I actually injured my right hand at work and couldn’t hold a pick for a couple of months, now I do the same thing he does. I’ll use a pick from time to time, but more often I don’t bother with one.
Good observation but he said, "You don't need a stadium sized rig". NEED being the operative word here. He did not say anything about wanting one! My guitar philosophy is: Get what ever you want and can afford! Find your own tone, and do whatever makes you happy! Life is too short to let anyone dictate what you should be doing. Most musicians are fairly independent, which is a good thing. If everyone stuck to just doing whatever everyone else is doing, this would be a very dull world. Remember, the first recording exec that heard Led Zep's first demo, said they would go over like a Lead Zeppelin. He passed on their creativity because he personally did not like their music; it was too different from the majority of music being produced at the time. It's a good thing they went elsewhere to find a production and recording firm. I wonder if that first guy got fired, or just dreamed every night about the money he let go to another producer/label?
William Pierce I’ve had one for about 8 years now that I found at a flea market for $5. Best I can estimate is that it’s a 68-69 model. Tubes are still pristine and it sounds killer!
@@moufuzz2759 functionally the rectifier tubes are converting the high voltage AC from the power transformer into DC (direct current) that the preamp and power tubes will run on. You can also have a diode rectifier circuit that would eliminate the need for the tube
As much as it is solid state the jazz chorus jc-22 is such a work horse for a rig. The clean tone on this amp is so neutral it's a canvas for what effects you want to put into.
the entire jc series as far as a i know has "that" zingy clean roland jc thing. lost in the mix? i dont think so but also try running a big muff into it ... yep sounds awful . its kind of picky about what dirt pedals you run on it , my jc50 does not have a effects loop or power amp in jack but my jc120 does . they are wonderful solid state amps . not for everyone though .
@@peteytwofinger Yeah, my JC-22 doesn't mind drive pedals such as my Keeley Super Phat or my EQD Plumes at moderate settings, but doesn't like MXR octave fuzz much at all.
I've gigged with a Marshall Class 5 when I knew I was in a venue that was mic'ing the amps on stage. Sounded awesome! That said, I liked that Silvertone more than any of them in this demo, anyway. Stones tones and Black Crowes all day long.
Small amps are the way to go. Great for practicing with headphones. If you need more volume you can always connect it to a 4x12 or mic it to a PA for live settings
if you can ever find one (but you can on reverb) the mid 2000s roland micro cube amp sounds great imo. usually a great price too if you want a great modelling practice/travel amp
I recently picked up a Monoprice 15w amp with 12" Celestion speaker and spring reverb. Really nice amp for a great price. Not trying to advert this, but just adding it to the list of good small amps.
The Orange Micro Terror/Micro Dark are also fantastic. The Micro Dark even has an effects loop. I wouldn't mind a Mini Dark that had more tone controls and built in reverb.
USA built Blues Juniors, which is the first series of those amps, sound better than any other Blues Jr. They have more sock and less cheap treble. I will have had mine 25 years in 2022 and it has never sounded better. If you can find one used, that is a great buy. People hold onto them, though, so be patient. I think that line of amps began in 1994. By the late ‘90s or early 2000s they were Mexico built. Still good amps but not as good as the USA built version. Just sayin’ …
For me this is a great way to demonstrate. Too many demos are by guitarists who do too much widdly widdly "look how good I am" playing rather than what the amp/guitar sounds like. Nice video.
Another small amp worth considering is the Fender Champion 600 re-issue. Typically less than $200 on Reverb with 5 tube watts through a 6" speaker. I traded a Fender Blues Deluxe for one and with a Tube Screamer and a Boss digital reverb pedal I'm more than happy with the tonal possibilities.
The Blackstar Studio 10’s should have been included here. They are some of the best sounding small amps I’ve heard and I’ve played many great amps over the years. Studio 10 KT88, Studio 10 6L6, Studio 10 EL34.
Mike Roadblock I have a 40 watt Pignose that I bought back around 2004. Three tube monster for its small size. I think it has a 10 inch speaker but not sure and it’s currently in a closet behind a lot of stuff so I didn’t verify that.
It's a solid choice. Only real problem with it is the noise level. It's very noisy, but a solid little amp with good tone, and in my experience well built.
Try one with a celestion v 30: i've never been a great Bjr fan, but now it*s my main live amp. Nice tone, takes pedal great and it's light. I've been gigging for years with orange ad 30 with both 1x12 or 2x12 and a matchless clubman, but nowadays you can*t play with all that volume and those amps are also too heavy to carry on. I'm really happy with the blues Jr. My 2 cents
Vox AC4TV : unbelievable clean and wonderful, predictable breakup. Highly underrated amp, imho. Plus it's got built-in attenuation down to 1/4 watt, making it the perfect bedroom amp. Am I the only one who loves this little beast?
Joseph Pickard, Unlikely to be the same circuit since the Silvertone was almost certainly built by Danelectro and the Supro would have been built by Valco. The Silvertone has an aluminum chassis, doesn't it? That means it's a Dan-O....
I had two Blues Juniors. Out of the box, it's very muddy, especially when cranked. I had to swap speakers and reconfigure the tone stacks to make them viable for rock and roll. If you want something small and tubey so you can crank stage volume at a small club, it'll cost you a hundred or two bucks to get there, and more if you don't know your way around a soldering iron and circuit board .... The Monoprice 15w 112 combo, which I also own, is a fantastic amp, at half the price of the Blues Junior, and it sounds awesome AF without any mods or upgrades. IMO it sounds light years better, too, especially for rock. Celestion 70-80 is an underrated cone -- I still have four in the Marshall cab I use for louder/larger situations.
S D Yes, exactly. Couldn’t agree more. Lots of amps here, but after buying the monoprice, I bought another one so that I could have one at home and one at the studio. I’m always surprised when they don’t make these kind of lists.
@@RPSartre01 tube Princeton is an awesome amp, especially the original, but it's also out of price range for a lot of folks, and is a different monster being a 110 (it is a 110, isn't it?). I feel like Fender actually had something magic with the Pro Junior, and I love my little Champ. The Blues Junior is a fine amp out of the box if you're 1. Buying your first tube amp and want to get a feel for how a tube amp works or 2. You're a tinkerer (like me) and have already budgeted the new tubes, cones, caps and resistors (and labor, your own or hired) it'll take to really make it shine ... I actually think that's the beauty of it, as it's a fairly straightforward amp to upgrade ... it's just not one I'd point a non-tinkerer to. I loved both of mine when they were 'finished,' but out of the box, I felt kinda meh, and like the folks at Fender could have quality-checked the schematic vs performance (it's a 412 tone stack for a single 12) and spent the extra buck on any of many much better speakers, given the high quality of aftermarket Eminence cones at the time (my one has a Texas Heat, fwiw, and the other an old Jensen p12). Out of the box, that cheapo Monoprice sounds like a Vox-y Laney, and also has an okay effects loop, if effects loops are your jam (not mine). I ordered it thinking I'd want to mess with its guts, but it doesn't seem necessary. I really wish someone online would review it as the loud, dirty rock amp it can be :)
S D Right. I have the AC-30, which I love, but I often end up plugging into the monoprice because I still feel like I’m in Voxville with it, but the volume is easier to manage. I watched a couple of YT vids on people doing speaker swaps and upgrading the tubes on the Monoprice and honestly I never felt like it improved things. I’m always flucking around with my gear, so if there was anything that would provide a serious upgrade to tone I’d do it, but I really can’t find anything. Some people complain about the spring reverb, but apparently mine came from the batch with decent tanks. On the Fender side, I really dig the Superchamp x2, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. I wanted the sound of an open back 12”, so I had new tweed cabs made for mine and I’m running one through a Vintage 30. Haven’t decided which speaker to put in the other. But I like the voicing options - many players don’t like the Superchamp x2 for that very reason. To each their own - I find them plenty Fender-y once you play them through a single 12.
Wow, first time ever that I actually have a couple that you like 👍🏼 (1) Blues Jr & (2) Silvertones - My original purchased 1969? Christmas gift amp that I quickly took the amp part and placed into a larger cabinet with a 12” speaker and my few years later purchased unit that I’ve left original - Just too cool 👍🏼 Thanks Andy.
Great video. These small amps have become a huge trend and some of them sound pretty good. Personally, I still prefer the old Esteban G-10. Got it for 10 bucks, used. Never tried it with effects but as a blues amp, it sounds pretty amazing. If you're interested in hearing it, lmk. Again, killer video. ✌❤🎸
That Sears Silvertone reminds me of a Maestro amp I got at a second-hand shop. Didn't pay much for it, and jammed as I could on it that night with Hybrid Slinky strung Harmony w/dual Humbucker pickups. I got a good "rough" sound out of it, but I guess my guitar must have been too-much for it... as the next day, with the first chord I hit, it went from roaring to just buzzing whatevr I played. I later sold it to a local music shop, along with my Gibson F-hole acoustic knock-off, to cover a traffic ticket... where the guy there told me he's gald to take the amp as "Just a conversational piece" because it was built in the old Gibson factory.
I love my vibro champ XD. I have a Venus Rivera, a 69 deluxe reverb, and a few other amps but I play the XD around the house and for small gigs. Great little amp!
Andy thanks for doing the Silvertone 1481. I have all of the Silvertone series amplifiers, including the 1482 12 Watt, 1483 26 watt, 1484 at 40 watts and the 1485 AKA the Jack White special.
I hate to say it but the Blues Jr. Sounded the best. I would only get the III or newer as the older ones have so many circuit board issues. The USA made ones being the worst. The heat usually causes the problems half way through the set, but never when you go to try one out😬. As the saying goes "how do you know if a fender hot rod amp is having problems? It's for sale."
Think about this campers....there are pics of the Reverend Willie G with four of those puppies displayed onstage. Don't know if he was using them, but those would make for some VERY expensive onstage props. As for small amps, I am a huge Hughes & Kettner fan. I have an Edition Tube 20th that gives 20W of OMFG tones.
My ZT Lunchbox puts out 100wRMS via internal speaker (half the size of the Victory 'with' a speaker inside) and another 100wRMS via external cabinet (handles ANY 8ohm cabinet) ... Total 200wRMS + cabinet... drowning out 100w heads... the small light amp is perfect for travel with a Vox Fx Starstream guitar, or any guitar + a modelling pedalboard (like my Line 6 POD 500X HD)... and it's actually the size of a kids lunchbox!
Hi! I love the way you play, it's so beautiful to watch and these amps are amazing for the size. I'm just picking it back up since playing as a teen... I love the echoey effect you are using at 2.38, can you make this sound on most amps or is it just with certain types? Thanks!
Great video , I am looking for something compact that I can use in a small venue and sound good . Many places I play the backlines are all way over powered for the venue and cannot be turned up loud enough to hit that sweet spot on the amp without busting ear drums ! Great info and demos thank you really like the Lunch Box ! Amazing !
I’m a hardcore Fender shill but I had to return a tweed NOS Blues Junior. I really wanted to love it; it’s 100% there on paper - classic spring reverb, clean tone, master volume and ability to dial in some grit, 12” speaker, etc - but I really think they need to upsize the cabinet slightly. The speaker can barely breathe and that great tone just sounds very muffled and squashed to me. I get that they want to keep it small and portable but I think they’re sacrificing more than they need to. There’s some room to scale it up and retain an ideal size/weight ratio. The AC15 is definitely on the “too large” end of the spectrum, but it doesn’t have the same problem that the Blues Junior has.
