Frontman 25R club

[Telecastoff1]

I bought a used older, Mexican-made 25r amp with black metal grill at a garage sale. What a nice little amp. I put a Weber California in her and it really came to life. This amp sounds HUGE now. Very bold, solid lows, great mids and soaring highs. It sure doesn't sound like a cheapy little SS amp. Very clean, tube-sounding, but without the hassles. Definitely a keeper for my practicing needs. I doubt if it's strong enough for any of my gigs, but it's right at home in my studio. I may decide to record with her soon. Great amp......Fender really hit a home run with these.

[Hekim]

Has anyone tried one of these L-Pads: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=260-255 to get better volume control on the amp?

[Markdett]

I bought a Frontman 25R today to compliment my Welch TS Deluxe. Seems like a nice combination to me. I tried a Vox, an Acoustic, a Mustang I and a Mustang II. I like the tones I have found so far, the simplicity of the controls, and the light weight.

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by Hekim

Has anyone tried one of these L-Pads: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=260-255 to get better volume control on the amp?

I used that same (or very similar) L-Pad in my '70 Champ, which got the stock speaker from my 25R (the 25R now has a Ragin' Cajun), and it works great. I've gotten used to the linear volume pot on the 25R, but that L-Pad should work fine for you if you want to try it in your 25R. Usually folks use them on tube amps so you can dime the amp for natural clipping/OD, then cut the volume to the speaker with the L-pad.

Here's how I mounted it on the Champ. I didn't use the big clunky knob it came with (put a Strat volume knob on), and already had a hole in the back panel from a speaker out jack I'd put in years ago. Yes, the Champ is 4 ohms, and the speaker and L-Pad are 8 ohms, but a mismatch up won't kill anyone

[Markdett]

How "pedal-friendly" are these?

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by Markdett

How "pedal-friendly" are these?

I don't get the term "pedal-freindly" and don't use pedals much, but I do plug in a chorus or delay now and then, and my 25R hasn't attacked any of them yet, so I suppose I can say the 25R is "pedal-friendly". At least mine is.

But perhaps some 25Rs have less tolerance for pedals, and may attack or nip at them?

If yours does, maybe just let it sniff the pedal's output jack for a few moments before plugging it in?

[taxer]

I bought one yesterday.

I have a VOX Pathfinder and a VOX AC4 and I wanted a Fender tone practice amp. I tried one of these out in a store and I liked the sound (wasn't small and had warmth), the price was right, and the color went with some of my gear.

[Laylas Daddy]

I re-housed my Frontman 25r from a 1X10 cab to a 1X12 cab.
Now I need to get a better 12" speaker.

(Empty Frontman 25r cab is for sale or trade)

[tap4154]

Looks great LD!

Did you buy that cabinet?

I'll bet a 12" speaker would sound great with this amp.

BTW, if you didn't see my recent post in "amp central", try turning all the EQs down to one (off), then just bump up the mid from 2-5 or so, and see how that sounds to you. It really rounds out the tone IMO, and having the bass on 1 makes it tighter (as you turn the bass pot up, it just gets muddier IMO). I'm just keeping treble and bass on 1 (off) and using the mid as the master tone now.

Also smooths out the OD channel! Try it with all the EQ pots on 1, then just bump up the mid pot and see how it adds some bite. Reverb sounds better as well IMO.

[audiohatemchine]

Originally Posted by taxer

I tried one of these out in a store and I liked the sound (wasn't small and had warmth), the price was right, and the color went with some of my gear.

Mate, is that colour orignial? That's really cool.

[Laylas Daddy]

Originally Posted by tap4154

Looks great LD!

Did you buy that cabinet?

I'll bet a 12" speaker would sound great with this amp.

BTW, if you didn't see my recent post in "amp central", try turning all the EQs down to one (off), then just bump up the mid from 2-5 or so, and see how that sounds to you. It really rounds out the tone IMO, and having the bass on 1 makes it tighter (as you turn the bass pot up, it just gets muddier IMO). I'm just keeping treble and bass on 1 (off) and using the mid as the master tone now.

Also smooths out the OD channel! Try it with all the EQ pots on 1, then just bump up the mid pot and see how it adds some bite. Reverb sounds better as well IMO.

I got the cab in a trade. It was a non working Fender Princeton DSP amp.

[taxer]

Originally Posted by audiohatemchine

Mate, is that colour orignial? That's really cool.

Yeah, they sell them like that. Same price as the black. Supposedly a limited edition, but they are plentiful. Don't know if it was an "only available in the USA" thing Fender had going with them or not.

[tap4154]

You simply can't go wrong buying a $99 25R. Great practice/home amp, great recording amp (from headphone jack to digital recorder, or even to a PA) and many folks do gig with them. Especially open jams. About all I see in stores locally now are the red ones for $99, and even for less on occasion. BTW, mine was "on sale" for $139 at GC when I bought it 6 years ago. However, the Ragin' Cajuns were only $50 shipped back then (now $70).

[audiohatemchine]

Originally Posted by taxer

Yeah, they sell them like that. Same price as the black. Supposedly a limited edition, but they are plentiful. Don't know if it was an "only available in the USA" thing Fender had going with them or not.

Probably US only, have only seen funny coloured (nicely) Hot rod deluxes over here, and one or two blues jr's that weren't black.

