bluzlvr
492 posts
Oct 16, 2012
2:31 PM
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A few years ago I went through hard times and had to sell all of my amps, including a Bassman RI and a 1960 Fender Concert.
A couple of months ago, I bought a Fender Pro Jr thinking I could use it for both harp and guitar.
So far I'm pretty happy with my decision.
For guitar that little sucker is plenty loud and I haven't even used it at full volume yet.
On harp so far I've been pleased as well. I've had no problem hearing myself at any of the jams I've played at.
And I love the portability.
Anyway the other night at a jam, there were two other harp players.
One guy had a Bassman and the other guy set up something that I was too far away from to see at first.
He started playing and I was knocked out by the great sound he was getting.
I got up to take a closer look and it was a Fender Princeton. First time I'd ever heard one.
Anyway near the end of the night all three of us set up and jammed a few songs.
I was standing right out front and getting a great comparison between the three amps.
Of course, of the three mine was the most lacking tone-wise, but over all I was still pretty pleased with the sound I was getting. (I'm using it with a Carbon Copy delay set real low...)
Talking with the guy with the Priceton, I found out that it was an original, not a re-issue.
The thing was in perfect condition. It looked like it was right out of the box. I wonder if the re-issues sound as good?
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Rick Davis
819 posts
Oct 16, 2012
3:14 PM
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Yep, the Fender Pro Jr is a nice little harp amp. It responds well to mods. If you search the Blues Harp Amps blog you can find articles about a Pro Jr harp amp project.
Was the Princeton a silver panel or black? Was it a Princeton Reverb? They all sound great. Just curious.
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
Last Edited by on Oct 16, 2012 3:14 PM
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Joe_L
2112 posts
Oct 16, 2012
4:06 PM
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There is nothing wrong with a Pro Jr. I bought it used for $200. Played it for a year. Afterward, I sold it to a guitar player for $200.
If a person brings tone and technique to the table, a Pro Jr is a nice option in low to medium volume situations.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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Willspear
206 posts
Oct 16, 2012
4:35 PM
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Princeton reissue is very nice. I use one often.
Out of the box is great. Does wonders to swap the speaker for a different one. The stock Jensen is a tad bright. I have an eminence ramrod in mine at the moment. Louder speaker more bass little less focused on highs.
Best of fenders current mid size or less amps. Can be had for a fair price. Used.
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SuperBee
633 posts
Oct 17, 2012
12:53 AM
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I'm assuming a bf reverb?
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Jehosaphat
321 posts
Oct 17, 2012
2:29 PM
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I'm no expert on amps and have probably only played through about 10 different ones in the last twenty years.(none were dedicated harp amps)
A princeton reverb RI was the best(for me) hands down.Unfortunately here in NZ they are 2500$ brand new and in two years of looking i have never seen a second hand one for sale.
At one jam i was using a 60 watt blues deville and the guy with the Princeton had a lot more usable volume than me and he was standing directly in front of his amp!
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SuperBee
636 posts
Oct 17, 2012
5:33 PM
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My SF is pretty groovy but not a patch on my modded Deville for audibility in loud situations.
Last night I tried the PA. my Deville gets louder on stage preFB. Just.
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Jehosaphat
322 posts
Oct 17, 2012
6:32 PM
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@superbee
Be really interested to know what mods you have done to the Deville?
Al i have done physically to mine is sub out V3 to a 12AY7.
I use an L/W octave and a Boss EQ pedal in the effects loop,great tone and the Boss really helps to control feedback.
But it won't get loud enough(w/o feedback) to cut through a loud band running on full.Mind you with these guys probably nothing would, except a chainsaw ,mmm.;
With another group i'm in the tone and volume are great on the Deville.
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SuperBee
638 posts
Oct 18, 2012
12:24 AM
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J'phat, this is the detail of what was changed:
R3 from 1meg to 4.7meg
R4 and R11 to 120k.
R9 to 820K
C1 to 220uf.
R75 to 50K
upgraded power rating of V3 plate resistors.
Rebias power tubes 15mA per tube.
rewired speakers to 2 ohm parallel.
I'm running 12ax7s in V1,2,3.
Hey yeah I can get it to about 4 on the clean channel. Usually I dial the mid right out, bass maybe up to 8, treb as high as 4, prescence at 4. I use the reverb a bit, but its really strong so 1 - 2 is plenty.
I use a LW delay and in the effects loop it works very well. I put all other effects out front, but that really just means a LW octave pedal.
I just realised I found 3.5 was about the best volume for the tone I like but I can push to 4 without getting too much feedback, maybe a bit more in the right space and good mic handling. So I could probably mess around and get some more usable volume. It gets a bit too dirty for my taste above 3.5
But the main thing is the band. I don't think any amp is gonna keep up when they decide to be stupidly loud. The drummer is used to metal bands, the mando player is deaf...wonder why..and the bass is just starting to work out there's nothing particularly impressive about being able to rotate a volume knob, but he gets carried away and forgets. I mean, if I can't get stage volume through the PA what's going on?
If I get to practice early enough to set up where I want, it makes a big diff. And then I get to have a say in the levels. If I arrive late I'm stuffed. Everyone will have their plugs in, volume way up, I'll have to squeeze in where I can, often with a crossfire of PA, and really hard to communicate, just get asked if can get any louder.
It's the best loudest amp I have ever used but its still a battle at times.
Actually used the drive channel one night. Very touchy but I did cut through a bit better. I think that was the night I was trying out the harp break pedal and very disappointing results. Eventually I went with drive channel and whoa! That was the grittiest distortion I have ever had. It actually did cut through but it was very fine adjustment. I haven't done any tweaks to the drive circuits per se, a bit more sweep on the knobs would be good, but I don't plan to use that channel much.
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Last Edited by on Oct 18, 2012 12:27 AM
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Willspear
210 posts
Oct 18, 2012
1:34 AM
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Try to Tube down all preamp tubes 12ay7 or even 12 au7
You won't lose volume it will just make it easier to exist. You might even gain some volume.
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Rick Davis
825 posts
Oct 18, 2012
10:54 AM
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Superbee, were the speakers not already wired as 2 ohms?
Willspear - I've tried just about every combination of tubes possible in my 1991 Bassman RI, and all 12AU7 tubes was the worst. Perhaps it is different in the Deville 410 with its extra gain stage, but it made the Bassman sound dead. I could crank it up but it seemed to lose punch and volume. What I run now is 5751, 5814a, 5751. (5814a is a military 12AU7)
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
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SuperBee
640 posts
Oct 18, 2012
11:09 AM
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No Rick, they were wired for 8 ohms IIRC. Series parallel. 4x8ohm.
I modified the preamp, lowering the voltage rather than going with tube swaps for precisely the reason of being able to use 12ax7s.
I was inspired to get the Deville by Aki Kumar's successful use of one at the jam he runs at The Grand Dell. That amp does run a 12au7 in V1, and a 12at7 in V3. However, 5f6h suggested some further mods which would enable use of 12ax7s. I'm really happy with the amp. But it's not a miracle machine. As i said, its actually doing a better job than the PA in the situation. If I get a chance to setup how I want I can still win.
And it would completely drown out my SF Princeton. I know there are a couple of changes but the circuit in that amp is very similiar to the BF. I cant imagine my PR ever developing the volume of sound I get from thd Deville.
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Last Edited by on Oct 18, 2012 11:18 AM
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