F
ender has made some of
the most legendary guitar
amplifiers of all time. From
the tweed Bassman, to the
Princeton, to the venerable Deluxe
Reverb, Fender amps have been
powering every genre of music since
their inception—not least of these is the
small but mighty Pro and Blues Junior
amps. Many players have taken their
favorite axe, pedals, and trusty small
Fender combo to gigs the world over.
Jeff Beck has notably used Pro Juniors
live, and the Blues Junior is one of the
most popular stage amps of all time,
finding its way into the hands of Noel
Gallagher of Oasis fame, among others.
Recently, Fender introduced its new
line of Bassbreaker amplifiers, including
two small combos, so I thought it’d be
fun to compare those to some of the
classics. Let the games begin!
The simplest amp of the bunch, this
is for the no-nonsense players who
want to plug straight in and get down
to business. Volume and tone—what
else do you need? Pumping out 15
watts of EL84 power through a 10-inch
speaker, this is a purist’s amplifier that
is at home at the club or a blues jam. Its
inherent tone is a classic, bluesy grind,
as the dual-12AX7 preamp doesn’t get
into high gain territory. Many players,
including the aforementioned legend
Jeff Beck, plug the PJ into a speaker
cabinet of their liking to open it up
and let it rip. It takes pedals well, is
extremely easy to carry around, and
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