Please be sure to post your impressions on the CTM 100! Not much info on those out there yet.
Cheers,
Liam
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Fender Bassman 100T Chapter 3
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
Please be sure to post your impressions on the CTM 100! Not much info on those out there yet.
Cheers,
Liam
Just caught up with an old mate who is the national Fender distributor and importer. He is in regular contact with Fender, as you might expect. I asked him about the bias issue and he said something about it being a chip which won't reprogram itself and can't be reprogrammed at their repair facility (as best as I could gather as a non technical guy). He said that Fender have been quick to send over replacements and great to deal with, so repair has been easy and not an issue. He also said he thought the problem was confined to the early run(s) and has since been addressed at the factory as you might expect - I did point out to him that both my SB300 and 100T are early runs and have had no issues 
. Anyway, I thought it was worth a mention.
. Anyway, I thought it was worth a mention.Just caught up with an old mate who is the national Fender distributor and importer. He is in regular contact with Fender, as you might expect. I asked him about the bias issue and he said something about it being a chip which won't reprogram itself and can't be reprogrammed at their repair facility (as best as I could gather as a non technical guy). He said that Fender have been quick to send over replacements and great to deal with, so repair has been easy and not an issue. He also said he thought the problem was confined to the early run(s) and has since been addressed at the factory as you might expect - I did point out to him that both my SB300 and 100T are early runs and have had no issues
Thanks, that is great info. I've finally made contact with the right people and they are looking into a repair on my 100T. More information next week.
Yes, the bias issue is a bit annoying, BUT: the amp is SO great that all I am looking forward to is to have the bias issue sorted and keep playing this amp for many years to come!
Just caught up with an old mate who is the national Fender distributor and importer. He is in regular contact with Fender, as you might expect. I asked him about the bias issue and he said something about it being a chip which won't reprogram itself and can't be reprogrammed at their repair facility (as best as I could gather as a non technical guy). He said that Fender have been quick to send over replacements and great to deal with, so repair has been easy and not an issue. He also said he thought the problem was confined to the early run(s) and has since been addressed at the factory as you might expect - I did point out to him that both my SB300 and 100T are early runs and have had no issues
Thanks Tim. That is great news for me as I await my 100t (see previous post-- 60-90 day wait in Ontario for shipment to the mom & pops I purchased from). I dare to hope ( and choose to believe
) that this has been rectified and I will receive one that is problem free!! hahaMarc
P.S. I drove to Traverse City, Michigan yesterday with the family. Saw a 100t in person when visiting the local music store. All I did was stare. I couldn't bring myself to test it out. I couldn't 'cheat' on my future partner (my 100t). I wanted our first night together to be special.......
Well, I got one gig out of it before the bias issues struck again. Green lights when sound checking, orange and red combinations when we started the first set 15 minutes later. Again, I heard the change before I checked the lights - after the first song I leaned over to look and confirm what my ears were telling me.
I'm really starting to get annoyed.
I'm really starting to get annoyed.
Just got back from playing a smaller room using my 100T into the new Bergantino NV115. This combination kills! As some may know, I tend to favour the SB300 over the 100T for gigs into the Fender neo 610 or Bergantino NV215 cabinets -well, I can now say that for smaller gigs the 100T plus NV115 will be going out. The 100T really opened out as I was able to drive it a bit more, I was using the vintage channel with the master on 10 and gain on 5-6 to go for my preferred clean tone. The NV115 was punchy and tight and I got a few compliments on the bass sound which was good. I was using my 68 Jazz and Sadowsky MV4, great sound with either.
Now I suppose I will have to try the SB300 into the NV115.......
Now I suppose I will have to try the SB300 into the NV115.......
Initially, yes. Fender Au sent a replacement set by way of apology for the stuff around. So I did three or four rehearsals on the stock tubes before the bias issue presented itself, then got it fixed. Did three gigs after the repair, had the bias issue again - amp on repair for the best part of a month. Repairers re-tubed the amp, got one gig out of it before the bias issue occurred.
NOS TUBE COMPLIMENT RESULTS ARE IN!
