MR. BASS MAN / YOU’VE GOT THAT
certain something / Mr. Bass Man / You
set that music thumping.
Granted, when teen sensation Johnny
Cymbal crooned those lyrics in his 1963
smash hit, he wasn’t heaping praise on
Fender’s Bassman amplifier. But perhaps
he should have been; by that time, 11 years
after its introduction, the Bassman had revolutionized
bass and guitar amplification,
establishing an amp blueprint that continues
to be aped today.
Of course, a lot has changed over the
years. So while Fender’s latest take on
the Bassman—the 300-watt, all-tube Super
Bassman—has rather little in common with
its 26-watt ancestor, this modern machine
seeks to cop the visual vibe and warm nature
of the original. Fender has also launched a
new line of matching Bassman Neo cabinets
in 4x10, 6x10, 8x10, and 1x15 configurations.
To take the Super Bassman for a spin, we
paired it with a 4x10—a classic configuration
that dates back to the amp’s early days.
TIME MACHINE
The Super Bassman has two channels that
differ significantly: the VINTAGE channel is
the more mellow of the two, and features
a passive tone stack, while the OVERDRIVE
channel has an active EQ voiced for more
modern, saturated tones. The two channels
are switchable via a front-panel switch
or a footswitch (included). With a passive
P-Bass and the EQ set flat (BASS at 2,
MID at 10, TREBLE at 2), the VINTAGE channel
sounded downright dreamy—creamy,
but with a hint of grit when I dug in. At
300 watts, the Super Bassman has ample
headroom (an understatement…), and rolling
back the VOLUME and bumping up the
master yields a cleaner sound. Still, “clean”
is a relative term with the Super Bassman;
even with the VINTAGE channel, it felt as if
there was always a barely-contained beast
within, grunting under its breath and longing
to let out a righteous roar.
Without a doubt, that creature finds
its voice in the OVERDRIVE channel. With
or without the GAIN boosted, this channel
seemed to offer more control for fine-tuning
my tone, thanks to its active EQ and
selectable midrange control. Of course,
the real fun is in cranking the gain and letting
the beast howl. As with the interactive
passive tone stack on the VINTAGE channel
(where the BASS, MID, and TREBLE cut frequencies
change depending on where each
of the other two knobs are set), there was
a massive array of tones available via the
GAIN, BLEND, VOLUME, and MASTER controls,
giving the amp overdrive nuance that’s
near impossible to attain with a stompbox.
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| The Super Bassman’s VINTAGE channel features a passive 3-band (cut-only) tone stack. |
Around back, the Super Bassman sports
modern accouterments that help take the
guesswork out of tube amplifiers. Tube
amps can be finicky, and if current doesn’t
flow precisely as it should, the amp won’t
perform—or sound—as it should. The Super
Bassman’s Automatic Bias monitors and
controls the current running through the
tubes. By allowing the user to set the bias
to run WARM, NORMAL, or COOL, Automatic
Bias lets you to further tweak your tone to
sound more aggressive or more mellow.
The Super Bassman also features a SPEAKER
OUTPUT switch, which disengages the power
amp and allows you to run the amp without
a speaker cabinet for recording.
NEO-RETRO
An inevitable bummer with tube amps is that
they’re heavy. . . . Very heavy. Fender takes
the sting out of this potential rig fatigue by
going with Neodymium-loaded speaker cabinets.
At 55 pounds, the 410 Neo is refreshingly
light. And with included casters, it
functions quite well as a dolly for the hefty
Super Bassman. In terms of sound—perhaps
because the head itself colors the bass tone
in such a big way—the cabinet seemed able
to handle whatever I gave it, whether it was
deep and dark or bright and aggressive.
 |
| Grille power: stare long enough and you’ll see spots run. |
Fender has stepped up its bass amp game
at all price points in recent years. For the pro
set, the Super Bassman is the most exciting
thing to come along in a good long while. If
you’re looking to get that warm, fuzzy feeling
that can only come from a tube amp,
definitely check it out. But be careful—this
machine just might melt your face.
SUPER BASSMAN
Street $1,800
Pros Wooly passive VINTAGE channel,
gnarly active OVERDRIVE; Automatic Bias a
bonus.
Cons Like any tube head, it’s dang heavy
BASSMAN 410 NEO
Street $700
Pros Light weight, big bottom
Cons None
Contact fender.com
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| Head turning: the Super Bassman’s Automatic Bias feature adds a nifty modern twist on this instant classic. |
TECH SPECS
SUPER BASSMAN
Power rating 300 watts into 8Ω, 4Ω, or
2Ω (selectable)
Type Tube preamp, tube power amp
Tube complement 3 x 12AX7A, 1 x 12AT7,
6 x 6550C
Inputs INPUT 1 (-0dB), INPUT 2 (-6dB)
Vintage channel controls VOLUME, BASS
(15dB range @ 40Hz with MID and TREBLE at
5), DEEP (-18dB @ 640Hz), MID (15dB range
@ 400Hz with BASS and TREBLE at 5), TREBLE
(9dB range @ 4kHz with BASS and MID at
5), BRIGHT (+10dB @ 6kHz), MASTER
Overdrive tone controls BASS (±15dB @
80Hz), DEEP (-18dB @ 640Hz), MID level
and FREQ (±18dB @ 200Hz–3.3kHz), TREBLE
(±15dB @ 4kHz), BRIGHT (+10dB @ 6kHz),
MASTER
Back panel switches POWER, STANDBY, SPEAKER
OUTPUT (disables power amp), SPEAKER IMPEDANCE
(2Ω, 4Ω, or 8Ω)
Back panel jacks MAIN SPEAKER, FOOT SWITCH,
TUNER OUTPUT, PREAMP OUTPUT, PWR AMP INPUT
DI XLR OUT with LEVEL control, PRE/POST preamp
switch, GROUND/LIFT
Other Automatic bias panel
Dimensions 10" x 24.5" x 13.5"
Weight 65 lbs
Made in Mexico
BASSMAN 410 NEO
Cabinet type 4x10 + horn
Construction Sealed, front-ported
Power handling 500 watts
Impedance 8Ω
Speakers Fender Special Design Eminence
Neodymium drivers
Inputs Two ¼", one Speakon
Controls HORN LEVEL
Frequency response 40Hz–15kHz
Dimensions 16.25" x 26" x 24.5"
Weight 55 lbs
Casters Included
Made in Mexico