Fender Bassman Head

I got a '64 Bassman with the less common AA 864 schematic. Very cool amp. The most straightformward amp I ever owned! I only got the head, but I build a matching 2x12 cabinet myself with 2x12" Eminence Alnico's in it, sounds fab.
I usually use it with a mid 90ties Marshall JCM 900 4x12" A cabinet, and this makes the amp really sing imo.
The amp came with brand new GT 6L6 tubes (coke bottles) and GT Ecc83/7025/12ax7 and a Ecc82. It was also unmodded, which is a great feature for me.

The sound of this amp is powerful and round, less high and glassy then my "64 Tremolux head (for wich I bought the Bassman as a backup)
Since I play instro-Surf music (fender Jaguar and Jazzmaster), the Bassman suits my music style perfectly, but it sounds perfect with any pedal or effect. any volume under "2/3" is o.k., but when I turn it to "3" or "4"....It's glorious, all te way. I usually keep the the "treble" at "7" and the Bass at "5/6".
To my surprise the amp is quit as a mouse and this for a 41 year old amp! I do only use the "bass" chanel for Bass and the "normal" for guitar. The "50" watts anre great as well. It's really loud (especially with the Marshall cab) and I'm not in favor of most 100 Watt amps since they are mostly just way too loud for me.

So, far so great. The amp was serviced prior to my purchase, so all the electrolyte caps were replaced and most solder joints were redone, which is really a plus to play such an amp safely. I only had two electrolyte caps replaced, since they had the wrong value.
And as described before, it came fully retubed!
Since the tolex and speaker grill are still original and in great shape, I assume this amp was taken care of by it's previous owner(s).

Well after 41 years, I assume "customer support" is no longer an option, but a good tech is. I had it looked over by a friend tech two days after my purchase and he replaced two electrolyte caps and said the amp was in great condition and safe to play.

For me this is a great find, I used a "hacksawed" '75 Quad reverb (head only) and could not make it sound the way I wanted it to. So I sold it in favor of a Bassman and two days later I found this one (coinsidence? Or pure luck!) I'm all in for the Fender "Black face" sound, pure and original.The clean is superb and when used with any pedal it sounds like no other amp I ever tried.
I would hate to loose it or to have it stolen. I use it on most of my gigs and keep a close eye on it.
So fare, there is nothing I hate about it or anything I wished it had. All my guitars sound great on this one (from my Ibanez 440SII to my EKO 700 and everything in between)
After playing guitar for about 14 years and using many amps, I like this one as much as my "64 Tremolux. It's a bit different but it sure "rawks" This one is a keeper for me.

50 Watt 2x6L6 output tubes, 3 12Ax7s, 1 12At7 (in the driver position). Solid state rectifier. Two channels (Bass & Normal) with two inputs (1:High 2:Low), three knobs (volume, treble, bass) and one switch per channel ("Deep" on Bass and "Bright" on Normal). Back panel has a Power switch, Standby switch, two speaker outputs, and a power outlet to run effects (or a toaster if you want). No channel switching or effects loop. Just big tube tone! Three knobs and the truth! Nothing much happens before 3 on the volume knob. In small rooms, you will find yourself banished to the "under 3" zone and will probably dislike the amp. It sounds very thin and weak in this zone. As you hit 3, the volume jumps and you are rewarded with a fat clean sound that continues just shy of 4. From 4 to 7, you get relatively the same volume but more raunch as you turn it up. From 7 on--step back! This amp would be a perfect candidate for an attenuator like a THD Hot Plate.

I use a '98 American Telecaster w/Duncan '59 (neck) and Duncan Nashville Tele (bridge), a stock 2000 Les Paul Standard, and a '48 Supro Lap Steel. This is truly an amazing-sounding amp! Be warned: the Bassman is a brutally honest amp that will bring out every nuance (good and bad) in your playing. A well-maintained Bassman is the benchmark of clean electric guitar. It's not squeaky-clean like a Twin, or spongy like a Deluxe Reverb. It's fat and punchy. It sits right in the middle of the two: the clarity of the Twin with the warmth of the Deluxe. It can get quite raunchy when you crank it. These are loud amps that hold together well at high volume. They excel as the central building block of your tone. You can get as simple or complex as you want: Either stick a cord in the front and use your volume knob to regulate the raunch, or pile on effects (Bassman amps love pedals). As a bonus, it makes a cool low-watt bass amp (hence "Bassman"). Sounds great on harmonica, too.

