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Post subject: Fender Bassbreaker 15 - home use?
Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 4:21 am
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Hi there,

I am looking for a 'mid range' priced (max £600) all tube amp and need some guidance.

I play on an Ibanez PGM 301, mostly melodic leads these days (im not much of a shredder), I also love blues and even a bit of country! I also do chord work.

I need a verstile amp that will cover a variety of styles but most importantly do a nice thick saturated lead tone with plenty of sustain. I dont want a harsh sounding amp, something soulful and sweet!

I was thinking the Fender Bassbreaker 15 combo might fit the bill, but I am concerned it will be too loud for home use - my mum will go APE if its going to blow the windows out!!

I would have gone for the 7 watt version but the features on the 15 such as triple gain stage (for leads) and reverb really appeal to me, also I like the idea of the larger speaker in the combo format.

Has anyone any experience with playing low volume on one of these? I cant turn my vibro champ XD much past 3-4, would this be doable on the bassbreaker as well?

Perhaps someone could recommend me an amp? I havent got lots of money for pedals so it would need to have similair features to the Bassbreaker 15. I was looking at the H&K tubemeister also, it switches down to 1 and 5 watts but I dont know if would be as sweet as the fender.

On the second hand market I could stretch to a used MesaBoogie express but again Im worried it would be too much amp for home use.

I live in the middle of nowhere so sadly i cant try anything out, I have to order online.


Thanks for any help!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 - home use?
Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2017 1:48 am
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The Bassbreaker 15 watts will be more powerfull than your XD with its 5 watts.

If you want to have fun when playing guitar, all amp are too powerfull for home use / for your mother


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Post subject: Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 - home use?
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 5:27 am
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stratele52 wrote:

If you want to have fun when playing guitar, all amp are too powerfull for home use / for your mother


I'm not sure I agree. Multi-gain stage amps like the Bassbreaker are designed to provide good sounding preamp distortion at lower volumes. Although I haven't played a Bassbreaker 15, I have owned both a Super Sonic 22 (22 watts) and Super Sonic Twin (100 watts!!) and each offered good overdrive at low volumes. Granted, their overdrive sounded BEST when cranked (100 watts - ouch!), but I had no problem getting a saturated lead tone and had "fun playing guitar" at low volumes. However we all know that playing guitar is more fun loud, no matter what amp, right? :D

I sold both those amps after I bought a Prosonic - which also has multiple gains - and which also sounds quite good at home volumes.

Its possible an amp like the Bassbreaker 15 could be just what you need. I do recommend the Super Sonic 22 by the way - its a great little amp. I just liked the sound and robust build of the Prosonic better and didn't need both.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 - home use?
Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 12:42 pm
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I played around with the Bassbreaker 15 at the store and liked it a lot. The master volume is very good and it can get quiet while still sounding nice.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 - home use?
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 12:29 pm
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I have a Fender Bassbreaker 15, in the Limited Tweed edition with the Celestion Greenback speaker.

Hopefully my experience with the amp can prove helpful.

This amp has three voicing or "structures." On the low structure, the amp is clean when you have the gain turned down low, and the master volume up. Something that you should know about this amp is that the Master Volume is highly dependent upon the Gain knob for volume purposes. So, if you put the Gain on "1" and the Master Volume on "10" the amp is going to be really quiet, probably too quiet and barely producing any volume at all at that point. You have to get to at least 25% on the Gain, with the Master Volume cranked before you actually get a basic operational volume out of the amp, which is probably a "bedroom" volume. Turning up the Gain from there does increase volume, but also noticeably breaks up the sound. I cannot get a "loud" (meaning able to hang with an acoustic drum set) 15w purely clean tone out of this amp. The closest I can get is on the low voicing structure, and turn the master volume to 10, and the gain to like 6, and the back off on my guitar volume significantly to clean up the input, but that still decreases overall volume for me.

As soon as you jump to the "mid" voicing structure, the entire gain and volume dynamics change. I no longer have access to any "clean" sounds on the mid voicing, and there is a noticeable volume difference at this point. The amp also starts to "hiss" due to driving the preamp I believe. You still have control over the level of gain, and the master level, which allows you to control output volume, however, low volume means that your gain is turned down. If you crank up the master volume and the gain in the "mid" structure setting, you will get an awesome tone from the amp, with some lush overdrive, and it will have a solid 15w volume level.

The "high" voicing is an in your face level of distortion / fuzz, however, you can still control its overall volume by using the gain and master knobs. If you crank the gain and volume in the "high" voicing structure, you will get a lot of "hiss" and some really thick distortion / fuzz (which is well beyond overdrive at this point). Your volume will be quite capable of hanging with an acoustic drum kit, bass, backup guitar, and vocals for basement band practice.

Now, you are talking about "a nice thick saturated lead tone with plenty of sustain." I can totally appreciate your interest in this kind of tone, and many of us are interested in the very same thing. However, I have not found an amp that can produce this kind of tone at a very low volume level. It will either sound thin, lack sustain, or there is no saturation at low volume. With this being a tube amp, what creates the warmth, saturation, and sustain are a result of the tubes being pushed, and you get that from the gain knob in this amp.

A compression pedal can assist you with sustain when running at a low volume.

An "attenuator" can allow you to turn down the output volume while still pushing the tubes for saturation, however, those options are like $300 or $400, and have never been viable solutions for me, especially if I am spending $600 on the amp itself.

