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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Educate me on Bandmasters

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Thanks for all of your input, guys. The bottom line is I need to see what kind of transformer is in the Bandmaster that I am buying. Also, it is good to know that I can double or cut the load in half. I have learned a lot from this thread. Btw, congrats on the Bassman Jake!

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Hey Jake I saw your Bassman! Looks great. Too bad about the Super Reverb. I still have my '65 I bought in 1999 but if wasn't for the sentimental value it would be easy to replace with another.

Of the Blackface flavor I think the Bandmaster is my favorite of the Showman, Dual Showman, Bassman choices. The first '65 Bandmaster I had was unusually load. The one I have now is a little duller but I think a better sounding amp overall for surf. If I was recording music it would be my go to.

I think they are pretty light too and easy to transport.

"as he stepped into the stealthy night air... little did he know the fire escape was not there"

https://www.facebook.com/reluctantaquanauts/
https://www.facebook.com/TheDragstripVipers/

The Super didn't sound great after a tune up, so it was time to move on. It really worked out for me too, obviously Supers are pretty expensive as it is but mine had two rare speakers that were taken out before selling and a '58-'59 Bassman output transformer that was taken out and sold as well. Those alone were close to my original purchase point!

JakeDobner wrote:

The Super didn't sound great after a tune up, so it was time to move on. It really worked out for me too, obviously Supers are pretty expensive as it is but mine had two rare speakers that were taken out before selling and a '58-'59 Bassman output transformer that was taken out and sold as well. Those alone were close to my original purchase point!

Are Supers expensive again? I remember buying it in '99 when SRV was still popular and having to search it out. Then maybe 10 years later it seemed like the value had dropped on the Super.

Although, your Super sounds more super than your average Super. Mine currently sounds like an AM radio with enough static to kill a mosquito.

"as he stepped into the stealthy night air... little did he know the fire escape was not there"

https://www.facebook.com/reluctantaquanauts/
https://www.facebook.com/TheDragstripVipers/

They probably peaked a year ago. Still more expensive than a brownface piggyback Bassman.

JakeDobner wrote:

They probably peaked a year ago. Still more expensive than a brownface piggyback Bassman.

That's interesting Jake.
Here in Nashville you can't move a Super Reverb so prices are way down. Much less than a presence knob Bassman which is in high demand here.
I have a '66 Super Reverb I'd love to sell but no one here is interested.

Congrats on your Bassman. That's one of my favorite all time amps, probably top three for me.
Enjoy!

Cheers,
Jeff

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic

I have blonde tolex about to arrive for my bandmaster. I can't wait to finish it and put it in this thread. It's got a somewhat interesting story.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

CrazyAces wrote:

That's interesting Jake.
Here in Nashville you can't move a Super Reverb so prices are way down. Much less than a presence knob Bassman which is in high demand here.
I have a '66 Super Reverb I'd love to sell but no one here is interested.

Congrats on your Bassman. That's one of my favorite all time amps, probably top three for me.
Enjoy!

And that is being seen in the Vibrolux/Deluxe/Princeton prices, those surpassed the Super years ago. Big amps are still popular here in Seattle. Our musical culture is pretty different to that in Nashville. People gobble up Twins and Supers here. The small stuff sells online and the big stuff sells in shop.

Perhaps you can help me on comparing Seattle and Nashville. Here in Seattle we are still pretty hung up on the idea or image of a band. Young people really love how affordable anything larger than a Vibrolux is compared to other brands or even new boutique stuff, so a lot of that is selling.

In Seattle we have lots of people trying to be in bands, that traditional "we're a band". Is Nashville that way, or are people playing as side musicians with those with deeper pockets are trying to 'make it'? In Nashville the musical competency is also a bit higher, we combat that in volume.

stratdancer wrote:

I have blonde tolex about to arrive for my bandmaster. I can't wait to finish it and put it in this thread. It's got a somewhat interesting story.

Did you post about it elsewhere on the site? I think I kind of remember, but I would be interested in seeing/knowing more now!

I was talking about doing the bassman tranny mod which happened. This is an early 68 drip edge with an AB763 circuit. I found a BF faceplate cheap on ebay and as soon as the tolex arrives I'll finish it in rough blonde. It will match my blonde bandaster cab. This bandmaster now has a blonde bassman tone stack in the normal channel including all pot values. Phase inverter to blond bandmaster spec. Changed negative feedback to blond bandmaster presence control. The normal channel is quite different now. The trem channel was untouched except the trem cutoff switch.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

Dude! Cool!

I bought my Bassman before I remembered they don't have a tremolo... I now specifically remember this from when a blackface Bassman was my gigging amp from '07-'09! I do require such an effect on a couple songs...

Do you have an original blonde bandmaster cab, or a new build? Wheat tolex?

You can't beat onboard trem! What are you going to use for a pedal?

The bandmaster cab was built by The Cab Guy out of Indiana and is in the lower right of the pic. That middle cab is an old bass amp that holds my SRO. It never leaves my house because it weighs more than my old twin. Smile
image

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

The Cab Guy! Oh, I know him. He built a 2x12" rough/oxblood for me many years ago. I still have it!

