Conference napalm::guitar

    
    Bassmans make *great* guitar heads.  The original Marshall amps are
    largely cloned from the early Bassmans (Yes, I know there is some
    dispute as to whether they were copied outright, but the circuits are
    highly similar).  The blond heads with presence controls are the best
    for guitar, but all of them sound pretty good. 
    
    I don't have a Bandmaster or a schematic of one handy, but I seem
    to recall that they have a less husky output transformer which means
    the Bassman can deliver more power, particularly at low frequencies.
    
    The two channels of a Bassman are also voiced differently.  The
    tone controls appear to operate at the same frequencies but the
    "bass" channel is much less boomy sounding, I guess to help compensate
    for the primitive speaker cabs that Fender supplied with them. 
    Playing bass through the "normal" channel gives a pronounced boost
    at about 100 Hz (at least on mine it does!!) which is OK if you
    have a tight sounding speaker cab.
    
    Interestingly, Fender advertised both the Showman and Dual Showman
    amps as usable for bass, most likely because they were equipped
    with 15" speakers.
    
    Bottom line:  I expect a Bandmaster would work for bass but you might
    prefer the tonality of the Bassman.  For guitar, the Bassman would be
    no worse than the Bandmaster . Every guitarist who has used my
    Bassman has wanted to buy it from me....I can't think of a better
    endorsement than that. 
    
    

	I use a Bandmaster for Bass and Guitar. It is definately
	better for Guitar than for Bass.

	I use the Bandmaster to drive a single 15" speaker 
	(rebuilt from a Bassman cab) in a homemade cab. It seems 
	to be a bit muddy, lacking in the tone department, especially 
	limited in harmonics. Can't quite get the punch for 
	more contemporary bass sounds.

	I've driven this cab with a Mesa, and there were much better
	tone and harmonics. So, I know that even though the cab is homemade,
	it alone is not responsible for all of the muddyness.

	I believe that the Bandmaster is a bit underpowered to drive
	a 15" speaker for Bass. May have something to do with the transformer
	as stated in the previous reply. Maybe its the pre-amp, I don't
	know.
	
	I haven't AB'ed a Bassman and Bandmaster, but I have a tendency to
	agree with the conclusions of the previous note, that a Bassman
	would probably be the better of the two for double duty.

	If you have access to a Bassman, maybe we could get togather 
	and AB the two?
	

    I have two bass amps. A fender bassman and a pevey series 400
    bass. I use both for guitar and am quite pleased with them.
    The series 400 has channel switching which comes in handy. I
    have drawings for both the bandmaster and the bassman I will check
    them tonight.
    
    Jim
    

    I'm pretty sure there was a pre-CBS Bassman without tubes for 50
    bucks in the want-ads recently.  Tubes could run you another fifty,
    but still
    
    /rick

    Yes, there was a bassman without tubes in the want ad some time
    ago, and yes you may be able to get tubes for 50 to 70 dollars,
    but what if you after spending 100+ find out the amp does not
    work?
    
    I see bassman all the time at Daddys and other stores every time
    I go to them. They go for about 140. You may be able to get one
    for less with the want ad.
    
    I  have a bandmaster which I used as a bass amp. I used it with
    the 2 x 12 cab, but it did not give a full sound. I later got
    a 15" and the sound was much better, but when playing the low
    notes, I do not think the bandmaster is any good.
    
     

    As a matter of fact, I saw a bassman head in the want ads last week
    for $50. with the tubes & supposedly working.  Of course, by the
    time I called on it it was already gone.
    Well, it looks like a bassman is the way to go.  Thanks folks.
    
    							joe

    
    	I've seen a "sears" clone of the bassman amp, so look out for
    those too.
    
    	I've got a master volume tube amp head, same class as a bassman (2
    6L6, 12AX7's, etc) that I'd be willing to sell. Oh yeah, I forgot,
    it doesnt say "fender" on it so I guess it's worthless -
    
    	Joe Jas

    Well, thanks folks.  I just acquired a bassman head, and it sounds
    quite good for both guitar and bass.  And that's with some tired
    tubes and an unmounted RS speaker sitting on top!