Fender '59 Bassman Reissue

Its a straight up (bass) guitar amp with the simplest of controls. Everyone should know what this amp has. A 50 year old design that works so well. I think its a 1993 but not sure.

In a word ... BEAUTIFUL ! I did put EH 6L6s in it. I will put fresh pre-amp tubes and try out some different values but I do really like it just as it is. The solid state rectifier is staying. It seems to give the amp a quick and tight sound to it (maybe a little old Marshal/British sounding), just my opinion. I love the way you can feel this amp when you play it. I got this amp used from GC in San Jose. The previous owner laquered it. Maybe a little dark, but gives it a unique look and should last forever. I had to chase some cabinet buzzing but thats all straightened out now. I can honestly say that in 30+ years of playing electric guitar and going through more amps than I can remember this is my favorite. Stripped down to the basics, this amp is what rock guitar playing is all about. I dont plan to get rid of any of my other amps that I have now, I like of all of them, But the Bassman rules the roost.

Bought it used, lets see what happen.

Never had much luck with Leo's namesake outfit. I quit dealing with their customer support long ago. I just figure thats the price of doing buisness with them.

Been playing 30 years or so and still love playing and listening to guitar as much as ever. I can't belive it took me so long to get one of these amps. I will always have one! As with any product especially amps and guitar there is always variation among the production run but I think I got a good one and could not be happier.

absolutly no features which is OK!!! because reisues arent supposed to be like that. i do like how you can jumper channels to get a rich distorition

Now this is it ok i had a master vollume put in so for me i play this amp at like 5-7 which is when it sounds best it sounds nice everywhere else but right there it just starts to sreaam ur guitar leads like others said it works great with pedals. Also unlike line 6 sorta amps this there is no hiding behind distortion or reverb or anything this amp is a monster and whatever you give it'll through it in the audience face so this amp is bad for beginners basically

very reliable this amp had never broken down you should always have spare tubes because every once in a whill it start to hum more then normaml but still sounds great.

idk

i have been playing for a long time and i think this amp is like the standard amp this is that classic tone the only thing i wish it had would be a reverb but this is the classic fender sound

People have to understand that the more you put in the signal flow of an amp the more distant you get from the guitars fullest tone. So if you want a crazy gain channels and EQs this isn't for you. But if you want that botique quality that less is more, you'll fall head over heals with this amp.

I've been playing for 14 years, and have played many an amp. I play 2 american strats one 94 40th anniversery with EMG SAs (awsome clean bell like tones), and a 92 deluxe custum with lace red white and blues (more of a wound sounding sensor), and they both sound rediculously pretty even with no verb.

The first day I had this amp I let the tubes warm up for 20 minutes plugged in and played for about 10 minutes and then there was static and a pop and the sound cut out. Come to find out and about an hour of research, I found out I had a cathode short in my PI tube (the 3rd preamp tube). I switched all 3 out with groove tubes 12AX7 Rs and now it's better than before, they really boost the highs and highmids and have a great natural compression.

didn't bother with them

everything I imagined especially with a Robert Keeley compressor, Keeley modded TS-808, big muff, and a fulltone clyde wah, what more could you ask for, or just plug right in (I mainly use the normal channel) and listen to the sweet sound of pure un-adulterated tone.

The is the '59 reissue Bassman. It is a relatively simple tube amp. I play country, blues and rock and this amp is perfect. It's funny how they still built 'em with the knobs in back and numbers facing the other way. I heard that in the old days amps would be placed in front of the player so this configuration worked. The amp has expanded my abilities as now i can read upside down

This amp has the clear, full tone needed for country, blues, early rock. I play a nashville tele - this is a great combo. For dirt a Tube Screamer goes in line. I also play a les paul, which surprising is also a good combo. For dirt/tone here i use an old Butler Tube Driver like EJohnson/DGilmour et al. For reverb a EH Holy Grail is the way to go. I also have an Electric Mistress that sounds very nice through the 4 10s. I imagine this amp is pretty friendly to any guitar that is not particulary pointy.

The amp was re-tubed etc for a blues harp player. I like the sound the way it is, but it is getting on in years and I have neglected a tune up etc. Some odd sounds here and there - again this is the player's responsibility to chck no a shortcoming. Otherwise it seems pretty bullet proof.

I have not dealt with Fender.

This amp brings it. Many other reviewers have posted on getting the tones, agree with around 4-5 your in holy land. I've cranked it up outdoors and our drummer asked me to place a baffle behind it. I play a Fender Blues Jr - no comparison. i have a Marshall JCM600, no comparison. I imagine you would have to get to boutique world to exceed this tone combination.

Bought it new in 2007, 2 channels that you can combine with a short 1/4" cable (a neat trick!) , Rarely use the mid control, but I guess a lot of players appreciate it being there. I use it in a rehearsal studio, and it's plenty of power. Kinda wish there was tremolo or reverb, which is what fender was trying to do with the Hot Rods, making a "modern interpretation" of the classic amps, but those don't compare in fidelity to this amp. Just wish there was a Bassman 2, same electronics as this one, but with the effects.

The main reason I'm writing this review is to tell the truth that it's not a "clean" amp, like so many people are reviewing it as. It has an excellent clean sound at low volume, but the beauty of this amp is how it breaks up with the volume at only at about 4, giving a really sweet blues tone. Then when you get up to 7 or higher, look out, it's Jack White territory! No wonder this amp failed as a bass amp. If you want a tube amp that has a lot of clean headroom, consider a Deluxe or a Twin. Not much else to say that hasn't been said already; it's versatile, powerful and great-looking. A definite keeper.

No problems so far. I've heard of the fuses going once in a while. Damn, it's a 2 ohm amp! Mine has had no problems at all.

Never had to deal with them in regards to this amp, but I've called them before about other things and they're kinda so-so about addressing problems and getting back to you. But Korg or their other competitors are no better.

Been playing for over twenty years. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably get another one, can't afford a custom shop version. I own a 410 Deville, Peavey Classic 50 and other Fenders and Marshalls, and nothing compares to this amp as far as tone and playability is concerned. I think the magic really starts in its preamp stage.

'59 Bassman Reissue
If you're reading this you probably know the stats, However the fact that input 2 has 6db of less gain is amazing for me as my Casino is LOUD.

Year is 1993 bought mine in February '08 mine was modified by the original owner. He added an adjustable bias, a tube rectifier, and about five layers of poly over the tweed.

This amp is amazing. I bought a new twin in 2005 for only $700 because it had been sitting for about two years for the first six months I loved it then I had many problems with it, after sending it in twice they replaced it, got it back and was happy for almost a year then I couldn't turn it up to 3 without it rattling to death. I called the store and got a full refund(VERY surprised). I found this amp on craigslist and it is everything everyone says it is and more. I play a variety of music: funk, jazz, rock, ambient, electronic(via a EHX micro synth) The amp handles everything extremely well.

I miss the vibrato and reverb of the twin, however I use my #1 Echo as reverb when I need it,

I play a stock Epiphone Casino usually going straight in, however I often use a Electro-Harmonix LBP-1 boost pedal to get a little more grit when necessary. My old twin had to be too loud to overdrive and this amp is perfect for me. Going into input 2 with my guitar's volume around 7-8 and the amp between 3 and 4 is perfect for me. If i play softly it sounds fender clean but when I really rock out (for lack of a better phrase) it gets the perfect amount of overdrive. I usually keep the treble at 12, Bass 3-4, Mid 6-7, and presence 5. When you crank the amp above 7 the bass gets a little muddy so I just turn it down a bit. There is so much variety with this amp it's incredible. The amp can be fender clean, and with my boost pedal set pretty low and the amp set above 6-7 it can get down and dirty. I hear the original Mesa/Boogie Mark1 was a modified bassman circuit and it makes total sense. Mine is a little noisy but I know it's just the power tubes and I just quit my job so that can wait. other than that. Absolutely amazing is all I can say. Also I NEVER liked the sound of my bridge pickup of my casino through my twin and I tried everything, and this amp makes it sound amazing.

Oh, It also handles pedals very well, I have a EHX boost, #1 Echo, and Micro Synth.

I've only had it for a few weeks now and have drove it around town to friends houses'. I don't gig but if I did I don't have another $700 for a backup. Like all tube amps it needs to be serviced, however with the selectable bias I can replace tubes myself.

Since I've had the amp for such a short time I'll have to say No Opinion on reliability at this time.

I hated dealing with my twin that was a piece and died. However this amp is so nice it makes up for all the unpleasantness I experienced. It's a '93 so it's well out of warranty and its modified. I live in Oregon and there are many good amp technicians in the city.

I've been playing guitar for about 5 years, I've owed a fender mexican strat and telecaster, a blues jr.(avoid them like the plague),a new fender twin(ugh!), I currently play a Casino through the Bassman and I think they were made for each-other. I love the tone, I miss the vibrato and I also dislike the fact that there is no external speaker jack because I would love to try out my friend's vibratone through it. Compared to other amps around a grand I don't think there is any comparison.

Amp has two channels, but no switching between channels. One channel is normal (for lack of better description) and the other is bright. Each channel has 2 inputs.

There are basic tone controls: treble, mid, bass and presense.
Thats it. What else do you need? Nothing. I don't miss the reverb. On a gig you'll either get reverb from the room or it will be added at the PA (or both).

This amp to my ears brings out the truest sound of me and my guitar (a custom telecaster copy). The tube tone does what it should: bring out the sweet overtones. The voicing isn't heavy (like a Mesa I played thru), or honky midrange (like most Peaveys and my Polytone) or artificial sounding (like my reissue Super Reverb c.1992). If you want unadulterated pure clean tube tone, this is the amp.

I've played thru lots of amps as both a musician and former music store employee. Far and away the Bassman reissue is the best combo I've played in the < $1000 price range. Not suprisingly, last time I was in Paradise Studios in Sacramento, CA, they had replaced their Mesa with a Bassman reissue. I recorded with the Bassman and it sounded awesome.

The amp sings from volume settings from about 4-7. You'll find yourself rolling back on the bass setting as you increase volume.

If I need overdrive I use a pedal in front.

I cannot comment on the amps reliability as I just acquired it (used). My previous reissue Fender from about the same era lasted from 1994-2007 in real-world gig use. The gig doesn't do the damage, its the travel that wears out your amp. Being shoved and dropped and rattled.

No comment. Never needed any.

I've played since 1984 or so, professionally since about 1994. All my guitars are custom built these days (Warmoth, Fender custom shop).

I like the amps purity of tone. I don't know much that could be done to improve upon it.

The only other amp I'd consider would be something by Custom Audio Electronics. I have the SE 3+ preamp by CAE, and it kills. But I'd rather haul a combo to a gig these days than a rack of gear. Although, I must say I did obtain a very special "mean" clean tone with my SE 3+, a VHT 2150 and a 4x12 cabinet that the Bassman cannot duplicate. It was mean, but not harsh, and way too loud for any of the gigs I'm doing!

I compared the amp to other Fenders (Hot Rod series) and a Mesa 1x12 combo (dual caliber?) both of which sucked compared to the Bassman when it comes to pure clean tone.

Mine was built on 5-25-1998. Rectifier has been replaced with a GZ34 tube, and the power tubes are upgraded.

The Re-issue has the same features as the original. Normal and bright high / low impedance inputs, tone stack, and volume controls. I use pedals a lot so the most important feature for me is clean tone, and this amp delivers in spades.

I use this amp for small club gigs playing primarily blues and rock. With the channels jumped this amp has a lot of tonal control and can go from smoky blues to mid-range rock very easily.

I don't need anything else from this amp for my purposes, but if you don't use or like pedals you probably want to look at the 65 Super Reverb instead.

I bought this amp looking for primarily clean tones, and it really delivers. While some other users like to put hotter tubes in these and overdrive them, I'm actually going for a 12AY7 in V1 for lower gain and lots of clean headroom.

I use it solely for tone and have found that this amp can easily go from smokey blues to twangy country and over to mid-range classic rock (60's style, NOT 80's).

It also takes pedals extremely well. In fact, pedals that sounded bad with other amps sound amazing with this one. It really lets the entire circuit breath and gives you plenty of headroom. For me it's like every other amp I've played had a blanket over it.

It's important to point out that this amp was never meant to be a swiss army knife, or a Marshall stack (wasn't even meant to be a guitar amp). It does what it does better than any other amp, and does nothing else. If versatility is more important to you than tone, or if what you really want is a Marshall, you need to look at something else. Take YOUR guitar to the store and play the amp for a while before deciding; you'll be happy you did.

There's not much here to break. If something goes wrong it's most likely a $20 tube or a $4 potentiometer. Historically speaking, this is considered the most reliable amp you can buy.

Fender is very responsive to me. YMMV.

I've been playing for 28 years now and this amp completely nails the tone that I hear in my head when I'm thinking about new riffs or songs.

If this amp walks off I'll have to buy another. I may buy a point to point wired one as a backup, or just to have.

I compared it to a lot of other blues style amps and it completely crushes everything for punch, headroom, tone, and responsiveness to the player.

Check out the Fender Website and you can see the features. Frankly not that much. No Reverb. No Crunch. Not even an effects loop. Just basic EQ and Presence with 2 channels, Bright and Normal.

I'm reviewing this because I am concerned some of the other reviews might make someone hesitate to buy this amp.

I think it is a matter of taste. If you are a heavy distortion metal head then this amp is not for you. It could do that but a Marshall JCM 2000 and a Guitar Workstation does it so much better.

For what it's worth I have a collections of Marshalls, Peaveys, and other Fender amps and a truckload of effects. I love them all.

I have been playing for 40+ years. I have found no amp or guitar does everything. I have about 20 guitars and 10 amps because I have found some mate better than others. For example when I really want the guitar to scream ala Jimmy Page I use a Les Paul Standard and a ValveKing100 but when I want "Hot Rod Lincoln" I use a Telecster and a Blues Deluxe with some delay and tremelo pedals.

If you are into cleanest possible telecaster type sounds and want to hear every note ring out while you are singing a Dylan tune to 100 to 500 people then this is it.

There is a niche market for blues purists and this amp fills that need. I give this amp a solid 10

Have not had the need

Have not had the need

Again-

I've been playing for 40+ years. I have enough equipment to start my own superstore. I've played every guitar and amp known to man. I count as one of my friends on of the 10 best guitarist in the world, whose name will remain confidential, and we have discussed equipment and tone.

A lot of tone is in the fingers. A really good musician can make the crappiest equipment sound great but a lousy player can't make great equipment sound good. I fear way too many musicians go for crunch and effects and volume as a means to disguise their shortcomings. And in the end they shortchange their own growth because they can't hear themselves.

If you like the sound of a wasp on steroids buzzing in a bottle in the back of the room go ahead and load up on a Line 6 with max crunch. If you want to hear your fingers pluck a string and hear it ring out then go with the Fender Tweed line.

I find the HotRod a little too harsh for small venues. Likewise the Twin and Deluxe are great but you really need a large auditorium to open them up to where you get the best from those amps. I could have bought any one of them. But for whatever reason I liked the warmer tone of a simple Fender Bassman. I play it at around 4-5 which gets it hot enough to where it opens up. I haven't played it at 8 or 9 so I can't comment on the complaints that it becomes narrow at that level. I'm wondering what stadiums their playing where they can get up to that level and how many thousand yards they're standing back to even know the difference. Anything over 5 is way too much I think.

I've been able to get great clean, blues, jazz, country and rock tones out of this amp. Every combination of settings I try, on the guitar or amp, sounds good. In that respect, by changing my playing style, and working the guitar's volume/tone controls I can access a bunch of different tones. The (4) 10's setup has such a big, wide sound and puts the guitar in a great place (mix-wise) onstage. By running channel 1 into channel 2 each volume control becomes a gain stage, more sonic possibilities. That's an amp with features in my book. The right features at least

This amp just makes my guitar sound good. Whichever pickup, playing style or pedal I throw into it I get back a big, warm, complex tone. I feel like I've rediscovered a few of my pedals after hearing them through the Bassman. It's really responsive as well, going from crystal clean to greasy to dirty depending on pick attack. The sound is almost 3-D and really fills up the room without being to woofy - well..at least with my strat the frequency response seems to match my guitar perfectly, bringing out my guitar's best qualities. I haven't tried it with humbuckers yet but I have a feeling I'll like that tone as well. I've never really been a gear fanatic but I am absolutley hooked on the Bassman. I now understand what all the hype is about.

I've read plenty of positive reviews as far as reliability is concerned so I get the sense that this is a well designed package. Only time will tell exactly how mine will age. I do wish the tweed was lacquered like the newer Bassman LTD reissue but oh well. I did buy a cover off of ebay since that raw tweed can get really dirty and stained.

I never really had to deal with Fender directly but I imagine they are a large company and customer service is inconsistent at best. Maybe I'm just being cynical.

I've been playing for 23 years, I've owned many guitars, amps, effects, etc. Currently I'm playing a Suhr Classic with Barden pickups.

If stolen I would replace it immediately.

I love the basic sound of this amp and I honestly don't even mind not having reverb.

Anybody who gives this less than a 10 for features is a complete idiot. You buy it for what it is, not because it doesn't have an effects loop or digital reverb, etc. Mine is a 1990 with the Eminence blues.

I have a love hate relationship with this amp. For certain things, it sounds great, like volume less than 4, playing clean. At higher volumes, the higs get ice-picky and the bass gets very flabby. Turn the treble down to compensate and then the high aren't there enough. There's no happy medium, either ice pick or hardly anything at all.
A 5U4 rectifier helps a little. An AR4 makes the problems worse and the amp is almost unplayable.
It distorts well, above 6, but again, it gets very harsh. I have played with it for hours upon end. Jumping channels, trying every one of the 4, using different pick up configuartions and guitar tone and volume knobs and I can't find a good amp setting and just eave it alone and play, and that's a damn shame, because the potential is there for an awesome tone. In the end I just set treble, mid and presence to 6 and bass to zero. Jumper the channels or not and it seems to work pretty well. You'd think 40 watts on 7 or 8 is loud. Maybe I'm just used to it, but my neighbors don't complain, I don't live far out in the country, and pictures aren't falling off the walls. I've hesitated in getting a twin because I'm thinking 100 watts, even on 2 will melt my face off, but maybe that's what I'll need to do.

1990, battered to hell and still all original. Beat that!

I use it with strats, TS9, fuzz, the usual stuff. I don't know if I'd buy it again, but I'd definitely miss it if it were gone. Maybe I was asking for too much, but I was hoping this would be my workhorse, but I can see it has limitations and may not be suitable for what I'm looking for. I was considering a bluesbreaker, but for $2,000, it better make me cry when I hear it.

This is a supplement to my earlier review. I've had some luck getting a really good tweed overdrive tone. Once you get those power tubes distorting smoothly, you want care about reverb. Clapton is IMHO the god of tweed tone, and you will notice he doesn't use reverb with either the Tweed Twin or the Cornell Custom 80.

Although there is no bias adjustment, I've found you can still adjust the bias by swapping rectifiers. If you are using a 5u4 and the bias is too low, you will raise it by going to a 5ar4. If the bias is still too low, you will raise it more by using a solid state rectifier. And the reverse is also true (go from s.s. to 5ar4 to 5u4 to lower bias).

Another thing I've found is that the exact bias you use isn't that critical with this amp. 6l6's and 5881's have a very wide operating range. For example, for a 6l6 operating at 450 volts with a 5ar4 rectifier, anything from 18 mV to 42mV is within the operating range, and you should be able to go all the way to 55mV without blowing up the tubes.

I've been using a tube rectifier, but I think I'm going back to solid state. The amp came with a ss rectifier, and it seems to work better that way. And another thing I noticed about the Cornell Custom 80 Clapton uses; it doesn't have a tube rectifier.

Still a great amp!

This amp needs a bias control and reverb. Without the bias, you ended with little choice of what tubes to use. It works great with Fender's tube reverb box. But that's a lot to carry around.

I think this is the top of the line for tone. I put in a tube rectifier, but that's about it. The Jensen P10R's are the best of the re-issues; and they sound great.

I've never had any problems with the amp, and I've owned it for a while now. The older style tweed (without the laquer) gets dirty easy and looks like heck, so I had mine recovered with tolex (Weber does it for a reasonable price), and now it looks great.

I've never dealt with Fender, but that's a good thing. For the money, the Fender re-issues are, I think, the best amps you can buy.

I've gone through a lot of equipment, but I've always held on to the Bassman. It's the best of the re-issues. The Marshall Bluesbreaker is a close second, but the tone isn't quite as nice, its a little noisy, and it weighs a ton. Get one of the new Bassman LTD's. If anything happened to mine, that's what I'd do. Unless you play metal, I don't know how you can go wrong with a Bassman.

Two channels perfect for blending the bright with the normal. 4X10 jensens are killer. This is a vintage style tube amp-those are the best features money can buy. I did have to replace the volume pots though because it was too irritating to have it go from 0 to extremely loud between 2 and 3 on the knob.

I play modded (rewired to 60's and 70's specs) fender USA strats with custom shop vintage pickups in them, through a Dunlop Classic Wah, TS-9, BD-2, and Electro harmonix LPB-2. This is a perfect sound. In a small room where I can't crank to get the amp to breakup, the LPB-2 does the trick. In a large space....crank it and go. I play with this in tandem with a 72 Super Reverb and the combo of the two is awesome. The bassman has a great sound and you can dial in the "sparkle" by mixing in the bright channel. It is a perfect amp.

I always bring a backup...it's just good policy. Even if I had a solid state amp...which I don't... I would still have a backup...you just never know...That being said, I have never had any problems.

I have a tech here in Austin, TX who can fix anything...I never go anyone else.

I've been playing for 20 years, I have the bassman, the 72 Super Reverb and a Hot Rod Deluxe. Sometimes I run all three, sometimes just one. Usually the main amp the the super, but the bassman is about to eclipse it. One thing to note...I bought it used, and someone had point to point wired it with the right stuff. I brought it to my tech and he said it was a steal getting it for what I did. The only difference I noted when I compared it was that it was more mellow (less bright) than other bassman amps. Maybe it was because it sounded like the Super Reverb that I loked it so much, either way it is an awesome amp.

Just received my 1990 re-issue from a music store cross the country in Cali. It's in incredible shape. I am using this amp for blues-harp. Not much for features of course, and I do miss having reverb a bit, but of course I bought the bassman for tone, not features! I do like that the control knobs all go up to 12, and the few controls that are available all actually do something, so that's cool.

First thing I did was re-tube this baby for chicago-style blues harp. Spent 3 hours of trail and error with a very good amp-tech and followed some advise I read on here, and here's what sounded best...Tueng Sol 5881 power tubes (they sound MUCH better than 6L6's!), RCA brown-based 5AU4 tube-recifier, and NOS RCA 5983's across the board for all three pre-amp stages (these are considered AU7's but differ evry slightly). The sound is down n dirty blues, but not muffled and it's plenty loud, and with a bit of treble and presence it even keeps my high end blow-bends under control!

Can't say from personal experience as I just got it, but it's a 1990 in perefct shape and sounds great, so gotta say VERY reliable!

N/A - Don't know

Played blues harp as a kid in high school & college, put it down for some 20-years to raise a family, and now back playing for the past year or so in a mid-aged blues band and lovin it! Have really come full circle. Had my eye on a '59 re-issue for some time now, waited until my chops 'deserved' it, and am having a ball with the great sound!

I use this with two different mics...an old Ruskin (made by Frank Ruskin from a Harley Davidson's sideview mirror...basically a mini green bullet) with a shure-controlled magnetic cartridge, and a Shure 533 SA stick mic(very low bottom...best blues stick mic around!). It depends on the sound I want...cleaner or dirty.

Bought new in 1998. Gigs indoor & outdoor. Loud enough for all but loudest rock bands if relying on backline (not mic'd). Miss having reverb & outboard fender reverb units are #400! Copes with all styles, but will never sound like a boogie if rockin' out. Most at home for crunchy blues gigs.

Ordered mail order. V disappointed when first arrived. Played usa strat standard & ibanez hollowbody. Didn't get decent sound until i purchased my Clapton strat, stuck heavy strings on & play through ts9. IMHO, much better with solid state rectifier. Allows more attack to suit cliched blues strat style of playing, more BF'ish. At sweet spot (3-4 vol bright channel, mid & bass way up), sounds incredibly musical & creamy & fills room / pub / club with sound. I do not like the sound of it breaking up. To my ears, the sweet spot is just before that, pushed more (5 - 12 vol), it just sounds mushy & compressed. Some peope like that, but it seems to lose definition. At it's best 3-4 vol doing blues gigs when not cranked too hard.

Strangely enough doesn't feel like it needs reverb, unless playing in front room / studio.

after 13 months cooked valve which took out screen grid resistor. I think resister under spec'd but they have to blow to protect other components so maybe blessing in disguise. New resistor cost about 50p. Been fine since. However sold it recently, and buyer has neg'd me through eBay claiming that it needed #140 spent on it, etc. If that's true, i would mark it down. So no opnion on that one ...

Rubbish in 1999. Wouldn't waste my time again. Fixed it myself.

Best thing about this amp is the 4 x 10 alnico speakers. They would make anything sound great in the way that without celestions, marshalls would sound awful.

In terms of pure tone, v hard to beat, however that tone is only in abundance at its sweet spot. Played in your front room, will sound ordinary. If your drummer gets too excited, you'll run out of headroom & sound mushy, but for blues gigs, very difficult to beat.

All the time i had it i wanted a vibroverb 63 ri, and now i've sold it, can't find one. Like ditching your girlfriend for a better offer only to find yourself single for a long time. Thinking about trying a LTD RI ...

Not sure of the year but i bought it the first year they were reissued. Had always used my 64 Twin but after trading a small Crate with distortion to a kid for a 63 Concert (I'm so ashamed) i got partial to the 4 tens sound but hated lugging the Concert around and when the Bassmen came out i bought it. Have been playing for 41 years and still playing the same songs, people still love classic rock. The Bassmen suits my needs, simple to use, plenty of nuts and that clean fender sound and alot lighter than my Twin. I use a 84 American Strat or a 72 Custom Tele depending on my mood. Haven't tried any tube changes yet have just stuck with came in it. I did shellack the tweed though, gives it a vintage look

Hook it to a Strat or Tele close your eyes and your're back when rock was new and young. It fits my classic style perfectly. And I can carry it myself without roadies

Very superstitous so no comment

Have never had to deal with Fender as far as warrantees but never had any problems with parts or gear for other amps or guitars

If it was stolen I'd buy another one and if it was lost I'd remember the next day where I left it and go back for it. I have been gigging for a long time and plan on finishing out my days with this amp or as long as there is a market for old rock

Made in 2003.
Very versatile amp for big fat tone..
Play Rockabilly, Jump Blues, reverend styles.
Normal Channel and Bright Channel.
Use for club gigs, bigger halls.

Use with Gretsch 6120-60 w/TV Jones Classic Pickups.
Works very well in achieving tone for my style.
Fairly quite amp.
Has enough headroom even with loud drummer.
I use a second smaller amp to get distortion and a a/b box.
Has great overdriven sound when pushed but gets very loud.
Lots of low end from 4-10s.

I used to depend on this amp but have learned my lesson.
Seems to be a hard amp for techs to keep running or even troubleshoot.
I have retubed 3 xs and have greatly improved the tone by using better NOS and Military tubes.
I see the newer LTD model has a tube bias. I had a tech install one.
If you get one of these and you are in a working band, buy two or some other backup.

Company is fine. The one time it was a warranty part. They sent the service center the part pretty fast.
Fender has many service centers but be prepared to wait.
5 year warranty

At this point is someone stole this amp I would be relieved, collect my insurance and buy either a Victoria bassman copy or try and get a hand wired one.

You can use the new fender tube amps, but make shure you have a tech, and spend the money to get rid of the Groove tubes.

Just checked this during one-two hours, here are my impressions.
Clever input section, with it you can match any guitar perfectly, be it a jazz archtop, a powerful lespaul or a strat/tele you name them.
I mean, impedance input changes with those different guitars and just tweaking eq and gain knobs doesn't do the trick.
So far the best amp for versatility.
Solid pine cabinet, that matters and not only a bit. Jensen alnico, a tad bright and stiff in the bass but the amp was new.
Tube rectifier, that matters a lot, a blues deville sounds transistor-like in comparison. Yes, that much!
One point off for lacking reverb, and one for fairly high noisefloor.

This is all about it. I don't care for the lacking reverb since the tone is soo good. Very subtle, detailed, with an attitude (play a good pedal through the bassman, incredibly good results), smooth and colourful.
Try describe sounds...
I like the slight chorus effect the 4x10 produces, it breathes.
Compared to a twin reverb: more details, finer, less boxy, lighter.
And to a blues deville: nothing to compare at all, the bassman is not a toy faking to be a real amp...
And to a deluxe reverb: warmer, more details, louder and heavier.

Brand new, the chassis was not put in correctly so I couldn't plug the input 2 of normal channel. Come on Fender, what's this??
Also, it produces hum, which was not the case with the other brand new amps I also tested through last month (twin, blues deville, deluxe reverb, vibrolux reverb) so it is likely to be poor quality control if any.
Once properly fixed, I see no reason to doubt its reliability, since it was first released in '59!
Being a tube amp, I see no reason NOT to take my Roland Cube 30 modeling amp along too!
No rating

In europe it sucks big time: a dealer can't even return a bad fender guitar (bad fret job for example) so you better choose a good dealer who can do the job himself.
The lowest rating possible, damned yankees!

It costs a lot of money here in europe, a lot of competitors within this price range. But the bassman sounds so good and is so versatile thanks to its inputs that I have the feeling it is a winner.

I couldn't raise the volume too much, so I can't comment about breaking-up, but I wouldn't like it as well (I like my pedals and the bassman treats them so well).

Still, too loud for the flat and too beautiful to stay at the rehearsal room , and too big/heavy to carry around so what's the purpose in the end?

The solution is: buy some tube converters like yellow jackets from thd or tone bones from tubeampdoctor.com and you instantly have a nice living-room class a amp...

One more thing: in europe this amp costs only 300 euros more than the hotrod deville or blues deville, and one shouldn't hesitate a single second: get the bassman!

About reverb, how about a passive divider sending the direct signal of guitar into e.g. input 2bright, and the direct signal of guitar into your reverb pedal(mix setting: wet only) and the output of it into e.g. input 1normal?
I'm sure this would works wonderfully, as you can blend the channels hence the reverb/delay mix while still having your pure guitar signal in the other input.

All in all a fantastic value indeed.

I think everyone has covered the features pretty well. Basically it's a single channel combo amp with Bright and Normal inputs. You can jump the channels with a short 1/4 inch cable and blend the two if desired. Bone stock these amps come with two 6L6 power tubes and three 12ax7's as its preamp tube compliment. It has a tube rectifier socket that comes with a solid state module plugged into it. This can be swapped out for a GZ34/5AR4 or a 5U4 rectifier tube. The combo cabinet is covered in a nice tweed fabric (no lacquer) with an oxblood grill...very nice! The four 10 inch speakers and made by Jensen and provide a 2 ohm load to the amp via 4 RCA jacks on the amp chasis. The amp puts out 40-50 watts depending on which type of rectifer is used. A very straight forward design that's simple to use.

With the stock tube compliment and solid state rectifier it sounded OK. It tends to breakup really fast (3-4 on the volume control) and sounds a bit too buzzy with this stock configuration. After experimenting with many different tube configurations, the best (smoothest) sound I was able to achieve was obtained by using a NOS JAN Phillips 12AY7 in the first preamp position, a set of Chinese 6L6GC power tubes and a NOS GE 5U4GB rectifier tube. Now with this configuration, the amp breakup is nice and gradual with no buzziness assoicated with it. All I can say is WOW!! This amp now has tone to die for. I own a Marshall 2061X Handwired head and a Marshall 1974x Handwired combo and this Bassman sounds every bit as sweet. I use the Normal channel with the volume set on 9 (it goes to 12) and adjust the tone controls to suit the room. Then I simply use my guitars volume control to go from clean to overdrive. This is the perfect amp for blues and classic rock!!

It once blew a fuse when I was experimenting with different power tubes. I only gave it an 8 here because there is no way to adjust the bias (without modification) when you swap out the power tubes and the amp tends to run pretty hot. Overall the amp has been reliable but I would never gig without a backup.

Never had to use it for this amp. However I have mixed feelings about Fender's customer support overall. Once they did me right when a Strat I owned stripped its truss rod. They replaced the neck under warranty no problem. However on another occassion they refused to replace the neck of a Squire Telecaster which was twisted. They told me instead to return it to the store and have them give me my money back.

With the tube upgrades outlined above, this is one killer amp. These can be purchased for very little ($500-$600) now that the LTD model is out. I have been playing over 17 years and I love getting the right tone for the right occassion. I own many amps including a Marshall JTM 45, Marshall 1974x, Marshall 2061x, Marshall JCM 900 Mk III 2500, Soldano Avenger, 1966 Fender Bassman and Fender Blues Jr. This Bassman is a keeper!! If it were lost of stolen I would replace it in a second. The only thing to keep in mind is that this thing is loud...but OH WHAT A SOUND!! I use it mainly when playing to large rooms. If you play blues or classic rock with a loud band, you can't go wrong using this amp.

By now you know the features. Built in 1995. To me, this is the perfect example of why less is more. Great sounds from either channel or bridge them together for a really fat sound. You can easily set up an external loop for effects on one channel and dry signal to the other with the use of a Loooper or similar device. No loops, headphone jack, channel switching or any other interruption of signal flow from your guitar to the amp. Plenty of output for rock and blues gigs. Don't worry about being heard over your drummer. While I love some of the tricks of my Flextone lll, I couldn't hear myself onstage. Not a problem with this beast. Very controllable for any environment. I also prefer the solid state rectifier to achieve a bit more headroom. I can't think of anything I would add or change about the design inspite of it's simple layout.

Sound is the real reason you need this amp! Guitars don't loose their identitiy when you plug in. My PRS sounds great thru this as does my Tele, Strat, or 175. I use it extensively for classic rock, blues, jazz, and the occaisional country gig...no problem. It takes to pedals like a fish to water! As part of my less is more idea, I use a Barber Overdrive, Boss DD-2, Boss RV-3, Boss CH-2, and Tu-12H. Simple, very effective for live use and very little noise. I can cover a lot of sonic territory with little worry of tone, reliability, and quick set up and tear down time. It also seems you can't get a bad sound out of it no matter where the knobs are set.
As I mentioned above, the Flexlll amp is great in its own way and really is ideal in certain situations BUT....this is the real deal. Not only do you hear great sounds, you can feel the sound as well. The harder you push this amp, the harder it pushes back unlike modeling amps that don't seem to have the dynamic control of most good tube amps.

No bad issues here. I still take a back-up amp to most gigs just in case but so far I've never needed to use it. I've only replaced the occaisional pre-amp tube and had two speakers re-coned. If you gig a lot, I would recommend putting Minwax honey pine satin polyurethane on the tweed. Gives it some "aged" looks and a bit of protection.

Who knows? Haven't ever used them. I bought this amp on ebay. (They're a bargain and plentiful!)

I've been playing since the mid sixties. I've owned damn near everything worth having from Fender, Marshall, Sunn, Mesa, etc. Think I like this one the best for overall versatility, ease of handling, output, and reliability. Would replace it with another one of similar vintage if lost or stolen. Can't think of anything I hate about it. I looked a various amps before making the purchase. Used Marshalls (not as versatile), used Blackface Fenders (way too expensive), new reissue Fenders (didn't sound as good as the old ones). When a friend suggested I take his RI Bassman out for a test drive...phew...I knew it was the one. Now...repeat after me, LESS IS MORE, LESS IS MORE!

no idea when it was made, but it's gotta be somewhere in the neighborhood of the last 5 years, and for someone who almost exlusively searches out vintage.... i AM IMPRESSED holy crap!! has 2 channels reg & bright, i run it with my boss blues driver and a boss chorus and mannnnnnn... so sweet!. tube all the way and i gotta say traded in a mesa plus 300 bucks, and i aint lokin back!!

no built in distirtion which is fine but when i stom on the blues driver all hell breaks loose, i play everything from jazz to metal and it covers all the bases

simple enough wiring, no porblems yet but i don't anticipate it would be too hard to fix if some should arise.

??

10!!!!!!!!

Bright and normal channels, two inputs for each. Bright and normal volume, treble, middle, bass and precence controls that all go to twelve. Four Jensen ten inch speakers. Power is something between 40 and 50 watts, depending on what kind of a rectifier you choose: it can take either solid-state or GZ34 and 5U4 tube rectifiers. I replaced the solid-state rectifier with the 5U4 tube which has the least headroom. It's still a very loud amp and I can't really think of any situation where I would need more volume. If someone needs a crystal clear sound at a very high volume, Twin reverb is maybe a better choice. But with the solid state rectifier you canset the volume at about twelve o'clock before it starts to distort and at that point it's loud enough for any situation. I play Junior Kimbrough-style blues, some jazz and rock and it sounds great for all those styles.

Bassman doesn't have any modern features like channel-switching or effect loops but it's a great design and can be used in many different ways. For example you can plug into either channel and use the other as a effect channel by taking the signal from the second input of the same channel, going through the effects and plugging into the other channel. This way you can adjust the straight volume and effected volume separately.

I traded a Music Man Silhouette guitar and a Colorsound Fuzz-Wah for it and haven't looked back. Reverb and tremolo would be nice, but hey, nothing's perfect!

I've been playing it with a 52' reissue Tele and they really are a good match. I spent some time figuring out which channel sounds best with that particular guitar and found out that it's the normal channel that suits my style best. The bridge pickup is way too trebly in the bright channel and the neck pickup may sound a little thin.

This amp is capable of producing quite a lot of low-end mass so you better beware not to piss off your bass player. The mids are lovely transparent and the highs are absolutely beautiful. Great dynamics, kind of like a grand piano. It's a amp that sounds like you and your guitar at their best, so if you have a good solid guitar and chops to match you are rewarded with total sonic heaven, but if not, the amp will certainly help to you learn to play better even though it can be a little frustrating in the beginning, because it makes your flaws mercylessly audible.

I used to have a 65' Bassman head and a late 80's 4x10 Fender cabinet and I compared them side by side and liked the the reissue combo better. The vintage head was a little cold and not as transparent as the combo, which was quite a surprise.

For pedals I have just a TS9 with the TS808 mod and a AD-80 analog delay and they're just perfect for this amp. I used the Visual Sound Route 66 with the 65' head rig and it worked really well but for some reason it didn't suit this combo. So if I want some extra boost I just open the volume. Less is more!

Point to point wired, everything neatly laid out and a all components are changeable so everything that can get broken can be fixed. Haven't gigged with mine yet so I really don't know but legends tell that these are one of the most reliable amps ever build. The craftmanship is as good as anything, simply top notch!

No experience.

I've been playing for 16 years and this is the amp I should have bought in the first place. Generally I prefer combos to stacks and Fenders has the sound I hear in my head. If stolen I might consider other Fenders, maybe the Super Reverb reissue or even Marshall Bluesbreaker combo or some boutique design, maybe one with reverb. That's the only thing this amp doesn't have but generalli I think you REALLY don't need it if the basic tone is good enough. If I could change something about it I would add the reverb and tremolo though.

Four inputs: two for normal channel and two for bright one, each one with a little more db than the other. Normal channel vol., bright channel vol., presence, treble and bass. That's it. If you buy this amp, you're not expecting any channel switching, high gain switch, just an AMAZING good sound. Other cool feature is that you can put the original tube configuration in it, and replace the stock solid-state rectifier by either of two possible types of rectifier tubes.

I have guitars with the following type of pick ups: Duncan JB and Jazz on the neck position, Filter-tron classics and Jazzmaster pick ups. This amp has one of the best clean sounds that I've ever heard. It has an incredible presense and sound projection. It's just as noisy as any other tube-amp. This amp can do any type of rythms you can imagine, but it stands out doing clean ones such as rockabilly, country, blues and pop. It works well for rock too, and that's exactly what I play, just plug an pedal in front of it and here I go. This amp is loud, and, if you play single coils, you gonna have to turn the volume knobs up to 7 (depending on the pick up) to start getting an overdriven sound out of it. However, with my Duncan JB equiped guitar, it distorts at 4 - because I have replaced the original solid-state rectifier by an 5U4 tube, in attempt to lower this wattage a little bit. After that change, the amp sounded a little brighter too. Haven't tried the other type of tube rectifier yet. I also haven't turned the volume knob up too high because I'm a bedroom player...

I never gig and I really don't know how to tell you whether you can depend on it or not in a stage situation. I did it twice and everything went pretty well, but, you never know... Have been having it since November/2001 and only changed power tubes once.

Never dealt with the manufacturer.

Been playing for 15 years. Been a metal kid, brit-pop and now I play early Bowie, Neil Young, Sex Pistols, Stone Temple Pilots and post-punk (Sisters of Mercy, Cult, Cure, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry etc.).

If it were stolen and if I had a lot of money, I would buy an Vox AC30, but those are heavy and the Bassman sounds almost as good clean and is way lighter. Yeah, maybe. There's nothing to hate about it. You might want a very good distortion pedal or another high gain amplifier to balance the Bassman's excellent clean sound.

Finally, a damn good sound like this for this price, you won't get anywhere else. I've tried all other Fender amps before buying it: Twin, Twin Reverb reissue, Hod Rod, Mesa/Boogie Blue Angel (no longer in production, I guess), Marshalls etc. Only the Vox can be better clean-sounding than the Bassman, to my comparisons.

I bought this "new" from one of the guitar shops in Denmark St, London in 2002. It was obvious that it wasn't new; unless they'd bought it and left it in a leaky storeroom for a couple years. I'd seen an original in another London shop, but wasn't prepared to pay #2,500 for it. However, they let me fire it up and I played a single p90 Les Paul special. I was struck how it overdriven it was at a relatively low volume and was hooked and started looking for a re-used reissue through the papers and online sales sites. Thats how I came across this one. I paid #800, which was #300 below advertised price for a new one, so considering it looked weathered, I was happy.
I love the simple volume, bass, middle, treble, presense. I've rated this 7 as although it doesn't have overdrive or any effects, it still does what it's supposed to do and does it very well.

I play both humbucker and p90 Les Pauls and love the sound of both. However, it didn't overdrive like the 50s original -I found out the original was an earlier model with two rectifiers, it was rated about 30w. Anyhow I had a Torres power soak fitted to mine which involved some re-engineering. The speakers were hard-wired to the output transformer and Barry Vine, our UK Torres franchisee,changed this to an input jack arrangement so I can plug the power soak in when I want to drive it hard at home. He adjusted the resistors inside it to suit my requirements and I'm very happy with the results. Wonderful overdriven sound without upsetting my long suffering neighbours. I also use a Full Drive II to add some overdriven variety. I've used Boss Distortion and Vox overdrive and they all sound amazing. I've changed the solid state rectifier for a valve one. The best way to describe the sound is to refer you to Neil Young going for it on Weld.
I recently bought the fender 63 reissue tube reverb tank off e-bay which takes the flatness out when jamming at home.

Held off fitting the power soak until the amp was out of warranty and have had no problems.

Not needed them yet.

Been playing 20 years. Had Marshals but got turned onto Fender when I bought a 40w Fender Blues Deluxe. The Bassman reissue just knocked me out and I can't stop playing it. Adding the power soak was a success, though I had to pay #80 to have one custom made for me. The Bassman has a 2 Ohm load on the output transformer so don't use one made for 8 or 16 Ohm (e.g., Marshal Powersoak) or you'll stuff your amp. I coated the tweed with Shelac which toned it down a bit and has added some protection. I love this amp and have found my sonic soul mate. If I lost it I would buy another and do it all again.

Didn't really have a chance to have much of a play around with the settings. I was only using this amp to test out a guitar in the shop. I was so impressed that I decided to write about it here! Seemed to have everything I needed.

WOW! Now I know ppl have said that this isn't meant for Metal but dear god, it can be! I was testing out an SG in the shop earlier today and the guy put me through this. He stuck an MXR distortion through the front and this has got to be the best sound I have ever heard! I cracked that biatch right up! Now I've played a few amps in my time - mesas, cornfords, peaveys, laneys and at the moment I own a Marshall TSL 100 stack with a PRS custom 22 and a les paul studio.. The sound on this was so good that I am considering buying it and using it as a practice amp! Seriously, awesome sound!!

I hear from others that its pretty damn reliably? Didn?t have a chance to kick it about so can?t really comment?

n/a

Well this amp really blew me away! I was given my own little room to really crank this fucker up, and I really did? I came out with my ears ringing? I don?t think I would change my TSL for this purely because I rely on the three channels too much. Just goes to show, to you rock & roll fans ? this is amp is very versatile!!! I probably will end up getting it, but just for studio/home use!

The Fender '59 Bassman re-issue is almost a perfect re-creation of the original. Two channels bright & normal. A no frills perfect sounding amp for bass. Yes!! I said a Bass. I'll fill you in later on that. 45 watts of tube power and you WILL get more head room if you replace the tube rectifier with a solid state. Beautiful tweed covering with an oxblood grillcloth. Top chrome panel with checken head knobs. Four 10" alnico speakers My amp was made in 2002.

As I stated earlier, I play a '51 Precision re-issue through this amp & what a beautiful tone. The only problem that I had is that it is just not loud enough for modern standards. I have to put a mic to it & have it come through the P.A. I play in an authentic rock & roll band. Leo had the right idea back then. About 2 months after I got this amp I got an old Gene Vincent CD and his bass playr had the same setup. The only amp that might give it a run for it's money is the old Ampeg B15 for tone.

I only used this on a couple of gigs. The amp has never broken down

I have had various Fender products for over 15 years with no problems.

I've been playing for over 20 years & if your are looking for a vintage look & tone this is perfect. If it were stolen or lost I would look for another. it has vintage written all over it.

Made January 1991 - standard features - the blue alnico's - bought it second hand but it looked like new, the guy never gigged with it. Is that gonna change now!
I still love my vibrolux but since I don't like guitars in monitors I needed something "bigger" for festival stages.
Play mainly blues, from jazzy swing to dirty boogie and rock.
I use an outboard fender reverb. Sound fantastic, but it means more carrying, so I wish Fender would fit one standard in.

I use all kinds of guitars, often with p-90 pu's. from expensive gibsons to cheap chinese squires, and they all sound great on the bassman. If you have to choose: go for a cheap guitar + bassman: much better then an expensive axe + ome cheapo amp.

I think the Bassman is one of Fender's most reliable amps

Been playing for 20 years. For smaller clubs I prefer smaller amps like Deluxe, Vibrolux, Blues Junior, but for bigger venues Bassman is the Man, no question about it!

