Fender Bantam Bass...How much should I pay?

Natstrat79 · August 14th, 2007, 08:22 AM

I've got a line locally on a Fender Bantam Bass amp. It still has the original foam speaker and fender cover and looks to be in great condition from the pictures the seller sent me. He said its been sitting for the last two years and it worked when he put it away in the closet but hasn't fired it up since and hes afraid to without having a tech look at it first. I haven't gone to check it out yet cause its about two hours from my house and I havent had the time to make the drive. The seller wants 450 which I think is way too high but he said hed accept a reasonable offer. What would be a good offer?

pbenn · August 14th, 2007, 10:15 PM

It's an interesting chassis configuration, with the two 6L6's and the tube rectifier. I've always wondered about these, whether they were solid pine or not, being 1970-1972 (Morrish) or 1969-1971 (Teagle and Sprung).

As a guitar amp, you're probably going to want to re-baffle and re-speaker. Are they an eight ohm output transformer?

The trouble is, that is a rare amp the way it is, and so ultimately worth bucks to a collector. The picture indicates it's in pretty nice condition.

To a guitar player, you'd just want the chassis, or possibly the chassis/cab. It's a little too big to put one 12" in there. And $450 is IMO too much for some of the parts.

Natstrat79 · August 15th, 2007, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbenn

And $450 is IMO too much for some of the parts.

Thats why I am having a hard time assigning value to this amp. As is its useless for guitar or bass and its not really even collectible either. Basically Id be buying it as a project to hotrod since it could easily be made into a blackface pro or something similar with a single 15" or 4 10" speakers. So I guess I have to decide how much a chassis, cabinet, and transformers are worth to me.

dean · August 15th, 2007, 07:38 AM

I just checked the 2002 edition of the Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers (Fjestad), and they list the value at $425-500 in Excellent condition and $350-400 in Average shape.

The 2007 Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide lists them at $450 in Low Excellent condition and $650 in High Excellent condition.

I think the main factor in the value of these amps is the speaker. If it were me, I'd buy the amp (if the speaker was totally intact) and build a new baffle for a 12" or 15" speaker. If the speaker is in good shape, I'd immediately "archive" it - apparently, it's almost impossible to find one of those speakers that is in original shape. And since the value seems to be going up, I don't think I'd do much hotrodding to it other than normal maintenance - at least not anything that couldn't be reversed.

Looks like a cool find - a 50 watt vintage Fender amp for under $500 - that's getting to be rare.

Good luck,
Dean

Natstrat79 · August 15th, 2007, 06:10 PM

Thanks dean thats just the kind of information I was looking for.

pbenn · August 15th, 2007, 06:48 PM

Although....

According to both Morrish and Teagle/Sprung, it only has one 7025 per channel. If it is the same chassis width as a SF Bassman head, the extra space is being taken up with the tube rectifier. Without the third gain stage on one side, it is going to sound like a Bassman with two "weak" or "Normal" channels.

Yes, you're right; you could daisy chain it easily, so I suppose that negates my point.

If you did wish to add a second preamp tube ("Dumble mod" it -- is that term still current?) you would have to crowd the airspace between the tubes in the preamp section and this is a recipie for an amp that, while dramatic at first, gets way too hot in about an hour and a half and pulls in a radio station quite loudly.

So I agree with Dean about leaving it stock, suggest it may be good to jumper the channels, and like his 15" conversion idea a lot.

pbenn · August 15th, 2007, 08:02 PM

Or maybe I'm a total fool, never having seen one, and they're exactly the same chassis as a piggyback, just with a blank-off plate for the second preamp tube on the left side.

The only unreversible mod with a chassis like that would be removing the blanking plate?

Natstrat79 · August 16th, 2007, 06:31 AM

The chassis and cabinet are the same dimensions of a super reverb so theres actually a lot of real estate in there to do pretty much anything you could ever want. I had thought about adding another 12ax7 and doing one channel as a tweed bassman and the other blackfaceish. Now I dont know if id want to change it that much even. I might feel bad about drilling holes for another tube socket.

