Many of the mods described below will make your amp break up earlier and. Here weve rounded up six of the finest tweed guitar amps out there, starting with the victoria 20112 victorias recreation of the original 5e3 circuit tweed fender deluxe produces spinetinglingly real tweed tone. The mods made it into a completely new amp, the one jensen mod 50 32 ohm i installed no doubt plays a part too. The ultraphonix up mods are typically performed to fender amps from mid 1960s to the early 1970s.
It is brighter and harsher sounding and the overdrive is not the same. I was wondering if there were any tweed twin 5f8a mods to sound more simillar tone wise to a 5f6a bassman. This was the original tube in the first gain stage of most fender tweed. Improved ab165 circuit is much closer to classic bassman circuit. Fender narrow panel tweed bassman february 25, 2011 november 30, 2017 admin 9 comments.
Try the 47pf cap like the tweed bassman and see if that fixes it look in schematics to see how it is done. I recently picked up a fender bassman 100 and started googling for it. When only that distinctive yellowandblack cloth will do. The 5f6a bassman that the reissues are based on is really the next generation fender big tweed circuit, adding the middle tone control and most importantly. The scxd does a good job of modeling a tweed bassman. Tweed bassmans had a cap across the plates of the phase inverter to help with this 47pf. Im not looking for a lowpower tweed twin clone, or a tweed super clone, or a tweed pro clone, or something like victoria amps double deluxe. Admittedly, they sound great for guitar, but lets back up a little and see as fender makes a bass amplifier. Ever since i have been involved in electronics i never once built an electronic kit of any sorts. Howdy, i am planning on building a 5f6a tweed bassman and want to build the cabinet myself. Though your amp is a blackface, the ab165 circuit is a transitional unit. From the blonde era fender made the bassman as a amp head and 2. These 40 watt amps are known for their bold and pristine clean sound as well as their classic unmistakeable dirt. These mods have made the amp much better overalla really good fender tone that can totally roar.
These vacuum tubes provide excellent tone at a reasonable price and the most popular combination recommended by customer feedback. It had an unfinished tweed, which ive shellaced, and came with a somewhat goofy, high voltage circuit and a plugin solid state rectifier, 3x12ax7s and 4 eminence jensen repor 10s. The preamp circuit has a few of its own areas to improve, but these mods are easy to figure out on your own if you simply compare the two channels. As with all the tweed amps we build, the bassman embodies authentic 1950s construction all the way down to the fiberboard motherboard for superior structural integrity, just like the original. The cab was cracked open on one end and i took it to my friend danny for repair. That and the 4x10 speaker combination results in a louder, cleaner amp that can really. First of all drain your amp of all dangerous voltage.
Look at your amps schematic to verify what part of the tank and cables should be. The mystery of the fender bassman 5f6a schematic cracking the. I think mods of that nature will very likely invalidate the manufacturers warrantee. Of late i have been dabbling in tube guitar amp repairmodding with my good friend kris and discovering how great older tube fender amps can sound. The two circuits have a lot of similarities, so you could probably use the same circuit board, and most of the components, assuming they are good. My buddy and band mate built 59 bassman clones, one as a head and one as a 1x12 combo. We believe in the quality of a hand built cabinet using the same construction methods as used in the 1950s. The silverface tone stack is a passive filter so it cannot boost any frequency band, it can only remove parts of the guitar audio signal. Replaced output transformer from 1955 and four jensen speakers also dating from 1955. Blackface mod kit for vintage fender bassman 100 silverface. The champ 5e1, 5f1, harvard 6g10, and princeton 5e23, 5f2, 5f2a amplifiers of this era were all similar electronically, and contained a feed back circuit shown below, complete with my modification suggestion installed. Need help in dating a fender 59 bassman 410 reissue my. This victoria 45410 is our loving recreation of the 59 bassman and no detail is left undone. The original knobs were damaged, so even though there are slight differences see here, i decided to replace the knobs with current fender replacements.
Mods for fender blonde, blackface, and silverface bassman heads. So i have a late 70s bassman 10 that i need to work on anyway blew a cap and some other general maintenance and i had the crazy idea to mod the studio channel to run a baxandall tonestack and try to get an ampegish sound out of it using a 12au7 or 12at7 preamp tube instead of the 6sn7. If you plan on working on, or building a tweed bassman, there are a few things that you might want to know. Use our extensive knowledge, experience and customer feedback to select retube packages that will work great in your tube amp. I dont expect anyone to mod their original 5f6a bassman but if you have a bassman reissue or home build like me then adding some switchable mods can be beneficial. Note the treble pot is wired as a variable voltage divider potentiometer while the bass pot is wired as a variable resistor the input and wiper terminals are tied together. Mod the useless bass channel on your fender bassman amp head, and more.
