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The Home of Loud Lightweight Guitar Amps

BluesBaby Tweed Model

Above is a custom covering... 'Two-Tone Black' is standard

Other coverings available, please ask

 

BluesBaby black model

Session's RetroTone™ Class AB amps bring
classic tone and dependability together

Controllable home practice volume levels

22W or 45W 'RetroTone™' Power Amps!

Switchable High Headroom version too...
For cleaner tone with higher output pickups

Perfect with pedals, especially modellers

Available as combo or chassis only format

Our amps are semi-custom built...
You order the specs you'd like!

RetroTone Logo

Watts Colculation logo

Fear not, Session's RetroTone Watts are calculated
by the same maths that tube Watts are,
and equally as loud - V²/R

 

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BB22 & BB45 Overall Specifications

  • BB22: 22 Watts RMS into an 8 Ohm load - via our unique RetroTone™ power amp circuitry, fattening the tone as you play louder!

  • BB45: 45 Watts RMS into an 8 Ohm load - via our unique RetroTone™ power amp circuitry, fattening the tone as you play louder!

  • NEW BB45/HH - Special version featuring switchable Normal/High Headroom. Use hotter pickups in HH mode and get a totally clean sound as well as reduced overdriven tones too. Option at modest extra cost

  • BB22 & BB45 are equipped with our 'RetroTone™' power amp circuitry

  • 10" & 12" Speakers - options as stated in the speaker listings

  • Loud as any 22 or 45 Watt valve amp - into a typical 100db sensitivity guitar speaker

  • Good amount of clean headroom - up to full 22 or 45 Watts before distortion sets in

  • Pre-amp based on our revered JD10 (Jerry Donahue) pedal!

  • Pedal capability - add your pedals with confidence, BB 'takes' pedals very well

  • Front panel controls - Drive, FAT Switch, Treble, Bass, Middle, Master (Volume), Reverb, LED Indicator and 'toggle' Power Switch, PRESENCE switch, BLACKPANEL/PLEXI switch (Toggles the EQ Mid centre frequency between approx 300Hz and 700Hz)

  • Post distortion EQ - Produces much wider ranging jazz, blues, rock & country tones

  • Reverb - Triple spring 8EB2C1B type

  • Aux MP3 input - 500mV rms/22k ohms (Stereo mixed to Mono). Play along to backing tracks at bars or for practise. Ideal for connecting modeeling preamps, etc

  • Line Out socket - Plug BB into your favourite power amp and speakers - does NOT mute internal speaker

  • Toroidal power transformer - for 70% less hum radiation than most amps! Perfect for all single coil, especially P-90, equipped guitars! Stand nearer to your amp and pickup far less hum!

  • External 8 ohm speaker jack - Internal speaker disconnects to allow the amp's 1/4" output to be used with external 8 ohm speaker enclosures

  • BluesBaby™ can drive any size or number of speakers - as long as their total combined impedance is 8 ohms. BB is designed to work with an 8 Ohm speaker load only.

  • The RetroTone™ power amp section is fully 'short circuit' protected

  • FAT & Reverb footswitch jack socket - footswitches not included

  • White-on-Black 'right way reading' control panel

  • Chassis Dimensions BB22 - its mounting locations enable it to fit directly into a Blues Junior® cabinet - 415W x 160D x 65H mm (inc 15mm side mounting lugs) - OK with standard BJr speaker in place.
    Chassis only customers: Please check your intended speaker will fit before ordering BB22

  • Chassis Dimensions BB45 - its mounting locations enable it to fit directly into a Blues Junior® cabinet - View Dimensions Doc Here. Control panel cut-out: 320 x 55mm

  • BB45 - The maximum speaker depth must NOT exceed 123mm!
    Chassis only customers: Please check your intended speaker will fit before ordering BB45

  • Bright Red 10mm power LED indicator fitted standard - Blue optional!

  • Weight - BB22: from 10.2kg/22.4lbs - BB45: from 10.6kg/23.32lbs

  • Combo Dimensions: 41 × 46 × 23.5 cm (16 × 18 × 9.2 ins)

  • Standard IEC power inlet socket - AC cable not included

  • 12 months warranty

  • 100% designed and built in Britain!

 

BluesBaby Rear Panel

Rear Panel Facilities
Line In or Out, Aux/MP3 Input, Fat & Reverb F/S Socket
& External Speaker Socket

 

Switchable High Clean Headroom Version

BluesBaby Control Panel

If you play Jazz, Standards or Big Band styles, or just use hot pickups, then we advise you to choose the BB45/HH version with switchable extended clean headroom. This will remove the worry of distortion creeping into the tone until the amp reaches full output.

