The Jansen Bassman - Your Experience

[dayl]

I've never tried a Jansen Bassman, but I've seen them come up often over the and see a few for sale at present. I've kind of always wanted one.

My first tube amp was a Jansen Combo and it was great, but I was a teen who didn't know about tube amps etc.

The 50's and 75's, what are your thoughts and experiences with them? Are they easily serviced? How good are the cleans? What is the headroom like?

I see two separate inputs, what is the story there? Two independent channels?

I don't need a gain channel as I enjoy getting gain from pedals so I just need cleans.

Im not rushing out to buy, but the thought of getting a piece of Kiwi history in future seems pretty cool to me.

[Slowy]

I've met a few Bassman 50s. You're on the right track because I think they're best used as a pedalboard engine. The inputs have different gain. If you're getting your gain from pedals, the low input will give you more control. Then again, goosing the hot channel may be your thing.

While fairly common, I don't think it's Jansen's most characterful offering but that makes it fine for pedalboards.
Others will no doubt disagree.

[dayl]

How about the 75s? Are they 6l6?

I can't find any decent tone clips.

[GrantB]

In original form, flat, not dynamic, great for vintage bass tones.

[Kris]

When i first started,(early 90's) we all had one of some description. They were the dole bludgers amp of choice. two friends had 50's, i had a hybrid 100 and a friend had a 75. As said, very flat utilitarian tone. Our experience level didnt help much though ,no one knew about gain staging and everything came from "A (singular)" pedal.
Fast forward many years i got a 75 again and really dug it. The clean was great and anything raw sounding gain wise into it was great. ass started falling out of it with volume. Mine had 7027A tubes which were the stock ones (i believe) but i have seem some with 6l6.

[Kris]

Also,you can jump the channels with a patch cable, as stated this is good for giving some heat. I always wondered how a dropping a soldano hod mod or mr scary would go haha

[StrummersOfThunder]

I owned one of the older semi-wheat/ salty pepper grill cloth faced 50 watt ones. Point to point.
It was ages ago but it was nothing to write home about.
I think they make great vintage voices bass amps as mentioned above.
With the froth of vintage amps the prices they’re asking have climbed to a place where it isn’t worth it. I think a payed $250 for mine. The later silver face ones with PCB boards can be a shambles to deal with apparently.
There are some desirable Jansen circuits but more in the lower wattage. Several iterations of them floating round the forum.

[crowbgood1]

In original form, flat, not dynamic, great for vintage bass tones.

I use a Bassman 50 for bass. Love it for studio use, but it breaks up to early for my liking at live work volume.

I agree with the other posts - great pedal platform for guitar. Just be aware, the earlier black face are point to point and the silver are a board.

Simon at Bogan Amps Wellington is the knowledge guy for Bassmans and always willing to give advice during a purchase.

[H671]

I had a silver face Bassman 75 for a while and I ran it it through an old PA cab. It sounded great & sparkly for guitar which I think was because of the large PA cab that I had at the time. It had a Celestion BX12-2560 driver and a tweeter (can't remember what) - I still have the driver but have fitted it to my Carvin AG100D.

[Lyle]

I've got a Bassman 50 I've been tinkering with, servicing seems fairly easy with my beginner lever skills.

Mine is one of the point to point 7027A models. As others have said it's maybe a bit bland as a guitar amp but takes pedals well.

[Green Bastard]

I always wondered how a dropping a soldano hod mod or mr scary would go haha

I've got a hotmod, just no Jansen laying around.
Anyone know if the pres are wired with cathode follower, think thats one of the needs for the hot mod to work.

Annoyingly none of my 7 valve amps or any of the ones at my prac space work with the hot mod, there's a 2203x, but I then found they don't work in those, just the originals.

[Kris]

I always wondered how a dropping a soldano hod mod or mr scary would go haha

I've got a hotmod, just no Jansen laying around.
Anyone know if the pres are wired with cathode follower, think thats one of the needs for the hot mod to work.

Annoyingly none of my 7 valve amps or any of the ones at my prac space work with the hot mod, there's a 2203x, but I then found they don't work in those, just the originals.

true,the hod mod is a little more specific i guess. Seems like the more recent ones like the Mr Scary just drop into any old 12ax7 slot. I see people dropping them in recto's and 5150's A true indicator of how we've succumbed to modern decadence

[Capt. Black]

I had a 50 (and maybe a 75) when I was starting out. All the bands I’d see around the late 70s and early 80s had them so I thought I should too. I remember it and it’s 2x12 being stupidly loud, large and ridiculously heavy with none of the sound that excited me enough to pick up guitar.
I think in part, the bland, boring plessey or Philips speakers they were loaded with were to blame. Any modest Celestion driver can bring an old Jansen bassman to life imo. But even cranked up full, they never seemed to do anything exciting the way a big fender would.
They’re good amps and well made but have become over-hyped and overpriced to some extent.

As has been mentioned, the smaller Jansen amps and combos are a very different story. Some really interesting tonal character to be found amongst them.

[Rog]

I had Bassmans in the '60s and '70s and they were probably the best of the cheap side for amps back then. The older ones with the vents on the top were my preference (just remember not to leave a jug of Rum and Coke sitting on the top while playing). That said, many of my contemporaries were very happy when SS bass amps arrived, such as the Holden Graphic 200 and we never went back to the old days of blown fuses and valve replacements. Like the Capn, I blew so many Plessey and Philips speakers until I discovered JBLs.

[dayl]

Hmm, bassmans sound kinda stink.

Thanks for the feedback haha