I finally get the greatness of BLACKFACE Fender Bassman! 

There is a reason the big studio guys like Tim Pierce or Brent Mason say that you can do it all with a Bassman head and pedals. Easy to believe that when you hear Johan play it!

I had one of those about 50 years ago. I don't remember much about it except that like so many things, I wish I had kept it.

Thats gotta be one of the best sounds we’ve heard from you!!

You can really tell when an amp, or a guitar hits that one spot in your soul...it shows in your playing.. the look of satisfaction is unmistakable.. your playing was spot on and the sound was inspiring..

I've had my '65 for 5 years now never getting rid of it. I found that beast in a antique store, one of the best moments in my life!

I've been through tons of amps, and I found my holy grail in a '66 bassman. I built a cab, now it's a combo, and swapped speakers a dozen times, and to my ears an old vintage 30 had the most character, so it remained. Thanks for another great video

I remember when the pawnshops used to have these on a table for $120. At least 30 of them at the music pawnshops shop

I had a similar experience when I found a '66 AB165 Bassman in a shop last year. It sounded so unbelievably great that I had to buy it on the spot. Mine is stock and it sounds exactly like yours. So much more gain on tap than I expected from a blackface era amp. Now, try running it in stereo with one of your Super Leads. I'm currently doing that with my Bassman and a Ceriatone '73 Super Lead clone. It's a jaw dropping combination.

"I even had to buy it" and then "Ace Frehely"....brilliant man!!! Thank you for the video!

I think you may have found "The One" for your Ace tone! Sounds amazing in a whole new way. Time to buy that Budakan Les Paul you've always wanted and rig it up for the smoke/fire effect! Great stuff as usual. Have a fantastic weekend bro. God bless and rock on 😎🎸👍

Wow... as a working session player and a someone who works in the studio almost everyday, I must say this Bassman sounds fkin phenomenal! That chewy and full of depth overdrive, and yet still meaty, spongy and dynamic. Love it! As usual, another wonderful video Johan! Much love and respect from Melbourne Australia!

One of the greatest amps ever. I've got a modded Bassman 50 and it blows away most other Fenders.

I hate to say it, as I don’t mind that this isn’t widely known, but I think the Bassman circuit is pretty much the greatest guitar amplifier ever made. I recently was able to have Bruce Zinky build a custom amplifier for me and we used the 6G6 basement circuit as the skeleton for it. Sounds great clean sounds insane cranked, and takes pedals super well. I don’t know that there’s anything out there that can beat them.

About the possible mods made to this amp I suggest you to ask to "The Guitologist" and "Uncle Doug" these 2 have encyclopedic knowledge about old amps.

Oh BTW, Jimmy McCulloch used this same set up on Wings Over America tour back in 1976. Great sound.

My first amp in about 1985. Back then they were so cheap. $125 all day long. Couldn't afford the cabs. Played through a wedge monitor and almost lost my hearing. Oh yea, that thing sounds warmed over but looks stock. Back to basics. Cool !

I've owned 3 ab165 bassmans and they all sounded this good 'no mods". They're a hidden jem. You do have to turn it up though.

This has the KISS sound but also, I'm hearing some UFO too. Sweet amp, Johan!

Uff! I have a '66 like that and that particular vintage Bassman can be tricky. First because of the tube chart sticker. Mine said AA165 when actually it was AB165 - which happened quite a bit apparently. You have to look at both schematics and compare it to your amp. Then, so many of this model have been modded and that can be difficult to figure out because there is a LOT of mod info out there (Marshall tone stacks and adding gain etc.) I sent mine to Kendrick to have it gone through. Gerald Weber called me to ask if I was interested in having him mod it, and asked me if I was absolutely, positively sure I never ever wanted to use the amp for a bass amp (I didn't own a bass at the time) so I agreed to the mod. The amp came back working fine and the mod works fine too - but it adds A LOT of gain. Of course the "death cap" three prong power cord mod is a must for older amps in the USA. It is a straight forward amp that lends itself to lots of mods, which can usually be reversed as long as nobody has gotten too extreme and the work hasn't been shoddy along the way. Yours looks and sounds great.

I live here in Nashville, and just bought a 1977 bassman 70 with a mojotone 2 x12 cabinet. Sounded awesome, but I went and got a fender bassman 1 x 15 cab to add in today. I found one of ace frehley’s guitar players on Facebook marketplace. Couldn’t believe it lol. He was selling a silver face bassman head and amp combo. Went to hit him up for it and I guess he had sold it.

