Fender musicmaster bass value driver#

Just the basics. The MMB was sold by Fender as a beginner’s bass amp but, like many other Fender bass amps (including the legendary Bassman), has been appropriated for use by (blues) guitarists for their great tone. Controls could hardly be simpler, just volume, tone and of/off switch. These fantastic little 12 watt, 1×12” valve combo amps adhere to the familiar Fender aesthetic with an open back cabinet, covered in black tolex, silver grill cloth, ‘Made in USA’ raised chrome logo, the silver control panel with blue lettering and the iconic red jewel light. Too many 14 year old thrashers complaining Uncle Charlie's '56 Bassman didn't sound like a Crate stack.Original CBS-era Fender ‘silverface’ Musicmaster Bass amps (often shortened to MMB) were manufactured only between 19. Unusual and vintage equipment reviews on HC are often garbage. Oh - and if you stick a 12' Weber Cali in it instead of a 'looser' speaker, it DOES make a great studio bass amp! I've known a few bass players that used them in the studio - the amp mic and a direct-inject signal mixed together for a really articulate but warm sound. If you just ignore all the prejudices, do the few simple parts changes and *listen*, you'll find a gem in the weeds of one of Fender's worst eras. In fact, this thread has me thinking of hunting for another one! You have to be able to get over the idea that you're looking at a cheap SF Fender Bass amp and ignore all the normal predisposition that goes with it and JUST use your ears. I was told they thought it was worth a shot as the amps weren't expensive (I think they ended up fetching $200 or so on eBay 5 or 6 years ago) but didn't expect much, and were shocked.

I sold the last two I had because I have a 5D3 and needed room and money - both buyers were floored. There were quite a few (and still some) who scoff at it - and most of the naysayers are going on an empty tank as they've never HAD one or have but never stuck a decent alnico 12 in it *and* played with tubes (the lower-gain preamp tube is a big piece of the puzzle many buyers of Musicmasters miss). What you end up with is darned close to a 5D3 later wide-panel Deluxe sound. There are websites that list a few tweaks you can do - but honestly out of the 4 or 5 I've had (both the 6V6 and 6AQ7 - note they are NOT 6BQ7's aka EL84's and lots of p[layers by them making that mistake thinking they're getting a Vox clone.6AQ7's are very Fendery-sounding, plentiful and inexpensive) all I needed to do to get an absolutely stunning guitar tone was a simple cap job (needed anyway), a speaker replacement (MANDATORY - the speaker is junk almost anything is an improvement, but a P12Q-type is the secret weapon) and a lower-gain preamp tube (pick your poison - 5751, 12AY7 or even a 12AU7). It's mostly 'weird' because it was so unlike Fender to use a more *expensive* system and parts, especially in the CBS days.

Fender musicmaster bass value driver#

The transformer-coupled inverter is actually a much better system than a driver tube, which wears out, needs to be precisely balanced and can have a huge effect on tone and gain (in a bad way, mostly). 'I read Gerald Weber's first book and I'm no a tech') think there is something 'wrong' with them. The transformer-coupled phase inverter invariably makes people with a smattering of technical knowledge (i.e. They are probably one of the great 'sleeper' amps of all time for small club and studio use - for guitar. We had several discussions where about these 7 or 8 years ago.