Fender is known for producing reliable, thrilling, varied, and often perfectly priced guitar amps, in addition to being one of the world’s top producers of electric guitars.
The Fender Bassbreaker 15 amp we’re going to go over in depth today is primarily geared at advanced musicians who are willing to invest a little more in the particular features and tonal characteristics that all-tube combos are known for.
Clear lows, super-thick mids, crunchy high, and a surprisingly large presence characterise Bassbreaker. It also looks excellent and performs admirably in a variety of settings. Is it, however, the appropriate amp for you? Let’s take a closer look.
Product Overview
A tube amplifier is required to get the most out of your electric guitar’s tone. The Fender Bassbreaker 15 has been called a “box of tones,” and the quality and variety of tone it provides, as you’d expect from Fender, is exceptional. Since the amplifier has two EL84 tubes, it can produce extremely strong, flaming midrange sounds, as well as the classic tube warmth found in all tube amplifiers.
My Fender Bassbreaker 15 review will assist you in determining whether or not this is the ideal guitar amplifier for you. Continue reading to learn more.
Features
Connectivity and construction
The Fender Bassbreaker 15 is a stunning modern combo amp with a sturdy body that makes it ideal for usage in studios or rehearsal studios, but it’s also suited for live performance.
Bassbreaker will please both traditionalists and fans of uniqueness when it comes to design. This combo, clearly influenced by the classic 1959 Fender Bassman amp, has a wonderful lacquered gray tweed exterior that sets it apart from the competition while still fitting seamlessly into your overall setup.
Controls and features
This is a 15 watt tube amp that can be heard in a band, but it also sounds fantastic in your room or personal studio. There’s a reason it’s my favorite amplifier. The 15 is one of the few amps I’ve ever heard that sounds fantastic both fresh and dirty. The majority of amplifiers excel at one or the other.
The Fender Bassbreaker 15 doesn’t have a lot of unique features, so if you want to model your sound with different effects, you’ll have to use external devices or mess with the sound in post-production. Nonetheless, even the amp’s modest set of settings may be used to create your tone in a variety of creative ways.
The clean sound is fairly gloomy when using the Bassbreaker 15 with the master set high and the gain at 10 o’clock in low-gain mode, but when the bright option is selected, the cover is lowered and the vocal part is pushed into a more neutral area.
Winding back the bass to 10 o’clock and the mids to 3 o’clock while keeping the treble neutral produces a very clean ‘base’ tone with a little edge when you dive in and a touch of EL84 jingle for chord play. The amp will play good when you throw a clean boost to the mix. There’s a little hum in the background, but it’s not distracting.
It features an effects loop and a built-in reverb, and it does a good job of covering the clean Fender sound, but the crunch sound is extremely near to what I’m looking for. The 15 has been named “the best amp Fender has ever manufactured” by Rob Chapman. It’s definitely Fender’s best crunch sound to date.
Sound
We’ve finally arrived at the most important feature of this combo amp: Yes, the Fender Bassbreaker 15 is all about the tone, which is absolutely massive and stunning regardless of whether you choose single-coil or humbucker pickups.
The all-tube warmth is incredible, and it wonderfully embodies all of the strengths and traits you’d expect from the legendary Fender brand.
First and foremost, you’ll be taken aback by how powerful and strong this amplifier can be. I can’t think of another 15W amplifier that sounds as forceful and dominating as this one.
Although it takes some adjusting and tweaking when you first take the amplifier out of the box, I really loved its enormous presence, which contributes to the amp’s flexibility and utility.
Second, from the bluesy lows to the huge mids to the sparkling highs, the sound is surprisingly smooth and identifiable in all of its locations. Irrespective of the genre you favor, this diverse collection of high-quality tones will compliment your playing style.
Pros
- It’s a complete tube amplifier, which provides unrivaled tone and a wide range of possibilities for producing unique sounds in any genre.
- It has enough range for guitarists that play lead riffs with drive pedals.
- Despite being a little tube amp, it is capable of producing a strong tone.
- The Fender Bassbeaker 15’s XLR output makes it ideal for use in the studio.
Cons
- At times, the sound can be somewhat ‘boomy,’ although this can be reduced by fiddling with the knobs.
It isn’t the most robust amplifier available at 15 watts. However, while it isn’t fit for a large performance, it is perfect for playing at home. And if you crank up the high gain all the way, you’ll be surprised at how loud this amp can become.
Is the Fender Bassbreaker Combo any Good?
Fender Bassbreaker 15 should be on the radar of anyone looking to invest in a dependable tube combination from one of the industry’s biggest names. While it lacks in-built effects and limitless features, its strong sound and complete control over tone and amplitude are really all you’ll need.
Alternatives
SuperChamp X2 by Fender
This amp is very similar to the Bassbreaker 15 amp we evaluated before in this post. Both amps are definitely made by Fender, have 15 watts of power, and use tube-based amplification.
Deluxe Fender Hot Rod
In 1995, the legendary Fender Hot Rod Deluxe hit the market for the first time. It’s on its fourth iteration at the moment. This 40W amp has a smooth-sounding spring reverb and a redesigned preamp circuitry. Hot Rod Deluxe, like Bassbreaker, is a tube amp with a 12′′ Celestion A-Type speaker.
It also has a two-button footswitch and a built-in reverb. Despite the fact that this amp is really adaptable, I’d say it has a particular blues-rock flavor to it.
Where Can I Buy The Fender Bassbreaker?
The Fender Bassbreaker can be found and purchased on websites like ebay, reverb, musicians friends, and guitar centre.
Verdict
It’s difficult not to be smitten by the Fender Bassbreaker 15’s beautiful tone. It not only provides the tone, but also a wide spectrum of tones. This amplifier’s most notable feature is its versatility.
That means you may be confident that when you’re using it for recording, your performance will sound wonderful. You’ll adore the Bassbreaker 15 whether you’re a heavy metal guitarist looking for the harshest, most aggressive tone or a funk guitarist looking for a clean, reverb-rich tone.