Fender Blues Junior

This amp has a very limited number of features, but that is to be expected from an amp this small. It would have been nice if it had another channel for the drive, but simplicity has its advantages. I was amazed by the amount of power that this amp put out. When I saw that it was only 15 watts, I almost passed it up. When I plugged it in, I was plesently surprised by the volume produced . I used the amp mostly for jazz band at high school, and I had no problem being heard through the other instruments. I was very fond of the FAT switch. It gave the amp a nice full tone and a small gain boost.

I played a 1950's fender telecaster that had a single coil seymor duncan broadcaster bridge pick-up dropped in through this amp. The combination of the amp and the guitar was incredible. The amp didn't give any kind of high gain distortion, but it did give a very nice dirty crunch. With the pre amp turned down low, the master would go all the way up to 12 and not distort. If you are willing to play with the nobs, you could get a wide variety of sounds from bright treble to a dirty crunch. If I needed to go beyond that, the big muff was there. I could also get some incredible controled feed back with this amp when used in conjunction with my tele and volume pedal. Just the fact that it's a tube amp scores it major sound points.

In my experience, this amp was very reliable. Being the clutz that I am, I often knocked it in to walls, tipped it over, and it often fell over in transit. After all of this abuse, it kept on putting out good sound.

I never had to deal with the company, but I doubt Fender would be willing to back it with a 5 year warranty if it was junk.

I loved this amp. I would buy it again in a second. In fact, the next time I have some money and see one, I will. I was forced to get rid of it in August and I want it back. It is the best practice amp you can buy.

10 Love the amp! Have a Hot Rod Deluxe and wanted an amp that was not as big to carry...but liked the sound of the Fender F.A.T. product. This little amp is a blues monster! The tone that can be caoxed out of this gem is surprizing for it's size. One channel. No effects loop. No Headphone jack. No channel switching. No problem. Reverb and "fat" switch. For what it is, who needs more? I play at home and at small parties and this amp has more than enough power. It can be played "loud" without being overpowering. Some folks complain about no standby switch, which is no big deal. Just turn the amp on when you need it and off when you don't. Important note...the el84 tubes sound real different in this amp configuration than the 66's found in the Hot Rods.

10 A tone monster. For my ears there is no amp under 300 that can even come close. Had a Fender Champion 110, Crate vintage Club 20 and sold them both. If you like rock, country rock and blues (blues is it's specialty), this amp will suit you well. I set the controls at 6 and reverb and adjust the volume to my mood. Godin Acousticaster, Fenders Tele 50's reissue and "Fat Tele, Carvin tc 60, and Gibson Firebrand 335 all sound relly good. The amp sounds good no matter what.

Don't know as yet. My Hot Rod has been fine but I don't take it out of the house or abuse it.

Fender service is a joke. Rainbow Guitars in Tucson is my dealer (thanks Scott!) and they are really supportive and stand behind what they sell.

Yes. Love it all. Would buy it again. I spent much more effort in buying this amp than my Hot Rod, as the Blues Jr had to be portable, under 300, sound fabulous, be all tube and so forth. The many other amps I tried did not meet all of these needs. Like some of the other reviwers of this amp, plug in and it's straight ahead. Loads of creamy smoothe overdrive at moderate volume levels. If you really turn it up, you get more of the same.

Word to you all, I've noticed that alot of the reviews of this amp mention the lack of a standby switch. I recently talked to a tech at Matchless Amps and asked him why some of their 2000.00 amps did'nt have the standby, he stated that the smaller tubes El84's don't have as much voltage going through them, hence, no standby. Or something like that. If it works on the best amps on the market, then it works with the Fenders.

SIMPLICITY IN ITSELF 3 BAND EQ, VLOUME MASTER AND REVERB. THIS AMP WAS OBVIOUSLY DESIGNED FOR PRACTICE PURPOSES BUT IS QUITE ABLE TO STAND WITH THE BEST. THE AMP SHOULD OF BEEN FITTED WITH A EFFECTS LOOP, STANDBY SWITCH AND POSSIBLY A PRESENCE CONTROL.

SOUND FROM THIS AMP IS QUITE EXCEPTIONALY. I DRIVE THIS AMP VIA EMG ACTIVE HUMBUCKERS WHICH IN TURN GO FIRST THRU A GP8 BEFORE BEING WARMED UP BY THE AMP ITSELF. THE AMP DOES TEND TO OVERDRIVE EASILY AT HIGH VOLUMES BUT ALSO THE ACTIVE PICKUPS TEND TO PUSH A LARGER SIGNAL THAN THE NORMAL PASSIVE ONES. DISTORTION FROM THE FAT SWITCH IS WARM.THIS IS NOT REALLY AN DISTORTION THAT WILL SURFICE TO PULL OFF ANY MAJOR METAL LICKS BUT THEN MOST GUITARISTS USE A PEDAL TO ACHIEVE THOSE SOUNDS ANYWAY. I PERSONALLY USE THIS AMP FOR PRACTICE AND FOR LIVE GIGING MIKING THRU THE P.A.

