I picked up this Fender 212 cab a while back. It had been stored on its side and had some water damage. A lot of the hardware was pretty rusted. I’m in the process of replacing the chrome and cleaning the tolex (which is in okay shape). The seller thought it was a Bassman from around 1974. But the more I look into it the more I think it might be a Bandmaster. It has JBL speakers and the seller thought they were original. There are no markings inside that I can see that would indicate the date of manufacture. Can anyone here tell just by eyeballing the front? Much thanks, f Edit: it works and sounds good.
What range of years would the blackface era span? f Edit: I have found some info that divides the blackface era into two parts: pre CBS 63-65 and post CBS 65-68.
The size, logo orientation and grille cloth color indicate a Blackface Bandmaster or Bassman. The cabs were the same, supposedly the Bassman drivers were rated higher but that's probably not be true, since both are listed with Jensen Jensen C12N or Oxford 12T6. With JBLs it would be the same cab anyway. The Fender Amp Field Guide
Thank you! According to your Field Guide link it is a 64-67 with non-original JBL’s. I checked and found two small screw holes on the sides where the tilt-back legs used to be. The dimensions are spot on. Really appreciate it. f
It looks like I may have found a 1968 Bassman head to go with this cab. I’ll be checking it out later this week. Right now it has JJ tubes that are about 8 months old. According to the owner it has only been used for studio work on guitar. The tolex is in pretty good shape. It does have some scratches on the blackface but nothing extreme. There is a little crackle on some of the knobs when they are turned. I think I can fix that. I’ll keep y’all posted if I get it. f
Back in 1973 I acquired both a 212 and a 215, used, that resembled that cab, but, frankly, I’ve slept since then, so I’m not sure of much. Anyway both of these cabs had JBLs according Di fiori where I got them.
Thanks for that bit of info. I have come across an article or two that indicate some of these units shipped with JBL’s originally. At this point, any way you slice it, it’s an old cab (and amp) that carries a certain tone. I have a project going on that can surely use it. And I picked it up for $50 so I figure I can’t lose. It just needs some TLC and someone to play it. f