Fender Pro Junior

I have a mexico made pro junior i bought off ebay. I love the el 84 sound. features are basic

I go back and forth with this amp on sound. It is noisy. When I got it the center top screw on the back was pushing the metal shield into one of the pots. take the back off and bend the flange doen so the screw wont push it eliminated alot of the hum. It still has some tho. The sound is good. It gets pretty loud and sounds good into a seperate cab. The stock speaker sounds sorta confined. I plan some tweeking to get rid of the hum, new JJ tubes, and maybe a different speaker. It sounds good but not up to fender standards.

ok

dont know

This amp would need some work to be really gig worthy. If you mic ed it the noise would probably come thru. Not a bad first amp specially for the price.

Pro Jr, black tolex, mase in USA - don't know when.

OUTSTANDING - one of my favorite amps. I bought mine used so I don't know if the speaker is original or not (I think it was a replacement) anyway, I think the reason mine sounds so great is the speaker. It's an Eminence 10446 blue alnico. I think you can still buy them for about 70 bucks online. For Blues this combo is a dream. All my friends who hear or play it want to buy it from me. Nice fat slightly gritty tone that's even better than my Blues Jr with an Eminence 12" Texas Heat Speaker. If you can find one of the Emi 10446 speakers try it - you will be impressed.

Never a problem.

Never needed customer support.

Blows away every other amp in it's class and price range.

This is an early to mid-90's Pro Junior. I bought it for $100 at a pawn shop in Montana while on tour up there. Features? Volume, Tone, a speaker...

This can widely vary until you figure out which tubes you prefer in your Pro Junior. I keep a spare set in the back of the amp at all times, and even keep the old tubes after I've switched. EL84s, especially in these cheap tube sockets, can be real finicky, noisy, pingy, rattly. But if I keep some good EL84s and a 12AY7 and a 12 AX7 in there, in combination with a speaker upgrade (in my case a Celestion Vintage 10---a bit dark, but still sounds good and can't blow it up if I try).

Try the Pro Junior as a head through a good 1x12 cabinet and it really opens up. I recently recorded using Pro Jr into the 12 (Eminence Cannabis Rex) in my Dr Z Maz 18 Jr, and it sounded fantastic. Mike Campbell-ish chime, Keith Richards rhythm, early Zep lead. Good stuff.

Mine has only been in the shop once in 14 years---and I bought it used for $100. Like I said, I keep changing those tubes and it keeps working.

Don't know. Bought used.

For $100, nothing beats this but my Silvertone Twin Twelve, which I got for $75 in the mid-80s. It rocks; I've used it on stage, in the studio, at home. I've flown with it in the overhead of a Southwest Flight.

No sense in rerwriting what people have written below.

I bought the amp 2nd hand for 225 CDN. Mint shape - I don't think the guy had turned it on. He said he bought it in 2002. A new one lists for 435 CDN plus taxes = about $470 I wouldn't have (didn't) paid that. This is not a $500 amp. You can buy allot more amp for that. Worth what I paid.

I play a '58 Gibson ES125 with a Stock p90. I play swing jazz and blues. I wanted a no nonsense amp. Small, tube driven. The amp is exactly that. My struggle at first was that it was too trebelly for my ears. I replaced the speaker with an Eminece Lil' buddy for a warmer more present mid/bass range. This is a great soloution to using a larger speaker setup. I have also added a new jj and EH tube combination. There is a hiss but not even close to the one before my upgrade. I rarely crank this amp. I don't need to, I play in small clubs - great tone at low volume. The clean has a great puch to it. Rarely go past 5. Honestly, 12 is LOUD and it screams back at you. I wasn't looking for versitility in the amp just a straight up plug in and go set up. I do use a reverb pedal, I think it's a must. However not that I think they should add it too the amp. It's simplicity is it's selling point. I know a guy at work who plays Metal through his pro Junior. I rated sound quality 5 before the speaker switch and 8.5 after.

People continually comment on the tone I get. "That's your amp?!" Yep.

So far so good. 6 months.

