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Guys chime in, is it worth selling my Crate VFX5112 and buying one *maybe two* blues juniors? I want an amp that will break up nicely and take pedals well . . . CHIME IN PLEASE GUYS!

I like mine , I play Blues, Classic Rock amp; Country and it works well for those styles. If your into Metal or Industrial it might not be the amp for heavy music like that. Good tube amp for the price.....Joe

Mostly a bluesy player myself, does it take pedals well?

It takes pedals very well, as do most fenders. Don't expect it to do high gain, but it will do blues and classic rock very well. Nice breakup, and you can turn it up fairly high to get tube breakup, but not blow your eardrums.

I have one for sale if you are interested, perfect condition. I'm just more of a Marshall guy.

I run a Blues driver and a Sparkle drive through mine and they both sound good. You do need to turn the amp up a bit to get the best tone. Try to check one out at a store that will let you turn it up some ......Joe

When you guys say quot;dont expect high gainquot; are we talking metallica high gain? Or EVH gain range?


Originally Posted by GandLManWhen you guys say quot;dont expect high gainquot; are we talking metallica high gain? Or EVH gain range?A Blues Junior, IMO, smokes anything Crate puts out in it's wattage range. Better made too. Definitely won't win any high-gain contests, but that's not what it's made for.


Originally Posted by GandLManWhen you guys say quot;dont expect high gainquot; are we talking metallica high gain? Or EVH gain range?

Both. It's really just not made for those applications. It takes pedals really well, though, so it's possible to get close to those sounds. If you do get one, I would suggest swapping the tubes out. That made a world of difference on mine. It turned a good amp into a great amp.

Some people reccomend a speaker swap, too. I haven't tried it yet, but that's mainly because I can't decide which one I want. It's too bad weber and celestion don't have SD's exchange policy! Plus, I live in an apartment, so I don't get to really crank it as much as I'd like, thus I don't feel as urgent to replace it. If I start gigging, I'll really get to decide what I want.

Let us know if you get it.

Got a Pro Jr. Same thing - but totally zen! 1 vol, 1 tone. I occasional put a Boss HM-2 through it. Tubes up the pedal nicely!

But my Stamps Drive-O-matics and Holy Grail verb; That's a three channel tone machine!

Love mine, takes pedals extremely well amp; shows very nicely with a bevy of different axes. Plays well right outta the box, but a speaker swap amp; your favorite tubes will make it shine. Good luck.

Peace,

Darrin

Will they do high gain with a modeling device or metal pedal in front?


Originally Posted by JB_From_HellWill they do high gain with a modeling device or metal pedal in front?

Yeah, it rips very well indeed with my ToneBone Hot British in front of 'er. It's a fairly clean amp with late but tasty break-up, so this lends itself very well to alot of different pedals. It's just a friggin' great little amp with some balls. Hope that helps.

Peace,

Darrin

I'm a tweed freak and love tube amps. I've been through some vintage and boutiquey stuff so I'm kind of spoiled. I had a Blues Junior used though, where the guy had swapped the tubes out, and it just never really worked for me. Maybe he picked tubes poorly. I play blues with some light distortion so I don't know about the gain issue.

Great amp and very affordable too! Great cleans and it doesn't take a whole lot to get the amp to overdrive. It takes pedals like a dolphin takes to water . My buddy uses one with a Tone Bone Classic OD and he gets pretty good tone. For blues, I would imagine a tubescreamer would kick with that amp (just hearing the way it's voiced).

Nice amp, lousy speaker, and don't look inside it...uh terrible
But it is a very good amp for small clubs, I have used one several times.
My buddy and me threw in a G12H and that helped alot.
And stuck a longer spring in the verb.

Add JJ or E-H tubes and replace the speaker, then get a Mini-Mass attenuator from Weber so you can get power tube break-up at survivable levels and you've got a great amp for blues amp; classic rock.

I can't see it doing metal, but then I haven't tried. It did not do well with a Sans Amp Tri-AC from Tech 21 IMHO.

Chip