So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Unexpected new amp day!!!!

So earlier today I went out of town shopping & brought some gear along for trading fodder just in case I found a new guitar that I couldn't live without? I didn't find much that interested me until I was about to leave & then I saw it over in the corner and just had to play it! About 5 minutes in I had decided that it was coming home with me. I'm now the proud new owner of a all original (aside from the plug, it's been changed to a 3prong cord) 1968 Fender Bandmaster head along with the original cabinet & Alnico drivers!!!

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This was either the best or worst decision I've made in a long time! I'm hoping it was a good one but I think it's going to get limited use until I can get it to a good tech and have it gone through? Until then it sounds amazing and is a great piece of history! That said, when I look at the chassis and valves I've got to admit that I'm a little terrified, this is by far the oldest amplifier I've ever owned & the last time I saw one it nearly killed a friend of mine! I bet he still has a few fillings wielded together to this day!!!

 

[Diego]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Holy ****.

That is amazing. Put some money into that, some evil pedals in front and holy smokes, you're in for one hell of a treat there.

CONGRATS!

 

[Demanic]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Nice. Just don't go poking around in the guts and you should be alright. After all you say it's been modded to a three prong.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Diego]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

And BTW, you're right about being terrified. Old capacitors and resistors, as you know, means electricity could be going places it's not meant to be at, inside.
So do make as little use of it as possible, until a tech gives it maintenance.

Any hints of recent maintenance inside or it looks all 60s in there?

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Holy ****.

That is amazing. Put some money into that, some evil pedals in front and holy smokes, you're in for one hell of a treat there.

CONGRATS!

Thank you kindly Sir!!! Unfortunately Amp Techs are a pretty rare breed around here so I'll probably have to bring it down south for any tune ups & other issues so it could be a while before I'm comfortable enough with it to play it for extended periods of time? Nevertheless, it seems like its working okay for now & she definitely sounds beautiful!!!

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

And BTW, you're right about being terrified. Old capacitors and resistors, as you know, means electricity could be going places it's not meant to be at, inside.
So do make as little use of it as possible, until a tech gives it maintenance.

Any hints of recent maintenance inside or it looks all 60s in there?

I was told that it was serviced not to long ago and the valves all look pretty new, I just want someone who's not trying to sell me something to tell me the same thing, check the bias, Exc.

Oh, & don't worry about me going poking around in there! I'm well aware of what the residual current can do to the human body and I have absolutely no interest in becoming a charcoal briquette anytime soon! I can't die, I've got way too much stuff to do, LOL!!!!

 

[Demanic]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Indeed.

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[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Nice,man!

Big 'Grats on that one,"should" be a Lifer,I'd think!

:headbang:

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

I love those amps! My first good amp was a c. 1965 BF Bandmaster and matching 212.

Your amp head appears to be later than a '68, probably a '71 or later, as yours has the master volume, yes? Still a great amp.

The cab would appear to be EARLIER than a '68, which to me is a GREAT thing! The Silver-Face amps went to a bigger, vertical 212 cab, to look more stack-like. Those bigger cabs were bulky and PITA to move around, especially for having only 212s...the Marshall 412s were smaller. The smaller cabs of the BF-era Fenders are some of the best cabs ever made, IMO. There was a Tremolux 210, 212s for the Bandmaster and Bassman with different hardware and speakers, and the Showman cabs with JBL speakers in 112, 115 and 215 cabs. The 112 and 115 cabs were dropped with the introduction of the SF, and like the Bassman and Bandmaster cabs, the 215 nearly doubled in size. They are all great sounding cabs, just too big to fit in your Chevy Vega or Ford Pinto.

I think you might have been mis-informed about some of the details of this rig, but I have no doubt that it sounds fabulous. A great score, congrats!

Bill

 

[d1dsj]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Wow, what a find! I'd get try and get it checked out ASAP so I could play the hell out of it. BIG congrats!

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Awesome! I'd love one!

 

[Securb]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

I friggin hate you

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

That is a super cool amp!
It is pretty hip as it is, but if you had it housed in a 1x12 combo cab you would have a no fuss, easy carry, killer tone gigging machine.
You can always run the 2x12 in the recording studio if you so desired.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

I love those amps! My first good amp was a c. 1965 BF Bandmaster and matching 212.

Your amp head appears to be later than a '68, probably a '71 or later, as yours has the master volume, yes? Still a great amp.

The cab would appear to be EARLIER than a '68, which to me is a GREAT thing! The Silver-Face amps went to a bigger, vertical 212 cab, to look more stack-like. Those bigger cabs were bulky and PITA to move around, especially for having only 212s...the Marshall 412s were smaller. The smaller cabs of the BF-era Fenders are some of the best cabs ever made, IMO. There was a Tremolux 210, 212s for the Bandmaster and Bassman with different hardware and speakers, and the Showman cabs with JBL speakers in 112, 115 and 215 cabs. The 112 and 115 cabs were dropped with the introduction of the SF, and like the Bassman and Bandmaster cabs, the 215 nearly doubled in size. They are all great sounding cabs, just too big to fit in your Chevy Vega or Ford Pinto.

I think you might have been mis-informed about some of the details of this rig, but I have no doubt that it sounds fabulous. A great score, congrats!

Bill

You are correct Sir! Serial number dating off the transformers tells me it is in fact a 72 not a 68. I'm not really sure why he would intentionally misinform me about the year??? The circuit/circuits in the 72's was actually quite a bit better than the 68's, maybe just so it would seem a lil older.... I spent about an hour playing through it last night without any issues. I think as long as I don't push it too hard before it's checkup it will be alright??? Sounds fantastic!!!!

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Great find! Looking forward to hearing some clips.

 

[dystrust]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

You are correct Sir! Serial number dating off the transformers tells me it is in fact a 72 not a 68. I'm not really sure why he would intentionally misinform me about the year??? The circuit/circuits in the 72's was actually quite a bit better than the 68's, maybe just so it would seem a lil older.... I spent about an hour playing through it last night without any issues. I think as long as I don't push it too hard before it's checkup it will be alright??? Sounds fantastic!!!!

I'm not super familiar with Bandmasters, but the generally accepted knowledge is that early SF Fenders (like a '68) are much closer circuit-wise to their BF predecessors than the later master volume amps. I don't know if it's still true, but those earlier SF amps also used to fetch higher prices than the later ones.

 

[JeffB]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

Wow.

Awesome find


Congrats!

 

[DankStar]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

SOUTH CENTRAL DOES IT LIKE NOBODY DOES!!!!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: So I Was Thinking About Buying Another Guitar But...... U.N.A.D.!!!!!

I wouldn't worry about taking it to a tech if it sounds just fine. It's probably been recapped, and you can tell by pulling the chassis out and looking for yourself.

I was gonna say 70 - 74, because yours doesn't have the 68/69 drip edge aluminum strip around the grillcloth, and it doesn't have the master volume to the far right, just reverb and tremolo.
Don't worry about reliability. It'll probably outlive all your modern amps.