Re: fender bassman 59 (original or reissue)

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: PL500@xxxxxxx
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 12:07 PM
Subject: Re: fender bassman 59 (original or reissue)


In a message dated 7/30/03 10:25:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:



If you've located a Blues DeVille, it's going to be heaver than  Bassman
because of the reverb circuitry in it, so that would probably add an
additional 15-20 pounds to the shipping weight. If this DeVille is a model
with 4-10" speakers that have the alnico magnets like the Bassman reissue,
these are good amps for harp. In fact, this amp in its stock form sounds far
more like a real '59 Bassman than a stock reissue Bassman does for reasonsI
haven't quite figured out why just yet


Well probably the reason why this is because a RI Bassman is the furthest
thing to a real Bassman because:

1.The Cabinet is different- The original Bassman cabinet was pine-jointed,
the Reissue is not.
2. The speakers are different (the reissue alnico Jensens are nowhere near
the quality of the original alnicos)
3. The circuit board (A printed circuit board) on the amp was manufactured
by computers as opposed to the point to point board on a real Bassman done
by hand.
4. The transformers are some of the worst ever used on any amp ever made,
and vastly different from the original Bassmans.
5. The tube layout is different. All 12ax7's as opposed to the 12ay7 in the
first gain stage in real Bassmans. This can changed with tube subs but from
the factory it is already wrong. Added also that the original Bassman came
with Tung Sol 5881's stock, and the reissue comes with Sovtek tubes (oh
joy!)
6. The Baffle board on the reissue is much thicker than on the original
Bassmans.

In short , if you want something that is a real reissue of a Bassman. Avoid
the Fender and invest the cash in a Victoria Bassman. preferably without the
Jensen reissue P10R's!

Andrew

Hi Andrew,
Yep,  I concur with this. All this info is available from Gerald Weber's
book "A Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps."

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA