Members Burstbucker Posted May 9, 2008 Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 I recently traded my Marshall JCM800 half-stack for a 1963 Fender Bassman with matching 2x12 cab from a friend who happens to be an amp collector. Now, I'm not missing the Marshall at all but I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't have picked out a blackface Super Reverb in his collection instead of the Bassman. I'm not sure if the Bassman is my cup of tea after all. (I'll put on my flame retardant suit now). I know this might sound like sacrilege but after wailing away on this Bassman rig tonight, I'm starting to second guess myself. I was going back and forth between this Bassman and a 1970 Traynor YBA-1 BassMaster with 1x12 closed back cab and I really hate to say it but I prefered the sound of the Traynor! Would I be completely off my rocker if I went for the blackface Super Reverb instead of this Bassman? I've got to admit that I do like a touch of reverb, so that's something that I miss a little bit. In the event that I did end up with a Super Reverb instead, it wouldn't be all that similar to a Twin Reverb would it? I already have a 1970s silverface Twin Reverb which I love but there'd be no point in owning two similar sounding amps. Please give me some feedback here if you can. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members worldoftone Posted May 9, 2008 Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 If you don't like it, sell it. Blonde's aren't for everyone. They only give you so much. They sound a lot different than BFs, SFs or tweeds. I fight with them constantly when I use them on gigs. But, it gives me great tone when I can get one dialed in right. Super Reverbs are predictable and work good in pretty much all environments. I suggest running the blonde head through your SFTR speakers. Then make your decision. Closed-back Fender cabs really change the timbre of that amp. - WOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilMeow Posted May 9, 2008 Members Share Posted May 9, 2008 Blackface Super Reverbs are among my favorite amps of all time. I mean, the Bassman is awesome and all, but those Supers... NOM NOM NOM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joemudge4 Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 dude, that blonde is sick. i can't believe you're already saying these things. i wish i had money right now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burstbucker Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 I know a lot of people would accuse me of being crazy but I don't think that this sound will work for me. WOT,Good idea about the speakers. I'm going to try plugging the 2x12 weber California speakers that are in my SFTR and see how much different it'll sound. I may just have to look into replacing the speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 I'd probably try different speakers and tubes before passing judgment. But yea I'd probably had gone for the Super myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samnite Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 I have a Bassman 10 (different, I know, but still...), and issues of value aside, I still lust for a BF Super. Probably my favorite amp of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members worldoftone Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 WOT,Good idea about the speakers. I'm going to try plugging the 2x12 weber California speakers that are in my SFTR and see how much different it'll sound. I may just have to look into replacing the speakers. That or use an open-back cab. That's what I was steering you toward. Whole amp will change. I converted a beater '63 Bassman cab to open back to use with my '63 Showman. - WOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burstbucker Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 The tubes in this Bassman are a pair of RCA blackplate 6L6 GC and a bunch of old G.E. preamp tubes and an RCA 12AX7. So, the tubes are good. I'm going to remove the back of this cab and see if that helps any. What I found really surprising with this Bassman is that it doesn't seem to get along well with OD pedals. I have an OCD and many other good OD/Distortion pedals but while they work great with my Twin Reverb and my Traynor BassMaster, they sound terrible through the Bassman rig. I've always heard that the Twin Reverb was the "pedal killer" (ie: not getting along with pedals) but it seems like this Bassman hates OD pedals alot more. The Traynor BassMaster gets dirty when cranked up but it still has a nice chimey sparkle quality but the Bassman gets quite honky/nasally when cranked. The Bassman gets pretty dirty when set on anything above 3 or 4 on the volume dial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members worldoftone Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 I have an OCD and many other good OD/Distortion pedals but while they work great with my Twin Reverb and my Traynor BassMaster, they sound terrible through the Bassman rig. Yup. You're supposed to play clean dude. I've always heard that the Twin Reverb was the "pedal killer" (ie: not getting along with pedals) but it seems like this Bassman hates OD pedals alot more. You've obviously been horribly misinformed. The Twin Reverbs can handle just about anything with style. - WOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burstbucker Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 WOT, So, the Bassman is basically a clean machine and doesn't interact well with distortion pedals? I've noticed that it doesn't like to have its input pushed by a treble booster pedal either. For some reason I thought that this amp would work great with OD pedals. That's cool, I don't have to use pedals, I'll keep them for my other amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members worldoftone Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 The only pedal I found that REALLY sounds good with a Blonde Fender is a Tim Overdrive. Problem is, they are hard to get a hold of. I bought one just to use with my Blonde amps. - WOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dolf Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Bassman>SF. Just my opinion of course, but I prefer the slightly heftier tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chrispsullivan Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 blackface super reverb hands down for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 The only pedal I found that REALLY sounds good with a Blonde Fender is a Tim Overdrive. Problem is, they are hard to get a hold of. I bought one just to use with my Blonde amps.- WOT Tim is on my list of pedals to try in the next few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blackba1 Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 The only pedal I found that REALLY sounds good with a Blonde Fender is a Tim Overdrive. Problem is, they are hard to get a hold of. I bought one just to use with my Blonde amps.