66 bassman for bass?

[robertneagle]

Worth it?

So is it worth it to mod a 66 blkface head for max vol ( to use w bass ), or should I spend 500 on a used bass head n tinker on the fender at my liesure?

[olddawg]

So is it worth it to mod a 66 blkface head for max vol ( to use w bass ), or should I spend 500 on a used bass head n tinker on the fender at my liesure?

Dieing= lack of sleep, old age, missing brain cells, and no spell check.

Seriously dude...That's a valuable and very desireable guitar amp. 200 watt bass amps are a dime a dozen. I doubt if you have to spend anywhere near $400 for a usable head, especially a Peavey. If a bass amp is all you want sell sell the Bassman and you could buy a couple. Take a look see on eBay over time for early to mid 60s Bassmans. I think you will find that head is worth more than you think. Classic Marshal amps are directly descended from old Bassmans. They are great guitar amps, really.

[robertneagle]

Conf

That's kinda what I was thinking cept I've had it for 24 yrs n am gonna keep it n spruce it up later. Just tryin to make it work till I get the funds for a bass head. Any thoughts on carvin bass heads? Had a V3 half n loved it. Anyone aware of any big downsides to goin carvin? For the cash they seem worth it to me

[Groover]

Classic Marshal amps are directly descended from old Bassmans.

that would be Tweed Bassmans. The BF Bassmans had a distinctly different topology. But they are still great amps, especially for crunchy guitar.

As far as upping the clean headroom for bass, you could put a pair of 6550s in it (with appropriate adjustments by a good tech) but be sure to install a fan!

[robertneagle]

66 bassman for everything?

i inquired a month or so ago (maybe two) about actually using a 66 bassman for bass. got allotta good info, thanx gibman, oldwg n gruver !!! Have since decided that its f'n incredible at around 2.5 to 3 or so for anything( bass w my 2x15 pv or guit w the 2x12 i built). want to make it the center of my stringed world. This is my quandry, does it sound like it would be worth it to use the bassmanx2x15 setup >mic>peavey max 700 + gk 4x10bl + gk 1x15bl ? bassically , bassman pre ( maybe 40watts) to peavey s0lid state for power. would the 75% miked solid cancel out the 25% sweet tube? or does this just sound like a big clstrfck?

[Groover]

Running a Bassman head into a 2x15 cabinet, then mic'ing that and running that signal to a second more powerful bass amp with 4x10s and 1x15 sounds like a cumbersome solution that might give you more headaches than it's worth. It would be a lot of stuff to schlepp and set up, take up a lot of room on stage, and since bass amps aren't really designed to give true response it might be hard to dial in a sound on the bigger amp that reproduced what is coming out of the Bassman speaker in a pleasing way, plus you might have problems with feedback.

Using the Bassman and 2x15, and mic'ing that through the PA would be a more normal thing to do, but in many live situations a signal is taken directly from the bass to the PA using a DI box, bypassing the bass rig altogether. Doing that would be very simple, and the Bassman and 2x15 would be providing the sound on stage, and if it wasn't loud enough in the house some of the direct bass signal could be added with suitable EQ to bring the overall level up. That is the simplest thing to do if you are using any kind of large PA. You can find DI boxes as inexpensively as around $30.

[Gibsonman63]

We are doing a similar setup for my main band, but for different reasons. My bass player is using 2x15s for most of the stage volume and slaving to another amp pushing 2 x10s aimed at our drummer so those two never lose each other and lock in tight. We also take a direct in from the main amp for sound reinforcement. It seems like overkill, but it works for us.

Of course, the bigger rig lives in the trailer and the smaller one goes with my bass player for his other sessions.

I don't think I could handle gigging much anymore without a trailer and a soundman!