Early SF Bassman 50 head & 2/15 bottom

[Fretlessbaby]

A friend of a friend has an early 70's silverface 1/2 stack bassman 50 with 2/15's. He plays lead guitar and it sounds amazing in their blues band. He is thinking about selling it & buying a Marshall. Any experience or thoughts on these as bass amps in a classic rock band? Some people I have talked to say they are better guitar amps than bass amps. I am confused......

[B-string]

The 50 watt head just doesn't have the raw power for most bassists these days. Within it's capabilities it does very well.
You don't need much raw power for guitar use.

[Steve Dallman]

I struggled back in the 60's and early 70s with a 50 watt bassman. I tried a variety of cabinets, some with EV's, folded horn, etc. all quite efficient but it NEVER had enough power or headroom. Even at fairly low level practice in a small room. It was the worst bass amp I every used. I still have one, but it's for guitar only.

I did work on a few 50 watt Bassmans for customers that insisted on using them. I rewired them to use 6550's and quadrupled the B+ filtering. That made a big difference getting them to nearly gigging levels.

[zachoff]

They sound awesome, but aren't loud enough. Hell, the Bassman 100s aren't loud enough by most people's standards.

But man... They really sound awesome.

[Fretlessbaby]

I appreciate all of the feedback. I have a chance to pick it up at a fair price but it looks like I better keep on saving. I am really wanting an all tube amp again.