Fender Blues Junior Lacquered Tweed Special Edition

This amp was made in 2009 for Sam Ash in limited production. Made in Mexico. I believe 125 were made. Mine is number 60 of 125. All the same knobs and switches as the regular BJ's but it has the blonde/tan tolex with black sides. Super cool look. It also has the 8ohm 12" fender re-issue "Gold Label" speaker. I wish it had a standby switch but from what I understand you can get one now from BillM for about $20.00 and put it in yourself. Plenty of power with it's 15 watts. It comes with 2 EL84's and 3 12ax7's and they are the fender/sovtek tubes that everyone changes when they get home/extra money. For the super cool looks and cream chicken head knobs I give it a 9.

I play a usa strat with stock pups and it sounds as good as my NOS limited edition MIM tweed BJ I have. I just did a side by side with my morley a/b box. I did change the tweed el84 tubes to jj's a short while ago and left the stock fender/sovtek 12ax7's but the black and tan has the stock tubes and the speaker and tubes are new as well so take that into consideration. The black and tan broke up a little sooner on the same settings and sounded just a slight bit darker. Probably the tubes and speaker but I like it that way. Probably will upgrade the tubes later after they break in but will leave the stock speaker. The tweed has the ceramic 12" in it and the two played together sound awesome together. The reverb sounds the same on both. I find it very useable on the two or three songs that call for it but I dont use much reverb other than that. I like the light weight and the fact that it's very useable. If you need more volume just stick a good mic in front of it.

So far so good. I just got it. My usa pro jr and my mim NOS tweed BJ are holding up good so far so no need to worry. I do gig sometimes without a backup but only when I'm close to home. If I travel I always bring a backup.

I have two world class amp techs that keep all my gear rolling when needed so I'm covered. I've heard horror stories about fender warranty work so good luck.

I have been playing for over 35 years and have owned a lot of tube gear and others as well. I find that the blues jr fits into my working collection very nicely. When the weather is bad I just load a BJ into the truck and mic it at the club. Sometimes you don't even need the mic because it has a loud 15 watts and good reverb. I play fender tube amps only but have ownedsome solid state stuff in the past. The only solid state amp I ever played live was a bone stock marshall lead 20 and with a mic in front at the club we played that thing rocked the house so go figure. Just that special guitar/amp combination. Happy hunting for your grail.

As seen in other reviews, it has 15W of all-tube power and basic controls: Treble, Mid, Bass, Volume, Master, Reverb & a "FAT" switch. There's only one channel and it has no standby (which is why I gave a 9). Standby would've been nice, but I get around it by using my BOSS Noise Suppressor pedal in "Mute" mode, thus creating a pseudo-standby. No big deal, though. This amp was an upgrade from my cheapo Epiphone practice amp. I use the amp mostly for practice, small gigs and recording, as its 15W is plenty for that.

The tweed finish really caught my eye, as well as the layout of the controls. Basic and to-the-point, unlike a lot of the junk on modern amps with built-in effects. I play Rockabilly, so I use effects pedals to get my tone. All I need from this amp is basic EQ and I let the pedals do the rest, since I go for a raw Rockabilly tone. I never use the Reverb, only when I get a hair up my butt to play "Walk Don't Run".

Right now I'm playing on a customized Epi LP with Duncan Phat Cats and a Gretsch G5129 with DeArmond 2000's. To get my tone, I run BOSS '59 Bassman, Compression/Sustainer & DD-7 Digital Delay on Analog mode for slapback echo. I leave the Volume knob on the amp in the middle and let the '59 Bassman pedal give me the bulk of the Overdrive. This rig gives me a raw Rockabilly tone, especially when playing on the Bridge pickup on my guitars. When using the amp's overdrive, to my ears it gives a smooth, "milky" type of distortion. I occasionally use it without my Bassman pedal to get smoother jazz-like tones. But with my rig this amp gives great sounds for my style of playing and music. It does the job very well for what I use it for!

I have never had a problem with it in the year I've owned it. I've seen reviews about the bias being too high. It may be the case, but so far no problems. I've played in cold garages in the dead of winter to hot garages in the dead of summer and everything in between with no issues. Plus I baby my amp; keep it covered when not in use and I don't bang it around. But shouldn't this be the case for all your equipment?