No frills amp -bright and normal inputs- tone controls. This is a re review now I have had the amp for over a year

If there is a "classic" sound, then this amp has it. I play a Telecaster and Gretsch through it..two different sounding guitars. I run a patch cord from the normal to the bright channel and mix the volumes to get different sounds -work brilliantly. The more you turn it up, the better it sounds. the Tele screams through it, while the Gretsch just pumps out huge bottom notes. Country and Rockabilly styles

Gigged for a year with it -not one problem. total confidence

Never needed support apart from ordering an amp cover from a Fender dealer -no problems.

Played for 30 years had tens of amps and apart from an AC30 Vox, nothing else compares. It truly is a classic amp -all those guitar tones you hear on records are there. I've never had so many people at gigs come up and rave about the guitar sound since I've been using this amp. I've used the same guitars through Marshals, Peaveys, Laneys -and all of a sudden, someone has switched on the
"real guitar sound" switch -its called a Fender Bassman.

2004 fender 59 bassman
this amp is perfect
not alote of option doesn't need them

I play a hofner 63 reissue, fender jazz bass, rickenbacker 4001
I play classic rock and its perfect.this amp will nail those mccartney revolver/sgt pepper sounds.i bought it to play guitar thru.
i have been playing bass thru a ampeg svt stack and a vox ac50 thru a t100 cab and this just sounds better to me.I play out with this amp once a month. put an sm57 mic in front run thru the pa and i am plenty lound for any club i play in.i'll use my ampeg for outdoor gigs.alote of musicians including myself think these are the holy grail of guitar amps well let me tell you they are also the holy grail of bass amps.

been playing 32 years.to much! gibson,taylor,martin acoustics
gibson,fender,epiphone electric guitars.Fender,hofner and rickenbacker bass guitars.Fender,marshal,badcat,vox,ampeg amps
oh yea, and an old 1970 U.S.A. model washburn

This is an updated review,as I have submitted an earlier one,but I have since done a few things to really improve the tone of this amp.My amp was made in September of 1996.Features,10,very simple,basic features without all the bells & whistles of modern age amp's.Just a simple,super sounding all tube amp with 4 pot's to shape the sound.The tone controls do exactly what you want them to do without affecting each other like they do with a Blues Deville.Turn the treble all the way up on the Deville,and all the high end is gone!I don't like amp's that don't do what you ask them to do.The Bassman does what you want it to do.

As I mentioned before in my first review,I use my Bassman for harmonica.The first thing I did was replaced the stock Sov-Tek's,which weren't even close to being matched,and replaced them with a set of NOS Tung Sol 5881's.As far as I'm concerned,these tubes were made for this amp.I replaced the preamp tubes as well with lower gain tubes because 1)the 12AX7's are too strong for the high gain input of a strong harp mic.Couldn't turn the amp past 2.5 without screaming feedback,2)some good ol NOS Tung Sol's sounded soooooo much sweeter than the russian tubes.I used 3 12AU7's in the preamp for quite awhile,but I have since switched to a 5751 in the first stage of the preamp,and kept the 12AU7's in the other two.This switch gave the amp alot more punch,more bite and stronger mid's which is great for harp tone.I switched the 5AR4 rectifier to a 5U4GB,which also improved the tone for harp.Made it sound a bit more tubey if you know what I mean!I also added a bias pot and bias monitor jacks so I can adjust the output tubes to run where I get the best tone.I used to run a matched pair of 5881's at about 32 to 33mA's,but I have since lowered that to about 26 to 27mA's,and the amp still has great tone without having to run the tubes hot.The bias monitor jacks mounted on the bottom of the chassis between the preamp tubes allow me to check the bias without having to remove the back cover,and if you put each lead of your test meter on each of the monitor jacks,it show's you how far apart the tubes are running in mA's. The best thing I've ever done for this amp was switched the output transformer with an Axiom Tone Clone output tranny made by Mercury Magnetic's.These trannies are exact copies of the original Triad transformers used in the original 59 bassman amp's,and cost around $150,but as far as I'm concerned,worth every penny.The amp now has much more headroom,and sounds alot smoother.It's producing low's that it never even came close to before the switch.A major improvement!I would highly recommend this mod to any bassman owner.I've heard alot of guy's that have had the board mod's done say they liked the amp better before the mod was done,that's one reason I wouldn't consider doing it.I don't think you'll hear that from anyone who tries the Tone Clone transformer.This amp is now sweeter than ever before,and I don't think I'll be doing any more mod's.I doubt it can get much better.For those of you wondering,no,I'm not affiliated with,or work for Mercury Magnetic's.It's just an awsome improvement for this amp,and easy to replace if you're a do it yourselfer.Just make sure that the amp is fully discharged before doing this or you may not complete the mod!

The only real problem I've had with my amp was that a plate resistor needed to be replaced.Haven't had any trouble with it other than that,so I guess I have to give it high marks here.One resistor in 8 years is no big deal!

Never really had to deal with the company for warrantee problem's or anything,so I have no basis to give a rating here.

I bought the amp in early 97,and use it for harp playing only.I don't use it on a daily basis,but I do use it a few times a week.I'm a harp mic technician,and this is the amp that I use to check and rate vintage mic's for gain,tone,and overall quality,as well as using it as my main amp for harp when I play out.I also own a Fender Blues Deville 4X10,which I can't compare to the bassman for harp,it's not even close,and I also own a tweed Blues Jr.which I like alot too.I didn't like the stock speaker in the Jr. so I replaced it with a 1956 Jensen P12R,and I love the way it sounds now.Great amp to mic or for practice.If someone stole my bassman,I'd spend the rest of my life hunting them down,(I consider myself a damn good hunter),but if they fled to afganistan,I guess I'd have to buy another one and mod it like I did this one.What do I love about it?The tone!I don't hate anything about it,but I'd like to see it come stock with a bias pot,and I'd like to see them go back to the finger jointed cabinet's too.I don't know why they stopped using the blue framed Eminence speakers and switched to the reissue Jensen's,but I'm glad mine has the old blue framed Eminence speakers in it.In my opinion,the Jensen's don'rt sound half as good.I even bought a spare set of the Eminence speakers in case they decide to stop making them.They are as close to the original 59 Jensen speakers as you can get without actually buying 1959 Jensen's,(which would probably cost close to what I paid for the amp itself).I also replaced the power tube sockets because the stock ones wore out from all the tube experimenting.They could use some better tube sockets.I put ceramic sockets with gold plated pins in mine.Anything I wish I had? Yes,an original 59 Bassman.My overall rating is going to be a 9 because I think Fender cut a few corners when designing this reissue,with cheap parts,but we've got to thank them for coming out with it!We'd all be spending thousands of dollars on original's if we could find them,or we'd have to settle for an immitation or something different!It's still a classic even if it is a reissue.I wonder what the RI's will be selling for in 50 years!

I got the amp new at Christmas 1999. The wife won the money at bingo (God bless her) - about $1,100 Canadian, I think. It has all the features I need.

The only negative is that, for my style, it does not have enough clean power. It starts to break up at about 3 1/2. I had different tubes installed to improve the clean headroom, and now the amp stays clean up to about 4 1/2. I left the solid state rectifier.

I use the amp both for guitar and bass: a Super 400 with humbuckers, a 347 with replacement P-90s and a Telecaster bass (with heavy gauge flatwounds). Contrary to all reviews I read, I only use the amp for traditional country and jazz. My settings are the same for everything (jazz, country, guitar, bass): volume 4, treble halfway, mid maximum, bass almost minimum, presence minimum. I also only use the normal (bass) channel for everything. To me, the secret of getting a good sound out of this amp - for my style anyway - is turning the mid control up to 12 (and maybe tweaking the rest a bit). I have met country players who never thought of this, and even one guy who sold his Bassman and regretted it after hearing mine. I would assess the sound quality at 10 for traditional country, at 7 for jazz and at 8 for low volume bass.

Never broke down. Never blew a speaker.

Excellent dealer support. The dealer told me he had a source for the earlier speakers (he claimed the later ones are not as good)and access to a good repairman.

I have all kinds of other amps. They all have small specific advantages over the Bassman (slightly better jazz sound, lighter weight, more power). However, I always come back to the Bassman. For my purposes, this is the best amp made.

Channels and controls covered in previous reviews. I give this a 10, however, because this amp has ALL the features it needs. If it had more, it would detract. The volume and tone controls allow a variety of TONE, depending on the guitar and the pickups and/or pedals being used.

It's been said before, for rock (not metal, grunge, etc.) this is THE amp. I bought mine used, and it has been dead quiet. I use the Normal channel (having experimented with the Bright and bridging the channels) and generally have the volume between 3-5. The guitar volume down give you clean Fender tone (not as "sparkly" as a twin, however) and full up gives you GROWL!

I play with a Fulltone Fulldrive and Clyde Wah in front, along with a Digitech GSP2101 in front for the digital effects (flange, chorus, delay, verbs, etc.). This amp handles them great. A good boost/overdrive pedal lets you get the tubes crankin' really well.

This amp is LOUD. Remember that wattage and dB are logarithmically related -- a 10 watt amp is 50% as loud as a 100 watt amp. This 45 watter is LOUD. I use a Weber Mass attenuator with this so I can get the 4+ tone at useable volume (I also mic the amp for gigs, so stage volume is my biggest concern).

I've had this amp over a year and it is still my favorite amp (although my new Pro Jr. is getting a lot of use because of its great tone at low volume).

I did change out the tubes and put a 12AY7 in V1 (as in the original Bassman) and tried several tube rectifiers to lower the "growl" point volume-wise. The biggest drawback on the Reissue is a lack of a bias pot to allow rebiasing the power tubes. I'm told this is an easy retrofit by an amp tech in the $50-$80 range, but I haven't found a local amp tech that seems to know their business yet. This mod would be well worth the $$ to allow tweaking of the power tubes to get the "sweet spot" a bit lower in the volume range.

No problems. I did have the jewel light failure that someone else noted. But I bought several online for a few bucks each and have had no problems since I put the "purple haze" light in their. I'm giving this an "8" only because tube amps are just not as reliable as a solid state.

Never had to find out

I play some of everything, and have been for 30+ years. Guitars most used are an 82 Strat with EMG Gilmour pickups, an ASAT standard, an Epi Les Paul with Duncan JB's, a Godin LGX, and an Epi Sheratong with Duncan 59's. The Bassman handles each very, very well, but seems to like the single coils best. The ASAT in particular is a freakin' joy to play through this amp.

There's a reason you see this amp in the backline of most touring bands playing "classic sound" rock (a la Zep).

The RI's can be had used between $500 and $700. There's a new RI Ltd that has a solid pine cabinet, the bias pot added, and the new GT GE6L6 power tubes, and I think it goes for about $1100 new. At these prices, this is a great value.

If your thinking of buying used and then replacing all the tubes, speakers and installing a PTP board, you might want to consider a Victoria bassman. I think this amp sounds magnificent stock, and for the price of a few different tubes it sound unreal. I happen to rally like the stock Jensen speakers, and I can't see the value of dropping several hundred bucks to have a PTP board put in (IMHO, YMMV).

What Features? Well... it amplifies an electric guitar, and has some knobs to adjust the sound. That's about it. If you need more than 1 channel, reverb, trem, loop, several hundred digital amp models and effects, look elsewhere.

This amp is a pure tonal bliss-generating machine for me, besides being a great value for the money. For me, this is the closest I've come to that elusive Holy Grail.

If you like the vintage Fender clean sound in general, I feel that this amp presents it better than any I've heard. For me, all the magic of electric tone is found in that sweetspot just between clean and full-on crunch, when the power tubes are just beginning to growl with saturation. I prefer this amp to the much more costly Vibro-King, and to me is much warmer and juicier than the old 70's silverface Twin and Pro-Reverb I've used. I use the Normal channel (channel bridging didn't do much for me). It's very warm, open and naturally sweet, and starts to break up nicely around 4-4.5 which is useable in the average small to mid size clubs I play most often. (trying to get powertube distortion out of a Twin at club volume is impossible). This amp (like many Fenders) truly reveals the subtler qualities of effects and pickups. (my fave overdrive and guitar for this amp are my Barber Tone Pump and Strat with Kinman Blues AVn pickups - this combination absolutely sings).

One thing that could be negative... I recently got to play on a really big 80 ft stage at an event in a LARGE hall. I wanted more volume, but I found that past 5 or so, it really wont go much louder, just dirtier. There is some really sweet power tube crunch around 5.5 - 6 (I set at around 4 in the clubs) but beyond that it got kind of ugly. I set it around 5 and had to ask the soundman to mix some more guitar into my monitor so I could hear.

Well, I've only been gigging with it for about 6 months. Simple = reliable, however the cabinet looks is kind of flimsy looking compared to the blackface, silverface or newer Fender amps. I've noticed that the whole amp vibrates during play... I had to get used to NOT setting my drink on top because it will vibrate it's way to the front and fall off during a set! My old amp never did that...

Another minor issue, the red jewel lamp regularly goes OFF after the amp has been cranking for a while. This seems to be heat related (this sucker gets HOT). It always lights up when first turned on, but usually goes off during the first set of the night. Sometimes it comes back on during a break when the amp is in standby, but not always. The sound is not affected either way.

No idea, I've never had a Fender product inside of factory warranty, and I get all service done locally. BTW, I NEVER buy guitars or amps brand new - there's always someone needing the cash looking to sell their used stuff to me for cheap. I've gotten a lot of bargains over the years.

I play professonally (13 yrs+) and have owned many amps (various Fender, Marshall, Mesa-Boogie, Peavey, etc). and a bunch of pedals Current guitar stable is two Strats, a B-Bender Tele, a Les Paul Classic Prem Plus, a Rick copy and my very first, an 80's Kramer.

1999 is the year of this reissue. Feature's? All the other reviews explain this quite well - outside of 2 channels (Bright & Normal)bass, treble, prescence, and mid, there are none - but not needed if you are just seeking the best in tone, clean as well as the sweetest
warm overdrive. I can't comment on stomp boxes - but it appears other users that do use them report favorable results.

Amp has plenty of power at 40/45 watts wich is surprisingly loud.

I'll try not to ramble on here too much - I have a cheap Fender Mexican Standard Strat, A 1970 LP Standard, and a 1960 LP Special Reissue w/P90's. All sound very good - The Strat and the LP w/P90's sound awesome. Just simply plug in to the damn thing crank it to between 5 & 6 and let the guitar pickups do the work, clean as a bell when backed down, and full up - the best full ballsey clean and focused sound you can get. This amp will not hide the ability of the
player.. This particular reissue is the stock amp with the 4-10 Jensens and Groove Tube's. Many people that have these amps mentioned in these review's tweak this, change that, put this in, take this out etc - you know tubes, speakers, circuit boards. Without any mods this amp can provide serious Tone and truley does sound great. Cascading the volume channels does work well and can provide some interesting change in fullness and depth of sounds.
Definatley not a Metal amp or anyone looking for a large amount of sustain. Blues/Rock at it's best.

If you want a Tube amp that can be clean and nasty as well as simple in design then this would be highly recommened.

No problems, but have only owned it about 5-6 months.

Been playing for over 30 years (right Dr.K?) Also own a MKIIB Mesa Boogie 1x12 60w combo. If it were lost/stolen I would get another. Best thing about it is it's simplicity - all tube (w/Rectifier Tube) and is meant to be cranked at least to 5/6 to fully appreciate
natural tube tone.

Not sure what year this amp was made ( I believe late 90's). I bought it from original owner and is in great condition. AS far as feature's? It has two channels Bright and Normal and the expected Treble, Prescence, Mid, Bass. This is a 45 watt all tube combo (yes I have the rectifier tube installed) and it is what the Blues and Rock tone is all about. Simple no B.S. Design. No wonder why Marshall and others copy and still copy the original design. Even though the feature set is minimal compared to todays junk out there, it is still versatile if you know how to use this fine instrument.

I have a 1970 Les Paul Standard, 1960 Les Paul Special (w/P90's), and a cheapo Fender Mexican Standard Strat. This amp is the real deal, I can't imagine an original 59 sounding better. Other reviews have mentione "Holy Grail"? Well, I have been playing for over 30 years and have NOT experienced anything that expresses the player behind the guitar like this amp does. It does not hide any mistakes. But damn does this thing sound incredible. I constantly find myself being able to find different nuances every time I play thru it, just by tweaking the tone controls as well as cascading the 2 volume inputs. Tremedous focused three dimensional sound, clean and in your face when needed, but just kick up the volume control on the guitar and we are talkin' bite, grit, and as much good sounding distortion
as any Blues or Rock player needs. Many have said stomp boxes work well. I can't disagree because I personally don't use them, don't need them as the amp does it all. And yes it can get plenty loud even at 45 watts. And yes, the Tube rectifier does provide that extra "sag" so sought after. I believe to really get the best sound out of this little gem volume's defintatley need to be at least between 4 & 6. This is plenty loud, will be clean until you roll the pick-ups on 10 and then its sweet. Push the volume a bit more and the sound just gets a little fuller and more saturated but not much louder. The 60 LP Special with the P90's sound exceptional and in my opinion better than the 70 LP Standard with Humbuckers. The damn $300.00 Mexican Standard Strat sounds the best. This is not a Heavy Metal amp in any regard. It's just tube's, volume, and the best Tone I have heard in my 30 years of playing. Just don't know why it has taken me so long to get one of these after dickin around with all the other amps. This is just a stock amp with 4-10" Jensens, and the typical groove tube's that come with these reissue's. I don't feel the need at all to change a thing on this as other have done with tube's etc. What I don't know I guess won't hurt me. Back to "Holy Grail"? Not really sure what that is or if you can get there - but this is got to be damn close. For between $500 & $700 these can be purchased quite easily.

So far s good. I have had it since January and play out 2-3 nights per week and I run it hard. Got extra tubes if needed plus a MarkIIB Boogie as a backup.

If lost I would absolutley get another. If stolen - you can run but you can't hide and eventually you would be found and then Guido and the boys would bury you in the desert 6' under.

Seriously, anyone searching for the basic no frills sound of Rock and Blue's and pure tube tone you have got to get one of these!

Yes, it's a lengendary Fender amp and everything that could be said has been. After reading all of the reviews many folks have gone the same route I have in replacing the circuit board (to a hand wired board), tubes (I prefer EL-34's...Svetlana's), speakers (go with a Jensen or equivalent), etc. If I had to do all over again I may not have done all the mods...all for the sake of making the amp live up to its reputation. This used to be my number 2 amp, behind a VOX AC-30. Now it is a little quirky, and goes through tubes...mostly the phase inverter 12ax7...actually the amp likes the higher quality, cleaner varieties (12au7, 12AT7, etc). I have been gigging with a Mesa F-50, so now the Bassman is #3...but still an amp with great personality...and yes, they sound the best with Fender guitars. Playing my 2 Strats with minimal effects brings out the best in the amp.

I am a PRS guy, but the Fender American Strat plus (with Barden's)and a Maple neck Strat with stacked humbuckers work well. This is a blues amp, but can hang pretty well on most styles with the right pedal board tools.

Wouldn't be fair for me to dis Fender based on all of the mods I've done. Mine has been a little fussy and eats tubes.

No comment on Fender...no real interaction

I wanted to update my previous review of this amp and pass along a few ideas. First, tubes-I have had great luck with the Svetlana 6L6's and Electro Harmonix 12AX7's, these should serve any gigging musician-save the expensive NOS tubes for the studio!
Second and most important-the reverb issue. I stated in my review that I had come to appreciate a dry sound and didn't miss reverb. Well, I was in denial! I am a reverb addict and don't plan on kicking the habit anytime soon! I was considering a VanAmps Reverbamate, which I am sure is a killer unit, but I couldn't bring myself to spend $275 on reverb (maybe there's hope for me yet). What sounded interesting to me about that unit was it's design-two outputs, one dry, one totally wet, so you need a two-channel amp (like a Bassman) to utilize it. With a Bassman, you would typically run the wet side into the normal channel and use the normal volume to gradually blend in the reverb. I thought that sounded like such a simple idea, I wondered if it would work with a cheaper digital stompbox...so I got me a Digitech Digiverb for $78 used (cheaper than the Boss RV5, sounds very good) and set it up like this: distortion pedals>MD-3 Delay>Boss Tremelo/Pan (2 outputs-you will need a similiar pedal or a Y cord to make this work). From output 1 on the Tremelo, into the #1 input of the bright channel. From output 2 of the tremelo, into the Digiverb and on into the #2 input of the normal channel. (You can of course do this the other way around, I prefer the bright channel for my straight sound). I set the desired volume on the bright channel, set the Digiverb on about 75% wet with the dwell up around 50%, and gradually turn up the normal volume until the reverb is audible. The result is much, much better than running the reverb straight into the amp-it sounds more like reverb added to your sound after the fact, like listening to yourself through the PA after the soundman adds reverb. You can crank up the volume on the bright channel, and the reverb stays more in the background, with much, much less of that garbled "distorted reverb" sound. No, it's not perfect, you are still using the same set of output tubes, so if they are distorting it will effect both channels, but by keeping the normal volume low you can keep the reverb in the background and minimize nastiness. This will work with delay pedals, too...a simple idea, maybe I'm the last person to think of this, but I know reverb is an issue with a lot of people, and this is a workable solution (will work with any 4-input, non-master volume amp)..I imagine the Boss unit works very nicely as well, even older units like an Alesis microverb should do well in this role. Give it a shot!

Of course tone and simplicity are the features

My bass player has called this amp the "GOLD AMP" im am truly in love with the sound , I use it for reggae , latin spanish rock, ska punk stuff,and straight rock.
i have owned rack systems that cost more than this amp and could not get a simple clean sound, I could get a million features but a basic good sound to build on, I really felt stupid spending so much money and sounding like crap.
some people say that this amp is not for metal , well I put a samsamp psa1 pre amp rack in front of it and it sounded very heavy.
I can get a very sweet reggae sound with it, and for ska music its perfect, and I can tell by the look of my bandmemebers.
Ive done about 3 gigs with it and I have more volume that I would ever need, its easier to carry than a marshall halfstack and It has a more sweeter creamier sound than a roland jazzchorus amp.

the only negative is that its kind of punchy , i read a review by somebody here they said that the jensen speakers need time to mellow out when there new there to tight sounding.
I am going to get a amp case for it pretty soon I want to keep this amp with me forever,
This amp makes sound very pleasant, its not so much in youre face like half stacks, and I can still get drunk and play trash punk stuff and its cool .
And also when people are dancing it doesent get in the way of sounding to in youre face where you only hear the guitar and not the other instruments in the band, it blends so nice with the band thats why I think my bandmembers are happy, before with my marshall , ok wow its a marshall but honestly they werent happy it was like here we go againg loud guitar.
This amp is as equally important as my guitar!!!

ok its expensive but I look at it this way, its the last amp ill get.
I think the guitar sound better thru 4x10 speakers not matter how heavy you play or loud, if I need more bass i tell my bass player to turn up the bass, im the one who plays the melodies,at least in my style of music.
The look is so original, as far the low features on it.. well when im on stage and I have so many things to worry about and I might also be under the influence of something I dont have time to worry about the million presets and screens . mega hertz for basss mid high and all that crap . I can only worry about reaching into my soul and play music, this amp does not get in the way , theres no high tech trying to impress bs,
This amp has made sound better even if its only guitar and cable or 5 pedals + guitar synth, in my opinion its the best amp you can buy.

I purchased new in 2002. I play mostly blues, bluezy rock, bluesy jazz, bluesy easy listening, you get the picture. Basic bass, mid, treble, standby, presence, 410s, 2 6L6's, 3 12ax7's, two channels bright and normal both with high and low outputs (for use depending on output of guitar), pine tweed cab. I think that the cut down on features here is a blessing in disguise. From this basic set up you can use all of your outboard stuff. This makes the amp very versatile because you've got a great basic sound to work with.