Jon Goldberg hey there. As someone who has a BJR I know what you’re talking about. Took me a while to dial in this amp. I keep the master volume cranked to 12 and the gain at 6/7. Then i use an attenuator to play it at all volumes. Truly it’s pumping out better sounds than my friend’s deluxe reverb reissue. I will say the BJR reverb sucks but everything else is great. I have the tweed with the Jensen speaker.
ronsta Very interesting approach. I was going about it in the traditional way of setting the preamp volume and then riding the master, but I just saw another video in which the guy emphatically recommended keeping the master at 12 to open up the circuit and using pedals for any gain/crunch/grit/overdrive. I have a DRRI myself as well as Princeton and you got me really curious about attenuators now - what model are you using?
Jon Goldberg glad I could help. Yes the BJR has to be cranked to deliver quality tones. I use a Weber minimass attenuator and highly recommend it. Let me know if I can answer anything else.
Hi All, I d buy the Lunchbox Reverb. I have a Katana 50, but never use its inside effect, bc I prefer my own pedals or my HX stomp. Would I suffer from worse tones? Tks!
I want/need a small (low-wattage) amp that is CLEAN, and has a spring tank Reverb, (although I could use effects boxes),.... portability, and versatility are great! What amp would work great with a "Baritone" guitar?!....
I didn’t enjoy the tone of the 600 but I built a tweed champ copy and I love it. I like the simplicity and you can get a nice clean tone (not great) and a great distorted sound.
Joseph Ballerini - I’d love to build something like that! It’s got to be fairly easy right? Anyway yes the little 600 gets a tad murky especially with humbuckers but I usually find a happy medium. I do also own a blues Jr. gigged with it for 6 years. It was a little too loud for practicing at home in an apartment.
Love that tele with the white binding. It almost looks like the new texas t finish when the light hits it. If love to build one just like it but with a glossy black finish and white binding with a bigsby. That would be my dream tele. I like black white and grey. It's might sound boring but I think of if as contemporary lol.
Interesting and slightly odd format of choosing a variety of formats. Blues Junior, Marshall and the lovely Sears amp were my favourites. Explains why I still own my first amp, which happens to be valve driven. A nice Wem Clubman. 5 to 6 watts of loveliness 😊😊😊
Another great video from Reverb. I play a vintage combo organ in a large power pop band and am looking for a reasonably portable 2x12 that gets loud and stays fairly clean while giving me a wide frequency response. Any recommendations?
This is my amazing NGD story from 1995 that relates to this discussion of small amps, so hang on, as it will make sense before it ends: I went looking to buy a tube amp in 1995, I had played only acoustic music previously,& mandolin I asked a lot of questions in many stores, in SF Bay Area, California...after many stores, I found exactly what I was looking for. A Fender Tweed Pro Junior. After so many people gave me their opinions based on their years of experience, because I had none really and hadn't read enough to make an informed decision, but I knew what sounded good, based on extensive listening...I also bought a Fender ´57 two- tone burst , from the same store, and finalized a purchase for a friend from a private collector/guitar builder of renown, as California was a known place of having many , many guitar builders. That guitar was sold to me as a Fender '57 two-tone burst, a parts caster in a ragged original tweed case, barely held together. Fortunate for me I worked for an International airline, and had a 90% percent discount for shipping home to Stockholm, a new amp, a new Strat in tweed case, and a '57 Strat parts caster in it's original tweed case. This my best NGD story, and it could have been even better if I had borrowed some cash from my parents, as the seller of the '57 parts caster had a list of about 16 vintage guitars, and multiple vintage amps, but I had no money at that time. I did manage one more amp... a leather covered Gibson LP 40 watt amp.the one with LP spelled on the front, brown leather covered, with coke bottle shaped power tubes. What I left behind was a black ,all original 50's Gibson Custom, with staple head P-90 in the neck, P-90 at the bridge, plus a 50's National reso-glas, a 50's Supro, assorted basses, assorted other vintage guitars, I had to leave behind. The 57 partscaster sold in Stockholm for 55,000 SEK(Swedish kronor, the LP amp sold also for a large sum, which I don't re-call, but all were pleased, I swear!
Nice this was kicked off with the Blues Jr. I had a second run style, mim, Day after Thanksgiving Day sale, '06, $400 out of a box, out the door. Only complaint was the volume controls were too sensitive for home bedroom use. man, fave thing for me was running this and Vox PathFinder 15r in the opposite corner of the room in stereo (Behringer UC100) fed with a Bad Monkey and a CryBaby. Sounded great together.
Andy, you have to chuck the Supro Blues King on this list. I got it for the RIDICULOUSLY low Black Friday price for $299 and...damn. This thing goes from crystal clean to a really fat and singing overdrive thanks to a Pigtronix fet circuit. It can get hairy on its own just by cranking it and not using the "drive" circuit, but for nice bedroom level grit and grime, this is a steal (if you can still snag 'em). Even at the $599 list I'd be a happy camper.
Yes, but for 100 bugs you get the ac 15! The ac 10 i love to!!! And if a head the money i would it buy, but before i buy the ac 15 becouse its a lidl price difference and the ac 10 have to less watt to play with drums and the ac15 go for that!! And you can pull it off 70% to 100% to get the tube fuzz! I mean without the master! Master to 100% and than work with the volume (gain) and you get the real tube tone, not the pre amp fuzz! Thats not the real tube sound! Thats why im not a fan off master volume (only with true bypass)!!! Its a money queston! I love the old handwired amps with only volume (no gain/master volume) and tone cut or eq or only volume without every other poti!!! And 15 watt its the min. Watt you need, to max 30watt (ac 30) thats to loud to get the tube fuzz without master :( ...but you can put the ac 15 two speaker and it get 2 to 5 watt approx more !!!
@@jplew138 Yes! End the "best price" amp you can get from old high end amp brands!!!! New for under 600€ the only point i dount anderstand is that thay do not on his pcb bord two tubes more for reverb and trem. thay two effects are not tube Working!!! Its solid Stage but the amp self are 100% tube amp!!! End have the warmesd colorfullesd clean tone i ever heard!!! Fender and marshall also cool amps i like but expensive and sterile in clean sound! ...love old and new vox amps! Btw selmer amps are also beatyfull
@@jplew138 Thanks ;) from an vox fan!!!! Have buy the lidl vox escord battery amp, cool thing! And its one of the first :) ...love that amp! Best one for outside play without cable!!!
You should check out the Quilter micro pro it's a great little 100 watt amp and it's almost lighter than my guitar in it's case. Small amp huge sound and great tone. Quilter is the same guy that makes Q S E products. I'm lucky enough to own the 1st Quilter micro pro amp in Australia.
Isn´t Zvex too loud for bedroom playing ? For example with Vox BC108 cabinet ? Im looking for some "plexi" AC/DC sound, but I dont want to disturb neighbours.
My personal best small amp would be : Vox Pathfinder 15R - if you happen to put your hands on this little buddy, try it ! I’m about to think that if they stopped making it, it’s because it was way too good for the price !
I've used two blues juniors over the years, they're really good but I always feel a little bland towards them. Whereas a pro junior with its 10" is a DREAM.
I used to gig with a Blues Jr. Paired with a drop-tuned SG and a Metal Muff it sounded heavier than my aunt at an all-you-can-eat buffet
Damn that is heavy
@@Docandballtorture7756 That woman is so fat, she used to think Dashboard Confessional was slang for storing Ho-Ho's in her glove compartment
@@andredegiant3876 holy fucking shit that's funny LOL!!!
good one
Fat bottom girls!!! Fat bottom amps!!! Winner winner chicken dinner, so long you get there before your aunt =)
Please make a video on your right hand strumming and picking technique. I absolutely adore it. It’s incredible.
Vinayak Shingornikar I did, thank you! You can find it on my personal channel.
@@AndyDemos you are awesome! Thank You!
Get this guy on cracking the code!
Is jus fingers style.
Joyce Sanders no, it’s a unique mix
Love that Andy is here. The man deserves to have a spotlight gig like this. Rock on man. Great pick Reverb!!
I still haven't gotten used to "Hi its Andy from reverb" in my head it always goes "hi im andy from pro guitar shop demos"
Those were fine days to be shopping for guitar gear online while sitting at home in your underwear.
Same.
agreed ,after 2000 demos why not 😎
Underwear..?
I always forget this is the guy with the invisible pick.
Picks are for charlatans.
I actually injured my right hand at work and couldn’t hold a pick for a couple of months, now I do the same thing he does. I’ll use a pick from time to time, but more often I don’t bother with one.
@@corneliuscrewe8165 picks just ended up growing old on me, and I find myself not reaching for them much anymore
Oh wow I thought there was something wrong with me for not using a pick, thanks guys
Andy: “You dont need a stadium sized rig”
Also Andy: *has a stadium sized rig behind him
Good observation but he said, "You don't need a stadium sized rig". NEED being the operative word here. He did not say anything about wanting one!
My guitar philosophy is: Get what ever you want and can afford! Find your own tone, and do whatever makes you happy! Life is too short to let anyone dictate what you should be doing. Most musicians are fairly independent, which is a good thing. If everyone stuck to just doing whatever everyone else is doing, this would be a very dull world. Remember, the first recording exec that heard Led Zep's first demo, said they would go over like a Lead Zeppelin. He passed on their creativity because he personally did not like their music; it was too different from the majority of music being produced at the time. It's a good thing they went elsewhere to find a production and recording firm. I wonder if that first guy got fired, or just dreamed every night about the money he let go to another producer/label?
You could write an entire ‘Stones record with just that Silvertone 😯
William Pierce I’ve had one for about 8 years now that I found at a flea market for $5. Best I can estimate is that it’s a 68-69 model. Tubes are still pristine and it sounds killer!
1ST thing I thought:KEEF!
@@benjaminfinley9314 - STOP IT! - Yer KILLIN' me...
They probably did 😆
My 150 watt Triple Rectifier is my favorite small amp.
Lol
Can anyone tell me what a rectifier is?
everyday MTB Bend over.
@@AlexSosaBolivia sorry I don't get the joke
@@moufuzz2759 functionally the rectifier tubes are converting the high voltage AC from the power transformer into DC (direct current) that the preamp and power tubes will run on. You can also have a diode rectifier circuit that would eliminate the need for the tube
As much as it is solid state the jazz chorus jc-22 is such a work horse for a rig. The clean tone on this amp is so neutral it's a canvas for what effects you want to put into.
the entire jc series as far as a i know has "that" zingy clean roland jc thing. lost in the mix? i dont think so but also try running a big muff into it ... yep sounds awful . its kind of picky about what dirt pedals you run on it , my jc50 does not have a effects loop or power amp in jack but my jc120 does . they are wonderful solid state amps . not for everyone though .
@@peteytwofinger Yeah, my JC-22 doesn't mind drive pedals such as my Keeley Super Phat or my EQD Plumes at moderate settings, but doesn't like MXR octave fuzz much at all.
Andy I love your demo's. You some how always seem to get the right licks for demoing specific amps/pedal.
Woah, love that ZVex Nano head, and a black Tele with binding looks super epic!
I’d be interested in seeing a video on the line between small amps that sound great and bedroom/practice amps, like the Yamaha THR series.
I've gigged with a Marshall Class 5 when I knew I was in a venue that was mic'ing the amps on stage. Sounded awesome! That said, I liked that Silvertone more than any of them in this demo, anyway. Stones tones and Black Crowes all day long.
Loved the pretenders tribute! Nice one Andy.
Informative video, thank you. I liked the Lunchbox and the Plexi most.
First time I'm seeing Andy play on a PRS! Liked it!
I will defend Andy’s honor if necessary.
