I had a friend that had this exact amp back in the very early 1970's. He used it for guitar and had the small Fender 2-12 cabinet to go with it. This was one of the sweetest sounding amps that I ever heard. It had a nice natural breakup when overdriven. I would love to find one of these today in good condition.
I am a player not a tech; but I have read that silver mica discs help keep the treble from ice picking you to death ... I have no idea if they are related to ceramic discs ...
@@Tonetwisters Mica caps and ceramic are 2 different types all together . Mica caps are generally good caps ceramics are tough but most are microphonic
Hey there - I used to work for a Fender dealership in Edmonton, Alberta in the mid 60's. Every Bass man amp I got in had some bad soldering having been shaken to death by the boom boom from the cabinet. First job was to rrsolder everything cuz so many joints had just crystallized. Maybe it was the factory solder. Maybe it was what happens to tin in extreme cold (changes crystal structure - see tin pest on google) and Alberta is full of extreme cold like on the bus in minus 60 weather in those dsys. I wouldn't have expected solder to go that way though. Anyway I can't remember any coming back for a second resoldering. Back in those days the caps weren't old enough to have gone bad. But some 6L6's got noisy. I told the customers to try not to sit their heads directly on top of the cabinets when they were playing loud.
Dr. Terry!!.....Could you please go into more detail about the the little mod you did on the blackface bassman....the part where you changed a resistor then retired for phase inverter. Thank you😊
I'm curious what year and model this bassman is. I was fortunate enough to come across an untouched 67 in near mint condition. I'm contemplating what to do with it. The update sounds interesting. I wont be drilling holes, but I'm not against doing some things on the inside. Maybe not though, it already sounds incredible. This one looks very nice
Carefully take it out of its cabinet. Replace all the electrolytic caps. Burnish all the jack switch contacts. You might need to spray all the controls with a quality spray meant for the job. The tube sockets frequently need a little contact spray too then put the tubes in and out snd wipe off the excess spray. Change all the caps that Terry did. Check all resistors with a meter. You might have to unsolder the odd one to get a true reading. Replace them if they are more than 10% out of spec. The inverter resistors have to be maybe within 1% of spec, ideally. Then resolder every connection in the whole amp.
@@fredbach6039 I've already resoldered everything, pots are clean and original, even the electrolytic caps are still good. I've only replaced a small number of resistors, and honestly it didnt even change anything sound wise. This amp came with no problems and no needs. The worst thing about it was someone spray painted their last name on it. After getting that off, you almost cant tell it's from 67. It sounds like it should, no ghosts to chase down. Anything I do is purely out of desire on this amp. 1 in a million honestly
@@edcullen4040 it looked like it for sure. That's what I have. One of the better vintage fenders I've heard. It's not too vintage, it still distorts really well. Worth building a copy of if someone doesnt want to go through the hunting process
They're out there, but rare. I found one at an estate sale that had only had 2 resistors wattage value upgraded on the output tubes. Other than that it had every original part including the 2 prong cord and death cap.
Should have cleaned and checked the jacks, pots and other connections first! Then you wouldn't have taken out those original capacitors which were probably all fine but no he started hacking out parts first the cardinal sin of vintage amp repair in my opinion. If it's bad its gotta go but how about testing it to see if it's bad. Always service the amp first and then go looking for bad parts.
I really enjoyed this episode complete with Tony's riffing!
I had a friend that had this exact amp back in the very early 1970's. He used it for guitar and had the small Fender 2-12 cabinet to go with it. This was one of the sweetest sounding amps that I ever heard. It had a nice natural breakup when overdriven. I would love to find one of these today in good condition.
#1 Rule in Audio Never use Ceramic Disc Caps in Audio Circuits Specially if its a High Gain Circuit . Great Video
I am a player not a tech; but I have read that silver mica discs help keep the treble from ice picking you to death ... I have no idea if they are related to ceramic discs ...
@@Tonetwisters Mica caps and ceramic are 2 different types all together . Mica caps are generally good caps ceramics are tough but most are microphonic
Sounds very nice! Thanks for bringing this up to speed, I knew it didn’t sound right. (Ed in Windsor)..
