#FENDER BANDMASTER TWEED SERIAL NUMBER#
#FENDER BANDMASTER TWEED PROFESSIONAL#

The speakers in early Tolex combos represent another fragile design element that was eventually rectified by Fender. ItвЂ™s probably a build from very early in that month. Clearly, this was one of the last protector-less Bandmasters to go out the door before Fender figured out the cabinets were too ding-able without them.

JamesвЂ™ amp has no metal corners, and thatвЂ™s the way it was made, but it does have a tube chart bearing the date-code stamp вЂњJCвЂќ J denotes 1960, C denotes March. The 3Г—10вЂі Tolex amps continued until the late fall of 1960 вЂ“ November at least вЂ“ but without the tweed style grillecloth after about September.вЂќ

#FENDER BANDMASTER TWEED SERIAL NUMBER#

My 5G7 Bandmaster has both April and May stamps on it, and a serial number in the high 500s, which is about the end of the run for the center-volume ones. March and April saw the last phase with protective corners and tube charts. Those from January and February of 1960 had charts, but often, no corners. вЂњThe earliest phase hadВ no metal corners andВ no tube chart, which makes them hard to date.

#FENDER BANDMASTER TWEED PROFESSIONAL#

вЂњThese amps have an interesting chronology that applies, more or less, to all six Professional Series amps that went through the center-Volume transition roughly from late 1959 to about May of 1960,вЂќ Linden said. Clearly, FenderвЂ™s transition from tweed-covered amps with rear-mounted chassis to Tolex-covered amps with top-mounted chassis вЂ“ which was also a significant transition in the history of amp design et al вЂ“ didnвЂ™t take us from the former to the more commonly perceived rendition of the latter overnight, and this Bandmaster, along with several of its early Professional Series siblings, displays a fascinating Frankensteinian cobble between tweed and Tolex.ДЇor another perspective on this modelвЂ™s history, we turned to Paul Linden, an authority on early Fender Tolex amps in general and center-Volume amps, in particular.

The closer you look, though, the more the quirks reveal themselves. вЂњThis amp has the unique and rare features of the very first brown Fender amps, such as the rough pink-brown Tolex, tweed-era grillecloth, light-brown faceplate with matching color in the flat logo tail, center-mounted Volume controls, RCA speaker plug, and mysterious Pulse-Adjust with a plugged hole.вЂќ The ampвЂ™s owner вЂ“ musician and VG reader Tommie James, sums it up. Add to that the illusive feature set of this early example and youвЂ™ve got an amp that really sets Fender fansвЂ™ pulses racing. The tweed 5E7 Bandmaster that preceded it вЂ“ the first of FenderвЂ™s quirkily appealing 3Г—10вЂі combos (profiled here in October вЂ™16) вЂ“ is a rare and exotic beast in its own right, but the short-lived 3Г—10вЂі in Tolex with newfangled front-mounted control panel is utter henвЂ™s teeth. Such is the case with the 1960 вЂњcenter-volumeвЂќ Fender Bandmaster, model 5G7. The earliest renditions of our gear icons are often the most valuable, but on many occasions itвЂ™s the transition models вЂ“ those that bridged one era to the next вЂ“ that elicit the most excitement from real enthusiasts. Controls: Normal channel: Bass, Treble, Volume Vibrato channel: Bass, Treble, Volume, Speed, Intensity Presence.Preamp tubes: four 7025 (a more-rugged 12AX7 equivalent), one 12AX7.

Fender bandmaster tweed