Fender Bassman

Mine is a 67 silver face. My research indicates there were no bad cbs changes to this year. There were 5 circuit designd in 67 for the bassman. Two have the regular bias. Dont know which circuit this one is but it has the bias. Turned to its lowest it still idles at 9 watts per tube. Breaks up alittle easier. Doesnt have the effect on volume that the twin reverb I have does. When i HAD THE chassis out the parts on the board were all original. Amazing that a 42 year old set of parts still work and work well. Simple feature set. treble bass on each channel.

I play custom built tele's. They sound really good thru this amp. Has some of that high pitch whine at higher volumes but not noticeable when playing. My bandmaster has the same sound. This amp sounds very much like my bandmaster. The treble and base dont sound the same on the same settings. For a base amp this thing is not as bassy even on 10. May need some new filter caps. The twin reverb cabinet I play it thru is a lot basier than this, but it has had a complete cap job and of course has bigger mains. It a word this sounds like a fender. The only fender I own that does have that distinct sound is my pro junior. The bassman and bandmaster take pedals better than the twinns do.

great amp, if you like the fender sound, which I do.

I own a 1966 blackface Bassman, rated at 50W at 4ohms. There are 2 channels: bass and normal, and two jacks (high and low gain) for each side, summing to 4 in total. The schematic is a slightly modified AB165. Mine is outfitted 3 Sovtek 12AX7-LPS tubes, and a GE 12AT7. The modification is fairly minor, and applies only to the power tube section in order to accommodate 2 Sovtek KT88s (yes, KT88s.) Note that this era of the Bassman featured a solid-state rectifier. Otherwise, it's pretty much to spec.

There's 1 volume knob, 2 tone knobs, and 1 tone (presence) switch per channel. The Bass side has the deep, and the Normal has the bright. This amp (might be specific to particular circuits, not sure) also features the ability to jumper the channels to get extra preamp and tone from each side's circuit. So, you simply dial in, and you get sound. The volume knobs dial in a mix of the preamp and power section. The tone knobs also add preamp, which is important to note, and (when jumpered) dialing in your preamps differently on either the Bass or Normal channels will produce different tones. So, in terms of tone versatility, it's all there.

In terms of how powerful the head is, subjectively speaking, it's a full 50W FOR SURE. To compare, I have an Ampeg V5 100W head running half power (2 tubes instead of 4, running at 4ohms). The Bassman definitely keeps up. The cab I used is a 200W 4x10 equipped with Jensen MOD50 speakers. The Bassman sounds just as loud as the neutered V5.

In terms of features, hell, you won't find any. No effects, no weird connections in the back for PA or pedal hook ups. It's the guitar to the amp to your speakers. That's it. You can hook up pedals between the amp and guitar, sure, but it's as bare as you get...

Personally, I'm giving it a 10, because I love the way this amp sounds. I find too much preamp overdrive or some pedal effects can sound like garbage. Appropriate in some forms of music, sure, but man, it's toneless. Then again, I don't need loops and PA outs. Read on, you'll see what kind of tone this thing can put out.

This head is great for anything rock and roll and blues, and with some amount of overdrive. If you want to play a cleaner style at the loudest signal volume possible on the Bassman, look into a Twin Reverb or a Dual Showman and plug some 6550s or KT88s in it to get more clean headroom versus the standard 6L6.

Currently, I have some modded piecemeal Fender Stratocaster guitar, priced used 10 years ago at $500. The pickups, well, no clue, but I think they're the higher-end versions of Strat pickups; I find compared to other Strats, this guitar sounds louder and more accurate. It has 5-setting tophat with 2 tone knobs. But, the thing sounds freakin' amazing. I've found newer guitars lack a lot of tone and that full sound. Albeit used, modded, and probably made up of several other guitars, it's a beast, and I get a great range in sound.

