Members echodeluxe Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 So its official, I'm downgrading (in size and weight at least!) and I would like your honest opinion! I've decided it will be either a Fender Blues Jr or Hot Rod Deluxe. I would love a vintage Traynor like I previously had, but there's none! I basically need an amp that's more portable than my classic 50 and I know I love the sound of both of these amps. Your choice and why. GO!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 HRD. More power, bigger box, better sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PKTrono Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reaganomics! Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 Instead of a Vintage Traynor, how bout a NEW Traynor! They new ones aren't the marshall/fender copy tanks that the old ones are, but they sound hella good and are priced in the same range. A good deal all around if you can find one. I find that the YCV series is a lot 'crisper' sounding than the Fender deluxes/blues jr's and the peavey classics, and I like that. Canadian built and they come loaded with Celestions. You pretty much cannot go wrong with a Traynor no matter the era Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Capsule Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 HRD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LSDis4me Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 I would love a vintage Traynor like I previously had, but there's none! 4 hours left:http://www.ebay.com/itm/280901405406?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1431.l2649#ht_852wt_1398 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tom92 Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 If you like Peavey how about the Delta Blues? Out of those two though, I'd go for the HRD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members IRG Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 Are we talking new or used? Probably the HRD for increased headroom, use pedals for dirt. The new III series though are supposed to be quite good, then I might take the Blues Jr. over it. Unless you need the extra power. How about an AC15c1? Still love mine, had it quite a while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members echodeluxe Posted June 24, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 Well, the new Traynor amps are good, not really my thing. Same with the ac15. Incredible amp, but it does one sound really well. I'm talkin used. I usually only buy used. Is love to own one of those amps in that ebay auction one day, but for now I need super portable. A head and a cab would defeat the purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 HRD. I love mine. I've got the 'Red October' edition, with an Eminence Red Coat Wizard. It is light enough to haul in one hand and loud enough to cover a medium sized audience space without reinforcement (I just played an outside show last night with a vocals-only PA and it was more than enough on '7'... I can add a second speaker cab (8Ohms) if I need a little more volume, too (don't have one yet, but might get one...) I like the great clean (Stay glassy, Fender) and the drive channel on the version III is usable for a nice rhythm/classic rock sound. Pedals interact quite well with both channels. and it just looks frackin' cool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El Gallo Negro Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 On the new HRD's, did they take care of that squealing problem on the drive channel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members echodeluxe Posted June 24, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 The squealing was because of cold solder joints on a pair of power resistor. You having issues? I can fix it for you dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members El Gallo Negro Posted June 24, 2012 Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 I'm all good, much appreciated man. I just know that was a common issue on the old ones. I actually swapped my HRD plus 100 bucks for my Vox, been super happy. The new HRD's seem really great though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members echodeluxe Posted June 24, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2012 Oh nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 On the new HRD's, did they take care of that squealing problem on the drive channel? I never encountered that with the HRD I used to use (not mine) in the early 2000's... The only squealing I get out of mine is my bad notes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joeybcdt Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I've been using a modded BJ for a couple of years and loved it. On a wim I bought a Princeton Reverb RI. No comparison. Consider the PRRI as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members delayed delay Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 HRD. More power, bigger box, better sound. This is the first time I STRONGLY disagree with you... Blues Jr sounds 10x better to my ears. I thought the HRD sounded extremely harsh and brittle. The Blues Jr seemed more pedal friendly as well, and while it doesn't have that much low end, it still had a more rounded sound to me. I'm aware the HRD and Blues Jr are supposedly very similar in circuitry, but my ears don't lie to me. Edit: I'm talking about the older ones I guess... didn't know they had severely upgraded them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tom92 Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 Humboldt blues junior might be worth a look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members echodeluxe Posted June 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 Besides the preamp, the amps are different enough. I can pretty much get the same sound out of both, but I have a special place in my heart for the blues Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TravvyBear Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 They're both pretty awesome. I like the HRD reverb a tad better. If it were the III's I'd take a Blues Jr though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 This is the first time I STRONGLY disagree with you... Blues Jr sounds 10x better to my ears. I thought the HRD sounded extremely harsh and brittle. The Blues Jr seemed more pedal friendly as well, and while it doesn't have that much low end, it still had a more rounded sound to me. I'm aware the HRD and Blues Jr are supposedly very similar in circuitry, but my ears don't lie to me. Edit: I'm talking about the older ones I guess... didn't know they had severely upgraded them. With all due respect, I think we could flip that and have pretty much my take on them. The Blues Jr gets all kinds of love around here, and frankly, I've never quite understood why. IMHO, it's a boxy sounding little amp, and not terribly warm or full sounding. In fact, the lack of lows make it sound much thinner than the HRD to my ears. The clean channel of the HRD is more "classic Fender" sounding to me than the Blues Jr. About the only Blues Jr clips that I can actually say I liked were the Pro Guitar Shop Humboldt version. I've never been unhappy to see a HRD coming through my door for me to record... I can't say the same about the Blues Jr. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ILOVEMYFENDER Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 For what it's worth, my blues junior is not a III, but has a different tube setup. 12AX7/12AT7/12AX7 preamp. It adds a lot more headroom and sweetens the overdrive. Edit, after seeing Phil's opinion about the blues junior: mine was like that stock. Boxy and awful and whatnot. Changing the tubes and the speaker (to a greenback clone) made the amp 100 times better. It even takes pedals better now and has a round bottom end. In my mind when I bought the speaker I thought, "oh I love Marshalls and EL84s + greenback obviously equals Marshall tones". I was wrong. Instead, the amp now sounds like a nice mix of Fender cleans and Marshally grit. I have absolutely no issues with the amp other than maybe the reverb tank, which I've learned to like, even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SonicMayhem42 Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I have a HRD III and I love it. It is my first tube amp for playing with a drummer. When I bought it I took a couple of dirt pedals and my Billy Corgan strat in and tried several amps in the same price range and the HRD just handled everything I through at it better than the other amps there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members iamthearm Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 I have a HRD III and I love it. just picked one up for an easy gigging rig, the blues jr breaks up a little to early to pull off the kind of volume i need in a 6 piece band, the HRD III on about 3 gives me pristine cleans at gigging volume and takes pedals extremely well. i may pick up a different speaker down the road but the celestion it came with doesn't suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cryptosonic Posted June 25, 2012 Members Share Posted June 25, 2012 Just buy another jr. Then swap the speaker for a cannyrex, do the twin stack mod and change out the reverb tank for that sweet Ruby unit. You know the drill. And don't sell it this time I have always thought the jr would be a much better sounding amp if ti came with a with a 10 in the same cab. On second thought why not save a bit longer and pick up a PRRI/DRRI or ac15c1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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