NA

I've been playing professionally for 10 years. I own a SG, an Epiphone Sorrento, My ES125 plus a multitude of Acoustics, Banjitar, Mandolin etc.

I would replace it. I would like to have gone with a small boutique amp but for the 1000 dollar difference this suits me and my budget fine. Again the simplicity and 2nd hand price sold me. Small package, easy to upgrade if you wish. I don't need that much volume. And the initial hiss and Trebal prompted me to switch things around. Glad I did.

If you can find a deal - great for the price. Retail price is iffy IMO. A little more money you are in a differnt amp range.

I OWNED 4, NOW 2. NO FRILLS ALL TUBE AMP, A VOL AND A TONE KNOB. IT IS A 1 TRICK PONEY BY ITSELF. REALLY WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED THESE DAYS AS MOST PLAYERS ARE USEING MULTI EFFECTS PROCESSORS OR A MULTIPLE PEDAL SET UP. I USE THE PAIR OF THEM LIVE IN A STEREO SETUP BUT HAVE USED 1. I USE AN SM 57 TO MIC. PLENTY OF VOL YOU JUST NEED TO GET IT UP OFF THE GROUND. I USE A TABLE ON MY MIXER RACK AND MY CORD CASE BOX. YOU CAN ALWAYS GRAB A CHAIR. 15 "TUBE" WATTS GREAT GREAT TONE!

I USE 2 STRATS WITH HOT RAILS IN BACK AND COOL RAILS UP FRONT, AS WELL AS A PAIR OF TELES 1 A B BENDER AND THE OTHER IS A SLIDE RIG ALSO LOADED WITH HOT RAILS AND MINI HUMBUCKER UP FRONT. I PLAY EVERYTHING FROM COUNTRY, POP, ROCK, TO METAL. WHOEVER IS PAYING. I HAD 4 BUT SOLD 2. I HAVE A USA MODEL AND A MEXICAN MADE UNIT. THEY BOTH SOUND GREAT TO ME THEY ARE VERY CONSISTANT AND EVEN ON HEADROOM AND BREAK UP TONE AND THEY BOTH BREATH VERY, VERY WELL. ONLY ISSUE I HAD WAS THE TACO MODEL HAD QUITE A BIT OF NOISE. POPPED OFF THE BACK COVER AND THE CULPRIT WAS A WIRE GOING TO THE LIGHT WAS ZIP TIED AND IT PUT IT AT AN ANGLE PULLING IT INTO A METAL CLIP. SNIPPED THE TIE MOVED THE WIRE AND "VIOLA" YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM. THE DISTORTION BEGINS AROUND 4 GETTING REALLY HEAVY AS YOU GO UP. I LOVE THE SOUND BUT TRY TO KEEP IT CLEAN AS I CHANGE SOUNDS ON MY BOARD AND USE MY VOL KNOB ALSO. AWSOME TONE AND I AM REALLY AMAZED AT THE SOUND COMING FROM THESE AMPS. BROKE MY BACK, SO MY JUMBO STACK DAYS ARE GONE AS WELL AS MY TWIN DAYS, IS THAT A RIDICULAS AMP OR WHAT! SUPER HEAVY AND BRUTALLY LOUD!!! YOU NEVER GET THE TUBES COOKING. ANYWAY THIS IS REALLY THE PERFECT AMP FOR ME. I HAVE READ ABOUT MODS AND SPEAKER CHANGES BUT I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS ON IT NOW ONLY PRAISE. VERY POWERFUL, VERY VERY LIGHT, GREAT CONTROLABLE FEEDBACK BREATHABILITY QUALITIES. REMEMBER IT IS 15 TUBE WATTS. YES A WATT IS A WATT BUT TUBE AMPS ARE RATED DIFFERENTLY THAN SOLID STATE THAT IS WHY A TUBE AMP IS ALWAYS "PERCIEVED" LOUDER ROUGHLY 1 TUBE WATT = 3 SS WATTS. FOR THOSE WHO DISAGREE GO TO A STORE AND PLAY A SS AND A TUBE AMP OF EQUAL WATTAGE THEN TELL ME WHICH IS LOUDER. A TUBE AMP HAS MORE DEFINITION AND REALY CUTS THRU. SS AMPS HAVE ALWAYS LEFT ME LOST IN THE MIX OR AS I PUT IT FLOATING WHICH IS FINE IF YOUR BLENDING BUT LEAD TIME AND FILLER TIME YOU EITHER BURIED OR MIXING THE INTERNAL ORGANS OF YOUR BAND MATES. TUBES HAVE MUCH MORE DEFINITION WARMTH AND TONE. I HAVE TRIED A FEW SS AND NEVER CARED FOR THEM. SS AMPS ARE LIKE MASTERBATION, YOUR ONLY SCREWING YOURSELF. VERY LIFELESS TO ME AND NO BREATHABILITY.

