Fender Bandmaster

I HAVE HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO HAVE A STEP-FATHER THAT BOUGHT THIS TOTALLY BLONDE(EVERYTHING IS BLONDE,FACE,CABINET&HEAD)BRAND-NEW IN 1961 OR ABOUT THERE.HE PLAYED MUSIC OUT OF A MUSIC FEDERATION IN N.E. OHIO,AND NEVER MISSED A WEEK-END GIG FOR OVER 20 YEARS.HE PLAYED A FENDER BASS AND SOMETIMES HAD THE WHOLE BAND PLUGGED INTO IT.
IT WILL PLAY ANY TYPE OF MUSIC STYLE AND SOUND GOOD.THERE IS JUST BASIC CONTROLS,BUT IT DOES THE JOB WELL.IT HAS ALL THE POWER YOU WILL EVER NEED FOR A CLUB BAND.TUBE SOUND IS HARD TO BEAT.NO REVERB BUT A NICE "VIBRATO" FOOT PEDAL.YOU CAN PUT 4 INSTRUMENTS IN IT AND STILL GET A DECENT SOUND.

I HAVE A "78" ELECTRA,MPC AND PLAY MOSTLY BLUES.ALSO AN OVATION ACOUSTIC-ELECTRIC AND BOTH ARE CRISP AND SMOOTH ON THIS AMP.THE AMP HAS THE SAME HISS THAT ALL OF THESE HAVE AT LOW VOLUME.NOT A PROBLEM THOUGH.I PUT THE VOLUME ON 10 IN 1975,MY JUNIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL,AND AN OLD CHEAP GIUTAR VOLUME ON TEN,JUST TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD DO. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!! EVERYTHING THAT WAS HANGING ON THE WALLS IN EVERY ROOM WAS OFF THE WALLS IN A SINGLE STROKE.MAN DID I GET A CHEWING OUT BY MY MOTHER.MY STEP-FATHER THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT.HE SAID HE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THAT,BUT WAS AFRAID,AND THANKED ME FOR DOING IT. NOW HE KNEW TOO.ANYTHING ABOVE 4 ON THE VOLUME AT HOME CAN BE BAD.

THE ONLY THING REPLACED ON IT ARE TUBES,AND ALL TUBES DIE SOMETIME.IT IS STILL ALL ORIGIONAL OTHER THAN SOME TUBES.IT HAS NEVER BEEN CLEANED."EVER"I WAS TOLD ALL THAT DIRT ADDS PERSONALITY TO IT.I PLAY IT 3 TO 5 TIMES A WEEK STILL AND IT NEVER MISSES A BEAT.I LET IT STAY ON STAND-BY FOR 15 MINUTES BEFORE PLAYING.THIS THING WILL CREEP UP IN VOLUME SOME AS THE TUBES GET TO FULL OPERATING TEMPERATURE.ONE OF THE MOST RELIABLE AMPS EVER MADE.

DON`T TRY FENDER FOR SUPPORT ON THIS AMP.IT AIN`T GOING TO HAPPEN!NEVER BEEN REPAIRED,BECAUSE IT NEVER BEEN BROKE.YOU CAN STILL FIND ORIGIONAL TUBES AT SOME THRIFT STORES ,BIG FLEA MARKETS ,AND OLD RCA TV REPAIR SHOPS.START CALLING EVERY RCA TV REPAIR SHOP FIRST,AND IF THE HEAD GUY THERE IS 50 PLUS YEARS OLD,HE WILL KNOW WHAT AND PROBALLY WHERE TO GET SOME ORIGIONAL TUBES.

I`VE PLAYED FOR 32 YEARS AND HAVE NEVER HAD A MORE DEPENDABLE,ALL-A-ROUND AMP.IF IT WERE STOLEN THAT PERSON WOULD GET A SET OF 12`S AROUND THE NECK IF I CAUGHT HIM.I`M LOOKING ALL THE TIME FOR ANOTHER AND HAVE NOT FOUND ANY YET.THE ONLY THING I WISH IT HAD WAS FOR SOMEBODY TO CARRY IT FOR ME.THIS THING IS HEAVY.IF YOU FIND ONE,BUY IT!!!YOU WON`T GO WRONG.

