Another great vintage piece I bought in New Jersey was this Fender Bassman 1959 tweed and original cover! This vintage Fender amp toured extensively in its earlier days in the 1960s but hasn't been played much since them. I'm always a Fender amp buyer but I'm especially looking for clean vintage tweed Fender amps from the 1950s. You can contact me here to sell a Fender amp.
The original owner of this Fender Bassman 1959 amp reached out to me to sell this and his Fender Jazzmaster 1960 Blond from Woodbridge, NJ. Bobby played guitar in the legendary band The Viscounts in the late 1950s and 1960s. I was already in the Chicago O'hare airport waiting on my flight to Los Angeles after buying this Fender Jazzmaster 1963 in Sunburst. I was on my way to Los Angeles, California to buy this clean Fender Model 26 1946 amp and guitar, so instead of keeping my return flight, I rebooked my flight to Newark, NJ. I'm so glad that I did!
How to date a Fender Bassman?
Knowing how to date a Fender Bassman amp is important to establishing a value. Fender Bassman amps from about 1950 until 1960 featured a lacquered tweed style covering before the switch to the more rugged Tolex material. We can easily narrow down the possible range of years to between 1956 and 1960 since it also features the narrow panel front typical of those years. But the best way to date this Fender Bassman amp is by using the tube chart ink stamp.
Dating a Fender Bassman with the tube chart ink stamp is easy if you know the pattern that Fender used to identify them. The first letter indicates the year starting with "C" in 1953. The second letter indicates the month of the A through L. Check the picture below to date this Fender Bassman using the ink stamp "IA". I indicates 1959, and A being the first letter indicates January. You can learn more about how to date a Fender amp here.
Fender Amp Values
Vintage Fender amp values vary wildly based on exact year and model, originality, and especially condition. We know from the previous section that this is a January 1959 Fender Bassman. I checked inside the chassis and saw that it has had its original filter capacitors replaced but appeared to be original otherwise. The original tweed, speakers, and output transformer are the most important parts to a vintage Fender Bassman. We can also see that the amp still has its original Victoria Luggage cover which is another reason this amp is worth a bit more than similar amps without the cover.
The other thing that affects the value of large vintage Fender Bassman amps is the availability of shipping. Shipping a large Fender amp like this requires separating the chassis from the cabinet so that the weight of the chassis doesn't break the amp in shipping no matter how well it's packed. This seller was looking for where to sell Fender amps near me so that he didn't have to risk the safety of the amp in shipping. I was happy to come to him to buy the amp and booked a return trip via Amtrak train so that we didn't have to ship it.
