Fender Blues Junior

This is basically the low down on this amp. The electronic components used are generally of secondary quality. The output transformer is the size of a peanut and the speaker is also second grade. The stock tubes flatline and leave this amp sounding dead. The tone and volume pots are flimsy and soldered onto the circuit board.

With that said....the tone you get from a stock BJ is OK. Change the tubes for some decent ones and the amp starts to sound good. The speaker doesn't do a very good job unfortunately and the sound can be harsh and muddy. Change the speaker (Vintage 30) and the improvement is substancial. Tones can still be harsh and the driving the preamp hard still has some issues. Change the inferior output transformer to something that resembles an electric component. Change the capacitors in the tone stack to get a functional EQ and the change is complete. With these changes the definition when driving the pre-amp hard is superb, fantastic handling of louder tones, mean attack and of course the clarity of the cleans is breath taking. Stock-OK Upgraded-Wow

Reliability? I don't think so. But then again, as long as you don't let heavy stuff fall on the controls, because this will break the circuit board, you should be pretty right. Unless you??re an upcoming sex pistol of course.

It's a company, I'm hoping they have customer service.

It's a good amp at the price. And when you're sick and tired of playing a good amp, you can upgrade (speaker and output transformer...the 2 most important) then you have a great amp.

I???m reviewing a BJ that I purchased new in late 2006 and have subsequently modded. I originally bought the amp because I wanted a low-wattage tube amp for home and rehearsal use. My thinking was that if I could use it at small gigs it would be a bonus. I also have a hand-made, point-to-point ???63 Vibroverb clone which is my main gigging amp. I play classic rock and R&B on an Ernie Ball/Music Man Silhouette Special with single-coils.

Well, the stock amp only made it out to 1 rehearsal. It was too thin sounding??? no depth, for lack of a better word. I also found that the overdrive was quite harsh with the pre-amp volume cranked (although I typically run my amp clean and rely on my CMATMODS Signa Drive and JAM Red Muck for overdrive/distortion).

The first mod I made was to intall an Avatar Hellatone 30 speaker (re-branded Celestion G12H). This seemed to add some fullness as the speaker is warmer and smoother, with better bottom-end than the stock Emminence.

But the amp again only made it out to 1 rehearsal as I felt it was still lacking something. I continued to use the amp at home, although the sound quality gradually deteriorated over time. As it turns out the amp was cooking the output tubes because the bias is set very hot on the stock amp.

I considered dumping the amp, but instead did some research on mods and decided to try a number of the BillM mods (lowered bias and tone-stack mods), as well as a new Mercury Magnetics output transformer. I took the amp to John Fletcher ??? a tech here in Toronto ??? and had him make the changes along with a new set of tubes (a Tung-Sol for the first 12AX7 and JJ???s in the rest of the 12AX7???s and EL84???s).

Sound quality is such a subjective thing, isn???t it? Nevertheless, the modded amp sounds significantly better to my ears. In general, the amp sounds warmer, fuller and??? ballsier.

So??? was it the BillM mods that did the trick? The output transformer? The tubes?

The tone-stack mods seem to have made the controls more effective. The amp is capable of producing more bass (limited by the size of the cabinet, of course) and I have more control over the mids.

With the pre-amp volume cranked, the overdrive is much smoother, less harsh. I???m thinking that???s the new pre-amp tubes.

According to Mercury Magnetics marketing hype, the single most important mod you can make to any amp is upgraded transformers. As I understanding it, the stock output transformer is a piece of junk, so the new one is bound to be an improvement. I???m going to attribute the ballsier sound to the transformer.

There seems to be quite a controversy over lowering the bias. All I can say is the improvement resulting from the other mods overshadows any possible negative impact and the EL84???s should last a lot longer!

Finally, although it never bothered me, the stock BJ had a fair amount of hum. The hum is significantly reduced since the mods.

I guess that I could have done all the mods separately to assess the impact of each, but I have neither the time nor the inclination. I just wanted a usable amp and that???s what I???ve got!

I???m really enjoying the amp at home and it has made it out to both rehearsals since being modded. Will it replace the Vibroverb at gigs? Probably not, although I may use it at our next gig, which is a small, 100 seat venue. The fact that I???m even considering using the BJ over the Vibroverb says something (possibly, that I???m crazy!).

The stock amp cooked tubes pretty quickly, but no problems other than that. I???ve recently had the mods done, so it???s too soon to comment on reliability, although John Fletcher???s work is top-notch!

I???ve never dealt with Fender, so I can???t comment. On the other hand, John Fletcher is great and I highly recommend him. You can get in touch with him through the Twelfth Fret in Toronto.

I can???t give the modded BJ a 10, but it???s a solid 8, which is a vast improvement over the stock amp.

