how well it preforms in regards to the features it does have. I'm going to choose somewhat the former and rate it a 7. The amp is meant to be all tone with as little acoutrements as possible. Therefore, two channels (normal/bright), each with a high/low impedence jack, volumes for both, and treble/mid/bass/presence pots. It is all tube construction, 3 12ax7 premaps, 2 6L6 power tubes, and a 4R5 rectifier tube. Round that off with 4 P10Q Jensens and you have the makings of one sound pine-cabinet of tone. The BMRI, though, is a surprisingly versatile amp that is suitable for pretty much every category of music save metal. I'm a classic rock, modern underground alternative, some funk, but my heart lies with blues. This amp works incredibly well for all those, and it every pedal I have plugged into it with ease. Also, the amp can be channel-jumped. Running a patch cable from an input on one channel to an input on the other allows you to use the two volume knobs to blend the sound you want. This means that, with the right guitar, you do have a lot of sonic options.

It is a loud amp (4 10" speakers . . .), and it breaks up fairly early with 3 12ax7 preamp tubes. It may be difficult to get a good in a smaller room because of the volume, but I have found that it a volume pedal can get you to the sweet spot at a lower volume. It can cut through drums in a smallish jazz/blues club setting, no problem.

This amp is a pure tone monster in a pine cabinet. If you want a good basic clean tone around which you can build your own sound, this is the amp for you.

I play a Les Paul Vintage Mahogany with Burstbucker Pros and a Blueshawk with P90's. My chain is MXR SuperComp --> Smart People Factory Ego Booster --> Fulltone OCD --> Keeley Looper [subchain: SPF Green Line OD --> Retrosonic Chorus --> SPF I-5 Delay] --> BBE Sonic Stomp (best pedal in the chain, really). The only mods I have done are changing tubes. I now run an EH 12ay7 in the V1 spot to allow a clean sound at higher volumes (she used to break up around 3.5 on a volume pot that can reach 12), and swapped out the other cheesy Groove Tube 12ax7's for Tung-Sol Gold Tip 12ax7's. 90% of your tone is in the preamp tubes, and these really did clarify and warm up the amp.

The biggest complaint I have seen on HC about this amp is that it is too bright. At high volumes, the highs are ice-picky and shrill, and the lows tend to get flabby. Ok, I admit that I felt that way too. However, I changed out the preamp tubes, and that solved a lot flabbiness prob, and then I just roled back on the tone knobs on my guitars. Too often, I think, do we forget about those little knobs. Now I can actually put the Presence knob at around 6 or so (it was at 0), and she absolutely sings.

No other amp that Fender makes comes close to this baby. Sure, some would argue the Tweed Twin RI, but for me, even with PTP wiring, 2 x 12" speakers do not come close to the fullness and almost natural reverb of 4 x 10". Also, I picked mine up for around $750, compared to almost $2000 for the Twin. No question, this is the best of the tweed RI series, and the tone you get from it is magic. Rich, harmonic, and the most beautiful natural breakup you have ever heard. Get this amp, and you will not be sorry.

It's my only amp right now, so I would have to gig without a backup, but you really never should. That said, it's a tube amp and solidly built, so if something did crap out, it's probably just a $15-$20 tube that needs replacing. For me, my backup will probably just be a replacement set of tubes. I've not had any issues with it at all, so I figure she is pretty solid.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been at the strings for around 5 years. No professional training, all self-taught, though I am deconstructing my playing back down to the basics right now. Trying to recreate my technique to get better. This amp is really the perfect pair for me in this regard. The tube rectifier allows for some real touch sensitive dynamics, the harmonic content of the sound is rich and full, and the grit you can get is perfect to my ears.

When I was in the market, I went down to Guitar Center and sampled all their tweed RI's. The Blues Deluxe, Deville, even the Blues Junior. None of them sounded as good as this baby, and I found a used on a craigslist the next day for $750. Steal. I doubt very much that I will be buying another amp for some time. This girl has everything that I want, right down to that vintage look. But the sound is what is important, and this amp delivers in spades. I'm working on relic-ing it myself (little beer here, a cig burn there), just to give her character. But it's the sound that comes out that would get me buying another if it were stolen (how do you lose a 60 pound amp, dude?). No reverb? Get an outboard tank, but seriously, I don't miss it. For the price of this thing, you can't go wrong.

I just brought this amp home form one of our local
music stores Parkway Music in Clifton Park NY.
This amp has everything that I need and I paid $1100.00
It has all the power that I need I was playing a VOX AC-30TBX
but I wasn't to happy with the sound. The Amp was made earlier
in the year. I think it has two channels so I won't get into
that. The only thing that I wish it had was Reverb but I have
a Electro-Harmonix HolyGrail Reverb Pedal. I'll be using this
Amp for playing out and recording.

