It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:38 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: 09 Bandmaster VM head review
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:09 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:39 pm
Posts: 62
09 Bandmaster 40W Tube
Made in Mexico

I`m going to get what I don't like mentioned immediately because there really is only one thing so far in that category.

Fit and finish/ quality control:
As soon as I opened the box and pulled out the head, the grille fell out on the floor. I popped it back in but as soon as the head was tilted at all it would fall out. I quickly realized the inside of the cabinet had velcro hook type pads stapled in but the grille had nothing.
Must say I was worried, I would never buy a Mexican made guitar and trusting in an amp from there was a stretch for me, even though it has the great Fender name, I tend to associate Fender with American made quality, and have always frowned upon un-American Fender products as a rule.
Anyway, it`s all about money and execs and/or shareholders making more and more, so I understand the business model.

Needless to say I completed the construction of the amp head by installing my own velcro loop material on the grill side. I just hope that this glaringly obvious screw-up is not an indication of the quality of the inside workings of the amp.


The first few days I had to keep it at low volume practice levels and I found that it sounded just fine, especially when tweaked into the "brown sound" settings range.
You get some hints for settings with the amp, of course.

The amp comes with a foot controller with four options; Drive on-off, reverb on-off, delay on-off, and chorus on-off.

The vintage modified part of this amp would be the effects added.
With lots of gain on the drive channel and some reverb I find a great classic rock sound. The delay and chorus actually share the same setting controls, with a selector switch to control which one you are changing settings on, kind of different but works well.
The delay can be tweaked into tremolo/ tremoverb type sounds as well.

I also got the matching cabinet with 2 12" speakers, grille was fine on that.

The other night I had it out at the old Jam spot and cranked her up, yeah baby, it is loud enough. The jamming amp I had used for almost 20 years now is a Fender Power Chorus, solid state. It says 200 watts on the back but I am pretty sure the speaker output would be around 130, at least that`s what the Germans would have me believe.
Any worries about actually how loud a 40 watt tube amp would be in relation to my old stand-by were put to rest immediately. We actually practice in a club sized room and cranking it up was painfull.
Alot more "PUNCH" on the bass side more feeling it in the chest than my twin.
The highs on the clean channel were very vibrant, they nailed the Fender tone with this amp, and I look forward to playing on it more to find all the sweet spots.

The look of the amp is pretty sharp as well, the LEDs are really bright, the grille cloth is glittery.

Plugging my USA made 2000 Floyd Rose classic Strat into the 09 Bandmaster is like having sex with a unicorn, magical AND mystical, as long as you hold the correct end.

Anyway, if you`ve read this, Fender people, and you see a scrap of velcro in the factory, it`s probably the piece you ripped me off for. Is it really so hard to see that a head grill is missing it`s velcro? or does anyone look for that before they ship?


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:55 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:36 pm
Posts: 9
JR,thanks for the quick review.Yeah,I'm excited by the new VM amps,especially the Band-Master head.I plan on getting mine sometime later in the month.Oh yeah,I be looking for the velcro on the little grill.

Ed


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:17 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:48 am
Posts: 375
Location: Deep East Texas
I got a new Band-Master VM head last Friday, and I've been playing my ES-335 through it since. I bought it specifically to match up with a 1-15 cabinet I had for a warmer, mellower tone than my Blues Jr NOS tweed. This amp really works. I'm quite happy with everything about it (although I don't use delay or chorus). Fender has done an excellent job of capturing the classic Fender chime.

This afternoon I plugged my SG into it, and got impressive results. The SG has a stinging top end, which is a little much for the BJ or my other Fender, a Jazzmaster Ultralight, but the BM tamed it pretty well (it really sounds best through my modified Pignose G40V, but that's a whole 'nother story). Suffice it to say, I would happily gig with the SG and the Band-Master if I were in that situation.

But with the 335, it sings. Great amp, reasonably light, lots of headroom, good distortion, what a beast. It's a real sweet spot in output, price and tone. I LOVE my Jazzmaster but this one brings another voice to the menagerie.

_________________
"Digo: 'paciencia, y barajar.'" Don Quijote de la Mancha, Part II, Chapter 23


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:42 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 3:07 pm
Posts: 28
About to leave for church and the amp will be singing soon. I really like this amp and just hope that it holds up. I will be playing about 12 shows in the next 6 weeks so it will get some hours on it. I really could care less about the use of ss in the amp because it gives me the tone that I had lacked in all the years of my defection to Carvin. I have the Deluxe VM and will let you know how it holds up in the coming weeks! Good luck with your BM VM!


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 09 Bandmaster VM head review
Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:57 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:39 pm
Posts: 62
I ended up having an issue with mine I talk about it here:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=16410


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 09 Bandmaster VM head review
Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 9:40 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie

Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 8:32 pm
Posts: 259
Location: Cleveland, OH
Thanks for taking the time to write your review. I found it interesting. I have yet to see or try out a VM head.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 09 Bandmaster VM head review
Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:23 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:48 am
Posts: 375
Location: Deep East Texas
After nearly two years with the Band-Master VM head, here are some thoughts:

First, this one hasn't been gigged, so I can't comment on how it would hold up under rough usage. I've had no problems.

I paired this with a custom Weber California Ceramic Fifteen cabinet and speaker, which has a really sweet top end. I find the EQ versatile, and it's easy dialing in a sound. By the way, since I last posted, I gave the Pignose G40V to my grandson and traded the SG off for a Martin B-1 acoustic bass guitar, for the simple reason that my 335 is now my one and only (and I got spoiled with the sound of the BM-VM, especially when confronted with the raucous top end of the Pig). In fact, a good friend (almost 30 years of playing together) told me the head + Weber cab have become "my" sound. Not that my other amps are going anywhere (DRRI, Jazzmaster Ultralight, Blues Jr NOS, and Silvertone 1484). It's a little heftier than the others, but the Band-Master is still fairly portable, being in two pieces! Since I usually gig on bass, that presents no difficulty at all.

I notice that the Band-Master tends to get a bad rap from players (?) who think it ought to a replica of the original, but it's a fine amplifier on its own merits. Until Fender builds a Deluxe Reverb with a 15", it'll be in my stable.

_________________
"Digo: 'paciencia, y barajar.'" Don Quijote de la Mancha, Part II, Chapter 23


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: 09 Bandmaster VM head review
Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 7:54 am
Offline
Amateur
Amateur
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 7:33 am
Posts: 134
Location: Greeneville, TN
I purchased a Bandmaster VM head new in Jan. 2010. I really like the amp, however I really didn't play it a whole lot. Around August I was playing and it suddenly began snap-crackle-popping. No signal necessary, turn it on and there was this cacophony of static. It was a busy time at work and we were also preparing for our daughter's wedding in October, so the amp sat in the studio until three weeks ago. I finally got it to a Fender service tech. He told me he had seen this problem with Bandmaster and Deluxe VMs before. There was a Fender Service Tech Bulletin published concerning an uninsulated jumper making contact with a trace. This is all high voltage and when it arcs it fries a lot of components.
I have bought six new fender amps in the past 16 years, and this is the first problem I have had with a brand new product.
Those of you having one of these early production VM amps might want to take it in for an inspection and some preventative maintenance.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: