Educate Me - Fender Blues Junior vs Princeton Reverb

[st.bede]

If I was going to spend 2,800$, I would save up a bit more and purchase a Victoria amp.

However, I end up using the amp I want to carry more often the my favorite amps … or an amp that will sound good at the needed volume.

[Stefan Eff]

Both are completely different sounding amps. Not better or worse, simply different. The BJ is the least „Fender sounding“ amp, at least to my ears.

[JCat]

-Why is the PR so much more desirable than the BJ?

I'm not sure this is the case. The PR is more expensive, but the Blues Jr is the best seller.
How about -Why is the PR so much more expensive?

Because the Blues Jr is a more cost efficient design. This is not just a simple matter of production techniques, but also about features, components and general build quality. For starters, the tube set of the PR is more expensive to replace.
The PR is targeting tube amp aficionados, the Blues Jr is targeting people that want an affordable grab-and-go tube amp.

-Which is the better sounding amp? The more reliable amp? the easiest to use? the easiest to maintain? That depends on who you are and your application.

The speaker is critical and it must be understood that these amps came with several different stock speakers over the years. Blues Juniors have had more than 10 different speakers from factory and there are 5 different versions of the circuit.

The Custom shop PR got a different speaker than the PRRI, meaning these combos are not fully comparable right off the bat.

[tomems]

Something else to add to this discussion: Both of my USA Blues Juniors had a lot of noise when the reverb was used. It is my understanding that Fender fixed this problem when production was moved to Mexico.

Also, I spent a lot of money on my 65 Princeton reissue (Speaker swap, tube swaps and transformer swap) and was never able to get as good a tone as I did with any of my vintage Princetons (I had three of them). I do not think the reissue Princeton Reverbs get you all the way to vintage Princeton tone.

But tube amps are now in my rear view mirror. They are too much trouble and my Quilter gets me 95 percent of the way to Tube amp tone and feel. In the real world of gigging in noisy rooms, that 95 percent will do!

Which Quilter - the cub?

For the discussion - I too tried PRRI incl. speaker swap and it was always just OK so I sold it. I do miss that onboard tube tremolo though...

[Stefan Eff]

I agree, the PRRI is miles away from the old original. That said- I missmy old Silverface Princeton

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I'm not sure this is the case. The PR is more expensive, but the Blues Jr is the best seller. How about -Why is the PR so much more expensive?

You answer your first question ("Why is the PR more expensive?"), but you don't address the second one ("Why is the PR so much more expensive?"). The answer to that depends on how cynical you are, and I'm high on the scale. So I'd say that it's so much more expensive (75% more for the non-CS PRRI) largely because people are willing to pay the price. They'e buying what they believe is a legend, and most of those who go for it have probably never even heard let alone played through an original BF Fender amp.

Objectively, the PRRI is "assembled in the USA" , which costs Fender more than final assembly in Mexico would cost. I wonder (but cannot seem to find out) how much of the build actually occurs in Mexico (or elsewhere) before final assembly. But the hard parts in the PRRI are almost certainly not 75% more expensive than those in the BJ. Maybe there's some more iron in the transformers, and 6V6s are a few bucks more (retail) than EL84s. The BJ cab is particle board and the PRRI is plywood (and a tiny bit bigger), so there's some added cost there. Inerestingly, the Celestion 12" A-type in the BJ appears to retail for about $110, while the C10R in the PRRI is about $70 retail. I just don't see how they can justify a 75% price premium based solely on the cost of goods plus applied markup.

At least some of that "so much more" is buying hype, image, and perception. It seems like a steep price to pay, when you can get so many excellent amps for $1400 or less. A Quilter Mach 3 is $1200 and a Henriksen Blu 10 is $1400. A PRS MT15 head with a pair of 6L6s is $800 and you can pair it with a very fine 10" speaker from Toob, RevSound, or dozens of other fine makers for less than the remaining $600. So the answer to the question of why a PRRI is so much more than a Blues Junior is that the market allows it.

[WillsJazz]

FWIW, I've owned both of these amps. Including a Deluxe Reverb. The BJ shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence with the PR. Not even in the same league. I dumped the BJ fairly quick. It sounded terrible and the master volume is just useless nonsense. The PR is the way to go and well worth the extra money. I got the PR because my Deluxe Reverb is getting a bit heavy too schlepp around, Best decision ever.

[Stringswinger]

Which Quilter - the cub?

For the discussion - I too tried PRRI incl. speaker swap and it was always just OK so I sold it. I do miss that onboard tube tremolo though...

I am gigging with a Mach 3 combo. I have not liked the Cubs.

[LRS]

Long time lurker here, first post in the group. I’ll write a brief introduction later, but i couldn’t let de BJ being pictured as an inferior amp compared to the PRRI.

I had both. Both are fine, modern built PCB based amps, but different horses for different courses. I still have the BJ. The PRRI has a new owner. My PRRI version was a factory special run with Brown tolex and a 12” Celestion Greenback. I also tested the regular 10” version, but the speaker baffle had a nasty rattling sound at increased volume, so I got the FSR version.

We all know what to expect from a classic as the Princeton. Regarding the Blues Junior: in my book it’s a fine blues amp (surprise!). I’ve got the tweed III version with the Jensen C12N speaker. The harsh / shrill character people describe above, is correct. However, cutting the bright cap was all it needed. Really a three minute job. I never felt the need to mod it more than that. Another hint: Max out the master volume and use the pre-amp volume to adjust the volume to your taste. Done. Just for kicks I installed a 10” Jensen P10Q Alnico speaker I had laying around in the BJ, and it’s a mighty fine combo that way, but the 12” C12N is doing fine as well. The difference is subtle and I doubt if your audience will notice. 10” Alnico compresses a little more than 12” Ceramic. Nice for blues / rock. Bass pressence is more or less the same actually.

Personally the BJ just suits me better than the PRRI. The PRRI on a lower volume has blackface cleans to die for. Love for the vibrato channel too. On slightly higher volumes, the BJ is a little rougher on the sonic edges, better mids, creamier overdriven sounds. Other than that, both are relatively small, easy to handle combos. Want a bigger sound? Forget all those popular mods and get a bigger amp! ;-) But for rehearsals, pubs, smaller venues, either one (BJ / PRRI) will suit you fine, it’s just a matter of taste.

Cheers,
Chris