The sound that I'm going after is a 60's sound and some
good old Rockabilly like Carl Perkins. I love the clean
channel and I'm not into distorted sounds that you can get
with a Mesa or a Crate. I have two guitars that I play a
Gretsch 6128TBEE Duo Jet and a G&L Asat Calssic. With the 60's
sound its Beatles, Byrds and Beach Boys with some Paul Revere
and the Raiders thrown in. Not noisy at all perfect for what I
do.

Don't know only been home for a couple of hours. I
don't for see any problems at all.

The warranty is for 5 years and when I own the 65 Twin
Reverb never had a problem. All I have to do is bring it
back to the dealer.

I've been playing since 1988 and I've had other Fender Amps
a couple of reissues 65 Fender Twin Reverb a Peavey Classic 50
and the one I just sold a reisue Vox AC-30TBX. For me there nothing
to hate about this Amp and I love everything it can do. I did look
at a couple of Doctor Z amps but I didn't have that type of money.
Another amp that I looked at was a Tone-King (Continental) as much
as I liked that Amp there was no way that I could afford it. I can't
speak for anyone else but this amp and my two guitars are a perfect match and give me the sound that I've been looking for.

I don't know too much about amps, I just use them. The '59 BM is a vintage reissue and is used to recreate that old classic sound. Of course its not gonna have all the fancy effects, loops, etc. I play blues and this baby has everything I need.

When I first got the amp, the sound it put out wasn't too impressive to be honest. But I was told that tube amps need time to break in and loosen up the speakers before you start to hear that legendary tone. Its been almost three weeks and I already hear the difference. I also cross the channels to get the blended tones and it does improve the sound a lot.
With the volume at around 4.5-5, the natural gain starts to kick in and it is just DELICIOUS! I've only been able to get the volume up to 7.5 so far because it really is a loud amp and I don't need it any louder.
At 7.5, the naturally compressed sustain just roars! The touch-dynamic frequency of the amp is also a great treat for me because I do alot of finger picking and it really helps put emphasis on what you want.
I know some people say that when you have an amp this expensive, it makes you sound 10x better. True but don't be fooled by this amp. It "can" make you sound a lot better. The thing is, you're playing the amp as much as you are the guitar. The excellent response on this amp can reveal all your flaws so be careful. You know what though?? Ultimately, it'll make you a better player!
I rate this amp a 10 because it has been everything I've been expecting out of it.

Only had it for three weeks. Its still tickin' perfectly!

Never dealed with them.

This is the best decision I've ever made with buying equipment HANDS DOWN! The tone is just as sexy as the looks. It plays the gentle cleans, violent distortion, and everything in between. I was shocked to hear how loud and throaty it can get when cranked! This is the only amp I will ever need to play a venue of any size because I know it can handle it. Don't get discouraged if loudness is a problem for your location. This amp apparently goes great with all sorts of pedals! You will not be disappointed.

2004 model
Standard, 2 channel, nothing else.
Perfect!

With Vintage Noiseless pkups, a Ibanez Tube Screamer, and the volume pot. on my Strat, I get everything from Robert Cray to Stevie Ray. 4 years old and broken in, off E-bay. It is worth every penny!

Just got it. No problems with other Fender gear, so far.

It's a 59 Bassman on the outside so no problems here

I am giving this a 4 because I paid a lot of money for this amp and for the money it sucked. It sounded good in the shop up uuntil 4 or so which is as loud as I could try it. On taking home and giving a little more volume it broke up in a horrible way, very rough. I previously had a bassman10 which had a new Mercury Magnetics tranny and it was the most awesome amp I have ever owned, I have had numerous blackfaced silver face band masters and bassmans and this was nowhere near any of these amps. I eventually took it to the guy who did all my other amps and he said they have used silver face circuitry, which nobody likes, and the trannys are 15, and 25% undersized repectively and not at all decent. I am sorry but check out the boutique amps, I found a guy, Sligo who uses Weber trannys and speakers who does a bassman for $995 which is handwired and gets rave reviews in harmony central, go for something like that I would say. Jensens are also not great by the way, not the same as the originals.

Yes got it and after a couple of weeks started to get volume drops, took it back to store and they replaced the preamp valves but was still problematic, luckily I could get my cash back on this fake bassman. 2 because it worled more than once.

Yeah they took it back and tried to fix it and then took the amp back when I was not happy with it overall so I have to say good here.

Do not buy this amp!!!! Fender knows that most amps never make it out of the bedroom and so it is not worth putting top components in them, boardroom decision. You then have to buy it and change the circuits and the trannys and the speakers, why bother. What Fender was in the 50's and 60's is what the boutique shops are now, a couple of people in a small shop pouring love and craftsmanship and then adding up the total at the end. I have no doubt that Fender amps back then were relatively more expensive than now, more in line with top boutique amps so don't just buy it becasue of the name, that ship has sailed. I know a guy here who plays SRV like no one else I have ever heard and he uses one of these amps and although his playing is great his amp has the same horrible edgy tone that mine did when it actually worked. Hey Marshall reissues are also said to vastly improve with a Weber or Mercury tranny so they also guilty but not quite as bad I would say.