I'm back from the dead!
Been off the grid for a few months... Won't get into the details.
Anyway... I have completed my extensive NOS tube rolling experiments and I can now present you with my FINAL 100t NOS tube compliment!
The preamp side should not be surprising, but you may be surprised a bit at what power tubes trounced everything else!
V1 and V2: 62 Mullard Blackburn 12AX7a
V3 (AT7): 50s vintage RCA Blackplate (Balanced T1 and T2)
Power tubes...
General Electric : 6L6GC! (these are short bottles)
Yep! The mid bass and top end bite I got/get from both my 64 Jazz reissue and my Ric 4003 sound stellar with these power tubes. And the overall tone and drive of the amp is night and day with these in there. Never thought I would hear a Bassman that sounds this freaking good for bass! lol! Second place were black plate RCA GCs, and third place was Jan Sylvanias short bottle.
The GEs can be had for about 30 bucks a piece if you shop around on eBay. Don't pay those RIDICULOUS prices some sellers are asking! They are simply not worth 100 bucks a piece! That is insane for ANY 6L6! (Well in terms of sound they are worth way more than that, but fair market is 30-45 for new and 20-30 for lightly used and tested/balanced)
Also... As for the NON NOS tubes I have here to compare, The Winged Cs were the best, but not that much better than the GTs that come in the amp from the factory.
I've been running with the above compliment now for almost two months and so far, everything continues to sound fantastic. I practice/record/jam about 3-5 hours a day most days, so these have gotten a lot of use. I've got about 350 hours on the amp itself at this point, along with the 4x10 Neo cab.
I'm back from the dead!
Been off the grid for a few months... Won't get into the details.
Anyway... I have completed my extensive NOS tube rolling experiments and I can now present you with my FINAL 100t NOS tube compliment!
The preamp side should not be surprising, but you may be surprised a bit at what power tubes trounced everything else!
V1 and V2: 62 Mullard Blackburn 12AX7a
V3 (AT7): 50s vintage RCA Blackplate (Balanced T1 and T2)
Power tubes...
General Electric : 6L6GC! (these are short bottles)
Yep! The mid bass and top end bite I got/get from both my 64 Jazz reissue and my Ric 4003 sound stellar with these power tubes. And the overall tone and drive of the amp is night and day with these in there. Never thought I would hear a Bassman that sounds this freaking good for bass! lol! Second place were black plate RCA GCs, and third place was Jan Sylvanias short bottle.
The GEs can be had for about 30 bucks a piece if you shop around on eBay. Don't pay those RIDICULOUS prices some sellers are asking! They are simply not worth 100 bucks a piece! That is insane for ANY 6L6! (Well in terms of sound they are worth way more than that, but fair market is 30-45 for new and 20-30 for lightly used and tested/balanced)
Also... As for the NON NOS tubes I have here to compare, The Winged Cs were the best, but not that much better than the GTs that come in the amp from the factory.
I've been running with the above compliment now for almost two months and so far, everything continues to sound fantastic. I practice/record/jam about 3-5 hours a day most days, so these have gotten a lot of use. I've got about 350 hours on the amp itself at this point, along with the 4x10 Neo cab.
Nice! I made a good choice then by getting the GE short bottles. It sounds excellent, and the head has worked flawlessly with them. Last night, we played a County Fair and temps were in the 90's. Since I experienced an issue with the bias with that first head, I have always brought along my micro-VR as a backup head. I loaned it out to my nephew yesterday morning forgetting that I needed it as a back up. I admit to being a little anxious when setting up for the gig.. Hoping I had green lights..
Not only did the amp work as it should, it sounded great. I got the opportunity to crank it last night with the 410 NEO. What a sound!
Not only did the amp work as it should, it sounded great. I got the opportunity to crank it last night with the 410 NEO. What a sound!
COOL MAN!
I'm pleased to learn that you put some of the GEs in there! They are incredible!
One thing about them too... The Cathode and heater sections are much beefier than anything from Russia, so the chances of your auto bias going whacko with them is very low.
