Yes. The time has finally come. I haven't 100% decided to do this, but I'm suddenly leaning strongly in the direction of finally parting company with my 1955 Bassman, the one I bought from Trip Henderson in the early 1990s that he'd had refurbished by Gerald Weber at Kendrick.
The bright channel pot is a little noisy, but otherwise it's a monster of tone and power. It's just too big for me.
When and if I decide formally to offer it for sale, I'll do that on the for-sale forum. Right now I'm just interested in hearing from people who know how to price such things.
It has the original transformers and three of the four original Jensens, along with a Kendrick. It is noise-free. It was thoroughly gone-over by Weber in around 1990, and recovered beautifully; it has had a decidedly modest amount of on-stage time since then.
Here are four photos. I'd like to hear what people here think it will actually bring on the open market.
If a comparable amp or two have sold on eBay, for example, in the last several years, that would be a figure worth having. So would material differences between those amps and this amp. The missing speaker, for example: how much difference does that make? What about the retweeding job?
Please do NOT email me privately telling me that you want to buy it. Again: it's not yet for sale. I simply want some informed estimates of what such an amp--one incarnation of the Holy Grail--might be worth. I figure that an honest conversation here might actually arrive at something like a consensus.
It would be fair to say that I'm not going to sell it unless I think that the money I can get for it makes a sale worthwhile.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Dec 25, 2015 1:55 PM
I bought a '58 Bassman from Junior Watson back around 1995 for $1500 and sold it 3 years ago for $4500- it had a later power transformer and had some caps replaced and the tweed was original but pretty road worn. My buddy Joel just bought a '59 Bassman from James Harman but it had been covered in pink tolex and was sporting a single 15"- he paid $1000.- he's in the process of restoring it.
Since yours has been restored and has newer tweed and is the less collectible '55 model, I think $3000 in a fire sale and $5000 on the top end given it's provenance. If it were 100% original you could easily see $7500 or more.
Last Edited by PropMan on Dec 25, 2015 7:44 PM
Thanks, PropMan. I was guesstimating something toward the higher end of that general range. I think you're wrong, however, about the "less collectible '55 model." Mine is the 5D6-A, not the later 5E6; it dates, I believe, from January or February of '55. I think many people would say it's more collectible than a '58.
I agree the earlier ones SHOULD be more valuable-- they're way more scarce and I think the dual rectifier models are also way better sounding, especially for harp. But the guitar players all want the '58 model and THEY are the cats who are willing to spend the big bucks. But they also want them as ORIGINAL as possible and will pay a premium for leaky noisy caps and fried resistors.
Last Edited by PropMan on Dec 26, 2015 1:05 AM
I sold a 1959 Bassman back in 1993 for $3500. It was all original except it was re-tweeded, new cord and handle, and a cap job. Probably not so helpful information for you today, but there you have it. What might be helpful to you is I did not sell it to a harp or guitar player but rather a collector of vintage equipment. Of course, this was way before the advent of eBay or Reverb. Obviously the best bang for the buck would be to sell it privately without the use of a "broker" but that might turn out to be the best way to find that buyer and maximize its value.
Like you, I struggled with selling it, but finally did it because I was not using it at gigs as it was too valuable and it was just sitting around the house. So my decision was less about how much I could get for it and more about "thinning the herd." Of course you are going to get more $$$ than you paid for it, but I gotta tell you, some folks assign some crazy values to these amps. I bought mine for $700 and put $400 into it. My retweed and cap work was done by Larry Rodgers, who is a pretty respected cabinet builder and amp restorer in Naples, FL. You might want to contact him.
Last Edited by 6SN7 on Dec 26, 2015 5:04 AM
Aha! I wasn't aware of the guitar player "thing," but that makes sense. I have no intention of selling this baby to a guitar player--although it does have a fine guitar sound.
This amp sounds as though it had pretty much the same deal as yours, 6SN7: retweeded, new handle and cord, and I suspect that it had a cap job. I'll take off the back today and post a few photos so the folks who know about this sort of stuff can weigh in.
On another note: what prompted this whole train of thought was me hauling both the Bassman and the Gibson Maestro GA-45 out of the closet and A/Bing them with my Premier reverb tank and new Joyo Roll-Boost, cranking the tube preamp portion of the Premier all the way up and trying different settings on the Roll-Boost. The Gibson lost a lot of bottom end on the Roll-Boost but came alive on the Premier, with a lot of crunch and warm, solid bottom end; it's now a useable amp for me when I need something big. (It's 4 x 8".) The Bassman sounded better with the Roll-Boost than with the Premier, but neither unit quite gave me the sound I'm looking for. It's a wonderful amp; it's just not something I really need. At a certain point I say to myself, "It deserves to be owned and used by somebody who just KNOWS that this is the killer amp they've been looking for."
Here are a couple of videos in which I'm using it: the first HCH Rooster's jam in 2010. Forgive Jackie Nassar for murdering the groove. It does indeed have a massive sound:
[Edited to add: Now that I've found several additional videos down below--especially one featuring a jam with Brandon Bailey--I'm not sure that I'm playing through the Bassman here, even though it's visible on the stage. I may have been playing through a miked-up Premier.]
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Dec 26, 2015 6:06 AM
Actually, I'll post a few more videos of other players playing through it. First up is Deak. He sounds killer through it. (I'm 100% certain he's playing through it, because I remember plugging him into it and, when I heard the sound, thinking "THAT is how the amp is supposed to sound." He's using the right sort of mic:
This clip shows Brandon Bailey and me jamming. Brandon is blowing through the Bassman and I'm blowing through a miked-up Premier--and a big-ass sound it is! It's making me wonder whether I might have been blowing through the Premier in the earlier videos. Hmmm. Well, this is actually a video worth watching all the way through.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Dec 26, 2015 6:07 AM
Yep, that is a nice looking one with non original cosmetics, leaky Astrons and dried up electrolytics. The one you link is the highly sought after 5F6-A. This really has no bearing on your amp as they are different models...BN
I took a bunch more photos. Please comment on relevant things that you notice--i.e., stuff that might work for or against resale value, or anything else that strikes you as noteworthy:
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Dec 28, 2015 8:37 AM
Well, it looks like every cap has been replaced. Which isn't so awful if they needed to be replaced. I did it to mine too, and it came back perfect..... for guitar! The speaker wiring looks kind of stringy, but maybe that's ok. It is certainly in tiptop shape. I think you should keep it. Yeah, you probably didn't want to hear that!! good luck!! You should ask Jon Atkinson about it, he has been here at the site.
Last Edited by 6SN7 on Dec 28, 2015 4:44 PM
It's a player grade amp which is good i feel. Probably pretty saggy with one rectifier tube missing. Tube shields are missing also. Neither is a big deal to a player. Pretty Clean except the divit in the PT. Have not checked the #'s on the iron for OEM status. It might do 4 grand with original iron. You will not know what it is worth till it sells!...BN
