THE AMP THAT KILLS THE BLUES JUNIOR.

What's Hot
Hello all,
Just want to spread the word regarding what I think is one of the best , and most obscure 15 watt valve amps on the market.  THE YERASOV GTA 15.
i have owned this for nearly 3 years and having done more than 200 trouble free gigs with it, am still gobsmacked at how sweet this thing sounds.
    I was looking for a small portable valve amp, and like millions of others, went for a blues junior. Whilst it was ok’ish, it was never really great. I found the tone a bit boxey, and a higher volumes, noticed that the bass response was quite flabby. Added to that, these are made in Mexico to a cheap budget. The PCB is not very robust, and the components are obviously not the best, and if I remember correctly, the valve bases were mounted on the PCB too. After about 18 months the overall tone worsened, and other little irritations became apparent. A valve change had no effect......the thing had just run out of puff.
  I then tried a SESSION BLUES BABY 45......... what a total waste of time .! The thing ceased to work on its first ever outing midway into the first set. The repair took forever, with the most appalling customer care I’ve ever had to deal with. When the “repaired “ amp eventually turned up, after months of bullshine.........I used it on its second ever outing. Guess what......yes, it blew up again mid set !!!!
AVOID THESE RUBBISH AMPS AT ALL COST..........ITS FAR QUICKER TO GET YOUR £450 AND THROW IT DOWN THE NEAREST DRAIN......THE MARKETING SPIN IS GREAT, BUT THE PRODUCT WAS DEPLORABLE!!!!!
   I then happened across a clip of the Yerasov on you tube..... almost by accident. Interested, I went and  tried one with a really nice one man band importer based in Essex.   I bought it there and then.   
     This amp has on/off, tone and vol....that’s it. What a tone though. Beautiful cleans up to about 6-7,
with great blues lovers break up at 8 and beyond. The construction is really solid. The guts are surprising too. The PCB is about twice as thick as a Blues Junior, with the valve bases all mounted on a very thick steel chassis. The components like resistors etc are all top end American gear, the pots are all high quality, and everything connected to the pcb is hand wired. Great Jenson speaker.  This is built like a Russian tank!
At the time, Fender BJs were about 500...... this amp was £380 !!!!  This. Amp has no reverb, so a few quid on a pedal and I was in tone heaven. 
I know it’s all subjective, but I would recommend this amp to anyone.....it simply blows the Fender apart on price , quality and tone.

As a final note, I have been so impressed with the 15 Watter......after about a year, I went and bought the all valve, totally point to point hand wired IGOR BOIKO model. This was just £800....... less than half the price of a boutique hand wired USA amp. Again, built to remarkably high standards, loaded with a very top end speaker.......20 Watt, but loud as hell .....it’s fantastic .
 
Last point......The GTA15 is a little bit of an ugly duckling, and it does not enjoy the classic lines of a tweedy Fender, but if you get over that, you will have one very high quality amp.
I ended up taking out the chassis, and installing it into a tweed, aged Fender cabinet with a Celestion A series 12” speaker.   I just love the look on people’s faces when they congratulate me on the fantastic tone of my blues junior.......when I tell them it’s a Russian amp
TRY ONE....... I CANT IMAGINE ANYONE WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED.



0reaction image LOL 2reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
«1

Comments

  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    edited November 2019
    Dude, are you an advertising machine? Sorry, but this just reads like spam. What's with all the SHOUTING?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 5reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    TCat said:
    I went and  tried one with a really nice one man band importer based in Essex.

    Uh oh...
    6reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Why would anyone want to import one man bands? Don't we have enough dodgy buskers already?
    8reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • KKJaleKKJale Frets: 982
    edited July 2020
    ..

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • merlinmerlin Frets: 6598
    edited November 2019
    Hello @TCat ;;


    Providing it's with dignity. 
    2reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • merlinmerlin Frets: 6598
    edited November 2019
    How does it compare to a 1952 Vox AC29 TBC?

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • PhiltrePhiltre Frets: 4164
    Pics or it didn't happen! Oh, wait...
    1reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    The amp that kills the BJ is actually Fender's own Pro Junior ;)
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • Jalapeno said:
    The amp that kills the BJ is actually Fender's own Pro Junior ;)
    The GTA 15, I think I'm right in saying, is heavily based on the Pro Junior so it's more a PJ killer than a BJ killer perhaps.
    The Yerasov does have plenty of positive reviews by people who haven't left Caps Lock on and does seem to be good value for money. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
    2reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • soma1975soma1975 Frets: 6627
    I have a rule about not trusting people that use too many exclamation marks and buddy, you made the list. 
    My Trade Feedback Thread is here

    Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
    4reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 4reaction image Wisdom
  • rossirossi Frets: 1699
    This is the internet about a Russian product so must be true .
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • HattigolHattigol Frets: 8176
    I bought one from a couple of guys I met sightseeing in Salisbury. No reason to doubt anything they told me.
    "Anybody can play. The note is only 20%. The attitude of the motherf*cker who plays it is  80%" - Miles Davis
    6reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • TheMarlinTheMarlin Frets: 7745
    I’ve had one, was a very nice amp. Beautifully built. Didn’t set my world on fire like OP, but neither did the Blues Jr I had.   I guess I’m more of a 5E3 kinda chap.

