Members RoboCop00 Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 I'm considering buying a Fender Blues Jr. to go along with my Strat (love the tone of the two). I was wondering if the Blues Jr, which is an all tube 15 watt amp, can handle small sized venues. I'm talking bars and the like. Would the sound guy have to mic it up? Anyone have experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Meatball Fulton Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 It all depends on how loud you need to be. I have done plenty of bar gigs with guys using small amps like that, mostly unmiked. Not every gig calls for full stacks and earbleed volume! If it isn't loud enough, then mike it....no big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Will Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 i happen to be a fan of small amps. in fact, the smaller the better, iMHO, particularly with tube amps. With a small amp you can run at high output to get good tube saturation but not be producing ungodly SPL's. When you need more volume than the amp can supply, as Meatball said, mic it and run it through the PA. i also happen to be a big fan of running everything through the PA--vocals, guitars, keys, drums, whatever. The advantage is that it gives you the most control over the FOH sound that you can have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outrider Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 I considered getting the exact same setup. Plenty of experienced, tone-conscious musicians recommended it. I couldn't bring myself to go with a rig that small, and bought a DeVille. It's a monster. I probably shoulda just bought the Junior and a Shure SM57. That would be so much simpler and, most importantly, lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ATOMICDOG1 Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 I have done sound for a guy named Rockie (just signed with Universal records, keep an eye out), he's a country player, used to be Tanya Tuckers touring guitar player. In smaller venues, he uses a Blues Jr tilted back so its aimed at his head. It sounds great, he uses a couple of tele's, a les paul and an old Fender Super Strat. He gets the nice warm tube saturation without the stage volume screwing up the house mix. Of course it helps that he's a tremendous player By the way, I'd skip the SM57 and go for a Sennheiser E609, they are usually around $99, and they sound soooooo much better- warmer, more sensitive and more detailed sound than a 57. plus, you don't have to use a stand, so no added stage clutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hammergjh Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 Originally posted by RoboCop00 I'm considering buying a Fender Blues Jr. to go along with my Strat (love the tone of the two).I was wondering if the Blues Jr, which is an all tube 15 watt amp, can handle small sized venues. I'm talking bars and the like. Would the sound guy have to mic it up?Anyone have experience? That's the exact set up my guitar instructor uses, a '66 Strat and a Blues Jr. Sounds great, no problem w/ volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorrell Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 Depends. If you're the lead guitarist in a loud band with multiple guitar/keyboard players and there's 200 people in the crowd and you can't mic up the amp to the PA... then probably not. If you're in a heavy metal band, then probably not. Anything else, you'll probably get by fine, especially if you can mic it into the PA. It can be very loud plugged it into a 2x12 cabinet with efficient speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted September 20, 2005 Moderators Share Posted September 20, 2005 I gig with a BJ quite frequently. It is plenty loud if you get the right balance of the pre-amp gain and master volume. In some larger rooms, with large enough stages, I run two, splitting the input with a Morley AB-Y box, more for monitoring by the rest of the band than for overall volume. On high or deep rooms, an SM57 to the board is plenty to give you more throw. It all depends on how loud the band will play, and how much clean headroom you want. The BJs don't have a lot of clean headroom, but if you want natural tube distortion at moderate volume, it will deliver. 15 tube watts is IMHO louder and more articulate than 65W solid state, and the over all difference between 15W and 30W or 50W is not that great. I will caution you that the reverb tanks in the BJ are not that great, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members THB Posted September 20, 2005 Members Share Posted September 20, 2005 Originally posted by ATOMICDOG1 By the way, I'd skip the SM57 and go for a Sennheiser E609, they are usually around $99, and they sound soooooo much better- warmer, more sensitive and more detailed sound than a 57. plus, you don't have to use a stand, so no added stage clutter. Great mic. I wish I had one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MrKnobs Posted September 21, 2005 Moderators Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by THB Great mic. I wish I had one. I have a 609, wish I had the 906. Terry D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Europa760 Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 the speaker would probably be crying because its butt hurts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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