Some players do seem to have trouble finding a clean tone, so this just makes it much easier for those players... but fairly obviously, at the loss of maximum overdrive depth

A point to remember... getting a distorted sound when playing BB45/HH at LOUD volumes can mean you are running out of power! Please turn it down in such a case!

It is designated BB45/HH. Available in both combo and chassis only formats

 

Reviews

Nominee       BluesBaby 22 G&B review

Click the image & read the full review

 

What 'The Guitar Magazine' Said...

G&B Quote 2

45W version only 10.6kg - 23.4lbs!

If you need a lightweight & portable loud classic sounding combo... it will have to be a BluesBaby. There's nothing else like it!

Order with Celestion Creamback NEO speaker

 

Guitarist Magazine Review/Demo

Full GUITARIST MAGAZINE video demo here!

Review, Feb 2018 iss 429

 

Customers' Demo Videos

Heavy distortion sounds @ 15:00mins!

G&B Quote_1

 

Please Order Your
CHASSIS ONLY Version Below

Chassis Only Version - Order Here

Want to build your own custom combo or head cabinet and use BB chassis to power it? Sure, no problem... order it here!

 

BluesBaby 22 Chassis Only:

BB22-CH - Chassis only.
Price: £251.00 Includes UK delivery
Add to Cart

 

BluesBaby 45 Chassis Only:

BB45-CH - Chassis only.
Price: £303.00 - Includes UK delivery
Add to Cart

Red Power Indicator Only

Choose knob colours:

Black* Arrow Chicken Head knobs - FREE
Add to Cart


White Arrow Chicken Head Knobs - FREE
Add to Cart


* = standard issue colours if not specified

 

Why not order your reverb tray too?

8EB2C1B Reverb Tray. Price: £25.00 - Includes UK & EU shipping when ordered with chassis
Add to Cart

 

MAKE SURE YOUR CABINET IS DEEP ENOUGH!
The maximum speaker depth must NOT exceed 123mm!
Chassis only customers: Please check your intended speaker will fit before ordering BB45!

Prices include £10 contribution towards delivery to UK and some EC countries. Remote EU countries may attract a £5 shipping charge extra. We will inform you by email

____________________________________

USA CUSTOMERS!
The 115VAC Chassis section will directly fit into the RawCabs cabinets
available on eBay!

Buy the chassis only version with confidence!

The maximum speaker depth must NOT exceed 123mm!
Chassis only customers: Please check your intended speaker will fit before ordering BB45!

All orders received from USA will be AUTOMATICALLY shipped for 115VAC operation, unless specifically requested as another AC voltage at the checkout message box

Chassis only USA delivery: £15.00 extra - 3/4 day service

£1 is approximately $1.30 on 02/22/2019

____________________________________

Will it fit my cabinet?

Please take some measurements and check using our 'dimension PDF below!

Will fit all RAWCABS BJr cabs (find on eBay)

B22 or BB45 chassis will both also fit into a Fender Blues JuniorŪ cabinet with standard Fender speaker without any modification needed! Other speakers... check its depth first!
It is a straight swap... that simple!

DOWNLOAD CHASSIS DIMENSIONS PDF

Control panel cut-out: 320 x 55mm

 

BluesBaby Control Panel 2

Chassis only version comes complete with 4 x 5mm mounting screws & 6 x 5mm for the back panel - inc cup washers!

Control panel cut-out: 320 x 55mm

SADLY, the BB22 or BB45 chassis will NOT fit into a Sessionette:75, Rockette:30, Duette:110, Duette:112 or any other Session amp cabinet

 

Please Order Your
FULL COMBO Version Below

Full Combo - Step 1 - Order Your Basic Amp
Please take your time:

 

Black Combo With Celestion V-Type:

BB22-112 - Complete basic 12" combo amp in Two-tone black vinyl finish with 12" Celestion V-Type 8 Ohm speaker.
Price: £469.00 - Includes £10 UK delivery
Add to Cart

 

BB45-112 - Complete basic 12" combo amp in Two-tone black vinyl finish with 12" Celestion V-Type 8 Ohm speaker.
Price: £519.00 - Includes £10 UK delivery
Add to Cart

 

Black Combo With Celestion A-Type:

BB22-112 - Complete 12" combo amp in Two-tone black finish with Celestion A-Type 8 Ohm speaker.
Price: £469.00 - Includes £10 UK delivery
Add to Cart

 

BB45-112 - Complete 12" combo amp in Two-tone black finish with Celestion A-Type 8 Ohm speaker.
Price: £519.00 - Includes £10 UK delivery
Add to Cart

 

Black Combo With Celestion Creamback NEO:

B22-112 - Complete 12" combo amp in Two-tone black finish with Celestion Creamback NEO 8 Ohm speaker.
Price: £519.00 - Includes £10 UK delivery
Add to Cart

 

BB45-112 - Complete 12" combo amp in Two-tone black finish with Celestion Creamback NEO.
Price: £569.00 - Includes £10 UK delivery
Add to Cart

Totally clean guitar may not be as loud as you might expect!

