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Who here plays Fender amps?

#61
Stevens1212 said:
Do y'all remember back in the 60's when the Fender Bassman was the only bass amp to play. It was the standard then. I still see once occasionally in vintage shops.
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I see live Booker T. and the MGs gigs from the late '60s and 1970 on YouTube and I never see Duck Dunn playing a Fender. It was either a Marshall or Kustom, depending on the year. Even when I see pics of Jamerson playing with the Funk Brothers, he's not using a Fender, either. I know some of the later heads aren't bad, just underpowered, but the cabs are just awful for bass. I tried one for laughs about a month ago and really, I didn't like the sound of the cab at all. Guitarists love 'em, though, which makes them worth something. What makes me laugh is how much people ask for the BXR stuff on CL. Yeah, like I'd buy one with their rep. I don't know that I'd even take one as a gift.

Fender might make some good newer stuff, but I've shied away from them since I'm trying to put together a good used budget setup. I'm not going to be playing enough gigs to pay for a whacking great Ampeg (or, heaven forbid, Mesa) setup.
 
#62
basslinejam said:
All I know is my old 50 watt blackface Bassman through my Boogie 2x15 diesel was raging. Only one big tone, but what a tone. That said my guitar player sounded better using it....

Johnny B Gayden (Albert Collins) used to gig the BXR400 head and Spectrum cab (2x10+18) and that rig sounded sweet.

The new Pro line gear looks really good, but maybe too expensive for me...
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With the right cab, those heads sound great... I'm sure that mesa cab made that bassman head sound awesome...
 
#63
Fealach said:
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I have different cabs now, but this is the most impressive picture. It's a '71 or so. At the time it was powering 2 Peavey 1820s (2X10, 1X18) and 2 Bergantino 15" subs. I had to get rid of the 1820s, the amp was too much for the 18s in them.

Nothing they make now impresses me, but that is true of most every amp company.
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I've always wanted to find one of these heads... they are impossible to find it seems... maybe ebay, I dunno...
 
#64
Mudfuzz said:
Early 80's Fender Bassman 20 from the Rivera period, 18 watts all tube and loud enough for small gigs like coffee houses and granges, but for the most part is is my practice amp.
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Theres some site I was on (ampwares I think) that said Fender only made like 500 of those amps... I've been searching ebay for one. I think it would be cool to own one, just because of the low production number; I hear they sound great as well...

Great jazz bass, btw...
 
#65
GreaserMatt said:
I was a little confused by his statement as well; not trying to start anything here, but the first couple of Fender basses are now the industry standard & a timeless design as well... ?
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Fender instruments were the low cost mass produced alternatives to the high quality hand made brands of the 50's, like Gibson, Rickenbacker, Gretsch. Fender used materials and construction methods that allowed them to come in at half the price of those counterparts. It was just serendipitous that the instruments and amps sounded good. The speakers, OTOH, were horrible. Unfortunately many of the engineering faux pas of Fender speakers also became part and parcel of a legacy that continues to this day, most unfortunate as they were not worthy of being built in the first place, let alone being copied.
 
#68
I just got a TB-600 head, and I'm really liking it so far. I'm still getting used to the passive tone stack, but it allows a lot of variety in the tones that can be dialed up. It can get ridiculously loud at 8 ohms pushing 400 watts, too. It's a keeper!

BTW, mndean, if you're looking to get into an affordable rig, I've got a mint condition Nemesis NA650 for sale in classifieds...:)
 
#73
GreaserMatt said:
I've always wanted to find one of these heads... they are impossible to find it seems... maybe ebay, I dunno...
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There was one of those on SF craigslist about a month and a half ago. I read up on them, and they scare me. They require 6550A tubes and are finicky. It didn't help that the one place that works on them regularly is across the country, either. Price was right, but after reading I didn't really want to pull the trigger.
 
#74
I've only owned 3 Fender amps. The BXR115, Rumble 100 1x15 and Rumble 100 2x10, combo amps.

I recommend these to anyone looking for inexpensive combos. All 3 have seen me though many gigs both small and large and not once ever left me hanging. They are also built quite sturdy and can handle wear and tear well.

When I was last on the market for a new amp, I was giving serious consideration to the Bassman head because the tone of the 2x10 combo sounded very good.

Now I'm on the market for a new rig again and test drove TBP-1 and I must say I was more than surprised and impressed with how good the thing sounded.
 
#75
I read more complaints about BXR amps (especially combos) than practically any other amp around, and I never see one that's cheap for its age and rep. Those two things are real red flags. If I'm gonna go that route, I might as well get a Peavey. I'm looking for a cleaner sound so I may end up getting something else like a used LittleMark LMII or an old SS amp with a good rep. There was a nice old Kustom head I should have pulled the trigger on ($200!), but I didn't know anything about them at all when it popped up and it was gone in a day. It figures that Fender has some decent stuff now, when I'm not at all interested in buying new.
 
#76
mndean said:
I read more complaints about BXR amps (especially combos) than practically any other amp around, and I never see one that's cheap for its age and rep.
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My complaints about the BXR200 I owned was it's weight and since it had no tweeter, I just couldn't get any high end frequencies out of it. It was loud as all get out though for being only 200w!!
 
#77
I hear you guys on the rep Fender has, but I have a Bassman 150 combo that is just fantastic. This combo has very nice tone and a whole lot of features for the money. Parametric mid controls, compressor, contour controls, very flexible.

This little guy produces 150 watts at 4 ohms, a 12" Eminence driver and a tweeter (turned off at all times). It is very solidly constructed of 3/4" plywood. Sound guys like this combo because it has a DI out with control.

41 lbs, an easy carry with one hand and will fill small rooms easily.

Great tone, flexibility, plenty of power. What more do you need?
 
#78
GreaserMatt said:
I've always wanted to find one of these heads... they are impossible to find it seems... maybe ebay, I dunno...
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I got both of mine from Ebay. I liked the first one so much I decided to get a backup if I ever saw another cheap. The second one was DOA but Ebay, Paypal, my credit card, and the seller all just laughed at me when I tried to use the dispute resolution process. This was before Ebay changed to its current format which is supposed to be more in favor of buyers.
 
#79
billfitzmaurice said:
Fender did own the market when Fender held all the major endorsement deals, the Ventures and Beach Boys being the prime examples, but that was only through roughly '65. The mentioned brands, and others like Sunn and even Vox, started eroding Fender's market share starting around '66, and the SVT was the last nail in the Fender coffin in '69. By 1970 Fender was an also-ran and they never recovered.
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Yep that's what I remember.
 

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