The dude I've bought mine off (over the internet) is being useless and hasn't replied to my email yet. So no 25R for me just yet.

I'm hoping it'll be a good move as a "pick up n go" amp... The catch is I'm coming down from an AC30 so it mayyy take a fair bit of getting used to.

[Boyd]

My Frontman 25r just arrived yesterday evening. Only used it for a couple hours so far, but I'm very happy. I have been using a beat-up old Crate VTX15 for the past few years and a little Fender Mini Twin, so the Frontman seems like a big upgrade.

Just now getting back into the electric guitar after far too many years of neglect. Back in the 1970's I was always envious of my friends who had Fender Twin Reverb's because I couldn't afford one. Now I'm amazed that I can get that "Fender sound" from a $100 amp. Since this is just a hobby for me, 25 watts is plenty.

I chose the Frontman because I wanted something simple with basic controls and not a modeling amp. If I want to go high-tech, I can use Logic Pro with its Amp Designer on my MacBook Air. I also like the retro spring type reverb on the Frontman.

[elmoscafeo]

I too have replaced my stock speaker with an Eminence Ragin' Cajun about a year ago. It made a world of difference. Based on what I've read on the i'net, probably any speaker would make a big difference. Nonetheless, I'm very pleased with the Cajun. The distortion channel is better, though still not great. The clean channel is wonderful and the amp takes pedals very well with the new speaker.

I noticed the loose edges of grill cloth when I had the front panel off. I wasn't thinking about a new project at the time, just wanted to get the speaker in and try it out. I used double sided carpet tape to hold it down. No "flapping in the wind" sound yet.

I run the 25R stacked on top of a Crate XT120R, at the same time, both tilted back. IMHO, the 25R sounds much better (regardless of the speaker), if you get off the floor. The Ragin' Cajun let's you bring your bass up without the buzzing sound. I run the Crate with the Bass and Mid's up and the Treble down. I run the 25R with the Bass down, Mid and Treble up. An iPod Touch in to the 25R provides the backing tracks.

The Reverb of the 25R is really nice, though I wish it was pedal switchable like the Crate.

All in all, a great amp if you replace the speaker and get if off the floor.

Boss CS3 -> Boss SD-1 -> Boss DS-1 -> Boss MT-2 -> Boss CH-1 -> Crate XT120R and Fender Frontman 25R.

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by tap4154

You simply can't go wrong buying a $99 25R. Great practice/home amp, great recording amp (from headphone jack to digital recorder, or even to a PA) and many folks do gig with them. Especially open jams. About all I see in stores locally now are the red ones for $99, and even for less on occasion. BTW, mine was "on sale" for $139 at GC when I bought it 6 years ago. However, the Ragin' Cajuns were only $50 shipped back then (now $70).

Update: I swapped the Ragin' Cajun from my 25R into a Pro Junior I got from eBay, and put the stock brown label speaker from the PJ into the 25R, and it sounds great in it as well

I think that was a good swap, since IMHO the PJ really needed a more solid speaker to handle it's hot-biased tube-OD-rich sound, and the stock PJ speaker has more than enough substance to handle the 25R. Also makes it 3 lbs lighter (not that weight was an issue, of course).

[cobalt6300]

Got a Frontman 25 a few weeks ago. Very happy. I had to send the first one back as it was split apart during shipping (sidepanel front the top) MF sent a new one out very soon and paid for all shipping. I swapped out the speaker with Emi 1058 and still can't believe the sound from a $99 amp. MP3 input, headphone jack, with Boss SD-1, MXR Dynacomp...with my new 2011 AM Standard Tele..just great!

[tombm3]

Originally Posted by tap4154

Looks great LD!

BTW, if you didn't see my recent post in "amp central", try turning all the EQs down to one (off), then just bump up the mid from 2-5 or so, and see how that sounds to you. It really rounds out the tone IMO, and having the bass on 1 makes it tighter (as you turn the bass pot up, it just gets muddier IMO). I'm just keeping treble and bass on 1 (off) and using the mid as the master tone now.

Also smooths out the OD channel! Try it with all the EQ pots on 1, then just bump up the mid pot and see how it adds some bite. Reverb sounds better as well IMO.

I'm glad you re-posted that tip, tap. My new 25R sounded good for $80 delivered. It sounds really great now. I probably wouldn't have tried that tone knob configuration for years. Heck, I may never have found it.

Thanks again!

[sass35011]

Was in Sam Ash yesterday, not looking for anythig particular, when I see hiding behind a larger amp is a Fender Frontman 25r. Since having surgery several years ago, my current amp was getting just too heavy to lug back and forth from church, and I have been considering one of these. So I pulled it out to get a better look. The weight was not a problem, as I suspected, but what I didn't expect was the price...$59.99. The amp was a trade-in, mint condition, out of the box perfect. I knew I had found a bargain that couldn't be passed up. I grabbed a guitar similar to my own HH Turser Tele and began to check it out. Was looking for a good clean sound, as I have a pedal board with all the effects. I liked what I heard, also knowing I would do a speaker swap. That said, I bought the amp, went home and ordered an Eminence Legend 1058 from MF. I believe my purchase qualifies me for membership in the Fender Frontman 25r
club.