Amp recommendations for Bluesboy w/ Seth Lover in the neck?

Greetings crew, (my first time on the forum)

I just picked up a new Bluesboy w/ith a Seymoure Duncan Seth Lover Humbucker in the neck position. My new favorite guitar. I play at church through a small Fender Super Champ XD and would like to upgrade to an all-tube amp with a little bigger sound. Hopefully, it could be something that would accommodate small live gigs: blues, rock, jazz, funk, alternative. I also have an ASAT classic semi-hollow that I played a gig with using the Super Champ and the Super Champ was underwhelming.

Any recommendations on an amp that would work well with the Bluesboy? $800 or less budget.

Cheers!

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a reactive load attenuator like the Weber Mini-Mass would be in your budget, give you more than enough volume, plus the control to play in the amp's sweet spot even at typical Worship Band levels and whatever size club gig you might get.

New or are you OK with used ?

Tubes , Solid State , Modular or does it matter ??

Combo or head ??

If head , do you already have speaker cabs and if so what kind of speakers ?

Does weight matter or lighter the better ??

Fender blues junior.

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Definitely looking for an all tube amp, lightweight, combo. Over the years, I haven't been a fan of the 6L6 tubes so I'm trying to look outside of the Fender line of amps.

I did try a Blues Junior and it sounded a little too boxy. The new Marshall DSL40cr sounded nice but man it was large (too large for my small house) and too heavy. I just don't think I would ever need, or use, that much amp.

I have taken a peek at the Fender Bassbreaker 15 amps because they have EL84 tubes (I think) but no foot pedal option so I'm a little leery.

It's gotta be a Dumble or might as well be plugged into a cardboard box.

Like GVDub said, I run it through a Fender Blues Deluxe (sometimes with volume box) similar to Hard Rock Deluxe, or through a Boogie F-50. These are both 6L6 amps and I like it better than the EL-84 Lonestar Special and Studio 22. Both are in yer price range as well.

Look forward to hearing which direction you go.

Any experience running the Bluesboy through Vox amps? There seem to be quite a few options in my price range.

I did try a Blues Junior and it sounded a little too boxy.

Mine was boxy too, but I knew it would be going in. The main reason for the boxy sound is the diminutive little (output) transformer that comes stock. It can't really push a 15" (Correction: 12") speaker like it ought to. The solution is to put in a larger transformer. I put in a much larger transformer, though I had to move it away from the tubes to avoid some wonky interference. That, some Bill M mods, and a Texas Heat speaker, and it's practically a boutique amp - and I didn't really have to spend all that much to get there. If you've never heard a modded Blues Jr.

May I suggest:

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Last edited by DanDoulogos on Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

Here's another option to consider. Jim Frenzel in Richardson, Texas makes some of the finest, and definitely the most affordable, hand-wired boutique-type amps around. If you like Fendery clean, but want an occasional bit of Marshall drive, he's got a number of options, all in your price range. I've got one of his "Sweet LIttle 15" heads, which marries an EL84 AC15-style back end with dual front preamps, one a clean tweed Fender and one a hot-rodded JTM-45. No fancy switching, ou need an AB/Y switch, but that also enables you to blend the clean and OD channels. The outsides may not be either traditional or "pretty", but the insides are some of the cleanest point-to-point wiring I've ever seen, and the lead dress is exceptional. If you want to stick with 6L6 output, consider his Deluxe Plus https://www.frenzeltubeamps.com/deluxe-plus-525.

I did try a Blues Junior and it sounded a little too boxy.

Mine was boxy too, but I knew it would be going in. The main reason for the boxy sound is the diminutive little (output) transformer that comes stock. It can't really push a 15" speaker like it ought to. The solution is to put in a larger transformer. I put in a much larger transformer, though I had to move it away from the tubes to avoid some wonky interference. That, some Bill M mods, and a Texas Heat speaker, and it's practically a boutique amp - and I didn't really have to spend all that much to get there. If you've never heard a modded Blues Jr.

