Pro Junior Club

[Bryan H]

I'm into simple things and 3 knobs always works better for me than 4. The Boss site has a pretty good demo for all of the Fender pedals. I think I'll like the FRV better as well.

[birv2]

Amen to that. Probably why I play a telecaster (2 knobs), an FRV-1 pedal (3 knobs), and a Pro Jr (2 knobs).

Anything more than that and I start to get confused!

[FredJr]

I'm in - I have a Pro with JJs and a Ragin' Cajun - with my Hardwire Reverb & Tremolo pedals it's my poor boy Princeton Reverb RI.

[mistermullens]

As it turns out, Guitar Center has a used PJr and a new PJr III in stock so I'm going to A/B them today. In typical GC fashion, the used one is only $30 less than the new one.

[Big Steve]

Here is my amp rehoused. I put it into a Tweed Bassman 4x10 cabinet. I put two CTS Alnico speakers from the 60's and two Fender Blue Alnico from the 90's. I had BillM do a few minor mods and put one of his Heybor transformers in it. It sounds amazing.

[nosuch]

I had a Pro jr. a couple of years ago, loved the sound but hated the hissing. I'm wondering if the new version really fixed that problem.
Anyone already has one?

[TexGoneNW]

There have been noise issues reported & trouble-shot in the TDPRI forum. Not an uncommon problem, but not one that can't be licked. Hissing can be calmed down with tube swaps.

Matter of fact, the PJ is a good "lab" for hearing what you can get out of different versions of preamp tubes in the gain stage. I've settled on the GE JAN 5751 in the gain stage, with excellent results.

[therecordfable]

Originally Posted by TexGoneNW

There have been noise issues reported & trouble-shot in the TDPRI forum. Not an uncommon problem, but not one that can't be licked. Hissing can be calmed down with tube swaps.

Matter of fact, the PJ is a good "lab" for hearing what you can get out of different versions of preamp tubes in the gain stage. I've settled on the GE JAN 5751 in the gain stage, with excellent results.

I use two NOS 5751 five stars in my Mazerati and they are killer.
My Pro Jr isn't that noisy it has your typical amp hiss but no biggie.
I might try a 5751 in there could be fun. All the tubes are JJ in there now and they are great. I run it stereo with my Mazerati version one, mainly for stereo effects but when used for crunch it's a match made in heaven... Great amp IMHO. The Pro Jr needs to be turned up to get her going. Turn any amp up like that and there will be hiss. I use a BOSS NS-2 in my chain and the hiss is minimal at best. I also removed the tube dampeners which helped lessen vibration noise. Steve that amp looks great!!!

[mistermullens]

Well, I got to A/B the used and new PJr III at GC and I liked the new one better. I probably liked the new one better because there was definitely something wrong the used one. I didn't hear any hum or rattles, and it breaks up nicely around "5." Might be a little too much OD for me, but that could be because I'm used to playing a Super Reverb. I really liked it though. The improvements Fender made to the amp, while minimal, were much needed. Especially having the numbers on the dial facing the right direction. As I suspected, I wasn't crazy about the speaker. I've discovered that I prefer alnico over ceramic speakers. Both sounded very similar, but the issue with the used PJr affected the sound a good bit. It could have had a blown speaker. I definitely appreciated the amp more this time around than when I owned one originally. Can do blues, and especially rock, really well. I thought it was just OK for country. It truly is a grab-n-go amp. Cool amp, but still not sure if I'll get one unless I can get a price too good to be true. Think I'll play a few more before I make my final decision.

[Big Steve]

Originally Posted by mistermullens

Can do blues, and especially rock, really well. I thought it was just OK for country. It truly is a grab-n-go amp. Cool amp,

I would agree with this. This thing does the edge of breakup and growl tones really well. If you turn down the volume knob on the guitar, you can get it to clean up nicely. But it probably wouldn't be my first choice for straight ahead country.

[Jcn3]

in the constant quest to reduce the noise of my pj, i put a 12ay7 in v2 and left a 12ax7 in v1. voila! radically reduced noise throughout the range of the volume control! also cleaned up the sound (yes i do like it clean).

i've only read a little about the 12ay7 in v2 -- anyone else found the same success?

[Kalebima]

I'm getting kind of fed up with my pro junior. It gives such nice tones with my tele, but with my jazz box it sounds absolutely terrible. Feedback, flat tone, all that bad stuff...

[jrblue]

Interesting to hear the varied comments about PJ tone. In my experience (lots), this amp is easily tweaked to deal with virtually everything mentioned... just read back through the thread. Misc. noises can be dialed out pretty well. Headroom and tone are super-responsive to tube selection, and like many on the forum, I have used 5751s, various 12AX7s, AU7s, and others, and the combination and order make a wonderful difference. But if you don't want to screw around with tone shaping via tube swapping, then dump the PJ and truy something else, because it's definitely the case that some of them, and some guitar/PJ combinations, can be crap. I love mine -- it's all tweaked (info all over the web) to fit what I want, and it really delivers. And yes, Jeff Beck's live tone (that is, his infinite range of tones) is a miked PJ. I'll post some pix of my modded PJ here when I get a chance, as I've not only done the circuit mods, but have also recoved it in a really cool way. And, finally, to the guy who asked if the stock speaker blows fast, my answer is: absofrickingtively. Mine crapped out at totally moderate levels, and many others have had the same experience. Maybe the new ones have better speakers. the good news? Almost any replacement will sound lots better than the P.O.S. stock speaker.

[Telegator47]

Hey guys. Have a mid 90's tweed american PJ. Have not done any mods except some tube swapping. My amp tech says don't change a thing...and I have no real desire to as it runs quiet and sounds great. What is your opinion on the original american tweed speakers from the mid 90's - the blue one. I have heard that those are keepers...and I like mine so it's staying....just asking. thanks

[colchar]

I am considering pulling the trigger on a PJ if I like it after test-driving it. The store I deal with was out of stock so they ordered one in for me to try out but, before it arrives, I wanted to ask a couple of questions here.

First, does the PJ sound significantly different from the Blues Jr.? I tried a Blues Jr. with my Les Paul and didn't like it all that much so I am hoping the PJ sounds different.

Second, how well does it handle pedals? I am assuming it handles them quite well but figured I might as well ask as I will only be using it at home and will therefore have to use pedals for breakup/distortion as I won't be able to crank it to get it to break up on its own.

Third, would you say the PJ is American voiced like other Fenders, more British voiced than Fenders usually are, or is it voiced somewhere in between?

Fourth, does anyone here play theirs with a Les Paul and, if so, what do you think of the combination of the amp and the guitar?

Any other info anyone wants to give me would be appreciated as well. I'm going to read through this thread now but figured I might as well ask my specific questions all in one post since some of the info in this thread is rather old.

[tlimbert65]

I'm in the club. Picked up a used MIM one (circuit board says 2002, if that means anything) for $200. It's in near new condition, totally stock and original, and sounds great so far. Sounds great clean, sounds great cranked, sounds great with all my pedals (particularly the BD-2). I'm in heaven.

I will say that I like it much better with my CV50 Tele than with my Ibanez AS73. With the humbuckers, it's much darker sounding, and breaks up much earlier.

Mine doesn't seem to have issues with hum or hiss or microphonics that I've seen referenced a lot on here (knock on wood).

Regarding reverb, I'm finding that I like the sound of a little slapback delay better than adding reverb. A couple other people mentioned the same thing, I think.

Really enjoying the PJ so far!

[Tee1]

Quick question for you PJ owners.

I find my BJr goes thin and shrill at higher volumes when you add most dirt pedals (unless you specifically eq or have a dark OD pedal). Does anyone find this the case with the Pro Junior? Does it thin out at higher levels with OD pedals?

[therecordfable]

Originally Posted by Tee1

Quick question for you PJ owners.

I find my BJr goes thin and shrill at higher volumes when you add most dirt pedals (unless you specifically eq or have a dark OD pedal). Does anyone find this the case with the Pro Junior? Does it thin out at higher levels with OD pedals?

The Blues Junior and Pro Junior are two totally different animals. IMHO
I could never get into the BJr for this very reason. The Pro holds up well to pedals but I use them very little with it. I use the Full Drive 2 Mosfet sparingly.

[Tee1]

Thanks. I'm glad it's not just me then.

My interest in one of the new PJs is rising, as i do like to use a boost or dirt. I'm guessing it's the extra signal path in the BJ perhaps that messes with things?

[therecordfable]

Originally Posted by Tee1

Thanks. I'm glad it's not just me then.

My interest in one of the new PJs is rising, as i do like to use a boost or dirt. I'm guessing it's the extra signal path in the BJ perhaps that messes with things?

Ya it's cool like the notes are right there when you play, they jump out at you. The BJ had too much sag for me. Simple design simple sound. My Dr Z V1 Mazerati is a simple design as well and it sounds great.FWIW