Went to the local shops today, played the American Special through a Line 6 Spider 4. Not liking the Spider 4. Good amp to start with, but lacks the warmth of a tube. At another store I played a Super Champ XD and Blues Junior with a Highway 1. I liked the SCXD, but fell in love with the Blues JR. I have to save another month or 2 before I can afford the Blues JR.

I was prepared to walk out with the SCXD today, but that Blues JR was just a tone monster. I am looking forward to the day I come home with the Blues JR.

RK

If you don't mind used amps, you can usually find used Blues Jrs for about $300-$350 on craigslist.

Try a Pro Jr...you might be pleasantly surprised.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I am also looking for a 5 year (limited) waranty. Thanks for the idea though.



I really like amps with reverb. Thanks for the input though. I was blown away by the Blues JR. It will satisfy what I want/need for it to do. I will post pics when I get it.

RK

I know just how you feel RK, I got my second blues junior on Thursday. I don't gig, they're perfect for what I need. My spider jam is now well and truely redundant, it can't come close to the tube amp. The saving up will pay off bigtime, try and be patient. It will be well worth the wait, I promise you. Remember the pix Good luck.

You can buy an amp you like without reverb and buy one of the convincingly realistic reverb pedals available.The Boss 65 Fender Deluxe Reverb is an excellent unit albeit pricey at around $235 but Electro Harmonix makes a couple that are cheaper but quite good,The #1 Echo is an analog pedal that is very adjustable for a lot of different delays,The Holy Stain is a multi function pedal with analog decay and fuzz,room&hall reverb,tremelo,pitch shifting and tone filtering, all that for $130.The Axl Multi-effects pedal is fairly cheap for all the functions it performs including reverb and all kinds of delay.That's only a few but it goes to show that if you find a great amp without reverb all is not lost.I use an old Ibanez DM-1000 with my JCM 800 because it has no reverb and that rig is amazing,you can pick up used DM-1000s pretty cheap these days and they are worth their weight in gold because of all their functions.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Decided to dust off the 335 and start making some music again but the old beer stained twin has been long gone for many years. I looked at whats out there and came back to Fender old habits are hard to break. I don't plan on playing on stage anymore so I decided to try the FM 25 DSP, it looks like a great little amp for the money, any comments on this amp...The Sandman

I'd do the 335 right by getting it a nice "tube" companion. Just my 2 cents. Welcome to the forum....... Mike

_________________
The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

can't argue your point about the tube and if and when I decide to do it again I'll go that way......that old Gibson has been in the case stuck back in my closet so long I darn near forgot about it so I'm really back to stage one again talk about tender fingers...owwwwww

rk,
Either way an SCXD or a Blues Jr are fantastic amps. I have a SCXD which I run my HWY 1 Tele and my Standard Tele through and have found my tone!! Good luck and please post some pics when you get your new amp!
ABS

Good choice with the Blues. Jr..

Tube amplifier that can be used on small to moderate gigs unless otherwise ran through a PA.

I'd keep saving and get a DRRI. You'll be better off in the long run. The Hot Rod series are plagued with design problems. Billm has a whole site of fixes and mods for the Blues Jr. If you think the Blues jr. is a tone monster, you need to try a Deluxe Reverb Reissue. You can do a lot better than a Blues Jr for your money, they always sounded really boxy to me. Just my opinion. YMMV

ABS,

I was ready to walk out with the SCXD and then I played the Blues JR. As far as warmth and power the Blues Jr. just blew me away. I will definately post pics when I get it.

RK

I have to agree with 63 here. I had been shopping hot rod deluxes until he showed me the error of my ways. I did some asking around and several shop owners and musicians I trust have said the same thing. The circuit board is waffer thin and subject to heat and shock damage.

So I demo'd a slightly used DRRI and was blown away! literaly! That joker is LOUD! but at the same time crisp and clean. I know its twice the price of a Blues junior, but its literaly 4 times the amp the BJ could ever hope to be! I'd advise you to wait the few extra months it takes to save and get the real deal! At the very least do yourself the favor of demoing one.

_________________
"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

The best thing to do is not shop by price alone and try a couple of amps out of your price range. You'll be amazed. The difference in quality between a HRD series amp and a DRRi is night and day. If you plan to do any gigging, I'd pass on the HRD series. My HRDlx spent a lot of time being repaired. The Blues jr. has pretty much the same design flaws. Billm has photos of a new Blues Jr with blown filter caps. They should last 20 years.