Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

[philthis]

Just played yesterday. It has a funky look to it. It's cool as the old Wood has aged and the knobs are all made to match the aged look. The tone from the cabinet is more of a highly resonant sound much like pine from an old Bassman cab. The resonant tone gives the notes a fatter tone and it sounds thick and sweet. It is by far the best sounding Blues Jr I have ever played. I think it's a great home or studio Amp. It just has a really cool tone. I wouldn't take something this unique to gigs as its a one off type Amp. Very pricey and very cool. It's a sweet Amp if you have the cash. I thought the gain tone was better, very vox like. May I suggest a greenback to complete it and just save the original speaker incase you have a "stupid attack" and sell it.

Guitar used for my demo........a lovely blond Eric Johnson strat with maple neck.

 

[BenPerkins]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

How much is it selling for?


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[Empty Pockets]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

I'll save my money and buy 4 or 5 real classic amps that aren't bad marketing gimmicks.

 

[philthis]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

its a sweet tone amp. for me, if I own something it has to be extremely useful meaning bring it or play it anywhere. For me this amp is too expensive to throw in a car and go jam with. would you use it in a studio? absolutely you would. its got a real cool thick tone both clean and dirty. I have a fender 68 custom twin that I absolutely love. Its a heavy beast but its extremely useful. with 2 different distinct tones (twin and bassman) and bright switches and 2 volume levels to start at for each channel its like 4 amps in one. The Twin is rock solid and I can take it anywhere. Its a gig amp for sure. its extremely useful to me and it takes pedals well. The Blues Jr 80 proof is near 2,000 bucks. its hand wired supposedly and the aged wood is highly resonant. it truly is a unique amp. for that money and uniqueness I wouldnt feel comfortable giging with it but I will say its got a great tone all its own. if you bond with that tone-if you really dont gig- out or just play at your house and you want a sweet portable amp then this may be an option. its small and it has a great tone. the Eric Johnson strat sounded amazing through this amp. it sounds miles better than a standard Blues Jr. its wood is unique and it effects the tone of the amp as well as the high quality build. its an amp that fits somebodies situation and they have the cash. could you just have someone like MoJo Tone build you a baked pine cabinet and you could swap out your amp into the replacement cab for that awesome resonant tone? sure, but for how much and how much trouble? its possible to do it. its all about the dollars and the know how. i guess if you had the money and you are a devoted tone head its worth the cash. The blues Jr 80 proof is already this amp. remember its not even 20 watts so its limited to being a practice, small jam, or studio amp. If I had extra cash to burn I would have bought it much like the custom Clapton amps that Fender was producing. Its a great sounding and very portable novelty amp. you need to ask yourself how could I use it, and can I afford it for what it is.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

As long as you buy a padded Tuki cover or roadcase, you shouldn't worry about taking amps anywhere. Just don't let other people handle them, because they'll never be as careful as you.

I like the look of it, and a handwired version of a Blues Jr. with a resonant cab sounds like a cool amp.
It seems like $2000 is becoming the standard price point for anything pro quality these days.......whether it's worth that much or not.

I can't recall if the Fender Amp Custom Shop is in the US or Mexico.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

i dont think its hand wired. the leather handle and brass knobs are "hand aged" but thats about it as far as i can tell. its a blues jr in a fancy box. for less than $300 you can buy a sweet solid pine cab that would probably sound better than the oak. that said, it does look really cool

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

If the circuit is a standard PCB Blues Jr, the sum of the parts is underwhelming.

If you had a custom built amp in this cabinet, it could be super cool.

 

[philthis]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

I am buying another 68 custom twin so I can run both in stereo with strymon flint and El Capistan pedals. I love the Chris Isaak big surg tone that Hershal his guitar player gets. I may buy some pine cabs from Mojo Tone myself and put my amps in them. I have a tech who wants to put a 3 way switch on the back of my Twins that takes 2 tubes out of the circut so you can alternate up position-first 2 6l6's, middle position-all tubes on, bottom position-last 2 6L6's on. its just a way to alternate between the 6L6's and cuts the power in half for smaller rooms. using the -6db plug in should then make it even more usable for the smaller rooms from there. I just dont really have a need for the Blues Jr 80 proof with what I'm doing but ya the concept is cool if it really is hand wired in an aged wood cab. It does sound thick and resonant but like Jeremy said.....Id rather put my own twins in pine boxes and work with what I'm trying to do at the moment.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

fyi turning off two tubes wont cut the power in half but it will cut the power. when you cut down to two tubes, you should only use one speaker as well. it will keep the impedence correct for the tubes and help cut the volume as well. the padded input will make it quieter at the same volume knob setting but does change the tone somewhat too. if you haul two twins to gigs youre more of a man than i am lol

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

I am buying another 68 custom twin so I can run both in stereo with strymon flint and El Capistan pedals.

Rather than another matching Twin, you should get the 68 Reissue Vibrolux or Deluxe Reverb. Then, you'll have another amp from that series that you can use by itself when you don't need 100W, or in stereo with the Twin where one amp sounds more pushed than the other.