I might just leave those songs out of the setlists? Otherwise I have something called the Twin Peaks tremolo. It can do harmonic or optical tremolo. During my first Bassman stint I had the Guyatone Flip tremolo which was REALLY great. The Twin Peaks is just about as nice for surf, but has tap and some other bells and whistles for non-surf.

JakeDobner wrote:

Perhaps you can help me on comparing Seattle and Nashville. Here in Seattle we are still pretty hung up on the idea or image of a band. Young people really love how affordable anything larger than a Vibrolux is compared to other brands or even new boutique stuff, so a lot of that is selling.

In Seattle we have lots of people trying to be in bands, that traditional "we're a band". Is Nashville that way, or are people playing as side musicians with those with deeper pockets are trying to 'make it'?

Nashville definitely has a stereotype but much has happened here in recent years. For years there was such an overabundance of players and the general focus on individual artists or songwriters that very few people bothered to try and have a "band". It would not be unusual to see someone perform one week and then see them a few weeks later with totally different players, depending on who was available.
When I started out to put our band together some of my friends didn't relate at all. A "band"? Why? Just get players when you perform.
It's important to note in that last statement that many of my friends are professional touring or recording players and the idea of a band has become a bit foreign to them. These people are also not very interested in coming out to see live music as they work in it all day long. I don't relate but it's how that group of people tend to think.
There are other, completely different aspects to Nashville's musician community though and this is where the stereotype gets shaken and the rest of the world is not completely aware of.
We have many "bands", especially as you indicated, in the younger age groups. Their scene is alive and well with strong attendance.
It seems to me that these younger bands have far less interest in particular gear, name brand or vintage so I have no vision as to where they fit into the vintage market, it seems they care much less whether they play a Peavey or a Fender or a lesser known brand.
While a lot of Nashville is volume conscious and has to be to be asked back to a venue there is also a strong scene in which friends of mine are still using 50 watt Marshalls.
The Super Reverb just hasn't been in demand here by anyone. Most of the national market has reflected this as well for a while now. Even long time dealers like Dave's in Wisconsin have been selling or attempting to sell Super Reverbs for far less than they went for 7-10 years ago.

"In Nashville the musical competency is also a bit higher, we combat that in volume.> "

Ha Ha, I question this. Not the volume thing but competency. There are plenty of fantastic players there and everywhere.

Sorry if my reply is rambling. I type in an incredibly inaccurate manner that does not always correlate directly to my thought process. LOL

Cheers,
Jeff

http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock
http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic

Jake, I am surprised you don't own a SurfyTrem. Seriously, they are amazing. Don't take my word for it, ask anyone who has ever played through one.

MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

SixStringSurfer wrote:

Jake, I am surprised you don't own a SurfyTrem. Seriously, they are amazing. Don't take my word for it, ask anyone who has ever played through one.

That is essentially the pedal I own but it has tap tempo and isn't meant for surf so it has a lot more control. It's not $189 better than my pedal.

I would buy a SurfyTrem kit if it didn't require a 9v or battery. If it could run off of the same power as a reverb unit I would build this and a SurfyBear into a Reverb Unit.

Bigger amps just seem to be out. I've been trying to move a Showman for 13 months now.

"as he stepped into the stealthy night air... little did he know the fire escape was not there"

https://www.facebook.com/reluctantaquanauts/
https://www.facebook.com/TheDragstripVipers/

JakeDobner wrote:

SixStringSurfer wrote:

Jake, I am surprised you don't own a SurfyTrem. Seriously, they are amazing. Don't take my word for it, ask anyone who has ever played through one.

That is essentially the pedal I own but it has tap tempo and isn't meant for surf so it has a lot more control. It's not $189 better than my pedal.

I would buy a SurfyTrem kit if it didn't require a 9v or battery. If it could run off of the same power as a reverb unit I would build this and a SurfyBear into a Reverb Unit.

you can run both surfy units on a 12v power supply.

Hey guys, I finally pulled the trigger and bought a Bandmaster! I paid $835 for it, and that includes shipping. That was at the very top of my budget. Can you guys please take a look at it and let me know if I made the right choice?

Is the death cap still in there? I hope it is 4 ohms to match the speaker in my cab. Here are some photos and the description from Reverb (I can't get a link to work since it's already been purchased). Can't wait to plug it in and start surfing!

1965 Fender Bandmaster. Sounds great, recently serviced. New Tung Sol power tubes. Very Good/Good cosmetic condition. Used in a smoke free studio for the last 10 years, never gigged with it.

Same AB763 circuit as a Fender Twin. Very clean and fast. Wish I could keep it.
As with most vintage instruments it's sold AS IS.
Product Specs

Condition: Very Good (Used)
Brand: Fender
Model: Bandmaster Head
Year: 1965
Made In: United States

image
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image
image
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MooreLoud.com - A tribute to Dick Dale.

Last edited: Mar 28, 2018 20:11:15

Looks like the caps (the bright orange ones) on the right got changed out. Hard to tell about the death cap without more close ups.

Get close up shots of the transformers and the serial numbers.

Also, be careful with the compartment of caps on the underside.Sometimes charge still builds up there.

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