Fender Bassman AB165 head only Tube Bass Amplifier (1967)
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Fender Bassman AB165 head only Model Tube Bass Amplifier (1967), made in Fullerton, California, serial # A-26842, black tolex covering finish.
This is a truly fabulously well preserved example of the 1960s black-panel "piggyback" Fender Bassman. While its legendary Tweed predecessor was the direct inspiration for Jim Marshall's revolutionary creations, this later mid-60s iteration has long established a later niche as a utilitarian tube workhorse with punk, rock and garage guitarists in particular, who favored the affordably available (and very crankable) amps on the used market when a 50 watt tube amp was no longer much desired by bassists. The black panel Bassman made its most notable modern guitar-centric sonic contributions on many of Kurt Cobain's tracks on Nirvana's "Nevermind".
By mid-1964 1964 Fender changed much of their amp line considerably. Following the short-lived black Tolex and silver grille cloth-clad white knob "tuxedo" amps, further updates on the Bassman included skirted black knobs with numbers and deleting the presence control. Specifically tailored for bass instruments, the Bassman remained a fairly bare-bones amplifier while much of the rest of the "professional" Fender line came standard with onboard reverb and tremolo.
The new AA864 Bassman circuit featured dedicated bass and normal channels, with the former re-voiced and with an added gain stage as well as a "Deep" switch. The "Normal" channel was given a "Bright" switch. A few other changed components, as well as a lower-gain phase inverter tube encourages a later onset of clipping when pushed. The dual-6L6GC push-pull power section yields approximately 50 watts of power, which typically would be paired with two 12" Jensen speakers, housed in a separate closed-back cabinet with matching cosmetics. This head-and-cabinet format has usually been jocularly referred to as "piggyback" style, though this example is just the head-portion.
This amp sports the AB165 iteration of the circuit, albeit the tube chart indicating the short-lived AA165 (Fender kept using up older tube charts for a considerable number of units). The circuit features a handful of changes that when pushed, the amp offers more breakup, compression and sag on both channels compared to its predecessor. While a popular amp for Fender bassists when issued, the Bassman was left behind in the much louder stages from the late '60's on and since that time has been primarily used by guitarists. In today's lower volume world it once again makes a lovely all-tube bass amp for low/medium-volume applications, while alternately offering a massive guitar sound when pushed!
Height is 8 in. (20.3 cm.), 22 in. (55.9 cm.) width, and 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm.) deep.
This amp's tube chart bears a "QD' stamp indicating assembly in April of 1967, just over two years into the CBS-era of Fender. Cosmetically, it is in fantastic shape. The black Tolex covering hardly shows any notable wear. The grille cloth covering is impeccable as well; taut, clean and shows no signs of tears or fraying. The front panel is very clean, showing only a few dings and scratches and all the knobs appear original and are nicely intact. The original handle and hardware only shows minor signs of corrosion overall.
Electrically, the amp remains nearly all original, with one period substitution. The power, choke and output transformers are marked 606-608, 606-630 and 606-747, dating them to the 8th and 30th week of 1966 and the 47th week of 1967, respectively, the former two original to the amp and the latter likely a Fender or Fender dealer repair/replacement. Visible pot codes date to '66. The amp has received our typical maintenance and servicing, including replacement of all electrolytic capacitors, a grounded 3-prong power cord, cleaning of all sockets, pots and jacks and power tubes biased to spec.
This remains a stellar-looking and fabulous sounding example of a beloved workhorse amp; a piggyback Fender head from this era is truly rare to find in such pristine condition and can even once again serve as a functional bass amp, now that the tides have turned in favor of lower-wattage amplification! Overall Excellent Condition.
This is a truly fabulously well preserved example of the 1960s black-panel "piggyback" Fender Bassman. While its legendary Tweed predecessor was the direct inspiration for Jim Marshall's revolutionary creations, this later mid-60s iteration has long established a later niche as a utilitarian tube workhorse with punk, rock and garage guitarists in particular, who favored the affordably available (and very crankable) amps on the used market when a 50 watt tube amp was no longer much desired by bassists. The black panel Bassman made its most notable modern guitar-centric sonic contributions on many of Kurt Cobain's tracks on Nirvana's "Nevermind".
By mid-1964 1964 Fender changed much of their amp line considerably. Following the short-lived black Tolex and silver grille cloth-clad white knob "tuxedo" amps, further updates on the Bassman included skirted black knobs with numbers and deleting the presence control. Specifically tailored for bass instruments, the Bassman remained a fairly bare-bones amplifier while much of the rest of the "professional" Fender line came standard with onboard reverb and tremolo.
The new AA864 Bassman circuit featured dedicated bass and normal channels, with the former re-voiced and with an added gain stage as well as a "Deep" switch. The "Normal" channel was given a "Bright" switch. A few other changed components, as well as a lower-gain phase inverter tube encourages a later onset of clipping when pushed. The dual-6L6GC push-pull power section yields approximately 50 watts of power, which typically would be paired with two 12" Jensen speakers, housed in a separate closed-back cabinet with matching cosmetics. This head-and-cabinet format has usually been jocularly referred to as "piggyback" style, though this example is just the head-portion.
This amp sports the AB165 iteration of the circuit, albeit the tube chart indicating the short-lived AA165 (Fender kept using up older tube charts for a considerable number of units). The circuit features a handful of changes that when pushed, the amp offers more breakup, compression and sag on both channels compared to its predecessor. While a popular amp for Fender bassists when issued, the Bassman was left behind in the much louder stages from the late '60's on and since that time has been primarily used by guitarists. In today's lower volume world it once again makes a lovely all-tube bass amp for low/medium-volume applications, while alternately offering a massive guitar sound when pushed!
Height is 8 in. (20.3 cm.), 22 in. (55.9 cm.) width, and 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm.) deep.
This amp's tube chart bears a "QD' stamp indicating assembly in April of 1967, just over two years into the CBS-era of Fender. Cosmetically, it is in fantastic shape. The black Tolex covering hardly shows any notable wear. The grille cloth covering is impeccable as well; taut, clean and shows no signs of tears or fraying. The front panel is very clean, showing only a few dings and scratches and all the knobs appear original and are nicely intact. The original handle and hardware only shows minor signs of corrosion overall.
Electrically, the amp remains nearly all original, with one period substitution. The power, choke and output transformers are marked 606-608, 606-630 and 606-747, dating them to the 8th and 30th week of 1966 and the 47th week of 1967, respectively, the former two original to the amp and the latter likely a Fender or Fender dealer repair/replacement. Visible pot codes date to '66. The amp has received our typical maintenance and servicing, including replacement of all electrolytic capacitors, a grounded 3-prong power cord, cleaning of all sockets, pots and jacks and power tubes biased to spec.
This remains a stellar-looking and fabulous sounding example of a beloved workhorse amp; a piggyback Fender head from this era is truly rare to find in such pristine condition and can even once again serve as a functional bass amp, now that the tides have turned in favor of lower-wattage amplification! Overall Excellent Condition.