Should I get a fender Bassman?

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:11 pm

Over the summer I bought a Vox AC50CPH thinking that the project band I'm in would practice every weekend. Not the case. We haven't practiced in a few months, but I do play bass in my primary band every weekend. I have been thinking of selling the Vox and pocketing the cash, but I have also thought about selling my bass head (Hartke HA2500) and upgrading. I have been kind of hesitant of going for vintage bassman head because its only fifty watts and one of the guitarists has one too, so I wasn't sure how my signal would compete with that and a Fender HRD. While searching for bassmans I remembered about the Bassman 100 and that struck me as something that could work. My questions are:
a) will it take pedals well even though the circuitry is different?
b) will it sound good for playing bass and guitar?
c) is it worth buying?

kypdurron · Post by **kypdurron** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:27 pm

Our bass player uses either a Bassman 100 or a Dual Showman. It absolutely loud enough and sounds damn good, both amps. not tons of headroom as a bass amp, but fat tone. He uses cabinets with speakers made for bass, though. so, b and c yeah, about pedals, no idea.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:48 pm

I've used a Traynor YBA-1 on bass (trough bass cabs) in loud punk bands intermittently for years.
I've known several bassists that preferred similar setups, as well.

A 68 Bassmaster trough a 2x15 cab is by far the most organic, responsive rock and roll bass setup I've come across short of an SVT rig.

Anything that closely resembles a Bassman is indeed a suitable, capable bass amplifier. It's certainly loud enough, So long as you don't mind at least a little bit of dirt at any reasonable volume.

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:58 pm

i have a 1x12 for guitar and a 2x12 with a tweeter for bass, so I am set for cabs.
how much dirt would you say would be in my signal at "reasonable level." A little overdrive is fine, but I am not looking to sound like The Hives' bassist.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:08 pm

Entirely depends on how loud and what frequency range the other instruments are playing in...

Anything louder than a folk band and you're going to start getting a bit of breakup.
Anything more heavy than a loud punk band (low guitars, heavy drums, low vocals) and a Bassman will straight up distort before it makes it trough the mix, if it ever does at all.

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:14 pm

thank you for the tip! i also am interested in a bassman 70. I think it could be a good compromise between the two. Anyone have any experience with the 70w model?

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Wed Feb 02, 2011 10:18 pm

Put it this way, I've had a YBA-1 through a 2x15 going up against another YBA-1 trough a 4x12, a Super-Reverb and a LOUD drummer playing the loudest snare I've ever heard in my life, in a 12x12 foot space and the bass was clear and assertive, gritty enough to give it some character but round and rich enough to still sound like a bass.

Aaaand... My bassist was playing a Gibson EB-0!

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:00 am

so i have officially put the Vox up for sale locally. Now I have to figure out which bassman to get.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:21 am

I take you've seen the sweet Bassman 100 head and Avatar cab in Burlington Craigslist...
Dude wants too much for it but maybe you could negotiate a price for just the head.
If not, you can just sit around and watch him not sell it for a couple weeks, then ask again.

http://burlington.craigslist.org/msg/2193454147.html

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:32 am

yeah i saw that set. he is asking waaaaaaay too much for the pair. i am have found a bassman 100 for $132+shipping with 5 days left and a bassman 70 $100+shipping with 4 days left. I hope the vox sells before then.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:32 am

laterallateral wrote:I take you've seen the sweet Bassman 100 head and Avatar cab in Burlington Craigslist...
Dude wants too much for it but maybe you could negotiate a price for just the head.
If not, you can just sit around and see him not sell it for a couple weeks then ask again.

http://burlington.craigslist.org/msg/2193454147.html

This dude has been asking this price for months.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:35 am

Berto wrote:yeah i saw that set. he is asking waaaaaaay too much for the pair. i am have found a bassman 100 for $132+shipping with 5 days left and a bassman 70 $100+shipping with 4 days left. I hope the vox sells before then.

Email him and ask him what he wants for just the head, then try talking him down. Definitely better than the eBay option if you can talk him down..

Haze · Post by **Haze** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:36 am

Yes but don't pay more than $350 unless you are getting a blackface or ab165 circuit. Well, actally if bass is your main use then get a later model. Typical opinion is earlier bassmans are favoured for guitar, and later models for bass.

cobascis · Post by **cobascis** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:37 am

I found mine for $250 shipped. Spent around $150 in work since then.

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:39 am

Seriously, better be patient and find something local cause shipping is gonna slay you.
Have you considered putting up a "for trade" ad against the Vox?

laterallateral · Post by **laterallateral** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:45 am

I don't know how drastically prices change 25 miles over the border but around here, $500 is reasonable for a silverface Bassman in good condish.

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 1:49 am

just emailed him. now I wait

toez10 · Post by **toez10** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 6:43 pm

laterallateral wrote:Put it this way, I've had a YBA-1 through a 2x15 going up against another YBA-1 trough a 4x12, a Super-Reverb and a LOUD drummer playing the loudest snare I've ever heard in my life, in a 12x12 foot space and the bass was clear and assertive, gritty enough to give it some character but round and rich enough to still sound like a bass.

Aaaand... My bassist was playing a Gibson EB-0!

You may have to take into consideration the size room you are going to be playing bass in. In a 12x12 room, the bassman will definitely keep up. However, in a larger room the lows are going to disipate much more quickly than high frequencies. If you guys gig in a space where your bass will be mic'd or DI'd, you'll have some amazing, organic bass tone through the bassman. If you are on your own in a large room, you may find that your lows, especially between 41hz and 300hz will be lost, while other instruments through similarly rated amps are still cutting through. Just a little food for thought. Great sounding amp for bass and guitar, though. I've always found bassmans that I've played through to take pedals very kindly.

James · Post by **James** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:05 pm

Haze wrote:Yes but don't pay more than $350...

cobascis wrote:I found mine for $250 shipped. Spent around $150 in work since then.

I think that highlights a very good point. Something like $450 for one in good condition that is also well serviced isn't bad because you save yourself at least $100 worth of hassle over buying one that needs a few things done to it but you aren't sure exactly what. You're either going to be guessing somewhat, paying someone to look at it for you or spending hours and hours researching what it could be and still guessing a little.

Berto · Post by **Berto** » Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:29 pm

toez10 wrote:
laterallateral wrote:Put it this way, I've had a YBA-1 through a 2x15 going up against another YBA-1 trough a 4x12, a Super-Reverb and a LOUD drummer playing the loudest snare I've ever heard in my life, in a 12x12 foot space and the bass was clear and assertive, gritty enough to give it some character but round and rich enough to still sound like a bass.

Aaaand... My bassist was playing a Gibson EB-0!

You may have to take into consideration the size room you are going to be playing bass in. In a 12x12 room, the bassman will definitely keep up. However, in a larger room the lows are going to disipate much more quickly than high frequencies. If you guys gig in a space where your bass will be mic'd or DI'd, you'll have some amazing, organic bass tone through the bassman. If you are on your own in a large room, you may find that your lows, especially between 41hz and 300hz will be lost, while other instruments through similarly rated amps are still cutting through. Just a little food for thought. Great sounding amp for bass and guitar, though. I've always found bassmans that I've played through to take pedals very kindly.

Do you think the 70w model would suffice or would it be better to go for the 100w. I will be using this amp for shows and practice. The practice space it larger than 12'x12'.