Help! I just gambled $200 on a 66'- early 67' blackface Bassman AB165 head thats been sitting in a barn for 30 yrs.

Pine Apple Slim

Pine Apple Slim

Armchair Expert
It's rusty and dirty and has a janky orange extension cord power cord, lol. No way Im gonna try to power it up myself.
My duo partners brother passed away recently and he was a bass player back in the day. His wife is selling some of his old stuff. I took a chance on this head I think my tech can save it. I generously offered her as much as I felt I could afford to loose on it.
(He also had a 62 Precision but Im not gonna afford that, it's going up on consignment at a reputable vintage shop.)
Wish I could get the matching cabinet for the head but somehow its gotten lost or misplaced. If the head can be saved I can afford a new cab of some type.
Taking it to the tech soon as I clean up the tolex and rusty corners a bit.

Wish me luck!
 
@Pine Apple Slim - I would not fire it up right away as you mentioned and yes have your tech take a look at it. Chances are the caps may be dried out and the amp will require a cap job. He should also clean the pots as well as clear out the dust bunnies if any within the amp. Chances are he will fire it up with a Variac slowly bringing it up to voltage once the other things were completed.
 
Man, I don’t think I would clean much at all on outside. Let the tech clean the guts, and I’d even replace the chord with another piece of orange extension chord. That is one hell of a story.
 
Im just gonna get a bit o dust outta the tolex and hit the rusty corners with some wd40. Nothing extreme. There will be plenty of mojo/patina left believe me. My tech is old school and really good, knows his tube circuits and loves bringing this old vintage stuff back to life. It may cost me but it's gonna be worth it.
 
Turns out it's an early to mid 64'.
The transformers were good!
My techs completely went thru the amp and replaced all the caps and repaired as needed. Put on a grounded 3 prong and installed a bias adjustment pot. He's still chasing a bit of noise when the vol is maxed on the bass channel, but other than that it's good to go. He's using tubes he had laying around and wanted to know if I wanted to go with those or order new ones. I told him to go ahead and order me a fresh set of matched tubes all around and meanwhile keep chasing that last bit of noise.

So I have a matched pair of Tungsol 5881s and some fresh JJ preamp tubes on the way and it looks like I'll be getting the head back soon.
So now I gotta make a decision on a cab and speaker(s). I could build something but I want it to match and not look homemade.
At this point Im thinking a Mojotone 1x12" open back in matching tolex and aged cloth, and a 4ohm 80w Weber Chicago 12" for a reasonably small footprint so I can actually gig the thing. But I do have a Marshall 2x12 cab I could load up with a couple 8ohm speakers for a 4 ohm cab if the head fits on top. It would be more bulky to haul but would prob sound great and would be a cheaper option.
 
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So I got the head back all good to go. It sounds good but the new preamp tube in ch 1 is microphonic and I need to take it back for a replacement. . Ch 2 sounds great.
Now I gotta decide on speaker options. Plugged it into my homemade 1-15 Weber Cali but did not care for the sound. Too much bass, too much treble, just too much of everything and too bright and in your face. Whatever I decide to get it needs to be a lower efficiency speaker(s) than this jbl based Weber Cali. Funny the Cali sounds great w the Silverface Bassman but too shrill and bassy at the same time with this one.
I’m thinking for convenience a wide enough 1x12, but a diagonal 2x10 config is tempting.
My options are:
1. Build another cab. Most cost effective but I’ve gotten real lazy and not as keen on projects these days.
2. Order a cab. Gonna cost 300-400 min for the empty box unless I find something cheaper used.
3. Use something I already have. Marshall closed back vertical 2x12 that head just fits on hanging off only about 1/2 in on both sides. Looks ok and it’s stable, but really more cab than I wanna gig with. It’s 8 ohm and speakers are shitty 70/80s so I’d need to convert it to 4 ohm w better speakers.
Looking at different speaker options by Weber and WGS. Im in no hurry it’s not like I really needed this thing.

Would be interested in any ideas re speakers and cab.
 

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Pine Apple Slim said:
So I got the head back all good to go. It sounds good but the new preamp tube in ch 1 is microphonic and I need to take it back for a replacement. . Ch 2 sounds great.
Now I gotta decide on speaker options. Plugged it into my homemade 1-15 Weber Cali but did not care for the sound. Too much bass, too much treble, just too much of everything and too bright and in your face. Whatever I decide to get it needs to be a lower efficiency speaker(s) than this jbl based Weber Cali. Funny the Cali sounds great w the Silverface Bassman but too shrill and bassy at the same time with this one.
I’m thinking for convenience a wide enough 1x12, but a diagonal 2x10 config is tempting.
My options are:
1. Build another cab. Most cost effective but I’ve gotten real lazy and not as keen on projects these days.
2. Order a cab. Gonna cost 300-400 min for the empty box unless I find something cheaper used.
3. Use something I already have. Marshall closed back vertical 2x12 that head just fits on hanging off only about 1/2 in on both sides. Looks ok and it’s stable, but really more cab than I wanna gig with. It’s 8 ohm and speakers are shitty 70/80s so I’d need to convert it to 4 ohm w better speakers.
Looking at different speaker options by Weber and WGS. Im in no hurry it’s not like I really needed this thing.

Would be interested in any ideas re speakers and cab.
Click to expand...

I use my old combo amp as a cab for the Valve Jr head. . . definitely not ideal, but the price was right. Even if you end up replacing the speaker, picking up a pawn shop special just to use for the box would be way more cost effective than ordering a new cab.
 
My tech has an old no name appropriate sized 1-15 cab he offered to give me. Open back and already has casters on it. But I don’t really want another 1-15. Problem w used, esp 1-12 config is finding one wide enough. It’s a big ol head. Most 2-10s or 2-12s are horizontal and closed back which I don’t really want. Ideally I’d like a 2-10 open back in a diagonal configuration.
 
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