Calling all Geezers...

[fhm555]

Thats the spirit!
Always loved the funk of the old Kustom amps with that very dated tuck and roll design. Were they a popular match to a fender P back then?

Good call on the Pyramid flats, forgot about those. I'm a huge Entwistle fan but poor Entwistle player so I'll hold off on the steels.

Keep em comming!

A kid hit me up a few weeks ago trying to sell some kind of Kustom head and 215 covered in blue glitter T&R. He said he thought the speaker(s) was blown, but someone plugged two amps into the cab so it could well be the amp, which is why I kind of shined it on. I think it could be had right, but I'm just not looking for something retro right now, especially something that may need some serious work. If you are interested I can see if he's still got the thing and what he wants for it.

 

[Mike M.]

Fun thread. I didn't start playing until 1970, but I was starting to notice what other players were using back around '68. Knew a guy who had a Fender Bassman....the one with the 4, 10" speakers! Knew another guy that had a piggy-back Fender Bassman. I also remember a friend who played bass and had a "Sound" amp. Remember those? I don't think they were around too long.

 

[derridiandrift]

Cool thread, man.

In '68 I was 3. Mom says I was a hell of a vocalist.

 

[Fred Mott]

I was playing guitar in the 60's ,are bass player was using a RIC and a Fender Bassman. Are a Guild.

 

[username1]

I graduated to my first pro equipment in 68. I got my first precision and a sunn 200s. Flatwounds were the only string available where i lived at the time and dont think i got my first set of roundwounds till 70 but i had to special order them. Compared to my fender bassman with 212 cab that i used before i thought the sunn was a huge step up and i loved the sound of the jbl d140's in it. I would still love to have an old 200s sunn if i could find one for a good price.

 

[D.M.N.]

'68 was the first year for the "big boy" Sunn, the 2000S, but the 200S "little brother" was far more prolific.......

Sunn and done. Seriously, find yourself either a 200s+2x15, or a 2000s rig like Ed's beauty there, and that's all you'll need (with JBLs, I'd recommend the K140s over the stock D140s, as they take more power). I couldn't ask for a better vintage tone from mine. And even with one 2x15, it's monstrously loud.

Yes we plugged the mikes into the amps. Some amps had an input for that.
Then PA systems came out.

Man, I STILL do that......only for practice though...

If you wanted to cover the room with bass then you brought the bass gear to do it. So we had stacks of speakers and amps. The more the better.

This is the philosophy my band goes by. We don't usually have PA support for anything but vocals, so we bring the heavy with pure tonnage and displacement.......

 

[GBassNorth]

In '68 I traded my Fender DUAL Showman (2x15 JBL D-140 in the smaller cab) in for a Vox Super Beatle (4x12) with 2 cabs . Depending on the venue I'd use 1 or 2 cabs. I played a Guild Starfire II, Fender Mustang Bass or a Fender Jazz bass - with cloth straps with designs on them, coiled guitar cables , a Shure Unidyne III mic for vocals, and no guitar stand. We also had no floor monitors and used a Kustom column PA as side fill monitors.

This is the best thread ever.... I completely forgot about coiled cables, always thought the dual showman was a guitar amp.... and OMG are those velvet pants you're wearing?

 

[GBassNorth]

In '68 I was in my second or third "garage" band in a small city in Texas so my list is not what was used on either coast.

Firstly, every garage band had at least one guy who brought Silvertone stuff to gigs and practice. I see this stuff today at guitar shows but I thought they sounded horrible.

Amps - 2X15 JBL Bassmans, 2X15 JBL Sunn 200S, Marshalls, 2X15 Peavey was very popular in Texas, the C/W bassists used Standels. I had a 2X15 Acoustic but I don't think that was until '60 or '70. If you saw an Acoustic 360 you were dumbstruck.

Basses - Gibson EBOs, Fender Precision, Jazz and Mustang?, I never saw a Rick back then, and the country guys played "old" Fender Tele basses or full size hollow body Gibsons and Gretsch.

