Blues Jr.
David, I've seen on various sites and forums that the best way to find a harp newbie is to see who walks in the door with the Blues Jr. in hand. It seems like most of what I read maligns this amp for harp use, but without any real specifics. In the various discussions here and on the new amp lessons, the Blues Jr. is not mentioned as a harp amp to look for.
Why is there such disdain for this box out there on the web? What is your opinion of this amp as a harp unit?
I recently traded my Blues Jr. for a '59 Bassman Reissue (along with cash, of course)....I was quite happy with the BJ, but I wanted a bigger amp....When I first got the stock BJ, I wasn't pleased with the sound, so I did a couple of swaps, and I was then much happier with it....I swapped out three tubes (which is a common upgrade for Fender amps when being used with harp) and I swapped out the stock Eminence speaker for a 1960's Jensen P12R speaker....IMO these changes made the amp sound MUCH better for harp!
It's fine, but you have to work really hard to "get the tone" out of the amp... good mic, cupping, good technique... etc. It's also a little bit too clean for some people. Players will tent to want to go for an amp with more distortion.