Fender Blues Junior

Pretty simple all tube amp.single channel with boost,3 band eq and reverb,single 12 eminence/fender speaker.

Out of the box the sound is good but not great.Its a very warm sound even with a usa telecaster which is my main guitar.It overdrives nicely at higher volumes both on the pre and power side and cleans up well by knockin the volume back a bit.the bjr is also LOUD!! Dont be fooled by the 15w.The eq is pretty standard fender fare and is useful in a subtle way.the reverb is adequate on lower settings but gets a bit washy on higher levels.
the speaker is a bit muddy and lacks clarity so i swapped it for a vintage 30 and the difference is amazing.the whole sound opened up.the warmth is still there but with a clear midrange and top end.its also louder now too.i also changed the tubes for a set of jj's and this smoothed the overdrive considerably.
my rating is for the amp with the speaker change.its a 7 with the original speaker.

the bjr could be used for blues obviously,country,pop....anything except death metal!!!!
it also works well with pedals,,,my ronsound hairpie sounds HUGE with it!!!

so far its been great but who knows what will happen.
ive swapped the speaker for a vintage 30 and the pots for cts metal stem pots and the sockets for switchcraft jacks.the plastic pots and sockets are junk but can be replaced cheaply by an amp tech and i think will improve reliability considerably......

overall this is a cheap tube amp with a great sound once the ****** speaker is swapped out.
if it was pinched or died id get another one in an instant.

It would be nice if the amp had an EXF in/out. Other than that the amp is pretty well put together.

When I first got the amp a did a lot of experimenting with different speakers. Finally, I broke down and bought a Celestion alnico blue.
What I have now is almost an identical sound (minus the tremelo) to a Vox AC15CC1x which runs about $950. I have about $700 rapped up in the fender. You can not use the same cabinet when using a Cellestion alnico blue. The speaker definitely made a difference. I have a Vox ac30 with a Celestion set up and pretty much use it only for big venues. If I am playing a smaller club, I prefer to use the Fender--30 pounds vs 68 pounds with difference in sound minimal.

So far so good. No problems

When I first got the amp the the tubes were loose. No problem. I took it Hendrix Sound in Kissimmee (He's Fender's fix it guy in Central Florida) and had it back home with new valve sockets in a week with no charge.

Playing for over forty years
Guitars: Guild Bluesbird AAA
Taylor T5 Custom
G&L Legacy (I prefer Leo Fender's guitar to CBS' Fenders
Gibson Angus Young SG
Gretsch White Falcon

Amps: Fender Blues Junior
Peavey Classic 50 212
Vox AC 30

If anything happened to the Fender I would probably replace it with another Blues JR and change the speaker to a Cellestion Blue.

Fender blues jnr 2008 made in mexico ....very self explanatory controls very well put together
it's a Fender and a tube amp so high expectations.....

i have to admit i kind of rushed into buying this amp as i had some gigs coming up and my old Vox was getting a bit tired.....i read all the reviews and took into consideration all the points and i'd agree with most of the comments here .....initial sounds are good ...it's clear warm and loud!...... just like it should be....but lacked a bit of vibe!!!...but i felt like i'd made a commitment to this amp and have made a few upgrades ...i've replaced the stock speaker with a Celestion 30th Anniversary G12-H.....a huge improvement in tone .....the eq actually doing something!!...and bought replacement valves from Dan Torres in the States ...2xruby tubes EL84 1xgroove tubes 12ax7 1xtungsol gold 12ax7 and one electro harmonix 12ax7 ....and the difference is remarkable ...i'm glad i stuck with this amp as i now love it ....every day i get up and can't wait to play again!!

so far so good

haven't used them

After years of just playing everything and anything i decided that when i bought this amp i was going to start listening a bit more .....and i'm glad i did...... most times you don't need as much gain or as many fx as you think you do!...... this amp will let you start playing like YOU...it's been an education to be honest ......i feel i know a lot more about guitar tone..... tubes and speakers etc....and can become a real tube amp geek!!! ha ha ...so as i say it's a good amp but with a couple of upgrades it's terrific.....

