Should I sell it all and get a Tweed Blues Jr?

[91xlntS-3]

MM, I've got a BJ and I really like it. I'm going to try using it on a gig in a few weeks. My amp stable contains mostly 40 watt tube amps; Kustom '36 Coupe, Traynor YCV 40, Fender Blues Deluxe, Blues Jr. (15 watts), also have a Fender FM212R, Peavey Bandit 112. I have gigged regularly for the past 35+ years, my problem is my back won't tolerate heavy amps! I don't know if the BJ will give me what I want at stage volume, but we mic thru the PA anyway, so I'm gonna give it a try!

Since the BJ is a single channel, I went with a DigiTech Bad Monkey overdrive pedal to get my "dirt". I've never been big on O.D./Distortion pedals, but I have to say, the B.M. sounds really good in front of the BJ!

I would say that you need to try out one of the Peavey Classic 20's or 30's, but be advised, you can't get a completely clean sound out of the amp; they're made for the preamp to break up a little. I found this out from a Tech at a local Peavey dealer.

I've never tried a PJ, so I don't know how much different it would be; but I'm very pleased with my BJ. BTW tho, mine is a 2000, made in USA and got it for $300 used off the 'bay. But I tried out the BM pedal thru a new BJ and it sounded very good. I think the Master Volume would give you an advantage over the PJ.

Just my opinion, hope you find just what will work for you!

[Tim Armstrong]

I hope y'all will forgive me for repeating myself, but I think this bears repeating...




...you don't have to turn your amp all the way up to get good tone.

A few years back, I had a Music Man HD130 sitting next to my bed, in an apartment, with roommates, and played all kinds of music through it. 130 tube watts! How, you ask? I turned it down. Sounded wonderful. I took it to gigs, and turned it up. It sounded wonderful.

Today, I have a Princeton Reverb and a Traynor Guitar Mate, and I play them here in the house, with my elderly mother watching TV in the next room. How? Yep, you guessed it, I turn them down to the appropriate volume level. They sound GREAT.

Sure, you won't get power tube distortion, but you get every single other good thing about the amps! If you need some distortion, there are really great pedals that do the trick (I particularly dig the Boss DS-1, they don't cost much, or maybe the Bad Monkey, likewise inexpensive).

Trying to buy different amps for different rooms just so you can turn them all the way up is a damned expensive proposition, when you can adjust the output of an amp by turning the volume knob...

Just my two cents...

Tim

[Rumble]

mistermullins,

You and I are moving towards the same point but from different directions. I'm scaling down from a Blues Deville. I was considering a Blues Deluxe. I've kind of written that off though, because I'd have to spend about $400 used and then spend $100 more for a new speaker. Right now I'm looking at a Marshall JTM 30 or 60, a Marshall DSL 401, or a Vox AC15CC. Each can be found for less than $500 used and each has a master volume. The 'British' amps can dial in crunch at low volumes but can also go clean, and they are plenty loud enough to play with a full band as long as they have at least one 12". Some people here will lump these in with the other "junk", but for under 500 bills I've come to the conclusion this is about the best route for me. Maybe you should look at some of these.

[emisilly]

Oops..double post.

[emisilly]

I've played live, in many a bar, big club, etc. (going on 20 years) I've seen a zillion guitarists at these same venues. One thing that is almost universal - very, very, very few of them have PTP custom or vintage amps. Now, I won't argue that most assembly line amps are as good as a hand wired gem, however, they do offer more than adequate tone for the "average" player. Fender HRD? Seen countless of em' on stages. Never saw one spontaneously combust, shoot flames, or in itself make a player sound bad. I know alot of players that have, or have had one. Haven't heard any horror stories thus far. Unreliable? Yea, I guess that's why it is the most sold tube amp IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Hmmm... Lots of em' get repaired? Well, gee I guess that's just the law of large numbers (more out there to break). Example: Hondas are fantastic, super reliable cars. Now go to the dealer service dept. It's packed with broken cars. Wow, those Hondas must really suck. Actually, there's just a bunch of them on the road. In fairness, for the price/tone ratio I would argue that the average tube amps are not junk. Is there better? Of course. Ask anyone...there is always a "better". But c'mon lets not just rudely blast someone for the gear they have. I think it could be worded differently, and showing a bit more respect. Advice is always welcome, but you'll always catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Now, the bang vs. the buck arguement....
-- Most musicians are pretty broke in my expereinces. Lots of guys do it for the love of it all, or just as a hobby. Sure, there are players who make great income (not playing music) and have the ability to plop $2000 down on an incredible amp/custom shop gutiar/$400 overdrive pedal made with moon dust, etc., but this is NOT the norm. Most of us are probably more just plain ol' guys...from blue collar to middle class. I make a good income, but I have a family (2 kids), and alot of grown up responsiblities that take precedent to super kick ass gear. I can't justify spending even $1000 on any piece of gear. Now, if I was a professional musician...now thats when I would have only the best as it would be the purpose of my job. Better tools really do make the job better, but most of us dont have a need for the "best".

