I think a lot of people are hearing what they want to hear. They both sound full and warm when you need them to be and glassy and twangy when you need them to be too. Honestly tried to just listen and not watch and about half way through I lost track of which was which. They both sounded great. If anything this just proves that good guitar playing will bring out the best in any amp.
The bassman ltd has been my main gigging amp for 3 years now and it’s been outstanding. If you have a decent pedalboard, it’ll do ANYTHING you ask of it. On top of that, it’s just stupid reliable. Yeah, I have some old school mullards in it and that helps but honestly, I’ve yet to service the thing in any way. It’s seen hundreds of gigs, it’s been dragged out in all sorts of New England weather, every type of room imaginable. The thing just keeps on tickin....every time I flip the switch. That sort of reliability is something that I really value and it’s getting increasingly rare in tube amps.
Maybe a stupid question but what is the bassman like at low volume I need to know to do some recording at low level volumes and I can only get one sent so can't really try but I'm sure it'll be OK turned up.
@@fordprefect4345 I LOVE the bassman at lower levels. If you’re looking for the classic, tweed bark, it needs to be cranked but if you’re looking for a nice, clean pedal platform, it works well lower. The one mod I’d suggest is a 12AT7 preamp tube in your V1 slot. That’ll really help get nice tones at lower levels.
Thank you for your comment, I am trying to figure out an amp for the gigs, and looks like the bassman is the way to go. I was just worried that it's gonna be too loud at smaller gigs and rehearsal room, but I intend to use it with helix and dial it in from there.
Yeah I was a bit surprised how much midrange the super reverb had, since the tweed amps normally are the ones with the midrange hump. The blackface „should“ be scooped in its mids, but that’s not the case here. Very strange, but good sounding!
This is by far the best side by side comparison I've ever seen... I'm leaning towards the SR which is a big thing for me being a Bassman lover all my life nearly... Great job at demo'ing these 2 fantastic amps, I applaud you sir!
Great playing. Love the natural compression in the Super.Such a full thick tone with the sharp edges rounded off.The Bassman, just a phenomenal sound. Fender amps in my opinion are the best.Especially their combo amps.They just cannot be beat.Seriously the best combo amps on the planet. Your Guitar collection is impressive
The 59 is much more present in mids than the 65. Black faces are much more scooped out and you can tell a lot in this vid. However, that’s why tube screamers are so popular with bf amps. I was much more impressed with that twang of the jazz master than anything else.
I own an original '66 Fender Super Reverb and a Victoria Bassman but I just wanted to say this is one of the best demos I've ever seen. Great song choice, playing, and recording.
Well, I'm one old (72) geetar dood. I gigged nearly every weekend for over 20 years and used a '59 RI Bassman for many of those gigs. For smaller venues I used something appropriate to the venue (like a Blues Jr. or Princeton). The Bassman worked incredibly well and was dead-on reliable. However, I still love getting fresh sounds from my instruments so just purchased a used RI Super Reverb. I had an original 65-66 for a time back in the 70's but sold it due to it's weight. Well, I miss those great tones so I'm hoping the RI will deliver the goods. Once I get it located into its "spot" in my amp room, it ain't goin' nowhere! Trust me when I say that retirement is a good thing - as long as you have your health!! 👍👍
I love how touch sensitive and percussive both amps are. I also like Midrange punchy tone which the 4X10 speakers the Bassman Cab has. I honestly prefer the cleaner tones more than the Breakup settings since they are more useful to me personally. Great Clarity!
Dude your playing is so fluid, and crystal clear. these are actually great tutorial videos too cause this dude hides nothing in his playing. just like srv
Very nice demo and excellent playing. "Lenny" was particularly beautiful. I think that song really showed the true differences in the two amps played clean. Oddly enough (and most appreciably and humbly so), I have been bequeathed BOTH those amps - a '59 Tweed Bassman (reissue) and a real blackface Super, a '67 I believe. I can vouch for your demo as being spot on. Two wonderful amps. Now I hope I live long enough to play both of them a lot! There is something about those tweed amps, though, that just stands above. I love blackface Fenders, especially my Deluxe Reverb, which is my everyday workhorse. But for standout vintage tones hooked up to a great Fender guitar, the tweeds have it. It's no mystery why the guitar players from those early r&r, country and blues records sounded so great. Even the cheap axes the older Chicago players used sounded awesome through the old, simply built (with care!) amps. And not only Fender amps, either. Some of the Gibson and Supro amps, etc., were the same way. Simple builds with a lot of thought ahead of time. We have to remember that this was all pretty much a clean blackboard in terms of build experience back then and they learned as they went. Pretty smart people who got even smarter. They knew back then that less was more, and that's one reason those tweeds sound that way. Cheers!
