I’m thinking of getting a second amp - something not overly large, and something classic looking.
I quite like the look of a Fender Blues Junior in lacquered Tweed, but have only heard them in video demos so far.
I’m only after something for home use, that I can pop a couple of pedals in front of - got a bigger amp with a Helix for Sunday best.
In the course of my research into them, I discovered a company called Rat Valve Amps in Cornwall who do loads of mods to them.
https://www.ratvalveamps.com/fender-blues-juniorSurely, for an amp so popular...they can’t be as bad out the box, as that website makes out, right?
My thinking is that if I needed to spend another £500 to make the amp better, I should just buy a better amp to begin with.
So, my questions are:
1. Are they THAT bad to begin with?
2. Would some/all of the mods listed on the website, make it loads better?
3. What are viable alternatives (similar footprint, low power for home use, takes a couple of pedals well?)
Seen recommendations for Marshall Origin 20 and I’m already feeling a bit ‘meh’ with what I’ve heard.
Might be tempted by non-valve too....Peavey Bandit or maybe a Blues Cube?
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That said they are better at low volumes where you can dial the mids out, which you can’t as much at higher volume where the boxy-sounding cabinet overrides everything.
The build quality isn’t great either - in particular the pots and jack are flimsy, and they also have a bit of a tendency to catch fire due to poor PCB design, although Fender have finally started to do something about that.
Personally I probably wouldn’t even look at a valve amp these days for low-volume use, given what else is available. I even prefer my nearly 20-year-old Peavey Studio Pro to most small valve amps.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
i like the sound of blues juniors but already have a valve amp at home.
If if you want to drive the amp to break up at home you need small like a 1 watt black star. I think a larger valve amp,Princeton or AC10 with pedals sounds better than driving a small amp, and better than the katana but I don't need any pedals with that which is appealing.
It has bumped a Princeton Reverb II back into storage - similar footprint but sounded a bit dull when A/B'ed together. Both are too loud for family life though - I just plug into a THR10 for quiet practice
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
In my opinion they are OK at lowish volume. I played through one at a gig at then end of last year and it was not a great experience to be honest.
What are Bassbreakers like then? Can’t seem to find anything online about them being ropey. I played one at PMT in Cambridge a couple of years ago...rather good, but I was focussed more on the guitar I bought.
It gives the ‘Feel” of a valve amp, nobody could ever tell you it didn’t sound like one.
The thing it doesn’t have is as much dynamic range which I think makes it better at home than any valve amp as you don’t have sudden spikes in volume whilst jamming to tracks etc.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
I’d also look at @icbm ‘s suggestion of a small Vox. My (admittedly limited) experience of them is that they sound good, and are surprisingly loud.
Rift Amplification
Brackley, Northamptonshire
www.riftamps.co.uk