Provided that the ones you bought are new and not used. When you put in a set of used tubes, you never know how many hours they already had on them, and tubes do fail eventually, just like a light bulb.
The preamp tubes are another story though. This is why I always tell my tube amp owning friends that it is worth spending the money for NOS preamp tubes at least, because it is not unusual for an NOS 12AX7 to last for 10+ years or more, depending on the application.
P.S. You've got the exact same rig I have! I LOVE the 410 Neo!
Forgot to mention that I also FINALLY found a great use for the active tone stack side of the 100t!
Up till now, I have been just using the vintage side, cause it just sounds perfect to me for my Fenders and my Rickenbacker. (I also run the Ric out to my VOX AC15 twin guitar amp using Ric-O-Sound for an AWESOME Rickenbacker tone!)
But... I recently purchased a Gretsch G2224, which contrary to some reports, does not come with TV Jones pickups like the original single pickup model, and these two mini humbuckers leave a lot to be desired.
When I plugged it into the vintage channel that is perfectly dialed in for my expensive basses, it sounded pretty bad!
So... I decided to switch over to the active channel and started twiddling the knobs. Damned if the 100t didn't end up wringing out every ounce of tonal quality this little bass could muster, to the point that I am now not sure if I am going to need the replace the pickups or not.
Probably still will get some TV Jones in there eventually, but between the Bassman and a new set of DR Sunbeams, this thing is sounding pretty damned good now.
However, anytime I start thinking it has anything but crap offshore pups in it, I just need to switch back over to the vintage channel! YUCK! lol!
The active tone stack is a hell of an impressive channel considering what it has been able to do with this cheap Chinese bass!
I should mention though that this little Jet Jr. II has a FANTASTIC neck on it, with well dressed frets and plays like a dream! No effort involved justifying putting more into upgrades than I paid for the guitar in the first place!
Up till now, I have been just using the vintage side, cause it just sounds perfect to me for my Fenders and my Rickenbacker. (I also run the Ric out to my VOX AC15 twin guitar amp using Ric-O-Sound for an AWESOME Rickenbacker tone!)
But... I recently purchased a Gretsch G2224, which contrary to some reports, does not come with TV Jones pickups like the original single pickup model, and these two mini humbuckers leave a lot to be desired.
When I plugged it into the vintage channel that is perfectly dialed in for my expensive basses, it sounded pretty bad!
So... I decided to switch over to the active channel and started twiddling the knobs. Damned if the 100t didn't end up wringing out every ounce of tonal quality this little bass could muster, to the point that I am now not sure if I am going to need the replace the pickups or not.
Probably still will get some TV Jones in there eventually, but between the Bassman and a new set of DR Sunbeams, this thing is sounding pretty damned good now.
However, anytime I start thinking it has anything but crap offshore pups in it, I just need to switch back over to the vintage channel! YUCK! lol!
The active tone stack is a hell of an impressive channel considering what it has been able to do with this cheap Chinese bass!
I should mention though that this little Jet Jr. II has a FANTASTIC neck on it, with well dressed frets and plays like a dream! No effort involved justifying putting more into upgrades than I paid for the guitar in the first place!
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
Interesting. Did you try any 7581as? I've found that the Philips version of this tube is my absolute favorite 6L6 type. I am curious about the Tung-Sol version.
At this point, I'm still rocking a somewhat modded '67 Showman (mainly a Mercury Magnetic OT and beefed up power supply) along with a similar Bandmaster, but the new Bassman amps are looking pretty enticing. I'm not always supremely confident about a 46 year old amp.
Cool!
Yes!
I tried some RCA 7581s and they were close to the sound of the GEs, but not as warm to my ear. GE 7581s would be my choice for that model, but I don't have any of those in my collection right now. A bit overkill for the 100t though as I will detail below...
Also, the set I had were not very even testing and also well used, so I didn't include them in my top 3. If it were not for the auto-bias feature in this amp, I would not have been able to use the quad I had even for testing because they would have likely not bias matched very well, simply based on the wide range of GM I got when tested on my Triplett 3444.
I have also found that the prices for this model are even more outrageous these days than a 6L6 GC.
