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Fender Bassman 100T Chapter 3

#121
husky123 said:
I hear you Tim. As you probably know I've been watching the V4B carefully too. While I do think you'll be able to cop a V4-esque tone out of the 100T, I don't think you'll ever get that delicious overdrive/fuzz out of the V4. I could be totally wrong but I don't think I am having owned quite a few Ampeg's.

And that's fine, most don't want/need that level of overdrive the 100T/SB300 offer. Heck, I don't use it much in the band setting either but it sure is fun and helps break the monotony at times.
Click to expand...

As much as I love the vintage channel, especially with my flatwound bass, I am more and more using the flats on the active channel and blending in a touch of overdrive on songs that I want to have a clean bass sound. It works rather like an exciter, with the added harmonics giving it a presence in the mix. But the distortion is hidden in ensemble, so it doesn't sound distorted. That's the same thing that's happening with the power tubes sitting on the edge of distortion, except on the preamp side, which is more buzzy, with the power tube distortion being more throaty. So the combination of the two is pretty amazing. Takes a bit of fiddling between overdrive and blend; too much and it sounds distorted, too little and it has no effect. But it sure sounds smooth and present when you get it right. It's the sound I've always tried to get with distortion and overdrive pedals, but it never got there. Mainly because it lacked the power tube grunt.
Also, just to state my affiliation, unless I state otherwise this and everything else I post about the 100T is in regard to using it on stage.
 
#123
Agree with you totally, Freight Train. "Overdrive" that might sound OTT in isolation can add a nice fatness in performance in a live mix while still sounding clean. I still prefer the vintage channel with the 100T now that I am using a Bergantino NV215 cab with it - the single fifteen allows me to crank the amp a bit more to get the power tube grind that fills out the bottom end beautifully. This is now my go to rig for small gigs and practices - for anything else I use the SB300 into the Berg NV215 :hyper:
BTW, I must agree with your final implication - it is the sound within a live mix that counts.
 
#124
I have a love/hate relationship with that active channel! ;) Because I am using such high quality NOS preamp tubes in mine, I do get a nice warm and FAT tube distortion when I use the GAIN and BLEND controls, but the line between a quality sound and over the top is pretty close. It certainly breathed new life into the cheap pickups on my Gretsch Jr. Jet II and my even cheaper Squire Jaguar SS.

My Rickenbacker 4003 seems to also benefit from the added controls of that channel, but unfortunately, what sounds great for the Gretsch and the Squire, doesn't sound very good on the Ric. And I am really averse to constantly having to twiddle the tone controls on my amp. :/

I think David St. Hubbins from Spinal Tap summed it up best when he said...

"There is a fine line between clever and STUPID!" LOL! :D
 
#125
Got my neo 410 in, gonna blast it later.

Having trouble hearing big differences with the bass knobs at low volume in my apartment, looking forward to cranking it up later to get a real feel how the eq works on this.

I googled and came up empty about the speaker cable that comes with it. I want to order another one, anybody know what part number or model it is?

I'll email Fender as well, but figured I'd ask here since there seems to be a ton of knowledgeable folks on here.
 
#126
Anyone have experience using the head and 4x10 at lower volumes? I have been looking at Micro Heads (GM MB Fusion 500, GB Streamliner 600, Ampeg PF500) and none of them were floating my boat. I was really looking for the warm, full sound from my Bassman TV 10 and decided the 100T might get me there, even though its a full size head and I will primarily be using it at home, not with a band. Still waiting for my 4x10 to be delivered, but also considering a 2x12 from Aguiar, Avatar, etc since there is no matching one for the 100T. Does the 100T play well at lower home volumes or does it need to be cranked to get anything good out of it?
 
#127
I used the 100T as a practice amp in my lounge for a while. The beauty of it is that you can set it to 25 watts and although that is still plenty loud you can drive it a little bit more. You won't get power tube overdrive at those levels but you will get lots of tubey warmth and goodness - plus you can always add in a little bit of preamp overdrive on the second channel if that floats your boat.
 
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#128
MotorCityWest said:
Got my neo 410 in, gonna blast it later.

Having trouble hearing big differences with the bass knobs at low volume in my apartment, looking forward to cranking it up later to get a real feel how the eq works on this.

I googled and came up empty about the speaker cable that comes with it. I want to order another one, anybody know what part number or model it is?

I'll email Fender as well, but figured I'd ask here since there seems to be a ton of knowledgeable folks on here.
Click to expand...

Don't know the model # but that is a really high quality cable, so no need to replace it. Sounds like you just want a second one?

Not hearing a lot of change in bass levels at low volume? Thats odd...What kind of bass are you using? My tone controls seem volume independent for the most part.

Keep in mind that both the amp and the 410 Neo are going to need a couple of weeks to break in. Especially the speakers!

Low frequency response will be the most noticeable change as the speakers get used and break in.
 
