fender amps pre cbs

Richard Delucchi · From: California, USA

i have the opportunity to get a pre cbs bandmaster amp. wondering if anyone has played a steel thru one and your opinion of it .
thanks

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Which version? There were multiple models of tweed, brown, white, and blackface? See this for reference - http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/

Richard Delucchi · From: California, USA

Black face

Harry Johansen · From: Kvalsund.Norway/Valencia Dumaguete,Phils.

I have a 66 mod blackface head wich i play through a telonics speaker. And I use a digitech rp 155 for reverb and delay.The guitar is Fulawka. Sounds awesome.

Dave Mudgett · From: Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee

Blackface Bandmasters tend to sound a little weak, to my ears. My first decent amp was a blackface '65 or '66 Bandmaster, we're talking a long, long time ago. The issues, to me, are that the preamp is a bit low on gain and the output transformers tend to be a bit on the weak side. I've owned several since then, and they were all pretty consistently a bit weak.

With a little goose-up in the gain, either through a mod or just a clean boost, plus perhaps a transformer with a bit more iron, they sound fine. I've played through some that were modded, and I think they're very good mod platforms. But stock, I think they're about the weakest of all the black/silver-faced Fenders.

I had a blackface, white-tolex Bandmaster, ca. '64 oh, about 20 years ago. By far the best blackface Bandmaster I've ever played, the rhythm guitar sound-of-doom. But it was hard to ever get it to really bloom for anything else, to my tastes. It was big, bulky, and heavy, and I just didn't find it worth dragging to a gig just for that big beautiful rhythm guitar sound.

Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

A Bandmaster might work with a quiet band and good mic-ing,but you'd be hitting it pretty hard and unless it's been thoroughly gone thru there's likely to be as much component failure as if you were using it for electric bass or keyboard.Not my first choice for a working steel amp,but a pre-CBS Bandmaster(especially a blonde)is something I sure wouldn't kick out of my music room! Winking

Clete Ritta · From: San Antonio, Texas

I love, love love them for guitar, but not really for pedal steel so much. I have a '66 blackface, and an early 70's silverface that has been slightly modded (adjustable bias). They're only 45 watts and break up pretty early.

As Dave mentioned with a little clean boost it may work better, though I've never tried that. In general I'd describe them as kinda dirty and bright (when cranked), so if you are looking for clean and warm Id opt for something else.

This is not to say that it won't work, it will work of course. It may be a sound that you really like! This is a fairly subjective matter at any rate.

Wayne Harris · From: Kentucky, USA

i have a fender twin reverb amp that i play my steel through some times you know it has high low and mid wonder if theres amy eq or something to put on it that has presence and shift to add to it thanks

Howard Steinberg · From: St. Petersburg, Florida , USA

I have a '62 tan/oxblood bandmaster that I purchased new when I was in high school. It's a nice amp but If I had 2 brain cells to rub together, at that time, I would have bought a bassman. As others have said it's a pretty low gain amp. With a good overdrive pedal it does nicely for guitar. I've used it for practicing steel with a verb/delay pedal. It sounds ok but I wouldn't use it, with steel, by choice, on a gig.
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Justice Pro Lite (4-5), Justice D-10 (8-5)x2 , Quilter Steelaire, Hilton Pedal, BJ's bar.

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

I have a '64 Vibroverb. As my band miked everything, I gigged with it. Best sound I've ever had! Pretty much the same as a Bandmaster, but with reverb,,,, I think?

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