nate_dennis
Well-known member
Does anyone play through one of these? I noticed that it doesn't have an effects loop. Does that negatively impact the used of delay pedals? What are your thoughts? Any help would be great. Thanks.
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
I've had one for a couple of months. Mine is the Hot Rod BJ NOS with tweed covering and a Jensen speaker. Since I bought it I changed out the reverb pan for a Ruby Reverb and installed a Weber Beam Blocker (the reverb was an improvement, the WBB didn't do much for the Jensen -- I put another Beam Blocker on a Pignose G40V, and it made a much bigger difference -- but I think that means the speaker was pretty good). If you get the model with the Fender speaker, I'd recommend both mods. Together, that'll run around $45 or so.
I run it with the volume up around 8 and the master about 2. Below that with the master knob, it's not got much personality. Once I got it into a venue when I could open it up, it sang.
I'm playing a Gibson ES-335 into it, and sometimes use a Line 6 Floor Pod Plus when I need effects or wah or something, and to my ear, the little Fender works fine either way. I really like it just with a Gibson plugged in, cranked up a little in a good sounding room. To me, that's the killer tone.
I just acquired a Gibson SG with 490 and 498 pickup combo, and it sounds excellent through the BJ also, but with a more aggressive sound than the 335 (I also have a Les Paul, but it goes through my Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight -- the Super Reverb of the 21st Century, in my opinion).
The BJ gets plenty loud for what I've done so far, and if it runs out of juice I'll mic it into the PA.
I run it with the volume up around 8 and the master about 2. Below that with the master knob, it's not got much personality. Once I got it into a venue when I could open it up, it sang.
I'm playing a Gibson ES-335 into it, and sometimes use a Line 6 Floor Pod Plus when I need effects or wah or something, and to my ear, the little Fender works fine either way. I really like it just with a Gibson plugged in, cranked up a little in a good sounding room. To me, that's the killer tone.
I just acquired a Gibson SG with 490 and 498 pickup combo, and it sounds excellent through the BJ also, but with a more aggressive sound than the 335 (I also have a Les Paul, but it goes through my Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight -- the Super Reverb of the 21st Century, in my opinion).
The BJ gets plenty loud for what I've done so far, and if it runs out of juice I'll mic it into the PA.
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
I've got one and don't find the lack of an FX loop to be a problem. I use a compressor, wah, delay, OD, reverb pedal (the 'verb on the amp is broken) in that order on the way in to the amp. I'm rarely using them all at the same time--but they're working out just fine on the input.
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bigtoe
New member
amazing amp...as is the pro jr...both great for recording...and cheap for what they do.
Mike
Mike
nate_dennis
Well-known member
Very cool. I've never used an amp like this before and in my research i've been hearing/reading that tone is better when using an effects loop. I appreciate all the feed back.
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
That's often the case--which is why they make fx loops to begin with I suppose. And I use 'em when I've got 'em. But I don't feel like the tone is sucked away by going in through the input.
What type of effects do you think you'd be using with it?
nate_dennis
Well-known member
I think I'd probably use a digital delay (i know they don't sound "as good" but the tap tempo is indispensible) and maybe a tremalo and a maybe a few other things. Probably nothing tone changing (i.e distortion or flange)
Gear_Junky
New member
from what i've read it's been my impression that the reason for putting time-based effects in the loop (that is "after preamp") is to first improve signal-to-noise ratio so that potential noise wouldn't be affected by delay/chorus/reverb in weird ways (you don't want reflections and reverberations of your noise, right?)
so that may (or may not, if noise is not an issue to begin with) help the noise issues, but shuld not affect timbre/tone of the signal.
I could be wrong (and please correct me if I am), but that's been my understanding.
Some amps offer the "on/off" button on their footswitch that operate the FX Loop - a great feature, but can live without it.
BTW, you'd probably use tremolo before the amp and you definitely would use anything that affects levels before the amp (like distortion/overdrive/compression/eq etc. and also wah pedals typically). It's not "rules" but that's what people typically do for certain reasons.
so that may (or may not, if noise is not an issue to begin with) help the noise issues, but shuld not affect timbre/tone of the signal.
I could be wrong (and please correct me if I am), but that's been my understanding.
Some amps offer the "on/off" button on their footswitch that operate the FX Loop - a great feature, but can live without it.
BTW, you'd probably use tremolo before the amp and you definitely would use anything that affects levels before the amp (like distortion/overdrive/compression/eq etc. and also wah pedals typically). It's not "rules" but that's what people typically do for certain reasons.
