Fender Blues Junior

You should know the features by now. Single channel (which I like), master volume to control your gain/volume (which I like), reverb that is serviceable if dialed down (which I like), 3 tone controls (which I like). Obviously, I like the simple control system but the options it does provide.

I play Fender and Gibson guitars through Fender amps. That's my tone thing. I've gone through 3 Blues Juniors over the years. Just bought my third one. This is the type of amp that isn't necessarily your #1 thoroughbred, but it still manages to find a place in the back of the stable. It is great for what it is, IMO: a grab and go type of amp that doesn't take up a lot of a stage area but still performs. I hate when people try to compare this to other amps. It is what it is, people. Love it or hate it for that, but don't dis it for not having Marshall crunch or not being a metal amp or not have Twin Reverb cleans. Please, this is why there are other amp models out there. To please everyone's needs! The amp does old school rock and roll and blues spot on. With a few mod tweaks and maybe a speaker replacement, you can have yourself a great little boogie amp (by that, I mean boogie rock not Mesa/Boogie, just so you know). Tonewise, it'll never blow away your cranked Deluxe Reverb or an old 50s Deluxe, but jeez, what else will? Judge this little baby on its own terms and you'll be pleasantly surprised. I have been.

Not any more or any less reliable than any other amp out there on the market. Fender is a solid company. There may be a few duds that get out of the factory, but on the whole you can rely on it. Besides, any amp tech can work on them. Easy to access the board and make mods.

Never dealt with. I use a personal amp tech.

Been playing long enough to know tone and to still be searching for it. Like I said, I've had 3 of these amps in the past 15 years, so I'd say I know a little about them. It's an amp that I've had, used extensively, then sold to upgrade to a "better" amp, then gone back and bought another one. There's something about the BJ that satisfies my blues itch. I won't lie and say it's the greatest amp I ever played, but I will say honestly that I dig its tone and bottom end grit. My amp tech and I worked for 3 months on modding one to get it just right to cut through a band mix. I just bought another one to settle my jones for the BJ tone. Best part about it: When there's a jam somewhere, you can just grab it, throw it in the back of the car with your guitar and rock and roll to the gig. Plays well with pedals and that's all you can ask for. Main knock against it is IT IS A LITTLE NOISY. That's inherent in the amp and you can't really fix it. But once you play notes, you're not going to hear it at all.

I bought this amp in 2003 and at first I have to say that I didn't like the overall sound I got from it. I was playing in a high school band covering metal and I can honestly say compared to my buddy's Marshall, it sounded like shit. But as my amp and I have matured, I have realized metal is not this amp's style, it is meant for warm tone-rich blues, jazz, and with the right effects loop earth tone hendrix, 60's psychedelia.

I am using my Fender '84 American series strat with this amp, with a Dunlop crybaby, a Pro Co Rat, a Maxon OD808 Overdrive pedal and a foot-switch. Now being heavily into the blues and jazzy earth tone, it is a perfect fit. The clean channel is distorted but only at max volume. And the distortion is perfect.

I wouldn't use it in a gig without a backup, I recommend this for recording and personal enjoyment only. Small gigs are fine. Twice in the last year it has crapped out on me right before the gig then mysteriously worked after.

No comment.

Very very good amp, for personal and recording.

I bought mine from a friend that had hardly played it for $360. I think it's a 2001 or 2002 model. I use this amp mainly for gigs where space is a concern or I have to carry my gear long distances. Also if I don't want one of my more expensice amps in the weather or sight of thieves. I play blues and rock and the blues jr is pretty good at both. If you can mic it this amp will work anywhere. As far as features go, nothing impressive, but enough to manage.

I changed the speaker to the weber version of an alnico V30 and have all GT tubes. I play american strats & teles, a les paul, and a danelectro. I also use a THD hot plate. The strats and dano work well with this amp. I think it sounds best with the master all the way up and the volume dialed to your desired crunch level. I use the hot plate if I need to dial back the overall a little. I never touch the master. It's always on 12. This amp really sounds pretty damn good. It has tons of gain and is very responsive for what it is. I've gotten huge metal tones from this with my humbucker equipt tele. The cleans are good too, but not comparable to a princeton or anything. I've run it through a variety of cabs too. Sounds great into my 4x12 Marshall 1960AX.