15 watts made in Mexico. I had mine modded by The Ampsmith. Enough power for anywhere I play. I always leave the fat boost on.

It sounds great with a strat but with an es-335 gibson it sounds great. Very grindy. I tried lots of speakers but settled on a celestion vintage 30 (60 Watts). I tried alnico blue, a couple of different jensens and a webber 30 watt pre-rola ceramic 12 and like the vintage 30 best. There is a mid hump but I like it that way. Great for bluesy grindy fedbacky psychodelic stuff. Lots of grind and shimmer. My tech biased the tubes cooler. JJ el84s. He put in a 12 at7 inverter but it sounds good with 3 12ax7 electro harmonic tubes as well. I tried new old stock 12 ax7s and 12 ay7 and the eh 12ax7's sound just as good and they are newer. My tech converted the t,m,b so they are all completely controlable. He did something else that I am unsure of but it sounds great.

Bring extra tubes. No problems only been converted for a month or two.

I take it to the Ampsmith and he makes it sound better than stock. I have 10 amps this one is the one I take usually to a gig. I replaced the reverb with a ruby tank but went back to the original as it was to fendery and with high gain it was too much reverb. The ruby is good if you play clean with a typical fendr sound. I don't generally play too clean.

I've been playing 45 years. I have played a lot of amps. This is up with the best for sound maybe not quality. It is not point to point or hand wired. The potentiameters seem flimsy as does the input jack. Other then that it is a great grab and go amp. You dont even need overdrive pedals.

The features are all fender like really good for clean bluesy sounds.

The sound quality is really good.The sound that comes out is crystal clear (you don't have any distortion options anyway..).Even if you you want to use it together with some pedals for a heavier sound, it works cause the core of this amp is clarity...So i would suggest to try it together with some effects etc and see how it sounds.
I bought it for a practice amp but as it turned out, its power is enough for small performances.

I play 6 months already so far so good.The amp seems pretty solid together with the knobs.The only thing worth mentioning is that the 3 preamp tubes don't seem to have something to hold them in position so its better to take them off in case of carrying.

Didn't need them so far

I currently own an Epiphone LP custom and a modified Yamaha Pacifica.
If it was stolen i would instantly buy the same fantastic amp.
I just love the bluesy and clear sound that comes out of this amp.

I bought the amp in 2004 or 2005, I can't remember, and I bought it new, so It was probably made in 2004-2005. It is a really nice amp, for playing classic rock. But it's deffinatly not a metal amp. I play anything from blues, to heavy metal, and everything in between. Its an amazing blues amp, but it can't handle the higher gains...
I do wish it had a channel that would allow for high gains, but I doesn't... The reverb is great though.

I run either my Mexi strat or my Epi Les Paul Custom through, after a string of distortion and effects pedals, and it sounds ok.
the clean tones are great, its good for balads and blues, and soft rock. Buuut, thats not me. The amp itself is not noisy, but when you run a boss metal zone... it is noisy, so I also run a noise suppressor.
I run the master volume all the way up, fat switch engaged, and use the gain volume for my volume, as that doesn't distort it as much. If the amp is distorting, it wrecks the distortion from the effects string.
and the distortion from this amp couldn't kill a flea... you could deaffen it with the volume though...

Very. Very. dependable amp. I've used it in every gig for the last 3 years my band has played, with out backup. the only thing is, the reverb box has broken 2 times. soldier failour, the second time i never got it fixed... but i have dropped this amp several times, and it hasn't failed...

havn't dealt with fender...

Ive been playing almost 6 years, its been my only amp, and I'm looking into a marshall for my main amp. this will be my practice amp after that... If it were stolen... I would be mad, but I wouldn't buy another one...

Bought used with serial number removed so I can only date is a post 2003 model by the PCB. All the specs are well known to you readers. It has everything i could wish for save for maybe a standby switch. I play light and classic sounding indie rock with my 4 piece band. Mostly clean with a little saturation.

Ok, here is the thing: I am obsessed with this little amp. Ive been stalking them for several years but feared the low wattage. I love the small package and overall aesthetic. I finally bought one to take with me overseas and it sounded great off the bat. But, I have a HRD with Celestion Vint. 30 and had to try the same in my BJr. Of course, it improved the clarity and dynamics. Finally, I did the BillM TwinStack mod this afternoon. It now sounds like a dream. There's a touch too much hum with the strat single coils but overall worth it. Im curious to play with the band now. The Celestion boosted the volume a touch I think.

Not sure yet. It handled the mod just fine and seems like a solid little guy. Id rather P2P wiring but what can you do?

Not tried yet.

I give it a 9. I just cant get over the tone and surprising loud volume. Im taking a risk bringing this to Europe but if it performs well it will be my go to amp.

