Just bought a ‘62 Bandmaster head and am wondering what to pair it with. 10s, 12s, a 15? Make and model? Open back or closed? I play a Jazzmaster, usually on the neck pickup. Most venues where I gig are on the small side. I don’t mind ordering a cab and loading it myself. All thoughts are appreciated!
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
Speaker Recommendations for Bandmaster
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Joined: Oct 08, 2018 Posts: 11 
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Posted on Nov 30 2023 04:14 PM
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Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 1129 Northern CA
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Posted on Nov 30 2023 09:36 PM
JBL? |
Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 11053 Berkeley, CA 
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Posted on Dec 01 2023 09:00 AM
Hi John, I gigged regularly with a 62 bandmaster with my old surf band. I ended up using a single EVM-12L. It's a heavy speaker but not as heavy as having 2! Those things are monsters, huge power rating and they don't distort. All the distortion you get is from the amp itself, which is more pleasing to my ears for surf music. It sounds great and you won't risk blowing it out. Beaver Bottoms is a good source for cabinets. —Danny Snyder Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF |
Joined: Oct 17, 2009 Posts: 523 Walkersville, MD
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Posted on Dec 01 2023 09:33 AM
Congrats, John! Originally/typically/traditionally, a Band-Master is paired with a 2x12 cab. I'm a fan of Jensen, JBL, and for modern speakers, Eminence. All of them have that Fender sound for me. As a fan of 2x10 combo cabs, I commissioned Will @ Armadillo Ampworks in Texas to build me a 2x10 combo cab for my '62 Band-Master head. I bought it off of Reverb and it was in a black tolex/silver grill cloth export Fender Showman head shell. It's basically my non-traditional homage to the brownplate-era Fender Super 2x10 combo. I have the original cream knobs in storage and put on brown knobs.
I'm a huge fan of the brown tolex period, likely due to my first '63 Reissue Vibroverb. I bought a '63 Fender Showman head that a previous owner had recovered in brown tolex/oxblood with gold stripe grill cloth (tweed era style). I guess I was so smitten with the look I had the same done for this combo cab. Last year, I couldn't pass up a deal on a '63 Band-Master head from Guitar Center. It has the original shell with tube chart intact. Someone had done a not-so-great re-tolexing of it in blonde with an oxblood/gold stripe grill cloth. Fender amp historians with far more knowledge than I can correct me but from what I've learned, '63 Band-Masters had wheat grill cloth. I bought some wheat grill cloth to get it period correct. However, the poor re-tolexing of the blonde bugged me a little. I've re-tolexed a speaker cab (the one with paired with the Showman), so one day I may have a go at re-tolexing the original shell. Side track - my '63 Showman that I mentioned is paired with a 1x15 tone ring cab (Bob @ Beaver Bottoms built for me). I have an early '60s JBL D-140F speaker in the cab. I love it but it will never leave the house as it's a big honkin' cab. I was so happy with the 2x10 combo cab Will @ Armadillo Ampworks did for me, I commissioned him to build me a 2x12 cab to match up with the Showman if I were ever to want to play out with it. This was done before I acquired the '63 Band-Master head. Since the cab was going to match the brown tolex/oxblood with gold stripe grill cloth of my '63 Showman, I contacted Will again and requested he add to my order a Band-Master head shell with the same brown tolex/oxblood with gold stripe grill cloth. Once I get a wacky idea in my head... While not traditional, I love the look. When the time comes to move on my gear, I'll re-house the '63 Band-Master head back in its original shell (or provide it along with current shell). So now I have my '63 Band-Master paired with the 2x12 cab that I had built originally for my Showman. I'm all about the options! The 2x12 cab has a pair of NK-12 Neodymium I had handy - lightweight and sound great. The '63 Showman is to the left and my '64 Fender Reverb Unit sits on top. I left the original cream knobs on this time.
Here's the original head - I've been thinking I'll put the '63 Band-Master back into it and buying a Mojotone 2x10 blonde cab for it as another option.