TUBES HAVE COME LOOSE ONCE BUT THE AMP WAS SUBJECT TO A RIDE IN THE BOOT OF THE CAR ALONG A DIRT ROAD. OTHERWISE SO FAR SO GOOD.

NO IDEA!HOPE THEY PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH

I COMPARED THIS AMP TO A FENDER HOT ROD DELUXE AND ALSO A JTM60 MARSHALL THE SOUND FROM THE DELUXE WAS SLIGHTLY BETTER AS WAS THE SOUND FROM THE MARSHALL BUT THE PRICE DIFFERENCE DID NOT WARRENT THE SOUND DIFFERENCE ALSO THE SIZE OF THIS AMP MAKES IT SUITABLE TO BE CARRIED WITHOUT ANY CURSING. SHOULD BE FITTED WITH A STANDBY SWITCH AND MAYBE AND EFFECTS LOOP BUT THIS WOULD PRACTICALLY MAKE IT A FENDER DELUXE. I THINK THAT THIS AMP IS ONE OF THE BEST SOUNDING AMPS I HAVE EVER OWNED. WOULD BUY IT AGAIN NO PROBLEM.

Fetures Tube-Tone, 15 Watts worth. Nuff said. Or should I mention 3-band Eq, Master vol/gain, Reverb but no loop. With loop it could be even better, but the simplicity of this amp is it's strength. External speaker can be connected, 8 ohms. Single channel, but the "fat" switch boosts the gain sligtly, along with pushing the midrange and overall volume. This comes in handy for that 4-bar solo... The amp is perfect for rehearsal and miked gigs. 15 W TUBE amp is plenty loud, I have never turned it all the way up (gain, that is - Master volume usually stays dimed). Great looks - genuine Tweed covering. It will look worn a couple of years down the road, but it is way cool anyway. Tubes (3x12AX7; 2xEL84) are reasonably well protected by the back panel. Lastly, it's small and light enough to carry with one hand, so you can be our own roadie without busting your back...

Sounds great - for the money and still some. No extensive tweaking needed - just plug in and wail. I play blues, pop, rock and "alternative", this little gem covers all styles easily. A very fine "strat" amp! For the SRV sound: set "master" to 12, "gain" to 4-5, activate the "fat" switch and use a strat, neck pickup. There you are. For dirty blues, crank the gain and ride the guitar's volume control. The tone is, as for many tube amps, dependent on output volume, but at 15 w you can reach this tone before you get too loud. Great clean Fender sound with a little breakup as the gain is about halfway, where the overall volume is loud enough for rehearsals - trust me. Reverb is much more subtle than normally for a Fender, and yes it is noisy at higher settings, but this is no big deal. Goes well with a TubeScreamer (as you'd guess, it's a Blues Monster) as well as other dist/overdrive pedals, I also use a Metal Zone. I have a Blues gig pending, then I will play this amp unmiked, no worries.

Just bought it, so... Schematics included, so service should be no problem.

Yes, I'd buy it again... Have owned several (Fender, Marshall) amps and this is actually the best, hate to say this, COMPROMISE between tone, volume, features and price yet. My vintage 50 W Marshall sounds (slightly) better - at airplane engine volume. My bandmates always complained about that, but no more so. Tubularity is a MUST for me (tone, dynamics), and the "fat" boost is handy. Of course there are even better 15 W tube amps, at twice the price and up... I thought this was meant to be my rehearsal amp, but it looks like it's going to be used for gigs (miked and unmiked!) too. Alredy tried once and almost took up smoking afterwards, just to have one after the Act... It is a great blues amp but also a very nice allround amp. Cheaper than many solid-state or "hybrid" amps, it is a MUST buy for the beginner, it will save you money and frustration to own a REAL amp from the start.

Face it ... this amp is pretty feature-free. Preamp gain, master vol, bass, treble, mid, "fat" switch to boost the preamp gain, footswitch jack for the fat switch, and NO DAMN STANDBY SWITCH! So if yer lookin' for features, buy a Boogie. I'm a simple kinda guy who kinda likes simplicity, so this amp's lack of features suits me just fine, thanks. As you probably know, it's got 3 12AX7's for preamp/inverter and 2 EL84's for a smokin' 15 watts of tubal tonularity. Oops, I forgot to mention reverb (solid state driven) and solid state rectifier.