I HAVE NOT HAD ANY ISSUES PERIOD OTHER THAN THE HUM WHICH WAS A WIRE THAT JUST NEEDED TO BE MOVED OVER. I HAVE READ ABOUT SOME HAVING NOISE ISSUES NEEDING TO REMOVE THE CENTER TOP BACK PANEL SCREW ECT. OUT OF THE 4 I HAVE HAD THEY WERE THE SAME AS THE LAST VERY CONSISTANT. I DO AND HAVE GIGGED WITH IT WITH NO BACK UP. NO WAY WILL I TOTE EXTRA AMPS 1 IS HEAVY ENOUGH. IF YOU NEED TO BRING BACK UP GEAR, GET BETTER GEAR.

NEVER DEALT WITH THEM ON GEAR. CALLED ONCE FOR INFO ON DATING AN AMP AND THEY WERE VERY HELPFUL.

20+ YR VET ALWAYS USED PEAVEY, TRIED CRATE, MARSHALL, VOX, AS WELL AS MANY OTHERS. SWITCH TO FENDERS A FEW YEARS BACK STARTING WITH A TWIN, THEN A DELUXE REVERB, PRINCETON REVERB, VIBRO CHAMP AND FINALLY THE PRO JR. THE HALF STACKS AND TWINS LOOK COOL ON STAGE BUT BEGIN TO PALE IN THE MOONLIGHT AS THE NIGHT WEARS ON AND YOU BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT TEAR DOWN AND LOADING. IF YOU USE TUBE YOU ARE REALLY BLOWING IT IF YOUR AMP IS OVER A 40 WATTER. YOU NEVER GET IT UP LOUD ENOUGH TO REALLY COOK THE TUBES YOU MAY AS WELL PLAY A SOLID STATE. NOW YES YOU NEED TO MIC IT LIVE BUT THATS THE STANDARD THESE DAYS NOT MANY GOING OLD SCHOOL (NOTHING MIC'D ONLY VOCALS ON A SMALL PA, REMEMBER THE GARAGE DAYS?). I DON'T NEED ALL THE BUILT IN EFFECTS AS I HAVE MY PROCESSOR AND ALSO I DON'T TRUST THEM. TUBE AMPS GET HOT, REAL HOT. DON'T BELIEVE ME TOUCH A TUBE AFTER ITS BEEN ON A WHILE. WHAT IS THE MAIN KILLER OF PROCESSORS AND ELECTRONICS? HEAT. NOT A REAL BRAINER THERE. ALSO, IF BY SOME CHANCE MY RIG DID GO DOWN I CAN ALWAYS SHOOT STRIAGHT INTO THE BOARD. BOTH AMPS FIT IN MY CORD CASE BOX SO WHEN THE OTHER MEMBERS BRING IN THE CORD BOX WITH THE SNAKE AND CORDS ECT. WELL THERE ARE MY AMPS. AFTER THE BOX IS EMPTY I PUT 1 UP ON IT. THE OTHER GOES UP ON MY MIXER RACK TABLE. LIKE I SAID GET THEM UP AND MIC EM AND NOT ONLY WILL YOU HAVE A GREAT SOUNDING RIG BUT AFTER THE SHOW YOUR BACK WILL THANK YOU AS WELL AS BAND MATES INVOLVED IN LOADING.

