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Without writing an entire dissertation that would be absurd to read through, I'll cut to the chase - I am an adult beginner and I love the idea of a truly analog setup with my Strat. But I also only intend to play at home in my office, so, lower volumes. I am only really interested in warm clean tones. I think the tones that Mike Cole (YouTube) gets on his Tone Master Princeton Reverb are perfect for what I'd like to achieve. But can I do that at home office volumes in a Blues Jr. IV Tweed? Sandra Sherman (YouTube) demos really warm clean tones on a Blues Jr. with humbuckers. I have a head vs. heart dilemma. My heart wants an analog tweed set up, my head says the digital attenuation in the Tone Master is the smarter choice.
Can I get the Blues Jr. to be clean and warm at those volumes or is that just a complete misuse of the amp and I'm really just buying an office decoration? Upgrade to the Tone Master Princeton and focus on tones, not aesthetics and philosophy?
Any help, guidance, or ass kicking is much appreciated.
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05-22-2026 09:22 AM
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Tone Master Pro and FR 10. Enjoy!
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Go and play each. You'll be at lower volume levels in a store situation, so let your ears decide. But bring your own guitar.
Enjoy the hunt! and the final result.
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Tonemaster Princeton would be my choice. I like the tone of a Princeton much more than of a Blues Jr.
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The Blues Jr has a master volume (functionally similar to the TMPR's attenuator), which allows you to get a of range pre-amp distortion and tone colors at low volumes. But the two amps have somewhat different tone characteristics irrespective of volume, which I think is a much more significant decision factor than suitability for playing clean quietly (which the both can do, as can a regular tube PR). Unfortunately, that's entirely subjective and there's no way for any of us to tell you which you will prefer. But to your narrow question of whether it's a waste to use a BJ in quiet settings, no it isn't. I don't see either of those amps as an upgrade over the other, nor do I see the choice as head vs heart or as a matter of "philosophy". They're just two somewhat different flavors of amp with slightly different features, both tasty, both usable.
Originally Posted by Roland1911
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I personally said no to the Jr. I play at home too and the BJ was kicked out of the running as soon as I tried one locally. It wants to be loud. It also wants to be bright. You can get a good tone from one but you have to dial the treble back to almost nothing. Im not a dark player. I enjoy single coils etc... I dont like having to be at any extreme on settings. If I already owned a Jr Id make it work but I wouldnt make the purchase.
I went with solid state becuase frankly, I think they sound better at lower practice volumes. I also didnt want to mess with tube maintenence.
I read a lot of posts here and I went a totally different direction. I was looking at the Tonemasters but they are quite expensive. I went with a Quilter Superblock US which does 3 different Fender tones quite well. It has a master so you can get gain. It also has a limiter and it does a good job of getting close to tube tones at volumes you and yours can tollerate. I built my own 12 inch speaker cab and a high quality speaker of my chosing. If I were doing it over I might do a 10 but that is mostly out of curiosity. BTW the Quilter is solid state. Its not a computer modeling amp.
The Quilter is 25 watts (claims its 25 watt tube power equivalent) and I never put the volume up to 9 O'clock. You need enough juice to push the speaker but in a room with the door closed its not super loud at all. The Black Face setting is lovely and has nice color. The 61 setting is brighter but if you spend some time making adjustments you can get a nice acoustic clear tone if you happen to ever move to an archtop. A lof of folks like the 57 tweed setting but it doesnt float my boat. Its great and fat for single line and small chords but for me its too much with full chord melodies.
It has a headphone out but its not exciting. Its not bad if you put an eq pedal in front of it and give it some added reverb. I dont use a lot of reverb but its reverb is fine. Its nothing to write home about but it does the job without being weird like some amps.
A lot of guys here gig with them. For the Fender vibe I think its the best practice amp out there. I picked mine up used (4 months old) for about 225 and I built the enclosure for the speaker from wood I had. The speaker and bits were about 125. Ive had it a while and Im still exploring what it can do.
Sorry to not answer directly to the either/or question but I think there are some other options well worth consideration. BTW: The other thing about the Quilter is that you can use it like a head. I have a small table thats in front of where I sit. The little Quilter (the size of a double pedal) sits there and the speaker cable runs across the room to a cabinet. It makes it very convienient to make changes...I just reach over and dial it in. Im old and lazy. Id dont want to get up every time I want to change the volume or a tone setting.
Good luck!
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So I’m going to be a radical here. Used Quilter Aviator 1x8” Combo.
Especially since you are not jaded by tube vs. solid state yet,Lol!
This will give you a Fender Clean Tone at low to much louder volumes. Never needs maintenance or new tubes,always the exact same tone in every place due to poor wall voltage. You won’t ever need another amp..
