Fender valve amp for home use

[AJ Ray]

Has anyone played a pro junior? Any thoughts on the new 4 nodel in rweed?

[GCWaters]

Originally Posted by gwlee7

I have recently purchased a Princeton Reverb for home. I have been using it clean and then using pedals for the “dirt” since it doesn’t have master volume. I have a SPL 100 watt power soak on the way so I can try to overdrive it some without rattling the windows. I will report back on that. Tried a Blues Jr. and as good as it was, it was not “Fendery” enough. It’s a good amp but not really the Fender sound.


This is me messing around with my Strat, a looper, and some pedals. Volume is where you could sing along without amplification easily. Don’t mind the mistakes. Just listen to the amp.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Xv...xZTe0t-3aPP2oL

That's very nice....is it the '65 or the '68?

[gwlee7]

Originally Posted by GCWaters

That's very nice....is it the '65 or the '68?

Thanks.
It is a ‘65 limited addition with a 10” Celestion g10 gold in it. Love this amp but as it goes with gear, already wanting to add another one. This time a Supro reissue. It never ends does it.

[gwlee7]

Originally Posted by AJ Ray

Sound at 330 and 530 are superb. What pedals are you using? Overall it sounds wonderful

That is a Fulltone “Mas Malo”. It is capable of fuzz and distortion. I stacked it with a TS 9 tube screamer at the 5:30 mark. It is by itself at 3:30. It can do lots of things and sounds good when you roll the volume knob on your guitar down too.

The other pedals I used were Ibanez TS 9 and a Boss wazacraft chorus.

[DukeX]

Originally Posted by AJ Ray

Has anyone played a pro junior? Any thoughts on the new 4 nodel in rweed?

I have played one of the older ones briefly. I was a little surprised that it had nice clean tones (known for early breakup). It got loud fast, though.

There has been a lot of discussion about these at TDPRI.

[trumpus]

Love my '66 Vibrochamp.

[roylor4]

Depending on where you live and the sounds that you want - 15 and 22 watt amps are A LOT of volume. 5 watts is enough for most folks around the house and can actually rattle picture on the wall when turned up.

The Bugera V5 is a great little tube amp in a 5 watt package.

I would personally point you towards the Vox MV50 series or even the Vox Mini Superbeetle. I havn't played the superbeetle, but own the MV50AC and planning on buying the MV50 Clean.

Apparently the Superbeetle is similar to the MV50 AC head, but adds both reverb and tremolo.

The Blackstar HT-5R is a great 5 watt amp with huge tone and 2 channels.

[JakeStone]

As a home tone chaser.. I agree!

Tube amps are wonderful when unleashed.

Lower watts the better for home!

I have had lots of killer tube amps and played them on stage..
But when practicing ... I always had to throw a pedal in front to get some crunch or even mild over-driven rock tones.

Reasonably priced Pedals like Fulltone OCD or Xotic SL drive work fantastic,,
My current favorite that I got last year for $50 is the yellow cased DOD Preamp 250.

I have a Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. Right now I am using a multi effects unit in front (Boss GT-1) and getting pretty convincing tones. Without a peep from others in the "house" or next door neighbors for that matter.

Originally Posted by roylor4

Depending on where you live and the sounds that you want - 15 and 22 watt amps are A LOT of volume. 5 watts is enough for most folks around the house and can actually rattle picture on the wall when turned up.

The Bugera V5 is a great little tube amp in a 5 watt package.

I would personally point you towards the Vox MV50 series or even the Vox Mini Superbeetle. I havn't played the superbeetle, but own the MV50AC and planning on buying the MV50 Clean.

Apparently the Superbeetle is similar to the MV50 AC head, but adds both reverb and tremolo.

The Blackstar HT-5R is a great 5 watt amp with huge tone and 2 channels.

[pieterh]

My dream amp is the 65 Deluxe Reverb RI but as others have said 22 W at home is loud - even playing on a medium stage with full PA, talented sound engineer and separate monitors there was no need to go above 5 on the volume knob: any louder was unnecessary and intruding on my band-mates.

At home and some rehearsals I use a VOX AC4tv. I have recently changed the preamp tube for a lower gain 12AV7 which means it stays clean at reasonable volumes, though I will probably change it again for one with a bit more gain (but still less than the 12AX7). I use pedals mostly to achieve overdrive etc so the clean sound is usually ideal (as it is with the Deluxe R) but sometimes I just want the convenience of a little amp without the pedals.

