Fender Blues Junior

As a player of rock and blues I feel this amp has everything I need. Great cleans and an overdrive that is enough. The reverb is a great touch for lots of clean stuff I like to play especially Hendrix. The fat switch adds a nice touch of mid and gain to your sound so I found it quite useful. A well deserved 8 to me of course.

I use a Mexican made stratocaster with stock pick ups and let me tell you this thing can pull out some nice warm cleans, sprinkle a little reverb on top of that and you have a beautiful clean tone. Now for that overdrive, I was a bit hesitant when I first got it as I was not able to turn the master above 2, but as soon as I went to my band practice cranked the master to 4 and the volume to 12 and I was amazed at how creamy the overdrive was, you will not be disappointed blues and rock fans. I have a Fulltone OCD coming in the mail soon, I'm very excited to see how these two pair up with one another.

So far no problems, the amp is very well built in my opinion and feels as sturdy as a rock.

None needed.

I think this is a fantastic value for a musician on a pretty low budget looking for a gig worthy amp that has tone unlike the losers that use the Marshall MG's at my school.

I bought it from a friend. I think it was new back in 2005. I have owned it for a year and use it to play small clubs. It is my main practice amp at home. I use the fat switch all the time. Never turn it off. Mine is stock but it came with a beam blocker which I don't think is a major modification.
Nice compact cab. Decent reverb (had to buy a new tank for it), and good controls. Decent stock speaker. Pretty average features for a small amp. IT'S PLENTY LOUD. Takes pedals well.

I play mostly clean. My band does classic oldies and some classic rock from the American and English sides of the Atlantic. Think Beatles, Dave Clark 5, hollies, Jerry and the Pacemakers, Buddy Holly, Dion, Ventures, Beach Boys, etc. We also venture into Cream, Stones, ZEP, Doobie Bros, Eagles and other "Classic Rock" stuff where a little overdrive is needed. I use a MXR Distortion III (M-115) pedal for overdrive.
Cleans are very round and clear with a Strat. Slightly more hair when using a Les Paul. The OD pedal works well with this amp. Nice harmonics push through in either clean or overdriven modes. This is a nice sounding little amp. Yes it is overpriced, but if you pick one up used it's worth it. I stole mine for a mere 200 and paid another 40 for a reverb pan replacement. I'm using Telefunken 7189 tubes for the most headroom along with American made NOS preamp tubes.
With the Master volume at 10 (goes to 12) I use the gain (drive) knob to set the volume. Stays clean to about 5-6. Pretty loud at this setting. Can't really find anything to complain about. It's a good sounding compact amp. I'm very happy with it in all respects.

Seems well built. Who knows?

I've been playing in bands since the 80s. I own other amps besides the BJr. My guitars are all strats or Les Pauls. My large venue amp is a Blues Deluxe with a matching tweed extension cab.
To sum it up: This is a very nice 15 watt tube amp with a great sound for clean or slightly overdriven sound, which is what i use it for. I'm very satisfied with it. I'd buy another one.

Mine is an '07 model, made in Mexico. I find the amp to have a very warm disposition to it, compared to the emotionless tone of my old line-6. Has very good tone for texas blues, tons of mid, especially with a tube screamer. Having separate volume and master volume controls is nice, as it lets you get a little more grit out of the amp at lower volumes. The reverb is useable, I don't use very much, but it could be better. However, when compared to the complete garbage reverb found in some other small amps, this one performs nicely.

I play a Stratocaster with seymour duncan texas hots in it, and mainly play through the neck pickup. I hear people complain about the strat lacking mid, but with this amp and pickups, can get a very strong, SRV like tone out of it, no lack of mid here. I'm not a big fan f the "fat" switch, as it really doesn't suit my tone at all, I just really don't like the kind of overly muddy sound it gives it, it's like turning your tone knob waaay down. Overall, this is the best 15 watt amp I have heard, and with a price of around $500 CDN new, it's also one of the most affordable.

Just picked it up a few days ago, no problems as of yet.

Haven't dealt with fender in regard to this amp yet, however they have been good in the past about other things.

I love this amp's tone, especially when used with my keeley tube screamer. If it was stolen, I'd buy another one, or break the neck of whoever stole it. Great little practice amp.

Standard BJ with Fender Eminence speaker. Can't really give it 10... I just wish it had emulated headphones so I could enjoy it into the wee small hours!

SOUND QUALITY. This is why I'm writing a review and I hope this will help if, like me, you're maybe not quite so expert at choosing gear and rely on these reviews for guidance.

