Fender Bandmaster Head

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.

I love this amp. It has a sweet clean tone and a good natural overdrive. Mine is a '64 that I've had modified. I upgraded the output transformer to a Bassman type and added a tube rectifier and 4/8 ohm speaker switch. I play it though a Marshall 4x12 with 25 watt Greenbacks and it sounds loud and proud. The tremolo on this thing is absolutely awesome, just as good as any Blackface Fender should sound. I highly recommend the Winged "C" 6L6 power tubes for that "glassy midrange" tone on these amps. My favorite guitar to play though this amp is a Danelectro 59DC so I can dial up that 1964 garage band sound!

I have 2. 1, 66 Blackface & 1, 68 Silverface.

I don't use the Vibrato, but it does sound OK.

These heads sound great with my Les Paul & LP Jr.
Most people would agree there's not too much difference
between the 66 & 68 Bandmaster. After 68 all of the Blackface era
Transformers & other parts were used up.

I think it's all in my head that the 66 might sound best. (who knows?)
I'll keep them both. I run these through a 2x12 cab with 1 Wizard & 1 Governor (Eminence). These speakers add a little midrange, but don't mess with the killer tone these amps put out.

40 watts of PURE TUBE TONE! 4 ohms.

40 & 38 years old, almost as old as me.
These amps can go for ever if you have a good amp tech.
A little check up once in a while & you'll have no problems.

Not the best, not the worst.

I've been in a band since I was 16 (over 27 years).
I have these 2 Bandmasters, 1 Traynor YBA-1 & a Sovtek Mig 50.
NO MASTER VOLUME on any of these amps. I've owned over 40 tube
amps over the years & only my Hiwatt Custom 50 was a great sounding
Master Volume amp (Peavey Butcher sounded OK too).

If you have a good sounding amp like a JTM, Bandmaster or Bassman put
a pedal in front of it for some extra Gain/Overdrive if needed. There are tons great pedal options out there. Spend some time & you will find your tone. What works as a stompbox for solo's may not work best to run in front of an amp.

I love these amps, they're so simple & have such HUGE TONE!

Our's is a silverface 1968. It is one of the '67-'68 ones that had alluminum trim around teh grille. It has 2 inputs on 2 channels. One channel is normal, the other is vibrato. For vibrato, you need the footpedal. I do wish the vibrato didn't need a footswitch to work though, for finding a RCA jack footswitch is a bit pricey for a 1 button switch. This amp is rated at 35 watts (?) I think, but sounds like 70 because it's tube. It has great tone and is a great tube amp.

We use a Mexican Fender Strat with American pickups and a Kent Teisco SG copy and this amp sounds great. There is no built in distortion, but we use a Boss DS-1 that sounds fine.

We bought the amp recently and it is out being serviced right now. I could probably depend on it, but would DEFINITLY bring a backup of some type.

I get my customer support from the local shop I bought it from, but if you're talking about the manufacturer, forget about it. Fender probably doesn't even know they made it.

If it was stolen, I would definitly buy another. I totally like vintage amps and out of my collection, this is the best. I love it's tone. Comparing to my friend's new Line 6 Spider II stack, this whips it's @#$%#. He even admits it.

This is a 1965 Fender Bandmaster head in wonderful condition, with one loose bit of Tolex in a corner and one abrasion to the Tolex on top of the head. I bought it almost two years ago with new Groove Tubes and new filter caps for 300 bucks, so I guess I got a pretty good deal. We all know the features of the amp, and over the years I have come pretty much full-circle regarding amplifiers; I started out playing through Fenders, then went for channel-swithching, effects-loop, multi-channel high-gain amps, both tube and solid-state, and I have come to the conclusion that I just need a good tube amp with no bells and whistles. Throw a few pedals in front of her, and away you go. I wish it had the coveted Fender reverb, of course, but I add reverb from a Zoom multi-effects, and for the most part just play dry, which has improved my playing anyway.

