Re: Bassman RI

[Randy Lilleston <randyl@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 12 Oct 1994, Barry Schaede wrote:

> The reason I like the 5U4GB over the 5AR4 is the lower output of the 
> 5U4GB.  I like the sag this causes when I beat up on the outputs.

  As long as the bias is OK, this sounds great. If the bias drifts too 
far, the amp sounds very thin. The 5U4GB is easily the most popular 
choice when putting a tube rectifier in the Bassman.

> I've tried the 12AT7 but It didn't 
> sound quite right to me.  The way I deal with the feedback problem is to 
> cut the treble until it's barely on.  About 2 or just a little bit more.  

Yeah...I set it at about 3. If I need a little more treble for the room I 
use the bright channel or the presence control, which really kind of 
makes the sound bark up.

> I'm liking my Bassman more than when it was new to me but the thing is a 
> beast. It's hard to set up and the sound changes dramaticly depending on 
> room acoustics. It's certainly worth the effort though.  Nothing new 
> that I've heard recently comes close.

Man, is this true. I almost traded in my Bassman after a month but then 
it started to behave (getting the Chinese output tubes out of it and 
putting in some Groove Tubes helped a lot too). You can dial in all sorts 
of ugly tones on a Bassman - the tone controls have a huge effect on the 
sound. And you have to figure them out because the amp really does sound 
different in different rooms. 

 I typically use the regular channel, hot (#1) input, with volume at 
about 4.5, bass at anywhere from 4 to 9 (!) treble at 2-3, midrange at 
4-5, and presence at 3-4.