Fender Bandmaster Head

68 silver face with Aluminum fram around grill cloth . It has ab763 but some one add two more power tubes and a Dual Showman out put transformer for 85watts! I guess they used the same chassis for both the band master and dual showman.

It is just a classic tonefull amp on it's own. Warm tone that lets your guitar stand out.I run into a Marshall 8ohm 4x10 cab with jensen's p10r and celestion's G10L35 .Also a Carvin 2x12 8ohm cab with 70 watt British speakers . I'll use both cabs or just one of them depending on the gig. I play a Epiphone 335 with Seth lovers , a Nashvill tele and a Schecter Banshee.Efffects I some time use are volume pedal ,OCD ,Budda Wah and a fuzz face I made. This amp sounds goldden on it's own with out effects. The vibrato is warmer and quiter than my Super Reverb RI. Over all it is very quit even at high volume. I real like to pushing the amp with out pedals but a fuzz face or a OCD in front with the Bandmaster volume turn up to 6 is an experience .

41 years young I hope it holds up

I have been playing for 22 years and gig most of my life and this is one of the best amps I have ever own . I would cry if something happen to it.

Mine is a 66 with the ab763 circuit. This is kind of a rediculous catagory. This amp features awesome tone. I do wish that it had reverb. saying that, I don't even miss reverb the tone is so good.

This amp is very quite. Clean it's obviously great. I play all kinds of music except really heavy stuff. If you play old Metallica this is not the amp for you.
It does'nt sound good with heavy metal type gain. I use an old cheap Boss overdrive pedal on it and on the right settings,it blows away my marshall jcm 900 for 70's style rock sounds hands down, seriously!

bandmasters are reliable. not as reliable as pre-80's marshalls but what is?

fender is ok

for 300.00 bucks! you gotta be insane not to try one of these if you like great tone and if this is your price range. This was fenders most popular amp for schools and church's back in the day so there are quite a few of them around. keyboard players used them alot too. showmans, bandmasters, and concerts are fenders all around plug and play amps. These things are never the less really good amps.

This is a 1963 Fender Bandmaster.These amps are the ones they call blackface sound.These are what the fender amp sound of the early 60s is all about.Has two 6l6 power tubes.Three 12ax7s and one 12at7 for the phase inverter.They rate at 40 watts.And these amps are a very,very loud 40 watts.This amp has had the electrolytics caps replaced once,not to long ago.And is in new working condition.These amps are very,very warm sounding.I play mine through a EVM 15L SERIES 2 Speaker.I have had this speaker for about 25 yrs.And the amp since 1974.They make a great team.You have not really captured the sound of these amps until you hear it through a vintage 15 inch speaker like this.Very full sound,each note full and warm.Very solid notes.Very powerful sound.The amp has two channels,normal and vibrato.It has volume,trebleand bass controls.The vibrato has a speed and intensity control.

I use a 2000 Fender American telecater,A custom Fender Strat,and a 1968 Gibson ES-335 with this amp most of the time.In my opinion this amp should sound good for any kind of style.You do not need the mid control.When Leo fender designed these amps,the mid setting the he pre set is perfect for everything I have played through it.And since it does not have reverb built in ( this was made before reverb was added) I use a little reverb stomp pedal and it sounds great through this amp.I used this amp at small events as well as large events,several thousand people.And right beside a heavey drummer.And it has enough to umph to compete.These amps are the classic blackface tone.

I have used this amp since 1974 and only had one cap job done.So what does that tell you.I would say I should know by now.

Have not dealt with them.

I have been playing for several years.I also own a 1971 fender twin reverb that I recently did a cap job on and blackfaced it.And I own a 2001 fender hot rod deluxe.I have other amps and instruments but I will only mention the ones that fit this review.In my opinion,the 63 bandmaster out performs the hot rod and twin reverb.This is one of Leo Fenders best amps.It has the classic fender warm tones,very full sound.And this amp sounds great with very little adjustments.Basicly hook up a good guitar,a good quality reverb,and go.As a matter a fact,some times I am tempted to use no reverb.This amp sounds fantastic with no effects at all.A lot of the newer amps like the line 6 and such,you have to turn every knob on them to try and get a good sound.And then its a weak,dull thin sound.I know,I have tried thewm on several occations.But the black face amps like the bandmaster are hard to make sound bad.The is just automaticly in them.