I have a few times needed to move it while it was on, and this created a screeching sound. Nothing happened, fortunately. But, hopefully my amp will live up to the legendary Fender reliability.

I've never had to contact Tech Support. Since I love this amp for practice and recording, I'll probably keep it for the rest of my playing years. I'm always the type to hang on to equipment and fix it as it breaks. I'm okay with electronic equipment, so if it breaks, I'll attempt to tackle the job myself. Failing that, there's an amp shop close to my work, so I can always hit them up for repair work if need be.

I would most definitely get another one if I lost it and kick myself in the butt. If stolen, someone's gonna die!

Overall the "bare bones" controls and tweed look complement myself and my playing style. I don't need a million fancy digital effects with a million knobs on an amp to play some Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash or old Sun Records era Scotty Moore tunes. Just give me my axe, my Blues Jr. and my BOSS DD-7 and I'll rock this town inside out. The price, control simplicity, tweed and tone had me sold when I tried it out at Guitar Center.

Although I wish it had a standby switch, this amp does exactly what I need it to do. When I'm ready to do bigger gigs, I'll get myself a Blues Deville 410 Reissue, as the Blues Jr. convinced me that Fender amps are awesome.

This is an updated review on a cream board Blue Junior NOS after mods. Let me say that I liked the amp right out of the box. However after reading several forums, I found out that the amp could be improved. My preference is for warm clean tone with maximum head room which can be used with both single coils and humbuckers.
First I changed tubes to JJs. Eddie at Eurotube is great to work with. Next I changed the stock Jensen speaker to a C-Rex. These changes did help me achieve a warmer sound with a bit more head room.
Finally, after reading about Billm mods,I decided to make a local road trip out to visit Bill himself,who could not be a nicer guy to work with. He is extremely knowledgeable and a true gentleman. Bill let me play through his various amps with different mods,speakers etc. By comparison, it was like my amp had a blanket over it even with the speaker and tube changes.
I decided to do the basic cream board mods, presence switch, clean boost, twin stack mod and change the reverb pot to a tapered audio pot which gives finer and more gradual control over dialing in reverb. I must tell you that Bill's prices for labor and materials are extremely reasonable compared to Techs I have used in the past.
After Bill did this work, I myself changed the reverb tank to a Ruby and installed the 3-way stand by switch ordered from Bill. The instructions he supplied could not be clearer and I made the upgrade in 15 minutes (working carefully/slowly) After the addition of a presence control and standby switch, I give this amp a 10 on features.

As mentioned after the mods, it was like I pulled a blanket off my amp. Let me be clear, Bill's mods do not change the character of the amp, but rather bring out it's full tonal potential. Tone is subjective, however there is no dispute that the moded amp tone is cleaner, more articulate with greater headroom. The boxiness, we typically hear of with the BJ is gone also. The twin stack mod allows you to totally dial out or signicantly reduce the mids which helped greatly to achieve a cleaner non-boxy tone. Bill even got out the annoying amp hum, buy re-routing wires which is part of the basic mods.
The addition of the presence adjustment allows you to contour the treble sound from sharp to warmer. Lower bias is dialed in with the newly installed manual bias mod, part of the basic cream board mods which makes the amp run cooler and yields greater head room. The Ruby reverb tank is warmer with longer duration. The audio taper pot on the reverb is a must, with this or even the stock Accutronics tank, giving you finer control, bringing the reverb in slowly as you turn up the reverb control.
While the Jensen speaker is much cleaner than the stock emminece speaker in the black tolex model, it is just too schrill, or what some call "ice picky" on the high end. I just love the rounded mellow tone of the C-Rex speaker. Now I get nice warmer highs, with that Fender chime, and a tighter, deeper, more pronounced bottom. The bottom end was improved further with Bill's power stiffening mods.
You may say, after all of these changes, "why not just buy another higher end amp". Look, if you are so inclinded to tinker, as myself and many of us do, I would have made some changes to refine the sound of any amp I buy. In fact, I plan to change the stock speakers in my 65 twin reissue to the C-Rex. However, for me, the BJ now gives me the exact tone I want and is a keeper. Thanks Bill for the mods, many e-mail conversations.

