Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

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stevejamsecono
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Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by stevejamsecono » Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:19 pm

So I got my monthly unwanted Guitar Center catalogue in the mail, and was about to throw it out after my usual quick swap through when I saw this.... Image
Fender is apparently going after Marshall's old stomping grounds, reclaiming the Bassman heritage a bit. All the amps seem to be either EL84 or EL34. I dig the gray 50s-influenced aesthetic, and I'm excited to try one out. If Fender manages to beat Marshall at its own game at this pricepoint (under 1000 for most of the amps, some as low as 400), then more power to them.
And you find out life isn't like that
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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by StevenO » Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:48 pm

I think Mike/OffYourFace hinted at these awhild back and xug them quite a bit. That guy knows good sound, so these are probably great!

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by OffYourFace » Wed Oct 28, 2015 12:21 am

Aww thanks Steven

Yes, I was invited to check them out a while back. I think they sound great! They do sound different than the usual Fender stuff like the Blackface/Silverface reissues, Hot Rods and Tweeds. They have a distinct British flavor to them but still in the Fender zone. You have to try them to understand what I mean. I was most impressed with the 45w model. It has Power Scaling and it works and sounded great! You don't see that on amps under $1k. OP Steve, you should try the head. It might be what your looking for.

The 1x10 is also great. It's got a pretty big and thick overdrive tone at low volume.
I didn't get to try the others because they weren't in the showroom.

The only issue I have with them is the name. They recycled it from a custom shop amp from the '90s and it's just not that catchy to my ears. It's supposed to mean tweed BASSman meets Marshall Blues BREAKER but it's a guitar amp with the word bass in it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Oct 28, 2015 3:21 am

OffYourFace wrote:Aww thanks Steven

Yes, I was invited to check them out a while back. I think they sound great! They do sound different than the usual Fender stuff like the Blackface/Silverface reissues, Hot Rods and Tweeds. They have a distinct British flavor to them but still in the Fender zone. You have to try them to understand what I mean. I was most impressed with the 45w model. It has Power Scaling and it works and sounded great! You don't see that on amps under $1k. OP Steve, you should try the head. It might be what your looking for.

The 1x10 is also great. It's got a pretty big and thick overdrive tone at low volume.
I didn't get to try the others because they weren't in the showroom.

The only issue I have with them is the name. They recycled it from a custom shop amp from the '90s and it's just not that catchy to my ears. It's supposed to mean tweed BASSman meets Marshall Blues BREAKER but it's a guitar amp with the word bass in it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm definitely curious. Half of me hopes they do well so we see them follow this line a bit farther, the other half hopes they don't so they blow them out for like.. 200 bucks later.
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by cbrown » Wed Oct 28, 2015 3:45 am

I thought I didn't want another amp, but now I don't know. The 15W (2xEL84) and 7W (1xEL84) models look interesting too but the 45W (2xEL34) really appeals to me.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifie ... r-amp-head

Vaiable output power from 1-45W and channel mixing gives a lot of control, shame it doesn't have an effects loop considering the 15W version does, but I could add that later.

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by InLimbo » Wed Oct 28, 2015 4:22 am

OffYourFace wrote:The only issue I have with them is the name. They recycled it from a custom shop amp from the '90s and it's just not that catchy to my ears. It's supposed to mean tweed BASSman meets Marshall Blues BREAKER but it's a guitar amp with the word bass in it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I got the same catalogue and noticed these as well - the name to me was quite obvious of where it came from, but it does have a sort of lame-ness to it, haha.

I'll be honest, the price point makes me nervous.

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by wk_end » Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:53 am

Any idea where these are made?

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by rhythmjones » Wed Oct 28, 2015 6:58 am

I wish the 7w verson had reverb.
- Mitch

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by stevejamsecono » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:24 am

wk_end wrote:Any idea where these are made?
Based on the pricepoint I can assume they aren't MIA. More likely Far East like the Excelsior and other such. That being said, I used Jonesie's Excelsior gigging for about a year and really enjoyed it, so at the hobbyist level I can see these being a nice entry point for people into the Brown/Tweed/Early Marshall thing. After years of being subjected to everyone having a HRDlx, I welcome this. And hey, if people really like them and want something more reliable, there's more than enough builders doing that stuff PTP.
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Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by cbrown » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:38 am

wk_end wrote:Any idea where these are made?
Looks like they're all made in Mexico

Image
Image
Image

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by sjperry54 » Wed Oct 28, 2015 4:26 pm

Just found this video of the 7 watter on FB...

https://www.facebook.com/56733764030/vi ... 538929031/

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by Drewbertca » Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:02 pm

It's my birthday next Tuesday (Nov 3). I'll be 35. This one already feels tougher than 30, or 25, or 18 did. Actually starting to feel old. To make a short post long, I think the OSG community should pool together and get me the 45 Watter. You know to help ease the pains I'm feeling both emotionally and physically as I get older.

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by s_mcsleazy » Wed Oct 28, 2015 5:37 pm

any words on the speaker cabs they come with?
offset guitars resident bass player.
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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by redchapterjubilee » Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:18 pm

That video sounds fairly nice.

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Re: Fender Bassbreaker Amplifiers... !?

Post by OffYourFace » Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:55 pm

s_mcsleazy wrote:any words on the speaker cabs they come with?
I liked the sound of the 45w Head and the 2x12 ext cab better than the 2x12 combo. The Combo sounded a little boxy to me.
Btw, All of these amps come with Celestions.

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