Fender Bassman Head

Well, I can't account for everyone, except it has enough features to do the job. I would love an effects loop, but, hey, thats just me! It has your standard Master volume knob, Treble & Bass... hmmm... not too confusing! All the specs of the bassman, so I won't bore you.

First of all, the Fender model I have is a 1965 AA165 Bassman (no mods done, Sovtek tubes put in four months ago). My chain is like so... Fender Am. Std. Strat/\DD-5/\Keeley modded TR-2/\Keeley Modded TS-9 (Baked mod)/\BBE Sonic Maximizer/\Fender Bassman (Which runs into a Fender DT-412 4x12 Celestion equipped cab).

I play alot of music that would be classified as "Emo", or "Indie", but I do some Aloha-style stuff (Free form Jazz-rock), Radiohead, Thursday, Blindside style things, My main influences. And, so I speculated if this amp was for me. I needed to get a very nice clean signal (and have an overdrive box controll the overdrive), yet be heard. Well, when I opened it up from the box, I didin't have my cab yet. So, I ran it through a single Celestion (GT12-100, I believe?) cab, and I wasin't impressed. A little bitter, I got my cab the following week. Well, I got it during band practice, so we decided to open it up. WOW. The tone coming from this thing on 2 is awefully amazing. Just pure nice tone. The tone sounds very full, nice bass response (It IS a bassman), and nice highs. So, when we played a show with it, I was just amazed at how it came through. One of my buddies who was playing with me (he had a classic rock band) used it, and he loved it also! I felt very proud with my new amp.

If your looking for massive overdrive, I might suggest another amp, but if your looking for blues breakup, you could crank it and let it sing! Me, however, I am looking for a very clean amp. Well, I think I have found it! I love the noise this puts out, a VERY true 50 watts, if I have to say. But, I am looking to put in EL34s to add 15 extra watts of power (inspired by a post here). It handles effects VERY nicely!

I could only give it an 8 because I don't know yet about anything. It really seems very sturdy, and I replaced the 2 prong w/ a 3 prong, after shocking our vocalist in the lip...

Just make sure that you keep everything in check, and get a 3 prong if you arn't one of those crazy oldschool freaks... then leave it at 2 and get shocked. =P

*shrug* It was made in 1965 =( I was born about.... oh... 25 years later.... hmm... Fender always has been pretty nice for a huge company, though.

Not to be glowing, but this is a very good amp. No wonder it is among, if not THE best (non-boutique) amp on the planet. Sure, it couldin't beat a Bogner in scintillating cleans, but the Bogner lacks the gutsy blues of the Bassman ;). I would suggest this amp to basically everyone... I am 13, yet I love artists/bands such as Joe Pass, Duke Ellington (not a guitarist, though =( ), Jimi Hendrix (of course), All the yardbirds, Junior Brown, CCR, Johnny Greenwood, Thom Yorke, Radiohead, Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys, Modest Mouse (Washington), Aloha (check them out!), ect. ect... And I feel that this amp could nail any tone if you have the right effects. I would suggest buying it! Of course, if your into like... Metallica... Slayer, or whathave you.. you could go buy a silly Randall Warhead amp...

This is a blackface 1966 Bassman head. Few features other than that great Fender overdrive and glassy power amp from those 6L6's. 2 "channels" 1 for a bass instrument 1 for guitar. No switching. 50 all tube watts. If you need anything over 50 watts you need a PA system. Running this amp wide ass open (WAO) produces enough volume to fill a small club and overpower a drummer.

I use guitars equipped with humbuckers, p-90's and strat single coils. The usual - Les Pauls and Strats. I am in a blues rock jam band and it fits the bill perfectly. It does hum a bit when turned WAO but hit a chord and you can't hear it (or anything else.) This amp porduces a sweet natural overdrive. Add a tubescreamer and it is tone heaven.

The amp is 38 years old. After opening the amp up and peeking at the clean interior, yes I'd use it without a backup amp. Always always always bring spare tubes. Bassman's in general were very reliable amps. They need regular checkups just like a car.

Fender doesn't know how to draw a schematic like this anymore, much less build one. Should the amp need service, these amps are the training ground for amp techs/wizards and there are MANY sites on the web dedicated to modding/repairing these old blackface Fenders.

After playing metal/hard rock for 15 years I met up with some friends that were into the Allmans/Gov't Mule/Jam Band scene and it has been really fun playing that kind of music for a change. This amp was purchased to fit more into the style we are playing. As the prices keep creeping up on these blackfaces, I felt fortunate to run across one at a guitar show for 350. I had several offers much higher on the way out. I'm glad I declined.

