blues jr vs peavey classic 410?

[birv2]

Any suggestions for a budding blues player? Which would be better and why?

I play mostly at home, and out at jams several times a month.

Thanks in advance,
Bob

[oldguy]

They are both good amphs. 15w is surprisingly loud, at a jam you may need an extension cab, or may need to mike the Fender, depending on the volume the other musicians are playing at. The Fender will also be alot easier to lug around.
The Peavey will have plenty of volume, but it's a bigger, heavier amph.
If you need more clean headroom, I'd say go w/ the Peavey, but if you want to crank the little Fender it should get a nice, greasy blues sound as it starts to break up.
The best thing, IMHO, would be if you could play through each one to see how they sound to your ears, and be sure and lift them both and carry them around, see what you'll be lugging around to the jams.

[Spudman***]

+1 what oldguy said.

If you want a combo that does have enough swat for a jam and gigging and still has that Fender sound check out the Hot Rod Deluxe. It's 1x12 and 40 watts vs the 15 in the Blues Jr. So you'll have more clean headroom if you need it.

[duhvoodooman***]

Just to chime in with the good advice already dispensed here:

The Blues Junior is a great sounding little amp--perfect for home playing--but might indeed be too small for jamming, if the other guys like it loud. There is a whole lot of room between a Peavey Classic 50/410 and the Blues Junior, though. In addition to the 40W Hot Rod Deluxe that Spuds mentioned, you might also want to look at something like a Peavey Classic 30 or Delta Blues (both 30W). Good middle ground--great tube tone, plenty loud, and a lot easier on the back than that 410 would be!

[birv2]

Thanks for all the advice, folks. I'm going to visit my local GC and try out a few of these and see how they sound.

Interestingly, HRD's on ebay seem to sell for less than (or about the same as) Blues Jr's. The HRD's list for $200 more than the BJ's. Wonder what's up with that?

Bob

[duhvoodooman***]

I haven't priced HRD's on eBay, but I did some research on the Blues Junior before buying one there. The standard model BJr with no additional bells & whistles, used and in good to excellent condition, should typically sell for somewhere in the range of $275 - $350. Additional features (e.g. foot pedal or amp cover) will raise the price, as will uncommonly good ("mint") condition. Also, the blond tolex version sells for a bit more than the black one, since they're much less common (though functionally identical to the black).

What really bumps up the price are things like preinstalled "BillM" or other performance-enhancement modifications, or the amp being the more expensive "lacquered Tweed NOS" version. The latter sells new for $530 vs. $450 for the standard BJr here in the US, and comes with an upgraded Jensen speaker. That is the only functional difference between the two; otherwise, they differ only in the fancier finish on the Tweed NOS version. These sell on eBay for a typical price premium of $100 - $150, which is W-A-A-A-Y overpriced, IMO. You can buy the upgraded Jensen speaker for about $62 + shipping, so the rest of the premium is for the fancy lacquered tweed tolex! And there's a "reliced" tweed NOS version that sells for even more....

The prices I saw on the "pre-modded" Blues Juniors were ridiculously high, as well. I would recommend against these amps, not only because of the large price premium, but also because you generally have no idea how competently such mods were done. It's easy to do a "hack job", if you don't know what you're doing. If you want a modded BJr and don't have the knowledge & ability to do the work yourself (Mandatory Tube Amp Warning: You can KILL yourself with the high DC voltages inside a tube amp, even when they're unplugged! ), buy a stock amp and bring it to a professional.

[birv2]

OK, how about a blues jr vs a pro jr? Is it worth the extra $$ to get the BJ?

Bear in mind I'm looking for something for practice and then local blues jams -- maximum volume is not that important. But good fender blues tone, clean and dirty, is essential.

Thanks again!
Bob

[Tone2TheBone]

Get the Blues Jr. and join our club.....

[Algonquin]

Get the Blues Jr. and join our club.....

Ummm... How much are the dues, and are the Tuesday meetings still in DVM's treehouse?

Ted, if I join... can we carpool?

[Tone2TheBone]

Dues are...bring me some beer...that's it. And yes we're still meeting on Tuesdays at the treehouse.

[duhvoodooman***]

I think we should move the meetings to Tone's place until spring. There's about two feet of snow on the treehouse roof here in upstate NY. And we sure as **** ain't having meetings in Ontario during January!!

[ted s]

Ted, if I join... can we carpool?

No problem buddy..

[ted s]

Hey Vood, are there gurlz aloud in the tree fort or is there a sign that says no gurlz aloud ?

[sunvalleylaw]

Which one is Tone and which is Vood?

http://www.geocities.com/hoffler_b/gross.html

P.S. Calvin is my favorite halloween costume of all time, with my wife dressed up as Hobbes, us chasing each other around the party. Ah, the good old days!

[duhvoodooman***]

Which one is Tone and which is Vood?

http://www.geocities.com/hoffler_b/gross.html

P.S. Calvin is my favorite halloween costume of all time, with my wife dressed up as Hobbes, us chasing each other around the party. Ah, the good old days!

I don't care, as long as we both get to wear those cool hats!

So you & your wife sometimes dress up as Calvin and Susie?? I think this definitely falls into the "more information than I needed" category....

[duhvoodooman***]

Hey Vood, are there gurlz aloud in the tree fort or is there a sign that says no gurlz aloud ?

Well, we might let Guitar Gal and Child Bride in, as long as they bring their own guitars. Especially if they let me play 'em for awhile....

[sunvalleylaw]

I don't care, as long as we both get to wear those cool hats!

So you & your wife sometimes dress up as Calvin and Susie?? I think this definitely falls into the "more information than I needed" category....

She dresses as Hobbes, thank you very much, being a bit of a tiger. Rrrrr.

[duhvoodooman***]

Ooops, I read that wrong.

She dresses up as Hobbes?? OMG, that's even kinkier!! :

[Tone2TheBone]

You guys are a crackup. I dig your new avatar Voodoo!