It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 7:30 pm

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: '59 Bassman Amp & Precision Bass
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 1:08 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:33 am
Posts: 650
this may be a stupid question for some but here goes

Are there players who play their Precision Bass through the '59 Bassman?
if so, what genre/style would we find this combination?

It's a weird question in that, yes the Bassman was originally designed to
amplify the Bass but became a hit with the guitar.
I found myself asking the oddest question I've heard in a long while.

"Does a Precision or Jazz Bass sound good through the Bassman?"

I feel like the village idiot asking this question.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:27 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:33 am
Posts: 650
It's not a trick question.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:21 am
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:30 pm
Posts: 203
To directly answer your question, all of the '59 Bassman amps have been bought up by guitar players. So, no, in my 30+ years of playing, I have never seen a bass player playing through a vintage Bassman amp.

To answer your question a different way, like the vintage Ampeg amps of that era, they were good for recording or playing only the smallest of venues as they were underpowered.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:05 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:33 am
Posts: 650
LawDaddy wrote:
To directly answer your question, all of the '59 Bassman amps have been bought up by guitar players. So, no, in my 30+ years of playing, I have never seen a bass player playing through a vintage Bassman amp.

To answer your question a different way, like the vintage Ampeg amps of that era, they were good for recording or playing only the smallest of venues as they were underpowered.


Cool, thanks for the response.
I never seen anyone play bass through a Bassman, vintage or modern,
but know about the guitar application well.

Recording is what I am thinking of and thought it might be a nice versatile amp for that application. If I want the punch of higher watts, I guess I can look elsewhere. I love the punchy boom of some the amps I've sampled.

While I am primarily a guitar player, I appreciate and respect the bass just as much.

I may be a wee bit ahead of myself, but was interested if I could play a
P-Bass through the Bassman LTD with no problems as I had heard that there are instances where a bass's low frequency can do naughty things to a guitar amp's circuitry. That's the logic behind my query.

I am considering a Bassman at some point to double duty until I can find
the Bass Amp that matches my needs which I will know better in the future.

(Pardon me if I am random in my thoughts, I am restraining myself from picking up my new AM Standard Strat and am hoping I don't look like a childish giddygirl freak at the store - I'm a 40 year old grandpa)

Thank you for your response and if you have any recommendations for
a bass amp that fits a Gospel-Folk-Blues-Country-Classic 50s-70s Rock
using a Precision or Jazz bass I would appreciate the suggestions.
Thanks again.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:11 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
There is a video I saw a couple of years ago here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQWY8cgCnB0

Turns out harp players bought a bunch too.

I was at Coleman Music in China Grove, NC which is a pretty neat shop that deals in vintage gear. Once I went in there and they had a '68 Telecaster Bass and a '72 Telecaster Bass. The basses were going to a guitar show that weekend so that was my only chance to check them out. They also had a 59 Bassman Reissue. I wanted to try the 68 Telecaster Bass with the 59 Bassman and Chip Coleman pointed me to an Ampeg Classic after stating that the 59 Bassman Reissue is a guitar amp. Later I saw this video and realized the Reissue does sound brighter than the original '59. So if you can find an original '59 you might find it more bass worthy.

As far as one amp to cover all those genres and years, you need a Swiss Army Amp! Something like a Tech 21 Sansamp or Line 6 BassPod would come close to hitting all your benchmarks. I use the Sansamp.

Feed the Sansamp or BassPod into a power amp or a clean bass amp with all tone controls set flat pushing decent cabs with either a 15 inch speaker or 4x10 or even 2x10. With some twists of the dials on the Sansamp or Basspod you can come close to all those tones. Most 60's and 70's professional gigging bass amps used 15 inch speakers but the Fender amps used in studios were sometimes the 4x10 combos. Many of the Fender's 4x10 tube combos had open backs. It is nearly impossible to make a modern sealed 4x10 cab sound like an open backed 4x10 or to make either of the 4x10 designs sound exactly like a 15. Some people really like 12 inch speakers as they hit a happy medium between tens and fifteens.

For recording you can mic the cab on one track and record a direct out from the Sansamp or Basspod on another track. When mixing you can blend the two for the best tone or choose one track or the other exclusively.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Could you modify a '59 bassman to make it a bass amp???
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:45 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun May 03, 2009 5:34 am
Posts: 26
I've played through a '59 Bassman at a local store and found that it broke up to quickly. I dig the look of it and want to know if it could be modified to make it a bass amp.

What would happen if the speakers were switched for bass speakers instead of the guitar voicing?

What would happen if the back was closed up with a modified piece of wood and left a couple of ports on the back?

Here's another thought- what if a guy had two (2) '59 Bassman's and ran them side by side?

Anyone?

Brother Dave, your thoughts please!

Thanks,

Jim

Bass player for The Moonrays (search Facebook & join us!)[/i]


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 6:21 pm
Hey LawDaddy; Which Ampegs are you referring to as underpowered?


Top
Post subject: Re: Could you modify a '59 bassman to make it a bass amp???
Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 10:33 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
jimbr wrote:
I've played through a '59 Bassman at a local store and found that it broke up to quickly. I dig the look of it and want to know if it could be modified to make it a bass amp.

What would happen if the speakers were switched for bass speakers instead of the guitar voicing?

What would happen if the back was closed up with a modified piece of wood and left a couple of ports on the back?

