OK Guitar guys,,,, I need a small guitar amp. What should I get?!

[Nevelicious]

I am looking for a 1x12 or smaller amp with some huge clean tones and some vintage burn to her + a great verb. I have been out of the loop for awhile and have not heard too much so I need some suggestions on what to look at. I actually heard a Fender Blues Junior that sounded good... this is the Jensen equipped one. Any others that I should check out..... I play classic era feeling rock, blues, jazz and funk.

NO HEAD/CABs please... just a small combo.

[largeunit]

how about a late 50's fender tweed?

[Sammas]

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAM...l/PR/RM20.html

[Kenny Gioia]

The Fender Blues Junior is a really great amp.

I use mine for everything but the really heavy stuff.

It just sounds like a guitar amp.

Put a 57 about 2 feet away and plug in the Neve.

No reverb though.

[Nevelicious]

Quick question, is the verb that I am hearing on the BOGNER site really the onboard verb or is it an outboard effect? I was checking out the Metropolis and the Shiva....

I really am in love with that type of verb though....

[Nevelicious]

Actually the Blues Junior has a spring reverb to it. I really was impressed with the little bugger. It sounded fantastic for the $$$.

[Kenny Gioia]

You're right.

I was talking about the Fender Pro Junior. (not Blues)

[bobby yarrow]

Pro Junior records very nicely, as does a Blues Junior with a better speaker. Around here, my little gibson amp sees a lot of duty -- a GA15 run at 7 watts with an alnico speaker.

[Coldsnow]

Anyone compared the Peavey classic 30 to the Fender Blues Jr. ?I've heard the Classic 30 and thought it sounded very nice, but have not got to try the Blues Jr.

[stealthbalance]

you may want to check out a fender pro jr.

s

[Kenny Gioia]

I think the Peavy is probably better for really clean stuff.

The Fender shines on the slightly dirty stuff.

[alphajerk]

Originally posted by Produceher
You're right.

I was talking about the Fender Pro Junior. (not Blues)

yes yes.!!! this amp is SO EASY to record. i love it when i get clients in with one.

[Bosco]

A blackface Princeton Reverb has the great Fender tone at moderate levels for recording.You can also look at the silver face up to 1973,CBS did not change anything in these amps as they where thought of as "student amps".

If you want more balls find a blackface Deluxe Reverb...

The late 50's Tweed Deluxe (5E3 circut) has the Marshall tone at moderate levels,pick up both and you will have the bases covered.

BT

[brownmouse]

i think randall just came out with a 30 watt mts combo that may be worth checking out. you can buy modules as you go along.
joshua

[DAWgEAR]

I own a Blues Jr. and it's a great little amp for the price. You won't get crystaline cleans, blackface tones, or harder distortion, but it does the in-between crunch and bluesey sounds well.

An even more versatile combo would be a Rivera R-30 or R-55. Great Marshall tone on channel 1 and pretty good Fender tones on channel 2. I own an R-55 and it has a decent reverb; I dunno about the R-30 as the R-30 has a few less features.

[Pohaku]

The blackface fender stuff (and the tweed models) are nice, but have gotten real pricey. A silver face champ is still decent and affordable. If you want that overdriven sound, some of the Rivera designed Fender II models (Princeton II, Champ II, Deluxe II) are still somewhat reasonable (although escalating). The Super Champ is nice but the price has really gotten up there. Rivera has recently come out with a comparable model under his own label which is quite nice and worth looking into.

[indie]

Pro jr. great amp under $250-no verb/1x10 inch spkr. 15 watt

Dr.Z Maz 18 jr. Smokin amp $1350-nice verb 1x12 combo. 18 watt sounds like 25

Bad Cat Cub II the ultimate low wattage 1x12 combo $2000 w/verb 15 watt sounds like 30.

Micah

[aapee]

Hi!

Do you a favor and order that La Mesera... I have one in my studio and it has been "my dreams come true".

http://www.leviatech.fi/monsteramps/fi/amps.html

Respect,

AaPee

[neve1073]

i'd add an ac15 and a blackface original fender deluxe (even though pricey) to your shortlist.

