The Blues Jr is the better amp for non Marshall, mellower blues tones. But for Marshall tones in a smaller amp, the Monoprice absolutely smokes the Blues Jr. If you use a high dollar dist pedal, the Monoprice sounds like a $900 amp, especially w a new set of JJ's. I also swapped out the Celestion 70/80 w a heavy mag Warehouse Reaper (similar to G12H30) which really fattens up the tone and adds a firmer bottom. The reverb tank and effects loop are great as well.
@@oldguyjammin9732 I love this Monoprice amp. It's a great pedal platform and one of the most versatile amps I've ever owned. Like everyone else I have a lot of gear, including a couple of small amps, but nothing really does Marshall tones in a small amp like this thing does. It's allegedly a copy of the Laney Cub but I've played through those and this doesn't sound anything like it - it's way better IMO. I use an older version of the Wampler Pinnacle dist through it. A bridge humbucker w an A2 magnet run through that version of the Pinnacle in front of this amp absolutely nails that sweet, organic 1970's crunchy JMP tones. If you run a well made clean boost through the effects loop, you can get some really fat cleans when you bypass your dist pedal. It's takes a little tweaking between the master and gain as you go back and forth between engaging the dist pedal vs bypassing it and engaging the clean boost but once you get the hang of it, it's like having 3 amps in one.
Thanks. Dude was just going on as though anyone cares about his morals towards returning Guitar Center goods etc.. That's one of the reasons I haven't watched the Guitologist I. Over 18 months.
If you guys think the mono sounds better then you’re not using the blues jr right. Gotta crank the master all the way then use your volume knob as your master or if you want more gain then do the opposite. Personally think it comes alive with the master cranked and ext cab.
you’re right, I did not do that… it would’ve been way to frickin’ loud. I dig the little guy but it has no effects loop, which I rely on heavily. I’d have one (or a Princeton, or 68 ) no loops!?!?
@@oldguyjammin9732 no it won’t you use the volume knob to control the overall volume. With the master maxed out your cooking the power tubes and it gives you that finder clean. Hope that makes sense then do the opposite for more gain personally so volume knob maxed and then use the master for the master volume. These amps need the pre amp tubes hot or the power tubes depending on what sound you’re going for. I’ve experimented a lot with the jr it’s the only way to play it. Thanks for the review
@@oldguyjammin9732 for sure that’s why I kinda shelved my tube amps unless I’m gonna play live or in a band I went with a Yamaha thr30ii and it is amazing for bedroom playing even some what loud playing it gets up there
Great video. I bought the Monoprice chassis seperate off of ebay for something like $71.00 shipped to the house and with tubes. According to the ad, the cabinet was damaged during shipment (to like a whole pallet of these amps) I bought a barely usedJensen speaker and a Mod reverb tank and then made a cabinet. For about $140.00 I got an "upgraded" version (LOL!!) and I love it.
Wow the Blues Jr has that classic fender tone you can never get out of a Monoprice but the Monoprice has more of a Marshall tone you could never get out of a Fender, I guess the solution is to buys both.
What a fantastic review! You were extremely kind with your wording regarding your opinions on which amp was better. I think I’ve made a decision based on this. Thanks
There is one distinct difference though… resale value. The mono price will go down, while the blues Jr will always have a high demand and will hold its value.
The Stage Right and the Fender are very similar clean. Crank the gain, and there's no comparison, the Stage Right lays waste to the Fender. Having owned both of these, and being a current proud owner of two Stage Right combos, I'll keep what I've got, thank you very much.
@@jesuslopez6873 I've owned both. My opinion? Skip the Fender, get the Stage Right. It's a far more versatile amp with features the Blues Junior doesn't have, like an effects loop, external speaker out, and presence knob. For the money you'd spend on the Blues Junior, you could buy two of the other amps plus a few pedals, then drown out the jackass at the jam night with his Blues Junior when he scoffs at your "cheap" amps, and sound better doing it.
@@bradleyard4195 damn. I was about to pull the trigger on one of these stage rights. It looks like I need to. My son needs a good tube amp to get him started.
@@hinezilla If he's using it for small practice sessions or small gigs, the 15 watt combo would work. Otherwise, maybe look into their 30 or 50 watt tube amps. They're pretty incredible as well, and the price is right.
Great video thanks for doing this. Ive had my stage right for about 5 years and I had the capacitor issue that comes up in some of these older units. Hopefully that has been addressed in the newer ones? Mine happened after minimal use maybe one year or year and a half. I was fortunate in that mine was a simple capacitor replacement that was easy to spot. After changing that I have not had had any issues other than having to replace the stock tubes with JJ's due to a couple of bad pre amp tubes. After changing out all my tubes to JJ's sounds even better.
Thanks for the side by side review. I didn’t realize that it’s supposed to be a tone clone of the Blues Jr. I appreciate the info at the start of the video too. I’ve had the SR for almost 2 years. It’s a great amp, especially for the money. Most of the clubs where I live (Sacramento) appreciate a 15-20 watt amp as it keeps the stage volume down and lets the FOH guy properly mix for the house. The SR amp fills this role perfectly.
Kirk Bolas - cool man (I’m in Placerville :) it is great. I think it’s actually a Laney Cub clone but still blows doors on the Fender too. The Jr is a solid little a Fender but for $600!! Yikes!! Thanks for commenting and good luck in the clubs!
I saw all the comments for stage right and I thought that was what they meant. Meaning the one on stage right was the best. I didn’t realize until have way through the video it was the name of the amp lmao
Thanks for sharing this. I just bought this very same amp (Harley Benton's) and I am very happy with it. It's my first tube amp and it sounds amazing, far better than my old amp (Boss Katana 50 MKII). But I suppose I can't compare those two... Greetings from Chile!
Blues Junior is a proven gig-able amp. I've owned a Twin, Super Reverb, Blues Deluxe, Showman and also the Blues Junior. Buy a used Fender and you'll never loose money or tone. Los Angeles
You're right of course, but I'm just so bothered by Fender NOT really bringing this amp into the 21st century by a foot-switchable reverb, or the inclusion of an effects loop!?!? at least the FAT is switchable by the foot. The latest version at Sweetwater is $850 with "all new enhancements" that include a different speaker and a massaged reverb, pscht! 4 versions and 27 years later without practical upgrades and still unaffordable for the average Joe. Know what I mean? but again, everything you say is true. Did I mention the particle board cabinet? \m/
Yeah the Blues Jr. sounds great, but so does the stage right better at times (clarity and punch) but that's a subjective preference thing, 'But' you throw in the $$ factor and that pretty much ends the discussion.
I own the Harley Benton version of the mono price (tube 15) for about four years now, I gig it every weekend and used in practice every other night. It sounds amazing and handles pedals like a champ. I’ve only recently re-tubed it with mullard tubes and it sounds even better
LOL, when the white cord moves over to the Stageright and the light comes on, that’s the one that’s “ON”, omg! I also play with the dials of the amp that’s being played through, omg again! I KNOW - Phone screens are small.
Just used my Monoprice with a full band for the first time yesterday, after owning for 2 years. I put JJs in it 6 months ago. I was getting legendary tone. It was that sustain controlled feedback most of us chase after our whole life. Played with a LP with the pickups wired in series on the middle position. It was absolutely glorious. Never got above 5 on volume in the 15w setting with full band
I love the idea of the Blurs Jr for a amp to throw in the back seat and take to small shows and jams but I’ve played through several and never bonded with it stock. I’ve played through some great modded ones but I don’t want another project. I actually like the sound of the Monoprice better and it’s half the price of a used B-Jr so it’s a no brainer. I don’t care for the Eminence in the older B-Jrs either and although they seem to get a bad rap from some I think the Seventy/80 sounds good when broke in so that’s another $60 I wouldn’t have to spend (the MOD 12-70 is a great bang for the buck speaker IMO and they’re around $60). Neither is as good sounding as a Princeton Reverb but that’s $900 for a amp and I wouldn’t use one as a beater amp so it wouldn’t fill the use I want.
I bought the Stage Right after reading and hearing so much about it. Absolutely friggin’ love it! And for the price, I’ll be getting a second one soon.
Thanks for the video. Enjoyed all the info. I’ve been thinking of buying me a new small amp and had been considering both these amps. Comparison was great 👍🏽
Similar for cleans. But the Stageright has a more beefier distortion. And looks like the Stageright has a few more options as far as an effects loop and a line out for an external cab. Stageright wins this challenge!
Yes. Except a "line out for an external cab" is not a line out but a speaker out. Which brings me to my only issue with that amp, it hasn't got a line (or headphone) out emulated or otherwise. If it did it would be perfect.
Great video! I can’t believe how many videos are being made on the Monoprice amp! I have both the 12 and the 5 amp models as well as a new Blues Jr. I have to admit I spend all my time on the Stage Right amps. It’s hard to believe they can build them at that price point! I’ll be following ya!
Much appreciated and thanks for swinging by!! Maybe the B Jr 6 will have a few more features like attenuation, speaker out jack, and an effects loop!?!? How can any amp these days NOT have one, lol
The Fender does have a footswitch jack it's just located in a very inconvenient spot underneath the rear panel. You can't see it, you have to feel around for it which is about the dumbest design I've ever seen. That said, it does have one and it's used to turn the fat switch on and off which changes the characteristics of the mids. I'm not a Fender geek by any means, but he could at least pick up the manual and read it so he doesn't say things that are just wrong before he publishes a versus video. The Blues Junior is a great amp for the money, but it's not great at bedroom levels and really doesn't shine until you boost the master and volume up. Don't get me wrong, the Monoprice amp sounds terrific and I don't think I would hesitate to get one especially given it comes with a one year warranty. I just found this video lacking in the details a bit.
You’re right of course, should have done more research, or like you said, Fender should have designed it to be more obvious. I’d like to own a Jr but it just doesn’t have the features. Thanks for chipping in!
I bought one 5 years ago for 199.00 put JJ in it and change reverb tank and with a tube screamer it is a bad ass little amp for the price comparison cant touch it ! Grate blues amp !
I replaced my jj"s with old used GE's. Much improved sound. For me JJ 12ax7's are reliable but rather unspecial sounding. I definitely don't like their El-84's.
Thank you very much! Cant wait to get mine to upgrade as well. I have some beautiful walnut wood, and cream colored leather for some accents. Going to build a custom enclosure. Build my own "boutique" tube amp...for a fraction of the cost.
@@oldguyjammin9732Thank you for the content I will, but it will be a few months...im on a tight budget, and I just bought a new Tagima T635 strat style! (I have to finish my daughters custom pc before daddy gets an amp.) Paired with the monoprice 15w should make a super budget combo! Was going to go with the katana 50w, but decided I will go tube route since I can get one for just a little more...plus I cant DIY upgrade on the katana like I can this one. I like to tinker. Thanks again, be safe.
Thanks for the review, it was great. I too am old man jamming, actually learning. Just getting into electric, still prefer acoustic, but really enjoyed your review and will probably get one to use with a newly acquired used mim strat. Unless of course you have a better idea I am all ears. Thanks
Carl White - I actually don’t have any better ideas. This is a ‘perfect’ first amp and SO much better than a solid state ‘wanna-be’. You’ve started a new journey and can start adding a pedal here and there, maybe a looper and then.... oh my garsh :) Have fun Carl \m/
Lyons & Son - that’s awesome! A year and a half later and I’m still finding killer new pedal combos to hit it with :) Latest was my modded metal zone, lol. So much fun \m/
Nice! I play a few instruments through this thing. I play a modded Squier Strat with Fender Tex Mex pickups, a modded Yamaha Pacifica with lipstick pickups tuned B-B with 13-62 strings, an Ibanez mandolin with a lipstick pickup and a Yamaha APX 500 acoustic. I may adjust the tone knob slightly when going from the electrics to the acoustic but still. I run the electrics with some compression from a cheap compression pedal, sometimes a phaser and sometimes a cheap Klon clone. If I play anyplace bigger than 15 watts will handle I just mic it and put it through the PA.
Oldguyjammin yep, it’s tuned B, F#, D, A, E, B. It’s sort of like putting a capo 4 frets before the nut🤣 I’m on a budget. I mod my own stuff and value the info I get from videos like this one. Combo is working out ok for me!
