1962 fender bandmaster amp
The cabinet is overall in phenomenal shape, save for a few minor dings and dents primarily along the lower front lip. (61 cm.) across at the widest point, and 10 in. This design received immediate backlash from players who found the volume control placement utterly confusing and the layout was changed to the more intuitive and now classic "volume, treble and bass" order. The A-revision also addresses a rather peculiar original front-panel layout decision which put the volume control third, after bass and treble. This, the 6G4-A circuit is a light revision of the initial 6G4, using two 5881 output tubes as opposed to the earlier 6L6GC's and the revised harmonic tremolo circuit curiously leaves one half of a 12AX7 unused.
1962 FENDER BANDMASTER AMP SERIAL NUMBER
This amp's tube chart bears no legible stamped markings, but the serial number (54229) narrows down the production year to 1962. It is very cool and takes a whopping two-and-a-half preamp tubes to accomplish! There is no actually change in overall volume or pitch, but the faux doppler-effect created by the phase-shifting between high and low frequencies makes it sound like a mixture of both. Unlike the bias-vary tremolo appearing on earlier Fenders and the lower-powered contemporaries, which modulates the output volume, the harmonic vibrato circuit modulates higher and lower frequencies separately, at the same rate, but offset in phase from one another. The amps' dual 5881 power section yields around 40 watts of "clean and distortionless power", claimed Fender in their 1960 catalog, filled with iconic amps that would soon change the course of guitar history with their overdriven tones!Ī noteworthy feature found in the higher-powered models in the new line-up is the all-new harmonic tremolo. The front-mounted control panel and all-new layout were just some of the long lasting innovations ushered in around this time.
This model Super is one of the first of the company's novel designs for the new decade, a two 10" speaker combo covered in the brown Tolex just coming into use as the '60s dawned.
Although there are always transitional amps from any era, more changes to Fender's line occurred in 1960 than any other year.
This lovely Super-Amp Model 5G4-A is a very fine example of one of the true gems from Fender's often underrated early 1960s "Brown" period. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.Fender Super Amp 6G4-A Model Tube Amplifier (1962), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 54229, brown tolex covering finish. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration.
The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. By the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price).