Recently moved into a smaller place, which sadly meant I had to get rid of my Fender twin. Absolutely loved the cleans on it but they're massive, massively heavy and the volume is now massively pissing off everyone (i would struggle to dial it in between 0 and 1 and that's loud for home use, so the power has been wasted on me).
So, i've been looking for Fender twin-esque cleans on a budget, in a small combo that I can use in the house. Naturally, tried out a Blues Jr and a Pro Jr, (Princeton is out of my budget unfortunately) both sounding good.
So, currently the options are...
Blues Jr is tweed iii version - second hand, very good nick £450
Pro Jr is standard iii version - brand new, £350 as local guitar place wants to get rid in order to push the new iv verison
Had my heart set on the 'new' Pro Jr plus maybe a nice reverb pedal to assist. Tweed Blues Jr has thrown a spanner in the works and now I'm not sure. Which would be best for home use?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Cheers.
Comments
Shame I can't test the two side by side. By the time i get to test the second amp i can't recall how the first was.
Princeton is the only answer I'm afraid, neither Jr is anything like a Twin. Save up longer and do it right.
The amp also used to have quite a bit of background noise which was very intrusive and difficult to ignore at low volumes. Other higher wattage fender valve amps I’ve tried/owned ran much quieter.
For solid bass and clear treble which is a bit less directional, the Celestion G12H works well to get the most out of a blues junior. I have to say though, if the going rate for a second hand tweed one is above £400 then I would seriously hang on and get a second hand Princeton, or alternatively a second hand hotrod/blues deluxe as they’re not *much* bigger or more expensive (still 1x12 and I’m sure I’ve seen them going in the low 400’s or less), have amazing cleans and run just fine at home (with judicious use of drive pedals if necessary). Reverb is also much better.
If you do want more of a ‘small Twin’ sound and can’t stretch to a Princeton, try a Super Champ XD. It does have a digital preamp, but sounds good at low volume.
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