Enough for a single channel amp. Master Volume is very handy.

I play Jazz with an archtop and been using my telecaster recently. small to medium venues. the amp is clean and loud enough for me and breaks up when you hit the strings a bit more.
I love the sounds of Grant Green and young Kenny Burrell and this little amp is able to produce similar tone.

so far the amp has not let us down. It actually is the amp of our bass player, but recently I prefered it over my polytone.

nice amp!

2008 made in mexico...standard version with Eminence speaker. Basic EQ plus reverb and FAT switch. It's not a swiss-army amp, so if that's what you want look elsewhere or be prepared for a tangle of wires and pedals. The main feature is pure all-tube, old-school tone in a highly portable package.

Using it with American Telecaster. I'm coming to this amp after 3 years with a Line 6 Flextone. It's my first tube amp. There IS a difference. The tone out of this thing is warmer (despite the hallmark "brightness" of any Fender amp) rounder and more dynamic. It's strong and loud when it needs to be, but also sounds sweet at practice volume. The highs can be a little ice-picky at volume -- using a Tele doesn't help -- but you can adjust by rolling off treble and tweaking guitar tone knob. I'm not a pro but as far as I can tell it takes pedals just fine. I use a Boss Fuzz, Chorus and Phase Shifter for a range of blues and classic rock tones.

So far so good. Like the person below my reverb wasn't working out of the box. But before I panicked and sent it back I took a hard look inside and one of the plug-in connectors was unplugged at the reverb box. Problem solved.

I'm sure there are better small boutique tube amps but for 408 bucks (with a musicians friend 15%-off e-mail deal) it's hard to imagine doing any better than this. I considered a Vox ac15 as well but it's 600 bucks and a lot bigger and I wanted something I could tote from room to room or use out on the deck or wherever and this is perfect. I'm glad I went for a tube amp and glad I picked this one.

Don't know when it was made. Amp is reasonably versatile. Doesn't work with pedals all that well. Used for C&W, rockabilly music.
Kind of multi channel. Has a "FAT" switch. A gain boost, really.

I wish it was 6l6 based. Bought it thinking it might be a small HRD. Nothing like it.

Using Telecasters/Strats-Single coils.
Amp has a brittle sound. Really have to tweak the knobs to smooth things out. It is also a little noisy. Especially the reverb.
It can make a fair number of sounds. Overdrives OK.

I had issues out of the box. Not sure how this will hold up.

Fender was friendly but dumb on the service side. I bought the amp and it was delivered with the reveb not working. I sent it back and the reverb in amp #2 didn't work. I took it apart, found a loose wire, and repaired it. When I called Fender (thinking they would appreciate this tip off) they could care less.

I've been playing for 40+ years. Fender guy through and through. Have a HRD which has been great. The Blues Jr is simply not what I hoped it would be. I recently got a Kustom Dart 66-more versatile than the Blues Jr. by a long shot.

Made in 2006, this is a 15W 1x12 tube amp combo with reverb. Has "fat" switch, selectable with footswitch (costs extra -- I don't have this).

Being a tube amp, 15W is more powerful than you would think. In fact, it is very very loud. The main reason why you wouldn't use this in small or medium gigs is more that it would get too saturated at an acceptable volume; not that it couldn't REACH that volume!

For a small amp, has reasonable number of features, yet is also reassuringly simple.

I play rock and blues. The BJ makes a *perfect* practice amp, or perhaps solo busking! It sounds great at volumes appropriate for your living room, and also can get nice and loud if you are jamming with the band -- however at the latter volume, you won't be able to achieve nice cleans any more. The tube tone is rich and mellow, and starts breaking up nicely if you set the volume control(s) right. The lack of clean head-room at band volume is the main reason why this is only a practice amp for me.

Amp has separate Volume and Master Volume controls, which means it takes a little bit of dial-twisting to get various combinations of clean-loud(ish), dirty-loud, clean-soft and dirty-soft -- but a nice tone is achievable in all of those categories.

Also takes to my ME-50 pedalboard nicely. Basically, this is my day-in, day-out practice amp and I love it. I actually find it more useful than my Hot Rod Deluxe (BJ's 40W "big brother"), because the HRD is too loud for home use, yet also starts over-saturating at band volumes in spite of its high wattage -- therefore has no real 'home'.

The BJ seems expensive considering that an HRD is not *that* much more (yet has much higher wattage) - but don't be fooled: the BJ is an amp that you will love for what it does, whereas the HRD will frustrate you because you won't know where it 'fits' in your gear lineup.

So far so good. Would be nice if it had a Standby switch to help preserve the tubes.

For rock (not metal) and blues players, this is a good, solid Fender tube amp that will make a great companion to your daily playing. It's 'tube tone' is as good as you could ask for in a small combo.

At first glance, it seems a bit expensive for a small 15W, but having had one I now know how versatile it is and so can say that it is worth it. I would buy another.

Everyone else has done a stellar job listing features, so I will just say great tone! I give it a 9 for not having an effects loop. The stock speaker wasn't my style, so I replaced it with a vintage 30. I replaced the stock tubes with 2 JJ's EL 84's and a mulard in the preamp.

I love this amp do to the complex harmonics my pedals bring out in it. I am a metal player, but I also play the blues. I play through a LTD Eclipse 500s with an EMG 81 bridge and a 60 neck. I run it into a Fulltone OCD into a MXR 6-band EQ, into the amp. I have a slight boost on the EQ pedal in the lows highs and upper mids. I run amp mids at 4 with bass 7 and treble at 8 and a 1\2. I run a Dr. Z Airbrake between my amp and speaker so I can crank it and still stay married. When I need to go beyond that, I use a Z-Vex Box of Metal and it lights my amp up like a roman candle, AWESOME. The sound is wicked and it is my sound, not somebody else's. Over the years I have had more amps than most shops ever see in a lifetime. I have been searching for a good crunch that keeps it's clarity and for me this is it. Too much gain and it is just noise, even for metal. With the right set up any amp can be a metal amp. I love this amps ability with the right pedals to authentically sound great clean, dirty and everywhere in between. If you know how to build tone you will love this amp. On it's own it is a blues amp. With a couple of pedals and an airbrake it is a very versital little tone monster.

It's a tube amp treat it right and it will treat you right. I do however I dislike the input jacks on this unit and have replaced them all. Now I see no reason this would ever let me down. I give it a 7 due to the input jacks.

I called the company and talked to tech support. I asked about biasing the amp and he told me to read my 4 page manual. I was not impressed by the tech nor the manual that tells you in eight different languages what master, treble, Mid and Bass do, plus it never even covered the amp's bias BOOOOOOOOOOO!

I have been playing for 15 years now. I know more about amplifiers than most guitar store salesmen. I love my tone and I wouldn't trade it for all the Rectifier's or Marshall's in the world. The fender sound is fantastic and very accepting of good effects.

The best feature is obviously the great tone! As a stock amp it holds its own very well. Compared to more complex amps with loads of features, it pales...but when it comes to sweet class A tone it's a 10 so I'll give it a 10, considering its price point. I bought it used-in good condition-for only $200 bucks. A steal. I replaced the original Fender (Eminence) speaker with a Roland V75, which is a Greenback clone made by Eminence for Roland. It does very well in the BJ, tightening the low end and adding a bit of cone breakup. Other than that, it's stock.

