"The Purchase of My First All-Tube Amplifier

So what do I plug this beautiful Paul Reed Smith SE into? There are a lot of amps out there, and again like the guitar choice, especially as a beginner, it's probably good to look to the guitarists one likes and the gear they use to guide us in choosing our stuff, that is until we have a "sound" we're going for. I live in a small apartment in New York so a Fender Twin Reverb is probably not an option, and the cost is slightly higher than I wanted to spend. I know a little bit about high end audio and I do know that I'm a fan of the warmth of vacuum tubes.

So my choice? A Fender Hot Rod Blues Junior. Basically a moderately priced 15 Watt all vacuum tube electric guitar amplifier, 3 pre-amp tubes, 2 amp tubes. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles but it's easily loud enough to play a small gig and the tone is outstanding. It came recommended to me by a number of people. A little higher maintenance than a solid state amp but what can I say? Mmmmm...Tubes... The tubes can also be upgraded as well as the main speaker which I hear a Celestion will greatly improve the tone overall as well. I'm sure I'll have an entry for Blues Junior speaker upgrade at some point. There's even some boutique custom companies like this that will perform a complete hand wired overhaul and obviously an amazing improvement in custom sound. You get the idea, the Blues Junior has some legs in the guitar world.

Other options I considered? Vox and that's about it. I didn't want to break the bank but at the same time, I like to know I have the best available. There's a lot of amps with all kinds of effects and stuff on them. My word of advice is, ignore it all. When the time comes you can get pedals for that."
(This review was submitted by Giles Dickerson)

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