 

Full Combo - Step 2 - Other Options:

Order covering and knob options:

Red Power Indicator Only

Black* Arrow (Chicken Head) knobs - FREE
Add to Cart


White Arrow (Chicken Head) Knobs - FREE
Add to Cart

Lacquered Tweed cabinet covering - £45.00
Add to Cart

Custom coverings and grille cloths are available. If you want something special, then please contact us for a quotation.

All black (Two-Tone Black) is the standard finish.

BB22 or BB45 ARE NOT SUPPLIED WITH AN AC POWER CABLE/CORD

* = Standard issue if not specified on your order. But we'd like you to specify what you want please!

All amps are assembled to order only. Please allow 21 days for your custom order to be built & despatched

Don't have a Credit or Debit card?
You can SAFELY Order Here

 

Build Method and Progress Reports

When you place your order, a confirmation is automatically sent to you. There is no further contact until your order is ready to ship. Further, we do not send 'progress reports' as there's nothing much to report until it's finally ready

BluesBaby™ amps are built in small batches of 5, 10 or 20 units. Each batch goes through the system together, therefore, it is not possible for us to give an exact date of despatch

We collect payment approximately 7 days prior to your order being ready for despatch. Earlier if it has an uncommon cabinet covering. So checking your card account could give you a very good indication that it's nearly ready to be sent to you

 

UK & European Delivery Times & Charges

UK - Takes 3-5 business days from day of despatch

Europe - Takes 4-7+ business days depending on destination.

Mainland UK Delivery Cost - The purchase price includes £10 towards shipping to Mainland UK. Certain remote UK destinations are likely to attract a £5 surcharge. We will let you know before we collect your payment, or you can enquire by email

Delivery to Continental Europe & Outside Europe Cost - Please email us for a quotation before ordering!

USA, Can, Aus, NZ & many others: We will happily send amplifiers nearly anywhere in the world. But sadly, we are not able to offer a universal shipping cost to every country. Therefore, customers resident outside Europe, PLEASE email us for a shipping quotation & online ordering instructions. It's really easy & safe. Thank you

 

Attention!

Every cabinet is wood, hand assembled and finished. Therefore, there will be finish variations from one example to another. The pictures are for guidance only

 

Returns Policy

UK Customers: You are entitled to return the product prepaid within thirty days if you are not satisfied with it's performance - Except custom orders with special cabinet coverings. We offer this on the strict proviso that the product has not been modified in any way, misused, damaged or defaced.

Customers Outside UK: All returns must be prepaid. If the reason for return is the fault of Award-Session, we will credit your card with the reasonable shipping amount paid. Please send a copy of the receipt to us by email.

Placing an order with Award-Session indicates that you have read and understood all our Terms and Conditions of sale, published on our CONTACT page. The conditions published on this page override those published anywhere else.

Back to ordering

Our administration & returns address:
Award-Session, 34 Belvedere, Basingstoke, RG24 8GB, UK
No stock is held at this address

Sound clips: Sadly it is impossible to convey any meaningful measure of the amp's tone over the Internet. Please refer to what we have already provided in videos & audio clips. If you want to hear the amps, then please Email us to make an appointment to try one out at Basingstoke

Due to continuing product improvement, the features and the design are subject to change without notice

All trademarks acknowledged. Award-Session has no affiliation with their owners.

G&B Quote_1

SESSION logo
Since 1979

Session amplifiers

 

Example of 'Two-Tone' Black Covering on our BigDog cabinet

100% money back Guarantee

BigDog 2X10", 1x12", 2x12" 1X15" Cabinets - About the size of a Bassman amp.
Ask for a quote.
More here: https://www.award-session.com/505-cabinets.php

 

Celebrity
Session Users

Eric Clapton/August Album + Tour - Rockette:30 x 2

Dave Stewart/Eurythmics - Many recordings - (3x) Sessionette:75

Stuart Adamson/Big Country Sessionette:75 x 2

Dave Gilmour/Pink Floyd
Sessionette:75

Mike Rutherford/Genesis Most recordings + tours Sessionette:75 x 7

Jerry Donahue/Will Raye
The Hellecasters
All recordings & tours
Retrotone + JD10 DRP

Gordon Giltrap
MB11 & GG10 Acoustic Preamps

Geoff Whitehorn/Billy Ocean
Sessionette:75 1st Prototype + 15:30 Studio Combo

1980s Hits Sample

 

