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Old 05-20-2016, 04:10 PM
John Cubbage John Cubbage is offline
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Join Date: 04-22-2016
Location: North Carolina
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Default Bass Amp History

Maybe it will be interesting for start a thread that will discuss and record information about various developments in bass amplifiers.

I got started wit bass guitar and bass amps in 1959 and later worked in a large music store in Red Bank School of Music which later became Red Bank Music. It was owned and operated by Seymour (Sy) Lowy and his wife Carolyn. They were located in Red Bank, New Jersey (U.S.A.).

My first experience with bass amps was when I began playing the bass guitar in 1959. I was taking lessons at the above music school / store. My first bass guitar was a Magnatone - solid body, sunburst, white pick guard, maple neck, which had round wrapped steel strings. I tried out two different bass amps which were the following:

1959 Fender Bassman - It was a one piece with a tube amp, had four 12" Jensen heavy duty bass speakers, two channels, and was covered in a tan and brown tweed fabric with a dark brown woven grill. This is the amp that I ended up purchasing and used until 1986, when I sold it in Fayetteville, NC. It was a fine and dependable piece of equipment and I used it in combos, in recording studios in NYC, and sometimes in pops concerts with the North Carolina Symphony.

The other bass amp I experienced in 1959 was a Magnatone Bass Amp. It was a tube amp, one piece, I think it had one huge speaker, and was covered with dark brown fabric. It was about as long and tall as a teacher's desk in school but was not as deep. I just couldn't see moving it around, so I chose the Fender Bassman.

Maybe we can record other historical facts about bass amp development. Feel free to pile on!

- Dr. C.

Last edited by John Cubbage; 05-21-2016 at 12:15 PM. Reason: Small addition of information
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