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The Fender Bassman 100T thread
- Thread starter Tim1
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Funny, I haven't had any issue with noisy tubes on mine, mind you I haven't tried the silent recording mode. The head is no more noisy than any other tube head I own, and actually I think a tad quieter than my SVT VR. Still, at least Fender has made it easy to tube roll with the auto bias feature, but I can't see me swappng tubes any time soon.
I think if I had bought a new head that was as noisy as you say I would just send it back under warranty or not leave the shop with it. Fender has a five year warranty I believe. Just checked again and mine is darned near silent with the stock tubes.
I've got my old Silver Face Bassman 100 with me for a week (I sold it to a friend back in '92 & he's lent it to me 
& I'm liking playing with it.
I got rid of it (in '92) as I needed more power.
I don't remember it ever giving me a lot of overdrive when pushed, it'd just get a bit dirty, get a but less 'fat' & basically not get any louder.
I used it mainly into 2 115"s.
I Won't be able to crank this up till the weekend, but am liking the tone.
Wondering how this old beast compares to the 100T?
& I'm liking playing with it. I got rid of it (in '92) as I needed more power.
I don't remember it ever giving me a lot of overdrive when pushed, it'd just get a bit dirty, get a but less 'fat' & basically not get any louder.
I used it mainly into 2 115"s.
I Won't be able to crank this up till the weekend, but am liking the tone.
Wondering how this old beast compares to the 100T?
Mine made noise the first time I turned it on. Not real bad but it was there. It got worse with more time on it. After about 15 hours it was bad on 25 watt and worse on 100 on the vintage channel and horrible using the overdrive.
I knew going in that I would be pulling the cheap GT's out of it and putting in tubes I like.
I mainly stay on the vintage channel and wanted more clean headroom and the TAD's gave me that. I mainly play blues and R&B. But if I need to use it for hard rock I would pop some Electro Harmonix in it.
With the auto bias there is not any reason not to try different tubes to really get your tone out of this great amp.
I knew going in that I would be pulling the cheap GT's out of it and putting in tubes I like.
I mainly stay on the vintage channel and wanted more clean headroom and the TAD's gave me that. I mainly play blues and R&B. But if I need to use it for hard rock I would pop some Electro Harmonix in it.
With the auto bias there is not any reason not to try different tubes to really get your tone out of this great amp.
I'm extremely dubious about all of this bullsh.
For one thing, the head with the cab would not be dead quiet if it's "noise, noise, noise" coming out of the DI. Same tubes driving speaker outputs as DI.
Second, I've now played three gigs with the 100T/410 Neo with no mains help, and the rig sounds freaking awesome. And this ain't my first rodeo, cowboy. So when someone is telling me that the head is basically garbage unless I change the tubes, and then it's laid out for me the website, exact model and cost of each tube, shipping, blah blah, I'm very skeptical. Online retailers commonly have shills on sites like this.
Third, Tim, who started this thread, has as much experience as anyone I know with tube bass amps, and he owns several, and has for years, and he's telling us the head sounds fantastic both in the practice room and in gigging situations, and is the equal to his old Bassman heads in tone, and better in headroom. So we're now supposed to believe that we're not even hearing the head at close to its potential unless we get rid of those garbage GT's. Oh, and here's the site and the exact cost per item to do that.
And forth, the Bassman Pro series is not only a bold statement by Fender, it's pretty much their flagship series at this point, and the idea they'd put these heads out with sub-standard tubes, especially the initial runs, doesn't make much sense.
Since I'm visually impaired and can't drive, I can't just lug my 100T to my mastering room on the train, but I'm getting it here as soon as I can and we'll see just how awful this DI output is. In the meantime, I'm loving my 100T and see absolutely no reason to change the tubes.
I highly doubt anyone here is a "shill" for tube depot. I support your analysis of the di noise though. However, fender puts crappy GT tubes in everything, flagship or not. I am no fan of them at all. Ive always found them to be adequate at best, but solidly mediocre in tone. Im surprised how good this amp sounds with them though as I find em rather lifeless in other amps. Maybe the 6l6 GTs are the oddball good sounding model. OR maybe this head will sound flippin phenomenal with something else. Im pretty sure the members above are just sharing helpful info after someone asked. Hdracers claim of more clean headroom is very tempting to check out for some small coin. Seems like a good gamble.
However, if my $1450 amp sounded like the Grinch I'd demand warranty repair, not new tubes!
However, if my $1450 amp sounded like the Grinch I'd demand warranty repair, not new tubes!
Maybe I'm totally off base, and I'm certainly willing to admit that if I'm wrong. But I'm not prone to get caught up in fads just because a bunch of people flock to join the throng, and I put tube rolling squarely in that category. I have no doubt that certain amps benefit from swapping the tubes to different manufacturers, but I also have no doubt that it's also done needlessly in a lot of situations where guys just want to be part of the gang, and then it turns into "well, you're probably just not able to hear all of the differences that it makes in this particular head like my special hearing can".
I also know from 20 years of personal experience with tube mastering gear that, as I've stated here, you really do not hear the full flavor of a tube until it's burned in, and that takes anywhere from 30 to 100 hours of use. That I have heard with my own ears.
Sorry, I'm in show-me mode.
Thats absolutely fair and correct I think. Alot of tube differences are pretty much a wash, but some really make a difference in certain circuits. I had three different brands in my 300pro and they all sounded the same-ish, but winged c's really made it alive. I dont know how they sound in other amps, but in that they are AWESOME!! That said, I havent like GTs in anything, except this amp, and I would bet it does sound even better with other tubes. Is it worth the money? to some yes, to some probably not.