Whoa! That amp is killer! I worked with a young guy and he said his dad had this old Fender amp. His dad played in a band back in the 60’s. He knew I played guitar and said he would just give me the amp. From what he described to me it may have been a Bassman like this. For one thing I don’t think his dad would appreciate him giving it to me and would probably hunt me down. Secondly, I couldn’t just have him it give it to me in good conscience. His dad also had a Les Paul valued at about $150,000.00.

looks like the AB165 bias circuit and phase inverter have been converted to the more common earlier blackface arrangement like the AA864 version. sounds great!

So I have a 1968 Silverface Bassman and a of all my amps it's one of the best all around amps I own and definitely a great pedal platform! Thanks John for demonstrating the perfect amp.

The only modification to the AB165 circuit in that amp is the change to true adjustable bias rather than bias-balance in the original. The third fiber board near the power input cable is a something I haven't seen in an AB165, but that doesn't mean its not original. If you have one of these, avoid the temptation to take it beyond the bias mod. I think they have a better sound than the AA864 blackface and even the earlier blond circuit versions. Even the two stages of feedback should stay. Both channels in phase so you can use them together, and the bass channel can really go deep. Gets you into doom or shoegaze territory. Amps this old do need new filter caps to be fully reliable, and you might gain some power, headroom, and bass tightness by changing.

Soo Glad you bought it, This is the ONE ! It fits you like a glove man, so cool to hear.

It had a lot of gain naturally. It’s a truly unique amplifier. The one I did for my dad was the most unique of all. :-) According to oscilloscope and load, anywhere between 25 and 64 watts depending on output tube selection.

sounds great! I have a '68 silverface bassman that sounds incredible as well.

FYI, the inputs on the AB165 are in phase, so you can jump it like a Plexi.

This sounds amazing! What a glorious crunch. And think you nailed the Ace tone, search over. Also, 1000 videos! Congrats and thank you for all you have given us. Have enjoyed your videos for years and always value your efforts and findings. Peace!

Nice to see the bassman getting some love.

Bought my first AB165 around ten years ago and play it through a solid pine 2x12 jensen P12Q cab. For my second AB165 i built a 1x12 pine cab with a single jensen C12N with matching dimensions so its essentially a closed back combo killer tone gigger. Im settled in with the AB165 and a custom Les Paul Junior to 1958 specs. Rock on!

What an amazing tone! Maybe one of the best I've ever heard!

I have a 65’ AA864 in a mojotone 2x10 combo cab…it’s an unruly beast and I love it

Years ago when I was learning to play, I picked up one of these in a guitar store for $150 and it was my mainstay until I got a Mesa-Boogie and sold the Bassman to help fund it. Immediately I regretted it, and I regret it even more now that I’m hearing one again in all its glory, made greater by putting it through a Greenback cab. I get a sense that Johan would say “Beeg mistake!”, to my letting it go, and he would be right! 😅

My favorite amp channel on RU-vid. Thank you for all you do!

Yours looks totally stock to me. There might have been some resistor values changed but they would’ve changed out the electrolytic capacitors too. I see one electrolytic capacitor that looks like it was made sometime in the last 30 years. But that’s it. I don’t see the wires you’re talking about.

I’m floored .... those tones right there cover just about all the bases

Thank you for making this eye opening video. I own a 1965 model with AA165 circuit that I have never really paid attention to. After watching this video I decided to bring it out and see what it can really do. I plugged it into a 2x12 Fender cabinet with reissue Jensen C12N´s and was really surprised how versatile it sounds with my Les Pauls and Fenders and a good overdrive if you can´t play loud.

You need to put a Les Paul through these Fender Heads, it's what makes them come to life.

I hear a lot of players say the ubiquitous, this or that amp 'makes me play differently,' or 'this class of amp makes me play a certain way....'. It's good to know there are some guitarists out there who play like they want to play, despite the amp. Johan is a classic 70's hard rock dude who brings that to bare, mercilessly, on every amp he plugs into.

We run a Bassmen,... an AA-165 I think,... it's the middle one anyway's,... along with a reissue Plexi from the early 90's (1994),... on two 4-12 cab's (slant's),... early Rola's with the fender,... greenback's on the Marshall,... original Ts9,... and a Robin Trower boost,... the rest is Fulltone stuff,... uni-vibe and wah,..... I'm 64..... to a long time to come by this stuff,... it was worth the wait..........

Fender Bassman into a Marshall cabinet is Mike Ness’ set up! Sounds perfect

Sounds a lot like KISS Alive! to me! Damn, Johan, that is quite amazing. Guess I need to get myself one of these!

I inherited a Silverface Bassman 100 from my uncle... RIP. The Silverface amps don't always get the same praise as the Blackface but it truly has a nice round, glassy, pristine clean tone, especially when you jump the channels. Nice breakup too when you crank it, if you can stand the volume.