No problem since I have owned this amp.

Well, now with the mods done, the warranty is is void, but I do not care with the tone I have achieved. Even if a problem develops in the future, I just take a ride out to see Bill again. Why go to a random authorized Fender Tech when you can go directly to the "BJ Guru".

I have been playing guitar for over 40 years and am fortunate enough to own many high end and vintage guitars which this amp compliments well. In my opinion, you do not necessarily have to spend thousands on boutique amps to achieve really nice tone. I hope this review was helpful, because we, whether hobbiest or professional musicians, rely on one another for feedback and ideas.

This amp, made in Ensenada, Mexico, in 2008, has 15 watts from a single channel tube head, a Jensen 12" speaker and an attractive tweed covering. It has reverb, three-band EQ, volume and master controls, a "fat" switch, and a single input jack. It weighs 31 lb, and has a leather strap handle centered on the top. Power comes from a pair of EL84s; the pre-amp is composed of three 12AX7s and a solid state reverb driver, and the rectifier is solid state. It is constructed around an integrated circuit board.

It is retro-Fender in appearance, with the controls mounted at the top back edge, and has a brown and chrome "Fender" plate above the speaker baffle. It most resembles a '55-'59 Deluxe or Pro, and I find it attractive.

I use mine for coffee house gigs, church (the "Baptist Blues Band") and general jams.

For a basic guitar combo, it has plenty of features. Some may prefer an amp with switchable channels (I have a couple of them, myself) but they would be ought of place on this one.

I bought this to play my Gibson ES-335 through. I wanted a rounder, chimier tone than I was getting from my Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight, and it delivers. It's not crunchy (although you can get a creamy distortion by turning the volume -- pre-amp gain -- up) but those who want such sounds would not like the modest size on stage. I use mine on a tilt-back stand.

I play my 335 with a glass slide (getting old and arthritic in the fingers) and this amp sings: toneful and rich, and it will bite when I dig in with the pick.The responsiveness is one of the things I really like. By adjusting pick attack, I can easily go from mellow to stinging or anywhere in between.

It's an amp that works better to dialing in than to trying for a wide variety of sounds, which suits the way I play. If I want to be more aggressive, I have other amps for that, but for now I'm happy with this one.

If you're looking for the focused sound of the Deluxe Reverb reissue, this one may not be the one for you. On the other hand, I find the Blues Junior's chime more musically useful than what I hear from the DRRI.

I have not noticed any noise, and I have played reasonably large venues without micing it.

The reverb is Fenderish, but I improved mine by swapping out the stock reverb pan for a Ruby Reverb. It has a bit more shimmer, to my ear. Neither one could be used about about 3 on the knob, however, without becoming overpowering.

It's not an amp for all seasons, but it sounds the way I like to hear myself.

I haven't had it very long, but I note that there are many used ones around, and they work fine. A friend just acquired one several years old: he plugged a guitar in and it sounded almost as good as mine.

No worries for now.

No experience

Fender is increasingly finding sweet spots of size, sound and price. I hear people gripe about the circuit board wiring and "they don't make 'em like they used to" and all the rest, but this is an inexpensive gem. Try pricing an original Pro or Deluxe from the '50s and you'll find that you'll pay a lot more. The Hot Rod Blues Junior NOS (to give it the full title) is an excellent sounding, lightweight and attractive amp that looks at home everywhere I take it -- especially coupled with my natural blonde 335.

I own several Fender amps (Band-Master VM, the Blues Jr, and the Jazzmaster Ultralight), and each one works with one or another of my Gibson electrics (the 335, a Les Paul, and an SG).

I've been playing since '70, and bought my first tube amp in '74. Over the last couple of years I've been downsizing (no more 150 lb stacks!) and I was delighted to find this. It's great that Fender is building modern amps with warranties that sound this good.

If it walked, I'd definitely get another. It has gotten me away from my long-time love (the Les Paul) and made me play the 335. That's not a bad thing.

