Me and my new (old) Bandmaster.

kennylee · July 7th, 2006, 02:11 AM

So I just bought and brought home a '67 non-reverb Bandmaster head and tall 212 cabinet and I have a few questions that hopefully can be answered through your (from what I've read here) your vast expertise. First of all it sounds absolutely incredible - the bass response is so smooth and never gets muddy. Satisfyingly loud. It's completely clean (and beautifully so) up to about 7 and then it gets a little dirty. THE best amplifier I have ever played through. All of the original RCA tubes and everything are still in there. A very clean specimen for the age -- this is my first amp of this vintage, mind you. Very very pleased. Sounds great with my telecaster.

There's a guy that was recommended to me that just moved here to Wichita, Mike Purkhiser who I've heard of because he made Dan Auerbach's amps. The guy at the shop recommended that I get a cap job and perhaps a tube swap. I'm kind of terrified of doing that because it sounds amazing as is but I do want it to be "road-worthy." Any thoughts on what I should do? I looked up NOS tubes for it and the prices are ridiculous.

Also, the minute I brought it home I plugged it in but it wasn't very loud. I had played it at the shop minutes before and it was much louder. Turns out I plugged the amp to cab cable into the Ext. Speaker instead of Speaker cab by accident and while it wasn't loud it DID dirty up when I turned it up just like normal. Seemed to sound just as good. Anyway, I quickly found the problem. I was wondering if I could do this at low volume / practice situations without damaging the amplifier..

Thanks a lot. You guys are awesome.

Tremo · July 7th, 2006, 02:59 AM

By all means get a cap job. For the sake of reliability.

For tubes, replace those that are tired. If a preamp tube still tests strong, no need to replace it. If it needs new 6L6s, go with a pair of JJs.

Do NOT plug into the EXT jack unless another speaker is already plugged into the normal SPKR jack. Else, the output is shorted.

Bill Ashton · July 8th, 2006, 09:28 AM

Purkhiser is the fella that made those Vox AC15/30 clones that 1964-The Tribute used to use on the road. Fantastic sounding stuff, pity they went over to the little Vox consoles. He used to have a website where he showed all these art-Deco amps he custom built. I can't think of a better tech to trust my amp to. Well, maybe my local guy, but thats a little far for you!

Bluesbob · July 8th, 2006, 12:47 PM

but here are my thoughts. If you are going to gig this amp, you should probably think about new caps. There are a couple of other mods you could have done, such as a balanced phase inverter and increasing the value of the negative feedback resistor. But if you like the sound of the amp the way it is, why bother? So pull all the tubes out (making sure to note where each one went), put them in a safe or other impregnable storage area and take it to your tech. Tell him you want new caps and tubes and give him a price limit. After the work is done, bring it home and order a combo cab (2X10 or 1X12). Install the amp chassis in the new cab along with your choice of (4-ohm) speaker(s) and you've got yourself a great gigging amp that can be completely restored to original in about ten minutes.

July 7th, 2006, 02:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
kennylee NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2	Me and my new (old) Bandmaster. So I just bought and brought home a '67 non-reverb Bandmaster head and tall 212 cabinet and I have a few questions that hopefully can be answered through your (from what I've read here) your vast expertise. First of all it sounds absolutely incredible - the bass response is so smooth and never gets muddy. Satisfyingly loud. It's completely clean (and beautifully so) up to about 7 and then it gets a little dirty. THE best amplifier I have ever played through. All of the original RCA tubes and everything are still in there. A very clean specimen for the age -- this is my first amp of this vintage, mind you. Very very pleased. Sounds great with my telecaster. There's a guy that was recommended to me that just moved here to Wichita, Mike Purkhiser who I've heard of because he made Dan Auerbach's amps. The guy at the shop recommended that I get a cap job and perhaps a tube swap. I'm kind of terrified of doing that because it sounds amazing as is but I do want it to be "road-worthy." Any thoughts on what I should do? I looked up NOS tubes for it and the prices are ridiculous. Also, the minute I brought it home I plugged it in but it wasn't very loud. I had played it at the shop minutes before and it was much louder. Turns out I plugged the amp to cab cable into the Ext. Speaker instead of Speaker cab by accident and while it wasn't loud it DID dirty up when I turned it up just like normal. Seemed to sound just as good. Anyway, I quickly found the problem. I was wondering if I could do this at low volume / practice situations without damaging the amplifier.. Thanks a lot. You guys are awesome. __________________ "That's okay, I still got my guitar."

July 8th, 2006, 12:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
Bluesbob Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: East Suffolk L.I. Posts: 1,073 20 Photos	I was going to go practice... but here are my thoughts. If you are going to gig this amp, you should probably think about new caps. There are a couple of other mods you could have done, such as a balanced phase inverter and increasing the value of the negative feedback resistor. But if you like the sound of the amp the way it is, why bother? So pull all the tubes out (making sure to note where each one went), put them in a safe or other impregnable storage area and take it to your tech. Tell him you want new caps and tubes and give him a price limit. After the work is done, bring it home and order a combo cab (2X10 or 1X12). Install the amp chassis in the new cab along with your choice of (4-ohm) speaker(s) and you've got yourself a great gigging amp that can be completely restored to original in about ten minutes. __________________ What, me worry?

July 7th, 2006, 02:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tremo Banned Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Silicon Valley, CA, USA Posts: 3,803	By all means get a cap job. For the sake of reliability. For tubes, replace those that are tired. If a preamp tube still tests strong, no need to replace it. If it needs new 6L6s, go with a pair of JJs. Do NOT plug into the EXT jack unless another speaker is already plugged into the normal SPKR jack. Else, the output is shorted.

July 8th, 2006, 09:28 AM	#3 (permalink)
Bill Ashton Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Central Massachusetts Posts: 512	Purkhiser is the fella that made those Vox AC15/30 clones that 1964-The Tribute used to use on the road. Fantastic sounding stuff, pity they went over to the little Vox consoles. He used to have a website where he showed all these art-Deco amps he custom built. I can't think of a better tech to trust my amp to. Well, maybe my local guy, but thats a little far for you!