Gitbox Culture

Musings on guitars, guitarists, guitar styles and approaches, technical matters and guitar design by a professional guitarist with a Ph.D in ethnomusicology. Also covering electric bass, lap and pedal steel guitar. And what the hell, banjo.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Fender Pro Junior: I'm lovin' it.

I'm loving my Fender Pro Junior again. This amp, that I got in trade for my Blues Junior a few years ago, has been an up and down affair for me. On one hand, it's a great-sounding little amp, with a warm and organic overdrive that's hard to find on modern amps.  On the other, it has given me quite a few problems, like excessive hum and hiss, a disintegrating input jack and melting tube sockets. These problems are well-documented on forums and I've had it repaired three times now.

I've used the Pro Junior primarily as a jazz amp - my former employer Jeff Healey used one as well in his Jazz Wizards and it works very well with archtop guitars. But since this last repair, I've found the rock and roll voice of the Pro Junior. There's something vocal and pretty about the EL84 overdrive, something that I've found rare on Fender amps of late. I'm even tempted to buy another one, as David Barrett does with his Rivera Super Champs, to chain together for bigger gigs.

No comments:

Post a Comment