If you're going to play a bass through this amp, well, don't. Get a Showman, hahaha. Seriously though, The Bassman is prone to overdrive even at lower volumes. I found the best setup with a bass guitar was to plug into the Bass side on jack 1, and jumper jack 2 to Normal side's 2. This way, you can adjust your tone a little better. Trick is to use VERY low preamp and adjust using mainly your volume knobs.

The tonal range of the Bassman is actually quite diverse. It has a very strong midrange presence, and you dial in how light or heavy you want to otherwise be. Do note that I have KT88s. My overdrive sounds different. It's not as creamy as it is crunchy (also thanks to the LPS preamp tubes). Also, I have a tad more headroom before my power tubes overdrive. So, I guess you'd say I get a bit more transformer tone.

I'll start with the Normal channel. The bright switch should always be on, it really brings out the subtleties of the guitar's natural tones. This channel is louder than the Bass side. This is a characteristic of the circuit though. My brother owns a 400 PS, which uses a quasi-identical circuit for the Bass channel, and it's quieter than the Normal side's as well. That said, it get's louder quicker. I start to overdrive a tad at around 4-5, depending on how the preamp is set. At 5.5-7, it's moderately but consistently crunchy. Passed that, it's smoother and more consistent overdrive. I think at these levels, your preamp knobs have somewhat less effect, and it's really for bringing out highs or lows. Overall, it's a brighter sounding channel. Good for lead and rhythm.

The Bass channel is actually quite unique, I find. The deep switch brings out incredible lows, and as it was with the 400 PS. It brings out these frequencies that you don't hear upfront and in your face; you instead feel the bottom-end travel through you and lodge itself in the back of your throat and ear canals, and STAYS there for as long as the guitar is playing. This is actually quite accurate of a description, in my opinion. Tonally, it's very heavy, muddy even if you don't turn up the treble. What I love the Bass side is that you match your volume knobs when you jumper the sides (cable reaches from 1 on the Bass side, to 2 on the Normal). The result is just OUT OF THIS WORLD tone. You get this perfect, full-sounding mish-mash of natural tone between your highs, mids and lows.

One thing to note about the Bass side is that because it's a quieter channel, you can get more overdrive out of your amp with a touch less volume. At 8, you get a freakin' sweet kind of crunch, almost metal-like, but slightly less intense than what you'd get out of a high-gain head. So, combine this with your Normal at 7, and adjust your preamps to taste, and you'll get a crazy kind of sound, so unique I can't describe.

Also, I'd say this thing is made for break-up. If you dial in about mid-way, you essentially get your 50W. But, it's a sensitive 50W. if you play hard, the amp will produce a great overdriven sound. Play softer, and the amp reacts accordingly. All-in-all, it's quite sensitive to the player's touch.

My brother and I saved this amp out of a friend's basement. It caught fire one day after haven't being used in years, and roasted some the circuit in a pyroclastic fury. But, $400 later in parts and servicing, it was back up and running like new. Our amp tech, Richard, was simply floored by the tone it put out. Hooked up to an Ampeg 4x10 at our local music store, Steve's Music in Ottawa, it quickly became a conversation piece amongst the staff.

Since then, there haven't been any issues. It once roasted a tube, but that's on account of the tube being flawed. Other than that, there was a loose solder point, but that was fixed no problem. Suffice to say, it's VERY dependable. Would I gig with it without a backup? Yes. I would certainly bring it to my amp tech beforehand, but I wouldn't doubt this amp's ability to hold up to the punishment. It's done it before and it'll do it again!

And if you look at it in the grand scheme of things, if something goes on this amp, whether a resistor, filter cap, or even a transformer, you replace it. Most of these parts are still floating about, or they have equivalents. I'd argue that the maintenance on this amp is far easier and less expensive than a modern amp that uses PCB boards or that is fully solid state. They may sound great, but I'd hate to be the guy that owns one when they bust. The Bassman was free/quasi-gift, I'll give it that, but it still only cost $400 of repairs for restoring a piece of musical history. Heck, if you look around for long enough, you'll find a cheap old amp on Craigslist or local used directories. I found my Ampeg V5, a SUPER rare amp from the early 80s during the MTI era which was later became (with some modifications) the SVT-100, for $500! And it had the original GE 6550A tubes in it. C'mon, people. This is a JOKE.