1968 fender bassman head with 5881 sovteks. not any options ACCEPT the channels are bridgeable. I like the amp for this reason...it makes you get tone outta your fingers.

sounds great....sounds differentfrom player to player. Im a Marshall man, personally, but to tell the truth, when its on ten,it has A BALLSIER, NASTIER, RAUNCHY "SLUTTY TONE" as i like to call it sounds beautiful clean...(i said i like marshalls...but damn...whats a marshall??? A FENDER BASSMAN COPY!!!)

Seems strong

never dealt with fender on this amp...but i know from working in a music store that carries fender's full line that they are great with amps and guitars.

buy it or your your stupid. sounds great with my stock 78 les paul standard and great wit hmy two american strats AND great with my two teles.

1968 model. Volume, bass, treble and a bright switch. I'll rate it high because I love the simplicity. To quote Spinal Tap's road manager Ian - "simple...beautiful....classic"

I play a '00 LP classic and '03 LP standard - both with stock pups. If you want to plug staight in and just use the gtr volume for clean/distortion, you'll have to ramp it up to at least 5 or 6. That gets the texas blues, nice grit. Beyond that gets very very loud...too loud for any setting I'd play in. I play modern covers and some originals and the amp works great for me. I put it on 3 and use a Keeley modded tube screamer for dirt, fulltone clyde for wah and a GT-3 for the rest. Cab is Marshall 1960a.

Well, it hasn't crapped out at a gig but I always bring a small combo amp for a backup. Like I said, it is a 1968 so I don't really expect it to be a brick house. I have to put it on the bench 2 or 3 times a year, mostly with tube problems, but I'd suspect a really good tech could clear it up.

Never dealt with Fender.

I barely paid anything for it and the tone is very warm. The clean sounds I'm getting are outstanding and the Keeley mod TS9 gives out a great dirt with tons of presence. If you play anything from blues to rock, this is a great amp.

An early seventies silverface Bassman head, 40 watts, 2-6L6's. Used it for Stones, Allman Brothers, ZZ Top. Suspended 13th chord? What's that? Real fancy-shmancy with the 'Bright' switch thingy. Weirdest 'feature' was four different inputs on two channels. Cross-patched them every which way for mild variations of tone. Didn't wish for anything other than two guitar channels, so I changed the bass channel tone circuit to guitar. WAAAY too much power for home use. Used all kinds of tubes, the old Sylvanias probably did the 'best'. Not a lot of features so it gets a 5.

Mostly played with a '77 Les Paul Standard. The amp was a noisy beast at first, took some new caps to get it to settle down, and with no master volume the noise went up as the volume went up. Set up a variety of different cabinets, the killer was a Kustom 4x12 (remember those guys?). Sounded very Stones-y but couldn't get the heavy sound, so I added a custom pre-amp in between. God's Trousers but that thing would knock you down set on '5'. I switched from the pre-amp to Ross distortion and compressor stompboxes and really nailed it then, using a stompbox channel switcher to go between 'presets' (ha!). The amp made three sounds: cleanish, bluesy-warm, and barking rock with beautiful distortion. Then my metal friend brought over a Heavy Metal Pedal - the entire amp changed into a jet furnace from somewhere past Mars. The amp changed again using an Ibanez Tube Screamer, really nice singing sustain. Oddly enough, using actual TUBE distortion boxes did nothing for it - it loved solid state devices!

Never gigged with it and couldn't imagine anyone playing without a backup. I've worked sound for other bands and I guarantee: whatever you don't bring two of, will break.

Why call the factory when you can just dive in there with your own soldering iron? Mind that you discharge the power caps first. They WILL send you flying!

I've played on and off for 30 years, currently down to one good acoustic guitar because my ears STILL ring - use earplugs people! If I were buying an amp today I'd go for one of those updated Champ kits that are all over the place - low volume, good tone, low noise - and mic it. I loved the Bassman because it put out a great sound with simple controls, and it was really responsive to the stompboxes. Boogies come and go but Fenders should be kept for life!

This is a blackface model. This amp has No features volume, treble, bass and a bright switch for guitar deep switch for bass. but the one feature that kicks unmitigated anus for this amp is Bieng able to link the channels, Or bieng able to plug in a bass and guitar at the same time. saved our bass's rear end twice at shows. I would give it a 10 just for that cause but people would whine about it so i decided to leave this part blank.

I am using a Les Paul Studio through a Ibanez sonic distortion and not the crappy re-issue one either. This amp sounds great. There is nothing sweeter then letting everyone know that all tube feedback can split thier ears and they like it. I love to shove my guitar or the 1/4 inch into the speaker and let the feedback do my guitar work for me. But when rocking out or when slowing it down to do the blues this amp can handle them both.