After some experimentation I finally settled on a "best method" for obtaining the tone I wanted using an old (1988) BOSS ME 5 floor pedal. I play Les Pauls with the following pickups: Gibson Les Paul Studio with 490R and 498T; Jay Turser LP Goldtop with LACE Hemis and another Jay Turser (Serpant) with GFS Dream 180 pups. I have a strat, Tele and a 335 too but I mainly use the Les Pauls. ALL my guitars sound good through this amp.
For me the key to great tone using moderate-to-hotter humbuckers is a compressor set to a slow attack for clean and a fast attack for overdrive. The BOSS ME 5 has a good, transparent compressor that enables me to set a consistant "sweet spot" for the amp's preamp, which is very sensitive. Past the compressor I use the lowest possible setting for the overdrive on the ME 5 (OD #1, set to 1.) The combination of these ME 5 settings and the BJ conspire to deliver a fantastic, dynamic, rich clean tone. I highly recommend a combination of compression with boost pedals for this amp. (By the way, another great pedal to put after the compressor is a BOSS GE 7 EQ pedal. It has a built in boost along with the 7 bands of eq boost/cut.) The main thing is to set a consistent signal level going into the first stage preamp of the BJ. Very easy to do with a compressor / boost combination up front. Finally, I add a slight bump at 500Hz using the ME 5 EQ section to give the signal more richness. Works like a charm, folks.
For overdrive I use the BOSS ME 5 with the same settings for compression and overdrive except that I change the attack to the fastest setting and dial up the overdrive to level 2 (out of 7.) The EQ is set up the same as it is in the clean patch.
Clean is to die for in my opinion. It borders on the best sounding clean tone I have ever obtained using a LANEY LC 15 that died on me a few years ago. Not quite as luscious but close. Maybe a new set of tubes will get me there? At any rate, goosing the sensitive front end properly allows me to run the volume at 4-5 and the Master at 12 for a clean, luscious tone that breaks up as I dig in and sustains into harmonic feedback at will. PERFECT!
Overdrive is very tight with fantastic sustain and no feedback problems. Very bluesy sounding. Classic Rock and Blues tone...to a "T."
I have the mid and bass controls set to 3 o'clock and the treble set at 12 o'clock, always. No boost. Reverb on 2-4. That's it.
I'm very, very impressed with the BJ in conjuction with the ME 5. I highly recommend compression to smooth out the sensitive preamp and get the most from the power section's tube duet. With this setup I'm totally satisfied.

In the 15-20 watt tube amp under 500 bucks category this amp is a serious contender for tone champ. Lightweight and loud enough to backline at smaller venues. Mikes up well with the Shure SM 57 for larger places. A real winner for those who know how to operate a simple tube amp. Perfect for blues and rock players and would work for jazz players too. A little tone monster!

basic features, single channel, 3 shelving eq's, nice fender reverb (which i love), master volume, volume, fat switch (which i dont use). pretty basic. the only thing i wish it had was a standby switch and an effects loop.

this amp sounds amazing. this is a tone nuts dream, and guess what, im a tone nut. the only amps i prefer are fender and vox, but fender has an edge over vox i think. the cleans are amazing and it breaks up very nicely with volume at 4. i always run the master at 12. tubes like to run hot. i use this amp with my samick era sheraton which sounds amazing. beautiful and very pleasing to the ear. the fat switch only tends to make it muddy and not a good muddy. best bet for overdrive is to go by a tubscreamer. best peddle you will buy, want be disappointed. it fits together very well with this amp. WARNING!!!!!! if you are someone that plays metal and doesn't care about tone just loud nasty ugly horrible distortion this is not your amp, so dont complain about if it doesnt give you that, cause it want. go by a marshall or a mesa you retard. this amp in my opinion is best for americana style music. folk rock, country, jazz, and pop rock will sound amazing on this little tone hog. great buy and plenty loud. PEOPLE, they have this amazing thing called PA that will bring up your amp good in a mix. if you have an amp with over 40 watts of tube power you must be deaf. this amp has 15 and is great cause it breaks up at reasonable volumes.

pretty rugged but i dont tour that much so i cant tell you for certain.

go get this amp if you are into to tone. awesome amp for recording and club gigging.