How much do newer amps cost that sound as good and are reliable enough? These amps are older than I am, and still kicking... Let's see if newer amps can stand the test. I believe there's an amount of planned obsolescence in electronic equipment these days, everything from TVs to iPods. Some products are essentially designed for failure. They use cheap parts to save on costs. It means servicing, it means people need to produce and sell parts, and wasted money on our parts. It wouldn't surprise me if this bad practice rooted itself in these markets as well... Simply put, I don't trust new amps.

No need, too old, hehe...

I've been playing for only about 2 years now. I'm not a great guitar playing and I don't own a lot of gear per se, but between my brother and a few of his friends, and Steve's Music, I've heard and fiddled with quite a few amps, too many to mention. I must say that the Bassman is one of the BEST sounding amps I've ever heard for that pure rock and roll and rockabilly sound. I can't hate anything about this amp. It does what I want it to do, and does it quite well! If I could change it, sure I would, I'd add a high-gain switch to get some metal tone out of it, or beef it up to 90W by turning it into an AB2 setup (been done by Richard K at http://www.timeelect.com/). There's only love for this amp, and anyone who's owned one would say the same.

Get one. If you can't, find the parts that would best suit the project and make one!

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.

Mine's a silverface no idea what year really early seventies i would think. Normal 4 inputs bass/normal, which I link together to get a bit more oomph!!
I play blues/60s garage- think white stripes/rl burnside/jon spenser blues explosion for which the bassman is ideal. A lovely warm clear tone, very creamy! does start to overdrive at about level 4. Would be nice with a spring reverb, but apart from that it's basicness is part of its appeal.
Very loud and gets louder with time, never used it live, but am planning to this year.

using a fender tele 52 reisue with f-hole and humbuckers, have also used a rickenbacker bass (4000 i think?) both sounded great, great for blues and country, or rock n roll, or new wave.
Mine has started to emit white noise when left on for a while, will cost me #100.00 to sort out (i live in England)but it will be worth it.
Does overdrive severly at high settings , but still pleasing to my ear.

apart from the noise, (which is due to moisture in the board aparently) never had a problem, had new tubes fitted a year ago. Used to have a fender twin (seventies) but have ended up using the bass man more, use it inconjunction with an old silver fender bandmaster cab with 2 15s, I think!?

None luckily there is a guy in Leeds who specialises in fender amp repair.

Been playing 20 years, also use fender twin. Would definately buy another, but they are becoming more sought after over here ( england)
Although theres no mid range control it does remind me of a cranked up vox ac30 kinda boxy sound.
Great amp and very distinctive, and of course they look cool!!!

I own a BF Bassman-AA165. I recently got it on ebay. I play through what used to be a Fender 2-12 bottom that I squeezed 2 15's into about 20 years ago. MOst people use this amp for guitar. I actually use it for bass, in an oldies band. This thing ROCKS!It has 2 channels. It is CLEAN, LOUD and has plenty of power for what I do. It looks totally original inside, right down to the black metal 6L6 tubes. Caps look original, too.

I play a mid-70's Fender P-bass. It has the original electronics in it. The amp suits my style very well. It is very quiet with no noise or hum, and it still has the original non-grounded cord! I really should change that, I guess. As an oldies bass player, I really don't need distortion, so I've never really tried to get any.

I carry a backup, but have never needed it for myself. The guitar player has used my backup a couple of times!

I have dealt with Fender before with other amps, and they were good to work with. As for warranty, this baby's almost 40 years old. What warranty??

