Re: Bassman



- --- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, HASHBB@xxxx wrote:
> > 
> The earliest use of a bassman I had noticed was Cotton playing through one 
> with Muddy at Newport 1960. I am sure he saw  others(Walter,etc.) use them. 
 
Paul Oscher has said that when he was living at Muddy's home, there was an old Fender Bassman amp in Muddy's basement rehearsal room.  After asking Muddy about it, he found out that was Muddy's amp, but that Cotton had borrowed it to use at Newport, apparently because it was such a big gig, and he needed the loudest thing he could get.  But at an rate, it wasn't actually Cotton's amp that he's seen using at Newport, but Muddy's.  
 
FWIW, I don't think there's any evidence that Little Walter ever used a Bassman.  Not to say he never did - I suspect he probably used one of everything at some point - but if he did, no one seems to remembering seeing him do it, and there are no photos or other dcoumentation of it.
 
>It 
> really is a logical extension for playing with a louder band, lots of headroom. 
> I also love the sound of 10" speakers for guitar and harmonica. I am am not 
> saying i dislike 12,8, or 15" speakers, just that for overall applications 10" 
> speakers are my preference. I have a 59' bassman, a RI, a 61' concert, and a 
> hotrod deville(4X10"). But i have used in the studio a 52' LP GA-40T amp(1X12) 
> and a GA-45 Maestro(4X8). I will also say that the 15" speaker is really 
> overlooked as a great harp/guitar sound. I have a few pros and a Magnatone M-9 
> which sounds great for harp.
> HB
 
Of all the amps I've ever played through, the one that sounded closest to "the LW tone" (or at least the one that made *my* tone sound closest to "the LW tone") was an early '50s Gibson GA-75 with a 15" Jensen alnico speaker.  I also remember there were a few years in there where Kim Wilson used an old Fender Pro with a 15" as his main gigging amp, so those 15"s are not completely overlooked.
 
Scott

		
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