I also mercilessly gig on my SR 15w every weekend. I'm not easy on it, by any means. It has been very reliable and the tone is incredible. I love these amps. I did just purchase the new 30 watt short stack because I was so impressed with the 15w. So far, loving the amp. Many gigs to come!
I have had Guitar Center sell me something presented as "New" and sold at full price that turned out to be obviously opened and returned... Twice. I live 2 hours away from them so I didn't bother making a fuss about it. Since the 2nd time, I prefer to buy elsewhere if possible or inspect the gear before leaving. When you say they don't really care you are spot on! Excellent demo BTW!
Same here with guitar center and sister site Musicians Friend, I don't know if they were returns they sent me, but some obviously were on display and had pickguard scratches one had a small dent near the output jack and damage to the finish like it fell when someone tried to put it on the hook, (small head Fender) and all missing the factory paperwork tags etc. My opinion if it has been on display for long enough to show obvious signs of being played it showed be stated and discounted.
I also have a mono and a solid state champ 100. I am saving for a 68 twin but i am trying to figure out how to hook up the two together so i can have real stereo. Also give me the ability to use the effects on the champ thru both. Do you have any idea how you could do this? Great vid by the way.
Nick Jimenez - Hey Nick, I do NOT know how to run amps in stereo other than by utilizing pedals that have stereo outputs; just run on out into one amp and the other into the other amp. Running the FX loop of one thru both sounds complicated, lol. Check the ol’ internet :)
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thanks. Guitar Center just opened a store here. Im going to take my rigs down and see if they can help me. I just dont want to burn or blow anything up.
I bought the monoprice amp like new for $80 off some dude that didn't want it cause he bought a reverb pedal shortly after he got the amp. I love the amp.
@Andrés Aquino if it's like blues, country, slow/soft rock you might be able to blend in the mix well but if you're playing heavy loud stuff I don't think it'll cut through the mix too well since it's only one 12" speaker.
@Andrés Aquino if you're gonna mic it up then yeah it'll do. It's a awesome amp if you're into blues and classic rock. It also takes pedals well if you wanna use distortion pedals. It makes my ds-1 sound amazing. Plus it has an effects loop which is a big plus for modulation pedals. I play lots of heavy stuff on it with pedals and it does awesome.
Since watching your video, I slightly altered my Monoprice. It now has the Cannibas Rex speaker. I also changed tubes to JJ's. Using pre-amp tubes 5751, 12AT7, and 12AX7. Also upgraded the reverb tank from 2 springs to 3. All in all, I now have a total of $400 in it. It's what I needed :-)
Justin Phillips - you saw the Cannabis Rex in mine! Tight, Crunchy!! Are those tubes in order from the socket closest to the input and then on from there? I used a 12AT7 also (ECC81 actually) but put in the first socket if I remember right. Regardless I love how it lowered the over all gain, great for boosting with a pedal.
EL84 EL84, V3 is 12at7, V2 is 5751, V1 is 12ax7. Tried to line them up similar to my '69 Super Reverb (minus a few less tubes and 6L6 GC's. Sold yrs ago). Sweet jeebus it sounds sweet :-)
There is a really active Facebook group (Monoprice Amp Users) about these amps. I’ve written several posts about different aspects of this amp and the 5 watt. Anyway, concerning tube swapping; be careful! The power transformer is just barely enough for the amp as is and quite a few people have burned theirs up with running higher current tubes. The 12at7 is a lower gain tube, but runs much higher current. That being said, I run my preamp tubes like this: Svetlana 12ax7-V1, JJ Reverse 12Dw7-V2, RCA 12at7-V3 There are very specific reasons for having the strange tubes in V2 and V3. V2 takes advantage of the cathode follower by using a 12au7 on the second stage. V3 is the phase inverter and likes more current and needs to be balanced. For some really specific and predictable reasons this makes the amp even better!
Hi Oldguyjammin, I put a Celestion A- Type in it and these harsh treble peaks are gone when I crank it. But the fenderish sound when playing clean is still there. That's what it sounded like in several videos, it has been confirmed. (The C12N was far too shrill for me when it was supposed to transmit driven sounds.) That's what I was looking for. Now this little amp sounds more like a tweed, when it's getting driven a bit more wiith the 12AT7 in V1 and V3. By the way, is a 12 AX7 a good choice in this combination? This is my current tube configuration. Another thing: The power tubes in my HB Tube15 can't be driven. Is this normal??? All gain comes from the preamp tubes 🤔😏 Cheers Sven
I had a blues jr, telecaster sounded great through it but I hated my SG through it. Traded the amp for a gretsch and now fasting after a vox ac 10 but curious about these cheap tube amps.
A usual phenomenon. Single coils, especially Tele's, sound good through pretty much anything. Humbuckers are more of a fuss for getting the best out of them, they have to really sit in nice in a rig. Having tried different Tellies and different yet classic humbuckers sets, nothing has ever come to prove this experience false yet
I have one of these 15 watt amps and I tell you what they sound great give the speaker a little time to break in and the tubes and you got a nice sounding and it will crank take my word for it, it looks like they went up a little bit on them now they were a hundred ninety-nine but now I think there are 250 and free shipping you can't beat it and they're very well made they have effects loops in the back where you can put pedals into them and they take pedals great plus the one want to 15 watts for playing in the house love this amp that's all I can say about it get you one there worth the money instead 600 for a blues Junior.
These amps imho have a totally different feel and tone then each other. I have to say the Fender Blues Jr is no better built and really doesnt offer the goods to be priced the way it is. Meanwhile the Monoprice (after a few mods) has its own thing going and is indeed a pretty good amp. The Blues Jr's suffer from cheap parts, soldering and hot bias. The Monoprice's tubes will last long as they arnt being cooked at around 330v plate voltage like a Blues Jr and there is a bias pot. The Blues Jr requires more work to cool the bias down in. The Monoprice has SMD's on the board which make this amp much more difficult to work on or do mods. But look at the price. The Blues Jr is now $750+ new. Thats insane for what the amp is and what it does. But ya cant compare these two amps imho because they sound so different. I love my modded Blues Jr and i mod and repair a lot of them. But they are too expensive and if you dont go thru and change the cheap parts like caps and wrong resistor values and really go thru a check solder joints, thats gonna be an amp that costs a lot of $ to keep maintained. The Monoprice you can buy 3 of for the price of a Blues Jr. Sadly I dont see how the Blues Jr is a good buy or amp in todays age of amps. Not enough new features and issues that plagued the earlier versions still exist. Monoprice amp sounds much better once you get a real speaker in it, get a real 3 spring MOD reverb tank and get some decent tubes in. Also change the reverb cable (luckily its not hard wired like the Blues Jr). Set the bias accordingly as unlike the Blues Jr's, these come with a cold bias and that is another reason there seems to be so little head room. With 6p14p tubes in the power section and the bias adjusted right, this amp sounds much much better. But even then with these mods the price of the monoprice is insanely low. To mod and fix the issues on a Blues Jr that you bought for $750, well its gonna be around a $1,000 amp in the end. Thats just crazy. The Blues Jr use to be priced somewhat well, but now this is just silly for what you get. Thats my take and I own both amps and have experience with repairing and modding both. But i keep seeing people compare the two and to me they are apples and oranges. The Monoprice is based off the Laney Cub amps by the way. The 70/80 speaker thats in it is complete garbage. So if you try out the Monoprice, keep in mind theres some mods ya have to do before your really gonna hear what this amp can do. But the same can be said of the Blues Jr. Both require some work imho before you can even really hear what they are capable of. There are too many options out there these days and I cant see how Fender will be able to keep up when their amps keep going up in price, but not quality. But hey the name sells, just like the Celestion in the Monoprice helps sell it, even tho its garbage. But its a Celestion you say... yeah.... do some google researching on this speaker.
@@oldguyjammin9732 HAHA ! :-) Just sharing some of the tricks i did after learning the circuit a little better. Another cool thing is to run a preamp pedal into the FX loop to bypass the amps EQ. This is a slick way to get the amps overall tonal character to be altered. Want it to react like a Fender more or sound that way, use a preamp that is based on a Fender sound. Etc. I have a cheap Joyo California pedal that I plug into the FX loop and now i have a useful Fender tone that im content with. Ive also plugged my One Control SS Fender amps preamp out into the MP15's FX loop and that was insane. But the One Control amp is about $700 haha and the Joyo is $25. Still there are a lot of options for getting this amp to sound like anything you really want it to. :-) Take care and keep on trucking.
Harely Benton tube 15 is the same as the monoprice. I have been told that the tubes and something else was different in the HB but Not sure about that. It's hearsay
Danny Rivers - dude, what are you talking about !?!? Maybe you’re referring to the length of the intro, lol. Hey, what can I say, it’s interesting stuff! You can always just scroll on through if you’re not familiar with the side stories :) peace!!
Monoprice Rocks! They are the manufacturer, selling direct, so they can offer this great quality at such fantastic prices. Also - If you are not buying your audio and speaker cables from them, you are wasting money!
I had both amps. Sold the Blues Jr. Still have the Stage Right. It's what the Blues Jr should have been. Does a decent Deluxe sound but you can tell it has EL84's instead of 6V6's when you overdrive it. Mine has the Celestion A type and it's a good fit for me. Some come with the Celestion 70/80 which sounds a bit smoother but also darker. Love the one watt setting too.
Right on man, always nice when we connect with our gear. I’d like to have a Jr but the feature set just sucks! Especially considering that Fender is on their fourth one, lol. The A-type is actually a really nice speaker imo, I never connected with the 70/80 and felt it really got loose as the volume got higher. Thanks for chiming in \m/
Early models had a 6” tank, new models have a full 12” tanks located across the bottom of the cabinet. It’s usually covered with a vinyl material of some sort but you should see something with RCA cables connected to it. Of course, if your amp doesn’t have a ‘reverb’ knob on the front, you don’t a tank in the cab :) The tank is just a rectangular metal box.
@@oldguyjammin9732 It is the circuit board, actually printed on it, you can adjust the output voltage, they had mine shipped to me at around -7 watts, I adjusted mine to -12.3. Probably will cost me tubes doing that but so what. I have numerous el84's around
@@oldguyjammin9732 Well after you said that I took a closer look at it..They now put JJ tubes in these and in the plastic bag with manual they have a tag That has a tag That says equipped with JJ tubes. That wire thing is not a wire at all but a plastic sort of tie you would find on a tag that you rip off.. haha..
Just bought one today. Would LOVE to rehouse it or change tolex to tweed, but it looks nice the way it is. If I could get that in a tweed enclosure, it would look and sound like vintage Champ on steroids!
Blake Wright - nice things is Blake, that it’s affordable enough to do something like that with, or even cover in stickers if that’s your style, know what I mean? Unlike a $1000 Princeton or something where if you put a sticker on it - BOOM - there goes any sort of resale value.
Oldguyjammin very good point! I was going to buy a champion 600 or ac4 for a different tone than my ac15c1, but I couldn’t pass this up with those bells and whistles. What would you recommend for speaker upgrades to get a vintage tone, if needed?
Blake Wright - Eminence makes a nice vintage series (Governor or V12 or Texas Heat) or you could pick up the new Celestion V-Type that many people are really loving. The 70/80 that comes stock isn’t too bad but it did have a upper range spike that bugged me so I swapped it out with a Cannabis Rex which didn’t really change things too much but it was better :) this weekend I’m putting a Celestion V-Type my SRight just because I happen to have one lying around after putting a Vintage 30 in my Marshall combo. I’ll shoot a video! Speakers are ‘hit and miss’ in my opinion because tone is SO subjective to each and every listener. Maybe try to consider what characteristics you want more or less of than what you have and then call Guitar Speaker Warehouse - great guys that actually answer the phone and are always more than happy to guide you to what you looking for.
regarding the guitologist vs mcknight, i would tend to agree that a person shouldn't wantonly just buy stuff and return it rampantly. guitar center may say one thing or another, but they may just be being nice. either way, logically speaking, the more times something has to move around, the higher the cost for that item is. and if they "don't care" about that, well, their financial status doesn't exactly reflect that to be sound wisdom
I've heard the Stage Right was a clone of the Blues Jr. This was the first video shootout of the pair I've seen. The difference is quite noticable. I'm glad I bought the Stage Right. I've put a V30 speaker in it and am in awe of the performance and sound. Love, love, love it. My JMP doesn't get much use anymore in the house.