SRV strat, les paul, guild starfire I, and (sorry) schecter. The amp suits my style perfectly (blues). I also like the distorion sounds achieved with my processor (RP200 digitech). The amp by itself is very quiet. It only gets noisey with my effects hooked up. The break up occurs at a volume thats too loud for me. But its heaven. If I were not playing in a band and could listen to that tone all day I would play it at 10 all day because the tone is heavenly ( but I would stand back a ways). The clean channel is sparkly, bell like tones. I was initially dissatisfied with the stock tone becuase the low end was muddy and had no definition. When I tried to clear it up using the eq settings, I found the sound was too brittle and ear peircing. Through this process I also learned that the eq pots are very sensitive. To me anyway, even the slightest turn would result in a big difference in the sound. Prior to this amp, I had a Hot Rod Deville which I suffered with for about 3 months and hated until I got the bassman RI. I modded the amp with a Torres Super overdrive ez kit. The kit costs 15 bucks and installs very easily in 1 hour or so unless your me, then it could take a week. But I the result was amazing. the basically adds a master volume by converting one of the inputs. Now the thing is a blues monster. better definition in the lows. Wonderful tube tone. I could dial in more different types of tones according to style of music. This thing really screams. Some other mods include KT66's and a little postal scotch tape in 2" squares in front of the speaker hubs to filter the high end insect attracting frequencies. I think this is necessary more because of the processor and not the amp. The amp by itself dry does not have this problem. I have had a reissue Delux Reverb, Hot Rod Deville, and others Im not so proud of and this amp does it for me. I just hated the deville. It gave me headaches. The delux RI tone was great but didnt have the power I needed in a gig. Nor did it have the clean tone at the volume I could gig at.

The RI bassman with Torres mod (which is easy) beats all amps I've played or sampled or considered purchasing (below 2000.00).

I had the thing home for 1 month and the tubes started to get really hot. The back metal ID plate would get hot like an iron. and the tubes would glow with a blue tint. The tubes had to be replaced. The warranty covers everything but the tubes. Anyway another blessin in disguise. I upgraded the tubes to KT66 Gold Lions. Another funny thing about the workmanship of Guitar Center items: The cabinet was not square. The all the four floor pegs dont touch the ground. The thing wabbled. Incredible. The cabinet was not square. I decided to look at this feature as another blessing because I put casters on it which fixed this. No problems since.

I went back and forth with Fender about the tubes (see above) and the nonsquare cabinet but they wouldnt budge. The warranty covers everything but the tubes. and they said that some warping might occur with the pine cabinet and could be expected (horse manuer). It was sort of dissappointing because I happen to believe that Leo Fender is god and still lives inside of the tones produced by fender products.

Been playing 20 years. Had a lot of gear. Played different styles of music. I settled down with blues (as mentioned above) and blues gear (see above). The thing I love about this amp the wail I get when I chop down on a bend. I like the way I can also dial in different sounds and the way the basic sound remains while I putts around with my processor. I wish it came with a master volume.

If you've gotten this far,then you already know the features of the Bassman RI.I do like a touch of reverb,but I'm quite happy using a Boss AD-3 which is an acoustic instrument box with a built in reverb,2X2 tremolo,and anti feedback circuit,and a high and low gain control.The only thing I'd like to see as stock on this amp is a bias pot so you don't need to fuss with "the right tubes" when looking for replacements,or go through the trouble of putting one in.I like the simplicity of the amp as far as the tone controls and volume controls go.One other thing I'd like to see is better Tube sockets for the power tubes.I'd like to see some good ceramic sockets with better pins.The stock sockets seem to loosen up quite easily, especially when you like to do alot of experimenting with different tubes.

For sound I have to give this amp a straight up 10+.I use this amp for harmonica.It's no secret that this amp is a favorite among harp players around the world.It has been voted "the best harp amp out of the box" by some discriminating harp players in a blind test done awhile back.It was put up against such other amps as the Harp King 6X10,the Sonny jr. amp,and a few other amps built specifically for harp.One thing you will want to do if you're using this amp for harp is replace the SS rectifier with a tube,be it a 5U4G,or a 5AR4.Many harp players prefer the lower plate voltage of the 5U4G,but I'm using a Mullard 5AR4 in mine.Another thing you will need to do to get some serious tone from the amp is pull the sov tek's out and sell them to a guitar player and replace them with a NOS set of Tung Sol 5881's if you don't mind spending the extra few bucks for them.I believe these were the stock tubes in the original 59 Bassman's,which played a big part in producing the legendary tone of this amp.If you don't want to put up the cash for the Tung Sol's,get a good matched pair of any NOS vintage US made 5881's.The 6L6's seemed to me to be too harsh,and don't distort as well as the 5881's.My bias pot comes in handy here too because I can set the output tubes to run a little hot if I really want the tube distortion to shine,or I can set them to run cool for a cleaner tone if needed.For a harp player,the 12AX7's have to go as well.I use a custom harp mic(which making is my hobby and passion) with a 1949 Shure controlled reluctance element in it,that works as well with this amp as any classic Fender guitar.The gain of these mic's is much higher than a guitar,so it's going to be a good idea to put some lower gain tubes in the preamp,or you're going to get screaming feedback with the volume at 3.I use Tung Sol 12AU7's in all 3 stages of the preamp,which allows me to turn the volume up to about 6 or 7 on the #1 inputs,or about 8 or 9 on the #2 inputs which really kicks in the amplifier section for awsome break up and produces some really gritty Chicago blues tone that will rattle every window in a small venue.Plenty of volume and awsome tone.Even has great tone at lower volumes if you don't really like to rip it up,but most harp players I know go for the full amp distortion that this amp is capable of producing.It just sounds too good not to!If you use a mic with a much lower input signal,you might want to experiment with different types of preamp tubes such as a 12AY7,or a 12AT7,maybe even a 5751.I've heard of several mods for this amp designed for harp players,but I don't see how it could sound that much better than it does now to justify spending 2 or 3 hundred dollars to have done.I think if I did anything to mod my amp,I'd put in a Mercury Magnetic's Tone Clone output transformer,which I've heard are very close in tone to the original output tranny's of the original 59 bassman.They sell for around $125.I can't tell you how many guy's I've heard say,"I liked the way it sounded before the mod was done better".I'm reluctant to do anything to mine.I love the way mine sounds.Just get some good tubes,and have a bias pot installed!

I haven't had much trouble with the amp other than having to replace 1 plate resistor.I bought the amp new in 97,and I don't use it every day,but I use it alot.Haven't had to deal with Fender directly so I really can't comment on service.I think the amp itself is very reliable.Never blew a fuse,and I stay on top of the tubes so they don't get a chance to go bad.I run them usually at about 32 to 33 mA's plate voltage,which comes out to roughly 16 watts per tube,where as 36mA's is considered to be the most a 5881 should be run at.

I bought the amp new,so it came with a 5 year warrantee.Didn't need to use it.I did purchase some parts for my Blues Jr. through Fender.It was quick and easy.There are a few authorized dealers around here so finding parts is not a problem.

I've been playing harp on and off for about 25 years now.I own an extensive collection of harp mic's,and as far as amp's,I have a tweed Blues Jr that I use at home.I didn't really like the stock speaker,so I put a 1956 Jensen P12R Pro Series speaker in it,and man,talk about vintage tone!This thing sings like a songbird at any volume.If I were to record,I'd use the Blues jr.My first amp was a tweed Blues Deluxe that I sold just before I got the Bassman.I wish I had kept that amp.It had great tone as well and was a perfect mid sized amp.Actually,that was my second amp.My first was a Fender Champ.Great tone for a small amp,but it was just too small for my likings,even at home.So for overall rating,I have to give it a 10,just for being what it is.A tone to the bone amp right out of the box.I'd like to see Fender putting some better tubes in these amps though,and I'd like to see the new version come with the blue frame Eminence speakers too,like the original RI's.I think they sound much better than the Jensen reissue speakers they're using now.It's about time they put a bias pot in them too.Should have done that a long time ago!Anybody got a spare set of the blue frame Eminence speakers for sale?Give me a buzz!

Brand new Bassman reissue, bought at Guitar Center at cost (I know because I used to work there), they are blowing them out in anticipation of the "Limited Edition" which features lacquered tweed, a bias pot and upgraded tubes for $150 more...the old GC price was $999, the new ones are $1150, I paid $695 plus tax...at that price I can shellac the tweed and upgrade the tubes and still be way ahead! Anyway, you know the features if you're reading this. IMO, the best gigging amp out there. Very versatile, great for the player who likes to add stompboxes to enhance an already great tone as opposed to the guy who likes many bells and whistles built into the amp. The amp is LOUD, but for me this enables me to get a great clean sound at large club volumes and use stompboxes for distortion (Klon, Aramat Soul Patch). I have experimented with many setups over the years, and I am a believer in using pedals for distortion in live settings-it is so much easier to control and easier to get a good mix with the band instead of dealing with a smaller amp pushed hard...I know there are those who would VIOLENTLY disagree with this, but this is the conclusion I have reached after many years of experimenting and spending THOUSANDS of $ in search of "the sound". Now in the studio, different story-there I prefer to use a variety of small amps cranked to get a great sound on tape. I have also come to the belief that amps without built in reverb are better sounding to my ears-give me a tweed over a Blackface any day. I know there are great sounding amps out there with built in 'verb, e.g. Bruno Underground 30, but I have come to appreciate the beauty of a dry sound and again find it much easier to control and mix live. That being said, the Bassman does have a certain "3-D" quality to the sound that comes across lively on it's own. If you try or buy one of these new, keep in mind that the Jensens require some time to be broken in and will sound a little tight at first. So, before you go out and spend a small fortune on NOS tubes, give the speakers some time to break in and then decide if you want to upgrade your tubes. I put JJ ECC83S's in the preamp section because I had some lying around, they are far better than the stock Sovteks. I still have the solid state rectifier in (Gasp! go the purists) and the stock GT Sovtek power tubes in-I plan on replacing the 6L6's with either JJ's or EH sometime soon, but I may leave the rectifier. I'm not driving the amp hard enough for it to make a big difference, and truth be told I like the tighter bottom you get from the solid state...so there!

What a great sound...classic tweed. This is the second one I have owned, this one is staying. I also owned a Victoria Bassman clone for awhile, and while the Victoria sounded more "authentic" and is of couse point-to-point wired and re-created to match the original as close as humanly possible, it does not sound $1300 better. I bought this amp to gig with, I don't expect it to be "The Holy Grail". I am not rich, and I don't think the audience will notice ANY difference! When was the last time some drunken audience member told you "man, that point-to-point wiring sounds killer!" Hey, if you can afford to gig with a Victoria, more power to you. Me, I'm perfectly happy with my lowly reissue and consider it a great blessing to have. Do you recall back in '90 or so when the reissue first came out and Guitar Player did a shootout with the reissue vs. the Kendrick and THD (Victoria wasn't around then) and an original '59? The reissue was the clear winner, although some hard core traditionalists stuck with the original. The players LIKED the increased headroom of the solid state rectifier, the increased brightness, etc.-I can't remeber who all the testers were, but David Grissom was one and he liked the reissue! So, keep that in mind. Again, this is a gigging amp-if I was in the studio, I would probably prefer an original or a Victoria, but would do just fine with this, thank you! Jimmy Vaughn has used a reissue in the studio a bunch-'nuff said. But enough comparisions-the thing sounds GREAT. It has great presence, harmonic content, the distortion when you crank it is a thing of beauty, it LOVES pedals!

My guitars are aGuild Blues 90 with P-90's and Epi Riviera with Duncan Alnico II humbuckers. Both sound great, and of course Fenders sound wonderful thru the Bassman, especially a good Tele. P-90's and humbuckers sound great thru the bright channel, I think I would run a Tele thru the normal channel.. I play roots rock/alt country/blues, and the Bassman is the perfect amp for all those styles. As I mentioned, I use a Klon, a Soul Patch fuzz, a DOD FX96 analog delay and a Boss tremelo/pan. I run an A/b box, with one side going to the Soul Patch and then straight into the normal input, the other side goes to the Klon and the other FX on into the bright input-this works great, the Soul Patch definitely prefers the normal input, and the bright sounds great with the Klon and my other FX, as well as by itself I might add. Sounds great clean, sounds wonderful dirty!

You can piss and moan all you want about PCB's, but I am not worried about it's reliability! I have had just as many breakdowns over the years with point-to-point amps (BF and SF Fenders in particular) as I have with PCB amps. Keep extra fuses and tubes with you, like with ANY tube amp, and having a back-up is always wise, if you can afford to. But, I haven't had it long enough to give a fair assessment...

Never dealt with them.......

I have been playing for 28 years, have tried everything...this will do the job for you if you want a great gigging amp that won't break you. Act now and check your local GC, you might find a new one for about what you'd pay on EBay for a used one. If not, there's plenty of 'em out there, they sound great, they play well with others. Get a good distortion/OD pedal unless you're playing The LA Forum or Madison Square Garden anytime soon, you'll find the tone is better with this combo than with any channel switching piece of garbage (and I've tried/owned just about all of 'em) that's available. I would replace it with another if lost or stolen, if I win the lottery I'll also grab an original but will still gig with the Reissue!

Simple and basic which is perfect for me. I like the bright channel and presence control. Tweed "Tone"!!!!!

I play a wide variety of music. But since my friend gave me this amp I usually do not run any pedals through it for I love the richness of its natural tone. I shellacked the Tweed, put in a 12ay7 in V1 and replaced the chinese 12ax7's (all with EH) I put in a NOS pair of RCA 5881's I had lying around and a Weber Copper Cap rectifier. (Good tube rectifiers are hard to come by where I live) I like the sound of the Weber better than the regular solid state rectifier. The only effect that I use is a '63 Fender RI Tube reverb (Given with the amp as well) of which I upgraded the tubes and replaced the 6v6 with a NOS RCA6K6GT. This pretty much brought the amp back to '59 Tweed standards. The amp is sweet sounding and I play it everyday. My guitar is a Fender Stratocaster strung with nickel 10's. Because I like "spank" when I need it I run through the bright channel and adjust the tone controls accrdingly. Bass 3, Mids 4, Treble 5. The normal channel volume control will affect the tone even when not plugged into so I run it and the presence usually straight up. This has the tweed growl that I like and yet is rich with all the complexities that I love. This replaced my Blackface Bandmaster through "real" vintage Jensens.

I have no problem with the PCB and once I put in some decent tubes there was no more tube rattle and the sound became sweeter. The Bassman is a late '93 model.

Never needed it!

I have been playing professionally for 29 years both as a guitarist and as a B3/piano player. The old simple KISS method works and is reliable and best of all sounds great with all of the responsiveness you need. Great amp and I thank the Good Lord and my Friend for the tremendous gift!

this amp was bought new, in May '03,it's a very basic amp and that is a GOOD thing, bass, treble, mid and presence with two inputs , bright and normal,one channel, I went for this amp because I fell in love with the sound,or, if you're a bullshit merchant, the "Tone", I personally would only add reverb but then it would be a Super Reverb....no, it's great as it is

My guitars are the usual suspects; Tele, Les Pauls, Strats, a Yamaha SG 1000, mmmm nice!, a Washburn 335, oooo!, and a Burns. All these guitars play a variety of self penned music, I can honestly say that I love this amp, all the above guitars sound great thru this amp especially the Les Pauls thru the bright input, I have a Marshall JCM 800 combo and a Line 6 and for clean sounds this is a clear winner, you can make this one channel break up slightly using humbuckers but the volume produced is mad, Clean, Lean and not mean, or, put another way, pretty, fit and er... blonde.

So far so good.

not dealt with.

I have been playing for over twenty years, have put my guitars through various makes of amp both tranny and valve and this is my favorite-I would buy another tomorrow should this meet with an untimely end, I like everything about this amp, from the sound to the tweed covering though I do wish it had an onboard reverb

This is a great loud basic amp with lots of low end ,rattle the walls sound.It is a great basis for getting your own sound.Find an OD or Dist pedal you like and go for it.I do think this amp is over priced and will not have a very good resale value.But,you really will never need another amp as long as you get the right pedals to paint your sound.I heard that Fender will stop making this version and then offer a more reliced version.Another way to up the price.This is a players dream amp but,the price puts it out of reach for many players.One cool thing to consider is that aftermarket suppliers have alot of mods for the Bassman.So if you get tired of the sound you can change it for a small amount of money.The Fender Forum is also cool.Bassman owners share mods and have fun talking about these amps.

Sounds great but you need ear plugs and a coliseum in order to turn it up loud enough to experience natural distortion.No reverb just a regular channel and bright channel.You can jumper the two channels to get more sounds.With the right pedal out front,it will rock your world.

Depends on who put it together.

Who are you kidding..

I have had about every production line amp and several boutique amps.I sound about the same when playing most of them.The difference with this amp is that you have a great sound to start with and plenty of power.Needs a bias pot.Why did Fender not put in a bias control.Vintage thinking I would guess.

6 knobs. bass, treble, mid, presence, bright vol, and normal vol. 2 6l6 power tubes and 3 12ax7 preamp tubes. mine also came with a rectifier tube(not sure if i like it or not, this is my first tube rectifier amp, its too forgiving if its cranked, it doesnt feel solid.) 4 10' blue alnico speakers. four inputs, bright 1&2 and normal 1&2. theres also a red jewl light, a standby switch(very nice) a power switch, and a nonfunctional nonconnected ground switch. rubber/plastic fender handle...works...not too comfortable.

one channel. non-master volume. TONETONETONE!

on the inner left side of the amp is a piece of paper that says production GE. it also states the circuit is a 5F6-A. the GE means my amp was made in may of '96. *http://www.mrgearhead.net/faq/ampdater.html*

the tweed is kinda dirty, ill probably clean it and the shellac it.

nice gliding feet on the bottom dont hurt the leather in my car.

every feature i ever need. speakers, tubes, TONE!

i run into bright 1 and run a jumper from bright 2 to norm 1. its the same as jumper the channels on an old marshall nonmaster volume. the second input becomes an output and you connect to the other channel that you arent using. that uses both channels at the same time and sounds bigger and fuller. also both volumes work then and you can vary sounds by using diferent volumes...a bit

i have lots of guitars...single coils sound BEST. p-90s and stacked p-90 humbuckers sound good too. the standard humbuckers, nice aftermarket stuff sounds too full. like the tone is spilling over the sides and just getting in the way. use singles and its PLENTY FULL!

i didnt like the way it breaks up with sidebyside humbuckers. too muddy and busy.

i dont play in a band so i cant comment on breaking thru a drummer...but its pretty loud. at "12" its NO louder than it is at "5". but theres TONS of power tube distortion and clipping and speaker cone breakup. it sounds HEAVENLY!!! really.

ive never HEARD another amp that has this TONE!

i use a maxon od-808 for overdrive. that sounds wonderful. distortion doesnt sound THAT great, though its not too bad. i dont use too many effects though i do own quite a few. this amp is NOT NOISY. when i play loud im mostly in a gym with about 100 fluoroescent lights. no real buzz to complain about. NO BUZZ AT ALL IN LIVING ROOM.

it really is hard to get a bad sound out of this amp. i tried. i could always find something that sounded great with that eq setting. try that with a crate!

not too sure here...i bought it on ebay, and after playing one time at "12" for an hour or so, i noticed a speaker was starting to go bad. theres a small buzz in the top left speaker. nothing noticable if i put an overdrive on it...or if i turn it up past "2" but i can hear it at bedroom levels and only in that speaker.

it is a 96 and im not sure how it was treated so ill probably replace the offending driver and its caddycorner neighbor(just to be balanced)

the 12ax7's (well at least one of them) were noisy...so i replaced them with cheap Ei's. little improvement and no more ring!


can someone email me with biasing info...is this cathode bias or fixed? cuz i didnt see no pots.

ive been playing 14yrs. and i have owned several tube amps, and a few solid state ones. i even owned a line6 duoverb(that i thought could be my key to happiness) before selling it and getting this. the duoverb has a patch for tweed 410...and this just rolls it up and smokes it. no comparison AT ALL!!! this is a great, clear, clean, big, beefy, kickass amp!

if it were gone id find another. i wouldnt look for anything else. id buy another of these and keep on truckin.

It has the most basic set of features. Two channels (normal/bright)but no footswitching. Bass, middle, treble and presence controls. No reverb. This is actually one of the amp's many strengths - it's easy to set up your sound. So in that sense, the features work very well.

I'm currently using a Patrick Eggle New York Pro and a Fernandes Native Pro (with a Sustainer). Pedals: Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive, a Small Clone, a Danelectro PB&J Delay, and a Danelectro Tuna Melt Tremolo. My style is very chordal and makes much use of dropped D tunings. I'm not a distortion mad nu-metaller though...I'm more about that point between clean and distorted and using chords to create melodies.

I owned a Hot Rod Deluxe for 18 months before getting the Bassman. The Deluxe was too powerful for me and I realised after a while that the Drive channel was much too raunchy. I never had that amp much beyond 2, although it did have a good sound. It just wasn't...right. And after years of channel switching amps (my first amp was an old Fender Stage 185) I realised that I wanted a much simpler set up and also to be able to hear the notes within the chords.

Enter the Bassman... Everyone has praised this amp to the hilt. It's entirely justified. The clarity, depth of tone and sheer PRESENCE (without being trebly) of this thing is amazing. Set the volume control to 4 and hear what your guitar truly sounds like. I tried several other amps in the same price range and they didn't come close - particularly the Cornford Hurricane which I think is incredibly overrated. The bass end is thick but tight and the top end just sings. For me, defnition is all-important, as I tune some strings down, and there's bags of that here.

The only advice I would give is to allow yourself a fortnight or so with it. This thing has a lot of clarity and is the most focused sounding amp I've played through. It may sound a little forward at first but it's a bit like replacing a budget price CD player with a top-end model. Everything is much clearer and tighter.

It hasn't broken down yet so I can't really comment. It's very well made though.

I've had dealings with Arbiter who distribute Fender here in the UK and they are a friendly and helpful bunch.

I can't recommend this amp highly enough. I've been playing seriously for about 15 years and it's given me a new appreciation of the guitar. I wish I could find fault with it but there's nothing to fault. If you're a player with a few years and amps behind you, this is the ideal choice to take you into the premier league, gear wise.

Bought it new a couple of years ago..2001 model ? No special features, just a straight old valve (tube)amp.
Bought it for its reputation and vibe. I gig regularly on old R&R through to blues and rockabilly. I use a Boss overdrive, but only just a small bit of OD

I use a '96 Fender Tele Special (Mexican)with a Gibson-style Fender humbucker in the neck pos. and an added Bigsby whammy. Its the best sounding and playing electric guitar I have played in 42 years of owning just about every USA Fender and Gibson known to man from 1959-1999 vintage. The Fender amp is the missing link..plug in the Tele and classic sounds abound. I did a gig last week and got sick of people asking me how I get that great guitar sound !!!! why do people want to modify the darn things ..its all there! I could spend thousands more and not get any more of a classic vintage sound.

It aint busted yet. Never ever needed a second amp at gigs in 42 years, apart from an old bluesbreaker style Marshall amp from the early '70s which blew a transformer on the last song of a gig!!

Fender Australia are pretty good, but this amp aint broken!

