Any opinions on Fender Pro Junior?

[YorkeFan06]

http://www.fender.com/products/show.php?partno=0213203000

I was looking through Fender amps because one of my heroes [Tommy Walter] plays a HotRod DeVille. Thats a tad out of my price range, but I found this amp and its in the same category as the DeVille.

I intend to use it for clean stuff and some alternative rock [Abandoned Pools, Radiohead]. I love my Randall and everything but I'm sure there some clean/Tommy Walter tone I can get out of a tube amp and not my Randall. Volume is not an issue, as the next thing I plan on getting is a cabinet, but I don't need one right now.

Anyone played one of these or have any opinions just by looking at the specs? Any imput would be appreciated.

Also, I've never had a tube amp before. Do they require any special attention or anything? Like, constant cleaning or something?

[wsaraceni]

i own one. its great. i have a boss ds-1 when i need the distortion. great. awesome. go buy one today.

[Dan O]

i own one too. it's amazing. i love it. it sounds spectacular. i couldn't have asked for a better amp. about your last question about tube amps...with my experience, no. tubes might have to be replaced every now and then, but i've never had any problems with cleaning and such.

now go out, get one, and crank that mo fo up!

[Mark]

I too have one. I don't like it at all. I think it's sounds very boxy and one dimensional.

[Dash_Doc]

Here is a recent thread with some comments on the PJ

http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/showthread.php?p=9892#post9892

[Thomas Hebert]

My buddy has one, and I think it is a great amp. You will be hard pressed to find more usable tones in a tube amp at that price point. Doesn't do the loud clean, but who likes clean anyway? ;)

[MarkU]

Mine is great. The closest amp to an old tweed Harvard that I've found.



Mark

[George Johnson]

A few years ago, a friend came to my studio and walked right by a Blackface Fender, an early 70's Marshall stack and
a Vox, only to see a PJ miked up and ready to go. With a puzzled look he asked what had gotten into me. I played him the
track that I'd been working on and the puzzled look disappeared.

He owned one shortly thereafter. GREAT little amp. :cool:

[PaulO]

Mark -


I too thought the Pro Jr was boxy and one dimensional ... then I put a reverb pedal in front of it and it really came to life for the clean tones. Try that sometime .....

Paul

[Marty McFly]

I used to have a Blues Junior, upgraded to a Deluxe Reverb Reissue, then switched brands over to a Traynor YCV 40T and actually saved money and like the tones much better.

I wish I had started with the Traynor YCV-20, which is in a similar world as the Pro Junior, but with more features. I'd at least check out the reviews on harmony-central. The new Traynor amps are great and very affordable if you like a Fender clean sound, with a second channel for gain.

[johnreardon]

I have the PJ's bigger brother, a Blues Junior, which is amazing. I play nearly all gigs with just the BJ and, sometimes, a 1x12 ext cabinet by Torres. The tones I can get with my guitars are superb. I haven't tried a PJ, however, some friends who have, were impressed. A BJ is more versatile with extra controls and a 12 inch speaker, however, it is dearer.

I have had the BJ for just over a year and it doesn't really need any particular maintenance. Perhaps be a bit more careful when loading into vehicles than say with a solid state amp. I occasionally check that all valves are tight in their slots, as they can sometimes work loose.

I have changed the valves to Harma ones, but only did this because a shop in the UK was doing a bargain deal for BJ's at the time, and I wanted to have some spares.

Check out the Fender Forum, for good discussions about all of Fender's amps.
http://www.fenderforum.com/

[Jon Silberman]

I had a BJ for about 6 mo. If others like this amp, more power to ya. I thought it truly was the worst-sounding amp I've ever owned. Did alot of things but nothing particularly well. Look at the internet forums and you'll see a ton of posts with people experimenting with different tubes and speakers in the amp, often the same person trying multiple arrangements repeatedly to try to get the amp to sound better, usually to no avail - a boxy sounding little amp is a boxy sounding little amp.

The PJ, on the other hand, that one I like quite a bit. It's one-dimensional - don't expect usable clean tones at jam volumes - but put a HB axe through one and you're in the ballpark of a fully cranked tweed Bassman: fat & full (but at a much lower volume). My pal Vic Tynes gigs with his at small venues all the time for blues gigs and sounds great. The big difference between the BJ and PJ, circuitwise, is the way the preamp is configured, the PJ is today's version of the classic tweed Champ setup. Listen to Eric Clapton on From the Cradle if you want to hear how fine that tone is for blues!

I have this on the way now, a PTP, 2XEL84 '70's Traynor YGM-3, 2XEL84, trem and reverb, built like a tank for about $100 less than a new BJ. In fact, UPS shows it's on a truck leaving Baltimore now! :)

http://i22.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/90/12/6b_3.JPG

http://i11.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/90/63/a9_3.JPG

[johnreardon]

It's great that we all have different likes and dislikes. In defence of the BJ, all I can say, is that I have only changed the valves, mainly to get a spare set, and wherever I play, people remark on the fantastic tone and volume, I get from such a small amp.

There are a lot of people on the Fender Forum who tweak the BJ to try and get the 'perfect' tone. This is not because the stock BJ is so bad, tweakers will always tweak, whatever the amp. Most of them will admit that the amp was very good from the start, they are just trying to reach heaven.

The BJ is one of the best amps I have ever owned, and I have had AC30's and Marshall's in the 60's. This amp is not as loud, but up with them for tone. The PJ is also in the same league. PJ or BJ, you can't fail.

[Jo]

I recently bought the Blues Junior (as I wanted the reverb) but I have to say I'm not really happy with the sound. I've been waiting for the speaker to break in, but at this rate as I don't really play it loud it's going to take forever.

