Fair value of a blonde bassman head?

[GlennLewis]

Buddy wants me to give it a new home, as in my home.
It's in very good condition, he doesn't know the year but says it's late 50's. Needs a little work as in cap job, retubing, and hopefully not much more.

What can I offer him without insulting him?

I'm doing the usual research, but certainly value the opinions of the cognoscenti (that's y'all) here at TDPRI.

thank you,

[64Strat]

Originally Posted by GlennLewis

Buddy wants me to give it a new home, as in my home.
It's in very good condition, he doesn't know the year but says it's late 50's. Needs a little work as in cap job, retubing, and hopefully not much more.

What can I offer him without insulting him?

I'm doing the usual research, but certainly value the opinions of the cognoscenti (that's y'all) here at TDPRI.

thank you,

If it's a head and in blonde tolex, it is '61 - '63, not "late 50's".

I paid $1K for my '61 Bassman head ~3 yrs ago but the market was stronger then but, I prolly underpaid by a few hundred also. It's a little difficult right now to know exactly what the fair market value is.

All the best!

[macheesmo3]

One just went for around $700 on ebay( '64) , if it needs just a little work done to it I'd say that $500-$600 would be a fair offer and maybe as low as $400 if it is in rough shape .

[Bluesbob]

Offer $500 - a fair price for an amp of that quality. If he says, "That much?", quickly add, "but you pay for parts". If he says, "I think it's worth more", tell him you were just quoting the price we suggested!
The amp is probably worth $700 or $800 in good playable condition, maybe a little more. If it needs caps and other expensive maintenance, that would lower the price some. And if he's looking to unload it to a friend (who presumably will take care of it and use it), that lowers it some more.

[Dave Hopping]

Bassman amps came in blonde from '61 into '64,although the earlier ones command higher prices.JMHO,but it seems that original cosmetics,if they're good,or even not so good,are usually better off not being replaced.Original electronics in an amp that old will always need work as a matter of tone,safety,and reliability,if the amp is to be played.
I think that $7-800 would be a very good price for a rough-tolex/wheatstraw-grillcloth/dogbone handle Bassman head with clean original cosmetics.Slightly less for a later smooth-tolex/gold-sparkle grill cloth head in similar condition,slightly more for an earlier rough-tolex/oxblood grillcloth head.YMMV.
Three years ago I paid a buddy in trouble $1500 for a March '64 Bassman head and cabinet(smooth Tolex,gold sparkle grillcloth,non-original JBL D120F's) with original-but-pretty-beat-up cosmetics.It also needed a cap job,retube and some other electrical stuff.