Fender Acoustasonic Junior

new amp, 2 channels, chorus, reverb, 3 band EQ, on instrument side, has a notch EQ which controlls feedback for certain frequencies and string dynamics which acts as a type of compression (at least to my ears) make the sound tighter/looser, Phase reverse switch for when your playin though one ch. and singin through the other. FX loop
Simple and effective

I use a celebrity CK-o57 and also a Ibanez performance. For the "New" acoustic electric sound, (ritchie Sambora etc) it works great. for ampifieing a regualt acoustic a soundhole p/u also nice, Fender reverb great as usual, chorus is also nice.

Had the reverb tank die on me, (at a show of course) could have been worse. Not a big deal was covered under warranty but its just the hassle of having to take it in (was over july 4th too)so gotta knock a couple points off.

Never dealt w/ them

Great working mans amps, sounds good. other than the reverb no probs, plenty loud, only run it on 2 or 3, wish it had direct line out, I use the send on the Effects loop to the PA, its pre effects so I need to add reverb from PA.

This amp is GREAT! I fell in love with it the first time
I played it.It delivers a warm tone and as well as keeping
a very accurate deliverance of your guitar character.
I teach guitar for a living, coupled with performance
of many different venues.This amp has done it all as far as my
acoustic playing.As far as power I use the amp as a monitor and mic it
sending it through the mains. Especially in bigger venues.

I use an Taylor 414 ,as well as an Ibanez Performance.
The Taylor has a Fishman and it is my guitar of choice.
I use the string dynamic feature and it is set at 8.
I love the chorus and reverb.

YES!

Yes.

Around 1998. I play fingerpicking (6 & 12 string guitar). I used it as a back-up amp for my Trace Elliot TA100R. The power is good enough (2 x 40 W). No feedback !!! Stereo, solid state. A very warm sounding amp. Al ot better that my acoustic Laneys or Marshalls.

I use all kind of pickups. Pickups/EQ on the Cort (Fishman) or Seagull (LR Baggs), or later built-in B Band of Fishman Stage. A bit noisy. At higher volumes it kinds of loses its clearness.

Built like a tank. Never broken down in two years.

Never dealt with them.

I play for over 25 years. My other gear: http://www.xs4all.nl/~ervanel/. I loved because the price was good for the quality. I'm looking for anther Trace Elliot TA100R though. Apart from the Fishman Performer Pro, they are the best.

Bought in 2002 used. Fits the bill for sure. Better with just guitars though. The vocals can't be pushed hard however you can run both a guitar and a vocal (more as a nice preamp monitor) and then out of the send and into a PA (or just keep the volume tame). The overall preamp of this amp is exceptional for both channels.

SOUND...This is what makes an amp for me (first and foremost as long as it holds up). Bottom line, the best sounding acoustic amp out there for the money. We play originals (Coldplay meets America kind of sound) and Modern worship stuff. Running Godin (Simon & Patrick) acoustics and a Washburn Jumbo (all w/ B-Band). I bought an SWR Strawberry Blonde (liked is crispness) but could not achieve the Vox like warmth this amp produces. Played the Blonde and the Acoustasonic (stereo) for several gigs but went back to using soley the Acoustasonic and sold the SWR.

I gig with it and even record with it!!! It is works like a Toyota!!! Just keeps going. Service has never been required.

Not bad. I called them about an Acoustasonic 30 issue and they gave decent advice. A little hard to reach by phone though.

Have to call it a ten because there is nothing else out there in my opinion that can match this sound. Again, it's got an almost tube Vox like quality. I don't like a traditional acoustic guitar sound (opting for more of a modern rock type sound) and this fits the bill. I'd like to see this amp with 2 x 10" speakers (I may try some Jensen speakers to see what it sounds like). Like it better than the SWR Blonde (for my taste). Peace to all !!! <><

amazing features out of this little beast. effects loop, great sounding noise-free chorus. eliminates the need for an outboard or onboard EQ. bass, treble, and mid knobs are very responsive, as well as the reverb. you can go from sounding like you're in a theater to sounding like you're in a large room. the reverb is great. i also like how it has a whole separate channel for a vocal mic or a guitar with a piezo/mic combination.

the amp sounds amazing. bottom line. it's the best sounding acoustic amp you can get without spending 1200 bucks on a shoe box sized trace elliot. sometimes it can sound a bit "fake". not really sure how to describe it. over all a great sounding amp.

well, i can only speak for my amp but im not sure how reliable this thing really is. i've owned 2 of these things and the first one i had got a blown speaker after just 4 months. the volume never went above 7 so i wasnt sure how that happened. i've taken this thing everywhere though, and it still looks as good as new.