Same here! Both great amps btw, If I had to choose only ONE of them it would be so fucking hard. However, as far as looks, definetely the tweed looks so nice and ages so well.
Hi! This is perhaps the best comparison/review on RU-vid, thank you very much! I have been looking this kind of clip for a long time. You really demonstrate the sound of the amp, not your pedals or yourself. Those so called "reviews", where people play different riffs with different pedals are just worthless. We all want to hear the amps, not the pedals! This is how you do it! Keep playing, you are really good. THX!
Sensational demonstration, especially because you revealed the purity of each of the amplifiers. For years, I used a Super Reverb RI, and despite the great find I had many difficulties to adjust overdrive pedals. In fact, except for Tubescreamer like all other pedals sounded bad (Xotic, Fulltone, Wampler etc.). I changed two years ago, for a Bassman. I confess that I prefer the BM in all directions, including clean. It's a lot more "direct" amplifier, which besides wonderfully accepting my overdrives (currently use the Rocketts Blue Note, Chicken Soup and Animal) saturates much more beautiful than the SR, IMO;-) Overall, two great reissues, although I have the impression that the Bassman RI sounds closer to what would be the original. Congratulations beautiful demonstration once again!
Thank you very much for the comment! It is all about personal preferences, i myself like both amplifiers very much, for different reasons. The Bassman has such great bite and presence to it, but you can't deny the beautiful reverb in the Super, and also the bass response. It's great to see people debating over tweed and blackface, everyone has their own preferences!
You "should" hear that Super Reverb with a BBE Sonic Maximizer floor pedal with the "Contour" all the way up and the "Process" on anywhere from 1oclock to 4oclock and just listen to the sheer PUNCH & JANGLY quality!!However..i think Those Super Reverbs should have 4 Celestion Greenback 30's in them, too!Oh..i never liked FENDER REVERBS i laways use delicious Yamaha Alesis or Boss or TC electronics DiGITAL REVERBS set on Bright Hall @ approx 10 or 11 oclock.
Two great amps! I think it just comes down to the finer points and the particular sound you are looking for. Neither ever sounded bad. They actually bot always sound great, but there are differences. I can stop watching and pick out which one is being used. For my taste, I prefer the SR but that is only because I like the smoother overdrive it seems to get. But then he plays crossroads and I start to question my decision. In my experience though, I do think that for my sound I prefer a Strat and a SR. But damn that Gibson sure does sing with the Bassman! Great video!
Thank you for an excellent demo. First you compared two excellent amps that some of us blues players struggle with which one to buy. Second, your demo includes riffs AND rhythms which I notice many others do not (different SRV songs was a big plus for me). So all of this, plus your selection of what you played, and the variety of styles you included deserves an A+ rating! And as I read the comments, you added another important note. The listener of this demo must consider the speakers they are listening with. I listened through an iPhone, iPad, then through a surround sound television system and all were different. Thanks again for a great demo. I chose the Bassman!
What a great comparison. Well done. I learned that they’re both great. There’s a decent amount of overlap between the 2 amps but they’re different enough that it’s nice to have both
They were very close until then. It's funny that the Bassman nailed Pride and Joy, I always picture SRV playing through Blackfaces. Have no idea what he used to record that.
Thanks for this comparison, it really helped, and as others have already said, it's the best comparison between tweed and blackface amps that I can find on RU-vid. It's made it clear I prefer the Bassman over the SR, so thanks again. Additionally, you're playing is great. Keep it up!
maybe on paper. blackface amps have something about the cleans that just can't be beat but the od on the '59 Bassman is something that can't be touched imo.
