Fender Bronco 40 and headphones

[guitarmanrrg]

Hi everyone.
I'm thinking about getting a Bronco 40 to practice with headphones and a MP3 player to play along.
Question, anyone here own this amp that has used it to do what I am looking to do? Does the sound of the MP3 player come through well enough (loud) to play along with it?
And secondly is the sound of a 1x10 sound OK for someone that is trying to learn the Bass? I realize that sound is subjective, but since I'm primarily a guitar player I'm hoping that a bass player can tell me what he or she thinks of the sound.
Thank you so much.

[guitarmanrrg]

No one?

[curt basner]

Hey there,

I just ordered one, and it should be coming sometime in the next few days. I will be using it for exactly the same reasons you want it, and I will be happy to give you a report after it arrives. Actually, I plan to use the input both from an iPod, as well as output directly from my laptop. We'll see how it goes, but it looks pretty promising. I have a 'big rig', too, a Fender TBP-1 preamp into a Bergantino IP310, but I wanted a 'little guy' for practice. By the way, I have both active and passive basses, so I can give you a report on the sound with either/both.

[Strat Hater]

I played one a while a go in a shop. It seemed to have decent volume and tone for what it was. I would rather for for the Rumble 75 for the 50 bux cheaper and almost double the watts. However it seems like a good practice amp. Never tries the mp3 or the headphone functions on it though

[Stev187]

Originally Posted by guitarmanrrg

And secondly is the sound of a 1x10 sound OK for someone that is trying to learn the Bass?

Sure. Many practice amps have 8" or 10" speakers, and that's fine for small room, unaccompanied practice. I'm not familiar with this particular unit, but 40w is plenty for a practice amp. Play around with room placement, but if you put the amp on the floor--probably in a corner--you'll get a very good bass tone for practice.

--Steve

[guitarmanrrg]

Originally Posted by curt basner

Hey there,

I just ordered one, and it should be coming sometime in the next few days. I will be using it for exactly the same reasons you want it, and I will be happy to give you a report after it arrives. Actually, I plan to use the input both from an iPod, as well as output directly from my laptop. We'll see how it goes, but it looks pretty promising. I have a 'big rig', too, a Fender TBP-1 preamp into a Bergantino IP310, but I wanted a 'little guy' for practice. By the way, I have both active and passive basses, so I can give you a report on the sound with either/both.

That would be great.

Thank you guys for all your input.

[LoTone]

Two weeks ago, I bought a Fender Bronco 40 amp. The headphone out is one of the most satisfying I have had in any practice amp I ever had. Highly recommended.

As for MP3 practice, if you hook an auxiliary source in the aux-in port, when playing through the speaker, you will find that you are missing the higher frequencies because the amp does not have a tweeter. Not a biggy your playing bass right?

If you do the same thing through the headphones jack, you get a wider range of frequencies.

So far, I am quite pleased with My Bronco 40.

-- LoTone

[curt basner]

Excellent. I was just about to enter another post here to let the OP know that my Bronco is on the way and I should have it by Tuesday next week. I still plan to let you know what my experiences are...but it sounds pretty good from this last post!

[guitarmanrrg]

As for MP3 practice, if you hook an auxiliary source in the aux-in port, when playing through the speaker, you will find that you are missing the higher frequencies because the amp does not have a tweeter. Not a biggy your playing bass right?

If you do the same thing through the headphones jack, you get a wider range of frequencies.

Wonderful!

Is the volume high enough to play along coming from the ipod with headphones?
Thanks.

[curt basner]

Update...my Bronco is now supposed to be here tomorrow (Saturday)! Will give you my thoughts then.

What kind of headphones are you planning to use? I will be testing using my old Bose noise canceling ones, just so you know.

[guitarmanrrg]

My wife has a pair of the Old Bose which are probably like yours. I also have a pair of Sennheiser HD280 along with a JVC set.
Looking forward to it.
I'm about ready to pull the trigger on this little guy.

