59 Bassman vs. Victoria 45410 ????
Spike
Any one fortunate enough to have checked these out?
Are they really that good?
I've only heard of the bassman, never listened to the amp
nor played through it. those of you that have and have
with the Victoria, can you tell me about it?
Pros and Cons?
Comparison and Contrast?
Geez, that just sounded like a high school writing assignment.
sorry bout that, but I'm sure it would be more fun though.
I can't offord the $3,000 + original, but an acquaintance
is needing cash and wants to sell his 45410 cheap.
PMG
wrote:
To be honest, I never played through any of Victoria's amps, but I did
have them rebuild my BF Bassman, so I was out at their factory a
couple times. It just blew my mind, when I dropped my amp off, there
was just the one guy there building the amps, I interrupted his work &
we talked about what needed to be done, & he filled out the stuff and
took the amp. When I came back to pick up the amp there was a second
guy working that day. Mark Baier wasn't there either one of those
days, but I talked to him on the phone a couple times.
What I'm trying to say, is this is a really small operation, and they
make their amps at a really slow pace. In my mind at least, there's
no doubt that they're made better than the original Tweed amps.
I bought a Tremolux years ago, and I'm glad I've got an original
Tweed, but if I was going after a Tweed Bassman now, I would go with
a Victoria. Look at it this way, you're not going to have to worry
about any electronic stuff having deteriorated since the '50s, and
when you lift the thing with that leather handle on the top, you're
not going to have to worry about it breaking, and you know it'll have
a 3 prong power cord for your safety. To me, Victoria's a much better
deal than an original Fender Tweed, it doesn't do most people any good
to own a museum piece.
Pete
--
Yeah, great is ok,
but amazing would be great! --Bender
Miles O'Neal
> Any one fortunate enough to have checked these out?
I wish.
> Are they really that good?
I've never heard anything but good. You'll notice these don't
turn up for sale too often. Even as small as Victoria is, if
they weren't up to snuff, word would get out, *and* the y would
all be for sale used, at far below what they go for.
-Miles
Ernie43801
the model number.... anyway, that amp is incredible. The tone is exactly like
the original... including all of the flaws of the original... such as the
rattling baffle, the low harmonic on the low "G" note... all the stuff that
give it the great character. It's a super quality amplifier. If you want to
hear what it sounds like, listen to Jerry Miller of Moby Grape. He's playing a
L5 Gibson thru an old Bassman.... that will give you an idea of a Gibson
Fatbody plugged into one. My guitar player plays a 335 (and has the 15" Jensen
speaker) but the tone is very simular.
Dan Bates
kaetae
One has a reissue bassman and the other has a Victoria.
They look much alike.
Since they are different players, different guitars and different styles
it
would be difficult to compare them exactly.
But I don't see enough difference in tone/volume to warrent a $3,000
price tag.
Pt
Miles O'Neal
The thing I like about the Victoria guy [1] is that
he's so honest. He tries to duplicate them *exactly*.
He asks, ``does it really make a difference whether I
use PTP or PCB, cloth covered wire or plastc, etc?"
He answers, ``I have no idea. That's how they did it,
and it sounded good, that's how I did it.'' No lies.
No mumbo jumbo. Just ``here it is, if you like it,
buy it.'' That was the thing that really grabbed me
teh first time I read his website. If I had the $$$
I'd buy an amp from him just to support that.
He's not ignorant, just recognizes that he has a lot
to learn. Go, Victoria guy!
-Miles, I'm horrible with names...
[1] Freud would love that one!