Fender Bandmaster

This amp was made in the late 63 or 64 at the Fullerton factory. 2 channels, one normal and the other Vibrato, both with 2 inputs. 45 Watts, 2 6l6 power amp tubes and 4 12aX7 for pre-amp seccion. this amp has the traditional vintage Fender sound!! Awsome! An eight for versatility cause it's not for heavy metal or the new music..

A bit noisy but not more than the new ones.. It's awsome with Semi-Hollow bodies guitars, but rocks with a standard single coil pickup. I play with a 95 Am Stnd Strat, Fender of course, with Texas Specials pu and the sound is just exactly like a vintage mid 60's sound. No one believes me that my guitar was made in 95 when they hear the sound. There's a great advantage with this beauty, not as famous as the Bassman, but could sound much better on the rythm seccion. The Normal channel is awsome for a rythm guitar, great natural sound, very balanced and sweet. The Vibrato channel is fatter, and best with a lead guitar, I usually put the bass to 7 Trebble to 5.5 and the bright switch on and you'll hear a great vintage soun coming out, even with a new guitar.

Get me a new Fender or A marshal that could last 30 years from nowadays!!!!

Great amp, great sound. Like they say, " A good guitar and a good amplifier is like a good mother and a good wife"!!!
The 6l6 does a great job!!

50 watt all tube 1966 Band Master head. Two channels: Normal and Vibrato. both channels have treble and bass EQ knobs as well as that famous "bright" switch. Two inputs per channel (more on this later!). Vibrato channel has Speed/Intensity for the Vibrato. Vibrato is switchable on/off with a normal footswitch, provided that you but a RCA to 1/4' chord at Radio Shack to plug into the back.
This goody has got a master volume mod in the second speaker jack in the back, which adds significantly to the versatility. They tell me it's remveable-ie restorable, but I'm not sure.
Don't forget the classy blackface, white cursive lettering, silver grill, and red pilot light.
Make no mistake, this isn't a real versatile amp. It is basically cut out for the blues.

1966 must have been a good year. This is a good amp. 50 watts, and with the master volume mod, it's about perfect for volume. Loud, but not too loud. It screams, although not with distortion, just with tone. Wit the mod, you can overdrive the tubes at as low as a volume you want.
I haven't had a chance to really work it in, I've only had it for a few weeks. I needed to review it though, cause it's a good amp.
Sounds: this is THE fender sound, in my opinion. I always leave the treble on 6-10, and the bass anywhere from 1-4. Stray from this and it gets a little muffled. There is plenty o bass in those overdriven 6L6's.
Although it lacks reverb, it's got spank. SPANK! Say it with me, SPANK! Sort of Robert Cray, but not as sweet (unfortunately). I think you need a hardtail strat for that.
I play a fender strat plus with .011's, and it sounds great. The warmth and spank in this amp are great. I love blues, and this amp is bluesy and ballsy. Using the master volume mod, the normal volume on the front becomes your gain knob. This amp sounds great on all pu's and at all gain settings. It sparkles or gets warm and distorted, but without loosing that quack characterisitc of fenders. You can crank the distortion, and roll back the volume knob-it stays pretty clear and clean, unlike my other amps (peavey and a mesa boogie)
Note bends on this thing only get bigger,especially in the neck or bridge positions. You bend, the note gets louder, bigger, and fatter the farther you go. Awesome! Feedback assisted sustain is incredible yet manageable. Never had an amp this responsive. It must be the power tube distortion or my heavy strings. I played both a silver face and a blackface Bassman, and both of their distortion were a flabby mess of 6l6 bottom end. I hated them. This amp is completely different-it has a sweet sound, ala the fatness of SRV and the snap of Buddy Guy.
Vibrato-decent, but I never use it. I like the straight guitar sound. The only effect I ever use is a wah, and I don't even own one.
Each channel is slightly different. The Vibrato channel is a little fatter, a little darker. The Normal channel is a little sweeter, brighter, and spankier. Strange, eh? Perhaps it's that 5 watts the vibrato eats up for power?
I play this thing with groove tubes through a DEEP 412 cab with celestion 35 watt speakers. Sounds killer. I would like a 410 or a 212 though.
I have found a cool trick--I am sure it's known to all the fender players out there. A friend of mine's dad showed it to me once a long time ago when I first started playing. Plug into input one, Normal channel. Run a normal patch cord out of the Number two input of the normal channel, and into the input one of the second channel (you can get real short ones at Radio Shack). FAT! This must further overload the power section or something, cause when you jack the two channels together, it gets more distortion and fatter, thicker tone!
This amp is noisy, even with the lace sensors. The tone more than makes up though. If I were using texas specials, or god forbid, Lindy Fraelin's, I fear how good the tone would be!
I never liked those non-footswitchable amps. I always thought I would only buy two channel amps-clean and distortion. But then I walked into a music store and tried this thing out. I had to have it.
It isn't versatile, but it does what I want it to, which is toneful blues. As far as I am concerned though, there are three slightly different sounds, and all the variablity within them using the EQs, the pre/post gains, and the volume knob, leave a pretty fair amount of sounds. And they are all good. It gets a 10. If it was any other amp, I would expect more versatility, but I don't from a Bandmaster. It does one thing, and it does it with a 10. You can't ask for more than that.