Here's another thought- what if a guy had two (2) '59 Bassman's and ran them side by side?

Anyone?

Brother Dave, your thoughts please!

Thanks,

Jim

Bass player for The Moonrays (search Facebook & join us!)[/i]


If you like that VINTAGE look but want good thick bass tone, I'd steer you toward the big Fender Bassman TV DUO TEN or FIFTEEN 350 watt amps. No 59 Bassman or two or three 59 Bassmans is ever gonna sound that good no matter what you do to it. (You'd have to have a whole bunch of 59 Bassmans to approach the volume of one TV 15 or TV Duo Ten.) Also you have to consider the reliability of the modern amp will be much better AND it will cost LESS initially too.

And YES I agree with whoever said the early Ampegs were similarly underpowered. The were designed to amplify acoustic bass, not electric bass and will not cut it in the show bands of today. Even the Ampeg B15 I had was not really all that loud which is why I next went to a B18 and then after Ampeg came out with the SVT bought one of those 300 watt tube heads in 1972. I only abandoned the SVT for a SVT II rack amp and then got tired of moving that behemoth.

My teeny weenie Line 6 Studio 110 rehearsal combo is louder than the B-15....just not as bass rich. I have a modern Ampeg rack head, B2RE which is rated at 450 Watts at 4 Ohms. I have an old 75 Peavey head that is 100 watts at four ohms. The Peavey is almost as loud as the Ampeg. I think Ampeg wattages are often overrated...other than the SVT Classic and SVT-II which really do kick out all the watts they say. I think I'd need two of my current 450 watt MOSFET heads to keep up with one 300 watt classic, but it sure is lighter to move. Don't get me wrong now, I love Ampeg tone even on the Mosfet stuff, but I think SOMETIMES their wattage ratings on their non-tube power amps are inflated. Further, I'm not buying any Asian made Ampegs. It was heartening to see they are again making amps in the USA...but disheartening to see how much they want to for them. Oh well there's still CARVIN and MESA BOOGIE to try next if I ever need another gig head.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 3:21 pm
Hey brotherdave; You may like the Mesa heads. I went from the Marshall MB450 head to the M6. 600 watts @4-2 ohms. 320 watts @ 8 ohms. A simple head to tune, and the sounds can be very deep if you like. Mid range is also fantastic. I'm an old relic player that went back to my roots of a 2x12 cab with the M6 head. To me it has the tone and sound of the late 1906's - early 1970's amps. Bassman, Kustom, Traynor etc.


Top
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:19 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:30 pm
Posts: 203
glbass wrote:
Hey LawDaddy; Which Ampegs are you referring to as underpowered?


I was talking about the B-15s, not the SVTs ;) I ran across an old B-15 at a local store recently, took a lot of will power not to pick it up! I see the reissue B-15s are 100W now, that should help fill a small club if you're inclined to truck it out.

For now, I'll have to get by with the Fliptop model in my Line 6 X3 Live, does a great job if your eyes are closed!


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:37 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
glbass wrote:
Hey brotherdave; You may like the Mesa heads. I went from the Marshall MB450 head to the M6. 600 watts @4-2 ohms. 320 watts @ 8 ohms. A simple head to tune, and the sounds can be very deep if you like. Mid range is also fantastic. I'm an old relic player that went back to my roots of a 2x12 cab with the M6 head. To me it has the tone and sound of the late 1906's - early 1970's amps. Bassman, Kustom, Traynor etc.


Agreed. Mesa is on my short list of next heads....if one is ever needed. It is a VERY short list because it is all USA made amps. Basically all that is left for me is Mesa and Carvin. That 1600 watt Carvin is mighty tempting too! However I am somewhat more weight conscious now than in my younger years.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2010 9:44 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:30 pm
Posts: 203
brotherdave wrote:
<snip>
Agreed. Mesa is on my short list of next heads....if one is ever needed. It is a VERY short list because it is all USA made amps. Basically all that is left for me is Mesa and Carvin. That 1600 watt Carvin is mighty tempting too! However I am somewhat more weight conscious now than in my younger years.


I just found out there is a Carvin outlet near me Sacramento. I may have to drop in. Always admired their stuff from a distance, but have never tried anything.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jul 21, 2010 8:02 am
Hi LawDaddy; I recently played through a Fender TV15. It sounded good, but I couldn't get enough volume out of it. Worked with the gain and nothing. The same thing with the TV12. There was a Bassman150 there also. It had more volume to it than the TV12. The sound was about the same as well. It wasn't to long after that I tried the American made Mesa gear. Sold on American again.


Top
Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jul 24, 2010 11:37 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
glbass wrote:
Hi LawDaddy; I recently played through a Fender TV15. It sounded good, but I couldn't get enough volume out of it. Worked with the gain and nothing. The same thing with the TV12. There was a Bassman150 there also. It had more volume to it than the TV12. The sound was about the same as well. It wasn't to long after that I tried the American made Mesa gear. Sold on American again.


Input 2 has a 6db pad on it. Make sure you plug into input 1 with a passive bass.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 1:05 pm
Hello brotherdave; good to hear from you again guy. Yes, I had it in the passive side, and it just wouldn't really crank up. It did sound really great, just the volume wasn't there. I may be repeating this from before, but there was a Bassman 150 12" that blew it away.


Top
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: