The Beast

My 1991 Fender Bassman Reissue amp is a beast.  It is the loudest Bassman I have ever heard, and several other blues players have told me the same thing.  The tone is deep and massive, never muffled.  It is a wonderful large harp amp.

I bought it for a single purpose:  I was playing with a very loud (and very good) blues band and I was having trouble being heard and hearing myself.  All the mods I did to the amp were done with the idea of making the amp much louder and giving it a deep crunchy tone that I like so much in harp amps.

There was a lot of trial and error at first, but over several months I got it perfect.  It is muscular and punchy, but still responds well to pressure I put on the microphone.  There is a bit of tearing on the edge of the notes (if I want it) and some warm crunch when I want that. It is versatile and powerful, and it gets immediate attention when I lean into it and dig in.  Standing in front of it I can feel the sound pressure level as I play.  And it never feeds back until I get to stupid levels.

Well, here’s the problem:  I’ve changed bands, and the new band does not play nearly as loud.  At a gig last weekend I kept turning down so I wouldn’t overwhelm the band.  I had to get the level on the Bassman down to 2 1/2 and the mic turned down halfway and I was playing softly.  At that point I blended with the band but I missed the raunch and power.  The Sturm und Drang.

So, I can try using a different combination of preamp tubes, but that will soften the bite of the amp.  The preamp tube lineup right now is 5751, 5814a, and 5751.  The 5814a is a military 12AU7 tube.  I’ve tried nearly every combination of tubes possible in this amp and this setup produced the tone I was chasing, so I am reluctant to change it.  The circuit mods to the amp are no secret:  They are the changes you would expect a good tech to make to this amp, including a bias trim pot for the power tubes which are biased rather cold.  The power tubes are 6L6 and the rectifier is 5R4.

A big part of the character of the amp is the two Eminence Lil’ Buddy speakers installed in the bottom of the cab. These speakers are very efficient and have a deep and colorful tone.  The other two speakers are original Fender Blue Alnico.

I use a Kinder AFB+ pedal to help control feedback and an MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal to fatten up the sound.

I plan to tinker with the settings (not the tubes or circuit) to see if I can get some of that monstrous character at lower volumes.  The amp is right and I really don’t want to tinker with the internals any more.  Of course, it makes sense to leave it at home for most gigs and take a smaller amp, but I am kind of hooked on that big tone, and it is cool knowing I can muscle aside all but the loudest bands.