This is a 2008 model MIM. I am a drummer and a "strummer". I have several guitars and also a Dean Markley CD60 amp. I wanted something more portable and light weight than the DM when I go and jam with friends amd this fits the bill perfectly! My main styles are blues and rock covers - 60's to 80's/
Single channel' FAT switch etc etc.
I don't wish it had any other features because if I wanted more I would have bought something else. I did a great deal of research on this amp before I decided to go ahead and purchase it. I read the Blues Junior Mafia forum on the FDP site as well as reviews here. I tried the amp about six times at different music shops and decided to go ahead and buy it. I insisted on a BNIB model rather than one off the floor.

As I said I own several guitars. My main guitar is a self built custom strat with Lace Sensors - red dually in the bridge, a silver in the middle and a blue at the neck. I can get some awesome tones out the amp using this guitar. I play mainly rhythmn and the amp handles it very well. When I play a (basic)lead break it has the guts to cut through. I use a variety of settings depending on wht I'm playing but normally Reverb- 1, Treble- 5, Mid - 4, Bass- 6, Volume- 5 and Master- 8. I control the volume with the guitar knob.The fat switch is great when on and give the amp just that more bite. I didn't buy the optional footswitch and I usually have it off and use an MI Audio Blues Pro pedal and a Boss CE2 chorus. I just want it simple!

I have owned this amp for only 3 weeks so can't really comment.I would(when I'm capable)use it at a gig as it s bloody loud and would mike it up if needed.

I spoke to a guy at Fender Australia last week and he was extremely helpful. I was asking about mods and speaker replacement. I decided that as Fender have been building amps for what 50 years?? surely by now they would know what they doing. I may replace the speaker for a Celestion vintage 30 and JJ Tesla tubes but at this stage why bother. It has a 5 year warranty which is pretty good these days.

I have been playing or struuming guitar for about 40 years and have finally at 57 gotten serious! I'm sick of lugging my drum kit around:o)
I own a custom built strat, a Genesys Dot copy,2000 American series Strat, Maton Flamingo, MIM 1993 Strat, Maton EM 225C. As I said earlier my other amp is a Dean Markley CD60 and this compares extremely well with that .
If it were stolen I would buy another. Portable, light, loud and a good amp! Want more features? Get a different amp!! Mods? - Can't see/hear the point other than MAYBE the tubes and speakers. I wonder about those guys on the FDP forum.However Billm as he's known is very helpful.I asked him a few questions and his response was quick. I've read what he can do to possibly improve this amp but for me at this point in time ... all is well!

Early 2000's edition... All tube... "12 Fender Loud Speaker... Reverb... Black Tolex & Silver Grill mesh... 15 watts... Blah, Blah, Blah...

Simple...

Straight forward...

I've played it with a variety... From Peavey's to Gibson's... Obviously, the better the guitar, the better the sound... But it's excellent... You can tell its tube... Warm... Nice natural over drive... IT's as noisy as any other tube I've played... Not much variety in sound... It's a Fender... You get nice clean tones, to shimmery to slight over drive... When you start to push? It pushes back... Resistant to being completely overdriven... (It's neither good now bad... It's a Fender...) Keep the drive down and use a Big Muff Pi or Tube Screamer to crank it... (Had to get a MArshall for my dirtier sounds...)

Reverbs nothing to write home about...

Very dependable... Heavy sucker though... After a a few weeks of use some of the Tolex near the tubes started to peel back... I had to glue it back and tape it down with aluminum tape... Other than that? The fit and finish is solid... Knobs, inputs and switches as solid... Graphics and name plate solid as well...

Never dealt with the company... After about 7-8 years its still thumping strong...

Been playing about 10 years...

Currently...

I have a completely moded Epiphone Dot, Schecter Hellraiser, Guild Cherrywood Acoustic...

A selection of MXR, Dunlop & EHX Pedals...

Fender Blues Jr., Marshall MG100 Half-Stack, Silvertone 10 watt practice...

If it were lost I would def get another... It's quite handy, and very very loud... Good for clean tones, or when I don't feel like moving the massive half stack...

My amp is a tweed 1995 Made in USA Blues Junior. It is still stock with the original Eminence speaker and green circuit board. I believe the later Blues Juniors have a cream circuit board that makes the overall sound quite a bit brighter. The amp features have been listed by other reviewers so I won't go into them in detail. Without any pedals in front of it the Blues Junior is a one trick pony - it does a great LOUD clean for 15 watts and that's about it. Hence the 6 for features. I bought the amp for home use but have gigged with it for the last 10 years as it is so easy to transport.