If yours is working to your satisfaction, that's great.
Mine wasn't. I know I could have had the tubes replaced under warranty but I didn't want too. I enjoy tinkering around to get what I want out of a amp. Heck, I am the kind of guy that gets a new car or motorcycle and changes out the tires on it right away.
There is no disputing different tubes will change the brake up point. I wanted more clean volume and I got it along with a much warmer tone and no noise.
Mine wasn't. I know I could have had the tubes replaced under warranty but I didn't want too. I enjoy tinkering around to get what I want out of a amp. Heck, I am the kind of guy that gets a new car or motorcycle and changes out the tires on it right away.
There is no disputing different tubes will change the brake up point. I wanted more clean volume and I got it along with a much warmer tone and no noise.
hdracer: do you think EH tubes would give more headroom too? or how would you describe the expected difference they would make? I play heavy rock, but I like to have the clean until I want to break it up.. if ya know what I mean.
I have not tried them in my 100T.
In my Epi VJ and my VB-2 (both EL-34 heads) they do not really give more volume but the break up is a lot nicer. Playing hard rock with my EBMM SUB 4 and a pick they sound great. I switch back and forth on my VJ between the EH & TAD. It is hard for me fairly compare the GT's and the TAD's because I got some bad GT's.
Using my Jazz bass with audere classic 4 band and Fender Noiseless pick ups or my SUB 4 active on the high gain input and vintage channel I can can turn the volume up 2-3 more and master 3-4 more before the same amount of break up. The over drive channel is about the same but I don't use it much.
This is my first 6L6 amp so I do not have a lot of experience with all the different tubes.
I changed out all the tubes in the head so I think that can change things too.
With the auto bias it is so easy to try different tubes.
If you have had good experiences with Winged "C" you should try a set. It's only $80. If you have some good 12AX7's and 12AT7 or ECC81 laying around try them too.
I am not a tube amp expert and make no claim to be.
But I am a expert on my own ears.
In my Epi VJ and my VB-2 (both EL-34 heads) they do not really give more volume but the break up is a lot nicer. Playing hard rock with my EBMM SUB 4 and a pick they sound great. I switch back and forth on my VJ between the EH & TAD. It is hard for me fairly compare the GT's and the TAD's because I got some bad GT's.
Using my Jazz bass with audere classic 4 band and Fender Noiseless pick ups or my SUB 4 active on the high gain input and vintage channel I can can turn the volume up 2-3 more and master 3-4 more before the same amount of break up. The over drive channel is about the same but I don't use it much.
This is my first 6L6 amp so I do not have a lot of experience with all the different tubes.
I changed out all the tubes in the head so I think that can change things too.
With the auto bias it is so easy to try different tubes.
If you have had good experiences with Winged "C" you should try a set. It's only $80. If you have some good 12AX7's and 12AT7 or ECC81 laying around try them too.
I am not a tube amp expert and make no claim to be.
But I am a expert on my own ears.
The one time I got to sit in on a session of a guy trying a bunch of different tubes, the preamp tubes was where I was hearing a distinct difference. Power tubes not so much. I'm loving the sound of the 100T as it is, but I'm interested to try some different pre tubes, especially as you say since they're not that expensive. I'll probably be bugging you about some suggestions.
I think that the speakers you use makes a big difference too. Once again, I am no expert and can not explain all the nuances of speakers but going from my TL 606's with 3015's to my Peavey BW 15's everything changes. The way the speaker sounds during break up is completely different.
Pushed hard using a pick the 3015's kill the BW's
Vintage R&B at moderate volumes clean the BW's will bring tears to your eyes.
The adjustability of this amp is amazing. With a little tweaking of the knobs and some blending it can do anything. My VB-2 is really only good when it is pushed hard. I was never happy with it clean and mellow.
Pushed hard using a pick the 3015's kill the BW's
Vintage R&B at moderate volumes clean the BW's will bring tears to your eyes.
The adjustability of this amp is amazing. With a little tweaking of the knobs and some blending it can do anything. My VB-2 is really only good when it is pushed hard. I was never happy with it clean and mellow.
First, kudos to Fender for making it so easy to swap tubes if you want. I reiterate that my 100T is totally silent in normal use. I took it into the recording studio at my school after the kids had gone and tried it into the desk in silent mode and again it was.....silent. No problems, no issues. It is entirely possible that Fender had a run of noisier than usual tubes I suppose, as even if they do test every amp before it leaves the factory I doubt if they would test them in silent recording mode. As a hifi enthusiast I recognise that tube rolling is part of the hobby aspect of owning amps and is a lot of fun if you are so inclined, but for most of us I suspect you can buy a 100T in confidence, plug it in, smile and forget about it.
And, again for most of us, if you are unfortunate enough to get a noisy tube just take it back and get it replaced under warranty.
And, again for most of us, if you are unfortunate enough to get a noisy tube just take it back and get it replaced under warranty.
How loud is the rig? I want to import it, but the problem with importing I can't try it, and stores in Israel don't import the amp.
I was looking into the price, and it would be almost the same as buying a brand new Ampeg SVT-CL here in Israel, but the Fender has awesome pros for recording direct in, and is much lighter.
I was looking into the price, and it would be almost the same as buying a brand new Ampeg SVT-CL here in Israel, but the Fender has awesome pros for recording direct in, and is much lighter.
On the 25 watt setting and running the overdrive channel pushed hard it is still loud. Not face melting loud like a SVT but all your neighbors will know. Even through a 210 cab.
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