Fender Blues Junior

The features on this Amp. have already been described; so no need to go over that.

I'm writng a 2nd review from the previous one stated in the "triplej@india.com" I wrote in Aug.

I've since decided to sell this amp. as I feel for "live" gig situtions it's just a tad small; it tends to push the speaker when cranked with a drummer up to about 7 - 9 on the master; this forces it to break up way too much and sound rather harsh; at least for the blues rock style that I play.

I don't like using the PA to mic. it up as the venues I play in never have the time /luxury of a sound check, and there is never anyone around to run the board so the levels are never right; so I used this straight off the stage; this is where the prob. begins.

I ended up buying a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, its the big brother to this amp; and does the job for those medium sized venues w/o the need of a PA mic. so I can use it stright off the stage.

Don't get me wrong, this is a gret amp. for the bedroom and small venues; just not quite large enough for those 200 - 400 people bars w/o a PA mic.

For this I give it a 7.

No probs. here !

Never dealt w/ Fender.

The perfect amp. for the bedroom and small venues; a great tube/ bluesy sound. It lacks the guts for larger bars w/o the PA mic. Perfect for clean tones and low gain stuff; harsh when it comes to anything with any med - high gain material.

All info has been dragged out to death, so I won't bore anyone with the details here.
Mine has a nice tweed covering. Great looking little amp.
I wish it had an effects loop, but it's okay that it doesn't.
I use this amp strickly for home practice, or as a second amp for practice at home thru dual output delay unit. More than enough power for practice at home. Fun to hear two amps, the other is a Fender Deluxe.

I am using this amp stock. It is a shame that everyone needs to 'mod' the thing to death. I have found that most mods do not make the amp sound all that much better, just different. I am only tempted to change speakers, but I do that alot for fun. I do like the sound of Celestion V30's too.
Amp is not noisy. It sounds just fine for what I push through it. I play mainly rock and blues. I use an extensive pedal board set up.
The distortion is not brutal on this amp. That's good. It's fairly clean sounding, and I dirty it up at will through my board. I run the amp fairly clean.

It's a Fender. This one is dependable. It has never given me any trouble.

Never had to deal with them. I deal with the store where I purchased. They deal with Fender if need be. They say that the Fender folks are pretty reliable and pleasant to deal with.

Been playing since 1975. Own a Deluxe and a SuperSonic. All great amps. Own a Carr too, always something wrong with it. Sounds good when it's working, which is not often.
I like my Fender amps. I have owned at least 12 of them over the years. I have never had any problems. Guess I am luckier than most.
I play a Heritage H137 with dualP-90's, a very good Strat, a MusicMan AxisSuperSport, a Gibson Les Paul Jr. double cut single P90, and a home made Tele that is just awesome sounding with SD antiquities in it.
If this amp were lost or stolen? I would end up finding another. I like it's sound, size, look and portability. It's perfect for what I use it for.

I am the proud owner of an ???Acoustic Control Corporation??? 160H guitar amp???. Don???t worry, I???d never heard of them either until I discovered it (covered in dust) in a dingy old guitar shop. It???s a 1981 all valve amp and I personally have never heard an amp that has a smoother overdrive, crisper clean or sweeter reverb. If I were forced to describe it, I???d say a cross between a mesa and a fender twin. But why am I writing this???

Last year I moved to University and needed an amp to bring with me. I didn???t want to bring the ACC amp as it was too heavy, too valuable and irreplaceable. My style is very blues based ??? influences are Clapton, Gilmour, Knopfler, Stephen Stills???you get the idea! After much research (mainly harmony central!) I concluded that the Blues Junior was the way to go, along with a boss blues driver to boost the drive for the heavier stuff. I ordered online and was very excited when it arrived???

The first thing that struck me was the controls facing what I consider the ???wrong way???, in other words the knobs are dials upside down as you face the speaker. Maybe I???m missing the point, but it wasn???t a great first impression...

Now believe me, I wanted to love this amp as much as the ACC, but after many hours of playing it with my Strat, I felt somewhat disappointed. I had two big issues with it; the main one being the reverb which I felt was terrible. I couldn???t find a happy compromise ??? either you couldn???t hear the reverb at all, or it just swamped the whole sound and not in a nice way. Another problem for me was the harshness of the overdrive, with or without the blues driver. It totally lacked the ???smoothness??? that I like. After the hours of playing, I fired up the ACC and realised that it was in a different league altogether.

Having said all this, there is no question that the Blues Junior is ???good??? (the other reviews will fill you in on the good bits), but I wouldn???t say it was great. Perhaps it???s unfair to compare it with a vintage classic, but the blues junior didn???t make my strat ???come alive??? in the way the ACC does. In the end I sent the amp and boss pedal back for a refund and brought the ACC to Uni with me, the sore back is worth it!

I???m really sorry fender ??? you make great guitars but your Blues junior doesn???t quite make the grade in my books. I???m sure with some valve upgrades and other tweaks it would sound better, but I feel that after spending nearly ??400 on a 15watt amp, it shouldn???t need further attention. Finally, please bear in mind that these are only my personal opinions ??? you may love this amp, but don???t make the mistake I made of not trying one out before clicking ???BUY ???.

You know the drill on this. The only reason I don't give it a 10 here is the lack of a "standby" switch.

Beautiful for the bars I play in and the distances I travel. I place it on a bar stool for small bars { 100 - 150 people } and mic. it for med. - larger venues { 250 + }. I travel to and from gigs by bus.
I've read many reviews for mods on it; I don't get it, it's fine right outta the box; "joe beer drinking bar fly" doesn't hear the tone differences so what's the point?

No probs. as yet - had over 100 gigs to date over the past year ...

I live in Korea, is Fender even over here ?

For what I do { three piece blues / rock }, it's just what the doctor ordered ! I don't use any pedals: never have / never will w/ any amp. - use your fingers and heart !

Alright, what to say first. Well I can't really say too much, because there really aren't that many features to this amp. Which isn't really a bad thing. Volume...Gain...3 band EQ...reverb...Middle Boost (of sorts, it just adds a little spank) It was just what I was lookin' for. I'm a gigging country musician in nashville and am a Guitar player for the US Army and well, we play a lot of country tunes. It sings for classic rock and I'm convinced that you could play some heavier rock through it if you wanted. My only real complaint, is about the reverb. Its a little loose sounding to me. But that's fixable at lower levels or through a sound board.

I'm running an American Telecaster with Bill Lawrence naked singles, and it sings. It is a little bright but easily fixed with a simple EQ Pedal of your choice. I also rigged it up to run with an extension cab that I built that has an Eminence Patriot Texas Heat in it. Nothin' but beautiful sustain and country twang comin' out of this amp. I've been playin' around with my pedal board and there isn't a single thing that sounds the least bit questionable. Great Compact Gig amp.

I already use this on gigs without a backup. And all i have to say about the reliablitiy is:

"Its a Fender"

Take it for what its worth.

N/A

overall this is a great little compact gig amp. Very light and it doesn't take up much space. For the money you can't get a better amp. Like I said, the only thing is that its a little too bright. That's it.

Heavily modded. nice if it had a tremelo. Tubes just sound better.

The tone stack has been changed. all now work properly. Bias of el84s now lower and vintage 30 speaker added to a brown tolex amp.
My amp tech is great. He recommended after the mod a 12at7 in the 1st spott. I'm using 3 electroharmonics 12ax7 with good results. the el84s are jj. It could use a slightly bigger cab made of pine. Distortion is good. Clean so so. but u dont use a 15 watt amp for the cleans unless playing fairly soft.

It works bring extra tubes. Nice midranngy with vintage 30. It will do close to stevie but you need to do the mods.

I've been playing 45 year and have many or had many amps. Ive played many boutique and other amps and think with the mods this is a nice sounding amp. about a 9. Its close to a vox or matchless except for the cab.

This is basically the low down on this amp. The electronic components used are generally of secondary quality. The output transformer is the size of a peanut and the speaker is also second grade. The stock tubes flatline and leave this amp sounding dead. The tone and volume pots are flimsy and soldered onto the circuit board.

With that said....the tone you get from a stock BJ is OK. Change the tubes for some decent ones and the amp starts to sound good. The speaker doesn't do a very good job unfortunately and the sound can be harsh and muddy. Change the speaker (Vintage 30) and the improvement is substancial. Tones can still be harsh and the driving the preamp hard still has some issues. Change the inferior output transformer to something that resembles an electric component. Change the capacitors in the tone stack to get a functional EQ and the change is complete. With these changes the definition when driving the pre-amp hard is superb, fantastic handling of louder tones, mean attack and of course the clarity of the cleans is breath taking. Stock-OK Upgraded-Wow

Reliability? I don't think so. But then again, as long as you don't let heavy stuff fall on the controls, because this will break the circuit board, you should be pretty right. Unless you??re an upcoming sex pistol of course.

It's a company, I'm hoping they have customer service.

It's a good amp at the price. And when you're sick and tired of playing a good amp, you can upgrade (speaker and output transformer...the 2 most important) then you have a great amp.

I???m reviewing a BJ that I purchased new in late 2006 and have subsequently modded. I originally bought the amp because I wanted a low-wattage tube amp for home and rehearsal use. My thinking was that if I could use it at small gigs it would be a bonus. I also have a hand-made, point-to-point ???63 Vibroverb clone which is my main gigging amp. I play classic rock and R&B on an Ernie Ball/Music Man Silhouette Special with single-coils.

Well, the stock amp only made it out to 1 rehearsal. It was too thin sounding??? no depth, for lack of a better word. I also found that the overdrive was quite harsh with the pre-amp volume cranked (although I typically run my amp clean and rely on my CMATMODS Signa Drive and JAM Red Muck for overdrive/distortion).

The first mod I made was to intall an Avatar Hellatone 30 speaker (re-branded Celestion G12H). This seemed to add some fullness as the speaker is warmer and smoother, with better bottom-end than the stock Emminence.

But the amp again only made it out to 1 rehearsal as I felt it was still lacking something. I continued to use the amp at home, although the sound quality gradually deteriorated over time. As it turns out the amp was cooking the output tubes because the bias is set very hot on the stock amp.

I considered dumping the amp, but instead did some research on mods and decided to try a number of the BillM mods (lowered bias and tone-stack mods), as well as a new Mercury Magnetics output transformer. I took the amp to John Fletcher ??? a tech here in Toronto ??? and had him make the changes along with a new set of tubes (a Tung-Sol for the first 12AX7 and JJ???s in the rest of the 12AX7???s and EL84???s).

Sound quality is such a subjective thing, isn???t it? Nevertheless, the modded amp sounds significantly better to my ears. In general, the amp sounds warmer, fuller and??? ballsier.

So??? was it the BillM mods that did the trick? The output transformer? The tubes?

The tone-stack mods seem to have made the controls more effective. The amp is capable of producing more bass (limited by the size of the cabinet, of course) and I have more control over the mids.

With the pre-amp volume cranked, the overdrive is much smoother, less harsh. I???m thinking that???s the new pre-amp tubes.