In conclusion, (and sorry for the rant) I have always been a little jaded towards the boooteeek and ultra-vintage market due to the level of insulting elitism and cork-sniffing that is out of control among those who shout the loudest. In no way am I implying that anyone who owns or appreciates fantastic, super high quality gear is in this camp (I've owned some incredible gear over the years), but there just seems to be this echelon of guys out there who act like "gear police" that leave a bad taste in my mouth. Ever read some posts on The Gear Page? You'd think it was porn for some of these guys. $50 says 75% play only at home, or the occasional jam. I know guys like that...lovely amp/guitar in the corner..twice a week rub their privates on it..post about it online every other day..laugh at us "lesser, unwashed" masses. No thanks Frasier Crane. My Blues Jr. sounds just fine to me. BTW I spent my hard-eanred money on it to make me happy, and it does, so..I guess that's money well spent. Any oh yeah, I drive a Honda too.

[JStella]

Get something with two speakers. A 2x12 sounds miles deeper than a single 10 or 12 (or 15). I've found that I don't have to play loud at all to get some great sounds out of a 2x12, but I don't like a single 10 (and this is a class A PTP wired from 1952 with a really nice alnico Weber) unless it's dimed. Something about two speakers (or more) really helps with sound quality - everything sounds much more lush. People talk about "moving air" but I think in addition it is the slight difference between the response of the cones that gives depth.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE my little 8 watt dimed, but for home practice I use the 2x12 Peavey Classic with the volume down. It sounds great.

My $.02 anyway...

Peace,
Josh

[amp boy]

Buy a vintage 5F1, or Gibson equivalent "junior" ( 5 watt'rs )
that'll compliment the sound you mentioned you like to play, and REAL vintage vibe to boot from san bernardino county to massapequa falls.
amen, and a hell ya!!!!!!!
rock and roll

[Jake Blues]

That Tweed BJ with the Jensen is a really good sounding amp. Played one and almost bought it 2 summers ago. Does the blues and dirty blues really well. The second best looking Fender amp in my opinion next to the Bassman LTD Reissue.

I didn't buy it because they would not budge on the 529 price tag. Really high! For 150 less I bought a Vox Valvetronix AD 50 2-12 that also does the blues, dirty blues really well. But also does pure clean Jazz, Tele chicken pickin, and metal if you want it. The 30 watt Vox 1-10 is only 239.

If you can go and play the BJ and the Vox and see which one is a better value to your ears. I am certain if most guys were blind folded and played the vox dialed in by someone who knows what they are doing they would choose it over many other amps with higher prices.

I plug my Vox in before my DRRI, BMRI and Blues Deluxe all great sounding amps.

[Joe K]

I have some of the amps mentioned above (Princeton and 5E3) and they sound great at low volumes for blues. Even having them available, my bedroom amp setup is a VibroChamp and Holy Grail reverb pedal. Sometimes I throw an overdrive pedal into the mix.

The VibroChamp volume at 4 with the guitar volume at 8 is a very fine low volume choice IMO.

I'm surprised that you are looking for a Blues Jr when you have the Pro Jr. I like the Blues Jr better but am not sure what it will do for you that you don't have now. If you sell yours though and buy the Blues Junior used, you may have an easy way to upgrade. Many good solutions here.

Pete may be right that the only way to get good crunch at low volumes is a high-quality, ultra low watt amp. I think that even a one watt amp turned up can put out a significant amount of sound though. I've never been able to try a Zvex or Microbaby and would like to one day.

[fezz parka]

Originally Posted by Wally

"This is the promised land calling,
and the poor boy's on the line"

I gotta hear that song tonight.....

It's a baddass song Wally!

[Marshall Thinline]

You may want to look into a used Reverend Goblin 5-15 combo. I belive you can pick them up for under $500

http://www.reverendguitars.com/rever...tc/goblin.html

[Sargeslide]

Well, I hate to be a dissenter, but I have a Tweed BJ, and I love that amp. I gig with it, practice with it, sounds great with different guitars. I have used various pedals, it does take them very well.

Here's the bottom line- I can afford to buy a 3000$ amp, (I work a second job just to save up for things like that)but I use and love a Tweed BJ- It has tones, it is a top seller. Amps like that don't just sell because they are inexpensive, rather, they have GREAT TONES. Which in the end is what it comes down to. Plus, what do you think of the amp, go to GC and plug in. I was sold on it when I saw it used for 300$, I plugged in a 52 RI, tuned to open G, dimed the amp, and hit it- it sang, I walked out with it. I know great tone and this little PC board, one 12, simple amp has it.

