Fender Bandmaster

I have a 65' head born in september 8 of that year. It has two channels-normal and vibrato-with two inputs for each channel. Each channel also has a bright switch (i like this feature).It would be convenient to have an effects loop and master volume but if i wanted that, I would go after a Marshall or Boogie. This is simplicity at it's best. It has no reason to be anything but simple. Whether ran through a p.a. system or not,the sound is huge.

It is one of the most reliable and clean sounding amps I've ever played through. When combining channels, it turns into a monster (very loud but not overbearing). COOL! My playing falls into the "shredding" category and i know this amp is not meant for that but hey, rules concening music are meant to be broken and I definitely have my own sound combining my Ibanez guitars and this amp. I've tried several different amps but this is my favorite so far.

This amp is very low maintenace even for it's advanced age. It works everytime unless the tubes wear out, but hey. Tubes wear out, you know?

I've never had to have it serviced yet and the way it's going, I may not have to.

I've been playing guitar for 20 years and have never had an amp play itself like this one does for me. I don't know if I got lucky or if all Bandmasters sound like mine. If it gets stolen, I'll hunt down the idiot who stole it and give him a headstock up his ***! I still haven't found the perfect ten in an amp so I'll give this one an.....

1953 Fender bandmaster with 3-10" Jensens. Kicks butt. Bought 30 years ago at a pawn shop. Had the choice between a Traynor with 2 blown 12" lansings and this - guess which was the better buy? I use it for playing 60's and 70's rock.

This amp overdrives very easily and can make the clean tones too. It has a sound that only a a Bandmaster of this age can make - even the Bassman models with 4-10" speakers don't make it.

Have used it for years - kept up with the Peaveys and newer Fenders without turning it up on 12 (the controls are chicken heads)

Haven't needed one

I've owned this amp longer than any other amp I've owned in 37 years of playing. It is irreplacable.

Fender knew what they were doing with this amp, plus it looks so good.

Before I bought the amp, I was very skeptical. BOY WAS I IN FOR IT!
It has volume, bass, treble. What more do you need? None of this pregain nonsense. Just straightforward tube amp sound! My vibrato does't work: But that's OK. I wouldn't use it anyway. I do join the inputs to fatten up the sound a little, though. Bass is boomy past about 4. Simple remedy: Don't turn the bass up past 4. Headroom is kind of low, but it's about just right for me. I only run it with one tube in (20 watts) so it overdrives faster, and I usually run it on 10.

I use a '84 contemporary Strat and a '84 Les Paul Custom. They both sound good through it. I play hard-edged blues. Works out great. I put a Zoom 505 through it sometimes. Let me tell you; that is one noisy little mother. Dern hiss all the time. That's OK though, it still sounds good. I sometimes plug up a DS-1. That's cool. Real meaty. The cranked amp distortion is where it shines though. Nasty as
sin. Fourth position Strat blues is neary out of the question though at high volumes. Overall great sound.

Eats tubes like breakfast cereal. That's OK. Keep a bushel of tubes on hand and you'll be OK, my friend.

It's a '66 model. I'm sure they were very supportive back in 1966.

I would buy this amp 1,000,000 times over. It's fabulous. You can't beat the price for a vintage, point-to-point handwired, single channel tube amp. Plus it's a rock solid Fender

This is a 1968 silverface bandmaster. 2 channels with 2 inputs each. Vibrato channel and regular, vibrato is controlled by a footswitch. Bright switches for each channel.

Playing right a cheap japanese strat copy through a mid 80's rat and a Morley pro wah. The clean is unbelievable and the only thing wrong with it is that it is a bit trebly. No gain, but very receptive to pedals.

If this thing could survive for 30 some odd years I think it could survive a few more. I think at a gig I would have no problem using it withougt backup.

warrenty is 60 days at the store I bought it at.

This 40-watt amp head was made, to the best of my knowledge, in early 1968, because it is a silverface model. The tube chart inside says Bandmaster AB763, which leads me to believe it was early in the silverface era, because anything that was too much later would have the notorious AB568 circuit. It is about as basic as an amplifier gets: two normal inputs, two vibrato inputs. No reverb. No channel switching. No effects loop. Two jacks in the back, speaker and external speaker. I use it with a four-piece rhythm section, and we gig at clubs and parties. It has power to spare. My bandmates routinely tell me to turn it down. I tell them it gets louder as the tubes get hotter, though I don't know if that's true. I wouldn't call it versatile, because it's so basic.