According to Mercury Magnetics marketing hype, the single most important mod you can make to any amp is upgraded transformers. As I understanding it, the stock output transformer is a piece of junk, so the new one is bound to be an improvement. I???m going to attribute the ballsier sound to the transformer.

There seems to be quite a controversy over lowering the bias. All I can say is the improvement resulting from the other mods overshadows any possible negative impact and the EL84???s should last a lot longer!

Finally, although it never bothered me, the stock BJ had a fair amount of hum. The hum is significantly reduced since the mods.

I guess that I could have done all the mods separately to assess the impact of each, but I have neither the time nor the inclination. I just wanted a usable amp and that???s what I???ve got!

I???m really enjoying the amp at home and it has made it out to both rehearsals since being modded. Will it replace the Vibroverb at gigs? Probably not, although I may use it at our next gig, which is a small, 100 seat venue. The fact that I???m even considering using the BJ over the Vibroverb says something (possibly, that I???m crazy!).

The stock amp cooked tubes pretty quickly, but no problems other than that. I???ve recently had the mods done, so it???s too soon to comment on reliability, although John Fletcher???s work is top-notch!

I???ve never dealt with Fender, so I can???t comment. On the other hand, John Fletcher is great and I highly recommend him. You can get in touch with him through the Twelfth Fret in Toronto.

I can???t give the modded BJ a 10, but it???s a solid 8, which is a vast improvement over the stock amp.

15 watts made in Mexico. I had mine modded by The Ampsmith. Enough power for anywhere I play. I always leave the fat boost on.

It sounds great with a strat but with an es-335 gibson it sounds great. Very grindy. I tried lots of speakers but settled on a celestion vintage 30 (60 Watts). I tried alnico blue, a couple of different jensens and a webber 30 watt pre-rola ceramic 12 and like the vintage 30 best. There is a mid hump but I like it that way. Great for bluesy grindy fedbacky psychodelic stuff. Lots of grind and shimmer. My tech biased the tubes cooler. JJ el84s. He put in a 12 at7 inverter but it sounds good with 3 12ax7 electro harmonic tubes as well. I tried new old stock 12 ax7s and 12 ay7 and the eh 12ax7's sound just as good and they are newer. My tech converted the t,m,b so they are all completely controlable. He did something else that I am unsure of but it sounds great.

Bring extra tubes. No problems only been converted for a month or two.

I take it to the Ampsmith and he makes it sound better than stock. I have 10 amps this one is the one I take usually to a gig. I replaced the reverb with a ruby tank but went back to the original as it was to fendery and with high gain it was too much reverb. The ruby is good if you play clean with a typical fendr sound. I don't generally play too clean.

I've been playing 45 years. I have played a lot of amps. This is up with the best for sound maybe not quality. It is not point to point or hand wired. The potentiameters seem flimsy as does the input jack. Other then that it is a great grab and go amp. You dont even need overdrive pedals.

The features are all fender like really good for clean bluesy sounds.

The sound quality is really good.The sound that comes out is crystal clear (you don't have any distortion options anyway..).Even if you you want to use it together with some pedals for a heavier sound, it works cause the core of this amp is clarity...So i would suggest to try it together with some effects etc and see how it sounds.
I bought it for a practice amp but as it turned out, its power is enough for small performances.

I play 6 months already so far so good.The amp seems pretty solid together with the knobs.The only thing worth mentioning is that the 3 preamp tubes don't seem to have something to hold them in position so its better to take them off in case of carrying.

Didn't need them so far

I currently own an Epiphone LP custom and a modified Yamaha Pacifica.
If it was stolen i would instantly buy the same fantastic amp.
I just love the bluesy and clear sound that comes out of this amp.

I bought the amp in 2004 or 2005, I can't remember, and I bought it new, so It was probably made in 2004-2005. It is a really nice amp, for playing classic rock. But it's deffinatly not a metal amp. I play anything from blues, to heavy metal, and everything in between. Its an amazing blues amp, but it can't handle the higher gains...
I do wish it had a channel that would allow for high gains, but I doesn't... The reverb is great though.

I run either my Mexi strat or my Epi Les Paul Custom through, after a string of distortion and effects pedals, and it sounds ok.
the clean tones are great, its good for balads and blues, and soft rock. Buuut, thats not me. The amp itself is not noisy, but when you run a boss metal zone... it is noisy, so I also run a noise suppressor.
I run the master volume all the way up, fat switch engaged, and use the gain volume for my volume, as that doesn't distort it as much. If the amp is distorting, it wrecks the distortion from the effects string.
and the distortion from this amp couldn't kill a flea... you could deaffen it with the volume though...

Very. Very. dependable amp. I've used it in every gig for the last 3 years my band has played, with out backup. the only thing is, the reverb box has broken 2 times. soldier failour, the second time i never got it fixed... but i have dropped this amp several times, and it hasn't failed...

havn't dealt with fender...

Ive been playing almost 6 years, its been my only amp, and I'm looking into a marshall for my main amp. this will be my practice amp after that... If it were stolen... I would be mad, but I wouldn't buy another one...

Bought used with serial number removed so I can only date is a post 2003 model by the PCB. All the specs are well known to you readers. It has everything i could wish for save for maybe a standby switch. I play light and classic sounding indie rock with my 4 piece band. Mostly clean with a little saturation.

Ok, here is the thing: I am obsessed with this little amp. Ive been stalking them for several years but feared the low wattage. I love the small package and overall aesthetic. I finally bought one to take with me overseas and it sounded great off the bat. But, I have a HRD with Celestion Vint. 30 and had to try the same in my BJr. Of course, it improved the clarity and dynamics. Finally, I did the BillM TwinStack mod this afternoon. It now sounds like a dream. There's a touch too much hum with the strat single coils but overall worth it. Im curious to play with the band now. The Celestion boosted the volume a touch I think.

Not sure yet. It handled the mod just fine and seems like a solid little guy. Id rather P2P wiring but what can you do?

Not tried yet.

I give it a 9. I just cant get over the tone and surprising loud volume. Im taking a risk bringing this to Europe but if it performs well it will be my go to amp.

This is a 2008 model MIM. I am a drummer and a "strummer". I have several guitars and also a Dean Markley CD60 amp. I wanted something more portable and light weight than the DM when I go and jam with friends amd this fits the bill perfectly! My main styles are blues and rock covers - 60's to 80's/
Single channel' FAT switch etc etc.
I don't wish it had any other features because if I wanted more I would have bought something else. I did a great deal of research on this amp before I decided to go ahead and purchase it. I read the Blues Junior Mafia forum on the FDP site as well as reviews here. I tried the amp about six times at different music shops and decided to go ahead and buy it. I insisted on a BNIB model rather than one off the floor.

As I said I own several guitars. My main guitar is a self built custom strat with Lace Sensors - red dually in the bridge, a silver in the middle and a blue at the neck. I can get some awesome tones out the amp using this guitar. I play mainly rhythmn and the amp handles it very well. When I play a (basic)lead break it has the guts to cut through. I use a variety of settings depending on wht I'm playing but normally Reverb- 1, Treble- 5, Mid - 4, Bass- 6, Volume- 5 and Master- 8. I control the volume with the guitar knob.The fat switch is great when on and give the amp just that more bite. I didn't buy the optional footswitch and I usually have it off and use an MI Audio Blues Pro pedal and a Boss CE2 chorus. I just want it simple!

I have owned this amp for only 3 weeks so can't really comment.I would(when I'm capable)use it at a gig as it s bloody loud and would mike it up if needed.

I spoke to a guy at Fender Australia last week and he was extremely helpful. I was asking about mods and speaker replacement. I decided that as Fender have been building amps for what 50 years?? surely by now they would know what they doing. I may replace the speaker for a Celestion vintage 30 and JJ Tesla tubes but at this stage why bother. It has a 5 year warranty which is pretty good these days.

I have been playing or struuming guitar for about 40 years and have finally at 57 gotten serious! I'm sick of lugging my drum kit around:o)
I own a custom built strat, a Genesys Dot copy,2000 American series Strat, Maton Flamingo, MIM 1993 Strat, Maton EM 225C. As I said earlier my other amp is a Dean Markley CD60 and this compares extremely well with that .
If it were stolen I would buy another. Portable, light, loud and a good amp! Want more features? Get a different amp!! Mods? - Can't see/hear the point other than MAYBE the tubes and speakers. I wonder about those guys on the FDP forum.However Billm as he's known is very helpful.I asked him a few questions and his response was quick. I've read what he can do to possibly improve this amp but for me at this point in time ... all is well!

Early 2000's edition... All tube... "12 Fender Loud Speaker... Reverb... Black Tolex & Silver Grill mesh... 15 watts... Blah, Blah, Blah...

Simple...

Straight forward...

I've played it with a variety... From Peavey's to Gibson's... Obviously, the better the guitar, the better the sound... But it's excellent... You can tell its tube... Warm... Nice natural over drive... IT's as noisy as any other tube I've played... Not much variety in sound... It's a Fender... You get nice clean tones, to shimmery to slight over drive... When you start to push? It pushes back... Resistant to being completely overdriven... (It's neither good now bad... It's a Fender...) Keep the drive down and use a Big Muff Pi or Tube Screamer to crank it... (Had to get a MArshall for my dirtier sounds...)

Reverbs nothing to write home about...

Very dependable... Heavy sucker though... After a a few weeks of use some of the Tolex near the tubes started to peel back... I had to glue it back and tape it down with aluminum tape... Other than that? The fit and finish is solid... Knobs, inputs and switches as solid... Graphics and name plate solid as well...

Never dealt with the company... After about 7-8 years its still thumping strong...

Been playing about 10 years...

Currently...

I have a completely moded Epiphone Dot, Schecter Hellraiser, Guild Cherrywood Acoustic...

A selection of MXR, Dunlop & EHX Pedals...

Fender Blues Jr., Marshall MG100 Half-Stack, Silvertone 10 watt practice...

If it were lost I would def get another... It's quite handy, and very very loud... Good for clean tones, or when I don't feel like moving the massive half stack...

My amp is a tweed 1995 Made in USA Blues Junior. It is still stock with the original Eminence speaker and green circuit board. I believe the later Blues Juniors have a cream circuit board that makes the overall sound quite a bit brighter. The amp features have been listed by other reviewers so I won't go into them in detail. Without any pedals in front of it the Blues Junior is a one trick pony - it does a great LOUD clean for 15 watts and that's about it. Hence the 6 for features. I bought the amp for home use but have gigged with it for the last 10 years as it is so easy to transport.

I have 2 Strats (a US Strat Plus and early 80's Jap JV), a G&L ASAT semihollow, and a Washburn J9 Jazz guitar. I play mainly indie pop rock and some fingerstyle jazz. The amp has a fairly dark, mid-rangey sound with all the tone controls set at 12 o'clock. I find that this darker voicing really suits brighter guitars like strats and tele's as it helps smooth off the naturally hyped top end. My J9's humbuckers sound like mud without some creative EQ and the extended bottom end of this guitar makes the cabinet rattle at certain frequencies. I've tried out the later Blues Juniors but I don't like their sound at all. IMHO they are far too bright and lack depth or body. I'd call them pokey. I much prefer the darker sound of my green circuit board model.