Kevin Moore Right behind you, Kevin. This guy is a total badass.
That Telecaster is IMO is a beautiful looking Instrument.
Is that the Texas Tea edition? Saw one on Trogly's, beautiful guitar.
@@texanfournow Ha, yeah, I saw the same video. I believe it is. I'm big into sunburst but that Texas Tea is gorgeous.
Is in my opinion is
@@RylzMunkister,Me 2?
@@texanfournow,You should Know!!
Small amps are the way to go. Great for practicing with headphones. If you need more volume you can always connect it to a 4x12 or mic it to a PA for live settings
My fav. small amp-----my Mesa Boogie Subway Rocket 1x10 combo. Mike it up, and use it anywhere.
if you can ever find one (but you can on reverb) the mid 2000s roland micro cube amp sounds great imo. usually a great price too if you want a great modelling practice/travel amp
Yep! Still have mine & love it. Works great for our scaled down band rehearsals and vocal practices.
Played one at Guitar Center a while back and was pleasantly surprised.
I recently picked up a Monoprice 15w amp with 12" Celestion speaker and spring reverb. Really nice amp for a great price. Not trying to advert this, but just adding it to the list of good small amps.
AZWings I have the same exact one
I have one and I love it. It takes pedals so well. I wonder how it would sound with a higher end Celestion Speaker.
I’ve had mine for 2 years now and it’s such a great amp
Make no mistake kids. Those amps are still way too loud for bedroom use...
HAHAHAHA That's a good one. And so true.
Really? I use a blues deluxe at home..
@@Pr4ctice nice. I would recommend a compressor on lower volumes though. It is a tremendous upgrade to sound and feel. Cheers👍
My "bedroom amp" is my gig amp, a '70 Super Reverb. Ain’t nobody complaining!
Lol what? I have both a Blues jr and a Twin Reverb, i can even use my twin in my room, just turn waaay the fuck down, fine for pratice.
The Orange Micro Terror/Micro Dark are also fantastic. The Micro Dark even has an effects loop. I wouldn't mind a Mini Dark that had more tone controls and built in reverb.
I have an older Blues Jr. and it does indeed sound pretty great and has a surprising amount of power/headroom.
USA built Blues Juniors, which is the first series of those amps, sound better than any other Blues Jr. They have more
sock and less cheap treble. I will have had mine 25 years in 2022 and it has never sounded better. If you can find one
used, that is a great buy. People hold onto them, though, so be patient. I think that line of amps began in 1994. By the
late ‘90s or early 2000s they were Mexico built. Still good amps but not as good as the USA built version. Just sayin’ …
Now my secrets out lmao, someone finally mentioned the 1481. Good thing i have two mint with original tubes. Bet they jump in price now!
For me this is a great way to demonstrate. Too many demos are by guitarists who do too much widdly widdly "look how good I am" playing rather than what the amp/guitar sounds like. Nice video.
Potent Pairings is the best section in the channel, please come back!!!
I've always loved the Fender Champ tweed 5F1.
Another small amp worth considering is the Fender Champion 600 re-issue. Typically less than $200 on Reverb with 5 tube watts through a 6" speaker. I traded a Fender Blues Deluxe for one and with a Tube Screamer and a Boss digital reverb pedal I'm more than happy with the tonal possibilities.
Or joyo/fame jta5, 57 clone, i ve put Jensen alnico in It, changed tubes and added cathode bypass capaciator. It's cool
Jubilee mini Marshall combo is a nice choice
Love the stacks behind you.
Thank you, Very much, Andy!! You are a fantastic player!!! Where can I find more about more of your music?!....
The Blackstar Studio 10’s should have been included here. They are some of the best sounding small amps I’ve heard and I’ve played many great amps over the years. Studio 10 KT88, Studio 10 6L6, Studio 10 EL34.
I love my pignose amp for little amp sounds. It rules!
Mike Roadblock
I have a 40 watt Pignose that I bought back around 2004. Three tube monster for its small size. I think it has a 10 inch speaker but not sure and it’s currently in a closet behind a lot of stuff so I didn’t verify that.
The Fender Bassbreaker seems like it could have been on here. I get they were going for a wide range of manufactures and sounds but....
It's a solid choice. Only real problem with it is the noise level. It's very noisy, but a solid little amp with good tone, and in my experience well built.
I’m not a fan of the bassbreakers. I actually think these are all better choices
sure there are other choices, these were six Andy liked and showed a good range.
@@edadpops1709 I agree . I just wanted to toss out what seems like an underrated one
I considered getting one before I went with an orange but I think they are great. Some people don’t seem to like them for whatever reason
That telecaster sounded awesome!
I swear by an AC15C1 for playing live. They’re way more than loud enough and sound really sweet
Even though I'm a British amp guy, it's hard to beat the Blues Jr in terms of bang for your buck.
I like the British sound too, but that guy made that Blues Jr. sound awesome.
Try one with a celestion v 30: i've never been a great Bjr fan, but now it*s my main live amp. Nice tone, takes pedal great and it's light. I've been gigging for years with orange ad 30 with both 1x12 or 2x12 and a matchless clubman, but nowadays you can*t play with all that volume and those amps are also too heavy to carry on. I'm really happy with the blues Jr. My 2 cents
Damn, the Zvex sounded amazing with that Tele.
It SHOULD for that price!
I still stand by the Tech 21 Trademark 10 and Trademark 30. It's lightweight, has some killer tones and an effects loop. Awesome amp all the way.
Vox AC4TV : unbelievable clean and wonderful, predictable breakup. Highly underrated amp, imho. Plus it's got built-in attenuation down to 1/4 watt, making it the perfect bedroom amp. Am I the only one who loves this little beast?
Love the ZT reverb. :-)
I love my ZT lunchbox, not the Junior, the 200W. Same size and is a beast. With an extension cab is really amazing.
ZT Reverb?