October 1963 1st generation blackface Bandmaster (AA763 circuit) with transitional cosmetics (ie: smooth blonde tolex, black knobs, gold grille, raised logos). I play mostly early '60s pop, blues, hillbilly and jazz, and this amp works well for all of these styles. These amps are currently very inexpensive in comparison with most other vintage Fenders, mainly due to its lack of reverb and somewhat small output transformer. I don't play it particularly loud, so the small tranny doesn't bother me; one can always drop in a Bassman tranny for more oomph. For reverb I use a reissue Fender '63 Reverb with NOS tubes and a 6K6GT in place of the stock 6V6GT (just like the originals). The tremelo on the Bandmaster is very cool, although I don't use it much. The original 12" speakers were not in the cab when I bought it, so I replaced them with mid '60s Oxford 12T6's, which are found in many blackface Fenders (including Bandmasters, I believe). These are heavy duty ceramic speakers, and sound just dandy. Like all BF Fenders, the speaker cab is made of solid pine, which gives excellent resonance, like a piano.

My guitars are a 1962 Gretsch Tennessean, 1984 Rickenbacker 330, 1966 Rickenbacker 330/12, and a 1965 Silvertone/Danelectro 1448. The Ricks really come alive with the Bandmaster - I prefer their sound through the Fender than through the Vox's I have had before. The Vox's were just too darn trebly for the already bright Rickys. The Bandmaster has that sweet Fender tone, and sounds fantastic even at very low volume, with excellent dynamics and tonal range. Each note is crisp, clear and well-defined. Extremely responsive to pick attack. I bought this amp because I wanted an affordable vintage point-to-point Fender piggyback that would give me a just a bit of bite without having to be cranked too loud. I was also considering searching for a Tremolux, but came across this Bandmaster first, liked it and bought it. I mainly play smaller venues, so at 40 watts, the Bandmaster is perfect for my needs. I usually play it at around 5 or 6 on the volume (which just gives a tad of breakup and is medium loud), and the treble at 5 and the bass at 8. Of course, the Bright switch is activated. The Normal channel seems to have a bit more gain and darkness than the vibrato channel. My amp was serviced in 1999 (3 years before I bought it) and brought back to spec (according to the service receipt I found tucked inside the head), so it runs extremely well, although there is a bit of low-end hum. It's not really noticeable, so I haven't done anything about it.

I''ve only had it for a few months, but it seems to be very ruggedly constructed and well-maintained. With proper servicing and care, it seems that it should last another 40 years with no problem.

I think that once Leo sold the company to CBS, the warranty may have been voided!

I've been playing since 1977. My only other experience with Fender amps is a '70s Twin Reverb I used in the '80s (pretty good sound, but a bit muddy) and a tweed Pro Junior that I adore. Prior to buying the Bandmaster, I had a '65 Vox AC50 with Celestion blues in a Vox cab, and found it waaay too powerful for my needs. At moderate volume it sounded sterile, although it sounded very nice at higher volume. (Unfortunately, I was rarely able to crank it.) I also find Vox amps to be voiced a bit too bright for my taste. The Bandmaster is a much more versatile amp than the AC50, with shimmering treble and rich, deep bass, at any volume setting. And you can get great tone without blowing out windows.

January 65 blackface head, recently serviced and puts out 47 watts to a 4 ohm load. I play rock and blues and this amp is great for those genres. Two channels, vibrato. This amp is suprisingly LOUD. Right now I'm using it for rehearsal and jamming. My gig amp is a cyber twin.

I play a 68 Paul with Duncan humbuckers and a mutated Kramer strat with a dimarzio PAF pro humbucker(with parallel coil switch) and two virtual vintage heavy blues single coil shaped humbuckers. I play mostly rock and blues. I'm using a Randall 4-10 bottom with 8 ohm Celestions, great crunch and very loud. I patch both input channels together and get a full, crunchy sound. From there, I use a delay, wah and overdrive for sounds. Does everything I need and sounds righteous!