A
AndrewC
New member
I have a Blues Junior and like it. If you need an effects loop, you may want to look into Peavey's Classic Series. At any rate, if you run the amp clean and get your distortion from pedals, it won't be a problem. And even if you do get your grit from the amp, running delay, etc. infront isn't always such a bad thing. I would simply try the amp out in a store with your effects chain and go from there.
antichef
pornk rock
I've also got a BJR, and mine has a bunch of tweaks, but I like the way it sounded stock, too. I don't run too many effects (OK none, maybe an eq/boost/tube screamer), but it's not a noisy amp in my opinion, so I don't see how it would be a problem to run a delay (provided the delay itself didn't suck tone). I've been playing for over 25 years, and I've never had an amp with an effects loop 
so maybe I'm not the best person to answer on this one.
so maybe I'm not the best person to answer on this one.
A
AndrewC
New member
the only reason I think an effects loop is warranted is to put certain effects after the amp's overdrive/distortion. but some people may like their delay or reverb in front. it's a matter of preference and depends on how many effects you like to use and the tone your aiming for.
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
A loop is a frill. I had a very nice tube amp for 28 years that had an effects loop on it, and I never used it once. One of my current amps has the feature, but I can't imagine a situation where it would be necessary.
S
soundchaser59
Reluctant Commander
I agree. Using modded pedals will make a much bigger difference than whether you have a loop or not. If you were going to change anything, you would get much better results by having your pedals modded (where ever possible, some cannot be modded) than what you would get by having an fx loop added.
I also agree with the speaker change suggestion. There are some speakers that are made in heaven for Fender amps, and others that will make you regret buying the amp. A lot of times, it isn't the amps fault. Trick is to pick the right speaker. Don't be afraid to cycle thru 5 or 6 speakers before you find one you love. You can sell the others on ebay without losing too much money. I think of it as the cost of "renting" the speakers for my experiments!
My personal fav (12 inch) in any Fender amp is the Eminence Cannabis Rex.
E
ermghoti
New member
That says more about your imagination than about effects loops.
The most obvious application for a loop is a delay pedal on a dirty channel. Distortion by it's nature compresses, running a delay in front of distortion will result in repeats that stay the same volume, but gradually become less distorted. It is impossible to get a naturalish, fading echo sound from a delay in front of a distorted amp. Any other effect that relies on volume swells will be affected similarly, a chorus in front of an amp sounds very different than in a loop.
Not that it's all bad. A delay in front of an amp has an unmistakable sound, and may be the right one for a song. Tremolo effects are often preferable in front.
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
That says more about your imagination than about effects loops.
Thank you for sharing.
ocnor
Lord Of The Thighs
Supercreep
Lizard People
Th biggest problem I had with the blues jr. and pro jr. is a rattling chassis at high volume.
G
ggunn
Crystal Flavolian
I have a Blues Jr as well and I love it - for some things. Paired with a humbucker equipped guitar and overdriven into the crunch zone, it sounds great. With a Strat if you're looking for clean and glassy, not so much; my Deluxe Reverb kicks its butt for that type of sound.
thebigcheese
"Hi, I'm in Delaware."
I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but I have basically the exact same question and it isn't quite answered for me yet. I just bought a Blues Jr. and I absolutely love the way it sounds. It's just the black one with stock parts (Fender speaker), but I still love it. Maybe one day I'll try a different speaker, but for now I don't care. It's awesome.
Anyway, what I want to know is: why do you have the OD after the delay? With my last amp, a solid state, I always put my distortion pedal (a DF-7, which I also love) before the other effects (except the wah and whammy). Is the fading volume thing less of a problem with delays on a tube amp? I think for the most part, I could get away with using a distortion mode on the DF-7 instead of an OD mode when I use the delay (b/c then the amp would be clean), but I guess I'm just curious what other people do in this sort of situation. I love the amp, way more than the Crate I was using (although, to be fair, the Crate has a pretty nice clean channel), so I'd be rather upset if it wasn't going to work out for me with the delay pedal...
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
Well, when I said "in that order" I was looking at the floor and listing how they were plugged in, but the truth is I never use the delay and the OD at the same time. I have multiple set ups, and I can afford to use rigs for very specific purposes. When I'm using delay and OD (or any real level of gain/distortion), I'm in "80's rock" mode--and that's a whole separate rig (amp & pedals).
So with the Blues Jr., I'll use the OD with a little reverb (but not delay) for a gritty blues sound, or clean for a funk/blues sound. If I use the delay on the Blues Jr, it's with a clean sound.
If I ever got around to using the delay and the OD, you're right, I'd switch 'em.