Preface. I personally have my sound in mind. It took a (long) while to find how to make that sound real, but after 30+ years of playing, it's almost there... I bought this modelling combo for my son, to give him the opportunity of exploring all the possible sounds (and noises...) a bass could make, without a long line of pedals, effects, preamps.
Result: he's happy about it, experiments a lot, has fun and all in all, the amp brought in new enthusiasm. As for me, I'm now using it to rehears on Jamulus.
As usual, let me go through pros & cons, starting with the former ones
PROs
- Amazing array of sounds (honestly, some of those will never be used) which are more than enough to span 99% of music genres. Consider also that, on top of the 30 presets, you can download 20 more using the dedicated App.
- Easy to find and shape new sounds: thanks to the combination of 20 amps, 11 effects, 7 modulators, 3 delays and 5 reverbs -each of these with its own settings- the possible combinations are infinite. The suggestion here is to do it via the TONE App on your computer, as on the small screen on the combo is a bit cumbersome, though still possible.
- Easy to modify quickly a preset using the analogical knobs.
- USB digital output: great thing, but be aware that the aux in won't converge in the USB out. Result: you have a single line out for the bass, but not an additional one e.g., for the microphone. I solved this using a UMC22 interface where I plug in the mic and the LT25, via the headphone output.
- Lightweight (but with an 8" speaker it's easy to be lightweight).
- it is loud enough for studio and (quiet) rehearsal; for gigging it could be mic'd.
- I almost forgot... the built in tuner is a very welcome extra feature
- UPDATE - I updated the Firmware and it worked flawlessly.
CONS
- No bluetooth: you can control the amp via USB (and your computer) but not with your phone or tablet. This is a limitation on a stage. But this amp is not made for stage.
- The speaker is too small, a 10" would be much better: the sound is thin.
So&sos
- Before swapping to another preset, set all analogical controllers (gain, bass, mid and trebles) back to noon, otherwise, once swapped, whatever set they had, will be reset to neutral (=noon), but the physical position of the knob won't be at noon.
- The foot switch (which is NOT included) is not very useful, as it only allows you to change between 2 presets.
- No line out, but the headphone output serves well as line out.
Summary
This combo is perfect for beginners, but I honestly see interest from mid level players too. As a modeling amp, you can play around the several presets and shape your sound in ways that are objectively impossible on a normal amp, even if your rig accounts for pedals, effects and preamps.
If this is what you are looking for, then the Fender LT25 is for you. The digital connectivity is also a plus (i.e., for online rehearsing)
