Fender B-DEC 30

Since it has been awhile since anyone posted a new review, I thought I would throw my 12 cents in. The B-DEC 30 is the bass version of the highly acclaimed G-DEC, without the glitches. They truly created an impressive area of features: over 75 different loops, covering everything from woodshed exercises to full blown songs, each programmable in itself. Need to change the key of a loop? Need to chamge the tempo? Maybe you want to speed up gradually? Or how about going through key changes around the circle of fifths? The B-DEc does this and more. The only drawback is if you know nothing about music, this amp can't teach it, which may lead some to believe that the amp is not all it is advertised to be. After using it for a year, it is only now that I am seeing the full potential of this versitile amp

The one glaring weakness of this amp is its lack of power. I understand that the addition of a full blown midi capable sytnh module makes it tough to add much more without it cost a ton more. However, many will play it and find it underpowered. I played my Active Bass through this amp, while my nephew played his Strat through a Line 6 Spider amp and blew me away! I even plugged into a Toneworks Pandora as a preamp and bearly could hear myself. So this unit is definitely for solo practice. I have used this with another bass amp and used the B-DEC as a monitor, and it did fine. My advice to you is DON'T GET THIS AMP IF IT NEEDS TO DOUBLE AS A PERFORMANCE AMP. Can you hear me now? Someone mentioned that this amp is noisy. I do know if the power in your home is not grounded properly or has ground loop issues, they come through the amp quite easily. I ended up buying a line conditioner and that eliminate that noise. You also need to consider that some of the amps that are being modeled are noisy by design. If it is intolerable, the noise gate works well in eliminating the offending background noise.

I think the initial units that were made had an issue with a control chip in the synth module. I had the B-DEC replaced twice. The finall unit has worked for 7 months without a flaw of hiccup.

Fender did an excellent job of quickly replacing the bad units, without forcing to jump through any hopes. My only disappointment was the fact that neither replacement unit had the software updates installed.

Overall, if you are looking to get an all in one box that will help you grow as a bassist, by all means go get one of these bad boys! You get a pretty portable amp, that doubles as a music tutor, a drummer, and an accompanist. If you like, you can download MIDIs of your favorite songs and play along with with them. Great lettle feature, huh? I love it and would recommend it to anyone.

This is a NOISY amp-it's not just mine (as in me being unlucky)-the same problems existed with the retailer's demo!.

Static, cracking, whistling etc is untolerable for my ears. However, a range of features compensates for this weakness-hence the rating of 5. (otherwise it would be 2 or 3).

This combo generates noises either from the digital switching cirtuitry or from the pre-amp stage, since the same problems exist if i use headphones. It'a actually worse, since the headphones are closer to your ears and have better frequency range than the built in woofer+piezo drivers.

Some modes such as LA, 80's and any of the overdrive effects is terrible. Those such as bassman tend to be a bit quieter, but even these are bad in combination with raggeae or disco presets.

These noises have nothing to do with the dodgy Fender guitar cable-the same problem exists when the cable is unplugged altogether from the amp.

I think that this combo has some circuitry-related design issues. I don't think it's fit for purpose...

Fender B-Dec 30 purchased in 2007 and made that same year.
Read the Fender specs for all features and they are numerous and complex. This amp can virtually do anything you can dream of. What is spectacular is the play along feature. This amp will improve your musical level and it has been tremendously helpful to me. I take lessons with a teacher but this complements what the teacher brings to me nicely. I have also worked with my teacher on some of the pieces included with the amp. There is a unique and very powerful learning concept with the B-Dec 30. It is a bit disappointing however that Fender did not create a full bass guitar learning method. There are numerous songs and practice exercises but it's not progressive, the songs are not arranged in any order. It is also not a method for a true beginner. I would say you need at least six months to a year of practice before being able to use the songs programmed in this amp. The amp comes with a method but it's more like a mumbo jumbo of songs than a thought out progression. Some of the songs are a lot of fun however! Fender had a chance to create a radical new method of learning the bass with this amp but they missed it a bit. It's new but it's not revolutionary. This amp can pretty much do anything! I particularly like the tuner, headphone plug, and the fact that you can plug in a second bass and a CD player. I also like to be able to record myself to hear myself. The recording time is too low however (it probably lasts a minute or so). You can also use it as a drum machine or a metronome. I love the fact to be able to work on a song and isolate the bass line while slowing it way down. Once I have learned the bass line, I add the other instruments and the drums back in. I like the fact that you can change key, speed the song up or slow it down. The amp can also change key according to a predictable pattern (play the song once, then they key goes up two in full notes...). The amp is small, relatively light and I like the fact it can be tilted up. It sends the sound towards the player's ear just like a stage monitor. For practicing at low to very low volume this is perfect.