This amp is a freekin rock. kick it drop it throw it..just dont put a 2 ohm load into it. I never take anything backup and I beat the heck outta this thing no needs to worry about it when shipping just watch out for the tubes cuz i kicked one of them out before a show. you may ask how but i set my head to the side so i can jump off the cab and i ran and kicked it out.. still worked for a little bit till i could get myself something else to plug into never sacrifice an all tube fender for a crate solidstate.

never dealt with em this thing is so old i dont think they remember making the head part or else they would do it again. With 100 watss instead just to let those triple rectified punk panzy's smell the rock and roll.

I have played since 6th grade and I am now a senior in high school. If this amp was stolen first of all they couldnt run with this thing and second of all the beating they would take when I caught them would not be worth the amp at all. I used to have a crate solidstate and i played thru a musicman the leo fander deal hd130 and i tried out a randall and a marshall superlead but this thing has bang for buck.

This amp is a 1964 Blackface Bassman Head, with the AA864 circuit.
If you plug in straight, you can't play harder music obviously, but it will do wonders with effect pedals. I will start to break up at arount 4-5, which is waaaay to loud for bedroom playing... I play everything with this amp, but again, I use fuzzes, Ods, Distorsions, which help me get the tone i want.
I wish it had reverb, but for ambience I get away with a DD3 just fine. This amp has plenty enough power...it can get damn loud!!!

I use a standard strat and several pedals including a Mcfuzz HOT, MJM Blues Devil, Tonebone Classic, Texas Two Step, McBoost and several others...
Great tones come out of this baby. And using pedals with it just makes this amp sing. Superb Blackface tone...WOW!!!
When plugging in my Tonebone it can get nasty as well, no problem. To be honest, I would rather use a quality clean (tube) amp, and use effects to get a broader varitey of tones...but hey thats just me.

This amp is almost 40 years old, and seems like its dependable. The only thing it had upgraded is the bass channel, serviced by Allen amps.
Also it has NOS GEs in it, which sounds real smooth.

Been playing for about 7 years. If it was lost, i'd be pissed but i don't think i'd replace it, i'd be too crushed, so i'd get something which would help me forget the loss...probably a Dr. Z Route 66.

this bassman is a 1972 silverface,it's not the most sought after circuit but sounds good to me.why pay a 1000 pounds for a boogie when you can get one of these for 200 quid??.it only has tone controls x 2 for each of the 2 channels,but unlike marshalls of the same era they really DO WORK!! they actually create different tones.and what tones! beautiful soft sonic candy .the really good thing about this amp is that i paid 10 pounds for it .

i use a strat with this amp-it's a very versatile amp blues ,zappa ,albert king, wes montgomery,good bluesey gain at higher volumes ,really attractive ruby pilot light too.

i got mine with a fuse blowing problem but it turned out to be a capacator open in the circuit.it's fine now,after all it is 30 years old you can expect these things after three decades

n/a

total tone heaven-even without the mods.

This is a 1966 Blackface Bassman head, and it's basically good for those who are gear minimalists seeking a great tone. It's 50 watts, but it could be 100 (which would be even better), and I don't mind. I play shows indoors and outdoors, and though I wish it were 100 watts, it cuts through the mix well, therefore it does its job. There are two inputs for bass, and two for guitar, I choose to play through the guitar input. I bought it used, and the tubes sound excellent suprisingly. It doesnt weigh much, so it's not a bitch to lug around from practice to practice and gig to gig. I must also complain that there is no backing to the amp, so it would be very easy to damage the tubes in the back; for this reason, I made a backing for it myself.

I play a PRS Santana SE model with a Seymour Duncan JB humbucker in the bridge position through this amp, and it sounds great. The volume knob acts as the amp's gain control in this particular amp, so as the volume goes up, so does the amp distortion, but its very clean. The distortion is really dirty, but every note, EVERY note shines through and it sounds AMAZING. I used to be anti-Fender, but you can't beat the clean sounds of almost any Fender amp (I also play a Deluxe 90) and the gain of this Bassman amp. I have been playing for almost 8 years, almost all of them live, and I have learned a valuable lesson: Fenders sound great when you mic them at shows, so you will cut through and sound crystal clear as well with a Fender.

