is a Blues Junior "clean"?

[jono1uk]

I have GAS for a small amp for a clean tone .that will take pedals well if needed .thinking fender if poss.. am smaller version of my 67 BF super... 
Any one got a Blues Junior they can comment on?

Jon

[Pickers Ditch]

Can't comment on a Blues Junior but you may want to have a look at a Matamp fitted with an EL84.

[slide496]

There's a thread and some comments here...I tested one but it was too loud for my NYC coop...
michaelmesser.proboards.com/thread/8888/good-inexpensive-blues-amp

Harriet

[blinddrunk]

Feb 14, 2017 12:55:03 GMT jono1uk said:

Any one got a Blues Junior they can comment on?

Hi Jon, I'm not really an electric player, nor do I know much about these things, but I have had a Blues Junior for several years. I love it. Gorgeous clean tones and if you crank it up, it gives a lovely growly overdrive which can be enhanced with a "FAT" switch (essentially a mid-boost).

I occasionally play crap lead guitar in a crap blues-rock band and I use a Flynn Amps Rory Gallagher signature treble booster pedal and a Burns Marvin guitar (looks, sounds and plays a bit like a Strat). With that set up, I am Rory Gallagher!

Wholeheartedly recommend it.

[pete1951]

Fender have squeezed a lot into the Blues Junior, so I guess it's good value. It plays fairly clean to a reasonable level with an over driven preamp sound if you want it. The 'real' Fender of this size is a Princeton Reverb, though this has no overdrive, so dirty is also loud! If you don't need it very loud you could try the Pro Junior, no reverb, no overdrive and fairly clean till 4or5 (which is loud to my old ears)
These are modern, mass production amps, so they are harder to work on than old or 'boutique' amps, but they are much cheaper.
PT
Tonight I will be playing through a Blues J. It's not perfect but does just about what I want.

[jono1uk]

Thanks guys ..when does the blues junior start getting dirty??

[pete1951]

Because it has both gain and volume controls most use this feature to get 'dirty' at low volume. By turning the gain up you can overload the preamp, there will be preamp distortion at very low volume levels. This type of dirt is not as sweet as the tone from an amp with its power amp being pushed, but it is valve distortion and not as harsh as a fuzz box.
PT

[jono1uk]

OK so if i want it to stay clean ..it will go quite high volume?

[snakehips]

Hi there !

You might want to consider an Award-Session Blues Baby 45.
It's like a Blues Jnr, but louder (thus your clean headroom volume will be better).
Oh, also, it doesn't have valves in it !!
I have two Blues Jnrs - one modded for 6V6 valves, and the Blues Baby 45 sounds better !!!

AND, it's much lighter !!!!

You can also choose what speaker you have in it, and what cabinet cosmetics too (I think).

Or, if you have a Blues Jnr already (or a non-working one going cheap), you can buy the 22watt or 45watt Blues Baby amp chassis alone, to retrofit into your Fender Blues Jnr. Perfect fit too !!
I've got a 45watt Blues Baby in a larger cab with a Jensen 15" alnico speaker. Sounds great !!

[pete1951]

I fondly remember the 1st Session amps. Loved the A/B switch, clean/dirty which could be set in the middle , giving clean attack, with dirty sustain. A sound I have tried to get with other amps but failed!
Might be a better amp to get if you are not a member of the Valve Police.
(There are many , and I am one , who think valve distortion is best , don't tell anyone you have a solid state amp until they have heard it, and said it sounds great . ...)
PT

[jono1uk]

mmm i love my valve amps ...

[Stevie]

I was going to suggest the Blues Baby too but thought it would shift too far away from the thrust of the OP in many eyes and in any event- I have never tried one. The fact is that as another owner of a Sessionette, I can say that Stewart's designs are exceptionally good and as has already been noted- let people's ears judge before you let them down gently. I am currently decking out a Session Rockette 20 watts combo completely in Vox livery just to prove the point (Someone had to!) Some of Stewarts brainwaves tend to be a bit ephemeral and disappear from his website rapidly giving the impression that he floats an idea to gauge public opinion, but the Blues Baby seems to be a raging success. And Pete; I am also one that has blinkered eyes regarding valve distortion... Chickenbone John will most probably concur with the foregoing if we can flush him out!

I have one of the Session JD-10 pre-amps as used by Jerry Donahue which is the clever bit from a Sessionette in pedal format and a super rare Session 15-30 valve amp too. Unfortunately, I traded in a minty late 1960s AC30 for that so we won't go there!

As an interesting and potentially rewarding interlude, I would recommend anyone to self inform regarding hard audio facts and spend some time ploughing through both the advice and the history pages on the Award Session website. Take stock of any pre-conceived cultivated opinion regarding the superiority of valves as an amplifying solution.

Time has moved on and there are other companies doing astonishing work with solid state. Tech21 springs to mind (Great company- their products even smell like warmed up amps!) but Stewart still has a few tricks up his sleeve. He's also a great source for really competitive bespoke cables with Neutrik plugs. No connection yada yada yada!

Walk on the wild side or play safe and go for the Blues Jnr.. neither will disappoint.

[Deleted]

I'm sure I'm biased, but as regards Blues Junior vs Blues Baby, the Session Blues Baby wins easily. It reacts very much like a valve amp in terms or response playing dynamics, but sounds better and is more powerful. My regular gigging amp is a Sessionette 75, and a lot of people assume that it's a valve amp. It has a really ballsy clean sound...lots for projection - I often use it with an acoustic guitar with soundhole pickup or for a warm jazzy sounds with my old Kay archtop. I love my old Fender 75 valve amp, but it is ridiculously heavy and quite noisy on "idle" - the Sessionette goes on the road with me everywhere - it's durable and sound great.

[blueshome]

Don't forget that the clean headroom will also be very dependent on the pickup you are using.

[jono1uk]

a friend suggested to me today ..a hot rod deluxe ...