There are two amps in the world:
1. Fender Reissue 59 bassman
2. Vox AC30
There are no other amps.

this amp is a new 2001 bassman. the main feature of this amp is awesome tone. it sounds very warm and creamy. I play many different styles of music having been in the buisness for 40 years, and this ampis my favorite of all time. It ha two channels normal and bright, with four inputs. no channel switching or effects loop. reverb would be nice if it didn't alter the amazing tone. I use this amp in clubs, halls , and occasional outdoor gigs and it has plenty of power for any situation i have run into.

i am using a G&L slimlone telecaster (awesome guitar) that sounds so good with this amp. I play dance music in bars and clubs using a lot of blues influence and this is the amp i hav ealways been looking for. tone, tone, tone is the key. the amp is fairly quiet until you really it with single coils. this amp can crank out ripping country or smooth blues lines without any problem. The variety of sound you cna get depends on your creativity. the clean channel starts to distort at around 5 or 6 depending on how hard you hit the notes. the distortion is very musical however, creamy! No brutality, just sweet creamy overdriven guitar tone heaven.

this amp seems to be very dependable. It
so simple, back to the basics. there's not much that can go wrong with this design. That's one of the reasons i purchased the bassman. You just need some spare tubes and fuses, then rock on.

N/A

As i said before I have been playin for 40 plus years. professionally and semi-professionally and i have owned too many amps to mention. the bassman reissue is by far my favorite. I love it. If it were lost or stolen I would be very depressed, because it would take me a while to get the thousand dollars to purchase another one. I would get another one when the money came along. My favorite piece of equipment, there's nothing I hate about it. I use an Ibanez tube screamer and a BOss digital reverb and can't believe the great sounds this beautiful amplifier makes. I get excited every time I go to a gig. cosmeticlly, the Bassman is sbsolutely gorgeous. I love the tweed, man what an amplifier!!! Blues, Rock, country heaven!!!!!!

MIDDLE 90'S,TRADED FOR IN AT ATLANTA VINTAGE GUITAR. SIMPLE,PLUG N PLAY AMP. I PLAY R&B,BLUES, AND ROCK WITH THIS AND LOVE IT!MUCHO LOUD!
ALL TUBE, TWEED, BLUE FRAME ALNICO SPEAKERS. I SPRAYED MINWAX GOLDEN OAK ON IT AND VOILA! SWEET OLD FENDER LOOKS!(PROTECTS THE TWEED TOO)

I USE FENDER GUITARS, ALL TYPES. I LOVE THE CLEAN, AND USE A TS-9 OR SPARKLE DRIVE TO PUSH IT. AMP IS QUIET, AND FULL SOUNDING.

NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. I'VE USED IT FOR 3 YEARS. I PLAY 3 NIGHTS A WEEK. I ONLY CHANGED TUBES ONCE WHEN I CONVERTED TO KT-66'S (GREAT TUBES FOR THIS AMP!!!!!!)

NEVER NEEDED IT FOR ANY FENDER AMP I'VE OWNED (ABOUT 15 )

I'VE PLAYED ROCKIN BLUES FOR 25 YRS. AND USED MARSHALLS AND FENDER AMPS MOSTLY. I USE MOSTLY STRATS AND TELES. MY FENDER TUBE REVERB SOUNDS GREAT WITH THIS AMP. I CONVERTED 1 OF THE IMPUTS WITH A TORRES KIT, CHANGED THE OUTPUT TUBES TO KT-66S AND WOW! AN EARLY 60S STYLE 4X10 MARSHALL ON ONE SIDE AND A PHAT FENDER ON THE OTHER!!

This amp is made in 1992, bought 2. hand from the US.
It's rather a basic no frills amp, but very suitable for me and my playing; -i.e. mostly bluesy stuff. It's an all tube amp, exept for the rectifier, which is a solid state. But I'm considering replacing this for a tube rectifier.
As it's 2. hand, I don't know anything from it's past.

I use it with a Gibson Firebird VII, and this makes a killer kombination! I have virtualyy no effests, just a wahwah. but I'm considering a chorus stomp box, probably a Boss

It appears very dependable, and I have used it on several gigs without backup. To this day, it have never let me down.

n/a

I've been playing since I was seventeen years old, in the early seventies. I've ahad many amps, MusicMan, Marshall and english brand called HH, but this one is by far the best. I would probably buy a new one if this one was lodt, but it's very expensieve here, well over $2000,-, so it's an economic issue, really.

Amp is a 2003 59 Bassman re-issue bought new as a blem from a major internet retailer. Had a couple of months. The amp was shipped in a box with 8 corner supports and nothing else. Arrived with the power tubes broken and rolling around in the bottom of the amp! I,m still looking for the blem because except for the tubes, the amp was flawless! The retailer sent new replacement tubes. A little hassle getting the correct hardness tubes but Groove Tubes tech support was excellent and got me on the correct path to deal with the retailer without re-biasing. Amp has 2 channels, 4 inputs, no reverb, all tube and I mean now it is all tube! If you now Bassmans you know the specs. A lean tone machine and at a weight of 53# that's not bad for 45 AB watts and 4x10s that's not a lot bigger than some 1x12s! If you ever hauled the evil twin to a gig you know what I mean! This amp has plenty of power for a gig and I actually toned it down with some tube swaps making it good for the living room with tone at 2 and 3 on volume. This amp is not for metal. It has good clean sound, gets gritty when cranked, wails when cranked more and works very well with stomp boxes and multi-effects. Between the presence and the bright/normal channels and 4 inputs (each sounds different) there are a lot of tonal textures and you wonder why you ever needed reverb. I play vintage rock and blues. Clapton, SRV, Guy and some Christian with a lot of heavy guitar overtones. Wish it had an external speaker jack and a cabinet emulated line out to the PA but then it would not be a re-issue. It is also good for blues harp and I have used a microphone and guitar set-up. For a basic amp it is has many different uses. Did you know that if you are playing at volume 4 or so through the normal channel input 1 and you turn the bright volume up to about 4 with nothing in that channel, you suddenly get this Springsteen sound. Like Buddy Guy once said, All you need is inside the amp. Yeah and his fingers....

My 3 favorites are a 99 Clapton strat w/the Lace Sensors, an 96 Epiphone Les Paul 100 that has been set up more like a tele but with that pull string all over the neck feel(it had a twisted out of intonation neck so once I wrung it's little neck and got it properly set up with low action it works great and has tone. That's another story) and a Fender 50th Tex-Mex strat with the hot pickups. All guitars sound great and the amp is super quiet for a tube amp. The Clapton strat sounds best by far as you would guess. The amp has that vintage tone people talk about. I can say that because my first amp in about 1964 was a little tube amp with 1x10" Jensen, an 12AY7, 2-12AX7s, 2EL84s and a tube rectifier, 15 watts, tremelo, Mark III or something like that ....you get the picture. Since the Bassman arrived with trashed tubes, what a golden opportunity. With the patient support of tech support at Groove Tubes, I got 2 GT6L6Rs(akaBs) in a Hardness 5 (4-7) that would work without rebias, pulled the SS Rectifier and dropped in a GT5AR4, pulled the V1 12AX7 and replaced it with a GT12AY7 and replaced the V2 and V3 Fender/Sovtek with 2 EH12AX7 cause they reviewed so damn good. For about $60 I set the amp up fairly close to what Fender put in a original 59 Bassman. The only other change I will make is to replace the 2 GT6L6Rs with the new GT6L6 GEs in a 5 at a later date. I've spent a little on this blem. What I noticed now is that you get a little tube sag at high volumes but not too much. There is a little hiss at high volumes but that can be reduced if you dial down the presence and treble. The amp is much quieter but still has all the volume I need. Distortion is more blues/crunch. It sings with the Clapton strat and for heavier distortion I use pedals. Same for reverb. I find I have created an amp that plays well clean, dirty or those Clapton/SRV styles. Also, it has good manners playing at home without getting calls from the neighbors but can handle a large hall with the volume on 8-9. The tone and the string response feeling is superb.. It's a classic. A lot of people talk about the Holy Grail but most never played a real 59. When I started playing most amps were tube and there was a lot of pop, hiss, hum and failures. A lot of trips to the guy who fixed your TV too!

I keep extra tubes and fuses since the first set of replacement tubes I was sent were wrong and too cold. Won't hurt it but a poor sound choice. You could finish a set with them but breakup is way early. Since I retubed there has been no issues and it took one hell of a fall in UPS I guess! Never gig without tubes and fuses. Don't make tube swaps without consulting tech support and the manufacturer. That's why Groove Tubes have a rating system. Make sure you know what you put in your amp and the result. On mine I dropped plate voltage some and lowered pre-amp gain. I can't rate reliability on the long haul. The price was right for a never titled amp!

5 year Fender warrantty, read all the fine print and make sure you don't make unauthorized mods. I have called Fender customer service and they were great to talk with but use a cell phone with a lot of minutes. You may have to hold but once I got their rep both times they were helpful. They gave me an honest opinion on SS Rectifier vs. Tube. They prefer SS. If you had to warrant and amp you would too. Hit the amp and the tube blows. Warranty work. Plus the SS gives more headroom and no sag. Don't forget that Ceasar Diaz actually pulled SRVs Tube and replaced it with a SS on the Vibroverb. That's why you have a choice now! They say you can't tell difference but whatever I did to this amp was an improvement in every respect. I feel more comfortable with the Tube since plate voltages are lower and a lot of companies run them hot for power. No repairs that I couldn't perform. I also had some questions about the orientation of the standby switch because the manual did not read like it worked! They were good customer support but it takes a while to get in and no 1-800 or 888 number.

I shopped a lot of amps and settled on this one for its tone and simplicity. Traynor, where were they all those years. Gibson, too high. Marshall, didn't he copy the Bassman when he built the Bluesbreaker. Vox, wanted more than British classics. I lucked into it on the internet. After a little trouble I got a classic that is a tone monster. If it were stolen, I would get another but I better not catch the person who takes it. Actually anyone can do these mods to any Bassman Re-issue and probably get the same sound. The build quality is very good on mine. Stratman. 9/18/03

Brand new Bassman Reissue, 2002 or 2003 me thinks. It has got 4 inputs (2 Bright, 2 Normal) The nr1 input has got 6db more gain than nr2. 2 volume, bass, treble, middle, precence knobs. I'll give it a 6 cos it has got 6 knobs :-)

- I use a 2002 Clapton signature Strat (Vintage Noiseless pups)
- It fits perfect to my Rock, Blues style. My setup is Strat --> TS-9 --> Boss BD-2 --> Bassman. With that setup i can do everything from SRV to Oasis.
- It's a tubeamp so it is a bit noisy, but nothing special.
- Breaks up at around 5-6, but i never play that loud
- It has got a near perfect tone!-

-Bulit like a tank, and it works everytime i use it.

No Opinion

- I have been playing guitar for almost 10 years now, and this is the best amp i'v ever tried. I own a takamine acoustic and a Marshall solidstade aswell.
- If it was stolen i'd buy a new one, definitely!!
-

This is a 1991 model 1959 Fender Bassman Reissue. If your goal is to obtain & reproduce the purest tone possible then this is the " HOLY GRAIL"! It comes with the only real things you need as far as features go. It has 4 inputs(2normal-2bright) both with seperate volume controls. It has presence/bass/middle/treble tone controls. A power/stand by and ground switch. If you need more than this then you might not understand about the fact that true tone is accomplished with a combination of a great amplifier and guitar and the most important ingredients- your head/hands/heart/soul& talent as a really good friend once told me. Same man that sold me this amplifier by the way.. It leaves nothing do be desired. Mine has the Hoffman board Mod's and is tubed with Electro Harmonix 6L6's and 12AX7's and a Sovtek 5AR4 rectifier. It has the standard equipment 4 x 10" Jensen blue P10R speakers. It has been trated with the proper amber shellac to give it the original 59 appearence.

I use a unknown Stratocaster style guitar and a Agile Les Paul. It delievers pure tone heaven with either single coils or humbuckers, makes no matter.Although single coil guitars sparkle just a bit more than humbucker instruments from my experience. It is exceptionally quiet for a pure tube amplifier.It reproduces anything your hands,soul and guitar is capable of.It creates the most incredible well balanced clear tone with no flabby bass undertones or shrill high end edge. The notes just leap out of the 4 - 10's with breathtaking clarity and punch.It's touch dynamics and voicing are unmatched by anything I have ever experienced. I've either heard or played most all out there .I think you would have to shell out the mega bucks for a Dumble / Matchless/ Ken Fischer or Hoffman amp before you reach this level of excellence. It starts breaking up as sweet as buttercream right around 6 on the volume dial and continues getting better as you head towards 12 on the dial but you should never have to go that far. It will bark/ howl/snarl and scream anywhere after 6. If you use stomp boxes before the amp you can achieve any sound you can imagine, period!

The bassman's design has withstood the test of time unchanged in our world of high tech "improvements" and that should be proof enough of it's perfection. 59 Bassmans have withstood the rigors of the road and touring for over fourty years. Spare tubes & fuses don't hurt to have on hand but the chances of failure are very slim.

Fender is what they are, the largest instrument maker in the world.
I've never dealt with them.

Been playing guitar for a little over 40 years. If it were stolen, I'd hunt the SOB down , pull his you know whats thru his nose and take it back! I adore everything about it and I would own nothing else ever. I chose this amp because great players such as Clapton/ SRV/Roy Buchanan/Buddy Guy/ Danny Gatton to metion just a few, used it and trusted it to make there livings with so why wouldn't a mere mortal player like myself not do so?

I'm rating this thing a 5 for features. Its about as raw as an amp gets. 4 inputs, 2 normal,2 bright. It doesnt have reverb or anything fancy, it gives you your basic controls. When it comes down to it this thing is designed around TONE and TONE alone. No digital BS, no chorus, reverb, gain or anything. Thats the way it should be though, i think reverb, chorus, and distortion sound a million times better from stomp boxes anyway. If you want a million effects and knobs to tinker with this is'nt your amp, if your into pure tone here it is.

I use a bruised and battered 2002 strat body equiped with a '57 vintage neck. My strat sports a set of vintage noisless fender Pick-ups. I play all types of music, mostly blues and rock based. I switched out the tubes for a higher end set, but there is nothing wrong with the groove tubes whatsoever. I played this amp with the groove tubes and was completley satisfied with the tone but opted for the higher end tubes for loud levels as i am playing gigs. I use a Digitech Hot Rod Distortion which sounds meatier than hell through this amp, i use a Boss Flanger, A Boss Chromatic Tuner, and a Boss Acoustic Simulator. This thing screams with distortion and cries in clean mode. You can get a huge variety with this amp, i've also played a buddies Ibanez through it and it sounded great. I've played A Paul through it and no complaints, but when you plug in a strat to this amp its a beautiful thang!

Well i've only had this thing for about 5 months, but i can be pretty clumsy. I've bumped this thing around quite a bit but no complaints. I did have to replace a 39 cent fuse about a week after i bought the thing but have'nt had a fuse problem since and i play this thing like mad. The tweed while beautiful can be a hassle, it dirties up pretty quick, i guess thats why everyone lacquers these things though. I've heard nothing but good things about these amps. I mean it is one of the longest running amps out there, since '59. That alone says alot about these gems.

Never had to deal with Fender and never hope to in the future. I've read and heard mixed reviews about their customer support, but at the same time what could you expect from the biggest instrument dealer in the world.

If this thing were stolen i would buy a new one, but i would spend the rest of my life searching and hunting for the dirty bastard who stole my favorite amp, and when i found him i would unleash a fury upon him like an unstoppable rebel force. Anyways as you can see i don't even like the thought of having to replace this thing! Overall i'm very pleased. This amp is exactly what i wanted. Its simple and its designed around tone. There is a reason why this thing has continued down the line through technology untouched. It is perfect!

Features? Hah! It allows you to put more than one thing in the channel and has bright or normal. That's it. No preamp out, no headphone, no split pre and pwer stage, no reverb, no trem, no nothing. What oyu play is what you hear.

Teles, LP specials (P100 and P90) and a strat.
This is the absolute best. I sold my Twin, my DR is in danger, this is it...even after three months. Fantastic variety. Love it. Tube amp, so not so quiet.

I recommend changing out the stock tubes for better and also the rectifier.
This defines smooth.

I play Gallagher, blues, some fingerstyle.This ain't reall y good (my Deluxe reverb 2 handles that), it is phenomenal.

Want metal? Buy something else.

So far so good. Simpler than a bike. what's gonna go wrong?

Fender? Hah! Not good. Gibson -good, Fender bad is my experience.

Have owned lots of amps. Bought this and sold Twin ( which is a really great amp, but different). This will be the last 'keeper' . I ahve owned all sorts of amps, and for what they do this and my baby Crate VC are the best.

Has no reverb, so a holy Grail does that. Needs more input for boost/dirty. Told Marshall blues driver is good for that but I use a BD2.
Is fantastic with teles, strats, P90 and P100 guitars.
Value wise it isn't really that good, but sheer quality it is top of the tree.

Big and heavy, too loud for small clubs.

8 stock, 10 with the 5f6a mod.

The reason I got the bassman re-issue was to get legendary Fender tweed Bassman tone that everyone goes on and on about. I have owned a 5e5-b 1956 Fender Pro, as well as a few blackface, silverface, and 80s Fender tube amps. This re-issue came close to the much hyped tweed bassman sound, but ultimately I wasn?t satisfied with the tone of this re-issue? So to get closer to the ?holy grail sound? I put a Torres 5f6a board in. The board cost $200, but it improved the amps overall response, dynamics, distortion, feel, and sound?.much closer to the spongy/funky feel of a 5e5b Pro, but more powerful. Torres also helped me out on the phone, so I?d recommend other re-issue owners to consider this operation. The amp now sports an Electroharmonix 12ay7 in v1, Sovtek 12ax7lps in v2 (I know, I know), and another Sovtek 12ax7lps in v3. Svetlana 6L6s are what I gig with, but for studio dates I?ll put in a NOS Tung-Sol 5881 pair (actually a Groove Tube re-badge I bought years ago when they used NOS American tubes). I switched the rectifier tube from a 5ar4 to a 5y3, which lowered the plate voltage and renders a softer, 'more vintage sound', in my opinion. The sound is awesome for Jazz, Blues, Twang, Rock, whatever, incredibly sensitive to the touch, and very quiet. I know there are better speakers than these 4 blue bells that lie inside, but the wife is already pissed that I spent $200.00 on that Torres board...so...

I also put a bias adjustment pot between and behind the rectifier and v6 position, and I re-bias the Svetlanas to 32ma when I install, but I run the Tung-Sols at 28ma, this gets the best sound to my ears. The sockets also got an upgrade, I replaced the stock Fender sockets v1-v6 with ceramic gold pinned sockets from 'The Tube Store dot Com' in Canada, I had to enlarge the holes to fit these ceramic sockets...3 hours worth of drilling with a carbide tip cutting tool. I put a power transformer fuse and an output tranny fuse in to ?bullet-proof? the tranny?s and tubes?thanks again Torres. The amp is VERY loud at 4 and breaks up after 6, and just screams cranked to 12. This amp will be used for larger clubs, while my Princeton or Deluxe will be the best choice at smaller venues.

Overall, I got one thousand hard earned dollars sunk into an amp that matches the boutique ?Bassmans? very well. Considering that they are at lease twice as much, I guess I did well, and I have a great singing bassman to match my Gretsch.

I 'Frankensteined' it, so if it breaks during a gig...I'll have to kick myself right in the eye. I have confidence in my solder skills! I figured out which end of the solder iron to hold...10 here, VERY dependable....well no problems yet anyway, after 15 months of heavy playing/transporting.

It is still Fender and I think tearing the PCB board out, removing the control PCB and pots, removing and replacing the filter cap assembly, replacing all tube sockets, stripping the chasis of all stock wire, and replacing with the 1959 era design voids the waranty....but I could be wrong.

Just wanted to follow up that review I just left with my e-mail address, I didn't realize I didn't leave it until I submitted...so here it is! I wanted to leave it in case other daring souls (who are tempted to rip the PCB guts out of their lovely 'Re-issue' Bassman to replace them with the real McCoy) need correspondance from someone who has trailblazed down the magic 5f6a rainbow path.

It's worth doing, and you can get it done for less without Torres' kit, but I think his kit (fiberboard, caps, resistors, pots, etc.) is quality stuff. If I loose this amp somehow, I'll buy a re-issue Bassman on ebay, and do the surgery again...in a New York minute!

Again, before 8, now 10.



GOOD LUCK!!!

Ditto what others said, before and after the board upgrade.

It's simple, and perfect like that.

Stock 8, now 10.

The reason I got the bassman re-issue was to get legendary Fender tweed bassman tone that everyone goes on and on about. I have owned a 5e5-b 1956 Fender Pro, as well as a few blackface, silverface, and 80s Fender tube amps. This re-issue came close to the much hyped tweed bassman sound, but ultimately I wasn?t satisfied with the tone of this re-issue? So to get closer to the ?holy grail sound? I put a Torres 5f6a board in. The board cost $200, but it improved the amps overall response, dynamics, distortion, feel, and sound?.much closer to the spongy/funky feel of a 5e5b Pro, but more powerful. Torres also helped me out on the phone, so I?d recommend other re-issue owners to consider this operation. The amp now sports an Electroharmonix 12ay7 in v1, Sovtek 12ax7lps in v2 (I know, I know), and another Sovtek 12ax7lps in v3. Svetlana 6L6s are what I gig with, but for studio dates I?ll put in a NOS Tung-Sol 5881 pair (actually a Groove Tube re-badge I bought years ago when they used NOS American tubes). I switched the rectifier tube from a 5ar4 to a 5y3, which lowered the plate voltage and renders a softer, ?more vintage sound?, in my opinion. The sound is awesome for Jazz, Blues, Twang, Rock, whatever, incredibly sensitive to the touch, and very quiet. I know there are better speakers than these 4 blue bells that lie inside, but the wife is already pissed that I spent $200.00 on that Torres board? I also put a bias adjustment pot between and behind the rectifier and v6 position, and I re-bias the Svetlanas to 32ma when I install, but I run the Tung-Sols at 28ma, this gets the best sound to my ears. The sockets also got an upgrade, I replaced the stock Fender sockets v1-v6 with ceramic gold pinned sockets from ?The Tube Store dot Com? in Canada, I had to enlarge the holes to fit these ceramic sockets?3 hours worth of drilling with a carbide tip cutting tool. I put a power transformer fuse and an output tranny fuse in to ?bullet-proof? the tranny?s and tubes?thanks again Torres. The amp is VERY loud at 4 and breaks up after 6, and just screams cranked to 12. This amp will be used for larger clubs, while my Princeton or Deluxe will be the best choice at smaller venues.

Overall, I got one thousand hard earned dollars sunk into an amp that matches the boutique ?Bassmans? very well. Considering that they are at lease twice as much, I guess I did well, and I have a great singing bassman to match my Gretsch.

I know this amp, and I can fix it.

It's Fender.

This amp is very simple, not much to it as far as features. It's got four inputs: 2 Normal and 2 Bright. Like i said its pretty simple, it has no reverb. Its just got the basic controls, Normal volume, Bright volume, treble, bass, mid, and presence. Its got two toggle switches, one to turn the amp on and off and another for standby. Its also got a jewel light. I'm rating it a 6 in features because it doesn't have alot, but thats the way i like it. I get my reverb, distortion, chorus ect.. from stomp boxes, for me thats the only way to go. I like to control my sound with a flick of the toe.

