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Post subject: Yet another 2009 Bandmaster head review...
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 10:00 pm
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Hey guys, my local store just got the Band Master Head with matching 2x12 cab and I had the chance to try it out today.

First of all let me say I had very high expectations about this amp. I own a Super Sonic head, which has no reverb. I was looking at another amp for clean tones (blackface type, like the Deluxe Reverb) and at the same time for a few effects like the Electro Harmonix small stone and small clone.

Then I came across this new thing, featuring as they say, a typical black face clean, gain channel, reverb and incorporated effects. It is also an all tube amp (exept the effects)

First reaction? WOW, I've GOT to try that thing! If it does what it's supposed to do, I must consider swapping the Super Sonic for this one...Now don't get me wrong there, I absolutely LOVE my Super Sonic...But hey, if the Band Master sounds as good, can't be a bad move eh?

Now for the review...

I'll make a story short, it's never as good as a Super Sonic. I know, I had utopic expectations, but you know, the thing had such a great potential!

Overall, the amp sounds very dark. The clean channel is good but nothing to be exited about. The Gain channel may be tube driven but it sounds just like the Line 6 I used to play with when I was 18. Like the Line 6 and the other modulating amps, it sounds fine when playing alone in your basement, but there is no way you would hear yourself when playing with others that have tube amps. It just won't get through, even at top volume. As for the effects, they were alright, but again no real excitement there. The tone controls also reminded me of digital amps, where a whole turn of the knob does almost nothing to the tone. People who had Line 6 amps will know what I mean by this.

I tried it side by side with a Deluxe Reverb and a Super Sonic combo and these two completely blow the Band Master away. The Deluxe Reverb has such clarity, I could sit there and play the same 3 chords over and over and be hypnotized by the sound of it. A 7 year old kid would hear the difference when compared side by side. I am not exagerating. As for the Super Sonic gain, well... It blows the Band Master gain in a super sonic way. No one can argue on this one.

Bottom line, if you're planning on buying a Fender amp and you are considering the Band Master VM or a Super Sonic, go for the Super Sonic.
You can still try it out to make up your mind about it yourself, but I'm 100% sure you'll get the Super Sonic.

Real disapointment for my part, I must say I believed it had little chance of being better but I did not think it would be that bad...I think I played 10 minutes on it and got bored very quickly. It does not react like a tube amp at all, being very dark and undefined. It's not an amp for professional musicians at all. I would've enjoyed it alot when I was a kid but I think that if you've been playing for a long time, you deserve alot better!


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 7:37 am
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I had the same reaction. I started calling them the vintage molested series. I used to own a 74 Bandmaster and I sold it for financial reasons. I really regretted it. So I too was all excited about the new one. I think it sounds like garbage. The effects sound like a cheap effect processor pedal. I also think it's made in China like the G-Decs. The build quality is cheesy too.


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:18 am
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That's not good, I hate to hear that as I expected something like the original but.... Like they say "They don't make them like they used to" :?


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Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:56 am
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It seems like Fender is making amps for two markets, the young kids who are into gadgets and serious gain and white noise, and geezers like me who want great sounding tube amps of at least some professional quality.

The problem is, everything modern from the HRDlx on down to the Champs are pretty much throw away amps that will probably hit the land fill not long after the warranty expires just due to cheap components and poor design. It's a shame because the HRDlx really has some potential. Mine is no longer gig worthy after only two and a half years.
That's okay, there are plenty of other amp manufacturers who build quality stuff that would love to have my money.


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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 12:36 pm
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63supro wrote:
It seems like Fender is making amps for two markets, the young kids who are into gadgets and serious gain and white noise, and geezers like me who want great sounding tube amps of at least some professional quality.

The problem is, everything modern from the HRDlx on down to the Champs are pretty much throw away amps that will probably hit the land fill not long after the warranty expires just due to cheap components and poor design. It's a shame because the HRDlx really has some potential. Mine is no longer gig worthy after only two and a half years.
That's okay, there are plenty of other amp manufacturers who build quality stuff that would love to have my money.


Don't get me wrong... Fender builds awsome amps, like I said I have a Super Sonic and I absolutely love it! The Deluxe Reverb is on my list too...

This was just about the Band Master...