This is my first blackface Fender. I had previously owned a couple silverface Fender combos back in the early 80s, back when you could pick them up for 50 bucks. I finally understand all the hype about the blackface sound. While I believe the tone to be similar to my silverface fenders, there is a warmth to the tone, as well as a wonderful sag when hit hard or run hot that defines the tone. Who needs a midrange control when an amp sounds this good? I have had a tech put a pull mid-boost into the Trem channel volume knob, but I rarely need to use it. The first thing I did when I brought it home was to plug into a cab and crank it to 10 to see how it sounded dimed-it's a glorious sound!! I run it between 6 and 7 1/2 on stage, usually, and that's still pretty damn loud. I run a Boss GE7 EQ, a Tubescreamer and a Marshall Shredmaster in front, as well as a Zoom 707 11 multi-effects for reverb and modulation effects and boy, this amps sounds freeeegin' great! Easily the best amp I have ever owned, hands down. If you find one, buy it immediately. The Bandmaster is a great low-wattage amp for stage and studio use. And of course, they look cool.

Well, here we go; sometimes a review can't be all rainbows and sausages. If you own a 40-year-old amplifier, you know that reliability can be a major issue. If you haven't had trouble with an old amp, you've either been extremely lucky (Leo and the gang are smiling down on you) or the amp spends the majority of its time in your bedroom as opposed to on stage. Old amps will accasionally poop out, and sometimes, like my Bandmaster, they do so in mysterious ways. Mine is currently in the shop, as it's been a fuse-blower over the last couple months, and took a dive on me last weekend, fortunately during set-up. I've learned to carry a spare amp with me at all times in case such events occur, and not to be a Mopey Mikey if I have to play through an amp that isn't as wonderful as my Bandmaster. You should always carry spares of stuff like guitars, amps and effects with you anyway, you never know when your 300 dollar distortion pedal might fry on stage, even if it has the highest-quality parts. Shorts, power surges, and brown-outs happen, so be prepared. Boy Scout Rock 101.

I have yet to contact Fender regarding anything..they are such a behemoth of a company, would they even care if one of their 41-year-old-Bandmasters was still blasting away on stage?

I'm a forty-something musician, started playing when I was 16, at the end of the Carter administration. Since then I have owned various Fender, Marshall, Lab Series, Roland, Harmony and Peavey amps, tube and solid-state. This amp really brings me back to my youth, back to the first time I ever plugged into a Fender and went "Ahhhhhhh"(a silverface Super and an original TS808). I believe that good tone can be coaxed out of just about any amp, but these old Fenders have that wonderful, natural, full sound that make them plug-and-play devices. Even though I love Marshalls for their awesome tone, they can be extremely unreliable amps. I'll take my Bandmaster anytime. With a dirt box in front, it can be VERY Marshally, anyway. Fender and Marshall still seem to be the reference points after all these years. However, if you get a chance, pick up an old Fender, you will not be disappointed-just remember to have it serviced regularly. If I find another old Fender, I will most certainly buy it. I mean, come on, I paid 300 bucks for this amp. Would someone want 300 bucks for an old Marshall head? The Fenders are fantastic amps, and great deals can be found.

Mine is a 66 blackface...features like the other Fender BF amps...two channel...minus reverb.Simlpe yet effective in dialing in tone! Nuff said.

I got this one cheep (150.00)in 05. It was sporting two extra 6l6 tubes and a larger output tranny...someone wanted a twin!No wonder the guy could never get it to work right!I removed the tube sockets and replaced the trnny with an original one...changed caps and had a fine sounding amp!I have owned bunches of old fender amps and all the other great vintage tube amps...my favorites for the style of music I play are the BF Fenders! Bandmasters are good for 40 watts and start to break up at the magic 6 vol setting (like most bf's)...normal channel is a bit hotter and fatter sounding... the vibr channel is vioced a bit cleaner.Perfect vol for most clubs these days...and you can crank it without offending the ears!They sound GREAT period!Solid state rectifier...less sag and a tight punch!

They just keep on ticking...for 40+ years. Easy to sevice and parts are easy to find!