For those who may not be familiar with this other 6L6 variant...
The only real difference between a 6L6GC and a 7581 is that the latter can handle higher plate voltages, which in the case of the 100t is really not going to buy you much since the amp is designed and speced for a GC type 6L6 power tube. It wouldn't harm the amp or the tube to run them, and they would likely last a little longer than a set of GCs since they would not be running full tilt, but even the GE GC is overbuilt as compared to any of the Russian made tubes today, including the GTs this amp came with. So both of these NOS 6L6 models are going last much longer than anything from Russia or China.
Yes!
I tried some RCA 7581s and they were close to the sound of the GEs, but not as warm to my ear. GE 7581s would be my choice for that model, but I don't have any of those in my collection right now. A bit overkill for the 100t though as I will detail below...
Also, the set I had were not very even testing and also well used, so I didn't include them in my top 3. If it were not for the auto-bias feature in this amp, I would not have been able to use the quad I had even for testing because they would have likely not bias matched very well, simply based on the wide range of GM I got when tested on my Triplett 3444.
I have also found that the prices for this model are even more outrageous these days than a 6L6 GC.
For those who may not be familiar with this other 6L6 variant...
The only real difference between a 6L6GC and a 7581 is that the latter can handle higher plate voltages, which in the case of the 100t is really not going to buy you much since the amp is designed and speced for a GC type 6L6 power tube. It wouldn't harm the amp or the tube to run them, and they would likely last a little longer than a set of GCs since they would not be running full tilt, but even the GE GC is overbuilt as compared to any of the Russian made tubes today, including the GTs this amp came with. So both of these NOS 6L6 models are going last much longer than anything from Russia or China.
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
Yup, apparently the 7581 types are spec'ed for a mean time before failure of 5,000 hours. that's a lot of gigs. I also have a quad in my pair of McIntosh MC30 amps for my stereo and they just sound amazing. They spent a couple years of gigging with the Showman before landing there.
Fat Willie of NBS Electronics in Denver has some pulls of the 6L6GC-STR 387s. They are $60 a matched pair. His claim is that they are essentially equivalent to the 7581s and they look pretty much identical. I got the last of his 7581A pulls, which are in the Showman and they are very solid tubes, for about $140/quad. I'm going to put a pair of the 387s in my bandmaster for my gigs next weekend (3 long gigs in two days, including an outdoor festival, probably in the heat). If that doesn't give them a run for their money, I don't know what will. Fat Willie may be a lot of things (you can look up his reputation online, if you haven't had the pleasure, quite a character) but I'd trust him with my life and that of my wife and 1 year old boy when it comes to tubes.
So, I'm psyched that the 100T uses 6L6s. They are my favorite output tube.
I hope this is not all too OT, but it's by way of my enthusiasm for the 100T and the development of this style of amp and types of 6L6s seem relevant.
I am curious about the styles of music being played through amp. I'm mine can easily be inferred from the pic.
Fat Willie of NBS Electronics in Denver has some pulls of the 6L6GC-STR 387s. They are $60 a matched pair. His claim is that they are essentially equivalent to the 7581s and they look pretty much identical. I got the last of his 7581A pulls, which are in the Showman and they are very solid tubes, for about $140/quad. I'm going to put a pair of the 387s in my bandmaster for my gigs next weekend (3 long gigs in two days, including an outdoor festival, probably in the heat). If that doesn't give them a run for their money, I don't know what will. Fat Willie may be a lot of things (you can look up his reputation online, if you haven't had the pleasure, quite a character) but I'd trust him with my life and that of my wife and 1 year old boy when it comes to tubes.
So, I'm psyched that the 100T uses 6L6s. They are my favorite output tube.
I hope this is not all too OT, but it's by way of my enthusiasm for the 100T and the development of this style of amp and types of 6L6s seem relevant.
I am curious about the styles of music being played through amp. I'm mine can easily be inferred from the pic.
Good news - Fender Au offered a refund or exchange on my as accursed amp; I'm going with the exchange as I'm otherwise really happy with the 100-T.
