Alternatives to a blues junior

notonlybutalso

Ok so currently i am on the hunt for a new small gigging combo.

I have very few specs that i need, such as it being a 1x12, somewhere around 20 watts or 15 if it has quite a lot of clean headroom, smallish cab, lightweight if i can help it, and with EL84s.

So obviously i have seen the popular options like the Fender blues junior or  bassbreaker 15, Blackstar HT20, Vox AC15, Hughes and Kettner tubemeister 18 twelve, but i like to look at alllll of my options first

So do any of you good people know of anything that will fit the bill that i might not have come across?

the_twin

Session BluesBaby. Has the advantage of not blowing up every 6 months. 

BluesyDave

Mesa Boogie Express 25.  

uncledick

BluesyDave said:

Mesa Boogie Express 25.  

Or the Studio 22 on here.  Both very capable amps and will work either as a pedal platform or just plug in and go.

ChrisCox1994

any two-rock 22 combo

Gagaryn

Blues Juniors are pretty disappointing sounding. Pro Junior sounds better but has no reverb. If you want Fender save a bit more and get a Princeton Reverb - you won't regret it.

jamesguitar

the best sounding small valve amp I've played though is the Supro Tremo-verb (the current production re-issue). 1x10 speaker though, but plenty of low end and mids. Similar weight and size to a Blues Junior, sounded better than the Princeton and louder than a Deluxe Reverb. About £1,200 though, so not cheap.

Regarding the Blues Junior I honestly don't understand all the negativity and snobbery towards them. Some of the best musicians I know use them regularly for smaller gigs (players that are on some of the biggest gigs, not hobbyist). Granted they still take their Kemper or boutique amps out for bigger gigs, but the Blues Junior sounds great if you know what you're doing with it (and aren't expecting it to do the Mesa Rectifier thing).

EricTheWeary

Laney Lionheart (EL84s) 20w combo. They aren't the best at keeping their value so you might get a used bargain.

Yerasov GTA15, you could have two. 

Mickeyji

Another vote for the Mesa Express 25 - although it should be the Plus version. That's a very capable amp in a small package, gets the job well done in almost any situation except maybe death metal.

notonlybutalso

the_twin said:

Session BluesBaby. Has the advantage of not blowing up every 6 months. 

Is that against the blues junior? i didn't know they had reliability issues. Or just against valve amps in general as the session is solid state?

MartinB

notonlybutalso said:

the_twin said:

Session BluesBaby. Has the advantage of not blowing up every 6 months. 

Is that against the blues junior? i didn't know they had reliability issues. Or just against valve amps in general as the session is solid state?

Every 6 months is probably overstating it unless the amp is being run very hard or you're unlucky, but the Blues Junior does seem to wear out EL84s faster than some amps.  I think it may be because the bias is not adjustable and is set quite hot.  

BluesyDave

EricTheWeary said:

Laney Lionheart (EL84s) 20w combo. They aren't the best at keeping their value so you might get a used bargain.

Yerasov GTA15, you could have two. 

Good shout.  The Yerasov has a real gutsy girthy sound, and doesn't cost a lot.

notonlybutalso

Boogie are showing up quite a few times, not an amp i had ever considered as it was way past my price range but actually they dont seem to hold their second hand value very well and there are some decent bargains. Might have to try one out, also the Laney is on my list now cheers guys

57Deluxe

Yerasov GTA15  AND a Session BluesBaby... way I'd go...

ICBM

notonlybutalso said:

Is that against the blues junior? i didn't know they had reliability issues.

Yes, they do. This is a not untypical failure…



My dislike of them is largely for this sort of thing - the tone is a matter of taste (although I do find them boxy and one-dimensional, I admit), but the build quality is a more objective issue. This failure is caused by very poor board layout.

My dislike of them isn't snobbery, it's because I think they are a not very well-designed, fairly poorly-built, and very overpriced amp for what they are. Unlike its bigger brother the Hotrod Deluxe - which is less than 50% more expensive but has almost three times the power, roughly twice the features, and is noticeably better-made. If the Blues Junior was less than half the price of the Hotrod that would be closer to its real value.

chrisj1602

The new Orange Rocker 15?

RMJ

Tone king falcon;)

the_twin

notonlybutalso said:

the_twin said:

Session BluesBaby. Has the advantage of not blowing up every 6 months. 

Is that against the blues junior? i didn't know they had reliability issues. Or just against valve amps in general as the session is solid state?

I had a mark 3 Blues Junior. Valves would last 6-12 months. When they fail a grid resistor is often collateral damage. I had it modded to run at a lower bias, but that didn't make much difference. When it caught fire in a similar manner to ICBM's picture, I decided I'd had enough. 

sweepy

Get a Boss Katana, end of story

RiftAmps

the_twin said:

notonlybutalso said:

the_twin said:

Session BluesBaby. Has the advantage of not blowing up every 6 months. 

Is that against the blues junior? i didn't know they had reliability issues. Or just against valve amps in general as the session is solid state?

I had a mark 3 Blues Junior. Valves would last 6-12 months. When they fail a grid resistor is often collateral damage. I had it modded to run at a lower bias, but that didn't make much difference. When it caught fire in a similar manner to ICBM's picture, I decided I'd had enough. 

If I'm ever in a guitar shop that sells these, I always have a peek at the EL84s to see how cooked they are. Usually the answer is very, even when new.

notonlybutalso

hmm very interesting, than you gentlemen. i didn't know about the biasing and reliability issue of the JR and that is a huge tick in the "against" column now. Continuing on, are there any in a similar vein that are built more conscientiously? because i will admit to rather liking the tone. I reckon i am ideally after a one channel 20 watt combo with decent headroom to it that doesn't break up when running at gig levels, and a nice mid push character about it a la el84. I like gear that is a little out of the ordinary, for example i most recently sold a Koch Studiotone 20 that i LOVED which had some great features.

Apologies for any incoherency, i am under the influence of Hobgoblin and Bier De Luxe