#129
Ibanezfury said:
Anyone have experience using the head and 4x10 at lower volumes? I have been looking at Micro Heads (GM MB Fusion 500, GB Streamliner 600, Ampeg PF500) and none of them were floating my boat. I was really looking for the warm, full sound from my Bassman TV 10 and decided the 100T might get me there, even though its a full size head and I will primarily be using it at home, not with a band. Still waiting for my 4x10 to be delivered, but also considering a 2x12 from Aguiar, Avatar, etc since there is no matching one for the 100T. Does the 100T play well at lower home volumes or does it need to be cranked to get anything good out of it?
Click to expand...

I rarely get mine above 5, sometimes 6 on the master volume here at my home studio.

I have recorded several bass demo videos with my iPad II and posted them on my YouTube channel. The volume of the amp in all of these was at a moderate Hi-Fi system level. This is a 410 Neo Cab with the 100t head.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtwx3DijEWn8lFHZMwfR9_w

bassman_rig.jpg
 
#130
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#131
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#132
Mine says Pro Co Power Plus. It's a good cable.

The two small things about this amp that floored me and never seems to get mentioned is that it comes with a quality speaker cable.
I have never got even a cheap junk cable with a amp.

The other is the power cord. It is the biggest best cord I have ever received with any product.

You could add the foot switch too. Most other amps I have bought you had to buy the foot switch separate.

These are all little things but they sure do make you feel better about laying out so much cash for a amp.
 
#133
hdracer said:
Mine says Pro Co Power Plus. It's a good cable.

The two small things about this amp that floored me and never seems to get mentioned is that it comes with a quality speaker cable.
I have never got even a cheap junk cable with a amp.

The other is the power cord. It is the biggest best cord I have ever received with any product.

You could add the foot switch too. Most other amps I have bought you had to buy the foot switch separate.

These are all little things but they sure do make you feel better about laying out so much cash for a amp.
Click to expand...

Very true! They really do give you a lot of quality accessories in the amp package. The speaker cable is super heavy gauge and top quality phono connectors too!
 
#134
Thanks for the info.

Yes, the cable is nice, that's why I wanted to add another to chain cabs together or have as extra/backup. Mine says Pro Co Power Plus as well, and I like the look of the Fender branding on it. Agree on the nice extras that come with this amp.

All good with the bass eq. I was referring to the vintage channel and my ears aren't "calibrated" to how this amp sounds yet. I cranked it up louder yesterday and noticed what I was expecting. Running a Fender Mustang and Schecter P through it.
 
#137
GG7 said:
I rarely get mine above 5, sometimes 6 on the master volume here at my home studio.

I have recorded several bass demo videos with my iPad II and posted them on my YouTube channel. The volume of the amp in all of these was at a moderate Hi-Fi system level. This is a 410 Neo Cab with the 100t head.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtwx3DijEWn8lFHZMwfR9_w

bassman_rig.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice looking bass and rig combo you have there!
 
#138
I used a bunch of ProCo cables on my PA when I used to do sound. Had some banana plug speaker cables that were darn near bulletproof. They make quality stuff and provide touring class cables for pro sound reinforcement. You should be able to get ProCo just about anyplace. GC, Zzounds, MF. It's great that Fender provides a quality cable with the amp :thumbup:
 
#139
NOLA Bass said:
Nice looking bass and rig combo you have there!
Click to expand...

Thanks Nola!

And congrats on your own rig! I see that you are getting good results at the 25w setting at home? Very good! I use mine at home exclusively too, but we live in a very rural area, so I don't really have any neighbors to worry about up here. So..I always run mine wide open at 100, but as I have mentioned earlier, I rarely get mine much louder than 6 on the master volume, with the preamp volumes ranging from straight up at 6 and sometimes as high as 8.

Only thing I will say about running the amp at the 1/4 output power setting is that the 6L6s will not be operating at their full plate voltage, and as a result, your ultimate tone will not be as rich and full as when running at 100w.

However, the 100t has another unque feature that can be employed in combination with the low power setting to put back some of that power tube growl at the 25w setting...

On the back of the amp next to the auto-bias LEDs is the power tube plate voltage "ADJUST" feature... aka WARM • NORMAL • COOL. Try setting the amp to 25w and then pushing the plate voltage up to the WARM position. This will run the 6L6s a little hotter than normal, and in the case of the 25w setting, this might put back some of the power tube distortion you would normally loose in this low power mode.

I wouldn't recommend running the amp on WARM in the 100w mode, unless you have a lifetime supply of quality 6L6 power tubes! Running at full boogie and then pushing the plate voltage above spec will shorten the life expectancy of your quad.

I have to say that the amp sounds GREAT with them cranked up, but it is like a drug in that you will get addicted to that sound, and then the normal or cool won't do it for ya, and then you will have to go back to running the tubes hot, and one day when you least suspect it, you will see an odd looking orange hue to one or two of your power tube LEDs, and suddenly....

• • • •


GAME OVER!
 
#140
That's a great tip GG. Mine is set to be delivered Thursday...can't wait!

That is a good question though. Are most of you guys running your power section at "normal" or are you pushing them. To be honest, I couldn't hear much difference on my SB300 but I'd bet it was because I didn't push the power section enough. That and the fact it had the 6550's rather than the 6L6's.
 

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