Fender Bassman 10 Repair/Restore

[digi001]

Hi all,

I received a Fender Bassman from a friend that found it sitting underneath the stairwells of a house for a many years.

Originally not working at all. A new fuse later and it was up and running and sounded quite good. Except I noticed that only the Bass Channel worked and the Normal Channel was non-working.

I also shockingly discovered that the grounding of the unit was suspicious. If i touched anything metal, I would receive a nice warm pulsing through my arm. Power Cord to amp looked maybe like it was replaced? No ground plug on the power cord (not sure if that is standard?)

Additionally besides the functionality........this thing smelled awful!!! I tried fanning it out with all sorts of different air febreeze/purifier/cleaners but nothing worked. It had like a very strange chemical/toxic smell that forced me to eventually gut all the electronics and speakers and throw the cabinet out (well sitting outside in my trash area, but I still have it)

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So I am looking to:
1: Repair Normal Channel
2: Fix Grounding (if Possible) add Ground Plug
3: Put into a new Speaker Cabinet (was looking at Weber Cabinets, a Mesa Boogie combo cab on craigslist, or DIY) and use only 1 or 2 of the original speakers (or replacement) since this will be a amp for recording only.

I record mostly vintage/clean-ish type tones. Maybe sometimes distortion but not too often.

You advice is appreciated! Thanks.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Leave that chassis out in bright sunlight, as often as you can. A good airing out & some UV rays can do wonders. Here's a unique idea: have your replacement cab made of cedar. Tends to neutralize bad odors, your amp will smell like a box of cigars.

Loose AC cables, moulded plug 16 gauge last I heard, sold over-the-counter at Home Despot & similar stores @ $10. You may need a new strain relief, find that at the store too. A "water pump pliers" helps get those pesky strain reliefs out and back in. Short of a $150 special tool, that's what to use.

Drill a hole thru the chassis between power transformer and amp's sidewall, debur the hole. Mount an 8/32 x 1/2" nut and bolt plus solder lug. That's where your AC ground goes. Solder it well. Bolt it tightly.

Missing channel - let's have a look at the pre tubes, are they all in their sockets? See any loose wires going to sockets on the inside? Loose ground wire from circuit board to brass bus behind pots? When you run the amp, see 2 filaments glowing in each preamp tube? That was all the fast check. If you don't find something amiss, and fix it, by now, we gotta have a look inside with a voltmeter..

Any amp this old, good idea to replace hi voltage filter caps AND bias filter cap(s) too.

Nice find! One of these without it's elephantine 4x10 cab attached should be a treat. I can see it in a 1x12.

[Jazz P Bass]

The cabinet itself can be salvaged.

When all of the tolex covering is removed, you can sand down all of the exterior wood panels & then use a good wood sealer.
Then recover it.

The inside you can simply paint flat black.

[xtian]

A "water pump pliers" helps get those pesky strain reliefs out and back in. Short of a $150 special tool, that's what to look inside with a voltmeter.

Hey, Leo, you can get strain relief bushing tools on ebay for $5.

[olddawg]

Have you tried scrubbing the cabinet with Clorox Cleanup or some other bleach solution with a brush, then letting it dry out in the sun?

[Leo_Gnardo]

Hey, Leo, you can get strain relief bushing tools on ebay for $5.

Thanx xtian! My lifa - and toolbox - will be complete someday. Water pumps have done it for me but I'm lucky to have 'em in 2 handy sizes. When I looked for the proper tool in Mouser catalog, $150 whoops, not getting one. For $5 I guess its worth a shot, what's the worst that could happen?

[digi001]

The cabinet itself can be salvaged.

When all of the tolex covering is removed, you can sand down all of the exterior wood panels & then use a good wood sealer.
Then recover it.

The inside you can simply paint flat black.

Not a bad idea! I was thinking possibly sand it but thought the internal wood would still have a smell. But if i then sealed it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Well i think the problem is that it has been sitting outside in the rain for about 3-4 weeks now.

Still salvageable?

[Jazz P Bass]

Not a bad idea! I was thinking possibly sand it but thought the internal wood would still have a smell. But if i then sealed it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Well i think the problem is that it has been sitting outside in the rain for about 3-4 weeks now.

Still salvageable?

Well, the tolex will easier to remove.