Fender Pro Junior

It has just the features I wanted, volume and tone. It also has VOLUME and TONE, so to speak. This is a neat little 15W tube amp with 2 EL84s, very loud with the tube/speaker upgrades. Small and light, perfect for small-medium rooms.

I use a mongrel Strat with SSH pickups (VanZandt and TB14). Out of the box, these amps are very bright and ice-picky. Volume takes you from clean to a kind of barking crunch above noon on the dial. Not a lot of bass. I had the Tone on 9 o'clock. Still, not a bad sound for an inexpensive amp. First, I replaced all the tubes with JJs. I got a balanced 12AX7A for the phase inverter, a hot 12AX7A for V1, and a balanced set of EL84s. I replaced the speaker with a 10A125-O Weber upon the recommendation of Ted Weber. The amp was instantly louder and less spikey, and smoothed out a little after break-in, but still too bright. It had more bass, and broke up a little sooner. I got a Beam Blocker from Weber and that turned my amp into a little monster. The little soft dome in the center of the Beam Blocker apparently soaks up some highs, because the amp sounds much warmer and smoother, and has no obvious spikey highs on axis. I put the tone on 11 o'clock now. I'm giving it a 7 because it's very good for what it is, but not an AC30 or Matchless eater.

Tube amps are inherently vulnerable to problems such as rough handling, blown fuses, tubes and transformers. The only tube amp that ever stranded me live was my old Marshall Plexi 100 from the day. I expect this amp to be very reliable with proper handling.

Never had to deal with Fender personally, but there seems to be a mixed bag of great/hideous experiences. I have a local tech that can work on it for me or I might fix it myself, so who cares.

Played too long, bought too much stuff. This is a great small gig/recording/teaching amp as it is now. I would definitely replace if stolen. It would be nice to have this amp with a 12 and reverb, but I would just get the Blues Jr, which I like less. This thing screams live with my Keeley mod OD9/Soul Bender/Tube Zone dirt pedals. I get a great crunch sound, an almost-Marshall sound with the Tube Zone, and good fuzz buzz. The clean sound to me is a little flat and weak.

Volume and tone. As I only play clean this is all I need. So far I've just used this at practice and jamming with friends at home but I'd easily gig with it (no drummer, but I'd mic it up anyway).

This amp brings my American series Strat into full sparkling life with strong mids and surprisingly punchy lows. It also loves my Danelectro DC 12 string, delivering lots o' jangly goodness. It is, however, not quite bright enough for my Casino and a dead loss with the low output mini humbuckers on my Gretsch cannot be persuaded to twang without a lot extra help from a pedal. So, this is a single-coil-preferred amp from the ground up. That opinion would probably change if I overdrove it.

For my strat and the 12 string I keep the tone at a notch past 1/2 way and luxuriate in the richness of tone. For the other ones it's my solid state Vox with or without pedals.

Before I bought it I would play through the flat channel on a borrowed Fender Deluxe Reverb and eventually found I prefered the natural ring of the strat without extra reverb. I can't say this of all my instruments but the strat now sounds best to me when using the room itself for reverb. As soon as I tried the Pro Junior and liked the sound I decided it was the way to go.

The 9 is q qualified best as overdrive is completely absent from my playing and it is a reason why many people would choose this amp. As a clean amp, it's a winner.

Haven't dealt with them but didn't need to as I was able to solve my problem with the amp through reading (including here at Harmony Central). See below for details.

Been playing for a few decades now and have settled on the way I like my guitar playing to sound. I like the Pro Junior for the same reason I like the strat, it's plain but it's beautifully plain. If I were separated from it I would either get another one or maybe consider a Blues Junior for the extra eq so my other guitars wouldn't feel left out. Because of that last point I give it an overall 8.

It's an 8 rather than a 9 or 10, also because of the noise problem. In the shop it just sounded a little buzzy (and I *was* playing a Strat through it) but when I got it home and turned it on it buzzed like a power tool before anything was plugged in (or the volume turned up). A little reading had me try the screw at the back but without success, and then I tried new valves. The first one I changed was the 12ax7 in the first position which reduced the humm to acceptable levels. I could have left it at that but I went further and now the hum and hiss are virtually unnoticeable. My configuration is: V1 12AY7 V2 12AU7 and two JJ EL84s. It now plays like a dream but I had to do a fair bit of work to get it there.

Still, it's a perfect companion for my Strat and that, very like the effect of sunshine on my shoulder, makes me happy.

Compact, all tube, tweed vintage look, volume and tone controls only.
Modded with Jensen P10R Alnico speaker and EH tubes.

This [my] amp is the holy grail. Mine has a new Jensen P10R and all EH tubes. It gets into early breakup at 6 on the volume. I bought it as-is so I didn't hear it with the stock speaker and tubes. Obviously if it was good they wouldn't have made the changes, so with this setup it is sweet, sweet. No rattles, buzzes, hum, just '59 Bassman tones without the high volume. (I have two 59 Bassmans, one point to point, Mercury transfomers, the works.) I hate to say which amps are supposed to sound this good and don't, but then, is your guitar putting out any tone? If you have five Fender Strats exactly the same, one or two of them will be dull and toneless. This is my experience. For pure guitar tone, this amp, with the mods, is hard to beat.

Very easy to get repaired.

A real, full service music store is better than a factory warranty.

I am in my 50's (not in THE 50's). I realize that great tone starts with the player, then goes through a great toneful piece of wood guitar, then to an amp. If one of the first two are missing, a great tube amp can make it up some but not enough to get to heaven.

Volume and tone. You really don't need anything else in this type of amp, and no amount of features could save this thing anyway. Keep reading . . .

Horrible, brittle, buzzy, sterile, and harsh, all with a horrible hum. The reviews that talk about great bluesy sound must never have heard a tweed champ. The Pro Jr is all about volume. You'll be surprised at how loud such a small amp can be (just a little bigger than a tweed champ), but sheer volume alone is nothing to be proud of. I tried different tubes, an eq, different guitars, all with the same harsh sound. People can mistake that harshness for a good "nasty" sound, but it isn't the same. Even cranked loud this amp sounds small.

Never crapped out on me, but the tubes are almost touching the back of the speaker and the power tube holder rattles like heck, as does the cabinet. I had a feeling that sooner or later, with regular playing, it would have broken down.

I had to dump the thing, I could not stand the sound. To those who think different, grab a tweed champ or a bassman and try those. I realize it's comparing apples to oranges, but I have a tweed champ and a bassman. They are completely different, you really can't compare the two as far as sound, volume, etc, but both still sound awesome in their own right. The Pro Junior doesn't have a good sound, that's the comparison I'm making. Save a few more bucks and get a tweed champ or a deluxe reverb. Do you really think you'll get a nice, full sound out of a 10 inch speaker jammed into a crappy 14 inch box???

Amp was a 2006 model, Single 10 speaker, one channel, one volume and one tone knob. 15 watts (Tubed), loud for 15 watts with a 10 inch speaker, clean to overdrive sounds are obtained by cranking the volume. I bought it for worship music with a semi clean sound in mind, I planned on mic'ing it and did not want to blow the choir off of the stage, so low power was desired. Not much else for features but that is how I wanted it.

The sound was great for the price! Total blues and rock sounds were available, I think it might be the best sounding amp I have heard for the price! Cleans were warm and there was plenty of treble. I used humbuckers with it exclusively. Tube rectifier would probably improve the sound a bit but the design is intended to be economical to produce and a tube rectifier would add cost to manufacturing. I have heard better 15 watt combos (Dr. Z, Matchless, and Vox come to mind) but they cost way more than this amp.

Here is where the problem was with my amp. I had it for six days, the first five days it worked and sounded great. On day six something came loose inside and the sound became horrible, very distorted but not in the good way. Very fuzzy, plus whatever came loose was rattling around in the chasis of the amp with every hit of my A string, A very loud rattle at that.

Didn't even call Fender, I didn't want to go through the hassle mailing it to them and I didn't want a replacement from the store, I returned it to Guitar Center and they took it back with no questions asked.

If you can get one that is reliable, than go for it, but I will stay away from Fender amps for a while. Or maybe upgrade to the vintage re-issue series.

Overall, it is a surprisingly versatile and loud amp for what it has to offer. It is definitely an "idiot proof" amp when it comes to setting up--volume, tone, on/off toggle, red light. Knowing the nuances of tone from your guitar--the pots particularly--is very important with this amp though. I bought this amp slightly used; it's made in Mexico. I live in Canada and paid $320 CAN. It is in almost mint condition.

