I swapped out the Pro Reverb for a Bassman and I think I made the right choice

[JSett]

After bring back to life the Silverface Pro Reverb I realized that, for the first time in a couple of years, my back was pranged again. Lifting it into my flat up a flight of stairs didn't do me any favours. I've been in this situation before and it made me resent the amp - and did me irreversible damage - so I knew the game was up. So, cue ANOTHER gear shift around (I know, I know, I'm a terrible person).

Pro Reverb out
'67 Bassman in..

Not in bad shape really...





Always nice to find something like this in the doghouse...



Looks mostly original in here bar a few resistors and replaced caps (a good thing)





Looks like someone's put in a variable on the bias board, could come in handy...



And the scars of a previous power resistor failure show themselves...



Tube chart all good back there. AB165 circuit.



I've tested it through an old Marshall 1966A 2x12 cab and it sounds, well, like a good old Bassman. All the preamp tubes are stamped USA which is a good sign but all the branding is rubbed off bar one that is clearly an old old Ruby. Whatever, it sounds good to my ears. Band rehearsal tonight, so it gets a good runout on the first day. I'll miss that reverb drip and vibrato but I have something rather special on it's way that satisfies all my desires in a combo and this can mostly be for playing with the band as, well, it's pretty loud for the house!

[Sauerkraut]

Congratulations! Looks fantastic! Repair work looks like it was well done too.

From looking at the pictures, all I can see that I would change are those grid stoppers; that's no place for carbon comps,
and I also recommend replacing those carbon resistors on the input jacks, because all they can do there is add noise (and they do, ime).

[JSett]

Congratulations! Looks fantastic! Repair work looks like it was well done too.

From looking at the pictures, all I can see that I would change are those grid stoppers; that's no place for carbon comps,
and I also recommend replacing those carbon resistors on the input jacks, because all they can do there is add noise (and they do, ime).

Yeah, it looks like at some point it let out some magic smoke then whoever owned it decided that was the time for a service. All the hard (and expensive) work is done - I was expecting to have to do the caps myself anyway so that was a bonus.

Good call on the input jack resistors, there is a little more hiss than you normally get from a blackface so that is likely the culprit. I'll see if I blow it up tonight and, if it survives, I'll know I've got a good one and get into its guts.

[hulakatt]

Man do I love my Bassman! Same year too but yours is in much nicer condition. I don't think a Bassman ever sound quite as good as they do through Celestions myself and for a long time, I preferred Greenbacks but I'm still love with the pair of Golds I have in the matching horizontal cab these days. The Bassman and the tweed Deluxes all make me wonder if the amount of tone is inversely proportional to the number of knobs on any given amp...

I've also found that the midrange on Bassman heads fits perfectly into the zone on hollowbody Gretsches so they don't feed back nearly as much as with so many other amps.

[JSett]

Man do I love my Bassman! Same year too but yours is in much nicer condition. I don't think a Bassman ever sound quite as good as they do through Celestions myself and for a long time, I preferred Greenbacks but I'm still love with the pair of Golds I have in the matching horizontal cab these days.

I don't really rate Celestions as a rule, but I could see how some Greenbacks would suit the sound. The old Marshall I used tonight has some old British made Celestions that aren't great, to my ears, and I'll likely swap those out soon.

The Bassman and the tweed Deluxes all make me wonder if the amount of tone is inversely proportional to the number of knobs on any given amp...

I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. My Vibro Champ, 5 knobs. My old JCM800 (RIP), 6 knobs. My OR120, 5 knobs. The Bassman, 3/channel.... Every single one of these has sounded beyond reproach.

Remember, kids, "more than six, sucks dicks"*


*Not that sucking dick is bad, whatever your gender, but you know that

[JSett]

Oh, and after band rehearsal tonight, I definitely made the right choice. It sounded righteous.

[hulakatt]

Oh, and after band rehearsal tonight, I definitely made the right choice. It sounded righteous.

The Bassman do be like that!

[Sauerkraut]

Whatever your ears think of Celestions - I‘m also not fan of everything they make - I agree wholeheartedly with his endorsement of Golds.

[hulakatt]

Whatever your ears think of Celestions - I‘m also not fan of everything they make - I agree wholeheartedly with his endorsement of Golds.

I think I've only played v30's, G75-T's, Greenbacks and Golds. They each have their place but Greenbacks are my benchmark speaker. I don't think anything sounds quite as good as a Gold under drive though.

[Surfysonic]

Congrats! Glad you're loving the Bassman.

[Pacafeliz]

Oooh man, that opens up old wounds/memories...

Back in Mexico, when I basically had ALL the old blackface Fenders I had picked up for peanuts, I also went from Twin to Pro Reverb to the Bandmaster, and then to the Bassman.

Unfortunately, when I moved to Germany, i sold pretty much everything, except the Twin (1968).

[JSett]

Oooh man, that opens up old wounds/memories...

Back in Mexico, when I basically had ALL the old blackface Fenders I had picked up for peanuts, I also went from Twin to Pro Reverb to the Bandmaster, and then to the Bassman.

Unfortunately, when I moved to Germany, i sold pretty much everything, except the Twin (1968).

I've had similar points in my life where everything has been sold for a major reason, and it's never nice to relive those bad memories.

I am very happy with the Bassman. It probably breaks up a little too early for me but I can modify it to have a little more headroom I think.

[hulakatt]

Oooh man, that opens up old wounds/memories...

Back in Mexico, when I basically had ALL the old blackface Fenders I had picked up for peanuts, I also went from Twin to Pro Reverb to the Bandmaster, and then to the Bassman.

Unfortunately, when I moved to Germany, i sold pretty much everything, except the Twin (1968).

I used to pick up the SF models for peanuts in the late 90's. I started with a Bassman though. Moved on to a Twin Reverb, traded it for a Vibrolux Reverb that I (never should have) traded for a Princeton Reverb. Eventually picked up another Bassman then traded it for a Bandmaster and then for another Twin Reverb and back to a Bassman. I eventually ended up with my BF Bassman. I had too many Bassman before I realized I like them much better with Greenbacks than with Jensen types.

[Pacafeliz]

Oooh man, that opens up old wounds/memories...

Back in Mexico, when I basically had ALL the old blackface Fenders I had picked up for peanuts, I also went from Twin to Pro Reverb to the Bandmaster, and then to the Bassman.

Unfortunately, when I moved to Germany, i sold pretty much everything, except the Twin (1968).

I used to pick up the SF models for peanuts in the late 90's. I started with a Bassman though. Moved on to a Twin Reverb, traded it for a Vibrolux Reverb that I (never should have) traded for a Princeton Reverb. Eventually picked up another Bassman then traded it for a Bandmaster and then for another Twin Reverb and back to a Bassman. I eventually ended up with my BF Bassman. I had too many Bassman before I realized I like them much better with Greenbacks than with Jensen types.

Dude in my opinion the secret for the best Bassman (or guitar, at all) sound is 10 inch speakers!
I used my Bassman/s with an ancient Sunn 4x10 and it was glorious...

[JSett]

Dude in my opinion the secret for the best Bassman (or guitar, at all) sound is 10 inch speakers!
I used my Bassman/s with an ancient Sunn 4x10 and it was glorious...

I love 10s with guitar. Always my preference