I've been at this for around 40 years. I owned one of these before that was stolen around 20 years ago. I found a Dual Showman Reverb head cheap and it was my bass amp for around 20 years. That thing is too big and heavy, plus it has way more power than I'll ever need. So I actually did replace a BF bassman with another--it just took me 20 years to do it! I really like the tube sound. I wish Leo could have disigned an amp that sounded like this one that only weighed 5 pounds!

i own a silverface bassman 50 watt head. not sure what year it is. i sent the serial numbers to fender and they referred me to third party sites. helpful...but did not determine exact year. '68 - '72? of course, no reverb. but i play with a line 6 dl4 stompbox. and when i'm not gigging far i use my line 6 echo pro with a beringer fcb1010 midi footpedal (if any one owns this they know what a bitch it is to set up) many other amplifiers offer more features but with the bassman you don't really need them.

i bought it around 6 or 7 years ago. it had rca tubes in them (man...rca). i blew one or both power tubes 4 years ago and never replaced them. since then i've bought a reissue twin reverb (good...but i paid way too much money for it [1150$ new]) a fender stagemaster 100 watt head (solid state - purely for backup purposes), and found myself a marshall jcm 800 head. i play varying styles. mostly sonically oriented heavy rock. like most guitarists i've been chasing the ghost of "the tone". i bought a mesa boogie tube pedal and a radial hot british tube pedal for high gain sounds through my twin reverb. sounds alright. but missing something. recently, i decided to mess with my bassman. i swapped tubes with the twin. wow! i forgot how warm and saggy the bassman is. my 2x12 cabinet (a gutted peavy classic combo) is worse for wear. so i plug it into the twin's jensen speakers. with the radial pedal i get a lot of clarity (i tune to open g with a low c - so i get a lot of rich voicings) with with intervals other than thirds and fifths. the harmonic overtones through the bassman are wonderful. the bass response is pretty tight (though i really want to hear it through a 4x12 enclosure).

hmmm...i played with it (and i believe it's original tubes) for 3 years...until one of the 6L6's blew it was a rock. i would give this a 10 if it wasn't for the typical tenuous state of tubes (you get a bad tube and....)

obviously, fender no longer makes these amps.

the bottom line. i've seen one other bassman. and it sounds brittle in the high end. a little cold. i suspect it is a mid-to-late seventies bassman. if you have a blackface or a silverface in the late sixties and early seventies you own a very solid no frills tube amplifier/combo. i've spent a few thousand dollars trying to dial in the tone in my head. and now it's come full circle. i'm back with the bassman.

1967 Fender Bassman

2 Bass Inputs, 2 Normal Inputs, Volume, Treble (Bright), and Bass (Deep). When you turn the tone knobs all the way down, you get nothing. Old school. Deep isn't very effective.

Sounds great with guitar and OK with bass. Big, clean, defined sound thats doesn't distort that much. Set everything to 5 and boom -- tone. Perfect for country or jazz, or you need a pedal for gain or play the amp on 10, where its kinda skreechy sounding, not ver smooth. A Matchless Dirtbox is the perfect companion. Lots of bass and treble, not a ton of midrange. Musical sounding, allows lovely ringing harmonic quality to come through the speakers.

35 yrs old. Wouldn't gig it without getting it checked out, retubed/capped, cleaned, etc. but then it would sound "new".

Great amp.

Mine is a late 70's model with 4x10s in it. I play bass in a blues band. This amp is perfect for that dirty, distorted sound of classic rock and blues rock. There are two channels. One for recording and one for live performance. There are no modern additions like headphone outputs or effects loops. Most players who'd be interested in this amp have no need for them. This is way too loud for a practice amp unless you live on a farm! This is plenty loud for our three piece that covers alot of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi. The tubes in mine are still original, which accounts for the breakup I get when turned up. Some of these amps I have heard be much cleaner sounding with fresh tubes.

I play Danelectro basses through this amp. I have played Rickenbacker and Hofner through it. It has very little capabilities in the slap or in Heavy rock ( Korn, Limp Bizkit stuff ). Mine has a hum to it when I'm not connected to a well grounded circuit. When I play though, that hum doesn't seem noticeable. If you want overdriven distortion, you'll get it here at about "7" on the volume knob. I wouldn't call this amp versatile. It is great for classic rock and roots music.