When the mid tone control is rolled back to 3 and the bass and treble are turned up to 8 or 9 some classic Fender clean tones start to emerge from the mid range fog. I leave the tone controls set around this region. The fat switch introduces a further layer of mid range mud and I never use it. The amp's natural overdrive is nothing to rave about. I try to keep the amp clean and use a Boss OD-1 for overdrive or my DG Stomp modelling amp for anything heavier. The Blues Junior loves pedals. Even using a simple boost pedal pushes the tubes a little bit harder and give more warmth and body to the tone. The original Groovetubes tubes did nothing for the amp and I replaced them with a matched set of JJ Tesla's from Bob at Eurotubes.com. I highly recommend these tubes for squeezing every last drop of sweetness from the amp. The reverb on these early Jnrs is, ummm, bad. It is noisy and the reverb quality is average at best. I never use it. The sound quality is 7 with the JJ tubes in, 5 without. For the record the sound of a Vox AC30 comes close to a 10 for me.

The gain volume pot has never been right from new. Not much happens until you reach 4 and then it springs to life at a fairly ear splitting volume. The input jacks are poorly constructed and are evil to replace. I've been through 2 even though I'm gentle with my gear.

Other than that the amp has been very reliable. It's been gigged in some pretty extreme temperature/humidity environments and has never complained once.

Fender Australia are a waste of time. Send them a question and you won't hear a thing. Their website has a disclaimer directing people with complaints or questions to a Fender dealer. I prefer to cut out the middle man and buy any Fender stuff directly from the US over the net.

I've been playing for 30 years, but I started when I was 5 so I'm not THAT old (yet) :-) I have a Roland Cube 30 as my other amp at home and I really like it for clean tones. My J9 Jazz guitar loves that amp. The Cube 30 can pull off a sound very similar to the Blues Jnr at a fraction of the cost, but it won't go as loud as the Blues Jnr.

If my Blues Jnr was stolen I'd probably go looking in the Vox or even Laney direction for another low wattage amp. I tried a Laney VC15 a while back and it had beautiful chiming cleans and the kind of valve break up I wish the Blues Jnr had on board.

I got one of the pre-2001 amps. Appearantly there were some changes made to the reverb section.

15 watts all tube
preamp: 3 x 12AX7
power: dual EL84
12 inch speaker

there are two volume controls, one for the preamp and the master vol for the power section

It's pretty cut and dry. no distortion or overdrive channel. it has a fat switch, I think most people just leave it engaged. No effects loop either, however it takes the whole pedal chain really well before the amp input.

I'm using a mex strat with Dragonfire pickups in the neck and bridge and a DiMarzio Blue Velvet in the middle.

From the guitar straight into the amp it sounds great. it has a really nice soft clean fender tube tone that's well compressed, but not quite as poppy (responsive) as the older fender amps. For amps of this size the only one I usually compare it to is the Peavey Classic 30. I think that on clean, this one cut through a little stronger than the Peavey. To beat this one out on tone you'd have to venture up into the thousand dollar price tags.

Again there's no onboard drive channel, but it really processes preamps well. I currently use a Nady TD-1 for my distortion and a Boss SD-1 for overdrive boost. Like all tube amps, it sounds great with the tubescreamer type overdrives. My favorite to play with is the Chandler tube driver. They sound great together, especially if you're into that Eric Johnson tone. I've always thought that a good base for using well controlled distortion and overdrive is a clean fender

I had a power tube fail on me once, but that was with the stock Groove tubes. I never really liked groove tubes, so I got some Sovteks which supposedly are from the same factory. I felt like there was a noticably better difference between the two and I haven't had any tube problems since.

Fender will be around forever they got really good warrantees too. I think I got mine with 5 year warrantee. I think they're about as good as you're gonna get

The value of this amp has carried over the last 14 years or so. I think I got mine when it was selling for about $250 back in 1997. Since then it's been steadily rising and I've seen more of them up on stage at big concerts.

I seem to have outgrown the desire to have a fullstack behind me on stage, now I usually put this amp in front of me and mic it through the PA mix. That's pretty much how they usually work it even if you got a monster set.

This is by far the best tube amp tone for the money out there.

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.

Clean and overdrive channel. Fairly straight forward 40 watt tube amp. Hard to see the controls with the chrome panel, but I don't do very much changing when I'm playing so that's no problem for me.

I had the stock speaker changed out to a Weber California. For my taste the stock speaker was a too thin for me. I like a more of a bottom end.

I've had the amp for over a year. When I had the speaker changed the repair person let me know that one of the tubes wasn't fully functioning. Other then that no problems.

No contact with customer support.

I use a Gibson 335 Dot Reissue and Gibson Les Paul, so I'm looking for a very old style sound with a lot of bottom end. I use a Keely Mod Blues Driver pedal for overdrive. The overdrive channel requires a lot of volume to get a full overdrive sound. As I'm sure you've read, the amp is very loud. Much more then I expected, but I had played solid state amps before. The overall sound is great, just have to get the volume up a bit to get the amp "in the zone".

Straight forward. No frills. Just what I was looking for.

Using a Gibson 335 Dot Reissue and a Gibson Les Paul. Plenty loud for a jazz trio or quartet for a jazz club. Gets a great clean sound, great range from top to bottom. Reverb is very full. For overdrive I use Keely Mod Blues Driver, which the amp responds to very well. I thought I might have to switch out the stock speaker but it sounds very good.

I bought it used about 9 mos ago and haven't had any problems with it.

No contact with customer service.

I very happy with this amp. I play in situations that require both a clean and overdrive sound and this amp can handle both quite well. I bought this amp because my Blues Deluxe Reissue was too loud for smaller club situations. I would recommend this amp for anyone wanting a very nice tube amp sound.

Simple, Straightforward, and Kick-ass..Just a single channel, but I put a tube screamer in front of it for distortion. It is light and LOUD. Mine is 2006 I think..I bought it new for around $400.

I play a Les Paul BFG, and a Mexican Fender Toronado..The Junior seems to really like the P-90 on the Gibson..The fatness of the pickup and the clean channel seem to like each other. Don't even dream about getting a big overdrive out of this thing..It is a Fender after all..Just use your distortion pedal dujour and you are good to go..

Very Reliable..Over the last two years that is..

Have not had any contact with customer support at all..The 5 year warranty is nice though.

I've been playing for around 35 years..I have a Line 6 Flextone II, a '59 Gibson GA-8 amp, A SWR STRawberry Blonde Acoustic Amp, and a '67 Fender Blackface Bassman with a 2X12 Cab..If I were to add one thing to this nice little amp, (I am nitpicking here) I would want an overdrive channel..I miss my old Peavey Classic 50 sometimes. It weighed a ton though.

Don't know what he/she is smoking but it must be high powered stuff! I refer to the review (?) by Felix the Cat, below. Duuude, get a grip! LMAO!
Okay on the Blues Junior or "BJ" as they say. Features are pretty simple, decent in all respects without any of the BS, which isn't necessary anyway. The cabinet is cool, the speaker is average but nice and the controls are simple. Good sounding Reverb and I think EVERYONE who plays through this has the fat switch on all the time. I must be the last person on earth who finally bought one of these. Doesn't everyone have one? LOL...

Les Paul--->MXR Distortion 3--->Boss Metal Zone--->Blues Junior. I play blues, rock and a few lightweight Metal selections from Van Halen, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, etc. I use the metal zone for heavy crunch and keep the distortion on zero. The MXR is where I get my solo tone and I use it to boost the metal zone too. Using these pedals with the Blues Junior is a breeze and its very easy to get good tone from this amp whether you use pedals or just go straight in. With the metal zone pushed up the Blues Junior produces harmonics at a ridiculous level. On its own the amp wont take you to to metal but its called a BLUES Junior, aint it? I've never played it underwater or in a parallel universe like Felix the Cat but it sounds pretty damned good in this universe! LOL

Be nice to the amp and the amp will be nice to you.

I played on and off in the 70s and 80s. I started playing for a few bands up in the 90s and have been playing shows since then. This amp works really good miked up through the PA or even as a monitor for the stage. I own a few other amps too, that I use for bigger shows that require more power but I always bring this one and have it going nearby to where I stand on stage. This is the perfect little amp for jams, for small coffeehouses or church worship bands. Hey its my favorite amp in my collection and I would buy another one. Yo Felix, good luck with that underwater gig. LOL

Its a simple amp, just the way i like them. the master volume switch is amazing for practicing at home. volume up, master down, and this thing has decent tone at an acceptable volume. By my standards, it does everything i need it to, so it gets a 10

I hate the sound of this amp. All i can hear is mud, mud and more mud. When i buy an amp, i expect to have to tube and re-bias. when i cant hear individual notes in a chord after all that, im pissed. The cleans are very nice but that doesnt compensate for this much suckage. For the price i could have done alot better.

seems reliable enough, though the reverb sucks fat balls

hahaha. talk to fender. surely you jest.

this amp way overpriced. if i was going to have to get it super modded and get a new speaker just to make it passable, then this thing should have been selling for 15$ initially.

Made in Mexico, bought brand new. Single channel, no effect loop, no headphone jack. It has a speaker out on the back that you can use for the speaker inside or for an external cabinet if you feel so inclined. It is certainly powerful enough for anything but maybe an arena, because any place larger than a bar is going to mike your amp no matter what it is, and they only mic one speaker, so in my opinion, it's best to get a small combo like this one instead of a stack. Don't get a stack just because everyone else has one. It's just stack envy. It's also great for recording. I'm giving it a 7 in this category because it has individual preamp (marked "Volume") and power amp (marked "Master") volumes, so you can get tube breakup at lower volumes if you need to. Lord knows it's better than using a DeVille's or a Deluxe's drive channel (yuck!).

I've got a '72 Reissue Thinline Telecaster (it's got humbuckers) with 500k pots (it comes stock with 250k pots, I've no idea why) and a frankenStrat with a stacked neck pickup (sounds great). I replaced the speaker in my Blues Jr. with a Weber Ceramic Blue Dog (only $100!). It's a Greenback copy, but greenbacks nowadays are made in China, while Webers are made right here in the USA. Bottom line: it's a hair better than a greenback. The EQ knobs are a little less responsive than I'd prefer, but you can shape most any tone with this thing, despite that. With the stock speaker, this amp is sort of lackluster. I put the Weber in, though, and it has this fat clean sound, but this kind of cool compressed dirty sound when I turn the preamp up. It's very harmonically rich. I've A/B'd my amp with a stock Blues Jr. (boring), a Blues Jr. with an Eminence Texas Heat (mushy) and one with a Jensen C12Q (too mid-y). Mine is hands down the best. This is my opinion and the opinion of the guy who owned the three Blues Jrs. I A/B'd them with! The Weber speaker also makes it take pedals better.

I can and have used this amp for jazz, blues, country, rock, folk, indie, and yes, even a few types of metal. It delivers.

