Vermoulian
Tele-Meister
I have a Bassman 50 and I never would have expected it, but at this point, if I could have only one Fender amp that would be it. I love how it sounds, and it breaks up nicely at a slightly lower volume than it's big brother, the Dual Showman Reverb. It was supposedly "blackfaced" before I got it but I have not thus far dug into it to figure out what if anything was changed in the circuit.
For me the perfect combination is the Bassman 50 through a huge late 60s Dual Showman 2x15 cabinet with JBLs, but that's not very practical for most people (although it's something to experience!). But a key thing to keep in mind is that the Bassman will be looking for a 4 ohm load, and that is not common with modern gear. It's easy enough to get by wiring two 8-ohm speakers (or four 16-ohm speakers) in parallel, but not many cabinets come that way. But rewiring for that is not rocket surgery. Some Marshall 4x12 cabinets have a switch that will let you select between 4 or 16 ohms when using the cab in mono.
A speaker that is not well-known but works great with the Fender heads set up for 4-ohm loads is a Celestion model called the G12T-100. This may or may not be what they now call the "Hot 100," but poking around now I'm seeing lots of them in 8 and 16 ohms. Some years back, however, Avatar was selling a 4-ohm version (that did not say "Hot" on it). I bought an Avatar 2x12 cab used that came with a pair of them, wired in series for 8 ohms. I pulled them out because I wanted to use the cab for some other speakers, but I put one of them in a 1x12 cabinet and used it with the Dual Showman Reverb, making that much more portable. I thought it sounded quite good. I've also used it with the Bassman with success. If you can find one, the 4-ohm G12T-100 will probably not cost much (at least compared to other Celestions) and can facilitate a cabinet that is much easier to transport.
For me the perfect combination is the Bassman 50 through a huge late 60s Dual Showman 2x15 cabinet with JBLs, but that's not very practical for most people (although it's something to experience!). But a key thing to keep in mind is that the Bassman will be looking for a 4 ohm load, and that is not common with modern gear. It's easy enough to get by wiring two 8-ohm speakers (or four 16-ohm speakers) in parallel, but not many cabinets come that way. But rewiring for that is not rocket surgery. Some Marshall 4x12 cabinets have a switch that will let you select between 4 or 16 ohms when using the cab in mono.
A speaker that is not well-known but works great with the Fender heads set up for 4-ohm loads is a Celestion model called the G12T-100. This may or may not be what they now call the "Hot 100," but poking around now I'm seeing lots of them in 8 and 16 ohms. Some years back, however, Avatar was selling a 4-ohm version (that did not say "Hot" on it). I bought an Avatar 2x12 cab used that came with a pair of them, wired in series for 8 ohms. I pulled them out because I wanted to use the cab for some other speakers, but I put one of them in a 1x12 cabinet and used it with the Dual Showman Reverb, making that much more portable. I thought it sounded quite good. I've also used it with the Bassman with success. If you can find one, the 4-ohm G12T-100 will probably not cost much (at least compared to other Celestions) and can facilitate a cabinet that is much easier to transport.
The old Marshall cab, loaded with it's original Celestions, might be my favourite- but Bassman heads aren't fussy about that, nor about impedance. (At least, for a little while).
