Fender Pro/Blues Junior

Twitch

Twitch

New member
I havn't been pleased with my Classic 30 lately, so today I went out amp browsing. I play at home 99% of the time, but still need enough juice for an occasional jam.

Amps Played:
Peavey Delta Blues 2x10 + 1x15
Crate Palomino V16
Crate Palomino V32
Ampeg Jet II reissue
Fender Champ (circa 1975)
Fender Blues Junior
Fender Pro Junior

Reviews:
-The delta blues 2x10 sounded much better than the 1x15. I found the 1x15 to be too flabby for my tastes, where as the 2x10 provided the punch and sparkle that I'm after.
-I was not as pleased with either of the Palominos as I was when I first played them a couple of months ago. I could still dial in killer overdriven tones, but I was not digging the clean tones of either. They were too fat and dull for my tastes.
-The ampeg was a totally different beast than anything I've played. Very, very clean. Reverb to die for, overdrive was a little weak but then again I'm after clean tones.
-The Fender champ had definite potential, but I think something was wrong with it b/c every twist of a knob resulted in high, amplified crackling noises. It would also crackle in the middle of my playing.
-The 2 small Fenders were easily the most intriguing amps I played today. The pro junior had the exact clean tone I was after. I loved the simplicity of the controls, and even found I could still achieve a wide variety of tones using the volume and tone on the amp combined with the volume and tone on my guitar. I really wanted to like the Blues Junior. Similar to the Pro junior, but with more controls and reverb. Unfortunately I really could not dial in any amazing tones. I heard some glimpses of good things, but nothing that stood out like the PJ.

Questions:
1. Do any of you Pro Junior users find the lack of controls to be a bad thing?
2. How does the PJ take pedals? Also how do reverb pedals such as the holy grail sound?
3. Is there a trick to dialing in the EQ on the Blues Junior? I felt that they might be a little quirky.
4. I've read that the PJ is a very simple circuit and sounds amazing stock. Does it still benefit substantially from tube and speaker changes the way other tube amps do?

Thanks for your time/help,
Twitch
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

I don't own a PJ, but I'll still take a stab at answering ...

1. No, but most players won't believe that until they discover it for themselves.

2. It should take pedals very well.

3. with my strat, I generally have the MV up most of the way, with the T, B, and Mid to taste, and the Fat switch on. I've been playing a tele more lately though, and I use different settings for that. I like mine a lot, but like any tube amp, it tends to like some guitars more than others, and I can't always tell which ones it will like.

4. components are as important in a simple circuit, if not moreso. Plus, tube and speaker swaps are often to set the amp up for personal preferences, rather than just making it sound "better"
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

turn the gain on the Blues Jr. pretty high and then tame with the guitar volume knob. My best friend is a major hendrix fanatic and he gets some amazingly accurate tones with a strat a blues junior and a dunlop fuzz wah, its a great amp but the pro junior is the cooler of the two. Just a little less versitile.
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

I don't own either the Pro Jr. or the Blues Jr., but some of my favorite amps are the amps with fewer controls (see my sig.) They just seem more full of tone than other amps.
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

LOVE my pro jr!

1. Do any of you Pro Junior users find the lack of controls to be a bad thing?
Nope - when I play that amp I'm going for one good tone; and I get it! If I was doing "off-the record" switching it would suck.



2. How does the PJ take pedals? Also how do reverb pedals such as the holy grail sound?
I'd say really well- only note is that it has a "sparkle" about it that switching can dull. I push the tone on my TS-9 so I don't get to much "brightening" when I go to clean. I also use a Stamps Drive-O-Matic that has a presence knob that's very helpful for balancing on/off tone.

3. Is there a trick to dialing in the EQ on the Blues Junior? I felt that they might be a little quirky. N/A

4. I've read that the PJ is a very simple circuit and sounds amazing stock. Does it still benefit substantially from tube and speaker changes the way other tube amps do?

Yes - I have have blue back eminence (maybe?) It's not the original speaker and the circuit is dirt simple, so if anything, it's more sensitive to mismatches, poor bias, etc....

And it's WAY louder than you's think. I really like that amp for bringing out the true nature of the guitar/pups. My epi with a PG/CC is AWESOME through that.
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

LOVE my pro jr!

1. Do any of you Pro Junior users find the lack of controls to be a bad thing?
Nope - when I play that amp I'm going for one good tone; and I get it! If I was doing "off-the record" switching it would suck.



2. How does the PJ take pedals? Also how do reverb pedals such as the holy grail sound?
I'd say really well- only note is that it has a "sparkle" about it that switching can dull. I push the tone on my TS-9 so I don't get to much "brightening" when I go to clean. I also use a Stamps Drive-O-Matic that has a presence knob that's very helpful for balancing on/off tone.

3. Is there a trick to dialing in the EQ on the Blues Junior? I felt that they might be a little quirky. N/A

4. I've read that the PJ is a very simple circuit and sounds amazing stock. Does it still benefit substantially from tube and speaker changes the way other tube amps do?

