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I tried a Fender Bassman 135 today.. PURCHASED - IT'S MINE!


VTypeV4
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I've long had a bit of a 'thing' about these (and the '100') but there's never been one local to try.. Until today..
I've read any number of threads about them on the internet and as ever, everyone has a different opinion about their character, qualities and shortcomings so as per the norm with these things, it's best to try myself. The example I played earlier today was what I believe to be a later unit with the black as opposed to silver faced control panel. It apparently has had some work done recently including some new caps and a set of new valves all of which it was in need of when it arrived at the music shop.

It was plugged into an Ashdown MAG series 410 which had seen better days and I used two different jazz basses during the half hour or so I played the amp. I started by plugging into the 'Bass channel' which was OK but with pretty much the same settings, the 'Normal' channel just sounded better. I can't quite put my finger on it but it just felt warmer and better defined although the 'bright' switch didn't do a great deal. As obvious as it sounds, the whole thing has that oldskool Fender thing going on which was tonally lovely. Every note had a softly compressed feel to it which added to it feeling fat and warm. I imagine linking the channels and using my NE-1, it would have been perfect and no doubt very similar to my V-Type Trace. The Trace Elliot V-Type pre-amp is based on the old Bassman circuits.

Where I felt the amp fell down a bit was a lack of headroom. With the bass full up (passive - no fancy active circuits), the input gain on 5 and the EQ set T6, M8 and B8 plus the bright switch on and the master anywhere above 7, the amp began to break up nicely although I didn't perceive it to be particularly loud. I'm sure the cab wasn't doing the amp any favors but I'd also read of a few reports on forums about them not being particularly 'loud' for their (over inflated) rating of 135w - they're probably 100w realistically. Lots of forums suggested they were much better as a 'clean' guitar amp rather than being suited for bass.

Despite this flaw, I really liked the amp and thought it sounded wonderful - I bet it'd sound ace through my SWR cabs or the K140 JBL cab I have knocking about. I might see if the shop owner would allow me to borrow it as I've known him for many years to try it with my cabs. I don't think it'd stand up as a gigging amplifier but as a recording tool it may be ideal..

Anyone had one, got one, used one or had any experience with this or the 100 model? B)

Edited by VTypeV4
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I think my 60 watt custom amp would give it a run for it's money in terms of perceived volume - I know it's only ~3dB in theory but..

They do look really cool and the sound is great - I really should try it through my cabs.

I understand the cabs show their age too - the 4x12 more so than the 2x15. Some of the double fifteens came with dual JBL D/K140 which were undoubtedly better than the usual Jensen? / Utah? / Oxford? / Eminence? speakers of the day despite the enclosure not being ideal for them. I can find very few reports of anyone suggesting the 4x12 was anything like good as a bass cab. Most threads talk of it being heavy and awkward, of it shaking itself to bits and the drivers being far from up to the job.

If I do end up buying the head, I'll keep an eye out for the 2x15 as it's a bit more compact plus I expect finding drivers suitable for it would be much easier than for the 4x12. My re-coned Goodmans seem to work really well in a small sealed box so they could be an option plus they're era appropriate. I'm getting ahead of the game here but, well, you know!

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I had one in the 80s, with the matching 2x15 cab. I replaced the crappy Fender speakers when one blew with Peavey Black Widows and that improved it enormously. Big and heavy, but looked and sounded the business. Traded it against the inevitable Trace Elliot (well, it was the 80s).

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[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1510046644' post='3403389']
I had one in the 80s, with the matching 2x15 cab. I replaced the crappy Fender speakers when one blew with Peavey Black Widows and that improved it enormously. Big and heavy, but looked and sounded the business. Traded it against the inevitable Trace Elliot (well, it was the 80s).
[/quote]
Yes I did exactly the same, except replacing the speakers :) Amps was heavy, 2x15 wasn't bad for weight. Trace Elliot 4x10 was very heavy too, everything was heavy then! Fender wasn't loud enough before distorting.

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Well, as mentioned, I managed to borrow said amplifier and it's much better through my SWR cabs rather than the Ashdown in the shop..

 

26581310719_7b7676618f_k.jpgBass 135 by VTypeV4, on Flickr

 

38325978762_51d3fe5be3_k.jpgBass 135 by VTypeV4, on Flickr

 

It sounds great but I'm gonna take it to rehearsal tomorrow for an 'in the deep end' test..

 

 

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I've done a bit of experimentation this afternoon..

 

First of all I tried various ways of plugging the NE-1, the LMB-3 and linking the channels. To my surprise, all the different combinations I tried didn't seem to make a great deal of difference although linking / blending of the channels throws up some great tonal options. With the Fender tone controls being interactive, they are in equal measure both intuitive and frustrating although a little experimentation yields a lovely sound. The controls react differently than those on the V-Type (although they're based on the fender circuit) but their overall characters aren't a million miles apart plus the fact the Fender has the controls twice makes things interesting..

 

Secondly, I found running the gain controls quite hot (about 7 on the dials) suits my sound best. They don't distort (even on 10) but they do compress very smoothly and naturally which gives the amp a really 'solid' sound helping every note to be defined. I don't know what brand of valves are in the pre-amp or how much of their own character is being imparted on the overall sound but it works.

 

Lastly (and to my surprise) I felt the Bassman responded better to the Warwick than the Jazz bass. It could be that the Squier needs new strings really but the low-mid growl of the Warwick was really flattered by the smooth character of the Fender. The Jazz sounded a little 'hard' but reducing the mids on the EQ just made it sound too scooped with too much upper mid clank. Even altering the the centre frequency of the NE-1 didn't seem solve it. Don't bet me wrong, it still sounded fine but it just wasn't as good as the Streamer. I'd like to think new strings will solve it and put them both on equal terms.

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Well, I took it to rehearsal last night as planned. I paired it with my two SWR Golly Jr, the NE-1 and LMB-3 but couldn't take the Warwick as I'd left the gig bag at the studio so took the Jazz bass instead..

I thought the amp would 'cave in' and sound loose at rehearsal volume and that'd be it - I even took the V4 as a back up. It seems I was wrong. It stayed tight, punchy with fat compression on every note and it sustained this over a wide volume range. At elevated volume, the Jazz bass sang with the harshness and clank I'd experienced the day before all but gone.. It's one of the best bass sounds I've had with the Jazz - the Squier / Fender / SWR combination pi$$es all over the Peavey combo at the studio.

The only thing I didn't test was it's line out which I understand is power amp derived so recording without a mic might be good. I'll have to get a load box so I don't have to maul a cab for a recording session.

As a last point, it doesn't have the 'big horsepower' of my V4 (I'm not starting a Class D / compact war!) but it has more than enough to keep up through what I would consider average sensitivity cabs. I have a half built cab knocking about so I might have to load it with an efficient pair of 12" and a compression driver but that's another story..

3 hours ago, aitkenaudio said:

valve amps want sensitive cabs rather than ones that take a bunch of power to get loud. Also flat with a fender tone stack is 1/ 10 / 1 (bmt) anything else starts to scoop the mids. Also try running the master on full and using the input as the volume control for best headroom

I think it depends on the application but in my case, agreed. I've read many a thing about the Fender EQ but it's interactions at various settings kick up some 'interesting' results..

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1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

Enjoy it. Great amp. I used to use a Y lead to route the bass into both channels of mine. I felt it improved the tone.

I do too but link the channels with the 'spare' input on the bass channel into the normal one. It just feels a bit bigger somehow.

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