I wonder if the Sears Silvertone 5w is the same circuit as the Supro 1605R. An absolute diamond.
I have the 1482. Great amp!
Not sure why it would be?
Joseph Pickard, Unlikely to be the same circuit since the Silvertone was almost certainly built by Danelectro and the Supro would have been built by Valco. The Silvertone has an aluminum chassis, doesn't it? That means it's a Dan-O....
That little Marshall surprised me. Going to look into that lineup more.
the silver tone and the Fender had great vib.
ZVex amp is impressive. Best demo of it on youtube. But best sounding here for me its Silvertone
I had two Blues Juniors. Out of the box, it's very muddy, especially when cranked. I had to swap speakers and reconfigure the tone stacks to make them viable for rock and roll. If you want something small and tubey so you can crank stage volume at a small club, it'll cost you a hundred or two bucks to get there, and more if you don't know your way around a soldering iron and circuit board ....
The Monoprice 15w 112 combo, which I also own, is a fantastic amp, at half the price of the Blues Junior, and it sounds awesome AF without any mods or upgrades. IMO it sounds light years better, too, especially for rock. Celestion 70-80 is an underrated cone -- I still have four in the Marshall cab I use for louder/larger situations.
S D Yes, exactly. Couldn’t agree more. Lots of amps here, but after buying the monoprice, I bought another one so that I could have one at home and one at the studio. I’m always surprised when they don’t make these kind of lists.
Agree about the blues junior - a 65 Princeton is a much better choice.
@@RPSartre01 tube Princeton is an awesome amp, especially the original, but it's also out of price range for a lot of folks, and is a different monster being a 110 (it is a 110, isn't it?). I feel like Fender actually had something magic with the Pro Junior, and I love my little Champ. The Blues Junior is a fine amp out of the box if you're 1. Buying your first tube amp and want to get a feel for how a tube amp works or 2. You're a tinkerer (like me) and have already budgeted the new tubes, cones, caps and resistors (and labor, your own or hired) it'll take to really make it shine ... I actually think that's the beauty of it, as it's a fairly straightforward amp to upgrade ... it's just not one I'd point a non-tinkerer to. I loved both of mine when they were 'finished,' but out of the box, I felt kinda meh, and like the folks at Fender could have quality-checked the schematic vs performance (it's a 412 tone stack for a single 12) and spent the extra buck on any of many much better speakers, given the high quality of aftermarket Eminence cones at the time (my one has a Texas Heat, fwiw, and the other an old Jensen p12).
Out of the box, that cheapo Monoprice sounds like a Vox-y Laney, and also has an okay effects loop, if effects loops are your jam (not mine). I ordered it thinking I'd want to mess with its guts, but it doesn't seem necessary. I really wish someone online would review it as the loud, dirty rock amp it can be :)
S D I have a tweed BJR and have to say I don’t have the same issue. Great cleans, wonderful dirt. Always keep that master volume cranked to 12.
S D Right. I have the AC-30, which I love, but I often end up plugging into the monoprice because I still feel like I’m in Voxville with it, but the volume is easier to manage. I watched a couple of YT vids on people doing speaker swaps and upgrading the tubes on the Monoprice and honestly I never felt like it improved things. I’m always flucking around with my gear, so if there was anything that would provide a serious upgrade to tone I’d do it, but I really can’t find anything. Some people complain about the spring reverb, but apparently mine came from the batch with decent tanks. On the Fender side, I really dig the Superchamp x2, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. I wanted the sound of an open back 12”, so I had new tweed cabs made for mine and I’m running one through a Vintage 30. Haven’t decided which speaker to put in the other. But I like the voicing options - many players don’t like the Superchamp x2 for that very reason. To each their own - I find them plenty Fender-y once you play them through a single 12.
Wow, first time ever that I actually have a couple that you like 👍🏼 (1) Blues Jr & (2) Silvertones - My original purchased 1969? Christmas gift amp that I quickly took the amp part and placed into a larger cabinet with a 12” speaker and my few years later purchased unit that I’ve left original - Just too cool 👍🏼 Thanks Andy.
Great video. These small amps have become a huge trend and some of them sound pretty good. Personally, I still prefer the old Esteban G-10. Got it for 10 bucks, used. Never tried it with effects but as a blues amp, it sounds pretty amazing. If you're interested in hearing it, lmk. Again, killer video.
✌❤🎸
That Sears Silvertone reminds me of a Maestro amp I got at a second-hand shop. Didn't pay much for it, and jammed as I could on it that night with Hybrid Slinky strung Harmony w/dual Humbucker pickups. I got a good "rough" sound out of it, but I guess my guitar must have been too-much for it... as the next day, with the first chord I hit, it went from roaring to just buzzing whatevr I played. I later sold it to a local music shop, along with my Gibson F-hole acoustic knock-off, to cover a traffic ticket... where the guy there told me he's gald to take the amp as "Just a conversational piece" because it was built in the old Gibson factory.
Orange amps are a good amp too .. especially for the price .. great post
I love my vibro champ XD. I have a Venus Rivera, a 69 deluxe reverb, and a few other amps but I play the XD around the house and for small gigs. Great little amp!
Wow! These are great options.
(Proceeds to roll ds-100 into bedroom)
He smiled with the Marshall. Definitely the np best one
Fender Pro Jnr! I sold all my other amps after buying one. Played big gigs & festivals and it hardly needs to go over half way on the volume.
Andy thanks for doing the Silvertone 1481. I have all of the Silvertone series amplifiers, including the 1482 12 Watt, 1483 26 watt, 1484 at 40 watts and the 1485 AKA the Jack White special.
The Marshall may be a sexy option, I am happy with the Class 5, I would be in heaven with this one.
The tele is gorgeous
The Marshall Studio Plexi is the amp of my dreams! I just need to build a studio now!
The (recently discontinued) Suhr Corso is also an excellent choice...
