I really want to pick up a small harp amp to take use at some of the jams I go to. I had pretty much made up my mind that I would pull the trigger on a Special 6 due to all the great revues I've read over the last couple of years. A vintage music store opened up in my neighborhood recently, filled with drool worthy vingtage amps and guitars and also new stuff. He has a new Pro Jr sitting in the store and he invited me to try it out and I thought it sounded pretty good. I haven't been able to play through a VHT yet because I haven't found one in any store. At 15 watts it seems that the Pro Jr would cut through better than the VHT. Of course it's about twice the price but still not REAL expensive. Any opinions out there? Is the VHT that much better sounding? I just like the idea of having a little more power... myspace
I would go with the VHT for the reason that it is much easier to work on being a hardwired amp as opposed to the pcb in the Pro Jr. I have owned a Pro Jr. briefly and was not impressed.
Well, briefly... The Pro Jr is louder and the VHT Special 6 has much better tone.
I've owned both amps and modified both of them for harp. The VHT is a much better sounding amp for blues harp, but on a really loud stage (like many blues jams) you will not be able to hear yourself. You should plan on mic'ing it up, or have a tech install line out. Do that and you will have a really nice harp rig.
How loud are the jams you go to? Many jams are loud enough that you won't be able to hear EITHER amp on stage. Nothing is more frustrating for new amplified players - either of these amps sounds SO LOUD in your house. But at most of the jams I've been to, volume levels are stupid - and you will be frustrated - the audience won't hear you, but worse, you won't hear you - and that makes it very hard to play well. ---------- /Greg
I had a Pro Jr. it was a frustrating amp, but a rewarding amp. I was able to get tone that i was happy with. It cut through the mix better than anything of a similar size and price.
Until...
It got loud. I replaced it with a Harpgear Double Trouble. The Pro Jr was louder than any single 6V6 amp that i owned.
It was worth $200, but it was too loud for the house.
Thanks for the imput on my post you guys. The jams I've been going to pretty much stay at reasonable volumes. (I'm not new to amplified playing, I've owned and gigged with a Bassman RI and a 1960 Fender Concert.) That being said I think I'll go with the VHT and set my sights on a bigger and more powerfull (and more expensive) amp for later. ---------- myspace