Bought a Bassman with 2 twelves cabinet in '67. Wish I still had that rig.....

Impressive! Hope to see and hear more of it with your other guitars, and maybe even a bass!

Nice purchase, sounds great! Thanks for sharing. Good way to start your weekend, I’d say!

I’m truly happy with You Johan....I know how it feels when You finally able to put your hands on something what you were waiting for a long time...I’ve bought a quartet of 1969 T1221 Greenbacks....will keep them until I die....Would never have come to the idea to get them without knowing You!😉God bless and keep on rocking!Lets go!😉👍

That's what I'm talking about!!! I'm gonna get a 67 eventually... my birth year...love the sound

Fabulous’70s sound! So full mids really makes itself known. Excellent demo of a great 50 Watter. Thanks

Whew. What a fire breather! I have a 64 Blackface Princeton and I had a 1970 Silverface Super Reverb. The super was gnarly.

Unbelievable good tone and gain in that amp. Of course it is in your fingers as well. But a great combo. Fender Bassman and greenbacks. Keep up the joy for us Johan. Johan

“Music sweet music, drops from my Fenders”

Sounds absolutely amazing. Better than any Marshall ive heard on this channel

Your new amp sounds really great! Thanks for turning the knobs for us at the end.

I had a Fender Bassman 135 back in the late 80s to mid 90s which I had modified by an amp tech friend to give it just a little more grunt. Sounded great with my Rickenbacker 4001 and going into a 2x15" JBL speaker box. It sounded amazing, but unfortunately it was stolen one night after a gig when my car broke down. I got a cab home and came back the next day to find the glass smashed in and all of it was gone! Bass and everything. But still I had that great setup for nearly ten years.

I thinks the best sounds you got so far are from the Fender amps. The old Marshall’s sound great but there’s something about the fender that’s more transparent sounding.

That tone. I’m melting...

Johan congrats on the purchase! The bassman totally fits your style it’s one of the top 5 amps of all time

This amp sounds absolutely amazing! Damn!

Such killer presence and attack and grind. Congratulations on such a great acquisition, sir!

I ‘ve got a pro -reverb 73 and a bandmaster 64’ with his cab and it was awesome…i think a need a bassman right now 😊😂

That’s a great one! I have a ‘65 that is nearly identical in features, but I don’t recall mine to sound this thick.

Yeah I would’ve bought it too! That is THE SOUND!

I have a ‘67 Blackface, and it is awesome! I play guitar, but I use it as a bass amp too, and it’s just great. It’s in perfect shape, but I made one mod of a post phase inverter master volume, now it’s perfect.

An AB165 (Feb 66) with original 2x12 vertical cab showed up in my area for sale so I had to grab it.

Cool, and I want one, but it seems like it's essentially the sound of the pedal we are hearing

Oooh, those ripper and flying v you've got up there, There's never been anything more beautiful hanging on a wall

Bandmaster from that era are HUGE as well 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘

I'm going to be listening to this at work tonight, along with the playlist. Thanx man. Killer tone as always.

When I was in high school in the early '80s I played in a few bands, I owned an early '70s metal panel Marshall superlead 100w that was the loudest thing on the planet, but failed to give me that Van Halen 1 sound that I sought so I didn't like it (I paid $250 for it in ~1981 if you're wondering). Back then we didn't know anything about amp modding etc, we just knew that EVH used a Plexi superlead and my amp didn't sound like that. My best friend played bass, he owned a blackface Bassman but it wasn't loud enough to keep up with my Marshall so he bought a Sunn Coliseum, that was plenty loud, but then the Bassman sat. On a whim I plugged the Bassman into my Marshall cab, cranked it and it sounded OK but not enough gain, so I added an overdrive pedal to the front and it was absolute magic. Tone that would bring you to your knees. Just like what I hear in this video. My guitar had a DiMarzio Super Distortion in it (I still own it) and honestly, I've been chasing THAT tone ever since.

I have a vintage '72 Fender Bassman 100watt head, and a vintage 80's 4x10" Marshall cab, with celestion speakers in the cab. I don't know the exact model, they are silver back colors though. Anyway, that combination, it ALL sounds AWESOME! Mike Ness, of Social Distortion, uses Fender Blackfaced Bassmans, and Marshall 4x10" cabs, this is how he gets his tones, and with '78 les paul, with p-90's. Anyway, it has a VERY CLEAN MID-RANGE SOUND, whatever pedals you use, it sounds awesome!!! Keep on rocking 😎 bro!🤘🤘 Sounds great!👍

I own one and people are always surprised when they hear it. I'm often asked who modified it. Mine is drop dead stock and totally original. It might be time to change the filter caps in a 54-year-old amp though. If you want the AC DC tone crank up the Bass Channel and engage the Deep Switch, it actually cuts the bass because it's below the guitar's normal range and it accentuates the mid-range. And of course, jumpering the bass and normal channels give even more range to the amp.

