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Stumbled upon this '62 Fender Bandmaster (Model/Circuit Number: 6G7-A) on Reverb. Currently housed in a black Fender Showman export head shell (no idea of the shell's date - no 2-letter date stamp code on the tube chart - assuming later '60s?





Surprisingly clean and no death cap (one less removal task for me). Very quiet and sounds fantastic!















Some ownership history...












Plan A was to pop this into my spare Mojotone Vibroverb combo cabinet. Alas, the Bandmaster chassis is too small.

Plan B - Either find a proper sized 2x10" combo cab in blonde or brown tolex. I know it's not traditional, but I'm going for convenience for playing out and at home. In terms of resale, I'm sure another geezer like me would be interested in it down the road.

I'll likely have to commision a cabinet maker for this unless I get lucky in my search. I kind of like the idea of making it a 2x10" brown tolex combo cab, kind of as an homage to the '60 Fender Bandmaster. The '60 Bandmaster was a 3x10" Brown tolex/chocolate grill cloth. Here's an example:



I have materials left over from my Showman speaker cab brown tolex/chocolate grill cloth project. If I can find the correct sized 2x10" combo to house my Bandmaster chassis, I could take this project on.

Plan C - If Plan B doesn't work out, I'll try to hunt down a used old Bandmaster head blonde shell to basically restore it as a traditional '62 Bandmaster with a 2x12" cab. Hunting down a matching blonde 2x12" cab wouldn't be too difficult. From what I've seen on Reverb, this could be an expensive undertaking. Definitely gonna go with Plan B and hope for the best!

NICE Steve! What a weirdo cab for that, you and your wierdo cabs! Bummer it doesn't fit that other cab. Speaking of 3-speaker amps, man I want that $4k 1960 Bandmaster that's been on Reverb for a while. That 3-speaker thing is so freakin weird. I was talking to a fellow who is also into the Fender browns and he said all those 3-speaker amps were mismatched impedances, that the odd speakers make them not match their transformers. Which would affect their sound. I can guess the 3x10s sound a bit different than the 2x10s?

DeathJag wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 03, 2022 2:05 pm

NICE Steve! What a weirdo cab for that, you and your wierdo cabs! Bummer it doesn't fit that other cab. Speaking of 3-speaker amps, man I want that $4k 1960 Bandmaster that's been on Reverb for a while. That 3-speaker thing is so freakin weird. I was talking to a fellow who is also into the Fender browns and he said all those 3-speaker amps were mismatched impedances, that the odd speakers make them not match their transformers. Which would affect their sound. I can guess the 3x10s sound a bit different than the 2x10s?

Thanks, Dan! In my search for a '60 Bandmaster photo, I found this available - https://gregboyd.com/product/1965-fende ... brown-cab/ that you might want to check out.

Interestingly, the '60 Bandmaster is listed (per Ampwares) as using 8 ohms. The 90's (and I assume the later models) of the Vibro-King (also a 3x10) uses 6 ohms. I've owned 2 Vibro-Kings and have ended up moving them both on. They're just too heavy for me @ 73 lbs. Great surf amp, though!

I have been gassing for a early '60s Fender Concert (4x10) and I could have bought one (a '62 still available on Reverb). Reluctantly, as I mentioned re: the Vibro-King, I'm realizing I'm getting too old for the heavy gear. Instead, I found this '62 Bandmaster! All worked out, I guess!

As a test, I swapped out the '62 Pro chassis and put in the '62 Bandmaster chassis in the Pro's cabinet. Fit perfectly. I'll take measurements of the Pro cab to commission a 2x10 combo when I'm able. Gotta throw a bunch of stuff up for sale here on Reverb soon.

HOT, the head cab it came with definitely looks like an early 70's

I know that the tuxedo look is not vintage correct for Bandmasters, but that looks pretty hot, IMO. I used to own a ‘62 Bandmaster with a 2x12 cab, and it was an amazing amp, it was just too much amp for a guy living in an apartment and not playing in a band. I had a brownface Concert BITD too, and that was also a great amp. Hell, I never met a brownface Fender I didn’t like. If only I’d kept the Deluxe It’s pretty much exactly what I need right now…

Following up - I ended up commissioning Will @ Armadillo Amps in Texas to build me a 2x10 combo amp to put this '62 Fender Bandmaster head in it. There was a 4-month wait but it was finally finished this week. The combo cab arrived today! Looks amazing and it's beautifully constructed. Will had the schematics for the Bandmaster head (along with my sent measurements) and the amp fit into the cab perfectly. I was initially worried the top bracket screws might not align correctly but they were spot on. Can't recommend Will @ Armadillo Amps enough if you need an amp cab built.

FWIW, this is totally not a restoration project but a conversion project for my convenience with my preferred Fender brownface era aesthetics. It basically looks like a Fender Super from the early '60s.











