New amp

Woo hoo! I picked me up a Fender Blues Jr. last week and really love it! :D

My band is kinda out of commission for the last two months after losing our singer. We are still trying folks out. We've had a few pretty good singers, but nobody comes close to Lee, our singer who moved. So we are kinda spoiled now. We are still trying singers out, got a new one coming to audition next week.

Anyway, not really gigging out at the moment, but I do get invited to jam with folks quite often. And man, am I tired of lugging heavy amps around. I wanted a small portable amp with great tone that I could carry in one hand, guitar in the other.

I spent the last month or two reading lots of reviews on smaller amps. I went to GC and local music stores and tried all the small tube amps. It's gotta be tube for me. I tried out the Crate Palomino amps. I really loved the 30 watt, but it is big and heavy. But even though the 15 watt gets great reviews I didn't like it. Very harsh sounding to me, and I spent a good deal of time tweaking the EQ. Tried the Vox 15 watt amp. It was good, but nothing that really got me excited. Plus, this amp is as big and heavy as a 30-40 watt amp.

I played a Pro Junior at GC and really liked it, but it is just a little too small. A single 10" speaker just sounds too small and boxy to me, wish they had a 2 X 10, I love 2 X 10s. Then I tried the Blues Jr.. I know I am always talking about Marshall tone, but I love good clean tones too, and the Blues Jr. was exceptional. Very warm and full with bright chimey highs. And I couldn't believe the power, this amp has plenty of volume for gigs.

But what truly sold me was the overdrive. This is a one channel amp with Volume and Master. If you want clean tones you keep Volume low below 5 (goes to 12) and then turn Master up for a big clean tone. Sounds great. If you want overdrive you do just the opposite, you turn Volume way up but leave Master low. Wow, I couldn't believe it. I was using a Faded SG as this is my main guitar. I cranked Volume up but kept Master low. Man, this thing sounds just like a Marshall!! :twisted:

I am not kidding, this amp is the best of all worlds to me, Fender clean and Marshall overdrive. Cranked to 12 with the SG this thing sounded just like Hells Bells by AC/DC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoR8bL-ZXAA

Now, that's about the max overdrive you get outta this amp without pedals, but that's all I'll ever need. This is my favorite overdrive tone ever, almost clean but broken up with lots of bite and crunch. Ah, I was sold on the spot!

This amp is somewhat similar to my Hot Rod Deluxe. They are both in the "Hot Rod" series, but really they are very different. The clean channel on my HRD could never get that Marshall AC/DC type tone, and neither could the Drive channels. The Blues Jr. is a slightly thicker, warmer tone than the clean on the HRD and breaks up earlier. The HRD is far louder.

People complain about the reverb on this amp but I think it is pretty good considering the tiny reverb tank. You can't get Surf tones like you can with my HRD, but you get classic Fender reverb. I keep it below 3 usually.

The EQ is quite different from my HRD. My HRD has almost too much bass, so I keep it down very low, usually below 4. Over that it can get mushy or boomy. The BJ is completely different, I turn Bass up quite high around 8 or more. The Treble on the BJ can be a little piercing, I keep this pretty low. I always boost the Mids on any amp. But it gets a very warm full tone. I really haven't had a chance to crank it yet, it may sound different at high volume. But it EQs quite differently than my HRD, so they are very different amps.

I did have a problem with the amp after about four days, it started making all sorts of racket like a bad guitar cord, pops, fizzles and howls. I took it back to the shop and found out one preamp tube was bad. You have to check the tubes on this amp as well, they seem to vibrate loose a little. So the quality is fair, but not outstanding. Still, the great tone makes up for a minor problem like this.

I got invited to a jam next Sunday and I'm gonna put this through a real workout. But I really love the fact that it is so small and portable but packs a big sound and exceptional tone. I've been reading about these amps for years, they are really as good as everyone says.

That's it, just thought others might want to hear a review. These are my opinions only, others may not care for this amp, but I love it.

Wes