Reliability is not an issue. I don't use it and don't plan to use it for gigging. It's for my enjoyment in my home. I mean, it's 33 years old.
I may use it for recording along side my boogie in the studio next week. Maybe for clean, probably for super penetrating super big leads in my ska/punk band (believe it or not)

Well, like the other entries in this category have said, the people who made this thing probably are retired.
The only customer support I have sought from Fender is dating info on their website, which I found with ease and was able to use to date the transformers in the amp to early 1966.

(what a shameless plug)

Only the basics, Mine is modified on the vibrato channel so that "Rate" is now mid tone and "intensity" is now a master volume for that channel This is now the lead channel and is a Marshall Jcm800 circut.Cool! I use a DoD A/B switch to change channels .

Mine sounds great, but it sounded really good when I got it.

Mine is a 67' blackface and I have had a few bugs to work out, however I was born in 67' and am in much worse condition than this amp. I'm sure my kids will be gigging with it someday.

I think everyone who worked in customer support in 67' is dead or retired

My wife picked this up at a garage sale for 10.00 and the guy must have felt like he was ripping her off because he threw in a Thomas Organ Crybaby (Chicago manufacture) It all worked except the cones in the original 2x12" (big cab,like 2x15") had decomposed and fallen out and the original covers are kind of beat up. I replaced speaks with eminence generics and it works great. The Marshall mod cost me 80.00 and this makes life good.

Blackface model with normal & vibrato channel: each with treble switch, volume,bass and treble pots(speed and depth controls on the vib ch.). I could use a midrange and a reverb and a ohm selecter switch. Tubes are 12ax7's and 2x 6L6

It has a beautiful clean sound until 4-5 on volume. After that point its overdrive (u guys craving for that tubescreamer sound. This is the real deal !) I use it with a old 2x12 Marshall 8ohm Lead & organ (?) model 1972 with 25 watts Celestions in it. The amp has 4 ohms output. So i could use a ohm selector or an original cab. Guitar is les paul custom & deluxe(minihumbuckers) This amp is happening for my band (style is Garagerock/punkrock. But remember its not hi gain and has no reverb so no metal w/o a pedal and no surf w/o that outboard reverb, right. I use it as a volume boost on my Marshall superlead 100w. That means Marshall for rhythm, Marshall and Fender for lead. The fender ads something in the midrange that is very nice. I could play with this amp alone, though.

Never had trouble with this one. But wouldnt gig without a spareamp (not since i had two amps)!

This amp is 30 years or more so warranty is a few years ago

I would by it again any time, but this time with a matching cab. And maybe try to get hold of a blonde just for the variation. The blackface bandmasters are still cheap, sounds good and are reliable amps, as long as they have been serviced. Does anybody out there have a cab for my amp? Might trade for a 2x12 marshall from the late 60's!

this amp has very few "features" White tolex flat logo white knobs normal channel (the one I use) volume, bass, treble vibrato channel- same as above with the addition of speed and depth controls for the vibrato. the vibrato on ths amp is NOT the same as on a twin or similar design. The vibrato sound is very smooth and round unlike the rougher sounding vib. on some other Fenders This amp has a presence control instead of a bright switch (The dumb switch Could be Fenders earliest experiments with the idea of a digital world?) allowing the user to decide on how bright the sound is. There is no headphone jack on this amp (unless you like to wear 12" speakers on your head)

This amp is AWSOME! Lots of bass and a very smooth high end. It is the perfect amp for a medium volume Blues/rock type band Sound guys dont yell at me to often except for when I use two of them in stereo.(I borrow an identical one!) This amp is clean at low volumes and begins to break up at around 5 with a strat. I keep it on 7 (clean with a soft touch and nasty with harder picking.)I also use an Ibanez tube screamer for more distorted leads. I play through 2 12" EV SRO speakers I do not have the matching white speaker cab

This amp is older than me so I dont know the history. It didn't work When I got it.The transformer was worn out so It has been replaced with one from a mid 60's dual showman. This was done in 1992.since then it has not been serviced other than changing a few tubes and re-tensioning the sockets.I have used this amp for every gig since I got it back from the shop. I use this amp to make a living and it NEVER lets me down. this amp gets used hard night after night (2-5 nights a week plus some recording sessions) I have had people tell me that they "bought a new amp for reliability factor" but I have had no problems My 67 twin has been in the closet since 1992!!

I think the warranty ran out a while ago and I cant find the card!

I did not buy this amp. I traded 8 hours of recording time in my studio ($25/hr)in exchange for this amp. I did spend about $200 to get it working again.

This is a mint condition '69 Bandmaster Reverb, silver face, w/silver trim and underscored Fender logo. It has 2 channels, reverb and vibrato on channel 2, Middle control on channel 2 as well. The city listed for Fender on the tube chart is Santa Ana. AA768 circuitry (also design date code) which added some questionable changes to the pre-CBS Bandmaster especially in the power stage bias circuitry. I have removed these and restored the pre-CBS circuitry making it a much better sounding amp. I have also replaced the GZ34 rectifier with a 5U4G. It is now like a 40 watt version of the pre-CBS 80 watt Twin Reverb (except the rectifier), which always was too loud for me.

I Play mostly Blues. The sound is now excellent. I am using it with my Boogie cabinets ( 1-12 open back, and 2-12 slant top closed back) in which I have replaced the 200 watt EV 12s and the 90 watt celestion with old JBL D120F 12s. These were the Alnico Fender JBLs used in the late 60s and early 70s. This combination has great blues sounds for Chicago, Texas, and Memphis blues. It also does a great job of producing the old Peter Green sounds from his Fleetwood Mac days. I am using it with a late 60s Les Paul Custom, a '57 Strat reissue, and a PRS custom. I am able to get almost any Bluse sound I want from these guitars and this amp. I sometimes use a Korg G3 processor for compression and echo with it. These silver face amps can be found at very reasonable prices and be made to sound very much like the older black face units, if the circuitry is reverted to the original, cheaply and easily. It took me about 3 hours tops, and that included collecting the parts, drawing the plans, and actually doing it. You don't even have to permenantly change anything, so if you want, you can change it back in almost no time at all.

We'll have to see. I just got it less than a month ago.

In the past Fender has been great to work with. I assume they still are but I don't know for sure.

Considering the sound quality now compares to black face fenders, Boogies, and Matchlesses, this is a real steal. I would do it again in a heartbeat. My Boogie Mark IV has not been touched since I picked this up and modified it. I just may sell the Boogie.

Two channels, both equipped with bright switches. As far as i can tell, the only way to do true channel switching is with an AB box. :) The "normal" channel is equipped with a minimum of controls: bass, treb, and volume. "Vibrato" channel throws in a fairly ineffectual midrange knob as well as reverb, and speed and intensity for the vibrato. No master volume on this amp, and that's the way it should be. This is not a "home studio" amp, which is ironic since that's what i use it for. Shredders may be unhappy with this puppy, but with the appropriate stomp box, it's great for that too.