    Was a rock solid little amp though. Quiet too. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • SessionmanSessionman Frets: 73
    edited August 2020

    If anyone has an amp that has 'gone wrong', take it back to the vendor.  If you are still unhappy after reasonable attempts to repair it, then request a refund of the purchase price.  It's the customer's right and Award-Session would gladly oblige!

    It's not usually acceptable for a vendor to discuss cases in public, but there comes a time when this kind of 'belly-aching' gets tiresome, for you forum guys and for us.

    There are circumstances under which a refund cannot be made!  That is if the product is custom made or had been messed with in some way... like having a FENDER badge nailed on the front!  I don't think anyone here would expect a refund if the product had been defaced in that way!  Removing that badge would have left visible holes in the front of the amp, meaning it no longer met the Terms of Sale or our Warranty Conditions.

    OK, so after all that,  Award-Session would be happy to receive the amp back, even after two years, and replace the chassis with a NEW one!  At no cost to the customer.  As we say here, no one is ever stuck with a SESSION amp! 

    I am very proud of what I do for a living.  Making solid state amps is NOT easy, so we have to be extremely careful about what we release onto the market.  We work a hundred times harder than the other 'big names' to ensure top quality because we know the kind of tooob prejudice we face.

    So TCat... are we going to hear from you and get this situation sorted out? Email me: info@award-session.com

    There will be no further discussion on this case.

    "Just because it's never been done before, is the very reason to make it happen" - Me!

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • DodgeDodge Frets: 1430

    So TCat... are we going to hear from you and get this situation sorted out? Email me: info@award-session.com


    I doubt it.  The OP hasn't been active since around the time he posted this.  His / her silence speaks volumes IMHO.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Dodge said:

    So TCat... are we going to hear from you and get this situation sorted out? Email me: info@award-session.com


    I doubt it.  The OP hasn't been active since around the time he posted this.  His / her silence speaks volumes IMHO.

    Hi Dodge, thanks for your kind response.  It is a he and he's a VERY fine 'jump blues' player!

    I am a bit upset about the whole situation.  I cared so much about this incident, I drove from Basingstoke to Kent to collect the amp.  Don't know any other maker that would do that.  Not even a cuppa when I got there!  :(

    "Just because it's never been done before, is the very reason to make it happen" - Me!

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • DodgeDodge Frets: 1430
    Dodge said:

    So TCat... are we going to hear from you and get this situation sorted out? Email me: info@award-session.com


    I doubt it.  The OP hasn't been active since around the time he posted this.  His / her silence speaks volumes IMHO.

    Hi Dodge, thanks for your kind response.  It is a he and he's a VERY fine 'jump blues' player!

    I am a bit upset about the whole situation.  I cared so much about this incident, I drove from Basingstoke to Kent to collect the amp.  Don't know any other maker that would do that.  Not even a cuppa when I got there!  :(
    I sympathise mate, it sounds like you went above and beyond and you've done all you can. To be fair, I don't think posting an overly spammy 'review', going OTT criticising two other amps and then disappearing gives the OP much in the way of credibility anyway.

    I'm somewhat ashamed that despite playing for +25 years AND coming from Basingstoke, I've never actually tried one of your amps! I must rectify that.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Dodge said:
    Dodge said:

    So TCat... are we going to hear from you and get this situation sorted out? Email me: info@award-session.com


    I doubt it.  The OP hasn't been active since around the time he posted this.  His / her silence speaks volumes IMHO.

    Hi Dodge, thanks for your kind response.  It is a he and he's a VERY fine 'jump blues' player!

    I am a bit upset about the whole situation.  I cared so much about this incident, I drove from Basingstoke to Kent to collect the amp.  Don't know any other maker that would do that.  Not even a cuppa when I got there!  :(
    I sympathise mate, it sounds like you went above and beyond and you've done all you can. To be fair, I don't think posting an overly spammy 'review', going OTT criticising two other amps and then disappearing gives the OP much in the way of credibility anyway.

    I'm somewhat ashamed that despite playing for +25 years AND coming from Basingstoke, I've never actually tried one of your amps! I must rectify that.


    Well, when you're in the area, get in touch and we'll rectify that!  :)


    "Just because it's never been done before, is the very reason to make it happen" - Me!

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • BabonesBabones Frets: 1204
    Jalapeno said:
    The amp that kills the BJ is actually Fender's own Pro Junior ;)
    I'd argue it's the Blues Junior itself.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • equalsqlequalsql Frets: 6084
    Babones said:
    Jalapeno said:
    The amp that kills the BJ is actually Fender's own Pro Junior
    I'd argue it's the Blues Junior itself.
    I must be a philistine but I really love my little lacquered tweed, texas-heat loaded BJr with its BillM mods. Master volume on full and pre-amp vol up to taste.. It sounds sweet as a nut.
    (pronounced: equal-sequel)   "I suffered for my art.. now it's your turn"
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.