Mod your bassman reissue for vintage tone to start i. If your amp plays fine after the mod and then all of a sudden acts like it looses most of its power, it is probably oscillating. However, i found that i rarely if ever used the bass channel. The philosophy of the up mods is, as the name implies, to extract the ultimate sonic qualities from the donor amp. Page 1 joes guitars, amps and gear joe bonamassa forum the official forum for all things joe bonamassa, guitars and blues music.
Bringing a blackface bassman in from the cold by jeff bober now lets move to the mixer circuit and the output stage. I thought i would get the old flip camera fired up. You could rebuild a super rev so the circuit is the same as a tweed bassman. Fender, tweed bassman 5f6a, 1959 mick grabham procul. The guts of a kendrick amp are a beautiful thing to behold, elevating handwired tube circuitry to the level of art, and the varnished tweed cabinets are equally pleasing to the eye and ears. Now, that said, if you do want to learn circuits and amp modding youre in. During this time i have discovered that one of the holy grail of amps is the 1959 tweed bassman. No highs, too much bass, and general dull is how i would describe the channel. The amp is dependable with these mods as i have gigged it about 50 times at least, and it sounds great. In this video and at the end of this description, i document all of the differences in two original fender tweed bassman amps, 1959.
Build the worldfamous tweed bassman 5f6 guitar amplifier. The tweed 59 bassman influenced many amp builders to replicate or to improve the circuit in there own way. Does anyone out there know how to identify the two different types of bafflei. All ive done is put 3 gt ecc83s in and it cleaned it up a bit.
I loved the fat sound of the tweed bassmans reissues and clones that ive had but they are just too heavy, and too loud when cranked up. We cannot accept returns for a modified chrome chassis. These vacuum tubes are known to get the job done on a budget. The fibre board is literally cracked in half and should be replaced. The price of this bassman reflects the modifications which makes it a great.
The normal channel has 3 controls, but only two are needed by the tweed circuit, so a master volume can be added for more control over the amount of distortion. The early era of fender bassman amps laid the groundwork for virtually all rock combos to follow, so much so that it was the 4x10 bassman that inspired the very first marshallbranded amp in 1962. This is a great bang for the buck retube set for the fender tweed bassman models 5e6 and 5e6a tube amp. Most original 5f6a bassmans actually use a 100k tone slope resistor. How to improve your amps tone with preamp tube reverb news. Our victoria capacitors were designed specifically to sound like a slightly degraded, 40 yearold cap.
I am curious if anyone here has seen a vintage bassman and could tell me whether it used solid pine boards or if it used laminated pine i. He mentioned that jim marshall had ripped the circuit, for what he believed, from the bassman. The video below compares a bassman ab165 to a princeton reverb and a deluxe reverb. Its like a tweed bassmanplexi with sweet dripping reverb and swampy trem. The cracked plastic handle was replaced by a nice one from the same super reverb. Best way to mod a fender normal channel for a tweed sound. Keiths fairly competent, i think hes looking for input on mods or. Puts the bassman ten into a class of amp i would call desirable, less than 20 bucks in parts not including the new filter caps and you have some sweet tone. While there is no standard blackface bassman circuit, this conversion kit mods your amp to the standard blackface output circuit used in most blackface fender amps, just like the infamous aa864 bassman circuit.
Mods for your blonde, blackface, or silverface bassman amp. A blown or cracked resistor can look normalgentle pressure from a. This lends itself to earlier breakup than the standard fender preamp circuit. Read the geo faq my fender 1964 blonde bassman sounds terrific. Since fender did not continue the vibroverb after the cbs takeover in 1965. Who knew the bassman could out marshall a marshall. There has been some talk all over the internet about the modding the bass channel to become marshall or tweed like. Marshall would be the first to do so back when they released the jtm45 in 62. Depending on the model, fender amps typically has less mid range and.