- WOT I thought pretty much all fenders liked dirt pedals. I do have a Timmy on order though... Only thing I will add to the OP, is that if you need reverb for your bassman, the line 6 verbzilla pedal sounds pretty good out front, its no fender reverb, but it sounds better than alot of amps stock reverb..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burstbucker Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Well, I just spent most of this afternoon messing around with the settings on my Bassman and it's sounding much better. The first thing that I was doing wrong was using the Bass channel with the Treble knob set at maximum, what a dope! I kind of forgot that it's also a Gain control too. I'm now using the Guitar channel instead and it's working out a lot better. When I was plugging in a good OD pedal into the Bass channel, it sounded horrible, no matter what setting the Treble knob was on. These same pedals, plugged into the Guitar channel, sound like they should sound. Plus, if you want to dime the Treble pot on this channel, the gain doesn't go through the roof. I set the volume knob on the Guitar channel to say 5 and the Treble knob to 8 or higher, the Bass knob on 5 and the Presence on 5 or more. This gives me a loud fairly-clean sound with just a hint of dirt when using humbuckers and it actually works well with my OCD and Maxon OD-808 too, even the MI Audio CrunchBox sounds good through this amp now! I guess I panicked for nothing, I just had to try out different settings and use the Guitar channel instead. Duh! I'll hang onto my Bassman now that I know that the problem was me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members worldoftone Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Well, I just spent most of this afternoon messing around with the settings on my Bassman and it's sounding much better.The first thing that I was doing wrong was using the Bass channel with the Treble knob set at maximum, what a dope! I kind of forgot that it's also a Gain control too.I'm now using the Guitar channel instead and it's working out a lot better. When I was plugging in a good OD pedal into the Bass channel, it sounded horrible, no matter what setting the Treble knob was on.These same pedals, plugged into the Guitar channel, sound like they should sound. Plus, if you want to dime the Treble pot on this channel, the gain doesn't go through the roof.I set the volume knob on the Guitar channel to say 5 and the Treble knob to 8 or higher, the Bass knob on 5 and the Presence on 5 or more. This gives me a loud fairly-clean sound with just a hint of dirt when using humbuckers and it actually works well with my OCD and Maxon OD-808 too, even the MI Audio CrunchBox sounds good through this amp now!I guess I panicked for nothing, I just had to try out different settings and use the Guitar channel instead. Duh!I'll hang onto my Bassman now that I know that the problem was me. I figured you would have done all that first. :poke: C'Mon now! FWIW, you can mod the "Bass" channel a bit to get it to sound better for guitar. I did that to one of my blonde Bassmans. - WOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joemudge4 Posted May 10, 2008 Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 that kind of reminds me of when i just got my first old '68 ac30. i was like, this thing just barks at me and i can't get anything to sound decent out of it. it took some time to figure it out. finding the right settings on the amp and on my pedals took forever. i wish i still had it. i miss it everyday, as nothing else has had the character and uniqueness of that amp, even if it was a bitch get it dialed in.i say keep it. you'll get it figured out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burstbucker Posted May 10, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 10, 2008 Hey sorry WOT, I had a brain freeze I guess but I eventually came to my senses. Can you recall what exactly it was that you did to the Bass channel to make it more guitar friendly? Maybe reduce the input cap, different cathode bypass cap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burstbucker Posted May 11, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2008 I feel kind of dopey for getting all worked up about my Bassman, I should have tweaked it more, my bad. BTW, it seems to me that a lot of guitarists tend to use the "Bass" channel on the Bassman rather then the "Guitar" channel, what about you guys? I know that you get a lot more crunch from the Bass channel but it doesn't really agree with what I'm looking for in a "guitar" tone, it might work good with a Strat or a Tele though(I primarily use humbucker equiped guitars most of the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samnite Posted May 11, 2008 Members Share Posted May 11, 2008 Also, don't forget to use the old school trick of jumping channels! Jump the second input of the first channel to the first input of the second channel. This will allow you to use both channels' EQ's, as well as the volumes of both channels, plus the master. Lots of options for sound-shaping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blackba1 Posted May 11, 2008 Members Share Posted May 11, 2008 I feel kind of dopey for getting all worked up about my Bassman, I should have tweaked it more, my bad.BTW, it seems to me that a lot of guitarists tend to use the "Bass" channel on the Bassman rather then the "Guitar" channel, what about you guys?I know that you get a lot more crunch from the Bass channel but it doesn't really agree with what I'm looking for in a "guitar" tone, it might work good with a Strat or a Tele though(I primarily use humbucker equiped guitars most of the time). I thought more people used the normal channel than the bass instrument channel for guitar. I know on my '67 SF bassman I like the normal channel alot better for guitar and that is the one I use mainly. I may tweak the bass inst. channel again and see what I can do, I would really like to use that channel as a solo boost or for a different voicing depending on the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samnite Posted May 11, 2008 Members Share Posted May 11, 2008 I thought more people used the normal channel than the bass instrument channel for guitar. I know on my '67 SF bassman I like the normal channel alot better for guitar and that is the one I use mainly. I may tweak the bass inst. channel again and see what I can do, I would really like to use that channel as a solo boost or for a different voicing depending on the song. Use both! See above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members worldoftone Posted May 11, 2008 Members Share Posted May 11, 2008 Can you recall what exactly it was that you did to the Bass channel to make it more guitar friendly? Maybe reduce the input cap, different cathode bypass cap? I'll have to pull it apart and look at it. It was a while ago. - WOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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