Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head BlackSilver Grille

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Nice features with DSP controls. Clean channel goes from 0-1 in about 70 decibels, kinda off/on. I could not get much top end out of the clean channel, even with a Tele. The treble control simpply did not function. Bass was good though. Channel 2 was exactly the opposite. Plenty of gain, volume very usable for home studio. The bass control on channel 2 did not respond, more like an on/off type control. There is no fender "sparkle" with this amp. The preamp on clean sounds like solid state. The preamp on channel 2 is digital, but it sounds good. Overall, it's a nice amp with plenty of features except the one I need most - an impedance selector. I have two vintage 2x12 cabs, one 4 ohm, one 16 ohm. This can't be run at 4 ohms like the orginal. I have 1969 BM Reverb. The clean is much more toneful, treble is very usable, and the bright switch will klick in at 4k for all the top end I could ever need. Down side of owning the 1969, I need the volume so loud to get break-up I can't use it at home at all, and I hate pedals, but am forced to use one with 69 BMR. I wish the channel 2 on the VM would break up a little earlier, but overal, the distortion sounded ok, just not like tube compression, more like Digital. If I owned only one amp I would consider this one, but my own speakers. The VM 2x12 cab is overly bright and thin, and the combo sounds even thinner with P80.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Tried this amp at my local dealer and I'm pretty satisfied with what I got out of it. We ran it thru the Vibro-King extension cab and it sounded much better, so I'd look at speaker upgrades if you decide to purchase. All in all it is a decent amp for any small club situations.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

What is it with fender and their distortion? The super-sonic being the only exception, which I believe to be the best sounding tube amp on the market.Well, for under 2k.but were talking about the bandmaster VM here. anyways, the distortion from this amp is a little thin without some help. I use a turbo tube screamer and it really makes a big difference, but out of the box, I dont know, it sounds kinda solid state.If you keep the gain around 5-6, then it sounds pretty darn good, a nice crunch, but if you go above that, it gets muddy and kinda thin. maybe its my speakers, I use the VM 2x12 cab with it.idk. The clean is fantastic, its fenderlicious. I think I will most likely create my own distortion through various pedals. like my TS and others. The FX's are very usable, not noisy, just right. I dont know, for the price, there might be something better. I probably wouldn't buy one again, just because of the dirty channel/

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

First, this IS a tube amp; it has tubes, it is a tube amp. What has people confused is that it basically is a one channel amp (explaining why it has less tubes) with "pedals" (drive,reverb,delay,chorus) built into the head. The previous reviewer gave great tips on making it cleaner, but if you're not that technical it's just fine stock. This amp handles pedals like a champ, almost like it was made for that reason alone. If you plan on buying the matching cab like I did, plan on buying new speakers, the stock speakers have limited range to say the least.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I am using this amp with a Boss Metal Zone pedal, on the clean channel through an Avatar 2x12 cab with two Vintage 30s. It sounded killer at around 5 on the volume. However, for clean playing, the amp would start to break up a little too much as I increased the volume past about 6. The Russian 5881s that the amp is supplied with break up easily, and the 12AX7 phase inverter adds to the early breakup. Also, from the factory, the amp is biased very cold at 27mA per tube which can make it slightly spongey at loud settings. I replaced the Russian 5881s with a pair of GT 6L6GE with a rating of "9" on the hardness scale. I replace V2, the phase inverter, with a NOS 12AT7 (which has a little lower output than a 12AX7), and rebiased the amp a little hotter at 33mA per tube (which is still on the cold side for a 6L6). This made the amp more touch responsive, it stays cleaner at louder settings, and it seems to have more headroom than before. The notes are more articulate and accurate when playing through the Metal Zone at high gain too. All in all, these setup changes improved the amp all the way around. This is a great amp and I suspect it is destined to become a sought after model 10 years from now. I've read some comments where people have dissed on it - but it really is a very good amp with very good built in effects.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

