Fender Bassman

This is easily the most versatile amp I own for the price. It was made in 1965 and has a black face front. Great for guitar, but not loud enough for stage use with bass. It has two channels, but I tend to only use the "Normal" channel, even with bass. No frills. Volume, Bass and treble. No effects loop. I've used this as a preamp through a 900 Watt solid state amp for stage bass.

I tend to only use it for recording nowadays and I'll put it through a Hiwatt 4x12 cabinet with Fanes or a Super Reverb cab with 4 Jensen c10q's. For recording bass, this amp is a must. Through an SVT 810, this thing will kick through a mix like nothing else! Breaks up at about 4. Really cranks above 8. Simple controls really help in getting a straightforward sound out of this amp. Lacks a mid control, but that shouldn't stop you from getting a good sound with an EQ pedal. I've also used this amp to preamp other amps when recording. For instance, run a guitar into the "Normal" input and crank it to about 5. Use the "ext cab" output into a Marshall Super Lead or a Twin Reverb and you can really dial in some fantastic preamp gain at relatively low volumes.

Played for about 5 years with no problems whatsoever. This amp was really a workhorse until it started to hum. I suspect that the caps need to be replaced. Haven't repaired it because I am sticking to a '68 Super Reverb for now. It has all of the original preamp tubes!

Great for a touring guitar amp. Not a whole lot of tubes to fail. Tough case, just be careful for the switches in the back.

I just happened to buy this amp for $100 and it has easily been the best $100 I have spent for studio recording. Bass, guitar, even vocals. I have even heard that people will preamp a snare drum through these amps! I've convinced a lot of my friends to pick up some silverface Bassman's and they just love the simplicity and rawness of the vintage Fender circuit. If this was stolen, I would probably go out and buy a vintage tweed Bassman in the 410 cabinet, but use it for the same stuff-just bypass the 410s when recording bass.

1963 Fender Blonde Brown-Face Bassman 40 watt head with matching blonde 2X12 cabinet. Two channels bass instrument and regular instrumen each with two channels. tube - 2 6L6 and 12ax7 preamp

Classic Fender Clean, Consistent Break-Up, Powerful Highs and Lows, LOUD!!!

Its 45 years old, In mint condition, no serious poroblems. Only repair was to get a grounded plug.

Fender does not deal directly with people, they deal with dealers, you have to contact a dealer for the fixing of the product, through the company. Otherwise take it to a genious like George Alessandro

GGGGRRRRRREEEEEAAAAAAATT. Wish it had reverb, but you can get the reverb unit for that.

1967 Blackface Fender Bassman head. This amp is as basic as it gets. It is all tube needless to say and it sounds very warm and round. Guitar players covet this amp and I have been told that I could not gig with this amp because it would not have enough power at 50 watts. But this amp will fill small to medium size club. It has 2 chanels and both have Volume, Bass and Treble knobs. Pretty basic but there is not a bad tone that comes out of this vintage tube amp. I play a bastardised version of brit pop with some americana thrown in. When blues players want to sit in it sounds right at home. No Channel Switching, no Effects Loop, no Headphone jack. I can't think of anything that I need. Before I got this I used an Ampeg B2R with a compressor and this Bassman blows it out of the water. It is not a loud but it sounds 10X better. I am giving it an 8 for features because it is bare bones but it is all that you need.

I mostly play a Rick 4003 through it but I have also used my US 75 Jazz reissue and my US P bass. They all sound great but the Rick is my main bass. The bass amp is very responsive and it sounds deep, rich and creamy. It sounds like all of my favorie records. Our guitar player plays a Rick into an AC30 and I can get a great Jam style sound as well as the Kinks and the Band plus many more. I always thought that I needed a solid state amp with lots of power but this is the sound that I have been searching for. I play it at around 5 or 6 on volume and it sounds big and round with some slight tube overdrive but it is not like distortion. It sounds rich and natural.

