Coming from the store. They tryed a new set of tube. Same (bias) problem. I left the amp there for further investigation. Let's say it's not a very good start........
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Fender Bassman 100T Chapter 3
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
I think you have a pretty clear idea of your choices. I have owned or currently own the V4B, the SB300 and the 100T. It really does boil down to personal preference and the tone and features you desire, as there are clear differences on all fronts (I won't go over them as they have been clearly detailed already). Freight Train gives an honest assessment of the situation, and for his goals the 100T is the obvious choice. I very much require a clean tone and if I had to choose just one of the three it would be the Super Bassman 300 - not because it is a "better" amp than the 100T but because it suits my goals better and is still much lighter than my old SVT. Having just received my V4B I can say that its basic tone is different to the 100T, it seems richer with more highs and lows although the 100T is way more versatile and with twiddling can get close to that tone should you desire it. The V4B sounds a little more "vintagey" to me, although it does gall that I had to pay the same price as the 100T for an amp with the same power tubes, far fewer features and made in China (I think). However, the big plus for me with the V4B is that it compresses more naturally when driven hard which is more useable for me rather than have a clear power tube overdrive like the 100T. For others this will not be a benefit. With my less sensitive Bergantino NV115 the V4B sounds cleaner and more controlled at volume than the 100T, with other cabs it may be different - early days yet.
Both Fender amps are superb and a new peak for Fender IMO, and the V4B is up there with them tonally but without the bells and whistles.
I am trying not to be a fanboy for either brand, simply presenting them as I see them from a working bassist's point of view. I would encourage you to try before you buy. The Fender neo 610 cabinet is also a superb speaker, light and incredibly powerful and a great match for the 100T although clearly the 410 is equally popular.
Hope this helps, Tim.
Both Fender amps are superb and a new peak for Fender IMO, and the V4B is up there with them tonally but without the bells and whistles.
I am trying not to be a fanboy for either brand, simply presenting them as I see them from a working bassist's point of view. I would encourage you to try before you buy. The Fender neo 610 cabinet is also a superb speaker, light and incredibly powerful and a great match for the 100T although clearly the 410 is equally popular.
Hope this helps, Tim.
Hey all! So I just was watching some YouTubes on the Super Bassman. I just made my mind up, Im saving for this amp and grabbing one. Holy hell!!! These things sound ridiculously awesome and versatile. Its going to take me a while to save but I will do it. I heard about this amp when it came out and I remember thinking it sounded awesome at the time but I was so into pedals and stuff like that I didnt even give it a second thought. Maybe something like, that would be nice, but Ill never afford it. So I moved on. But now I want it. BAD. Can anyone answer me this please. I am an effects head. If any of you know of me, you know that much. But what I would like to know is this, when you got you Super Bassman, did it cause any of you to cut down on your pedal boards? Maybe less dirt, stuff like that? Because that dirt IN the Bassman sounds raunchy as all get out! And all the tonal options on it, it just boggles me a little. Im so used to getting my main tone through various preamps on my board and having an SS amp with some options. But the tonal options on the Bassman seem endless and totally versatile. Please tell me, thank you! Im off to read through the many opinions and comments in this thread.
I agree wholeheartedly Freight Train. My all time favorite as well and you sure were right about the combination of the 100T and the Jack Casady- a match made in heaven! Just gigged that combination last Saturday night.
That'd probably be a question for the Super Bassman thread, but I'll say this about the 100T.
#1 - If you primarily use overdrive an/or distortion pedals, the 100T and SB300 are similar in one way, but totally different in another. They both have the same overdrive channel with active eq. It's a matter of taste, but I like the Fender overdrive with blend as well as any pedal I've used. But where the difference comes in is the 100T's ability to reach power tube distortion at a reasonable volume. I don't think any combination of pedals can come close to the sound of the 100T's power tube distortion combined with the active channel's overdrive for extra crunch if needed. I've never heard any pedal that really sounds like power tube distortion anyway - it's all preamp distortion after all is said and done, and that's a buzzier sound. The 100T gets you power tube grunt at a reasonable volume, at the expense of clean headroom, which the SB300 has in spades.
#2 - If you use a lot of pedal eq - the 100T and SB 300 have the same active eq on the overdrive channel, which of course can be used as a super-clean channel as well. It has a very versatile 3 band active eq with sweep midrange, peak & dip hi's and low's, and switchable high and low boosts. For me, with my basses, it's more than enough eq. I personally use the vintage channel 80% of the time on the 100T (SB300 is the same), which has the Fender passive tone stack, and is not what you'd really call eq, it's more like "color knobs" or something. But with my basses it easily gets the sound I'm going for. Others may disagree and need graphic or paragraphic eq or whatever, but I've always felt that indicates a mismatch of bass/strings/amp/cab.
#3 - If you use pedals for chorus/flange/delay/reverb etc., the 100T or SB300 won't change anything. Those are different animals and have nothing to do with how the amp sounds.
#4 - If you use an exciter, the proper place for that in your chain is in the sh*tcan.
#5 - Since I purchased the 100T my pedal board has consisted of a Fender channel switch. I'll say again that if you can find the amp and bass combination that gets the sound you want without processing, nothing can match the sound of a good bass plugged straight into a good amp.
I was planning on going with the 300. So a lot of my queries were answered, thanks! It brought on another question now though. I know that in order to push the tubes into break up, you need done volume. Are you saying that I'd have to have it relatively loud for OD to kick in on the 300? Also, can you link me to the 300 thread please?
Killing gods
Killing gods
Thanks for posting this, Dustin. My handle hadn't broken yet, but I decided to be pro-active and emailed Fender. I received a replacement handle two days later.
