New Amp: 1965 Bandmaster

[bubbles_horwitz]

i won this on ebay a couple weeks ago. the thing sounds absolutely incredible. i always thought the whole blackface thing was just hype, but the tone is exponentially better than my deville. i'm planning on building a 3x10" cabinet for it.

i don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the front part with the grill cloth was warped and looked weird. i took it off a few days ago and the thing started crumbling to pieces. so i bought some new particle board, painted it black and stapled the old cloth on it. it looks much better now.

[JetBlue]

Ah, my dream amp. Congrats! 

Will your cabinet be closed-back?

[mjet]

i won this on ebay a couple weeks ago. the thing sounds absolutely incredible. i always thought the whole blackface thing was just hype, but the tone is exponentially better than my deville. i'm planning on building a 3x10" cabinet for it.

To be fair, the blackface mystique is usually discussed when comparing them to silverface-era (1970s) amps, not so much against modern amps like the Hotrod Deville etc. The gap between several of the blackface and silverfaces is much narrower, which is why there's so much back-and-forth about it.

[bubbles_horwitz]

Ah, my dream amp. Congrats! 

Will your cabinet be closed-back?

probably open back, but i haven't really decided yet.

[OffYourFace]

I had a '64 bandmaster, said fender elect. on it.  wish i kept it!  sold it many years ago for a now embarrassing $200 

[bubbles_horwitz]

mine wasn't much more. only $350.

[OffYourFace]

mine wasn't much more. only $350.

Reallly?  Good score!  They go for no less than $450 here for SF models.  Maybe because you're in LA, there a tons of Bandmasters around. (I grew up in LA, parents still live there).  I originally bought mine for $60 anyway so I can't complain :-) 

[bubbles_horwitz]

actually it was an ebay score. i was the only bidder, strangely enough.

[RedOrangeMorning]

Great find! I also got a '65 off ebay a couple months ago for slightly more ($400) than you paid. Like you, I was shocked at how incredible it sounded, even though I've been playing it through a cabinet with speaker issues. The vibrato channel is just amazing. Well, congratulations, and enjoy!

[eyesadrift]

wow thats awesome dude ive wanted a bandmaster for a while now myself mybe someday
that is if i can ever get off my pedal fetish

[spiffy chap]

[zhivago]

great looking amp

here's a pic of my '65 Tremolux

[bubbles_horwitz]

what's the difference between the tremolux and the bandmaster? they look almost identical.

[mjet]

The Tremolux has a tube (GZ34) rectifier, whereas Bandmasters have a solid state rectifier. And the Tremolux is 35w - Bandmasters are 40w. But they're essentially the same circuit, apparently (AA763) which I think also matches (or closely matches) some other models (Super Reberb??). I don't know enough about them to know how much they overlapped in sound, though...

[zhivago]

The Tremolux has a tube (GZ34) rectifier, whereas Bandmasters have a solid state rectifier. And the Tremolux is 35w - Bandmasters are 40w. But they're essentially the same circuit, apparently (AA763) which I think also matches (or closely matches) some other models (Super Reberb??). I don't know enough about them to know how much they overlapped in sound, though...

correct

I've never played through a Bandmaster so I can't be sure about the sound either...the main difference in sound is probably the extra compression to the note that the valve rectifier of the Tremolux provides

some people like it and some don't.

for example, in the band I play in at the moment, I favour a solid state rectifier...actualy, the whole amp is solid state!

but for my own project, I'll most likely use the Tremolux, as I could use the compressed sound.