Eddie Van Halen’s 1963 Fender Bandmaster

Eddie used this amp in his early days, sitting in his room, and coming up with ideas for songs. Later on, when the band began performing, he used the amp live and played through a Marshall cabinet.

I used that amp for years in two ways. I already had the Marshall, but I had not stumbled onto the Variac thing yet, so I would use the Bandmaster through the Marshall cabinet when we gigged at smaller clubs like Gazzarri’s.

I wrote all of the early Van Halen songs for the first three albums with that amp, playing quietly in my room. It was really quiet, so my mom couldn’t hear me, but it sounded amazing.

Eddie Van Halen Shares the Guitars Behind His Quest for Tone