Looking For a Home Use Amp, Blues Jr?

You can max the volume and dial back the master volume for a nice low volume grind with the BJ.

 

well, you can turn up the preamp volume, and keep the master at whisper quiet volumes, and it will distort, but it will be preamp distortion only, which doesn't sound that great.

As far as the blues jr itself, I'd NEVER recommend that amp to anyone.

 

I use this:

 

Here’s another vote for the Super Champ XD.

I have a Blues Jr, a Deluxe Reverb RI, and a SuperChamp XD. When I play out with a band, I grab the Deluxe Reverb and my pedal board. But for home and practice, the Super Champ is my go-to amp. Simple. Turn it on and you have a “tube” clean channel and a second “modeling” distorted channel of your choice. Reverb is great. Sounds good quiet and loud. As I’ve stated here before, I would recommend the head with a 1x12 cab, or an external 1x12 cab which provides a much fuller sound than the 10” speaker in the combo (even with a Cannibis Rex speaker upgrade).

My Blues Jr sits in the corner gathering dust.

 

OK...I'm a bit of a snob...but I find the BJr to be totally ham-and-cheese.
Good, but never great.
It's one of those things...I thought the one I played through sounded really good...until I plugged into a real good amp.
Then the BJr sounded small and boxy and I couldn't un-hear it.
But...for home noodling?
Yup.
Good bang for the buck.

 

I love-love-love my BJ-II with an Eminence Swamp Thang. I run it 90% of the time when I'm at home. My Blues DeVille 4x10 is a bit much unless I'm the only one at home. Even my dog gives me dirty looks with it.

Using the volume and master correctly greatly increases the usability of the BJ.

 

So my two cents (and it's probably not worth half that) is that all that modeling stuff just gets in the way. I've never been a big fan of multi-tools of any sort. Yes, they do a lot of things, but usually none of them exceptionally well. Give me one or two quality items that do exactly what I need and I'm good.

Here's the question you need to ask yourself. What are you looking to accomplish with the guitar? If you're just looking to noodle around at home, learn some songs, and make lots of interesting noises, by all means go for the XD. You'll have a ton of fun with it. Rock on.

But, if you're looking to become a better player and someday take it out of the bedroom and put it up with other players, keep it simple and focus on the fingers, not the effects. The Blues Junior is a pretty decent generic platform on which to start. In truth, it was the first amp I bought when returning from a 40-year absence from playing and was a great springboard. Helped me focus on what was important, my chops, and to figure out what should come next.

 

Super Champ XD.

Damn I need to design some software to type in thist response every time someone asks for a bedroom amp suggestion.

Use the spring reverb and a few voices on channel 2, you'll be good, and I'm sure you can improve your chops. I'll stop there.

 

If break-up at low vol is an issue, the 15W SC won't solve it. Loved mine, but I had to really crank it to hear what I wanted to hear

Maybe a Custom Champ at 5W, but I've read that it's LOUD 5Ws. Love to try one though

 

I had a Blues Jr for awhile. Sounded great when it was turned up too loud for home use. I have a Super Champ X2 now, which is much better suited as a low-volume amp.

 

I've used two SCXD's for giving in home guitar lessons. They sound good at house volumes. The SCXD sounds better to me than the MIM SCX2's. You don't need hook them up yo a computer, to adjust sound. Mine have been trouble free since 2009, without so much as a scratchy Pot. The effects are useable.

When my buddy inherited a vintage '60's Princeton Reverb, he replaced the tubes and we did a side by side comparison. After the comparison, he bought two SCXD's and a SCX2 Head. I bought a second SCXD.

 

Pro Jr is half the wattage and, IMO, a better sound. I use lower-gain preamp tubes in min to clean up the front end of the amp, and as a result it behaves really nicely at low volume. But if you rely on power tube distortion and sustain (I don't -- I use pedals) you'll still be in the too-loud zone. BTW, the 10 inch speaker reduces the output and sound distribution a lot, too. I prefer 10s, period, not only because of this manageable output, but also for their more articulate response and full, tight low end. Jeff Beck often tours with Pro Juniors.

 

Nonsense! Perfect living room amp.

 

The Blue Cube Hot (and its variants) are just the trick for me for home use.

 

Pro Jr or SCX2

 

I have 3 of the MK I versions of those, and I actually really like them. The purists don't, we don't agree on anything.

 

I have this one alongside with an Engl Ironball Head.
The Blackstar HT-1RH more or less have "everything" you need for a home practice amp ( my opinion) except FX-loop if that's needed. ISF and Voice switch covers all my needs for tone control. The 1 watt is more than loud enough, an I run it with a 1x12 Vintage 30.