I think I might do a full retube from Eurotubes. You can order colder tubes, which I think would be better, because the Blues Jr. is fixed bias, and the tubes run kind of hot as it is.

So far so good. Again, it's made in Mexico, so quality control suffers a bit, but it seems to be a workhorse. I've never heard complaints from many other guys I know with Blues Jrs. I did opt to buy it new (even though I'm an avid Craigslister) so I could get the 5-year warranty.

Only time I dealt with Fender is when I asked them if replacing the speaker would void the warranty. Answer: it will not! They were helpful and speedy, so I'll give them a 10.

Pretty solid amp stock, great amp with the new speaker. I'd buy one again if it were stolen, after about a month of crying.

The price paid is the amount the amp, speaker and speaker installation cost me.

Full suite of controls for editing, selecting warp drive factors, bending light and dark matter plus a pre-wired frontal lobotomy dial to remove one's own frontal lobes. Just plug it in and enjoy the inter dimensional aspects of this all tube design. Spark it up, Sparky!

I'm using this with a plastic guitar that I originally bought for my 3-year old daughter Jenny. Once I realized that Hasbro had actually crafted an instrument in the same league as the big guitar manufacturers, I was determined to find an amp worth of the Hasbro "Guitar Hero" model guitar.
Enter the Fender Blues Junior. For starters, the Hasbro's clear nylon strings vibrate and oscillate in perfect harmony with the BJr. So much so that I dialed my pals, Malmstein, Clapton, Satriani and Vai, and said. "Boys! You have GOT to check out this amp!" They had never heard of Fender, but they all had recently replaced all of their guitars with a single Hasbro Guitar Hero! Amazing tone! Ingwie had a pink one with my little pony prints on it. Clapton's had the blue top with the bubbles, as did Stevie Vai. Satch's was custom made for him-all chrome. Fantastic!
Back to the amp: I plugged in the Hasbro and sparked up the BJr. Upon hitting the first note of Flight of the Bumblebee (1/2048th notes) my front door crashed down and hundreds of the world's most beautiful supermodels streamed through the doorway screaming in one chorus: "I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU! I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABIES!! MAKE LOVE TO ME NOW!!!" Wow, I was really surprised. That's how good this amp sounds.

Just to be sure, I had the US Army drive 100 Abrahms M2A Tanks over the amp. Then each tank took turns firing either HE or Sabot rounds at it from a distance of 1 nanometer. Not a scratch on the amp! Wow! This Fender company is good, very good! I never heard of them before but hey, they're rather obscure in the amp business, ya think? I would trust this amp even if the gig was underwater-in the Marianna trench. I will take it with me when I gig in other dimensions or different planets too.

I called Joe Fender and he answered personally. That's good service. I told him that I needed to pay off the national debt so he sent me the cash. Look for the story on CNN: "Fender guitar amp owner pays off 53 trillion in US Treasury debt! Wall street reacts by sending the DOW to 100,000!" No really, this WILL happen. Joe Fender is the greatest.

As an intergalactic phase reversal device it is absolutely un-paralled. Right?

I have had this amp for just over a year now and it is the best "gear" decision I have ever made. I think the features have been covered many times over on this page , so I'll skip them and get on with it. It's dead straight forward. For me this is perfect. An entirely simple set up.

I use an American Standard Stratocater (R/W) and a 60's Classic Tele as back up. They both sound brilliant through this box, although I have never tried anything else other than the Fenders. I use it completely stock, although I see a lot of people have modded theirs. I see no reason - personally - why I should do that, as this amp sounds incredible as it is to me.

For my preference, I keep the fat switch depressed all the time and have the bass set fairly high (10-12) the treble and middle at 12 o clock, and reverb at around 3 to 4. I set the master at full and use the volume to to suit whatever venue; usually no more than 5!! I also use a Fulltone Fat Boost for solos and a Fulltone Supa Trem for extra depth when required.

I use this amp for all my gigs, period - we play bars and fuctions. Anything we get offered. During the summer we played 2 outdoor gigs and this amp was more than capable of holding its own. We miked it to PA as it was a huge affair, but the sound on stage was perfectly adequate, in fact, more than. This amp can actually be too loud in some settings, in the wrong hands of course.

I work in a semi-pro 6 peice band, playing a range of hits from the 1950's & 1960's - Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Otis and Wilson Pickett, through to The Beatles and The Stones. It suits that fine.

What I had originally wanted was a combination of great tone and portability. Well, I got it and have never looked back. I have been told that I may never ever get rid of this amp, whatever comes out!!

Up until now there has been no problems at all. But it is my first tube amp in 25 years of playing, so we'll see. I see no reason for it to fail, however. I treat it with respect and it performs perfectly.

I have never had to deal with Fender. I would just go back to the store I bought it from if I need repairs or advice.

Playing, as I said, for 25 years. Mostly Rock n Roll, blues and 60's soul. I own a Tele and a Strat, and have a hankering for a Rickenbacker 620 when the funds allow!

I would certainly buy another if it were lost or stolen.

What do I love about it? Just it's size and tone, portability. Oh, and it looks nice on stage!

Very cool little amp. 15 watts of tube power, plenty loud, nice compact size, reverb, relatively cheap. Sweet, simple.

One of Fender's best efforts. Humbuckers sound fat and meaty, single coils edgy and twangy. IMHO distortion/overdrive pedals are unnecessary. This thing has a nice growl and scream of its own. Don't strangle it with effects, let it breathe.

The footswitch stopped working. Not a big deal. No other problems in 5 years. Always take a back up to a gig.

Never dealt with them.

Have owed tons of equipment over the past 30 years. This is one amp I would replace literally the next day if it were stolen. One of the best Fender has made in a long time.

Realistically this amp is a "6" or "7" when it comes to features, it is a single channel amp with limited gain. It does not have the "bells and whistles": effects loop, headphone jack, high gain, voicing switches etc. Truth be told it does not need the "bells and whistles" and is one of all time great amps, I highly reccomend it.

Simply this is a great amp, it can compete with amps two or three times its price. I play a strat and a late '70's Ibanez. I use a "tone-bone" for the gritty stuff. The sounds that come out of this amp are sweet. It is "voiced" just right and it is not hard to get a good sound. I had heard that the stock speaker is a bit on the bland side with this in mine I installed a Celestion Vintage 30. It makes a noticable improvement with both clean and dirty tones. The Celestion has a more clear sound in the upper register, clean blues with the neck pick-up on my strat sound clean and strong, 80's metal with my Ibanez sounds convincing. I am impressed with this amp - like I said you can pay twice as much and have nowhere near the clean sound this blues junior has.

Never any problems, mine is a 2003, I bought it used in '06 and have used it quite a bit. I do not gig but I do crank it in the basement. I have heard that they can not sustain exteneded high volume usage - I have had zero problems.

Never called them

Newer one...probably made in 2005 or so. Master volume, single channel with spring reverb. Eminence speaker. Nice black tolex cabinet covering. Lightweight and easy to carry around. Fat switch adds some gain and fatness (Duh, what else?)
Good EQ section. EL 84 duet. Three 12ax7 pre amp tubes. Well built (I hope!). Hencho en Mexico, amigos.

This is a terrific sounding little amp with the perfect amount of power and volume for me.
I liked this amp right away after demoing it. and so I bought it. Frankly, I can't imagine what's not to like on this little amp, assuming players look at it because it is a Fender with the Fender sound.
I installed a Weber #4 Beam Blocker (18 bucks) to compensate for the small cabinet but I kept the amp dead stock, otherwise. I'm using it for a coffeehouse gig I play regularly. It's small, sounds really good and nails the low gain Fender charm, which is what i was looking for. No need to mod it with new tubes and /or a new speaker, IMHO.
I play a Gibson Les Paul with 490R and 498T pickups or an Ibanez SA 160 (HSS) Fat Strat. The character of both guitars shines through the Blues Junior. Great 3D tone with the Beam Blocker installed. I use a Metal zone for a smooth, crunchy, rich sounding drive tone. The Metal Zone's gain is set to a hair's breadth above zero. Sounds great with the Blues Jr. Just step on the FAT switch for solos. Easy. Overall great sound in a compact package. It can easily cover my requirements in a small coffee shop / bookstore setting. Ikeep the Master volume dimed and the gain below 7.
Can't recommend the Weber Beam Blocker enough. It disperses the speaker's output and totally smooths out the way the high frequencies project. The amp just sounds bigger and more Fender-like with this simple, inexpensive device installed. Don't waste your dough...get a Weber Beam Blocker for your Blues Jr. before spending one cent on anything else. The Beam Blocker was made for this amp!
Overall I rate the Blues Jr pretty high for its out-of-the-box sound. Any deficiencies are cured with a 20 dollar investment in a Beam Blocker. Works for me.
No. I don't work for Weber! LOL

Time will tell.

I don't buy amps so I can drop another 100-200 bucks to "make it ALMOST boutique" sounding. To me that's just plain stupid. If you want a boutique amp, spend the dough and buy one. Assembly line amps like the Blues Junior are never going to match up to a hand built, point to point amp built by some amp building Einstein using the finest components available, no matter what speaker or tube set or Bill M mod you toss into it. Don't buy an amp that doesn't sound good to your ears. It's that simple.
On the other hand, buying the Blues Jr. is a no brainer. It has got to be Fender's best selling amp of all time. I bought mine used for a good price and I'm very happy with it. I think they are way overpriced but people seem willing to pay the big money to buy them so they are obviously people pleasers. I would buy it again (used) if it were lost or stolen.

see the dtails left bu other posters all I'll say is all this needs to be perfect is a standby switch. The Fat swithch is a HUGE plus

This is a great puchy little amp with the clean Fender tone most of us have come to LOVE over the years. The Fats switch gives me all the tone I can use for houshold settings. I had a Deville 4X10 buy i could never get the volume over 2 witout the police comming over. This is the best Tube amp for the money with the best tone bar none!!If you've got a Start ot a Tele and don't own one of these you don't know what your missing!!!!

Never had a problem. owned it for 8 years without any difficulties. change your tubes evry 2 years for the best sound...Normal maintinence and this amp is bullet-proof!

I won't comment and really get anoyed at reading I heard there this so...or I read that....if you don't know...don't anwser!!

This is the best little tube amp available at any price...blows a peavy or Blackheart or even a Traynor out of the water without even trying. The Fat switch adds versatility that most tube amps only dream of. I don't think (IMHO) there is a better 15 watt tube amp available and I'll include Vox when I say that (way too chimey and jangly and shrill for my tastes). This amp was made for Strats and Teles and is the best house amp money can by.In my opinion it gets a 10

Pretty good features for a tube amp this size. Basically the "fat" switch, master volume and reverb above and beyond the standard knobs. I don't care for the fat switch personally, but I can see how some players would find it very useful, particularly during live performances or just for higher gain. I think mine is one of the earlier versions of the newer board, MIM. The inards look very nice and well put together, but the speaker is sub-par, and the tubes are low quality.

