Not to be a tempter here, but I can't believe the reaction from musicians onstage and in the audience whenever I gig with this thing. And last night, it was the rig for three house bands. The other two bass players were blown away by it.
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Fender Bassman 100T Chapter 3
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
Not to be a tempter here, but I can't believe the reaction from musicians onstage and in the audience whenever I gig with this thing. And last night, it was the rig for three house bands. The other two bass players were blown away by it.
I did it. I pulled the trigger and ordered it.
Quick question, will a 2 foot speaker cable be fine for this rig, or am I going to need to get a longer cable?
I did it. I pulled the trigger and ordered it.
Quick question, will a 2 foot speaker cable be fine for this rig, or am I going to need to get a longer cable?
Congrats! You'll never look back.... Yes, 2-footer is fine.
Congrats. 2' is fine, as long as it's Jack plug on one end at least. No Speakons on these amps.
Actually, I think they all ship WITH decent quality Jack to Jack speaker lead included. My Super Bassman did & I recall others 100T did too
Thinking about picking up some covers for the head and cabinet, anybody have a recommendation on what brand to buy? I know fender makes some pretty basic slip covers, and I've taken a look at Studio Slips, which are pricier but look to be pretty high quality.
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
I just got a Premium Plus Le Cover for my '67 Showman. It's well built and shipped quickly.
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However, if I were to do it again, I'd probably go with these guys:
http://www.d2fcovers.com
A little cheaper and seems to be about the same thing. I wasn't convinced that the Le Cover foam is actually 1/2". Seems more like 1/4". But, I'll be bringing it to my gigs this weekend, so I can see how it works on the street.
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However, if I were to do it again, I'd probably go with these guys:
http://www.d2fcovers.com
A little cheaper and seems to be about the same thing. I wasn't convinced that the Le Cover foam is actually 1/2". Seems more like 1/4". But, I'll be bringing it to my gigs this weekend, so I can see how it works on the street.
FINALLY!!!
My amp has had its bias chip replaced today. It works just as it is supposed to do. Fingers crossed it will stay that way!
My local guitar shop is an autorized tech and he did the job in just 15 minutes.
Not so happy that the whole process took me three months. Plus I had to argue with the local Fender division that the warranty should cover this bias issue. It turned out well in the end and I am happy.
Fellow 100T owners with bias issue: ask for a chip replacement. The issue is a quick and easy fix.
My amp has had its bias chip replaced today. It works just as it is supposed to do. Fingers crossed it will stay that way!
My local guitar shop is an autorized tech and he did the job in just 15 minutes.
Not so happy that the whole process took me three months. Plus I had to argue with the local Fender division that the warranty should cover this bias issue. It turned out well in the end and I am happy.
Fellow 100T owners with bias issue: ask for a chip replacement. The issue is a quick and easy fix.
Pleased you are up and running again Electrophonic.Exactly what I was told by the national Fender wholeasaler/importer They have had no problems with Fender just sending over the chip then popping it in. Apparently the issue with the faulty chip (if you have one) was that it would not reset after use. No-one should have had to argue over this, it should have been recognised as a straightforward warranty issue by now - as it seems to be in most cases. As I have said, both my 100T and SB300 have been flawless, it must have been just a small number of chips in one batch and no doubt sourced elsewhere 
. It sometimes seems to happen that we Talkbass regulars know more about the problems and issues than the shops or agents 
.
. It sometimes seems to happen that we Talkbass regulars know more about the problems and issues than the shops or agents .
Its too bad that this had to happen, since it gives the technologically squeamish something to hand wring about.
The technology isn't really anything ground breaking when you get right down to it. Basically an IC controlled bias monitoring/adjusting circuit no more complicated than a scientific calculator chip.
Even though the technology is old school, the idea is brilliant in that it makes running a four power tube amp like this much easier and less high maintenance, especially if you loose a 6L6 during a show! You also are freed to use less matched tubes and let the circuit tweak them into shape. You could never get away with that with any other tube power amp like this!