It’s a clone of the Laney Cub rather than the Jr. If the darn Jr had an effects loop I’d be interested, but for the tone and features the SR seems a ‘no brainer’
That monoprice is such a dynamic amp. Has some fender tone, but I am almost hearing more of a marshal or vox at times, and the clean is nice. I love a blues Jr. They are fantastic amps and I cannot say I like the monoprice better, but it has so many tones that it is good for. The fender kinda does the fender thing... which is great, just fewer options.
You are correct. Two seperate voices. Both usable. I sometimes pair the SR15 with my Super Champ X2. I enjoy blending amp sounds. I also pair my Princeton with my VOX AC10. At my age (70) I prefer the smaller amps.
When my SR arrives... I plan to disassemble the cabinet and replicate the parts with real Baltic birch or solid pine then re-wrap the tolex or stain and reassemble... the only glaring weakness I see is the cab material and possibly a speaker upgrade. What a great sound!
I tried a few speakers and the 70/80 actually works pretty well. A Celestion V-Type sounds real good as does a Swampthang, however with SThang you do lose a little of the top end sparkle. Sounds like a fun project.
I know what you mean, I’m looking for an ENGL 1x12 Pro Cab and while the price is much cheaper from the Netherlands the shipping kills me! The MonoP amps are also sold as a Tube15 by Harley Benton - same amp and shipping might be free. Check it out :)
Hey really impressed with the sound of the Stage Right, especially for the price! Btw, I noticed the Petrucci book Rock Discipline. I just got it about a month ago and it’s awesome and extremely challenging!
Ryan Haydon - yep, fun little amp and the BOOK, I was surprised that it got so technical so quickly :) great purchase \m/ I need to get back into it... so little time :(
@@oldguyjammin9732 I hear you on that! Btw, I just bought the amp used in great condition off eBay for $160 with free shipping. I've been looking at it on and off for awhile, and after seeing your video finally decided to get it. Price was too good to pass up!
Memphis Mini Blues completely modified both the 8" and 12" versions of the Monoprice amps, relabeled "Stage 5". The tone is designed for Harp players, but It works for guitars, too. I have the 8" version Stage 5, and the tone is UNREAL, and it's Loud. Loud enough to be heard over a whole electric band. The circuit is redone, different tube and the original Speaker replaced w/Weber Signature. Check it out. it's the best amp I have owned.
Probably a great studio amp. The one I purchased didn’t make it beyond one trip to practice and a few hours of playing. It sounded really good, durability? well.....
sneifert1968 - well that sucks, I hear the same thing about Marshalls, Classic 30s and Egnater ;-) That’s a drag man, being so new hopefully you got your money back or got another one on a return.
Oldguyjammin My JCM 2000 TSL 60 Marshall head has been through years of back and forth to gigs, practice etc. without any problems, backseats to box trailers. I just don’t use it for practice because the guys I’m playing with right now are smokers. Don’t want to leave it at rehearsal space or lug it and my 2x12 back and forth. Hence the inexpensive small combo option. Just didn’t work out. Got a refund and got lucky and found a 2010 Transtube Peavey bandit 112 for $80. Sounds really good and was a great deal🤟
Have these two amps side by side. Mono price is cleaner. Put a tone tubby key biscayne in the monoprice and like it. Monoprice has a high pitched hiss at times. What might cause this?
You have to see which amp has the guitar cable plugged into it. Intermittent hiss could be a tube, a microphonic tube can make ethereal swirling sounds too. With the amp on and warmed up, lightly tap each preamp tube with a pencil. If one is going bad you'll definitely hear it.
Interesting to hear them side by side. Ima definitely get me one. I like my blu jr fine but from this I think the monoprice clean sounds way more like a 1970's silverface princeton than the actual fender does. And no question the mp does a way better brit od tone. Also agree about the fx loop. I like to practice to a boss loop station pedal sometimes for the metronome beat feature, and you really need an fx loop for that or the beat gets a shot of whatever preamp gain you may be using.
Yep, as a ‘play at home’ guy anymore, the FX loop is a must for loopers, drum beats, bass lines, etc. It’s a great grab and go amp and takes pedals really well.
Nice comparison. I had a SR15 for a while and found I preferred it with a 12AT7 in V1 in place of the 12AX7 - really helped to tame the unpleasant sounding (to me) fizz in the overdrive.
Hey man, love your Channel, I too, I'm an old guy jamming, do you reckon, that there would be a way to cut in a foot switch, to bypass the gain / Distortion stage, so your amp would be clean until you re-engage the gain covntrol part of it? Do you get what I'm trying to say?
Hmmm... YES! You could accomplish that by adding a nice overdrive pedal between your guitar and the amp :-) I know this isn’t what you’re after but it’s probably the best way to go about it. The only other thing that came to mind was some sort of gain knob bypass, but the volume would also drop off significantly, wouldn’t it? I’m sure whatever I tried would smoke it, haha.
BTW the Stage Right is the same as the Harley-Benton Tube 15 available at Thomann...i am in Germany and will buy me one, it's a real "no-brainer" to decide! Gain control...and so on...what is missing on the expensive Fender with less value (for me!).
Do you think that these cleans surpass the ones of the blues jr? I’m looking to get a good clean tube amp because I want a very specific tone. I love the warm some of humbuckers in a nice clean and warm amp. Would the stage right work? The blues jr is at the top of my list but this changes my mind, and stage right has upgraded the amps nsince Then, thanks!
Hey Tyler, I wouldn’t say that the SRight surpasses the JRs cleans, I would say though that for a third of the price, they’ll do. If you’re a regular player with a critical ear I’d suggest you save your dough and get the Jr. The other idea would be to try the SRight and see, these little amps are so popular that you shouldn’t have any problem selling it should you decide to upgrade. Why oh, why doesn’t the Jr have an effects loop, speaker out jack or attenuation!?!?
I've had the Stage Right for over a yr. It is one heck of a bargain. Handles pedals very well , fast attack and very responsive . However , for pristine cleans it comes up a wee bit short , but if the song is OK with a little dirt and mild breakup the SR shines like a superstar. I am being very critical about " clean " since I have owned bot Twin & Super Reverb in the past. The highs in the SR are close to a Super ( pristine & bell like ) ,but mids/bass don't hold up as well as Twin or Super.
Woody Stemms - still a good deal for all the features. I’m taking mine out again tomorrow and currently building a matching cab for it to sit on. They’re great!
I was considering buying the Stage Right 30-Watt Head with 1x12 Celestion V30 cabinet at $599. Have you ever heard one or played through one? You do a good job comparing amps so I figured it was worth a shot to ask you. Thanks and be well... Phil NYC Area
Hey Phil, 30 watts is a lot. I have not played through/owned a 30 only the 15. At $600 you start having used options to consider. Hot Rod Deluxe, Peavy Classic 20 or 30, Fender Bassbreaker, Egnater Rebel, etc. You may find some of these others are more musically rich, or harmonic. You play out live, or mostly at home?
@@oldguyjammin9732 I do jam out occasionally, but don't play in a band anymore like I did before starting my photography business (conflict of schedules). You might be right, the 30 watts might be a little too much for home recording use. I am looking for a tube amp for 90% recording. Mostly looking for an amp that has a sweet overdrive sound with a lot of sustain for solos, but can also get more aggressive (Mesa like) if needed. (not easy to find so far). I like some of the Fender reissues (Princeton and Deluxe) to use with pedals for overdrive soloing, but they are so darn expensive these days. I am mostly into getting the overdrive from the amp, but lately considering some of the reissue type amps with pedals pushing them into overdrive. Thanks. Phil
why the reverb at 16 ish ? if were are comparing apples w apples ? you stated you would set them as best u could.. a dry basic clean seems like base line to me .not being a shit but it just seems right
I don’t remember why exactly but do remember the reverb on the Junior being a bit much even around 3 or 4... verb at 16!?!? Maybe just trying to show the range of the verb? The Junior is nice but for the price should have a ton more features like the new Laney cub super 12; speaker out, effects loop, boost even!
I get what you’re saying, but oddly enough I made a versus video between the 70/80 and the Cannabis and there was really very little difference, so.... maybe it’s okay :) Feature wise the Stage Right really shines. I don’t know why Fender won’t outfit more of their amps with simple things like an effect loop, external speaker outs, etc. Even the Princeton ($1000) doesn’t have an FX loop!?!? Deal breaker for me :(
@@oldguyjammin9732 Nice, thanks for the clarifying info. Does seem to be a great amp for the money. I do have a Cannabis laying around. Hmmmmm. Makes me think.
I noticed the PRS SE custom 24 in the back , is that the quilted top? How does that sound with either amp? I recently bought one and I’m looking for a nice little amp to compliment it. I’d really appreciate your feed back, thanks👍🏽
Diego Correa - well between these two amps I’d definitely go with the Monoprice Stageright. The PRS likes the Marshall tones as well so either the DSL 5CR or 40CR would be nice too. It kind of depends on what tones you’re looking for though and what your budget is, right? For $1000 I’m sure you’d be happy with a Princeton Reverb and a few pedals. The StageRight is definitely a “nice little amp” \m/
Thank you very much, very informative I’ll definitely check out the Marshalls. As far as the Princeton goes, that’ll have to wait a few years 😅😂 Thanks again!
Any speaker change will sound better than the 70/80 it comes with. I put a Vintage 30 in mine and it kills with the 5150 distortion pedal. It really is a great amp but like I said the stock speaker just leaves a lot to be desired. Hope I helped.
David trueslayor - sorry for the late response, lost my channel for a while. Truthfully I noticed little difference between the 70/80 and Rex, however the difference I did hear was much appreciated. The Rex is tighter and less ‘ice picky’ but I wasn’t like “WOW” \m/
Hey there oldguyjammin. I have a Blues Jr so this is interesting to me. But I wanted to ask your advice on another matter. I just got that pink PRS SE 24 and be darned if I can keep it in tune. I lubed the nut and it doesn’t appear to be binding anywhere... you don’t dare go on a PRS Facebook group with anything but praise for PRS.. I think we all know that. Any advice?
Oh boy, knee jerk response was “sell it” ha ha, but seriously I’d look at changing the nut out all together or opening it up with files or sandpaper. There’s just no reason a nut needs to be that deep. I filed mine all the way down until the strings were moving over it rather than thru it. Not sure what gauge strings you have on but try to go down a gauge and see what happens. I also remember the string end balls getting a bit trapped in the bridge instead of just resting against the string thru hole. You may not want to block out your bridge but it’ll be worth it. I’ve done it on my strat, Jackson and EVH and it made a huge difference in tuning, stability and getting rid of unwanted resonance issues. Good luck - get back with what you find out
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thank! That’s why I brought this to you because I saw your PRS nut video a while ago. Yeah I JUST got the thing so to sell it? Ughh. Well I just won’t. I haven’t changed the strings yet so there is that... about blocking the trem.. I don’t use them more than 2 % of how I play so it wouldn’t be the end of the world and I probably will but man...that is NOT what I expected. I thought they’d be a cut above the other imports. I’ve got 2 Harley Benton 24 fret copies. They both stay in tune. I dunno. If I sent it back... it’s the equivalent of going from Maine to Montana. I’m not even sure this is covered. Ughhh. On another more hopeful note, what 12” would you upgrade a Blue Jr with. And do you think other tubes would make a diff? Mine is a 4 so I think the reverb is much better. I know nothing about these things.
@@deanmccaskill5495 - tuning issues suck, and I hear you. I’ve got a low end ESP that I bought used that stays in tune forEVER. I could throw it down a flight of stairs, bring it right back up and play it, lol. I ended up selling my PRS because I got tired of fighting the stability and it was an around $800 it seems... terrible. Not sure how much you bend something I’ve found on Fenders is that the bridge saddles sit right on top of a flat metal bridge plate so there’s nothing for the height screws to set in to. Vintage brand guitars have little grooves in the bridge plate so the saddles are impervious to lateral pressure. I had a Fender modern player that hading huge tuning issues and I found that the saddles were shifting from time to time so I drilled a little divot for one of the high e screws to sit in and one on the low e side as well to trap them all :) it did the trick, so don’t give up. There’s something not right and if you keep looking you’ll find it, let me know if you do. Block out that tremolo - you’re welcome ;-) Speakers are so hit and miss I hate to suggest anything. It really depends on what you want out of the tone, more bright, more bass, more mids? Tubes swaps are best when trying to lower the gain of an amp. If you’re trying to increase the gain use a pedal instead. What are you trying to get out of your B Jr?