What 15" cabs are you guys running?
Also, is there a serial number timeline for the handle replacements?
Also, is there a serial number timeline for the handle replacements?
I use a pair of TL606's with 3015 non LF's.
They kill with the 100T dirty, clean the Faital Pro 15PR400 sound sweeter. Both are light and can take a pounding.
In my case it cause me to add two pedals to my board: an Amptweaker Bass TightFuzz and an Nocturne Dyno-Brain (Roland RE 201 preamp clone). The fuzz pretty muc gets used with all my rigs, but the Dyno Brain adds some special zing-sauce in the way it juices the preamp tubes.
Yeah I've got a pretty extensive pedal board. But I'm thinking that most the pedals I use for OD will go bye bye. Like my SA OFD and boss ODB3. The dirt in the SBM sounds SO heavenly.
Killing gods
Killing gods
What I was saying is the 100T reaches power tube breakup at just about the volume you'd play to match level with a powerful drummer (I'm basing this on using the 410 Neo cab. A more efficient cab would mean you'd be louder before you reached breakup, less efficient it'll breakup at a lower volume.) A 300 watt tube amp like the SB300 or an SVT is and incredible amount of power, say what you will about "watts is watts". For a 300 watt tube amp to reach power tube breakup, it will be at an incredibly loud volume. You would need to be on a big stage in a good sized venue to pull that off, and even then you'd probably be getting grief from the FOH engineer.
Also, when you say overdrive, that to my way of thinking is preamp distortion, not power amp distortion. The SB300 and the 100T have the same tube overdrive, and I think it's very good, but that's personal opinion. You could add an extra overdrive pedal and really get some crazy fuzz by using both. But that doesn't affect the power tubes at all. They won't distort until they're reaching their max output capacity, no matter what you're doing at the preamp stage. The overdrive we're talking about here you could play at any volume by adjusting the master volume. But the power tube distortion only happens with amp is about to max out, which with the 100T happens pretty easily and quickly. With the sB300 you'll be melting faces if you try that in a club-type venue.
To say it again though, the 100T does this at the expense of headroom, and that's why a lot of guys like Tim1 went to the SB300.
Another question, if most seem to want the OD/drive from the preamp breakup, which is what I, whats the appeal of the power tubes breaking up?? Thats something Im not familiar with. I dont think anyway.
+100 to what Freight Train said above.
Power tube break up is more harmonious to my ears and provides a nice warm compression - preferable to, and usually more subtle than, preamp overdrive. The fender overdrive channel really is excellent if that is your bag, but Freight Train is right in his assessment. All IMO of course since I don't normally use it
.
Power tube break up is more harmonious to my ears and provides a nice warm compression - preferable to, and usually more subtle than, preamp overdrive. The fender overdrive channel really is excellent if that is your bag, but Freight Train is right in his assessment. All IMO of course since I don't normally use it
.
Yes, what Tim said, power tube distortion is a throatier, gruntier distortion, where preamp overdrive is generally a more buzzy "fuzz" sound. Up to a point power tube distortion can be pretty extreme, but when the bass is playing in ensemble it doesn't really sound distorted. The power tube distortion adds a warmth and a roundness, and a presence. But if you were to hear the bass soloed it's very obviously distorted. Push it a little more and you get into that Jack Bruce/John Entwhistle type of grind, or from a heavy metal perspective, a Lemmy kind of grind. I do believe Lemmy uses 100 watt Marshalls for the same reason we're talking about - for the power tube distortion. Or at least he used to.
Another thing, when I say I chose the 100T for its distortion, I'm not going for a raggedy distorted sound. It's that warmth and presence I mentioned that I'm going for. But the extreme power tube distortion is just a notch away if that's what I want. On songs that I want the bass to actually sound distorted, I'll kick in the overdrive.
Also, the tube amp will go into 'self-compression' before it starts breaking up, which means it begins restricting the dynamic range, acting like a compressor. I personally love the way the 100T does this and the control it exercises over the bass, keeping it nice and tight without sounding restricted. But this is exactly what Tim and some of the other guys don't like about the lower power tube amp - once you reach a certain volume it will not "punch" notes out like the SB300 could.
I pray at the Freight Train altar!
All joking aside, I completely echo these sentiments as describing ( better than I can) my tonal goals. The 100T is a pissed off "grunty son of a gun" and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Marc
For those still following my story; I had to return my 100T. After more tests by my local store's tech, the bias system was faulty. SN# of the amp was M15xxxxx, so my guess is that it was an early amp. I had to go to another store to buy another amp. This new one is SN# M16299XX and appears to be working perfectly!
I had my first gig with the amp (+ NEO 115 cab) yesterday night. The tone was AWESOME, with my Am Std P Bass, with flats. It's a tribute band to Elvis ('70s era), so the tone was spot on! I had enough headroom, but it's was not 'that' loud either. Enough for me anyway.
Saddly, I broke the top handle while getting the amp back home this morning. Do you know guys where I could get one easily? I might call my dealer, but I would like this to be fixed asap. Is there any Fender rep here on TB that could help me?
I had my first gig with the amp (+ NEO 115 cab) yesterday night. The tone was AWESOME, with my Am Std P Bass, with flats. It's a tribute band to Elvis ('70s era), so the tone was spot on! I had enough headroom, but it's was not 'that' loud either. Enough for me anyway.
Saddly, I broke the top handle while getting the amp back home this morning. Do you know guys where I could get one easily? I might call my dealer, but I would like this to be fixed asap. Is there any Fender rep here on TB that could help me?
