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Fender Bassman 50 2x15

mikopita

mikopita

Feb 22, 2007
474
136
Central Florida
#1
A friend just gave me an old Fender Bassman 50 2x15 cab (free is nice!). It has a blown speaker, but the other one works. I literally just picked it up and haven't had a chance to take out the speakers to check the ratings etc. but I'm curious if this could be a decent cab with some new 15's in it.

I'm looking to run my Ampeg V4 into it, and I'd like to know if anyone thinks it's worth it or instead just get a replacement 15 and use it as a guitar cab. What kind of 15's should I put in there if the cab might be worth it to run with my bass?

Thanks for any input.

Cheers.
 
#2
the old Bassman 2x15's were never particularly good bass cabs. I'm no WinISD or cab builder guru, but I think the internal volume is too small. Remember, they were built to handle a 50w or 70w bass head, so any amp that's much more powerful will make it fart out pretty quick.

As far as speaker replacements, you could get a JBL 15 (E140 I think) or a comparable Celestion and that should work, but make sure you match the impedance of the remaining speaker.

It would make a decent, but big, guitar cab for old school rock sound though.

good luck
 
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#4
I have a couple of these and I like the way both of them sound.
I'm not sure what year they are but they are OLD!!
One is a bit different in that it is couple inches wider.
I actually gig with these sometimes with a 200 watt tube head. The bass sounds great in them, but I kinda like that overdriven sound. The main issue I have with them is that everything vibrates right off the top of them both. Doesn't matter if its a GK400RB head, or a 100+ lb Sound City head...they all vibrate off. No wonder fender puts the head mounting screws on these things.
 
#5
I saw a band a few years back and the bassist was using one of these with a Bassman head. He sounded fantastic (was using a Yamaha BB played with a pick), absolutely huge, and it was one of the things that convinced me to ditch my custom-made 6 string and rather higher-tech rig.
 
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#6
well, I did not say it would sound bad (and bad is a very subjective thing in this case), I just said it would not stand up to much power before farting out .. which is a true statement. I have used the Bassman 50 (and 70) thru the Fender 2x15 cab and, at modest volumes, it can sound ok, as in: not much low end below 100hz, lots of mids and modest highs. It won't deal very well with much attack or dynamics (like slapping) and, if you push it very much, even a little, it will bark like a dog ! ;)

But if that's the tone you're after, then rock on :bassist::bassist:

As has been said many times before about this era of bass cabs; they are a prime example of "just a box to hold speakers", with very little acoustic design consideration at all. That's why, back in the day, when the Acoustic 3xx's, Ampeg SVT's or the bigger Sunn gear came out, we bass players were overjoyed. Because these were rigs that were actually designed to deliver bass in a way that the older lower powered stuff was not.

And that does not even touch all the modern gear that has been very carefully and cleverly engineered in all sorts of very cool ways to really deliver a huge range of bass tone ... but I digress
 
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#7
:cool: As "pfschim" stated, some consideration is your desired tone. On the other hand, I've used an early 70s Bassman cab coupled with an Acoustic 2-15 cab powered by a Sunn Coliseum 300 watter and it worked great. It's been a while since I've used it alone, but I think that with proper power (and remember that generally speaking, you can't have too much power) it performed well. Both original speakers were bad when I got the Bassman cab, so I had them reconed, which is what I would suggest that you do. Lastly, IMO, there's nothing like the sparkle of the Fender grill cloth used on the these cabs, particularly when subjected to stage lights.
 
#8
Cool, thanks everyone. I am likely at this point going to get them re-coned (as suggested by Hudson). I tried the cab out today with my '68 bandmaster and a gu***r. It sounded pretty decent (one is definitely in need of repair). I can however see how this might not work for me as a bass cab.
 
#11
I usually gig with a pair of single JBL K140 cabs, each ported, and about 3.5 cu. ft, and have always enjoyed playing through them.

Yesterday I bought a Fender double 15" cabinet and gigged with it last night.

The two 15" speakers are diagonal, and the tag on the back says that it is a Fender "VT Bassman 15".

I see cabs that say VT Bassman 50 on the web, but this is a VT Bassman 15. It is sort of odd, but the "VT bassman 15" cabs I see on the web have the pair of 15" speakers in line with each other, and not diagonal like mine has.

I am sure the speakers are the originals, and later today will pop one out to read its manufacturer code and year code.

I used a TC Electric RH 450 to drive the new cab, and thought it sounded healthy and quite good. I was really shocked!!

The speakers are probably the CTS originals, and have a 2 1/2 diameter voice coil.

I will probably move my pair of K-140 speakers into this Fender cab to see how they sound in it, but for now, I will use the original CTS speakers.

My only complaint with the original speakers in this old Fender cabinet is that I wish it had a little more highs. I do know that the JBL K-140 speakers will take care of that.

Any comments as to the model number vs the diagonal speaker arrangement would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Bruce on the coast of South Carolina
 
#12
a pair of delta 15a are pretty cheap and would do 130 watt or so v4 pretty well.

sealed 15 at 100watts is sweet
my old 2x15 Traynor cabs were small n sealed and I ran a pair of
them. sounded great.
And a pair of bassmans would be about the same.

run a few large dowels from front to back it will help brace the baffle better
heads vibrating off cabinets is from panel vibration and bracing will improve that
 
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#15
I have a late 60's Silverface Bassman head and cab, the original speakers were blown before I got it and Eminence were installed, (not sure which ones). I think it sounds great and has plenty of bottom, it just lacks headroom for when you need that extra oomph. I haven't tried it with a bigger head so can't comment on that, and things have always rattled off of Fender bass cabs. It took me a long time to learn not to put beers on top of them when I was a kid.
 
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#16
I have a silver face Bassman and 2x15 cab with the original speakers.

I haven't used it with bass yet, but it sounds great with guitar. I'm afraid I would like it too much for bass and dread moving it regularly. I'm old enough to appreciate the advancements in technology, and while there are many older amps that have amazing tone, there are frequently modern equivalents that are more practical.

I really appreciate the information shared in this thread. Thanks to each of you.

OP, a v4 is a fantastic amp. I'd be interested in hearing how you like running it through the 2x15 cab. I also hope you have a good chiropractor, because I'd hate having to regularly move a v4 AND a Fender 2x15, but once it's in place, I think it would sound awesome!
 
#17
ant_riv said:
I have a silver face Bassman and 2x15 cab with the original speakers.

I haven't used it with bass yet, but it sounds great with guitar. I'm afraid I would like it too much for bass and dread moving it regularly. I'm old enough to appreciate the advancements in technology, and while there are many older amps that have amazing tone, there are frequently modern equivalents that are more practical.

I really appreciate the information shared in this thread. Thanks to each of you.

OP, a v4 is a fantastic amp. I'd be interested in hearing how you like running it through the 2x15 cab. I also hope you have a good chiropractor, because I'd hate having to regularly move a v4 AND a Fender 2x15, but once it's in place, I think it would sound awesome!
Click to expand...

I regularly move SVT heads and cabs and have always though of Bassman cabs as being light, haha! V4-B's aren't that much lighter than SVT's either although I suppose approx 20-30 lbs makes a difference.
 
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