Fender Amp

[JGriffin]

Try a Silvertone Twin Twelve(1484)
Sounds great with it's original Jensen 2x12 cab.
Or.....
Tap the tranny for an 8 ohm load, and run it into a Marshall 4x10.
All the tone you need is right there, either way.

Oh yeah! I loves my 1484! Sounds pretty killer into a Marshall 1960 4x12 as well.

[norton]

if you're into your guitar sound at all make sure you're really happy with the new fender bassman reissue before you buy it. it would be great if you could do an a/b with an older fender to hear what the new one may or may not be missing.

i don't know what it is but every newer amp (pcb board etc) that i've either owned or recorded has left me flat. i'm probably splitting hairs but there is definitely something more complex going on with sound coming out of a real twin/bassman/musicman/ampeg/airline/silvertone/vox/whatever.

now...that doesn't mean that the reissue isn't for you, that's why an a/b would be so nice... It is a better thing to get one amp that you'll keep and be totally happy with....than it is to lay out $ over and over again, trading amps in until you eventually arrive at the spot you could've started at anyway.

[toothpastefordinner]

The Fender reissues sound like shit, plain and simple. If you want a nice tube amp, don't get one. They sound BAD, not just different from the originals.... flat and unflattering, instead.

I see silverface Bassman combos used for $400-ish pretty frequently around here. I dunno what sort of thing you want, but it may help you to look online (hint: try an online auction site, the one we all know and love and hate) and get an older Fender if that's what you want, try it out, see if you like it, and sell it for what you paid if you don't like it. If it sounds good to you, you will have dropped way, way, way less than a reissue, and have a nicer-sounding amp, and if you wanna put in new tubes or speakers or clean it up so it looks pretty, you won't be dumping money into something that sounds awful.


drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

[toothpastefordinner]

PS: Here's some perspective: You can get a silverface Super Reverb on ebay for $500-600-ish, a blackface for a couple hundred more, a twin for about the same price, and a bassman for even cheaper. Originals.


drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

[CarryTheZero]

I have a question for everyone who recommended I look into some of the older silverface and blackface amps. How much should I expect to pay for all the different blackfaces and silverfaces (I know this is a vague question which depends greatly on condition etc... but ballpark figures would be great). Also, what specifically should I look for in all the used amps in terms of deciphering what kind of condition they are in and if any modificiations have been done to them. Thank you all so much, you have been a huge help and really changed my perspective on all of this stuff.

[Randy]

The Fender Field Guide has an FAQ that talks a bit about the various versions of Fender amps:

http://www.ampwares.com/ffg/

The field guide also has a links section that is really helpful.

[swingdoc]

If you can score an old Vibrolux, that amp is freakin awesome...

That said, Ive always been a Fender guy, and I recently switched to a Mesa Boogie (Mark IIc+), and love it...

Would just second the notion that there are other great amps besides Fenders, and im not in love with the reissues.
PS stay away from the Vibrolux reissue, it bites...

This thread visits many of the other amp possibilities....

http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... uitar+amps

[wormunit]

If you're only concerned about the tone of the amp instead of whether or not it has a blackface or silverface, you may want to buy a silverface fender and have a tech do a blackface mod on it. The circuit differences between the two are rather small. The point is you can get blackface sound with a few inexpensive mods without paying a blackface price.

Devin

[Meriphew]

Since were back on the topic of Blackface Fenders, I once again urge you to check out a Tone King Meteor 20A or 40A.

[supafuzz]

Try a Silvertone Twin Twelve(1484)
Sounds great with it's original Jensen 2x12 cab.

wow one of my fave guitar rigs is 1964 bf bassman head into twin twelve cabinet...........

[chetatkinsdiet]

If I had $1400 to get a Fender, I'd look out for a used Blues DeVille 4x10 for about $400 and put the $1000 in the bank for something down the road. I do agree with other postings about the Bassman. I have a 66 blackface that I got for around $300 and a matching and correct 66 2x12 cabinet that sounds amazing. I just think that if I was going to gig with something in this range, I'd probably go for the older Blues Deville. It's totally different than the new HR amps that they have now. You won't be sorry if you get one.
I also have to put a plug in for my favorite combo amp of all time. My 71 Ampeg VT-40. 60 large watts, 4x10, knobs on top...total "exile on main st." sound. The reverb is not up to par with Fender, but you can always add a reverb pedal. Just gimme a great guitar tone and I'll add the spices as needed.
later,
m

[rolandk]

I own a '59 Bassman RI and the other guitar player in a band I was in awhile back had a '65 Twin RI and I totally disagree that they sound like crap and/or stay away from them. I've never owned the originals so I can't say if the RI's sound exactly the same but the RI's in their own right are SWEET! Maybe you have to try out a few of them to find a good one, I don't know.

The Bassman RI is more of a bluesy vintage SRV tone and I wouldn't recommend it for a modern rock type distortion sound. It's the type of amp you play in a medium size club and turn the volume to a sweet spot (around 4-5) where the amp becomes an instrument in itself. You play your guitar softly the sound will come out clean and when you snap the strings it works the amp a bit and the sound is a little distorted in that vintage way.

The Twin is a big warm clean machine but I personally don't like amps with more than 50W because you have to crank them so loud to get in the tube amp 'tone zone'. The singer in the band I'm in now has an original blackface Showman (basically a Twin w/o reverb) that was just completely gone through and that amp is sweet also but he turns it up to 3 and it practically knocks the building down.

[eh91311]

chetatkinsdiet wrote:

If I had $1400 to get a Fender, I'd look out for a used Blues DeVille 4x10 for about $400 and put the $1000 in the bank for something down the road.

I agree totally. I have a 1x12 Blues Deville and the overdrive channel is lacking, but the clean tone is just Fender great. Get a 4x10 model and use a distortion pedal in front of it. You'll save money over the cost of a vintage blackface or silverface Fender and the required retube and recap repair charges.

[62junior]

The re-issues are very disappointing compared to the originals, hence my previous warning. Maybe they've gotten better in the last couple of years but they are totally different beasts than the originals and all have sounded very harsh to me. I haven't tried the Blues Deville but I do like my Blues Deluxe that they no longer make, perhaps they're similar beasts. Of course neither of those amps are re-issues, maybe that's why they turned out o.k.

K.S.

[eh91311]

Oops... I meant Blues Deluxe, not DeVille. You're absolutely correct, 62junior. I think the 1x12 models are Deluxes with 40 watt output, the 2x12 & 4x10's are DeVilles with 60watts.