Bassbraker R30
By Rocco from Tampa FL. on August 9, 2021 Music Background: Guitar Player
Very good amp love the clean Tone along with the Gain
Nick my sales Rep was great!!!
Rocco
Great amp!!
By Sweetwater Customer on December 25, 2020
This amp can do it all!! You get beautiful fender clean with some Marshall like dirt. Sweetwater is the best when it comes to customer service!! I received 2 amps that had issues, Sweetwater without hesitation sent replacements without question. If you are a modern player, you need this amp!!
Phenomenal Amp
By TK from Riverside, CA on May 30, 2020 Music Background: Geek
Probably one of the most versatile combos on the market. Outstanding amplifier.
Such a cool amp
By Ryan from Atlanta on May 15, 2020
I got the reverb version. Such a cool little amp with broad range of tones. Works well with medals too through the fx loop or direct. Well done!
Phenomenal
By Sweetwater Customer on May 8, 2020
Arguably the most versatile amp in this price range
Awesome
By Aldo on January 10, 2020 Music Background: Experienced Guitar player, film composer
What can I say, gorgeous clean and gain channel. It is a very versatile amplifier.
Great Amp
By Dave from Brooklyn NY on September 28, 2019
This amp was recommended to me for my Gretsch.Couldn't be happier!
PERFECT!
By Patrick Julian from Elgin, IL on September 11, 2019
Clean Fender tones, full dirty tones, and the extra boost channel is a nice touch. Plying a modified Strat (Lace Sensor Blue/Silver/Red) and a G&L ASAT Classic (Tele), I've really been able to hear the way that these guitars are supposed to sound. I went from an Orange Solid State (still a killer amp) to a Bugera T50 Infinum that I toyed with for a few years (changed tube types, mixes the preamp tube types to give it a different sound), but for small gigs, lugging a cabinet and head and everything else was getting to be a pain. I like the comb convenience, and the 30W amp is perfect for pretty much any gig I'll ever have. Small and portable, but still LOUD! Great tones, clean look. Looking forward to playing this one more and really making it sing. I did pick up an attenuator for an extra volume control. I'm able to keep the tubes cooking and keep the Mrs. happy at the same time! Loving this amp!
Back To Tubes
By Dave Airozo from Colfax, California on April 18, 2019 Music Background: Intermediate
My first tube amp after selling my Mesa Boogie Studio 22 a couple of years ago( what was he thinking). So after a Fender Champ 40( didn't like it) then a Boss Katana 100 ( liked it a little better) I just needed to get back to tube amps. I tried a Marshall DSL 40 but between the fact I just wasn't getting the tone I was looking for and the other fact that it almost broke my back I returned it. Then this amp came out so at 38 lbs. 30 watts and 1 twelve I figured I would give it a shot. So far I have been very happy with the tones I get out of both channels with channel 2 being my favorite. Plays well with pedals and is plenty loud enough for me. I thought it was a little pricey but it did come with the channel switching pedal and amp cover.
Bassbreaker 30R
By BRETT BREZA from Spokane, WA on March 19, 2019
I have had this amp for about a month now and its got some really great sounds I really like the sound I prefer no pedals and this works great for that I do have a few pedals I will see how that works. Over all this is a great amp and plenty load for anything I will be doing lots of great tone and seams well built loving this amp so far
Bassbreaker 30R
By Bob from Connecticut on February 5, 2019 Music Background: Gigging Musician
Just got my new Bassbreaker 30R over the weekend and put it to work. I came close to buying the Bassbreaker 18/30 so many times because I just loved how it sounded, but just couldn't see myself lugging
around a big 2x12 that was almost 50 lbs. When I went to test that amp I happen to catch the Fender Sales Rep at the store and asked them why didn't the make it 1x12. He and I both agreed we would buy it in a second. So when I saw the video from NAMM 2019 that Fender had done just that I bought it with the help of my Sweetwater Rep. Darius Beatz on the spot. It sounds amazing, with a bright switch and the second channel gives enough dirt, but still needs a pedal for heavier tones. It looks great with the new grill cloth and and it very easy to transport to gigs. Fender listen to use players on this one!!!
Great Amp For The Local Cover Band Player
By Dean from Canton, GA on October 16, 2020
I bought this amp in February 2019 and have been rehearsing and gigging with it at least once a week since that time. It took me a month or two to gel with it, but things got better as I learned to dial it in, and the speaker started to break in. I play in a typical local classic rock cover band and this amp handles the job perfectly. This is a two-channel amp, and each channel has its own volume control and 3-band EQ, which is nice. The clean channel is great and very pedal friendly. The drive channel is particularly good, and I use it as my primary overdrive tone. The drive channel has an extra high-gain boost feature, which sounds good and can be quite useful. However, engaging this boost feature creates a lot of white noise hissing when the room is quiet. So, I just use an overdrive pedal on my board for additional boosting, which provides better control over that issue. This amp is exceptionally light weight as compared to other 1x12 combo tube amps. I have not had any reliability issues whatsoever in the almost two years I've been playing it. At 30-watts, this amp is perfect for gigging small and medium sized venues, and the tone just gets better when the amp is pushed.