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thanks again for replying. Yeah that brand new SE. I’ve got the Harley Benton copy and IT keeps tune... enough about that. That Junior I love... or I did. The problem is is that I watch tv constantly and it gives me ideas. .... Like putting a 12 where a 10 should go in a DSL 5 for instance. I dunno the Jr can seem flubby... I thought I naught order 2 x 12” speakers. One for the DSL one for the Jr. More to learn and play with fixing up stuff than any real quest for a certain tone. I hope that makes sense and doesn’t sound toooo nuts.
@@deanmccaskill5495 - hahaha, Yee have entered thee ol’ rabbit hole :) in my experience with the Jr, which was pretty limited, the flubby flarp comes from speaker distortion (which I hate) rather than tube distortion (which I love). Some old school players LOVE when that low-watt speaker starts to fart, lol - not me so much. Here’s a guide to good options. I’d probably go Texas Heat. guitarspeakerguide.com/10-best-fender-blues-jr-speakers/ I’m sure you have pedals... You might look into an L-Pad attenuator (8 or 16 ohm) so you can run the master of that JR up in the sweet spot while keeping the volume low. I have one I mounted inside the cab of my Rectoverb. And lastly, funny what you said about not posting a (-) on FB regarding your PRS, lol YES , the fanboys come out with clubs and pitchforks, did the same with Chapman guitars \m/ oh the hate!! Have fun, take care, feel free to come back with any Qs.
First, I really like your ethics.I found the Stageright Monoprice in Europe under the name Haley Benton TUBES 15 Celestion. Are you thinking about an upgrade of the speaker? If so, what speaker would you use?
Robbert Johan Smidt - the stock one isn't too bad, I've tried a greenback, a cannabis Rex and a Celestine V-type. I stuck with V-type. Great overall representation of frequencies, nice thump and upper end sparkle.
@@oldguyjammin9732 Had mine since they came out with the newer model. First thing I did was change the verb tank, I have two Firefly guitars, both are excellent. 338 in red and blueberry burst LP. They hold up to my much more expensive guitars.
@@acidbran I had eyes on the Thinline Firefly but it sold out :( always nice when you roll the dice on something and it works out - way to go my dude!! Although, there seems to be something wrong with ‘blueberry’ and ‘guitar’ in the same sentence, ha ha.
Not sure I agree, but its great of you, regarding returns of "NEW GEAR" Guitar Center retail on new items, ESPECIALLY "mid to higher" end instruments (guitars, amps, ESPECIALLY FENDER GUITARS and FENDER AMPS)….is approximately 200-400 PERCENT!!!!!!!!! So why give a crap if you have to return something. Their margins are SOOOOO incredibly high that it allows them to offer good return policies because in no way can they EVER LOSE MONEY!!!!! So take it back, it DOES NOT hurt their bottom line one bit!!!!
Bill Seling - I like it!! You speak a good word :) I just personally don’t like to buy stuff without ANY intention of keeping it... I.e. just so I can make a video and pontificate about how great it is... and then return it? Like you said though, even if mildly interested I have no problem putting the restock boys to work.
I have both. The monoprice dirty is better. The fender clean is better. But my monoprice quit working. It blows fused as soon as you turn it on. So quality control probably sucks
Cannabis rex .....It would have been a more interesting comparison with the stock celestion .....The blues junior would sound way better with the cannabis rex i assume....
sir Zembla - perhaps but my experience with speaker swaps is this - I have yet to have a WOW - OMG moment. You seem to get improvements on the bass side, mid section of high side but rarely improvements in all 3, most often 2 of those aspects will improve though, so it’s a trade off. The Junior is one of the all time best selling small combos but today I think there are MUCH better options. The StageRight checks all my boxes when it comes to features and tone... I can’t figure out why Fender refuses to keep their designs so “old school”. I mean really, foot switchable reverb, speaker out jack? Those two alone would be so easy and add a lot to “updated versions”.
@@oldguyjammin9732 Fender means "pay" ,i have seen the video about the swapping and the diffrence in sound isn't huge between the celestion and the cannabis rex ,i forgot to post a new comment here i'm sorry ... Fender sleeps on its pillow ,no major improvement since Leo ,your video is very interesting indeed ,the Stageright is just amazing and sounds like a 1000 bucks amp ,no doubt ! God forbid ,if some day you try a Vintage reissued V6 you will have the feeling that you play on an old Fender stratocaster ,maybe there's some in shop where you live ,give it a try .....if i need an amp i'll buy the stageright/harley benton ,i am satisfied with my laney cub 8 plugged in a cab .... I am impressed i confess ... Thanks for the quick answer ...^^
I'm thinking about getting this amp. I play at small bars. Is the 15 watts loud enough or do you need to mic it? Is there an output to the PA? Thanks for the info!
Chris - sup Chris? The Stageright is a really great little amp. Feature wise it absolutely kills. If you’re playing very clean it may struggle to be loud enough but if you don’t mind a little sparkly breakup in your clean tone you should be ok (you could always use a clean boost too). Once the gain is dialed up for classic to harder rock you’ll have no problem. It does not have a direct out. I modded mine to sit on top of another 1x12 as a mini stack - sounds huge :)
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thanks. I was looking at using it for blues harp and occasionally for guitar because I already have a gigging amp. I love the sound of tube amps. Keep on rocking!
Hey OGJ, what OD pedals have you tried with this amp. I'm a old noob searching for "that" sound on mine with my es335 clone. Classic/southern rock, blues.....
Well I’ve tried a bunch, blues driver (didn’t like it), Timmy is good but $$, I liked the NUX Horseman, believe it or not the ProCo Ratt makes some really nice low gain tones too. Seymour Duncan has two pedals that are permanents on my boards the 805 and The Killing Floor (really liking the Killing Floor - check that one out for sure) and another sleeper pedal is the Brownie by CMat Mods. I also have the classic standbys, the OCD and TS9 but I don’t like them for low driven bluesy stuff. Oh, and I don’t like the Plumes by TC and after having a couple of Mojo Mojos got rid of them all together. The Killing Floor through my little DSL5 is amazing, it really likes Marshalls. It makes a small watt, somewhat anemic amp sound really big. Check it out.
The Tumnus by Wampler is another GREAT pedal for light to mid gain tones. Very transparent, 3 band EQ, etc. It’s also been on my board for a long, long time :)
@@summerboy1958 - I can’t say I tried them all with the SR because I sold it right around the New Year, but because of it’s ‘very Marshall’ characteristics I’d be confident in my top 3 or 4. Tone is so subjective that it’s tough to make recommendations. Your idea of light rock may be different than mine. My buddy at work us using a Full Bore Metal pedal through a little hybrid amp that he LOVES, I don’t thinks it’s really that great, lol :) know what I mean? I’d take a look at 1) SDuncan Killing Floor 2) Wampler Tumnus 3) SDuncan 805 4) and even the Soul Food. It’s great for $50.
The Blues Jr is the better amp for non Marshall, mellower blues tones. But for Marshall tones in a smaller amp, the Monoprice absolutely smokes the Blues Jr. If you use a high dollar dist pedal, the Monoprice sounds like a $900 amp, especially w a new set of JJ's. I also swapped out the Celestion 70/80 w a heavy mag Warehouse Reaper (similar to G12H30) which really fattens up the tone and adds a firmer bottom. The reverb tank and effects loop are great as well.
I’d say you perfectly described the SRight - Nice \m/ think will pin that one.
@@oldguyjammin9732 I love this Monoprice amp. It's a great pedal platform and one of the most versatile amps I've ever owned. Like everyone else I have a lot of gear, including a couple of small amps, but nothing really does Marshall tones in a small amp like this thing does. It's allegedly a copy of the Laney Cub but I've played through those and this doesn't sound anything like it - it's way better IMO. I use an older version of the Wampler Pinnacle dist through it. A bridge humbucker w an A2 magnet run through that version of the Pinnacle in front of this amp absolutely nails that sweet, organic 1970's crunchy JMP tones. If you run a well made clean boost through the effects loop, you can get some really fat cleans when you bypass your dist pedal. It's takes a little tweaking between the master and gain as you go back and forth between engaging the dist pedal vs bypassing it and engaging the clean boost but once you get the hang of it, it's like having 3 amps in one.
It also has an effects loop and attenuator.
@@phunkyjunkee - part of what makes that Stage Right such a great deal over the Blues Jr which is 3 times the price!!!!! Ridiculous...
@@mennofennema9829 Great. Keep your farts to yourself...
5:30 Fender
6:43 Stage Right
Stage Right sounds better here
Thank you, to much talking in this vid
Thank you. So many of these guys just never shut up
Thanks. Dude was just going on as though anyone cares about his morals towards returning Guitar Center goods etc.. That's one of the reasons I haven't watched the Guitologist I. Over 18 months.
@@Sleepysidney Yeah, Brad went all batshit crazy with the conspiracy crap. Too bad. I loved watching his amp repairs.
If you guys think the mono sounds better then you’re not using the blues jr right. Gotta crank the master all the way then use your volume knob as your master or if you want more gain then do the opposite. Personally think it comes alive with the master cranked and ext cab.
you’re right, I did not do that… it would’ve been way to frickin’ loud. I dig the little guy but it has no effects loop, which I rely on heavily. I’d have one (or a Princeton, or 68 ) no loops!?!?
@@oldguyjammin9732 no it won’t you use the volume knob to control the overall volume. With the master maxed out your cooking the power tubes and it gives you that finder clean. Hope that makes sense then do the opposite for more gain personally so volume knob maxed and then use the master for the master volume. These amps need the pre amp tubes hot or the power tubes depending on what sound you’re going for. I’ve experimented a lot with the jr it’s the only way to play it. Thanks for the review
@@oldguyjammin9732 for sure that’s why I kinda shelved my tube amps unless I’m gonna play live or in a band I went with a Yamaha thr30ii and it is amazing for bedroom playing even some what loud playing it gets up there
Regardless of price or where it is made, the Stage Right SOUNDS better.
Ridiculous
I had both side by side, the blues junior has a slightly better clean but anything else is WAY better with the Stageright. Sold the fender...
Great video. I bought the Monoprice chassis seperate off of ebay for something like $71.00 shipped to the house and with tubes. According to the ad, the cabinet was damaged during shipment (to like a whole pallet of these amps) I bought a barely usedJensen speaker and a Mod reverb tank and then made a cabinet. For about $140.00 I got an "upgraded" version (LOL!!) and I love it.
Joseph Mulka - YES! That is awesome. That little amp just begs to be broken :) Way to go Jo \m/
KOOL sounds like something I do
Wow the Blues Jr has that classic fender tone you can never get out of a Monoprice but the Monoprice has more of a Marshall tone you could never get out of a Fender, I guess the solution is to buys both.
haha, yes! I might have a Jr if it had an effects loop. I do like the sound pushed.
What a fantastic review! You were extremely kind with your wording regarding your opinions on which amp was better. I think I’ve made a decision based on this. Thanks
There is one distinct difference though… resale value. The mono price will go down, while the blues Jr will always have a high demand and will hold its value.
PEOPLE ARE SELLING THEM ON EBAY FOR OVER $299.99, USED.
I wouldn't buy a secondhand amp EVER anything in the amp could be close to letting you down, buy new and you at least have a guarantee.
The Stage Right and the Fender are very similar clean. Crank the gain, and there's no comparison, the Stage Right lays waste to the Fender. Having owned both of these, and being a current proud owner of two Stage Right combos, I'll keep what I've got, thank you very much.
I didn't get it, is it worth the extra cash for the blues junior? this monoprice is a solid choice, could you tell me
@@jesuslopez6873 I've owned both. My opinion? Skip the Fender, get the Stage Right. It's a far more versatile amp with features the Blues Junior doesn't have, like an effects loop, external speaker out, and presence knob. For the money you'd spend on the Blues Junior, you could buy two of the other amps plus a few pedals, then drown out the jackass at the jam night with his Blues Junior when he scoffs at your "cheap" amps, and sound better doing it.