I use Strats, Teles, LPs, and a Dano, and play mostly blues, with a little jazz and rock. I use the Blues Jr. mainly for recording, but I take it to practices, and some gigs when I need a particularly small or extra portable setup, and mic it. I play 60% slide in open tunings and the rest in standard. I think if you want the most from this amp, you've got to replace the speaker. I went through several and found that a Vox like speaker works the best for me. I'm currently usin' a Weber ceramic blue dog and I really like it. The AlNiCo Blues prolly sound pretty good too, but all the AlNiCo speakers I tried barely fit. I also replaced the tubes, which made a favorable difference. The reverb is what you'd expect with the short tank and solid state drive. I don't use the master volume at all. The Blues Jr. sounds pretty sweet through a 4x12 cab too.

I've put mine through it's paces and it's doin' fine. However, the EL84's always worry me if it's the only amp I've got. I keep mine swapped out regularly though.

I say 8 considering the price for what you get. If you factor in the parts you need to replace you still come out ahead of most everything else. I don't think the Blues Jr. is ever gona sound "great" in the big scheme of things, but with a new speaker it's certainly good enough to hold it's own. It's loud enough for small gigs and I've found it's tones very useful in the studio.

Very limited with the features if you compare to some competitors... But have exactly what I needed. I ran a pedal board for FX...This is OK with me. Won't explain the features, since I'm the 500 and something to talk about that amp. It's a 2007 made in Mexico, and it's find with me. Bought new in my area Music store.

I'm playing 3 guitars. A 2000 Gibson Les Paul Standard, a 2007 Standard Telecaster and a 2006 Epi Les Paul Ultra. Mainly the Gibson of course, and this little amp makes that guitar sounds great. I'm gigging with it (mic ) but even not mic, this amp is surprisingly loud by itself to play in a night club. Nothing to complaint yet about knobs, pots or speaker. When you need clean...you can have very clean...You need distorsion...you can easily get distorsion, just by turning the volume and the Master opposite ways. Can't be easier to settle. No noise comes out of it..even with my "single coil" telecaster. This is not a "brute" amp. It's a Fender after all, and this is not a machine for Metal. I'm playing in a cover band, Classic rock, rock and ballads and it suited all of those.

It feels reliable. It's Fender...should be good. Always carrying a back up and a full set of spare tubes, but it's just to avoid problems...

Prefer not to talk about service from Fender with Canadians..it's a joke :-(

Playing for over 40 years in a multitude of bands with so many guitars and amps, it would take a few pages to enumerate...I'm suffering of G.A.S. once in a while :-)
I have 4 amps. This Blues Jr just replace a Marhall Valvestate AVT50 as my main amp. I also have a Roland cube 30 to practice at home and an old Beckemer ( made in Quebec ) just collecting dust in my studio. I really needed a tube amp to perform, but every time I bought one, they were to "loud". We really don't need a lot of watt anymore, like it use to be in old time. Playing mic, makes everything easier, and that little bastard is so loud, but just at a point it will cut nicely because you are using most of his 15 watts instead of playing at a low volume with a higher wattage amp. Before I bought it, I test drove a Peavey Classic 30, Crate v18 and v33...and that little fender came over anything else for my needs. If it get stolen...I'll run to buy another one.

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.

1995 Tweed made in USA. Very versatile from smokey blues to jazz, country, pop. Sounds great even with my acoustic plugged.

Warm Warm Waaaarm. It beats most of the boutique amps I've played, and I've tried a lot.

No issues yet, seems trustworthy

No need to deal with Fender.

Been playing about fifteen years. Perfect companion for my LP, Tele, ES-335 and other guitars. Great little tubey. Beats overhyped amps like Deluxe Reverb and co

It has a speaker and a cabinet and a cord for plugging it in. Just a treasure trove of options, buttons, amp models, cabinets, tone knobs, effects, pedals, Roth IRA deposits, foriegn car parts and optional options for optioning your options. It pushes 100 watts of power through a 1.2" speaker. 250 channels plus Direct TV and cable. Many deep menus for scrolling through the other menus and menus explaining the menu structure. Incredible depth and presence of the incredible depth. It can cover any style except most styles you would cover if you went undercover to cover a cover tune. Full coverage.
The 40 button footswitch switches the switching to the floor pedal for four by 10 pushbuttoning for switching. I switched to this floor pedal pedal and boy I'm glad I did! The grillecloth is chocolate, frosted with chocolate grillcloth. Try it. Has a killer bit of bite better than a bitter, buttery tone! Mine is the tolex version revision with the vision plan and medicare plus output jack. Two inputs putting in the power to the dynamic diecast moling motor with a factory installed fan module for the tubes. Nice chrome covering on the valve input putters. Weighs in at 340 thousand tons-light as father's feathers. Very versatile but varies very much.

Has a sound sounding sound. I tend to leave the amp in the on position when playing and the grillcloth on, too. By cranking the crank and the master volume you can get the sound yo want or don't want. And it's a full electric sound. Then it sounds better with a guitar too. It oscillates lately but is as stable as a three legged table with a toothpick jar underwater outside of Berlin or Japan in a dishpan by Don Van Vleeeeeterburg. That's why I bought it anyway. No worries. I was drowning out the other guys in the bathtub. Total action of supressing the press when pressed to express it. Hope to add the Billm mods to mod it. My guitarz are 1928 Mercedes Benze and a 1947 Jaguar S-type.

I tossed it from a Sukov T 381r9i fighter over the Ukraine at 300,000 feet. It fell for 7 hours and landed on a solid granite rock. Plugged it into a squirrel's anus and it fired up like a dustpan on the griddle. No worries. Buried it out in Nevada at a Nuke Weapons test site. After detonating a 500 megaton bomb strapped to the speaker, I found it worked just fine. Not bad. About as rugged as a jelly donut. Runs on batteries, house current or squirrel **** excretions.

I called Chuck at Fender. He sent me a million dollars and a free amp. What more could you ask for?

Too heavy. Way too loud. Doesn't even work unless you plug it in and turn it on. Unaware of the social dynamics of most Cuban-American churches or black liberation theology. Disconnected capacitors for a better overall sound. Government action subdivides the teaching repudiated by Dr. James Comb. Comes around to a situation between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Promoted to a framework of nationalism.

Features listed below, a thousand times over.

I wish this amp had a Standby Switch, otherwise, I wish only that I had 17 more of these little things. I play everything from rock to blues to jazzy style stuff to country style stuff to whatever. This thing does it all.

Like most any food worth eating, this amp just gives the most incredible palate of hot and tasty. First, let me say that I haven't had this amp up past 4 in practice OR gigging. 15 tube watts is JUST THAT LOUD. Now, for the tone.

I'm playing 2 main guitars through this thing:

Epiphone Les Paul Classic - hot, hot, hot, hot tone. Loud and hot. Serves for the rockier side of our sets. Hot. Beautiful, crunchy overdrives from this amp with humbuckers. I've found that clean is not so easy with HB's, as the amp breaks up early (volume around 4, master volume isn't a factor). Comes out even hotter with the Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive pedal.

Whoa.

Fender Standard Strat - crystal glassy sound, you can dial in SRV tones or whatever sound you want for that matter. Not quite as loud or as hot as the Les Paul, but talk about tasty. Doesn't break up quite as early, so louder clean is easier with the Strat. Sounds really nice with the Danelectro Fab Flange pedal.

*drool*

That being said, the amp has a FAT Switch which I use as a boost for the Strat to even out the volumes from each guitar, and serves to give a nice break up to the Strat while not completely breaking up the Les Paul.

It's small, compact, and *relatively* light. Not too keen on the tubes exposed from the back, but with care, this seems like a solid little unit. I MAY look into getting a fan set up to cool the tubes, as well, as I use an amp stand which tips the amp backwards, keeping more heat inside the unit.

5 year limited warranty.

No idea about service.

Amps I Have Owned:
Fender
Vox
Laney
Crate
Traynor
Peavey
Yamaha

The Blues Junior beats the worthless crap out of all of them.

If I lost this amp, for whatever reason, I would have to replace it with 2 more. I am also looking at building an extension cabinet for it (sweet one like on the billm mods website). I looked at a lot of low wattage amps, because I wanted to be able to turn it up and get that tube overdrive, without deafening the neighbours. And in this amp, I've got that. I've also got an amp that's loud enough to use for practice and gigs.

all the features I need, but nothing special.

I play an archtop guitar in a jazz-trio setting so I am after a clean sound. Normally I use a polytone, but I borrow this from my bass player now for any other gig and use it in our rehearsal room. the amp has only 15 watt, so at a certain volume it tends to break up and it does that smooth and gentle and it shows a nice reaction to my picking dynamics, just a hint of compression to make me feel good. it is easy to get vintage jazz tones like burrell and grant green with this amp.
there is some noise, but thats always the tradeoff for an "open" tube sound.

so far it didn't let us down.

never dealt with them.

I play like 30 years, owned fender, marshall, boogie and some other brands. this is a nice amp to play in jazzclubs if you want a bit of tube compression and a hint of overdrive. sounds pretty warm and real. If I need more clean headroom I use my polytone.

Make this quick, there are over 500 reviews on this ampy--what else can I add???? Here's is my review. This SOB is awesome! Everything else is too heavy, too obnoxious, too loud, too much. I take this baby to the studio while other dudes take their stacks, and I rip their balls off, yeah, they leave a girlyman. Sure they get LoWD, but blah blah blah quiet is the new loud. Clean is the new distort. This 15megaWatt torch sinks the roof. Okay, that's my review.

The simple features are well documented. The beauty of this amp is what it's not. This is the amp for someone who has had enough of solid state and onboard effects. This is the amp for someone who cares about tone.

I'm using this amp with a Les Paul Custom and Godin SD. I play Christian radio rock/pop, so I don't use heavy crunch or distortion, so the bluesy tone of this amp is works very well for me. All tubes amps have a little noise, especially if other electrical equipment is nearby or the tubes are aging. I've been able to modify from clean to a little crunchy with the master volume. Just work with it, and be patient enough to realize the tube tone is so worth it over solid state.

I just purchased this new, so I can't say. I hope it's reliable; however, this is my second tube amp (first was a Peavey Classic 30) that was problematic. As with all tube amps, plan on replacing the tubes at some point. Buy them in advance. If you want maintenance free, go solid state, but know that you're sacrificing tone for toys.

Have not had to call them, and hope I don't have to.

I've been playing for 8 years, mostly acoustic. I have a Roland Cube 30 that I don't use, a Behringer ACX1000 acoustic amp. I have a Martin HD28 that's a gem, and several other lesser expensive guitars, a couple basses, and a mandolin.
If it were stolen, at this point, I would replace it (depends on reliability).
I love tube tone so much that it's worth any maintenance issues. I also love the simplicity (great, great tone without all the crap). To meet the needs of a few songs we do, I will have to add a couple pedals.

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.

2007 Fender Blues Junior, 15w single channel tube amp with a 12" Eminence Gold Label speaker. Fat switch for slightly more gain from the preamp. It seems designed as a practice amp, although it can get loud enough for small gigs. My favorite feature is the Master volume knob so I can let it overdrive without pissing off the neighbors. I haven't been playing very long and I don't gig so this was just about perfect for my needs.