I adore small tube amps 'cause you can crank 'em and spank 'em. This baby's a dream come true. You can go from sweeeeet sweeeeet Fender clean to warm, rich bluesy overdrive. IMHO the clean is not QUITE as nice as the Hot Rod series, but awfully damn close. As noted in previous reviews, this is NOT a shred amp. I love the way I can play that Ronnie Earl middle ground, where I'm clean with the soft touch but a little spank on the attack makes 'er growl! I also love the fact that I can choose preamp or poweramp distortion (the latter with preamp gain on 3 or 4 and master volume cranked). The reverb is nice (3 spring, short tank) and not overdone, but there's a little hum at high settings. Not too objectionable, though. Overall, the tone is exquisite ... the kind that inspires you to just keep playin' ...

Only had it for a couple of weeks. You can't beat the 5 year warranty, though.

Never tried to deal with them, and from what I've been reading, probably never will.

It's so cheap, and so damn cute, and sounds soooo good, I'd recommend it to anyone that needs a small amp. It's loud, but not enough for a big gig - PERFECT for home practice or jamming, though. I find I never use the "fat" switch. I wish they'd left it off and given me a standby switch instead! I'm predicting that in about 25 years there will be a huge vintage market for these babies. Buy one. NOW!!!

The amp has a single channel input, a single jack, 3 stages of 12AX7A pre-amp, pre-volume, master volume controls, separate bass, mid, and treble controls "fat" switch on panel (foot switchable ) spring reverb (not tube driven), two 6V6/EL84 output tubes, one external speaker jack, a 12" Eminence speaker, only one power supply on/off switch, but no standby (I intend to add this), I bought the 'new' Blues Junior with black tolex - finish. The nominal wattage rating is 15 watts but it's plenty loud for clubs or jam sessions as well! The only poor thing is that the amp has no FX - loop, it could be very useful. I also would like a second channel to switch easily to the fantastic crunch - sound !

I'm really satisfied with the sound ! The clean tone is very clear and sweet - it's a real Fender. If you roll the gain knob up you get a warm, creamy overdrive I like most. I bought the Blues Junior in addition to my Fender Hot-Rod Deluxe because the Hot Rod is simply way too powerful and for my kind to heavy for quick gigs. The Blues Junior is a perfect supplement. The sound is very similar to the Hot Rod's clean sound, with less of headroom - especially the bass - frequencies sounds weaker, but the Blues Junior has a warmer - mellow overdrive sound I really like. The FAT switch further boosts the overdrive and gives you a astonishing full sound for this little package, for that the 12" speaker helps a lot. The amp's speaker provides tons of low-end punch which is surprising given this amps fairly small size. What I really like is the fact that you can drive the power-amp tubes harder without playing louder. Fender designed this amp right. It's made to be driven to get a real classic blues flavor, so if you mostly play blues-rock and want to be flexible, this amp is a dream come true! Small, versatile, and controllable. But I'm sorry, also the Blues Junior has one week point - it's the reverb. It's "hiss" gets pretty noticeable above about half way up. The reverb also don't sounds very intensive. If you know the Hot Rod reverb and like his very full sound and long reverb-time you will be disappointed like I. O.K., the Blues Junior is a much smaller amp with a smaller reverb-pan, but must it produce such allot hiss ?! Overall I would give the amp a 9, but in his price- and build-range it's still a 10.

This amp hasn't given me any problems yet. It seems to be built very solid. I've found the amp to be very reliable so with 5 years warranty I'll rate this a 10.

Haven't had to deal with 'em yet, hope it still remains so.

I really love this amp and I'd buy it again. For it's 15 Watts It's really powerful and can easily be used for a club gig as well as for practice. The amps I compared it to were all Mesa/ Boogies I'd played for years, but I'm sorry - the Fender won hands down. The search is over, I'd found my amps: The Blues Junior for small and quick gigs and the Hod Rod Deluxe for bigger things! The clean sound is very good, but also the crunch sounds are, much better than a Boogie or anything else in this price-range. Why could this thing not has a FX-loop and a second channel?!

This reveiw is an update/amendment to my previously submitted review on the Fender Blues Junior. My BJ finally arrived via UPS, in perfect condition I might add having been shipped to Florida from New England (thanks for the TLC, UPS !) Anyway, I plugged it in, fired it up, and played it, and played it, and played it, and.......(my poor Marshall JCM900 combo feels SO neglected since the BJ arrived). To say the least, I am VERY impressed and satisfied with it. It is just what the Tone Doctor prescribed !!