Quality Affordable American Tone
By Kyle from New Jersey on January 1, 2020 Music Background: Casual/Basem*nt Show Player
Went between this and a Blackstar. Currently gigging with a mostly clean emo/alternative band and this handles it well, but where my real passions lie are with punk rock, modern hard rock, and metal. Ended up going with the Bassbreaker because its the closest thing to a Dual Rectifier on a budget, and I don't have the room or funds for the Mesa at the moment. The Bassbreaker handles the alt/emo, punk, and hard rock. The clean channel sounds great with my OD3 and a compressor in front of it, giving it that classic Fender clean tone when I plug in my Strat into it. The reverb really shines with the clean channel. The gain channel can easily handle the kind of metally influenced punk rock (think Propagandhi, Strung Out) that I enjoy playing, with a lot of chord definition from my LTD Eclipse 1000 with Seymour Duncans. It can also handle 90s/2000s hard rock pretty well. Any of those bands that used a Dual Rectifier back in the day (Linkin Park, Shinedown, Creed/Alter Bridge, Godsmack) this can get really close to those. Where it falls short is when you try to push it into metal territory. There just isn't enough gain to do the heaviest of metal tones, especially when you try to do drop tunings. I have a Metal Zone I can throw in front of it with a hint of gain and get good thrash metal tones, but anything downtuned beyond Drop C gets kinda murky, I suspect from the speaker. I think the 6505 combo amp might be a better choice for those purely interested in playing metal, but this is a far more versatile amp that I'm overall very satisfied with.
Great Distortion and Cleans
By Sweetwater Customer on April 20, 2019
I first played the Bassbreaker 15 in a local music store but was unsure that it'd be loud enough for a band. However I was blown away and super impressed so I went home and did some research. I used to have a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier and I loved it but it was overkill. When I found out about the Bassbreaker series I was originally looking for a Mini Rectifier. For the first time ever Fender released an amp that had great distortion with no need for an OD pedal. I play alternative progressive rock in the likes of (Hail the Sun, Thrice, Dance Gavin Dance, Coheed & Cambria, etc) It was important to me to find an amp with good distortion that had clarity enough to hear notes in a chord. This amp delivers that clarity and the cleans are what you'd expect from fender. Had to dock this amp a half a star cuz the direct out/cabinet emulator sounds terrible. Good idea but poorly executed almost like they threw it in at the last minute. Overall this amp rocks and is crazy loud for a little 30w amp with 1 12in speaker.
A great amp -- esp. for the price!
By Steve from San Diego on March 6, 2019 Music Background: Working musician, 40+ years of playing
I'm an amp snob. I've owned Bad Cat, THD, vintage Fenders...my main rig now is a Mesa Lonestar Special 2x12, a wonderful amp -- but really heavy, a bit much to lug around small stages. I wanted a lighter 1x12 in the 30-watt range, and so tried out the Bassbreaker 30R.
And wow -- it's terrific! The clean tone on channel one is fine, but the overdrive channels are what really impress (the opposite of what I usually think of Fender amps). The first drive channel is fantastic -- I set the gain and volume to put it on the edge of breakup, and use my guitar volume, plus overdrive/boost pedals, to dial it back a bit or push the tubes even harder. The standard tone controls (bass, mid, treble) allow you to adjust the recipe to your liking. Even the high-gain channel is great, much to my surprise. It does Marshall-esque gain very well (so well, in fact, that my Carl Martin PlexiTone pedal might lose its spot on my board). Aesthetically, the amp looks cool...kinda retro but kinda edgy at the same time. Construction is very solid, fit and finish are quite nice.
What's not to like? The digital reverb is just okay -- but in a live setting, who cares? It's fine, and I'm happy with that versus the added weight of an actual reverb tank. And the direct out option...no. Just no.
But that's really nit-picking. Overall, this is a great amp, period...and for the price it's amazing. If you have $900 to spend on an amp, I can't imagine a better choice.
(And shout-out to Sweetwater, and Brian Loney in particular -- super smooth transaction and great customer service, as always!)