This thing is a TONE MONSTER! I will never play another. I play a Fender Custom Strat. I use vintage noiseless pick-ups. The clean is like butter. High ends are chimey and the low ends live up to the name on the face plate. I use a boss digital reverb and it sounds amazing, for distortion i rotate between an Ibanez tube screamer, and my new favorite... The Digitech HotRod distortion- great new technolgy for a stomp box. Distortion is amazingly full and dynamic. Its got enough sound to fill outer space and then some. As far as tubes go, I went out and replaced them all with a tube package recomended by a friend. The stock groove tubes are'nt bad but the chinese GZ34 had to go, not that it wasn't great but i was amazed at how much a $15.00 relacement livend the tone up. I also replaced the 12AX7's. A tube overhaul was'nt a neccesity, the amp sounded amazing as it was, but i found a change neccesary for my own playing styles. Tube technolgy is amazing, there is so much to play with out there. I won't get into what kind of tubes i used to replace, because everyone has different needs. If your not inot mix and match tube technology, you will still be blown away by this amps versatlity as is. There's a reason why this amp is regaurded as one of the greatest of all time. It is timelss, and it's tone is peerless.

I have no opinion on reliability as i have only owned this amp for a month or so now. I've heard these amps are very reliable. I've read alot of reviews stating that they can handle abuse. As for tubes needing to be replaced, my philosophy is this: If your playing a tube amp without a back-up set of tubes, you are a fool. If you gig and play at high demanding volumes, then you should always have a back-up set of tubes ready just to be safe. Most of the times your tubes will last the lifetime of the amp, buit there is always an outside chance of "shit happening".

I have'nt had to deal with Fender yet. I have heard mixed reviews about there support but i won't begin to speculate.

I've been playing for about 6 years now. I've played Marshalls and i've just recently offed a Vox. The switch to the Bassman was a switch influenced by numerous hours at the guitar store and countless recomendations. For those who are fickle, It is true, the ReIssue isn't quite as perfect as the original, but who the hell can afford one of those! I've found that with a little tinkering with the tubes it's possible to get your sound some where within the realm of the original as far as tone is concerned. I don't mean to sound like a Fender Rep or to come off like i'm pitching to you, but this amp is about as good as it gets if your into sound clarity.

Simple as can be
Two chanells - normal and bright (four inputs - two per each)
mine has a solid-state rectifier
Give it 5 cos' I like 4 inputs (two of them have 6dl less gain)

Great!
If I say that I had played only solid-states before buying BAssman 59 reissue, you can imagine that I now am happy as a Punch with these real tube tones I get from it... I play fingers ala Knopfler, occasionally using a pick (main influences -- Knopfler, Gilmour, Clapton and Harrison -- yes, a great guitarist - I don't care what heavy metalists or speed players think of him -- TONE is the main thing in music as Brian MAy said in one of his interviews) George is so subtle and unnoticible,not for everyone but he produced really increadible tones with his so loved slide for me -- listen to Lennon's How do you sleep and Give me some truth with George on slide guitar --) These four men know what Great tone is... By the way, George used the basmman reissue in his Japan tour with Clapton in 1991... It is listed in his equipment on that tour... So did Gilmour on his guitarwork for the WAll, as far as I know...
oh.. well back to the amp...
Bassman's sound is full, responsive, warm;
I like to play it... When we (my band) were auditioning the amp at the store -- the bass-player said "I envy you really" -- It sounded great right out of the box... and it is so loud that I am glad I gave a miss to the blues juinior I had been considering;
Bassman palys good at low volumes too, I play it at home too...
Works great with boss dd-3, and boss od-3 (overdrive), I also will use RAT 2 and maybe a compressor for slide later... I like all to be simpel and real in sound... I will keet the solid-state rectifir for reliability and mroe headroom.
Bassman cannot be beat... if you know how to play real guitar :)

I think it is realible cos' it is simple...
The more complex teh thing is the more chances it will break
Bassman is simple, and based on other reviews -- I guess it will last
Tubes and fuses need to be at hand, though, jsut in case...

N/A

Great amp! I thought of buying hot rod delux and DDRR or Blues Junior
Deluxe Reverb was a serious consideration, but then I told myself -- if I buy Blues Junior - not enough power (still will be looking up to BM), HRDX (tome compromise thre - still will envy bassman owners, DDRR - great amp but the circuit has 9 tubes too much I thought -- too complicated -- may break down, and I wanted realibility too)
I live in Ukraine (ex-USSR) -- all I hear is Marshall amps, people here seems to be mesmerised by the brand of Marshall (no offense to MArshall meant here) I had to do an extensive Internet search to find the amp I need -- Now I NEVER LOOK BACK... I know it just the ticket for me, the ultimate tone - bluesy, warm and penetrating. I love it!

Bought this new but it had been in a fire which just got ash and water stains on the tweed. I don't think it got that hot. No frills: Maybe that's why it sounds so good? High mark in this catagory because it sounds better than most amps. With a tube screamer and a stand alone reverb unit it is awesome for Blues.

Warmoth hardtail Strat with Van Zandt Blues driver pickups. I do use a fender stand alone reverb unit and a Silver Mod. (Analog Man) Tube screamer. This amp sounds better than any amp I've owed or tried for Blues. I have the Hoffman circuit board upgrade kit in it. This isn't a honeymoon review either because I've owned and used this for several years in it's present state. It has the biggest, fullest, best balanced tone I've heard. I've tried to top this one and haven't been able to and am getting tired of spending money in hopes of finding a better tone. I know this kind of thing is very subjective but I've actually had people come into the club just to hear the amp because someone told them about it. That's a first..."uh..I came down tonight to hear your amp".

No problems at all.

Don't know. Fender's too big isn't it?

See above...

Straight forward basic stuff a bright and normal channel, plug in turn on play, great sounds!

My main guitar's a 1972 Gibson SG. Pedals are a Boss DS-1 Keeley seeing eye Mod version, z-vex wolly mammoth and a boss PH-1. Like any other tube sounds best when driven... and cranked I'm in tone heaven, do I really need to say any more, why play quiet. From a sweet clean sound with all pedals off to gut moving bass with the help of a few stomp boxes.. I'll never buy another amp!!

had it for a year and a half, used every day never had any problems..

never needed 2.

I've been playing for about 11 years and played a lot of equipment but and when I bought this amp was finally able to get the sound in my head out of an speaker. If this amp was stolen I'd be gutted!! nuff said. Oh actually the knobs go to 12!! Go on treat yourself.

A straightforward old style tube amp - no other features. Why pay for overdrive channels etc which generaly sound inferior to stomp boxes. It is loud as I need , and can mic. it up for gigs.

Telecaster & Gretsch sound great. The Tele sound is like every classic Tele you will want to hear. I play rockabilly, and old school rock and roll, plus some blues. this amp has its own sound -the sound of Rock !

Blew a fuse on the first day- a bad fuse.

No trouble with Fender in the apst

Playing since late '60s. This amp is one of the all time greats I have owned. A an old-school tube trained technician, I laugh about people carrying on with point-to-point wiring vs printed circuit boards... its a load of crap-they sound no different.the amp design including speakers is everything. No digital modelling amp I tried could emulate the sound of this baby..plug in a Tele and crank it - HEAVEN! (I nearly bought a '65 twin reverb reissue, which is also a killer amp) (if you want a transistor amp which puts up a good show -try the new Peavey Bandit -good bang for bucks)

---1959 Bassman Reissue/Tweed---
This amp originally belonged to Jess Oliver (if you?re at all familiar with old Ampeg Amplifiers you will recognize his name). It is an early 1990's model as identified by the maker of the cabinet (Fender apparently farmed out this task to a variety of subcontractors).

I bought the amp from Mr. Oliver. I'm positive the new Bassman you will try out at Guitar Center will not sound the same so please keep that in mind when you read my review. The guts of this amp consist of a cheapo Chinese GZ34 tube rectifier (GZ34 and 5AR4 are interchangeable terms - one is the European designation, the other North American), 2 6l6's (WGB, I believe or 5881 if you like) and three 12ax7s which, surprise, surprise - were super nice Mullards!!!

The amp also came with the Jensen speakers (4 of them).

The amp cover is tweed. It is raggedy and dirty and just the way I like it :)

As far as features....it has the funky ground switch which is purely cosmetic, 4 inputs - 2 for the "BRIGHT" channel, 2 for the "NORMAL" channel. No effects loop, no reverb tank, no COSM modeling chip, no rocketship computer doohickeys. This may seems appalling to some but to me it represents a plethora of choices - I built my first amplifier from an old radio someone threw out and it had 1 input :)

With the solid state rectifier this is supposed to put out 45 Watts; with the tube rectifier 40 Watts. Some people sneer when they think of 45 Watts. Some think anything below 100 watts is a kid's toy. Well, I recently saw a video of Brian Setzer playing in Japan where he played a 59 Bassman in front of about 5,000 people. It's plenty loud. You need anything louder, the soundman will amplify you.

I use the amp everywhere. I use it in practice, on the road, in the studio, to annoy my neighbors and my neighbor's cats. It is my main amp (I keep spare fuses and tubes just in case). I will rate this amp a 10 because it does everything I want it to and I don't want a poor overall rating on this amp due to a comparison to some line 6 piece of poopy that has 250 effects on it. If you want that sort of a comparison here it is - the bassman - 2 AND line 6 AXSYS or a johnson millenium - 10. Sound quality Bassman 10 - the others -2.
The amp is extremely versatile. A little ingenuity will give you an effects loop, it breaks up nicely without the aid of a distortion pedal and sounds very pretty when clean.

---Guitars:
---Gretsch Jet
---Gibson SG 1961 Reissue
---Fender Strat with the Yellow Lace Sensors.

The Jet has low output pickups so the amp is fairly nice and quiet. I can get a very nice clean Cramps kind of sound. With a little drive I can get a very similar sound to the one heard on The Clash's version of "Brand New Cadillac".

With the Gibson SG it's rock 'n roll city. The 57 PAF's are loud and raucous. Beatdown! Angus Young gets nailed to a T. I don't know a heck of a lot about amp history but my understanding is that the first few marshalls were built similarly to the bassmans. Don't know if it's true but Angus is channeled easily.
Haven't tried the Strat yet. Need strings and need to fix a cracked neck - this is the last time the ex-models borrow my guitar, goddamit! Fuking Shah was responsible for that one.

Is the amp noisy? No. The tubes are in nice shape - tested them and I should have about 70,000 hours easy :) The speakers sound creamy, steamy and dreamy and the amp breaks up right around 4-5.

the distortion will not satisfy the metal mullet klub nor the Mesa Boogie devotees but if it's metal you want, buy a ProcCo Rat and you will be in business - although friends should not let friends play metal, ok

The amp is a tough little pup. I think the cabinet is pine but I have yet to sniff it. The tubes are in great shape (I'll replace the rectifier with something nicer later on - maybe a Telefunken :)
It's super-reliable.

Umm...never dealt with Fender.

I'be been playing for about 15 years. I used to own a JCM 800. Sold it. It was stinky. It came with nice Celestions in the speaker cab but who cares...Could not get a nice clean sound no matter how hard I tried.

I play mostly punk music. I likes the Clash, The Ramones, Wire, the Devil Dogs and this amp gives me exactly what I need. A nice clean sound I can rely on for Cramps/Buddy Holly/Eddie Cochrane stuff and with a distortion pedal Sheena is a punk rocker.

When I went hunting for amps I played EVERYTHING at the guitar center on rt 18. Mesa Boogies - hated all of them. Marshalls - hated them -Vox AC30 - the floor model wouldn't even turn on!!!, Matchless - out of my price range - DeVille - crappy - Hot Rod Deluxe - crappy - A nice little Fender tweed deluxe was there but no output jack :( :( :( <--very, very sad. Played the new Blackface Twin - creamy distortion, krappy klean, Gibson Goldtone - mucho dinero, Ampeg Reverberocket - used, beat to poop - sounded nice but too beat up (even I have standards), Johnson Millennium - Y.U.C.K.Y. Line 6 Flextone - Y.U.C.K.Y.E.R. Prayed to play a Selmer but the sales people never even heard of it.
Found the Bassman. Played the Bassman. Instant woody. Hulk Happy!

Fender Gz34/5U4G Rectifier, 6L6's, three 12AX7 type tubes. You can plug in a solid state rectifier for increased headroom but at the loss of rectifier "sag" that guitarists love. It has four inputs low, hi, bright and normal. The amp has tons of power and I would imagine you could use it with ample power in an setting. There is no reverb, and I think it would sound great with this amp. Classic, bright and warm Fender tone. You can EQ this amp anyway you chose. NOS tubes make a big difference here. Plywood construction.

I use custom Strats and Tele's with boutique pickups, great wood, and nitro lacquer finishes. I play mostly roots type music with some indie rock, but I've heard these amps do just about everything from jazz to rock, to blues. The amp sounds SO big, so warm, so fluid. It is a little bright but with a little manipulation you can get it right. But that is my taste, I don't like things too bright. I have been able to nail tones that I have tried to get with Victoria's and other boutique amps. Those are well made amps and there is something to be said for pine cabinets and point to point wiring. But this amp has something I didn't hear in those boutique amps and that is THE FENDER sound.

I opened up the amp and for a printed circuit board it looks pretty good in there, pretty tight and solid. I'm sure you could knock this thing around. The tweed stains very easily. I had some luck getting some stains off with a Wal Mart brand liteweight carpet cleaner. Check for colorfastness...wouldn't want you to make things worse. I think, if Fender had lacquered these things, and maybe sprung for point to point, I think this would be one of the best amps out there.

I've been playing for 12 years and I've owned a bunch of stuff. I always wanted one of the Reissue Bassmans but something always got in the way of me getting one. This was usually my snobbiness about constrution but the bottom line is that this is the best tone you are going to get for your money. I think the amp sounds great with a few quibbles aside. And as I said, I've played lots of more expensive amps. I think that if you are on the market for this type of amp, or any of the reissue series, that you should give this one a shot- you can always get your money back on the resale.

No features whatsoever which is why it's so darn cool. if you really want features go for something digital.(and sacrifice your sound)

This amd sounds beautiful. For larger venues I have a '63 stack same type. This amp can SCREAM. It is louder than heck and it stays together pretty well. I play a Les Paul Studio and a beat up old squire through this bad boy and it's amazing. I only use one effect on a regular basis which is a 70's ibanez sonic distortion and it rocks. Once in a while I will put a 70's Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi through it. It has no built in dist.

This amp has had one problem but it was induced by a car running into it after a show so i really dont think that counts. I can beat the crpa outta this amp and it won't be too mad at me later on. Even with all the dings and spills on mine it has held together well. If you are in a hard rock band who puts alot of abuse on an amp buy this tonemachine it can take it.

Never dealt with Fender and I dont think i am gonna have to but I guess they could be nice enough people.

I have been playing for a while now. I own a vintage head of this thing and an old fender bandmaster. this is an amp i would play through at medium shows. I used to go only Marshall Plexi but this rock and roll warrior takes more abuse and you dont have to worry about ruining a piece of art. The amp can get any tones you want my whole band loves it and the bass and other guitar are both trying to get their grimy hands on one. No matter what music you play this is a good clean amp and for distortion why not just buy a pedal? If it was stolen I would buy another amp(and the guy who stole it would be one lucky mother). I tried a Gibson Goldtone before i got this but i paid a quarter the price for almost the same tone. So in somation go buy one of these amps you will not be sorry.

I purchased this amp in 1994. At the time, I was a tube amp virgin and purchase the amp after several extensive listening/playing sessions at a local guitar shop. I was initially drawn to the ?59 Bassman, not by its legendary status, but rather by its very cool tweed and a Neil Young album cover.

The amp is bare bones with virtually no features except tone. A Fender tube reverb would be a nice addition, except then you really couldn't call it a '59 reissue...

This amp is my main stage amp with a noisy blackface Bassman head and cabinet as backup. I like to play classic rock (Beatles, Stones, Who, Zeppelin, etc.) but have been know to venture into new-ish rock (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, STP).

This amp rocks but as far as features go, I have to give a 6. Not really a plethora of gadgets

Signal: vintage '58 Gibson Les Paul Junior, new Dunlop Cry Baby, vintage Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer, EH Holy Grail reverb, Bassman. The P-90 to the TS-9 to the tubes is incredible.

The ?59 Bassman has very little noise with a direct signal from my guitar, and breaks up into really beautiful overdrive at just over half volume.

I've played it hard for the past 9 years with only routine maintenance. Although I've mentioned that I have a blackface for backup, I really have never used it in that sense. The '59 has never kicked it. The blackface is used more for variety rather than as a backup.

I have never dealt with Fender so I won't speculate (like a lot of folks here) about their brutality.

I've been playing for 16 years and have owned many Strats, Teles, Mustangs, LPs, etc. The Gibson LP junior was the guitar I learned on and is still my favourite. I've only owned the two amps - the blackface Fender Bassman and the '59. (oops, and a Peavey Bandit (old-school) somewhere in there for a year or so - a cool solid state amp).

If the '59 Bassman were stolen, I may not replace and instead get the blackface cleaned-up. I really love the ?59; however, the vintage blackface is a pretty cool amp too.

Fender amps set the standard for everyone else. The '59 Bassman is a pretty, great sounding, quality amp from Fender. I highly recommended this amp for a tube amp virgin.

Check out the other reviews for features

I've never been a fan of 10" speakers but this baby rocks sounds awesome. Has that vintage look that I love too!!!! it is a good amp.

Just use it for the house but looks like it is built like a tank

Don't know never called them

I been playing for 2 years. I have a blues deville (blonde 2x 12) a 62 reissue strat and a 54 reissue goldtop LP. This amp is a great amp I bought it used and would buy another.

I am giving this amp a low score for features, because there really aren't any. The main features of this amp are touch sensitivity, tone, and flexibility, which are best reviewed in other categories. This amplifier has no reverb, BTW. Initially, this put me off, but after gigging this amp for awhile, I don't miss it at all.

I use this amp with a '52 Reissue Telecaster, which I have modified with a hotter bridge p'up and a neck humbucker, as well as a Les Paul Special. This amp has amazing touch sensitivity. Turn the volume to between 4 and 6 for the most flexibility. This amplifier also reacts well to stompboxes. I can't tell you how badss this is, you've gotta hear for yourself, with your own gear. This amplifier is very loud, however, which takes some getting used to. This amplifier will not be intimidated by 4x12 stacks!

I have gigged this amp out 100+ times, with no problems whatsoever. Haven't even fragged a tube, which is surprising, considering that Fender ships these amps with crappy output tubes. I am considering replacing them with some JAN/Philips 6L6WGB, which are relatively cheap and available. My experience is that these tubes are better sounding and more durable/consistent than most any other new manufacture tubes.

Fender customer service is a total joke. The phone lines are staffed by people who couln't get a job at McDonalds. I'm sure they're doing the best they can, but obviously Fender is too big a company to pay knowledgeable people to answer the undoubtedly large number of calls they must recieve daily.

Been playing 26 years, 10 years professionally. I like this amp better than anything else anywhere near this price. Even if you get a new one, and pay GLP at the Guitar Center, it will blow the doors off just about anything else that sells new for under $2000. The only other reissue amp that I have tried that I like this much is the reissue Vox AC-30TB. I don't know how reliable it is, though. I'm a person who generally distrusts conventional wisdom, but this amp is well regarded in the industry for good reason.

1990 model with the Eminence blue frames, which I love the sound of. No channel switching or effects, whi I'm sure scare some away. But it shouldn't. I replaced the old Sovteks with EH 12ax7's and Svetlana 6L6's which did improve the sound. This amp is also very pedal friendly, much more so than other Fender amps.

I use this amp with my Strats and Les Paul with equally great results. With a few pedals I can play any kind of music possible. The tone of the Bassman is very clear, crisp, and breathy.

No problems at all. I'm not at all afraid to gig without a backup.

Never had to contact them. When a company makes a good product you don't really have to worry about customer service.

I will never be without a Bassman from now on. I have played through a 1970 Marshall most of my life and I wanted to find something less heavy and newer so I wouldn't have to worry about it being stolen or damaged. I tried both a Blues Deville and a Hot Rod Deville but both sounded very muddy and dull, neither sounded good with my overdrive or distortion pedals, and the drive channels sounded terrible. All these people were telling me to replace the tubes and speakers, but I felt that the Devilles were not good enough amps to sink all that extra money into. I finally decided to try a Bassman because I am a Rory Gallagher fan, and this is the amp for me. All the praise that people have heaped on it over the years is true. It's hard to believe that a one channel amp with no effects could be such a tone machine, but it is. And I didn't have to replace anything to get a good sound (I replaced the tubes because they were old). I use a Boss DS-1, an Ibanez TS9, a Boss DS-1 and a Boss BD2, and these pedals give me any tone I could possibly need. (All of these are not necessary, but I like to have a variety of tones to work with.) This amp is widely regarded as the best of the Fender vintage reissues, BTW.
I also did a shellac job using the Minwax honey pine polyurethane and it looks great and protects the tweed. I didn't like the orange color of the Zinsser Bullseye.

The circuit board has a completed date of 1/18/01, so this is one of the newer Bassman Reissues. It doesn't have the cosmetic grounding switch (was this too confusing for some people?) but obviously has all the other features listed in other reviews. The features are minimun, which is exactly why I love this amp. It doesn't have anything to get in the way!

I use the BM with an '86 MIJ Stratocaster '54 RI and a MIM 50's RI Stratocaster. This amp is perfect with single coil pickups, and very very quiet compared to other amps I have owned. This amp gets tone anywhere from glassy clean to mean and dirty overdrive that has a very unique sound and a solid bottom-end. I use a boss od-3 for more overdrive and it sounds excellent with this amp, whereas it sounded mediocore at best with my Carvin. I couldn't imagine a better amp for someone who has effect pedals and really wants them to shine through.

This amp has a tank-like pine structure, but to reinforce the exterior, I took the liberty of applying Zinsser Bulls Eye Amber Shellac to the tweed. This instantly added 30 years to the tweed and really brought out just how gorgeous this amp is! The shellac was very forgiving and very easy to work with. Just use a 50/50 mixture of shellac and denatured alochol (both can be found at home depot). I applied a few coats until the tweed had a deep amber undertone. As far as the tubes go, they are sovteks...I am going to be replacing these in the next few weeks with some JJ tubes. I'm not a big fan of Sovtek tubes, but I guess Fender uses whatever is cheap at the time. I use this amp for recording, but if I gigged with it, I would simply bring some backup tubes and fuses.

I haven't contacted Fender for Customer Service, and probably wouldn't; just to save myself the headache. These amps are so easy to work on that even my Mom could figure it out! Take off the top back panel and everything is right there in front of you. What a great design. Thanks Uncle Leo!

I don't keep track of how long I've been playing, but with an amp like this in my collection, I know I'll be playing many more years. The bassman is just the perfect amp for me and I'm finally glad I came across it. It's a shame there are so many people out there that worship those god-forsaken "modeling" amps. To me, tubes and simplicity equal TONE. I use my Bassman with a Boss TU-2 Tuner, PS-3 Phase Shifter/Delay, TR-2 Tremolo, OD-3 Overdrive, Electro Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb, Guyatone ST2 Compressor, and a Guyatone FL3 Flanger. Some of my influences are Built to Spill, Luna, Hum, South, and Stereophonics. If you are considering a Bassman, get one and don't look back. It is the best $600.00 I have spent!! And if you do get one, use the amber shellac on it, it truly turns it into a work of art.