May I suggest:

phpBB [video]

You have a Blues Jr with a 15" speaker? Or is that a typo?

your real close to a used Mesa Lonestar 30 combo money wise and uses EL84's …. to be honest tube and combo used together in the same sentence usually means fricken heavy but there are a few exceptions. lol .

I did try a Blues Junior and it sounded a little too boxy.

Mine was boxy too, but I knew it would be going in. The main reason for the boxy sound is the diminutive little (output) transformer that comes stock. It can't really push a 15" speaker like it ought to. The solution is to put in a larger transformer. I put in a much larger transformer, though I had to move it away from the tubes to avoid some wonky interference. That, some Bill M mods, and a Texas Heat speaker, and it's practically a boutique amp - and I didn't really have to spend all that much to get there. If you've never heard a modded Blues Jr.

May I suggest:

phpBB [video]

You have a Blues Jr with a 15" speaker? Or is that a typo?

Typo. I'll go fix that.

Certainly agree w GVDUB. I play a Hot Rod Deville 4x10 and it’s a very versatile powerful box with great headroom. Volume attenuator is a good idea. Sixty tube watts is a lotta power to manage.

Palmtree

I'm not sure what they cost these days, but I'd recommend a Peavey Delta Blues.

I'm not sure what they cost these days, but I'd recommend a Peavey Delta Blues.

Those Peaveys are awesome.

A Vox AC15 or a Princeton Reverb are also excellent choices

I just picked up a Vox AC10 a few days ago and am messing around with it. Gotta break the speaker in but so far, a mighty fine little amp! Might want to look into one.

Also I'll recommend a Tech 21 Trademark 30. Awfully versatile and powerful little amp, you can get pretty much any tone from it and it's all analog SS.

Lot of great amps already mentioned so I'll add to keep a eye open for a Carvin Nomad (1x12) or Carvin Belair (2x12) , fairly light weight , EL84's , I have the head version and they are sweet amps if you see one on your local Craigslist they usually sell around 300.00 to 400.00 range

I just picked up a Vox AC10 a few days ago and am messing around with it. Gotta break the speaker in but so far, a mighty fine little amp! Might want to look into one.

I helped a friend sell a Vox Night Train head(NT20H) and Cab (w/greenback) recently,
it was super easy to dial in classic clean and dirty tones. Maybe another one to look out for.

The buyer had a nice birdseye cheeto'd neck Comanche, sounded stellar with the little Vox.

You might take a look at the PRS Sonzera. I've got the 20W Combo version and I'm happy with it.

https://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/am ... combo_2018

Any of you guy's ever play a Quilter ? They seem pretty sweet especially for Solid State in their video's , Quilter is another brand I would love to play around with and if not mistaken I think I saw one at the G&L factory in one of the videos on FB

The AC10 is a great little amp, as is the AC15.

For the price of a Blues Junior, you should be able to find a Peavey Classic 30, also EL84 based but IMO a whole lot more amp than a stock BJ.

I've heard lots of good feedback on the new Marshall Origin series, which have a built in attenuator and are light weight.

Really want a Quilter myself - but for me, a MacBook and appropriate-size PA works quite well; can't say I play my amps as much as I 'should.'

The Peavey Delta Blues as mentioned above is an awful lot of amp for the money. I got the 15" model, with a Celestion Fullback. I've played 60+ gigs a year the two years I've had it with no issues. The clean channel is awesome and takes pedals exceptionally well. It has a good effects loop if you need one. The overdrive channel is solid but not great. It might be better on the 2x10 version. With a pedalboard, I just use the clean channel. That 15 puts out a whole lot of sound without being harsh. If you were playing blues or country in a medium to large room and not mic'ing, this amp would be a good choice. With quality overdrive pedals (Wampler and Fulltone in my case), you can make it rock very nicely too.

I own three G&Ls. One is a ASAT Deluxe Irish Ale with a Fralin P-92 in the neck which sounds great. The stock G&L HB sounded very good also. My father's guitars with PAFs sound great in the neck position through this amp as well. I promise you the Seth would sound sweet. And when you kick it to the Tele bridge, this amp offers a bit more meat than some with 12s and 10s.