Built like a tank. I traveled coast to coast with mine for years without a backup and it never let me down--250 shows a year banging around in a trailer. Once in Philly, it fell off the stage face first 6ft. onto a concrete floor. I just picked it up, set it back on the cab and kept going!!

Easy to service. Any reputable amp tech has seen a ton of them and will know how to fix it and/or modify it.

I've owned everything under the sun, but I've kept the Bassman head and matching 2x12 cab (w/tilt back legs)all these years. I'll never part with the it! How can you beat a genuine point-to-point blackface Fender amp for such a low price? It's the best value around. Find one before they become too expensive!

I have an AB165 Bassman head and I assume it may be a '66'or maybe a '65. The amp is an enigma in that it provides you with two sounds that fit in any mix and with a bit of tweaking(and the right pedals)nothing is unreachable, tonally. Not the best for metal, tho.
It has two channels with Vol.,treb.,bass and deep sw. and bright sw. simplicity.Totally old-school! It needs only your input to bring a rich pallet of sounds that YOU finess from the guitar. It will let you be a guitar volume knob guy. Just like it was intended to be years ago.Vol. down; clean,,,,,,vol. up; rock out! ! Simple!

This amp shines with any pickup config. you care to imagine. Nothing sucks thru this amp!EVER!
I play bluesy rock and some country styles as well and the clean on this is stellar!It will cop the Stevie Ray thang if you got the chops to pull it off. No perceived noise if you keep up with filter cap replacements and just plain good sense maintainence. Easy as pie to fix and schematics abound. I like to call the distortion "clean distortion" because it's very transparent yet gain-ey and with sustain. Great string definition! It's not in the Boogie category where saturation is present but more of a total tube power section mojo.Once again,,,,,old school tech. reminding us of where it all began. In the studio, this amp rules the roost. The only thing that comes close would be a real-deal Marshall Plexi. But that would be LOUD!!!!! This is loud but not out of hand. The distortion is just plain perfect and not at all brutal, but more pleasing and supportive of the player. To get the BIG overdrive you need to go find your favorite pedals. Like many have stated here, it reacts beautifully to pedals of all kinds.AC Booster and Duncan Pickup Booster both are KILLER thru this amp!

It can only be broken by extreme abuse and that would be someting akin to dropping it out the 15th story of your apartment building! However, proper maintainence is always the kosher thing to do.
I replaced the(blown) output transformer with a NOS one and never looked back! The amp will last for ten lifetimes as long as it's maintained properly. Simple stuff like proper speaker impedence and just not dropping it are two really great places to start.

One guy said here that if Fender remembered making this amp, they would make a re-issue. How right you are ! ! They must not know that this is the amp that us old schoolers really love.Earth to Fender, come in please! !

Fender doesn't need to provide service as any quality amp guy can take one look in here and see how simple it all is and effect repairs in moments providing he/she's got the parts. Sprague is still around and they've proven to be the best place to look for replacing old parts. They're the best.

I've played for a living for 31 years and have played them all. Soldano, Mesa/Boogie, Matchless, Marshall,boutique, etc. I will have Bassmans in the house as long as I live, they are that good!
I love it's utter simplicity:Tone works like this;plug into bass ch.,,,,dime the vol.,treb.,and turn on the deep sw.,,,,,,,with the bass knob off, start playing your biggest power chords and start bringin' up the bass 'til you get this indescribable natural tube section compression and start rockin' out! ! ! SWEET and pure! REAL DEAL!!
The other ch. seems to have a cleaner intent and I can get a spanky jangly clean without batting an eye! Your guitars finest hour is here! !

1963 first year non-blonde. None of that deep switch crap, just treble and bass on both channels with a master presence knob. Bass channel is wonderful for recording bass with. I'll play my 64 non bound neck hofner 500/1 or my new ric 4001/c64 and it beets the hell out of any fucking swr or newer ampeg or that kind of stuff when it comes to getting a real sounding bass tone. Indescribably round and impressivley clear.