Mine has worked perfectly since I got my 100t many months back, and have rolled over a half dozen power tube sets through mine to see how well this little bias circuit could handle it. I even deliberately put widely unmatched 6L6s in mine to see what the amp would do, and damn if it didn't match them up and make them sound great together! Took it about four times longer than normal to stop blinking, but it did manage to bias them.
I even put a known shorted tube in mine. Not a bad short, but definitely a borderline 6L6, and my amp refused to use it!
It turned that tube socket and the other tube in that pair RED which kept the funky tube from possibly damaging the amp!
So, to all the hand wringers... GET A CLUE! The auto bias system is a fantastic feature and there is no need to fear it! Just educate yourselves as to what it is and what it does, and you will see why it is better to have it in there than not!
The technology isn't really anything ground breaking when you get right down to it. Basically an IC controlled bias monitoring/adjusting circuit no more complicated than a scientific calculator chip.
Even though the technology is old school, the idea is brilliant in that it makes running a four power tube amp like this much easier and less high maintenance, especially if you loose a 6L6 during a show! You also are freed to use less matched tubes and let the circuit tweak them into shape. You could never get away with that with any other tube power amp like this!
Mine has worked perfectly since I got my 100t many months back, and have rolled over a half dozen power tube sets through mine to see how well this little bias circuit could handle it. I even deliberately put widely unmatched 6L6s in mine to see what the amp would do, and damn if it didn't match them up and make them sound great together! Took it about four times longer than normal to stop blinking, but it did manage to bias them.
I even put a known shorted tube in mine. Not a bad short, but definitely a borderline 6L6, and my amp refused to use it!
It turned that tube socket and the other tube in that pair RED which kept the funky tube from possibly damaging the amp!So, to all the hand wringers... GET A CLUE! The auto bias system is a fantastic feature and there is no need to fear it! Just educate yourselves as to what it is and what it does, and you will see why it is better to have it in there than not!
Good stuff again GG7. My SUPER Bassman has been flawless so far too.
I like the feature myself. Hard to get good tubes here & even harder to find good tube techs.
I like the feature myself. Hard to get good tubes here & even harder to find good tube techs.
Pleased you are up and running again Electrophonic.Exactly what I was told by the national Fender wholeasaler/importer They have had no problems with Fender just sending over the chip then popping it in. Apparently the issue with the faulty chip (if you have one) was that it would not reset after use. No-one should have had to argue over this, it should have been recognised as a straightforward warranty issue by now - as it seems to be in most cases. As I have said, both my 100T and SB300 have been flawless, it must have been just a small number of chips in one batch and no doubt sourced elsewhere
Thanks! I've used it two times since the repair and both times have been perfect. May it continue for a long time!
Exactly: this is why I want it to be a sticky or whatever to fellow 100T owners here on Talksbass with the same issue; just ask for a bias chip replacement.
My amp was bought through an endorsement deal. The guy who bought it also got a SB300 and sold the 100T to me after just a couple of weeks. I won't name them, but some at Fender said they wouldn't help because I was now the second owner and claimed the warranty didn't cover "a second hand amp". Others saw my point of view with a practically brand new amp and decided to let me have the replacement chip for free. The person who made the decision was very helpful, thanked me for my patience and made me feel good as a customer. That has to be said, to be fair!
Since the company, dealers, agents and so on don't always know in detail how to fix the bias issue, it is crucial that we can help each other.