This amp sounds great. It has an excellent clean sound, and if the volume is cranked it dishes out some nice blues crunch that cleans quickly if you back off on the guitar's volume. As I said before, to avoid pissing off the neighbors and my family I take the volume all the way up to 12 and leave the master at just under 2. Jamming with my band, I don't need to take the master above 4 to be heard above the drummer. The distortion on this amp is good, but the BJ is no Marshall. It has enough dirt for blues and some rock, but if you want hard rock or metal tones you're going to need a pedal. I tried a Bad Monkey OD for a while, but I wasn't happy with how it screwed with my tone. I now use a BBE Boosta Grande, which transparently pushes my amp into Zeppelin territory. I play blues and rock through a G&L Tribute Legacy, and I get a great sound. I'm thinking of upgrading the speaker, but that's just my endless pursuit of tone.

I've owned the BJ for about 6 months, and because I don't gig, it has sat in the same place in my house for nearly all that time. It's been great, never given me any trouble.

I think it has a 5 year warranty.

Been playing about a year. This was my first "real" amp after a terrible Fender solid-state that was part of my Squier pack. I love this amp, and don't intend to part with it any time soon. If it was stolen, I would look around at a few other amps, like the Crate Palomino, which I've heard good things about, but I'd probably get another Blues Jr.

My experience with the Blues Jr. got off to a pretty rough start. My first one had a loose tube socket and the amp would crackle and feedback while powering up. Obviously, I returned it and got a different one. The second one is a keeper. My Junior is a 2007 model manufactured in Mexico, with the cream PCB. This is my first tube amp, so I am far from being an expert on tone.

I was a diehard supporter of Line6 products for years. I just got sick and tired of all of the tweaking needed to find useful tones with the digital stuff. I've made the conversion to tube amps and will not go back to solid state.

The Blues Jr. is a very simple amp. Basic 3-band EQ, master vol., vol., reverb, a 12" speaker, and those wonderful little glass bottles that glow and breathe fire. It also has a boost switch, labled "Fat", which gives a little more gain. The amp only has one channel, so don't expect myriad options if you're considering this amp. No effects loop and no headphone jack either. As I said, the lack of features on the Blues Jr. is what makes it such a cool amp. A simple amp, with simple circuitry.

Many love this amp because it's capable of copping a poor man's SRV/Texas blues tone. I'll admit, I love that tone, but that is not why I bought it. The Junior is an ideal low wattage combo that will give you a solid, transparent clean tone to use as a foundation for effects. I like to think of it as a poor man's David Gilmour rig. Set it up for a loud clean tone and use good old fashioned stomp boxes for overdrive and distortion.

My main guitars are a Fender Strat, a Fender Tele, and an Epi Les Paul. My effects chain is pretty simple. Guitar---Digitech Bad Monkey Overdrive---Visual Sound Jekyll/Hyde Ultimate Overdrive---Boss CE-5 Chorus Emsemble---Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor---Blues Jr. (As I previously stated, I had a whole stable of Line6 gear, so I'm really starting my rig from scratch, so my pedal board is pretty modest thus far.) With these basic effects, I can go from classic jazz to gritty blues to British Invasion chime to Zeppelin snarl to Sabbath Sludge to Cheesy 80s arena rock to all-out Shred. The Junior can handle everything I throw at it. I get great tone and response with single coils and humbuckers. The Junior is very versatile.

Be sure to check out the amp thoroughly before you buy it. My first one was problematic. I made the silly mistake of playing a floor model, but the amp I brought home was still in the box. Play the exact amp you're going to buy before you leave the store.

The amp is less than a year old, so I can't really comment on the reliability so far. I haven't had any major problems yet. Of course, the 5 year warranty from Fender makes it a whole lot easier to live with this amp. I do know that many people have owned Juniors for over 10 years and they're still going strong. I've had really good luck with every Fender product I've used, so I'm not really expecting any major hassles.

Never needed them, but I'm fortunate to have an authorized Fender service outlet within 5 minutes of my home. The 5 year warranty was actually a very big plus while I was considering this amp.

So far, so good. It does exactly what I need it to do. The tone is so much warmer and deeper than digital amps. The Junior loves effects. In fact, effects pedals sound so much better through a good tube amp. You could easily play a small to medium gig with this little amp. I'm not a gigging guitarist. I play and record at home, but I've also got young kids in the house, so I don't need a 100-watt stack turned to 11. If I want to play late at night and the family is sleeping, I can still fire up the Junior and get great tones at very low volumes.

I looked at many amps before purchasing the Junior. Crate V16, Crate V32, Peavey Classic 30, Vox AC-15, Epiphone Blues Classic, Peavey Valve King 112. Those amps all had good qualities, but the Junior had the most "organic" tone. It might not have all the bells and whistles compared to other amps, but it doesn't need them.

I've been playing on and off for about 18 years, but I've never owned a tube amp. The Junior is a great new addition to my rig. In fact, I'm thinking about getting a second one for a stereo rig. For the first time in all my years of playing, I'm genuinely satisfied with my tone. I've probably spent a small fortune in solid state gear since I first picked up the guitar and the solution was this simple and inexpensive little box from Fender.

If this amp were stolen I would have some major problems since it doesn't really leave my home. Hopefully there aren't any roving bands of thugs in my neighborhood breaking into homes looking for small tube amps. If so, I need to move.

Bought new in 2005 (Barcelona, Spain). Single channel tube amplifier. Volume, Master, Treble, Middle, Bass, and Reverb controls. A lovely, simple and cheap tube amp. The stock speaker Emminence (Gold Label) has been upgraded with a Jensen P12R (Alnico speaker).

I mainly play Jazz and Blues using a Gibson ES-150DC (hollow-body guitar) with the neck pick-up, playing at home and jams. I love the tone of this guitar with this particular amplifier.

Of course, do not expect to get a boutique tube amp for this price (this is what I consider 10, with that bell harmonics in the air), but at this comparatively low price I think it???s quite difficult to find anything better.

Different pre-amp tubes were tested (v1) and the most sweetest sound comes from the NOS 12AY7 (gain factor 20), increased clean head-room and breaking-up later than the stock 12AX7WC. In addition, this tube provides a characteristic vintage sound clean and overdrive. In fact, this tube was the v1 tube in different old 50???s Fender amps. I also tested a TAD 12AU7 (lower gain factor of 10) at different positions but it has less influence on its tone, apart from a lower output volume and practically no break-out. However, it provides nice warm sound for jazz in position v3. According to different reviews appeared in this website, I tested a pair of JJ EL84 as power tubes, but I didn???t like the tone I got. They sounded substantially brighter and the distortion was less pleasant to my ears than the obtained with the stock power tubes. But I am a jazz guitar player, so may be I???m not the most appropriate person to judge this type of sounds.

On the other hand, the overall performance of this amplifier can be substantially improved replacing the stock Emminence ceramic speaker by the alnico Jensen P12R speaker (25W). This was my first choice due to the remarkable creamier and vintage sound of the alnico speakers (don???t forget I???m a jazzer). After installation, the amp sounded mellower, sweater, less boxy, although a little bit brighter. My perception is that every day it sounds better, what could be explained by the continuous breaking-in of these type of speakers.

These two mods are relatively inexpensive and you can improve substantially the tone you obtain.

I also tested a Boss DS-1 overdrive pedal but the sound is also a little bit artificial, without soul. If you like the thickness and harmonics of saturated power tubes, I???m sure you know what I mean.

According to my experience, an attenuator is the only way to get nice distortion sounds at reasonable volumes. For those who like overdrive classic rock sounds at bedroom volumes I bet for the Weber Minimass attenuator (speaker-based). I normally play at attenuator setting of 5 (3-6 dB attenuation) for clean sounds and at setting 1-2 for overdrive sounds with master and volume amp controls higher than 7 (think of classic rock sounds of the 70???s). However, it is worth to mention that it has a perceptible effect colouring the final tone (a little bit darker) but the thick and tube sound you get is much better than the obtained using any overdrive pedal. Furthermore, you also get the option of adding different speaker cabs (4, 8, and 16 ??) without modifying the amp impedance. Think about I???m playing my hollow body guitar for saturated sounds and this is not the most appropriate guitar due to the lack of sustain. However, thinking of Steve Howe playing an ES-175 with distortion in that old Yes albums, do you miss any sustain?, it is a peculiar and characteristic sound.

So far, so good. But I play mainly at home, trying not to disturb my neighbours.

No experience

Playing guitar since 25 years ago. My overall impression is it is the best small tube amp for this price. It has one single channel, so you are forced to use a distortion pedal or an attenuator to get overdrive sounds at low volumes. You can also use the pre-amp overdrive tubes by pushing up the Volume control and controlling the overall volume with the Master control, but neither will sound like power tube overdrive. You can only get that by cranking the amp.

This is a 2007 Blues Junior.
It is a very simple amp; one channel with volume, 3 band EQ and a fat switch in the preamp section, master and reverb in the master section.
The fat switch boosts the preamp so it gives you more volume and breaks earlier. It's not an overdrive switch!!!
This amp is perfect for home recording because of its low wattage, but it can defiantly get loud enough for rehearsals.

For me this amp is a perfect blues/classic rock amp after I invested 100$ in a new speaker. It can easily compete with much larger and expensive amps!

First of all, the stock speaker is crappy! It lacks in lows and in details on the high end. The highs are shrilling and unpleasant with overdrive. I replaced the stock speaker with a Celestion Greenback (100$) and I got a brand new AMAZING amp!!! If you have the money for such an upgrade, you would thank me for this advice.

I'm using this amp with a Fender Tele and a Gibson Les Paul. Both sound great through, both clean and with overdriver.
The sound is very warm and reach suitable for blues, classic rock and even jazz.
You can get good sounds very quickly which is an important thing for impatient guys like me :-)

The EQ is very responsive, especially after the speaker replacement. For overdrive I use a combination of three pedals:
Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster -> Ehx Double Muff -> MXR 10 band EQ.
This combination is one pedal for me, I rarely use the double muff alone, and it sounds divine though this thing!
I have a much more expensive Marshall which I use mainly for rock, but this amp is much better for blues work!

The reverb is nice but it adds some noise... nothing too bad though.

I give it 8 because of the crappy speaker, but after the replacement it is a round 10 for me.

Standard EQ, Bass/Mids/Treble
2 Volumes, "Volume" and "Master", which comes in handy for natural distortion.
A "fat" switch, which beefs up the sound, and makes the natural drive more attainable.
1 input jack

I'm a bit of an audiophile, but the tone I want usually has a fair range: so simple amp controls are all I really need. The great thing about the Blues Jr EQ, is that it really compliments your guitar sound, instead of warping it, I love my jaguar tone, and the EQ on the Blues Jr is damn subtle, underlying the original tone of the guitar. I can perfectly tweak it to get what I want. Fuck big, complex EQ'ing, man. This works great.

No other channels for your distortion or anything, but I use pedals for my distortion anyway. Plus, this baby does it's own.

