help identifiying fender bass head

**Baderup99** · 03-22-2007, 04:00 PM

OK there this bass head at my church. this is all the info i know. It's a fender head. On the back it says Fender 100B or fender 100 bass. model no. 1001852.

Also it was being used with a Vox Cab Model V418, 4 ohms. Made by Thomas Organ Co. Westminister

That's all the info I have on both of those pieces. Anyone know anything about any of it? Thanks!

**Davedog** · 03-22-2007, 05:33 PM

It is what it says it is. That is a Fender Bassman 100. Its nominally 100 watts, all tube, and was made starting in the seventies. It probably has a 'silver face' with turquoise letters. The cabinet is a made in USA Vox and the head for it would have been a solid state around 100 watts. It could be as old as the late 60's. If I remember , the 418 cabinet has an 18" speaker...but dont quote me on it.

Both should sound very good as far as tone but will not be a lot of power. Probably plenty for the gig they're on.

Why do you ask?

**Baderup99** · 03-22-2007, 05:47 PM

they are at my church and havnt been used probably for like 10 years so they just collect dust. And I can probably get them

So how much do you think they are worth?

**Baderup99** · 03-22-2007, 06:22 PM

Ok so I had my mom check it out cuz she works at the church, and she told me that it doesnt say fender bassman anywhere on the head. Do all bassmans say bassman? She said it only had Fender 100B

**moonbaby** · 03-23-2007, 06:12 AM

The amp head sounds like a newer vintage solid-state amp-all black, like the Rumble, which at one time was designated "100-B". The silver-faced Bassmans that I have seen were the Bassman 50 and 70, and the SUPER Bassman 100 and 135. These are, like DD said, a tube amp, easily ID'd by looking into the rear of the chassis. But you need to investigate this, because if it IS a silver-faced Fender amp, they can be a real gas and relatively cheap to own. Modding them out makes them a screamin' demon for guitar, too. Been there, done that.
The Vox Westminister was the larger bass cab from "Tommy-Vox" (the other being the Essex). It had an 18" Goodman speaker, and is to be avoided at all costs. The Thomas Organ-manufactured Vox gear was pretty much crap, even in those days, and the Goodman could barely reproduce a fart, much less a musical tone. Attempting to replace the speaker in that cab may prove futile, as most of the Tommy-Vox cabs had particle board baffles that crumble from age. Can you say "boat anchor"?

**Baderup99** · 03-23-2007, 07:19 AM

thanks for the info moonbaby, I'm going down today to look at them and ill get some pics, i had my mom relay the info to me over the phone so i never got a change to actually look at them but the second i see the fender ill know what it is. thanks

How old is that vox cab do you think?

**moonbaby** · 03-23-2007, 11:50 AM

Dave was correct- it was probably made in the mid-late '60s. Around 1970-71, I had a couple of Thomas Organ Vox amps (a Royal Guardsman Reverb Twin and an Essex bass amp) that I had acquired used. Maybe I was a bit hard on the criticism of the cab. After all, I STILL have the Essex cabinet that I gutted the crappy electronics out of and re-loaded a 12" Celestion GB and a 10" Eminence Li'l Buddy into it. It makes a great-sounding studio cab with any head. But it IS uglier than the devil and SHOULD be a boat anchor :lol: With the exception of the front baffle, the cabinet is hardwood and well-machined.
BTW, ask your mom if the cab is in a chrome stand/w casters. I believe the Westminister had this (my Royal Guardsman did). This was a fancy chrome stand that surrounded the cab like a "cage", and was attached to the cabinet on its' sides, near the handles. You could tilt the cab up or down to "aim" the sound. Pretty neat feature, and that REALLY adds to the value of the cabinet, because many of them are missing. Anyway, the cab alone might be worth $100.00 if its in clean condition, the stand could easily double or even triple that! Let us know...

**Baderup99** · 03-23-2007, 11:58 AM

Hi moon baby i dont know how to post pictures can you help me?
yes it does have the chrome stand with casters. i took some pics but dont know how to post them[/img]