1968 Fender Bandmaster

1968 Fender Musical Instruments "Drip Edge" Bandmaster head and 2-12 speaker cabinet (tall version) in excellent condition. This is the model they DIDN'T use in the Beatles doc. Although there is no tube chart, original blackface circuit is present and was confirmed by tech who first went over amp. Amp has had some common modifications, done by the previous owner who had serious electronics experience, as follows:

Two modifications were made to the amp; both of which required no drilling of any extra holes anywhere, and are easily reversible to original specifications. A triode/pentode switch was installed where the ground switch was. This mod allows switching between the full Bandmaster 40 watt (pentode) mode and the Deluxe-level 22 watt (triode) mode. Tech referred to this as kind of an "indoor/outdoor switch"; the tone is pretty much is the same but with more volume when you need it. In triode, imagine the sound of a cranked-up Deluxe running through a big 2-12 closed back cabinet.

The other mod was the addition of a negative feedback circuit. The control was installed where the extension speaker jack was. The original owner had a simple mini toggle switch on this; tech suggested putting in a pot for finer tonal adjustment. (We are not familiar with what a NF circuit is, does, or sounds like, so we won't make a judgement about it.) While the mods done by the previous owner were common and done correctly, he used cheap toggle switches, one of which had failed. Everything was replaced with quality parts, keeping the mods intact. Vibrato works fine across the range, no foot switch, though.

A 3-prong cord was also added at the same time the mods were made. This may need to be replaced depending on what's under the electrical tape where it appears the cord may have taken some melt from contact with hot tubes. Has a set of matched Groove Tubes and Mojotone "Fender Jensen-like" replacement speakers, both installed shortly before we got the amp, about 6 years ago.

Cosmetically, in great shape. We have tried to show every side and panel of the unit. Grille cloth has some small holes, all of the "drip edge" surrounds are there, there are minor scuffs to the tolex (no tears), some tarnish to the hardware, everything you would expect from a 56 year old amp. Has not seen much travel (we're the third owners) and hasn't moved out of our rehearsal space since we got it. Still used in rehearsal once in a while; fired it up a month ago and it sounded great with E's new pedals. All in all, a great sounder, perfect for recording big guitars or moving a lot of air in that big rehearsal space.

Local (60612) pickup; currently at our 3rd-floor rehearsal space. If any local players want to check it out, give us a call, drop us a line. Would consider local delivery if reasonable.