Fender Vintage Reissue '59 Bassman LTD

Although the Bassman series dates back to 1952, The 5F6 Bassman circuit, introduced by Leo Fender in 1959 in 4x10 combo format, is widely considered to be the beginning of guitar amplification as we know it. As its name suggests, it was originally designed with the bass player in mind, but it caught on with guitar players to the extent that it's scarcely even considered a bass amplifier. It was so popular that even Marshall copied the circuit into what became the very first Marshall amplifier, known as the JTM-45.

In 1991 Fender saw fit to reissue the Bassman as the Fender Vintage Reissue '59 Bassman LTD. This 50 Watt reissue features a lacquered tweed covered, finger-jointed pine cabinet, 4 Jensen special design speakers, and internal bias pot to adjust bias on the two 6L6GC Power tubes.

In keeping with the original, the '59 Bassman features 12AX7 preamp valves, a 5AR4 rectifier tube, and the true 5F6 circuit. There is no effects loop or built-in reverb.

UTILIZATION

The '59 Bassman sounds excellent right out of the box. It has controls for volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, and Presence. Four inputs give you normal and bright inputs at two different gain levels. This is where the infamous "jumpering" mod was born, by running a short patch cable from one input to another, to loop two gain stages together.



SOUNDS

Unlike most Fenders that succeeded it, the Bassman uses a cathode-follower driven tonestack, which adds a certain compression to the preamp tone that is part of the Bassman charm. The Bassman is clean without being spanky, and smooth without being overdriven. The touch-sensitivity and dynamics are almost unparalleled.

With the stock speakers, its rather easy for the Bassman to get harsh, so keeping the Presence control at a moderate level is a good idea.

The Bassman adores pedals. A tubescreamer pushes the Bassman into a woody, organic roar that is neither forced nor aggressive, while a hard pick-hand attack evokes the natural compression the amp encounters from the slow tube rectifier.

There is plenty of volume on tap with the Bassman, and most will not need to crank the amp past 4 (it goes to 12. Take that, Nigel!) even in most outdoor venues.

OVERALL OPINION

Construction of the '59 Bassman LTD is rock-solid, and a worthy of respect in a world where tube amps are now done on automated assembly lines with machines.

All of the amp's guts are easily accessible, thanks to the rear cabinet panel over the chassis. This may or may not be a good thing, especially for those who are uneducated, as it makes poking around in a high-voltage circuit ridiculously easy.
Most guitar players who are familiar with tube amps know better, however.

The speakers are easily upgradable, and one will find a wealth of info online about different aftermarket speaker models that could enhance the Bassman's tone or help reproduce the nuances of the original. To that end, the defining difference between the '59 Bassman Reissue and the original '59 bassman are the speakers, transformers, and circuit construction, as the original used tag-board construction and the reissue uses the now-common PCB. But whatever "mojo" is held off from the reissue due to these differences is rather negligible. The '59 Bassman Reissue is a worthy and faithful reproduction that many, including myself, are and will be proud to own.

The Fender Bassman '59 LTD is the company's reissue of the amp the was originally designed in 1952 to suit their very new Precision Bass guitar. Eventually bass players found that the amp was not really suited to their application as it would distort and break up too early. However, the blues and country guitarists of the day really loved that factor and started to incorporate their broken up tones into rock music. Eventually a fella named Jim Marshall over in England heard the Bassman and the rest, as we know it, is history. The '59 Bassman is a tweed style with 4 10" Jensens. It puts out 45 watts of power (6V6s) and has two channels (normal and bright) each with their own volume control. They share a standard EQ of bass, middle, treble and presence. No reverb or effects on this one... just pure tone.

UTILIZATION

Getting a good sound out of this amp is pretty simple. It's unlike the blackface reissues in that it's designed to get a little more of an overdriven break up early on, and the overall tone is darker, thicker and fuzzier. It still has a bit of classic chime there, but not near the amounts of the Fender blackface amps. That being said, the EQ works as you would expect and it's definitely a simple amp to dial in. The addition of a presence control to the circuit is nice to get a bit of high end that the treble control may not give you. Definitely cool.

SOUNDS

The Fender '59 LTD Bassman is definitely a slightly different beast. It's more suited to the slightly raunchier blues and rock n' roll styles where perhaps hotter pickups like P90s and humbuckers are being used to push the amp a bit harder. The tones are excellent for those styles, and if you hit with some sort of overdrive you can get some great classic and even early hard rock tones if you're skilled at tone tweaking. It's a nice departure from the cleaner than clean blackface Fenders that we all know and love. That being said, despite the amp's darker and thicker tonal nature, it's still quite clear and defined even at higher volumes which is excellent.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Fender Bassman reissue is a great buy for anyone who likes Fender amps and wants something with a little bit more grit fresh out of the box. It's definitely got its own sound and its easy to see why Marshall took inspiration from this original amp for their first designs. This reissue runs about $1,450 new which is a good deal considering the quality and tone of Fender amps overall. Definitely worth checking out for sure!