Strings - Ernie Ball flat wounds, Gibson and Fender branded flats and rounds.

Stands - girlfriend or hanger-on would hold your bass during the break.

Straps - medium width with the wildest print you could find.

A lot of guys used felt picks rather than plastic.

Great list - never heard of a felt pick (is that a joke or did it really exist?).

 

[GBassNorth]

I am trying to get a picture of what it looked like in the basement in 1968, I was 14-15. I am thinking there was a Mosrite (blue grill cloth?)amp sitting behind the Farfisa mini-compact organ (with the leg lever volume pedal) ... a Fender Princeton Reverb amp ?? behind the guitar player, with I think a Silvertone guitar ... probably a Tiesco type bass at that time with possibly a Kingston amp ?? ... we had a Bogen power amp for our couple home made 4-10" PA colums

Fast forward a couple years, and the picture changed dramaticly, dumped the keyboard, I had a Sunn Colliseum stack with 2-118 Vega speakers behind me, with a 66' Fender Jazz, dots, no binding, oval tuners, Fender flats .... and a Sunn Concert Lead amp stack behind the guitar player with 2-115 cabs, playing a black Les Paul Custom through it, or his walnut SG, dont remember which was first ... Cerwin Vega sound system on each side ..

... the 2" paisley type cloth strap for me, and the little thin black leather with the shoulder pad for the guitar player .... AND a Peterson Strobe Tuner (the big one, model 420 ??, which I still have BTW and its for sale) was behind us also ...

oops, forgot the bright red coil cords, and WIDE WAIL CORDUROY flair pants with silk puffy sleaved shirts ... the look and the attire was the most important of the whole works of course ...

Yep - I had the puffy sleaved shirts, with about a half dozen buttons on each cuff - of which only a couple could be buttoned because the watch band I had was about 3 inches wide and made of thick leather with eyelets all around. Belt buckles were big back then also, amazing there was any finish left on the back of any bass or guitar.

 

[GBassNorth]

Back around that time frame, I was playing a Sunburst P bass. (sold it like an idiot, wife bought me another one just like it. Still have it - love her!)

I had a strap like the one in Exaltbass' photo (still have it). I also had the little black one with the pad on it (still have it).

I had a Kustom Black Roll & Pleat and I think it had 15's in it. Loved that blue pilot light!

I also had a Fender Bassman 100 Silverface with a 4x12. Still have it.

No stands. I always sat the bass back in the case, I was paranoid.

Rotosound black tapewounds. Foam under the strings near the bridge.

Puffy sleeve shirts, white Beatle boots, big bell bottoms and long hair (as opposed to now - no hair).


Oh, and with one group, a late 60's Greyhound double decker tour bus. All the big groups were riding around in the Silver Eagle bus.

Man, you really hang on to stuff - whish I had done that with a few things. So, at the time (and in hindsight) which did you like best the Kustom 2x15 or the Bassman 4x12?

 

[GBassNorth]

Kustom 250 tuck-n-roll with the 2x15 cab. Black is the proper color, since thats the color I have . Too bad you aren't closer, I've been thinking on rehoming mine.

Vox (Bill Wyman, Paul McCartney), Fender Bassman (Bill Wyman), Ampeg SVT "Blue Line" (Bill Wyman), Hiwatt (Bill Wyman) and Marshall (John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, Noel Redding), and Versatone Pan-O-Flex (Jack Casady, Carol Kaye) were also is use ... but not as cool looking as a Kustom.

Those darned coiled (slinky style) cables were really popular.

Bass straps all seemed to have sewn on colorful patterns, just like the acoustic guitar straps.

I'm leaning more and more towards the Kustom 2x15. Never heard one played so not sure how it sounds vs lets say an SVT. Gotta luv the black tuck and roll with a coiled cable.

 

[GBassNorth]

Sweet Ric up there! I had one in fireglo but it was a rubber necked piece of something that would just not stay in tune... lord it was beautiful though. Likea boat owner's happiest 2 days, incoming and outgoing ... outgoing was actually due to theft and the insurance claim was a happy ending for me.

