TS808
May 20th, 2009, 05:52 PM
I got my Bandmaster Vintage Modified head today and here are my first impressions:
Clean Channel: This is really interesting. The front end of the Bandmaster is 2 12ax7 tubes....one of the tubes is used for preamp distortion and the other is the phase inverter. In other words, the clean channel is solid state. Yes, you read that right. But the 2 6L6 tubes warm the amp up a bit so you get those Fender cleans....bright with a responsive EQ...sounds great.
Overdrive Channel: The overdrive channel will give you everything from a nice bluesy crunch to a Marshall "brown sound" (fender even has a brown sound suggesting setting). I had the gain on 3 and the volume on 4 and got a really nice, smooth overdrive sound that wasn't too gritty or too clean...pretty much perfect for blues and venturing into classic rock territory. The drive channel sounds real smooth on the neck pickup but bright on the bridge pickup so you either have roll back the treble and increase bass, or roll back on your tone knob.
As you increase the gain, on a moderate volume, the amp seems to peak into a "high mid" thinner sound, and it almost gave me the impression of a digital amp with some tube warmth. It doesn't sound bad at all, but it doesn't sound "all tube" to my ears. Other people who have reviewed this amp say the overdrive is somewhere in between the HR Deluxe and Super Champ.
I ran this head through a USA Crate 212 Cab with Tone Tubby speakers.
The reverb is digital on this amp but sounds pretty good. I haven't experimented much with the chorus or delay yet, and only spent about 30 minutes playing through the amp tonight.
Overall, it seems that you can pretty much dial in any sound you want; the EQ is pretty responsive, and I'm assuming that if you crank this amp, you'll get more bass response and less of the high end. I played this amp tonight with the bass and mids on 7 and the treble on 3 in my basement at a low to moderate volume and it sounded pretty smooth and creamy on the bridge pickup of my strat with the tone knob opened up the whole way.
This is not a high end Fender amp, nor is it a piece of junk...it's a solid home amp or gig amp that covers alot of territory.
What struck me the most is how LIGHT this head was....my Blackheart Handsome Devil may be a little heavier or the same weight.
I'll write more as I rack up more mileage on it, but initial impressions are that it's a pretty good amp. I wouldn't say that it is a "bang for the buck but it's a decent value.
Clean Channel: This is really interesting. The front end of the Bandmaster is 2 12ax7 tubes....one of the tubes is used for preamp distortion and the other is the phase inverter. In other words, the clean channel is solid state. Yes, you read that right. But the 2 6L6 tubes warm the amp up a bit so you get those Fender cleans....bright with a responsive EQ...sounds great.
Overdrive Channel: The overdrive channel will give you everything from a nice bluesy crunch to a Marshall "brown sound" (fender even has a brown sound suggesting setting). I had the gain on 3 and the volume on 4 and got a really nice, smooth overdrive sound that wasn't too gritty or too clean...pretty much perfect for blues and venturing into classic rock territory. The drive channel sounds real smooth on the neck pickup but bright on the bridge pickup so you either have roll back the treble and increase bass, or roll back on your tone knob.
As you increase the gain, on a moderate volume, the amp seems to peak into a "high mid" thinner sound, and it almost gave me the impression of a digital amp with some tube warmth. It doesn't sound bad at all, but it doesn't sound "all tube" to my ears. Other people who have reviewed this amp say the overdrive is somewhere in between the HR Deluxe and Super Champ.
I ran this head through a USA Crate 212 Cab with Tone Tubby speakers.
The reverb is digital on this amp but sounds pretty good. I haven't experimented much with the chorus or delay yet, and only spent about 30 minutes playing through the amp tonight.
Overall, it seems that you can pretty much dial in any sound you want; the EQ is pretty responsive, and I'm assuming that if you crank this amp, you'll get more bass response and less of the high end. I played this amp tonight with the bass and mids on 7 and the treble on 3 in my basement at a low to moderate volume and it sounded pretty smooth and creamy on the bridge pickup of my strat with the tone knob opened up the whole way.
This is not a high end Fender amp, nor is it a piece of junk...it's a solid home amp or gig amp that covers alot of territory.
What struck me the most is how LIGHT this head was....my Blackheart Handsome Devil may be a little heavier or the same weight.
I'll write more as I rack up more mileage on it, but initial impressions are that it's a pretty good amp. I wouldn't say that it is a "bang for the buck but it's a decent value.