Advice on Fender Bassman 59 Reissue

[Eric]

Hi all,

I have a friend who's a harmonica player. He just got a new amp and is looking to unload his Fender Bassman 59 Reissue, probably for somewhere in the neighborhood of $700. Couple of questions:

1) Is that a decent price? He's my friend, so I have desire to rip him off -- I'm just curious whether that's fair/high/low/etc.

2) Any word on this? Is it any good? I'll definitely test it out before taking any action on it, but I'm curious what people think.

I have no idea what the application of this would be, considering I'm lazy and don't like toting gear around, but it seems like it's worth checking out.

[sunvalleylaw]

They are considered to be quite different from original period Bassmans, but very nice in their own right. There are several vids online, and lots of discussion available. I was checking out a little when I was looking for info on this old Fender Concert I got. As far as price, I would do a completed listings search on ebay to see what the range is. It does not seem extra low to me off the top of my head. EDIT: I just looked at it quick. My search turned up two that sold for 610 and 650, and a ton go for between 700 and 799, and you can get them all day for 799 as a "buy it now" item. $700 for a decent one seems fair to me, esp. if you know the dude and the amph.

Whether it is the right amph for you, only you can say. I really like them though.

[markb]

Tweeds vary a lot. The reissue Bassmans are a bit mid heavy but "within range" as it were. They loosen up if you replace the plug-in diode rectifier with a valve (if he hasn't already). Personally I wouldn't want to have to move one around.

[g6120]

I just sold my Fender bassman which was a early 90s example and Ive seen them go from 6 bills up used .

Placed mine on ebay sold in 30 minutes and I had a good price of 600.00 on it because I did not want to do the waiting thing so It flew fast .

Fender bassman is a good amp but falls short of what it should be ..

Bought a Victoria 45410 bassman which to my ears is way better than any Fender bassman reissue .


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYU9YzoVZGM

[hubberjub]

They are a good amp. No it's not an original, a Victoria, or a Kendrick but it is one of Fender's higher end amps. If you could get it closer to six hundred that would be a good deal.

[Eric]

They are a good amp. No it's not an original, a Victoria, or a Kendrick but it is one of Fender's higher end amps. If you could get it closer to six hundred that would be a good deal.
Thanks. I'll see what I think of it when I play it and see how much wiggle room there is in the price.

[g6120]

Even at 7 bills thats still a good deal if this amp is solid

[sunvalleylaw]

Check this vid for a comparison of an 59 Bassman compared to a Re-issue, compared to a Victoria, which is a modern knockoff. I had an immediate opinion I was surprised by. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Yln8SfHlo

o3Yln8SfHlo

[Duff]

I played a heavily modified 68 or so black one that was incredible and made me want to get one. I played a new showroom floor model and it sounded like a different amp. I never play the bassman when I go there to check out guitars. I always play a Fender Supersonic or recently they got in a Hot Rod Deluxe. I have a Hot Rod Deluxe so I can compare how the guitar will sound thru one of my amps.

I will use the Bassman the next time I go in. The place is only a couple blocks away. How's that for gas?! I'll get back to you.

I have always liked the bassman idea but I think my impression is completely based on that 68ish one and their reputation.

What does harmony-central.com rate them out at?

[Eric]

Check this vid for a comparison of an 59 Bassman compared to a Re-issue, compared to a Victoria, which is a modern knockoff. I had an immediate opinion I was surprised by. Check it out!

Thanks. I think the order I liked generally went

Victoria
Bassman LTD
1959 Bassman
FB-1

It's tough to compare directly, even in that situation, as the Victoria seemed to have more dirt on it and the pedal had some reverb. What was your take?

[sunvalleylaw]

Mine was nearly the opposite. I thought the Vic was too bassy and dirty/muddy sounding, like a club amph from a B cover band that had seen better days. Maybe that is too harsh, but I liked the seemingly tighter sounds of the other two better. I liked the '59 best, but I was surprised to find that I did not find it worlds better than the re-issue for my purposes. I was thinking if I had the re-issue, I would not really miss owning the original if the original was not sitting right next to it, and I am sure you could dial in some things with new tubes, settings, etc.

Bottom line, I would not mind owning your friend's re-issue at all if you could get it for 7 or under. I like the 4x10 Bassmanish sound.

EDIT: I clicked on the more info link to find an article on the test done by an Italian magazine. Here is the article as translated by Google.

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.accordo.it%2Farticles%2F2010%2F 02%2F32054%2Fbassman.html&sl=it&tl=en

[Duff]

I agree with Sunvalleylaw at least to some degree.

