Up for sale, a 1965 Fender Bassman head in excellent condition and in perfect working order, freshly serviced and retaining a full vintage tube set. This vintage "Black Panel" Fender amp features the Pre-CBS “Fender Electric Instrument Company” text on the faceplate, and the AA864 circuit is the earliest and most coveted used throughout this era of production.

For clarity, warmth, and headroom, this Bassman excels at delivering sweet and articulate Fender clean tones. At around 5 on the volume dial, the amp begins to overdrive smoothly and compress a bit, for a raw, thick sound that's perfect for guitar or bass. It's a simple and pure vintage Fender "piggyback" head that provides a perfect platform for effects pedals, ready for stage and studio use.

The circuit features Schumacher transformers that date to the 37th week of 1964 (power) and the 5th week of ‘65 (output), along with original Stackpole pots which also have date codes spanning late 1964 to early ‘65.  The preamp retains the majority of the original blue molded Ajax capacitors essential to the sweet, musical tonal color of Fender's golden age circuits. The preamp features new small electrolytic caps and the power supply has been freshly recapped with high quality F&Ts. A three-prong power cable has also been installed.

The tube complement includes a pair of matched RCA 6L6 power tubes, with vintage valves from the likes of Amperex, General Electric and RCA in the preamp. The tube chart is present inside the head cabinet, with an “OC” stamp that translates to March, 1965 production.

The original smooth black tolex and silver sparkle grillcloth are intact and in great shape, with sparingly little wear. Hardware includes the original handle caps, corners, piggyback clip bars, and sphinx glides (feet).