Just got the amp, first thing I did before playing it was have it checked out for pregnant caps and other problems. Had a minor power supply fix needed. I put a couple of Sovtek 5881's in it and it really barks. Should be reliable as a typical Fender from that era.

No contact with Fender. I am fortunate to have an excellent and knowledgeable Fender amp guru locally.

I've been playing since 1972. If the amp were stolen I'd try to find another but I doubt I could find one for as cheap. I love the TONE.

I HAVE A 64 MODEL BLACK FACE BAND MASTER ITS GREAT FOR ALL TYPES OF MUSIC FROM RAY GAY TO HEAVY METAL THE TWO CHANNEL AMP IS GREAT WHEN PIGGY BACKED OR JUMPED ONE CHANNEL TO THE NEXT BLUES ON THE BRIGHT CHANNEL IS THE BEST YOU JUST CANT GET THAT DEEP RICH TONE WITH A SOLID STATE AMP I HAVE BEEN DOING GIGS FOR 25 YEARS AND THE BLACK FACE HAS NEVER LET ME DOWN I USE 7025 TUBES INSTEAD OF 12AX7 IN THE PREAMP ITS A LITTLE CLEANER AT HIGH VOLUME AND EXCELLENT WITH A PEDAL

I USE TWO DIFFERENT GUITARS ONE A 1959 PRE CBS FENDER STRAT IT IS SWEET AND A LATE 60S OVATION ELECTRIC CELEBERTY THIS GUITAR IS GREAT FOR BLUES

TWENTY FIVE YEARS WORTH NEVER BEEN TO THE SHOP THE 6L6 TUBES HAVE BEEN CHANED SEVERAL TIMES THIS AMP GETS A LOT OF USE

NEVER DELT WITH CUSTOMER SUPPORT

IVE BEEN PLAYING SENCE I WAS IN THE THIRD GRADE I HAD TAKEN LESSONS FFROM A MUSIC TEACHER THAT YEAR I WAS 9 YEARS OLD NOW IM 47 BEEN PLAYING A LONG LONG TIME

bright switch, trem, tone tone tone! 65 blackface fender bandmaster recently brought back to life by Starving Musician Tech's
no reverb

not much variety but oh my god fender clean is so sweet. played with a holey grail reverb pedal this amp comes to life. i think it's the same as a super reverb with a smaller output transformer and no reverb. nice trem section tho. it's a real lush spunky clean tone which i'm sure get's SRV at distortion levels tho it's 4 am and am in an apartment so my neighbors won't like that. Authentic fender tone for a song!

it died when i had it before but they replaced the output tubes and brite switch and i don't know what but man no hum and it's a 65 no circuit bds here...well one. it's bulletproof

great people on the 800 number. let's see 38 yrs old ...no warranty. but starving will fix it for me since i'm renting it..

best authentic fender amp under 500 you'll EVER find! get a reverb tho or it's pretty sterile. damn it's sweet. strats and tele's come to life with this amp. Godsmack fan's won't be happy...well -just get another pedal. all pt to pt for peanuts. it's a steal. hope no one figures out what a steal these are.

1968 Bandmaster silverface head with old blackface AB763 circuit. 2 channels: one normal, one vibrato (vibrato is foot-switchable); both with bright switch and 2 inputs per channel. Standby switch. Approx 50W; 2 6L6 power tubes.

I use this amp with an old Fender blackface sealed twin-12" cab fitted with Electrovoice SRO speakers. I play mostly blues on a Fender American Standard Strat with standard pickups. The amp has an excellent classic Fender blues-type sound, especially using the bright switch. Not a lot of variety in the sounds it makes. About as noisy as you'd expect for a 30-year old tube amp! It's a good club amp.

Seems pretty dependable; it has never broken down and I wouldn't worry about using it without a backup. I'm getting a little noise from the tubes, I think, even though all the power and preamp tubes were replaced fairly recently.