I have a fender super champ x2 with a separate 12 inch speaker cabinet. All tubes, great price, fantastic tones.
Channel 2 is not all tube though
Although if you put the volume on 3 or 4 for recording the cleans are great on a 1481.
Andy does the best reviews.
A pretty good review. Would have preferred if you used the same guitar throughout the reviews.
I hate to say it but the Blues Jr. Sounded the best. I would only get the III or newer as the older ones have so many circuit board issues. The USA made ones being the worst. The heat usually causes the problems half way through the set, but never when you go to try one out😬. As the saying goes "how do you know if a fender hot rod amp is having problems? It's for sale."
Can’t believe the price of that Zvex head, $519 ain’t cheap
It really isn't, but I think it sounds good.
sprintingforsigns good stuff isn’t cheap and cheap stuff isn’t good. The ZVex is handmade in the USA
Daniel Cortez totally agree, that’s why I looked up the price.
Johnny Atomic I’m a fan of that saying also, but add on shipping and import duty I’m getting close to $700.
Think about this campers....there are pics of the Reverend Willie G with four of those puppies displayed onstage. Don't know if he was using them, but those would make for some VERY expensive onstage props. As for small amps, I am a huge Hughes & Kettner fan. I have an Edition Tube 20th that gives 20W of OMFG tones.
My ZT Lunchbox puts out 100wRMS via internal speaker (half the size of the Victory 'with' a speaker inside) and another 100wRMS via external cabinet (handles ANY 8ohm cabinet) ... Total 200wRMS + cabinet... drowning out 100w heads... the small light amp is perfect for travel with a Vox Fx Starstream guitar, or any guitar + a modelling pedalboard (like my Line 6 POD 500X HD)... and it's actually the size of a kids lunchbox!
That Blackstar is $429US...for a solid state, 20 watt 1x10 combo. Just let that sink in.
I love that Sears Silverstone. It sounds like something you would hear on a Wilco record 👍
I just got into Wilco. They are really great.
Hi! I love the way you play, it's so beautiful to watch and these amps are amazing for the size. I'm just picking it back up since playing as a teen... I love the echoey effect you are using at 2.38, can you make this sound on most amps or is it just with certain types? Thanks!
That’s a reverb pedal, it’s not an effect from the amp.
The Marshall amp sounded the best honestly. It paired nicely with the humbuckers.
Yea and.. it doesnt even have overdrive/distortion 😢
I.love my.little black star it goes with me everywhere I go
Great video , I am looking for something compact that I can use in a small venue and sound good . Many places I play the backlines are all way over powered for the venue and cannot be turned up loud enough to hit that sweet spot on the amp without busting ear drums ! Great info and demos thank you really like the Lunch Box ! Amazing !
Marshall JTM1C for me.
1 watt of pure 60's tone!
I’m a hardcore Fender shill but I had to return a tweed NOS Blues Junior. I really wanted to love it; it’s 100% there on paper - classic spring reverb, clean tone, master volume and ability to dial in some grit, 12” speaker, etc - but I really think they need to upsize the cabinet slightly. The speaker can barely breathe and that great tone just sounds very muffled and squashed to me. I get that they want to keep it small and portable but I think they’re sacrificing more than they need to. There’s some room to scale it up and retain an ideal size/weight ratio.
The AC15 is definitely on the “too large” end of the spectrum, but it doesn’t have the same problem that the Blues Junior has.
Jon Goldberg hey there. As someone who has a BJR I know what you’re talking about. Took me a while to dial in this amp. I keep the master volume cranked to 12 and the gain at 6/7. Then i use an attenuator to play it at all volumes. Truly it’s pumping out better sounds than my friend’s deluxe reverb reissue. I will say the BJR reverb sucks but everything else is great. I have the tweed with the Jensen speaker.
ronsta Very interesting approach. I was going about it in the traditional way of setting the preamp volume and then riding the master, but I just saw another video in which the guy emphatically recommended keeping the master at 12 to open up the circuit and using pedals for any gain/crunch/grit/overdrive.
I have a DRRI myself as well as Princeton and you got me really curious about attenuators now - what model are you using?
Jon Goldberg glad I could help. Yes the BJR has to be cranked to deliver quality tones. I use a Weber minimass attenuator and highly recommend it. Let me know if I can answer anything else.
The Randall Diavlo 5C is a great little amp, and you can score them cheap if you are patient.
Nice reviews 👍🧡✨
That's a real fine sounding geeeetar ya got there!
Underrated video
Hi All, I d buy the Lunchbox Reverb. I have a Katana 50, but never use its inside effect, bc I prefer my own pedals or my HX stomp. Would I suffer from worse tones? Tks!
I want/need a small (low-wattage) amp that is CLEAN, and has a spring tank Reverb, (although I could use effects boxes),.... portability, and versatility are great!
What amp would work great with a "Baritone" guitar?!....
I have a 5w Fender Champion 600. No mods just a volume nob. One of the best amps I’ve ever owned. Crank it and go.
I didn’t enjoy the tone of the 600 but I built a tweed champ copy and I love it. I like the simplicity and you can get a nice clean tone (not great) and a great distorted sound.
Joseph Ballerini - I’d love to build something like that! It’s got to be fairly easy right? Anyway yes the little 600 gets a tad murky especially with humbuckers but I usually find a happy medium. I do also own a blues Jr. gigged with it for 6 years. It was a little too loud for practicing at home in an apartment.
Jerry Илић yes, fairly easy to build but important to be very safe in building as you are working with high voltage capacitors.
THIS IS WHAT I NEEDED
Love that tele with the white binding. It almost looks like the new texas t finish when the light hits it. If love to build one just like it but with a glossy black finish and white binding with a bigsby. That would be my dream tele. I like black white and grey. It's might sound boring but I think of if as contemporary lol.
Interesting and slightly odd format of choosing a variety of formats.
