Special Project

[isaac42]

I play bass in a surf band. For strictly cosmetic reasons, we're modding our amps to be reminiscent of early 60s Fender amps.

Here's what we're thinking for me. We bought a Bassman head case. Just the box, no amp inside. We'll cover it with blonde Tolex and put oxblood grill cloth on it. The front panel controls will all be dummies, except for the instrument inputs and the pilot light.

All fine, so far. The difficulty is the amp itself. For several years, I've been using a Bugera Veyron M1001. Solid state, class D amp. It's been fine. We could mount it inside the box and go with that, but it's too deep. It would stick out the back. Cosmetically, that's not an issue. Audience couldn't see it. But I'm thinking I can do better.

I also have a tc electronics BAM200. It's plenty small, so I could use that, or get another one. It has less power, and is a little noisy, but not enough to be a problem on stage.

I also thought about a proper tube preamp into a power amp, but almost all of the power amps I've looked at are also too deep. The one that wasn't was only 30 wpc.

So, any suggestions for a small bass head that's only about six inches deep? Maybe a preamp that would use the actual controls on the fake head?

 

[beans-on-toast]

The amp can be placed on the floor behind the cabinet. It doesn’t need to be in the box.

For a dummy cabinet, repro Fender faceplates are available from many sources.

Blonde Bassman Faceplate

This faceplate fits our Blonde Bassman Chassis SKU: 2355969. It is a screen-printed, powder-coated aluminum plate.

mojotone.com

 

[isaac42]

The amp can be placed on the floor behind the cabinet. It doesn’t need to be in the box.

For a dummy cabinet, repro Fender faceplates are available from many sources.

Blonde Bassman Faceplate

This faceplate fits our Blonde Bassman Chassis SKU: 2355969. It is a screen-printed, powder-coated aluminum plate.

mojotone.com

True, but I already have the box. If the amp is mounted inside, that's one less thing to carry. As for the faceplate, I already have one. From Mojotone, in fact!

 

[BrentD]

Mojotone's site lists a Blonde Bassman head as 9.5" deep. You lose some for the thickness of the wood and you also need space for your power cable sticking out of what you put inside.

But it's also 7.75" high. Taking that down to 5", you have 6"x5". What if you mount the head at an angle? That gets you almost 8" of room (algebra to the rescue!).

I dont have a great picture to illustrate, but I mean maybe adding a shelf from the top back angled down toward the bottom front of the cab.

Here's a bad diagram of the angle I'm talking about:

 

[beans-on-toast]

However the amp is mounted, air circulation is important. The covered front panel might be best if it were a frame rather than solid wood.

 

[isaac42]

Mojotone's site lists a Blonde Bassman head as 9.5" deep. You lose some for the thickness of the wood and you also need space for your power cable sticking out of what you put inside.

But it's also 7.75" high. Taking that down to 5", you have 6"x5". What if you mount the head at an angle? That gets you almost 8" of room (algebra to the rescue!).

I dont have a great picture to illustrate, but I mean maybe adding a shelf from the top back angled down toward the bottom front of the cab.

Here's a bad diagram of the angle I'm talking about:

View attachment 7456366

That's a thought that hadn't occurred to me.

 

[SharpCat]

Sounds to me like you need to be ready to Rumble. Hint hint.

 

[mikeynets]

Quilter V803 is very small and sounds incredible. Might work with the algebraic solution above!

 

[Gervais Cote]

A Warwick Gnome is powerful despite its small size and would easily fit in your casing. A black faceplate with an opening to allow the access to the knobs and you’re good to go.

 

[Nebadon2000]

PJB BP-200 is 6.7" deep excellent Amp at reasonable price

 

[KidAmnesia]

You could remove the back panel from the head and have your amp sticking out the back. It doesn't need to be inside it.

 

[PJorBoth]

As suggested earlier, just get a Fender 800 Rumble head put it on the floor behind your speaker box.
I'm sure you could work out a simple way to fit it inside your fake head for carry purposes. The darned thing would fit in your cable bag.

 

[Wasnex]

If you want to basic look of a vintage Bassman (or more likely Showman) in a modern amp, hunt down Fender a Bassman 800 hybrid. FYI, same preamp as the Super Bassman. Modern Bassman NEO cabs have the same cosmetics. Options include 115, 410, 610, and 810.

Totally has the look and I don't think anyone in the audience will care about the extra knobs.

 

[isaac42]

You could remove the back panel from the head and have your amp sticking out the back. It doesn't need to be inside it.

We have discussed that. May very well do that with the Bugera.

 

[isaac42]

If you want to basic look of a vintage Bassman (or more likely Showman) in a modern amp, hunt down Fender a Bassman 800 hybrid. FYI, same preamp as the Super Bassman. Modern Bassman NEO cabs have the same cosmetics. Options include 115, 410, 610, and 810.

View attachment 7457270

Totally has the look and I don't think anyone in the audience will care about the extra knobs.

Maybe, once we cover it in blonde Tolex and replace the grill cloth with oxblood!

 

[isaac42]

PJB BP-200 is 6.7" deep excellent Amp at reasonable price

That's the sort of thing I was looking for. Thanks.

 

[isaac42]

Special project is complete. Here are a few pics.

 

[isaac42]

 

[isaac42]

From the back, you can see the actual amp lower left. It's the tc electronics BAM200. Upper right is a power strip. Plugged into it is the power cord from the amp and a 6 volt wall wart, powering the pilot light. The input jack is wired to the input of the amp. None of the knobs are functional, nor are any of the other jacks. Click the switch on the power strip and the amp and pilot light power up. Works a treat!