N/A

Can't live without the blackface circuit...reverb would be nive...but thats why you can still buy these under $500.00. Best value around other than the not well know garnet amps!

This is a mid-sixties blackface Fender Bandmaster head that I bought almost a year ago. Too bad the shop didn't have the 2x12 cab that went with it, oh well. I run it through a Peavey 4x10 cab with the Blue Marvel speakers. I sometimes wish that it had reverb, but I add that from a multi-effects unit when needed. Not the same as Fender reverb, of course, but, to tell you the truth having no reverb has taught me to play more precise. Someone had put Groove Tubes in her, and, boy, oh boy, do they add some zip!

I've learned over the years that I don't need four channels, two effects loops, etc. All I really need is a tube amp that likes pedals in front of it, and the Bandmaster loves O/D and distortion pedals, so a distortion channel from the amp is certainly not needed. At first I thought that the lack of a midrange control might be a hindrance, but, man, this amp sounds GREAT without one. When I first brought it home, I dimed the volume and wet my pants. Baby, what a tone!!! Since I obviously can't be cranked up on stage, I end up starting off at about 5 or 6 and bump her up to 7 after she's all warmed up in last set, too late for complaints from the band by that time(damn sneaky guitar players). It actually is just perfect for small to medium sized stages. This is my first blackface Fender, I've owned a silverface Bassman 10 and a silverface Super, and this amp, while sounding very close to those, sounds even better. NOW I get what all the hype surrounding blackface Fenders is about. I can finally get that semi-distorted O/D that I have always tried for, and with pedals, this amp sounds soooooooooooooo damn good, so classic rock..it is absolutely the best-sounding amp I have ever owned.

We're dealing with a tube amp, of course, so you can't throw it out the back of a pickup at 65 mph and expect no damage, so score one for Peavey transitor buzz-boxes on that point. However, the mid-sixties Fenders had fairly simple wiring and singnal paths, so finding and fixing any problems you may run into is a lot simpler task than most of today's amps. I use a tech who, if I end up bringing my Bandmaster in to him, will probably drool as he repairs, which is a far cry from what he used to say when I would bring my Peavey Classic 50 in("Is it that damn Peavey piece of $%^& AGAIN?"). This may be just my opinion, of course, but I think that old tube amps can be more reliable than transistor amps if you keep them maintained. And, of course, they BREATHE, unlike transistor amps.

Haven't had to contact them. They'd probably be happy to hear that a 40-year old amp is still screaming.

I've been playing 22 years now, most of them onstage. I've owned Peaveys, Kustoms, Lab Series, silverface Fenders, Marshalls, and various practice amps, and I think I have found the best amp I've ever owned. If stolen, I would cry so much that I would end up on Dr. Phil.
"I'm sorry about your loss, son, but you are just going to have to get over it.."

I have got a 64 blackfaced and beautiful bandmaster (head SND org. box), and it has anything you will need (treble, bass, vol and treble!!

People who want more can buy hughes n kettner or some other shit!(digital sucks..

I am playing gibson es 330, dif, strats (old and news), framus(60ies) and hopf saturn (hagstrom+++

It is sounding great!! Words cant say how great the sound of this amp is.. 10 is not enough!

Its working after 41 years (perfectly), so what should I say.. PERFECT!!

Thje Fenderguys are nice!! (but you willprobably never need em..

One of the best to find... (beside (or maybe over??) bassman and other fantastic amps..

I have two head and cab combinations. My ?65 head is all original, but the cab that came with it has new Jensen C12N?s. The ?66 head, although still in stock configuration, has had the output transformer replaced with a modern Mojo version. Its speaker cab has the original Oxford speakers. So, one original head, one original cab.

Basic features: two channels, two inputs each (normal, -6dB), both channels with a bright switch, volume, treble, and bass control, the tremolo channel, in the great Fender tradition, is labeled ?vibrato.?

The speaker cabs have tilt back legs, which are way cool, and the head has brackets that prevent them from sliding off. I like the head / cab combo as the individual pieces are not as heavy as a combo, and hence are a little more back friendly. On the other hand, it is bigger than a combo. Look at the size of vehicle you drive and consider this.

