{"product_id":"1952-fender-bassman-tv-front-tweed-1x15-vintage-tube-amp-w-jensen-p15n-early-production","title":"1952 Fender Bassman TV Front Tweed 1x15 Vintage Tube Amp w\/ Jensen P15N, Early Production","description":"Up for sale, a 1952 Fender Bassman \"TV Front\" 1x15 vintage tube amp in excellent condition and in perfect working order. Easily one of the very first examples of the Bassman amp ever produced (and possibly one of the earliest on record), this amp is a well-kept example, freshly serviced by our techs here at Mike \u0026amp; Mike's Guitar Bar to ensure optimal performance.Boasting serial number #0049 stamped on the chassis and matching the serial on the unusual (for a Fender) full schematic diagram that also purports a virtually unheard of EAF-6 circuit, the TV Front Bassman is practically prototypical in nature. Fender's first official bass amp, and arguably the first tube amplifier ever widely commercially available for use with bass, this Bassman has a unique split chassis, with the power supply and transformers mounted to the bottom of the enclosure, along with a distinctive ported back panel.Very, very few of these amps were made, with production estimated at around 100 units, and Fender would already be transitioning to its second generation Wide Panel version of the Bassman by late '52. At 26 watts, the Bassman was Fender's most powerful amp at the time of production, engineered specifically to reproduce the round, thumpy low end of its Precision Bass released the previous year. With impressively-sized Triad transformers and a pair of 6L6 power tubes, the Bassman has a rich, woody quality with a complex midrange character attributable in part to the octal preamp tubes. Historically significant and applicable for either a certain flavor of low wattage bass playing or thick, cutting electric guitar use, this Bassman is ready for stage and studio use.The circuit retains both original Triad transformers, with a number of original resistors in the preamp alongside a bevy of modern Jupiter capacitors that replicate the tonal quality and appearance of the red Astron \"dynamite\" caps used in early Fender circuits. The smaller electrolytics in the preamp have been replaced with high quality Spragues, and the power supply has been freshly recapped with Sprague Atoms. A three prong power cable has also been installed. The preamp, mounted to the top of the enclosure and connected in an unusual fashion via an umbilical, features simple Volume and Tone controls, with one original pot and one vintage replacement pot from 1965. The tube complement includes a pair of brand new properly matched Electro Harmonix 5881 (6L6GC) power tubes, along with a vintage \"coke bottle\" 5U4 rectifier and a pair of vintage RCA valves in the preamp.Inside the cabinet, the original schematic is intact and serialized, matching the small serial stamped on the chassis between the on\/off switch and fuse cap. The vintage-correct Jensen P15N speaker dates slightly later than the amp, with a 1954 date code on the edge of the frame, and is otherwise identical to the speaker originally furnished with the TV Front Bassman, featuring a clean deep green frame and original bell on the alnico magnet, complete with Jensen foil label and inspection sticker.The cabinet has been professionally retweeded in its lifetime, and the diagonal tweed has been applied in the correct pattern for a TV front amp. The tweed has naturally ambered and aged in the (presumably) decades since its application, consistent with the modest wear on the original faceplate, which retains the majority of its white silkscreen text, along with the original pair of chicken head knobs. The original leather handle is also remarkably intact, split at one end.","brand":"Fender","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43839704695040,"sku":"0049","price":5199.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/4437\/4714\/products\/medium_e1a25e00-51bf-4feb-98e7-0de9564557d0.jpg?v=1751496284","url":"https:\/\/mmguitarbar.com\/products\/1952-fender-bassman-tv-front-tweed-1x15-vintage-tube-amp-w-jensen-p15n-early-production","provider":"Mike \u0026 Mike's Guitar Bar","version":"1.0","type":"link"}