Earlier in this thread it is erroneously stated that the 1960s “Bandmaster” piggy back cabinet contained one fifteen inch speaker. This is a common misconception. 1961-63, there was a Rough Blonde tolex one twelve version of the “tone ring” cabinet, and a smooth blonde tolex version in 63-64. ( these versions had oxblood and wheat grille cloth respectively although there are many transitional variants ). Many mistake these for a single fifteen because they will accommodate a fifteen inch speaker if the metal one twelve “tone ring” is removed. The “Showman” cabinet did have a single fifteen inch speaker offered in a ring and non-ring variations in the 60s. Furthermore the cabinet dimensions of the 62-66 “Bandmaster” and 60-66 “Bassman” are misrepresented herein. The”Bandmaster” and “Bassman” of this era were exactly the same size ( 32″ x 20″ x 11″, NOT 32×21×11 as published ) The only way to differentiate between the “Bandmaster” and “Bassman” speaker cabinet is the location of the thumb screw receptacles on the top of the cabinet. All other hardware is placed identically.

The “Ground” switch is kinda misleading. Since the amp was designed and built before power mains had a ground (three prong plugs), the chassis is connected, through a capacitor (called the cap of death), to one of the two power lines. Switching the “Ground” switch switches between which of the power lines the chassis is connected to. The idea is that if your amp was humming, switch to the other power line to stop the hum. However, if the cap of death goes bad and shorts, you now have a “hot” chassis and can get electrocuted if you touch it and something else that is not grounded properly. Hence the name “cap of death”. It is highly recommended (and does not affect the collectability of the amp) to get it converted to a 3 prong plug, and have the chassis grounded properly. I just acquired a ’67 Bandmaster, and that was the first thing I did to it. First thing I did to my ’71 Univox bass amp, too. As a side note, the Bandmaster I got… Someone had taken a can of black spray paint to the whole head, faceplate, knobs, grill cloth and all. Even got paint on the tubes and covers. I have got it mostly cleaned up and am tracking down new grill cloth. What a horrible thing to do. Well, at least the pawn shop didn’t know what it was (because it was all ugly black) and I got it reeeeeal cheap. Works and sounds great.

There is a switch for the ground behind the amp, do I need to turn it on? and does it have to be to the left or to the right? and does anyone know if there is a owners manual somewhere for this?

My BM has black labeled Utahs. Haven’t been able to place the year… 64/5 maybe?

Yes my 66 BM has utahs.