I depend on this amp to carry my sound in clubs that seat 150-200 people. I mike it beyond that just for a good mix. I think it is reliable, but I don't think any amp is perfect, especially tube amps. I keep a 100w solid state fender bass head as a backup in case I need to quickly change over if a tube blows or something. The cab is plugged in with 1/4 inputs which makes the change easy. I have never needed to do this in 4 years of playing on the road and locally. But, I am pretty anal about things like that.

The amp is older so I don't expect much in the way of support from Fender. The thing is too heavy to ship cheaply anyway. It would cost more than the amp did! These things are easy to come by on ebay and in 2nd hand music stores. The workings inside the cabinet are easy fixes if they ever require it. I have no need to get mine worked on.
The best thing to do is locate a nearby vintage amp service instead of counting on company service.

I have been playing since the mid 80's. I have a silvertone 1483, a Marshal 100 head with an EV 12 cabinet, and a Fender 100 solid state head. I would buy another Bassman Ten, especially if it was as good of a deal as this one. This has been my regular amp for 4 years and I love the sound it creates. It isn't for everyone. Modern music is more "clear" and digital sounding. This won't do at all for that stuff. Check out my Silvertone 1483 review.

I believe this amp is a 1965 model. A friend of mine that I played with 20 years ago was moving back to California and didn't want to drag it around with him, so he GAVE IT TO ME!. It sat for a lot of years. About 6 years ago, I took it to a shop and had new tubes and the BIAS set. I then purchased two CARVIN VINTAGE 12 speakers and put them into the speaker box. This has been my main guitar amp ever since. Pure sound, no deviation. Turn up past 3 1/2 for great sound. Two channels, black face. About 3 years ago, I bought a POD which just sounds great in this amp. Tubes are the way to go. I have a 100 Watt Lab Series L5 and a SUNN Concert Lead which is 200 watts. The sound of the Bassman beats them both.

My guitar is a custom made Warmoth body and neck which I put DiMarzio pickups onto and put together myself. It is on warmoth's web site.
As I mentioned, I purchased a Line 6 POD so I pretty much can make any sound come to life and the bassman produces those sounds great.
The only problem with my bassman now is that it is too big for me to move from gig to gig so I am looking at buying another amp...a vintage 59 copy Bassman with 4 10 inch speakers. I also own one of the new 60 watt Bassman amps. I guess I am a BASSMAN MAN!

I have used it without any backup for 6 years and it has been working great. I have not had any problems with this since I reconditioned it 6 years ago.

Well out of warranty but in dealing with FENDER in the past,they have been very helpful. Also, Brian Clark, the manager of Guitar Center in Salt Lake City has been and continues to be a great source of support for all of my gear

I've been playing for over 30 years. As I mentioned above, I am going to buy another Fender Bassman amp. I guess I love the history of Fender and the fact that it is a U.S. company. As I have been searching for a smaller amp, one easier to carry around from gig to gig, I have been looking at other amps. I was almost sold on the Vox until I played this vintage 59 model Bassman. I love it.

if your looking at this you know what it is so i won't waste my time. or yoursnot a ten cause it is not a mesa triple recto but i would never gotin it if it was.

i am useing a ibanez S470 for distorted sounds i use a metal zone (yeah i know) but mostly i use it for clean jazz sounds with a danecho for delay and "reverb" then for fun i use a crybaby. i run a bridge on the bass and guitar to get a warm sound.

damn the thing is almost 40 years old so it is a kicker fo shure.

so old it is not even an issue at all. just get a good tech. almost any good tech will know what to do with one of these.

very good and well worth the price.

