anyone looking for a silverface bassman?

[mayfly]

If so, this one looks pretty clean, and the money looks good actually:

http://www.spacemanmusic.com/Amps/Tube+Amps/Fender+Bassman+Amp+AB165+Head+1969

Not completely convinced it's a '69 though - it's lacking that dorky trim that they put around the grill cloth that year.

No, this amp is not mine  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Cagey]

That is a good price, in today's market. I remember during the '70s and '80s, they could hardly give those silverfaces away. Nobody wanted them. The rare person who had an urge for a Fender would want a blackface from the '50s and early '60s. Never thought I'd see the day somebody could ask $600 for a used silverface Bassman. I don't think they even cost that much new. But, now - whew! - they're highly desirable.

 

[DangerousR6]

Not bad, at todays exchange rates that's about 482.00 here in the states, as long as shipping is reasonable.... :dontknow:

 

[DangerousR6]

Elderly has a '68 Bassman silverface for 500 bones.... :dontknow:

http://elderly.com/vintage/names/fender-and-reg%3b-bassman-and-reg%3b-head-%28c.1968%29--130U-9109.htm

 

[pabloman]

50's and early 60's blackface amps?? I was under the impression the blackfaces were only around in the mid 60's. Like 64 to 67. I wasn't around back then so I don't know for sure. What I do know is that the difference in a 67 blackface and a 68 silverface is only cosmetics. The manufacturing changes didn't really take place until 69.

 

[Mor Paul]

50's and early 60's blackface amps?? I was under the impression the blackfaces were only around in the mid 60's. Like 64 to 67. I wasn't around back then so I don't know for sure. What I do know is that the difference in a 67 blackface and a 68 silverface is only cosmetics. The manufacturing changes didn't really take place until 69.

I'm pretty sure 63 was the last year of tweed.

 

[TBurst Std]

If so, this one looks pretty clean, and the money looks good actually:

http://www.spacemanmusic.com/Amps/Tube+Amps/Fender+Bassman+Amp+AB165+Head+1969

Not completely convinced it's a '69 though - it's lacking that dorky trim that they put around the grill cloth that year.

No, this amp is not mine  :icon_jokercolor:

Not all 69s had that trim. I had a Oct 69 BMR that didn;t have the trim.

 

[Tonar8352]

Here is the best source of information I have found for Vintage Fender Amps.  It gives a very accurate picture of the differences from year to year and well worth spending some time becoming familiar with.  
http://www.fenderguide.com/

 

[Cagey]

Here is the best source of information I have found for Vintage Fender Amps.  It gives a very accurate picture of the differences from year to year and well worth spending some time becoming familiar with.  
http://www.fenderguide.com/

That's a nice reference. Thanks for the link!

 

[Superlizard]

That is a good price, in today's market. I remember during the '70s and '80s, they could hardly give those silverfaces away. Nobody wanted them. The rare person who had an urge for a Fender would want a blackface from the '50s and early '60s. Never thought I'd see the day somebody could ask $600 for a used silverface Bassman. I don't think they even cost that much new. But, now - whew! - they're highly desirable.

It says a lot more about today's amps than yesteryear's amps when a silverface is considered something of value.  :laughing11:

 

[AutoBat]

If I had the cash, I'd rock it.

 

[Cagey]

It says a lot more about today's amps than yesteryear's amps when a silverface is considered something of value.   :laughing11:

Yeah, I don't remember why those were considered such dogs. I think they were still wired point-to-point like traditional Fenders, at least early on. Seems to me it was a "tone" issue, but I don't know. Maybe somebody else remembers.

 

[mayfly]

It says a lot more about today's amps than yesteryear's amps when a silverface is considered something of value.   :laughing11:

Yeah, I don't remember why those were considered such dogs. I think they were still wired point-to-point like traditional Fenders, at least early on. Seems to me it was a "tone" issue, but I don't know. Maybe somebody else remembers.

From the amps that rolled across my bench, it was all in the circuitry changes that the factory made at that time.  The differences are pretty well documented, but if you've never heard an original silverface wired as it left the factory, all of the adjectives that folks use about today's modeling amps certainly apply.  I remember hearing the words 'sterile' and 'no character' applied a lot.  and yep, to my ears it was true .

Nothing a soldering iron and a handful of parts would not fix mind you...

BTW, the main differences were that the gain was dramatically lowered in the phase inverter stage, and sometimes there were snubber caps placed between the grid and ground of the output tubes.  No character indeed!  There were other changes, but I can't remember what off-hand.

 

[Superlizard]

Yes they really cleaned up the circuit (as in "clean tone" cleaned up; almost to the point of hi-fi sound.

 

[Cagey]

From the amps that rolled across my bench, it was all in the circuitry changes that the factory made at that time.  The differences are pretty well documented, but if you've never heard an original silverface wired as it left the factory, all of the adjectives that folks use about today's modeling amps certainly apply.  I remember hearing the words 'sterile' and 'no character' applied a lot.  and yep, to my ears it was true .

Nothing a soldering iron and a handful of parts would not fix mind you...

BTW, the main differences were that the gain was dramatically lowered in the phase inverter stage, and sometimes there were snubber caps placed between the grid and ground of the output tubes.  No character indeed!   There were other changes, but I can't remember what off-hand.

They probably thought they were "improving" the design, not knowing that guitar amps were supposed to be highly colored. I remember owning an Ampeg VT-22 back in the late '70s, early '80s that was that way. Very "hi-fi", and I mean to a fault. All it did was make things louder, although it did that extremely well. Thing was painful to stand in front of if you cranked it. I put a couple EVM-12Ls in it, thinking that would fix it, but no. Just made an already incredibly heavy amp even heavier.