I have 2 Strats (a US Strat Plus and early 80's Jap JV), a G&L ASAT semihollow, and a Washburn J9 Jazz guitar. I play mainly indie pop rock and some fingerstyle jazz. The amp has a fairly dark, mid-rangey sound with all the tone controls set at 12 o'clock. I find that this darker voicing really suits brighter guitars like strats and tele's as it helps smooth off the naturally hyped top end. My J9's humbuckers sound like mud without some creative EQ and the extended bottom end of this guitar makes the cabinet rattle at certain frequencies. I've tried out the later Blues Juniors but I don't like their sound at all. IMHO they are far too bright and lack depth or body. I'd call them pokey. I much prefer the darker sound of my green circuit board model.

When the mid tone control is rolled back to 3 and the bass and treble are turned up to 8 or 9 some classic Fender clean tones start to emerge from the mid range fog. I leave the tone controls set around this region. The fat switch introduces a further layer of mid range mud and I never use it. The amp's natural overdrive is nothing to rave about. I try to keep the amp clean and use a Boss OD-1 for overdrive or my DG Stomp modelling amp for anything heavier. The Blues Junior loves pedals. Even using a simple boost pedal pushes the tubes a little bit harder and give more warmth and body to the tone. The original Groovetubes tubes did nothing for the amp and I replaced them with a matched set of JJ Tesla's from Bob at Eurotubes.com. I highly recommend these tubes for squeezing every last drop of sweetness from the amp. The reverb on these early Jnrs is, ummm, bad. It is noisy and the reverb quality is average at best. I never use it. The sound quality is 7 with the JJ tubes in, 5 without. For the record the sound of a Vox AC30 comes close to a 10 for me.

The gain volume pot has never been right from new. Not much happens until you reach 4 and then it springs to life at a fairly ear splitting volume. The input jacks are poorly constructed and are evil to replace. I've been through 2 even though I'm gentle with my gear.

Other than that the amp has been very reliable. It's been gigged in some pretty extreme temperature/humidity environments and has never complained once.

Fender Australia are a waste of time. Send them a question and you won't hear a thing. Their website has a disclaimer directing people with complaints or questions to a Fender dealer. I prefer to cut out the middle man and buy any Fender stuff directly from the US over the net.

I've been playing for 30 years, but I started when I was 5 so I'm not THAT old (yet) :-) I have a Roland Cube 30 as my other amp at home and I really like it for clean tones. My J9 Jazz guitar loves that amp. The Cube 30 can pull off a sound very similar to the Blues Jnr at a fraction of the cost, but it won't go as loud as the Blues Jnr.

If my Blues Jnr was stolen I'd probably go looking in the Vox or even Laney direction for another low wattage amp. I tried a Laney VC15 a while back and it had beautiful chiming cleans and the kind of valve break up I wish the Blues Jnr had on board.

I got one of the pre-2001 amps. Appearantly there were some changes made to the reverb section.

15 watts all tube
preamp: 3 x 12AX7
power: dual EL84
12 inch speaker

there are two volume controls, one for the preamp and the master vol for the power section

It's pretty cut and dry. no distortion or overdrive channel. it has a fat switch, I think most people just leave it engaged. No effects loop either, however it takes the whole pedal chain really well before the amp input.

I'm using a mex strat with Dragonfire pickups in the neck and bridge and a DiMarzio Blue Velvet in the middle.

From the guitar straight into the amp it sounds great. it has a really nice soft clean fender tube tone that's well compressed, but not quite as poppy (responsive) as the older fender amps. For amps of this size the only one I usually compare it to is the Peavey Classic 30. I think that on clean, this one cut through a little stronger than the Peavey. To beat this one out on tone you'd have to venture up into the thousand dollar price tags.

Again there's no onboard drive channel, but it really processes preamps well. I currently use a Nady TD-1 for my distortion and a Boss SD-1 for overdrive boost. Like all tube amps, it sounds great with the tubescreamer type overdrives. My favorite to play with is the Chandler tube driver. They sound great together, especially if you're into that Eric Johnson tone. I've always thought that a good base for using well controlled distortion and overdrive is a clean fender

I had a power tube fail on me once, but that was with the stock Groove tubes. I never really liked groove tubes, so I got some Sovteks which supposedly are from the same factory. I felt like there was a noticably better difference between the two and I haven't had any tube problems since.

Fender will be around forever they got really good warrantees too. I think I got mine with 5 year warrantee. I think they're about as good as you're gonna get

The value of this amp has carried over the last 14 years or so. I think I got mine when it was selling for about $250 back in 1997. Since then it's been steadily rising and I've seen more of them up on stage at big concerts.

I seem to have outgrown the desire to have a fullstack behind me on stage, now I usually put this amp in front of me and mic it through the PA mix. That's pretty much how they usually work it even if you got a monster set.

This is by far the best tube amp tone for the money out there.