What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Erlend_G
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Erlend_G

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Hi guys!

I recently bought an used Fender Pro Jr, and I love it. :)

I love it so much I'm gonna spend some money on it, and make it my main amp. At "2" it's sweet Fender clean, at "4" it breaks up and jangles, at "6" it's a great rock n roll tone, and it just gets fatter and fatter, ending in a fuzzy 70's roar at "12". I just wish I could get a bit more "oomph" and distortion at lower volumes, and drive it a bit harder, so I understand that I need an overdrive\boost pedal. I'm also playing with the thought of setting the amp up for a clean\breakup tone, and stepping on the pedal for leads.

My guitar is a Cort M800 hollowbody with 011's, pickups pretty far from the strings (it sounds "hard" and loses dynamics if they are any closer), and I play jazz-rock\prog-rock\blues trough this amp. I'm aiming for a sound thats a bit rawer and crunchier than the amp alone, with some more mids and lows. Making it sing and roar a bit more when stepping on the footswitch. I love Larry Coryell's tone on the old late 60's recordings, if that means something.

I've been reading reviews and listening to clips of the Electro Harmonix English Muff'N, and I like what I hear. It seems a bit bright though, but all the clips I've heard has had the treble knob up high, and the mids far from cranked. I also like that it's tube driven, there's just something about it that I realize I've been missing for all these years playing SS.


I'm also considering a replacement speaker, since the stock speaker seems a bit thin sounding, and compresses a bit too much (for my taste) when driven hard. I'm thinking about an Eminence Lil' Buddy, at 50w, I believe it should break up less than the stock speaker. The clips I've heard of it also sounds really full and sweet (i hate thin tones).


Also ordered some tubes all the way over from TheTubeStore in California, a pair of TAD special order EL-84's for the output stage, and some Phillips 5751's for the preamp. The review on the TTS site said they were about the same gain as an average 12Ax7, just a bit less. That suits me fine as I want some more power amp distortion before the preamp goes fuzzy... am I on the right thought here?


Any replies are appreciated,

-Erlend
 
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Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

Well, the Philips 5751's sound terrible in my MESA, but sounds WAY better than a Sovtek WB in my dad's little hybrid Johnson amp, so take that for what it's worth. In my MESA they are farty and have like a squarewave clip thing going on. The GE's I bought from dougstubes.com are much nicer in that price range.

Also read up on the phase inverter tube.
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

the upside of most low wattage fender amps is that they take about everything except fuzz pedals so well. Its more down to what you like. If you find that, chances are a fender amp will love it.

I have no experience with the example you listed so i cant comment there.
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

a Boss bluesdriver... ibanez tubescreamer... digitech bad monkey... etc.
I like simple overdrive pedals for amps like that.

changing speakers is usually the last thing I think of when messing with my tone.
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

FuseG4 said:
changing speakers is usually the last thing I think of when messing with my tone.
Click to expand...

!!!!! :shocked: !!!!!

The speaker is like the TV screen of your home entertainment system! Blu-ray on SDTV is pointless, much like a good amp thru a POS speaker is pointless.
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

ok I mean assuming your speaker is decent in the first place.
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

using a 5751 will not help you get distortion at lower volume at all. it will help the balance of preamp/power amp distortion if you use one in v1. i would not put one in v2. you want a very strong 12ax7 in v2 to drive the power tubes.

i like the lil buddy but its more sensitive than what you have in there so the amp will become louder at the same volume setting. it is much fatter sounding than the stock one, not thin at all.
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

Thanks for the replies guys... The 5751's will arrive in my mailbox after the weekend, so I'm atleast gonna try them. I got a Sovtek 12AX7 and an EHX 12AX7 to try aswell.


My amp isn't very loud the way it is now, just enough for jamming with a trio. I'd love if it gets a bit louder and cleaner, and use a pedal for more distortion.


I'm thinking about ordering one of those EHX English Muff'N overdrives, anyone tried them?
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

If you want more volume/headroom then swap the speaker for the most efficient speaker you can find such as an eminence ragin cajun at 100db. The stock speakers are pretty lame.
Add a tubescreamer type pedal (maxon make one with true bypass - among many many others) for that bit of extra grit when you need it and you have a super sweet set up.
 
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Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

I found an ad for a used Maxon OD-808, so now I'm waiting to get a reply from the seller.

It seems like just what I need :)
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

The blue back speaker - what is it?

And I have my pro set to put just a touch of gnarl with the guitar volume up. Then I run my STamps Drive-O-MAtic. It's almost like a four channel amp! Plus I run a screamer for a little boost with hair. I think it takes OD pedals rreally well.
 
Re: What Overdrive\Booster (& speaker) for Fender Pro Jr?

that maxon pedal will probably work out nicely...if you decide you want something a bit smoother...try an MI Audio Blues Pro!
 
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