Honestly, placement & attaching the flat Fender replica logo was the biggest pain in the neck part of putting this beastie together...





I installed a pair of Jensen MOD speakers I had on hand. I'll likely upgrade down the road but these'll do for now.





Almost finished...





With power on...but something's not quite right...



Much better...





Oh yeah - sounds glorious!! I'll try my best to follow-up with a video demo when I'm able.

wow that cabinet is great!

Thanks, OYF!

Here-here for combo’s bandmasters.
I have a 68 in a 1/12 box that was my main amp for a long while across a couple bands.

As a piggyback (and blonde/oxblood) enthusiast I would have voted for a restoration - but this does look awesome!

I only once played my Dripedge through a 4x10 which was a great sound on its own.
2x10 will be - as you say - a very convenient setup! Enjoy!

I picked up a ‘70 Bandmaster a couple of years ago just because the price was too good not to and was shocked at how much I like it. It’s become my #1 amp. When you get yours all together I’d love to hear it!

Chippertheripper wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 11, 2023 10:40 pm

Here-here for combo’s bandmasters.
I have a 68 in a 1/12 box that was my main amp for a long while across a couple bands.

Very cool - I'd love to see it if you have some photos!

MayTheFuzzBeWithYou wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 12, 2023 1:45 am

As a piggyback (and blonde/oxblood) enthusiast I would have voted for a restoration - but this does look awesome!

I only once played my Dripedge through a 4x10 which was a great sound on its own.
2x10 will be - as you say - a very convenient setup! Enjoy!

I'll most likely do a proper restoration when a shell head and 2x12 speaker cab becomes available. I've had a blonde '62 Bassman that I sold to DeathJag last year or so. For me, currently, it's about space and convenience. I have a honkin' big '63 Showman with a 15" Tone Ring cab that takes up a lot of space so adding more head & cab combos currently isn't ideal.

I'll likely put the export black Showman head shell this amp came with (see first photo) up for sale in the near future if anyone can make use of it.

I need to see if a '60s Fender Tremolux head has the same measurements as the Bandmaster. I think the Tremolux will be better suited with the 2x10 speaker configuration. I have no clue as to the cause, but turning any of the knobs past 4 or 5 seems to stress out the speakers. I may need to get the amp in for servicing in any case. I may also have to swap out these Jensen MOD 35" watt speakers sooner than later to something with more wattage to handle the Bandmaster. I fully admit my amp knowledge is pretty limited, so hopefully others can make helpful recommendations. These Jensen MOD speakers are 8 ohm each and I think the loadout for speakers in the Bandmaster's head & cab configuration was 2x12 8ohm speakers for the 4 ohm. Per Ampwares re: the blonde Fender Bandmaster:

Speaker:

Size: 1 x 12 ~ 1961, 2 x 12 ~ 1962-1963
Impedance: 8 ohms ~ 1961, 4 ohms ~ 1962-1963
Model: Jensen C12N, Oxford 12K5R-1, Oxford 12M6-4, Oxford 12L6N-12(For more info, check out the Jensen Replacement Speakers)

Watts: 40 watts
Tubes:

Pre amp: 4 x 7025, 2x 12AX7
Power: 2 x 5881
Bias: Fixed; Unadjustable
Rectifier: Solid State (Silicon)

So unless I misunderstood, these speakers should be alright as the overall amp wattage is 40 Watts.

redchapterjubilee wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 12, 2023 3:54 am

I picked up a ‘70 Bandmaster a couple of years ago just because the price was too good not to and was shocked at how much I like it. It’s become my #1 amp. When you get yours all together I’d love to hear it!

Nice! I hope to put up a YT demo later today.

I haven’t used it in a while. Someone from the internets sent me this particle board housing, and I’m pretty sure it has a Jensen c12n in it, pretty neutral driver.
When I was playing in a different life it also had a Gomez g spring chassis and pan secretly bolted into the back of it too, for all that good drip-drip.

Drip edge, black line, real decent edge of break up at stage volumes, but I need a little more drive for what I’m doing now. There’ve been a few fleeting thoughts of a stereo setup, but that’s another layer I don’t know if I need in my life.

Very cool! I had a Gomez El Sonido (Bassman clone) for a while, great amp. The Gomez G-Spring Reverb Unit is awesome and hard to find nowadays. I'm also on the Surf Guitar 101 forums and Darrio used to hang there. Super nice guy! He complimented me on one of my guitar photos (this one, I think).



My now gone Fender '66 RI (CIJ) Jazzmaster refin'd in daphne blue, now gone Fender Standard Tele with Vibramate Bigsby and Jazzmaster neck pickup, and my Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster that had recently been refinished in shell pink by my guitar tech way back then in March 2014.