Hello, folks!

I have a question that I was hoping you could help me with.
I have a 2011 Fender Stratocaster (Mexican) with the stock pickups and a Roland Cube 80XL for an amplifier. After looking in music stores, I was down to 3 items to choose from. One, an Ibanez TS9 Tubescremer. Two, Fender Texas Specials Pickups. Three, a Fender Blues Jr.

Taking in consideration that 90% of what I play is blues and rock (SRV, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix), which item do you think would be the best for me at this point?

Reason I ask is that I don't know if it'll do much difference in tone if I buy the pickups or the TS9 as I have a solid-state amp. What should I do? Should I wait and get money for the Blues Jr.? Should I wait even longer for a bigger wattage tube amp? Please, help!

Thank you very much!

I would personally upgrade the amp...a Blues Jr. (or similarly sized tube amp) would be a marked improvement (no offense to your Cube--they're nice practice tools, but a small- to mid-sized tube amp would be a definite leap forward).

But this is just my opinion...

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Even going from 80 watts solid-state to 15 watts tube? How loud could I get? Could I be heard in a band with drummer, bassist, two other guitarists and pianist?
I gigged in a small bar for around 110 people with a band and my amp didn't go much past volume 2 (it was miced, though.) Do you think the lower wattage could be a problem?

I agree with you possibly needing a nicer amp. But if it were me, I would be setting my sights on something higher up than a Blues Jr. I don't think they're any more of an upgrade than the Cube you have.

If I had to choose between a Blues Jr or keeping the Cube and getting an overdrive or distortion pedal, I'd keep the cube and go with a pedal. Rolands have good clean channels, and take pedals through the front end nicely.

_________________

Oops, I didn't see that you were gigging...
In that case, since you need volume, I would get the TubeScreamer and save up for a little bit bigger tube amp...maybe a Deluxe Reverb, or a Super Sonic 22. For a different sound than Fender, I've seen several guitarists use the latest lower-end Vox AC15 to great effect (it's a really nice-sounding amp for blues, rock and even punk). That big speaker seems to more than make up for the "lower" wattage on the Vox.

Especially if you're going to be mic-ing your amp, any of those will do nicely...even if you can't mic all the time, you'd be surprised how loud 15 to 22 watts gets when you crank your amp.

If you're insistent that you need more wattage, check out the Peavey Delta Blues 115 or Delta Blues 210 (both have on-board tremolo effect) or the Classic 30 112...very impressive amps, especially for the money.

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I don't really mind have a lower wattage on my amp, as long as I can hear myself play in the band. There are some really nice amps out there, all I need is money and because I don't have it, I'll probably follow SA's advice in getting the TubeScreamer and saving up for the amp. Thanks a lot guys!

I'd go DRRI. I know people gig with Blues Jr's but I'd set the sights higher like my friend Jah Soldier. Fifteen watts even in tube land is a little light for gigging. You want to be able to cut the mix and so many times I see people with Blues Jr's get buried unless it's a really small room. I'd go 20 watts or better. I'd also look at Egnater Rebel and Tweeker series, Jet City, Vox and Ampeg as well as Fender and see what floats your boat.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

+1...
I think the Egnator Rebel 20 is going to end up on that "Legendary Amps" list years from now...great sound, portably sized and reasonably priced (it's not cheap, but it looks and sounds much more expensive than it is...if that makes sense).

I've heard nothing but good about the Jet City amps, too.

_________________
Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

SA, I agree. Some people have problems with the Rebel 30. Seems to be mostly tube relater. My Rebel 20 has been stellar. Great sound and not one seconds problem. It"ll be two years old in a couple of months and I gig and rehearse the snot out of it.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Okay, as a fellow owner of a Roland Cube (I own the Cube 60) I wouldn't be in any hurry to upgrade my amp. When it comes to solid state modeling, I think the Roland is pretty much top of the line. I say that based on the fact that I also own modeling amps from Fender, Peavey, Line 6 and Marshall. When I am rehearsing or playing out in small to medium venues, I find myself using the Roland almost exclusively. It offers an external speaker out, a line out and a recording out, making it great for running straight into the PA and then using the amp itself as my monitor.

Save your money, that's always a good thing, but when you buy that tube amp you won't have 1/10th the versatility of the Roland without buying several pedals. And considering the type of music you are playing ("SRV, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix"), that Roland does a nice job of covering that sort of sound all by itself. And you have to admit, that Roland screams for such a small amp!

JMO, same as everyone else on here has theirs. I just don't buy the "gotta have tube" hype. Okay, I'm ready. Pile on.

_________________
Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

CRGM...Not going to pile on...Roland makes a good product and it sounds like it is filling his needs currently...Saving his money will help him have more choices when he is ready (always a good thing).

If he decides on a Tube Amp down the road though, he could hardly go wrong with a Deluxe Reverb though!

T2

_________________
-----------------------------------------------------------
What time is it? It's Fender Time.

I agree with you. I've been using a Mustang 1 believe it or not. I use it as a monitor and put a mic on it for the house mix. The amp has so far been reliable (fingers crossed) and I never have any trouble hearing myself. The only downside is that I have no idea how I'm coming through in the mix. Trust the sound man at your own risk.

_________________
In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

CRGuitarMan, cool post, I think Roland produces some good gear in general. The TS9 is a little monster and the pickups will make a difference. Tough choice, let us know what happens rodxv.

_________________
you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

i get my tube sound from one of these bad boys, running through my (solid state) fender's clean channel. best of both worlds. fenders glorious clean channel, at any volume, and great tube driven sound when i want it. i use a deluxe 112 plus. as an amp, its not exactly in the legendary status of others, but it does the job for what i want, and was very cheap. in fact i paid more for the pedal than the amp.

If you're using a solid state amp, IMO The English Muff'n is first rate. There's a few others, but the EH is one of the easiest to experiment with different preamp tubes. And guys, don't throw Line 6 under the bus. I think Line 6 is almost as good as it gets for both effects and modeling.

Anyway, I'm still a tube guy. I just can't help it. It's what I thankfully grew up with.
For you folks who love and can live with Solid State and modeling amps, more power to you!

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal