MUSICMASTER AMP INSTALL
MUSICMASTER AMP MANUAL
MUSICMASTER AMP FULL

I’ve used it for bass live with small combos and for recording with great success. I’ve also found that with the speaker swap (I’m using a RI Jensen C12N) it can be a very nice, musical small bass amp after all. This could be in part because it has a tad more headroom because of its solid state rectifier. I have a 1964 Fender Princeton that I LOVE but in all honestly this Musicmaster gets more use. 2 x 6V6S matched power valves/power tubes. I use this for nearly all of my non-full-bore rock stuff. The Fender Musicmaster Silverface bass 12W amplifier uses: 1 x ECC83 (also called 12AX7) preamp valve. The whole thing resides in a Champ chassis and it is super easy to “grab it and go”. It also utilizes a transformer for a phase inverter. It puts out 12 or so watts using – depending on version – either 2 6AQ5 or 2 6V6 power tubes with one 12ax7 for the preamp. On the other hand, outside of the context of a bass amp this thing is pretty awesome. My guess is that this amp was the source of great disappointment and frustration for a lot of fledgling bass players trying to sit in with other fledgling rockers. The stock speaker and power transformer are equipped to do nothing but complain when you plug a bass in and turn it up. It’s a pretty odd amp but when you consider who it was marketed at – the beginner bass player – it’s even odder. MMB guts factory stuffed inside a Champ chassis. I replaced the speaker, the filter caps and other electrolytics, added a fuse and fuse holder, removed the little blue “death cap”, and rewired the power cord. It was 100% original including the cheap, leaking filter caps. Its 12 Loud watts but sounds SOOOO good dimed - I just want to lower the cranked volume to a more acceptable level. For now theres a 1 Amp fuse in the plug.This Musicmaster bass amp came to me as part of a trade for some amp repair and restoration I did for a friend. Thats EXACTLY what Im trying to do with my Fender MusicMaster amp.

MUSICMASTER AMP INSTALL

The only thing left to do is perhapse install an in-line fuse holder as for some strange reason Fender decided it didn't need one. I must get back into recording again soon, and this is the amp to do it with. It's definitely a keeper and effects pedals work great too. My mate reckons it's the best Strat sound of all the amps I've got or ever had, including the Twin Reverbs, and I don't disagree. I found this amp at an old obscure flea market about a year ago for 40.

MUSICMASTER AMP FULL

It is loud! There is a hugely improved bass response, a very balanced transparent tone, no hum whatsoever, no strange crackles and a good crunch at full whack. This thing will really grind with a P-90. I tested all the passive components and replaced three electrolytics which read well below par, although the main filters read substantially higher than their stated 20uF so I left the orange cardboard cigar in place.Īfter completing the service, the amp plays absolutely brilliantly! What a transformation. The dates on the transformers and chassis range from 1973 to 1976, which is slightly odd but not unreasonable.

The chassis and speaker appeared to be totally original with no sign of any previous work being done.

Luckily I located a NOS pair of Brimars just around the corner from me for £10! They turned out to be excellently matched too. A quick check on the valve tester showed the filament was open circuit. When Fender released the Musicmaster Bass amp in 1970, they wanted to design something for bass players playing. I quickly ascertained that one of the differently branded output tubes (an RCA and a Brimar) was not glowing, even after the sockets and pins were cleaned. MusicMaster is found everywhere, from Austria to Zanesville, Top 40 to Classical, student stations to leading networks. History has a funny way of repeating itself. Oh well, bidder beware! Not all sellers are totally forthright in their description of what they are selling.Īnyway, all was not lost. I strummed a few chords and turned up full volume and although it had a good distorted Fendery sound it was very weak and trebly, nowhere near the stated 12 Watts. However, we plugged it in and there was a lot of crackling to which the seller said, 'Oh, that never happened before.' A quick wiggle of the pre-amp valve and it settled down. When I went to pick up the amp, I was fully expecting to see a pair of 6v6GT output valves, so was rather surprised to find the smaller bottle 6AQ5 tubes instead.

MUSICMASTER AMP MANUAL

Although there was no picture of the rear of the amp in the listing, there were lots of pictures of the original user manual and circuit diagram that came with it. What attracted me to this was the unusual use of a transformer for the phase inverter and a pair of 6v6s.

Musicmaster amp