Amp Recomendations Please

Tone71

So today I have managed to be a heavy handed oaf and damage ALL the pots on my HRD by not undoing the grub screws and instead prising off (insert knob head jokes here)! a bit gutted, however it does mean that whilst I'll get it fixed I can look for something new, ideally for use mostly at home and occasional studio, as we all know the HRD is one loud beast and a heavy one at that.

So I'm looking at:

Something a bit lighter and a bit quieter (20w more controllable?) and possibly a bit better sounding, although to be honest the HRD sounds excellent to my ears.

Early candidates are:

Blues Jnr 
Princeton 65 
65 Deluxe

What else should I be looking at? I like Fender cleans with pedals for fx.

Cheers

kennedydream1980

Koch Twintone. The clean channel is excellent and will do exactly what you want. Sounds very Fender like with a very nice taper on the volume, so it can be ran clean at any volume you need. There was one for sale in the classifieds recently.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/3717371/#Comment_3717371

munckee

Princeton 65 is a lovely thing. I have one with the fender special edition pr10 alnico speaker in it. With a thorpy peacekeeper or an attenuator it’s a joy to play at home. 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

I'd throw the Laney Cub Super 12 into the ring. Same chuckable size as the Blues Jnr, same 15w EL84 into 12" type set up, but with 1w mode for home practice, a much better adjustable boost circuit, and an FX loop too. Ridiculously good value.

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/laney-cub-super12

noisepolluter

Princeton 65 has fabulous cleans and reverb, and takes pedals very well - better than the Deluxe Reverb as there’s no bright cap to contend with. 

Alex2678

Suppose ‘takes pedals well’ depends on what pedals - my Deluxe came without a bright cap and I’ve added one to make my delay come through clearer 

26.2

If you gig, nothing smaller than a Deluxe. 

Whether you gig or not avoid the Blues Jnr. 

Chuffola

Disagree.

I have a Mk IV Tweed Blues Junior. Works very well for me at home - clean or dirty at relatively low volume  - and for occasional jams where I can turn it up. Sounds good with humbuckers / single coils / pedals. I love it for blues / country / rootsy Americana up to classic rock.

Some people don't like it, but many do. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

Pricey new but plenty of value secondhand. 

DrCornelius

I’ve had the BJ IV and thought it was great for anything mid gain or below . Lovely warm sound but you’ll need a pedal for anything particularly heavy (The Boss BD-2 worked well for me )

Tone71

Thanks all, looks like I'm picking up a Blues Jnr as a short term fix whilst the HRD is fixed. 

Have decided that a Princeton 65 will be the next purchase, just not before Xmas!

Cheers 

Alex2678

You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet, particularly opinions of sounds, but never has anything sapped inspiration from my soul so quickly as a blues junior 

nero1701

The shortedt time I've owned an amp for was the Blues Junior..

Winny_Pooh

More tweedy tone
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/254131/fs-swart-str-tremolo-with-swart-night-light-junior-attenuator#latest

Or 

Lower power blackface vibes
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/256189/fender-music-master-bass-amp-price-drop#latest

snowblind

How about a Supro Black Magick? Lovely sounding things and portable with it.

Petepassion

Fender pro junior, big sound from such a small amp.

rlw

TM Deluxe Reverb...

Tone71

rlw said:

TM Deluxe Reverb...

I've been looking at the Tone Masters and will have a play in a shop soon, I really like the idea of them being substantially lighter and they should in theory, all be identical in sound. I guess it's the old "but it isn't a tube amp" thing that needs getting over but until I get to play one I'll not know.

For now, I'm picking up the blues jnr later and can see what the hatred is about!!! Then look at the Princeton or Deluxe whether it is SS or Tube etc etc

Cheers all......

Th4fonz

Go to a shop and play them.  People’s opinions are worthless when it comes to tone.  

I had a Princeton 65 reissue for 6 years and it’s a great amp however all overdrives kinda sound the same through it.  Sound best just turned all the way up imo and ride the vol knob.

HAL9000

Alex2678 said:

You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet, particularly opinions of sounds, but never has anything sapped inspiration from my soul so quickly as a blues junior 

I would have agreed until I heard the MkIV which IMO is a far better-sounding amp than the MkIII.

Alex2678

Yeah I’ve heard, I did want to like it but I couldn’t like the one I played, it was a tweed fsr 

ICBM

Chuffola said:

I have a Mk IV Tweed Blues Junior. Works very well for me at home - clean or dirty at relatively low volume  - and for occasional jams where I can turn it up. Sounds good with humbuckers / single coils / pedals. I love it for blues / country / rootsy Americana up to classic rock.

Some people don't like it, but many do. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

Pricey new but plenty of value secondhand. 

Tweed ones sound better .

Actually the MkIV is a big improvement over the previous versions - it's much less congested and muddy sounding, which was the big issue with the old ones, for several reasons... surprisingly, the cabinet was the big one, more than the speaker. The earlier ones sounded worse when pushed hard too, which the MkIV doesn't. The IV sounds better to me than the Pro Junior, which previously was the more open and lively-sounding of the two, but hasn't been improved in the same way. The BJ MkIV also has the tendency of the previous ones to set fire to themselves cured - all in all, a pretty decent amp now and you wonder why it took them so long to get it right. I still think it's overpriced, and I don't like the black control panel on the standard models - the chrome one is much nicer - but I'm probably being fussy now .