My comments are regarding the Fender Hot Rod Series Blues Jr. NOS, 15 watt, 12" Jensen speaker, Tweed finish. Purchased the amp new through MF a few weeks ago, approx $650 or so. Basic features, nothing special. I read a lot of praise on the various internet sites regarding this amp so I bought it. Had so many problems I sent it back and am now looking for something else. Going through many of the comments about the amp again, some sites are stuck on comments from two years ago!

Most often play my PRS Semi Hollowbody II and Fender VG. I generally play classic rock and blues. I delve into some alternative rock and metal w/ my son. I'll have to say, playing clean, the Blues Jr. NOS sounded OK. I tried the amp w/o added effects, altered the settings as much as I could....really, was NOT impressed. It is possible the poor sound was related to the problems written about below.

Fender, if you're listening, address your quality control. I've read other comments about new amps arriving w/ tubes rolling around the cabinet. I've read about malfunctioning reverbs. I think I experienced every problem w/ this one experience. The amp arrived w/ external packaging in great condition. Still, when opened, all the tubes were rolling around in the cab. There was also a loose spring and a metal bracket free in the cab. Replaced all the tubes, couldn't tell where the spring or the bracket were supposed to go. Plugged in and turned on. Reverb didn't work, it just let out a loud hum. Gain switch was crooked, didn't add much to the sound anyway. I got clean sounds out of the amp, not much else. Oh, there was an annoying vibration when every I played my 6th string!

I didn't call customer support. The amp sounded bland, reverb didn't work, couldn't coax much distortion, there were still the two loose parts, and the vibration occured every time I played the 6th string. Too many problems to try to fix. Sounded too bad to try to fix.

I've been playing guitar for 30 years, 10 years electric. I expect quality out of my gear and this Fender was a dog. I won't give Fender another chance, there are too many other choices out there. I purchased this amp because of all of the positive reviews out there, although, in retrospect, there were some red lights. Trayner has their "No matter what" warranty, perhaps I'll try the Custom Valve 40WR YCV40WR instead. Funny, I wrote a similar review for Musicians Friend where I purchased the amp but the review never appeared on the Blues Jr. NOS page. Hmmmm? Shop carefully. Too many people lately have been voicing concerns about Fender quality issues, I'm a prime example.

I have an 08 Tweed Blues Jr. It has pretty basic controls which is perfect. Volume, Reverb, Treble, Middle, Bass, Master and little guy called a fat switch. I think the basic Blues jr needs that fat switch but the tweed version with the Jensen speaker is nicw without it. You may have read that it does not have a standby...IT DOESN'T NEED ONE!! This is a 15 watt amp and has no need for one and it will not affect its performance at all.

For some silly reason I went a bought a Bad Monkey overdrive pedal before my amp arrived so I can play this amp at bedroom volumes but still get that creamy overdrive. No need for it, you can turn the volume up to 12 o'clock and the master as low as you want and it just oozes tone. Add the fat switch and you just faint. Well okay it does sound good and I am basing this on a 15 watt newly made amp, my bed has a 69 50 watt Marshall rectifier with original cab that looks like Hendricks dragged it around for years that sounds better but.....IT'S 15 WATTS AND ONLY WEIGHS 36 POUNDS!

This amp is not for someone who wants high headroom, it does break up easy, I have a guitar with P-90's and I can hardly get it clean but thats okay for me, I bought it for its overdriven sound.

Okay here's a story about this little guy's toughness. I bought a blem model from Guitar Center. Hey I figured they were selling the exact model with beer stains and a torn grill for a $100 more and calling it a special edition so how bad could a blem look. Well mine looks perfect so not sure what the blem was. Anyways when it arrived they had stuck it in a box that was too big for the amp and put a little paper in there to keep it from sliding around and that was it, no styrofoam or bubble wrap just the amp in a flimsy cardboard box. I mean when it arrived I could feel it sliding around and hear things rolling around inside (not a good sign). When I opened it I found three of the five tubes rolling around loose in the amp so I put them all back in and tightend up the others and turned it on and much to my surprise they were all glowing. The amp came through that horrible shipping without a scratch and it is working great.