In the recent book from Fender, the author says that the silverface TFL5005Ds were unsatisfactory in comparison with earlier Bandmasters. This may be true, but if it is, I can't imagine what the earlier Bandmasters sounded like. This amp has a clean tone that is just astonishing. Crank up the bass knob a little bit and it eats through your floor. It's only 40 watts, but it's pro- bably one of the loudest amps i've been near. It breaks up nicely for blues at 3.5-4; turn it up to 7 and you have instant Barkmarket tone, a living and breathing alternative to pure preamp overdrive stupidity. :) The problem with turning it up to 7, of course, is that your neighbors will be none too happy with you. I suggest a vintage Rat in front for distortion at lower volumes. Most newer stompboxes sound terrible with the Bandmaster. Also, it seems to do the best with 1x12 and 2x12 cabinets. A 4x12 will do but loses quite a lot of the sparkliness and bite that this amp possesses. I'm still searching for just the right cab, but I've had the best results thus far with a 1x12 Celestion-loaded Mesa cabinet. There is a slight bit of noise owing to old tubes which i haven't had the money to replace (i can't wait to hear this thing with a brand new set of Sovteks!!!). Just about every sound is in your grasp with the addition of a Rat, and it's just monster at all of them. Stock it's probably best for blues, jazz and funk. (The old Fender axiom...) The vibrato channel is pretty nice, although i admit i'm not much of an afficionado of vibe. Currently i'm using the amp with "Emily," my Hamer FM Special (LP style). I'm sure a Tele would sound absolutely beautiful with the Bandmaster. :)

Thus far i have had no problems, although i haven't started gigging with the thing yet. The Fender tech informed me that this particular head was something of a prototype although lotsa people seem to have them. It's a 1971, and the only other piece of advice he gave me was to use only a 4-ohm load. This amp is externally beat to hell and it still runs flawlessly save for some pot grime that needs cleaning.

Before I heard this amp I thought that I was simply searching for the ultimate Marshall/ Mesa amp; while I know that this amp isn't theoretically appropriate for the kind of music i'm doing (I think the Barkmarket reference should clue in those in the know), I couldn't help but fall in love with it. Since then I've been a Fender freak, much to the confusion of my guitarist friends who are still scratching their heads at the syn- thetic sound of their JCM900s. This thing is so organic, and with the right settings you can have a sound that cuts through like no other. The only thing I would caution is to try before you buy, because almost every old Fender I've tried out has at least one problem; sometimes it's a minor one, and sometimes it's major. I just happened to get extraordinarily lucky. The silverfaces are finally starting to lose some of their stigma, so i'd advise that you pick one up before the prices start going up to blackface level.

It is a Silverface Bandmaster Reverb Amp TL5005D; with 2 channels one dry the other with reverb and temelo, both channels have "bright switches". I think it was "customized" because it is not a "piggy back" but in a "Twin Reverb" (25Wx19Hx10) style all in 1. It has 2 - 12 inch origional Fender Speakers.

The sound is great, warm and with my Strat/Seymor Ducan P/U's and Ibenez Tube Screamer I get the SRV sound. Too bad I can't play as 1/10 as good.

Has great until today and I think a tube has gone.

A Big QUESTION: one of the3 6L6 tubes was replaced with just a tube socket with filler in it, no tube glass. Anyone know WHY ? Is it good ? All the other tubes 12AX7WT are there. Please post or email answer

Firstly, it's either a '75 or '76. I saw it and knew that I wanted it, so I traded my Princeton Chorus along with a Marshall 12-watt microstack for it. When I got it, there had been attempted modifications on it by the previous owner. Whoever it was screwed up the tremolo and ripped out the reverb tank. As well, they attempted to put in an overdrive channel, but just didn't succeed. It's got tow channels (one with reverb and one without) with two inputs on each channel. As well, each channel has a bright switch. It's fourty watts with two possible output lines to cabinets. Right now, I'm running a 4X12 cabinet with it, and it sounds great! I've had no problem so far being heard at any gigs. My only problem is that I still don't have the tremolo fixed, and I'm just now getting a reverb tank for it (70's Hammond).

The Bandmaster suits every type of music that I've played on it. From jazz, blues, to really heavy, screeching, feedback rock 'n roll it sounds great. There's virtually no distortion at high volumes, and almost always retains that warm Fender sound.

For the amount of time that I've had it, I've had no problems with it live whatsoever. My band tends to play rather loud, and the amp usually gets driven pretty hard, but it doesn't seem to be taking a toll on it yet.

If I could find another one of these amps somewhere for a relatively cheap price, I'd buy it without a question. The sound is (once again) great. All I need is the tremolo fixed and my reverb tank and I'll be a very happy little camper. I definitely would urge anyone interested in one to buy it right away, because you will not be disappointed!