YouTube Reviews

Award Session BluesBaby 22

Award Session BluesBaby 22

BluesBaby 22 Amp User Demo


BluesBaby & Les Paul Special with P-90s

Studio Recorded Audio:
Crunch only

BluesBaby & Les Paul
with Burstbuckers

Studio Recorded Audio:
Clean - Full Drive

BluesBaby & Telecaster

Studio Recorded Audio:
Clean - Full Drive

BluesBaby & ES-335
with PAFs

Studio Recorded Audio:
Clean - Full Drive

BluesBaby & CS Stratocaster

Studio Recorded Audio:
Crunch only

Tracks played Stuart Dixon

BluesBaby setup (all tracks):
Treble 7, Bass 5, Middle 5, EQ PLEXI, Presence On, Drive 5 (Clean) or 12 (Full Drive), speaker Celestion 'V-Type'

 

BluesBaby in use live

The FAB Crossfire Blues Band featuring 13 year old guitarist (2017) Marcus Praestgaard-Stevens and Alice Armstrong on vocals covering this classic at their debut live gig.

 

The brilliant PETE HARRIS R&B ALL STARS at the Talking Heads in Southampton 10/10/14

Pete Harris & his 335 using BluesBaby 22 (Reclaimed finish) with a Celestion Classic Lead 80 speaker installed

 

Choose Your Speaker!

Celestion V-Type

Celestion V-Type speaker

We say from live use experience:
This is the one for bright twangy tone! Great with a country sounding Tele. Brill at Shads & Beatles too! Blues Rock, Rock... you name it, this could do the job!

Probably one of the nicest speakers Celestion has ever made - and at a reasonable price too! You could say Classic 70s tonality with a hint 60s AlNiCo Blue for good measure. Brighter than the A-Type. 60 Watts/8 Ohms/98dB

Fitted in BB, the whole amp
weighs only 13.5kg. That's with a birch ply cabinet too!

 

Celestion A-Type

Celestion A-Type speaker

We say from live use experience:
Choose this one for warm American mid tones with a lovely woody vibe.
Turning up the amp's treble produces a 'thicker' punch. Nice for vintage US pop and R 'n' R tones. Perfect for jazz players!
50 Watts/8 Ohms/98dB

Fitted in BB, the whole amp
weighs only 13.4kg. That's with a birch ply cabinet too
!

 

Celestion Creamback NEO

Celestion A-Type speaker

The Neo Creamback is every ounce a Classic Celestion, delivering all the magical tone you'd get from a traditional Creamback.

For those looking for traditional tone from a modern lightweight package!

Fitted in BB, the whole amp
weighs only 10.5kg. That's with a birch ply cabinet too!

About Guitar Speakers

Take special note! The speaker is the most important component in your guitar amp!

Unlike hi-fi speakers, they are not designed to produce a faithful reproduction of the signal presented by the amplifier!

It physically produces the air waves that your ears detect as sound. At the same time, their cone mechanically produces cone break-up modes which adds rich harmonics to the guitar sound. The amp electronics has nothing to do with this... be it a valve or transistor amp!

This enables each speaker model to give your guitar a unique tone. It even affects the character of the distortion sound! This is why there is a bewildering variety of guitar speakers available on the market. Each is slightly different


Humbucking Toroidal Power Transformer

P-90 users read this!

Unlike other guitar amps, SESSION's employ TOROIDAL types which reduces 50/60Hz hum radiation by over 70%. This is brilliant when you're on a small stage using guitars fitted with single coil pickups... and that's a real advantage... especially when P-90s are involved!

Session's toroidal power transformer

 

Servicing

Regular servicing of the type that is usually associated with valve amps, is not required for solid state amps. There is nothing inside which 'runs down', like valves do. So there are huge running cost savings over time, compared to valve amps

For all amplifiers, heat is the one thing that makes amps unreliable. High levels can shorten the life of most of the components inside... especially power transformers, electrolytic capacitors, resistors and even the solder!

 

RetroTone Logo

What does RetroTone™ do?

As many players know, there is a difference in tone between solid state (SS) and tube amps. It is heard as a low end warmth with a sweet high-end presence. This favoured tonality is created by any tube amp's output transformer.

Session's RetroTone™ power amps work with the speakers, like a tube amp does, to provide you with that same Class AB characteristic tone.

Anyone wanting old school tone, light weight and reliability should take SESSION's RetroTone™ equipped amps very seriously!  RetroTone™ is 'the cat’s whiskers' for achieving 'that' tone and volume without tube amp hassles.

RetroTone™ is a protected name.

 

Stewart Ward

Stewart Ward is a working guitarist who designs all products from scratch and from the gigging viewpoint. Seen here with his favourite guitar, a 1963 Fender Telecaster.

_________________

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