Yes - I have have blue back eminence (maybe?) It's not the original speaker and the circuit is dirt simple, so if anything, it's more sensitive to mismatches, poor bias, etc....

And it's WAY louder than you's think. I really like that amp for bringing out the true nature of the guitar/pups. My epi with a PG/CC is AWESOME through that.
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

Twitch said:
I havn't been pleased with my Classic 30 lately, so today I went out amp browsing. I play at home 99% of the time, but still need enough juice for an occasional jam.

Amps Played:
Peavey Delta Blues 2x10 + 1x15
Crate Palomino V16
Crate Palomino V32
Ampeg Jet II reissue
Fender Champ (circa 1975)
Fender Blues Junior
Fender Pro Junior

Reviews:
-The delta blues 2x10 sounded much better than the 1x15. I found the 1x15 to be too flabby for my tastes, where as the 2x10 provided the punch and sparkle that I'm after.
-I was not as pleased with either of the Palominos as I was when I first played them a couple of months ago. I could still dial in killer overdriven tones, but I was not digging the clean tones of either. They were too fat and dull for my tastes.
-The ampeg was a totally different beast than anything I've played. Very, very clean. Reverb to die for, overdrive was a little weak but then again I'm after clean tones.
-The Fender champ had definite potential, but I think something was wrong with it b/c every twist of a knob resulted in high, amplified crackling noises. It would also crackle in the middle of my playing.
-The 2 small Fenders were easily the most intriguing amps I played today. The pro junior had the exact clean tone I was after. I loved the simplicity of the controls, and even found I could still achieve a wide variety of tones using the volume and tone on the amp combined with the volume and tone on my guitar. I really wanted to like the Blues Junior. Similar to the Pro junior, but with more controls and reverb. Unfortunately I really could not dial in any amazing tones. I heard some glimpses of good things, but nothing that stood out like the PJ.

Questions:
1. Do any of you Pro Junior users find the lack of controls to be a bad thing?
2. How does the PJ take pedals? Also how do reverb pedals such as the holy grail sound?
3. Is there a trick to dialing in the EQ on the Blues Junior? I felt that they might be a little quirky.
4. I've read that the PJ is a very simple circuit and sounds amazing stock. Does it still benefit substantially from tube and speaker changes the way other tube amps do?

Thanks for your time/help,
Twitch
Click to expand...

I own many amps including a C30 as well... i hate that amp at bedroom levels.. i use it for jamming only were it comes to life after some volume... IT's a strange amp to me as it has cool tones loud but not so hot for practicing levels, unless you use pedals for the fuzz/od....

I have not tried the Pro JR yet but sometimes less is more... someone once told me that the tone knobs cut freq's not adding them... the less controlls in the way of the signal i could see being a more pure tone, in theory anyways.....

WhoFan
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

I've told this story before, but the first time I saw a PJ was when I visited a local tech, and he had a small amp for his bench tester.

I asked what it was, and it was a Pro Junior. "Those things are great little amps!", he said.

Anyway, FWIW, Jeff is now pretty well known for his own amps, "Snider".
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

Twitch said:
3. Is there a trick to dialing in the EQ on the Blues Junior? I felt that they might be a little quirky.
Click to expand...

I tend to find them to be very dark sounding, as a result I really boost the heck out of the Mids and Highs to make it cut.

The one I have is modded with the Billm mods and it makes a major difference in the sound. The addition of a presence knob as well as a bright switch (essentially goes between the original green board Blues Jr's and the cream board Blues Jr's) makes a huge difference to my ears tonally.

A speaker swap will help alot too.

I tend NOT to run the Gain very high, but actually have it slightly ahead of the Master Volume to really let it be boosted naturally.


But I can't say enough good things about the Billm mods.
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

I mainly run tone on Pro jr right down the middle. I tweek to brighten or darken a bitbut thats it. CAn that thing be modded? Or is too simple? I would kill for an effects loopto add my Holy Grail reverb! Can that be done???

And cut is all passive controls can do. But definitely the more you put in the way the more you mess with tone period. Just like taking the tone conrol out of a guitar, or the volume for that matter. My Nakamichi stereo doesn't have tone controls!
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

I remembered later tonight that i once saw a cover band in a bar and their guitarist had 2 Pro JR's in stereo behind him and he had an amazing sound out front of the PA... I was impressed by it.....
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

I have a Blues Jr. and I love the damn thing. Great tone, simple controls and more power than I expected. I take it to practice and have even done small gigs with it...
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

I would take the Pro over the blues junior. A speaker change wouldnt be a bad Idea though. I am thinking about picking one up but expenses are really tight right now. The amps simple controls make it really easy to dial in awesome tone. This amps is really loud so youll probably need an overdrive/booster pedal to get some nice gain tones.
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

No doubt - the thing is NOT a sonic-chameleon. But the main tone is awesome!
 
Re: Fender Pro/Blues Junior

i love my blues jr! it is a bit dark sounding (which i like) and i can see that something with a little more low end (speaker-wise) will be in my near future.
 
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