Very nice
By Dan Miller from Humble, TX on June 9, 2020 Music Background: Modern Metal, classic rock, 80s metal
I just got this amp new a few days ago. I have owned many amplifiers over the last 30 years; Peavey 5150s, Carvin X-B100, B52 AT100, Randall Warhead, Johnson Melinium 100, and countless small amps and combos. Currently i have a line 6 helix and a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL100. A few weeks ago i played a new FENDER Bassbreaker 30R and i was stunned how great it sounded. I went back a few times and tried it again to to be sure I wasnt losing my mind how great the dirty channel actually sounded. Like everyone i knew Fender was known for the great clean tones but a dirty channel? this good? hmmm. I ended up buying it knowing if i had to get loud and deliver the goods i could always plug in my Marshall half stack with no worrys. Well this little fender combo is LOUD. VERY loud. I plugged my Orange 1-12" cabinet (Celestion V30) in the ext speaker output to compare it to the speaker in the fender...and i preferred the provided celestion V type speaker in combo, much clearer and brighter too. I am considering selling my Marshall because this new amp straight up delivers the goods in every way. The digital reverb is great too, its not over bearing at all, even all the way up. I cant wait to plug it into my Marshall 1960A 4-12 cab and see what happens. When using a single coil guitar the amps is VERY Marshall plexi like, and with my guitars with EMGs and Fishman Fluence humbuckers it delivered Metal tones as good as anything I've ever tried (yes even without a tube screamer). So far I'm very happy with this purchase and I will update later as i learn more about this great amp. I would like to see this amp in a 50 or 100 watt version for those that like to shake the earth like I do.
For What It's Worth (My opinion)
By Tim Marazita from Central NJ on May 13, 2019 Music Background: Jack of all trades, master of none
Let me start out by saying that I am a simple guy when it comes to amps. I don't use pedals or effects loops so I cannot comment on that. Channel switching via a foot switch is important to me. That is why I chose this amp over the fifteen watt version. I vacillate between liking this amp a lot and liking it to a lesser degree. The clean channel is quite nice. The digital reverb sounds really good.
However I am torn in my feelings about the gain channel(s). My main guitar has high output ceramic humbuckers which may be part of the problem. It has plenty of gain but it doesn't seem to have the girth that a tube gain channel should have. Rather harsh sounding to my ear, it doesn't seem to achieve the natural compression of saturated tubes. I have already changed the speaker to my favorite, an Eminence Cannabis Rex, which helps it to sound better in my opinion. If you watch the two guys from "across the pond" demoing the amp, it sounds great. I have not been able to dial in those sorts of tones as of yet. The "more gain" switch brings a considerable volume jump that may prove to be problematic in a live performance. That being said it does exactly what it says, impart more gain.
I wish that it came in the black tweed covering that the rest of the Bassbreaker line seems to share and the idiot proof rear grate is annoying since you cannot store the pedal and cords in the back of the amp. (I have achieved a work around for it) All in all, it's a nice amp and I will be keeping it.
Almost, but not quite
By Sweetwater Customer from Louisville on September 19, 2019 Music Background: Rock
I own a BB 15, and I really like the crunch sounds that come out of that amp. The cleans were fair but there's not enough headroom. And for some reason, Fender decided to use a three position knob to set the gain floor, which makes it very problematic when playing out.
Enter the BB 30R--I thought this would solve the issue of knob as it's a two channel amp that levels could be set independently of one another, so I purchased it sight unseen and unheard, with the exception of You Tube videos. First of all, the cleans are fantastic: nice and warm with clarity. The reverb is a nice hall effect. But the gain channel...while it's not terrible, it's too warm and the bass has to be set low with the mids and treble up to get a good crunch sound. Turning it gain too far up gets sounds that become really muddy without little articulation. And More Drive is not useful (for me) as the gain is increased with the volume jumping to crazy levels which necessitates having to reset the volume, drive and EQ to make it listenable. If the gain side was tighter sounding, I would give this a 4.5 but it's just too loose and has a tendency for flubbiness at high volumes. However, this baby is the loudest 30 watts I've ever heard. Again, the clean tones are outstanding but I want an amp that sounds great all the way around.
Most people may like this amp, but for me? I want to like it, but the gain section just isn't as good as the Bassbreaker 15. As el presidente says, "We'll see."
Underwhelming
By Sweetwater Customer on March 6, 2019
Summary: Practice amp at best, not worth it for the money.
Let me start by saying this isn't the worst amp I have ever played through. I am a gigging musician, I play around one hundred shows a year. I use a 9-10 piece pedal board and I play through PRS Humbuckers. I use proper buffering through top notch pedals (Maxon/Electro-Harmonix/MXR) with new cables and clean power. I know my stuff.
This amp is not worth the money. The clean channel was decent but not any better than a Blues Jr or Hot Rod, I have owned both. I will say the digital reverb sounded great. Both dirty channels literally sounded like I was playing through a solid state amp. It did not sound natural whatsoever, and it honestly wasn't as loud as it should have been from a 30-watt amp.
The first thing I noticed about the amp was how light it is. The moment I took it out of the box it immediately felt cheap, and it was disappointing. The knobs feel like you can shatter them between two fingers and the bright switch does virtually nothing. Even switching the amp on/standby felt cheap. I was overall very disappointed.
This is a great beginner/practice amp at best. Unfortunately, for $900 you should not be buying a practice amp. You are better off buying a cheaper Fender amp that has proven it's worth over the years. If you are going to spend $900, just buy a Princeton or spring an extra $100 for a deluxe reverb.
If you are an experienced gigging musician that cares about your tone, do not buy this amp.