All of this is a bit eccentric (i.e., nutso) but I hope that one day, I'll come across an early '60s Fender Super chassis. I'll put that into my 2x10 combo cab as it has the same measurements as the Band-Master. I'll then put my '62 Band-Master chassis from the 2x10 combo cab into my brown head shell, and put the '63 Band-Master chassis back into it's original blonde shell. Then I'll definitely get the 2x10 blonde cab from Mojotone. Anyhoo, good luck with your '62 Band-Master - they're awesome. I hope you find the right speaker(s) configuration that works for you. The doofus formerly known as Snorre |
Joined: Nov 05, 2023 Posts: 58 Brussels Area 
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Posted on Dec 01 2023 11:27 AM
I second Danny for sure! Cheers, https://m.facebook.com/TheArousals Last edited: Dec 01, 2023 11:38:12 |
Joined: Dec 07, 2014 Posts: 1222
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Posted on Dec 01 2023 12:11 PM
- Last edited: Jan 31, 2024 15:36:39 |
Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 2255 North Carolina
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Posted on Dec 02 2023 08:02 PM
I've got one of Dario's complete El Sonido's - the Bassman head w/ 2x12 cabinet. It originally came with Celestion Vintage 30's in it. Really good, but not 'most amazing' to MY EAR, for what I was playing. I started asking the same 'speaker recommendations?' question here. With several resounding endorsements of the ElectroVoice EVM-12L's, I made the jump. Glorious... to be sure. Heavy AF... to be sure. But, but, but!! Glorious. I immediately and significantly preferred them by comparison to the V30's. FFWD with a few refinements to the head (Mercury Magnetics 6G6-B vintage spec transformers & choke, plus some NOS Tung-Sol power tubes and a great NOS/ANOS RCA black plate 7025 for the 'Wild" (2nd) channel), and the recommendation from a highly regarded local amp tech with many, many years in vintage amps and part of Steve Carr's operation (Carr Amps) as THEE warranty service guy for years... I took his recommendation and tried the Celestion Heritage Series G12-65's. The irony, this speaker was created in the 70's "using more modern materials and techniques for a higher power handling", proclaimed to be the best for a 4x12 (looking at you Marshall!) and according to my tech, rose to prominence in the 80's rock and metal scene... they are simply SUBLIME, INCREDIBLE in my El Sonido for instrumental & surf that we all know and love - both vintage / vintage inspired and modern (and anything in between). To me, they sound WAY better than the Vintage 30's (note, I had the imports if that matters to you), and IN MY OPINION and TO MY EAR, distinctly better than the EV's. The EV's were absolutely strong - clean, crisp, clear and without any speaker breakup and if it is possible to truly know, what seemed to be without coloration. They sounded real nice. Real real nice. Of course, thanks to the very high efficiency rating, they were also plenty loud. That said, the Heritage G12-65 speaker experiment has added to my confirmation bias that part of what made the old stuff so great is/was the less efficient, less pristine qualities of components of the day. Not lo-fi, just less efficient and ever so slightly less naturally clean and giving (firm/stiff) than the EVM 12L's. For me, the G12-65's really deliver. BIG TIME. Plenty clean and crisp, natural/neutral and plenty loud (efficiency rating), but with a rich full spectrum; complex is the best way to describe it. Straight 10 foot cord from guitar to amp and it is almost like having the outboard Gomez G-Spring (6G15 clone) plugged in with a very light reverb setting. I now understand the comment "3-D" with the richness WITHOUT any reverb or delay. So, so good. Now, the Band Master is NOT the Bassman circuit despite similar wattage and 2x12 configuration. That said, I could not be more pleased with making the switch from ElectroVoice EVM-12L's to the G12-65's and if I ever found myself with a vintage Band Master, I would absolutely give the Heritage G12-65's a go - before EV's even. FWIW, My 2 cents, YMMV, etc. etc. etc. —Fady El Mirage @ ReverbNation |
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Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 11053 Berkeley, CA
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Posted on Dec 02 2023 09:01 PM
Nice post Fady, you've piqued my curiosity. Though to be honest, 90% of the time I play through my Quilter these days. But once in a while when I need a shot of pure bliss, I pull out my Bandmaster. —Danny Snyder Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF |
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Joined: Dec 07, 2014 Posts: 1222
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Posted on Dec 04 2023 03:49 AM
- Last edited: Jan 31, 2024 15:32:31 |
Joined: Dec 11, 2013 Posts: 2533 Akron, Ohio
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Posted on Dec 04 2023 04:19 AM
I have a couple of smaller 1x15 cabs and bought one of these after Lorenzo's recommendation. Instant gratification. Similar to my D130 but lighter and handles much more power. —The Kahuna Kings https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447 |
Joined: Aug 18, 2008 Posts: 368 Orange, CA
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Posted on Dec 04 2023 07:22 PM
I tried MANY speakers in my brown Bandmaster but the one I really liked the most was an Altec 417C alnico. Heavy with a tone ring cab but so worth it! |
Joined: Nov 08, 2011 Posts: 86 Chicagoland
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Posted on Dec 05 2023 01:32 AM
Thanks guys for all the good comments. how about a 1-12” Tone Ring Cabinet. You have the vintage vibe, but you could use any 12” speaker that you would |
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