Picked this bad boy up last night. Bassman 100 with 2x15. Not sure about years, but the cab is older than the head. It's also enormous and heavy.
The head is in excellent condition, it's lived in a studio (the guy fell on hard times) and has been well looked after. Sounds lovely. I like clean, loud amps and this one is obviously both of those things. Got them both for 500, which I thought was a reasonable price nowadays. There was an identical rig on eBay the other day sitting at a grand with a bid on it(!)
I need to sell some stuff to balance this out, but who cares.
That's a good deal. I bought my Bassman 50 + 2x15 for £450 and sold the 2x15 for £200. The cab was astronomically heavy though, and I wasn't fond of the sound of the 15" speakers. That head is gonna be VERY LOUD!
I quite like the sound, but I only compared it to my Orange 1x12, which sounded like a shoebox in comparison. Going to sort out the old 2x12 I have and see how that sounds, then I'll make a decision about whether or not to keep the 2x15.
I think that's a pretty good price even by US standards. The head alone could reach $700-800 at a vintage shop.
I might recommend sticking with the 2x15 set up. I played guitar through a 1x15 over the past month while my bandmate repaired my little 1x12 cab. The sound I got from the 15 was really impressive. Not sure why more guitarists don't use 15s.
It's just the size and weight of it that's putting me off. Carting that around basement gigs is not going to be fun.
Apparently the 2x15 is a Super Bassman cab, which they only made between 1969-71, and the Bassman 100s were made from 1972-76. No idea what circuit it is or how I find out (or if I care). Read somewhere that the extension out is rated at 8 ohms, then read something else saying they'll both take 8 ohms, but not sure if they mean 2x 8 ohm cabs which end up as a total load of 4 ohms... I've never *quite* got my little head around how this works.
stewart wrote:It's just the size and weight of it that's putting me off. Carting that around basement gigs is not going to be fun.
Apparently the 2x15 is a Super Bassman cab, which they only made between 1969-71, and the Bassman 100s were made from 1972-76. No idea what circuit it is or how I find out (or if I care). Read somewhere that the extension out is rated at 8 ohms, then read something elsev saying they'll both take 8 ohms, but not sure if they mean 2x 8 ohm cabs which end up as a total load of 4 ohms... I've never *quite* got my little head around how this works.
I had the same cab and my amp is a 1975, I guess they may not have been a matching pair though.
I always thought that the outputs were 1 @ 4 ohm and 2 @ 8 ohm each. I only ever ran 1 x 8 ohm cab for the first few years of having mine with no issues, however it's louder and sounds better running at 4.
It's academic just now, I don't have one 8 ohm can let alone two. How did you date yours? I couldn't see a serial number, although I didn't look all that hard.
did an A/B with this and the Selmer last night, they're surprisingly similar. Bassman has a bit more beef on the bottom, the Selmer has a nice clear upper midrange.
I think I did some research on the web and then posted some info on a Fender amps forum and someone told me it was a 1975. Re the circuit, a tech guy told me when I had it serviced.
I remember using one at a (painfully DIY village hall) show I played when I was like 18; struggled to keep the master volume low enough to not push my arsehole further up inside my body.