Only 15 watt, but damn it's loud. And hella versatile, and it loves pedals. Suits me fine. Unless you're a metaller or something I guess.

There's a buzz, but that might be my Jaguar (i'm semi-convinced there's a grounding problem in there). The amp breaks up well, so crystal clean tones will only last into a degree of volume. On a bedroom recording level, it does fine. And every now and then I crank it for a bit, just to hear it loud: and christ, this baby is loud, especially for 15 watts. If you want natural distortion, you can turn the "volume" control down, and the "master" control straight up (or you can just turn the whole thing up, but as I said I'm working at home just now), for surprisingly formidable distortion. Beats the hell out of my Boss Drive, I can tell you that.
The sound is warm, very natural and defined. There's a bit of "boxy"ness in there, I think that'll be down to the speaker. I'll think about changing that. I like that Fender tone, so I'll stick with the groove tubes.
It does everything I need to, and sounds mint while it's at it.

I've heard bad things about bias control leading to overheating tubes. Which scared me at first, but at present I rarely gig, so there's not a huge risk just now, and 4 months on there's no trouble. In future though, I'll definitely need to work on the bias, I've heard there's mods you can do. I'll need to sharpen up my practical skills before I try getting into something as complex (to me at least) as an amp.
Otherwise, this feels like it should last well. I'd probably gig with it without a backup.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing for about 3 years. This was my second amp, after my old practice amp (so essentially my first "real" amp). I spent almost a year running around looking for a good amp, went through first Marshall, then Mesa, then Orange, then Vox, back to Marshall, before finally settling on this. Sensibly speaking, I really should have saved cash and gone for a solid state combo like everyone else did, but hell, I wouldnt take it back. I'm not sure if I'm ready to deal with stuff like the bias, I'm pretty terrible with amp mechanics. As it stands though, I'm here with a cute, compact, and gorgeous sounding tube amp.

My setup is usually something like:
Fender Jaguar >> Crybaby Wah >> Boss TU-2 >> ProCo Rat 2 >> Boss SD-1 >> Electro Harmonix Small Stone >> Boss DD-6 Delay >> Fender Blues Junior.

Never sounded sweeter. I'm no veteran authority on amp sound and guitar tone, but on a basic level, the sound of this amp is perfect. I do everything from clean, ambient soundscaping to violent noise rock, and with an amp like the Blues Jr i can take it all in my stride. This is no substitute for a flashy, big, loud, ??10,000 amp, of course not, but it's a better competitor than those crappy solid state Marshall combos I could have gone for, god forbid. It'll do me for now, and then some. :)

All the essential features and nothing extra - high, mid, low, reverb, volume, master volume, fat switch, one input, no headphone jack, speaker out (disables amp's speaker), 15 watts, eminance 12-inch speaker, no standby. With the fat switch, you might say it has two channels.

A disclaimer or explanation might be in order before I critique the sound so that you understand my vantage point. I've only been playing for two years and have never played through a really good tube amp like a twin reverb or an AC30. My experience is limited to an old Squire Reverb 25 sidekick and a Vox AD30VT modeling amp. I have a good Fender Strat, though, and two pretty decent Ibanez humbucker guitars.

Now, on to the sound. You can dial in some nice sounding clean tones. Nothing great, but pretty dman good. The overall sound seems to be a bit diffuse in the sense that pick attack doesn't effect the tone as much as I would like. I got an AB switcher to compare it to the VOX and, interestingly, I found myself trying to dial in the Fender to make it sound like my VOX settings for the Fender blackface model. The Fender's reverg is nice, but not appreciably better than the VOX. In general, I thought the VOX had a punchier, more defined sound that articulated the pick attack better, but then there were times on certain settings when I thought the Fender sounded better. That punchy versus diffuse impression might be related to the fact that the VOX has closed cabinet and the Fender is open, which leads me to think I might like a closed cabinet sound better. In any event, it was close. The amps were clearly different and I had a hard deciding which I liked better for clean tones. Keep in mind that I wasn't comparing all the VOX emulations to the Blues Junior, only the blackface and tweed models in an effort to make an apples-to-apples comparision.

So, the cleans are pretty good with some very nice sweet spots here and there, but the amp totally falls apart when you go into overdrive. I'm not talking about really driving it into distortion, which in fact was horrible. It didn't even sound good with just a little overdrive, even when the overdrive was coming mainly from the power stage (master up, volume down). The pre-amp overdrive sounded even worse (volume up, master down). The amp quickly became muddy, harsh, and completly unlistenable. I just couldn't dial in an accptable overdriven tone no matter what I did. I tried using pedals (Bad Monkey, Boss DS-1) which was a big improvement, but not good enough. The VOX is definitly better in the overdrive department, and even took to pedals better, which was surprising.

Bottom line - the Blues Junior is a good amp for clean tones only.

Seems solid.

Don't know, didn't need them.

I finally returned the amp after almost a month (30-day return policy from Guitar Center). I really tried to like it, and maybe it had some nicer clean tones here and there than the VOX, but overall, thats not enough to recommend it with the overdrive being as bad as it is. For $150 less, The VOX is a better value, and if you are a newbie like me, you'll appreciate its versatiliy more.

Basic features: Volume, Master, Treble, Middle, Bass and Reverb with a "Fat" button to boost the preamp gain and fill out the tone. I think it has all the features you need and nothing you don't for a small, basic tube amp like this. A Standby switch would be nice, but not a big deal. Surprisingly powerful for a 15 W, 1X12 of its size. Should have plenty of volume for rehearsals and small club gigs when you crank it, yet quiet enough when turned down for home use too. Separate volume and master is a nice feature, since you can set them to the same for your clean sound or crank the volume and leave the master down to adjust the ammount of breakup/overdrive you want.

For a small package and an affordable price it really gets that great fat Fender tube tone. The Fat switch really helps too, giving a volume boost and boosting the low and high frequencies for an even fuller tone. I'm a little disappointed with the bass response, which sounds a little hollow/flabby, and not very well defined. But it's really not bad considering the price and the size. Sound should be versatile enough for most styles of music (it really nails blues/country stuff, and would make a good small jazz amp too) if you spend enough time dialing in the right settings and experimenting. You can also get a nice dirty/breakup sound by setting the volume and master knobs apart, although most of the time I run it clean and use a Fulltone Fulldrive 2 for my overdrive.

One thing I noticed is it doesn't seem to handle pedals as well as my Fender Deville 410, which is of course a bigger and more powerful amp. The Fulldrive for instance sounded a little fizzy and squashed compared to the much more natural, responsive sound I get through the other amp. Likewise when I played my Boss GT-6 (multi-effects) through it. But for the size and price, I can't complain. The surprisingly good Fender tube tone and power make it alright.

I have a made in USA model. Haven't had it for long, but it seems solidly built.

Haven't had to deal with this, so no opinion.

I bought this amp because I wanted a quality tube amp that was smaller, lighter and more portable than my big Deville 410 that I could easily haul to rehearsals and jam sessions, yet would still be loud enough and have good tone. This is a good amp for that. I am still planning on using the bigger DeVille for most live gigs, but the Blues Junior is great for rehearsals/jam sessions because it is half the size, weighs half as much, is easy to tote around, but still sounds good. I think of it as a mini version of my Deville. Obviously it's not as powerful or tonally versatile as the DeVille (or some other bigger and more expensive Fender amps), but it's still a pretty decent compromise nonetheless for its size/price. (After all, what can you expect for $300?)

I think it's a great value and as I said before, a very economical amp. It's affordable and portable, but doesn't sacrifice tone, power or quality. Ideal for a smaller practice amp, for small gigs, or a good amp to start off with if you're looking for a basic, portable amp that's well-made and sounds good. I have a feeling it would be a good choice for home recording as well. It's nothing fancy, but leaves nothing out and doesn't have any bells and whistles you don't need. It's got that Fender tube tone we all know and love, just in a smaller, more affordable package. For it's sound, price and size, it's a good choice.

This is a modern entry-level working-man's professional tube amplifier designed for the masses, intending to look and feel like a vintage Fender amplifier. The one i purchased is a used brown-tolex MIM likely originally purchased from MF. Condidering its size and price, i think it has enough features to satisfy. A small amp with decent reverb and a wide tonal range plus enough power for most gigs is good. These days, with good, cheap pedals out there, this is all the amp a person would need. The amp is lightweight and easy to carry. It nails the Fender tone completely, although the speaker is not the greatest, nor is the small reverb tank. But for the price, it is not an issue.

As i said, it nails the Fender tone of yesteryear. It is very much like a mini-Twin Reverb due to the excellent clean tones (solid state rectifier, same as Twin Reverb). I was surprised by this due to the EL-84 power tubes. I was expecting more of a british note, but Fender did a great job of dialing in their signature sound. The distortion and "FAT" switch are o.k. and remind me of what modded Fender amps from the 60's and 70's have going for them. It stays clean for quite a ways when cranking the vol up. If tou turn the reverb down all the way, you can get some good old-style tweed sounds. This is the closest thing out there to one of my all-time favorite amps -the SuperChamp.

Well, it was in the store and needed repair before i bought it - the input jack had issues and the reverb wasn't working. Apparently it was minor, they fixed it & it works fine. Any tube amp will have issues from time to time. I've banged it around enough already to determine it is basically well-made and well-designed. I don't care what amp you have - always bring a backup to a gig if you can. That being said, this is as good as any other amp out there in this price range.

This is a very popular amp, like the Volkswagen Bug of amplifiers. There should be no problem finding repair services. Fender is a pretty good outfit, I've actually gotten through to talk to a real person before! I think the warranty is 5 years. This amp is likely beyond warranty.

Currently I own a 1960 Ampeg Reverberocket, a 1966 Vox Cambridge Reverb tube amp (Sepulveda), A 1960's Silvertone (Danelectro)1482, & A 90's Sovtek Mig50H. I have owned at one time or another just about every version of the Fender "Reverb" amps (my all-time favorite being the Princeton Reverb, 2nd favorite is the Superchamp -i wish they would re-issue that one!)I have replaced the speaker -big improvement, and will put a bigger r-tank in. I love the look, tone, size, and price of the amp. This is like a mini Twin Reverb as far as tone. The circuitry is fine as-is, don't mod this amp - just put in a better speaker. If you don't like Fender tone, get a different amp!

Very basic features. One channel, no Effects loops, no Headphone jack (wich i wish it had), it has Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass, Master, Reverb, and fat switch button that increases the pre amp gain. It's all i will ever need for my style. I keep the fat switch all the time. the tone knobs seem well balanced. So far i use this at home but hope to use it in a band and in live settings. it has plenty power for home use but if i where going to use it with drums, bass and other insturments i would run it through an external speaker cabnet (perhaps a 4X12 fender cabnet).

This amp pretty much has only two settings on it's own, clean and dirty. I dont belive it was made for that nu-metal or heavy metal crap. It's pretty much made for one style and one style only, and that's my style. I love this amp's clean sounds. It tends to be more crisp and bright on most settings. I play an Ibanez AF-105 hollowbody. It really brings out the guitar's natural dry sound alot. I belive it will make any guitar sound the way it was ment to sound on the clean setting. The clean seems to stay clean at louder volumes, with mabey a small hit of natural breakup at max volumes.

