Fender Bassman Pro 100T 100W Tube Bass Amp Head Black

Prior to this amp, I had only considered Fender for guitar amps and instruments. This head changed my mind and honestly completely converted me. I heard some of the mixed reviews about the auto-biasing feature, but I haven't had any issues 6+ months into pretty regular use. I have it paired with the Fender Bassman Neo 115. Sounds so good that I ended up selling my Markbass rig because it ended up just collecting dust. The variable wattage switch is great for quieter practice by myself, but even at 25w, it's plenty loud. I would say my main complaint is just that you really do need to push it hard to get the best tone. I know that's common with any tube amp, but I feel like it's especially true of this amp. In other words, if you're just a bedroom player and can't turn up past 2, this may not be the amp for you. Anyone else, I think it's worth a try.

The Fender Bassman 100T is a great amp. In short: great and versatile tone, good tube power, tube ?hassles? reduced, relative light weight, and vintage looks. The passive tone stack only reduces a freq. band, but can sound ?vintage? round and nice. The active tone stack allows for boosting and attenuating frequency bands, which suits more modern styles, including clean or adding some crunch. Most tube amps have one or the other preamp stage, limiting your tonal possibilities, which is great is you like that specific tone. But the Fender 100T has both so it is quite versatile. The output volume of each stack can be set individually, so if a boost is needed, you can switch by foot to the active channel to boost. Since it is all tubes, and offers 100 tube watts, it is plenty loud for small to medium gigs, especially when paired with a 410 cab that can move some decent air. With the 25/100 W switch it is pretty versatile as it lets you reduce output power while driving the power amp the same, and not change the character of the tone. A full power amp without attenuating circuit (say 300W) will sound different at varying volumes, the 100T sounds consistently well with a range of volumes. The amp does however create some RF noise, which may being picked up by passive bass pickups, especially when close by. When moving 3 ft away, the RF is much less and is is not a problem, certainly not in a gig situation. This being my first amp with power tubes, I did read up on the need have a technician bias tubes of power amps to make sure they operate within specification. But, the 100T has an automatic biasing circuit! Very nifty, no more tube anxiety! The led?s will tell you what the bias status is and when a tube is no longer good. Then, when the need arises to replace a tube, there is no requirement for matched quads as long as you have the amp bias itself. This feature will save you money on technicians and the added cost for matched tube quads. Meanwhile, you can drive speakers at 8/4/2 ohms (you need to select it) so there is quite a bit of choice on what speakers and combinations can be used. There are two ?? jack output jacks, but no speakon connector. I do not see that as a problem, unless maybe daisy chaining multiple cabs with a 2 ohm total impedance, but I do not plan on doing that. Both input channels seem to be well balanced volume wise and the passive channel has a nice vintage sound to it. I did not try anything but the stock 6l6GC power tubes, but the sound is quite natural and round, and does not have the harshness of some mosfet amps. Since tubes naturally compress there is also no need for an external compressor to prevent clipping. I understand that the amp is built in Mexico but it seems to be built with Fender quality. Tube sockets on the metal base take the load when inserting new tubes and should give years of trouble free operation. At 48.5 lbs the Fender 100T can easily be moved by one person, an advantage over heavier tube amps for sure! I am very pleased with the amp so far.

Within 48 hours, the amp failed. The jewel light went out, the cooling fan does not power up. No sound, but the tubes have power. All fuses are good. I was a little surprised that Fender's supposed "Pro Series" amp is manufactured in Mexico. This is not mentioned in any of the sales literature, but is stamp prominently on the box when you receive it. But before it failed, here are my impressions. The passive tone stack on the vintage channel does not really sound any better than my old Bassman 70 head. The "active" channel is really confusing - not technically, but tonally because it doesn't add any value other than drive - which is, if you're like me, something I rarely use and can get out of a $40.00 pedal. I look forwarding to returning this amp and getting my hard earned money back.