Sargeslide

[Califiddler]

I wasn't going to call your current amps junk, but when I read your post I, too, was thinking that what you need is a real amp. I don't care for the BJ. I would suggest that you sell everything but the G-DEC and buy one of the following, from smallest to biggest:

1) SF Vibro Champ - about $350 on ebay
2) Tweed Deluxe clone - you can buy a kit for about $500, or there are folks out there who will build you one from a Marsh kit for about $800, kit included
3) SF Princeton Reverb
4) SF Deluxe Reverb.

The VC is for bedroom only, and the others are giggable, either mic'd or not depending on the situation. If you need to have crunch at bedroom volume, throw a Tube Screamer or some other overdrive pedal in front of the amp.

I know that the SFPR and SFDR are out of your price range, but with either of those plus an OD pedal, you would basically be solving your problems with one amp instead of two.

My $.02, and worth every penny you paid for it!

[petebradt]

Originally Posted by Sargeslide

I know great tone ...

If ya gotta say it...

[eddiewagner]

i could be happy with the g-dec for practicing and the pj. i would put a full set of jj-tubes into the amp and maybe a celestion speaker. don´t make it too complicated mistermullens!

[shakedancer]

Turn the volume down on the PJ, that's the solution!! At home ( when I use it) I never run the volume over 4, and 3 at night.

[mistermullens]

Well, I went to GC today with my Casino, and I actually got there a half hour early due to the time change. Anyway, I walk in and I'm immediately getting compliments on my Casino which is always nice. I'm very excited to try this thing out so I plug in, set the volume on 9 and the master between 2-3. Already I'm getting some great sounds out of this amp. This is a total blues amp and I'm lovin' it! So I tweak the bass, middle, treble, and reverb a bit and it gets even better. Time for a little slide work. I break out the slide, and I'm in tone heaven. All of this with the master volume at 3! I can't believe it. I pause for a moment and a guy comes over and asks me about the amp and compliments me on my playing which is also very nice. After talking for a minute I decided to match the master volume & volume, both at 9. Sweet Moses this thing is AWESOME! I can see why people love this amp so much because it sounds so good. The feedback on my Casino was very controllable. A lot easier it seems than my PJ. As much as I wanted too, I did not buy the amp. Like I said, I've made some hasty purchases in the past so I'm still shopping. This one is going to stay with me. I'm also entertaining the idea of getting a Keeley TS9 Mod Plus. I found a place near work that actually sells the Keeley pedal and the Zvex Nano head. I just hope they have both in stock and if they do I'll be playing them tomorrow. I'll keep you guys posted.

[EasilyAmused]

I have to say, I have a tweed blues junior and while it isn't the best sounding amp I've ever played (or owned) it is a really enjoyable amp. Plus, I have seen numerous really great bands with blues juniors on stage (even some big names) and never have I felt like they had bad tone because of the amp they were using. For the price I think they are great, and here is the biggest reason I have mine:

If you buy it new you get a 5 year warranty with a fender amp (longer than most amps) and practically every music store you walk into carries them so you shouldn't ever have a problem finding someone to honor your warranty who has experience working on a blues junior. Even if I'm on tour, or I move across the country, I know my blues junior is covered.

I've had a number of amps break down on me in the past (including nice handwired ones). And at this point, I frankly don't care if something like a handwired 5E3 clone is easier to work on for an amp tech - if one of those breaks down on me I'm going to have to send it back to the maker if I want warranty work done, or shell out a bunch of money for a local amp tech - and around here, the local amp tech has a 2 month waiting list for non-warranty work and charges an arm and a leg. Plus, for those 2 months I'm going to have to go and rent another amp for any gigs I have - which ads up pretty quickly. Meanwhile, if I buy an amp from a big name manufacturer like fender, and my amp is under warranty, it will be fixed/replaced in less than a week by the store I bought it from and my local shop will rent me an amp for free if I have any shows before they can get the amp fixed (some stores might not be quite that generous, but they do this around my parts).

Basically, I feel that with what these cost, if it can guarentee that for 5 years I always have a solid, working amp that I won't have to put in any money into maintanence (aside from new tubes now and then), then that is a good investment. Of course this is all IMO, but it does work for me.

[mistermullens]

Good point. To be honest, the thought of a warranty never occured to me since I've never had a problem with any of the Fender amps I've owned.

[reverberocket2]

mmullens, sounds like 5-15 watt non-master volume amps are too loud for you to crank up for tube overdrive.

If you like the clean tones on your current amps try the following
using overdrive pedals to get get distorted sounds at lower volume
less sensetive speakers may also let you turn up the amp higher with less volume

Maybe you are a master volume kinda guy -- the Blues Jr. might work out nicely for you

Regarding point-to-point vs. pcb. If you are not gigging/jamming (subjecting the amp to a lot of knocking around in the trunk of a car) pcb should not be a problem.

While point to point wired amps are certainly easier to maintain techs can make repairs to pcb amps and there are plenty of 25+ year old pcb construction Marshalls and Ampegs out there gigging

[del]

if it's good enough for j.j. cale ...