Fender doesn't offer any support for their older amps so I've never dealt with them. There's no lack of amp technicians in my area so it hasn't been a problem.

My brother found this amp in a Salvation Army thrift store in Chicago. He bought it for $5 but spent about $200 more getting it restored. He then decided he had too many amps so I bought it from him. I was looking for a classic blues sound and this amp has it. I do wish it had reverb though. I also own a silverface Princeton Reverb; the Bandmaster's sound is superior. If stolen I'd probably replace it with a blackface Fender but look for a more versatile model than the Bandmaster.

I am proud to play through a 64 Black face Bandmaster. I have the 2x12 small cabinet. The original speakers have long since blown and have been replaced with Piledrivers.

The guts to this old tube amp is a pair of 6L6 tubes. I am currently using a matched pair of SOVTEKs. Although most prefer other tubes, I have been very pelased with both the tone and durability of these tubes.

The amp has two channels. Channel two has tremelo. There is no reverb.

I am using an early 80's American Standard STrat and an Epiphone "Dot" (thin hollowbody w/ twin humbickings). This amp is very pedal-friendly. I use a Danelectro overdrive and a Danelectro chorus--the big pedals, not the crappy little sheap ones. The tone is outstanding. People constantly brag on the tone--expecially toher musicians

I replaced the original (frayed) power cord with a three prong grounded cord which has all but eliminated noise from that end.

I always carry extra 6L6 tubes but havent needed one yet--not even a fuse! This amp is a beast!

With these old vintage amps, service is a local thing so who knows??

I have been playing since--lets see--1958. If you want a vinateg "classic rock" sound, this is a great amplifier. They can usually be bought with a 2x12 cabinet for around 6-700 dollars so they are a rreal bargain.

I love the fact that it is a separate amp and speaker cabinet. That roughly splits the weight in half so I can carry about 27 pounds in each hands versus 60 pounds in just my right hand.

If anyone stole this amp, I'd consider it a "Class X" felony under Illinois law and shoot 'em on sight!

1964 blackface 2-channel Bandmaster head with 1963 "rough Tolex" cabinet. Loaded with two 1996 Eminence vintage series 12" speakers. Used exclusively in medium bars, sounds great mic'd on 2, but much better on 4 or 5. If you want a "full-featured" amp (stuff built-in or fx loop, etc.), this is not the amp you want

This amp sounds best with my 1964 Harmony H78 hollowbody. Single coil DeArmond's and a Bigsby make for great surf tone with this amp. The Blond color helps with the "surf" sound as well. Not noisy, except around neon lights or tattoo parlors. 2-prong, non-polarized plug, so I've been soundly shocked several times.
Distorts great for the "growly" reverbed-out sound I need, but not too much to be "metal". I use both channels with a custom-made distortion & channel splitter footpedal. One channel gets the "reverbed" clean signal, and the other gets the distorted signal which can be switched on & off with the footpedal. Wide open, the clean channel breaks up nicely.
One thing... Good speakers make all the difference! Not necessarily expensive speakers, but two of the same, and not "rock-style" Celestions or something. Replacing my old mismatched speakers with the Eminence vintage speakers improved the tone of this rig 100%!!

Built like a tank, treated like dirt. I know some people think it's sacrilige to mistreat a vintage Fender, but it's my working-class amp, and I work it hard. I've never used or needed a backup in the 8 years I've owned it (OK, one cheap Chinese tube literally exploded once, but that was a tube thing) I change the power tubes about every 2 years, and have NEVER changed the preamp tubes!

I've never needed it professionally serviced.

Been playing it in my San Diego band "Surf Report" for 8 years, and I love it so much, I have it insured against everything. I would search until I found another one if I ever lost it. It looks cool, and sounds great. At almost every show, somebody comments on it. Sometimes I wish it had wheels (it's heavy), but it sounds great sitting on a raised, carpeted stage. It's a shame that nobody can build amps like these anymore without charging a fortune.