Love this amp.I have been using a freinds to record some things. I like this amps OD sound better than the red channel of the Supersonic. This amp is definately a bit more open, with more possibilities. To respond to the comments about it not being "all tube" its DEFINATELY all tube. It has the basic Fender 40 watt 6l6 power platform and a tube preamp. V1 is the input and tone controls, V2 is the PI.No more than 2 preamp tubes are required. One edition of The Marshall Super lead Mk2 of the early 70's had 2 preamp tubes,(50 watt) the original Orange 100H used a 2 tube preamp set up.But the amp sounds great whatever. The green channel leaves no complaints, and most Fender users are very picky about that.My main amp right now is a DSL50 and its a great amp but i'd LOVE to put one of these next to it.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

This is a really nice amp, I play classic and some new rock, has nice distortion channel, and nice clean channel, it is lacking in a few areas, not much treble, and the clean channel on 1 is to loud. no room for adjustment, it just goes from no sound to too loud? the effects are really nice, all in all its a pretty versatile amp.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I'm a 50 year old musician and I've played everything from bluegrass to metal. In my years of playing I've owned a '65 Bassman, Silver face Twin Reverb, Music Man RD50, Peavey Bandit 65, Twin Reverb II, a Princeton Reverb II, and now this amp, the Bandmaster VM. This amp may well be the best I've ever owned. I don't understand the comment "lacks real tube tone". I've owned a Fender amp nearly all my life and this amp sounds as good as any of them. I admit I was skeptical about the amp having a partially solid state preamp. But after playing the amp for 3 days now, my skepticism and worries are gone. When you play this amp there's no doubt that it's a Fender, and there's no doubt that it's tube. I played my Strat through the clean channel and just couldn't stop playing it. I'm using an Avatar 2x12 closed back cabinet loaded with two Celestion V30s. (Nothing against the Fender cabinet, but I already owned the Avatar) The clean channel starts getting a nice little break up at around 6 on the dial. It's full, rich, and percussive with a nice touch response. I love the OD channel and it would be great for Blues, Country leads, classic rock and with the mid turned up to 10, and the gain on 10, a nice harder rock tone. The amp is quiet even with the gain on 10 - just the slightest amount of hiss. You're going to get a little preamp hiss with any amp when they're cranked to 10, but this one is one of the quietest I've heard in a while. I'm using the amp for hard rock / metal by using a Boss Metal Zone through the clean channel. I've got a Boss NS-2 inserted in the effects loop and the sound is just incredible. The tubes really warm up the Metal Zone pedal and when I palm mute - it's dead silent. I could go on and on about this amp ... the effects are the best I've used on an amp, and you can fully adjust them. You can also get a nice tape effect by adjusting the time on the delay while playing. You can get the weird sounding pitch shifts ala Pink Floyd. If you're looking for a medium sized tube head - this is a good one with plenty of power for any club gig.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

I thought this amp would be great. It lacks real tube sound (no beautifull chime and no depth). Nothing like the real Fender tube amp. If you have ever used a real Bandmaster you will probable be disapointed. Hard treble and all round stiff sound. Power tubes can be BIAS'ed so this is a plus. Putting a 5751 tube in the second socket helps the amp, softens it up and gives more of a tube feel. The distortion is tight and not fizzy and is not that bad, no over the top distortion but enough for mainstream rock. You do not get that real Fender reverb sound but reverb is okay and the effects are nice. Amp will breakup early on clean channel until a 5751 tube is in, then you get a cleaner clean channel and one thats pretty loud. It's not a bad amp on it's own but don't think your getting a classic tube sounding amp just because it has tubes.

Comments about Fender Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head:

This amp is the best I have ever used. I would not recommend this amp to metal players but as I don't normally play metal this amp is ideal for everything else. The effects are awesome. As for volume I wasnt dissapointed. I like the sound of this amp so much that I am now awaiting the arrival of a second cab so I can stack it I doupt I will ever have to buy anything else.