I just use it for recording bass. I play guitar trough it non stop. bass channel has one less gain stage in its circuitry then the ''normal'' channel, thus less amount of breakup. Cant do wrong with the bass channel with a strat or tele or 335 or whatever you plug in to it. Unbeatable blues character on that bass channel. Starts to breakup around 4 or so with strong sinlge coils or good humbuckers, 4 is quite loud. Normal channel yields a brighter more 'excited' tone due to the extra gain stage and different voicing from the bass chan. It will begin breaking up at 2 or so if you bang the heck out of the guitar, not quite my style. But the fact it does this further enhances its versitility. Turn him up to 5 and you got enough fender type o.d. to sing for days. Ive taken bot channels to 10 a few times. THe bass channel is very warm with a beautiful high end breakup character. The normal channe l is overwhelming full and bright and everything in between. I dont even have to mention the picking dynamic wonderfulness this amp supplies. The bass and treble knobs are kind of interactive and quite usable but the presence knob just awakes that 3 demensional high end (should you feel inclined to do so) like a good fawn ac30 has. I got it from a cool sotre in reno that has since changed a bit. It came with its matching 2x15 cab but the 2x15s were nowhere in sight. It was filled edge to edge with one JBL 18 inch chrome dome, i belive its a d130, its been a while since i ripped the back off. WOW never better for bass, and unbelievable for jazz blues or anything (sorry numetal need not apply....get a lesson on tone and musicality please) Im not sure the ohmage but it matches quite well with the head 4 ohms, right? Truly a cool setup. Try one if you have the oppertunity.

never had a problem. Ive swapt many tubes thru it and have realized this amps potential by doing so.

nope too old. I would never bring an amp to the guy everyone here in vegas takes there's to, cowtown. Anybody know of a legitiate and honest amp repair man in vegas? I sure as hell dont.

wonderfull. sorry for the spelling its quite late. Thanks for reading this 'rant'

My Bassman head is circa 1965-66 and though I am completely in love with it, I can only give it a 3 for features. No reverb, no vibrato/tremolo, no FX loop, no presence and no master volume. Two channels, one for bass and the other labeled 'instrument' with volume, treble and bass controls for each but no channel switching. Bass channel has a deep switch while the instrument channel has a bright switch. In a time of amp modelling, cabinet simulation, on board multi-fx, endless tone shaping, etc... This old relic has little to offer in the way of bells and whistles and that is exactly why I love it. SIMPLE. For me, the perfect amp would have a control panel like my late 1950's Fender Tweed Champ, only one knob, on/off-volume and instead of numbers, the panel would say 'More' with an arrow pointing clock-wise. There are no additional features that I want and my only real wish is that I could get all of that TONE at a lower volume. 50 watts of vacuum tube power is far more than enough for my needs. But yes, this is no feature filled tonal magic show.

Sounds? Holy smokes! For me, this old girl has got The Sound. Of course the sound is a package deal and the package includes the guitar, strings, pick-ups, fx pedals (if any), the Bassman ( the type of tubes you got in it), attenuater (if any), speaker cabinet (open back or closed) and speakers (make, model and quantity). I play a Fender Strat (early '80's Japanese model) loaded with Duncan Vintage Staggered Strat PU's neck & middle and a Duncan Hot Rails bridge PU, strung up with .010 Ernie Ball classic nickel strings. I also use an old Fender Tele Deluxe also loaded with Duncans, 59 neck PU and JB bridge PU, same strings. In the past I had a Fender Lead with a Di Marzio Distortion bridge PU, same strings. No fx pedals. The Bassman itself is loaded with the later heavy duty type 6L6 tubes and all 12ax7's for the remaining tubes. Finally, a 4X12 closed back speaker cabinet loaded with Celestion G12-85 speakers. I find this amp to be outstanding for 60's and 70's blues based rock, especially the 70's hard rock. The tone is HUGE, just big and full and makes driving rythmns come alive. This baby can snarl, roar, grunt, scream, grind, rip and pump. Back off the guitars volume a little bit and/or lighten up on the pick hand and she plays reasonably clean while remaining quite full sounding. Grab a power chord and slam your hand into it and she'll make the speaker cones look like they're going to jump out of their frames. (This may have something to do with me switching out the 12at7 phase inverter tube for a 12ax7 for a little more gain and also these amps had solidstate rectifiers instead of a tube.) Yes, she packs quite a punch and can be plenty aggressive. At least with the guitar/string/pick-up combinations that I plug into her. If you got the touch you can coax all kinds of tones and textures out of her. My touch isn't that controlled yet she still gives me what I want. I'm sure, in the hands of a skilled guitar player, there are many more tones, moods, textures, etc., available at the finger tips. As for me, I could jam on ZZ Top, old Bad Company, AC/DC, 'Allright Now' (Free), Derringer, Pat Travers, Cream, etc... all day. All this praise having been poured out for the Bassman, I must also include that in the 1980's, when guitar FX racks the size of large kitchen appliances controlled by remote pedalboards so vast they would have their own zip code if they were stationary were the ticket for any guitarist wanting a gig, the poor Bassman just couldn't cut it. It failed miserably at the highly processed guitar sound. Also worth mentioning is that I found my way of playing my guitar changed as I learned how to work with the Bassman. Learning to play on low wattage, channel switching, master volume amps could not prepare me for playing a cranked up non master volume tube amp. The Bassman is an on going learning experience that I wouldn't give up for anything. I much prefer power tube distortion to preamp distortion. Oh, settings, I typically run the volume up around 8 or 9 and adjust the tone controls to sound the best for whatever stage or room I'm playing. After that I use my guitars controls and vary my touch. I give my Bassman a 9, though she is totally awesome I got to leave room for the possbility of finding something better.