I imagine a Blues Jr or a Pro jr would give you more of the Fender sound without breaking the bank or deafening your neighbours! I like the Hot Rod series too but found that even the 40w Deluxe is loud and definitely tricky (but far from impossible) to dial in a great sound at bedroom levels!

[rwmct]

I have the 65 PRRI and like it a lot for home. I am not much on break up, though.

[paulp1960]

I would look for a s/h hand-built point to point wired Fender amp clone.

A couple of examples are the Victoria 5112 tweed champ clone with 12 inch speaker. Also 5E3 circuit amps like the 12 to 15 watt tweed deluxe are very nice amps.

Amps built like that can last for ages, are easier to fix or mod and take pedals really well.

Some more modern builders are using VVR to enable you to drop the voltage to the power tubes which can result in a great tone at much lower volumes.

Some mass produced cheap valve amps use valve sockets mounted onto PCBs which is a recipe for failure.

[Paleolith54]

Originally Posted by paulp1960

Some mass produced cheap valve amps use valve sockets mounted onto PCBs which is a recipe for failure.

This is true, but it is also true that some extremely robust and reliable amps are built this way. The Mesa Rectifier series, for example: pre-amp tubes PCB mounted. Power tubes were chassis-mounted on early versions, later ones had a sort of hybrid PCB/chassis mount.

[AJ Ray]

Hi everyone. Thank uou so much for your opinions. It has given me days of researching and considering what i would like best and waht my needs are i am relatively new to playing electric and for the last few yeafs have focussed on playing country blues on acoustic. Im currently without an acoustic but the proud owner of a billy corgan signature fender strat with hot humbuckers which give me a nice overdriven tone with my vox ac4 limited edition in blue and cream. Both very nice. Ive noticed that a reverb may be something for me hence the initial amp search. Than i stumbled across the fender blues junior and the whole fender amp world opened up this question of a new amp. All of the opinions you guys hqve sgelared have made for an enjoyable week of further research so thanks for that. Money isnt really the object as such so im fairly open. However an amp that i have been so impressed with is the pro junior 4 with NO reverb. So maybe i dont really need one. Do people think my dimarzio billy corgan humbuckers will help to achieve a slight overdrive at lower volumes? Thay are wuite hot. Its a real versatile guitar.

[AJ Ray]

And the bugera v22. What a nice amp with lots of options for sounds. Is anyone able to make comment on the quality of buugera. I dont want to be a name or brand snob in any way. I want to get the best amp for my sounds.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by AJ Ray

...Is anyone able to make comment on the quality of Bugera...I want to get the best amp for my sounds.

Long-time owner here:

In case you haven't heard already, there were some well-documented teething problems in the initial run of V-Series amps - problems which were corrected nearly a decade ago FYI, and the only reason I can see for the continued brand-bashing is a certain amount of name-snobbery as you state. About the only caveat I'll issue is to never buy a used "blue-light" Bugera V-Series, for obvious reasons: they're cheap enough that you can afford the entire combo lineup (V5/V22/V55) for the price of one Deluxe Reverb RI, they require less maintenance than any other tube amp out there (the current Infinium circuitry is self-monitoring/self-biasing, allowing you to swap power tubes without the need for a ~$100 tech visit each time), cabinet quality is some of the best on the mass market at any price (these guys use machine-screw/anchor construction throughout - not a wood screw in sight, unlike even some highly-touted "boutique" brands), and the tech who showed me how to bias my older "blue-light" V22 (a lifetime tube junkie who designs/builds his own home audio equipment from scratch) said the circuitry was some of the most stable he had seen in 35+ years in the business...

Summary: my go-to first-generation/second-run "blue-light" V22 has provided 100% trouble-free service since early 2010 - home practice, teaching, band rehearsals, performances in houses up to 600-700 seats, clean as you need/dirty as you want/Fender-to-Vox-to-Marshall depending on EQ and power settings/whispers or roars in response to your touch (the mark of a good tube amp at any price) - I currently use a V5 Infinium for band practice/coffeehouse and small-club gigs, and there's a V55 Infinium in my not-too-distant future to replace my 65-pound '65 Super RI for big-hall/outdoor shows (all the volume, all the tone, 25% less weight/50% smaller). Bottom line is that you're not going to find this combination of features/quality/tone for anywhere near the price - if you do a search here on the AGF you'll find a bunch of other very satisfied owners, and IME anyone who looks beyond labels and tries one. buys one...

BTW I performed a couple of easy, low-tech DIY mods to my V22 in the name of tailoring the tone to my needs/taste - these amps make great mod platforms if you're so inclined - which I'll be glad to share should you decide to go this route...