Sound Pure's Take
Condition: Used, Excellent
Information on originality from Super Fine Amp Works:
Examined vintage Fender Bassman amp to determine condition and level of originality. This amp is one of the rare transitional "Tuxedo" versions of the 6G6-B Bassman. These have a combination of features from the earlier 'blonde' amps and the later 'blackface' amps. At first glance, this amp looks so clean that it is "too good to be true." But after careful inspection, I believe that this amp is largely original and exceptionally clean. However, there are a few cosmetic items that have been changed, and these do cast some doubt on the originality of some of the other cabinet parts as well. The grill cloth is definitely not original. Although it is the correct grey/black/silver-thread color for the BF era amps, the spacing between the vertical lines is wider than the true vintage cloth. This is definitely the modern cloth as used on the newer Fender 'reissue' versions of the BF Deluxe, Twin etc. Also, one of the baffle mount cleats has been re-glued to the cabinet, though the wooden baffle itself does appear to be original. The cabinet and back panel are also the originals and the cab has a AF3064 date stamp that matches one on the chassis. The tolex is of a slightly rougher texture than I usually see but examination of the style of cuts, glue, staples, and 'window screen' shield lead me to believe this is *probably* original and just a very clean sample of very early batch of the black tolex. I do suspect that the chassis mounting straps and bolts may have been replaced with newer Fender parts at some point but the other hardware seems original (though again suspiciously clean!). The only missing hardware is one of the tension springs on one of the sliding cabinet 'piggyback' clip bars is gone (still usable though).
The amp chassis and electronics are extremely clean and original. It has the original 2-prong AC cord (though there is a section that is a bit iffy where it burned against a hot tube... no exposed wire, but I would recommend changing to grounded AC for safety). NG stamp on tube chart indicates July '64 final assembly date. All transformers are correct part numbers and date codes are all correct for mid '64 build date. Also all pots appear to be correct Stackpole brand with late '63 to early '64 date codes. All electrolytic caps appear to be original (also with '63 and '64 date codes) and are still functional at this point (no notable bubbling at ends and no excessive electrical ripple when testing amp). Tubes are not original. Note that JJ 6L6 power tubes are biased extremely cold (approx 10 mA and 12 mA) but I did not want to change a resistor to adjust bias as this amp is so original inside... that can be for the next owner to do.
Preamp tubes are '90s era EI tubes (though labeled as Westinghouse). When tested, amp functions well and all controls, etc. are working as they should. Sounds OK as is but would sound a lot better if power tubes were biased to proper 35-40 mA.
From Fender
Year: 1964
Serial Number: BP11361
Preamp tubes: (4) 7025
Output tubes: (2) 5881, fixed-bias
Rectifier: solid state
Controls: Bass Instrument channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; Normal channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; shared: Presence
Output: 50 watts RMS
Warranty
This item is sold without the Sound Pure 3-year warranty (used / B-stock / dealer-exempt). Coverage terms for items in this category live in Terms & Conditions, Section 27.
Returns
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