 

[philthis]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

interesting ideas, If I cut the speaker when I cut the tubes maybe I should put in 2 75 watt creamback H's for something a little more beefy to handle the one speaker at a time issue. I was thinking of trying out a 15 inch celestion for the extension cab under the twin to get a deep push and high end bounce. Maybe joneser is right, I should take one extension cab and put 4 tens to get a diff sound all together. I wonder if it might muddy though. I am going for a "cant do a thing to stop me" Cris Isaak surf tone or a spanky The Fixx's "one thing leads to another" type tone. I know the Fixx's tune was recorded with kt66's through a Marshall if you can believe it but I was hopeing my Twins would come close with a little push from a exotic ep boost pedal. The bassman side with that Trani has the sweetest jazz light breakup tone. It does the whole Chitlens Con Carne thing awsome. I love the Trani's in these reissue twins. They have a real sweet musical chime to them and a natural compression build up. I know people swear by the Mercury Magnetics trani's but I love the sound of these. They compress faster but they are also really chimey and sweet. I had a boogie TriAxis that was a huge stereo rig. I loved the stereo cleans with that rig. I am doing the same thing with the Twins just getting the Fender clean tone in stereo instead of the Boogie cleans which are good but I prefer the classic fender tones I get from the Twin. Incidentally I didnt like the 65 black face reissue Twins at all. to me it wasnt a sweet sounding amp and wasnt nearly as responsive as mine. Maybe they work better for other players, I couldnt get great tones out of it, I only got average or kinda harsh tones out of it. Somebody told me its the Shumacher trani's in mine that give it the extra nice tone. I dont know, that may be. Somebody out there knows more about it than me. I'm no tech. I know the 68 custom reissue deluxe reverb sounds good to me too.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

I agree about the 68 Reissues being far better sounding amps than the 65's. Ironic, since it was the other way around back in the Blackface vs. Silverface days.

If you love Twin Reverbs, you owe it to yourself to seek out a 65 - 74 Pro Reverb. They're definitely my favorite Fender amps. It's like a 40W Twin with a tube rectifier. Seymour has two 65 Pro Reverbs in his office, so I know he loves them.

 

[philthis]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

The pro reverb is my favorite Fender. I think it's the ideal platform for playing out and the tone is my favorite. I wish fender would make a reissue with the head and let us pick between 12 or 15inch speaker cabs.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

I agree about the 68 Reissues being far better sounding amps than the 65's. Ironic, since it was the other way around back in the Blackface vs. Silverface days.

If you love Twin Reverbs, you owe it to yourself to seek out a 65 - 74 Pro Reverb. They're definitely my favorite Fender amps. It's like a 40W Twin with a tube rectifier. Seymour has two 65 Pro Reverbs in his office, so I know he loves them.

hey Joe (and all others, actually?) is there a substantial delta in quality within that age group of Pro Reverbs given the switchover from blackface to silverface in that era?
are you recommending the blackface ones in the 65-67 era or the FMIC silverfaces after '67? or are either a good bet? ... i am seeing guys advertising amps as '65' but the pic shows the blackface panel with FMIC (CBS) on it, not FEIC (pre CBS)

what do you think ?

thanks
bc

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

Id rather put my own twins in pine boxes and work with what I'm trying to do at the moment.

Twins are already in pine cabs.
...At least my old twin is. I'm pretty sure the reissues are also.


Speaking of twins and how to make them sound good, a big part of it is the choice of speakers. The 65 reissues have the jensen c12k as opposed to the celestions you have in your amp. My personal fave for twins is the texas heat, but we all have our personal preferences for what the perfect twin should sound like. Some crazy folks like the JBL sound. Some folks here like a pair of cannabis rexes.

I think that the twin sounds like god himself, but the beautiful tone is offset by lugging to gigs and up stairs etc. (which is why i use a princeton II for 90% of gigs) I can only imagine what a PITA it must be to drag two of these behemoths to gigs! Do you have a burly road crew?

 

[Shooter.556]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

Overpriced crap! I can buy a Dr Z for this money..
I really wanted this to be an affordable amp because I live where all the Bourbon is made and I wanted one badly but they can have it for $2k.
It better be boutique hand wired goodness for that price..

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

It isn't. It's a blues Jr. in a fancy box. Blues lawyer amp

As far as I know the newer twins aren't pine boxes. I have yet to hear anything i like better than a good pine box. Even the canare wood that some have claimed to be the holy grail for cabs, i still prefer pine

 

[philthis]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

i agree, I have only heard old bassmans through pine cabs but they sound amazing.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

As far as I know the newer twins aren't pine boxes.

Well that is a shame. Sometime these big corporations just drop the ball completely.
Two of my (old fender) amps are in pine cabs and i am convinced that is why i prefer them to my other amps. The feel is warm, deep and elastic even when playing completely clean.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Blues Jr 80 proof

i agree. i love my old fender and fendery amps. deluxe reverb, 5e3 clone, and a 5e7 inspired amp all in solid pine boxes and all sound great. the 5e7 is just a lacquered cab and i think it sounds amazing