NAD: '62 Fender Bassman

mo6020

So I took a jaunt out this afternoon to take 3 Boss pedals to get modified at Sweet Amps near me in Hackney, and ended up putting a deposit down on this absolute beast. 

1962, export model so runs on UK power natively. Sounds as good as it looks.



A blonde Bassman is a holy grail amp for me which I never thought i'd own, and I am absolutely stoked to acquire one. I'll be picking it up next week when I grab the newly modded pedals. My neighbours now have another reason to hate me...

If you're in East London I highly recommend Sweet Amps, Jim is a top bloke, and they have some really wonderful gear in there.

ICBM

Fantastic . Genuinely one of the best-sounding amps ever made. It's in exceptional condition for one that age too, unless it's been restored some time ago.

mo6020

ICBM said:

Fantastic . Genuinely one of the best-sounding amps ever made. It's in exceptional condition for one that age too, unless it's been restored some time ago.

New caps and a new back panel, but everything else original. I cannot explain how happy I am about it.

gatheredinsong

I'm a little bit jealous.

mo6020

I need to figure out whether to take the repro 2x12 he's got to go with it, or to run it through the 2x12 I use for my plexi... I don't really have room for another cab in here but it's tempting...

Whistler

mo6020 said:

Sounds as good as it looks.

Creamy.

mo6020

Whistler said:

mo6020 said:

Sounds as good as it looks.

Creamy.

Exactly. 

Alex2678

Wow

ICBM

mo6020 said:

I need to figure out whether to take the repro 2x12 he's got to go with it, or to run it through the 2x12 I use for my plexi... I don't really have room for another cab in here but it's tempting...

It needs a 4-ohm load, so unless it has - or you can fit - 4/16-ohm switching, you'll need to run the plexi at 4 ohms too, which is OK but not ideal.

I was going to suggest @Modulus_Amps for a repro cabinet as I'm very happy with the one I got for my '73 Bassman 50, but it sounds like you have it covered already.

mo6020

ICBM said:

mo6020 said:

I need to figure out whether to take the repro 2x12 he's got to go with it, or to run it through the 2x12 I use for my plexi... I don't really have room for another cab in here but it's tempting...

It needs a 4-ohm load, so unless it has - or you can fit - 4/16-ohm switching, you'll need to run the plexi at 4 ohms too, which is OK but not ideal.

I was going to suggest @Modulus_Amps for a repro cabinet as I'm very happy with the one I got for my '73 Bassman 50, but it sounds like you have it covered already.

It’s the baby SV20 which has switching in it. I’ll have to check what the cab is because I can’t remember off the top of my head.

breadfan

That’s a great score!

Take the cab, too - you’ll regret it if you don’t. You’ll find the space!

mo6020

breadfan said:

That’s a great score!

Take the cab, too - you’ll regret it if you don’t. You’ll find the space!

I think I’m going to. Will just have to move some stuff around

victorludorum

Channel your inner Clapton and treat your neighbours to a rendition of the While My Guitar Gently Weeps solo. Beautiful!

mo6020

victorludorum said:

Channel your inner Clapton and treat your neighbours to a rendition of the While My Guitar Gently Weeps solo. Beautiful!

I think I can play the Clapton version, the Prince version on the other hand maybe not lol

Modulus_Amps

Wow, love it. I have fancied a blackface bassman for years. It is on the build list for the future.

mo6020

Modulus_Amps said:

Wow, love it. I have fancied a blackface bassman for years. It is on the build list for the future.

Not that I’m trying to enable you, but he’s got a blackface in there atm…

Modulus_Amps

mo6020 said:

Modulus_Amps said:

Wow, love it. I have fancied a blackface bassman for years. It is on the build list for the future.

Not that I’m trying to enable you, but he’s got a blackface in there atm…

Ok I had a look. He has a blonde on the website but in a black headshell. is that they one you mean?

mo6020

Modulus_Amps said:

mo6020 said:

Modulus_Amps said:

Wow, love it. I have fancied a blackface bassman for years. It is on the build list for the future.

Not that I’m trying to enable you, but he’s got a blackface in there atm…

Ok I had a look. He has a blonde on the website but in a black headshell. is that they one you mean?

Yeh I saw that - there were some other bassman looking things that maybe were bandmasters, actually. I think he said he’d just got another blackface in from the US, too. It was like Aladdin’s cave, man.  

Modulus_Amps

Some interesting stuff on the website for sure. Would be a dangerous shop to walk into with a credit card ha ha

mo6020

Modulus_Amps said:

Some interesting stuff on the website for sure. Would be a dangerous shop to walk into with a credit card ha ha

Yeh man, tell me about it 

ICBM

I had a couple of blackface Bassmans about thirty years ago - a '64 AA864 and a '65 AB165, slightly different circuits. The AA864 was the better for guitar and the AB165 the better for bass. I stupidly sold one and traded away the other, when I wanted a channel-switching guitar amp and a more modern, powerful bass amp. The AA864 produced probably the best guitar sound I've ever had on stage, at a rare gig where the soundman let me crank it - through an old Marshall straight 4x12" wired for 4 ohms with G12M-25s... just epic.

I finally fixed that mistake late last year - I bought a near-perfect all-original Bassman 50 from a member here, and it's great - I think it's actually better-sounding for bass than either of the older ones, and I haven't even plugged a guitar into it yet! I might be the only person in the 21st century to buy one purely to use as a bass amp . Remarkably, it's powerful enough to comfortably cope with a quite loud band, as long as I don't mind a moderately overdriven bass sound. (I don't at all, it's a garage punk band.)