The ultimate in fat and smooth guitar amps. Works for both humbucker or single coil guitars. The bright switch is very usable and great tones can be found in either on or off position. The tone knobs swing you from smooth jazz to country twang. There is much less overall treble output than my Deluxe Reverb RI, and the Bandmaster never produces that ?ice pick in the ear? tone that we all know and love. Maybe the lack of high end would be a problem in some loud bands, but in general I think that more tone variations are available, all good, and it is more tempting to tweak the knobs for many different tones. It is not one of those ?must be just like this to get good tone? amps. In my experience the volume knobs have a lot more room to work with than most Fender amps. They come on smoothly at 1.5-2, but stay clean up to the 4-5 range. After that, grit is added quite slowly and smoothly. I think they are easier to setup and use because of this. But the down side is that they are not high gain amps and they don?t deliver as much high volume grit or maximum distortion as some amps from the same era.

It is easy to get good tones. With treble and bass at 5 it sounds great. Roll of the treble to 1 and it is a great jazz sound, smooth but not muffled. Treble is usable for me up to the 7 range but beyond that it starts sounding a bit strident. Because of that, this amp definitely has less tonal range than my Tweed Twin, my standard for wide ranging tone.

The tremolo is beautiful, like you have heard on many roots inspired records. You could justify the amp based on this alone if you don?t already have a traditional tremolo equipped amp.
The Bandmaster excepts pedals easily. It sounds great with Tube Screamer like overdrive / distortion and delay. That is all I?ve tried it with, since I usually play with no effects.

My two heads and two cabs sound incredibly alike, from which I conclude that these guys are fairly tolerant of repairs (supply filter caps, transformer replacement) and appropriate speaker replacements. BTW, my reissue Jensen speakers, which are designed to duplicate the original ?60 speakers, are darn good. Very few people could tell the difference between these and the originals.

These guys sound so good that you completely forget about your desire for reverb. You just don?t need it, as this amp you sounds great without it. It makes you sort of wonder whether reverb is only necessary on amps that don?t have the tone that these babies have.

Well, my ?65 and ?66 are still working great.

If I had had one of these earlier, it would of saved me a bunch of money on amplifiers. It is very good with my Strat, but it is absolutely unbelievably sublime with my Bluesbird. It is absolutely all you need to sound great.

Blackface Bandmaster heads are still the best vintage Fender deal around. These guys are way underrated, I guess because they don?t have reverb, but once you have one, you?ll wonder why you thought you needed reverb. At any rate, they cost of fraction of what other BF Fenders cost, and although they are different from Deluxes, Vibroverbs and Twins, on top of being extremely cool, they sound great. These amps are keepers. Once again: fat and smooth like you never heard before.

1968 (I think) Silverface Bandmaster 40-watt head with the original 2X12 cabinet. I know it's a vintage amp and it doesn't have all the features of a new amp, but my main problem with this amp is the previous owner disabled the vibrato and wired some wierd gain-boost switch into the intensity knob. So it's basically a one channel, clean, dry amp.

This amp has the clean fender sound that you hear about ad naseum. This amp has the warmest, most full sound of any amp I have ever played. Plus it really feels like an extension of your guitar. I have never played an amp that handled the subtleties of my picking dynamics like this one. The clean tone of this amp flat out rules. It also breaks up nicely and has the characteristic tube-amp overdrive sound. The bright switch is also a nice addition. I like to use it in combination with the bridge humbucker of my guitar (An Epiphone Dot), as it gives an produces a strat-like sound. This amp is suitable for just about any guitar and any style of music, but I wouldn't recommend metal, because high-gain distortion is not this amp's forte (you can get metal tones out of it with the bright switch and a distortion pedal, but that's not what you should buy this amp for.) The one complaint I have (other than the fact that it's sort of beat-up) is the amp tends to produce some noise when you use effects with it. The most egregious offender of the my pedals is the E-H Small Clone, but even that is manageble (it doesn't detract from the sound, but you can hear the oscillations from the chorus pedal when you aren't playing). Great great great amp.