I liked the one farthest to the left and the middle one as next best; but the middle one really put out some good tones for some riffs. Overall I liked the left on, whatever it was, best.

The far right one I thought sounded bassy and muddy quite often and lacked the brilliance of the other two.

I thought the player did a great job of comparing the amps.

I would grab one of those left ones in a heartbeat if that is the reissue you have a chance at. Isn't that about the price of a Hot Rod Deluxe special edition?

[Eric]

I would grab one of those left ones in a heartbeat if that is the reissue you have a chance at. Isn't that about the price of a Hot Rod Deluxe special edition?
He says it's from 1993 and has some device soldered on to one of the circuit boards that allows one to rev up the amp without getting so loud. I wondered if it was some sort of attenuator -- says it's a little metal box about 3" x 4" x 2" with a chicken head knob. Don't know.

Anyway, as I'd have roughly zero application for this amp due to size and the fact that it'd probably still be $650+ at best, I'm guessing I probably won't end up with it. I'm trying to save money these days and tell myself I don't need more gear. I'm going to go check it out when I am done with the craziness of the next two weeks, so I'll report back on it.

Thanks for all of the input so far. I really appreciate the help.

[Eric]

Mine was nearly the opposite. I thought the Vic was too bassy and dirty/muddy sounding, like a club amph from a B cover band that had seen better days. Maybe that is too harsh, but I liked the seemingly tighter sounds of the other two better. I liked the '59 best, but I was surprised to find that I did not find it worlds better than the re-issue for my purposes. I was thinking if I had the re-issue, I would not really miss owning the original if the original was not sitting right next to it, and I am sure you could dial in some things with new tubes, settings, etc.
Upon listening again, I do see what you mean. I actually like the somewhat bassy, compressed, edgy dirt of the Victoria with wherever it was dialed in distortion-wise. However, I agree that the other two were tighter. They were extremely close in sound, with maybe a little more high end on the 1959?

Anyway, I'll see what it sounds like.

[Duff]

I really like the sound of that Bassman on the left. I think the dude playing liked it as well, judging by he way he would glance over at it, like; "listen to this thing!?!?"

My question would be what amp do you have now?

Are you in a living situation where you can use this amp even at lowest volumes? Probably isn't that loud turned all the way down, but it is going to move a lot of air with the four speakers.

Lately I have really liked the Fender Supersonic and the discontinued Marshall Dual Super Lead 100. We are talking serious tone with these pro series amps. Sounds like that Bassman is definitely pro series. That Bassman will probably be fixable at very reasonable costs for the rest of your life.

If appropriate, you could use it as your stationary amp, especially if you have a more portable amp.

[sumitomo]

I shut my eyes and it was the middle one that stood out as the most enjoyable! Sumi:D

[g6120]

Ive compared these amps and the treble on the Victoria amp set at 5 is not as bright as the Fender at the same settings .

The victoria treble is more suttle and set at 7 its more like that of the Fender bassman set at 5 .

The bass settings are very much the same at a lower volume 2 or 3 but the treble is not however .

[sunvalleylaw]

Did we discuss this same point over on the Vintage Amps forum G? I did not realize you were here too. I see MichaelE that visits VA comes here too. I wonder about the setting issue too. But as recorded, for my money, the re-issue does a fair job I think.

I do like the original best in this recording, but as you say, there are variables. The price tag of the Vic would make it prohibitive for me comparatively.

[g6120]

Yes indeed its me ;)

I got my Victoria 45410 used and thats what I was looking for a well kept amplifier and the cost was right .

[Eric]

Update: checked this out last night at my friend's house. I guess he replaced it with this (http://www.sonnyjr.com/aboutamp.htm) amp.

Anyway, it has some sort of attenuating jobby soldered into one of the PCBs which isn't that useful for his harmonica playing, but worked well for guitar.

It was quite different playing a Bassman when compared to most amps I've played: a normal and 'bright' channel, volume for each, 3-band EQ and presence. That's all. If you want more crunch, turn up the volume.

It had a pretty smooth tone and decent note definition even at higher volumes, but ultimately I just can't 1) justify spending the money or 2) think of a place where I'd use it. It needs to be fricking loud to get a tone I like, and it's spectacularly loud. Also, it's ~55 pounds.

He's in no hurry to sell, so I think it's still available for me if I change my mind, but as of now I would be buying it mostly as a commodity, and I don't tend to do that much when it comes to gear.

[tjcurtin1]

I shut my eyes and it was the middle one that stood out as the most enjoyable! Sumi:D
+1