Fender expand their electric guitar amplifier offering with the new British voiced all-tube BassBreaker series.
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This new line of amplifiers are inspired by classic Bassman amps, combined with modern enhancements that expand tone versatility and quality, aimed at making the popular Bassman amp viable for today’s players.
This release is quite surprising in that instead of having a small conservative number of initial models, Fender went for an immediate release of a wide selection of amp models that come in various shapes, sizes and configurations. This shows how confident the company is about the design of the Bassbreaker, in that they didn’t even test the waters before going all out.
The press release mentions that this new line of amps come with unique circuitry, power tubes (EL84) and speakers that give this amp the ability to reproduce “British” style amps. And it’s easy to pinpoint which UK amp is being hinted at, especially when they mentioned in the press release that these are the same “U.K. amps that “borrowed” Fender circuits in the 1960s.”
If the press release and use of EL34s / EL84s still does not ring a bell, then maybe the BassBreaker’s “crunch” friendly tone is another hint. And it looks like Fender is not just merely borrowing the circuitry and tone, even the exterior is inspired by the popular British amp, with a dark gray lacquered tweed covering. The name itself seems to be a play on two popular amp models – the Bassman and Bluesbreaker – and it seems that the design and voicing stays true to its label.
Fender VP and Category Manager for Amps and Pro Audio Jim Ninesling said, “With a distinct grit and growl, the new Bassbreaker series differentiates itself as an entirely new family of sound from Fender. Bridging the gap between the iconic 1959 Bassman amp and our current product lines, the Bassbreaker family truly meets the needs of every player regardless of their sound.“
There currently are four new models included in this line, the smallest of which is the Bassbreaker 007 which features a pair of 12AX7 preamp tubes and a single EL84 power tube. This one has stripped down features with basic gain and tone controls, along with a vintage-style treble booster. It comes in either head or combo model which is packaged with a 10″ Celestion Ten Thirty speaker. Retail price: Head: $400 | Combo: $450
The Bassbreaker 15 is a 15 Watt version, featuring three 12AX7 preamps and two EL84 power tubes. Extra features on this one include XLR line output with switchable speaker emulation and a power amp mute. The combo version of this amp comes with a single 12″ Celestion V-Type speaker. Retail price: Head: $600 | Combo: $650
Going up another level is the Bassbreaker 18/30, which gives you 30 Watts and more features. This two channel amp combines the sound of a 30-watt Blackface Deluxe in channel one, and a 18-watt ’61 brown Deluxe in channel two. And it comes with a footswitch for easy handsfree channel switching. For extra power, this one has four EL84 power tubes and is currently only available in combo version – which comes with two 12″ Celestion V-Type speakers. Retail price: Head: $850
Finally, the flagship model of this new line is the Bassbreaker 45, and as you have probably guessed is a 45 watt model with more performance friendly features. This one is based on the ’59 Bassman and features dual EL34 output tubes, a power attenuator knob for quiet playing, normal and bright inputs and allows for achieving the “channel blend” variations without the need for a patch cable. The combo version comes with the same 12″ Celestion V-Type speakers. Retail price: Head: $900 | Combo: $1000
The new Fender Bassbreaker amps are now available from various retailers. For more information, you can head over to Fender.
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