I have never had to deal with a problem yet so can't say but the amp has a 5 year warrenty.

I have been playing for 8 years and am just a hacker but I am a tone whore and have been since I was 11 and hung around the stereo shops and that has been a looong time. I play a PRS with P-90's, A Washburn 335 copy modded that was way to chimey on my SS amp but is a blues machine on the Jr. I don't use effects much but have the Bad Monkey and a Zoom G.2 that I use for various effects when needed. I would get another if stolen for sure but may choose to not have it shipped!

On/Off Switch, Reverb, Master, Middle, Bass, Treble, Volume, and a Fat Switch. Those are the only controls on this amp. Nice and simple. Those are also the only controls you need on a good amp. To me that is better than having a bunch of built in modeling and effects. Those amps have a ton of features and do everything, but they don't do any of it good. This amp has all the controls you need to go from the cleanest of cleans to a gritty rock sound. I wouldn't advise getting this amp if you're into playing metal though. Kind of like you wouldn't buy a Mesa for its' cleans. It also handles the pedals I've used on it very well. They all sound great through this little amp. Add to that the Jensen speaker and the tweed casing and this amp has all the features you could want.

I use a Fender Am Deluxe, a Fender J5 Telecaster and some Ibanez guitars. I mainly use the strat and tele though so the others don't matter for this amp. I use this amp for blues, rock, classic rock, funk, etc. Can get a nice SRV to a RHCP Frusciante to a grittier rock sound with it. The amp is not at all noisy. I use a Dimebag wah, Boss DS1 and a Big Muff Pi. All 3 pedals sound great through this amp. Even with these pedals there's very little noise (obviously there's some when you're using a distortion/fuzz pedal though). That's good though cause I like playing with feedback.
This amp has the best clean tones I've ever heard. I love them. The first 2 nights I owned this amp I was up until 330am playing my guitar because of it. Eventually I became worn out and had to get a decent nights' sleep though. That's how good it sounds.

I haven't had this amp very long, but I have had no problems with it. I researched it pretty thoroughly before buying it and I didn't come across any complaints of people that had problems with it.

I have never had to deal with Fender's customer support. I think this is mainly because they make quality products that can take quite a beating.

I've been playing for 11 years. My other amps are a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and a Vox Valvetronix AD30VT. The Mesa is amazing for high gain distortion and has a decent clean sound. I don't like the vox as I don't care for built in effects, modeling, etc.
The Blues Jr cleans blows anything I've heard away. I actually prefer the distortion I can get from the Blues Jr with the Big Muff Pi and the DS1 to the 2nd channel on my Mesa. Obviously though the Blues Jr can't compete with the Mesa when you switch the Mesa's distortion to Channel 3, but it's not made for that. Just like the Mesa's clean channel can't compete with the Blues Jr's cleans.
The only products you can compare this to are other Fender amps because no other amp can get that Fender clean sound. There's nothing I wish this amp had. I knew what it could do when I bought it and it does it all great.

This review is for the BJ Lacquered Tweed Limited Edition "Relic" version. The stock speaker is a Jensen P12R AlNiCo. I believe there were only 120 made, and it was made around 2005. I wasn't really looking for an amp with a relic job, I bought it for the oh-so-sweet sound. This amp also has the billm mods, which might also explain the smooooothe tone of this amp. I don't know if all the relic tweed ltd.ed. BJ's had the billm mods but mine did. Other features same as all other BJ's

With the billm mods, cream board and Jensen P12R AlNiCo speaker, this is the BEST Blues Jr. that I have ever heard. Virtually no amp hum or buz, can get anything from nice clean sparkly highs to fat crunchy overdrive without any pedals - Just by adjusting guitar volume, EQ, reverb, amp volume and amp master volume. I play the Blues & rock using Tele's & Strat's. I use this in my home and have played clubs with a band for up to 75 people with no problem. Compared to all the other BJ versions out there, I would have to rate the sound of this particular Fender BJ version a solid 10.

I have 4 fender tube amps, and 5 Fender electric guitars and I have never had one break. I just keep my equipment in good service and it has never let me down. Credit to Fender for good solid products!