I just bought a 59 Bassman RI from 1992. I fel in love with the big fat sound, the sound I was looking for and that I missed in my 4 x 10 Fender BdV. It has no more features than necessary that is volume, treble, presence, mid and bass and a high and low channel of which I love the high channel most. Both Channels could be connected, but in my ears it doesn't change the sound so much. My Bassman has 2 Eminence Blue Alnico's and 2 Eminence legends Speakers. Could anyone tell me more about those Legends? They have a red label and code: KY 40019. The combination sounds good to me.

I use it with a Epiphone Casino and play mostly 60's music and the combination suits good for this style. Ofcourse it's noisy because of the singlecoils on my Casino.. The sound can be quite clean with a bite for the chords and full and dirty for soloing. The sound can be varied quite well by diminishing treble, mid etc. Its starts sounding dirty at around 4. The distortion however is not real brutal, just nice and good handable.

I play for almost 25 years now. Before I had a Marshall, Mesa Boogy, Fender BdV. I like this Bassman most because of its full solosound and the fact that it has no extra's taht can abuse. If it was stolen I bought another one again.

A brand new Fender Bassman - year 2002. A tube amp with heavenly tones. I enjoy Christian rock and Christian pop and this amp is suitable for such styles. I plan on using a metal pedal for Christian metal music, but havent tried it. This thing has 4 input channels: normal and bright and for each of those another channel with a 6db boost. Nothing fancy - no effect loops, no headphone jack, no channel switching. No reverb. Nothing - a pure and simple amp. It has all the features I want. It exemplifies the KISS method to music: Keep It Simple and Stupid! I use this amp at home. At a volume of "4" this thing is way plenty loud. I havent had the volume past 5.... even though it goes to 12.

I'm using a 2002 Gibson SG standard with humbuckers, a cheap 56 re-issue Danelectro with lipstick single coils, and an American Series Fender Strat with single coils with this amp. The amp is totally quiet with the volume at least played to 5 at home.
The amp has a "rockabilly" blues sound to it.

While in SF several years ago I watched several blues groups perform in the "Boom Boom room" (J.Lee Hookers blues niteclub). I saw professional muscians use this amp (they were re-issues) for guitar and amplifying mics for harmonica. Man - this amp puts out some awesome sounds in a small club setting.

This amp looks and feels like a heavy duty piece of hardware. Havent had this amp that long to tell if it will break down. I guess I would bring an extra set of tubes if I were to perform somewhere - or even another amp as a backup. It is more fragile than a solid state amp by its very nature.....

I havent dealt with them yet...

I have been playing electric guitar for one year. I own a Fender P-bass and a SVT4pro Ampeg head, an SWR practice bass amp, a 50 watt Ampeg bass amp, and some primitive recording equipment. (besides the guitars already mentioned).

I played the Super Reverb and a Mesa Boogie 50watt solo head, besides the Twin reverb.... and several other combo amps by Mesa.... I liked this amnp the best overall. It seemed also to be reliable since whatever music store I tried one out in the last year the bassman always was working A-ok.

As far as features go, this amp is pretty sparse compared to most of the stuff out there today. But this design isn't meant to smother you with gagetry or gimics anyway. Its a classic design and what it does have counts. I love the simplicity of it. If tone is a feature than this amp has all the features you need.

I don't actually own one yet but I know I will soon. I just can't stay away from the tones these things put out. I've used several types of guitars from strats and teles to gibsons and Ibanez--just about everything so as to give me an idea of how they respond to different types of guitars/pickups. All have sounded great. Strats and Teles sound really sweet. I think the bassman was designed with single coils in mind. Humbuckers sound good too, but they make the amp break up sooner--that can be better or worse depending on the situation. Usually for humbuckers, input 2 is best for retaining some clean headroom. By the way, these amps get pretty friggin loud before distorting as long as your guitar doesn't have super high output pickups. Should be plenty of volume for most any gig except for maybe large stadium shows that can put you a long ways from you amp. For those looking for a good clean sound to base their tone off of, this amp does it nicely. I tried a couple of my stompboxes through it (Robert Keeley modified bluesdriver and Ibanez TS7) and it gave me any tone I would ever really need. I'm sure just about any decent overdrive/distortion pedal would sound great through these things. One downside is that there is no effects loop due to the vintage design. I read a guys review down the page that said he used the channel junction as a parallel effects loop by running a cable from the second input of the channel he was using to his effects and back into the amp on the other channel. In theory it seems like it would work but I would have to try it to make sure. Another thing--alot of people seem to think that this is strictly a blues amp. NOT SO!! It will work for just about anything (minus thrashy metal--these guys usually like way too much volume and not enough midrange which requires more wattage) depending on what you are running through it. Find your favorite stopboxes and your good to go.

Since I don't own one, I can't rave about how it survived two riots at madison square but it is built well. Thats something that fender does seem to do right with most of their amps.

Never have dealt with fender. I've only owned their guitars which have held up superbly.

I have been playing for almost 8 years and this amp has really caught my attention in the last couple months. I used to be strictly a boogie guy but have since realized that there are other amps that better suit me than what boogie is doing--especially their new stuff. . . I use all sorts of stompboxes now and have found my ultimate sounds from two overdrive pedals which are available at RobertKeeley.com. If you're looking for real tube amp tone from a pedal, take a look at his modified boss bluesdriver. No Joke. I have also been looking at vox ac30s and pretty much anything with a good clean sound and I keep coming back to the bassman. The vox is a great amp but are notoriously unreliable considering the price. I could probably get two used bassmans for the price of a used ac30. I consider these amps to be a great deal and well worth the money. I hope to be getting one in the near future.

Made in '98, 2 semi-independant channels, one volume affects the other channel. There are many options like cascading to both channels or bussing to another amp to get more drive.

I play a fender jazzmaster or harmonica, but any instrument sounds good with these amps, including bass guitar. Much better sound when using a tube rectifier instead of the solid state type.

Very dependable, but bring extra fuses. There are two fuses in these amps, one is accessed through the back and the other is on top next to the input jacks.

Blown speaker; Well's Music took forever and still never got it right. Fender was great and made everything right.

Too many modifications to the original design. Should have point to point wiring. Overall, this is a good amp for the money.

Not sure of the year, sometime in the mid '90s, I'd guess. It's got the blue alnico speakers and the tweed has some stains, scuffs and wear but the unit is SOLID! All tube including recitfier tube that the shop I bought it from threw in with the deal to replace the solid state rectifier (I have both). Features are simple and straight forward. Normal and Bright inputs with separate volumes, three band eq and presence. Power and standby switch, fuse, red jewel and ground switch. I gave it a 9 because it's got everything you want in a great tone beast. If you want effects, buy your favorite pedals and have at it. 45 watts, all tube, a little softer with the tube recitfier. More than enough power for any club gig. You need more, mic it. 4 - 10" speakers push some serious air! 4 inputs; normal high and low and bright high and low. All four sound different. I plug the guitar into bright high and then run a cable from bright low to normal high. This allows me to dial in tone from both channels for a perfect mix!

I'm a drummer by trade and at 40 years old have seen and heard them ALL. Started playing guitar a few years ago and went through all the usual steps in looking for the right combo of guitars and amps. I play and love all types and styles of rock but I grew up on and love the ZZ Top, SRV, blues based badass rock 'n roll. This is THE amp to get that tone. I was looking for a simple yet powerful tone monster and stumbled onto this one at Mark's Guitar Loft. I had played new ones that just didn't have the same bite. Someone said it earlier, get a well used (but not abused) one and you'll be way ahead of the game. I play only a G&L ASAT Special through it and down low with both MFD pickups selected it just sings. Slap the selector back to the bridge pickup and turn up the volume and this amp GROWLS at you. It's classic early '70's Billy Gibbons. I put a Marshall Blues Breaker II pedal in front of it and I get great distorsion and/or boost. I'm going to add a Marshall GuvNor II and VibraTrem shortly and this amp will play any and all I want it to. (I like the Marshall pedals, they're built like tanks and have true bypass so as not to affect your tone when they are off). My friends have played SRV stats and Gibson Les Pauls through it and everything in between and all just love the tone. The amp is dead quiet between songs! The tone runs from warm, sweet, and/or glittering clean depending on your input (4 inputs; normal high and low and bright high and low) at lower to mid volumes. Turn it up and you get growling, biting, barking tone that turns heads and brings smiles to everyones face. This amp is the junkyard dog of tube amplifiers - sweet and mellow when stroked gently, but it will bite your head off if you rile it up!!!

The amp is built like a tank. Solid pine cabinet! I have had no problems with it or any Fender amp I've owned (this is number 4). The tweed will stain horribly and scuff or tear if abused but the tweed amps look the balls! I always take my tweed amps and do a custom lacquer job on them myself to protect the tweed from stains and scuffs. It makes the amp look like the custom shop version or some really vintage amp. It's a win/win scenario. Email me for pictures and/or details on how to do this easy mod.

I've never dealt with the company for a repair but did go to their online store for a cover for the amp. Couldn't find one and called their 800 number and was called back immediately and told where on their website I could find the cover (I didn't look hard enough but they could have made it more obvious, so I'll bang them one point for that). She could have placed the order for me but then I would have had to pay shipping. If you order from online shipping is free. I thought that was very helpful so I'll give them an 9 based on that alone!

I've been playing guitar for about four years but played in bands as a drummer/lead vocalist for over 20. I have owned 4 Fender amps in three years, a Pro Junior, Blues Junior (both in tweed), and Hot Rod Deluxe. I also owned a Johnson JM60 Marquis modeling amp. I still own the Blues Junior but wish I'd kept the Pro Junior now. If the amp were lost or stolen I jump on ebay and buy another well used one with the blue alnico's immediately. They generally go for around 6 to 7 hundred there depending on condition of the tweed. I was originally looking at the Fender Pro Reverb in the Pro Tube series when I stumbled upon this gem. I'm glad I did. I saved myself about $500 and couldn't be happier. I also looked at a used Vibro King but at $1500 it was just too much money for my needs. I chose the '59 Bassman based on it's looks, size, weight, wattage, price and mostly... TONE! I also checked out it's rating right here at the incredibly helpful Harmony Central rating/review web site! I had considered this amp years ago but sort of forgot about it. After I found this one in a little (but great) used guitar shop I ran home and checked out the feedback/prices here and prices on eBay. Armed with that info I felt comfortable in going right back and making the deal. Thanks a million to Harmony Central and all of you that provided me with great feedback to help me make my decision that much easier.

I believe this amp is a '95.Don't know. This thing is perfect because it has just what it needs!

I play blues rock and this does it. My main amp is a 50W Plexi clone. This Bassman is my backup.
It clean up well with the guitar volume. Overdrives nice! Nails the old ZZtop sound(La Grange.etc.) I do need a pedal for lead because higher single notes don't sustain like i wish they would, but it's not that bad. I prefer the Tweed sound to the Blackface sound any day. JMO
Also, it's dead quiet!!!!!

This amp is great for the price. It serves as a great back up for my Marshall type amp. If itwere stolen I'd probably get another. I compared it to some Blackface re-issues, but this won, and more closely matched it's original namesake than the others.

This amp is a "Bassbreaker" model. It was made in 2001 and is a Master Built Custom Custom Amp. It is a '59 Bassman Reisue but has 2 -12" Vintage 30 Celstion speakers instead of 4 - 10" speakers. The cabinet is shorter and wider than the '59 Bassman and has all the standard features of the '59 Bassman. The tweed covered cabinet is lacquered. It does one sound very well and works for many types of music and guitars.

I prefer single coil pickups for this amp. It is very quiet and has a big sound. The 45 watts are enough for small to medium gigs. My tone settings are: Treble 4, Bass 3, Middle 9, and Presence 5. This is a wonderful sounding amp and very similar to Channel One on a Bogner Ectacy.

Very high quality materials and excellent workmanship. No problems at all.

Great. They have been willing to answer any of my questions.

I have been playing professionally for over 30 years. I also use a Rivera Jake Combo, Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb, and a Mesa Studio .22 plus. The Rivera is capable of replicating the Bogner EL84 sound as well but I use it for the Blackface setting. I have concidered getting a second Rivera but decided to give this amp a try... it is a beautiful looking amp as well.

My Bassman was built in 1991. It has the standard features (volume and tone) plus someone put a pentode/triode switch in it, which I never use. I use this amp for work and play, it's relativly light for the amount of sound it produces (and it produces plenty).

Being an old fart who only likes music that starts with 78 rpm crackles (well, pretty much) it suits me just fine, and has a groovy 1950s hi-fi look to boot. Seriously, this amp has what the old Fender employees referred to as "a big burnished tone that speaks with authority."

Very reliable. Had a problem once with one of the internal fuses blowing, and a really weird problem with the pilot light (as the amp heated up it would s-l-o-w-l-y fade out), but nothing critical. It's taken some hard knocks and held up well.

Never had a problem requiring company support.

This amp has been the gold standard by which everything else is measured. It's been amp #1 since I bought it (followed by an AC-30 and a Vibrolux). If anything happened to it, I'd die. It has, without compare, the BEST tone of any amp I've owned in 36 years of playing, and it's loud enough for any gig I've ever had.

I think my Amp was made in 1999 or 2000 - I bought it second hand! I used to play this big old 100Watt Marshall head. I got really tired of it! I switched to a MESA Rectoverb which I thought was really neat back then! Then I went into this shop played the fender bassman - and I havn't layed my hands of it since... I personally play a variety of music styles (brit-pop, grunge, Rock, Indie-Rock, good ol' blues) and this amp can give me all I want! I know a lot of people will tell you this amp was made to play the blues... unless you're playing Death-Metal this amp will deliver most sounds you want! I was looking for an amp that would give me a great clean sound that I can work with - I found it! I'm in amp-heaven... This baby has two channels with four inputs (Hi Bright, Low Bright, Hi Normal, Low Normal) i plug my guitar into the high bright channel, plug another cord into the low bright and connect it to my effects-equipement, take it back from there into the high normal input - voila, you've got a parallel effects loop!!! Works great for me...
I use this amp everywhere! I've played it on pretty big Open-air stages, clubs, halls, studios! This beauty is as loud as hell! Crank it up past 5 and it will blow your head off! I'm giving this amp a ten because it gives me everything I need!

I use mainly Fender Strats and Teles on my baby! I have a Gibson ES335 which sounds pretty sweat, but singlecoils just make it go to heaven! The bassman is a very dynamic amp! Once you crank it up past 5 or 6 and your really hitting your strings it just sounds so wonderfull! Or on the same volume setting just playing nice and easy sounds really warm and glassy! Tubeheaven...

I have used this amp on our last Tour which contained about 60 or 70 gigs! I had a backup - never used it!!! This is the first amp I would tour without a backup!

I have never dealt with Fender. ?

What can I say? For me its the best sounding amp ever made!

I just got this amp today. It is a 2001 model, I would suppose. This amp has just what an amp should have. No manual is needed here. I give a 10 because of its great simplicity.

Ever since selling my original 70s rig (Marshall Plexi, 2 cabs), I have been subjected to that barrage of trendy gear of the last 20 years, most of it crap. It has taken me that long to finally get back to the beginning.

I play heavy blues-oriented guitar, and mostly blues at that these days. Since I am not playing arenas, I have been looking for a good "combo" amp for the average New Orleans venue that doesn't sound like a amp for thrash metal, but packs a wallop of a sound. This 59 Bassman Reissue is absolutely fantastic. Turn it on, turn a few knobs and you're there. Great tone, good crunch, fantastic response. Although small, this may be one of best sounding amps I have ever heard. No kidding. If you play in a style anywhere from, say, Albert King, to Buddy Guy, to Cream and Zep I, to Winter or Vaughn, etc., you will die for this sound. I am so happy.

Over the past 35-plus years, I haven't had much problems Fender amps I've owned. We'll see.

I have been playing a VERY long time (35 years or more). Presently, I play Fenders and Gibsons (duh!), and mostly Les Pauls and SGs, Strat and Tele (in other words, real guitars). Although I have all kinds of pedals that I use hear and there, my main setup, which sounds superb on the Bassman, is guitar to Real McCoy II Wah (eewww!!!!), to UltraVibe rotary, to Marshall Guv'nor pedal, to DanEcho, to amp. Perfect little setup.

Not only would I replace this amp, I may just get another one or two just for the hell of it. If you weant reverb, get the 59 Super Reverb reissue. If not, this is the serious thing.

I believe this amp was a 1997 I bought it used from BnF guitars in Des Moines, Iowa. The features are normal and are just fine because its a box to get sound out of not a space rocket. This amp is an all-tube killer that can be played anywhere for any occasion.

I use this amp with both of my beauties: my strat with dimarzio blues pups and my Les Paul with Duncan '59s. It suits my musical style to a "T". I can't say enough good things about this amp it can play any stle of music, but for the blues or 50's era rock it is absolutely ideal. The overdriven sounds are so much more desirable than anything a Mesa Boogie could ever dream of doing. This is the "King of all Amps".

It has never broke down and even if it did Steve at BnF can fix anything so I really don't see a problem.

Never dealt with them.

If this were lost or stolen I would buy a new one and lock it up in a huge safe with a full-time armed guard, because I love this amp. If you put a TS-9, DOD 250, or a Bluesdriver in front of this amp you can get awesome blues tones from the Reverend Billy G to SRV to Jimi or Muddy Waters or even Angus Young. This amp was made for Blues and Rock and its so simple that it hurts. But my favorite thing is the tweed, it looks so cool and vintage.

I have a 98 with alnico blues and a 2001 with jensens. For me these are the most versatile amps. They can cover Blues, Jazz, Country, Gospel, what I call roots music. This amp has all the features I need in an amp. I use pedals for any effect I might need. I use this amp for both live and studio work.

I use these amps with a relic strat and nocaster. The amps are very quiet. I owned a vox ac30 ri with the alnico speakers for a year. It sounded good when it worked, and that was not often. The vox also made alot of noise. I do not miss that amp.
Now for the difference in sound between the speakers. The jensens are more lively sounding than the emenence speakers. The jensens also distort faster than the emenence. The emenence have more bass and stay clean longer. So, which is better..... They are different. When recording, I use the jensens, and when playing out, I use the emenence alone or both amps. They sound fantastic together. Effect wise I use the following: Dynacomp, fulldrive, Boss Trem/pan, EB volume pedal, Boss tu12 tuner, Boss DD5, and a TC chorus.

I have owned 1 of them a year, and the other a month. They have not given me any trouble.

I have not dealt with Fender. The 2001 has a 5 year warranty

I have been playing 15 years. Except for the encounter with the vox, I have always played fender style amps. If stolen I would buy another. I love the sound and reliability of these amps. I compared it to the ac30 and victoria, top hat, fender custom shop, and vintage fender amps. I also shelaced the bassmans. I got the instructions from Bill Hullett. It makes them look cool, and protects the tweed. I prefer the solid state rectifier, and use a 5751 in the first pre amp position to give me more clean headroom.

2001 model '59 Bassman RI. Straight ahead R n R amp. No Channel switching or built in effects. 4 inputs, EQ, presence, are about the only features besides it's amazing clean tone. 45 watts of all tube power(very loud).

I use an Epi Riviera with humbuckers which sounds very deep--great for rhythm players. Great basis for adding effects--the tone is so clean, the effects shine through without being disguised by the amp. I've found if you plug your guitar into the Bright 1 input and cross a patch cord from the Bright 2 input to Normal 1 input, you get a much stronger sound. This, in effect, gives both the normal and bright channels at the same time. The amp overdrives well at high volumes but cuts out quick on the highs(very unpleasant). Pedals really are the way to go with this amp.

I'm strictly an at home musician(at least for now) so I really can't comment on reliability. I do feel it would be a road worthy amp though.

I've been playing for 2 1/2 yrs. I also have a Princeton Chorus, Tele, and a plethora of effects. I probably would replace it someday but not right away, I'd rather try something else out first. I chose this because I wanted a good, clean, tube amp that would be good enough to play at gigs and recording(which is in the near future).

i'll give it 6, just because it is so simple,

this thing sounds sweet if you know how to use a tweed amp.what i mean
bye that is its got clean tones and over driven tones too. all you have to do is learn how to use your guitar volume.i love it for blues,
just turn it up (5 or 6)and play your rythms on about 7 or 8 on the
guitar and your leads on 10.just remember to set your bass on about 3
the highs on 3,and the mids about 9, and the presence on about 9 also
and ajust too your liking from there. i play mostly strats and do use
some effect some times,like a tube screamer and a tremolo padle.

i bought it new about 4 months ago, no problems yet!!

i give it that because of fact the bassman clones cost 2 or 3 times
that,and from what i hear dont sound a whole lot better for money
difference!!

Let me start by stating clearly that this is a REISSUE of Fenders 1959 Bassman. There wont be any reverb, fuzz, digital delay, soak switches, or switchable channels, since this amp and the era in which the original was manufactured predated these effects. This is just a pure, turn-it-on-turn-it-up blues/rock amp. No frills, just tone. I give it a ten just because of how refreshing it is to play through an amp these days with the goal of just getting good tones in mind. And if you are a guitar player that knows what they are doing and have the luxury of trying different guitars through it, then you will be rewarded with all the versatility you need.

As far as sound goes the amp sounds great flat out. Although it does have its own personality which differs from the old Fender tweeds in some ways, it clearly has the old Bassman sound in its belly, which by the way consists of 3 12ax7's, 2 6l6's and a "swappable" rectifier (solid state or tube). I am currently using a 2001 PRS Custom 22, 1961 Gibson SG reissue, 1952 Fender Telecaster reissue, 1972 Fender Tele Thinline reissue, and a 1996 Fender strat with seymour duncan humbuckers (jb and jazz). The amp for me is used primarily for a good powerful rock oriented clean sound and a chunky overdrive sound similar to that of "Face to Face"'s Trevor Keith, courtacy of a Fulltone Fulldrive2. Its just a fun amp all around! Sounds good at most settings and starts to sag and break up pretty nice too at higher volumes. It does everything I need it too perfectly.

The amp seems to be built pretty well. I usually use it along side a Marshall JCM2000 TSL100 head w/a Marshall 4x12 cab, and havnt had any problems so I'm pleased to say the least. If either amp did have a problem, I'd back up one with the other because I love em' both. Only time will tell!

Havn't dealt with the Fender people and hopefully won't have to. There are more and more authorized Fender dealers popping up every day so I should be in good shape.

A 10 for this baby! If you are a serious player that can maximize an amp to its potential and want a stripped down good clean/od sound, give this amp a try. After all the original influnced Jim Marshall to create the beloved JTM45 and countless other Fender classics. A great amp with a reasonable price for the tone you get in return.

This is a 1990 model. It's so plain Jane it hurts. I love the normal/bright 1 and 2 inputs. Yes, all 4 inputs sound different. Big gig or small gig you'll be able to fit the Bassman in to the mix. This amp has NONE of the features I DONT want. ie Effects, reverb, line outs, etc etc. This amp leaves you wanting nothing else. I've owned TONS of amps, now I'm satisfied. This amp will change the way you play. I guarantee it.