I have just replaced the tubes, I have had it for a while but just plugged it in on a whim about 6 or 7 weeks ago. I have gigged with it 5 times and I have brought a bass pod as a backup to play into the PA if I have a problem (don't get caught with your drawers down!) So far no problem and it is from 1967 so I would think that it will hold up just fine. From what I understand the worst thing that you can do to a tube amp is let it set unplayed. It is like letting a car sit for years without starting it. After I have had it for a year or so I will leave the POD at home.

I have delt with Fender before and they are helpful. No problems with the head but this should be 101 for most competent Amp guys. There ain't much to it.

I have been playing guitar for 30 years and bass for about nine. I own a locker full of gear, both vintage and newer stuff. I prefer the Classic stuff like Fenders and Ricks as well as Martin and Gibson Acoustics. If it were stolen I would find another. I don't think that the blackface has that much to do with it. I would think that a later one would sound great. I love the size and weight.

I have owned it for a while, bought it with an Allen cab with 2 10 inch Weber speakers to play guitar through. I got a wild hair and pluged it into my Ampeg 4X10 cab and the whole band was blown away. It sounded like a bass amp should sound.

1965 fender bassman picked through by skip simmons. when skip got done, it sounded better than ever. breaks up at about 3 with buttery overtones or stinging bite, whichever you chose. still has the original two channels with no modifications just cleaned and polished.

I'm playing with a 1961 gibson melody maker which i modified by adding 2 bartolini humbuckers as sweet as a les paul and much lighter. the combination works much better than my tinny 68 strat. this combo produces some of the lowest overtones without distorting the high end, oh by the way the original bottom is still in use but with two celestions instead of the original jensens.

i always take a spare but in thirty plus years i've never had to use it. this bassman has never broken down, though i once replaced the 12at7 preamp tube [still running the original RCA's] amp was once thrown across a dance hall by some drunk gypsys at a wedding we played took it to the next gig and never missed a beat'

if my bassman ever did breakdown i would send it straight to skip simmons. this guy is strickly into preserving the original fender tone.. and a very nice and modest fellow

i've been playing since i was thirteen, that would have been 1970. i also own a 70's peavey bandit[underrated] an ampeg v4,and an old orange 100 watt monster. the bassman is the tone master of my collection but i don't think i could find another one like it, it's an AA864 circut and pretty rare. of course i would like to have maybe a bandmaster reverb unit hooked to it, on account of the digital reverbs sound kinda plastic. I have owned a twin reverb and a bandmaster and a deluxe reverb' the bassman makes them all sound quite silly!

Blackface Bassman (64-66)

I used it for Blues, heavy rock, country, anything.

Had a midrange pot put in where the second input would otherwise be. Turns out there is a place for it to naturally be, so the modification was easy. Gives a little more tonal variety.

Wish it had reverb, but I use a Boss DD3 to wet the sound up... seems to work okay, but a real reverb would be nicer.

Play Gibsons and Fenders with it. Gibsons sound better. Fenders are a little to brittle.

Plenty loud for guitar. Painfully so. Good for bass, if you play a country style. Anything louder and you are all maxed out.

Sound gets woolly when turned up. Would like to hot rod it, so I could get that at a lower volume.

Best for blues and heavy blues rock.

Still get an occasional shock from it, when I go to sing. Not happy about that.

It fried on me in 1990. It had never been worked on. Got a new transformer and tubes, and also changed cord to a 3 pronger. Still can get shocked. Also got an original back panel for it.

Most people can work on them, if they do Fender Tube Amps.

Find a good local guy.

Avoid people who will change the tubes, and charge you an hour's labor.

It's an antique. I keep it at home, and rarely use it.

Will never sell. Too much projected value.

I have heard people use them in a 2x10" closed cab. Sounded great.

I have used it in a closed 2x12", and an open 1X12", but not enough low end.

Been playing for 20+ years.

Sounds like a heavier Fender, but not the mid range and high that a marshall can give you. Something missing in the presence department, and reverb would be nice, but for dirty blues & grungy rock, you can't go wrong. Find one used, and hang onto it.

Just make sure you are grounded.

