Fender Amp

[supafuzz]

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

I have a silverface vibrolux reverb and while it sounds great it's freakin LOUD loud loud!!!

played some gigs last summer in a huge club with a large stage and i never had the amp past 1 !!!..

[chetatkinsdiet]

Yeah, I've owned, and still have a ton of vintage Fenders and also some of the new ones. I like the newer Deluxes ok, but I really think that the best new amp that Fender has done in the past 10 or so years is the original Blues Deville 4x10....not the hot rod or anything else that they have now. FWIW...now I own, as far as Fenders, my 66 bassman, 74 vibrochamp, new Deluxe RI and wish that I'd never sold my Blues deville. But, I sold it for a vintage marshall which does other things very well, so I guess I'm happy.
later,
m

[meblumen]

Sorry to hijack the thread but I've been thinking about getting a new amp in the next month or so. I don't want a twin or something along those lines. They are just too loud, with too much clean headroom. I was thinking about a something along the lines of a deluxe but I don't think it'll be loud enough so a bassman or super reverb sounds like the way to go. I don't have a problem picking up a silverface (early 70's though I think the later ones for both the bassman and super were more watts later on) but I'd really prefer a blackface. How much should I expect to have to pay for a blackface bassman and a blackface super reverb assuming they are in good condition and except for maybe a few fixes like being recapped or having new speakers (super) existing in close to its original condition without any real modifications?

Oh BTW, my old roommate had a super reverb reissue and personally I thought it sucked. Not only did it fail to even come close to the sound of the older amps but it just always sounded dull and tinny. The 59' bassman seemed alright but I'd get one used if you go that route. You can pick one up for like $550 or so on ebay and have some cash to pick up some other stuff or even another amp.

[joel hamilton]

IMO, people get too hung up on black face Vs silver face Vs tweed, blah...

I have a silverface champ, and a silver twin that kick total ass. We have a blackface showman and a silver showman and the silver one gets used all the time and they both are in great shape.

We also have a silver princeton reverb that rules, and a deluxe and a pro junior, and a tweed bassman.

All of these amps sound absolutely awesome, and most of them have silver faceplates. Just try them out.

Also, having to re-cap, or new transformer this or that or this mod or that mod is all great and everything, but why freak on black Vs. Silver if you are going to rip the guts out anyway?

I am by no means a purist, but that just seems silly. I know a guy who made a silver face princeton and shoehorned a 12" speaker in there, and made a few mods, and the thing is a little MONSTER!!!

The sleeper twin....

[luckybastard]

about the blackface and silverface...some models changed very little from the blackface to silverface, like champs, princetons and deluxes...some changed moderately like the vibroluxes and supers...and some a bit more like twin reverbs. imo, the changes weren't necassarily for the worse, it just made them different. also, the earlier the silverface. the closer it is to blackface circuitry. *caution* avoid post 76 silverfaces because they use ultralinear transformers in some models such as the twin and are regarded as sterile sounding.

also if you're looking for that blackface sound. u may wanna check out allen amps

[meblumen]

IMO, people get too hung up on black face Vs silver face Vs tweed, blah...

Joel, I don't know if you were referring to me or not, but I'm not really all that hung up on the silverface vs. blackface issue. I had a silverface twin for a while which I liked but it was too loud. The main reason I am after a blackface bassman or super is because I've got a couple of amps, I buy different ones now and again and sell the ones I don't like or use all that much but I want an amp that I'm going to hold onto. Something that not only sounds great but is really worth adding to the collection (or starting one). Like you said, everyone gets hung up on the blackfaces amps and valuewise there is something to that.

I've played both a silverface and blackface bassman and like both of them. The differences between the two really weren't that discernable and I wouldn't have a problem if the price was right picking up a silverface one. I've never played a silverface super reverb before but I can only imagen they also sound quite good. Anyway, I've looked around ebay, checked out some other for sale ads online and poked through some local stores and the prices on these amps seem to vary quite a bit. Hence I was just looking for a better idea of what I should pay for one of these.

[Sir John Wackness]

i have a bassman 100 '65 and it's incredible. i use it for bass, guitar, and keyboards. it's the most versitile and durable amp i've ever used. i got it for 300 dollars and that's generally the going rate on it. check around the used music stores or look on ebay.

[toothpastefordinner]

I should also mention that the best guitar tones I've recorded in the past couple of years came from my Champ that I bought semi-broken and pulled it apart and forced it to work again. If it didn't sound like crap with my rhodes I'd be tempted to sell all my other amps....


drew
www.toothpastefordinner.com

[Colby]

I agree about the silverface/blackface argument. Every amp I've played sounds different. Even the same model from the same year!!!! I really would recommend you play through the amp you're going to buy. If that means waiting and "truckin' " from store to store then do it! You won't regret it 'cuz you'll know that you made an informed choice. I would however recommend that you steer clear of any of the new Fender reissues since there are so many working old amps out there. You'll pay less and be happier with the sound of something made when sound (not cost) was the highest priorty. (Just my 2 cents)