Bassman question

[Tdale]

Does anyone know what types of Bassman amps that were made in 63. They are blackface I suppose, but are there black and blond ones made? And are there different circuits made that year? What is the circuit(s) in 63 called?

Tommy

[doctord02]

http://ampwares.com/amp.asp?id=26

'62 thru 64 are transition years, so there's honestly no telling for certain which circuits it might be without actually tracing them out.

Even the schematic and tube charts pasted inside the amp may not be 100% correct.

[Reeltarded]

I have a white Twin Amp!

It's off topic, but I like to say that whenever I get the chance!

[billyz]

I have seen Bassman heads with black tolex and white barrel knobs and they were original. They had the prescence control .

[Ron Worley]

They were the white / blond tolex covered version with the brown knobs and presence control. The drawings were "6G6" series and sound quite different than the AA764 and later Blackface versions....

[Reeltarded]

They cough, and they are stiff. Great for a Gretsch, heck I guess.

[Tdale]

Brent Mason has a 63. Anyone know what schematic it is?

[Ron Worley]

It would likely be a 6G6-A as 63 was getting close to the beginning of the change over to Blackface...

[Tdale]

But isn't 63 a blackface amp?

[swarty]

The 3 varieties of presence control heads were 6G6, 6G6A and 6G6B. A '63 would almost certainly be a 6G6B, these were made until Aug '64 when the presence control disappeared and circuitry was heavily revised, these were the short lived AA864. Early 6G6Bs have rough white tolex and tan grill, then smooth white tolex and finally typical BF cosmetics, but with white barrel knobs.

[Tdale]

Is there one schematic that is supposed to be the "best" one... or the most popular one? I'm thinking fat, bluesy sound..

[skyboltone]

Is there one schematic that is supposed to be the "best" one... or the most popular one? I'm thinking fat, bluesy sound..

Buddy Guy prefers the 5F6.

[swarty]

Is there one schematic that is supposed to be the "best" one... or the most popular one? I'm thinking fat, bluesy sound..

Buddy Guy prefers the 5F6.

or 5F6A, but who doesn't? Well, maybe Brian Setzer.

I've owned several 6G6*s over the years, all 3 varieties and the common characteristic is mega-bright.

[Noel Grassy]

My January 1962 blond Bassman has the 6G6-A circuitry. These are 4 Ohm
OTs and I drive 2-Jensen C-12-N 8 Ohm 12 inch speakers with no overly bright results. I suspect driving JBLs might yield an extra crispy tone.

I will say that it's almost impossible to overdrive. The layout drawings indicate 470 VDC on the plates. With typical VAC coming in my house at 118~126 VAC I'm sure these puppies are closer to 500 VDC. Headroom for days and extra days. It's also very friendly with HB & single coil equipped guitars. This is an attribute I've found with very few amps. IMO most amps, including Fenders favor one or the other.

My amp is on the cusp so to speak so it wears the rough Tolex and the Oxblood grill cloth. Very cool to be sure. It suffered when surf music had to give way to the British invasion. The previous owners were ashamed of it's color and gave it a shitstaining in Black Latex. That's why it was only $50 in 1976. Now all I need is the Burgundy Mist Strat from the same year.

Not to be confused with this Baseman...

[solderstain]

Is there one schematic that is supposed to be the "best" one... or the most popular one? I'm thinking fat, bluesy sound..

Hi - new member here. My first post. I've been building and modifying amps since the late 1970s. I'm happy I found this place. Incredible knowledge and refreshing lack of drama.

I've been a Bassman 'junkie' since the late 1960s (yes, I'm an old fart). In high school, I had what I think I remember to be a '63 (black, white knobs, Presence). In the late 1970s and through the 1980s, I had a blonde '63 that someone spray-painted black . In the late 1990s I bought a nearly-virgin '67, which I just sold about a year ago. I sold it because I bought a '66 that belonged to Dick Wagner (of Lou Reed and Alice Cooper fame). I bought it from Dick himself - he lives here in the greater Phoenix area. What a wonderful, humble man. He used this amp on various Lou Reed sessions.

The reason I responded to this particular post is to offer another take on the "best" Bassman circuit. The '66 is/was an AB165, of course. While poking around elsewhere on the 'net, I found a site that suggested that the "best" Bassman for a rock guitar person is actually a hybrid: The AB165 preamp section, and the AA864 output section.

The AB165 preamp section actually has some GOOD things for guitar players - in that model, BOTH channels go through the third gain stage, and the third gain stage is reconfigured and makes for much earlier gritty stuff. The AB165 output stage sucks, though, so the site suggested reverting the output stage to the AA864 design, and then tweaking the PI coupling caps to make it more 'guitar-friendly'.

Since some tech of Dick's had already gone part-way through that process, I didn't feel any guilt at taking it the rest of the way.

The hybrid AB165/AA864 Bassman just KILLS! I've got a variety of other amps, including my beloved '63 AC30/TB... and they're all fighting for my attention for the last several months.

A pure blues player may not find it to be the best Bassman, but for an old-fart classic-rock guy like me, it's heaven!