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Post subject: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:31 am
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Growing up before my sister and I had the chance to open up a new guitar for Christmas (or birthday) in my case, we used some of our dad's guitars and amplifiers. My sister learned bass on my dad's 1965 Precision and I learned guitar on my dad's 1960 Gretsch 6120. We also used his '64? Bassman. I have the Precision bass because my sister is no longer interested in music, and recently have decided that the Bassman needed to be brought out of storage and actually used and loved. Here are pictures documenting the amplifier and some questions I have about it.

Here's the whole thing with the 2x12 speaker cabinet "modded" so it sits vertically. I like it because it has less of a footprint this way.
Image

Image

Here's the inside of the head.
Image

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:31 am
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Tube diagram stating that this has AA864 wiring.
Image

Something I found interesting but Fender used different potentiometers for the volume than the bass and treble. The volume is on the right and the bass and treble are on the left and middle.
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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:32 am
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I need help identifying what this is, it is an input directly wired to a potentiometer. Here are the inside and outside chassis pictures of it.
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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:35 am
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Sorry for the broken up posts but Fender only allows three URLs per post. When I took the head home it had a preamp tube missing and I am not sure how long it has been like that. How much damage would be done if the amp was on with a 12AX7 missing? I have since ordered new JJ's for the preamp section (3x 12AX7 1x 12AT7).

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:20 am
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Probably no damage from a missing tube. It isn't uncommon for some people to remove V1 (first tube on right looking at the back) to get more grit from the Normal channel.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:23 am
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wferguson wrote:
I need help identifying what this is, it is an input directly wired to a potentiometer. Here are the inside and outside chassis pictures of it.
Image


That is the bias adjust pot, it is not an input. The hole is for access for a screwdriver to adjust the bias without having to remove the chassis.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:38 am
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shimmilou wrote:
That is the bias adjust pot, it is not an input. The hole is for access for a screwdriver to adjust the bias without having to remove the chassis.


+1

Do not tamper with it unless/until you understand its purpose and how idle-bias affects the performance of the power tubes.

This amp was built in the 7th week of 1965 and it does appear to be the AA864 circuit. The speaker enclosure is a later edition, likely dating to 1966.

Have you opened it up to ascertain what speakers are installed?

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 11:36 am
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I have not opened up the cab yet, but I will soon. I think it might be best with a power drill because there is a plethora of screws on it.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 11:47 am
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I have that amps brother! A Feb '65 Bassman.
Very nice!

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 12:05 pm
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wferguson wrote:
I have not opened up the cab yet, but I will soon. I think it might be best with a power drill because there is a plethora of screws on it.


Yes, a Makita screw-gun is mandatory for those operations. Be sure not to over-tighten them when you close the cab back up.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 6:51 pm
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And a sweet '65 Head it is! Thanks for the pics (looks quite clean inside!) and by all means get that amp serviced and running like it was meant to!

T2

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:19 pm
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Thanks T2, I will be updating more when I have services done to it, right now I am just waiting on the new preamp set. The phenolic capacitors are next! Interesting note, when I have a bass plugged in and use the bass input, if I have any volume on the normal side, I get a lot of buzz, as soon as I turn the volume all the way down in the normal channel it goes away.

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 7:22 pm
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One more thing, how do I tell if the amp is biased properly?

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:01 pm
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WF, that is a great amp!! I have an AA 864 in a 2X10 combo, used for guitar. The normal and bass channels are seperate entities. So the buzz would be just a cleaning, tube, or component issue in the normal side. That amp deserves a thorough maintenance visit to a good tube amp tech. Yes, the electrolytics probably need replacement and possibly the bypass caps. But once this is done, along with fresh quality tubes, The amp will serve you well for many years!!! If you decide to invest in a bias probe, then that subject can be easily addressed. Art

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Post subject: Re: Fender 60's Blackface Bassman Restoration
Posted: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:08 pm
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Thanks for the info Art! How would I go about troubleshooting the buzzing on the normal channel? Should I just go ahead and spray some detoxit on the potentiometers? Pardon my lack of knowledge but if it was a tube issue wouldn't the problem present itself on the bass channel as well?

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