Oh and a great D.I. Out
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Lol, uh oh, "jaded" how? Just in that I have not declared fealty to one camp or the other yet? Thanks for the recommendation! Originally Posted by jads57
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I really like the Tonemasters and if you ever want to gig there's a lot of features on them that make life a lot easier. Plus they are light. Originally Posted by Roland1911
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I'm a Quilter player and I think the TM's have the edge on Fender clean tones tbh from what I've heard. Not terribly surprising. Originally Posted by jads57
The DI on the Quilter Superblock is IMO inferior to the Fender TM. I can't speak to the Aviator as I don't play one. But I imagine they are all fairly similar.
I think this is a pretty great clean sound - DI out from a TM Fender Deluxe Reverb.
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Mike Cole is one of the biggest clickbait gear shills on youtube, I would avoid any of his youtube "advice".
Tone Masters are high priced, low production cost trash amps that are essentially a guitarists version of a bic lighter. It's throwing away money but it will work fine for the time being.
If I was in your shoes I'd probably look at a Vox AC10, which are also pretty cheaply built but sound nice at sane volumes. Tubes require maintenance from time to time so it'll be a chance for you to ultimately develop a relationship with a local tech, which might play out nicely when you finally get to the level that drives you to spend the $ on an actual vintage princeton or deluxe.
As for the ass kicking part of my post? You're an adult beginner so you're gonna sound like crap regardless of what you buy so just get something affordable that works, it doesn't really matter all that much what, and as your chops develop you'll have a better idea of what you want down the road and if you stick with it, can invest in a lifetime quality amp.
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I wasn't gonna go down that road, but since you blazed the trail, agreed, plus neither he nor Sandra Sherman much impresses me as a player. I wouldn't consider either of them to be a valuable source for either gear or musical information. Originally Posted by DawgBone
They haven't been on the market long enough for there to be much information about their longevity. The ones I've tried sounded good to me. Originally Posted by DawgBone
An AC10 can be cool, but basically a coin-flip/preference vs a Blues Jr (or Pro Jr). Similar basic niche, with the decision coming down to subjective factors. Originally Posted by DawgBone
Bingo! Originally Posted by DawgBone
I was long-time Fender amp and tube-amp-in-general guy. I particularly love Princeton Reverbs, so I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of one. But for practical reasons I sold mine and got a Quilter Aviator Cub, which has a more flexible/useful feature set, sounds great and is much lighter than even PR. It was a close call vs a TMDR, but won out for having greater potential clean headroom and additional sounds.
For the OP, clean headroom doesn't sound like an issue, and I think any decent amp in the 10-15 watt neighborhood will be fine. The key is not to overthink it. Buy amp. Play amp. Like amp? Keep amp. Don't like amp? Trade amp. Repeat until "like amp". Ignore internet. Except me, of course. Pay attention to me on the internet.Last edited by John A.; 05-22-2026 at 01:59 PM.
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I'm not impressed by any of the youtube clickbait guitar crew's chops and aside from his guitar chops, or lack thereof, Cole is one of the very worst offenders for clickbait titles. I feel like in a few years most guitarists will sound like Marty Schwartz. Not necessarily bad, but very bland, LOL. Originally Posted by John A.
I recommended the AC10 as it's a little lower wattage but a blues jr would be ok I just felt the tone was a little fatter with the Vox. I've tried the AC4....used it for a very low volume radio show in a duo setting with a drummer using brushes on a snare and as long as you don't cut the wattage down it has a pretty good tone but is pretty much a practice amp.
The tonemasters are a works donut but anything made in the last 25-30 years, unless it was a high dollar handwired or turret board creation, save for a handful of very high quality PCB joints, is mostly a throwaway on the long term IMO. Hot Rod Fenders for example...pretty sweet amp for the money but at some stage in the not-to-distant future the repair cost will outweigh what they go for used plus IME old head techs will favor guys with old school tube amps that are easier to work on, and actually have some sort of cultural value to them i.e I get better treatment plus a discount LOL.
I'm fully invested in and have grown to love my (sort of) affordable vintage SF Twins. They have their caveats but for the money it's tough to find a better deal on the vintage market. The only new amp I'd consider is the '57 custom hi power tweed twin. Very sweet amp but also a couple thousand used.
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It occurs to me that at least we know what the ‘YouTube clickbait brigade’ players sound like, however bland.
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Yikes, I wasn't trying to turn this into a referendum on poor Mike Cole, he's really starting to take some strays there. The video I linked to isn't even about the amp, he just happens to be playing the amp in that video. I don't know the guy and he's obviously better than I am, so I'm staying out of it. Take him or leave him, I just wanted to point out a specific tone example because I'm sure I'm not very good at describing tones. Originally Posted by DawgBone
On that note, the tone I actually like best is that mid '50's P-90 tone of Tal Farlow, Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, Barney Kessel, etc. It always reminds me of a vibraphone - clean clear attack but still warm and round sounding. Not harsh and bright like a hard mallet on a xylophone, and not as wide, dark, and thick as a marimba. I was listening to Django on Grant Green's Idle Moments album and that thought occurred to me. I love the vibes on there and I love how it matches his tone. Weird analogy so apologies for that.