I have 3 main guitars. An American strat, '55 Harmony deep body Archtop ( don't laugh, it sounds better than a Gibson es-350) and a Harmony H78 with 3 De-armond p/u's (also a killer lo-cost guitar) I play blues and a little Rockabilly. The Bassman is MADE for playing this kind of stuff and these kinds of guitars. I would'nt say the Bassman distorts really, it just sings ( only word I can think of to describe the breakup)

I work on it myself. I clean the pots, change tubes etc etc. The amp has never broken down ever. Even with sick tubes it sounds killer

Doesnt apply

If I lost this amp, I'd find another one no matter what. I would'nt buy one new though. They're pricey ( but worth it). Also, these amps sound better if they've been used ALOT. The best sounding ones I've heard have really looked like hell. Get one that's gone thru the ringer. You'll be way ahead.

first run of the ri bassman; '89 or'90 give or take. for guitar way too loud stock. retube like an original with 1-12ay7,2-12ax7,2-588i or rca blackplate 6l6, gz34 or 5u4 (not correct but more sag). very tight sounding bassman. i don't like 'em for guitar...

i play bass through them! it's a bass amp, people. a brand new, stock ri bassman is a cool bass amp! you'll have to de-rattle it somehow if you mike it but i kid you not a p-bass with flatwound or real tapewound strings sounds great thru this rig. an upright with gut for the d and g strings sounds amazingly good in either channel. swap out the first preamp tube for a 12ay7 to knock the gain down, and keep the solid state rectifier in. no, it's not the loudest thing out there, but within it's volume range it'll really surprise you. you can go unmiked for small gigs. if any of you retro players doing low volume stuff (traditional electric blues, western swing, rockabilly, etc.) are looking for great tube bass sound on the cheap look here. most of my friends in retro bands are'nt that loud (small tweed, standels, etc) and they'll spend the money for the equipment from that period that gives them that sound, be it radio king drums and and k zildjian cymbals or 40's selmer saxophones. then the bassist will be playing an upright thru an swr with a 4-10 ported cab. nothing wrong with that at all but it adds a different dimension to the overall band sound. the bass was'nt so loud on those old records! matter of fact, the bands back then always played to the volume of the bassist. think about it; the most important instrument for the singer is the bass; a subliminal thing. if the band's too loud the singer can't hear the changes because they can't hear the bass. so, if the bassist is playing thru a nice round tube amp like a b-15 (greatest bass amp ever made, for me) or a tweed bassman they obviously can't get that loud, but they have tone to die for. if the bass is too loud everyone will start turning up,usually because the guitar's too loud,as in "like i brought my super reverb man and i gotta jack it up to get my tone, man!" (hey, i'm a guitar player. i'm guilty. but if i know in advance what the gig is i'll bring the appropriate amp.) this in turn pisses off the singer, who's supposed to be the centerpiece of the band! so the bassist, by virtue of playing thru a small tube amp forces everyone to come down to their volume, if the band cares at all. if they don't, look for another band. or dump your guitar player; that'll usually fix it. i'm digressing a bit, this is a great small bass amp; be bold. start a trend! and don't tell me about open back, the rear wave's out of phase with the front wave,etc. horseshit. did you know that a lot of 60's l.a. studio bassists (carol kaye, joe osborn, even brian wilson) played a lot of their sessions thru brown 4-10 concerts? (in the east it was b-15's) that is the sound you hear on a lot of those records, believe it or not! so don't tell me that's not a good bass sound. 10 for what it is, and was originally made to be. plus it just looks right!

might pop a speaker eventually, don't do anything dumb and you'll be fine

playing 30 years, back in ny almost all my sub work was on bass (i don't play bass like a guitar player, a very hard thing to do). back then it was a modded blackface bassman head (4-8ohm output transformer, el34's; which bought me another 15 clean watts, believe it or not a great bass output tube.they go quite deep without a lower-mid bump.not a 6550 but surprisingly better than 6L6's)thru a single 15 cab with an e/v 15B (the 15L's are terrible for bass), a ri p-bass with labella jamerson flatwounds). no d.i.,ever,in a live situation. flat out refused to do it. mike the cab if need be. without exception, every soundman was amazed at the difference. seriously, bring your own mike if you have to. i work these days as a guitarist, doing all types of real roots stuff, mostly blues. you really should give an open-minded listen to this amp for bass; it might change your way of thinking! it won't work for every gig obviously, but then that's what you've got your gk for.

This amp was purchased used from a local music store. I believe that it's a 2000 model as it was sold to me with a 4.5 year factory warranty remaining. I was searching for this amp for about 2 weeks after trying one that came in at another music shop. The only problem was it was beaten-up pretty badly. I didn't wan't to buy it for that reason plus it wasn't cheap... However, it still sounded and felt like a brand new amp. I knew right then and there that this amp was needed. Even though there aren't allot of features, it didn't matter to me. I just wanted a solid Blues amp with fat tone. needless to say I found it. So, when I came across the one that was eventually purchased, it was a relief to see that it was in mint condition! I spent a few bucks more than the beaten up one but still saved hundreds over a new one. Anyway, I gig 3 times a week and have been using an Vox AC30 up until know. I've got buddies who gig the Bassman RI and have always envied their tone. Don't get me wrong, the AC30 is a sweet amp in it's own right. Still something seemed to be missing, just needed something more. I've already giged the BM twice and let me tell you, it's perfect and I have finally got my sound the way I want it to be. Just enough juice too! Since the amp is only 45 watts some people might think that's not enough. It really is though for small to mid sized gigs. The amp comes with Jennsen's which sound fantastic! 2 6L6's and 3 pre-amp tubes (12ax7) I've replaced the solid state rectifier with a Tube. Now I get that awesome tube sag that is highly coveted. Although there aren't allot of features here, effects can be added for those extra tonal shaping requirements.

The tone on this amp is Fat and Juicy. I'm playing a Fender American Standard Strat and find this to be a perfect match for the BM. I've tried this amp with a Les Paul Studio with nice results ,however, the strat is better suited overall. I play blues, country and classic rock and the BM covers everything nicely. I've added a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 and an MXR Phase 100 pedal in front of this amp for added effects. The lack of reverb doesn't concern me. The amp creates this wonderful tone that seems 3 dimensional (ghost notes ect...) that I don't even miss the reverb. I may decide to try a Fender Reverb Unit in the future but for now it's ok. When the amp is cranked to about 6-7 there's a really nice tube breakup that fills the room. I should have bought one sooner. The BM Reissue really has it goin on!

Too early to know. Hawever, judging by the first beaten-up used one that I saw, this thing seems to be able to survive a new clear war. Well see....

Haven't had to deal with them. If there is any warranty work needed I'll be heading over to the music shop were the amp was purchased as they are an authorized Fender repair outlet!

This amp cooks. If your looking for a fat bluesy sound than this is the amp for you. I've heard lots of good stuff about Victoria amps too. Just don't have that kind of money though. The BM reissue is a perfect value and beleive me, the tone is heavy and worth it's weight in GOLD. Try one for your self, these things really are perfect TONE DOGS!

This is a basic blues amp. It has 4 inputs (normal high and low / Brite high and low) volume,trebble,mids,bass and presence control on the top panel. Comes with a solid state recto which I swapped for a GT5ar4. There are 2 6l6 power tubes and 3 preamp 12ax7's. Mine was built in 1999 and comes with the Jenssen's. Covered in Tweed with oxblood grill. There is no reverb, naturally because this amp was built to be period correct. There was no such thing as built in Reverb in 59. An out board reverb unit can be added with great results. Infact, onboard tube driven reverbs just get in the way if the amps natural signal flow. The signal is stripped while it has to travel throuhg the tubes the springes and back into the signal flow...this does contribute to signal loss. Anyway, the point is, if there are more features needed just add effect (stick with the boutique stuff like Fulltone, PI,zvex, SIB...etc). I gig regularly with my Bassman RI and it gets the job done flawlessly.

Ok it's not point-to-point hand wired. It's not a Victoria amp. It's not a real 59 Bassman it's nota it's nota it's snota...that ALL I HEAR! I'm tired of it! it's nota $1000+ dollars more than you paid too, ever think of that. Most of the guys who talk big about Victorias and Real 59 Bassmans, have probably only heard or played them once or twice in there lives. Granted it's true and there's no denying that the tones are sweet, but you pay an ass load for it. The RI is a working man's amp and works very well in the studio BTW. When I gig with my STOCK RI heads turn! You know why? It's because I PLAY THE BLUES and I CAN PLAY THE BLUES LIKE A SON OF A BITCH, GUARANTEED...I've had experienced guitar players come up to me after a gig just to say how much they loved my tone and to ask what mods I've done to my Bassman. When I tell them NONE you can see jaws drop to the floor from disbelief. One guy actually thought I was flat out telling a Lie. I has to unscrew the back panel of the amp so he could check it out for himself. Here's some good advise: Spend more time practicing the art and your amps will come alive without any mods. I'm an excellent guitar player, that may sound arrogant but it's true. I've worked hard all my life to get the chops right and you should too. Getting back to the amps tone...It's buttery and fat. Everything about it's tone screams out da BLUES! I use a Standard strat loaded with Texas specials. This amp just sings the sweetest songs. Brings tears to my eyes:o(

The amp is used and abused night after night after night night...well you get the picture. I've work the amp to it's limits. Push it hard all the time going on 2 years. NEVER HAS A PROBLEM. I work this B#TCH doggie style and it just begs for more! There are lots of real Bassman's out there that may not be able to swallow that task though... Look, this amp's purpose was to re-create the magic of the 59 Bassman amps at an attainable price. It worked. The amp is built for the road. Take some spare tubes along and Bob's your uncle.

no experience.

I've been playing guitar for just over 22 years now. There are lots of good amps out there. I own 42 amps and nothing sounds like my STOCK RI 59 Bassman! It's the one I use on the road always...Once again only practice will show you the true value of tone. You know the saying goes somthin like "A great amp makes a shitty guitar sound good..blah blah" Well a shit player makes evrything blow ass and sound like crap!

Not much to speak of...it's a very basic amp. Just add effects if variety is needed. Mine seems to be a late 2000 model. Came loaded with Jenssen's. I replaced the SS rect. with a GT. The amp is covered in Tweed and I'm planning on doing a shellac job soon. I've seen these amps and they look great after a few coats of shellac. Automatically adds 30 years to the look...

One channel. Sounds like the blues Baby! Sweet Tone. The ultimate Blues Amps IMHO.

Seems to be built well, we'll see...These things can take a beating.

No Experience

Fantastic Amp. Provides the perfect pallet for any kinds of vibe. Specially Blues:)

i have two 59 reissues,2000 and 2001.i loved the first one so much i bought a second one to run in stereo.they are identical,they come loaded with groove tubes and they dont have to be rebiased if you replace them with groove tubes when needed.one channel amp.im satisfied with it's lack of features[that means less things can go wrong with it]and 99 percent of player's will add effects anyway.my opinion is this amp is not made for humbuckers,to much bite for them.

my opinion goes as follows as far as this amp goes stay within its race[a little humor there]fenders fenders fenders.made for single coil low output pickups.this amp could be used for anything just add effects.

i can only goe by what i have heard about this amp it is the most reliable amp ever made

5 year warranty,that sounds good to me baby.but could be lifetime that would better.

i have been playing for 20 years.i liked the 1st one so much i bought a second one.i love its ultimate fat clean tone and two together is a dream.i played every amp i could before i bought this amp and i went that day to buy a fender hot rod 60,side buy side the bassman won

Like most vintage and vintage reissue amps low on features big on tone. First, before I go any further, here's my '59 Bassman story. Like many of my other amps I bought my '59 Bassman Reissue on E-Bay. I was lucky and there was only one other bidder on this particular amp even though all the other '59 reissues were swarming with bidders. The pics showed a '59 reissue in excellent condition and I managed to get it for a measley $450 plus shipping. This would have been a very good deal for any used '59 reissue, however what I found when it arrived almost made me pee myself in excitement.

I plugged in my amp and played it. Right away I noticed it sounded way better than any other '59 Bassman Reissue I had ever played. It was warmer, sweeter, deeper and just plain awesome. Now the other reissues I had played had been good; that's why I wanted to get this one, but this one was like an uber Bassman or something. After playing for a while I decided to open my amp up as I do with all my new amps. Much to my suprise, I found a very neatly wired point to point board much like my Hiwatts and a tube rectifier. Now I know that it's pretty easy to pop a tube rectifier in these things thanks to the way Fender designed this particular reissue, but I was under the impression the '59 reissue was a PC board amp. After a little poking around in my new amp, I discovered that it had a Hoffman PTP board in it instead of the stock Fender PC board. I couldn't believe my luck. Then I remembered the seller on E-Bay was an actual retailer who had bought this amp used. They probably never bothered to look inside the amp to see what it had in it. What a screaming deal!!!

So...my review will include my score for the stock '59 Reissue in my comments. The numbers in the score field reflect my opinion of the '59 Reissue with the Hoffman board. For features, both get a 3. I'm giving it a 3 instead of a 2 because the solid state rectifier can easily be pulled out and replaced with tube rectifier.

I've been playing music for 18 years and guitar for 15 of those years. I have a lot (12 at last count) of very cool tube amps from Fender, Marshall, Hiwatt, Sound City, Orange and more. I use mostly American Fenders, and Hamer USA for my guitars. For effects I like Fulltone, Roger Mayer, Visual Sound, Lovetone, Electro Harmonix etc. I play a wide variety of styles from vintage rock and roll (50's, 60's, and 70's)heavy stuff like Black Sabbath, Sleep, High On Fire, The Melvins, 70's King Crimson, and Quicksand to noise pop stuff like My Bloody Valentine, Built To Spill, Sonic Youth, Radiohead, etc.

Stock, the '59 Bassman Reissue is a good amp on it's own. It's a little on the hard side, but only a little. I liked it best with Les Pauls. A Les Paul, which is sometimes a little too lardy for my tastes, became a lean mean rock machine when used with a stock '59 Reissue. Overall stock it gets an 8.

With a tube rectifier and a Hoffman board, the '59 reissue becomes a little more versatile. Gibson and Fender style guitars sound great with it. It is less hard with better dynamic response. It almost seems to breathe. I love it! Slap a Fulldrive 2 in front of it and it rocks. I have a Klon on order and I can't wait to use it with my '59 Reissue. With a tube rectifier and a Hoffman board it's a definite 10!

I have had no problems with it. The Hoffman board is extremely well built. Very thick epoxy board and tight workmanship.

I've never had to deal with Hoffman, but I've heard they're cool. Fender on the other hand sucks in more ways than there are words to describe how much they suck. The score for Fender is a negative 10!

Did I mention I only paid $450?! Jesus, Joseph and Mary!!!

Stock it gets a 7.5 to an 8

With a tube rectifier and a Hoffman board (did I mention I only paid $450) it's a screamin' 10

just an amp. no frills. gave it a 5 because it sounds so much better with a reverb tank.

I play a strat and tele for blues and drunk a billy. I bought this amp because my vibroverb sounded so weak. these two amps sound good together.(read my vibrover review) the bassman gets a good sound with an anolog delay. It is a full sounding amp. Overdrive sound is harsh, but, it kinda has a pleasing nastiness also. It breaks up at about 5 or 6. I experimented with different NOS american tubes and improved the sound a little. I also put in the tube rec. I can not compare it to an original bassman, but i can say that is does not sound nearly as good as my '67 and '73 super reverbs. The bassman reissue does not have the warmth and depth of the vintage amps.

never had a problem

I have played for 15 years. I have had several different amps. I am hooked on vintage amps. However, i think that this is the best sounding "NEW" amp around for the money. Of the fender reissues, I have only played the vibroverb reissue, but the bassman blows it away. Still the bassman gets blown away by both silver and blackface fenders.(non master)

I'm sure you know the details re the amp's fixtures, so I'll move on to what I have to say from the harp player's perspective. I bought one of these babies when they first came out--around '89. I'm a blues harmonica player and have found this to be the most sensible rig in terms of sound quality and volume and PRICE. Why buy a boutique amp at twice the price (or more!)?

I use this amp with a Green bullet element in an Astatic mic shell to get that gritty blues harp sound. After years of being drowned out by guitarists, I found the answer to my prayers. This amp kicks. I use it by itself at most gigs, and mic it for big shows. Harp players will probably want to take out the solid state rectifier and plug in a tube rectifier in order to warm up the sound. Also, I use this in tandem with a Premier reverb unit, which adds just the right amount of preamp gain, making this sound like one of the original 59's (at least now that the speakers are broken in). Usually I'll set the bass on 8, the treble on 3, the midrange at 3 and the presence at 7 or 8. Then I ease up the volume to just below the feedback threshold (usually around 3-4). That's really all it takes! Oh yeah, you can bridge the normal and bright channels to get even more tonal variety.

This is the most reliable amp I've got. Period.

I work with area amp techs--they all know this amp and can work with it easily.

I've been playing twenty years. This is my main gig rig. Until I win a lottery, I won't spend three times as much for some boutique amp that sounds only slightly better, if that!

This amp has no features, that is what makes it so GREAT! Just a bright and normal selection for channels. There is also a control for presence.

I use this with a '75 Strat, Gibson EDS-1275, both stock. Also used with a variety of early 80's Ibanez Destroyer II's, Hamers, and other, newer Strats. For blues this is great, most classic rock too. Amp is quiet when cracked. If you want loud and clean, than this is not the amp for you. It starts overdriving after 4, especially with humbuckers. Distortion is smooth and creamy, on the trebly side however, especially using the stock tubes. Pedals add noise, of course. It sounds much better with a Strat than with a humbucking guitar. My amp is set up with all knobs cranked except the treble, which is set on 5 for Strats and 6 for humbuckers. This amp really sounds great for blues. Period.

I have had this amp for five years. I have had ZERO problems with it so far. It has been to Asia and all over the US I have it modded only slightly. I have added an adjustable bias so I can retube it on the road. One of the most reliable amps I have EVER owned. Have used it as my main amp since initial purchase in NOV 1995. Who gigs without a backup?!?!?!?!? Have retubed the power tubes once, preamp tubes twice.

Never needed it.

This amp sounds great no matter where I play it. I would recommend staying with single coils here though. Humbuckers are a but too powerful and muddy it up quite a bit at louder volumes. I use this in conjunction with a '71 Twin Reverb for clean rhythms.

There are NO features. That is perfect for me because I use it for playing harp through. I don't want channels and reverb and all that other stuff. As a harp player all that tone should come from you, not your rig. You can't hide behind this rig.

The tone on this mother is BAD. The only mmod I made to it was replacing the preamp tubes with some old GE 12AX7's; and I put a tube rectifier in it. I play a very old Astatic JT-30 mic with a crystal element that has been modified a little. It starts breaking up nicely at 3 or 4, and I can usually get it up around 8 or so before it feeds back. The amp has a nice bite to it. I usually turn the treble off, the mids to 2, and the bass all the way up, and the presence all the way up. I am no longer dependent on the PA!!! When I play an old shure green bullet of mine through it, it tends to feedback A LOT. I definetly recommend playing a crystal element through it.

I beat the hell out of this amp night after night, and it holds up. I have dragged it all over the country, and it never gives me any problem.

N/A

It's perfect for me as a harp player. Harp players with good tone have always loved and will always love this rig. However, players with bad tone always sound awful in this amp, so don't try to hide behind it, you will sound really whiny. I love it though, crisp, and fat! Harp player's paradise!

The features on this amp are quite enough. Simple, but they fill the needed control of sound. If this amp had reverb or anything else, it would simply detract from amp itself.

This is honestly the best sounding amp I've heard in a while. The blues sustain is incredible! I don't play the blues entirely, but I need that all tube sould/sustain for what I do play. The amp does give a crunchy sould at times which is what I've been seeking as well. I do use a cable to combine the normal and bright channels which gives the best sound possible.

Only had it 3 months. No problems and I can't forsee any that would be a big deal to fix.

Never had any problems.

I've been playing about ten years and I consider this the amp that I'm going to stick with after trying over 3 different Fender amps. If you are into a great sounding, all tube amp with no "frills" then this is the one. Finally, I have found the amp and quitar (65 Jaguar) that meet my sound needs. Would have paid $600 for it, but no more.

This is a straight forward no frills amp. Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, that's about it. No FX loop, no Master volume, no reverb or channel switching, etc. I've seen allot a reviews where people are criticizing this amp for lack of features. People, this is a reissue of the the '59 Bassman. They didn't have reverb, FX loops or Masters in 1959. This is reproduction of that amp, at least in looks. This is where I have a problem with this amp. Check out my comments on sound.

I use a 1990 Fender Amer Std Strat with stock pickups. I mostly play blues, rock, and some progressive stuff. I've been playing for 25 years. This amp sounds great at 3 or 4. However, when you turn it up to 7 or 8 it gets VERY MUDDY. You can't even play chords in the low register because they sound like garbage. If you never had to turn this amp up past 4 it would be a great amp. You can probably improve on the sound by experimenting with the tubes. I did add the 5U4G rectifier tube but that just made things worse. An amp tech near where I live said that this amp with 6L6's will never sound good at high volume. You could probably spend an extra couple of hundred bucks on a Hoffman board and improve the sound but then your in for a grand (if you bought it new). For that price you get a really good amp. I took this amp back and ended up buying a VHT Pittbull 45 for the same price. NO COMPARISON!! The Pittbull has better tone all the way around. It's great for Blues as well as Rock and has all the features that this amp doesn't have.

I didn't have it long enough to form an opinion in this area.

NA

If you just have to have a tweed amp my recommendation is to find a real tweed era amp. You might also want to try out the Peavy Classic. I've played one of them and they sound just as good and they get a great tone at high volume. Do not buy this amp new!! If you can get it for less that $500 in good shape it might be an okay purchase but frankly there are much better amps out there for the money. If you want a Bassman you can get into a SF early 70's model for a very good price. These are much better amps. There are allot of them on the market do your homework before you buy. And if you are toying with the idea of getting a new one I highly recommend you turn it up in the store. As I said this amp sounds great at 3 or 4 (store level volume) that's what sold me on it. I learned different when I got it home.

I bought this amp new not long after they were reissued by Fender. I originally bought it for playing jazz. I later discovered what a lovely low-volume small gig bass amp this is. So it gets extra feature-points for that. It's very easy to get a sweet, rich tone. I've also loaned it to friends who play rock and country, and it sounds great. On the down side, it needs a reverb that matches the quality of the amp. Digital reverb flattens the soundstage. Tube reverb sounds best.

Are tubes a feature? Only in that they make a better sounding amp. Tubes are the essence of this amp. It's not like someone wedged a little tube in a preamp just to make more appealing ad copy. Is 45 watts enough? Yup. It has no bells or whistles, so I must deduct something. If good sound were a feature, maybe it should rate a "10."

I play primarily jazz on an oldish (pre-Fender) Guild Artist Award guitar. The amp has tremendous depth even without reverb. The top end sparkles and the four 10" speakers deliver excellent fundamentals. It's not just clean, it's rich and complex. It makes me wonder why so many jazzers play those awful solid state things.

I started using this amp for practicing my bass (1984 Jackson Custom Shop Concert Bass, rosewood neck, EMG precision/humbucker combo) and discovered that it sounded beautiful! Maybe that should be obvious: just look at the name! In any case, I use it now for any small or low-decible gig. The tone is thoroughly involving.

While it is true that I only need to get a rather limited range of tones from this amp, it needs to be THAT tone. This amp suits me nicely in that regard.

I works. I don't use a backup, although I have one. My guess is that Fender amps have been used professionally for a very long time so they are probably pretty solid. I have no fear. I also take VERY good care of it.

I haven't had to contact them. The amp works.

I've been playing since 1971. My other amps are an Ampeg Jet reissue as a practice and small gig amp, and a Trace Elliot V6 for by main bass amp.

I would buy it again if it were lost or stolen. It sounds and works the way I think all amps should: simply and beautifully.

I remember the day I bought this amp. I was at the shop (rock on, House of Guitars!!!) and trying out all sorts of amps. I plugged into the Bassman and played ONE NOTE. I knew without a doubt that this was the puppy. Phew! Everything should be that easy.