August 14th, 2007, 08:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
Natstrat79 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 126	Fender Bantam Bass...How much should I pay? I've got a line locally on a Fender Bantam Bass amp. It still has the original foam speaker and fender cover and looks to be in great condition from the pictures the seller sent me. He said its been sitting for the last two years and it worked when he put it away in the closet but hasn't fired it up since and hes afraid to without having a tech look at it first. I haven't gone to check it out yet cause its about two hours from my house and I havent had the time to make the drive. The seller wants 450 which I think is way too high but he said hed accept a reasonable offer. What would be a good offer?

August 15th, 2007, 07:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
dean Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota Age: 60 Posts: 1,985	Some info . . . I just checked the 2002 edition of the Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers (Fjestad), and they list the value at $425-500 in Excellent condition and $350-400 in Average shape. The 2007 Vintage Guitar Magazine Price Guide lists them at $450 in Low Excellent condition and $650 in High Excellent condition. I think the main factor in the value of these amps is the speaker. If it were me, I'd buy the amp (if the speaker was totally intact) and build a new baffle for a 12" or 15" speaker. If the speaker is in good shape, I'd immediately "archive" it - apparently, it's almost impossible to find one of those speakers that is in original shape. And since the value seems to be going up, I don't think I'd do much hotrodding to it other than normal maintenance - at least not anything that couldn't be reversed. Looks like a cool find - a 50 watt vintage Fender amp for under $500 - that's getting to be rare. Good luck, Dean __________________ "I used to be clueless, but I've turned that situation around 360 degrees."

August 14th, 2007, 10:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
pbenn Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Age: 52 Posts: 562	It's an interesting chassis configuration, with the two 6L6's and the tube rectifier. I've always wondered about these, whether they were solid pine or not, being 1970-1972 (Morrish) or 1969-1971 (Teagle and Sprung). As a guitar amp, you're probably going to want to re-baffle and re-speaker. Are they an eight ohm output transformer? The trouble is, that is a rare amp the way it is, and so ultimately worth bucks to a collector. The picture indicates it's in pretty nice condition. To a guitar player, you'd just want the chassis, or possibly the chassis/cab. It's a little too big to put one 12" in there. And $450 is IMO too much for some of the parts.

August 15th, 2007, 06:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
Natstrat79 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 126	Thanks dean thats just the kind of information I was looking for.

August 15th, 2007, 06:48 PM	#6 (permalink)
pbenn Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Age: 52 Posts: 562	Although.... According to both Morrish and Teagle/Sprung, it only has one 7025 per channel. If it is the same chassis width as a SF Bassman head, the extra space is being taken up with the tube rectifier. Without the third gain stage on one side, it is going to sound like a Bassman with two "weak" or "Normal" channels. Yes, you're right; you could daisy chain it easily, so I suppose that negates my point. If you did wish to add a second preamp tube ("Dumble mod" it -- is that term still current?) you would have to crowd the airspace between the tubes in the preamp section and this is a recipie for an amp that, while dramatic at first, gets way too hot in about an hour and a half and pulls in a radio station quite loudly. So I agree with Dean about leaving it stock, suggest it may be good to jumper the channels, and like his 15" conversion idea a lot.

August 15th, 2007, 08:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
pbenn Tele-Holic Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Age: 52 Posts: 562	Or maybe I'm a total fool, never having seen one, and they're exactly the same chassis as a piggyback, just with a blank-off plate for the second preamp tube on the left side. The only unreversible mod with a chassis like that would be removing the blanking plate?

August 16th, 2007, 06:31 AM	#8 (permalink)
Natstrat79 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 126	The chassis and cabinet are the same dimensions of a super reverb so theres actually a lot of real estate in there to do pretty much anything you could ever want. I had thought about adding another 12ax7 and doing one channel as a tweed bassman and the other blackfaceish. Now I dont know if id want to change it that much even. I might feel bad about drilling holes for another tube socket.