In 68 - it would have been the Showman Amp that was the standard in New England - that or a Twin installed in a cut down cabinet. If I were going back - that would be the amp I'd bring on home today ...

You're the second person that mentioned the Showman amp. For some reason I always thought those were strictly guitar amps. When you say Twin - is that a Twin Reverb or did Fender make an amp just called a Twin?

 

[GBassNorth]

I started playing bass in '63 and got my HS diploma in '68 and I (still) have a few functioning brain cels.
My name is John and I'm a Geezer.

Let's see:
Sunn amps were all tube back then. The 200s was the best.
If several bands played a gig we often would pick the best amps from what we all had and then gig with them. So I got to play a (pre-200s) Sunn amp with the controls in the top (not on front). Also got to gig thru a Vox Super Beatle with 2 cabs (with sealed backs for better bass). It was the best bass amp in Lima Ohio at that time.
Fender Bassman was the norm and if you had the $$ you got a Dual Showman w/ JBL 15's.
I sold my blonde Bassman & cab to buy a Guild Thunderbass w/ 15's. Wish I still had either of them.
Standel made some cool amps. They were some of the few (very few) solid state amps that wouldn't fizzle and die when pushed hard on a gig.
Univox, Vox, and EMC made amps.
Plush was a Kustom copy, complete with tuck & roll.

Today's amps allow you to adjust the EQ. Back then you were just happy if it was loud enough and didn't crap out in the middle of a song.

I bought a used Harmony single PU bass with my paper route money for $65.

How's that for a trip down memory lane?

I'm very surprised (and very grateful) that I am still playing bass today. 47 years so far.
It's brought me so much happiness and allowed me to bring happiness to so many other people through music.

Hope you enjoyed reading this.
Shindig - aka John L Shinn

John - this is great stuff, thanks for sharing the memories and helping to paint the picture. $65 for a bass, that's kinda Squire teritorry these days. Played a few Sunns and really liked the sound but they were all newer ones. Fender Dual Showman vs a Kustom tuck and roll 2x15 hmmmmm now the choices are getting tough.
Thanks for the post and keep on brother!

 

[John Wentzien]

Mosrite--Kustom and Blue pants!!!

3 15's in that rig!

 

[GBassNorth]

ya ed, sunn for the win, although honorable mention must go to the b-15. but the b-15's just don't crank loudly enough, and while i like the heads, the bassman cabs just don't get the job done with bass imho, so you have to go with the sunn if you want to be period correct.

JimmyM - I'm gonna give you honorable mention on the B15. Best studio bass amp ever made bar none!
Now back to the Sunn 200s vs the Kustom 2x15 vs the Fender Dual Showman. I'm an SVT die hard man but that's not period correct so of the 3 listed above whats the JimmyM pick for a P bass with flats or tapewounds.

 

[steelhead2]

but all i had was an acoustic(guitar,cheap one witch back then was Japonese) and what i'm guessing was a Tiesco labeled Silvertone sold at Sears,with amp to match,i'started' in about 64 or`5 in the 4th grade taking lessons,unfortunatly i never did well with it all because i never hooked up with any bros and by`71 i went dirt bike nuts.

oh how i wish someone had handed me a bass anywhere back thru the years here,,this is a way cool thread tho'=Sunn amps with tuck n roll,neyrooo jackets with huge neck chains complete with i lb,?, uh? what were those huge medallions anyway!?,,it was the Sgt Pepper Thang,Beetle Boots,,,bell bottoms,hippie straps is about all i recall hanging at the shops(guitar strap)

thanks for the wack to the cranium tho' makes me want to get it on before the ambulance gets here

 

[GBassNorth]

Shure Vocalmaster!!! Now THAT brings back some memories!!

Although I do recall feeling like we had "made it" when we got 4 Altec Voice Of The Theater cabinets....the biggest problem with that, however, was carting them, a B3 with a leslie, drums and my gear........