I've toted it all over. In the cold, rain, summer heat, ect. It's always got it done. The el84's worry me on the road sometimes though.

Very solid little amp for the money. Classic fender tones all the way around. It's no Princeton, not by a long shot, but it IS loud enough to practice and gig with, and on stage it can give you the classic sounds that you need. I've actually had more musicians comment on the great tone I've got from this amp alone than when I've had my Bivalve and Marshall cab or 4x10 Deville out.

I replaced the speaker with a Celestion Vintage 30. This was the smartest thing I ever did. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! If you are looking to add a warmer, deeper, chunkier sound to this amp, then do it.
It doesn't alter the Fender clean at all, it just adds depth to it.
When you run an Ibanez tube screamer or a Marshall Guv'nor into it, it just sounds INCREDIBLE. All the distortion you ever need. Even for metal!
I have not tried the Billm mods, but I really don't want to mess with my amp by soldering and desoldering components. This was a very quick and easy replacement, but at a cost of 100 dollars, maybe too expensive for some people.

I bought my Blues Jr. in 1998, so it about 9 or 10 years old. Not too many features to write about. The fat boost switch is nice but standard. It would have been nice for a headphone jack but I can't complain. The reverb is sweet, classic fender. I really rather not have the bells and whistles for this amp. It's a good little gigging amp and great for some studio work as well.

I have several guitars an 88' Gibson LP STD, 01 Fender Special Edition Tele thinline and an Ernie Ball/MM Albert Lee. In the past, I have owned Fender Strats, a couple of Tom Anderson Cobra's, Standard Teles. They all sounded very nice through this amp. One thing I want to point out that made a HUGE difference. I replaced the tubes with Ei Tubes. Man, You could hear a substantial difference, the amp came alive. The tone is killer, the way the amp breaks up now is just incredible. Sweet mid's, crips highs. I only play clean with this amp, I don't care for the distortion and would rather push the amp a little harder to achieve it. If I need OD or distortion I'll use my pedals, i.e Pedalworx Texas Two Step, Fulltone Fat Boost, Roger Linn Adrenalinn.

It has held up well through many gigs, I usually use it as a backup for my Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr. however I often use it for a stereo effect. The tolex has manage to stay in excellent condition. The amp itself is solid. I've burned up a few tubes but thats normal.

I haven't had to use customer support. I would imagine with as many products as Fender sells it might be hard getting through, however if they have automated their call center, it might be breeze, don't know?

I've been playing for over 25 years. I've owned a JMC 800 Marshall stack, Marshall Mosfet 100, Fender 65 Twin Reissue, Fender Bassman, Peavey, and my main amp Dr. Z Maz Jr 18. This amp has been with me for over 10 years and I plan to keep it. Again, after I replaced the tubes with Ei's the thing came alive. I've actually had Musicians and band leaders request me to bring the Blues Jr. over the Dr. Z. If it were stolen I would try to find a used one. It's been a great little amp for the price!

I bag your pardon for my bed englsih, but it is necessary report my bad experience with the Blonde Blue JR. Like manny guitar player, I 'm a Fender Fan, and it was a dream buy a Fender ampli. A bought the Blonde Blue Jr in a 2004 trip to USA ( I live at Brasil ). Unfortunatly when the amp arrive in Brasil, I can observe 3 bad problems: 1) The amp goes out the factory with the reverb desconceted ( easy to resolve but shows de bad quality production ). The sistem to grip the ampli ( i dont know the word in english ), is the bad and unsecure sistem I ever seen. When I take the ampli in this vintage grip, it broke and the amp falls on the floor. Besides the bad production quality ( made in Mexico ), the sound isn't so great by the price. The ampli is very limited, there is no switch reverb, thers is only one channel, and no drive. I'm selling this and searching another ampli like Roland JAzz Chorus, or Laney Valv.

I layed for 500 people a couple of times, and after some hours started, the valves make sense and produce a great celan sound.

Fender may not obsevre just the profits, because the Mexican quality prodution pattern are very poor. My reverb was disconected and the vintage grip is a bad sistem unsecure to take the amplifier.I try to contact Fender but there was some warranty problemas, because i came from Brasil and the Equipament was buying at USA. You Know thats the global bussines.

