77' Fender Bassman 10

[Gaetano Paul]

SO I just scored one of these on Monday. I love it. It is at the techs now because the bass pot is not working on the thick/bass channel. But I love the warm tone this thing has, even on the bright/bass channel. Its kind of finnicky, because My SR1200 sounds great out of it, its got a super strong active EQ and active pups, smoothest bass I have ever player. Very low output bass which I guess works great with these vintage vibe amps? But my BTB with Bartolini MK1's pups and pre does not sound nearly as good,
Also the tone stacks seem to be very responsive and I have not spent nearly enough time dialing in tones and such.

Anyway, really happy with this purchase and kind of wondering why these are not so popular on TB especially when they can be gotten so cheap, got mine for $350, maybe its cause some basses sound amazing while other basses dont really sound good? It seems tese prefer low output.

ANyone else own one or have experience with one.

[JTE]

First of all, the amps themselves vary a LOT. There's seemingly no rhyme nor reason either. I was a Fender dealer from '77-'88 and those things either sounded great or putrid, no middle ground. We had two with consecutive serial numbers and one was wonderful, the other awful. We even swapped chassis and it was the chassis that made the difference, not the speakers.

They're not that popular because they're really too underpowered for most gigging situations, but they're heavy and clumsy (not to mention a little top-heavy so they're prone to falling down if they're on casters). For $350-$400 there're a lot of more useful combos out there without the potential maintenance issues that accompany old tube amps. But if you get a great sounding one and it's useful for your situation, then they're great amps for low volume, non-percussive stuff.

John

[gbazinet]

I always wanted to try one as an substitute for the SVT on small gigs. The back is sealed, unlike a super reverb correct? How much bass can it handle before the speakers start to crumble?

[JTE]

Yes, the back is sealed, and that makes it a much better bass amp than the tweed Bassman's from the late '50s (and the various reissues Fender's done since 1989). How much bass can it handle? Pretty subjective, but they're not going to give you big flabby low end like reggae, dub, or de-tuned rock styles. And, they don't do really well for slap/pop based funk or other really percussive playing either.

BTW, running a really good one with the internal speakers AND an old Electro-Voice folded horn 1x15 cabinet (I think it was an Eliminator PA cabinet with the cross-overs and the mids and highs components removed) sound really really good!

John

[will33]

There are a few small holes, kinda pseudo ports drilled in the baffle, you can't see them behind the grillcloth. When it starts sounding farty, back off, just like anything. I had one and got rid of it because of lack of clean volume and lowend sound, it did sound pretty good with a guitar though. The cabinet portion is a 410 but couldn't carry the bass loud enough to get the job done. If you're doing quieter stuff it may work.

[Gaetano Paul]

Anyone else out there play one of these?

[christw]

I played through one in a pawn shop for 30 seconds before the filter caps blew. It went from "HAI THERE I'M-A HUMMIN' PRETTY LOUDLY SO YOU KNOW I'S ABOUT DEAD" to "WOOPS, THAT'S IT. I'M-A DYIN' NOWWwwwwww....."

I use a 30w tube head through an efficient 410 that can do a punk gig so I know that low wattage (when used responsibly and carefully) can get the job done. I just never had a chance to try a good Bassman Ten.

[Renaissance]

I've been playing mine since the mid 70's. I never knew they were "either/or". I guess I got a good one! Last year I had a solder joint break and had to have it fixed but beyond that I've never done anything except play it. Still has the original tubes!

It isn't loud but it has a great sound. It can be awkward to handle but I guess I've gotten used to it. Works perfectly for what I need.

[Gaetano Paul]

Nice, I love mine, only one original tube left on it, and its a preamp tube. What inputs do you use?