Your favorite Bassman?

[Tdale]

I'm thinking of bilding a bassman, but there are several models to choose between.

Do you have a favorite? AB165, 6G6, 5F6 etc. ?

I heard good things about the blonde 6G6 type...

Tommy

[jelle]

Tommy,

One vote for the tweed!

If you are willing to pay for paper in oil caps ...i'd build a 1959 tweed bassman with Alnico speakers (not jensen italy IMHO), PIO's, Alan Bradleys resistors, 250pf mica tonestack treble cap, 100pf ceram across the volume, NOS 12AY7, 12AX7, and NOS 5881.


and crank it!

Superb sound! 5F6-A btw...

Jelle

[Tdale]

Ok, som 5F6-A is your favorite?

Tommy

[ampdan]

Another vote for the 5F6A.

[Mickey_C]

I'll withhold my vote, as ampdan voted twice for my favorite.

PS - Ampdan, I answered your question on ebay (to save you the trip, it's called M*O*N*E*Y).

[rfgordon]

I'm partial to the 5F6A. One tip: get the large Matchless Lightning board from Ken Watts at Turretboards.com--that board is almost exactly a 5F6A, except with all the filters at the left end. Tell him in an email ya want it spaced for 500vdc caps. Wire it up using a 10k to feed the screen filter. If ya really want soul, run the pair of 6L6s cathode bias, putting the bypass cap on the board and mounting a 25watt aluminun-housed 270 ohm resistor on the back of the chassis. This setup kills--trust me.

Also, go to Ken's site and buy the 560 pF NOS styrene caps for your tone stack. --true tone magic in ANY amp.

[6G6]

Hmmm, I gotta think about that...

[David Root]

I was gonna mention the polystyrene cap....the 5F6A is THE Fender icon, in front of the 5F8A and the 5E6A (IMHO).

Running it in cathode bias is interesting. Tell me more!

The other Bassman which I believe will become an icon like those above eventually (if it isn't already) is the blonde 6G6/6G6-A with the cathode follower after the first stage, and into the tonestack. I built a 6G11-A Vibrolux with reverb instead of the normal channel, and did the 6G6 cathode follower on the first stage. Sounds good!

As for the AB165, do it a favor and convert the bass channel to a guitar amp. I have two '67 AB165s which I did that to and they both sound superb, especially with RCA blackplates.

[David Root]

I was gonna mention the polystyrene cap....the 5F6A is THE Fender icon, in front of the 5F8A and the 5E6A (IMHO).

Running it in cathode bias is interesting. Tell me more!

The other Bassman which I believe will become an icon like those above eventually (if it isn't already) is the blonde 6G6/6G6-A with the cathode follower after the first stage, and into the tonestack. I built a 6G11-A Vibrolux with reverb instead of the normal channel, and did the 6G6 cathode follower on the first stage. Sounds good!

As for the AB165, do it a favor and convert the bass channel to a guitar amp. I have two '67 AB165s which I did that to and they both sound superb, especially with RCA blackplates.

[rfgordon]

"Running it in cathode bias is interesting. Tell me more! "

OK, here ya go:

I use Ken's Lightning board, as I've mentioned, to build a Bassman-with-anger-management-issues amp. I use Weber iron (PT/big choke/OT) and run about 415/405 on the 6L6s. My big change is that, instead of using the two sides of V1 separately, as the Bassman does, I run them parallel (870R RK/25mF CK/100k RA ~180 VDC on the plate). First coupling cap is .022 mF & a 560 pF styrene in parallel. Tone stack is 560 pF styrene and two .022 mF M150s). The tone controls/presence is straight 5F6A. I add a post PI MV with a switch to cut it out.

For the 6L6s, RK is 250 ohm/25 watt w/ 100 mF cap.

My fave speaker with it is the Cannibis Rex by Eminence.

Here's what Charlie Pastorfield, founding member of bands like The Skip Castro Band, The Believers, Big Circle, had to say: "For the first time in my life I'm not afraid to do anything on the Telecaster." Granted, I didn't think this was really a tele-player's amp, more of a blues/rock machine. But, hey, people seem to dig it. Charlie's selling gear to buy a second one!

So, trust me, this setup kills. I don't have a schematic in the computer yet, but give me time.

[David Root]

Sounds wonderful! I will have to add this to my list. I think it also has possibilities as a harp amp circuit too.

BTW, how does one delete one of a double post? I had no idea I had duplicated this. "Edit" doesn't have any delete option.

[riscado]

blonde bassman's have cathode followers??

[mlp-mx6]

Yep. Look at the 6G6-series "Bass" channel, 2nd triode is a follower.

[titanicslim]

It's this guy.

[img3092]http://www.mingusmingusmingus.com/dashb ... 000057.jpg[/img]

[Noel Grassy]

I've gotta chime in for the 6G6-A Bassman. I bought it in the 70's for my first legit amp because I loved how fat and chunky-butt my Strat sounded. I still get the warm 'n fuzzy feeling to this day when I get to crank her up. I eventually paired it with a 2 X 12" cab with original cone JBL D-120's and realized I had a bitchin' combination for humbuckers. YMMV