Fender BXR 25

The features have been described well by others. I find the eq boost/cut frequencies to be excellent no matter what bass I play through it. The line out is a phono jack, not as sophisticated as the current xlr-outs and not adjustable--and it does transmit some noise if you record with it. But, hey, it's a small, light, cheap, an excellent practice amp--all the features you need for that purpose. ANd the controls feel solid when you turn them, not cheap, and no noise in the pots after all these years (and no cleaning yet).

With p-bass or jazz bass, active or passive, this amp sounds full, warm, and smooth. True whether finger style, slap, or whatever. It's easy to get a good sound with it. The excellent mid eq is useful in this regard. Very clear and clean. Yes, it does not have enough volume to play with most drum kits, but again, its really a practice amp. It would do fine for a quiet combo in a small place, or one without drums. As others have mentioned, it is limited in the very low end, so a 5-string does not really rumble hard--but it still reproduces that low B fairly well. It has excellent dynamics unless driven hard--if you really pull on those strings near the bridge, the added "bite" will come through very well. Very quiet, except through the line out if you are recording, where it transmits some very mild buzz (dependent upon type of pick-ups, etc).

I bought this used and it has not had any problems in about three years of ownership, including moving it and banging it. Before I got it, one of the input jacks was replaced--not sure why.

No call.

I wouldn't want a better or different amp for the purpose I use it--practicing and working out original music over a stereo/computer sound system. I love its small size and light weight and its toughness. It just sounds good, "naturally", like an organic, grown-in-the-fields amp! If it were stolen or lost, I would try to get another one.

I bought this thing brand-new in about 1997-- at the time I was taking up bass and needed a practice amp. I used it with a MIJ P bass reissue, it seemed to sound alright for what I knew about tone at the time! Solid state, one-channel 2 inputs (passive/active), pre- and power amp out and input RCA-type jacks. Also has the built-in Deltacomp compressor which kicks in when you play loud and really SMACK your bass...this feature is kind of annoying but probably keeps the poor little 10" speaker from blowing. This amp works great for bedroom-type, throw-in-a-CD-and-rock-along type sessions. Rock, country, reggae, it's all good- probably not enough bottom end for most of you 5-string nu-metal dudes though. As for stand-alone playing along with a real drummer? Ferget it, it just don't have enough power for that!

Now here's where things get interesting....

I sold that P bass a few months later, stuck the BXR25 in the closet and decided to concentrate on my lead-guitar playing. I've always been more serious about guitar than bass anyway, been playing 20+ years and semi-pro for about 10. I've got experience, and I have a reputation in my town for being a good, competent (and loud!) rock guitarist. In short, I'm pretty serious about what I do here.

Anyway, this past July I decided to buy myself a brand-new Gibson Thunderbird for my birthday. I brought it home, pulled the BXR out of the closet, plugged in the T-bird and WOW! I'm a tone-freak, VERY picky about my sound, and the combination of this bass straight into this amp is nothing short of AMAZING!!! T-Birds kind of have an unfortunate tendency to be muddy and undefined, but into THIS amp it's tight, punchy and defined yet warm, smooth and sweet. First week or two I couldn't put the thing down! Like I said I'm not a real serious bassist (I use a pick, like most guitarists who also play bass) but I love throwing in a Pink Floyd or UFO cd and jamming along. Even though the deltacomp kicks in when the amp's vol is at about 1 o'clock, the galloping triplets of UFO's "lights out" are still clear and solid at that level.

Even though it wasn't used for several years there's never been any problems whatsoever. If it was loud and powerful enough to gig with I know I wouldn't need no stinkin' backup!

N/A-- see above

A friend plugged in his G&L L2000, sounded nice with that too. That bass' active electronics did make the comp kick in sooner due to that hot signal but his passive mode was nice and silky smooth, no mud there! Since my T-bird is only passive this is less of a prob for me.
I love this amp for what I use it for, lower-volume bedroom practicing. I'd love to find an affordable, higher-power combo for jamming in a band situation. Suggestions anyone? Otherwise I might try to find a used BXR 100, 200 or 300 for that.
I'd definitely recommend this amp to any bassist looking for a nice, affordable practice amp. I'd buy it again!