Blackface two channel, bass & treble controls, Vibrato Chn. 2

I play a '95 Fender Strat Deluxe Plus with Blue, Silver, Red Lace sensors which are being replaced with Seymour Duncun APS 2. The Lace Sensors are too compressed sounding. I play R&B, Motown, Funk, Rock, and Country. I run both imputs together which gives a fuller sound. I am using a Carvin two twelve open back cabinet loaded with their British speakers. Clean sounds incredible. The amp is responsive with luscious "Tone". For mild crunch I use a Tubescreamer, rock a ProCO Rat, Modern a Powerlead. For a fake reverb/delay I use a Echomachine. I do not miss not having reverb on this amp. If you have great sounding clean amp any pedal will do you justice. I like this amp better than the silverface Twin reberb I had in the 70's,80's. This amp replaced a Peavey Delta Blues which was extremely unreliable with terrible service from Peavey. The Delta Blues does not even come close to this amp in tone. Old Fenders perform.

I have owned this amp for over a year and have fell in love with it. Unlike the Peavey which only worked one month out of the year I owned it. This amp has been flawless and appears to not have been touched in its 35 years of existence.

I have been playing for 25 years. I love old Fender amps for the tone and reliability. New amps just are not made as well. Modelling amps do not have the "tone" these old amps do. I would buy this blackface Bandmaster again. Even with the price of the Carvin speaker cabinet this Fender head is a great value.

This amp is a two-channel silverface top from '73. Both channels have double inputs, a bright switch and volume, bass and treble controls. The second channel's got vibrato (speed and intensity) controls. Amp is using a 12AX7 for each channel's preamp, a 12AT7 as a phase inverter, a 12AX7 for the Vibrato and a pair of 6L6's power tubes. The rectifier (unfortunately) is solid state. The bias circuit is balanced; one of CBS's "improvements". So, it's an average clean silverface Fender amp without reverb.

I know I once was enthousiastic about these silverface amps, but now that I own a blackfaced Super Reverb I have more reference so my opinion changed.

From the CBS factory, this amps just does what it was supposed to do in the seventies: just give a nice clean & round sound, no more, no less. I blackfaced my B-master to the AB763 schematic which in fact is really easy for anyone who's fimiliar with a soldering iron (check out the Fender amp Field Guide at www.ampwares.com for the schematics). The bias is now levelled (35 mA), got rid of the "CBS improvement capacitors". The solid state rectifier is still in place, so no "sag" for this map. With the blackface schematic, the amp does already sound much better (better tone, more dynamics). I also applied some tricks to get some more gain: removed the channel 1 12AX7, removed the vibrato 12AX7 and disconnected the signal wire from the vibrato intensity pot. I even tried a 12AX7 as a phase invertor, this also gives you some extra gain but you lose tone. With these mods, the amp became a really good sounding crunchy amp that starts to break up at volume set to 6 or 7. I applied a triode circuit (switchable) so if it's too loud at 7, I can reduce the output power. Some Fender freaks don't like the triode sound, for me it's a practical way to be able to crank up the volume without cranking up the volume if you get my drift.

After the mods, it's got some of that magic blackface dynamics, crunch and even overdrive althought it's not so creamy as my Super Reverb: probably because of the "tiny" output transformer. Of course I also really miss that sweet Hammond reverb. A friend of mine is going to use it for rhythm guitar, I think it'll do just fine for that job; nice warm with a crunch. Compared to a blacface Super Reverb, this B-Master only deserves an 7. If it had Reverb, I'd give it an 8.

This amp is handwired and build like a tank, therefore it's very reliable.

The New Fender company does not like the old Fender amps I guess. So, don't got there, Just visit your local tube guru and ask the internet community for advice (it worked for me!)

I bought it and liked it. When I was introduced to the blackface(d) Fender amps (especially the Super Reverb), I disliked it. When I blackfaced the amp, it was much better; it's the perfect basic rhythm guitar amp; good value for money! Originally it was sold with a 2 x 12" closed cabinet. You probably need something like that because it's not that fat as.. well you know.. I'm playing it through a home brew 2 x 10" (Jensen C10R), cheapest Jensen speakers you can buy, not so sweet as alnico's but still pretty good speakers for the money!