Fender '59 Bassman LTD

**lpdeluxe** · 10-23-2014, 03:44 PM

I recently bought one of these and it is a terrific amplifier. My guitarist (I currently play bass) has plugged his Gibsons (ES-225 with aftermarket P90s, stock '79 trapeze ES-335) and they kill. Very responsive and lively, with snap and compression with a heavier pick attack. I love Fender amps -- I have a Jazzmaster Ultralight and a Deluxe Reverb reissue head/Weber California Ceramic 15 cabinet and a '65 Bassman head on loan from RandyC -- but this one is the leader of the pack. All it lacks is built-in reverb, but I have addressed that with a Boss Fender '63 Reverb pedal.

And it's good looking. Who decreed that everything has to be black? Ever crawl around on a dark stage looking for the black-on-black input labels with a flashlight?

**D.G.** · 10-23-2014, 03:52 PM

I owned a '59 Bassman RI and I've kicked myself for years that I sold it. To help control the bottom end boominess, put a solid state rectifier in. Also, get a good quality, balanced NOS 12AT7 for the phase inverter slot.

**Deng** · 10-23-2014, 04:08 PM

I agree!! Went thru several Fenders combos until the '59 Bassman RI Ltd. Love the sound of the 4X10's
All good things must pass, so when a VibroKing was on sale at an extremely good price, the Bassman was replaced....lol
All b'cos of the '63 verb, vibrato and its PTP/handwired. Its a ruddy heavy beast.

**Greentone** · 10-23-2014, 10:06 PM

You hit the jackpot. I have owned the reissue (gave it to my son), and I have built a few myself. The 5f6a Fender Bassman amplifier is "the king." Almost anything any of the other Fender amps can do ('cept tremelo) it can do better. I use a Fender Reverb Unit, so I have that end of things covered. Hang on to your LTD. Great amp.

**lpdeluxe** · 10-23-2014, 10:39 PM

I plan to. We used the Boss pedal with it at rehearsal tonight. That turned it into a killer guitar amp...I haven't tried my '51 P reissue with it yet.

**steves3972** · 10-23-2014, 11:13 PM

I've never tried an actual Fender re-issue but I built a clone(first and only amp I've ever built) and it's amazing. Never had problems with a boomy bottom end so no need to put in a ss rectifier. Can take pedals really well and is actually quite light weight and portable for a 4x10 amp. For reverb I use and Alesis nanoverb and it sounds great to me no matter which guitar. I compared it side by side with a very expensive clone by Clark amps and mine sounded better. The owner of the clark clone agreed with me. Lots of good options for handwired clones out there but I'm sure the standard reissue sounds great too.

Fender '59 Bassman LTD-imag0238-jpg

**Greentone** · 10-24-2014, 12:50 PM

Nice work, Steve3972. You might want to turn the bias adjust pot around, at some point. That way, you don't have to remove the chassis to adjust the bias to the 6L6 tubes. If the shaft points to the back of the amp, you are in business.

**monkmiles** · 10-24-2014, 02:09 PM

Nice, I bet it sounds big and great! That great tweed tone but with plenty of clean headroom I imagine.

I sometimes use a Catalinbread Formula 5F6 pedal into my blackface type amps to get this very type of tone.

Another quality reverb pedal is the Mad Professor Silver Spring. I use it on my '71 Bandmaster combo (turned it into a 2x10 combo and also had it blackfaced).

**docbop** · 10-24-2014, 02:45 PM

When I roadie'd for the late great Jesse Ed Davis he always used his '59 Bassman live, it sounded great and never had a problem in the years I worked for him. For me it was a pain because his previous roadie put four JBL 10's in it and then the worst design Anvil case in history. Amp weighed a ton then the Anvil case was made with opening on top so had to lift the amp above the case to put it in. arg!!!! He never recorded with it that I can remember.

