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The Fender Super Bassman 300 thread

#1,501
After playing a 100t for the better part of a year now I decided to venture into the world of the Super Bassman. I wanted to keep the tone I loved but gain some headroom. I was able to score a pretty good deal on a used Super Bassman.
I ran into a couple of dissapointing steps trying to get it up and running, due to Guitar Centers crappy packing job.
once I figured out the problems and got everthing running right I played it through my Fender Neo 410 and I am pretty sure I found what I am looking for. You can definitly tell that the 100t and 300 are in the same family, but the 300 has some of its own mojo going for it as well.
I took it to practice last night and really enjoyed playing it.
I have a gig this Thursday at a cool local dive bar with no PA support. The Super may seem like overkill on paper but I think it is going to be just right... I will report back on my feelings post gig.
 
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#1,503
I've been wanting to purchase these ever since they were first released as FSR items a couple years ago before they were shifted to "normal" production. If anyone doesn't know, Fender has discontinued the blonde/oxblood versions of their bass cabinets, and the heads are now special order only for a few more months (it doesn't really make sense to make heads available with no matching cabinets). I had a great deal worked out with Musician's Friend, but when it came time to order they actually wanted $800 MORE than the price match they quoted me. So, needless to say I didn't order from them. That's the first time in 27 years they backed out of a quoted deal. Oh well...I hear they're circlin' the drain anyway.

I got a GREAT deal from Full Compass. I've been buying from them alot in the last couple of years...they seem to beat any and all deals I ever bring to them. All Fender pieces, the Super Bassman 300, the Bassman 100T, and the 810 Neo (last one available from Fender) all in blonde/oxblood for $3550 freight shipping included.

I'm super excited...I've wanted this stack for my "collection" for a while now. I had a hunch these were going to be discontinued, and even though they were still on Fender's site I got in touch with a rep who verified that yes, they are on their way out. I got at least the cabinet JUST in time.

I also ordered a royal blue old-school Japanese Steve Harris Precision that I've wanted forever (which has also been discontinued) for $950. I DID give Musician's Friend some business, however, and bought two recently discontinued Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster basses, one in black and one in vintage blonde...for $340 total shipped. I bought the dual pickup "Special" version of this bass a year or so ago and LOVE it. Back then, they originally shipped me the wrong "standard" single pickup version which I sent back for the "Special," and although it wasn't the model I ordered, I REALLY liked it. So, when I found out the standard versions were discontinued, I jumped on those as well.

Fender seems to really be getting rid of some of their cooler "different" items...next up for me will a 3TSB Coronado reissue before it's history. I bought a Starcaster last Christmas and it arrived FLAWLESS; just perfect in every way. But, Fender purists only seem to buy their standard "same-old same-old" items, so the stranger more unique items they come up with seem to come and go pretty quick. I'm glad to snag them up. There are only so many sunburst/rosewood Precisions with a tort pickguard and flats you can look at before you're outta gas...

But anyhoo...WooHoo!!!
 
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#1,504
Just got back from playing a bike rally gig. Used the Super Bassman into my 810 neo cabinet with a Ric 4003. And.....the overdrive channel with oaklandthumb's svt settings. Man, what a sound. I had to take the bass knob back a tad with the 810 but those settings really do sound like my old svt. There was a large PA and excellent monitor set up so the rig was probably overkill, but I got compliments on the sound from both band members, the sound guys and the audience. I would normally have used a jazz or precision into the vintage channel, this is the first time I have used the overdrive channel as the main one. I had minimal blend (will have to check but I think none). Will have to try this more often, although I don't always want an svt tone of course - otherwise I would have bought another svt.
Only downside from the gig is that they did the burnouts in front of the stage and my whole rig smells of burnt rubber and there are specks of rubber on the ric.
 
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#1,506
Jwood said:
Dude that sucks about the burnout pit being right in front of you guys.
Click to expand...
Yeah, not only that but the wind was blowing into the stage:(. And to make matters worse I had forgotten my guitar stand, so in between sets when they were doing the burnout competitions I left my Ric flat on its case - which meant even more particles landed directly on its body.
Leaving the rig outside today so it can get an airing. Live and learn.....
 
