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What did I buy??

Hello Fendergirl and welcome to Talkbass!

I think what you have there is a vintage Bassman cab. Beach Boys bassist Brian Wilson (any many other bassists of that era) played through a cab like that. The cab was usually driven by a 50 watt Fender Bassman tube amp, such as shown in this pic:

View attachment 3101915

Just like the one I had back in the Sixties and hated! Only mine was Blonde.
 
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I don't understand what information you need. It is an old bass cabinet with mismatched drivers. There is a Fender logo on it, so there is a chance it might be a Fender cabinet. There is less of a chance it has the original speakers. Because the speaker(s) have been changed, nobody knows the impedance so you should be careful what you plug it into. i'm not sure what your intended use is for this cabinet, so it is impossible to give you good direction on it. Also - and not to be rude - it is 2018. There is absolutely NO excuse to post crappy pictures. Not just one - but multiples. Use your phone next time. If you did use your phone, please drain the water out of it.

Suffice to say - this cabinet is NOT likely to be a valuable old relic lost to time in a music store back room. The market is too well researched and played for such finds these days. I think you likely bought an old clunker to be honest. You'll have to pull the back and / or speakers to see what you have. If it has screws on the back of the cab, take them all out and take the back of the cab off. If no screws on the back of the cab, make a grille removal tool by bending a 90 degree hook about 1" long on a coat hangar that has been straightened. Slip the tool into the gap between the grille and the cabinet till it bottoms out. turn it 90 degrees so it grabs the grill, then pull straight outward. The grill will pop or loosen this way. Once the grill is off you can take the speakers out. Don't drop them. After you do one of the above, you can read the labels on the speakers and understand what you have from a musical instrument standpoint. it will also help to establish if you have a real Fender cab or not. It will also help prevent Mickey Mouse from blowing up an amp you choose to plug in and test with this mystery cab. Remember - if it is an old cab it has blown up at least one set of speakers in it's lifetime and has been owned by at least one ******* too. Bad combination sometimes...
 
Not to scare off the OP - people here on Talkbass are as friendly as tdpri - its just you’ve given us little to work with and your post gives us more questions than it does provide information.

Why did you buy this cab?

If we start there, we’ll have a better understanding of what your intention is with it. If it was a $10 garage sale find or if you were seeking out a bass amp off CL or a music store, and bought this thinking it was an amp.

I suggest removing the rear panel to see what speakers are inside before plugging it in to anything. Wrong impedence or bad wiring could ruin an amp you plug in to the cab.

How do people gig these? Honestly, most people don’t. Too big and heavy. Lots of people moving to lighter smaller more efficient cabs. Those old cabs were not really designed too well. Today’s computer aided designs allow cabs to be tuned and matched to the specific speaker’s requirements as to cab area and port tuning (or sealed cab). If people do gig these old dinosaurs, they likely either have help loading/unloading, or have developed a system - adding wheels or slider bars, or tilt back wheels, or use a hand cart.
 
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Perhaps drawing a picture of it would be better.

My 6 month old nephew took a crack at it.
imagesTO3WDHKE.jpg
 
I used to put Fender logos on my Silvertone cabs to impress people ;)

I had a Peavey cab that i put a Ford emblem on ..... just so folks didn't know I had a Peavey :laugh:
I am going to make a run of repro/fake/whatever Dr. bAss nameplates to sell/give away on Reverb/ebay/CL. Mine will be slightly different so as to not get in any legal trouble with Marc ScumSerio (wouldn't want that, would we? :laugh:); mine with have a little target with Marc's face on it for you guys who want to do some target practice with.
 
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Don't a lot of Fender cabs old and new have the Fender logo on top left not top right as in the pics shown?..or am I wrong in that belief?
Does it look similar to this one...
80's? Bassman 135 cab speaker advice
Fender started doing that with their 212 cabs in 1966 (I bought one new back then). Looks like they changed their dual showman 215 cabs at the same time.

One thing to look for to tell you if it's supposed to be set up vertically or horizontally are the clamp screw fittings set into the cab. The piggy back heads had these wide, heavy duty, J-hooks that would slide out from under the head. The cabs had these threaded insets into the cab and screws that were about the size of a P-bass knob to tighten it down. These would allow you to securely hook it to cab. If those insets are on the top of the cab when the speakers are vertical, it's a 1965 or later cab. if they are on the top of the cab when the speakers are horizontal (like it is when lying in the back of your car now), then it's a 1965 or earlier cab.

I had a blackface 1966 Fender Bassman cab and the corners and tolex look right but the handle placement is iffy. I can't be sure of what I'm seeing in your pics. When laid on its side there should be three handles on the top. Two near each end and one in the middle placed the long way. Also, the black grill cloth wasn't available yet back in '66 or earlier, so it has to be later than that.

Yes, your pictures are terrible. Have someone else take a clear picture of them please and post those so we can really see what you have. The pictures you've posted make it look like you're trying to hide something. Clear pictures are needed to help identify it.
 
I had a blackface 1966 Fender Bassman cab and the corners and tolex look right but the handle placement is iffy. I can't be sure of what I'm seeing in your pics. When laid on its side there should be three handles on the top. Two near each end and one in the middle placed the long way.
Most of these 2-12 cabinets only had one handle in the middle of the top panel as oriented horizontally. Besides the Bassman, they were also used with the BandMaster amp, too, and possibly others that I don't recall at the moment.
 
I don't understand what information you need. It is an old bass cabinet with mismatched drivers. There is a Fender logo on it, so there is a chance it might be a Fender cabinet. There is less of a chance it has the original speakers. Because the speaker(s) have been changed, nobody knows the impedance so you should be careful what you plug it into. i'm not sure what your intended use is for this cabinet, so it is impossible to give you good direction on it. Also - and not to be rude - it is 2018. There is absolutely NO excuse to post crappy pictures. Not just one - but multiples. Use your phone next time. If you did use your phone, please drain the water out of it.

Suffice to say - this cabinet is NOT likely to be a valuable old relic lost to time in a music store back room. The market is too well researched and played for such finds these days. I think you likely bought an old clunker to be honest. You'll have to pull the back and / or speakers to see what you have. If it has screws on the back of the cab, take them all out and take the back of the cab off. If no screws on the back of the cab, make a grille removal tool by bending a 90 degree hook about 1" long on a coat hangar that has been straightened. Slip the tool into the gap between the grille and the cabinet till it bottoms out. turn it 90 degrees so it grabs the grill, then pull straight outward. The grill will pop or loosen this way. Once the grill is off you can take the speakers out. Don't drop them. After you do one of the above, you can read the labels on the speakers and understand what you have from a musical instrument standpoint. it will also help to establish if you have a real Fender cab or not. It will also help prevent Mickey Mouse from blowing up an amp you choose to plug in and test with this mystery cab. Remember - if it is an old cab it has blown up at least one set of speakers in it's lifetime and has been owned by at least one ******* too. Bad combination sometimes...
Now there's some tough love.
 
Hello!!!
Forgive me in advance. I don't play bass. I bought what I was told was a bass amp on the secondary market. I told the individual that there was nothing to plug into. After a difference of opinion I bought it thinking it was a vintage speaker. It is actually a cabinet without an amp. Its a fender vintage cabinet with the fender logo underlined. As far as I can see it was made between 1968 and 1974. Where is a good source of information??? Fender tried to help but couldn't. The serial number as far as I can determine is M 18020 or M16020. I have no clue as to whether it would work if had an amp. Or if it could be used for a fender guitar that isn't a bass. Would there be no treble or midrange?
What the heck is going on??? Any ideas??

I can't help at all with the cab. But welcome to TalkBass!!!
 
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