Fender Bandmaster 212 vm

[p4ul]

Any one stuck a bass through this cab and have an opinion?

Seems like it's primarily a guitar/keyboard thing, but I used a Fender Twin for a recording session last year and it sounded pretty decent.

I have a 50w valve head and wondered if it would be beasty enough for a bass if I sort out the wadding?

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

It's the same cab as the 50w Bassman, so it's marginal. The drivers aren't bass specific, they're generic musical instrument drivers. They sound OK at low levels, but that's about it. A Twin is OK for recording, again at low levels. Carol Kaye, possibly the most recorded bassist of all time, mainly used a Fender Concert 410 in the 60s-70s. . If you've heard the Beach Boys you've heard that amp.

[BassmanPaul]

A 50W Fender amp couldn't cut tin the Sixties let alone cope with todays' volume levels. As Bill says it's OK at low volume but stage volume forget about it. 

Edited December 26, 2022 by BassmanPaul

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I managed to get a decent level from my Bassman, when I played it through eight twelves. 😳 This was the 60s, when the average twelve had only 1mm xmax. Today it's not hard to find a 212 that has 450cc displacement. The 212 Bassman/Bandmaster/Twin Reverb loaded with Jensen C12s had 80cc. They also had Fs of 112Hz, so going low wasn't in their wheelhouse.

[JohnDaBass]

8 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

I managed to get a decent level from my Bassman, when I played it through eight twelves. 😳 This was the 60s, when the average twelve had only 1mm xmax. Today it's not hard to find a 212 that has 450cc displacement. The 212 Bassman/Bandmaster/Twin Reverb loaded with Jensen C12s had 80cc. They also had Fs of 112Hz, so going low wasn't in their wheelhouse.

I just love the way Bill tells it!!

Edited December 27, 2022 by JohnDaBass
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[p4ul]

Thanks for the input, i used to run 412 but so heavy. Must admit not expecting great things from the Bandmaster but as a practice and pub chugger it may suffice. Will report back.

[BassmanPaul]

From one Paul to another: don't bother! You'll be wasting your money.

[Dan Dare]

Older Fender bass cabs weren't that badly made, so if it's really cheap, you could put better drivers in it and end up with something reasonable for not too much. I put decent drivers in an old Bassman 2x15 many years ago and improved the porting and it did a good job for me.

[BassmanPaul]

If you spend the money almost anything can be made to work. To me that's a lot of messing around when all someone wants to do is sound good on stage. My first Bassman was brand spanking new when I set it up on stage and leaned it back on its legs. It sounded so bad I nearly cried. I returned it to the store, Dawsons in Runcorn Cheshire, and although they had sold my trade in I left it there anyway. 

 

Edit: P.S. Where is the Hog County?

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by BassmanPaul

[DGBass]

I used a Fender Bandmaster VM cab for a while a few years back with a 72 Fender Bassman 50 and a Musicman HD150(on half power setting). The cab had Celestion 70/80 speakers when I bought it used and I replaced them with Vintage 30s. The cab looked great and actually paired well with the Bassman 50 and the Musicman. The cab wasn't braced anywhere internally and I always had the feeling around 50-75 watts was about as much as it could handle from a bass guitar before it began to resonate. The baffle on the VM cab is pretty lightweight as well so does vibrate a bit as the power increases. It actually sounded great at low to medium volume but was never really brilliant at loud volumes unless you like very overdriven Fender Bassman 50 tones and not much low end. I lined the VM with 3/4 inch Dacron foam which did help damp vibrations a bit. I did a show with it but it got lost in the mix with a loud drummer and one guitarist. The Musicman HD150 was better because it stayed clean right up to near max on half power setting and had a more flexible pre-amp. The amp did make a difference but at the end of the day The BM VM cab was great for low volume rehearshal and studio sound but not brilliant at a loud rock gig with bass. The reason I chose Vintage 30s for the BM VM was that I'd had very good results using them in an old Marshall Chequerboard 4x12 ( 240W @ 16ohms ) with the Marshall Superbass I used to use a long time ago. Very efficient and loud in the 4x12, and still efficient and reasonably loud in the Bandmaster VM.

 

 

Looked great on stage with the Fender badge swapped with an MM one as well. Sounded a lot better with the HD150 as well. 

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by DGBass
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[p4ul]

ok.. well I actually won it on the bay today... so will pick it up and hear what it is like.

It is going to have a selmer T&B 50 sat on top and once thats back from the electrical refurb so lowish volumes.. and tbf the cab didn't cost much  so if it a ringer, I will move it on to some happy guitarist and maybe build my own bass cab.

once assembled, will report back 🙂

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by p4ul
not my amp, thats for illustration,,, mine has original fabric on thr front ;-)

[Dan Dare]

20 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

Edit: P.S. Where is the Hog County?

 

Hampshire. UK

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Is that a reference to the women? Or the livestock? 😁

On our side of the pond they had to remove the grass and install artificial turf on the University of Vermont football field, to stop the cheerleaders from grazing during halftime. 🙄

[Dan Dare]

I wouldn't dream of besmirching the local womenfolk, for fear of being dragged from my house by a rabble waving pitchforks and burned alive on the village green ☺️

 

Hampshire has long been known for pig (hog in the US) rearing. Also, it includes the New Forest, one of the largest still existing areas of forest in England and one of the last places where wild boars could be found before they went extinct in the UK.

[BassmanPaul]

Do they still use the stake far said burning? LOL