Amp has had a cap job, newer jensen p10r speakers and 3 prong power cord. They do look easy and reversible though, so theyre worth. Bassman amps have always been a great platform for mods theyre easy to work on and there are quite a few fun things you can do. Jeff bober is one of the godfathers of the lowwattage amp revolution. Is it possible to get the tweed bassman sound and clarity in a smaller, lighter amp. If you have an original tweed bassman, dont touch it unless its broken. Nov 15, 2011 bringing a blackface bassman in from the cold by jeff bober now lets move to the mixer circuit and the output stage. The legend 105 speaker will also make the blackface models, sound more like a tweed. The bassman was a combo amp in the tweed era with the 1. Her condition is excellent there are no marks or tears anywhere on the amp, the control panel is also exellent and it was just checked out by voodoo amps and in perfect working order. Need help in dating a fender 59 bassman 410 reissue i need help in dating my fender amp and if anyone can attach a value to her that would be great. Modifying or drilling this chassis will compromise the chrome finish.
The bassman is a clean amp at low volumes and when cranked boasts a creamy overdrive, its no wonder why its everyones favorite iconic amp. The mods shown above will help put your ab165 circuit much closer to providing the classic bassman tones. I had a tweed bandmaster clone that sounded great, but its circuit just didnt have the clarity of the bassman circuit. I agree with lew about the bassman thingnot my favorite tweed. It reduced the driving voltage good in an el34 marshall. Tweed bassman the bassman design of the late 50s is right up there with other icons of the era such as the les paul and strat. Tweed twin mods, tweed twin to bassman telecaster guitar. Originally intended to amplify electric bass, many guitarists found the tone to be very pleasing and began using this amp for guitar. I have a pretty accurate boutique tweed bassman copy. During 1958, fender introduced the model 5f6a bassman model. You would have to decide if you wanted to keep the reverb and vibrato. Ive had a few that sounded pretty good with the original p10rs which blew up on a very regular basis, but too often they sound like they are missing a lot of mids and they get too clanky. Im lovin my new bassman, and i was just wondering what mods owners of these amps have performed and what sound differences they made.
Its tubed with 2 matched ruby 6l6s 3 nos telefunken 12ax7s in the preamp section and 1 nos mullard gz34 rectifier. Up to the blonde bassman with blonde colored tolex circuit 6g6 they all had tube rectifier, but since then a diode rectifier was used. Best speakers for fender tweed bassman 5f6a 1959 tweed bassman and the ltd reissue the tweed bassman, or 5f6a circuit, is one of the most lauded circuit designs in guitar amplifier history. Tweed bassman sound and clarity in a smaller, lighter amp. Nonoriginal cabinet, but with original fender bassman badge. I got the mods below somewhere off the internet, and havent tried them on my bassmans, so no guarantees. I explain a few safety measures i take when checking out an amp for the first time. While each instance or variation of the bassman design is slightly different, most have a classic sound that is recognizably bassman.
This will lift the tone stack and give you much more of a raw sound. A retweeded 1959 fender tweed bassman first sounds youtube. The mods shown above will help put your ab165 circuit much closer to. The specimen tweed bassman is a beautiful guitar amp that produces a massive wavefront of air. At 40 watts its great mid powered amp for blues, rockabilly, rock and roll and classic rock players. The tweed bassman 59 emulates is part of a series of preamps in a box emulating the tone of some of the most iconic amplifiers. In 1954, the bassman was upgraded from a 1x15 to a 4x10inch combo. The bassman micro tube guitar amplifier is a compact practice amp thats moderately easy to build, uses three 12a7 tubes and puts out 2 to 4 watts of output power.
The insertion loss is less than the treblemiddlebass tone arrangement, so the preamp is hotter than the bf preamp and distorts more easily. One of my favorite mods for the feedback circuit was designed around a few tweed fender amplifiers. The 2410 is no longer made, as kendrick has branched out beyond. It has the original chassis, choke, and power transformer. It has been fully serviced and all set to continue its musical journey. During early 1960, fender began producing the 5f6a bassman with jensen p10q speakers. Fenderas new bassbreaker series is basically a rewamped bassman, with hints. I told him it was never designed to overdriveit was built to stay clean. This amp has definitely seen many a stage and sounded many a note. Fender tweed bassman models 5e6 and 5e6a value pack. I think that bassman thats been mentioned might get snagged up this week, and i dont have the money currently.
