Questions about 100 watt Fender Bassman head

B

Bloodbone

New member
The head is a silverface,from the CBS ownership era.
I'm pretty sure one of the transformers burned up a couple of years ago.It's been out of commission since then.
Planning on having it repaired soon.
Will it be difficult to find parts that will work on this thing,such as a new transformer?

Next thing is that after it is fixed,what would sound good for playing blues music?The guitar is a Fender Mex Jazz,the cab is a Goliath Jr III 4 ohm,and the head will be this Fender Bassman.I guess my question would be-what strings on the bass,and which tubes in the head?
Thanks for any advice.
 
i dont' think you'll have trouble finding the transformer.

and tubes wise, most people will suggest either NOS tubes, or jj/tesla tubes. the jj's are considered by most to be the best tubes currently manufactured.
 
I had a bassman head.

Sucked for bass. Was usable for guitar (with a distortion pedal). The only good point in my opinion is that they sell for a pretty penny (some guy in the UK bought mine for like $400 if I remember correctly).

After I sold it, however, I saw about 10 bands or so that use the same head. The only sound I've heard them get out of it, however, is kinda muddy tube bass distortion. It's not too bad, however, I'd still sell that baby again in a heartbeat, and I don't think the bass end is strong enough for blues, but that's just my opinion (well, mine and the opionion of all my bass friends who played it). Try it out, but yeah, I didn't like it.
 
Like DS said, the parts shouldn't be a problem.

They have definitely become more popular as guitar amps, at least the 50W model.

The other nice thing about it, is that since it is dead simple to work on, it can be modded very easily, especially with the kind of tones you are looking for. That doesn't really require any heavy-duty reworking, just some simple substitutions.

If you have any problems with the tone, any decent amp guy should be able to make it like you want.

That being said, 100W isn't a ton of wattage for bass, but if you get it fixed, you can at least sell it.
 
Evh?

Also, didn't EVH first get his famous brown sound after accidentally ( or being forced to ) plug into a Bassman head?

Mark
 
A Fender Bassman head is a great amp for guitar.

If you want a certain kind of sound.

E.G.
With a 2 x 12" cabinet with Celestions, a Les Paul straight in with no effects - front pickup on about 6 will give you a great jazzy/bluesy sound.

Telecaster into a compressor and a 4 x 10" cab will give you a great country sound.

Depends what you want to do with it.
 
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