Broken fender bassman

[Leopold Lewis]

Hey

 

I've inherited a broken fender bassman guitar amp. I'm told it should be simple enough to fix by someone who knows what they're doing but I have neither the time nor money to get it done. 

 

Could anyone give me a ball park figure of what would be a fair price to sell it as spares/repairs? I'm not up to date with the guitar amp buying and selling scene unfortunately.

 

It's gig worn but grill cloth and speakers are intact.

 

Turns on and warms up but no sound comes out. 

 

Many thanks

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, Leopold Lewis said:

... Many thanks

 

Photos would help a lot, as there have been several Bassman guitar amps made, over the years, and a lot depends on its age as to what it might need doing. In most cases, and without seeing the model, I'd say that it needs to be confided to a competent valve amp repair technicien, as there are many pitfalls and safety issues with some older models. On the other hand, these amps are, in the repair trade, very well known, with few surprises for someone experienced. If the amp is simply mute, the reason could be quite simple to fix (again, by an expert...), but it would need checking over to be sure that it won't become dangerous (read 'lethal'...), and that any old parts are in a fit state to give years more fine service. These are, in general, excellent amps, and upkeep is minimal, once they have been correctly serviced. My own very old '60s Bassman 50w head had its first service a few years ago now, and is good for another half century, I'd say. Take a couple of pictures, though, for a better view of what could be required. Hope this helps; meanwhile...

 

Have a great day

 

Douglas

[Leopold Lewis]

Many thanks for the reply. Here's some photos as suggested.

[Dad3353]

You've inherited a very fine amp, in need of restoration, but certainly worth it. It's the current model, Fender 59 Bassman LTD (a reissue, not the original '59 version...), and should be an easy repair to at least get it working again. There should be no problem with getting spares, as it's still made and sold (new price : around £2000...). There could be only two major snags : are all four speakers in good condition, and how much does the cosmetics mean to you..? If it's not been subject to damp, or poor storage, a technicien would have no bother fixing it up, to whatever level of 'original' you'd be happy with. Take it to a reputable valve amp technicien (give us your location; there may be someone recommended close by...) and get an estimate. It will be a fine amp once restored. It would be a shame to sell it 'as is', as the Buyer would have to trust that it's an easy fix, if it is currently mute. Once mended, these fetch a decent second-hand price, as they are good amps. In its current state, maybe £50-100 or so; restored, more like ten times that. 

[ezbass]

‘59 Bassman reissue, I had one of these and it was the best sounding amp I ever owned. Really loud and tone to die for. I fitted a master volume mod, which made it more manageable.