Fantastic sounds! I could play that amp all day long!! Ha! That’s for sharing :)

This combo sounds insane. Well beyond what I'd expect from a Bassman, but that may be my own biases.

Sounds great, I’ve got a 6G6-B Bassman clone and it kind of sits right between this and a jtm45

Speakers speakers speakers. Killed it Johan. it's got that nice juicy compression, but doesn't fart out with the Celestions

Hi Johan, one of your cathode bypass caps is bulging and will soon pop. The capacitance will be way off, on all of them, and that means less gain on cathode bypass caps. If those are original, the filter caps probably will be too, how's the hum? For replacing the cathode bypass electrolytics, a great option is the Vishay 138 KD, a sealed, dry electrolytic 25uf @ 50v. Rated at 105 degrees C and 10,000 hours. YOu can fit them inside the empty case of the old caps to preserve the looks if you choose, the new ones are tiny in comparison. I think they're the M-series caps.

Congratulations Johan! Great addition to your gear!

Well done and Great tones Johan! Love the split screen! Have a wonderful weekend Brother! Be Well All!

The tonal variety of this amp really is amazing! Please make a video playing it and the Vibrolux in stereo, I think those two amps would pair fantastically well :-D

I bought a 63 Bassman for $420 in 1985. Still got it and its freaken awesome

Johan, I had a 66 Bassman with the AB-165 circuit. It sat in the corner with a 67 cab. Got rid of it about 8 months ago. My Marshall 1987X Plexi (reissue), my 1963 Fender Tweed Champ, and my Fender Hot Rod De Ville do me just fine.

2 years ago I went to a daytime Country jam that comes to town in the summer. Most of the acts are so so but one group in particular interested me because the guitarist had a single coil strat dialed to a clean sound but is sagged a whole bunch with every bar chord and as a consequence never blared over the acoustic instruments but sat saggy in the mix just nice. During the whole set I wondered what kind of compressor would sound that creamy. I'm 52 and have heard and seen it all! Well when the set was over and the guitars were cased he grabbed a blackface baseman head in one hand and a his cased strat in another and dipped out of sight. I was like was that a baseman on like 80 volts? It was just like a clean version of VH1 - You have a variac. - you know what to do now. ;-)

There is one of these sitting on a table at the Nordstrom's near my house. It has adidas sweatshirts and snapbacks on the table. I asked a clerk why in gods name there is a early 70s bassman head on that table with snapbacks and he has no idea but everyone always asks about it. I still have no idea why its there, but its authentic and im upset to say the least.

We bought one for the bass player in a band I played in in the seventies, it sounded better on guitar than our guitar amps and made a lasting impression. Only con for using as a guitar amp was no built in reverb.

OOOF! That's such a BIG sound with great tone. I'm a Marshall fan but.....hmmm

That crunch ✨

I've said 'that's the best tone I've ever heard!' on so many of your videos that it's a cliche now, but...that's the best tone I've ever heard!

I regret passing on one of these for $600 a couple years ago. I was looking for a bass amp & an Ampeg V4head they also had, was 3 times a loud & stayed clean. That 66 bassman was great with guitar at any volume. Now I wish I would have bought it. The cleans semi cleans were just fantastic.

4:30 is so totally the sound from Deuce from Kiss Alive! Gave me goosebumps!

Beautiful tone. Congrats on the purchase!

Great playing too. I was listening very intently.

Man....sounds so!!!!! Good!!! Nice score!!

great amp, I had a Bandmaster from around the same time that was unfortunately stolen years ago , I would run it through an early 70s 1960A cab, this Bassman sounds great and smooth fantastic tones! thanks for the demo, have a great weekend Johan

That sounds incredible. Getting a lot of early Page vibe here as well.

Sounds killer!!!! It is really interesting to pair Blackfaces and early Silverfaces with nice Marshall cabinets. Out of boredom I once paired my 1966 Fender Deluxe Reverb with a 1976 Marshall 1960A with 55Hz G12Ms wired in parallel with a 1973 Hiwatt SE4123 (purple label Fanes) for an 8 Ohms total. That blew my head off! What a sound!

I love my 67 bassman, mine has a pair of vintage tungsol 5881's for power tubes. I prefer them over 6l6's.

I Love my '66 Bassman.

This amp really rocks! The riffing is really good too. Maybe even a bit better than it usually is, and it' s usually very good. Cheers!