As other reviewers have noted this is a practice amp; it is not made to play with a band. The sound quality is acceptable and fair but not exciting. It is very fun however to be able to have different sounds and so many effects. It allows the user to discover and experiment many different effects. All effects are programmable and there are many memory banks to store your own sounds. I originally bought this amp because I was looking for a noise free (amp fan), inexpensive and lower wattage head to power my Euphonic Audio Wizzy 1x12 while practicing late at night. Since I could not find a head fitting these parameters, I started looking at inexpensive combos and stumbled into the B-Dec 30.
Note here the headphone quality is good. I tried the headphone of an Ampeg Combo and the sound was terrible

I have owned this amp for six months and I have not experienced any problem.

I have not had a chance to email them regarding this product. However, I email Fender twice with specific questions about another product and they never answered. I find this worrying and troubling when one considers that Mesa Boogie or Traynor answer all emails very promptly. IMHO Fender should worry a little less about marketing and a little more about business basic concepts such as customer service and support.

This is probably the very best amp a beginner can buy. You will learn a lot with it. You will improve your bass playing and discover the sounds of different amps and effects. Yes, these sounds and effect are not as good as the originals but still you will get a sense of what are the sonic signature of a Bassman and an Ampeg SVT for example. Why buy an SVT-VR for $3,000 if this amp could match its sound!
I tend to think of this amp as a Swiss army knife, it does not do anything perfectly but it offers a range of sounds, effects and learning tools not found in any other amp on the market. Keyboards have long had these features so it's nice to see them applied toward bass guitar. The B-Dec has made me a better musician and will continue to help me learn. For this kudos to Fender for dreaming such a new, revolutionary concept.

Just wanted to add a bit to the previous review. The features of
this amp are amazing, for an amp designed mainly for practice.
In addition to two inputs, there is also a line out, a pair of
RCA jacks for input from an external tape or CD, and a MIDI I/0.
Not sure if you'd call it a MIDI synthesizer, or just player, but
that alone is a great feature. You won't have much feel for the
controls on this amp by just looking at the knobs. Many of the
features are accessed using the functions of the MIDI unit, for
lack of a better name. The adjustments are too extensive to list.
You can also update the unit's software via the MIDI port. I've
downloaded MIDI files to my PC (purchased), edited them and
uploaded the parts I want to the B-DEC 30 for playback. Plus
the amp comes with a bunch of pre-recorded files. Which you can
also modify and save for your own taste. And if all that wasn't
enough, it also can record samples of your playing. And the amp
comes with a method book showing the music for all the pre-records.
It also has a built in tuner. About the only thing that they don't
include is the 4 function footswitch, which would just add a bit
more convenience to playing along with the amp, but it's available.
One thing that isn't mentioned in the instructions, but I find
useful is to find a pre-set rythm that I happen to like and turn off
the bass track to use the amp as a metronome. Needless to say the
possibities are endless.

I haven't had a lot of experience with amps and effects, but
I would say that this amp is pretty noisy. And the effects are
pretty mediocre. But I will say that just to try them out is
fun. And there are noise filters you can engage (at different
levels) which help, so not a huge complaint. But just don't
expect this to be something you could perform with. IMHO most
of the amp models are a bit over the top, but again, fun to try.
As the previous review noted the Bassman and Am'peg' are the best
ones. So, if it's variety and entertainment you want, it's here.
For a practice amp to have this kind of modeling and effects is
pretty unusual. The reason I have to give it a lower rating is
just to be accurate about what to expect.

Can't say at this point, only had it a month.

5 year warranty, which seems reasonable.

The reason I bought this amp was because I just decided to
try playing bass, which I've done for all of a month now.
I wanted an amp to encourage me to practice, and help me
try out different styles. So, for both those reasons this
amp is great. For more experienced players it would also be
good to give you different style accompanyment. As I said
under features, you can do tons of stuff with this besides
just play along. So, even if the price seems a bit steep for
a 30 watt practice amp, remember all that you're getting.
If you don't have any other equipment, you just plug into
it and you don't need anything else. It basically takes the
place of several pieces of gear.

This amp was introduced in 2006. Even though they just introduced this amp, Fender worked out the kinks and setbacks of the guitar version with the release of the B-Dec 30. I play mostly blues and old school (70's) rock. The amp effects choices allow you to create almost any sound you want. There are two channels but one must be reached from the back (they call it a teacher input). It does also have a headphone jack. This is definitely uner powered to gig with, but that is not its purpose. It has more than enough power to use for personal practice and timing work.

I use this with an american jazz and an american precision. I also occasionally plug in my acoustic/electric GB41. On the Bassman setting it has great blues tone and the bass peg (ampeg simulation) sounds great for 70's rock. There is little or no distortion at higher levels but I have not really pushed it - it is used for practice in the basement (when it gets too loud the main distortion is my wife's voice!).

Only a month old, hard to say.

I have never had a problem getting help from Fender on anything else and do not anticipate there would be a problem here.

I have been playing on and off for about 15 years. I also own an Ampeg B100R. This is a wonderful solution to wanting to spice up your personal practice time. It is also fun on nights when you want to play and can not round anyone else up to jam with. I also love how light and portable it is. I supervise the guitar and bass club at the High School where I teach and it is very easy to bring in for the weekly meetings. If it were lost or stolen I would be very upset and buy a new one.