AMAZING! after the first ones speaker blew i called fender to see how i should go about fixing it. i told them it had just been 4 months so i was really puzzled by this. amazingly enough, they worked in conjuction with the guitar center i bought it from to get me an all new one free of charge! fender sent the new on to guitar center, but it took a while so to be nice guitar center let me take home the floor model that they had there until the new one came in! i was very pleased with the way they handled this instead of just saying "go get it fixed or something"

there have always been problems with acoustic ampification simply because of the fact that the acoustic was made to have a built in amplifier. these days, most acoustic guitarists just use a DI box in to a PA or something. i've never done this so i really can't compare the sounds. but for jamming, gigging, playing at home, and just playing your acoustic LOUD, this thing is great.

My AJR is a USA made one - probably '97-98. This amp can easily handle any of my acoustic/electric needs as well as my jazz archtop with nice, warm sound, decent SS reverb, and excellent chorus as well as some nice EQ-based features to allow you to dial out piezo graininess and feedback, if any.

Dual 8" speakers, piezo for high frequency, 40 watts per side (80WRMS stereo), dual channel, XLR/mic and instrument inputs, efects loop, chorus rate/depth, reverb, styled after a '62-63 Vibroverb with wheat grill cloth/tan tolex, tilt-back legs, 38lbs light - just an excellent amount of features in a small transportable package.

This is the 3rd one of these I've owned, having also owned 2 Acoustasonic Pros in the past as well. I didn't care for the MIM versions as they seemed to have changed the chorus circuit at the very least.

THe US-made AJR's just sound better.

I use a Yamaha CPX-8 with piezo/internal mic combo preamp as well as an Epihpen Broadway with Gibson '57 CLassic humbuckers - both of which sound excellent through this amp for acoustic and jazz genres. This amp is not a rock/blues amp for high volume play, though in a pinch...

For what acoustic and jazz, this amp gets an easy 10. KIck in that chorus and whew! Again, I only say this about the US amde ones, which were last produced in 98-99.

THis is my 3rd - never had a problem with any of them.

Excellent amp for acoustic and jazz genres. Enough volume to play in small venues or larger ones if mic'd.

If it needed one more feature, it would be a dedicated balanced line out for a direct to PA Connection. THe sEND port of the effects loop can be used for that as is.

When I originally bought one, I tried it out against several others - cRate, Peavey. Honestly, I'm a FEnder bigot and prefer that brand to any other amp, plus it sounded better to my ears.

I have another review or two down below for the other times I've owned this amp.

I bought this new in 1997-8. It is in my studio and I don't do gigs. It has an input for a guitar, a mike and a line/instrument input for say a drum machine. It has lush reverb and chorus. If I did do gigs with it, i'd mike it through the PA. It has a couple of 8" speakers and a pizeo driver.

I have a Taylor 412-CE tuned in an open G and a Taylor 714-CED that I play through this amp. I think this amp produces the best rhythm guitar sound I've ever heard with these guitars. I use this setup for recording.

Hasn't as much as hiccupped, yet!

Never had to call Fender for anything. When you think about it, that IS awesome customer service.

I've never heard a better amp for acoustic guitar. I'd buy another one immediately. It would be interesting to hear this type of amp with 12" speakers.

Bought this amp neww in 2001 from Musicians Friend. The amp is equipped with true stereo chorus and reverb. Has two eight inch speakers and a piezo horn. Two seperate channels, one can be used with a high or low z mike, the other for guitar. Played mostly my Washburn EA36 through it.

The amp is very clean, does not have enough bass response. Would sound much better with twelve inch speakers. Chorus is fair along with reverb.

Never had any problems with this amp. I've owned Fender products in the past and have always received good customer service.

Would rate Fender customer service very good from past experiences.

I would rate the amp average.

I've owned this amp for about two years now (bought it new). I play several acoustic instruments and love this amp.

I use pretty much all the features on the amp except the footswitch. Maybe I should get one as I read below that you can turn the chorus on and off.

The amp's features are described by others. I can't think of others I need. I do use a couple of "stomp boxes" -- a Zoom delay box and a Boss overdrive. These are pretty inexpensive & add to the variety of acoustic colours -- but I use them for that, to fit with the instruments & amp not to make it sound like something its not.

It would be nice if it had another instrument input jack but I also use a 6 channel mixer for other reasons so that's not a big issue.

The amp could have a bit more power too. I'm not a power crazy, and what it has is fine for many situations, but not all. But I use the "send" in the back as a line out to my PA and it works great -- all the juice I need in performances to date. I get a bit of a buzz and might try micing it, but its not really a problem. (I'm in a 3 peice band and we've played at indoor and outdoor gigs up to 100. Its an acoustic band).

The chorus, reverb and stereo sound features are fabulous. And the tilt-back legs are great for monitoring and ease of adjustments. I also like the look of the amp & its easy to carry. The mic jack in the 2nd channel is a pretty handy item too. For playing a number of instruments (see below)on my own and with others, this is a very versatile amp.

Here's the most important part -- sound -- if you are an acoustic musician you owe it to yourself to check this amp out. My musical friends have commented on the great sound: it is full, clean, rich and textured. It compliments the sounds of my instruments. And as I said, the chorus and reverb are great.

