Fender Bandmaster vintage

[raphaël]

Hi,

Someone is trying to sell me a 68/69 Bandmaster Silver Face tfl 5005x, with matching HP from the very same era...

Does someone know how is this amp?
I'm quite a noob with vintage amps, and I don't want to make a mistake (I only know silver faces and black faces are worshiped).

I'm looking for a good and simple amp, with a magic clean tone yet warmy, which accept pedals easily...
Will it fit my needs?

Thank you!!

[Gone Fission]

If that's the Bandmaster Reverb, it's pretty standard silver face Fender of that era. Good cleans, big Fender tone stack mid scoop. It's basically a Super Reverb chassis with a smaller output transformer, maybe the same one in the Vibrolux or close, so it'll do more smoothing saturation with bandwidth limiting when cranked compared to the Super's meaner and bigger thing. With the right cabinet, if you're not playing metal or doom, it'll probably work out great as a club amp. Reverb was touchy on the one I had, but this is all hand wired stuff and easy for a tech to work on. Used to be a $200 amp in the U.S., now consistently asking over $500.

What's an "HP"?

[raphaël]

Thanks,

It's the reverb one...you say you can afford one for 500$?? cause he's selling his one (head + cab) for 1200 euros!!!!!
I think I have to reconsider this deal...but what you said about that amp might fit my needs...

A "HP" is a "speaker/cab", "HP" as "Haut Parleur" in french...sorry, habits

[HorseyBoy]

^ Amps are always way cheaper in the US than they are in Europe.
But it should do what you're looking for - nice cleans, take pedals well. Can you play it first?

[Gone Fission]

Bear in mind that I haven't been shopping for one so I may be under current market rates. Condition/maintenance/retube can affect the price, and the cabs can vary in price a lot depending on the speaker complement (alnico JBLs or Jensens can pull some coin). Local country and region market for vintage market always varies based on supply and demand, and international freight costs and customs help keep it that way.

Things to consider: this has never been a collectible amp. I am still not aware of any famous players using a Bandmaster Reverb. The biggest reason that prices have risen in the U.S. has been guys buying them for combo conversions to do a cheaper SRV Vibroverb type amp. Still, it tends to still be the cheapest way into a classic style Fender Reverb amp. If you can get a silver face Princeton Reverb cheaper in your market, unless the speaker cab is a fantastic one with high dollar speakers, maybe pass on it?

Oh, and great mostly with pedals. Tends not to like Big Muffs because mid scoop plus mid scoop tends not to work well.

[Eivind August]

I've got an older blackface version. Great amp, which should suit your needs if you dig the typical Fender clean tone. Think I gave $600 for mine?

[Twangasaurus]

Things to consider: this has never been a collectible amp. I am still not aware of any famous players using a Bandmaster Reverb.

I don't know of any famous players using it but they are moderately sort after by surf dudes.

EDIT: Not that constitutes much of a "market" or anything.

[raphaël]

My problem is that I always had shitty amps (a Marshall VS15R, an Epiphone 15R and a Vox AD60VT...I know...).
And after 20 years of playing I'd like to have a good amp (I tried my pedalboard on a VOX AC30 w/ blue speakers last week and wow, I could have felt my 3 minis were happy)...
So if I get to play that Bandmaster first, I will looOOOove it, even if it's not that good...

Anyway, the dude is trading that amp + a 71 Hagstrom Suede for my 76 US Strat.
I'm still processing, because I don't really know that Hagstrom, and I prefer single coils.
But it might be a good deal.

Thank you for your answers btw.