1965 Blackface model, AB763 circuit. I'm into every style of music other than music for modern television and commercial radio's sake. This is THE classic "Black Face" tone that all the rich collector-types are always blabbering on about. I couldn't really justify adding any more 'features' other than spring reverb; it does EVERYTHING an amplifier could/should do for a guitar, and does it perfectly.

I use Jazzmasters & a Gretsch thinline guitar with the Bandmaster. I play MY style of music, which it suits perfectly - but if you're looking to cop the actual blues/motown/rock'n'roll/surf tones, it's definately the sound you've heard on those most classic of recordings. I'll give it a 10 for "the Fender sound,' which it IS. I've had the opportunity to play nearly all of the classic examples of Fender amps, from Brown to Silverface Era (my friend's a big collector), and really don't believe there's much difference in 'Tone' at all between similar models: these are mostly variants in cap values, transformers and, definitely, speaker model. My collector friend has all these tweeds, browns, and about 5 Super Reverbs sitting, stacked neatly, against a wall and keeps plugging in to his cranked '66 Bandmaster through a 4x12 Marshall cab!

These ('60s Fenders) are probably the most reliable amps ever made. Everything good deserves a little TLC.

Fender is long dead in my opinion.

I've been playing for twenty-some years now. If it spontaneously combusted, or some douche bag stole it, I wouldn't hesitate to pick up any black or early silverface amp from this era. I really despise the fact that middle-aged (see: rich) Stevie Ray Vaughn fans, and collectors, that have never learned to play their own licks, keep driving the price of these performance tools out of reach of the ones who can't afford them - those who invent & create MUSIC. Decent modern rock could benefit from using these quality sounds, instead of channel-switching, effect laden retardation- although, they're most likely hiding a serious lack of ear and practice behind those giant stacks of speakers and buttons........

mine is a 68 silverface. its very versitile as long as you dont play metal, it has two channnels and four inputs, i nerver use the second channel becuase i dont have a foot swittch, its a very simple amp.

i use a 1996 gibson the paul II with 57 classics and it sounds great cranked. its sounds like billy gibbons meets srv with some jazz mixed in. the bass is nice and sounds great with a little fuzz and wah. if you use a high gain pedal it sounds horrible, dont do it.

ive had it for a few years and had no problems. ive run it hard but it stays strong. but it is also 40 years old so u never know.

i love it, if some one stole it i would **** them. i love the clean and fuzzy sounds it makes.

This is just your basic 1967 Fender two channel amp, 'normal' and 'vibrato' (tremolo actually). Bass and treble, no midrange pot. Does have bright switches for the humbucker users. Tubes are 2 x 6L6 and 3 x 12AX7 + 1 x 12AT7. These non-reverb heads are in-phase so you can jumper channels. Or, you can mod a channel for more gain and A/B/Y them. Also, the older model chassis are punched out for four octals, so if you want you can plop a Super-type power transformer in and run a tube rectifier. The earlier blackface heads are less than 24 inches wide and weigh little, so they are airline carry-on friendly. The tone stack looks to be the same as a BF Bassman, yet this amp sounds nothing like a BF Bassman, even though it uses the same power transformer. The output transformer is much smaller though. It's a single tap - 4 ohms out - so you're kinda limited to a two-by cab there.

I am using this head with a home-made '50s Telecaster clone w/ single coils and series switching as well as a '92 Epiphone Sheraton II w/ low-wind humbucker pickups. I have a small home-made 2x10 semi-open cab with two ceramics in it (Emi Cajun and ToneTubby).

The stock Bandmaster is an interesting little beast. To me, it sounds kinda like a little mini-Super more than a bigger Deluxe. It stays clean right on up past a Deluxe, then only has the smallest hint of breakup at full tilt. And, the breakup is a smoother, more compressed distortion than you would get from a Deluxe. It's kinda like you had a Super that only went so far on it's dial. Anyway, notwithstanding the SS rectifier, it does the Fender clean thing VERY well and has plenty of headroom for club gigging with a full band, but it's definitely not a rock sound, more of a blues players amp I guess. I always play this amp w/o the bright switch on, bass at about 3-4, treble about 6-7. Set up that way it's a very warm and pleasant clean tone.

Easy, easy, easy to work on with all that room inside the chassis. Not a whole lot to go wrong other than the pesky tremolo and it's optoisolator.