I've been playing on and mostly off, for years and have just got back into it ??? with good gear, a tutor and (now I'm a bit older) a much more critical appreciation for TONE. I (try to) play 52 reissue and 60's classic Telecasters. Having flirted with Les Pauls and a 333, I have come to the conclusion that I love Fender tone... I might add a Strat just to see the look on my wife's face!

I have just bought the 'Standard' Blues Junior. I already have the Limited Edition with the Jensen C12N, which I've had for six months. (Don't ask why I've got them both... long story, but I've sold the Ltd Edition and it's waiting to be wrapped and posted... mistake... read on).

I've read all the reviews about changing the speakers, with a mix of curiosity and scepticism. It's to answer the few reviewers who state that changing the speaker will only make minimal difference...

YOU MUST HAVE CLOTH EARS!!!

The difference is HUGE. The stock speaker is okay, but when you play them alongside each other it sounds thin and almost tinny. Some might say 'bright', but I think it lacks any of the warmth and creamy depth of the Jensen. It's like the difference between strawberries and milk ??? and strawberries and cream.

CONCLUSION: Try it stock and if you like it that way, fine, but be prepared to spend ??60.00 for the upgrade.

I still give it 8 with the stock speaker, but 12 with the Jensen!

As a platform for upgrade I give it 10.

You know the basics of this 15 watt one channel amp, Volume, 3 Tone controls T, M, B, Fat Switch. Master Volume and Reverb a 12" speaker in a small cab, easy to carry and loud enough to gig.

Sound is okay but not clean enough or tight enough for Jazz at moderate levels, okay for Rock and Blues. What the heck it's called a Blues Jr. right? I would have liked it better a bit cleaner and giged with it more often. You can get a pretty good OD sound using the master and the Fat switch.

Got this amp free. Didn't not work, some parts had been removed or replaced as a mod was done and as far I could tell it didn't go well for the original owner. Some of the problems were: Reverb tank didn't work and the factory fixed bias had been set too high and burned the sockets, fried the tubes and some resistors. Several resistors looked chared, a few had been replaced with different values, a hole was burned in the mother board. The plastic volume pot and the plastic input jack were broken off.

Time for some repairs. Got some new resistors a reverb tank, volume pot and input jack. Patched the hole in the PCB and wired in some circuits where it was fried.

Found a schematic on the net. That's is all I needed.

Okay I got it working and is sounded pretty good. I learned just how cheap Fender can make an amp and sell it. I would not buy this amp even new, they cut too many corners on quality. I know several good players using them and they seem to like them. I think they will do a good job for a few years and then you'll have some trouble, well I hope not. For the same monney or less I think you can find a better amp.

15 watts, single channel, 12" 8 ohm Eminence speaker, one input, Volume (gain), Master volume, Highs, Mids, Lows, "Fat" switch, Reverb, 8 Ohm speaker out, optional footswitch input for "Fat" boost, On/Off switch. A very simple, but versatile amp.

The only thing I wish this amp had was a standby switch and another speaker out. You have to disconnect the internal speaker if you want to use an extension speaker or cab.

I use this primarily with a Fender American Strat HSH (DiMarzio HB at bridge, Seymour Duncan HB at the neck, stock Fender single coil in the middle), Fender American Tele with stock single coils, Gibson Faded SG with stock pickups. I also play a Epiphone Casino with P-90 pickus, and a Gibson LP Studio with stock pickups through it at times.

I play in a Classic Rock band and this is the tone I am after, that late 60's, early 70's overdrive. Think ol' Bad Company. After all these years that is still the overdrive I love, not really a fan of the modern super-distortions.

I might be a little different than most posters here who talk about the great clean tones you can get with this amp. That's absolutely true, you can get pristine, warm cleans, very beautiful with some soul, not dead like so many amps. But I prefer dirty tones, that overdrive of yester-year. I like to crank Volume (which is really your gain)to max (12), and then adjust volume with Master. I usually crank Bass and Mids to max, and set Highs about 6-7. Believe it or not I get a very old school Marshall tone like this. I turn up Master to get the volume I need for solos, then turn down using my guitar's volume to clean up a little for my rhythm sounds.

This amp makes a little noise when Volume and Master are maxed, but really not that much, no problem at all. At lower settings it is very quiet.

If you turn the knobs you can get a lot of different tones out of this amp. I find you have to keep Lows higher than most amps, otherwise this amp can sound smaller or "boxy" as some complain. But with Lows up high it sounds very full. I leave the Fat switch engaged at all times, I just like a fuller sound.