@@bradleyard4195 thanks man, you don't know how helpful your comment was
@@bradleyard4195 damn. I was about to pull the trigger on one of these stage rights. It looks like I need to. My son needs a good tube amp to get him started.
@@hinezilla If he's using it for small practice sessions or small gigs, the 15 watt combo would work. Otherwise, maybe look into their 30 or 50 watt tube amps. They're pretty incredible as well, and the price is right.
Great video thanks for doing this. Ive had my stage right for about 5 years and I had the capacitor issue that comes up in some of these older units. Hopefully that has been addressed in the newer ones? Mine happened after minimal use maybe one year or year and a half. I was fortunate in that mine was a simple capacitor replacement that was easy to spot. After changing that I have not had had any issues other than having to replace the stock tubes with JJ's due to a couple of bad pre amp tubes. After changing out all my tubes to JJ's sounds even better.
Glad to hear it and good for you, doing your own tech work! Solid little amp for sure \m/
Thanks for the side by side review. I didn’t realize that it’s supposed to be a tone clone of the Blues Jr. I appreciate the info at the start of the video too.
I’ve had the SR for almost 2 years. It’s a great amp, especially for the money. Most of the clubs where I live (Sacramento) appreciate a 15-20 watt amp as it keeps the stage volume down and lets the FOH guy properly mix for the house. The SR amp fills this role perfectly.
Kirk Bolas - cool man (I’m in Placerville :) it is great. I think it’s actually a Laney Cub clone but still blows doors on the Fender too. The Jr is a solid little a Fender but for $600!! Yikes!! Thanks for commenting and good luck in the clubs!
Not Really a Tone Clone of that amp, but the Laney Cub 15. The main circuit board inside the Stage Right has Laney printed on them.
@@jamesmalamute7874Laney cub 12r*
Sac town !
The stage right is actually stage right
Aaron Warren - Ahh! Took me a while :)
Lmaooooo
"Five minutes to curtain!"
"thank you, five!"
I saw all the comments for stage right and I thought that was what they meant. Meaning the one on stage right was the best. I didn’t realize until have way through the video it was the name of the amp lmao
@@Minyin3737 LOL. Well, in this case at least it's the same thing.
"Five minutes till curtain!"
"Thank you, five!"
Memories from my theater life. :)
Thanks for sharing this. I just bought this very same amp (Harley Benton's) and I am very happy with it. It's my first tube amp and it sounds amazing, far better than my old amp (Boss Katana 50 MKII). But I suppose I can't compare those two... Greetings from Chile!
I bought the Monoprice after the Katana 50 MKII. Like em both, on the strat the Katana can get more chimey but the Mono is superbly warm.
@@chaswinger1534 i miss the Katana for more heavy metal stuff.
@@pepeguitarshop yup
Damn, that Monoprice sounds amazing! I love saving money, so I know which one I would go with! Comparison appreciated! 😆
Blues Junior is a proven gig-able amp. I've owned a Twin, Super Reverb, Blues Deluxe, Showman and also the Blues Junior. Buy a used Fender and you'll never loose money or tone. Los Angeles
You're right of course, but I'm just so bothered by Fender NOT really bringing this amp into the 21st century by a foot-switchable reverb, or the inclusion of an effects loop!?!? at least the FAT is switchable by the foot. The latest version at Sweetwater is $850 with "all new enhancements" that include a different speaker and a massaged reverb, pscht! 4 versions and 27 years later without practical upgrades and still unaffordable for the average Joe. Know what I mean? but again, everything you say is true. Did I mention the particle board cabinet? \m/
Yeah the Blues Jr. sounds great, but so does the stage right better at times (clarity and punch) but that's a subjective preference thing, 'But' you throw in the $$ factor and that pretty much ends the discussion.
I own the Harley Benton version of the mono price (tube 15) for about four years now, I gig it every weekend and used in practice every other night. It sounds amazing and handles pedals like a champ. I’ve only recently re-tubed it with mullard tubes and it sounds even better
Great little amp! Thanks for chiming in \m/
The only problem with your test is that it wasn't clear which amp you were using in your test, ie, I never knew which amp I was hearing.
The red light shows on the Monoprice when it was on.
@@ka4sxi thank you!😊
10:17 Fender 11:21 monoprice
y cual te gusta mas? con el monoprice se paso de distor
LOL, when the white cord moves over to the Stageright and the light comes on, that’s the one that’s “ON”, omg! I also play with the dials of the amp that’s being played through, omg again! I KNOW - Phone screens are small.
Just discovered these videos. Excellent and totally enjoyable. Thank you. ❤
Well great! Glad you liked it! You’re welcome \m/
Just used my Monoprice with a full band for the first time yesterday, after owning for 2 years. I put JJs in it 6 months ago. I was getting legendary tone. It was that sustain controlled feedback most of us chase after our whole life. Played with a LP with the pickups wired in series on the middle position. It was absolutely glorious. Never got above 5 on volume in the 15w setting with full band
Ha ha, awesome! I can see you now, up front rockin’ with the boys \m/
what ate jjs?
It is hard to tell which amp you were playing.
I know, especially on a phone or small screen. The input cable switches over.
I love the idea of the Blurs Jr for a amp to throw in the back seat and take to small shows and jams but I’ve played through several and never bonded with it stock. I’ve played through some great modded ones but I don’t want another project. I actually like the sound of the Monoprice better and it’s half the price of a used B-Jr so it’s a no brainer. I don’t care for the Eminence in the older B-Jrs either and although they seem to get a bad rap from some I think the Seventy/80 sounds good when broke in so that’s another $60 I wouldn’t have to spend (the MOD 12-70 is a great bang for the buck speaker IMO and they’re around $60). Neither is as good sounding as a Princeton Reverb but that’s $900 for a amp and I wouldn’t use one as a beater amp so it wouldn’t fill the use I want.
You speak a good word brother :)
I just bought a 2nd SR 15(for my niece),she's throwing out stuff at 17 i only dreamed of when i was that age, ha ha!
I bought the Stage Right after reading and hearing so much about it. Absolutely friggin’ love it! And for the price, I’ll be getting a second one soon.
Very Cool! Lots of guys are running a stereo rig... AND WHY NOT!?!?!? Rock on’
Thanks for the video. Enjoyed all the info. I’ve been thinking of buying me a new small amp and had been considering both these amps. Comparison was great 👍🏽
Similar for cleans. But the Stageright has a more beefier distortion. And looks like the Stageright has a few more options as far as an effects loop and a line out for an external cab. Stageright wins this challenge!
Not only this challenge, but several others as well :)
Yes. Except a "line out for an external cab" is not a line out but a speaker out. Which brings me to my only issue with that amp, it hasn't got a line (or headphone) out emulated or otherwise. If it did it would be perfect.
Great video! I can’t believe how many videos are being made on the Monoprice amp! I have both the 12 and the 5 amp models as well as a new Blues Jr. I have to admit I spend all my time on the Stage Right amps. It’s hard to believe they can build them at that price point! I’ll be following ya!
Much appreciated and thanks for swinging by!! Maybe the B Jr 6 will have a few more features like attenuation, speaker out jack, and an effects loop!?!? How can any amp these days NOT have one, lol
The Fender does have a footswitch jack it's just located in a very inconvenient spot underneath the rear panel. You can't see it, you have to feel around for it which is about the dumbest design I've ever seen. That said, it does have one and it's used to turn the fat switch on and off which changes the characteristics of the mids. I'm not a Fender geek by any means, but he could at least pick up the manual and read it so he doesn't say things that are just wrong before he publishes a versus video. The Blues Junior is a great amp for the money, but it's not great at bedroom levels and really doesn't shine until you boost the master and volume up. Don't get me wrong, the Monoprice amp sounds terrific and I don't think I would hesitate to get one especially given it comes with a one year warranty. I just found this video lacking in the details a bit.
You’re right of course, should have done more research, or like you said, Fender should have designed it to be more obvious. I’d like to own a Jr but it just doesn’t have the features. Thanks for chipping in!
Thanks for doing this side by side comparison.
You're welcome!
Did anyone notice the speaker in the SR amp was a Cannabis Rex (Eminence)...not a celestion. I didnt hear him mention if he swapped it out.
It was swapped out in a previous video. Not an OMG difference but enough that I left it in.
Great comparison. The Stageright wins, for my tastes. Nice crunch.
I bought one 5 years ago for 199.00 put JJ in it and change reverb tank and with a tube screamer it is a bad ass little amp for the price comparison cant touch it ! Grate blues amp !
Glad to hear it’s still going strong! Rock on \m/
I replaced my jj"s with old used GE's. Much improved sound. For me JJ 12ax7's are reliable but rather unspecial sounding. I definitely don't like their El-84's.
Thank you very much! Cant wait to get mine to upgrade as well. I have some beautiful walnut wood, and cream colored leather for some accents. Going to build a custom enclosure. Build my own "boutique" tube amp...for a fraction of the cost.
Grinning In Your Face - when you’re done you should post up some pics or share a video. We’d love to see it!
@@oldguyjammin9732Thank you for the content I will, but it will be a few months...im on a tight budget, and I just bought a new Tagima T635 strat style! (I have to finish my daughters custom pc before daddy gets an amp.) Paired with the monoprice 15w should make a super budget combo! Was going to go with the katana 50w, but decided I will go tube route since I can get one for just a little more...plus I cant DIY upgrade on the katana like I can this one. I like to tinker. Thanks again, be safe.
Grinning In Your Face - Cool! Plus, that Katana 50 doesn’t have an FX loop?!!?!?
@@oldguyjammin9732 Oh wow, I just assumed it had an fx loop, great point!! Sweet, now I feel even better!
Thanks for the review, it was great. I too am old man jamming, actually learning. Just getting into electric, still prefer acoustic, but really enjoyed your review and will probably get one to use with a newly acquired used mim strat. Unless of course you have a better idea I am all ears. Thanks
Carl White - I actually don’t have any better ideas. This is a ‘perfect’ first amp and SO much better than a solid state ‘wanna-be’. You’ve started a new journey and can start adding a pedal here and there, maybe a looper and then.... oh my garsh :) Have fun Carl \m/
Nice job! The Cannabis Rex speaker swap is the difference maker. I found the stock 70/80 to be a bit muffled and boxy in this combo.
Great review! You also have a Cannabis Rex in the Monoprice, so it's modded :).
I gig the living daylights out of my Stage Right 15w, it sounds great! I love it!
Lyons & Son - that’s awesome! A year and a half later and I’m still finding killer new pedal combos to hit it with :) Latest was my modded metal zone, lol. So much fun \m/
Nice! I play a few instruments through this thing. I play a modded Squier Strat with Fender Tex Mex pickups, a modded Yamaha Pacifica with lipstick pickups tuned B-B with 13-62 strings, an Ibanez mandolin with a lipstick pickup and a Yamaha APX 500 acoustic. I may adjust the tone knob slightly when going from the electrics to the acoustic but still. I run the electrics with some compression from a cheap compression pedal, sometimes a phaser and sometimes a cheap Klon clone. If I play anyplace bigger than 15 watts will handle I just mic it and put it through the PA.
Lyons & Son - B-b!?!?! Freak! :) Love my $30 JOYO compressor - cheap is good... sometimes
Oldguyjammin yep, it’s tuned B, F#, D, A, E, B. It’s sort of like putting a capo 4 frets before the nut🤣
I’m on a budget. I mod my own stuff and value the info I get from videos like this one. Combo is working out ok for me!
I also mercilessly gig on my SR 15w every weekend. I'm not easy on it, by any means. It has been very reliable and the tone is incredible. I love these amps. I did just purchase the new 30 watt short stack because I was so impressed with the 15w. So far, loving the amp. Many gigs to come!
I know it's been awhile but I can't get that riff at 8:19 outa my head🥴. What is it? Sounds so familiar..
Lol, YES! Check out TNT by AC/DC - you may find it similar :)
@@oldguyjammin9732 Dang it.Thats it for Sure. It's heck getting old😂
Talk talk talk. Actual sound comparisons start @ 5:20
I have had Guitar Center sell me something presented as "New" and sold at full price that turned out to be obviously opened and returned... Twice. I live 2 hours away from them so I didn't bother making a fuss about it. Since the 2nd time, I prefer to buy elsewhere if possible or inspect the gear before leaving. When you say they don't really care you are spot on!