BAd investiment. There is nothing to Leo Fender works. It its almost a Chinese equipament.

I bought this amp used, in nice cosmetic condition, but the reverb had crapped out so I got it nice and cheap from a friend. We all know the features, I don't have to go over them, I only wish it had a standby switch. As far as it being one channel, with one input, I've done an about-face over the years and don't really have the need for a multi-channel, high-gain brute of an amp anymore. My main amp is a blackface '65 Bandmaster, and the Blues Junior is a nice addition.

I can agree with other posters that the Blues Junior is a bit noisy at idle, there is a bit of 60-cycle hum that is always present, no matter what. So, even though I will probably bring this into the studio and figure out a way to deal with the hum then, I forsee this being an addition to my live rig as you don't notice the hum at all when used in a band situation, it's really not that bad. I am quite surprised by this amp's tone and volume, very impressed, actually. Very loud for a little 15-watt amp, nice, full sound, sounds great in conjunction with the Bandmaster. Not much for clean headroom, of course, it being 15-watts, breaks up a bit early. I haven't decided yet if I will change the speaker, which, although punchy, isn't that articulate at the loud stage volumes I play at. It's not that bad, it has it's own character, but by itself on stage it can mush out at loud volumes. All in all, though, this is a great amp, I really like it quite a bit, and have used it at a couple gigs now, once with my Bandmaster, where it sounded fantastic, and once by itself, where it did okay, but not spectacular. I have a feeling I will be filing another review in about six more months of usage, after I get more of a feel for the amp and how it fits into my rig. For right now I plan on using it next to my Bandmaster/4x10 cab and blend the two, and use it by itself for some of the tiny bar gigs. So, as far as sound goes, I think this is a nice little Fender with a couple issues due to cheap components, but overall it sounds very good.

The lack of a standby switch on a tube amp knocks a point off of the reliability section automatically. The tube sockets are a bit wiggly, also, and the tube cage itself can be easily moved. Knock off a couple points for that. I'll fix these little issues, not a major problem.

Been playing longer than many posters have been alive, I guess, just had my B-day, just call me 40-something. My first amp was a Peavey combo back in 1979, but have used Fenders (silverface Super Reverb, Bassman, now the blackface Bandmaster), Lab Series, tube Peaveys, rackmount stuff, Crate, Kustom, old Harmony stuff, etc. Tone is mostly in your fingers and your attack, but a tube amp always seems to complete the circuit in a manner most natural to me. I have nothing against modeling amps and good solidstate stuff, I've seen guys make Peavey Bandits sound amazing. If you can make your rig sound good, that's the point, not how much it costs or how fancy or rare your stuff is. For a weekend working warrior like myself, tone, reliability, weight and feasiblilty are key. Like another poster stated, dragging a 100-watt Marshall full stack into a 300-seat gig is becoming more and more of a rarity. If that's what you do and it works for you, more power to you. But for me, using lower wattage amps, turning them up a bit and getting them to sound big and full, then using a decent overdrive pedal is where I'm at. Anyway, we're all skronking away after that tone we hear in our heads, we just all have different ways to do it. The Blues Junior is a nice little helper for me.

Features are well documented;I like having three band EQ and master volume. I haven't used the extra speaker jack, but it's nice to know it's there. There is no effects loop, however, which is a bit of a bummer.

The stock tubes and speaker deliver a very usable sound -- and depending on what you use it for, it may be all you need. I needed it to have a tight, warm clean tone, so I put a used V30 speaker and JJ tubes for a higher output than the blue Groove Tubes. So for my purposes, stock sound is a 7, upgraded is a 9. Before mods, it had a nice clean tone with a smooth, bluesy break up with the volume cranked. With the mods I have plenty of headroom; the distortion sounds a little harder than with the other tubes, but I tend to use pedals for distortion. The characteristic "boxiness" is not an issue with the changes I made. With this set up, it is not a very "Fendery" sounding amp; the cleans are reminiscent of my brother's Mesa .22 cal. But the sound is exactly what I needed for my church amp, and I hope it will be reliable.

It's still new, and I've had no problems with it.