The research I've done points to this being from around 83 or 84, and apparently not too many of them were made. It's a 50 watt solid state bass amp with one 15 inch speaker. Two volumes (master and volume), bass, mid, and treble, and compression. pretty much all three tone knobs are pinned all the time, and I usually turn the volume up higher than the master, to get it to overdrive, which it does really easily and really well. I use it when I play on my own at home, and also live. It can keep up with drums in a small room without a mike or DI box, but bigger spaces it needs a bit of help. The compression sounds really cool but I honestly never use it, because there's judt too big a volume drop to makeit worthwhile, and it's pretty much an all or nothing thing. It goes from unnoticable in the 1-4 range, to barely on from 5-7, and then full on signal squashing. It's nice knowing it's there, and it's cool watchingother band borrow the amp and turn it up, and not be able to figure out why no sound is coming out, but that's about it. It's nothing particularly fancy, but it's nice. You can get some pretty mellow sounds out of it at lower volumes, but I rarely do that.

I've got a Squier P-Bass and a Big Muff Pi, and occasionally an MXR Blue Box that I use with this amp, and quite honestly, the sound is awesome. Anytime you're playing loud enough to be heard with drums, it's going to distort, and in a very cool way. It doesn't have the sort of low farty sound of a tube amp, but more of a growling, very angry, bright sound. The bass tends to drop out the louder you go, which is too bad, but it will cut through a mix really well, and since there aren't a whole ton of these things around, it makes for a pretty distinctive sound. If you're a pocket player or into a real smooth sound, this is a bad one for you, unless you're only going to be practicing on your own with it, but it's a punk/noise/emo/indie rocker's dream...a broken sound all its own. There's not much variety to the sound you get, but I've never much thought that was abig deal either. You sort of tailor what you play to what your gear sounds like, and work with it, and that's definitely what I've done. Chords sound excellent through it, and adding fuzz on top of the mess you already have can be really ungodly sounding. It's a tone that definitely grabs your attention, but it's not without a share of warmth, and if you play light, you can tone it down quite a bit. It's the best natural overdrive I've ever heard come out of a solid state amp though. I really mean that. I'm giving it an 8 only because it would be nice to have a little more volume before it starts to go crazy, but otherwise, a wonderful, awful creature.

I've had it ten years, and only had it repaired once (pretty minor stuff - cleaning and resoldering). It's been in a car accident, and taken a spill down the cellar stairs, and I've never been shy about turning it up when needed, and it's pretty much never let me down. A lot of times I'll use it even when I have a chance to borrow someone else's larger amp, just because i like the tone so much, so it's been to it's share of shows, and proven itself to me beyond any doubt.

Just don't know.

If only this amp were a little bit louder and bassier, I would give it perfect ten's across the board. The distorted sound is sooooo nice, but it owuld be nice to have a usable clean tone as well, and it only barely does. Construction and all of that are excellent, and in a way I can forgive it its shortcomings, because asking a 50 watt combo to handle live performance against drums and two other guitars is a little much. It's a defininitely a soundthat identifies me when I play, and I love that. If it were to vanish on me, I probably would just suck it up and move on to an Ampeg or something, but it would definitely be missed, and I would keep my eyes open for another to come along. I used to play ina metal band in high school amd i would run a line from the compact into a 100 watt Bassman tube amp w/ 4 10" speakers, and that was a really nice thunderous sound, brimming over with distortion, and ground shaking power. You might want to look into that if you get the chance. Truly awesome. If only I had that second Bassman now.....

If your reading this you already know the features-and mine has no mods-so I'll spare you the repitition. I only gave it an eight because it lacks reverb and presence, but the everything elese it does makes up for those very minor flaws.

I play an old '70's epiphone dual humbucker something or other (cornet?)and sometimes an accustic/electric(which the bassman matches the sound of it note for note, tone for tone. The sound of this amp cannot be beat. Listen to all of the other reviews and they don't lie. Really a great amp.
Wether you play it clean or pump effects in to it it'll sound awsome.
I play with a Danelectro Fab Tone and a Big Muff. The Fab gives sort of a fuzzy/distortion thing and the Big Muff is great for just flat out loud and heavy/creamy distortion. To bad the pedels feeds back so much though...

Only had it a year or so but you know how they used to make 'em, just ask any old man in your neighborhood and the'll tell you just how they made stuff way back when.

