vintage fender amp question...

[kiko]

ok guys here's the deal i bought a 1964 fender bandmaster dirt cheap from original owner for 300 bucks :eek:. The amp even had the original tubes in it. I checked the info on the amp and its supposed to have 40w and 40 fender watts are a lot. I heard the amp not so loud and on thursday i was rehearsing and the amp blew the fuse. When i checked the fuse instead of the 2 amp fuse has a 3 amp fuse. I dont know exacly what that can do bad but in know is no the one supposted to have. Also i runned into a marshall 1960AX with greenbacks. i belive the amp is wire for 8ohm and i belive the fender is 4 ohm.

Does anybody can throw a light of what can be wrong and if the incorrect fuse can cause damage?

thanks

a pic of the amp BTW this is a closset classic 44 years and almost perfect.

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/3026/p1010745go1.jpg

[bruce]

If the amp is totally original, you should have it looked at / serviced by an honest amp tech. Electrolytic caps could possibly be dried out. NEVER use fuses that are not the specified value. I believe this head has a 4 ohm output... running it into a 8 or 16 ohm speaker load won't hurt... it's a safe mis-match.

[kiko]

thanks bruce for the tip on the Ohm. Its all original exept the fuse of course. But thats what i will do take it to service.

[Janine Doubly]

Nice find for $300.00!!! :D

Since you don't have much tied up in it, definitely have the caps re-done and make sure the trannies are still to spec. If the trannies are showing signs of age, keep the originals, and have a reputable re-issue set installed (Mercury Mags, Heybor, etc.) along with a 3 prong plug.

And I recommend using a 4 ohm cab. 8 and 16 ohms won't hurt it, but a 4 ohm cab will make it sound its best.

[Pietro]

My 66 Bassman is from the same general time-frame, but needs some work as it's a bit noisy, probably some caps or trans that are just worn out. Can't afford to work on it right now and don't use it often enough to bother. KILLER amp. I'd rather have yours with the Vibrato for sure.

When you get it going, try this on... I finally found that plugging into an open 4x10 cabinet was the GOODS... at least for me. Give it a try if you can. That particular amp just sounds good through a 4x10.

Hope it all works out well.

[Tomaniac]

I have a 65 Showman amp that I work on myself and I have also built a few amps. I have a degree in electronics and to date myself, the classes that I took included vacuum tube theory.

You may have bad output tubes that are drawing too much current or like Bruce mentioned, passive components like capacitors or resistors can change over time and with heat. This could also cause excessive plate voltage which would also increase the current not to mention tweaks or repairs that could have been done by non-qualified types.

Some folks forget to plug in the amp head into a speaker load and turn on the amp and then the standby switch which puts the high voltage (B+) to the vacuum tube plate circuits. After several minutes of trying to figure out why the amp is not working, the output tubes, output tube sockets and output transformer can become damaged.

The voltages inside of tube amps are very dangerous, so taking the head to a qualified tech is a good choice. You got a killer deal on this head and should not feel too bad if you need to put a little more money into it to get it rock'n.

Good luck

[kiko]

hey guys thanks for the tips i really appreciate them. I spoke with my tech a few minutes ago and im takin my new baby to the shop tomorrow.


I hope he can fix it quickly since im book in the studio in the next 2 weeks.

wish me luck

[korinabill]

The amps you all are speaking of hold dear to my heart. All through high school, the band I played in had those very amps, plus my Super Reverb. I still have it. Also a black face Showman that sounds fabulous running a bass through it. I couldn't begin to tell you how many times I've had the Super & Showman serviced, but they seem to go for eternity in between servicings. The Bandmaster was one of the workhorses of the 60's, so reliable and with the straight ahead Fender tone. You've got yourself a heck of a deal for $300.00

[kiko]

Hello guys:

i took the amp to the tech and when he saw the amp he was not sure that was original since it looks so mint that he has doubs but when he open it he was blow of what he saw. A board full of mojo and in exelent conditions. He told me he is going to replace the power cable with a tree leg one and he also told me to keep the original for reference. The checked the tranies and all of then where good and in good shape. It needs retubing and biasing also some caps needs replacement but he told me the amp is in exeptional conditions and for 300 bucks it was a steal.

Also he pointed something that maybe is a limited edition or very rare.

where the power amp tubes are there are two holes with covers (to acomodate 2 more power tubes) and he told he has never seen that before.


so im so happy and waiting for him to fix the problem of the fuse (he told me maybe is because of the ground issue). So in 2 weeks im in the studio cuting some tracks it the new boy of my family.

:D :D

[bud]

Awesome find. I saw a 68 go on ebay last week for about 760. You got a steal. +1 on the recommendation of a 4 ohm 2X12 to plug it into.