1966 Blackface head. Two channels, bass and normal. Two inputs per channel, but there's no difference, so I don't know why... 50 watts, tubes: 2 6l6s, 3 12ax7s, 1 12at7. I bought this amp because it sounds great for guitar. 50 watts doesn't give me as much headroom as i'd like, but I have other amps. I bought this for the tone, the feel. But it only has a bass knob, a treble knob and volume. That's it. I give it a three because it doesn't have reverb. The head I got had just been retubed (including some old GE 6l6s and a mullard!) and had the output transformer replaced and had just been gone through and recapped.

I use a les paul standard with stock p/u's and a casino. It gets pretty damn loud, and a nice distortion when you push it all the way. It's a little bright, but crunchy and a great feel. The amp stays clean until about 4 on the volume knob, which is pretty loud for a 50 watt head, although I wish it had a little more. I am tweaking various tube combos to see if I can eak a little more clean volume out. The feel of this amp is amazing, very touch responsive. I love the vintage crunchy overdrive, it's almost Marshally. I'd give it a 10, but there's some microphonics when you turn it up, and that's a little annoying. But hey, it's 40 years old.

Never had a problem, but I've only had it a month.

Fender's support sucks, but the warranty on this is LONG gone, haha.

I really like this amp. I didn't buy it for super loud clean tones or for lower volume distortion, cause it's sort of in the middle. But it has a great tone, both clean and overdriven. Simple interface, two tones and a volume. Great feeling, very responsive. I've been horribly addicted to music equipment for about 6 years, and I've been playing that long as well. I just wish I could play it overdriven without my ears bleeding afterwards.

I own a '74 Bassman 50. The reason why I bought this top is because I think you get the best clean sound out of it. I use it together with a Matchless Hotbox and a TS-9, together with these pedals I can get every sound I need. I just miss the reverb, herefor I use a Electro harmanix Holy grail reverb. For crazy things I use a Line-6 DL4 Delay moduler. I use a Kustom cabinet loaded with 4 x EVM12L. half open this gives me the lowest sound. I did need to work on how to set with high gain because the cabinet is actually to much for the amp.

I use ES335 solid body with '57 pickup, I use a USA Stratocaster with a seymour duncan Pickup and a Telecaster Custom (1 HUmbucker- 1 Single coil)

With these variety of guitars and gear I can play every sound.

Never had a problem with it.. I do need a flightcase for it because I am very carefull with it.

This is an old amp and I think the warrenty is gone a while ago.

I own it for about three years and I love this amp. Because it is just 50w my ears like this more than my 100w JCM800.

1965 bassman piggyback w/ 2-12 oxfords. Just ot this amp at a second hand store. The amp is in good shape and the cabinet is original.
the tube chart is wrong..it says "showman" AB763 with 4 6l6's.
after some research it seems to be the AA864 cicuit. the amp was
noisy when i got it home.put some different tubes in and it quieted down, no white noise or microphonics anymore! T I thought 700.00 was a little high, but the guy lets me take gear home and pay on it. I'm practicing tomorrow night.then we''see if it holds up at stage volume.

i'm using a mim strat and a epiphone les. I'm gonna try a Signal Flex
a/b box I just got. It will give the bassman channel switching ability.
i've had a few distortion pedals,,never really liked any too much. I guess i need better than a boss overdrive/dist and Korg AX100 to get a nice, even, singing
distortion like my jcm 900 gets. i may a/b between the 900 and Bassman. We'll see how that sounds. here's a coupe songs from my website, http:www.myspace.com/selfunited

I don't know yet..i do know that i have a buzzing 66 Bandmaster, and the pre-amp gone in my HotRod deluxe. i hope this one lasts a while before it hits my Fender junkyard. I will repair these someday,just can't resist any old Fender, my grandfather left me a blackface deluxe in 85'. lost it to a bandmember in lakeland florida that year.needed 20.00 more to get my plane ticket, he said "if you come back, you can have your amp'.
that was 30 years ago. So every time I see an old fender i can afford, which has only been twice. i bought it.

I've never called them or had any warranty work,,my hot rod died
on it's 6 th year.The warranty is supossed to be 5, i think. so basically ,i'm screwed..

from what i'm hearing at home, this amp should cook onstage.can't wait till' saturday! We'll see if it's another tube lemon or a diamond in the rough. For 700.00 in hope it works well and sound good!

