Expert: Jason Fryer - 10/10/2009

Question
I bought a Fender Roc Pro 1000 head (my first head) and I got a peavey 4x12 cab to put under it.  The music I play requires a warm tube sound, which I can get from the amp on lower volumes and using the guitars volume controls. However, I think I screwed up as far as using the tube overdrive with this cabinet.  Do you get better (warmer) overdrive by using a cab with only one or two speakers, or how does that work???  Like I said, I can get beautiful tone with this setup, but not at higher volumes. Or am I being very ignorant about this?
Thank you for your time.
Randy

Answer
Hey Randy, for starters, you're head is not tube, so that could be why it doesn't sound as warm as you think it should. It only has tube pre-amps for the dirty channel. The clean & the output are both solid state. I'd say sell the whole thing & get yourself a Fender Blues Jr. If you're looking for warm tube overdrive. If you need something louder, you could try the Traynor YCV40WR. I've owned two of them & they are great amps. (The YCV40WR is voiced like a Fender & the YCV50B is voiced like a Marshall) Here's a couple links:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Hot-Rod-Blues-Junior-NOS-1x12-...

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Traynor-Custom-Valve-40WR-YCV40WR-40W...

I currently own the same model Blues Jr. as I linked you to. It's an amazing amp. Although I just bought the '57 Tweed reissue & have been using it to gig lately, I used the Blues Jr exclusively for the last year to gig & I cut an album with it. It's a great amp. Just get a beam blocker from weber if you're gonna keep the Jensen in there or switch it out for an alnico. Hope that helps, if you need anything else, just drop me a line.
Peace - J.