I think This amp is about 10 years old.
I can play a lot of styles on this one.
2 channels, the second is a little bit mellower.
I use it for homepractising.
Power is 25 watt , Power consumption 75 watt.

I Use a Squier silver series , modded with 2 Seymour Duncan Antiquities and a Loaded Fender Frontplate.
I play most styles on it except for hardrock.
No noise at all.
It sounds very compressed and had enough balsy low ends.
No distorted sound at all.

It works every day, no complaints

No repairs

I play 4 decades
I would buy another one if it were stolen.
I love it's simplicity and can use it as a studio amp.
Trace Elliot Boxer 30 watt comes close to this one.

Damn, I got mine 11 or so years ago, as a present, along with a Squier P-Bass. The same as described in the other reviews - master volume, three-band EQ, etc.

What people don't give this amp credit for is its awesome sound when coupled with a plain old electric guitar, as well as basses - damn near any guitar sounds great through it, especially Fenders with single coil pickups. This is the best amp we have in our studio - it's "sonically honest". It's hard to hide a bad pickup when you play through this amp. But plug a good Fender into it, and this amp shines.

If you're recording, this is an excellent amp to have. The clean sound is just that, clean and beautiful. The built-in compressor helps with recording. Basically, put your mic in front of the amp, get the tone you want, and roll. This amp also handles effects well, too - get a Strat and a Big Muff through this amp. Very nice.

You can turn this amp up all the way, and it does not break up in the slightest. No reverb, distortion, tremelo, etc. Just a straightforward and honest amplifier. Works good with keyboards, too.

This amp, like all Fender amps, is built like a tank. I've had mine since I was eleven years old, and its had guitars, basses, vocals, keyboards, and CDs blasted through it, had paint dripped on it, Coke spilled on it, been used as a chair or a ladder... and is still solid as the day I got it. Oh yeah - the ground pole came out of the plug. That's it.

Never had a problem with this sucker.

I wish Fender still made them. Indeed, I'd recommend one to anyone looking for a good, solid practice amp or recording amp. I've thought about buying another one, taking the amp out of the case, making it into a head, and then coupling it with a 100 watt power amp and a 4X12 as a live setup. Would be interesting.

As an update to my earlier review, my Weber-equipped BXR-25 has found a wonderful niche as an easily portable amp for use with an acoustic-electric bass (a Fender BG-32 in this case) in acoustic-guitar settings. Super sound! It's a keeper!

Amp was made in perhaps the late '90's. Pretty basic features, but enough for this little guy.

The stock setup gives a VERY good sound for a small package, but as someone mentioned before, the stock speaker tends to fall a little short. I put a Weber California C10 bass speaker in it, and the thing just RAWKS!
The Weber made a nice improvement in sound, but also added substantially to the weight.

So far, so good.

I have always had good experiences w/ Fender Service. No need so far with this one.

Been playing off & on for 35 years. Now have a Sunn T50C, Sunn Beta Bass 115 Combo, Fender Stage 100; asorted Gibson, Jackson & Hamer guitars. For current used prices (about $100) I would rate this a "fantastic value."

I'll skip the features since they have been accurately described below. The three band EQ seems to be set at exactly the right frequencies. It has a port on the bottom so there is a lot of volume for 25 watts, more than I expected. The speaker can take a lot, but not all the amp can put out. There aren't many features, but this amp is suppose to be a "no frills" practice amp.

I'm a guitar player and lay down my own bass tracks in my home studio, so I needed something that sounds good and clean, and can produce a variety of sounds. This amp performs that mission very well. I can get about any sound I need out of it, and it really sounds with a number of settings. The amp is very quite and has very little hiss even when cranked up. Generally, I would not recommend for loud gigs; you would definitely have to mike it and hear some in the monitors.

Just got it off of ebay a couple of weeks ago. Generally, Fender gear is pretty good. I would gig without a backup. Hint: Get a little powered head such as a Peavey MP-4 and let it be the backup amp for your whole band.

