I am shopping for a new guitar amp and am seriously considering the Fender Blues Junior to replace my Peavey Audition Plus.

I play with two guitars:

A 1996 Fender Lone Star Strat. This is guitar is the standard American Strat with a couple of stock alterations: Texas Special single coil pickups in the neck and middle positions plus a custom wound Seymour Duncan “Pearly Gates Plus” Humbucker in the bridge. The hotter pickups give the guitar a rawer sound than the standard strat and the combination of single coils and a humbucker provides a lot of versatility. It really excels at blues rock, though — more Stevie Ray Vaughn than David Gilmour. Harmony Central has more details and a wealth of reviews.

An early 1970s Fender Thinline Telecaster. I got this from my grandfather and still need to figure out the exact year. What a beautiful, fun guitar. The telecaster name is misleading, though. It doesn’t have the classic twangy telecaster sound. The semi-hollow body and humbucker pickups give it a nice, warm, chimey tone with good sustain. Some reviews.

Playing these excellent guitars through a poor amp is a sin in some countries. So, while walking around today I tested out some amps at Guitar Center. Let’s just say that tube amps sound a lot better than solid state ones. I hope to make a purchase shortly. I may still sound like Jeff Jolma when I play, but I’ll have a good tone.