This amp is the little brother to the Blues Jr. comes complete with a volume and tone control, 10 inch speaker and is about 15 watts. It has no reverb and no master volume. One input jack and a on and off switch with a pilot light so you know it's turned on! Real simple operation, if you get a little confused with all the knobs on other amps don't worry this thing adjust easly with the 2 knobs you really need.

I wanted a clean little amp with some volume and after owning 2 Blues Jr's found this to play cleaner at about the same volume. I guess it's because it doesn't have as much preamp gain, but it's just about as loud. I think if it had a 12 inch speaker it would sound even better and be a tad louder. Still volume isn't too bad and I can do small gigs with it, mostly 3 or 4 piece Jazz and some light Rock and Blues. Because it doesn't have reverb I use a small FX pedal and preset all my settings, reverb, distortion, tremolo, and so on... I couldn't be any easier. I think if this amp had a 12 inch speaker I'd give it a "10" because then I wouldn't feel the need for a larger amp for bigger gigs.

It was made in Mexico in 2002 and still works. When I got it, it had one mycrophonic tube in the preamp and was making that feed back sound. My Brother-In-Law who I traded a Blues Jr. for the Pro (kind of as a gift to him), had sent it to a Amp Tech to try to fix the feed back problem, who charged him $100 to replace the 2 EL84 power tubes. I tested the originals later with my tube tester and they were still in very good condition, no need to have replaced them. Yes I told him he got ripped off. Don't trust fly by night Amp Tech's, or ones that over charge. This amps seems built good for the job it was intended to do, any amp with tubes is subject to tube failure. Test and check your tubes now and then and you'll be okay.

Don't know.

Fine amp for it's size, I like it better than the Blues Jr's I've owned. Wish it had a 12 inch speaker.

Nice, no-nonsense little 15W tube amp, plenty loud for it's size, a great change from sterile sounding solid-states. Just one volume, tone control and on/off switch, no reverb. Comes stock with a 25-watt Fender speaker (manufactured by Eminence I believe) and the usual budget, standard Fender tubes installed.

Yes, in stock-form this amp definitely is treble-heavy, but changing out the speaker is one of the simplest things you can do to improve the sound, even before swapping out any tubes. I replaced mine with an Eminence 10-inch 50W "Lil Buddy", the stock Fender speaker which came out was only marked as 25W. It was pretty easy to do, for those of you not technically inclined, though because it is all packed in tightly I practically had to unscrew and dismantle the whole thing (not the electronics though, that stayed together in its metal 'tray' to the side). Despite that, the new speaker fit in perfectly and it all screwed back together without any other work needed. Now it sounds much fuller & balanced, and actually has some bass response (what a concept!) Great now for jazz tones with a Les Paul or classic rock/pop, and does well with Boss overdrive/dist & delay pedals for some ambient lead. Not really for metal though. The only con I have is that [ground?] hum when you turn the amp on, even before you plug your guitar in. The local guitar tech mentioned he thought it may just be the manufacturer trying to pack so much bang in a tiny little package. I haven't changed out the tubes yet to see if that may help? Anyhow, it is a fairly low-level hum that is liveable in most musical situations.

Haven't had it for very long, though it is a simple amp and seems as study & reliable as any tube amp carrying 'glass bottles' inside gets. Always a good idea to have back-up, especially if you're gigging a fair distance away from home. If you have a beat-up Solid State you can leave in the trunk of your car for that one emergency situation (whenever that may be?) would be a good practice.

Have not had a reason to contact Fender yet.

Great sound, great value! I own 60W & 30W Roland Cubes plus a couple little Crate practice amps, but for me this is a step up in quality of tone for sensitive ears. You can hear the difference from Solid State when played side by side clean for jazz. Though close, the whole fuller, warmer tube tone thing becomes more apparent. With an overdrive pedal, the sound appears to cut through much more watt for watt than SS (those 15 watts go a long way in comparison, more like 50-60 in most SS). Got no tubes yet? Get this little gem to get started.

I consider the accessibility of the preamp tubes and the ease
of swapping them to be a feature for customizing the sound.
Aside from that, I like the simplicity- easier to keep my sound
dialed in while gigging.
I also consider the relatively low weight for the amount of power
a feature- I have a bad back, and I can handle this, but I couldn't
handle anything heavier.
I mostly use this amp in church, turned around facing me,
with a Behringer speaker emulated direct box to the board.

I've mostly used it with single coil Strats.
My current favorites are a MIM Standard with Mighty Mite Alnicos
in neck and middle, and a coil tapped Duncan Invader in the bridge,
also a mahogany bodied parts Strat with a medium hot DiMarzio DP406
Virtual Vintage in the neck position. It also sounds good with my
hardtail Strat with hot Tele-ish GFS pickups in neck and bridge,
especially in the 2 and 4 positions.
So all my neck position pickups are hotter than vintage,
and they throb nicely through the Pro Junior.
I tried a stock Pro Junior in the store with a two humbucker guitar,
and the Blues Junior did better for that since you could tweak the midrange.
The PJ suits my musical style perfectly.

Noise: it was noisy at first.
Using a quiet ECC82 JJ in v2 tamed the hiss.
Switching to JJ EL84s tamed the tube rattle due to the Sovteks.
I am using an Electroharmonix 12AX7 in v1 for a darker sound.
I have heard an all Electroharmonix set of tubes works well too.
The only tube I have found better in v1 is a JJECC803,
but I can't use it because IT rattles, maybe even especially because that tube in v1 gives a lot of nice bass, which then REALLY rattles the tube!
It would work using an external speaker though.
When I do research on tubes, I often find that a tube that rattles
has a history of those issues, like both the original and replacement
set of Sovteks I tried were from a certain vintage that had a rattle problem. And the ECC803 I read is prone to rattle as it is a long plate design. So really, not all the rattles are the PJ's fault,
but if a tube tends to rattle, the PJ's speaker being that close to them will make it happen!
I seldom get this amp above 6- too loud for my church gig or practice
I seldom use it below 3 though- no tone there to speak of.
For me, 3.5 to 5.5 is it's real useable range.
So for me, it's essentially a clean amp as it is.
The tone control is also most useful in the same range-
more than 6, and it's spikey harsh, below 3 it sounds flat and lifeless.
I seldom use it for practice anymore- too loud- I use an Epiphone Valve Junior for that. Instead, I leave the Pro Junior with it's cover on near the door ready to grab for practices and gigs- makes life easier.
The praise team leader is also an electric guitarist with a a Marshall and a humbucker guitar, though he usually plays an acoustic-
he really likes the sound I'm gettin out of the Pro Junior and my Strats.
The stock speaker was horrible. I replaced it with the cheap Italian Jensen reissue that came with my Behringer GM-110, and it was a great improvement, slightly edging out a Weber and an alnico Eminence,
which were both in turn much better than the stock speaker.

While still stock, it hated stock Tubescreamers.
It liked the TS-9DX with the enhanced bass positions better.
I modded my SD-1 and TOD-9 pedals to give them a slightly fuller sound
and they do fine with Pro Junior now.
If a pedal is midrangey or has harsh treble, it's going to give
the PJ too much of what it already has. Successful tube and speaker swaps in this amp have to add a little more bass, and sweeten the treble

It's even sensitive to cords- I use guitar cables that have quite a bit of capacitance.

I tried a B.K. Butler Tube Enhancer pedal with the Pro Junior in a store, and it sounded fantastic- great thick blues sound.
I'm currently using a tube mic preamp in front of the Pro Junior
with gain maxxed to fatten up the clean sound, and then have the
SD-1 with gain maxxed after it to stomp on for a Claptonish OD sound.

As an experiment, I put a longer screw in the top center position
of the back panel, and it hummed badly
(it creates a ground loop)- by now, most Pro Juniors should have a short screw in that position, but when replacing
the screws after removing the panel for any reason, make sure the
short screw goes in the top middle position- it's IMPORTANT!

It's probably not a good amp for someone who doesn't enjoy doing

I reviewed it 12/1/2005, and I'm still using it, still liking it.
It's never broken down, although there was once a volume fluctuation
on a hot day, possibly tube related.