With Volume and Master maxed and my guitars volume maxed you get a very thick, but singing tone great for lead guitar. It has good sustain and sounds very "alive" which is important to me. I like lead guitar to sound on the verge of out of control. I get good harmonics and it's easy to get feedback too. I am kinda in that old Hendrix school, I like my guitar to make some noise when playing lead. For rhythm guitar this is a little too much and you can lose string definition, my Casino with P-90s especially. So I back off my guitar's volume just enough to get a good tight sounding crunch. Sometimes I back the volume off to get a clean setting, but not completely clean at these settings. But that's the way I like it, I like a bit of breakup even playing clean. After all, it's ROCK music!!

So, this amp can get some great Classic Rock overdrive. But you can't get Metal tones or Grunge or any of that stuff. You can do that with pedals though and it sounds great.

The reverb is very good in my opinion, I keep it around 2-3. But you can get some good Surf tones at higher settings. Some complain about the reverb, but I think it is just fine.

After all that, the best thing I can say about this amp is this; I own quite a few amps including a Hot Rod Deluxe, Epi Valve Jr through a 2 X 12 with Celestion Vintage 30s, a Marshall DSL401, and a very old '58 Premier 2 X 8 amp. These are all good sounding amps, but I always come back to the Blues Jr. It just sounds better. In fact when I bought this amp I tried many amps in this size and power range like the Vox, Peavey, Crate (tube) and others. But I kept coming back to the Blues Jr everytime. It is not the perfect amp, such a thing doens't exist, but it is very, very good. I like the old school single channel amp sound, and the Blues Jr does it very well.

My amp has a little problem, I have to make sure the power tubes are seated well before I play or they can make some noise. There might be a short or cold solder, I'm not sure. I have to make sure they are completely vertical. So, before I play I push up on them, and make sure they are vertical. I can play for many hours without a problem. I am not afraid to gig with this amp and have many times. I probably should have taken it back, but I just push on the tubes and play. Other than this minor problem the amp has been problem free. I have owned many Fender amps and they are reliable in my opinion.

I've never contacted Fender, so I can't give an opinion here. 5 year warranty.

I've been playing 36 years, played in bands as a teen, took 20 years off (marriage, family), but have played consistently in bands the last 10 years. I own seven electrics, two acoustics, five amps, and two full PAs, guitar pedals all over the place. If my BJ were lost or stolen, I am not sure if I would buy it again, not because it is not a great amp, but just because I am always trying something new. I have gone through many amps over the years. But, I might. I love that the BJ is a small portable amp (sick of hauling heavy gear) with very good tone at a very affordable price. I have owned many amps that cost more that didn't sound nearly as good.

In it's price range, the Blues Jr is one of the best sounding amps out there. Forget the gadgets, go for the tone!

Ok I'll add my 2 cents. Mine's one of the 2003 models, made in Mexico. Screamin little amp, very portable, plenty of power for practice, mic it for gigs. Not exactly feature-packed, footswitch for boost is about it.

Use with all kinds of guitars. Crank it up, that's where the tone is. Does what it's supposed to do.

Fat button on the panel never worked, footswitch still works tho. Doesn't make a lot of difference anyway. No standby switch so turn the master down until the tubes warm up and they'll last longer. Always take a backup to a gig, are u crazy?

Never dealt with Fender.

Everyone who plays out should have one of these things. Seriously, probably the best size/sound/price ratio of any amp out there. Easy to carry, plenty of tone, not too pricey. I'm a 20+ year player and have all kinds of equipment. I'd buy another one of these tomorrow,

Volume- essentially a gain knob to get some nice crunch paired with a master knob which actually controls the volume so you can get breakup at low volumes or cleans at higher volumes if you want. Also has treble, mid, bass knobs and a "fat" switch. Has a built in spring reverb tank. No standby switch on this 15W all tube amp. There is also a footswitch to control the fat setting (on/off).

I play more alternative rock than anything and it can get some really nice tone. Its good for any kind of rock/blues style. I would not recommend it for metal. It has a slight hum which is to be expected. My Boss DS-1 modded distortion sounds nice through it. I also have a bigger distortion pedal that sounds great through my epiphone valve junior but not through this blues junior. I havent messed with the settings on it yet though. The reverb sounds fantastic; one of the reasons I bought this amp. I usually use an effects chain but I actually prefer to plug straight into this amp because the tone is so nice.

