6/20/2023 0 Comments Fender bandmaster 1963![]() ![]() “With 26 to 30 watts versus 40 watts in the Bassman, though, it’s not as loud and breaks up sooner, with a sweet, singing tone unlike any other amp I’ve owned. “Having owned a ’59 and a couple of ’60 5F6-A tweed Bassman amps, to my ear, this has many of the same tone qualities,” said James. Before detailing some of those, owner Tommie James offered comparative commentary. Commentators have called the 5E7 Bandmaster “a Bassman with three 10s instead of four,” and there are bound to be similarities – given they are both dual-6L6 tweed Fender amps of the same era – but the Bandmaster is different in respects aside from speakers. ![]() That trio of Jensen P10R Alnico speakers is somehow beguiling the amp pumps more air than the (admittedly awesome) Super, yet it’s still delightfully light and portable. In any case, why the bods at Fender saw need to replicate the chassis in so many slightly-varied guises is baffling… but we’re glad they did. The original Jensen P10R speakers are a big part of this amp’s appeal – and its superb tone. Some had minor differences like values for negative-feedback resistors to fine-tune headroom or match the NFB loop to the output impedance for optimum speaker damping. The 3×10″ 5E7 Bandmaster, 2×10″ 5F4 Super, and 1×15″ 5E5-A Pro were all essentially the same amp, other than speaker complement, output transformer, and occasional minor tweak in components (similar was the 2×12″ 5E8-A “low-powered” Twin of ’55-’58). In ’55, it took up the 3×10/narrow-panel configuration that then evolved to the more-desirable iterations of 1959. The Bandmaster arrived mid ’53 in a short-lived 1×15″ incarnation of Fender’s wide-panel tweed cab. Controls: Volume for Microphone and Instrument channels shared Treble, Bass, and Presence.And if you’re prepared to altogether collapse in a gelatinous heap, consider that the VG reader who owns this one also owns its successor, the 5G7 “middle-volume” pinkish-brown-Tolex Bandmaster – possibly the rarest of all production Fenders. There’s just something about the 3×10″ 5E7 Bandmaster that drives vintage-Fender nuts gaga. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.If ever there was an amp to make a fan of tweeds go wobbly in the knees, this is it. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. ![]() By the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price). ![]()
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