Good job Fender- the hackable amp.

octatonic

Idiots.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/27/fender_smart_guitar_amp_dumb_security/

darcym

as much as this story is bad, I'm pleased to see you back and posting. 

stratman3142

darcym said:

as much as this story is bad, I'm pleased to see you back and posting. 

Yes I agree. A welcome return.

StuartMac290

Oh, I'm looking forward to seeing one of THESE at a gig now! Top fun to be had.

octatonic

darcym said:

as much as this story is bad, I'm pleased to see you back and posting. 

Thanks.
What am I missing regarding the story?
I would have thought a bluetooth enabled amp that can be hijacked by anyone with a smart phone (ie everyone) is generally a bad idea.

darcym

octatonic said:

darcym said:

as much as this story is bad, I'm pleased to see you back and posting. 

Thanks.
What am I missing regarding the story?
I would have thought a bluetooth enabled amp that can be hijacked by anyone with a smart phone (ie everyone) is generally a bad idea.

as in bad news, this is bad technology product, not bad as in poor story

digitalscream

The worst part is that it's a 100W amp - this isn't a practice amp, this is something they're intending for you to use at gigs.

Question is...if you saw one on stage, what would you do? It'd be awfully tempting...

darcym

I wouldn't, as imagine the feeling of having your set ruined,

guitarfishbay

digitalscream said:

The worst part is that it's a 100W amp - this isn't a practice amp, this is something they're intending for you to use at gigs.

Question is...if you saw one on stage, what would you do? It'd be awfully tempting...

Can you Bluetooth another guitar to it?

To play the song 1 fret up, still in time with the rest of the band.

octatonic

darcym said:

octatonic said:

darcym said:

as much as this story is bad, I'm pleased to see you back and posting. 

Thanks.
What am I missing regarding the story?
I would have thought a bluetooth enabled amp that can be hijacked by anyone with a smart phone (ie everyone) is generally a bad idea.

as in bad news, this is bad technology product, not bad as in poor story

Ah ok- no worries.
I was thinking I had missed an obvious thing about how it wasn't hackable in the end.

octatonic

digitalscream said:

The worst part is that it's a 100W amp - this isn't a practice amp, this is something they're intending for you to use at gigs.

Question is...if you saw one on stage, what would you do? It'd be awfully tempting...

I'd question the sanity of anyone who knew of the vulnerability and didn't exploit it for comedic effect.

ICBM

It would make the classic taxi radio wireless breakthrough problem seem like a minor distraction...

impmann

Am I alone in thinking "why"? Much like the dumb idea that is Line6 Amplifi I've never really understood why its so tricky to turn around and tweak a knob if I want a different sound. Surely firing up an app on your phone is *slower*. And as for this jam-along bollocks, er yes... but surely plugging a 3.5mm cable is isn't that much of a chore... is it?

And if its a home practice amplifier (for jam along etc) why make it 100w as mentioned above (the Line6 thing started at 75w). And why make it so large? If it is controlled from a phone, why does the box need to be any bigger than a speaker? Why does it need knobs? 

I just don't get it.

And yes, its pretty dumb to have that lousy security...

Jonathangus

guitarfishbay said:

digitalscream said:

The worst part is that it's a 100W amp - this isn't a practice amp, this is something they're intending for you to use at gigs.

Question is...if you saw one on stage, what would you do? It'd be awfully tempting...

Can you Bluetooth another guitar to it?

To play the song 1 fret up, still in time with the rest of the band through a Korg Miku.

FTFY.

ICBM

impmann said:

Am I alone in thinking "why"? Much like the dumb idea that is Line6 Amplifi I've never really understood why its so tricky to turn around and tweak a knob if I want a different sound. Surely firing up an app on your phone is *slower*. 

The only benefit I can see is that if you've gone totally wireless, you can soundcheck yourself from the back of the room. Assuming Bluetooth has that much range, anyway...

Apart from that it seems quite pointless, so the obvious solution is to make sure the Bluetooth is turned off if you're gigging with it buy a different amp.

MattFGBI

This was cured in a software update ages ago so not really an issue for anyone with an amp bought in the last few months. Anything older just needs an update which can be done on WiFi. 

MattFGBI

impmann said:

Am I alone in thinking "why"? Much like the dumb idea that is Line6 Amplifi I've never really understood why its so tricky to turn around and tweak a knob if I want a different sound. Surely firing up an app on your phone is *slower*. And as for this jam-along bollocks, er yes... but surely plugging a 3.5mm cable is isn't that much of a chore... is it?

And if its a home practice amplifier (for jam along etc) why make it 100w as mentioned above (the Line6 thing started at 75w). And why make it so large? If it is controlled from a phone, why does the box need to be any bigger than a speaker? Why does it need knobs? 

I just don't get it.

And yes, its pretty dumb to have that lousy security...

You can edit everything on the amp, you don't need the app to do it. Its just easier to manage through the app and you can create set lists and so on. It also allows you to upload and download patches, update software etc .

57Deluxe

yeah, but more importantly - you can steal the guy's personal presets!

MattFGBI

57Deluxe said:

yeah, but more importantly - you can steal the guy's personal presets!

.............. only if it's an old amp that's not been updated.

ICBM

Good to hear it's been fixed.

Remarkable that such a blunder could have made it out in the first place though - isn't pairing a normal part of the setup for *any* Bluetooth device?

crunchman

Guitar amps peaked at the Princeton Reverb.  It's all been downhill since.  Why bother with all of this kind of stuff?