I haven't had it long enough to judge its reliability, but the fact that it has survived since 1968 leads me to believe that I shouldn't have any issues with this.

No warranty (obivously) and I don't think I'll be calling up Fender if I need something done on this amp. I'm sure they really don't care about this amp anymore.

I haven't been playing guitar very long, nor have I had many previous amps (I bought this one after my solid-state Peavey died and the repairs cost more than I bought the amp for), so I'm not the gear expert, but in my opinion this is best amp out there for the money. It blows solid-state amps out of the water. This amp also sounds superior to some modern tube amps, such as the re-issue blackface Super Reverb that I tested agaisnt this amp. The only other vintage Fender I've played is a Bassman, and that amp just wasn't my style. Overall a great amp for the money.

blackface bandmaster between 64 and 67 year i guess

use it with strats ,stevie ray and american standard , lace sensers ,an of course texas specials

i think it is dependable,just replaced some tubes an got it a safe 3 prong cord an cleaned an sprayed good

of course no warranty ,its nearly 40 or possibly is.

overall rating is a 9 ,is so beautiful thick an really more sparkly sn chimey than any fender almost ,blackface stuff really rules , the most incredible loudest 40 watts , iaxed my friend who modded this thang , he said its stock,no mods,i played it through my vintage marshall 4 12 cab with the old vintage greenbacks 25,watts each an it was so rich but mostly might be as loud as my rare 2550 marshall ,another great amp ,this blackface actually was pushin sound an was painful,an beautiful at same time ,i think somethin is weird here ,so loud ,an i know i got my marshall an also engl ritchie blackmore 100 watt that aint never even been over half way up an you wont do it ,unless you 100 feet away wireless or so ,it will kill you ,but back to the little fender ,so spanky an twangy ,beautiful ringing cords , extremely sparkly on both bright ,wow an normal tone , great huge bass an less soft than some fenders , got more of a marshall engl amp bite ,which is good an still huge warm fender sound ,hey i play it om about maybe 3 or 4 on clean playin good size club ,great vibrato too ,got a blackface 68 twin puttin together nest ,even richer soundin than this little bandmaster ,man what else can you ask for ,but my engl is great an unusual character an engl amps are the best lookin amps ever made, fenders good ole blackface an silverface are so good ,so huge a different kind of loud , hey this an my bassman reissue loves my heavy metal pedal ,but ts9 tube screamer fits better.

1967 Bandmaster Blackface with taller 2x12 cabinet. My wife found this amp at a garage sale for $10.00. Yep, Ten Bucks. The guy threw in a vintage Thomas Organ CryBaby. The cabinet had major water damage and the cones were history. I have put several different speakers in it. Currently loaded with EV's. I had wood reinforced but did not repair covering. It looks like it has been dragged to every gig. Very cool vibe.

I tired of carrying around a buch of pedals etc and went to a Line 6 a few years ago. This is the amp that brought me back to tubes. The Normal channel is reworked to Marshall Plexi and vibrato channel is JCm800 wiring . The vibrato is gone It is now a mid and a master volume. This amp rocks. It never fails to lure other guitar heads out of the crowd to ooh and aah. All filter caps replaced, Mesa tubes.

It's been going for 36 years but I'm sure it will take a dive sooner or later. I always carry a spare. I'll keep this amp forever and try to pick up spares for parts. I need to take it back to my Tube guy and have it grounded as it has popped me a few times. My bass player said he saw a 1" spark jump across from my mic to my lips. Trust me, you do not want this experience.

I'm pretty sure it's out of warranty. :-)

I'm getting way from gadgets, no more digital for me. I've been playing for 20 years and have had tons of gear. I like this amp as much as any. This is a keeper. The collection consists of this 67' Bandmaster, a Marshall 25/50 halfstack and my used and abused line6 for backup/practice. Guitars are 71 Lespaul Deluxe Goldtop, 3 79' strats, 76 explorer, San Dimas Jackson, 80'? 335, and an Ibanez Axstar (like steinberger) Pedals are Keeley modified DS-1, TS-9, A TC Chorus, Boss compressor, Original Crybabys, one modded with true bypass and bass trim, . This Bandmaster setup is awesome and looks cool too. It has definately improved my playing .