I have asked a few product questions via email and have always gotten a timely response. I had some warranty work on a pickup height adjustment on a new Strat once, and they got right on it and got her fixed.

I've been playing over 40 years. I got the BJ because it is an excellent sounding amp for the size and price (easy to carry around) Like I said above, with the billm mods (tone stack, adjustable bias and power stiffening), and the Jensen P12R AlNiCo speaker, & the fender shop relic job, this combo has all the amp tone & mojo I need.

It has all the features I need. It would be good to have a standby switch and tremolo, but I can live without them. It also gets a point for NOT having any lame built-in digital effects.

I play it with a G&L Legacy and and Ibanez ES-335 clone. I usually put the gain on 9, the 'fat' button on, and the tone controls all the way up. It sounds great on this setting, with an edge-of-breakup sound that I can overdrive with a boost pedal or clean up with less volume on the guitar.

I owned a standard Blues Junior for about two weeks and hated the spiky treble and stiff response. I got this amp a year later and the difference is incredible! I really find it hard to believe it is the same electronics as the black version, they sound and respond a lot differently.

I have used this amp for straight-ahead jazz, funky Scofield-type stuff, SRV blues, and classic rock. It really lets the guitar and pickup sound come through and it's less finicky about pedals than my boutique amp. There is a little hum noticable at bedroom levels, but not at louder settings, and I don't notice any hiss.

It's good so far and I'm hoping it will continue to be reliable. I have a feeling the circuit-board-mounted tubes will cook the circuit board eventually but at least it is a common enough amp that an amp tech will probably know it pretty well already.

I doubt I would ever try to contact Fender if there was a problem because I don't expect that they would respond.

I also own a handmade Allen Encore blackface Fender Vibrolux/Super clone. The tone of the Blues Jr isn't as lush and responsive compared to the Allen, but that is to be expected. This amp is more portable than the Allen, which is a 4-10 combo, so it actually gets a lot more use. I would compare this amp to a Peavey Classic 30 or a Traynor YCV20, both of which I used to have, but I like this one better than either of those two and it is way above the standard Blues Jr.

If it went missing I would either look for another one of these or for a PTP Princeton or Deluxe Reverb type amp, depending on cash available. I really like how I can leave it on one setting and the overall sound comes from my guitars. It's very versatile in that way. It's not going to replace nicer boutique or PTP amps but it does a great job for the price and I like it the best of any circuit board mounted amp this size in current production.

The features have been covered countless times. I have everything I need on the control panel except a stand-by switch, which is a common complaint. The 50's style lacquered tweed and brown/gold grill cloth are lovely and the leather handle is a nice touch. The light weight is also a great advantage as I have to carry my own gear around. Roadies can get expensive.

Since I am throwing my opinion in here, this seems to be the most popular and reviewed amp on this site, I can only echo what other Classic Rock/Blues players say. This is a great amp for such musical styles. Beautiful clean to dirty tones and a nice Fender reverb. Surf sounds and 50's & 60's pop are also in this amp. I use Strats, a 335 and a new Tele and the amp allows the sonic character of each guitar to come through, whether you are playing clean or with the wonderful tube distortion that the Blues Junior produces. The controls are very interactive so dialing in the right mix is not an issue. Pedals are no problem either as it will take any pedal you can think of. One more thing, it has VOLUME and can get quite loud, especially considering it's size.

I have only had it for 3 months, but it seems very solid and well built.

Have never needed it.

I would rate this a 9.5 as 10 is considered perfect and no electronic device is perfect, yet. I demoed this with a standard Blues Junior, an Orange Tiny Terror combo and a VOX AC15. The Orange is good but a little more aggressive than I was looking for, while the standard Blues junior was not as full sounding as the Lacquered Tweed version. This is probably due to the Jensen speaker up-grade which is in the amp I bought. I already have a VOX AC30 and since I wanted something with a different sound, I passed on the AC15 even though it sounded very good. I still think the Blues Junior is a better amp for this size and price range (400.00 to 600.00) and I love the 50's look. This is a wonderful value for a Fender amp and I highly recommend it to players who are looking for a low to mid-powered amp and are into good musical tone and not massive metal noise pollution.