I love my Super Reverb but I might need a Bassman. A lot of the time the Bassman seemed to have more but softer treble. I don't feel like I've been living a lie but I'm starting to appreciate some controlled breakup over crispy cleans.
oh my, these 2 amps are awsome, i'd probably take the Super Reverb with the verb and vibrato. BM is great but a SR is what i've always had in my head when it comes to Fender tones
Re-spect! Great playing. As far as the amps go, the Bassman had nice top end clarity (ironically), and the Super was a little warmer and tubbier. Bassman if you've got a great bassist under your guitar, Super if you need your guitar to fill out the sound of the band.
One thing to say!! The bassman maybe is the holy grail of amps, but, I think, if you want the perfect SRV cleans, then, Blackface amps is the only way except other boutique more expensive amps. Personally, here in lenny I am spotting a big difference in cleans. The super reverb sounded exactly the same with the original
Really cool video! There are certain examples were I definitely prefer the Bassman and others the Super Reverb wins hands-down. Just goes to show, its all about context, and that we all really need at least at 2 luxury amps!
Definitely about context, after hearing "Can't stop" though the Bassman something was wrong, but a lot others (eg. "Johnny Be Goode") sounded awesome on the Bassman, and had something (maybe mids hahaha) lacking with the SR
Excellent comparison. I've used Supers and Bassmans for gigging, and then stopped playing for a few years, but really missed the Bassman tone and presence so much that I had to get another one! I had the pleasure of playing through a couple of original Bassmans in the early 70s, and to be honest, the new reissues are not that far off the mark regardless of what some might say, especially after 6 months to a year of gigging when the speakers loosen up and components start to age and vary from original specs. Can't go wrong with a Bassman or Super Reverb.
awesome video! Thank you so much for doing this and posting it! Exactly what I was looking for! When played clean, the Bassman's sound has a more pronounced lower midrange, where as the Super Reverb seems to have a more pronounced upper midrange. At least in the clips with the 60's Roadworn Strat. Excellent playing!
@@profd65 I would like to report that I have since bought two used ones for a total of $1,000. Best amp I ever owned, blew my blackface deluxe reverb RI out of the water.
Man, I have to ask you... every once in a while I'll stumble upon a video of a Strat that has an extra crispy metallic sound to it, almost as if it has really old, loose strings. That doesn't sound good in words but I actually love the sound as it creates so much feeling and character, and I've been searching the internet trying to figure out what that sound is known as or what explains it so I can chase it myself. Your guitar sounds so amazing... What is it that gives it that extra crispy jangle? Is it just because your guitar is an old vintage or is there actually a way to achieve it? Update: I was typing as I was watching, so to clarify, I'm referring only to the first Strat in the video, which helps me point out what I mean (as the next guitars lacked it). Thanks bro!!
Not 100% sure but: Ceramic vs Alnico pickups,pickup height (big one), Half step down tuning can have a big effect too. Also the tone and volume pot ratings and selected capacitor can have a big effect on the output
I grew up playing Fender Super Reverb, so I have to go with it because I love their sound. In fact, I am hunting for an old silverface model as we speak. I own a Twin Reverb and a Deluxe Reverb, but really want a Super Reverb.
Well done. Good comp. The 59 has more high end grit and glass than the 65. The 65 is a little more mellow on the high end and perhaps a little more loose on the low end yet it has a wonderful sound also. I own both, and I like them both for different reasons. Yoru video showed these differences. Good job
Amazing video. What everyone failed to mention is how they hear these two amps sitting in their "ideal mix". The super reverb will work best for more styles imho. Bassman is awesome, but more restrictive in terms of getting creative with mixing other instruments around it...
What a cool riff that RHCP song has Great playing Great amps too but really sound new ya know These amps when the break in will be monsters People sometimes don't realize these things and get put off by it Good playing my friend
Very nice playing! Great comparison also. I am still stuck between these two tone boxes. I believe the bassman not having any onboard effects just makes the amp more direct and free from interruption. I'm sure a lot of people that are trying to decide between these two beasts are stuck because the Super has reverb/vibrato. However, I look it as if you want a car with power windows you buy the Super. If your ok with an awesome old truck that has manual roll up windows you buy the bassman.