Don't know about fender repairing this old beast but Fender sure as hell doesn't have any info on their website for these old boys.

For the price you can find these for and the sound you can get- I give it a ten. Only playing about five years but I know beauty when I see/hear it. This amp takes what your guitar gives it and dosent change a thing. Every thing it does you can control with your playing style. Would buy again in a heartbeat.

If your reading this you already know the features-and mine has no mods-so I'll spare you the repitition. I only gave it an eight because it lacks reverb and presence, but the everything elese it does makes up for those very minor flaws.

I play an old '70's epiphone dual humbucker something or other (cornet?)and sometimes an accustic/electric(which the bassman matches the sound of it note for note, tone for tone. The sound of this amp cannot be beat. Listen to all of the other reviews and they don't lie. Really a great amp.
Wether you play it clean or pump effects in to it it'll sound awsome.
I play with a Danelectro Fab Tone and a Big Muff. The Fab gives sort of a fuzzy/distortion thing and the Big Muff is great for just flat out loud and heavy/creamy distortion. To bad the pedels feeds back so much though...

Only had it a year or so but you know how they used to make 'em, just ask any old man in your neighborhood and the'll tell you just how they made stuff way back when.

Don't know about fender repairing this old beast but Fender sure as hell doesn't have any info on their website for these old boys.

For the price you can find these for and the sound you can get- I give it a ten. Only playing about five years but I know beauty when I see/hear it. This amp takes what your guitar gives it and dosent change a thing. Every thing it does you can control with your playing style. Would buy again in a heartbeat.

This is an early 1967 blackface head with a 2x12 cabinet. Some prior owner replaced the speakers with 1963 Oxfords.

I run this with a G&L Broadcaster and occasionally a G&L Legacy. I've tried it with a Les Paul, but it sounds better with the G&L's.

It gives a bit of hum, but that's just Leo Fender's ghost, isn't it?
I play blues through this amp. At band volume, the amp has just a bit of pleasing crunch to it.

I've had several break-downs with it. Last year I had to use my back-up amp (Sovtek Mig-50) to complete a gig. Since last July the amp has been 100% reliable.

N/A. This amp is 33 years old.

I had the following modifications done. I recommend all of them:

1) Three prong AC power cord, for safety.
2) Since the amp has no "mid" knob, I had the mid value changed from its factory hard wire setting of 5.5 to 10.
3) I had the negative feedback circuit disabled. This improved the tone substantially.

Someday I'll swap for better speakers. The Oxfords are great for the mids and highs, but fart out on the low end. This is my #1 amp for gigs and rehearsals. I think it's well worth the investment.

This amp has limited features, but the features it has are plenty. It has 4 inputs: 2 normal and 2 bass; volume, bass, and treble knobs; and a bright and deep switch. Its very simple which I like. It doesn't take very long to find the right setting for you. I wish it had a knob for mid tone, but thats about it. I play bass so I don't need all the fancy effects. If you wan't more effects then you can plug in pedals and they sound great.

This amp has a great tone. The first time I plugged it in it blew me away.
Unlike most guitarists that use this amp, I play bass, and It sounds really thick. If you turn on the deep switch you get a nice smooth sound that will cut through a band like butter. It as also much louder than most 50 watt amps. The sound starts to distort at high volumes, but even the distortion sounds great. I use this amp in a rock band, but I'm sure it would work great for almost any genre. If you want a really trebly sound, then this amp isn't for you. But if you love bass, like me, then its killer.

They don't build amps like this anymore. Its hand wired, and built like a tank. The only thing that ever went bad was the tubes, but they had been in there for almost 30 years.

Never had to contact fender, but the warranty probably expired a long time ago.

I've been playing bass for 3 years and I would never use another amp unless I had to. If it ever got stolen I would try to find another, but I doubt I would get one. Nobody wants to get rid of these. I got mine from a guy that was dying from bone cancer, and for $250 it was a steal. If you find one of these buy it right away. Its a classic