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blues jr or pro jr


dysorexia

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I'm debating on which of these two amps to get. I don't want to bother asking the amp thread, I'd rather not get remarks from tools. Anyways, I have a reverb pedal that use constantly (to get spacey sounds from) I'd like to spend my money in the best way possible. I play many different styles so I'd like to be versatile and take pedals well. Would it be worth it to upgrade to a hot rod or stay at pro jr/blues jr level?

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I would stick with the Pro/Blues unless you really need tones of headroom.

 

I would suggest going with the Pro Jr. unless you really feel you need the extra tone stack and the master volume of the Blues Jr. I have the Blues myself but I think the 10" speaker in the Pro is better suited for this sort of amp...especially if you want to run it overdriven a lot.

 

Either way you can't really go wrong...just don't pay full price for a new one...$400 for a Blues Jr. is a RIPOFF. I paid $250 for mine new a few years ago, and they've moved production to Mexico since then. :rolleyes: Look for a used on in good condition. :thu:

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I paid AUD$850 for mine a few years ago. See what bastards Fender Australia are :mad:

 

Anyway, almost any music shop is bound to have both these units on the floor for you to try out and gague by your own ears which you prefer. The Blues Jr has a reputation for being boxy sounding (the cab is too small to really let the 12" breath) and the Pro Jr has (had?) rattle issues. The Blues also annoying sounds different depending on where you standing in relation to the amp. Set it up to your tastes standing right in frount of it, then move 20 paces back and it'll sound much brighter and brittler. In terms of versatility the Blues jr, with a master vol and 3-band EQ is the winner.

 

If you think you might ever perform then it might be worthwhile getting a HRD.

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I would suggest going with the Pro Jr. unless you really feel you need the extra tone stack and the master volume of the Blues Jr. I have the Blues myself but I think the 10" speaker in the Pro is better suited for this sort of amp...especially if you want to run it overdriven a lot.

 

 

I'm starting to think that too (I own a Blues Junior). I'm thinking of selling mine for a Pro Junior, maybe the tweed one if they still have them around. How does the "Clean-to-Drive" volume work?

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I'm starting to think that too (I own a Blues Junior). I'm thinking of selling mine for a Pro Junior, maybe the tweed one if they still have them around. How does the "Clean-to-Drive" volume work?

 

I'm probably going to pop a 10" speaker in mine eventually. It does great for low to medium volume stuff but when you really turn it up it can get flubby in the bottom end. Since I'm just using at hom its really not a problem though.

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I'd always felt it was more the master volume & extra tone stacks that restricted the Blues Jr's tone. The Hot Rod Deluxe has the exact same problem despite the larger cabinet. That said, the Hot Rod Deville with 4x10"s is very open sounding & chimey.

Anyway, here's a vote for the Pro Jr, it's a gas to play & records beautifully.

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I'd always felt it was more the master volume & extra tone stacks that restricted the Blues Jr's tone. The Hot Rod Deluxe has the exact same problem despite the larger cabinet. That said, the Hot Rod Deville with 4x10"s is very open sounding & chimey.


Anyway, here's a vote for the Pro Jr, it's a gas to play & records beautifully.

 

Maybe so. There are some simply mods for the tone stack that supposedly make it sound much better. I thought the Blues Jr. sounded a lot better than the HRD when I had both FWIW.

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yeah I think I'm going to look into a pro jr just because my friends BJ didn't have the best speaker (I'm eventually going to swap it out with a weber) and the reverb tank always got {censored}ed up. I'm just looking to save some cash, so I can get some sweet effects.:eek:

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The silverface Princeton I just got kicks ass. You might want to try to find silverface champ, vibro champ or bronco too.

A princeton is definitely a sweeter amp. :thu: Champ would be killer as well.

 

And yes...the reverb on the Blues Jr. sucks.

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get a blues jr and do the billm tone stack and bias mods. why fender doesn't ship the amp this way i don't know. what i do know is that it sounds like a vintage blackface fender amp that didn't hurt my wallet too much. you can do the mods yourself if you have a soldering iron (even a n00b like me can do it). it's like owning a different, better amp after the mods.

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The silverface Princeton I just got kicks ass. You might want to try to find silverface champ, vibro champ or bronco too.

 

+1 :thu:

 

i love my princeton. although i have thought about selling it to get a DRRI. i just have the nagging feeling that after i sell it i'll realize it was a big mistake.

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+1
:thu:

i love my princeton. although i have thought about selling it to get a DRRI. i just have the nagging feeling that after i sell it i'll realize it was a big mistake.



You'd be better off buying the DRRI first and then decide if you like it more.

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i love my princeton. although i have thought about selling it to get a DRRI. i just have the nagging feeling that after i sell it i'll realize it was a big mistake.

 

 

It will be. Older Princeton's are going to keep going up in value so you may end up paying more for it later if you find you want to get one back.

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+1
:thu:

i love my princeton. although i have thought about selling it to get a DRRI. i just have the nagging feeling that after i sell it i'll realize it was a big mistake.

I'm yeah you're a foot if you sell the Princeton. If you feel you really need the DRRI just save up for it and buy one. They're easy as hell to come buy on the used market for $550 and if you get lucky you can score them for less than that. I don't think you can get a better practice amp than the Priceton/Princeton reverb, especially since they can also hang in a band situation if you don't mind a little grit all the time. :thu:

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I agree. You should go this route.
:thu:

It just depends if he can spend the extra money to get one of the vintage Fenders. Princetons are well over 500 bucks most of the time, Princeton Reverbs even more...and Champs/Vibro champs are in the 300-450 range these days. Well worth it if you can get one that doesn't need any work, but that's not always the case with some people.

FWIW I would pay no more than $300 for a BJ and $250 for a PJ...and make sure to give it a good test run and turn it up nice and loud and listen for rattles or other issues. And if its an older Blues Jr. be aware that if you turn the reverb up past 2 its going to introduce some additional noise...but the reverb is crap so you wouldn't want to do that anyways. :thu:

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I'm debating on which of these two amps to get. I don't want to bother asking the amp thread, I'd rather not get remarks from tools. Anyways, I have a reverb pedal that use constantly (to get spacey sounds from) I'd like to spend my money in the best way possible. I play many different styles so I'd like to be versatile and take pedals well. Would it be worth it to upgrade to a hot rod or stay at pro jr/blues jr level?

 

 

My subjective opinion.

I'd go for the pro jr.

I prefer a cleaner path which means less EQ and I never use reverb. I have a few 1x12" cabs if I need something different from the Pro jr's 10" speaker.

But, that is me, the fewer knobs on the amp means less chance I'll screw things up. I also feel the Pro jr. sound a less muddy than the Blues jr.

Again, very subjective here.

Bb

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My rig is a Blues Jr. and Pro Jr. in stereo. Sounds huge. I got both used for maybe $500 total.

 

If I ever spot a stupid cheap deal on a Pro Jr. I just might have to put it in stereo with my BJ. Or have the BJ do cleans and the PJ do dirt...oh the possibilities.

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