Fender G-Dec 3 Fifteen review

  • £274
  • $399.99
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The Fifteen isn't one of the prettiest bits of kit we've got our hands on…

MusicRadar Verdict

Some of the most fun you can have with a plywood box - but a serious piece of kit too.

Pros

  • +

    Ace, realistic amp modelling, 100 presets, editing and recording capabilities.

Cons

  • -

    Dull looks, skimpy on guitar tone controls.

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The Fifteen isn't one of the prettiest bits of kit we've got our hands on…
The Fifteen isn't one of the prettiest bits of kit we've got our hands on…

Fender G-Dec 3 Fifteen

Testing the G-DEC Junior recently proved more fun than Slash's stag night, so we have high hopes for its big brother: a 15-watt bruiser that piles on the amp models, digital FX, rocket fuel and celebrity stardust.

It wasn't love at first sight with the Fifteen; compared with the gorgeous likes of Yamaha's THR10, this amp looks dull, feels cumbersome at 9.7kg and ties you to the plug socket with no battery option. Plus, we felt it skimped a little on tone knobs, with just one dial for your guitar sound.

"The Fifteen sounds incredible, with a useful 15-watt grunt, a quality loudspeaker and amp models that are dead-on realistic."

Still, in every other sense the Fifteen is absolutely chock-full of black magic. In fact, it's fair to describe the Fifteen as a laugh-a-minute thrill ride that's more fun to hang out with than actual flesh-and-blood bandmates.

For most players, the first stop will be a spin through the presets: 100 ready-made sonic amuse-bouches built up from amp models and virtual stompboxes, and offering everything from a modern Mesa/Boogie-style grind to the cloth-and-sawdust twang of a Bassman.

The real bonus is that for each preset, there's a corresponding backing track. These are often created by the likes of John 5 and Anthrax, and therefore nothing like the cheesy jams you're probably imagining.

The Fifteen sounds incredible, with a useful 15-watt grunt, a quality loudspeaker and amp models that are dead-on realistic. If you want to go deeper, editing and recording are feasible via the bundled Fuse editor and Ableton software, and storage is intuitive with an SD card.

Don't be fooled: this is a serious amp. It just so happens to be an absolute riot.

Henry Yates