I was looking for the Fender sound. I play sixties pop and r'n'b. I thought I would miss reverb, but the sound from this amp is so rich and has such presence that I really don't feel the need for 'verb at all. It has headroom like crazy, and to describe the tone I think the word "pure" is more accurate than "clean." I play a '96 American Standard Telecaster, and this amp is great for both James Burton style picking and slashing out three- and four-string rhythm chords ala Jimmy Nolan. Recently acquired a '97 American Standard Strat, and the tone I get through the Bandmaster is fantastic. There's hardly any noise from the single coil pickups on either guitar now that I've learned good cables make a difference.
I use a 2x12 speaker cabinet loaded with 8 ohm Eminence speakers, from Vibroworld in Portland, Ore. They go perfectly with this amp, but I would like to hear what the amp can do with an extra cabinet plugged into the external speaker jack, maybe a 15-incher. I expect that might add a whole new range of tone to the sound, and make overdrive possible at a lower setting. To overdrive it now requires more volume than I'm ever likely to use. I dimed it once, and things were falling off the shelves. At rehearsals and gigs, it's usually set around 4 or 5. When I want to dirty up the sound, I use a Vox Valvetone 810 overdrive pedal. In all, I'd say my Bandmaster is doing pretty well for a 31-year-old amp with the original RCA tubes still in it.

I do depend on it, and I use it on gigs without a backup. It's never broken down, although I carry slo-blo fuses with me just in case of emergency. As I said above, it's got the original RCA tubes in it. I tested them, and they've still got plenty of spunk in them. Imagine that.

Never dealt with Fender. Never sought to have it repaired. I read stuff that says I ought to retube, get filter caps replaced and have it rebiased. Maybe, someday, but we've got a local amp repairman here who says that as long as it switches on and off and sounds good, I should leave it alone. I'm inclined to believe him.

I've been playing guitar for 30 years, but only really got serious about electric guitar a year and a half ago. If this amp were stolen or lost, I'd probably look for another one. Maybe a blackface, since they seem to be so much groovier in everybody's opinion, but I've been told silverface amps are a great way to get the Fender sound without paying the premium. I love this amp's personality and presence. I suppose reverb would be nice, but as I said above, I don't feel much need for it. Considering that I got a hand-wired tube amp for less than $300 (actually, I got it by trading in my old Gibson 1x12 combo), I'd say the Bandmaster is a teriffic value.

Blackface typical Fender 45 watt tube head on small 2x12 cab (piggyback) w/Oxford speakers. Extremely versatile amp for all styles of 1960's and 70's rock. Amp has two normal channel inputs and two vibrato channel inputs. Has vibrato on/off switch. No effects loop, headphone jack, or anything stupid like that. Amp is simple to use

with no unnecesary controls. Only thing it doesn't have is the great Fender reverb.

I use a Rickenbacker 330 and Hofner 500/1,they both sound extremely great though it needs bass speakers (works for bass even though it has a closed back cab.) I'm fifteen years old but think nineties music really sucks because everything's all pop shit! Styles are classic and underground rock of 60's and 70's. As long as the ground is right, then there is relatively no noise. The sound is pure and clean with very little break-up and the vibrato sounds great! One of the greatest amps of all time. I have a Mesa/Boogie DC-2 and it's clean sound doesn't even compare. Other amps I've tried such as the Marshall JCM 900 are also incomparable. Gutsy blues/rock tone, no frills, just pure tube tone.

Amp is built like a tank. Who has money for backups? Buyind a backup is just waisting money you could have spent on something else, and why buy (or keep) something you can't depend on?

I've never dealt with the company and doubt it still has warranty, though I doubt the new Fender would no anything about quality amplifiers; afterall, they stopped making The Bandmaster's and Showman's (greatest amp of all time.)

Been playing for 4 years, my dad (bass) has been playing for over 30 years-once had a Fender Bassman. Also own a Yamaha APX-412A and Dunlop Crybaby Wah. If it were lost I would be extremely devestated and would sincerely hoped to find one in such a great condition and for such a great price again though it probably wouldn't happen, nonetheless, I'd buy another as soon as possible. Love everything about this amp: sound, simplicity, looks, etc. Like I said before, the only thing it doesn't have is reverb but it sounds great without so I don't really care. Though almost all 10's is a little much, this is one hell of a great amp! Rock on!