No history with Fender.

I've been gigging forever (guitar) and have too much stuff to list. The only bass gear is a new Peavey Fury and the BXR amp. I played through a Peavey Basic 112 (60 watts) and the BXR in my opinion is as good or better. I also tried a Fender Bassman 25, which was expensive and did not have a very good tone.

By now you know them all. No speaker out though, so I deduct a point.

I play a Mexiac Pbass through it and sounds beautiful, uncolored. Not boomy at all, unless I want it to be. Loud enuf for studio. I mike the amp when playing. Great practice amp, light and built like a tank.
I also play a Les Paul and sounds good, but I use a Digitech RP50 to add a little reverb and EQ. It sounds mid-rangy with an electric, so I use the amp modeling on the RP50 to tone it done a bit.

I would not hesitate at all to gig with this little gem. Had it about two years now, good as new.

Fender sucks.

Been playing bass about 5 years, guitar about 25 years. If you see one of these, buy it! It's a sweet sounding little amp dor a small gig or practice. Actually cuts through the mix with my psuedo-band.

I just started playing bass and this is my first bass amp. The features are very basic,hi,mid,low eq a head phone jack and 25w.

I play through a danelectro p-bass. The amp has very good clean sound and it gets pretty loud for a 25w practice amp.I play some punk some emo ive played a little funk and even some ska and the amp sounds pretty good to me. Like i said the amp gets pretty loud and i have played it with a drummer but i had to turn it up all the way and i could barely hear myself. Its perfect as practice amp or for playing along with a guitarist,i've used it as a mic amp too and it sounded ok.

This is a very reliable amp I have played it for long periods of time cranked up all the way and it still sounded great.Its light weight so I carry it all over to practices and it gets bumped around, its very sturdy.Its a fender.

I have only been playing bass for a short time, but ive been playing guitar for about 3 years.I also own a fender princeton chorus wich has a lot more features than this amp but thats a guitar amp and im not really into the bass fx thing. Its a really good starter amp or practice amp for players of all levels.

Amp probably built in late 1999 as I purchased it early in 2000. At that point it had been discontinued so I got it for a very good price.I use the Amp for at home practice in conjunction with a Rolls Mini-Mix 51 & Phono Pre-Amp System for ( In-Headphone Practicing). I live in an Apartment an this is an ideal set-up. The tone ( in the phones, or direct from the Amp is very good ). This is more than a basic practice Amp. It has two inputs, volume ,three-band EQ, Pre-Amp out, Power-In Effects Loop, CD/Tape Player Inputs. The Pre-Amp out can be used to Line-out provided there is a Passive DI between it and the PA so as the PA mix won't be affected by changes in Amp Volume and Tone. This Amp produces 25 Watts so it wouldn't be good for Gigs unless it is perhaps an Acoustic or Traditional Church Group, or some other setting that's more on the quiet side. It has plenty enough features for me. A feature I never use is the CD/Tape input because the Rolls Mini-Mix System ( tied in with my stereo & powered by the BXR25)takes care of all that.

I am playing a Hofner Vintage 1963 Reissue 500/1 Beatle Bass, a Peavey Milestone IV Bass, and a Hagstrom 1969 H II B N Vintage Bass.I play Rock & Christian. Amp sounds very quiet, clean and full toned. I've never really had it at high enough levels to see it distort.

As I've said earlier, I wouldn't use it as a gigging Amp except in a very small setting without a drummer, or where I lined out. In the two years I've owned the Amp it's never needed service.

Warranty is five years. Never had to deal with the music store or Fender.

Playing 34 years ( Bass), 29 years ( Acoustic Guitar). I own a Hofner 1963 Reissue 500/1 Beatle Bass, a Hagstrom 1969 H II B N Bass, a Peavey Milestone IV Bass, a HOB 1977 Acoustic Guitar, a Yorkville BassMaster 200T 2x10" 200 Watt Bass Combo, a Yorkville BC115 1x15" 300 Watt Bass Extension Speaker Cabinet.