HawkeyeKane
387 posts
Nov 07, 2011
8:31 AM
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Our lead guitarist in our band has two amplifiers that he's been dying for me to blow my harp through. One is a '65 Fender Bandmaster, which Todd's resurrected post has recently touched on in the terms of cloning of the '59.
The other is something that seems to be so rare that Google has only turned up one hit on it. It's called a Tapemaster. The hit came from an amp guy's website from Chicago, which is apparently where the company was based however many years ago. I've emailed him for more background on it. But if anyone here has spotted one or has any experience, please lemme know.
Anyways, he's almost got it rebuilt with a 10" speaker as opposed to the 6" that was in it before. (Massive underkill for a vintage amp of this caliber.) As soon as it's done, I'm gonna scratch his back and give both of his amps a whirl. I'll make a video of both of them as well and post it here to show what they both can do.
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Hawkeye Kane
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Joe_L
1597 posts
Nov 07, 2011
12:23 PM
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I've played through a couple of '65 Bandmasters. I was able to get some very nice tone out of them. Oddly, both had been turned into combos. One had 3x10 vintage Jensen Alnico speakers. The second had a Weber 15" speaker.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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5F6H
969 posts
Nov 07, 2011
12:53 PM
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Blond & Blackface Bandmaster heads are great value for money, either for turning into combos (a friend of mine has two blondes rebuilt into 3x10 cabs) or as keeping as a head with a multi-tap OT for use with different cabs.
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www.myspace.com/markburness
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HawkeyeKane
389 posts
Nov 07, 2011
2:17 PM
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Yeah, his is a head. He modded the face of it so the fender logo is hidden, and he usually plays it through a Marshall 112 cabinet. I've heard harp on Bandmasters before, and they do sound great.
I'm really anxious to get a looksee at this Tapemaster oddity. I love rare relics.
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Hawkeye Kane
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HawkeyeKane
777 posts
Mar 12, 2012
12:19 PM
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Gonna bump this real quick. The Tapemaster hit a snag a few months back due to a faulty component of some kind. Don't really know what it was because the amp tech working on it tends to be very incognito and it's hard even for his loyal customers to get in touch with him. But it's back on track and I do know it's getting a 10" Altec ceramic mounted into it.
Again...anyone ever spotted any Tapemaster brand equipment?
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Hawkeye Kane
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rbeetsme
684 posts
Mar 12, 2012
1:03 PM
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I've never been inCognito, but I think I've driven past it a few times.
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HawkeyeKane
778 posts
Mar 12, 2012
1:37 PM
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nyuk nyuk nyuk
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Hawkeye Kane
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HawkeyeKane
1030 posts
Jul 02, 2012
12:20 PM
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Reviving this thread again...
So I've been through a few different sites and online museums regarding the old amp companies in Chicago. Valco, Sound Projects, Webster, CMI...none of them have Tapemaster listed as ever being a subsidiary. Only piece of equipment I've found with that brand outside of my friend's amp is this mixer...
Vintage TAPE MASTER 6 CHANNEL TUBE MIXER
I've written the only two guys with topic relevant sites who ever had the word "tapemaster" come up. Can't believe this company has all but vanished from the books.
Last Edited by on Jul 02, 2012 12:25 PM
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SuperBee
364 posts
Jul 02, 2012
5:27 PM
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That eBay listing won't display for me. Do you have photos? Why do you think it was made in Chicago? Could "tape master" be a model name, or indicate it was originally part of a tape recorder, in a similiar way my Filmosound was part of a projector made by bell and howell?
Baird television ltd made a "tape master" reel to reel unit in 65. Could it be the amp from that?
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Last Edited by on Jul 02, 2012 7:02 PM
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HawkeyeKane
1034 posts
Jul 03, 2012
12:38 PM
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No...Tapemaster IS the make. The amp is stamped "Tapemaster, Inc. - Chicago, Ill."
Here's a pic of that mixer unit...
Looks ancient to me. Then again appearances can be deceiving. The only other Tapemaster item I found is this VU meter advertisement, also on eBay...
Also labeled Tapemaster, Inc. in Chicago.
I'm gonna try to swing by the luthier shop that's repairing the amp this weekend and snap a few pics
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Hawkeye Kane
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SuperBee
365 posts
Jul 03, 2012
4:11 PM
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Yeah,ok. That's clear. I reckon the "tape" is a clue though. Recording rather than music per se. Tape came about late 40s and you could probably date that mixer by the knobs. That stuff is quite distinctive by the eras. I've seen similiar knobs on eBay for sure. But I dunno about yer amp. I expect it was just a small concern that didn't handle the competition in a rapidly changing field.
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