#1,507
Played another gig with this rig - the last set was full on rock mode and couldn't believe how well this thing filled the stage and the room. The place had drop down ceilings and by the end of the night my rig was covered with falling particles. One of our guitar players walked across the stage at one point and turned around smiling at how good it sounded. Yum...
 
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#1,508
Just for fun I recorded a 4 bar phrase from the DI's of all my amps:

Fender SB300 Channel 1
Fender SB300 Channel 2
SVT II
GK MB800
Genz Benz ShuttleMax 9.2 (tube channel)

I didn't attempt to eq them the same, it's just what I liked through my Bag End speakers for each one. There's a 1 beat break between each phrase, see if you can identify the amps, in particular the 2 SB300 channels.

These are all DI's, and they all sounded very different in my room through the speakers. Nevertheless, it was ear-opening to hear this.
Let me know your thoughts... :)
 

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#1,509
Hmmm...they all sound surprisingly thin and girth-less. I was expecting much more thickness and drive. Anyhoo, the 2nd sample has the most passable "tube amp" sorta sound...even though there's really no grit or distortion to speak of. The third sample is too subdued and muffly. The last two sound puny and lifeless compared to the 2nd sample...generic and ball-less. The first sample drastically needs some midrange bite that it seems to just not have.

The 2nd sample is the only one that is remotely noteworthy, and even that tone is a bit on the bland side. But, it has a tiny hint of a teenzy weenzy bit of grime...but not anything any solid state amp couldn't produce.
 
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#1,510
Sorry, they're not in order, I was inviting people to guess. I also purposefully played with a clean tone. These were not mic'd, so it's all preamp, no power amp sound. Through bass cabinets, they all have a lot more mids and aggression. As I said, in the room through the cabinets, they all sound quite different from this.

But, I'm shocked you think they sound thin. Maybe your speakers don't reproduce low frequencies well. On my studio monitors a decent volume, they ALL sound actually a bit TOO fat for a good mix (except maybe the SB300 channel 2, which IMO was a bit thinned out to make it speak well through speakers in my practice room). I do agree that the two solid-state amps don't have much life compared to the tube amps, but that's mostly in the high end. Are you listening through computer speakers?

But just to untangle things, the actual order is:

SVT II
Fender SB300 Channel 1
Fender SB300 Channel 2
Genz Benz ShuttleMax 9.2 (tube channel)
GK MB800
 
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#1,512
Have you ever tried recording your amps out of their DI? They tend to sound a bit dead, I think these actually came out OK (or should I say, representative). These were not eq'd for the recording, I could certainly add more "character" by tweaking the eq. This was intended as a snapshot of what comes out of the DI when I liked the sound coming out of the full rig (pre/power/speaker).

Oh, and by the way, the recording of SB300 channel two is actually much brighter than channel one, it has less lows. That's not the characteristic sound of the channel, that's just the way I had it eq'd at the time.
 
#1,513
Yes, I almost always record direct from my amps.

I'm just surprised at how much character all of those samples are lacking...I use certain amps FOR coloration and character, otherwise I'd just record direct out of the bass itself which to me is akin to recording a guitar straight out of the guitar's output, which is something I'd never do. I tend to go for unique and remarkable bass tones, and purposely trying to take the character and "sound" out of a tube amp (or at least to not accentuate it) to me misses the point entirely.

But, I understand what you're going for here.
 
#1,515
rodl2005 said:
We get The Jimmy Fallon show a day or so late here but I just watched Jack White perform on it tonight.
Bassist used a Epi Jack Casady bass into a Fender Super Bassman and Bassman Pro 810
I see the Super Bassman turning up more n more on these sort of things. Where previously the SVT & matching 810 was the norm.
Class reigns huh? :hyper::bassist::hyper::bassist:
Click to expand...
True that, and those Epi JCs seem to be getting some high profile use beyond their lowly price too. Tempted to snag me one next time a used one turns up.
 
#1,519
Anyone using the Rumble cabs? I'm saving up for the SBM and currently own one of the new Rumble 410. Figuring on getting a matching Rumble 410 for a modular rig. The price is right :)
They are similarly spec'ed to the Neo with the differences being Neo vs. ceramic drivers and different tweeter controls (mine's off, anyway).
Just curious if anyone's A/B'd the two cabs.
 

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