It's got the Fender Eminence speaker in it and it sounds harsh and brittle. I have the bass on full and the treble near to nothing and it still sounds a bit yek. I'll probably try a speaker and tube swap and see if that helps.

For now, I have to think that my cheapie solid state Fender Champion 110 (a 25 watter) sounds a whole lot nicer, except as soon as you start to crank it up it sounds like crap.

[johnreardon]

Jo


the speaker does take a while to break in. Not sure what sort of sound you want, however, I normally use one of the following settings when playing my Strat or CU24. For my Les Paul, I usually drop the bass down a bit, or take the FAT switch out. Not brittle for me:

Clean

Reverb 5
Master 12
Middle 4
Bass 6
Treble 9
Volume 2
FAT Switch in

Blues
Reverb 5
Master 2-3
Middle 5
Bass 6
Treble 9
Volume 5
FAT Switch in

[Jon Silberman]

Jo, all I can do is advise you based on my own experience with that amp. Don't do what I did and waste time and money chasing something that's just not in that box. Cut your losses now, replace the amp with something better. E.g., the 20W current production Traynor. Or even (as I did) a Reverend amp (although they're 40 watters - don't believe the advertising, it's 40W, not 60 - the master volume is so usable it'll work for you anywhere a BJ would).

[Jo]

Jo, all I can do is advise you based on my own experience with that amp. Don't do what I did and waste time and money chasing something that's just not in that box. Cut your losses now, replace the amp with something better. Now Jon, you know that's exactly what I DIDN'T want to hear :( .... but you've got me thinking now, you may be right. Good point! Hmmmmmm! ;)

[Aldwyn]

Now Jon, you know that's exactly what I DIDN'T want to hear :( .... but you've got me thinking now, you may be right. Good point! Hmmmmmm! ;)
Trade ya a Peavey Bandit 60w 112 for it! :D

Peace,
Aldwyn

[Gil Hegwood]

I had one for about a year, and I, too, found it to be quite sterile sounding. I had a Fender reissue tube reverb that would make it sound great when used with a strat, but my tele and PRS sounded horrible through the same setup (go figure). The only other guitar it liked was a Danelectro 56 U2 - with the amp dimed, it was pretty good for doing Link Wray imitations.

[Aldwyn]

I had a BJ for about 6 mo.


I am not going to touch this one with a ten foot pole.

Ok, I will...

You are one lucky man, Jon! :D

Ok, dirty mind aside...



I have this on the way now, a PTP, 2XEL84 '70's Traynor YGM-3, 2XEL84, trem and reverb, built like a tank for about $100 less than a new BJ. In fact, UPS shows it's on a truck leaving Baltimore now! :)

http://i22.ebayimg.com/03/i/01/90/12/6b_3.JPG


And it's little (but taller) brother!

http://www.mdpagans.com/aldwyn/traynor.jpg

Sweet deal on your PTP!

Peace,
Aldwyn

[YorkeFan06]

Eh, I'm thinking about getting a Marshall AVT20 instead :p Thanks for all of the imput though.

[Jo]

Eh, I'm thinking about getting a Marshall AVT20 instead :p Thanks for all of the imput though.Have we scared you off the Blues Jr/Pro Jr? ;)

Isnt the AVT20 a solid state amp tho', with just a tube for the pre-amp?

[Dan O]

Yes, the AVT20 is a tranny with a tube preamp. I had an AVT50 but traded it in because it just could not cut through the mix. Sounded decent, but has its limits.

[johnreardon]

You can't really compare an AVT20 with the PJ or BJ. I have an AVT150, for use on occasional outside gigs and it can sound weak and tinny, compared to my BJ.

[Random]

I remember seeing a post on this site or perhaps TGP that had a link to a site specializing in upgrades/mods that could be done to the Blues Jr.

Looked like a good site for this specific amp. Wish I still had the link.

Anyone have that link?

[Jo]

I remember seeing a post on this site or perhaps TGP that had a link to a site specializing in upgrades/mods that could be done to the Blues Jr.

Looked like a good site for this specific amp. Wish I still had the link.

Anyone have that link?
This one? (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/machrone/bluesjunior.htm)
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/machrone/bluesjunior.htm

[johnreardon]

Yep that's the site. Bill is probably the World expert on BJ's. The best site for BJ, and all Fender stuff, is:

http://www.fenderforum.com/

Bill's site is dedicated purely to BJ modifications and his Formicaster guitar. In his words it is 'A hollowbody made of Formica. It looks like the illegitimate offspring of a Les Paul and a kitchen counter. It has series-wired Strat pickups with individual volume controls'

check out:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/machrone/

I must stress that I have NOT carried out any of his mods and my amp sounds great. Not sure if the European amps are any different to the US

[Random]

Yes, thats it. Very Cool. Thanks. I've always though the BJr was a nice small package to haul around. It would nice to make one into a tone monster (or maybe add a trem on that third pentode(?).

Thanks you guys and gals are great.

BG

[Old Fuzzface]

I haven't owned one, but I heard John's Blues Junior last weekend and it sounds extremely good (& loud).

Maybe they aren't all as good as that one, so try before you buy must be the order of the day.

[johnreardon]

I haven't owned one, but I heard John's Blues Junior last weekend and it sounds extremely good (& loud).

Maybe they aren't all as good as that one, so try before you buy must be the order of the day.
Thanks Ian, it was really the 'boogie box' I had hidden in the extension cabinet, not the BJ;)

Seriously, I agree, it's the same as with guitars, try before you buy