When first purchased, this amp was at the bottom of a stack of Fender Bassman, and Ampeg V-4 heads. It smelled like beer and cigarettes with plenty of stains, dings, rips and other assorted minor cosmetic damage. But for $125, she still worked,... barely. First up, I opened her up and found the tube sockets for the power tubes looked like there had been a nuclear melt-down in them. Obviously there had been a catastrophic failure in the past. The power tubes were mismatched and I believe it was the screen grid resistors on the power tube sockets that were charred black. (One actually dessintigrated when touched.) A schematic, a fresh bunch of tubes, a couple of carbon composition resistors and a good cleaning and she's been going strong ever since. It must be understood that with a tube amp tubes must be replaced from time to time if you want to keep it sounding good. Tubes are like spark plugs in your car. Neglect to change them and your once powerful car runs like crap. Tubes may degrade slowly so you may not notice anything for a while, just one day you say to yourself, "Man, the old amp doesn't quite sound like she used to." and then you go shopping for a replacement. You got to keep good quality tubes in this and any tube amp, especially if you crank it up. Anyways my Bassman has been dependable for almost 20 years and she's just as beat and ugly as the day I bought her. It was never my intention to restore her.

Customer support for an old amp bought used? Plenty of amp techs in my area who do tube stuff but I don't know if I trust them with my old girl. I know enough about electronics, so if anything goes wrong I'll fix her myself.

I started playing a little late, at 22, and have been at it for more than 20 years now. I have been unfaithful to the Bassman a few times. In the '80's I tried a massive rack of stuff and quickly learned that I was lousy at learning how to use it all. (I sucked as a high tech guitar player and was considered by many a loser guitar player for a few years. That rack stuff also left me hundreds of dollars poorer.) I still have a Marshall JCM 800 Lead Series head, it sucks. I keep it as an electronics hobby, something to modify and tweak when there's nothing else to do. There's also my Sovtek Mig 50 that is falling apart, it never could compare to the Bassman and it too is now an electronics hobby. My low wattage baby is my Supro 16T with its quirky 6"x9" speaker. She's another tone monster. And my special, a late '50's Fender Champ that was found in a dumpster. Absolutely a timeless classic. In my world, guitars get played through simple, non master volume tube amps turned up to the point of power tube distortion and then controlled at the guitar by touch and the guitars controls. The Bassman's magic is not only the tone and texture of the sound it produces but also and equally important, the physical feel of the air it moves. You not only hear it, you feel it. The punch in the air, the tingle in your ears, the roar and growl vibrating in your stomach, it's more than merely audible, it's an experience, it's rock-n-roll, it may not be the thing for you, but it's just what the doctor ordered for me. If I ever lost this baby I'd either buy another or build a clone.

'68 Bassman Head - AB165 circuit. The amp was modded by Mike Kropotkin to boost the mids (he replaced the caps as well).

I play blues, rock, jazz, etc.

It's a pretty basic amp. Two inputs, no master boost, tone controls.

I can get just about any sound I need

This is what it's ALL about! You can't beat the sound of this amp. It has very glassy clean tones when turned down below 4, very nice crunch when it's between 5 and 7, and GREAT distortion the rest of the way (all the way up to 11!).

