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So I finally received Pat's Bandmaster. Unfortunately USPS did a proper job at smashing the chassis (and the power tubes inside...). The amp turns on fine (haven't had a chance to try it through a cabinet since I haven't picked up one yet). The electronics itself don't look damaged at all from what I can tell, but the head itself is in dire need of repair. When I pick it up the grill falls out and it sways side to side a lot. It must have been dropped hard enough to rip the nails from the siding to the top.
I'm assuming here that the amp part of it will work fine, but do you think it is worth trying to repair and how should I? Or should I try and find a different chassis? Anyways, here's pictures of the damage. Sorry but they're camera phone pictures until I can find my camera charger.

geez i just HAD to jinx it in the other bronco thead, bragging about i've never had any bad experience with USPS so far... geez...

hopefully the amp will be working all a-ok, like when it was here. damn i should've demo'ed it too!
nah but these things are hard to kill.

what has me baffles is, all of you guys here that i've sold to know, that i don't cheap-out on shipping/packing materials.
those bastards!

Pat.

ps: a guy over at the plexi palace forum is selling an empty bandmaster cab, but $80 is way too much, right?! http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewt ... 16&t=89697

ANOTHER bad usps experience, srsly, those fucker should get thier shit in line. too many of us have been screwed by those assholes.

I would like to say THIS IS NOT PAT'S FAULT!! This is completely USPS's fault. There's no way it should have been damaged the amount it is with how he packaged it. The actual amplifier itself looks fine, it's just the chassis from what I can tell. Mexican postal service was quick and then it went missing for over two weeks in USPS's hands, with them saying "have the sender file a lost claim" while it passed through US customs in Chicago. With how Pat shipped it the only way to damage it would be to drop it off of a semi truck IMO. I've no hard feelings (against Pat!) just wish the USPS would have taken precaution with a heavy, valued package. Is this something I can fix by renailing and rebolting the chassis toghether? Mojotone sells chassis for a decent prece, considering luthier/tech work is usually 35-50 $/hour here. The way Pat shipped it it should have taken 3-5 business days once in USPS's hands, and it took 2+ weeks... not his fault at all.

robert(original) wrote:ANOTHER bad usps experience, srsly, those fucker should get thier shit in line. too many of us have been screwed by those assholes.

nah, the other thread was about ups not usps.

http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32281

If there is any chance for making use of a shipping insurance, I'd do that - kick their asses and make them pay. It's a piece of music history that cannot be replaced, after all. I don't know about USPS terms, but I mean in USA companies have to pay if their coffee is too hot ... shouldn't they also when they destroy a well packed piece of music history?

That being said, from a functional point of view, I'd say get a new, preferrably old, cab. I mean, a carpenter can fix that one, too - but you need to take the tolex off, either reglue that plank or renew it, and then put new Tolex on it - these 80 $ in that link would be about what Iwould pay just for the tolexing thing over here. So if you can find an old bandmaster sized cab, that may be the cheaper and easier solution.

I'll be calling USPS later for the insurance claim, once I'm not longer hungover. For the repairs, I was thinking that I should glue and put screws and nails back in where they were ripped out. Not really sure if it's worth retolexing it if I can get the chassis straightened out.

foofoo982 wrote:I'll be calling USPS later for the insurance claim, once I'm not longer hungover. For the repairs, I was thinking that I should glue and put screws and nails back in where they were ripped out. Not really sure if it's worth retolexing it if I can get the chassis straightened out.

yes i think that should work, at least for now. then it'd be the fender frankenmaster amp!!! HA! (never lose the sense of humor...)

thanks for the kind words above, too! i really really try to always do my best when i send stuff out. and i have to say, MexPost haver REALLY improved over the years. fast and -until now *knock on wood*- safe. the mustang body got to rod in 6 days IIRC, and i think james got the jazz bass in 5 or so. sometimes i send ebay pedals to thailand or japan and they're there in 4 days or so. insane. if i'd go DHL then it'd cost double or triple.
oh well...

let us know when you get to SOUND the amp!
good luck,

Pat.

ps: btw, i think you got the words wrong; the wooden box is called "cabinet", the "chassis" is the metal part with the knobs and electronics. etc...

foofoo982 wrote:The amp turns on fine (haven't had a chance to try it through a cabinet since I haven't picked up one yet).

Have you had it turned on with no cab connected?

Yes and no. It was plugged into the speakers of my HRD 410, but, didn't want to turn it off standby since it's an impedance mismatch.

remember it PREFERS 4ohms, but these old fenders are hard-to-kill and very flexible.
we've discussed the thing over at the plexi palace dozens of times, and it takes 8ohms with no problem whatsoever. but do NOT go lower than 8, that means, do NOT use a 16ohm cab or so...

good luck, seriously!

Pat.

I'll probably end up getting an Avatar cab since I would be able to specify the speakers. I can't find any 2x12" cabinets in 50 miles.

OR... here's an idea! you could buy a virbolux reverb cab and use it as a 2x10 combo... or pro/twin reverb with 2x12!

avatar cabs are great i've heard.
good luck!

Pat.

See if I got a 4ohm cab I could use a stereo pedal to put my guitar through both the Bandmaster and the HRD 4x10, but maybe that'd be a bit much for an apartment....

So, I found a Fender Bandmaster RI cabinet (from the VM set) for $350 at a local store that I didn't know existed. It is an 8ohm cabinet. Should I do that instead of getting one online? It would allow me to get it today, as opposed to waiting for one to be built and/or shipped..

Sorry I keep bumping this, I just want to get this amp going so I can use it (a lot). My friend took over his cabinet (a 2x12" 4 ohm cab) and I got to try it out . Sounds amazing. Was afraid to crank it because every 30 seconds there would be a loud popping sound. Could this be the SED 6L6GC's I put in? After the popping sound there is randomly a fuzzy noise that causes the sound of the guitar to decrease. They're tubes that I've had for a year. Any ideas?

hmm popping/crackling is usually a filter cap thing. but i have completely recapped it... so it could be that something has come loose during shipping maybe? i'd recommend having it checked by someone, just to make sure. i once got an amp that one tranny came loose during shipping! and yeah it smashed all the tubes. strangly, the cabinet was not damaged.

but i'm SO happy to hear that it's alive and kickin'! phew.

rock on,

Pat.

Yeah, it was just recapped which is why I figured it was the power tubes I put in. Maybe I'll try switching in the tubes that I have in my deville right now. I just noticed that the second to left power tube feels lose. Could that be an issue? I'll get some pressurized air and clean out the sockets.

I used some pressurized air to clean the power tube sockets and the noise issue has gone away as far as I can tell. The amp SINGS! With the volume past 6 there is a lovely, creamy tube overdrive. I need to get a one button RCA foot-switch to test the vibrato side of things, but everything is sounding great. The amp doesn't look as good as it should, but I think it sounds really really nice. Further research shows that my speakers of the HRD are wired serial/parallel for a total 8 ohm resistance, and not straight parallel at 2 ohm. Sounds great through the HRD 4x10 I think and I would recommend a Fender Bandmaster to any person looking for a good amp. All I need now I think is a good delay, booster and OD pedal.

Here's the picture of the set up so far, sorry for the crappy picture. The amp fits perfectly on top of the HRD.

Man, that was the USPS's doing? They have been my go-to guys lately. They ship quick and cheap, I guess there is no perfect carrier.