More often than not it was upstairs at some VFW....

Now everyone raises hell if they have to tilt back an 8X10.....

Could you imagine this now??

That picture is worth 2000 words! The Kustom stacks are over the top and the guitar rigs are equally impressive, kind of makes the drum set look like a toy. And those leslie speakers were sooooo cool sounding but weighed a TON. If you are ever looking for that exact leslie sound without the carting issues Hughes and Kettner has a tube pedal called a Rotosphere that really does an impressive job of making any guitar cab with a good bass speaker and a horn tweeter sound just like a leslie. I'll occasionally run my humbucker strat thru it and hook it up to my Berg HT322 for some mind blowing sounds.

 

[GBassNorth]

I'm in. I still have my overhead projectors and my clock faces and oils. I'm ready to go

Somebody's gonna need to pass the acid out to the audience.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

What was "the" bass amp to own back in 1968 (I think that's pre SVT IIRC)?

What amp did most people who did normal bar and small club events typically use?

I started playing in '76, so '68 us a bit before even *my* time, but in '76, the bassists I saw (high school dances used to actually hire real, legit club bands...) were using Ampeg SVTs, larger Acoustics & Sunns. That really was pretty much it; Sure, some dudes had Kustoms, Voxes and even Fenders, but they were not considered on the same level as Sunn, Ampeg or Acoustic.

Were I assembling a "old school" rig to match up with a '68 Fender, I'd go with what I once owned: A nice Sunn rig. They weren't as heavy or touchy as Ampegs and I thought they sounded better than Acoustics...

I assume flats were still very popular back then on P basses, so which flat string was the norm? Is there anything close to it on the market today?

Any flats will do. Rounds were VERY rare back then, and there were very few string makers compared today. Since I'm a prig, I'd still run roungs but keep a sponge in my pocket for a mute...

Straps - were they skinny tan leather or hendrix print weave or paisley or what?

It seemed like everyone used the old stock Fender straps. I hated them - too skinny. Gibson made a wide leather strap that I bought new in '76 that I used for *years*... In fact I wore it out sometime in the '90s.

Guitar stands - same as today or something different?

Stands? Dude. I don't recall seeing those around until the early '80s. Someone might correct me... but most dudes just leaned their basses against their amps during breaks or put them back in the cases. What you did NOT see back then were gig-bags. Those are a later innovation for sure. Everyone was stuck with hard shell wooden cases (not the form fitting fiberglass or plastic cases you see now).

Anything else to really set the environment in '68 besides lamb chop side burns, a naroo jacket, flare jeans and beatle boots (in fact, let's just leave the player out of it for now and focus on the environment, ok we'll leave the drugs out of the environment as well). How about a persian rug to put it all on and incense burner ash tray and lava light to place on the amp? Jefferson Airplane or the Doors concert posters on the walls, etc. You get the picture.

Narooo... Oh son! "Nehru" - former Prime Minister of India! Boy, you *crackin' me up*!

Older dudes I saw / Got to know wore jeans (or leather biker pants), shirts with interesting prints, sometimes had beads... Sometimes - in fact often - had hats - floppy leather hats, not quite Hippy... more cool than that.

Oh - and I TOTALLY forgot about Coiled chords! Those were KEY!

 

[GBassNorth]

Oh yeah, coily cords. I loved those things but they never lasted. My amp was a Guild Thunderbass into a 2x15 Traynor. Everyone used 2x15's if you were serious. Smoked amps and blown speakers were common. Quality volume was not. I also used a Standel (loved it) and a Kustom (loved the looks, hated the sound). I don't ever remember anyone using stands. For one thing you only had one bass and, when you weren't playing, it went into its hardshell case (tweed if you had money). Straps were thin and painful or wide and gaudy. Flats were everywhere while rounds were just starting to make the scene.

Standel amps keep popping up on this thread, never heard of them before. I'll have to do some research. Were these mostly Country Western players using the Standels?