New Superchamp X2 or 2008ish Blue Jr?

I owned a BJR for years and never liked it. Boxy, farty, thin, muddy etc. -- all kinds of negative adjectives no matter which way I turned the settings. I bought it new when I was young and thought I had to have a tube amp. I kept it because I didn't think I'd get much for it in a trade towards a better amp. A few years ago, I bought a used PRRI and out went the BJR. No regrets.

That being said, I did try out the SCX2 at a local jam (while I still owned the BJR) and really liked the clean channel. A while later, I tried one out at a local store and almost bought it as a knockabout amp for jams, except I already had the PRRI and a Peavey Bandit.

Long story short, I'd go with the SCX2 over the BJR myself.

 

I agree. I did a speaker change when I owned a BJR but when that didn't make much of a difference, I realized it could quickly become a money pit. If modding/improving amps is your thing, then it might be worth it. I just wanted it to make sounds that I liked at gigs, jams, sessions, etc.

 

The VHT 12/20 is a fantastic option for Fender tone on the cheap. Those are truly in the neighborhood of a Deluxe right out of the box. It's not quite "hand wired" or "point to point" even though I've seen it called both, but still far more repairable or mod-able than an average PCB amps. Brilliant for what they cost, though I wish as easy to find as the Special 6 which is also good but much smaller.

I've been auditioning amps for 20+ years now and have owned an embarrassing number of Blues Juniors (three that I can remember, two on purpose) considering I'm certain they suck hard. This is subjective preference and my experience/opinion only, others like and can work with them and they're not wrong. But I think they're not real Fender-y at all, neither tweedy nor BF/SF, run EL84s and too hard, are built too cheap and too heavy, and they're $600 now which is ridiculous. That money can get you into a vintage amp, or a clean reissue/clone, with real... ahem, traditional... construction.

 

I've got three in that price range. My entirely subjective opinion is.....

Good


Better


Best