When I got it the reverb tank was broken, which I hear is a very common problem. I ordered a new one for $29.05 so easy fix! Hopefully this new one will last longer (it is the same model; Accutronics 8EB2C1B) because I try to take good care of my stuff. I would imagine if I brought this around to gigs a lot, the reverb tank would likely break again. It takes a reverb pedal well enough though. Obviously, since it's a tube amp, it is more likely to break than a solid state. I definitely would not tour with this amp without a backup, and I would feel more comfortable if I had a backup on any gig.

As a straight up amp, this thing kicks butt. The only reason it is not my main amp is because my Valve Jr takes pedals better. Plugging straight in though, this beats the pants off the Valve Jr. Also; this thing KICKS! It is LOUD!

Single channel, single input with gain and master volume. Three band EQ and a good sounding reverb. The stock tubes and speaker are adequate. Nice compact, lightweight cabinet. There is a FAT switch that adds some fatness to the sound, which I keep on all the time. It has a red indicater lamp. Black tolex, chrome chassis. PCB circuit board populated with average, generic components. Output is a LOUD 15-18 watts. No doubt about it, this is a nicely sized club amp and recording amp with classy features for its price.

I'm using this with a 1986 BOSS ME 5 and a 90s Les Paul Standard, loaded with a 490R and a 498T Gibson pickups. I have played Fender Strats and Telecasters through this too but my Gibby is the main deal.
My present musical project involves a lot of clean rhythm playing in a 4 piece oldies (surf, rockabilly, 60s British and so on) band. We also do a lot of 60s and 70s classic rock (Eagles, Led Zep, Doobies, Santana and so on) so I do use some overdrive and distortion patches for that stuff. Our typical club dates involve medium sized rooms and crowds of 50-100 people. Coffee houses and sports bars/restaurants mainly. I have a 2006 sixty watt Fender Blues DeVille 4 by 10 amp for larger shows. It's a very nice amp too, but our bookings are about 90% smaller rooms so it doesn't get near the playtime that the Blues Junior does.
The Blues Junior is quiet. Even at higher gain levels it is quiet with the Les Paul. I don't use the amp's OD very much but it sounds good enough to use for heavier jams, all by itself. It records
For clean playing the amp has a sweet, fat sound using the ME 5 and the LP guitar. The clean patch on the ME 5 is nothing but pre EQ. No gain, no effects and no compression. Works very well for surf and early British stuff. Very sparkly. I also use a second patch that has a little overdrive but mostly clean tones, for a very slight overdrive. A third patch is decidedly overdriven and a fourth patch is a medium crunch rhythm or solo distortion tone depending on the pickup choice.
The amp stays clean till about 6 on the dial with the clean patches. With the overdrive and crunch patches the amp gives up nice harmonics. No problem with the stock speaker under heavy OD and Distortion.

No problems so far.

I fix my own stuff.

Thirty five year player. I have performed with all manner of gear over the years, in all kinds of bands. The Blues Junior fits into my present scheme of musical expression and I see a place for it after this band is over.
It sounds very, very good and it's light, loud enough and reliable. That's the bottom line, it has all the attributes necessary for the project I'm involved in. It's the right tool for the job I'm doing, you could say.
I would buy this amp again, to use in similar circumstances and I'll be keeping it long after this project is closed out. I'm totally satisfied with it.

I'm a harp player, and don't need many features. My Blues Junior (purchased new in about 2004) has all the features I need. Mainly:
separate volume, and gain controls; and reverb.

I don't see too many reviews here, for the Blues Junior used as a harp amp - but it works very nicely for that. I use a stock Shure 545SD microphone,run through a Lone Wolf harp delay pedal; and have changed some of the tubes (to make the amp a little more harp-friendly). My setup is nothing exotic - but it sounds really good! I've had a couple of much more expensive amps (including a vintage Fender Princeton Reverb), but keep coming back to my little Blues Junior.

I can get plenty of volume to practice with my band; and enough to play small venues, without micing up. For that much volume, the Blues Junior is compact, and not terribly heavy. It's simple; it's not fussy; and it's a bargain, for the money.

My first Blues Junior had a defective reverb unit, and it took forever to get that straightened out. After being in the shop (under warranty) for six weeks - still not repaired - I finally returned it to the dealer, and started all over. I think Fender could have managed the warranty process a lot better.

No problems at all ,since then.

All in all, the Blues Junior is an excellent amplifier, for any but a professional harp player. There are certainly better harp amps out there, but they'll cost you three times as much, and/or require you to fuss around with "vintage".
If my Blues Junior was stolen, I'd go get another, tomorrow.