From this comparison video, I like the Bassman most often, although the Super had a few nicer moments. The Bassman had that classic Fender string slapping gulp sound more often, more noticeably, while the Super had stronger mid-tone consistently. The quality seems close enough that they need to be side by side comparisons like this to notice the subtle differences. I could be happy with either amp. I wonder if the Bassman has the extra advantage of being able to plug in an actual BASS guitar, (something I would never do to a regular guitar amp, from bitter experience in destroying a couple of solid state amps by playing a bass guitar with them)? I don't hear about folks using these 59 Bassman reissues for actual bass guitars? The Super has the advantage of the built in reverb/vibrato features with a footswitch.
HeyLiem you can indeed plug a bass guitar in it, if you keep it at low volumes. Just below the breakup point is fine and you won’t destroy your speakers. I also regularly do this to a 4x10 Blues DeVille and it sounds amazing with a Precision Bass, It gets this nice bit of distortion, that leads to a nice Motown thud!
Its amazing the difference in the sound....... When you played "Lenny" on the same guitar through the tweed it just wasn't quite right. But when you put it through the blackface, it was like it came to life! lol Awesome playing!
I know right! The amps are both amazing, but they really have a lot of difference in the tone characteristics. I was hoping this video could represent that, and I'm glad to hear you picked up on it! Thank you very much!
This is a great demo, and very good guitar playing. The Bassman has a simple pre-amp circuit, fast and detailed, also a fatter bottom end. The Super Reverb on channel 2 has a scooped EQ, and additional top boost, so the mid would need to be turned up to sound more like the Bassman. Channel 2 also has an extra send/return 12AT7 tube that the signal must pass through, even with the reverb on 0, so the attack quickness is slightly diminished. (the fewer the tubes, the faster the pre-amp) This is true for all Fender combos, and single channel reverb amps. Each channel compliments different styles of playing. Channel 1 on the Super Reverb has a similar circuit and EQ shaping to the Bassman, a quicker, sharper attack, (true for all the Fender combos on ch 1) not exactly the same voicing and not exactly the same breakup point, but should be very close. It would be nice to hear channel 1 in another comparison if that's possible.
The reverb seems to have this mid 'honk'. The Bassman sounds more open to me. But I'm biased as I have a Bassman. :-) The trick is to jump the normal and bright channel to get the best sound out of it. Great playing. Very tight and accurate. The strat sounds amazing btw.
I think SR is the best choice if you are looking after a SRV (or simil) tone. The bassman IMHO works better with pedal, so you can use it in other contexts too, I prefer it on stage to play also some distorted/hard-driven parts. Both very good amps tho.
Both are great amps! But the Bassman has a more crisp,twang and defined tone than the SR. If you add a good reverb pedal like the Hall of Fame or something like a Strymon or similar I think the Bassman wins in the tone catagory. And if you really want to take it up a notch then add a BBE Sonic Stomp add the end of your chain!!! I own a 59' Bassman re-issue with an original Hall of Fame reverb and a BBE Sonic Stomp.........PURE TONAL BLISS!!!!!!
This is a case of the color blue being better than the color green. No, they are just different colors, green to me and blue to you. In that spirit I like the Bassman, but I LOVE the Super Reverb. It really is the Tweed vs the Blackface sound. What I would really like to see is the Super Reverb made out of the same pine cabinet that the Bassman is. The plywood cabinet on the Super reissue takes away some of the original mid-60s warmth of the original. Still great, however. Happy with either, but decided edge to the Super. Interestingly enough, the both have the same speakers, the Jensen P10R. They also have the same wattage 45, and the same final and rectifier tubes. Of course the Super adds reverb, which is probably the best spring reverb sound of any Fender amp.
I have Deluxe Reverb and the 1 channel is the Bassman circuit and that is where I usually play .input two channel 1.I find myself looking over at the amp sometimes just astounded by how great it sounds.Do your self a favor and buy an awesome amp it changed my life .Not being dramatic it really did.