I use NOS preamp and inverter tubes and Svetlana 6L6GT power tubes.

In spite of being "only" 50 watts, this amp is LOUD! I use a 4 Ohm Hot Plate to quiet it down a bit when I need to. It sucks a bit of the tone out, but not badly.

It's NEVER let me down. It's so simple, the only problem I'm likely to have is tube failure (I keep an extra set of tubes on-hand).

This amp is LONG out of warranty. There are lots of techs available who grok old Fender amps.

This is one of my dream amps. It's perfect for my style. I'd be nuts to ever let it go. If someone ever stole it, I'd hunt them down and hurt them. Badly.

1966. AB165 circuit. All original except for 3-prong cord.
2 X 12 cab (original).

I already submitted a review for this head / cab about a year ago.
Since then, I am using different pick-ups. I now use P-90 retrofit for humbucker guitar : Kent Armstrong WPU900C. It sounds much much better than the stock humbuckers of my Epiphone DOT (335). At volume around 8, it overdrives nicely. This amp rocks. The sounds is clearer compared to humbuckers, and still pretty hot (for a single coil). I love the sound. This amp is too loud for small venues. I might use an attenuator. Instead, I use a Mesa Studio Pre-amp. I keep the output low so I can crank the bassman as much as I can to get the power tubes to overdrive. Then I adjust the preamp's gain to taste. Wonderful. From Sonic Youth to AC/DC. The Mesa pre-amp can do hi-gain quite nicely, but I am not into that anymore...

no problem

Great amp. Head and cab are not too heavy to carry. By itself, this amp sounds fantastic. I like the power tube overdrive it delivers. My next purchase might be an attenuator. However, it sounds so good with Mesa Studio Preamp (all tube)in front of it...
I think it sounds much better with p-90's than humbukers.

My Bassman is a late-model "Black Face". The amplifier is very sensitive to my volume adjustments and string attack which makes it quite versatile for an old piece that wasn't intended for guitar. HA! There are NO features that I wish it had, well before the wall plug being modified to 3 prong the microphone zaps got nasty.

I play Gibson products. Recently an early 90's SG with a T-Type humbucker at the bridge from a '76 sg. The amp suits my musical style quite well around 7 to 8 on the volume. I play through the second side, "Bass". I don't get up higher than 3 on the Bass setting, and 4 on the Treble setting. Moving beyond those settings for me gets pretty mushy and unruley. My band plays out in small clubs and I tote with me an old Fender Bassman 100, 4x12 cabinate. I have played this head through a handfull of cabinates but the big chasis 4x12 really accentuates the bottom end of the amp. Distortion, what do you want? I don't suspect that all out metal would happen but this amplifier can produce a very wicked old-school crunch. I don't use effects, I don't switch guitars and we play a guitar driven type of rock. I love it. Its easy. When I play clean I just modulate my guitar's volume and fly. The amplifier doesn't seem to get extremely loud when rolling the guitar volume up from a semi-clean volume which is nice because I don't have to worry about using a volume pedal or anything like that. For lead I use an MXR gain box. Not distortion, Gain. I just want the level to jump up. I have found the the heat of the guitar output is critical to the versatility, I mean that too many stomp boxes in front of the head kill off the output voltage of the guitar and will seriously mello out the distortion possibilies even if the pedals are just idle.

I feel that I can depend on the Bassman even thought it is a vintage piece and requires upkeep because of that. I do believe that after about an hour of continuous set playing it will quite down a bit. I run mic'ed but my stage volume occasionally drops a bit. Its an old amp. Period. Service, of course but only tube changes after a good 3 prong mod and capacitor replacement.

Vintage piece. I bought it knowing that a good tube-amp tech was going to be necessary. Doesn't bother me.

I have been playing the Bassman twice a week (band practice) and gigged a handfull of times and its just so easy. If it was stolen I would definitely find another and have it fixed up to be just like the one that I have now. I love the fact that it's a simple old head that isn't overly loud. I will compare this amplifier to my Ampeg B25, .B25B, and my Sunn Sonaro by saying that the best sound developed isn't so loud that you can't play in front of it. This is just a great amplifier for guitar for good old fashioned rock, big chords, easy sweeps, and everything in between. But it is old so it will require some care to keep it in great shape. Check one out.

