I like small amps and I can not lie. There are amps like the Marshall MS-2 and my Lyon AMP3, which are functional but they're really not meant to be taken seriously. Then there is my Fender Mustang Mini, which is small, portable, can be operated by power adapter or batteries, sports a handle that doubles as a kickstand, but was actually built to rock. If I had one complaint it would be that it's not very loud. Don't get me wrong, it's ok if I'm rocking out alone, but it's not compete with a drummer loud. Then comes the BC-08 I was given, which is, well there's something seriously wrong with this amp. It sags under minimal stress, and the tiny speaker is pretty horrible, bit it's a neat little novelty. Then I was given a Silvertone Smart IIIs, which is pretty okish. The Silvertone isn't anything special, but it did help me test some guitar pedal circuits, so if nothing else it's a good pedal testing amp.
Then came a small guitar amp I had been wanting for a while. I had been seeing these "convert your combo amp into a head" mod videos, most of them use a Fender Frontman 15g or 15r. I was hoping for a 15r so I had a reverb tank, but I ended up with a Frontman 15g. Yeah these amps get a lot of poopoo online, but it's decent and it's loud. Still probably not compete with a drummer loud, but loud. Unlike the others this has a full EQ! I didn't know how much I missed a mids control until I had a mids control on this one. The distortion channel is brittle, but I find with the full EQ I can dial in a fairly decent rock tone, and also thanks to the full EQ I can remove all the mids and get a brutal metal distortion. Oh, I'm sorry a shitty distortion is acceptable when it comes from a Boss DS-1, but not from a Fender Frontman 15g?
Another thing about the Frontman 15g that I like is the fact they use the exact same board as the 15r, just omitting the components for the reverb circuit. Meaning you can populate it yourself, add a reverb tank and make a Fender Frontman 15g/r if you wanted. (I DO!) Amongst the sea of head conversion videos for this amp there is another one that stands out to me. The great Johan Segeborn said he thinks this amp (as part of the Squier Affinity Package) sounded great, then proceeded to make this amp sound great, with the Squier Affinity Telecaster. This gentleman has played some of the best rock amps ever made, and said he thinks this little 15 watt pack-in amp sounds great. I would have to say that I agree, with the caveat: us mere mortals can make it sound great, for what it is.
The majority of my small combo amps are just novelty, with the exception, I feel, of the Fender Mustang Mini and the Frontman 15g. The Mustang Mini is just a compact modeler, not much different from its full sized brethren. The Frontman 15g however truly seems to want to play with the big boys. Yeah the distortion can be brittle, and the cleans aren't all that inspiring, but if you spend a few minutes with the amp you can dial in something decent to use. Many have said it's the speaker holding this amp back, and either change it (most use a Celestion Eight 15) or cut it out entirely (aka the head conversion). I truly believe at its core this little amp has potential, so I've decided against converting it into a head. Maybe if I find another for super cheap I will. Maybe I'll even keep my eyes open for one of the red Frontman 25r combos.
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