Blues Junior, Marshall and the lovely Sears amp were my favourites.
Explains why I still own my first amp, which happens to be valve driven. A nice Wem Clubman. 5 to 6 watts of loveliness 😊😊😊
Another great video from Reverb. I play a vintage combo organ in a large power pop band and am looking for a reasonably portable 2x12 that gets loud and stays fairly clean while giving me a wide frequency response. Any recommendations?
Fender champion 100
Roland JC-120
This is my amazing NGD story from 1995 that relates to this discussion of small amps, so hang on, as it will make sense before it ends: I went looking to buy a tube amp in 1995, I had played only acoustic music previously,& mandolin I asked a lot of questions in many stores, in SF Bay Area, California...after many stores, I found exactly what I was looking for. A Fender Tweed Pro Junior. After so many people gave me their opinions based on their years of experience, because I had none really and hadn't read enough to make an informed decision, but I knew what sounded good, based on extensive listening...I also bought a Fender ´57 two- tone burst , from the same store, and finalized a purchase for a friend from a private collector/guitar builder of renown, as California was a known place of having many , many guitar builders. That guitar was sold to me as a Fender '57 two-tone burst, a parts caster in a ragged original tweed case, barely held together. Fortunate for me I worked for an International airline, and had a 90% percent discount for shipping home to Stockholm, a new amp, a new Strat in tweed case, and a '57 Strat parts caster in it's original tweed case. This my best NGD story, and it could have been even better if I had borrowed some cash from my parents, as the seller of the '57 parts caster had a list of about 16 vintage guitars, and multiple vintage amps, but I had no money at that time. I did manage one more amp... a leather covered Gibson LP 40 watt amp.the one with LP spelled on the front, brown leather covered, with coke bottle shaped power tubes. What I left behind was a black ,all original 50's Gibson Custom, with staple head P-90 in the neck, P-90 at the bridge, plus a 50's National reso-glas, a 50's Supro, assorted basses, assorted other vintage guitars, I had to leave behind. The 57 partscaster sold in Stockholm for 55,000 SEK(Swedish kronor, the LP amp sold also for a large sum, which I don't re-call, but all were pleased, I swear!
Nice this was kicked off with the Blues Jr. I had a second run style, mim, Day after Thanksgiving Day sale, '06, $400 out of a box, out the door. Only complaint was the volume controls were too sensitive for home bedroom use. man, fave thing for me was running this and Vox PathFinder 15r in the opposite corner of the room in stereo (Behringer UC100) fed with a Bad Monkey and a CryBaby. Sounded great together.
Andy, you have to chuck the Supro Blues King on this list. I got it for the RIDICULOUSLY low Black Friday price for $299 and...damn. This thing goes from crystal clean to a really fat and singing overdrive thanks to a Pigtronix fet circuit. It can get hairy on its own just by cranking it and not using the "drive" circuit, but for nice bedroom level grit and grime, this is a steal (if you can still snag 'em). Even at the $599 list I'd be a happy camper.
IMHO the Vox MV50 has ended the small amp debate... perfect (tube) tone in a perfect package
The Vox AC10 should have been on here. I love mine.
Yes, but for 100 bugs you get the ac 15! The ac 10 i love to!!! And if a head the money i would it buy, but before i buy the ac 15 becouse its a lidl price difference and the ac 10 have to less watt to play with drums and the ac15 go for that!! And you can pull it off 70% to 100% to get the tube fuzz! I mean without the master! Master to 100% and than work with the volume (gain) and you get the real tube tone, not the pre amp fuzz! Thats not the real tube sound! Thats why im not a fan off master volume (only with true bypass)!!! Its a money queston! I love the old handwired amps with only volume (no gain/master volume) and tone cut or eq or only volume without every other poti!!! And 15 watt its the min. Watt you need, to max 30watt (ac 30) thats to loud to get the tube fuzz without master :( ...but you can put the ac 15 two speaker and it get 2 to 5 watt approx more !!!
@@nichtimmer9134 I'm with you on the AC15. They sound fabulous with Fenders.
@@jplew138 Yes! End the "best price" amp you can get from old high end amp brands!!!! New for under 600€ the only point i dount anderstand is that thay do not on his pcb bord two tubes more for reverb and trem. thay two effects are not tube Working!!! Its solid Stage but the amp self are 100% tube amp!!! End have the warmesd colorfullesd clean tone i ever heard!!! Fender and marshall also cool amps i like but expensive and sterile in clean sound!
...love old and new vox amps! Btw selmer amps are also beatyfull
@@jplew138 Thanks ;) from an vox fan!!!! Have buy the lidl vox escord battery amp, cool thing! And its one of the first :) ...love that amp! Best one for outside play without cable!!!
Another good small tube amp is the Ibanez TSA15/TSA30. These aren’t popular because the brand is Ibanez but it really kicks the blues juniors ass.
You should check out the Quilter micro pro it's a great little 100 watt amp and it's almost lighter than my guitar in it's case. Small amp huge sound and great tone. Quilter is the same guy that makes Q S E products. I'm lucky enough to own the 1st Quilter micro pro amp in Australia.
Hey! Vox! Bring back the Mini 3. Love mine and have played a lot of gigs with it miked with a Sure SM7B.
Isn´t Zvex too loud for bedroom playing ? For example with Vox BC108 cabinet ? Im looking for some "plexi" AC/DC sound, but I dont want to disturb neighbours.
supro 1605r is an awesome little amp
My personal best small amp would be : Vox Pathfinder 15R - if you happen to put your hands on this little buddy, try it ! I’m about to think that if they stopped making it, it’s because it was way too good for the price !
I've used two blues juniors over the years, they're really good but I always feel a little bland towards them. Whereas a pro junior with its 10" is a DREAM.
Re-tubed my Pro Jr. with matched sets from Eurotubes chosen for more headroom and boy howdy, did it get even dreamier.