Oh, lol, and poor Sandra Sherman too also got hit by a stray. I wasn't commenting on her playing and her inclusion of the Blues Jr. was almost an afterthought on her part, I was, again, just commenting that I liked the tone. I'll check next time for the official vetted list of players it's acceptable to reference
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When I tried the TMDR and Quilter Aviator Cub side by side, I thought the TMDR sounded like are real DR, and the Quilter's BF input not quite (some people say the opposite, so I don't quite know what to make of the question). I bought the Quilter, though, because I really like its Tweed sound and the smaller form factor. When I got it home and compared it to the '78 PR I had .... maybe the PR was better in some ways, maybe not; hard to say. I kept the Quilter and sold the PR. At some point I may buy another tube amp, just because "at some point I may buy a [something]" + all of a sudden not liking something I used to like is the nature of being an electric guitar player, but I can't honestly say I'll ever NEED another amp. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
Oh no you don't. Not another DI flame war. Don't even think about it. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
The SuperBlock (US and UK variants) and the current Aviator Cub (also US and UK variants) are the same pre-amps, but the AC's are twice the power in a 12" combo form rather than a separate head. There's also the current Aviator Mark 3, which has separate switchable USA and UK channels in a combo with twice the power of the AC. There's also an earlier Aviator 8", which is a different amp altogether. There are also all the various Tone Block heads that are all slightly different from each other and the SB/AC series. Yes, this is going to be on the test. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
Yup. I'd say my AC sounds a lot like that (to the extent I can extrapolate differences/similarities from a youtube video of someone else playing a different guitar from mine). Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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One thing that seems to come up with discussion of the Tonemaster amp is that their emulation of edge of breakup and breakup sounds aren't convincing.
As I have zero interest in this, my main feeling with TM's is that I cannot tell the bloody difference and in every other way they are more practical for gigging than the real thing. (And yes, I play nothing tube and TM Fenders all the time as they are popular house amps.)
But I'd be happy with a Fender Hot Rod if it was fitted with a sensible volume pot and weighed less. So I'm probably a philistine.
The Peavey classic is a good sounding tube amp with the features of a Fender tone master though. I think it's a bit of a sleeper (cheesy reverb tbf.)Last edited by Christian Miller; 05-22-2026 at 02:41 PM.
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I now mostly use the Tweed sound on my Quilter. It's the best sound on it. Originally Posted by John A.
I don't have any experience with the AC10...
All I can say is that I prefer using Logic's built in Fender amp model to using the Quilter Superblock's DI for recording. Perhaps the AC10 is different.
Actually I think I prefer the dry DI sound lol.
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Posting your playing online makes you vulnerable to criticism. Everyone gets it. Poor old Mike Stern got it. Originally Posted by Roland1911
It seems to me there's honour in making yourself vulnerable to criticism, though.
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I've watched and read those types of reviews as well about the Tone Masters. Folks in the know claim to barely tell the difference (if at all) between them and the real thing on clean tones, but can very much tell the difference on overdriven tones. And much like you I'm not interested in overdriven tones, so the convincing clean tones of the Tone Master are what draw me to it. Thanks for confirming that. Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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You can listen to other people playing various amps and pick the one you like best.
But, when you get it home, you won't sound the same. A lot of it is the player, not the gear.
You have to try them out and pick the one that sounds the best when you play it. And, as you progress, your perceptions will change.
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Also, after reading through everyone's comments thus far (big thank you to everyone!) it's starting to make me feel like I should get the Blues Jr. regardless, just so that I have an idea of what a "real" amp sounds like and reacts like, feels like, etc. Everything else is a simulation of some sort of the "real thing" - so starting out with that it's harder to learn about this whole world that all of you know so well.
It reminds me of an old Top Gear episode where the three of them were lambasting Alfa Romeos, but Jeremy Clarkson declared that you couldn't call yourself a true "Petrolhead" until you'd owned one (and presumably worked on it as well).
I'm starting to feel that way about a valve/tube amp. Even if I hate it and bail on it - I'll at least have had the experience.
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maybe from a teacher's perspective! lol Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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If I didn’t already have a Blues Jr, I would get a tone master. They’re great.
I also haven’t sold the Blues Jr. to buy a Tone Master, so there’s also that.
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A blues jr would make an excellent first amp for someone just getting started. Much better than the solid state junk I started on. Good luck on your endeavors. The further you go, the more enjoyable it becomes. Originally Posted by Roland1911
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