You're famous, or at least your amp is :)
Go Tony! Always good to hear you play!
Another successful D-Lab repair!
Windsor is about 20 miles from me!
Tony's SMOKIN' as usual! That's not just a test, it's a shakedown cruise!
Bless you Terry for sharing your wisdom with us!!!
Hey there - I used to work for a Fender dealership in Edmonton, Alberta in the mid 60's. Every Bass man amp I got in had some bad soldering having been shaken to death by the boom boom from the cabinet. First job was to rrsolder everything cuz so many joints had just crystallized. Maybe it was the factory solder. Maybe it was what happens to tin in extreme cold (changes crystal structure - see tin pest on google) and Alberta is full of extreme cold like on the bus in minus 60 weather in those dsys. I wouldn't have expected solder to go that way though. Anyway I can't remember any coming back for a second resoldering. Back in those days the caps weren't old enough to have gone bad. But some 6L6's got noisy. I told the customers to try not to sit their heads directly on top of the cabinets when they were playing loud.
Tony's killing it, Bless you brother!!!
Dr. Terry!!.....Could you please go into more detail about the the little mod you did on the blackface bassman....the part where you changed a resistor then retired for phase inverter. Thank you😊
lov the final test !!
Only 19 minutes since a D-Lab Update? Time to start watching...
Love my '66 Bassman!
A tutorial on the proper way to remove the death cap and rewire would be nice. Cheers!
Everything went right the first time!
First "Uncled Doug" commercials.
Nice Tele, what model is that?
What is this "blackface update" of which you speak? Have you explained that before in another video or did I miss something? Thanks!
I'm curious what year and model this bassman is. I was fortunate enough to come across an untouched 67 in near mint condition. I'm contemplating what to do with it. The update sounds interesting. I wont be drilling holes, but I'm not against doing some things on the inside. Maybe not though, it already sounds incredible.
This one looks very nice
I think that was a '67 ...
Carefully take it out of its cabinet. Replace all the electrolytic caps. Burnish all the jack switch contacts. You might need to spray all the controls with a quality spray meant for the job. The tube sockets frequently need a little contact spray too then put the tubes in and out snd wipe off the excess spray. Change all the caps that Terry did. Check all resistors with a meter. You might have to unsolder the odd one to get a true reading. Replace them if they are more than 10% out of spec. The inverter resistors have to be maybe within 1% of spec, ideally. Then resolder every connection in the whole amp.
It’s an AB165 circuit from 1967.
@@fredbach6039 I've already resoldered everything, pots are clean and original, even the electrolytic caps are still good. I've only replaced a small number of resistors, and honestly it didnt even change anything sound wise. This amp came with no problems and no needs. The worst thing about it was someone spray painted their last name on it. After getting that off, you almost cant tell it's from 67. It sounds like it should, no ghosts to chase down. Anything I do is purely out of desire on this amp. 1 in a million honestly
@@edcullen4040 it looked like it for sure. That's what I have. One of the better vintage fenders I've heard. It's not too vintage, it still distorts really well. Worth building a copy of if someone doesnt want to go through the hunting process
How about a boat anchor repair?
I didn’t know you were in BC how do i get ahold of you
Uncle Doug, can you fix a bad back ... maybe throw in a few resistors and something to make my legs work better? :-)
@1:28 - Kinda odd to see a bassman 99% stock IMHO. Guitarists have been modding them for years for a great guitar sound...
They're out there, but rare. I found one at an estate sale that had only had 2 resistors wattage value upgraded on the output tubes. Other than that it had every original part including the 2 prong cord and death cap.
I didn't know that dirty jacks can cause hum....I love it when I learn something new.
I have come across a lot of 'dirty Jacks' ... Mostly in my evening job. :-)
@@Bishka100 Do they hum?
@@richysradioroom Some times and sometimes they do more than just hum but I charge extra for that.
Should have cleaned and checked the jacks, pots and other connections first! Then you wouldn't have taken out those original capacitors which were probably all fine but no he started hacking out parts first the cardinal sin of vintage amp repair in my opinion. If it's bad its gotta go but how about testing it to see if it's bad. Always service the amp first and then go looking for bad parts.