Their amps have been made in South Korea for a few years now. I think they were only made in Vietnam for a year or two.
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Fender Bassman 100T - chapter 2
- Thread starter BassyBill
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Yeah, I have been reading the reissue V4B thread. I'm a former Ampeg guy, but I am perfectly happy with the 100T. I think the 100T has so much more to offer with the two channels, DI, and auto bias feature. I'm sure the Ampeg will be cool and sound good, but for the same price, the Fender offers so much more from first glance. I have been using vintage Ampeg amps exclusively since 2007 up until last month. I don't see myself laying down cash for another amp for a long long time.
I find the 100t appealing, but am also tempted by the new V4B. I like the simplicity of the Ampeg. I'm not interested in the second channel on the 100t, and the auto bias feature just seems like an extra thing that can malfunction, handy though it is. So for me, the lack of these things on the V4B isn't a detriment.
That said, I'm still interested in the 100t. Otherwise I wouldn't still be subscribed to this thread.
Cheers,
Liam
That said, I'm still interested in the 100t. Otherwise I wouldn't still be subscribed to this thread.
Cheers,
Liam
So many choices now: 100t, SB300, new V4-B, SVT, the new Mesa tube amps coming out, the higher-end stuff like Reeves, etc. None of it is cheap, of course, but we do have lots of options these days. Not sure where I'll end up when the cash is freed up in the next few months.
@christianharger: I went with the 1/4". It's plenty sturdy for club work and saves on weight. I use this rig mostly for club work and an SVTCL/810 for larger venues. I don't particularly like wheels on cases. They are generally flimsy, and I move my stuff using a dolly with wheels that have inflatable old school tubes in them. Better for shock absorption than wheels on a case with no shock absorption. Much better to roll your tube amp head across say, a cobblestone style courtyard for instance.
@Gregc: thanks for the update. I see new ones at our local GC here and they still show made in Viet Nam, so I assumed...they must still have plenty of that stock around. I played one a few months ago and the thing started smoking. I am a loyal Ampeg fan and have quite a few Ampeg amps and cabs, but all USA made.
Because I mainly use the vintage channel I think of the 100T as a simple amp. I never worry about the auto bias, it is just something that is there to keep my amp running smoothly and efficiently.
Sure Sandwich, why not? Just measure to make sure it'll fit square on top. The 100t is pretty wide. I planned to run it through an Ampeg 410 hlf, but it hung over the sides and I didn't like the look so I wound up buying the matching 410.
I just didn't want to have 2 diff sounds clashing together....never had this combo but the tube sound lately has got me to sell my GK MB500 I know SS is more accurate but the warm smooth sound on a jazz bass with tubes is just great to me.
My Cab is 22.5 in wide and the 100T is 24.5 so maybe the feet are an inch or so inward....otherwise i'm going to have to angle it a little.
I actually used a board cut to the necessary Iength and spray painted it black to make sure the t100 didn't shift to one side or the other and wind up looking crooked on top of the cab. Like I said however, I quickly succumbed to an extreme case of GAS and bought a 410 neo. It really sounds great and is a sweet looking rig.
The one thing I regret about the t-100 is that they failed to incorporate a feature that blends both channels. The passive channel rocks, but it would be great to be able to dial in some of the overdrive channel into the passive section of the preamp.
I guess Fender had to save some features for an upgrade a few years down the road so they can keep selling us new amps!
I use the passive channel 90% of the time as well. It is terrific.
you can eq the overdrive channel to sound the same and then just blend the overdrive level to taste....
I have heard that said, but it just doesn't seem the same to me as the vintage channel. IMHO, the parametric eq doesn't quite get the same tone as the vintage channel.
It really depends on the bass you are using.
My passive Fenders sound great on the vintage channel but my Gibson, Ray and Spector sound much better on the OD.
It took me a long time and a lot of knob twisting to find what works best with each bass and the style of music I'm playing.
The 100T is far from a one trick pony, it has more tricks than Penn & Teller!
My passive Fenders sound great on the vintage channel but my Gibson, Ray and Spector sound much better on the OD.
It took me a long time and a lot of knob twisting to find what works best with each bass and the style of music I'm playing.
The 100T is far from a one trick pony, it has more tricks than Penn & Teller!
There are two different tone stacks. The vintage channel is the traditional 9-2-9. The overdrive channel is more active with a variable midband, you start from (roughly) 5-5-5. Both stacks are actually quite intuitive if you just use your ears and don't get hung up on numbers.
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