This is 65' blackface Bandmaster head I recently purchased off ebay. when I recieved the amp one of the power tubes was arching and blew out a screen resistor within the first 15 min of turning it on. I thought I may have gotten duped. It already had some mods done to it, it features 4 6v6 ( instead of the original pair of 6L6 )power tubes and the other mods were just different value caps like to tighten up the low frequencies ( no farting)and different caps on the negetive feedback loop.( just to let it breath a little better. Well after a new balanced quad of 6v6's, new power caps, & repaired screen resistor, I had my amp tech to wire the 2 channels to work in series. I've been playing it for about 8 hours staight today.

this is where this amp shines, its got TONE. everything from clean fender sparkle, to dark fluid grind, all by by rolling the ol strat vol. knob, single notes just blossum and sound as big as a house. I'm playing this head through my old trusty Legend 2x12 cab (1 65w celestion and a 1 Naylor) And believe me people I've been through quite a few amps looking for tone this good ( marshall jcm800 Yamaha T100 with soldano slo mod, legend, bad cat, just to name a few. but I always kept coming back to my 68 blackfaced showman. Now it looks like my old showman has finally gots some competition. The distortion isnt over the top, chords still ring true, its just enough to be beautiful.

I've been playing my showman for 10 years. with no probs. After the trip to the amp tech, I have no reason to question its reliablility. Its a old school fender it will be around for a while.

I'll never need it.

I've been playing onstage for about 20 years, its what I do, its all I do. The 6v6's give it a different flavor more like a deluxe on steriods. and very loud, it will hold its own against my 100w showman. Plenty of grind, even without pedals. It dont make sense paying thousands for the lastest boutique amp, when an old $400 fender will put it to shame. For anyone thinking of buying a new amp, DONT, get yourself an old fender head, they are point to point wired and they never die. Theres tons of mods you can get done and you can make it sound the way you want. and when you get it right. Nirvana

1965 Blackface Bandmaster with a normal and a vibrato (actually tremolo) channel, volume, bass and treble controls, fixed mids, no reverb, speed and intensity controls on the vibrato channel and an RCA footswitch jack to switch vibrato on and off. A pair of 6L6GC tubes put out 40 watts of power, which is always more than enough even on a 50-foot stage. I like the sound of it on 10 so I use a Power Soak to control the actual volume. I bought the head together with the original cab, which is a closed back 2X12" with the original Oxford speakers in it.

The pickups on most of my guitars are single-coils (Fender Telecaster, Rickenbacker 320 and Danelectro U2) and they all sound surprisingly rich and fat through the amp. Gibson Les Pauls and Explorers tend to get slightly muddy and overcompressed in the low end but sound pretty cool as well. Even on 10 with single-coils the amp is still a bit clean-ish so I made a booster and use it as a distortion. My band Stone Dogs (stonedogsmusic.com) plays kind of a blend of Nirvana and Teenage Fanclub and the sound I get both live and in the studio is amazing and the variety of sounds I can get with those minimal controls is amazing as well.

This amp is nearly twice my age and I gig with it all the time and it's still in perfect working condition. I trust it.

No idea.

I love this amp to death and if it ever got stolen I think I'd have to track it down 'cause I don't know where I'd find another one. In fact the guy at the store that sold it to me has offered to buy it back several times. Fat chance. You can check out the rest of my gear at stonedogsmusic.com.