I've played guitar of various kinds since I was a teenager.
Most of my electric experience has been in the last 9 years,
except for a couple years as a teenager.
My only other working amps are the previously mentioned Valve Junior,
and a Behringer GM-110 Vintager.
The Valve Junior makes a nice companion for the Pro Junior-
it give a similar sound at a lower volume for practice (same tube types, but only 1 of each,
so you can use leftover tubes from the Pro Junior in the Valve Junior.

If it were stolen or lost, I'm pretty sure I'd get another-
the combination of size, tone (once tweaked), and weight is perfect for me. A Zinky Blue Velvet is about the only amp that really compares- which isn't surprising since Bruce Zinky designed the Pro Junior when he was working for Fender!

I also like the Blues Junior- actually stock I think I liked the sound better than the Pro Junior- but it's too heavy for me, and I like
the Pro Junior's simplicity at gigs.
To me the Blues Junior sounds a little more refined than the stock Pro Junior, and I've probably been trying to get a slightly more refined sound out of the Pro Junior with the speaker and tube swaps,
and the tube mic preamp in front,
and I think I've succeeded.
I'm glad it doesn't have onboard overdrive, since Fender usually doesn't do so well with that anyway, and that would only make it heavier.

Check Fender website.

This amp is very versatile. It all depends upon what you plug into the front of it.

giving yourself boundaries for musical composition pushes you to break them. Look at Tom Morello for example using a relatively small amount of gear at any one time.

I have owned this amp for 4 days. its brilliant. just playing it with an american deluxe strat running a seymour duncan 59 in the bridge and a lil 59 in the neck.

pedals are: digitech whammy->boss tuner-> mxr phase 90->digitech bad monkey (brilliant btw)-> boss space echo (also great).

small but versatile set up. pro junior is just right and sounds fantastic FULLY STOCK.

...apart from a very high pitched resonance I can hear as the volume gets higher. Im not sure what this is? if any could shed some light on it, i would be most grateful!

dunno yet! works alrite so far.

ditto.

Just what I needed for my live rig and for recording tube distortion! its small enough so that my live rig can be taken on the bus for christs sake! and its dead loud - definately gigable. Come on for the price its a no brainer. U want a more refined, articulate sound, spend more money but for me its great, which is the most important thing!

If you are worried that the amp may be too simple - think - giving yourself boundaries for musical composition pushes you to exceed them. Look at Tom Morello for example using a relatively small amount of gear at any one time and creating those sounds.

And most importantly, this amp is FUN!

Don't know the year it was made, but it was made in USA; I play rock but don't like a lot of distortion. It has one channel with an output jack for a separate speaker. Volume knob, tone knob, that's it. Wish it had a standby switch, but I do like the simplicity of it. Color is Blonde; has cool genuine leather handle.
I use it in the basement and bought it because it's only 20 lbs. Has plenty of power for 15 watts and easy to carry around.

I use it with a PRS singlecut, Gibson Nighthawk, Strat Plus, Ibanez AS120, and Les Paul Studio. When I bought it(used), the sound broke up early with distortion way too early, bass sound was flubby. And it rattled a bit at high volumes.

Here's what I did, based on reading some of the reviews:
Leather handle was in bad shape--got a brand new one on Ebay!
Got rid of the Sovtek tubes; replaced them with JJ's from Eurotubes.com. BIG improvement in overall sound. They have a very informative website.
No rattles now(I read the review where they mentioned defective Sovtek's caused the rattles--who knows)?
Anyway, the guys at Eurotubes were great...they have matched kits for this amp and many options designed for how you play and what sound you want.
Sound is great now!

Read many reviews off this site before I bought used. Seems like you at least have to change the stock tubes for a better sound. I'll take care of it and cross my fingers!

Been playing 25+ years; I also own a Blues Jr. and a Fishman Loudbox. The Pro Jr. is a good amp for the price. Like I said, you'll probably have to get better tubes like JJ's instead of Sovteks.
I don't think they make them anymore, so it's a used market now