Fender Review: Frontman 15 Bass Amp

History:

Purchase: I got this bass about two years ago at my local music store for somewhere around a hundred bucks. I bought it because I had a bass for about a month with no idea what it sounded like!

What I Like About This Fender Frontman 15 Bass Amp: Honestly, it can have some decent punch. It's loud enough for any beginner as long as you don't plan to play with any other musicians (especially a drummer). Sound quality is average, but it's built like a rock. I know there are plenty of other beginner bass amps out that, but I think the Frontman 15 is the best because sound quality is more than adequate and you'd really have to be trying in order to break it. In other words, parents, don't be nervouse about getting this for your 13 year old or whatever.

What I Do NOT Like About The Fender Frontman 15 Bass Amp: While good at first, as I progressed as a bass player, I realized the sound gets a bit muddy and uneven. You can't really set a good tone on your bass because the low notes will sound far different from the highs. To be fair, a newbie bass player isn't going to notice or care about this, but you just have to realize that owning this amp is only temporary until you can justify buying the Fender Rumble 100, which you should also read my review for. Oh yeah, another major downside is that when you're looking to upgrade, there's no resale value whatsoever for an amp like this...but hey, it's never a bad thing to keep a practice amp.

Fender Frontman 15 Bass Amp Quality Rating: No complaints whatsoever about the construction. It's always served me well. As for quality, well, it's a small practice amp with a small speaker and virtually no features. That being said, it's exactly what you'd expect. Nothing more, nothing less.

Review Summary: The Fender Frontman 15B is a great buy in a flooded market of practice amps that all cost about the same. I think the main advantage would have to be the reliabilty of it; it's built like a small tank. If it were lost or stolen...I wouldn't buy another one because seriously, I'm a musician. I would just use it as an excuse to buy something bigger. Ha! You know it's true. By the way, although I'd have to admit that this amp is the perfect beginner amp, I'm not giving it more than a 3, because how could you rate anything with only 15 watts higher than a 3?!

Rating of this Fender product: 3

This Fender Frontman 15 Bass Amp Bass Guitar Amplifiers Review Submitted By: Kingsley Zissou

Review Date: 2005-03-20