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Need Help dating and appraising a vintage Bassman!


Dethshaft

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Hey everyone,

 

My singer has a vintage Fender Bassman head and we are trying to date it and see how much they go for just in case he is interested in Selling it some day. I have some pictures. it is in decent shape with a little rust on the top metal pieces but the circuitry was reworked and new tubes were installed so the insides are in very good condition. These don't have any serial numbers so it's hard for me to find out approximately when it was made. I know there are some very knowledgable people on this bored so thanks in advance for any help!

 

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It appears, going by the drip edge, to be a '68, or possibly late '67. That's the most desireable silverface one, generally speaking, because they were still electronically blackfaces.

 

As for what it would sell for, I'm not a good judge of that. Check e-bay, etc. They're on there pretty often.

 

Cool head, though.

 

Steve

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Originally posted by Electric Catfish

It appears, going by the drip edge, to be a '68, or possibly late '67. That's the most desireable silverface one, generally speaking, because they were still electronically blackfaces.


As for what it would sell for, I'm not a good judge of that. Check e-bay, etc. They're on there pretty often.


Cool head, though.


Steve

 

 

Electric Catfish is absolutely right about the aluminum trim. Do you have any speakers that might help you to date it, or do you just have the head? Pot codes are also a possible source of dating stuff, but they're notoriously unreliable. Ideally, one wants to compare speaker codes, pot codes, and cosmetic evidence. The aggregate will provide the most reliable year, but even this can be fishy as Fender put amps together from a large stockpile of parts.

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1968-1970. The serial number will be in the back on the right side. Same circuit as Blackface Bassmen, most desirable of the Silverfaces. Easily modded, and you can still get replacement metal strips from Fender.

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Originally posted by Electric Catfish

It appears, going by the drip edge, to be a '68, or possibly late '67. That's the most desireable silverface one, generally speaking, because they were still electronically blackfaces.


As for what it would sell for, I'm not a good judge of that. Check e-bay, etc. They're on there pretty often.


Cool head, though.


Steve

 

 

 

I always thought the "drip edge" was on 68-69 years. 67' was still blackface cosmetics if I am not mistaken.

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Originally posted by Burningleaves

I always thought the "drip edge" was on 68-69 years. 67' was still blackface cosmetics if I am not mistaken.

 

 

You're right. Drip edge should denote 1968, but the time of inception is always fuzzy. That's why one compares all of these factors in ideal circumstances. You can find this trim on '66 solid state models, for instance.

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Originally posted by Burningleaves

I always thought the "drip edge" was on 68-69 years. 67' was still blackface cosmetics if I am not mistaken.

 

That's why I said "late" '67. There were, from what I understand (admittedly very little), some transition sf's in late '67. I could have been lied to, and I'm by no means an expert. Most '67's are indeed blackface, though. Sorry for the confusion.

 

"Blackface" is a pretty generic term for circuitry, too. There were 4 or 5 different "blackface" circuits, some of which were common to sf's, some not. I think the AB165 is the most common sf circuit, while AA864 is generally the most desireable of the bf circuits.

 

I've only been learning this stuff recently, and I'm sure there are guys here that have the schematics committed to photographic memory.:D

 

I have a '71 or '72 myself (never cared enough to attempt to date it beyond cosmetics), modded by Allen Amplification. It had an AB165 circuit, apparently, and he modded it to the AA864. He converted the bass side to a Marshally lead channel too. Those can be some surprisingly versatile amps when modded by somebody that knows what they're doing.

 

Steve

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