Pleased you are up and running again Electrophonic.Exactly what I was told by the national Fender wholeasaler/importer They have had no problems with Fender just sending over the chip then popping it in. Apparently the issue with the faulty chip (if you have one) was that it would not reset after use. No-one should have had to argue over this, it should have been recognised as a straightforward warranty issue by now - as it seems to be in most cases. As I have said, both my 100T and SB300 have been flawless, it must have been just a small number of chips in one batch and no doubt sourced elsewhere
That's exactly what I theorized early on would turn out to be the problem. Fender and other amp builders do not manufacture the components used in their circuits. Even if they have a proprietary design on an integrated circuit, that chip is made by a component manufacturer, not the amp builder. The components are received in batches as needed, and it's not uncommon for a batch of bad components to slip through q.c. and get delivered to the builder. In this case that's certainly no reflection on Fender. What is a reflection on Fender is that they seem to have done some stonewalling in not fessing up to the problem and caused some owners undue hassle in delays and wrangling over whether it was a warranty issue or not, when they should have been able to identify the run of amps that had the faulty chips, and immediately notify dealers to hold those amps while they sent out replacement chips. To be fair, the problem there is the chip used in the auto bias circuit is likely not a common stock item for the chip manufacturer, so Fender probably had to wait for another batch of chips to be made. But as others have stated, what really puzzles me is why Fender wouldn't have a representative on this thread to give us info straight from the factory, especially in a case like this where more than a few potential buyers have likely been scared off by the auto bias problem.
Freight Train: Agree 100 per cent!
That said, I know at least two guys who have ordered the 100T and a matching cab because of my sound and rig. And they even knew about the bias issue in my amp!
That said, I know at least two guys who have ordered the 100T and a matching cab because of my sound and rig. And they even knew about the bias issue in my amp!
Electrophonic, glad to hear that your bias issue is sorted.
Cheers,
Liam
Thanks ! I will forever be grateful for Tim1s hint that the bias chip might be the problem and also a quick and easy fix. After that message Fender finally got everything sorted.
Are there any 100T owners left here on TB now with bias issue?
My head was replaced after developing the issue for a third time; my tech suspects something else was going on with mine as well as the bias chip.
Replacement head is working great, and doing everything I want tonally. I feel justified in not accepting a refund
Replacement head is working great, and doing everything I want tonally. I feel justified in not accepting a refund
- Feb 3, 2005
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- Endorsing artist: Bergantino Audio Systems and GHS Strings
My head was replaced after developing the issue for a third time; my tech suspects something else was going on with mine as well as the bias chip.
Replacement head is working great, and doing everything I want tonally. I feel justified in not accepting a refund
Glad to hear it has worked out!
Last Saturday night I had the pleasure of playing a stage where the amps were on a large riser with the drums - about 12" up, and I REALLY got to hear the 100T/410 Neo in action! Wow, what an amazing tone. Makes me want a stack even more, so I can hear it that well every gig. I'd do a dummy for the bottom cab, but that'd decouple the cab from the floor. The flatwould bass (G&L L-1000) was more articulate than what I normally hear, but I'm even more impressed now with what a magic pairing this rig is with the Epiphone Jack Casady with roundwounds. That bass doesn't seem to get a lot of respect, but I totally love it with this amp.
I also posted this in effects forum.
I have a Lizard Leg blue tail clean boost pedal. It's awesome and clean as I've ever heard. Exactly what I've been looking for. works fantastic (with entire board) when I dial it in with my headphone amp or with my walkabout rig at home. starts to slightly boost at about 10/11:00 on the dial and has a nice smooth wide range up to max.
here's the issue. When I get it into my 100T it actually cuts my volume. I have to set the dial quite high to get any volume boost and then there isn't much of usable range.
is the amp acting like a compressor when boost is engaged? If so front end or power section? any ideas? alternatives? anyone having similar issues? I really dig this pedal and looking forward to using it.
I have a Lizard Leg blue tail clean boost pedal. It's awesome and clean as I've ever heard. Exactly what I've been looking for. works fantastic (with entire board) when I dial it in with my headphone amp or with my walkabout rig at home. starts to slightly boost at about 10/11:00 on the dial and has a nice smooth wide range up to max.
here's the issue. When I get it into my 100T it actually cuts my volume. I have to set the dial quite high to get any volume boost and then there isn't much of usable range.
is the amp acting like a compressor when boost is engaged? If so front end or power section? any ideas? alternatives? anyone having similar issues? I really dig this pedal and looking forward to using it.
Like he said.
at rehearsals I often kneel down in front of the rig. Not because I can't hear it otherwise but because it sounds so amazing.