**ESCC** · 10-24-2014, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by docbop

When I roadie'd for the late great Jesse Ed Davis he always used his '59 Bassman live, it sounded great and never had a problem in the years I worked for him. For me it was a pain because his previous roadie put four JBL 10's in it and then the worst design Anvil case in history. Amp weighed a ton then the Anvil case was made with opening on top so had to lift the amp above the case to put it in. arg!!!! He never recorded with it that I can remember.

Not to hi-jack the post, but, Doc would love to hear more about Jesse Ed Davis! Loved his style of playing and the tone he had on Doctor My Eyes, incredible.

**lpdeluxe** · 10-24-2014, 04:24 PM

I'm pretty happy with the stock '59 Bassman, now that I've got the Boss FRV-1 pedal. I'm tempted to plug my Precision into it but I'm more than happy with the guitar sound through it and my bass through my Mesa/Boogie.

Jesse Ed Davis has always been a favorite of mine, especially with Taj Mahal. I'm pleased to hear I share something (if only an amplifier) with him.

**docbop** · 10-24-2014, 05:36 PM

Originally Posted by ESCC

Not to hi-jack the post, but, Doc would love to hear more about Jesse Ed Davis! Loved his style of playing and the tone he had on Doctor My Eyes, incredible.

that was one of Ed's one take solos on Doctor My Eyes. That was before I knew him, but I would imaging his recording setup was the same. He had a number of guitars but his tele was his main guitar, when I worked for him he had a strat pickup in the neck position. Amp he had a BF Fender Vibro Champ that he had a speaker jack put on the back of the cabinet. The jack was there because he had a one of the small Fender Leslie's and had removed the amp and would drive the speaker with the Vibro Champ. He kept his gear pretty simple. Live his Bassman, Tele, and Les Paul Custom for slide. Recording acoustic he had a Martin think it was D-35 and a Fender Malibu in Nashville tuning. He had other guitars squirrelled away and pull them out as necessary.

**silverfoxx** · 10-25-2014, 04:19 AM

I'm sure many players would like to use a '59 Fender Bassman or a Vibro King. The weight
of each is impossible for us old codgers. The Boss/Fender pedals are a reasonable sub paired
with a good (lighter ) amp. I can make do with a Mambo. Henriksen, or Princeton and avoid a
Hernia.

**medblues** · 10-25-2014, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by silverfoxx

I'm sure many players would like to use a '59 Fender Bassman or a Vibro King. The weight
of each is impossible for us old codgers. The Boss/Fender pedals are a reasonable sub paired
with a good (lighter ) amp. I can make do with a Mambo. Henriksen, or Princeton and avoid a
Hernia.

How about a Hot Rod Deluxe George Benson which is ten pounds lighter (one 12" speaker) ? I heard its circuit is derived from the Bassman's (5F6A ?) and the controls are similar but I never heard people commenting on tonal similarities.

**lpdeluxe** · 10-25-2014, 11:03 AM

My '59 is planted in my music room. My bass rig is a 13-lb Mesa/Boogie Walkabout head with a pair of 16-lb Genz-Benz 10T speakers.

**mad dog** · 10-26-2014, 08:57 AM

Docbop:

That's amazing. Jesse Ed was one of my earliest and strongest influences. I never tried to play like him, but his concise, tasteful phrasing still affects me. Wish I had gotten to see JED.

And did not know he used a bassman. Mine came to me in trade a few years ago. A replica, built by a guy named Sterling. Very high quality everything. It's easily in the Victoria/Clark class of build. Got really lucky with this one. It seems to love all the guitars I play, but most of all the tele. Beautiful sounds.
MD

**Greentone** · 05-19-2021, 10:02 AM

That sure looks like Davis' touring rig. Gosh! Handle with care and enjoy.

**bluejaybill** · 05-19-2021, 02:28 PM

That's a tough lift straight out of the box with 4 JBL- pretty heavy I'll bet! No wonder the handle has been replaced!

But glorious sounding. Nice find.