Hi Guys,

Im in the market for a new amp...and do not know what to go for. I only a home player and am looking for a BB King, John Mayer clean blues tone. Im not that interested in crunch tones to be honest i like to keep things pure and can always add a pedal for a bit of grunt if needed...finding a good review video is hard it seems as they all want take an amp and try and play death metal or something through it...which the amps im looking at arent designed for..nobody seems to want to demonstrate the clean tones..just rock sounds.

The amps im looking at are the Blues Junior and the Blackstar HT1-HR with cab...ive also been checking out the Superchamp X2..but not sure about that one.

My dilemma is volume while i dont want whisper quiet volumes i would like good sensible volumes..i hate it when you get an amp and you cant go past 2 on the volume control as its very uncomfortable. Now 50% of guys say the Blues Junior is fine at home levels others say not...some say "totally awesome at home levels..perfect" others say "wayyy too looudd" so im stuck lol...in finding out what would be the best option. The Blackstar amp im looking at has a very nice clean channel but everyone says.."dont go for that its a metal amp" and the clean tones breaks up quickly.

There doesnt seem to be a low volume clean amp available for home use..the champ 600 is too small i want something that can push a bit of air and take pedals well...

The Blues Jr is the kinda sound i want albeit i do find it a bit spanky at times..with it having a master volume does it seem the best option...your thoughts would be most welcome...and its difficult for me to go and try an amp here in the UK we dont have Guitar Centres...so i would be ordering via the net and taking a bit of a gamble that the amp is the one....anyway enough rambling any sensible thoughts would be most welcome!!

You haven't yet heard of the Princeton Reverb re-issue......?

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

i have the blackstar ht-60. yes, the amp can get crazy nasty if thats what you dial up but the clean channel is very nice. i've heard great stuff about the model you are looking at.
i haven't played the fender amps but i can't imagine that they would not have the clean sound you are looking for.
test drive.

I will check out the Priceton...jeebus can you get those chimey tones with the Blackstar?

yes. but everyone has differnt' taste. i was suprised by how good the clean channel sounded on my "metal" amp.

I have the blackstar HT1-R combo that I take with me when I travel. Its actually quite loud for its size. I ran it into a 4x12 cab and it was just loud enough to play some blues with a drummer. for bedroom levels its perfect because you can get that power tube breakup at levels that don't destroy your ears

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Thanks guys that helps a lot! Yeah i was a bit put out when they said "metal amp" i think the Blackstars can create a lot of tones..so not quite sure why they would say that..looks like the HT-1 will be the choice for me..the research continues

just my 2 cents, depending on what your long term needs are, take a quick look at the Fender Mustang III.

I've got a three killer tube amps, and a dandy pedal board, these all work fantastic but for a small studio, practice, "screwing around with a guitar" amp my Mustang III never ceases to please with the wide array of sounds and effects I can dial up.

incidentally, I've had a few Blues Jr. amps, They're fun little amps, but not as versatile as some of the others you're considering, or have been mentioned. (keyword here was "had". I eventually wanted to move on to something else. Bought a second one, and wound up with the same end result. Fine little amp, didn't have enough of a range of sounds for me)

but anyway, take a few minutes and find out a bit about the mustangs if you haven't already. Might not be for you at this time, but I think worth a look.

Thanks for that i was actually looking at the mustangs yesterday:) and was quite impressed. but isnt the Mustang 3 100w? so waaayy too loud and maybe a lil digital sounding?

Egnator Tweaker or Rebel 15.
Range of sounds and loud if need be..

I have the mustang mini also, it actually sounds really convincing but sometimes the gain is a bit grainy and electronic sounding. but if you tweak the tone with your computer to match certain guitars you can get some really decent sounds. and the amp doesn't respond to the volume knob like a tube amp, so you have to turn it way down to clean up overdrive. also you would be surprised how much the cabinet modeling affects the tone.
if you aren't really concerned about dynamics the mustang one isn't a bad amp and its easily half the price of the blackstar.

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The best of the best - '65 princeton reverb , personaly I want a super sonic .

Laney VC15 worth a look. Massively underrated and a fantastic little amp.
Loves pedals. Effects loop. Reverb. Good drive channel.

Wow! The laney sounds gorgeous! only problem is i think it will be too loud for home use..just seen a vid on youtube and the guy is only on 2 on the volume and its LOUD lol...damn this seemed perfect!

Maybe something in the order of the Low watt Bugeras or Vox amps are what you're really looking for?