Customer Reviews

Fender Frontman 25R Electric Guitar Amplifier

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just bought this and the 15 watt Spider Line-6. This Fender is far cleaner sounding, and had a lot more volume with almost no distortion at all. The Spider Line-6 is way inferior even though it has more bells and whistles. I'm adding this comparison because I bought the Spider Line-6 first, and wasn't pleased with it, so I ended up speanding a second $100 to get this Fender Frontman which I am well pleased with. So if you're comparing these two amps, my vote goes for the Fender by a mile. (although the Fender has reverb only, so if you're looking for a distorted sound then maybe you'll like the Spider Line-6 better). But if you want CLEAN sound and lots of volume without distoration, this Fender Frontman is the way to go! I'm well pleased with it.

This also has plenty of volume for actual performances in small places. I can't imagine wanting more volume in a small bar or cafe unless you are trying to hurt people's ears.

Kudos to Fender for making an amp like this available at this price point. It has 25 watts of power, a 10 inch speaker, a real spring reverb, and it's a traditional analog circuit without a digital processor. It will make your electric guitar sound pretty much the way it's supposed to.

The downside is that when I compare this amp to what Fender was selling fifteen years ago, the Champion 110, it falls a little short. The particle board cabinet is thinner, the speaker is less hefty, and the whole thing feels and sounds a little less substantial. It's obvious that the bean counters really pushed to get this thing as inexpensive as it is, and they also moved production to Indonesia from Mexico. Maybe weight is a factor in shipping it across the ocean.

All the same, I can still recommend it because it beats the crap out of digital amps and it gives you substantial power and a 10" speaker and real Fender tone and looks. Fender probably figures that players flush with cash will prefer a well-made tube amp or an amp with tons of digital modeling, but I kind of wish they still produced a solid 25 watt analog practice/light gigging amp.

I have a Fender Vibrolux which I use professionally, but was getting tired of lugging around to every rehearsal, jam session, and small club gig. The Frontman is a perfect solution for me: compact, lightweight, but with surprisingly good sound, along with nice reverb and overdrive. No bells and whistles, like a similar model, the Mustang I (which has all kinds of effects and presets), but I decided I'd rather have a 10" speaker rather than 8", and an extra five watts of power, than a bunch of effects I don't normally use. I'd heard complaints about the cheap speaker in the Frontman, but I've used it with a lap-steel on several gigs, and it sounds fine to me even at half volume. Maybe I'll replace it eventually but there's nothing obviously wrong with it. All in all, I love this amp and it has already saved me from immeasurable grunting and cussing. A great product and a great value for less than $100.

I usually do not write reviews, but I love this amp.
It sounds great and gets a loud enough to have some fun with.
Nice bottom end, nice tone, and fun to play through.
It is far better then the Frontman 10 and 15 ( which are basically toys compared to this)
It is almost loud enough to have band practice with it (I have not tried it, but I use my Deluxe for that)
I have recorded with it - and even use it for practice in a big band (guitar does not need much volume for a big band)
It is well built, solid, yet light to carry.
It has inputs for an ipod to practice with.
It has a real spring reverb! Sounds great.
Nice warm 'Fender' Tone (sounds almost tube)
The 2 channels with very different sound
It looks cool.
I have tried many of these small amps at the guitar center and this sounded the best - and was one of the cheapest too.
This is not a toy amp - it is something you can get many years of use out of from beginner to pro

I looked at amps for months. Finally decided on the Frontman. Wanted a practice amp but something better than the Peavey Rage 158 I had that sounded horrible and buzzed like crazy. At first I was intrigued by the modeling amps out there especially the Vox -the Fender controls were too counter-intuitive to use without having the manual in hand all the time. I looked at all-tube practice amps but decided that nothing was going to give me a decent sound without at least a 10 inch speaker. The tube amps at that size were great but broke the bank. The modeling amps lost their appeal, if I want an effect I decided using a pedal sounds much better regardless of what it is attached to (tube or and much easier to use. I read a couple of the reviews on the Frontman which I had initially pooh-poohed and couldn't believe the beautiful clean tones and low end. I went to distortion and that sounds fine too-not as good as with a pedal but what I expected-I am mostly a "clean" guy anyway. Looked at the price of only $100 and thought, what am I missing? Decided I wasn't missing anything when I turned in a little reverb I don't ever use a lot of reverb but I always use a little. I have had the amp a few weeks now and i am continued to be blown away at the clean tone. By the way, it will play very vry loud before it starts to break up. Perfect practice amp. Great purchase, arrived in one day.

Fender really nailed it with the Fender Frontman 25R. This amp has the classic Fender clean sound and a nice and punchy built in Drive feature. This amp pulls down 25 watts RMS with a total of 75W hiding underneath if you need it to get nasty! The classic silver cloth grill reminds me of the days of the old Bassmans and Twin Reverbs. This amp looks at home on any stage and the size makes it look more like a real amp in a bedroom. Fender's history is well documented and this amp sounds and looks the part.

I agree that this amp is lighter and thinner than older models. I appreciate that as I purchased this amp to tote around from coffee house and home jam sessions. This amp has the beans to throw down when the group starts getting a little loud, but keep it clean. Anyone who thinks a small amp is going to rip the plaster off the walls is missing the point of having a small amp. If you want big, house shaking bass and ear-splitting highs for soloing than get a bigger amp! Otherwise, this baby will sing proudly in your local cozy venue.

The best asset this amp has is that it lacks modeling effects. I'm all for modeling effects but you just can't get the right sound built into an amp unless you spend big dough $$$$. This amp is ready for your stomp boxes and effects to mold your tone to your liking. If you want a one size fits all amp and don't want to tote around extra pedals than look at the Fender Mustang I. Basically similiar but with a modern enclosure and some effects to play with.

The Frontman has a very nice reverb feature that sounds like a classic Fender Twin Reverb. Classic tonal controls, bass, mid, treble, gain etc.

One knock though is the RCA inputs for a CD player (or 8 Track or cassette?). C'mon Fender, how about a 1/4" input for an ipod or mp3. You can get an adapter for that but still, it's not the 80's anymore!

Overall this amp is great, sounds wonderful and is a joy to own. For this price it's a can't miss!

I actually bought this amp at a pawn shop for $60, but i would have paid the retail price if i had bought it new, with no complaints. For such a small combo, this amp really packs a punch. It is plenty loud, and is just fine for smaller club gigs. However, you could use it in larger venues also, since you generally mic up your amp anyway, and get most of your sound from monitors.
Anyway, the clean channel is what you would expect from any Fender amp, with good tone and crisp reverb. The high gain channel is really fat sounding. I still use distortion pedals, and generally leave it on the clean channel so i can switch back and forth between clean and distortion with ease (not sure if there is a foot switch for the amp, since my pawn shop purchase didnt include one), but without a pedal, the high gain channel performs adequately.
For the price, this is really an upper echelon amp in my opinion. Kind of does away with the need for a half stack, unless you are really gigging frequently at larger venues or outdoors. Plus, it is far lighter and easier to transport, lol.

I really needed a new amp because i just started playing guitar about a year ago and i had some off brand 5 watt amp that absolutely sucked so when i got this i was thrilled. it was loud enough to practice with my little band and the reverb on it is great. It has a pretty good over drive but i have a line 6 floor pod plus to go along with it wich makes it just perfect. if u are intermediate then i would suggest this. not to much for metal people unless u want to buy a pedal to go along with it. i would know ;)

I recently purchased this amp and i was amazed how it sounded.This amp has distation,reverb,bass,treble,and many more settings.This amp is great for jamming to AC/DC,Def leppard,and most other hard rock/ metal bands.This amp is also great fot jamming to soft rock and even country.It is also great for playing at gigs.I would strongly reccomend this amp to anybody who is looking to upgrade to a larger amp.

i got mine yesterday and love it, it sounds grate ,i didn't know what amp to get, i looked and looked ,read a lot of reviews and even got on YouTube to see what people had to say, and seems this one had a lot of good reviews,, i knew fender has a good name for amps , and for the money this one was the one, i am so glad i got it , it gave life to my electric guitar, i bought mine somewhere else ,but still grate amp ,,i didn't want to spend a lot of money for an amp ,and didn't want to get something small for 20 or 30 dollars less and would out grow with my music,as i get better playing guitar, but figure this amp will do me just fine for many years to come and it will. this will save me money in the long-run ,i am very happy with it,i like the five year warranty that came with it, you can't go wrong ,great sound,, and its not to big ,,nice size amp,,and easy to pick-up,,nice looking amp ,,