I got to wondering if maybe the pickups were really poorly positioned or something on the J Vaughan strat - they were anything but hot, which I imagine those Tex-Mex pups SHOULD be. The guitar just had no oomph or character. The standard MIM was much hotter and louder (though with less clarity). Boxy is a good description for how I found the sound of the Blues Junior, with no low-end character or body. I sure have heard some vids of it sounding good on youtube, I just couldn't seem to adjust it to get anything like that.