The amp is LOUD and CLEAR! Mine was, unfortunately, very noisy when I tried it at home--very loud hiss and hum. I was quite disappointed. I took it back to the retailer's repairman who resoldered the tube sockets and capacitors. He also put in two new Sovtek output tubes. What a difference! Everything was covered by warranty (even as a used item) except the tubes. So, the repair cost me $24--so, $344 CAN total for this amp. (A new one in Canada is about $400.) It runs very quietly now and sounds just awesome. I also own a Fender Blues Junior, a Marshall JTM 30, and a Vox AC 15 (made in China)--they are all good amps. On the floor, I use just a Boss DD3 and a Vox Bulldog distortion--simple and effective. I keep the volume quite low (at almost 3) and the tone at about 5 or 6, depending on the guitar. While I haven't tried every electric in my collection through the PJ, I was really sold on how good my Teles and Strats sound. Les Paul--OK to good. PRS--yet to try...The real killer sound that blew me away was my Rickenbacker 360/6 string. WOW!! (Words cannot do justice here.) If you can, try this amp with a Ricky and you'll swear you hear choruses of angels. Frankly, I don't miss the reverb at all. I used this amp in church last Sunday with a Tele, DD3 and the Vox Bulldog and it worked very well--I could really hear myself without being too loud for any other players and singers. Overall, it's a really great sounding amp once you get rid of the loud hiss and hum.

It's rather soon to tell, but I have a feeling you need spare output tubes with this one.

It was the (Fender Authorized) repairman at the retailer that really solved the noise issues. Thanks Bob!! (I'm giving you a 10!) Resoldering by hand is the way to go!

I've been playing for 32 years--rock, blues, jazz, country, bluegrass, and gospel. I've rented, owned and borrowed lots of amps over the years. My favourite amps would have to be any of the Fender Deluxe Reverbs and Super Reverbs that I've tried. I really like the amps I own now, and the Pro Jr. is a very welcome addition to the family. It sounds great, you don't strain your hand carrying it, it fits behind your car seat, and it looks like an old Champ from 1964. I might try the tube and speaker upgrade, but since the repair, I'm very satisfied with this product....A+

1995, first run of this amp -- made in Brea, CA, Fenderland USA, not any of the misc. offshore places Fender farms work out to these days. Cost $200 in '95 and a ridiculous steal at that price. The Pro Jr is a two-knob wonder (tone, vol.) though actually very wide-ranging in tonal output depending on what and how you play, effects, etc. One channel. On-off switch (no standby, sorry). 2 EL84s, for 15 watts, but remarkably loud and giggable. Very well made for an inexpensive amp; don't know if the quality persists in non-USA, later versions.

Here's the deal: the Pro Jr gets widespread kudos, from me too, stock -- it's chimey, throaty, bouncy and clear, or biting when revved up. But -- and this is a huge but -- the PJ can be ramped up from "good" to "what the #$%&!" tone heaven with a few simple upgrades. The stock speaker is terrible, and should be replaced w/ a Jensen P10R alnico (fits, but you can't use the bell, which is cosmetic anyway) which I did, or a Weber 10, which would be even better. Huge, instant improvement: the little guy roars, goes deep. Next: replace the crap tubes. I think mine came w/ Groove Tubes, which sounded hard, noisy, and sharp. Use a 12AU7 or 5751 in V1 to tame the nutty over-the-top hotness, and any quiet 12AXZ in V2. Get some good, basic EL84s. The tube swaps will give a much better curve to the preamped gain, and the better power tubes will sing instead of shriek. And finally, do the "C2" mod reported on the web. It's a simple cap removal, takes 3 sec., and eliminates a nutty sort-of "treble bleed/bypass" deal that originally sends much treble right past the tone control. Since the PJ has a 10 incher to begin with, and is inherently hyper-trebly by design, you get a much better tonal range with the bypass cut out. With these very easy changes -- and don't fret the speaker cost, as the crap OEM Eminence will fry itself early on anyway -- you end up with an amazing little amp. The PJ is irritatingly noisy and tube-sensitive, so hang in there with the tube swaps until you find the right uniuts for yours. I did, and mine went from its very hummy, noisy original state to a nice quiet little dude.

My original speaker blew early on, which is a disgrace in a 15 watt amp never run over half volume! Fortunately, this led me to make a replacement that opened up the amp's otherwise-lost potential, so OK. Other than that, and having to get rid of crappy tubes, it's been faultless. I'm giving it a 10 because Febder made neither the tubes nor the speaker. I give Eminence a 1, and Groove tubes a 5.

