Fender PS 400 Bass Amp & 18” Speaker System

toshibajoe · #1 09-19-2011, 08:43 AM

Fender PS 400 Bass Amp & 18” Speaker System

Does anyone have one of these legendary rigs? Care to share your past or current opinions regarding its performance.
If I were shopping for one of thee, what would I have to spend?

How did (does) it compare to the Acoustic 360 & 370 rigs of the 70s?

Looks cool as heck.

pgk · #2 09-19-2011, 09:46 AM

a friend owns two 400ps's and a 300ps as well. has'nt gigged them in many years but says that yeah, there's nothing bigger or badder than a 400ps. by way of reference he also owns six full svt rigs, four with flatback cabs. a hoarder of the first rank!

toshibajoe · #3 09-21-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgk

a friend owns two 400ps's and a 300ps as well. has'nt gigged them in many years but says that yeah, there's nothing bigger or badder than a 400ps. by way of reference he also owns six full svt rigs, four with flatback cabs. a hoarder of the first rank!

Wow, that's pretty impressive. I'd love to find one and play through it.

The nice thing about the Fender cabinet is it doesn't have all those nasty bolt heads sticking out like the Acoustic 371.

staindbass · #4 09-21-2011, 09:03 AM

the fender looks much nicer !

will33 · #5 09-21-2011, 09:13 AM

They had 3 separate 145 watt speaker outs and you scaled power/speakers up and down as needed. 145 watts with 1 cab, 290watts with 2 cabs or 435watts with 3 cabs. A monster of a tube amp.

toshibajoe · #6 09-21-2011, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by will33

They had 3 separate 145 watt speaker outs and you scaled power/speakers up and down as needed. 145 watts with 1 cab, 290watts with 2 cabs or 435watts with 3 cabs. A monster of a tube amp.

I know. That head has a lot of tubes!!! 13, can you believe that! I bet it sounds great. Love to find one and give it a try.

johnk_10 · #7 09-21-2011, 10:06 AM

i have a 400PS and it's definitely a beast. (i'm running six NOS GE 6550A's in mine) the head weighs over 100lbs so i don't take it out much anymore. i used to run it thru three single 15 showman cabs with JBK K140's in them and it sounded huge. ( i still have two of the showman cabs). IMO, 435 tube watts is pretty incredible.

here's a couple of pics of the head:

pgk · #8 09-21-2011, 10:14 AM

a 6L6 as a driver tube, now That's what i'm talking about!

toshibajoe · #9 09-23-2011, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnk_10

i have a 400PS and it's definitely a beast. (i'm running six NOS GE 6550A's in mine) the head weighs over 100lbs so i don't take it out much anymore. i used to run it thru three single 15 showman cabs with JBK K140's in them and it sounded huge. ( i still have two of the showman cabs). IMO, 435 tube watts is pretty incredible.

here's a couple of pics of the head:

Wow, that certainly is a nice one.

How do you like its tone? How would you compare and contrast it to some of the other amps in you collection?

BagelBruin · #10 09-23-2011, 09:35 AM

I want that bass head stand.

johnk_10 · #11 09-23-2011, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toshibajoe

Wow, that certainly is a nice one.

How do you like its tone? How would you compare and contrast it to some of the other amps in you collection?

thanks. i would say that it mostly sounds like a HUGE Fender showman.

KramerBassFan · #12 09-23-2011, 10:39 AM

I can't look at one of those and not think of Berry Oakley.

BurningSkies · #13 09-23-2011, 10:44 AM

I've hefted a couple of these, and I can't believe that Fender thought strap handles were going to last in the long run...Erg.

johnk_10 · #14 09-23-2011, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

I've hefted a couple of these, and I can't believe that Fender thought strap handles were going to last in the long run...Erg.

i've never had a problem with the strap handles on mine since their actually pretty darn strong. it's my arms and back that seem to give out first when lifting it.

and BTW, on the older SVT's, they used two strap handles on the sides of the head which would twist when you used them when lifting it horizontally. or you could just use one if you carried it like a 85lb briefcase.

toshibajoe · #15 09-28-2011, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnk_10

thanks. i would say that it mostly sounds like a HUGE Fender showman.

I'd like to hear one someday!

Sav'nBass · #16 09-28-2011, 08:49 AM

My back hurts just looking at that .......

johnk_10 · #17 09-28-2011, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sav'nBass

My back hurts just looking at that .......

mine too.

NecroticImbecil · #18 09-28-2011, 11:24 AM

I don't like moving mine without a helper, so it's mostly an in-home practice amp since the band fell apart. Sounds great though. The "bass" channel has a vintage, dark sounding vibe that I don't have much use for, but the "normal" channel is incredible. Clean, deep, and bright. The reverb is pretty good, esp. with fretless. The tremolo is pretty quiet, but not too many applications for that with bass anyway.

The cabs are harder to find than the amp. Never seen one of them. Some die-hards have built their own. I've used mine with every 4 Ohm cab I could find. Worst was the Peavey 1820. The 18 sounded quite like the sound a cow makes, and not from the end that moos. Ultimately ended up using a Carvin 10.2 and 2 Bag end D12-E cabs with great success.

Not bass related, but I'd like to hear (from far enough away) a good Tele player running 3 stacks of Greenback loaded cabs someday...

jerry · #19 09-28-2011, 12:00 PM

Time Electronics in Union NJ has a ton of info on these amps. The Fender 400 PS Amplifier Web Pages, by Rich Koerner

toshibajoe · #20 10-05-2011, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerry

Time Electronics in Union NJ has a ton of info on these amps. The Fender 400 PS Amplifier Web Pages, by Rich Koerner

Wow, that’s a great site. That's a valuable resource to be sure. Thanks for posting.