Aug 10, 2014 three speakers have been reconed, one has the original cone. Tweed bassman 5f6a circuit amps in 2 x 12 or 1 x 12 combo. The only issue im having with the clones and such mentioned is that they all appear to not be tweed, which if im being honest with myself i just love the way the tweed looks in addition to its minor affect on the tone. This will deepen the mid dip, get you more into tweed bassman territory. For this occasion we have not only the preamp section but we have also included the tone stack and the power section of this all time classic. Mojotones tweed bassman style amp is based on the late 50s 5f6a circuit. With a replacement front panel painted metal, just like original and new knobs, it looks brand new. Starting in mid1957, this map had four inputs instead of two. Because i currently dont have a bassman to mod and then photograph, ive tried to do the next best thing and draw the modification layout and connections directly on the fender factory drawing of the physical. I own a 59 fender bassman reissue 1991 by date code i was intrested in any quality modifications to help this amp sound closer to an original 59 bassman. These classic vacuum tube amps from 1959 are often the first choice of todays awardwinning guitarists and professional musicians. Three speakers have been reconed, one has the original cone. This final 1950s tweed bassman model product line included a change from the 5y3 to the gz34 rectifier tube, as well as a modification within the presence control circuit.
The bassman channel sounds like a bassman through a 12inch along with the drawbacks of the current drri type amps they generally lack the warmth of the hand wired ones. My laney lionheart 20 mh started making a continuous cracking noise which i. Mod your bassman reissue for vintage tone singlecoil. The bassmans job is to take the tiny electrical signal from a guitar and build it up until its strong enough to move a speaker cone. Nov 16, 2010 hi jeff, i was recently given an early70s fender bassman 10 by a dear friend of mine who said he couldnt get it to overdrive.
These are the easiest, most effective mods i have used to cure the overall bass. Mods for fender reissue tweed bassman carls custom amps. So i have a late 70s bassman 10 that i need to work on anyway blew a cap and some other general maintenance and i had the crazy idea to mod the studio channel to run a baxandall tonestack and try to get an ampegish sound out of it using a. The cpc40t is my version of the legendary 5f6a tweed bassman. I disconnected the crappy master volume, and used the pot to institute a mod.
The advantage of a comparison video is that you can listen to the amps in an a similar environment with a similar setup. There was a 2x12, but despite being the exact same pcb and chassis and the 4x10 ri, they sell for. In the tweed bassman circuit and marshall this resistor was raised to 4700 ohms. Fender vintage reissue 59 bassman ltd 4x10 guitar combo. In my 5f6a bassman it just caused strange noise layered on top of all the notes. These are all time classic amps and are destined to become highly priced museum pieces. Of course, you should have been here the take before. If youve ever wondered why expensive new reissue amps often sound cold and chiseled compared to their vintage counterparts, now you know.
Im not trying to improve the 5f6a so much as im trying to make the amp more versatile. Dialing in the tweed bassman amps for the big jam session. Same size and style as a tweed bassman please note. Here is the back of the final restored bassman head with the restored back panel. Now if you like that sound and want to go more in that direction, but maintain the use of a tone stack, wire up a jtm tweed bassman preamp but use a 100k pot for the mid control. Often referred to as the marshall, plexi or tweed bassman mod, our tweed preamp mod revoices one channel of your vintage fender for a warmer, thicker tone with more midrange emphasis. The straightforward fender 59 bassman outperforms most of the fancy amps on the market today. Tweed bassman tone fender stratocaster guitar forum. Keep in mind throughout this lesson that fender is in business to make money, and the bottom line is a. Nov, 20 my friend and i were talking about some old classic amps and he showed me a video of a bassman sounding pretty gnarly. Its loud enough to play at most clubs and it great for a player for which touch sensitivity and awesome 50s tone is key.
The fender has been reissuing the 5f8a 4x 10 tweed bassman for quite some time now and its one of fender better amps but it does not sound that much like a original bassman. The ltp pi passes a louder, cleaner signal to the output tubes. Legendary fender bassman the tweed covered fender bassman is considered by many to be the epitome of tone, and every current tube amplifier myth revolves around this amplifier. This is a premium retube set for the fender tweed bassman 5f6a tube amp. Mods for fender blonde, blackface, and silverface bassman. After the deluxe micro turned out so well i thought id take on a more ambitious project and build a micro version of the legendary 1959 fender tweed 5f6a bassman. In many fender 1960 and newer two channel amplifiers the first tube on the right, v1. In the 1950s, the bassman was perfect for amplifying that new. He cofounded and was originally the principal designer for budda amplification, though he launched east amplification in 2010. Bfsf bandmaster bfsf bassman bfsf champ bfsf deluxe bfsf. May 04, 2010 this is my original 59 bassman amp, and im playing a custom shop reissue telecasterno pedals, into the normal channel.
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