Fender... are you kidding? I had no dealings with "Fender." My local shop was nice.

Played forever, have gone through all kinds of top-end (and crap) equipment. Even among the high-priced, fashionable poser stuff, I return to the PJ because it just freaking works. Easily portable, and it simply sounds great. Obviously, it cannot and will not do "recto" (though it will reproduce an effected version of that tone; it won't create it) and @ 15 watts and a 10 incher, it's not going to pump or shudder. But it's really great to hear. I would absolutely replace it, though I don't know if these CA originals differ from the mass of newer PJs.

Hey, "twangy mctwanger" (and others)!
You write that you're "often tempted to sketch out the circuit for this amp and copy it from scratch with higher quality components ".
Have a look at http://www.dreamtone.org/PJ.htm. He's done just that and turned the PJ into a tube recto point to point amp. If you're just reasonably skilled at DIY:ing you should be able to follow his circuit and make one for yourself. With good iron, good components, good tubes and a good speaker it ought to sound, well, down right good.

First issue (about 1996), made in USA and bought new by me for about 200 bucks... the good old days. Features? What features? Tone and volume knobs. Oh, yeah -- also, on/off switch. Supposedly designed so that high volumes are increasingly crunchy and less clean; essentially, a one-tone, "sweet spot" amp, with any tonal extremes best accomplished outboard with pedals. The "1" rating here is not a criticism: control is "very limited" (=1) on purpose. If you want channel switching, etc., go away.

This is a beautiful-sounding amp, as noted in many reviews, IF (if, if, if, etc.) you come up with the right set of pre-amp and power tubes. the stock tubes can be junky, microphonic, rattly, and just plain lousy-sounding, but if you spend some time swapping others in and out, as I did, you can eventually find a combination that is reasonably quiet (notorious noise problems in Pro Juniors!) and absolutely gorgeous tonally. I found that many terrific tubes (NOS $$$ stuff) that sound great in other amps can sound like crap in the PJ. Some of the 12AX swaps (to AU, say, or others) have worked for me too, as others describe, and sometimes the calmed-down preamp stage works wonderfully. Also, the stock Fender speaker is adequate at best (mine sounded OK), but swapping to a Weber alnico was a freaking revelation! With the right tubes and a good speaker, the amp is just great. Maybe a 6 rating stock, and a 10 now.

The stock tubes and speaker are crap. Consider it a gift from the tone gods when they fail, as decent replacements will result in massive improvement. Changing tubes on this guy is a dice roll. Be prepared to try lots of combinations, as even some reputable makes will still sound lousy in this circuit. It's a very noisy amp that brings out the worst in most tubes, though the right combination is is magical. But the quest for such a setup is about as challenging as the Holy Grail. Trial and error... with emphasis on both "trial" and "error."

I'm often tempted to sketch out the circuit for this amp and copy it from scratch with higher quality components (tube sockets, etc. are cheap-o).

Never needed help from Fender... because I was tossing out OEM components for better aftermarket stuff.

I've played forever, tried everything. I'm not rich, so even though I go through loads of gear, I only keep what works, and this little bastard has survived with me for a long time now simply because it sounds better than other units that have come and go from my collection. for instance, I had a lovely and small Top Hat that was in every way very fine, but the junior was the one everyone gravitated towards. It's the uncool, cheapy amp you don't want to like, but can't resist because it performs. I play a custom shop Strat, a McNaught, a PRS, and misc. vintage (Firebird, Tele) and use anything from zero effects to long chains, and the PJ works well with all. I gigged it a lot, and it's pretty loud -- often able to handle club-sized venues at volume -- once the P.O.S. original speaker was changed.

Two knobs, volume , tone.

Loud, bright amp. Pretty much only usable when tone and volume set at 3.5 - 4 that's where it sounds it's best One sound amp but I like it that way.

Makes all sorts of loud noises like hiss, hum, tube rattles, ringing and popping noises, you name a noise and it's do it for ya mate!
All the noise almost makes up for the missing reverb in a strange twisted way.
Beer can metal made chassis which vibrates like nuts and tubes along with it when you play, geeezzz!
Also eats up power tubes very quickly.
But still works the same since new 2006.

60% tone, 40% noises = 100% fun for decent price.