[curt basner]

My Bronco just arrived, has been unpacked, but has yet to be plugged in. It's really cute, actually, and pretty hefty, actually, compared to the little Mark 30 Trademark guitar amp that I have, which is what I thought might sit on top of the Bronco. Alas, no fit, so I'll have to find a spot different than where I thought it was going to sit. GIve me a few hours, and I'll have a report on sound for you.

[curt basner]

Well, folks, bad news about the Bronco. There is a problem with it. Let me first say that the headphone/MP-3 input is reasonably good. You can do a pretty decent balance of the MP-3 input compared to the 'amp' output to the headphones. I did NOT, as the other poster did, attempt to play the MP-3 through the amp speaker, however; perhaps I will be able to check that out tomorrow. The various different amp models do sound different, sort of. I couldn't say whether they sound like the amps they are supposed to model, as I'm not familiar with the sounds of the originals.

What does NOT work is the effects circuit. You are supposed to be able to get 12 preloaded effects, such a phaser, flanger, chorus, etc. These do not work. There is a single FX knob that is used to select the effect you want to hear, and then you are supposed to be able to adjust the volume by holding in an 'Exit' button while adjusting the FX or GAIN knobs. The effect volumes do not change, in fact, there are no audible effects at all. You can hear a sort of 'clicking' as you twist the FX knob through the various effect spots on the knob, but no discernible effect can be heard. Further, there is a 'tap' button that is supposed to illuminate with different colors based on whether an effect is a delay or a modulation effect, and the tap button does not illuminate at all, regardless of the effect selected. This just reinforces that the effects circuit is broken in some way. Very disappointing. My second major bad experience with Fender electronic equipment. My first was with a TBP-1 Bass Preamp, which had it's power supply blow within the first month of ownership (being used in my home, not being pushed in anyway), then the fix, under warranty, took upwards of 3-4 months to complete. Suffice to say, I am not happy with Fender electronic devices, and I would strongly recommend deferring your purchase. My best hope is that they send me an RMA to get the amp back to the dealer, at their cost, and send me a new one. I'm not interested in a 'repair', based on my TBP-1 experience.

Sorry to be a downer, guys, but it's reality.

Update: This morning, I tried something new. The amp has a 'master reset' of sorts (turn the power on while holding the 'Exit button' in until the button light goes out). And, lo and behold, all is fixed! Wahoo! I am so pleased, as I did NOT want to go through all the associated hassle of returns or repairs! So, a word to the wise, and for any Bronco owners who are not getting all the functions to work properly when you get your new amp, try the reset first!!!

to the sounds, it's still early here at my house, so I can only talk about the effects sounds through my headphones, but those sound pretty decent. To the OP, you'll have to wait until the wife gets up until I can give you feedback on the MP-3 player sounds through the combo speaker, but I'll check it for you as soon as she raises her pretty little head :-)

[guitarmanrrg]

Bummer...

I've had a Fender Acoustasonic Jr for over 10 years without a single issue. I wonder if you just got a dud? Most of the reviews online are on the positive side.

The last thing you want to do is upset the wife!

The reason for my wanting an amp with MP3 input and headphones is so that I don't disturb the family and still be able to make some noise when the time is right.
I'm really curious about the sound of the 10"

Thanks.

[AQP]

Originally Posted by curt basner

Well, folks, bad news about the Bronco. There is a problem with it. Let me first say that the headphone/MP-3 input is reasonably good. You can do a pretty decent balance of the MP-3 input compared to the 'amp' output to the headphones. I did NOT, as the other poster did, attempt to play the MP-3 through the amp speaker, however; perhaps I will be able to check that out tomorrow. The various different amp models do sound different, sort of. I couldn't say whether they sound like the amps they are supposed to model, as I'm not familiar with the sounds of the originals.

What does NOT work is the effects circuit. You are supposed to be able to get 12 preloaded effects, such a phaser, flanger, chorus, etc. These do not work. There is a single FX knob that is used to select the effect you want to hear, and then you are supposed to be able to adjust the volume by holding in an 'Exit' button while adjusting the FX or GAIN knobs. The effect volumes do not change, in fact, there are no audible effects at all. You can hear a sort of 'clicking' as you twist the FX knob through the various effect spots on the knob, but no discernible effect can be heard. Further, there is a 'tap' button that is supposed to illuminate with different colors based on whether an effect is a delay or a modulation effect, and the tap button does not illuminate at all, regardless of the effect selected. This just reinforces that the effects circuit is broken in some way. Very disappointing. My second major bad experience with Fender electronic equipment. My first was with a TBP-1 Bass Preamp, which had it's power supply blow within the first month of ownership (being used in my home, not being pushed in anyway), then the fix, under warranty, took upwards of 3-4 months to complete. Suffice to say, I am not happy with Fender electronic devices, and I would strongly recommend deferring your purchase. My best hope is that they send me an RMA to get the amp back to the dealer, at their cost, and send me a new one. I'm not interested in a 'repair', based on my TBP-1 experience.

Sorry to be a downer, guys, but it's reality.

Update: This morning, I tried something new. The amp has a 'master reset' of sorts (turn the power on while holding the 'Exit button' in until the button light goes out). And, lo and behold, all is fixed! Wahoo! I am so pleased, as I did NOT want to go through all the associated hassle of returns or repairs! So, a word to the wise, and for any Bronco owners who are not getting all the functions to work properly when you get your new amp, try the reset first!!!

to the sounds, it's still early here at my house, so I can only talk about the effects sounds through my headphones, but those sound pretty decent. To the OP, you'll have to wait until the wife gets up until I can give you feedback on the MP-3 player sounds through the combo speaker, but I'll check it for you as soon as she raises her pretty little head :-)

I have had this Practice amp for a good three weeks and it's great for practice and recording and has some pretty good sound for just 40w, definitely install the Fuse software (the latest beta version is available here Fender® Forums • View topic - Fender FUSE 2.4.1 Public Beta!!! (Updated 10/26/11) ) which will let you update the amp to the latest firmware included in the Fuse app and then download some other effects, also register your amp and you'll fet some free recording and editing software. So far it's a pretty good deal for giving you a lot of bang for the buck!

[LoTone]

To get multiple FX in a chain, you have to use the Fender Fuse software. The trick is to tweak your chain by adding stompboxes or rack effects and try them out with the Fender Fuse software first. Then, when you have a sound that you like, you save it to one of the 24 banks available. The first bank is not patchable.

So, if you only use the FX knob on the amp, you are right, you will not be able to use more than one effect at a time.

-- LoTone

[pudgychef]

Originally Posted by curt basner

Update: This morning, I tried something new. The amp has a 'master reset' of sorts (turn the power on while holding the 'Exit button' in until the button light goes out). And, lo and behold, all is fixed! Wahoo! I am so pleased, as I did NOT want to go through all the associated hassle of returns or repairs! So, a word to the wise, and for any Bronco owners who are not getting all the functions to work properly when you get your new amp, try the reset first!!!

to the sounds, it's still early here at my house, so I can only talk about the effects sounds through my headphones, but those sound pretty decent. To the OP, you'll have to wait until the wife gets up until I can give you feedback on the MP-3 player sounds through the combo speaker, but I'll check it for you as soon as she raises her pretty little head :-)

still working for you? Any other opinions on it?

wondering how the XLR out is....

[curt basner]

Hey pudgy,

After resolving my initial problem, the Bronco has been fantastic! I am VERY pleased with it. I use it primarily as a practice headphone amp, and for that purpose is it perfect! At lower volumes, the speaker works just fine, very nice tone, but if you get way loud, it sounds about how you would expect. I've read that you can remove a limiter using the software, which supposedly vastly improves the speaker tone, but I have not yet tried that. Overall, I would absolutely recommend this little guy.

Regarding the XLR, no opinion, have not tried that output yet.

[lowfunk99]

I sent mine back for a promethean.

I thought it had a lot of good but not great tones. I think it was about 40-60 watts from being a very good amp. I wanted to be able to feel the push of the amp. (I know, unreasonable expectation)