Just your basic tweed '53 Fender with a 15 inch speaker that a friend of mine has had for ages. Approx 30 watts RMS tube rectifier, 6L6WGB's with cathode bias. I used this amp up until a couple years ago (when I built two of my own). It is one of those amps you have to crank up for overdrive. Great for oldies and hard rock. Surf- Not!!(Gotta have reverb) Definitely not for death metal (would be an injustice).
With the right stompboxes it is part of a major arsenal

I used a Takamine GX-200 with humbuckers and a '66 Strat. Without a doubt, the FATTEST clean tone on the planet. When cranked, it makes a Marshall look sick! It starts overdriving around 4. Some of my compatriots were awestruck at the tone. All this despite the fact the owner has Sovtek tubes in the preamp.
I have to back the treble control down when using the bright channel (that does go without saying, since it uses a Baxandall tone stack)

Reliable. The last breakdown was when I replaced the power transformer in 1995 (ended up using a Hammond T-272JX). At that time I also replaced the filter capacitors and some coupling caps. I retubed the power tubes with Tung-Sol 5881's about 6 months ago. Reliability goes with the simplicity of the circuits.

Fender is friendly, but this amp is so old that no schematics exist, even in their archives. I ended up tracing the circuit myself.

I have been playing for close to 28 years.
I have also been an electronics tech since high school. I build my own amps and make modifications to others. check the following website: http://members.aol.com/axeist/home.html

Two channels: Vibrato and Normal. Most of the other reviews detail the other features so I won't repeat them. Puts out about 40w from a pair of 6L6's. It has a SS-rectifier and no reverb. Output impedence is 4-ohms. This one is a SF '69 bandmaster (aluminum trim) with the AB763 circuit.

Very good tone, though not the typical BF-reverb tone. The clean tone is fatter than the typical fender reverb amps, but lacks some of the jangle as well. It has a surprising amount of headroom and is a very loud 40w. You really need a pedal to get distortion out of the amp, but that's good in my book since low power amps are hard to use on stage without sacrificing clean headroom.
The bass gets pretty farty when it's cranked up, but this the case of most Fender amps due to the design/placement of the tone stack.

Reliability in these amps is often a matter of preventative care and proper set-up. Overall, these amps are a LOT more reliable and much easier/cheaper to repair than modern PCB-based amps.

Not really applicable since the amp is 30 years old. However, there are quite a few qualified techs (along with some real hacks) out there so getting it repaired shouldn't be too big of a hassle.

These amps are a bargain considering they typically sell for around $200 and you end up with a 40w, hand-wired, tube amp. Don't buy this amp if you're looking for a metal tone, nor if you want built-in distortion though. Probably more suitable for blues, roots-rock, or country than heavy metal...

I am the only owner of this 1968 Fender Bandmaster Silver face, I bought it in 1968 and have used it to death since. I blew out the original speakers and replaced them with life time Altec Lansing. The amp used to be used with a Guild thunderbase cabinet stacked on top. This was a altimate set up which could keep up with most if not all modern systems.

I currently am using old reliable with a Gibson Les Paul Studio and have to say that the tone & volume is still there after all these years, It handles Blues, Rock and anything I throw at it.

Reliability has been sort of a problem as I have had problems with the original 2 amp fuse wiring. it tends to short out. I have replaced the tubes with a complete set of new Groove tubes, but found that the replacements do not sound anything close to the originals. I have actulaly put some of the origs back in. The Chinese do not get it for Quality. Wish I could still buy those old RCA's

Fender is a quality company as long as you stick with the USA brands. I have always done my own repairs, and if I ever needed Fender USA, they have always been there for me. Waranty is probably not a factor now, But I would like to know if my lifetime Altec Lansing speakers are still under warenty for a life time?

I have been playing for over 40 yrs plus and would definetly buy anouther Fender, probably a Twin Reverb.

This is a 1966 blackface 40 watt head with matching 2x12 cab. It is two channel with one normal and one vibrato. No switching. No reverb. I wish it had reverb but it sound SO good it doesnt need it. I play blues/rock and it is the best amp I have ever played. The drummer I play with is LOUD and this amp eats him up. TONE...TONE....TUBE TONE.

I play a Tom Anderson Classic with Duncan APSll single coils. This amp blows away every Fender, Marshall, Peavey, Boogie, Soldano that I have ever played. It is very quiet, though I havent had it in the studio yet. It is clean up to about 7 and then start to get HUGE. Not distorted just FAT. VERY BLUESY.

It is a 1966.....it is Very dependable. Never broken down.

I have dealt with Fender in the past and they were great. They are easy to reach and there is alot of dealers that have service techs to help if one is ever needed, but I highly doubt it with this amp.

I have been playing for ten years, I play the Anderson Classic and a mutt guitar made from carvin and warmoth parts. Both sound great with this amp. They sound different but great. I would cry if were stolen, because I could never find another one like it, if I did I would buy it in a second. No reverb, I might buy an external reverb unit, but dont really have to. Great TONE. Blues yeah !!