Hello,
After some amp advice please.
After 30 odd years of playing through 'gainy' rock type amps, I recently got hold of a what I understand to be a 59 bassman copy(ish) Turned it up a bit, stuck a boost in front of the thing and ...
This has given me the urge to try a 'real' Fender amp, nothing fancy but something that drives a bit and which I can boost if needed.
I have done some research and am still confused by the different 'Bassman' versions out there- which appear to be different amps with the same name. 'Blackface' seems to be popular recommendation , but even that is confusing.
I don't want to end up with something that is crystal clean and twangy or needs pedals 100%
Can anyone offer any advice as to a reasonable, non bank breaking option. Single channel head, no frills, I have a Rock Crusher so non MV OK, but that's not to rule out modern alternatives (e.g. is Bassbreaker any good a a 'proper' amp?)
I'll have to raid the piggybank and shift my 87x reissue and some other bits & pieces to help. Probably rules out some of the real vintage stuff.
Any thoughts or advice appreciated. Of course if anyone has anything they want to shift, let me know.
Many thanks!
Comments
From there some of the tweeds are cleaner than others, and the blackfaces have different characters of breakup.
I have lots of experience with Tweed Champs and the Princeton Reverb, and not much else, so others will know way more.
What kind of sound are you after?
Tweed- rough and saggy
Blonde/Brownface- slightly rough but neater
Blackface- very sharp and clean
Silverface- more sparkley than black.
Re your Q- Blondeface Bandmaster or Bassman head.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
Almost all Fender heads are 4-ohm, and can safely be run at 8 ohms, although you will lose some power and tone. Don't run them at 16 ohms (apart from the very few that are 8-ohm). There are no 2-ohm heads.
Many modern copies have more impedance options - and if you have a 16-ohm cab with two or four speakers you can rewire it to 4 ohms if that's easier.
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