Stock sound is a 7, upgraded is a 9. I've been playing off and on since the 80's, and have been playing electric for a few years. My search for amp tone that I can afford has been a difficult journey, and this amp gets it done, especially with the mods. If it is a reliable amp, it will be a keeper, for sure.

Bought in Jan '08. Neede it in a pinch for a few gigs with a reggae band that sometimes delves into punk. 1 channel with a footswitchable 'fat' boost, basically a gain notch. No effects loop. Headphone option unknown. Wish it had switchable reverb, better distortion tone, or none at all. I use it everywhere I'm allowed to play. All tube design, sounds muddy on the crucnh tones, typical Fender.

I use a '95 Gibson LP Std through this thing. I knew what I was getting into when I bought this amp, it has that characteristic sweet, chimey Fender clean 'bounce' but, IMO, a God-awful distortion. I'm realizing very rapidly that Fender distortion is not Marshall, or even Crate/Peavey. I personally need an independent effect pedal in order to achieve a decent/crispy overdrive sound; in this case a Maxon SD-1. I use this in a ska/dub venture with a group of other old drunks. I'll say it again: the dist setting needs work from the outset WITHOUT MODS- but I'd rather have it like this. A neat little tube amp with great clean sounds and fartish crunch as opposed to an amp with to die for crunch sounds but horrific cleans. Fender in a nutshell. Gives me an excuse to search for a boutique dist pedal.

Yes I would use it without a backup. If it died I'd plug into the board.

I'm not sure but I can only assume it's hit or miss.

I 've been playing about 25 years, had a 'pre' run for about 5, now I just weeknd gig from time to time. I'd prob buy a Vox if it was stolen. I like its clean tone, reverb, and its size and appearance. Hate its dist tone.
Really is a great value. Like effect pedals (good ones, try non-Boss).
Wish it came with a vinyl cover, detachable power cord.

15 watts, 12 inch Eminence speaker, Standard 3-band EQ, Reverb, volume, Master volume, and Fat switch for more gain. Made in China or Korea, forget which since I didn't keep it). Knob markers are upside down - meant to be viewed from behind the cabinet. Didn't like that. Nice, vintage Fender look overall, though. Seems to be pretty well made. Its a single channel amp, unless you count the fat switch as channel 2. You can get an optional foot pedal to control that. No effects loop.

I'm a blues player and I like clean to moderately distorted tones. This amp has pretty good Fender cleans, but overdrive and distortion are terrible. I've played through cheap SS amps that have better overdrive. It also didn't take well to my pedals (Bad Monkey overdrive and Boss DS-1 distortion). Overall, this amp didn't compare well to my Vox AD30VT modeling amp, if you can believe it.

I played the amp everyday, constantly A/Bing it with the Vox. I just couldn't believe the little Vox sounded better overall. I finally returned the Blues Junior to Guitar Center after 29 days under their 30-day return policy. Its too bad, because I really wanted to like this amp (I'm a Fender fan), but after endless tweaking it became obvious that the Blues Junior just didn't cut it.

Bottom line - If all you want are clean tones, this amp is ok, but it totaly stinks in overdrive. There are better sounding and more versatile tube amps for the same price or less from competitors like Peavey and Crate. Even some SS and hybrid amps sound better.

Seemed to be well built overall, but the power tubes just hang there and easily loosen and start to come out of their sockets when you move or bump the amp around. On the other hand, you can easily change the tubes without taking anything apart.

Never needed them.

I've been playing for 5 years after a long hiatus and currenly own the Vox described above, an '87 MIJ Fender Strat and an Ibanez ARC100. I really didn't like anything about this amp other than its looks and a few clean settings.

Since returning this amp, I picked up a new Crate Palomino Series V50 212 for $399 on clearance from Guitar Center that completly blows the Blues Junior away in every respect.

Like Marshall, Fender gets a lot of mileage out of its name but its entry level products don't stand up to competitor's products in the same price range. If you're considering this amp, you need to check similarly priced tube amps from Peavy and Crate, just to mention two alternatives with better features and tone, IMO.

There is really no point in buying this amp IMO unless you just have to have the Fender nameplate. Its dissapointing to me that Fender would put their name on such mediocre product.