66 Bandmaster I replaced tubes and this amp sounds wonerful. I installed it in a cabinet made in Tenn. USA with 2x10" Celes. Silver Ser.
A digital reverb is used inline and low and behold it's darn near like my 66 Vibrolux. Good for all styles. works very well with Line 6 POD on Normal channel.. clubs only..I use Line 6 for all session work and some concert

All guitars and pickups are duplicated well with the Bandmaster. As you know tone emminates from your hands. Like any old Fender/tube amp it's noisy (less when re-capped). When Vol is set for 7 or higher the 30 Celes speakers breakup nicely. The amp is best for a Robbin Ford/ Stevie Ray sound. Country hot guitar sounds are great too with this amp.

66 Bandmaster is very reliable.
Any device 37 years old that still works well is amazing.

This can be fixed by most any user or friend with experiance

I've been playing for 39 years (everything.)
I suggest considering the idea that good tone can be had with any amp and guitar combo..ANY.. Tone begins in your hands..
For my money.. the line 6 POD into a good amp/speaker is the best gear for any guitar tone.

1966 Blackface Fender Bandmaster head,black Tolex covering,Silver/Blue grille cloth which is possibly unoriginal and from a silverface model,40w,four channels (unswitchable,1 quiet input and one loud input on both Normal (dry) channel and Vibrato (trem) channel,gorgeous fender amp trem,the only downside to this is it has no reverb but I like to play dry so I'm not fussed.

I use this amp with a '96 PRS CE22 and a '01 Fender Telecaster '72 Thinline reissue.I play modern original accessible rock music with my band Candlefire. This is a fantastic amp,I run it alongside my Hiwatt Custom 100 stack (see the Hiwatt section for my review on that) with the guitar signal split between both amps and both running simultaneously. The Bandmaster adds gritty,low mid/bass heavy clean sounds to my mix and transforms my dirty rhythm and lead sound into a great big majestic wall of racket,it is perfect for what I use it for. I run a Mesa/Boogie V-twin preamp/distortion pedal in front of my amps which I use for all my dirty sounds,and I run the Hiwatt very clean (almost impossible to do otherwise,it's the cleanest,loudest amp on the planet,forget your Twin Reverbs,this is the real thing!) and the Bandmaster a little hot,just above #4 on the volume,which with the high output of the PRS makes for some crackling,gritty clean which sexes up the Hiwatt very nicely. The Bandmaster is a classic,simple vintage valve amp,turn it up to wail,turn it down for clean. The breakup and overdrive sounds are wonderful,warm and thick sounding and,dare I say it,very un-fenderish to my ears. I owned a silverface Dual Showman 120w combo for ages and although the clean was lush,when you cranked the preamp it just generated metallic sounding mush,as opposed to the warm tones found here. I can't wait to record with it,it'll be lots of fun. It's not the most versatile amp to the untrained eye but if you know what you're doing and how to manipulate your guitar and amp volume,it is as versatile as you want it to be.And with single coils it has significantly more clean headroom,which is a plus. I love this amp and it does just what I need it to do so I rate it highly,but if you're a beginner or a metalhead,either stay away or be prepared to invest in pedals!

a while after I bought this amp it developed a crackle from one of the tubes,a worn-out valve or a dodgy valve seat I think,it still works just fine but I'm taking it to be sorted out today.

Are you joking? The guy who issued the warranty in '66 is probably dead!! Never had to deal with Fender though,all their stuff I've owned has been top notch.

I've been playing guitar for ten years,and this is a bit of kit I certainly wouldn't want to part with. I love it because it sounds great,it does exactly what I want,it's cute to look at and it has a funky tone. I consider myself really lucky to have found an original Blackface '60s model.If it was stolen,I'd cry.If it had reverb,I'd throw a party! However it'd be churlish to carp. Top marks!

Silverface 1968 Bandmaster head. 40 watts. 4ohms. Standby switch. Vibrato channel. Bright switch. Extension speaker out. No reverb. I don't imagine they knew what effect loops were in 1968. Very few features - this is a minimalist vintage tube amp.

Tubes, tubes, tubes. This amp is a classic. The clean is amazing. Crank this amp and it starts to overdrive with an amazing warm tone. For playing at lower volumes and needing distortion, I use a ProCo RAT pedal. I use the head with Fender Vibro-King cabinet (2x12 Celestion Vintage 30s) and several effects, Dunlop Wah, RAT, DOD Compressor, Alesis MidiVerb 4 which all sound good with this amp. I play a newer American Fender Strat.

