Tweed Bronco Vs. Frontman 15G (Vs narrow panel Champ?)

[NoTeleBob]

I looked at that one as well, I figure I will build the new cabinet just large enough to accommodate a 10". My thoughts exactly about the brightness of these amps. I think the right speaker will do the trick. These look like a real steal for someone who wants a little more power.

Its pretty funny to read all the comments about the Bronco(Frontman). People gush over them. Any suggestion that it might be a Frontman is ignored or disregarded as impossible. I could see myself fall into this as well. I have been comparing the audio clips of the Bronco, to clips of vintage tube amps and it sounds like it fits right into the mix. I believe it is a lot like wine. So many people believe that they can tell the difference between high end wines and the cheap stuff. In several extensive tests, with well known people in the food industry, this has been proven false. There was no consensus when comparing them. Price has nothing to do with it. Quality on the other hand is a different story. Well made wine will always be expensive because of all the effort. It isn't always good though. With music, a good musician can always pull the best out of even the cheapest gear. I realize the feel of a Frontman will never be the same as a tube amp. I am sure there will be a lot of knob fiddling. That is one thing I love about the Champ. It has one setting, good.

The other plus to the Frontman 25 is that it's a spring reverb. Small, but spring, and you can easily upgrade to a larger tank for $25.

 

[totterer]

The other plus to the Frontman 25 is that it's a spring reverb. Small, but spring, and you can easily upgrade to a larger tank for $25.

The Frontman 15R also has spring reverb. That sealed the deal for me. We will see what it sounds like, should be here in next couple of days!

 

[goodguy]

You've already spent more in time discussing it than the SS Bronco's worth. Just buy a real tube amp.

 

[totterer]

You've already spent more in time discussing it than the SS Bronco's worth. Just buy a real tube amp.

I have 2 tweeds I built from scratch. This is just a practice amp and a fun experiment. I realize some people will never give a solid state amp a second look. I am oddly excited about this little booger though.

 

[Bill Moore]

I have a Frontman 15G I picked up for $10 at a yard sale, I was really looking at the cab to plug into when I have a build in the cradle. Just for grins, I plugged it into a JBL K130 cab I have, sounds pretty good! I have it under the bench for another time, as I plan to add the components to complete the reverb circuit on the board. I have too many other amps for myself, but I might build a 12" cab for it, and send it home with nieces/nephews!

 

[totterer]

The Frontman Reverb arrived and thankfully everything works. I played around with it for a bit today and here are my first impressions. It sounds damn good! The overall build is solid enough, but obviously cheap and mass produced. I especially worry about the plastic inputs. I realized how much I have missed 3 band EQ. I enjoy the simplicity of the Princeton Vol. and Tone controls, but 3 band is much more versatile. I was able to dial in some very familiar sounds on the clean channel and I also like the drive channel with just a bit of gain. It comes pretty close to the edge of breakup sound I get on my Princeton. The reverb is really good considering how small it is, although I can't see myself ever turning it past 3.
I compared it side by side with The 5E3 through the 5E3 cabinet. Wow! It is amazing how much louder and fuller it is. It is not as loud as the Deluxe, but it is close. The cleans sound quite similar. I have never taken to the strange controls on the 5E3 and really can't get a ton of breakup without it getting extremely loud. The speaker is a 12" Eminence Legend 75 Watts. I hope to post some sound samples when I get more time. I haven't compared it to the Princeton yet but that will be next. I also tried it through my 15" cabinet with a Weber alnico 30 Watts. This was my favorite. Not as loud and richer sounding. I know there are doubters, but I am loving this thing!

 

[totterer]

I have 3 recordings of the Frontman vs. the Princeton, but cannot seem to attach these files. I converted them to mp3, but still will not attach? Anyone know how to do this??

 

[robistro]

well this is interesting... I just came across one of these Broncos and it sounds really good. Its made in USA and put together like a tank. I was reading that it was the same schematics as the Vibro Champ, here they say Frontman. Im no electonics geek so I would know no difference other than I like what I hear coming out of it. Interested to follow to see how the experiment goes.

Maybe Im confused is it Frontman or Vibro Champ or are they all the same?

 

[Scooby9261]

I have a friend who owns the lil monoprice amps (both the 5watt and the 15watt model). He likes them, he put different tubes in and he claims the amp sounded a lot better after changing tubes. Ive seen those 5watt monoprices for as low as $125 and thats a tube amp with attenuator. Cant beat that. Id rather have the monoprice than Fenders cheap SS, just saying ;-)

 

[robistro]

I have a friend who owns the lil monoprice amps (both the 5watt and the 15watt model). He likes them, he put different tubes in and he claims the amp sounded a lot better after changing tubes. Ive seen those 5watt monoprices for as low as $125 and thats a tube amp with attenuator. Cant beat that. Id rather have the monoprice than Fenders cheap SS, just saying ;-)

yes, those are suppose to be great amps and Harley Benton also makes a small tube amp.
From my experience I couldnt really get everything out of the tube amp unless I could crank the volume. Might have just been a user error.
I have to play at low volumes and the Bronco in the tweed has a cool, vintage vibe and it sounds really good, better than any other 8" solid state I've had. Most sound too 'boxy' this doesnt. It sounds great with single coils. I have yet to plug in my Les Paul or run pedals through it.

Interested in following Totterers experiment.

 

[Scooby9261]

The 5 watt monoprice has the attenuator and you can crank that thing and its not that loud. Its either 1watt or a 1/4watt ? But my friend puts a blanket over it when he cranks it at night haha. But ya cant beat that amp and the price. The Harley Benton is the same exact amp as the Monoprice tube amps. You really cant beat the price of these monoprices. I almost bought the 15watt 12in model, but i decided to build my own little amps instead ;-)

 

[Tim E]

The attenuator on the Monoprice 5W amp is something of a misnomer, IMO. It's more of a cathode bypass gain switch on the input stage. In my mind, an attenuator is something after the power amp, or maybe something akin to a triode/pentode switch on the output.

It's OK if you gotta have some inexpensive warm tube glow in your signal chain. It does have a sound when cranked. It's not a sound I was all gaga over, plus it was more hissy than I like. So it went back, as I didn't need another project to work on.

 

[Alamo]

 

[Scooby9261]

^ HAHA!

 

[robistro]

The attenuator on the Monoprice 5W amp is something of a misnomer, IMO. It's more of a cathode bypass gain switch on the input stage. In my mind, an attenuator is something after the power amp, or maybe something akin to a triode/pentode switch on the output.

It's OK if you gotta have some inexpensive warm tube glow in your signal chain. It does have a sound when cranked. It's not a sound I was all gaga over, plus it was more hissy than I like. So it went back, as I didn't need another project to work on.

Yeah, there was one of these sitting in a pawn shop near me. I wouldnt give it a rave review like I've been reading. Maybe I'm missing out on something.

I did see that Harley Benton has a 15w tube amp, with an effects loop. Could just be the Monoprice under a different name. Interesting, but never seen one in the wild.