Fender Band-Master VM Head

The Bandmaster VM head and its accompanying 2 x 12 cabinet are the latest additions to Fender's Vintage Modified range of amplifiers, which aims to blend elements of vintage and modern amps together.

The head is named after on of Fender's most revered classic models, but when you get beyond the blackface styling, you'll find modern two-channel flexibility and bang-up-to-date digital effects.

The big selling point about the VM is that it's a hybrid design, but not the usual 'solid-state with a token preamp valve' type of hybrid.

Rather the amp combines a dual 6L6 valve power stage with a valve and solid-state preamplifier.The styling is closely based on Fender's classic 60s blackface amplifiers.

But Fender has added a small 'VM' badge to the front grille and done away with the metal corner protectors you'd find on a 60s blackface, although they're present on the 2 x 12 cabinet.

This cabinet has just one strap handle – it isn't particularly heavy but it is unwieldy and being a closed back design there's no other way to carry it.

The Bandmaster VM head has a simple cut-out underneath which slots over the loudspeaker cabinet's handle.

The tough screw-in three-piece glides that used to be found on the bottom of a Fender amp have also been reduced to steel studs, which are simply hammered into place.

The Bandmaster VM electronics are contained within a sturdy wedge-shaped open-ended tray chassis, with folded returns on each side to improve rigidity. At the thin end, all the front panel components apart from the pilot light are fitted onto a single through-plated and double-sided PCB, with the DSP (Digital Signal Processor) on a smaller daughter board.

The thick end is home to the rear panel stuff, valves and power supply, housed on two non-through-plated boards.The PCB holding the valve bases is adequately supported on solid metal standoffs, however, the chassis layout means the preamp valve bases are deeply recessed.

Overall, the general standard of the components, layout and wiring is better than average for this type of modern mass-produced product.

The control panel is easy to understand, even without the aid of a manual.The clean channel features volume, bass and treble controls, while the lead channel has the usual gain, volume and three-band EQ arrangement. After this comes the effects section, which features reverb, delay and chorus – all digitally generated.

The reverb is governed by a single level control and is a reasonably good facsimile of a Hammond spring, while the delay and chorus effects share knobs for rate/time, mix level and repeats/depth.

You press a small button on the panel to select delay, dial in your preferred settings and then press another small button to use the same knobs to adjust the chorus effect completely independently.

This means you can go from a wide, slow chorus with a single hard slapback delay to fast wobbly almost Leslie-type stuff with long delay and endless repeats.

Once tweaked, the amp remembers your settings until you alter them again, but there's no programmability as such.

It's an ideal set-up for a player who might use one or two pedals but doesn't want to get bogged down with editing endless parameters.

The rear panel is easy – a pair of sockets for the series effects loop, a pair of speaker outlets and a DIN socket for the amp's supplied four-button footswitch, a reassuringly chunky affair that swaps channels and toggles each effect on or off. You can access the same functions as these from small switches on the front panel, with the exception of reverb.

Band-Master VM 40W Tube Guitar Amp Head Specifications:

• Series: Vintage Modified series
• Type: Tube guitar Amplifier head
• Output: 40W
• Ohms: 4 or 8 ohms
• Speakers: N/A
• Channels: 2 Selectable channels (Clean and Drive)
• Clean channel Controls:
• Volume
• Treble
• Bass
• Drive switch
• Drive channel controls:
• Drive switch
• Gain, Volume
• Treble
• Middle
• Bass
• Reverb
• Effects adjust switch (Chorus/Delay)
• Time/Rate
• Delay On/Off Switch
• Mix
• Chorus On/Off Switch
• Depth
• Covering: Black textured vinyl with silver grille cloth
• Weight: 26 lb.
• Dimensions: 24" W x 10" H x 10" D
• Tube complement: 2 x 12AX7, 2 x 6L6GC
• Footswitch: Uses 4-Button Footswitch Included, P/N 0075485000,
• Footswitch button Functions:
• Drive
• Reverb
• Delay
• Chorus