... the amp is voiced on the dark side, which you would expect from a blues oriented amp. It has a wonderful clean tone, much better than that of my Marshall JCM900 combo, and it dirty's up when the pre-amp is overdriven and the Master is cranked, although not like the infamous Marshall grind. This is a blues amp, remember, not a grunge amp. Country/Blues/Southern-rock sounds are its forte. The FAT switch works well to slightly beef up the sound, and also causes the volume to increase slightly. There is a jack, next to the speaker output jack, for a FAT-control footswitch (not included with amp). The reverb is good; you get a little hiss when it is cranked up high, but since I just add a tad, it compliments my playing style well. For 15 watts, this amp is LOUD. The Eminence 12 inch speaker seems of good quality and construction, projects well, and adds that depth and bottom end necessary for a full, rich tone (i.e, it's got BALLS !!)

Too new to tell.

5-year transferable warranty. No need for repair or support yet.

Yes, I would buy it again, and may in fact buy a second one. I like everything about this amp; size, looks, tone, volume. It's only shortcoming seems to be the lack of a power stand-by switch; it's either ON or OFF. The Operation Manual which comes with it is simple; there is nothing complicated about this amp at all. If you can't figure this amp out in 5 minutes, you should be playing a kazoo ! Just plug in, dial in your tone, and then play on, and on, and on, and on......

It doews just what it is designed for: quality, low power practice/studio work or small venue gigging (larger venue if mic'd through PA. I's a single channel, all-tube 15 Watt (EL84 Class AB bias) amp w/12" speaker. Pre-amp Vol, Master Vol, Bass, Middle Treble, and Reverb Controls. Single "Power" Switch.
I would prefer it having a Stand-by power Switch and a foot-switchable Reverb, but for the money it's great. I'll put in my own STBY switch to ease the stress on the tubes, and live with the manual reverb. fix THAT !"

Great tube sounds from country clean to mild blues overdrive. The Master Vol control allowed great volume versatility and I liked the 3-segment tone section in an amp this small. Just stick a Rat or Tube Screamer pedal in front of it and you'll have a mini-monster on your hands. I may buy another so as to run my ZOOM 3030 in stereo.

To new to tell, but Fenders typically are very reliable (then again, maybe Fender owners just treat there amps better). EL84 power ubes are held firmly in place by a metal bracket. Pre amp tubes are not. All tubes are well protected by the cabinet back panel, although extend down VERY close to the speaker magnet.

I never deal with the factory for any amp repair (who does ?). Any amp shop can fix a Fender, and should have the schematics. It's just the warranty period that counts and this is a 5-year transferrable warranty.

I played the Fender BJ, and immediately placed one on mail-order (via Music Tools) for $270 plus $20 s/h. I can't wait to have mine arrive, cause it sounds so GOOD. I went and tried an Ampeg Jet re-issue (J-12T) later in the day and, although it sounded very nice as well, decided to stay with the Blues Jr (see my review of the Ampeg.

Your basic setup here. Three tone controls gain and master volume as well as reverb. Class A so there is only one channel. It would have been nice with a FX loop. No headphone jack. Fat switch which increases the gain a little.

Very, Very nice sounding amp. Clean sounds are beautiful, clear and warm. Such a huge difference from my old amp (Fender Champion 110). Believe me when I say that this is one of the most smoothest sounding amps out there. It gives a very full sound at low and medium volumes.
The reverb is kind of noisy. I don't use the reverb at all because I have reverb on my Korg AX30G which is very quiet and gives a more versitile reverb.
I hardly use the fat switch. All it does is boost the gain a little, nothing special.
I use this amp with a mesa boogie V-twin so I could get a really fat distorted tone. I don't think over the top distortion can be achieved with the amp alone. Don't get this amp if you like heavy, heavy distortion. If you have a really good distortion pedal it will sound great, if not go buy a V-twin or something.
I use this amp with a fender standard strat with texas special pickups, this combined with the V-twin and the Korg AX30G for effects gives me so much more versitility with the tone of this amp. This amp really is a tone machine alone but when combined with a good axe and a good distortion pedal you really have a side variety of sounds.

Comes with a five year transferrable warranty. The tolex seems like it can be easily ripped off. No corner protectors either. The tubes in the back seems like they are protected nice. I'll be playing this amp in my bedroom so I don't expect the amp to break down.

The salesman told me that if I ever have problems all I have to do is take the amp to a service center with the reciept.

I would definitely buy this again.
I love the clean tone. This amp adds so much to the way my whole setup sounds. A really good tube amp can really improve a lot of things. I have used it for three days so far and I am very impressed.
The only thing I don't like is the reverb, because it is noisy. I don't use it anyway because I use it with my Korg AX30G. Very quiet when not using the reverb on the amp. You won't even know its on it's so quiet.
I didn't compare it with other amps in this category. But when compared to a cheap solid state amp like the Fender Champion 110, the Blues Junior is 20X better. So, everyone out there with a cheap solid-state, BUY THIS AMP! You will sound so much better.
I wish it had an FX loop but you can't have everything.