I'm playing a Martin Jumbo (Fishman pickups), an Ovation mandolin (their pickups)and a Paesold cello (with Fishman contact pick-up that slides into the bridge) through this amp. We play a wide variety of music/styles in our part-time band (folk/pop/jazz/celtic). And despite having accumulated a few gadgets, I really don't like to have to play around with the electronics. It's enough to play the instruments.

Volume wise I have it set on 3 or 4. It'll go louder but I like to have the amp close to me and don't want possible feedback -- any additional volume is PA work. The chorus/rate and reverb are left on at about 5. I've set the tone the way I like it & use my little six channel mixer to adjust tone differences for the guitar/mandolin. I then adjust the controls on the guitar and mandolin to suit the song.

The guitar sounds just great through this amp. And the mandolin is quite the surprise -- bright, punchy, lots of presence. (While I use a mixer, these instruments soung great straight in the amp. It's just I don't want to be plugging in/out, adjusting etc. when performing).

The cello doesn't sound good plugged right into the amp. I thought it would because the bass I have (on the side) soungs good (not great but good). But the cello doesn't sound good plugged directly into the PA or other amps I've tried either. The Fishman preamp didn't help much and now sits in my closet. I accidently solved this problem with a guitar Zoom box (that I didn't like much for acoustic guitar, though for the $ the delay Zoom box is great)and was surprised that it allowed me to correct the tone problems(and add a few interesting effects to boot). Problem pretty much solved.

Because the cello is bowed and goes lower than the bass guitar the amp can't handle it at a much higher volume. But its OK at about 3 or 4, and again the PA does the rest. I plug the cello into the 2nd channel and adjust the tone volume accordingly.I have used the mic jack in this amp for vocals when practicing, and may try micing the cello through this as well through the instrument jack. Lot's of flexibility here in one little amp.

So check this out if you have a violin, the mandolin sounds great. But with my cello experience, while you won't have the problems with the "lows", you may have to have some mediating device in between to do something about the tone. I don't know.

I found that this amp will provide unwanted distortion at higher volumes. But I don't expect it too do everything, again there is a PA. I guess the question of distortion here is for when its wanted (ie electric guitar amps). Like I said, I use a little overdrive pedal occasionally for a bit of a bluesy/dirty sound. I don't overdo it though.

Well it is still only a couple years old but seems solidly built and I haven't had any problems. It hasn't had a hard life, but it hasn't sat idle in the corner either.

It has a good warranty and name and comes from a reputable store -- what else can I say?

Guitar about 25 yrs, cello 8, mandolin 2. If lost I'd replace. This is a lot of amp for the money and great for acoustic enthusiasts. The next step up was pretty expensive, and I look at this amp as being part of a system, so put the money saved elsewhere. Overall, and for my kind of music, I love this amp.

I usually play at church through the house PA. But I bought this amp for the occasional solo or duet gig. I bought it new in January 2002. It was manufactured in 2001.

Two channels. Second one is ideal for a mic (which is what I use it for). I'm usually playing fingerstyle when using this amp. Also a little strumming thrown in.

Each channel has chorus and reverb available. There's also phase switching, Low, Mid, High, Volume and String Dynamics controls on the instrument channel. The mic channel has volume, low, mid, and high.

Has an effects loop on the back, as well as a footswitch jack for turning the chorus off and on.

It doesn't have a line-out, <i>per se</i>. But you can use the Effects Send jack to run the preamp's output to a PA while using the Acoustasonic Jr. as a monitor. This is workable, but it means the amp's chorus and reverb, if you're using them, don't get sent to the PA; they'll only appear on the Acoustasonic Jr. itself.

Also has a feedback notch for the instrument channel.

The String Dynamics control is nice. It doesn't have a huge impact on the sound. But it does let you cut out some of the harshness from the upper frequencies without cutting all the upper frequencies.

Also has tough tilt-back legs for aiming the amp in the right direction -- people's ears.

I'd rate it higher in this category if it had a real line out.

I've used this amp in small- and medium-sized room solo and haven't had any trouble getting enough sound out of it. I usually don't need to run the volume on the instrument channel any higher than 3 or 4 (with my guitar's preamp set about 1/3 of the way up from 0). I know others have complained about distortion at high volume levels (e.g., 8 or higher) but I've never need to turn it up that high.

I've even used this in a gymnasium playing along with a keyboard, a bass, and two vocalists. Had no trouble getting the right sound at that right level.

The guitar I usually use with this has a piezo pickup in the bridge.

Haven't had any problems with it. My two-year-old tipped it over onto a carpeted floor a couple of times with no apparent harm done.

I haven't had to deal with Fender regarding this amp. So'll punt on providing a rating here.

If this amp were lost or stolen, I would replace it. My favorite features include the tilt-back legs and the fact that I can gig with my guitar, a microphone and this amp -- that's all I need.