[jahozer]

I know they are maligned by some. I know they have had reliablity issues. I know its not a twin reverb.
I can get one for 500. seems to be in good shape. Dont know the year, but its gotta be an 80s model
Its clean is very nice. Its a fender tube amp after all.
Here is what I like about it.
Its switchable to 25 watts
Has a drive channel (I use pedals anyway, but its nice).
can combine the two channels
It has an effects loop

So tell me why or why I should or shouldn't get this thing.

I love the clean sound, and I like having the head room, but being able to switch it off

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

Run screaming and never look back. Seriously. It's a bad move. Only unhappiness and dissatisfaction comes with that amp.

How's that?? But seriously, don't even consider it, not even for $200. Not a good pure signal path, tons of switching garbage to go bad, nightmare to work on, serious reliability issues, not a good clean sound, all around one of the more disappointing things Fender ever did, and especially for guys like us here who know and love the sound of a pure, non-switching, real Fender amp.


Brad

[hogan]

See definition 2b

al·ba·tross·es
Etymology: probably alteration of obsolete alcatrace frigate bird, from Spanish or Portuguese alcatraz pelican, from Arabic al-ghaṭṭās, a kind of sea eagle
Date: 1672

1 : any of a family (Diomedeidae) of large web-footed seabirds that have long slender wings, are excellent gliders, and include the largest seabirds
2 a : something that causes persistent deep concern or anxiety b : something that greatly hinders accomplishment

[mijknahs]

$500?

How about:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ms ... 12461.html
or for $600
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/ms ... 41721.html

I also saw an old silverface Bandmaster Reverb for $300 and an old Vibrosonic Reverb for $525.

Keep looking and get the real deal! At least a mid 70's silverface.

[strumminsix]

I'll punch you in the face, repeatedly, if you buy it.


How's that?

[jahozer]

LMFAO

Now this is why I love this board!

[jahozer]

I knew I shouldnt get it. But I went on youtube and people loved it...
So here is the deal. I was going to Cintiolis in NE Philly with a guy work with who used to work there. Its a great old school music store with just tons and tons of amps piled 3 high from the floor. One was Fender Quad for 600. Then I saw the red knobjob. I gotta say it sounded damn close to the quad. I had known for years their lowly status.

But I digress. So I told my wife that I may get this quad. So she gets all pissed off. She says that she was planning to surprise me with a TWIN REVERB. She hadnt bought it, but was talking to Rob from here. Hey Rob...I know! So now the cats out of the bag, and I am glad she didnt get it for me, since I would rather shop around and get one that suits my needs, and I dont want her being taken advantage of "like a chick". (I guess I almost got taken advantage of "like a chick")...
Sooooo, I now have about a grand to buy a reaaaalllly cool amp.

I always wanted a blackface Twin Reverb and tortured her every Christmas with that reply. As I am now older, I may not need that much of an amp.

Sooooo I dont exactly want to emulate Jerry. I am basically the Jerry guy in my band. But its not that important to me to cop his tone. I love tone. I love clean tone. I like dirt too. I geuss the siren song for the evil, was that it switches to 25 watts. The thing with the twins is that they are freaking loud. Like every time I see a band in a bar the guy with the twin is the only thing you hear.

My amp now is an Ampeg Superjet 12t. Very bare bones and sounds beautiful. I love it. It can be a bit persnickety at times, and while it sounds very nice, I do long for a Fender esque version of nice. Nice and clean. That bell tone. I play a lefty 79 Gibson 335. Its my axe and will be my axe unless the untihinkable happens.

Soooooo what the fuck do I want to buy????

[strumminsix]

Sooooo I dont exactly want to emulate Jerry. I am basically the Jerry guy in my band. But its not that important to me to cop his tone. I love tone. I love clean tone. I like dirt too. I geuss the siren song for the evil, was that it switches to 25 watts. The thing with the twins is that they are freaking loud. Like every time I see a band in a bar the guy with the twin is the only thing you hear.

