SDG Vintage Amps Tweed 59 Bassman 410 Combo

I believe this one was made in 2005. It has two channels, just like a classic bassman. No channel switching, no effects loop, no headphone jack. Sometimes I wish it had reverb, but no big deal. Reverb would only take away from the tone. I use this amp at home and with a garage band. All tube, hand wired, well made. Plenty of power.I like blues and blues/rock, and this amp is perfect for that. Not many features really, but I wasn't looking for a bunch of features. I wanted sound and I got it. It does have an option that allows you to switch between tube rectifier or solid state rectifier. This one also has a mix of weber speakers, two alnico 10s and 2 ceramic 10s.

This is where the amp shines. It has a really beautiful, full clean sound, and a nice grind/breakup when pushed hard. I mostly use a couple of different strats with it, and a les paul also. I think the strats sound better clean, and the les paul better when really pushing the amp. I feel this way about every amp though. I just like strats for clean and mild breakup, and les pauls for that classic crunch. As I said, I like blues and blues rock. This amp is really great for that. It probably would not do death metal well, but I don't care about that. With an old rat pedal in front of it with the les paul, it really reminds me of my old 1974 Marshall Superlead 100. This thing is very noise free, even when turned up loud. It does great with pedals also. I mostly use various phasers, a voodoo lab microvibe, and a tubescreamer and rat pedal. This thing has a mellow bass, but a clear bass. I also own a Fender Bassman LTD. To compare the two, this amp has much better low end and overall clarity at high volumes. At low volumes, they sound pretty similiar. When you turn them up though, this thing kills the Bassman. It stays tight and focused, with great clarity even when it starts to distort. I cannot say the same for the Bassman, which is why I am going to sell the Bassman. I compared these amps for about 3 months, playing every day. Although I bought this amp used, the speakers were not even broken in. I am really happy with this amp. I was really happy with the Fender Bassman LTD also, but after hearing this I can honestly say it is a better amp. Not a lot better at low volumes, but way better at band volumes. I have owned a fair number of really nice tube amps (2 71 twin reverbs, 65 pro reverb, 74 Marshall super lead, 57 National, Soldano SLO) and still own a few of the above, but I find myself playing this one the most.I paid $1200 for this used, and they sell for $1600 new. Considering the Fender Bassman LTD is about $1100 new, with speakers and overall sound that are not as good as the SDG, I think this is a pretty good value. It will also be easier to service and maitain, as it is all hand wired.

I actually thought about keeping my Bassman LTD as a backup for this amp, but I really don't want to keep all this gear. I feel good about the build of this amp, and feel pretty sure that it will last a long time. It uses Mercury Magnetics trannys, and quality parts throughout. This guy did not cheap out anywhere. I have only had it a few months, but I have had no problem other than a microphonic tube, which is normal in tube amps. I replaced the tube and no problem. I take really good care of my amps, and I really think this will last as long as my old Fenders have. I cannot give a rating here, because I have not had it for years and years. I will say that if it does have a problem, it won't be because of the build or parts choices. It is well built with quality parts.

I bought this off of ebay, and had some questions. The builder (Steve) answered my emails and answered all my questions. The fact that he would deal with a potential buyer when he had already sold it and had no obligation to me at all was impressive. It was part of why I bought it. I really felt like he had confidence in his product, and actually cared. How many people would answer like that? I wasn't buying a new one from him, I was buying used and still he answered emails. I believe the warranty is only for the original owner, but I am not worried about it.

I have been playing about 15 years now, and have owned all kinds of amps. This really is my favorite amp yet. It does clean well, and distorts well when pushed. I sorta wish it had reverb, but I still play this more than my 71 twin reverb. Sometimes I use an old Boss analog delay with it, but I find that I use that less and less. I really like just plugging straight into the amp. Sometimes I use a rat or tubescreamer. I compared this live and in person to the Fender Bassman LTD, because I own both of them. The Fender is also a great amp, but the SDG is better. Especially when you turn up to actual live playing levels. After owning this amp, if anything ever happened to it, I would buy another one from SDG vintage.

I?m reviewing this amp as a non-professional harp player. After owning this amp for two months, I still can?t find anything I don?t like about it.

Standard layout of a Fender 59 Bassman input, switches & controls.
Lacquered tweed pine cabinet.
Handwired chassis.
Quality components (e.g. Mercury Magnetics transformers).
4 Jensen reissue P10q speakers.
Internal bias pot.
TungSol 5881 power tubes.
RCA blackplate 5U4 tube rectifier.
EH 12ax7-12ay7-12ax7 preamp tubes.

Typical of harp and guitar players, I?ve been searching for several years for that perfect sound? for me. My search included many of the usual suspects? Fender, Gibson, Silvertone, Danelectro, Jensen, Celestion, etc. The biggest problems I encountered along the way were the loss of articulation when playing amplified, plus always having to be concerned about whether the amplification equipment/speakers could handle the combination of harp key vs. type of mic vs. brand of harp I might be using. Right off the bat, the SDG amp eliminated ALL of those past concerns. I can use any combination of key/harp/mic and it doesn?t care. It?s very versatile.

This amp, with it?s compliment of tubes and control settings, gives me that wonderful sound I get when practicing unamplified in a 70 sq. ft. basement bathroom. A Weber Mass attenuator allows me to add a nice overdrive edge at practice levels with no feedback problems. The best sound I?ve discovered so far is to plug the mic into normal channel 1, jumper normal channel 2 to bright channel 1, and use both volume controls.

I?ve read comments on the internet about the Jensen reissue P10r not being able to reproduce enough low end. Maybe they were just referring to guitars, but I don?t detect that kind of problem with the P10q? and I love playing in Low F.

Never leaves the house, so haven?t had a chance to drop it yet. All I do is power it up on standby for a couple of minutes and, after 30 min. of harp exercises, it?s warmed up and ready to rock.

Steve, the owner, is very easy to work with and went to great lengths to make sure I was satisfied. SDG allows you 48 hour approval of your new amp. Carries a 1 year warranty. If you want a Weber Mass Attenuator, SDG will include one in the deal. For a nominal fee, Weber will add a headphone jack to the attenuator which allows you to practice without disturbing others (an even bigger benefit for electric guitar players).

I've been playing harp daily for 5 years (blues, R&B, rock).

My first intention was to buy a new or used reissue Fender 59 Bassman. But after reading about dissatisfied musicians playing through the stock Fender and how many harp players have gone to great lengths (and expense) to mod theirs with different components, it just made sense to go with a hand wired amp and quality parts.

SDG prices depend on the brand & quality of components you want in your 59 Bassman. It?s competitive in price with a new Fender and more affordable than a new Victoria. Check out the SDG website: www.sdgvintage.com