![]() ![]() ![]() However, mine does not sound as good as my vintage 5D3 tweed Fender Deluxe or tweed Gibson GA-18T Explorer, so I leave it with family for times that I visit back home. It responds well to HB and single coil pickups and handles most pedals well. It's a good sounding amp - better to my ears than a Tweaker and most other modern amps in the same price range. Consequently, the MMB is very sensitive to preamp tube swaps and speaker selection. So, you have a pair of 6V6's (like mine) or 6AQ5's and a single 12AX7 preamp tube. Fender Musicmaster Bass Amp Chassis 1978 w/Hasserl Mods Reverb Similar Listings Vintage Spec Pre-CBS Reissue Stainless Steel Bridge Plate for Fender Musicmaster Replica 1957-1964 RI 299.99 120 Off 179.99 Used Excellent Free Shipping Add to Cart Vintage Pre-CBS Fender Musicmaster Pickguard 1962 Natural Relic Original Patina 329. It has an unusual phase inverter based on a transformer - theoretically superior to any tube PI scheme - and SS rectifier. I've tried mine with the stock speaker (inefficient, low volume, early breakup), and Eminence Cannabis Rex (maybe too much for the amp, a little stiff in the mids), and an Eminence that is OEM for the TRRI (best balance overall, less volume than the C.Rex, much more than stock). The good news is that you don't really need a tone control in more cases than you'd imagine. Too many 14 year old thrashers complaining Uncle Charlie's '56 Bassman didn't sound like a Crate stack.They are good amps, especially for the price, but suffer from a nearly useless tone control. 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. The Fender Musicmaster Bass amp (see page 24 of this catalog) was a companion instrument to the Fender Musicmaster bass guitar low-priced gear for students and home practice.Theye were sold individually, and as a set (see page 25). 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. 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. It uses the transformer to feed the power tube grids with opposite polarity signals.' Some folks mod the heck out of these amps, with bigger power and output transformers. The transformer-coupled phase inverter invariably makes people with a smattering of technical knowledge (i.e. Quoting Jeff Gehring: 'The Musicmaster Bass is an odd duck in that it features an interstage transformer with a centertapped secondary in lieu of a phase inverter. 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.
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