My Blackface Bassman is a 1965. I use it to play heavy rock guitar, with lots of distortion, and effects, as well as its awesome clean channel. It is a 50W tube head, with a 2x12 cabinet with one original Jensen C12N, and one replacement Jensen C12N. It has 2 bass inputs, and 2 normal inputs, a deep switch for the bass side, and a bright switch for the normal side, as well as a seperate treble, bass and volume control for each set of inputs. I have used this amp playing bass, but found it didnt handle my american standard 5 string Jazz bass too well. It has plenty of power as a guitar amp.

I use a Les Paul with humbuckers, as well as a custom guitar with Lace sensor pickups with a lot of series/paralell wiring options. Very high output guitar, but this amp handles it very well, very clean sounding at high volumes. I dont get much ground problems with the amp as I had the power cord rewired to 3 prong, and any hums usually come from my effects. The amp has no effects built in.
Also sounds VERY nice with my Takamine acoustic plugged in.

I never worry about the reliability of this amp. I have cooked a tube or 2, but it happens, not the fault of the amp.

I got it on trade, FOR A PEAVEY BASIC 112 for crying out loud! the odd thing is, the other guy still hasnt regretted the trade...he loves the 112

If it were stolen, i think I would move on to another amp, like a mesa boogie, or a marshall, just to get a different taste....but not after hunting down whoever stole it and made them regret it bigtime!

I love the tube sound...less processed....more warmth

I bought this (Bassman 50 Silver Face) one only last week. I tried it out at home, and the same evening took it to a gig.
Normally I use a Performer 1000 (hybrid), with the 2 X 12 Fender box from the 60's that I already had.
According to the previous owner the amp has been modified for guitar only. He said something about the two channels running parallel now.
Only things I miss are a reverb, and laybe a midrange control.

I still have to find out about the sounds possible with this amp, but I have a feeling it'll become my main amp, and the performer will be the back up.
I play it through a Digitech RP7 (Tube distortion). The RP7 adds reverb, delay and other goodies, but the sound is definately "sixties tube". When I use the RP7 clean, and crank up the volume with the volume pedal, it sounds awesome. Like I have another guitar.

Only one gig, and a few practice sessions at home. Ask me again in a year or so. I had a look at the tubes, at least one of them is Sovtek, another 12AX7 I believe has a handwritten sticker on it, and at the back two stickers of amp repair shops in Holland (that's where I got it). Plays well at the moment, so I'll leave it like it is untill something goes wrong.

At least 35 years old, so....

I play for more than 40 years now. I use two Fender Strat Plus. At the moment they are both still original, but I've ordered the Lace sensor set up from the Strat Ultra, and plan to customise one. I bought a complete new pickguard with pots and switches, so I can leave the original pickguard like it is.
For effects, I use a Diditech RP7 with tube distortion. It also has a volume pedal, so I can play with the natural distortion of the amp. I only have it a few days, so I still have to figure out all of the possible settings.
I like the styling of a blackface better, so if I can find a black panel, I'll change that, but keep the silver panel in a safe place. My amp is a non USA version, so there is a heavy transormator in the left side (when you're behind it). This make sthe amp lean over to that side when you carry it.
When I bought it, the metal parts on the bottom to conet it to my speaker cabinet where still on it. They fit perfectly to the cabinet, and the speaker cloth has aged in the same way as the amp. Gives it a nioce "set" look, although they come from a totally different choice. Woul you believe I've got the cabinet for free? I was a driving intsructor, and one of my students asked me if it was true that some Fender box he had in his basement could not be connected to his home stereo. I said 'definitely not', and when he said, OK, then I'll give it with the trash, I went to his home, and saved it from that misfortune. I've put in two 8 Ohm Fender speakers that I had, rewired it, and cleaned it, and now it's my pride.
I play mostly Blues and some Rock, and I allways would have wanted to have a TWin. But I've already seen a lot of Blues artists play on a Bassman Amp, and I allways liked the sound.

If it were lost, I am pretty sure I would look for another one, but maybe a 100W, to have clean sounds at a higher volume.