New tube combo from Fender

[Dave W]

And it involves Uwe's favorite bassist.

Fender joins forces with U2's Adam Clayton for its first ever signature bass amp, the ACB 50 combo

[Pilgrim]

Sounds fine, but $2199 retail for 50W, even if tube powered?  I wonder about that price point...and seems like most bass players are seeking a lot more power.  There's a reason that the old Bassman amps are considered to be guitar amps.  Of course, this has a balanced output to connect the FOH, so that bypasses the power issue for many bands.

For that matter the two channels ("Classic" and "Modern High-Fi") remind me of the Bass and High inputs on the old Bassman.

[Dave W]

You're probably right about the power. The price is probably not out of line, though. A new Bassman is $2000 now. Even the 12 watt Princeton Reverb is $1400.

[gearHed289]

50 watts of tube power can get pretty loud, and considering that this is a combo amp, might be enough. I like that they used a 15'' speaker. And 55 pounds isn't bad for a tube amp with a 15.

Ampeg makes a 50w all tube Portaflex, as well as a 20 watt. Street price for the 50 watt and a 1x15 flip-top cab is $1430.

[morrow]

That's probably the cost of labour , Ampegs are made in Korea.

[lowend1]

I have a hard time getting excited about this. First of all, Fender was never the standard bearer for bass amplification. As noted above, many found their voice as guitar amps. That aside, you can buy a clean SF Bassman for around $1k or so - a Traynor YBA-1 (or 1A) or Ampeg V2 for probably less. Finally, Ampeg is already doing the PF-20T and PF50T for the low-wattage and studio crowd. As for the elusive "midrange distortion", you can get that out of a pedal for under $100. Seems like the only people who MIGHT drop $2200 on this are U2 or Adam Clayton freaks.

[lowend1]

That's probably the cost of labour , Ampegs are made in Korea.

China, actually, I believe, and quality has supposedly improved under Yamaha's watchful eye. The Fender is made in Mexico.

[ilan]

It sounds like everything I don't like in a bass amp. 

[D.M.N.]

It's still a shame Fender buried Sunn. They own a lineage of what I'd argue are some of the best bass amps out there, and certainly miles ahead of anything Fender put out in that time frame. The could do modernized versions of the 200s and 2000s, DI equipped and what-not, simple, straight forward Bass amps instead of trying to do the modern Bassman thing. I'd prefer if they did proper, PTP handwired reissues, and market it as their premium bass amp line, but alas...

[Dave W]

It's still a shame Fender buried Sunn. They own a lineage of what I'd argue are some of the best bass amps out there, and certainly miles ahead of anything Fender put out in that time frame. The could do modernized versions of the 200s and 2000s, DI equipped and what-not, simple, straight forward Bass amps instead of trying to do the modern Bassman thing. I'd prefer if they did proper, PTP handwired reissues, and market it as their premium bass amp line, but alas...

Sunn's iconic amps were toast long before Fender bought the company. That happened way back when the Sundholms sold to Hartzell and he started making solid state amps.

Fender's mistake was the same one made by many other companies in other fields: trying to revive a long dead brand. Granted, Sunn had never actually gone out of business, but they hadn't marketed guitar or bass amps for years. In the meantime, older players had moved on (myself included) and younger players didn't know the brand or its history, and really didn't care.

[lowend1]

Sunn's iconic amps were toast long before Fender bought the company. That happened way back when the Sundholms sold to Hartzell and he started making solid state amps.

The solid state Concert and Coliseum Bass were not bad amps on their own - they had a pretty visible presence on stages throughout the 70s.

[Dave W]

The solid state Concert and Coliseum Bass were not bad amps on their own - they had a pretty visible presence on stages throughout the 70s.

True, they were good in their time compared to most other SS amps, but I can't imagine anyone including them among Sunn's iconic amps.