I've been playing and tinkering with amps for the better part of 40 years and have either owned or built most all of the Fender amp circuits. If you are looking for a little more headroom than a Deluxe and don't need reverb, then the Bandmaster is the way to go IMHO. Considering that these can be had for $500 or less, they are IMHO a waaaaaaay better deal than other vintage Fender amps.

1965 fender tube amp,2 channels,tremolo,separate eq

this is one hell of an amp. Starts breaking up at about 3, it gives an amazingly rockin' overdrive!!!

I think this is a Class A amp,as it has a very.very warm sound. Tremolo and 2 channels. A powerful head ,quite light to carry around,compared to my Marshalls!

this is ABSOLUTELY one of the best amps I will ever have. I love my old Marshall too,but the Fender is a blast! I use an attenuator ,and I am able to squeeze the most powerful tone I have heard in years,with this fantastic amp! It has less bass and more brilliance than my Marshall,but it can still sound like an even warmer version of Angus's sounds. Amazing amp!

this one is definitely a keeper. I am always trying old amps,but this one blows my socks off. A great amp in all respects

My is a 1965 Fender Bandmaster head in very great condition, two channels, two inputs each (normal, -6dB), both channels with a bright switch, volume, treble, and bass control, the tremolo channel with speed and intensity. Have a pair of RCA 6L6GC N.O.S., two 12ax7 Sovtek and two Philips Miniwatt N.O.S. Play in a 3x10 Jensen Alnico Nitro-Cab !!!!!!!!!

This is a fantastic amp!!! The clean is amazing. Crank this amp and it starts to overdrive with an amazing warm tone. I play it with my '66 Fender Mustang : Fantastic!!!!!!!!!! I've Tone Tone Tone.......
I usually play it at around 5 on the volume, and the treble at 5 and the bass at 2. Of course, the Bright switch is activated. The Normal channel seems to have a bit more gain and darkness than the vibrato channel.

ok!!!

ok!!!

This is my first head amp. i've had a '59 bassman ltd ( great amp also!!!), orange ad-15, vox ac-15 2x10 ( fantastic amp!!), now i want play head and cab!!!
For my sound (melodic country blues, indie.)the Bandamster is perfect...i love is tone, i love the blackface tone, i love bandmaster tone!!!!!!!!! This amp is an INCREDIBLE value if you are searching for a blackface amp !!!

mine is a 1966 black face bandmaster
all original 2 channel normal/vibrato(trem)
everything is super clean about this.
plenty of power, it could contend in a band environment for live shows if its not loud enough just mic your cab.

great for all styles i mean its not made for shredding but if you want warm tone this thing has got it.

it doesnt have reverb, however you can pick up one of those sweet fender reverb units or even my holy grail work amazing with this. perfect for surf if you get your self some reverb to add.

little bit of hum, no more than any other amp ive had. actually id go to the length of actually saying its more enjoyable/less annoying hum than hi gain amps.
this amp make any guitar sound better. you can get crisp bright treble tones right up to creamy warm fat bass tones. i find the bass tends to be a little muttled through this amp. but it was the 60's this is the sound i hear on many records , its familiar, and i like it that way. i use this with my tele and strat and it sounds great.

around 4 i find you start to notice some break up, which sounds great not too much to muddy up the sound just enough to smooth everything into a nice lush wave of guitar tone.

i have this plugged in to my vox 212 cab. i mostly play indie psych pop/ influenced by all the 60's stuff. so this amp is perfect.

i havent had it long enough to run into problems, i mean its 40 years old and has come along this far fine, as long as its looked after it would be fine. no reason to distrust it. i mean if you gigging with tube amps first rule is keep some tubes handy.

warranty is long gone. great thing about these amps is they are easy to fix and are easy to get parts for. most amp techs familiar with vintage stuff can even diagnose your problem just by asking what kind of noise the amp is making. simple amps complex tone.

im 21 ive been playing for 12 years now. and this is pretty much the amp ive been wanting and never have gotten. ive tried my hand at marshalls when i was playing in punk bands in highschool, tried similar fender sounding amps but just wasnt happy. sure enough you get an amp 40 years old and doesnt have half the options of todays amps and your instantly gratified with the sound you are looking for.
if it was stolen id hunt the bastard down and kill him for it back. if i could get a second one id be in heaven. i like this amp alot, and im surprised more people havent been listed as using them.

ive become obsessed with reading stuff about this amp and learning about it. if you guys have any great stories or care to share your rig definitely do so. i like hearing what other people are using.