I like and have used both. The SR or any Blackface Fender has a more scooped, bright tone that’s nearly a bit hollow in the mids while the Bassman is much more mid focused. I’ve been using a Bassman clone for the past few years in a 2x12 and I’ve been really happy with it. It has the same issue as the SR though, both amps need to very loud to really come alive. The reason I’ve swapped to the tweed Bassman is that it does a good clean and with a EQ pedal you can get a bit of Blackface flavor but you can push it into a Plexi tone pretty easily with a boost which is one thing Blackface amps don’t really do. I would happily gig with either, I’d just use a Tube Screamer with the Super Reverb for a mid boost and use a OCD with the Bassman that’s flatter EQed.
Nice video. I wanted to like the Super more, but to me, the Bassman sounded better. Even the SRV stuff sounded more authentic on the Bassman. Who'd of thought?
Excellent. Same speakers, but not the same wood (Baltic Birch vs Pine for the bassman) and no presence control on the Deluxe which also feature a Tube Driven Spring Reverb. I prefer almost all the time the sound of the bassman in this demo.
I own both of these amps, a 64 blackface super and a 91 reissue Bassman this is a great comparison the basement has more bottom I've always thought tubed for the harmonica and the super I'm headed reworked buy a great tech probably never sound as good as it does right now they're like my two kids I love them dearly both!
Because both of these reissues predate Master Volume controls a lot of players here might not be aware that when you note that "they sound quite different, especially when you get them up to higher volumes" you are also saying at higher gain settings since Gain and Volume are not separated here. They are "package deals" and there are at least two very unique differences between these two.very similar amps. The Blackface design was created to deliver amplifiers that sounded more unchanged at a wide range of volumes when that mainly meant "clean" which meant a player only needed one amp to play a wide variety of venue sizes getting that same clean sound. This was achieved by two main circuit alterations. The Super Reverb places the Tone Stack BEFORE the Volume/Gain control so the signal at the Tone Stack stays quite small, especially as demo'd here where guitar volume is untouched and dynamic pick attack is within a tight range. Additionally the Super has greater negative feedback making the power section less affected by drive signal changes. That's great for getting the same clean sound at many venues....... ----------BUT-------- the Tweed has less negative feedback (dynamically "breathes" more) and the Tone Stack comes AFTER the Volume'/Gain control which means it gets pushed much harder and reactive to guitar volume settings and dynamic pick attack PLUS the output of the Tone Stack goes into a tube soft limiter which feels like compression giving more sustain and vocal tone when driven hard. So while the Tweed won't sound quite the same at a wide variety of room sizes IT TALKS which is why when Marshall copied Tweed design. at a time when volume and distortion levels were increasing, Marshall ran away with the game in Rock 'n Roll and Hard Rock and Fender never caught up really ever again at any level they actually deserved, but then clueless CBS wasn't much into loud, dirty, and rebellious so it's no wonder they missed the boat once they began fiddling with newly acquired Fender. CBS still thought guitar amps were essentially personal PA systems for guitars not musical instruments unto themselves..
If I had to choose, I'd easily go for the Super Reverb; much wider tonal palette, and especially warm bass; the Bassman on the other hand has nice clean tones, but the twang comes gets into everything.
Great review! I own a silverface Super Reverb, but...I'm really digging the BM in this demo. I've owned a few Blackface Bassman amps in the past, but I know they're different animals than a tweed or even tweed reissue. I might be checking out a tweed Bassman in the near future now!
they both sound great. the SR is more hi-fidelity, more clean headroom. you can really hear that when he plays the les paul.. I think the BM sounds quite a bit sweeter with the strat, tho. the SR is just a touch icy - but in a good way.
Do both amps have the same speaker models? If not this test is moot. I like the Bassman more than the Super on some examples and on others it's the other way around.
This is probably the best point of reference one can read. If someone's been using them for a long time, that's all I need to read. I was on the fence between this bass man and the 65 twin reverb. I think I like this bass man more.
SR has a little compression that the Bassman doesn't. The normal channel on the SR actually sounds more similar to the Bassman than the reverb channel. Both spectacular amplifiers!
That’s the thing about comparisons in music, everyone hears things differently. I thought the SR had a more round tone, better defined. The Bassman sounded a bit brash, like it was throwing the chords out there. Both sound great tho, just not the same amp at all. Different strokes for different folks as they say.
@@firemarshal2629 the bassman definitely has a warmer, better clean sound. The super reverb breaks up more. They both sound great. I think it's a stylistic choice