Excellent demo BTW!
Thanks man :) hard to beat their “try at home for 30 days” and in-store returns. There are some good ones and bad ones and I’ve been in both.
Same here with guitar center and sister site Musicians Friend, I don't know if they were returns they sent me, but some obviously were on display and had pickguard scratches one had a small dent near the output jack and damage to the finish like it fell when someone tried to put it on the hook, (small head Fender) and all missing the factory paperwork tags etc. My opinion if it has been on display for long enough to show obvious signs of being played it showed be stated and discounted.
I also have a mono and a solid state champ 100. I am saving for a 68 twin but i am trying to figure out how to hook up the two together so i can have real stereo. Also give me the ability to use the effects on the champ thru both. Do you have any idea how you could do this? Great vid by the way.
Nick Jimenez - Hey Nick, I do NOT know how to run amps in stereo other than by utilizing pedals that have stereo outputs; just run on out into one amp and the other into the other amp. Running the FX loop of one thru both sounds complicated, lol. Check the ol’ internet :)
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thanks. Guitar Center just opened a store here. Im going to take my rigs down and see if they can help me. I just dont want to burn or blow anything up.
I bought the monoprice amp like new for $80 off some dude that didn't want it cause he bought a reverb pedal shortly after he got the amp. I love the amp.
@Andrés Aquino depends on size of venue and what type of music you'll be playing
@Andrés Aquino if it's like blues, country, slow/soft rock you might be able to blend in the mix well but if you're playing heavy loud stuff I don't think it'll cut through the mix too well since it's only one 12" speaker.
@Andrés Aquino if you're gonna mic it up then yeah it'll do. It's a awesome amp if you're into blues and classic rock. It also takes pedals well if you wanna use distortion pedals. It makes my ds-1 sound amazing. Plus it has an effects loop which is a big plus for modulation pedals. I play lots of heavy stuff on it with pedals and it does awesome.
@Andrés Aquino the 5w and it's loud. So I could imagine a 40w would work. Probably has a better tone too.
Since watching your video, I slightly altered my Monoprice. It now has the Cannibas Rex speaker. I also changed tubes to JJ's. Using pre-amp tubes 5751, 12AT7, and 12AX7. Also upgraded the reverb tank from 2 springs to 3. All in all, I now have a total of $400 in it. It's what I needed :-)
Changed my tubes as well. Night and day difference
Justin Phillips - you saw the Cannabis Rex in mine! Tight, Crunchy!! Are those tubes in order from the socket closest to the input and then on from there? I used a 12AT7 also (ECC81 actually) but put in the first socket if I remember right. Regardless I love how it lowered the over all gain, great for boosting with a pedal.
EL84 EL84, V3 is 12at7, V2 is 5751, V1 is 12ax7. Tried to line them up similar to my '69 Super Reverb (minus a few less tubes and 6L6 GC's. Sold yrs ago). Sweet jeebus it sounds sweet :-)
There is a really active Facebook group (Monoprice Amp Users) about these amps. I’ve written several posts about different aspects of this amp and the 5 watt.
Anyway, concerning tube swapping; be careful! The power transformer is just barely enough for the amp as is and quite a few people have burned theirs up with running higher current tubes.
The 12at7 is a lower gain tube, but runs much higher current. That being said, I run my preamp tubes like this: Svetlana 12ax7-V1, JJ Reverse 12Dw7-V2, RCA 12at7-V3
There are very specific reasons for having the strange tubes in V2 and V3. V2 takes advantage of the cathode follower by using a 12au7 on the second stage. V3 is the phase inverter and likes more current and needs to be balanced.
For some really specific and predictable reasons this makes the amp even better!
Hi Oldguyjammin,
I put a Celestion A- Type in it and these harsh treble peaks are gone when I crank it. But the fenderish sound when playing clean is still there.
That's what it sounded like in several videos, it has been confirmed. (The C12N was far too shrill for me when it was supposed to transmit driven sounds.)
That's what I was looking for. Now this little amp sounds more like a tweed, when it's getting driven a bit more wiith the 12AT7 in V1 and V3.
By the way, is a 12 AX7 a good choice in this combination? This is my current tube configuration.
Another thing: The power tubes in my HB Tube15 can't be driven. Is this normal??? All gain comes from the preamp tubes 🤔😏
Cheers Sven
I had a blues jr, telecaster sounded great through it but I hated my SG through it. Traded the amp for a gretsch and now fasting after a vox ac 10 but curious about these cheap tube amps.
A usual phenomenon. Single coils, especially Tele's, sound good through pretty much anything. Humbuckers are more of a fuss for getting the best out of them, they have to really sit in nice in a rig. Having tried different Tellies and different yet classic humbuckers sets, nothing has ever come to prove this experience false yet
Especially with cheaper amps, this is the case.
Didn’t think I would have to have said anything... the white guitar cord is plugged in to the amp that is playing... duh!! Lol
Actually a good video....
I have one of these 15 watt amps and I tell you what they sound great give the speaker a little time to break in and the tubes and you got a nice sounding and it will crank take my word for it, it looks like they went up a little bit on them now they were a hundred ninety-nine but now I think there are 250 and free shipping you can't beat it and they're very well made they have effects loops in the back where you can put pedals into them and they take pedals great plus the one want to 15 watts for playing in the house love this amp that's all I can say about it get you one there worth the money instead 600 for a blues Junior.
Allen swinney - yep, still loving mine too \m/
These amps imho have a totally different feel and tone then each other. I have to say the Fender Blues Jr is no better built and really doesnt offer the goods to be priced the way it is. Meanwhile the Monoprice (after a few mods) has its own thing going and is indeed a pretty good amp. The Blues Jr's suffer from cheap parts, soldering and hot bias. The Monoprice's tubes will last long as they arnt being cooked at around 330v plate voltage like a Blues Jr and there is a bias pot. The Blues Jr requires more work to cool the bias down in. The Monoprice has SMD's on the board which make this amp much more difficult to work on or do mods. But look at the price. The Blues Jr is now $750+ new. Thats insane for what the amp is and what it does. But ya cant compare these two amps imho because they sound so different. I love my modded Blues Jr and i mod and repair a lot of them. But they are too expensive and if you dont go thru and change the cheap parts like caps and wrong resistor values and really go thru a check solder joints, thats gonna be an amp that costs a lot of $ to keep maintained. The Monoprice you can buy 3 of for the price of a Blues Jr. Sadly I dont see how the Blues Jr is a good buy or amp in todays age of amps. Not enough new features and issues that plagued the earlier versions still exist.
Monoprice amp sounds much better once you get a real speaker in it, get a real 3 spring MOD reverb tank and get some decent tubes in. Also change the reverb cable (luckily its not hard wired like the Blues Jr). Set the bias accordingly as unlike the Blues Jr's, these come with a cold bias and that is another reason there seems to be so little head room. With 6p14p tubes in the power section and the bias adjusted right, this amp sounds much much better. But even then with these mods the price of the monoprice is insanely low. To mod and fix the issues on a Blues Jr that you bought for $750, well its gonna be around a $1,000 amp in the end. Thats just crazy. The Blues Jr use to be priced somewhat well, but now this is just silly for what you get.
Thats my take and I own both amps and have experience with repairing and modding both. But i keep seeing people compare the two and to me they are apples and oranges. The Monoprice is based off the Laney Cub amps by the way. The 70/80 speaker thats in it is complete garbage. So if you try out the Monoprice, keep in mind theres some mods ya have to do before your really gonna hear what this amp can do. But the same can be said of the Blues Jr. Both require some work imho before you can even really hear what they are capable of.
There are too many options out there these days and I cant see how Fender will be able to keep up when their amps keep going up in price, but not quality. But hey the name sells, just like the Celestion in the Monoprice helps sell it, even tho its garbage. But its a Celestion you say... yeah.... do some google researching on this speaker.
A wealth of knowledge... usable knowledge at that! Thanks for sharing \m/
@@oldguyjammin9732 HAHA ! :-) Just sharing some of the tricks i did after learning the circuit a little better. Another cool thing is to run a preamp pedal into the FX loop to bypass the amps EQ. This is a slick way to get the amps overall tonal character to be altered. Want it to react like a Fender more or sound that way, use a preamp that is based on a Fender sound. Etc. I have a cheap Joyo California pedal that I plug into the FX loop and now i have a useful Fender tone that im content with. Ive also plugged my One Control SS Fender amps preamp out into the MP15's FX loop and that was insane. But the One Control amp is about $700 haha and the Joyo is $25. Still there are a lot of options for getting this amp to sound like anything you really want it to. :-) Take care and keep on trucking.
Harely Benton tube 15 is the same as the monoprice. I have been told that the tubes and something else was different in the HB but Not sure about that. It's hearsay
Video starts at 5:22
And there's no indication of which sound is coming from which amp
Dave Carsley - you’ll notice the white guitar cord moving between the two amps.
Holy moly. Did he just explain a whole story about shipping and blah blah. I thought I got the wrong video and had to check damn
Danny Rivers - dude, what are you talking about !?!? Maybe you’re referring to the length of the intro, lol. Hey, what can I say, it’s interesting stuff! You can always just scroll on through if you’re not familiar with the side stories :) peace!!
At 250 plus tax and shipping 300+ get a used classic 30 combo or a bugera v22.
Under 200$ definitely great deal.
They're sold on amazon, with prime shipping it cuts the shipping cost + 2 day 🤷🏼♂️
@@wme714 right I just bought a mint Peavey Bravo for $239.00
Monoprice Rocks! They are the manufacturer, selling direct, so they can offer this great quality at such fantastic prices. Also - If you are not buying your audio and speaker cables from them, you are wasting money!
Jon Sanserino - had no idea, never thought about checking out cables and such... I’m on it! Thanks man \m/
Might've been nice to make it easier to tell which is playing
True, but anytime it ‘sounds better’ it’s the Stage Right :)
You can check were the guitar cable is going.
I had both amps. Sold the Blues Jr. Still have the Stage Right. It's what the Blues Jr should have been. Does a decent Deluxe sound but you can tell it has EL84's instead of 6V6's when you overdrive it. Mine has the Celestion A type and it's a good fit for me. Some come with the Celestion 70/80 which sounds a bit smoother but also darker. Love the one watt setting too.
Right on man, always nice when we connect with our gear. I’d like to have a Jr but the feature set just sucks! Especially considering that Fender is on their fourth one, lol. The A-type is actually a really nice speaker imo, I never connected with the 70/80 and felt it really got loose as the volume got higher. Thanks for chiming in \m/
I watched the beginning of the video and got so wrapped up in your story that I forgot why I was here... Not really in a bad way.... Thanks
Plastic Bleach - lol, yaaaa... I need to just shut up and get to it sometimes \m/ cheers Plastic Bleach
@@oldguyjammin9732 "not really in a bad way"
I don't see the spring reverb on mine? Where is it? Thanks for any help.
Early models had a 6” tank, new models have a full 12” tanks located across the bottom of the cabinet. It’s usually covered with a vinyl material of some sort but you should see something with RCA cables connected to it. Of course, if your amp doesn’t have a ‘reverb’ knob on the front, you don’t a tank in the cab :) The tank is just a rectangular metal box.
@@oldguyjammin9732 thank you so much.gonna check it out later.all the reverb amps I had you could clearly see the units.
I’ve heard the Monoprice amps are basically a Laney Cub 12 clone.
sneifert1968 - that’s what many people say, I’m not sure the Laney has the same great features though.
@@oldguyjammin9732 It is the circuit board, actually printed on it, you can adjust the output voltage, they had mine shipped to me at around -7 watts, I adjusted mine to -12.3. Probably will cost me tubes doing that but so what. I have numerous el84's around
fingers magoo - is the nominal voltage also written on the pcb? Looking around I can’t find anything but mV values. Way to go man!!
Got my mono 15watt amp today, Sounds great with my Custom built Esquire,In with the manual there is small a wire thing, what is that for?
Congratulations!! New Amp Day... I have no idea what “a small wire thing” might be for...? You’ve got me, hmm.
@@oldguyjammin9732 Well after you said that I took a closer look at it..They now put JJ tubes in these and in the plastic bag with manual they have a tag That has a tag That says equipped with JJ tubes. That wire thing is not a wire at all but a plastic sort of tie you would find on a tag that you rip off.. haha..
