badcard's Reviews

Stellar reissue of a true classic

🎸 This is an ultra-faithful reissue of the Fender '59 Bassman. This amp is the ancestor of rock. It’s the model that Marshall copied to create the JTM-45. The only difference between the two amps lies in the components and the speakers. This amp is entirely vintage in design, hand-wired and all…

🧨 Tube amp with 2x6L6 tubes in class AB = 45 Watts. Dual-channel amp with shared EQ. 4 inputs (Normal and Bright channels, each with High/Low options). No reverb, no effects loop, no footswitch. 4 Jensen P-10R 10" 8-ohm speakers wired in series = 2.75-ohm load.

🎛️ Control knobs in order: Vol. Normal | Vol. Bright | Treble | Bass | Middle | Presence Tube rectification. No channel switching, but you can patch them together. Combo built entirely from pine (yes, the wood affects the sound).

🔧 USAGE This amp is designed for single-channel use, but it’s quite easy to get clean, crunch, and distortion tones just by adjusting your guitar’s volume. For even more nuance, just add a boost. The EQ is extremely effective and dramatically changes both the sound and the type of distortion. For example, if distortion kicks in too early, just lower the bass a bit. Or push the mids to thicken the distortion, etc.

🎶 TONES It’s a “vintage” design amp, yet very versatile. Not made for extreme genres (metal and the like), but incredible for classic rock and blues. Even for AC/DC-style hard rock, it’s a perfect fit. The clean tones are absolutely beautiful—very Fender, of course—with vintage richness, though not ideal for country. Where the amp truly shines is in punchy, raspy crunch tones. Let’s say when the gain hits around 6 (out of 12). The amp is also highly sensitive to your playing dynamics. For example, you can get a very clean sound by playing soft arpeggios, then switch to crunch by digging in, and finally hit full distortion with aggressive chords. It’s incredibly satisfying to play on an amp that responds so well to your attack—it’s the most expressive amp I’ve ever tried and probably the best for blues.

🌟 OVERALL OPINION I’ve had it for years now.. What I love most is its expressiveness and vintage feel. This amp is a rock icon, and it’s thrilling to rediscover the sound of the artists we listened to in our youth. Victoria probably makes the best Bassman replicas, even going so far as to build transformers and resistors using the same tools as back in the day. A real Bassman goes for around €10K, so getting a “new” one for just a bit more than Fender’s reissue (which is much less faithful—printed circuit board, etc.) is a steal in my opinion! I don’t think I’ll ever sell this amp—it’s an essential piece of my collection.