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From: "Don D."
Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 08:48:03 -0700
Subject: Re: Amps...Champs, Pro & Blues Jrs., etc.

Some observations on some amp related threads the last couple of days:

> From: Smcbutter
> Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 18:50:20 EDT
> Subject: Fender champ
>
> I have the opportunity to buy a late 60' to early 70's Fender Champ amp. It's
> available for $120. He gave me a chance to try it out for 10 minutes or so.
> It sounded good and crunchy, no pops or buzz either. It is 6 watts I think.
> But it sounded louder than that. I am wondering wether I should get this amp
> or the Fender pro jr reissue that everyone has been discussing on this list.
> It is one or the other for me and I don't know which way to jump.
> Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
> steve

Steve,
Good price, good amp. IMHO a better buy than a Pro Jr., though the Pro
Jr. puts out about twice the wattage. The Pro Jr. will most likely
depreciate in value while the vintage Champ will appreciate in value.
In all honesty, $120 for a Champ you can't go wrong.

Don D.


> From: "IronMan Mike Curtis"
> Date: Tue, 19 May 98 15:50:24 PST
> Subject: Re: Amplifier
>
> > I was just looking through Interstate Musician and saw the product
> > description for the Fender Blues Junior. It looks like what I am Looking
> > for. It has a 12 inch speaker with 10 watts, would this be a good amp?
> > Anyone with experience on this amp?
>
> I haven't tried one, but it'll probably do a good job, being all tubes. BTW
> Musicians Choice shows it as 15 watts - probably push-pull 6V6's.

Mike,
The Fender Pro and Blues Jrs. use a pair of EL-84's, I think in a Class
A setup, not 6V6's.

Don D.

> you might
> want to check out the Pro Junior, which also has 15 watts, but a 10" speaker.
> It has no reverb, but I don't like reverb personally for harp (it's great for
> guitar and vocals, though). It's less money, too!
>
> If you're looking for a great small tube harp amp, I'd recommend finding a
> used silverface Fender Champ, or any one of the zillions of other old, small,
> tubed guitar amps. 12" speakers are OK, but I like 10"s and 8"s better. They
> have a "tighter" sound, and I find they're a bit less prone to feedback. A
> lot of folks like the Blackface or Tweed Champs better, but they're more
> expensive, and I personally prefer the sound of the (cheaper) silverface
> because it has more "definition". You should be able to find silverfaces in
> decent shape for somewhere around $150, or maybe less.
>
> -- IronMan Mike Curtis

I couldn't agree more!, Don D.

> From: "T. Roy Matthews"
> Date: Tue, 19 May 1998 17:59:33 -0700
> Subject: Re: Amplifier
>
> The Blues Junior is a good amp. I tried one out recently. But I think you
> may have the specs wrong, unless they make a different model as well. I
> thought it had a 10" spkr and about 18 watts.
>
> Hey - if it sounds good to you and if you can afford it, get it! Resale on
> the amp is pretty good, I'd bet.
>
> Teeroy

Last time I checked Fender specs on the Blues and Pro Jrs. they were as
follows:

They both put out about 15 watts using a pair of EL-84 tubes, solid
state rectifiers. The Pro Jr. has a volume and tone control only, no
reverb, master volume, gain switching, etc. The Pro has a 10 inch
speaker.
The Blues Jr. has reverb, master volume, "fat" or gain switch, and
treble, mid, bass controls. It has 12 inch speaker.
The Pro Jr. is sort of, but not quite a repro of the old tweed
Harvard. The original Harvards featured a pair of push-pull 6V6's, a
5Y3 tube rectifier, three inputs and slightly different, hand wired
circuitry. Like the Pro it featured a 10" speaker but in the case of
the Harvard, it was a Jensen P10R and in rarer models it was a P10Q.
IMO the vintage tweed Fender Harvard is probably the finest small tweed
amp you can find for harp. They're hard to find, but if you ever run
accross one of these puppies, make sure it follows you home. Myself and
several others I know of on Harp-L are proud owners of original
Harvards. These amps are "IT" when it comes to a small, killer harp
amp. They also sound great for guitar. There was one posted for sale a
week or two ago on one of the vintage guitar classified sites.

Don D.