[studjo]

I love my Peavey Classic 30 (a mix between Marshall and Fender IMO)


Jo

I have a Pro Junior and a Zinky Blue Velvet and I can cover almost all bases. I still need to find a 12" combo that does the Mesa thing nice.

So, I second the Fender and add a Zinky.

The Zinky can do the Vox clean and Mashalli Brown very well.

D

[HudHudson]

Originally posted by Coldsnow
Anyone compared the Peavey classic 30 to the Fender Blues Jr. ?I've heard the Classic 30 and thought it sounded very nice, but have not got to try the Blues Jr.

I loved the Classic 30, it was closer to a Vox than to a Fender IMO (EL84s in both). Nice ringing clean tones, smooth distortion and that mid-boost button was killer. Had to replace the tubes from the git-go as those from the factory were microphonic and you could hear them rattle when I cranked it up.

[Marlowe]

I am also looking for a small tube recording amp. How do the old Fender Champs rank against the Pro Jr.?

[mr. T]

Anything by Allesandro. I have had an enormous amount of amps ('62 Vox AC15, '64 Bassman, lot's of Mesa in the 90's, CAE OD100 and 3+SE, Bruno Underground 30, Matchless Chief and the list goes on). i have grown tired of them all. The moment I tried the Allesandro Black'n'tan I was sold. Touchreponsive, dynamic, few knobs, audiophile construction, choice of EL34/KT66/6L6, low noise (!!!!!). It's only 18 watts, but I've used at smaller venues (600-800 people), running it at 10 0'clock and still the engineer tells me to turn it down ;-)
Anyway, the amp is great for recording and you get the classic tones. My favorite tubes are the KT66. My sound is always a clean sound at the point of breakup and I push it over the top with some of my overdrives (Landgraff, Analogman and MJM). This sound can't be beat. I repeat; can't be beat.
Of course, for metal I would get a POD xt (the gate is essential for modern metal), but as mentioned, for all the classic sounds this one does them all.

[Jan Folkson]

I've got a few little combos. The blues Jr get a lot of use. I also use the Vox AD30VT, it was really inexpensive and I've had great results with it.

[HudHudson]

Originally posted by Marlowe
I am also looking for a small tube recording amp. How do the old Fender Champs rank against the Pro Jr.?

Can't speak about the Pro Jr but love my Champs; I replaced the RCA speaker jack on my '64 Vibro Champ with a 1/4" so I can use external speaker cabs - boy does it rock thru a 12" Celestion Blue Bulldog. A lot fuller sound than thru that tiny 8" Jensen (which is fine for some material).

[Telecastr]

another vote for Blues Jr & silverface Princeton. Both are on my list to add to the collection.

[Nevelicious]

Wow... these responses are really amazing to me. The Blues Junior really seems to be a winner along with the Classic 30. I would think that everyone would be shouting from the hilltops about Dr. Z's, Bogner, BadCat, etc... hmmm.....

Again... is there a verb similar to the Bogner?

[C/G]

This is just like shopping for a mic pre. So many opinions and so many options. If you don't want to spend a ton then the Fender is an abvious choice. My buddy Mark Stephenson builds some seious shit. He is located up here in Canada and does custom work as well. Anything goes. All class A, with different tube selections, speaker options ect. They will compete with DR. Z and all that boutique stuff. www.stephensonamps.com

C.

[fadeout]

Another vote for the Fender Pro Junior, especially if you're on a tight budget.

Two things: one, (obviously) you can improve the tone of these amps by installing better tubes. A pair of 12AX7s and a pair of EL84s. Try a few and see what sounds best. The factory ones are not a total disaster, but you can do better.

Second, these amps could be horrendously noisy out of the box. I don't know if Fender finally fixed this problem, but: there are six screws that attach the back cover plate. The top middle screw is too long, and shorts the volume pot. Removing this screw solves the buzz problem.