Great comparison video. The Blues Jr. sounds great but I actually preferred the Monoprice amp!
Just bought one today. Would LOVE to rehouse it or change tolex to tweed, but it looks nice the way it is.
If I could get that in a tweed enclosure, it would look and sound like vintage Champ on steroids!
Blake Wright - nice things is Blake, that it’s affordable enough to do something like that with, or even cover in stickers if that’s your style, know what I mean? Unlike a $1000 Princeton or something where if you put a sticker on it - BOOM - there goes any sort of resale value.
Oldguyjammin very good point! I was going to buy a champion 600 or ac4 for a different tone than my ac15c1, but I couldn’t pass this up with those bells and whistles.
What would you recommend for speaker upgrades to get a vintage tone, if needed?
Blake Wright - Eminence makes a nice vintage series (Governor or V12 or Texas Heat) or you could pick up the new Celestion V-Type that many people are really loving. The 70/80 that comes stock isn’t too bad but it did have a upper range spike that bugged me so I swapped it out with a Cannabis Rex which didn’t really change things too much but it was better :) this weekend I’m putting a Celestion V-Type my SRight just because I happen to have one lying around after putting a Vintage 30 in my Marshall combo. I’ll shoot a video! Speakers are ‘hit and miss’ in my opinion because tone is SO subjective to each and every listener. Maybe try to consider what characteristics you want more or less of than what you have and then call Guitar Speaker Warehouse - great guys that actually answer the phone and are always more than happy to guide you to what you looking for.
@Allieaux Media - hey, better late than never! Glad you left this comment, someone may really appreciate it.
regarding the guitologist vs mcknight, i would tend to agree that a person shouldn't wantonly just buy stuff and return it rampantly. guitar center may say one thing or another, but they may just be being nice. either way, logically speaking, the more times something has to move around, the higher the cost for that item is. and if they "don't care" about that, well, their financial status doesn't exactly reflect that to be sound wisdom
I've heard the Stage Right was a clone of the Blues Jr. This was the first video shootout of the pair I've seen. The difference is quite noticable. I'm glad I bought the Stage Right. I've put a V30 speaker in it and am in awe of the performance and sound. Love, love, love it.
My JMP doesn't get much use anymore in the house.
It’s a clone of the Laney Cub rather than the Jr. If the darn Jr had an effects loop I’d be interested, but for the tone and features the SR seems a ‘no brainer’
That monoprice is such a dynamic amp. Has some fender tone, but I am almost hearing more of a marshal or vox at times, and the clean is nice. I love a blues Jr. They are fantastic amps and I cannot say I like the monoprice better, but it has so many tones that it is good for. The fender kinda does the fender thing... which is great, just fewer options.
its actually a Laney Cub clone...?
@@oldguyjammin9732 ahhhh
You are correct. Two seperate voices. Both usable. I sometimes pair the SR15 with my Super Champ X2. I enjoy blending amp sounds. I also pair my Princeton with my VOX AC10. At my age (70) I prefer the smaller amps.
When my SR arrives... I plan to disassemble the cabinet and replicate the parts with real Baltic birch or solid pine then re-wrap the tolex or stain and reassemble... the only glaring weakness I see is the cab material and possibly a speaker upgrade. What a great sound!
I tried a few speakers and the 70/80 actually works pretty well. A Celestion V-Type sounds real good as does a Swampthang, however with SThang you do lose a little of the top end sparkle. Sounds like a fun project.
The difference maker is monoprice is trying to make a killer amp. Fender is trying to make a budget amp.
Stage right all the way
Excellent review. Stageright wins for me. Proves again that spending$$ just buys a logo. Thx!
John Welch - Yep, absolutely absurd what Fender is charging for the 4th generation of their Jr. and no improvements!!
Can't find these Monoprice amps in Australia and shipping costs are high.
I know what you mean, I’m looking for an ENGL 1x12 Pro Cab and while the price is much cheaper from the Netherlands the shipping kills me! The MonoP amps are also sold as a Tube15 by Harley Benton - same amp and shipping might be free. Check it out :)
Hey really impressed with the sound of the Stage Right, especially for the price! Btw, I noticed the Petrucci book Rock Discipline. I just got it about a month ago and it’s awesome and extremely challenging!
Ryan Haydon - yep, fun little amp and the BOOK, I was surprised that it got so technical so quickly :) great purchase \m/ I need to get back into it... so little time :(
@@oldguyjammin9732 I hear you on that! Btw, I just bought the amp used in great condition off eBay for $160 with free shipping. I've been looking at it on and off for awhile, and after seeing your video finally decided to get it. Price was too good to pass up!
Memphis Mini Blues completely modified both the 8" and 12" versions of the Monoprice amps, relabeled "Stage 5". The tone is designed for Harp players, but It works for guitars, too. I have the 8" version Stage 5, and the tone is UNREAL, and it's Loud. Loud enough to be heard over a whole electric band.
The circuit is redone, different tube and the original Speaker replaced w/Weber Signature.
Check it out. it's the best amp I have owned.
Mitchel Evans - on it! Thanks \m/
Probably a great studio amp. The one I purchased didn’t make it beyond one trip to practice and a few hours of playing. It sounded really good, durability? well.....
sneifert1968 - well that sucks, I hear the same thing about Marshalls, Classic 30s and Egnater ;-) That’s a drag man, being so new hopefully you got your money back or got another one on a return.
Oldguyjammin My JCM 2000 TSL 60 Marshall head has been through years of back and forth to gigs, practice etc. without any problems, backseats to box trailers. I just don’t use it for practice because the guys I’m playing with right now are smokers. Don’t want to leave it at rehearsal space or lug it and my 2x12 back and forth. Hence the inexpensive small combo option. Just didn’t work out. Got a refund and got lucky and found a 2010 Transtube Peavey bandit 112 for $80. Sounds really good and was a great deal🤟
Have these two amps side by side. Mono price is cleaner. Put a tone tubby key biscayne in the monoprice and like it. Monoprice has a high pitched hiss at times. What might cause this?
You have to see which amp has the guitar cable plugged into it. Intermittent hiss could be a tube, a microphonic tube can make ethereal swirling sounds too. With the amp on and warmed up, lightly tap each preamp tube with a pencil. If one is going bad you'll definitely hear it.
Interesting to hear them side by side. Ima definitely get me one. I like my blu jr fine but from this I think the monoprice clean sounds way more like a 1970's silverface princeton than the actual fender does. And no question the mp does a way better brit od tone. Also agree about the fx loop. I like to practice to a boss loop station pedal sometimes for the metronome beat feature, and you really need an fx loop for that or the beat gets a shot of whatever preamp gain you may be using.
Yep, as a ‘play at home’ guy anymore, the FX loop is a must for loopers, drum beats, bass lines, etc. It’s a great grab and go amp and takes pedals really well.
Nice comparison. I had a SR15 for a while and found I preferred it with a 12AT7 in V1 in place of the 12AX7 - really helped to tame the unpleasant sounding (to me) fizz in the overdrive.
I did the same thing shortly after getting it, love the AT and AY tubes. I’ve put the AYs in V1 of any Marshall I’ve ever owned - crunchy!!
Hey man, love your Channel, I too, I'm an old guy jamming, do you reckon, that there would be a way to cut in a foot switch, to bypass the gain / Distortion stage, so your amp would be clean until you re-engage the gain covntrol part of it? Do you get what I'm trying to say?
Hmmm... YES! You could accomplish that by adding a nice overdrive pedal between your guitar and the amp :-) I know this isn’t what you’re after but it’s probably the best way to go about it. The only other thing that came to mind was some sort of gain knob bypass, but the volume would also drop off significantly, wouldn’t it? I’m sure whatever I tried would smoke it, haha.
BTW the Stage Right is the same as the Harley-Benton Tube 15 available at Thomann...i am in Germany and will buy me one, it's a real "no-brainer" to decide! Gain control...and so on...what is missing on the expensive Fender with less value (for me!).
Thank you...finally found the affordable tube amp that I need, and spring reverb too!
T L - That’s great man! I’m taking mine out again today. Haven’t had any problems, good luck!
Check out the latest “Monoprice vs Blackstar HT5” \m/
I speeded forward until I seen a guitar in his hand
Do you think that these cleans surpass the ones of the blues jr? I’m looking to get a good clean tube amp because I want a very specific tone. I love the warm some of humbuckers in a nice clean and warm amp. Would the stage right work? The blues jr is at the top of my list but this changes my mind, and stage right has upgraded the amps nsince
Then, thanks!
Hey Tyler, I wouldn’t say that the SRight surpasses the JRs cleans, I would say though that for a third of the price, they’ll do. If you’re a regular player with a critical ear I’d suggest you save your dough and get the Jr. The other idea would be to try the SRight and see, these little amps are so popular that you shouldn’t have any problem selling it should you decide to upgrade. Why oh, why doesn’t the Jr have an effects loop, speaker out jack or attenuation!?!?
I've had the Stage Right for over a yr. It is one heck of a bargain.
Handles pedals very well , fast attack and very responsive .
However , for pristine cleans it comes up a wee bit short , but if the song is OK with a little dirt and mild breakup the SR shines like a superstar.
I am being very critical about " clean " since I have owned bot Twin & Super Reverb in the past.
The highs in the SR are close to a Super ( pristine & bell like ) ,but mids/bass don't hold up as well as Twin or Super.
My one complaint about the SR is limited clean headroom. I installed a 5751 tube in the V1 position, that helped. It's a low gain tube.
How to bias this amp
www.tdpri.com/threads/is-the-monoprice-15w-self-biasing.950791/
Great!
The price currently is $249.00 ...
Woody Stemms - still a good deal for all the features. I’m taking mine out again tomorrow and currently building a matching cab for it to sit on. They’re great!
I was considering buying the Stage Right 30-Watt Head with 1x12 Celestion V30 cabinet at $599. Have you ever heard one or played through one? You do a good job comparing amps so I figured it was worth a shot to ask you. Thanks and be well...
Phil
NYC Area
Hey Phil, 30 watts is a lot. I have not played through/owned a 30 only the 15. At $600 you start having used options to consider. Hot Rod Deluxe, Peavy Classic 20 or 30, Fender Bassbreaker, Egnater Rebel, etc. You may find some of these others are more musically rich, or harmonic. You play out live, or mostly at home?
@@oldguyjammin9732 I do jam out occasionally, but don't play in a band anymore like I did before starting my photography business (conflict of schedules).
You might be right, the 30 watts might be a little too much for home recording use.
I am looking for a tube amp for 90% recording. Mostly looking for an amp that has a sweet overdrive sound with a lot of sustain for solos, but can also get more aggressive (Mesa like) if needed. (not easy to find so far).
I like some of the Fender reissues (Princeton and Deluxe) to use with pedals for overdrive soloing, but they are so darn expensive these days. I am mostly into getting the overdrive from the amp, but lately considering some of the reissue type amps with pedals pushing them into overdrive. Thanks.
Phil
why the reverb at 16 ish ? if were are comparing apples w apples ? you stated you would set them as best u could.. a dry basic clean seems like base line to me .not being a shit but it just seems right
I don’t remember why exactly but do remember the reverb on the Junior being a bit much even around 3 or 4... verb at 16!?!? Maybe just trying to show the range of the verb? The Junior is nice but for the price should have a ton more features like the new Laney cub super 12; speaker out, effects loop, boost even!
Thanks for the effort. Fun to watch. I see a Cannabis Rex speaker in your Monoprice. Seems this is not really a true comparison.
I get what you’re saying, but oddly enough I made a versus video between the 70/80 and the Cannabis and there was really very little difference, so.... maybe it’s okay :) Feature wise the Stage Right really shines. I don’t know why Fender won’t outfit more of their amps with simple things like an effect loop, external speaker outs, etc. Even the Princeton ($1000) doesn’t have an FX loop!?!? Deal breaker for me :(
@@oldguyjammin9732 Nice, thanks for the clarifying info. Does seem to be a great amp for the money. I do have a Cannabis laying around. Hmmmmm. Makes me think.
SR means Stevie Ray Vaughan tones
Got it!
