Amps Fender Bandmaster in the shop.

CapnDenny1

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
Customer's amp. Plays for a while and starts cutting out. I think this is from the mid to late 60's! I played it for a bit, and OMG does it make a Strat sound nice! Looks like a bad tube, or tube socket, or input jack. The Mesa 6L6 and the V1 tube are super microphonic. V1 tube is maxiphonic actually. Kind of sounds like a low powered Fender Twin? In fact there are two holes with plates over them for 2 more power tubes.

IMG_4237 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr

IMG_4250 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr

IMG_4249 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr

I have the hardware to lock down the Fender Bassman 100T I have to the speaker cab, just not sure how it works. Well here is how I find out! Note the depression for the handle on the speaker cab in the bottom of the head cabinet? Cool!

IMG_4247 by Dennis Kelley, on Flickr
 
PapaRaptor

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
One of my early band mated had a blonde Bandmaster head and cab. What a sweet amp. It sounded really good and didn't get overpowering (well at least for back then).
 
CaptainMoto

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Had a Band Mster way back in the mid 60's
Can't remember much about it except, It was big, cool looking and loud.

Had no PA back then, plugged a mic into the normal channel.
 
CapnDenny1

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
Yes, a keg for the band. That way they didn't need to take a break, just go grab a beer and keep playing.

The mess on the floor is what happened to all that toilet paper. You wanted to know why there was a shortage? There is your answer.

My younger brother had a keg party once. He had his older brother buy the keg for him. (Not mentioning any names.) They finished the party but not the keg. I had to take the keg back, but it seemed a shame taking it back with beer in it still? So I was out driving around with a keg in a metal wash basin, with ice, with the hose still attached in the back seat of my '67 VW Beetle, and a stack of plastic cups in the seat next to me. there I was driving around drinking beer on the way to the liquor store to get my deposit back. I came across two guys walking, maybe 16-17 years old, and stopped and said, "Hey, you guy's want a beer?" They both took me up on my generous offer. In fact I think they each took 2 beers. The most amazing part of the story is, NO that is NOT the dumbest thing I've ever done! But it's close.
 
OG_Blues

OG_Blues

Guitar Geezer
I know I'm usually a bit slow, but I'm really struggling to figure out what part of that story is the dumb part. :ROFLMAO:

Back in the late '60's, while attending the University of MN, we used to throw keg parties down on the Mississippi River banks in the spring time.
We would sell a plastic cup for $1 and then you could help yourself to all the beer you could drink, so we weren't technically selling beer. At least that what we told ourselves to justify it. These parties were generally overlooked and tolerated by the University Police back then, but we did get raided a couple times when things got a bit out of hand or too big. The biggest party we ever had was 16 - 16 gallon kegs. The worst part was if you had any left over untapped kegs, getting them back up the steep river bank was a real bugger - especially at the end of the party!!

BTW, back on topic - that Bandmaster is really sweet!! I love the sound of those old Fender amps.
 
Silicon Valley Tom

Silicon Valley Tom

It makes me happpy to play The Blues!
That is an extremely nice looking amplifier! The power transformer reminds me of the power transformers used in television sets, and I really love that copper shield! When I was a kid, we would use those types of transformers for projects like audio amplifiers, and ham radio transmitters. I still have one for a transmitter I built in 1957. Good memories! Thank you. ;)

Tom
 
CapnDenny1

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
Oh yeah, the amp?

I went to pull the tubes out, and one of the 6l6 power tubes the glass was loose from the base. So it's getting a new pair of Tung-Sol 6L6GT STR tubes.

I didn't see anything horrible with the tube sockets, but the input jacks are terribly corroded. So I ordered tubes and jacks.

I had another amp that would sound like this one, but it would take it 15 minutes to start acting up. this one does it after a few minutes. I remember that one ended up being the input jack. The Fender setup uses the shorting type jacks. When nothing is plugged in it shunts the signal to GND. When you plug in the signal goes through the other jack's shorting contacts. I don't remember the amp it was in, but I remember the sound.

We shall see if I am right in a week.
 
CapnDenny1

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
The Bandmaster is all set to go.

The new Apex Matched TungSol 6L6GC STR tubes sound great.

I replaced the jacks and no sound. I had a short on the new jack. A little too much solder. Then I realized it has 2 more on the Tremolo inputs! Of course the second pair I wired wrong. Oh well, got it sorted out.

Everything was working so I went ahead and made a shorting plug to enable the Tremolo. It worked, but it was making a tic-tic-tic sound that varied along with the Speed pot. A little searching and I found Fender Service Bulletin Number 9. It talked about lead dressing for the tremolo wiring and adding a 0.01uF cap. I went ahead and did both. It got rid of the tic-toc.

So it's all buttoned up ready to home. Total charge is $60 parts, and $75 labor.
 
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