There is no secret, if you want tone, you have to lay down a certain amount of money to obtain it. (maybe not 3000$ like some other brands) but still over 1k$.

I went again and I tried the cab alone because I'm looking for a cab to go with my Super Sonic... I did not touch the head last time when I tried it, I just played witht he knobs....

Man.....this is so lightweight compared to a real tube amp, there's no way this is a real all tube amplifier!

So kids, go out and get a Super Sonic!


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:37 am
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Ludovico wrote:
There is no secret, if you want tone, you have to lay down a certain amount of money to obtain it. (maybe not 3000$ like some other brands) but still over 1k$.


Here I must respectfully disagree. While I'm not saying that an amp worth about $1000 sounds bad, I am suggesting that there exist some inexpensive Fender amps that sound very, very good. The Pro & Blues Juniors, for example, are excellent little amps -- they do what they're supposed to, and have a nice tone without costing much more than $500. On the other hand, they're certainly not as "good" as a '65 Reverb or '59 Bassman or whatever. I just want to say that good tone can be found in relatively inexpensive places.


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:40 am
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Vulkan wrote:
Ludovico wrote:
There is no secret, if you want tone, you have to lay down a certain amount of money to obtain it. (maybe not 3000$ like some other brands) but still over 1k$.


Here I must respectfully disagree. While I'm not saying that an amp worth about $1000 sounds bad, I am suggesting that there exist some inexpensive Fender amps that sound very, very good. The Pro & Blues Juniors, for example, are excellent little amps -- they do what they're supposed to, and have a nice tone without costing much more than $500. On the other hand, they're certainly not as "good" as a '65 Reverb or '59 Bassman or whatever. I just want to say that good tone can be found in relatively inexpensive places.


I must say I forgot I was talking about Canadian money while typing... so yes indeed you can have a very good amp for less than 1000$ USD... My mistake :)


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:59 am
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No worries, but I'm actually in Canada too. I would suggest that $1000 USD would buy you the best amp you'd ever need; $1000 CDN will get you a very, very good amplifier. For $500 CDN you can still get an excellent amplifier with great tone. I just bought a Pro Junior which, in my opinion, has excellent tone -- all the tone I'll ever need -- for well under $500CDN.


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 3:31 pm
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Ludovico. Check out the schematic and you will see the Bandmaster VM is a hybrid amp. Clean channel is solid state till it gets to the power amp. The distortion channel is solid state>preamp tube>solid state>power tube.
I was under the impression it was a tube amp with digital effects also til I looked at the schematic.


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 4:23 pm
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Sounds like it's marketed as a tube amp.


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 9:59 am
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63 Supro, you have some of your facts wrong. You are, of course, entitled to your opinions.

The Band-Master head is about half the price of the Super-Sonic head, for a variety of reasons. Folks who don't like DSP, or don't like Made In Mexico, or don;t like the gain channel...no problem! We have lots of amps for you.

Shane


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:36 pm
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Hi Shane,
I'm just going from my personal experience with my HRDlx and the current crop of Fender amps I've tried. It seems like every amp I get from Fender right now has been having issues including my G-Dec.
I'm glad I'm allowed to express my concerns about equipment I've had a love affair with since 1964. I think more PTP amps like the 57 Deluxe would be great or a PTP Tweed Champ. I understand you can't build them exactly as the originals just because of safety issues.


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:05 pm
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I've been running a MIM Cyber Deluxe for about five years now without a single glitch. Still runs and sounds great! Just ordered a DRRI that shoud be here any day! Oh boy!!!!!!!!!!!


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:34 pm
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If they added a preamp tube, ditched the op amps, and kept the digital effects, I'd buy the Bandmaster in a heartbeat. Tube signal path and parallel digital effects. Maybe its a design thing.


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Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2009 5:27 pm
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Strataholic, man you're gonna love that DRRI!!! I'm a huge advocate of the DRRI. As far as digital effects go on an amp, it's the same as the floor digital effects processors. These things never sound as good as a chain of analog pedals. (there may some out there, but I haven't heard one) Digital effects are very inexpensive and compact, and there's certainly a market for that. But, for those of us who seek the epitome of tone, it's all-tube amps and analog pedals. Period.

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