I thoroughly appreciate my BassBreaker 15w amp, and I really like how it performs for my purposes. When I jam out in my music room, its very versatile, and takes pedals well. When I play out, I simply mic it to my PA, which resolves any concerns about output volume. I dont really have noise restrictions, as my music room is in my basement, and my kids are teens and my neighbors know and accept that I play amplified instruments. However, in my experience, this amp doesnt really hit volume levels of what you think a 15w amp should be hitting until you turn up the structure setting, and increase the gain.

Hope that helps.

_________________
Fender Showmaster QMT
Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster in Olympic White
Fender Squire Telecaster Thinline Classic Vibe w/ 4way switch mod
Fender Bassbreaker 15 Limited Edition Lacquered Tweed w/ Celestion Greenback


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Post subject: Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 - home use?
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 5:31 am
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Redsavina wrote:
Now, you are talking about "a nice thick saturated lead tone with plenty of sustain." I can totally appreciate your interest in this kind of tone, and many of us are interested in the very same thing. However, I have not found an amp that can produce this kind of tone at a very low volume level.

IME the Fender Prosonic can. IMO the Super Sonic 22 does pretty well too. I'm sure there our others, depending on your expectations.
Redsavina wrote:
A compression pedal can assist you with sustain when running at a low volume.

Very good advice!
Redsavina wrote:
An "attenuator" can allow you to turn down the output volume while still pushing the tubes for saturation

In addition, some amps' low volume performance will benefit from a volume pedal in the effects loop. It won't facilitate power tube distortion like an attenuator but may help you overdrive your preamp.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 - home use?
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 6:50 am
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Redsavina wrote:
I have a Fender Bassbreaker 15, in the Limited Tweed edition with the Celestion Greenback speaker.

Hopefully my experience with the amp can prove helpful.

This amp has three voicing or "structures." On the low structure, the amp is clean when you have the gain turned down low, and the master volume up. Something that you should know about this amp is that the Master Volume is highly dependent upon the Gain knob for volume purposes. So, if you put the Gain on "1" and the Master Volume on "10" the amp is going to be really quiet, probably too quiet and barely producing any volume at all at that point. You have to get to at least 25% on the Gain, with the Master Volume cranked before you actually get a basic operational volume out of the amp, which is probably a "bedroom" volume. Turning up the Gain from there does increase volume, but also noticeably breaks up the sound. I cannot get a "loud" (meaning able to hang with an acoustic drum set) 15w purely clean tone out of this amp. The closest I can get is on the low voicing structure, and turn the master volume to 10, and the gain to like 6, and the back off on my guitar volume significantly to clean up the input, but that still decreases overall volume for me.

As soon as you jump to the "mid" voicing structure, the entire gain and volume dynamics change. I no longer have access to any "clean" sounds on the mid voicing, and there is a noticeable volume difference at this point. The amp also starts to "hiss" due to driving the preamp I believe. You still have control over the level of gain, and the master level, which allows you to control output volume, however, low volume means that your gain is turned down. If you crank up the master volume and the gain in the "mid" structure setting, you will get an awesome tone from the amp, with some lush overdrive, and it will have a solid 15w volume level.

The "high" voicing is an in your face level of distortion / fuzz, however, you can still control its overall volume by using the gain and master knobs. If you crank the gain and volume in the "high" voicing structure, you will get a lot of "hiss" and some really thick distortion / fuzz (which is well beyond overdrive at this point). Your volume will be quite capable of hanging with an acoustic drum kit, bass, backup guitar, and vocals for basement band practice.

Now, you are talking about "a nice thick saturated lead tone with plenty of sustain." I can totally appreciate your interest in this kind of tone, and many of us are interested in the very same thing. However, I have not found an amp that can produce this kind of tone at a very low volume level. It will either sound thin, lack sustain, or there is no saturation at low volume. With this being a tube amp, what creates the warmth, saturation, and sustain are a result of the tubes being pushed, and you get that from the gain knob in this amp.

A compression pedal can assist you with sustain when running at a low volume.

An "attenuator" can allow you to turn down the output volume while still pushing the tubes for saturation, however, those options are like $300 or $400, and have never been viable solutions for me, especially if I am spending $600 on the amp itself.

I thoroughly appreciate my BassBreaker 15w amp, and I really like how it performs for my purposes. When I jam out in my music room, its very versatile, and takes pedals well. When I play out, I simply mic it to my PA, which resolves any concerns about output volume. I dont really have noise restrictions, as my music room is in my basement, and my kids are teens and my neighbors know and accept that I play amplified instruments. However, in my experience, this amp doesnt really hit volume levels of what you think a 15w amp should be hitting until you turn up the structure setting, and increase the gain.

Hope that helps.


That's an excellent overview of this amp. And very well explained.

I bought the tweed version and have been scratching my head a bit since I got it. At the store at low to med volume it sounded great. At home in a good sized rehearsal room it is tough to get that classic Fender clean sound at a good volume.

As you suggested a compressor helps, I put a Keely in the front and then a clean boost which goes up to +20 Db which helps boost the volume on clean without the gain. An amp stand which angles the amp up a bit whether sitting or standing will help direct the volume at your ears and seem louder in a small room.
Rolling off the volume on the guitar as you mentioned is key also to reduce the gain.

I like this amp but wouldn't buy it again.


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