My amp now is an Ampeg Superjet 12t. Very bare bones and sounds beautiful. I love it. It can be a bit persnickety at times, and while it sounds very nice, I do long for a Fender esque version of nice. Nice and clean. That bell tone. I play a lefty 79 Gibson 335. Its my axe and will be my axe unless the untihinkable happens.

Soooooo what the fuck do I want to buy????

Dude, 40W Fargen Blackbird. Best amp I've ever purchased. Well mine is customized off that model. So much love that I bought a 20W Fargen. Still more love that I ordered his 15W mod'd Blues Jr. 1x12, sounds like half a Twin, delicious reverb, small foot print on stage, light amp, quality components. I brought mine to my tech (long story, cold solder joint that took him a long time to find since it looked good) and he said I better put this in my will since it's made with great components and will outlive me! HA!

BTW, check TGP, they are up there all the time as the knuckleads there swap to the flavor of the month!

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... ght=fargen

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

I love that Bandmaster Reverb head. Personally, I enjoy that power rating, and the amp will totally do the Jerry thing as long as the band isn't TOO loud.

Oh, that "punch you in the face repeatedly if you buy it" thing literally made me laugh out loud. A real LOL. Funny shit.

B

[rob]

Hey Joe! It's a good thing the cat's outta the bag. You damn near ended up with a SMS Classic and a Mac! It was fun while it lasted.

[hogan]

Hey Joe! It's a good thing the cat's outta the bag. You damn near ended up with a SMS Classic and a Mac! It was fun while it lasted.

If I was starting over w/ a analogue rig it would be a SMS and some form of solid state power amp. Not a Mac, but something.
Those Fargens that SS mentioned and also Allens are very cool amps.

[rob]

I hooked mine up to an old Mosvalve. It sounds great.

[unnbrokenchain]

I love that Bandmaster Reverb head. Personally, I enjoy that power rating, and the amp will totally do the Jerry thing as long as the band isn't TOO loud.

Oh, that "punch you in the face repeatedly if you buy it" thing literally made me laugh out loud. A real LOL. Funny shit.

B

I love my 72' Bandmaster Reverb too. It's light and easy to take to practices with nothing but a 2x12 cab along with it. Sounds badass all the time. I have had it for about six months now and have really learned how to push it hard in so many ways. I love the super clean and crisp sounds, and the crunch I get when I push it real hard ( like early jgb recordings of "let it Rock"). The spring reverb blows my 65' reissue twin's reverb out of the water. It can do the Jerry thing so well just like you said, if the band is playing at the right volume, or you would need to mic it.

[JonnyBoy]

evil twin bad . good twin good.

[unnbrokenchain]

For us that want to go towards Jerry's sound, I think at first believe we need to get EXACTLY all the equipment he used. Alright, he used a mc2300 Mac, and 3 to four JBL E120s and not one but two Fender twins. Now the difference between us and him. He played through a 300 watt plus amp in stadiums that filled up to 20,000 people. I really doubt anyone here needs that much power when playing in local powers and especially in the basement or your room, it would be overkill.

I never really liked Fender twins, I always thought they weren't as versatile as Bandmasters or Bassmans. Amps that average out at 50 watts break up earlier than the Twins at 85. My Bandmaster gets great tones at all volumes and is awesome when at practice, for small gigs, or just when you don't need to play that loud. If you do need an 85 watt amp you should go for the Fender Showman. It's a Twin chassis in a head cabinet. Which is practical since, most of us want to play through a 2X12 cab. Twins already weighs around 65 pounds, and if you want to throw two Jbl's E120's in there...well let's just say it won't be fun trying to lug that damn thing around. When my bandmaster just won't cut it, then I switch to my Showman. I think its a great system, to have two types of amps, one that has twice the wattage than the other when you need it. You can find all these great amps on ebay for less than 1,000 bucks.