FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Bassamp was the first amp produced by Ampeg beginning in 1948. It was originally designed to provide amplification for upright string basses that used Ampeg's original string bass pickup known as the "Ampeg," hence the origin of the company's name. The Bassamp underwent various changes before being discontinued around 1960. Each modification was denoted by a corresponding change in model number with the first being the pre-Ampeg Michael-Hull Model 770 (1946) and the last being the Model 835 (1958). Until the late 1960s, Ampeg's bass amplifiers were better suited for bass compared to those made by other manufacturers whose bass amps were generally better for guitar. The Bassamp was discontinued by 1961 due to the introduction of the B-15N Portaflex amp in 1960 which proved to be a far superior bass amplifier. The amp shown here has a vinyl covering color that was short lived. This baby blue "random flair" vinyl appeared in mid-1958. According to Jess Oliver, former Vice President of Ampeg, this covering was transitional between the earlier gray and/or tan bookbinding coverings, and the navy "random flair" vinyl that was used from late 1958 to mid-1963. The Bassamp series, like the Guitaramp and Accordiamps series, used a split chassis design which separated the preamp section from the power amp section of the circuit.

 Power Amp: Tube; 2 x EL-37, 35 watts RMS @ 8 ohms

 Preamp: Tube; 3 x 6SN7

 Rectifier: Tube, 1 x 5U4GB

 Speakers: 1 x 15" Jensen P15N

 Channels: 1; 3 inputs (Guitar, Electric Bass, String Bass)

 Effects: None

 Controls: Bass, treble, volume

 Dimensions: 21 H x 203/4 W x 131/2 D inches

 Weight: 51 lb

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