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.