I noticed the PRS SE custom 24 in the back , is that the quilted top? How does that sound with either amp? I recently bought one and I’m looking for a nice little amp to compliment it. I’d really appreciate your feed back, thanks👍🏽
Diego Correa - well between these two amps I’d definitely go with the Monoprice Stageright. The PRS likes the Marshall tones as well so either the DSL 5CR or 40CR would be nice too. It kind of depends on what tones you’re looking for though and what your budget is, right? For $1000 I’m sure you’d be happy with a Princeton Reverb and a few pedals. The StageRight is definitely a “nice little amp” \m/
Thank you very much, very informative I’ll definitely check out the Marshalls. As far as the Princeton goes, that’ll have to wait a few years 😅😂 Thanks again!
You put a Cannabis Rex speaker in there and I hear of a lot of people doing that, why? is it a big difference ? thanks cool video ! david
Any speaker change will sound better than the 70/80 it comes with. I put a Vintage 30 in mine and it kills with the 5150 distortion pedal. It really is a great amp but like I said the stock speaker just leaves a lot to be desired. Hope I helped.
David trueslayor - sorry for the late response, lost my channel for a while. Truthfully I noticed little difference between the 70/80 and Rex, however the difference I did hear was much appreciated. The Rex is tighter and less ‘ice picky’ but I wasn’t like “WOW” \m/
You sit that monoprice on top of a 1x12 orange cab or a 2x12 mesa and it totally rocks. The stock clestion is so/so at best, but the amp rocks!
Sorry did I miss where you replaced the Celestion 70/80 with a Cannabis Rex?
Dennis Kirkpatrick - you must have...? Just this last weekend I put a Celestion V-type in it for a bit more chime. We’ll see if I keep it.
Hey there oldguyjammin. I have a Blues Jr so this is interesting to me. But I wanted to ask your advice on another matter. I just got that pink PRS SE 24 and be darned if I can keep it in tune. I lubed the nut and it doesn’t appear to be binding anywhere... you don’t dare go on a PRS Facebook group with anything but praise for PRS.. I think we all know that. Any advice?
Oh boy, knee jerk response was “sell it” ha ha, but seriously I’d look at changing the nut out all together or opening it up with files or sandpaper. There’s just no reason a nut needs to be that deep. I filed mine all the way down until the strings were moving over it rather than thru it. Not sure what gauge strings you have on but try to go down a gauge and see what happens. I also remember the string end balls getting a bit trapped in the bridge instead of just resting against the string thru hole. You may not want to block out your bridge but it’ll be worth it. I’ve done it on my strat, Jackson and EVH and it made a huge difference in tuning, stability and getting rid of unwanted resonance issues. Good luck - get back with what you find out
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thank! That’s why I brought this to you because I saw your PRS nut video a while ago. Yeah I JUST got the thing so to sell it? Ughh. Well I just won’t. I haven’t changed the strings yet so there is that... about blocking the trem.. I don’t use them more than 2 % of how I play so it wouldn’t be the end of the world and I probably will but man...that is NOT what I expected. I thought they’d be a cut above the other imports. I’ve got 2 Harley Benton 24 fret copies. They both stay in tune. I dunno. If I sent it back... it’s the equivalent of going from Maine to Montana. I’m not even sure this is covered. Ughhh. On another more hopeful note, what 12” would you upgrade a Blue Jr with. And do you think other tubes would make a diff? Mine is a 4 so I think the reverb is much better. I know nothing about these things.
@@deanmccaskill5495 - tuning issues suck, and I hear you. I’ve got a low end ESP that I bought used that stays in tune forEVER. I could throw it down a flight of stairs, bring it right back up and play it, lol. I ended up selling my PRS because I got tired of fighting the stability and it was an around $800 it seems... terrible. Not sure how much you bend something I’ve found on Fenders is that the bridge saddles sit right on top of a flat metal bridge plate so there’s nothing for the height screws to set in to. Vintage brand guitars have little grooves in the bridge plate so the saddles are impervious to lateral pressure. I had a Fender modern player that hading huge tuning issues and I found that the saddles were shifting from time to time so I drilled a little divot for one of the high e screws to sit in and one on the low e side as well to trap them all :) it did the trick, so don’t give up. There’s something not right and if you keep looking you’ll find it, let me know if you do. Block out that tremolo - you’re welcome ;-)
Speakers are so hit and miss I hate to suggest anything. It really depends on what you want out of the tone, more bright, more bass, more mids? Tubes swaps are best when trying to lower the gain of an amp. If you’re trying to increase the gain use a pedal instead. What are you trying to get out of your B Jr?
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thanks again for replying. Yeah that brand new SE. I’ve got the Harley Benton copy and IT keeps tune... enough about that. That Junior I love... or I did. The problem is is that I watch tv constantly and it gives me ideas. .... Like putting a 12 where a 10 should go in a DSL 5 for instance. I dunno the Jr can seem flubby... I thought I naught order 2 x 12” speakers. One for the DSL one for the Jr. More to learn and play with fixing up stuff than any real quest for a certain tone. I hope that makes sense and doesn’t sound toooo nuts.
@@deanmccaskill5495 - hahaha, Yee have entered thee ol’ rabbit hole :) in my experience with the Jr, which was pretty limited, the flubby flarp comes from speaker distortion (which I hate) rather than tube distortion (which I love). Some old school players LOVE when that low-watt speaker starts to fart, lol - not me so much. Here’s a guide to good options. I’d probably go Texas Heat.
guitarspeakerguide.com/10-best-fender-blues-jr-speakers/
I’m sure you have pedals... You might look into an L-Pad attenuator (8 or 16 ohm) so you can run the master of that JR up in the sweet spot while keeping the volume low. I have one I mounted inside the cab of my Rectoverb. And lastly, funny what you said about not posting a (-) on FB regarding your PRS, lol YES , the fanboys come out with clubs and pitchforks, did the same with Chapman guitars \m/ oh the hate!! Have fun, take care, feel free to come back with any Qs.
I bought one of these,,,,Will get it Wednesday ,,,,Hope it does as advertised.I'll post a vid when i get it see what it's got...
If anything like mine, you’ll really like it. Sold all my other little combos... keeping this!
First, I really like your ethics.I found the Stageright Monoprice in Europe under the name Haley Benton TUBES 15 Celestion. Are you thinking about an upgrade of the speaker? If so, what speaker would you use?
Robbert Johan Smidt - the stock one isn't too bad, I've tried a greenback, a cannabis Rex and a Celestine V-type. I stuck with V-type. Great overall representation of frequencies, nice thump and upper end sparkle.
@@oldguyjammin9732 That sounds reassuring, thanks.
The Chinese really got their stuff in gear on the Stage Right. Upgrade the tubes and the spring reverb and you be shocked.
Doug Taylor - recently saw reviews of FireFly guitars from China - they look and sound like their 10 x $ counterparts! Love this little amp.
@@oldguyjammin9732 Had mine since they came out with the newer model. First thing I did was change the verb tank, I have two Firefly guitars, both are excellent. 338 in red and blueberry burst LP. They hold up to my much more expensive guitars.
@@acidbran I had eyes on the Thinline Firefly but it sold out :( always nice when you roll the dice on something and it works out - way to go my dude!! Although, there seems to be something wrong with ‘blueberry’ and ‘guitar’ in the same sentence, ha ha.
@@oldguyjammin9732 hahaha, ya more of a purple I think. It was gifted so I'm not complaining. Graple burst ?
Not sure I agree, but its great of you, regarding returns of "NEW GEAR" Guitar Center retail on new items, ESPECIALLY "mid to higher" end instruments (guitars, amps, ESPECIALLY FENDER GUITARS and FENDER AMPS)….is approximately 200-400 PERCENT!!!!!!!!! So why give a crap if you have to return something. Their margins are SOOOOO incredibly high that it allows them to offer good return policies because in no way can they EVER LOSE MONEY!!!!! So take it back, it DOES NOT hurt their bottom line one bit!!!!
Bill Seling - I like it!! You speak a good word :) I just personally don’t like to buy stuff without ANY intention of keeping it... I.e. just so I can make a video and pontificate about how great it is... and then return it? Like you said though, even if mildly interested I have no problem putting the restock boys to work.
I have both. The monoprice dirty is better. The fender clean is better. But my monoprice quit working. It blows fused as soon as you turn it on. So quality control probably sucks
Ya, I wouldn’t question that your Jr is a higher quality product at all. Bummer that yours took a dump. :\
Cannabis rex .....It would have been a more interesting comparison with the stock celestion .....The blues junior would sound way better with the cannabis rex i assume....
sir Zembla - perhaps but my experience with speaker swaps is this - I have yet to have a WOW - OMG moment. You seem to get improvements on the bass side, mid section of high side but rarely improvements in all 3, most often 2 of those aspects will improve though, so it’s a trade off. The Junior is one of the all time best selling small combos but today I think there are MUCH better options. The StageRight checks all my boxes when it comes to features and tone... I can’t figure out why Fender refuses to keep their designs so “old school”. I mean really, foot switchable reverb, speaker out jack? Those two alone would be so easy and add a lot to “updated versions”.
@@oldguyjammin9732 Fender means "pay" ,i have seen the video about the swapping and the diffrence in sound isn't huge between the celestion and the cannabis rex ,i forgot to post a new comment here i'm sorry ...
Fender sleeps on its pillow ,no major improvement since Leo ,your video is very interesting indeed ,the Stageright is just amazing and sounds like a 1000 bucks amp ,no doubt !
God forbid ,if some day you try a Vintage reissued V6 you will have the feeling that you play on an old Fender stratocaster ,maybe there's some in shop where you live ,give it a try .....if i need an amp i'll buy the stageright/harley benton ,i am satisfied with my laney cub 8 plugged in a cab ....
I am impressed i confess ...
Thanks for the quick answer ...^^
I'm thinking about getting this amp. I play at small bars. Is the 15 watts loud enough or do you need to mic it? Is there an output to the PA? Thanks for the info!
Chris - sup Chris? The Stageright is a really great little amp. Feature wise it absolutely kills. If you’re playing very clean it may struggle to be loud enough but if you don’t mind a little sparkly breakup in your clean tone you should be ok (you could always use a clean boost too). Once the gain is dialed up for classic to harder rock you’ll have no problem. It does not have a direct out. I modded mine to sit on top of another 1x12 as a mini stack - sounds huge :)
@@oldguyjammin9732 Thanks. I was looking at using it for blues harp and occasionally for guitar because I already have a gigging amp. I love the sound of tube amps. Keep on rocking!
Hey OGJ, what OD pedals have you tried with this amp. I'm a old noob searching for "that" sound on mine with my es335 clone. Classic/southern rock, blues.....
Well I’ve tried a bunch, blues driver (didn’t like it), Timmy is good but $$, I liked the NUX Horseman, believe it or not the ProCo Ratt makes some really nice low gain tones too. Seymour Duncan has two pedals that are permanents on my boards the 805 and The Killing Floor (really liking the Killing Floor - check that one out for sure) and another sleeper pedal is the Brownie by CMat Mods. I also have the classic standbys, the OCD and TS9 but I don’t like them for low driven bluesy stuff. Oh, and I don’t like the Plumes by TC and after having a couple of Mojo Mojos got rid of them all together. The Killing Floor through my little DSL5 is amazing, it really likes Marshalls. It makes a small watt, somewhat anemic amp sound really big. Check it out.
The Tumnus by Wampler is another GREAT pedal for light to mid gain tones. Very transparent, 3 band EQ, etc. It’s also been on my board for a long, long time :)
@@oldguyjammin9732 Hey, thanks for the info! The ones you like worked with the Stageright 15?
@@summerboy1958 - I can’t say I tried them all with the SR because I sold it right around the New Year, but because of it’s ‘very Marshall’ characteristics I’d be confident in my top 3 or 4. Tone is so subjective that it’s tough to make recommendations. Your idea of light rock may be different than mine. My buddy at work us using a Full Bore Metal pedal through a little hybrid amp that he LOVES, I don’t thinks it’s really that great, lol :) know what I mean?
I’d take a look at 1) SDuncan Killing Floor 2) Wampler Tumnus 3) SDuncan 805 4) and even the Soul Food. It’s great for $50.
How the f do I w which amp you are playing?
Ya gotta go with the one that says Cannabis Rex on the speaker magnet. Not even a question.