santellavision Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 This month's ToneQuest Report has an awesome, detailed article on Jeff Beck. Well worth reading! But, the blockbuster is that Jeff on his current tour is playing through a $300. Fender (MIM) Pro Jr!!! He has three (two on stage and one in an iso box), but the FOH mixer only uses one. He also has a Marshall 2000 and two 4x12's on stage that are only used for ambience and for looks. The Pro Jr is the only amp used by the FOH. Crazy stuff!
Ethan Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 Those are awesome amps to record with also...I remember my dad having a record by the Bottle Rockets, and in the liner notes it said "Thanks to whoever made the Fender Pro Junior" or something to that effect. Did a tour last year and the frontman of one of the other bands used a Blues Jr. for the whole thing since his Orange was in the shop, sounded great night after night...
jisham Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 I saw him a few weeks back and was wondering which Fender amps those were. One was covered in a light blue tolex. I kinda assumed they were both vintage something-or-others. I imagine Jeff could plug into a microwave oven and make it sound ungodly though.
bubs_42 Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 I love those amps. He played them at Crossroads as well. I just figure they were a Handwired Jobby. O' I love the HotRod Blues Jr. Thats the amp I was thinking of.
JGale Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 That does it. I'll neve listen to him again. Imagine, no boo-tiquey amplimifiers on da stage. Sheeeit.
phoenix Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 Will Ray up the street thinks they will be a classic.
Bloozguy Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 I imagine Jeff could plug into a microwave oven and make it sound ungodly though. "It's the carpenter, not the tool" is usually applied to something else but I think it's pretty applicable here
hardheartedbill Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 pro jrs are awsome, I gigged one for about a year w/ BBD and theres one on about 1/2 the CD
tbabinec Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 Chatted via email with Greg Koch some years ago. He of course has a Fender affiliation. His album The Grip features the Pro Junior in places.
Steve Haynie Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 When the Pro Jr. came out its price seemed a bit high for such a simple amp. Trying one out made all the difference to have a change of opinion. It has been a no-regrets gear purchase. The Pro Jr. is not without its faults. They get mystery rattles that can be mechanical or tube related. Some "experts" claim to have the cure for all the design flaws like the amp running too hot or needless parts of the circuit. Screw that! The Pro Jr. breaks up quickly, but it does not have to be played wide open. Using one of these amps with a PA offers a little room for finding that perfect setting of the amps two knobs.
tomteriffic Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 Love mine. Got some vintage glass in it and an Eminence Alpha. Killer little amp and giggable too.
Caddie Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 Being one of those guys with more $$$ than talent, I bought a brand spankin' new Pro Jr when they first came out and a Blues Jr. Cutting to the chase, the Pro Jr won the shoot out hands down. The Blues Jr. sounded kinda anemic next to the Pro Jr. Hard to explain it. But the Blues Jr. left the building with a Zinsser Bulleye Amber shellac applied to the blonde tweed (do it, it looks incredible & protects the tweed). The ProJr is still here with the same makeover. Yes my ProJr has some type of mechanical induced noise. It comes up as the amp warms up and is most noticeable when the lo E (fat string) is ringing. Mute or fret the E and the microphonic rattley sound is inaudible. So it seems to be related to that lo E frequency. It also is minimized when the internal speaker is unplugged and I use a speaker cab that is totally separated from the ProJr. That kinda proved to me that it was a mechanical issue in the combo. I cranked down every screw I could find in that cab & chassis. No change. i have not pursued the issue any further in quite some time. It seems to be diminishing as I age and my hearing gets worse. I'm considering removing the Fat E like Keef. That resolves the symptom. The disease remains. caddie
santellavision Posted August 6, 2010 Author Posted August 6, 2010 ToneQuest did a review and they found the Jr's needed a little tweeking. A Jensen C10Q or vintage Jensen Vibranto MI101 were the speakers that make the amp come alive, plus some NOS Philips Miniwatt EL84's and RCA 5751 tubes.Jeff is running a Klon in front of the Jr. He only sets the Jr volume at 3-4.
Steve Haynie Posted August 6, 2010 Posted August 6, 2010 The Fender Discussion Page has a lot of information about finding noises in the Pro Jr. and ideas on speaker swaps. Replacing the speaker has crossed my mind, but I hate the idea of spending the money to try several speakers in search of the perfect one.
hamersandstrats Posted August 7, 2010 Posted August 7, 2010 I bought my USA Pro Jr. used at GC for $175. Mine has just developed some rattles, probably because I've been moving it around alot. I would not replace the Blue Alnico Fender speaker in there. I think it sounds great. I never played a Klon through the Pro Jr, but I haven't found a stomp box yet that could improve the tone of a cranked up Pro Jr. Unless you really need more saturation, this amp is indeed killer.
RacerX Posted August 7, 2010 Posted August 7, 2010 pro jrs are awsome, I gigged one for about a year w/ BBD and theres one on about 1/2 the CD And I got it from Bill, enjoyed it for a couple years and moved it allong to another hfc'r... Great amp, but you have to get the tweed one for the extra mojo...if ya wanna be like Jeff, and Bill, and me! Mark
santellavision Posted August 7, 2010 Author Posted August 7, 2010 The Replacing the speaker has crossed my mind, but I hate the idea of spending the money to try several speakers in search of the perfect one.Steve, ToneQuest did the work for you. They tried a bunch of speakers and the Jensen C10Q was magic in the Pro Jr. (They did say the C10Q did need some time to break-in)
mykel Posted August 7, 2010 Posted August 7, 2010 And I got it from Bill, enjoyed it for a couple years and moved it allong to another hfc'r... Mark ...which would be me. i still have it. nice little amp. i use it when playing at my church sometimes. but since the place is so small, i generally can't have it above 3 before people start complaining about sound levels. michael
Brooks Posted August 7, 2010 Posted August 7, 2010 i read jeff did his last album w/ a 50's tweed champ.i loved my pro jr, gigged it w/ generic hustle. i put a weber spkr in it, i shoulda kept that amp.also loved my superchamp xd, which was even better imho because of channel switching and fx.it sounded better than the blackface 66 champ i owned!
specialk Posted August 7, 2010 Posted August 7, 2010 also loved my superchamp xd, which was even better imho because of channel switching and fx.it sounded better than the blackface 66 champ i owned!Quite an endorsement for the XD!
Ethan Posted August 7, 2010 Posted August 7, 2010 Jeff is running a Klon in front of the Jr. See there is the catch! Cork By Cork!!
Roe Posted August 7, 2010 Posted August 7, 2010 I saw beck a some days ago at molde jazz festival. the small amp had poor chord definition when beck played chords (almost never). sound was quite saturated, could be that he used his cornish pedals or something else
Disturber Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Good amps. But I prefer my old Super Champ. 6V6's gives a nicer grunt than EL84's, when pushed.
MTM105 Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Is it tranny or tube??I love my Marshall Lead 12. Tranny.
Disturber Posted June 23, 2011 Posted June 23, 2011 Is it tranny or tube??I love my Marshall Lead 12. Tranny. It's a tube amp with EL84's, which is a bit weird for Fender. Sounds good though.I just recently sold my Lead 12. It sounds good with a speaker upgrade, or through a bigger cabinett. Not as good as a tube amp though, but for home practising it was fine.
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