I am going to give this amp 10's all the way across the board. This is the amp that started it all. Without this amp you would not have modern music at all. This is basically a Marshall circuit or Marshall is basically a Bassman circuit...there it is. Marshall had copied the circuit of this amp with some other tweaks and made it there own. Marshal eventually compounded and made it much better but this is the amp to which we understand modern guitar sounds.


Fender '59 Bassman LTD 45-watt Guitar Amplifier Features:

45-watt tube guitar amplifier
4 x 10" (Jensen P-10R)
2 channels — normal and bright
Chrome control panel
Solid finger-jointed pine cabinet
New U.S.-made GT-6L6-GE output tubes, improved 12AX7 preamp tubes, original-spec 5AR4 Rectifier tube, internal bias pot (makes it easier to experiment with various output tubes)
Fitted cover is included
Controls that go to 12, 4 inputs (2 per channel)
Standby switch
Controls: Presence, middle, bass, treble, volume (bright channel), volume (normal channel)
Covering: Genuine lacquered tweed with striped oxblood grille cloth

UTILIZATION

Details
Type Tube
Number of Channels 2
Power 45W
Speakers 4 x 10" Jensen P-10R
No Effects
No Reverb
EQ Middle, Bass, Treble
No Amp Modeling
Number of Tubes 6
Preamp Tubes 3 x 12AX7
Power Tubes 2 x 6L6, 1 x 5AR4 (Rectifier)
Inputs 2 x Instrument (Ch 1), 2 x Instrument (Ch 2)
No Outputs
No Footswitch I/O
No Effects Loop
Height 22.37"
Width 23.5"
Depth 10.5"
Weight 53 lbs.

SOUNDS

The tone from this amp is amazing. Not going to be as heavy as a Marshall but you will hear some commonalities between this amp and a Marshall JTM45. The tone from this amp is rich and blooming if that makes sense. The tone rally is a full robust tone.

No matter what guitar you play with this amp it will shine. My personal preference is a Gibson Les Paul. Since Marshall's just work well with Gibson Les Paul's this one fits the bill just as nicely. Of course other guitar will sound just as good, but my personal favorite is the LP

OVERALL OPINION

If you are a fan of the classic Marshall JTM45 tone or just the tone of the infamous Bassman then this is a great amp for you. At new these amps come in at around $1400. That to me is a bit high. I think I could find one from the 60's much less than a new one. Most Fender amps come under $1000 and this though is the best of the best to me is a bit high. Either way the tone from this amp is just remarkable. If you have the cash then get one and if you don't then get a used one which will sound just a sweet.

All lamps already described elsewhere. Bought mine new in 2006 has a lamp rectification 5AR4. The earliest versions were corrected in solid state.

UTILIZATION

config arch-simple. The pot is only active presence on the bright channel.
Lampli can be used to the former two channels being interactive. Super!
To start sculpting your sound:

enter the normal guitar input on channel 1. bridge with input 2 input 1 channel bright.

Set the channel 1 vol 3-4 (below 2.5 sound is flat). Put all the eq on the environment. To the presence of 3. to channel 2 on the flight 2.5-3.5 (never above the normal channel flight because the sound becomes too aggressive for my taste, low invasive and treble screaming, see below). The bright channel is used to give presence to the normal channel which is fabulous warmth and roundness but a little bland for my taste.

The manual is simplistic, but there is no need.

SOUNDS

I play blues-rock and jazz perfect for my style. For sounds, one, see above settings. This gives a round, well-defined hot but not very distinctive Fender lens as the super reverb, plus medium. This amp is for crunch deem beautiful. This is the legend and here's why. To do cruncher must be mounted to 5 min. Crunch and the guy but the bass is invasive even if we fall 3. Treble become super aggressive. The guitar is so completely unbalanced, there are more than medium.
All outdoor way except you do not go past 3-4. and in this area it is perfect. So, as all my amps I go in front of with pedaltone Koch. The best tube preamp for guitar (see my review). And there's the serious fact.

OVERALL OPINION

My main amp since 2006. I just separate. It will be to rewire the old by purists who will give him a second life worthy of his ancestor.