I play hardcore and mainstream rock kind of stuff, however, DO NOT get this amp if you want to play hardcore or metal (unless youre thinking At the Drive-in, TBS, or something along those lines). I use a Peavey 5150 for heavy stuff, and it does the job well, but the Bassman is a rock amp. A different beast. My setup right now is the PRS into a Boss Tuner, to an MXR Phase 90, to an Ibanez Delay/Echo, to a Morley ABY Box that splits my guitar signal between a Fender Deluxe 90 and the Fender Bassman. I play the Bassman through an old Laney 4x12 or a Mesa Boogie 2x12. Awesome sounds here, and you just can't beat em. Effects sound awesome through the Bassman, and do not corrupt the sound at all. The harmonics are really good on this amp, but I think they could be achieved with less work. Since my riffs are chord-driven, it doesn't let me down. I must note that where it lacks in harmonics (I mean zakk wylde kind of harmonics, so there are still good harmonics to be played, haha) it makes up for it in its feedback. It is never out of control, and never too high pitched and ear-piercing. With the volume on 4 or 5, the treble on 4 or 5, and the bass between 2 and 3, you can get amazing sounds. The beauty of the JB pickup is that you can roll the volume back and get the sounds of the amp on low gain, and turn it back up all the way for a more full distortion. It must be played to be realized. It is indescribeable.

Since this head is a vintage head, first I owned (vintage-wise), I am not sure how old the tubes are by looking at them and I don't know that the grounding is proper with the old cord that is attached. Therefore I make sure I always run it through a surge protector at least, but I'm sure a Furman power conditioner would be best in time.

As for gigging, I haven't played it as much as I should have yet, but it's quite sturdy. I have heard you can buy it cheap on e-bay, so I might invest in a backup one day if I keep getting all the compliments on my sound that I have been getting since I bought it.

I've never personally dealt with Fender. Mostly everything I have ever bought that was Fender was USED already, and I bought it at Guitar Center (best place ever). They warranty all the amps, but since this is so old I am not sure. I might apply for one if I hear that it's possible. This amp is my baby.

If the head ever has a problem, I know many places that fix Fender amps, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find a place like that considering Fender is a mainstay of musical equipment, and almost everyone knows that they are the prodigal developers of sound. The first Marshalls were designed after this very amp.

I have been playing for a shade under 8 years, and like I said, most of my playing has been done live. I have learned valuable lessons from playing with shitty amps and guitars, dealing with unreliable amps and not being able to sound the way you want to. I have owned/played shows & recorded with many amps, including Peavey, Marshall, Mesa, and Crate. I have concluded that the best amps for live use are Fenders. I have yet to gain proper studio amp knowledge, but I know Fenders are sure-fire in that department too. I'm not one for Fender guitars personally, just the amps.

I don't recommend this amp to you if you play a guitar with shitty pickups, because they have a lot to do with the sound. Gibson pickups are phenominal through this amp, and PRS is always good. If you are looking to replace your own pickups, I suggest Seymour Duncan JB for this amp. I also recommend my setup. Most amps these days don't strike me or a lot of players as having two useful channels. Many of them have great distortion and shitty clean, or vice versa. I found Fenders have the latter problem; great clean and bad distortion, except the bassman, but that is the exception due to its single channel. Switching between amps makes it a little difficult since it requires a few more cables and you to lug around more equipment, but it pays off soundwise. Typically, pro guitarists switch between various amps to achieve their sounds, and that is what turned me on to this idea. A Morley amp switcher costs $40, and its the best investment you can make aside from a Bassman if going for my sound. My band's other guitar player does the same thing, but switches between a Mesa head and a Fender Ultimate Chorus. Fender is all you need for clean, but make sure you play a few amps before deciding which has the best clean, at whatever volume levels you will be using them at. Some distort at low levels, others dont.

I wish the Bassman was louder, definitely, because there will be times when the crowd is singing so loud that you get drowned out, or the acoustics are just so shitty that you can't be heard without sacrificing your sound or other band member's volume levels. It's 50 watts, and it sounds beautiful to me, so as of right now, I cant think of something better to play with. If it were stolen, you bet your ass I would get another, just as soon as I found the bastard who stole it and ripped him a new asshole.

The influences that made me go for this amp are Incubus, STP, and others of that sound. Of course, Incubus has a Mesa sound; I put Incubus here so I could point out that this amp, though not crazy by gain (you can make it though), is quite a heavy hitter if used the right way, and still maintains clarity. Check my band out:
www.clik.to/pointblank

around 1968 Im playing blues, rock a ....and this is the best tube head I ever have. The 50 amp what this babe have is very versatile for small stages I never need nothing else! -if then just other speaker cabinet

Mostly I'm using fender am. strat with Yngwie Malmstein on bridge and Stevie Ray Waughan midle a neck.The bright channel I'm only using for accustic guitar the feeling of playing is great and feedback is fantastic.

No problems so far

I' been playing for 14 years now ,and I have a other staff like mesa boogie ,fender custom reverb ,ibanez,century clone,VHT valvulator dean accus,les paul custom elect....atd.why I choose this one because if you warm him up then there is no better tube amp on earth.