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Post subject: Is a Bassman '66 loud enough?
Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:28 am
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hi,

I'm thinking about checking out a '66 blackface Bassman head, but it's not close to my home, which is the reason for this post.

I intend to use it for guitar. The only thing I'm worried about is that it won't be loud enough. I play with a VERY loud drummer.

How many watts are they anyway?

How and when do they 'break'? I usually play on full volume,
what would happen soundwise then?

I see people complaing about Bassman's not being loud enough, but they are mainly bass players.

Hope to hear some opinions from guitar players who play loud on a Bassman ;),

Also thinking about using a booster such as the z-vex super hard on,
i was impressed by that one.

thanks,

JerryJ.


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Post subject: Re: Is a Bassman '66 loud enough?
Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 7:04 am
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JerryJJ wrote:
hi,

I'm thinking about checking out a '66 blackface Bassman head, but it's not close to my home, which is the reason for this post.

I intend to use it for guitar. The only thing I'm worried about is that it won't be loud enough. I play with a VERY loud drummer.

How many watts are they anyway?

How and when do they 'break'? I usually play on full volume,
what would happen soundwise then?

I see people complaing about Bassman's not being loud enough, but they are mainly bass players.

Hope to hear some opinions from guitar players who play loud on a Bassman ;),

Also thinking about using a booster such as the z-vex super hard on,
i was impressed by that one.

thanks,

JerryJ.


I used 'real' ones for many years with a loud drummer. The head was 50W RMS into their mating 2x12 or 2x15 bottoms w/stock speakers. I used stock Stratocasters directly into these amps. Granted, I have a light touch but I had to keep the amp on '8' just to match his volume. On loud gigs, I'd literally use two heads and two bottoms. Eventually, I switched to either a Marshall 100W Super Lead w/ 4x12 Celestions or a Black-Faced Twin (also 100W RMS) with 2 x 12 Jensens. With the stock Bassman bottoms, I blew a lot of speakers as to the best of my recollection, they were only 35W each. The point being, driving these speakers constantly at high volume without any boosters was enough to frequently fry them so I don't think it would be a good idea to tax them any more with some kind of preamp. YMMV.

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Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:23 am
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The 50-watt Bassman head will be sufficient to "compete" with an unruly drummer when used as a guitar amp. They're pretty anemic for bass (by contemporary standards) but they sound great with either Les Paul or Strat. A favored speaker system for this amp is a Marshall 1960 cab (or equivalent), with a quartet of Celestion V30's or Greenbacks. The amp responds well to pedals, especially when slaving both channels together.

Best of luck, HTH

Arjay

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Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:05 pm
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Hi Jerry, guess it kind of depends on whether the amp is the AA864 or AB165. IMO the 864 delivers a more subtle tone(the bass channel)due to the tone stack, the gain of V2, the negative feedback circuit, and the power tube bias circuit. The 165 is a different animal. More gain on V2, local negative feedback in the pre amp, a different NFB in the power section, different bias circuit, different phase inverter feed, and an extra filter cap for the pre amp B+ supply. IMO this was an attempt to clean up the bass response. For guitar, I guess a good pedal array would make this amp cook. The overall power output will rattle the windows. BTW I have an AB165 in a 2X10 combo conversion, that has been changed into a 864 power section and an ever evolving front end section, for guitar. Never had a problem keeping up in a band mix. Art

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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 4:39 am
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My 65 doesn't get drowned out. These are loud little bastards. Great amps and still a Blackface bargain............ 8) Mike

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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 8:25 pm
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All good advice from these guys, Jerry ! Since you're going to demand the max out of this amp, I'd go for a real thorough inspection and updating of any marginal components. This amp was designed for 110vac at the wall outlet. So a focus on the power supply, bias, screen grid, 3-prong plug, and grounds is necessary. IMO preventitive maintenance is key for these old amps. If the transformers are original, then their preservation would be my main concern. Even if they're not, reliability is still the name of the game. Art

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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 8:37 pm
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aclempoppi wrote:
All good advice from these guys, Jerry ! Since you're going to demand the max out of this amp, I'd go for a real thorough inspection and updating of any marginal components. This amp was designed for 110vac at the wall outlet. So a focus on the power supply, bias, screen grid, 3-prong plug, and grounds is necessary. IMO preventitive maintenance is key for these old amps. If the transformers are original, then their preservation would be my main concern. Even if they're not, reliability is still the name of the game. Art


+1000!

For stage work I normally use a Twin Reverb or a Dual Showman but periodically I'll play this 40-watt "utility rig"......

Image

It's a garden-variety '66 Bandmaster head wired to a pair of Celestion V30's in a home-cloned Showman cab.

Trust me......it's plenty loud.

Arjay

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Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:16 pm
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What I do if ain't loud enough with my amps => go to half stack of 12-inchers that are very efficient. For example believe me, if you had 4 x JBL D120F loaded in a half-stack... with your amp, you'd be plenty loud. Maybe some HE Webers in a half-stack?


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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 3:02 am
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Thanks guys for the answers, highly appreciated.

'Loud' is pretty subjective stuff of course, but summarized
the bassman is loud enough for small gigs and rehearsal room, and for bigger gigs I can always mike it if necessary.
Also, maintenance is the keyword with a vintage amp, luckily i know a guy who can do that for me.

I'll let you know what i will do, also thinking about a Showman 100 watt (no loud worries) and checking out a bandmaster, white tolex '63 drool set tomorrow.


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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:42 am
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JerryJJ wrote:
Also, maintenance is the keyword with a vintage amp, luckily i know a guy who can do that for me.


Actually, these vintage amps need very little in the way of maintenance once properly serviced. They frequently play for decades or more before requiring a tech's TLC. Choose your tubes carefully (NOS types are more durable than most currently-manufactured glass), do not scrimp on caps or other necessary replacement components, and install any and all recommended safety mods.

HTH

Arjay

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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:55 pm
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My '68 Bassman is 50W and is plenty loud for gigging.I use either my 2/15 Fender Bassman '69 cab or my 4/12 Marshall cab and they both pump out loads of volume.

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Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 3:48 pm
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guitslinger wrote:
or my 4/12 Marshall cab and they both pump out loads of volume.


+1

That's really an "E-ticket ride" for anybody with a Bassman head, GS. They seem to love a quartet of V30's or Greenbacks.

Arjay

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