This one is a 70 silver face. Standard 50 watt, 2 channel, three nob-per deal. It has more than enough power for anything that I do. I play pretty much everything but country, punk, or metal. It'd be nice if it had an effects loop, but oh-well.

This thing has the Jesus tone. It's been modded to blackface spec on the right channel, and modded to sound like a marshall plexi on the left. It's got JJ tubes. If I'm playing in a situation where I can crank up, I use an A/B box to switch between channels. If I'm in a low volume situation, I use the blackface side with a bluesdrive and an MXR microamp for overdrive (and various effects pedals, depending on what I'm playing). I'm usually running the head into an older Marshall 4X12 cab, which seems to bring out an incredibly full tone.

For guitars I use a tele, les paul, prs, and sometimes a couple of 80's japanese squire bullets. The amp works will all pretty well. I do have to turn down the bass with the paul and prs because of their humbuckers, but that's more of an individual taste thing, I suppose.

This thing has been completely gone over by the local amp doctor before I got it. It looks almost brand-new and works like it as well. I would bring a backup (probably my peavy classic 100 head) to a higher-profile gig, but other than that, I feel pretty confident in it.

I've been playing guitar for a little over 8 years, and various brass instruments for years before that.

If this amp were stolen, I might try to find another one. This particular one appealed to me, and I rarely seem them like this. I might buy another vintage fender or something like a tophat instead. It would really depend on what was in front of me.

I love the tone. I love the tone! It's not much for features, but I can make up for that by having a decent effects setup. I use a pod into the sound system for smaller stuff, but I prefer this if I'm playing in a more open (read: loud, rockin) situation. I chose the amp because I wanted something with this type of tone. I've played a peavy classic 100 head for years. It's nice and affordable, but you really can't beat a tube amp that has point-to-point wiring.

I give the amp a 9 overall for great tone (especially since I can get the old plexi sound as well as blackface. Check this mod out if you haven't already).

The gear that I cycle between is:

Fender Tele, Gibson Les Paul, PRS Custom 22, 2 Fender squire bullets.
randall 1 X 12 combo, peavey classic 100 head, marshall 1960 cab, boss dd3, ds-1, bluesdriver, mxr microamp, dunlop wah, rotovibe, electro harmonix 10 band eq (70's, I think), univox superfuzz, ts-9 w/ 808 mod, dod analog delay, pod 2.0.

Bassman 50 watt blackface 1966 (confirmed with serial # and and code on the tube chart)with matching 2 x 12 cabinet (Utha speakers). AB165 circuit. For the rest, you know the features. I like the fact that I can patch the channels to get different tones.

I traded a mesa Strategy 500 tube power amp and Marshall 4 X 12 cab to get the Bassman. I was tired of lifting the equivalent of a refrigirator for gigs and rehearsals. SOUND : at first, I was worried cause it did not sound good (farty and volume variations). I changed the tubes...and now it rocks. I put GT tubes (matched). All the positive comments on this amp are true. Powerful, nasty overdrive a great low end (I was surprised). I had doubts when I traded my mesa power amp cause I really liked the sound and balls. But the tone of the Bassman is more on the raw side and the power tube distorsion comes earlier (though it's really loud). I think the AB165 circuit sounds fantastic. I don't intend to mod it for AA864 tone. I use hot humbuckers only. However, I am convinced that it would sound terrific with single coils. Here is my secret to improve drastically the tone : I use a Mesa Studio (tube) preamp in front of the amp. I keep the output of preamp at minimum so I can crank the Bassman. Power tube distorsion, a little touch of mesa compressed tone and good string definition. Man, what a sound. For the Bassman as is, I would give a 9. With mesa studio pre, it's a 12 !!!

38 years old...enough said

I am so happy with my Bassman. I wont't say I will never sell it cause I said it before with my Mesa Strategy 500... I've been playing for 16 years. Mostly rock and punk rock. I owned a JCM 800 50 watt head (4 x 12), a mesa v-twin preamp, mesa S500 power amp, mesa studio preamp, Fender Stage 112, Yamaha g100, Pepco tube head 12 watts 6V6. So far, the Bassman is the best amp I've owned (soundwise). However, my Pepco amp (Canada, end of 60's) is close behind. I love 6V6 natural overdrive. this little amp is the best value I got for my $$$ (paid 95$ a few months ago, perfect working condition).