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reissue 59 bassman-any good?

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8/28/2000 2:10 AM
JOE	reissue 59 bassman-any good? Does the 59 bassman reissue sound as good as the original or even close?

8/28/2000 5:54 AM

Joe,
They don't sound like Bassmans, but they aren't bad sounding amps. Replace the speakers, tubes, transformers and Filter caps and you'll be mostly there. While you're at it, a beautifully crafted fiber eylet board from Clarkamplification is only $19.00 and the parts to build the circuit only will cost another 20 - 25 bucks. A friend of mone just bought a brand new one in the crate for $600.00. Guess what I'll be doing sometime real soon.

Peter S

8/28/2000 11:52 AM

I think they sound pretty good,not as good as an old bassman,but a good sounding amp. You usually have to bias them if they are new,And see what tubes they put in them"brand wise"But they aren't built like the old bassmans..it has a circut board,and Can be upgraded as Peter suggested.You could play it as is.. and do a little at a time till you get the money..a cheaper route..Peter your friend got a great deal..600 for a new one.You see these empty cabs going for around 400 or more from some of the retro companies.The ones that come in for repair have been..mostly minor things loose connections and bad resistors..And as most of the amps with the input jacks facing straight up,they tend to collect dust and grime faster,So keep it covered would help.I guess its easier for things to settle in them facing up. One i had to replace the PT.. but that can happen to any amp..
I know a few people that do have them , and play at least 3 nights a week..4hr. sets.. and they are still goin.They are pretty loud.. If you look at bang for the buck.. its a pretty good amp. Don't think this amp would be for a metal player.. but great for rock and blues country etc..
Richie{~}==:::

8/28/2000 1:53 PM
Peter S	Richie, Guess I didn't elaborate much on how they are out of the box. Bang for buck-wise, they are great amps. If you want that old Marshall/Bassman sound, these amps can deliver. The stock tubes are Sovteks, which I reccommend replacing with something good. You'll get a much better sound. These are really cool amps. Peter S

8/28/2000 3:03 PM

Peter,

So $600 for the reissue, then "Replace the speakers, tubes, transformers and Filter caps..." So now we're up to... what? $1000? $1200?

Wouldn't it just be easier to build one from scratch? Seriously, wouldn't it be a little cheaper?

Seems like I remember Gerald Weber recommending some mods to the reissue that would get it close. I guess I'm just looking at the cost-benefit for the difference.

Cheers,

Steve Slick

8/28/2000 4:34 PM

Joe,

The Fender '59 reissue Bassman is a decent amp but is NOT built to original specs. Below is a list of the differences in the reissue and an original.

1) The reissue has a 220 mfd. cap on the cathodes of the first preamp tube. An original would be 250mfd. Not a big deal, but different.

2) The tone stack in the reissue is a .1 mfd. for bass, a .022 mfd. for mids and a 250pf. for highs with a 100K slope resistor. The original was as follows: a .022mfd. for bass, a .022 mfd. for mids, a 250 pf. for highs and a 56K slope resistor. This is a big deal in regard to tone. I would suggest that if you get one that you have the tone stack modded to replicate the original.

3) At the tail of the phase inverter in a reissue is a 6.8K resistor. The original had a 10K in that position.

4) The reissue has a 4.7K resistor across the presence pot which the original does not have.

5.) The power supply in a reissue uses 22 mfd. caps where the original used 20 mfd. caps. There are other differences in the power supply as well including the use of more filter caps than the original.

6) At the output of the reissue after the .1 coupling caps is a 47 ohm resistor. The original had no resistor in that position.

Hope this helps you in your decision.

Respectfully Submitted,
Tim C.

8/28/2000 10:34 PM

Tim;

Haven't played with a RI Bassman, but a couple of points-

The 220uF instead of the 250? who cares, as that value is extremely large anyway. Check Randall's site for the calcs on the bypass cap. I doubt anyone would really hear much there. (ok, maybe possible, but are those people going to be satisfied with a reissue anyway?)

The power supply uses 22uF instead of 20? The tolerances on electrolytic caps are usually -20 to +80% of the capacitance anyway, especially in the olden days. This 10% change will be moot when comparing the actual statistical 95% confidence interval capacitance values in a vintage amplifier (Read there is no detectable difference)

The other mods however sound like quite a big deal. wonder why fender did that in the first place?

BT

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