This amp is a physical representation of the sonic transformation happening at the dawn of guitar’s greatest age. There is a reason that this particular amp is one of the most sought after of all time, and, in my opinion, it goes beyond tone. This amplifier, like none other, sits at a pivotal place in history, when the infancy of 1950s jingle-jangly rock ‘n’ roll was about to collide with the purpose and angst of the 1960s rock invasion. It is everything an amp should be, but it’s also more than that: it is a living, breathing organism that lives to tell a story.

This is the major evolutionary step forward that took us from the lunchbox-sized, 1930s Rickenbacker amplifiers that just barely amplified beyond natural projection to the refrigerator-sized stacks of amps that Hendrix and others used in the mid-60s. Notes will fall effortlessly out of your hands and into your ears perfect bass response and the most balanced high end of any amp I’ve ever played.įrom a design perspective, the Fender Bassman is legendary – and for good reason. Plug in any guitar that you want – go ahead, I’ll wait – and it will be impossible to find a bad sound using its six simple controls. READ MORE: Invention & Evolution: Charles Darwin, Henry Ford and how the death of silent movies birthed the guitar amplifier.Instead of one speaker like most amps of its era, it has four blue-label 10-inch speakers that are as loud as they look, positioned perfectly into the 23-inch cabinet, ensuring that when you need it to, it can fill a room without a microphone in sight. When it is on, its 45 watts of power gives you massive clean tones that can stand up next to any drummer, beautiful tube saturation when pushed to high volumes, and the ability to accept overdrive and fuzz pedals as if they are part of its very DNA. Without ever turning it on, it demands a certain attention by way of its yellow tweed covering, aged and abused from over 60 years of use. Simply put, it’s the definition of perfect. Previously, I told you that my favourite amp is my all-original 1959 Fender Bassman now I’m going to try to explain to you why.

Fender amp