1971 Fender "Bass Ten" combo puzzle.

P. Bass · #1 03-22-2010, 02:55 AM

In 1971 I bought a Fender bass combo amp that looked very much like a Fender single 15" size guitar amp.(black w/silver grill).It had 2 chan.(3 & 4 knob).I'm not positive about it's name(as indic. above). Now here's the kicker - It had 1 speaker w/ cone made of something like styrofoam & had an almost square basket. Draw a sq. Now extend the top about 1/3 its length from 1 corner & join the new end w/ a straight line to the corner below.This is the new side of the basket.Round off the corners. The speaker cone still had its dome in the centre, & was moulded to the basket frame from the voicecoil dome.The shape of the cone was like stretching plastic over a sq.open box & placing a baseball in the centre. Who thinks of this stuff? Can anyone shed any light on this amp? I saw mention of it many years ago in an amp book under a diff. name I think.This is a true story-I swear! Sometimes I think I'm the only idiot that bought one.

Jim C · #2 03-22-2010, 05:16 AM

I nearly bought one back in the day; we just didn't have enough money and ended up with a used transistor B-15 (which I sold and then bought another back 20 years later).
The speaker was made by Yamaha as I remember.
The salesman at the now defunct Veneman Music in Maryland said that Fender designed these for keyboard use although it was an open back cabinet. Pretty sure that it's briefly mentioned in the Fender amp book. Not a big seller and one that I've never seen outside of a music store.

johnk_10 · #3 03-22-2010, 06:32 AM

IIRC, that was the very short-lived Fender 'Bantam' bass amp (circa 1971), and yes, Jim C is correct, the speaker was made by Yamaha.
there's one on evilbay right now:
http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-Bantam-Ba...item3efae76b87

BillyB_from_LZ · #4 03-22-2010, 07:06 AM

My 1970 Fender catalog shows the Bantam Bass amp and IIRC, it simply describes the speaker as "special design" or something.

20+ years ago, a friend of mine blessed me with a bunch of speakers that he bought from a jukebox company. One of them was the styrofoam Yamaha speaker from a Bantam Bass. When I sold it on eBay a bunch of years ago, it got quite a bit of attention.

Bass Northwest is also offering a Bantam Bass amp for sale (for $499.00):

http://www.bassnw.com/images/Used%20...44%20Front.jpg

http://www.bassnw.com/images/Used%20...944%20Back.jpg

P. Bass · #5 03-22-2010, 02:33 PM

Thanks for the links guys.Seeing the photos of the speaker was a hoot! One magnet back shows "Fender", one shows "Yamaha". The wonderful CBS years!? The truss rod on my '70 J Bass pulled right through the wood.

BillyB_from_LZ · #6 03-22-2010, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P. Bass

... The wonderful CBS years!? The truss rod on my '70 J Bass pulled right through the wood.

Personally, I don't get the interest in '70s Fender Basses... My first bass was a brand new 1974 P Bass and it was awful...had neck issues as long as I owned it (until about 1989). On the other hand, my mid '90s MIM P-Bass and year old Squier Classic Vibe Jazz are far better playing/sounding instruments.

meatwad · #7 03-22-2010, 05:42 PM

Wow, I guess I haven't seen it all....

lbwdog · #8 03-22-2010, 07:48 PM

I played one of these from 1976 to 1981 in a piano trio at a local beach front hotel. The supplied Bantam Bass amp was actually adequate for what I was using it for....everything from "Tea For Two" to "Fiddler On The Roof".....dining and dancing...two to the bar....playing string bass parts on a P Bass, in a tux, five nights a week...(got me through the Disco Days" though)

It really did sound ok, but one night, I turned it on, and that ear shaped, styrofoam speaker had given up the ghost! I replaced the baffle and speaker with a Jensen Concert 15" I had laying around. Sounded even better!