It 's over 30 years old. Still is good shape, although mine did require some basic cosmetics. I had the blue grill cleaned (didn't like the "funky" nicotine stains that some collectors like). Had to replace a few cracked knobs. None of these effected the sound in any way. I simply wanted to make my vintage amp look more like it did 30 years ago. This unit is well built and has survived the test of time. Baisc maintenance such as replacing tubes every so often will keep this amp in operation for many more years. Currently using Groove Tubes 6L6s. I've read that Groove Tubes just came out with new tubes that replicate the original 1960s GE 6L6GC tubes. These are new tubes are GT6L6GE. Check the Groove Tube Web site for more detail.

The warranty on this amp has long expired. So, I haven't dealt with Fender's support. Thus the "no opinion".

Excellent vintage Fender amp. Nothing beats the sound of tubes. I'd buy another one if a good deal came along.

I found an unbelieveable deal three years ago, in a local pawn shop: a '66 Fender Blackface Bandmaster head. It needed a bit of work, and so I talked the guy into selling it to me for $100! The amp has two channels, as I believe all Bandmaster's did. This amp is LOUD for it's power rating, as loud or louder than my Super Reverb. The price wasn't the only thing I got lucky when I found this amp: it also had old GE-6L6 tubes. In fact, all of the tubes are GE.

I play a '66 Gibson SG special with a P.A.F. in the neck position, so I have humbucking pickup and a single coil P90, so I can play either, or mix the two, which gives me a good range of tones. I play rock, blues, and jazz. It's pretty quiet, as there's no reverb. It can play reasonably clean, and with the guitar I use, I can get a good range of tones with no pedals. All I ever use is an original VOX V-846 wah, an original Big Muff,and occasionally, an original Echoplex, an MXR Phase 90 with the sweep turned all the way down, to add some presence. It gets surprisingly crunchy with no pedals. This amp has a fantastic tone -- it's kicks!

I had the big caps replaced, and some other minor work done when I bought it, but it's performed flawlessly since then. I don't use the vibrato at all -- it needs work, and Fender vibrato was never that great, in my opinion.

I have been playing for 25 years. My main amp is a '67 Blackface Super Reverb, which I've been playing for 17 years, but I have to admit that I like the tone I get from my Bandmaster almost as much as that of my S.R. I would buy another one, for sure. And yes, reverb would be nice.

I am not certain of the year of this amplifier. It appears to be made after 1970. It has 2 channels, Normal and Vibrato. The vibrato channel seems to do nothing... but I just got the amplifier today and it may just not be working. The normal channel has plenty of power and breaks up nicely around 4. It has 2 6L6GC, 2 12AX7, and 2 7025 tubes. Reverb would be nice.

I am using a 2002 Fender (Japanese)'69 Flower Power Telecaster. It is a bit noisy however that seems to be more the tele than the amp. I am new to electric guitar, I used to play one a bit as a girl but I had a really bad guitar (Zim Gar) and a Gibson amp that was chopped up so I got an Epiphone acoustic and have been playing acoustic ever since the late 60's. This is my first amp since then and I imagine dialing it in will take awhile (hints accepted ) but as far as newer amplifiers go I would have had to spend 3 times as much for not quite as good of sound and a few features. The tone sold me this old amp.

Well I haven't had it long enough to know, although it is about 30 years old and still works....so I won't rate it for this yet.

Well there is some bulliten boards for these vintage amps linked from the Fender site, but they pretty much don't want anything to do with older product.

This amp was $350.00 in decent shape with a 2X12 cabinet with JBL's. The cabinet needs to be recovered, (it was recovered in some kind of linoleum and the grill cloth was replaced with what looks like a T shirt type fabric) But the Tolex and grill cloth are only $60.00. All in all I am really pleased with what I got for the money and I am sure will have a truckload of fun learning to use it!