When you turn up the Volume to max and turn down the master you a get your dirty sound. I dont care for the dirty sound as much because it sound kinda boxy and muddy through my hollwbody. I prefer to use a good distortion pedal on the amp's clean settings. Right now in useing a Boss DS-1 for that cruchy White Stripes type of sound, but im looking to upgrade to somthing better soon.

My style involves a bluesy sounding guitar crunch sound but NOT blues music. think rockabilly (Stray Cats, Reverend Horton Heat, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly) and some indie rock (The Strokes, Sonic Youth, or the White Stripes). This amp sounds perfect for these styles!! With rockabilly i play clean and just turn up the reverb and you get that wet sticky reverb slap'n sound while palm muting, and it sounds just like Luther Perkins playin style that made Johnny Cash so famous or turn up the Volume for a little overdrive and it sounds like The stray cats kinda style. This is the style I love and this amp hits the nail right on the head.

This amp is rock solid! because it is an all tube amp it's a little more prone to damage if it was droped or mistreated, and tubes dont keep there quality forever.

Never dealt with fender but heard others say they are great. One year warranty!

Iv been playing now for about 8 years. Iv gone trough a few guitars and amps such a a Fender Automatic SE, and a Marshall MG50DFX that cost about the same price but a hundered times worse wich the blues Jr blows away as far as quilaty and sound. I wish it had a 2nd channel (with footswitch) and better sounding overdrive. What i really want is a Fender Blues Delux, but at $400 bucks the Blues Jr is perfect.

I bought the laquered tweed NOS model new at my local GC for about $500. For details check the website. Basically you have a single Jensen and 2 12AX7s and 3 EL84s rated at 15 watts

The only feature I would add is a standby switch. But you can turn down the volume so I suppose that's being picky. Maybe an effects loop might me nice but it's not essential.

This amp is designed for anything from a bedroom to a 100 seat venue. I've never played it with a drummer but it is strong enough to punch through a mix of bass and rythym guitar. I'm not rating it a 10 because there aren't a lot of features. But read on because that's not really the issue here.

Okay here is where the rubber meets the road. Let me qualify that I am rating this in comparison to other amps in this category. It's not going run with a 100W high gain amp or even a 50 watt Deluxe or Twin.

But in a small to medium venue the sound is better than anything I have ever heard. And believe me I have tried virtually every product made in this category of sub 25 watt amps.

Here is the testimonial I loaned my amp to a guy, whose name I won't mention out of respect for his privacy and I don't know if he would appreciate the gratuitous product endorsement but suffice to say he is generally considered one of the 10 best guitarist in the world.

He cranked that baby up to 12 on the master to get a really clean tone. The only stompboxes were a tremelo and delay. The sounds that came out of that amp had a 100 people in the audience dropping their jaws in amazement. It sounded like a wall of amps in stereo. The complete range from country to funk to Hendrix was covered and absolutely nailed.

The amp as a very clear strong tone. Since it is not overpowered you can get the gain up there where the tubes really open up and sing without shattering eardrums. When I see guys rolling in a small club with a Marshall stack I wonder what their thinking. This amp with the master at 12 and the volume at 5 is going to sound far better than a Marshall TSL with the master and volume at 2 or 3.

I shipped my amp via ground freight across the country. The case was beat to hell so I knew it took some abuse. I remove the tubes for any long distance trip. I pop the tubes back in and this bad boy cranks right up. No problems whatsover.

But it is a tube amp so I would keep a stock of spare tubes. And be advised EL84s or not uncommon but generally not in stock at your local superstore.

have not need any support.

I've been playing for 40+ years and own enough gear to start my own superstore. Maybe not that much but I do own about 20 fine guitars and 10 amps. And I have a PA system and recording equip in my house.

I won't go into details but know my collection includes Tele's, Strat's, LP's, Rickenbacker 12's, Marshall, Fender, Peavey and don't even get me started on acoustics.

I don't post here very often but I did think it was only fair to talk about his amp. When you get to a certain stage in life this is the amp for you.

Everybody is looking for that beefy big bottom sound. Unfortunately there is a tendency to think the way to get there is with abigger amp and then crank it down as needed for the venue. Also most guys go for distortion and crunch because it is forgiving to a novice player.

But if you think clean is better then this is it. And you want an amp that is mated to the guitar and appropriate for the venue. You want to be able to turn the amp up enough to where you are getting the performance that is designed for that amp.

Most musicians don't have the luck to play huge concert halls or stadiums. Usually they venue is 100-200 at best and often much less. This is the best amp I have found out there for that purpose.

MIM 2007
Single channel.
Separate Volume and Master controls. Treble Bass and Middle tone controls. Fat switch. Reverb.
12 inch speaker.
$791 Australian dollars new.
Solid but elegant retro looks.

I bought this to replace my Pro Junior. That one was great but only suited my Fenders. The mid-heavy Ephiphone Casino and Gretsch Jet baritone were unplayable through it as the PJ couldn't shape their bassy tones. The Blues Junior takes on everything I've got, the Casino, the Gretsch, the Dano 12, my Strat and most of all my Tele. A little tone adjustment and each one speaks in its own voice.

I only ever play cleanly and I like an amp where I have to back the treble off rather than wish I had more. To give you an idea, I never roll the treble above about 4 with my Telecaster. The bass control is a little weaker than the treble or the mid. Is that the speaker's limitations?

This amp provides and rich clean tone without any exhausting harshness , from Gretsch to chiming Fender.

There is a very slight buzz but it is swamped by the buzz of a single coil guitar in idle. So not very instrusive. I had been borrowing a friend's Deluxe Reverb which had a hiss that was louder.

I routinely changed all the valves for EH and JJs. The stock ones sounded ok, but I had the others already and knew I could rely on them.

While this amp doesn't give the sparkling airy highs that a Deluxe Reverb does, it's a fraction of the cost and treats what gets plugged into it with respect and enthusiasm. I would play this amp all day but I have a job and neighbours.

The sole drama I've had with this amp makes for a couple of seconds of light comedy. I turned it on one night and plugged the Tele in and oops no sound. Light was on, all vols up. Nothing. I checked the back. the V1 valve was dark. Oh dear. I got a replacement and put it in (unplugging, putting the amp gently on its front to do so). Hey presto, the sound of Fender! But, yikes, the amp started thunderclapping, huge rumbles and crashes of arcing electricity coming from within. Dang! I mentally intoned, busted already. I switched it off and lifted it to take it sadly upstairs to languish until I could organise a repair. As soon as I hit the first step I heard a sharp rattle. Uh oh!

I rushed into my room and had the back o' that baby off in seconds. There, rolling a little from side to side, trying to look innocent, was a screw from the circuit board. No bloody wonder! I even saw the hole it was meant to live in. I replaced it firmly and turned the amp back on. Lovely quiet Fender amp. I plugged the Strat in and a jig of suh joy and delight that the neighbours bought a jug of their finest mulberry wine and ... no that bit happened while I was sleeping, later in the evening.

So, why was the screw out of place? Shoddy QC? Had it been a return that the shop had repaired ... but for that detail? I frowned until I remembered how much I dig this amp. Not a moment of drama since. And precious little comedy.

Didn't need it.

I wanted a valve amp for a range of guitars with very different voices. I found one. It looks good, it sounds good, it records well, I can lift it and perform basic dance moves. I lvoe this amp.

This is a follow up review. Features are the same now as they were before

Here's the different part. After having replaced the stock speaker with a c12n AND performed the BillM mods on this amp, i say with confidence that this amp is a total sleeper and is very under-appreciated. You can get an extra little bit of coolness by connecting it to an external 2x12 cab with some decent drivers in them, but the c12n is a really awsome match. I find myself spending about equal times between my 59 bassman reissue and this amp now. It's insane. It sounds much better than the tweed model does stock, and between $5 in electronics and $96 WITH TAX for the speaker (i haggle a lot) i would reccomend buying this amp and performing the modifications over buying the tweed model, unless the tweed is worth the additional $100 above the total cost of a new tolex model after the mods.

First Blues Jr. was a 2004, second which was supose to replace the firt one was a 2003. Is a great practice amp but do not recommend it for gigging. single channel, joke of a fat switch, only good feature is the speaker which functions well through another amp when slaved.

when compaired to other amps the Jr. is lacking, no distortion to mention and as clean as it is they have a loud hum present when the volume is increased. I play a Jerry Donahue 1952 Telecaster CIJ and it does ok, but still a buzz that isn`t present with other amps. I`m primarly a blues musician but do dabble in some rock and country.

Like I mentioned earlier this is the second Jr that fender sent me after the reverb continued to fail on the first one. The reverbs on these are junk, now the second one has failed after only a few hours of use. The first one failed after the first week. I don`t even consider using it at any type of show.

Fender lies!! repeated trips to the repair shop with the first one, after 3 years and 26 weeks of shop time they finally replaced it. the problem is they replaced it with one that is older that the first one and yes, it`s no good either. The dealer where I bought it has went to bat for me over and over but fender still insists it`s an isolated incident, go figure that one, review after review mentions the reverb failing. fender lies!!

I`ve been playing guitar for over 40 years. I have a 1980 Fender 75 which has endured time well, last of the point to point amps. when the Jr failed over and over I purchased a Peavey Valve King 112, great amp, no issues what so ever, and it wa considerably less that the Jr. The main reason I purchased the Jr. was to use for pratice, didn`t even hold up to that. If it were stolen and would feel sorry for the thief, would not consider replacing it with another fender product. had enough run around from fender.

Unsure of year made
Veratile enough for Blues, Country, Oldies some Classic Rock
One channel. Volume,Treble ,Bass, Middle Master, Reverb, and a handy " Fat Switch " No Loops No tricks Just a good small Fender Tube Amp built for tone and ease of working
Only feature I wish it had was a single button switch for the reverb off and on
I use all the features on this amp
Tubes ! If it dont glow - it dont go with me ( up on any stage anywhere)

This amp can do Fender relative clean with the volume set down and the master cranked up The single channel will break up nice and full at master volume past 7, but with no unexpected bloomings or loss of anything
The distortion is great for blues and classic rock, with something like a Boss DS1 you could probably even cover a bit of heavy metal but this is a blues amp, and should be used for styles generating and associated closely with that
I use Two Les Pauls, an early 60's Re issue reviewed here, My Orville Les Paul with new classic 57 Gibson Humbucker in the neck and Burstbucker 3 in the bridge/ rear
PRS CE 24 with Vintage Bass /HFS
Squire Strat ( Japan 62 type re issue )
It only got noisey when using unpotted Humbuckers thru it at max over drive with either a TS 9, or Boss DS1
Suits my style pefectly, anbd handy easy to tote around
I took this where I sometimes sit in with a local country/variety band and one of the guitarists thought it wouldnt catch their volume levels, The Blues Jr, and my Les Paul delievered in spades with room to spare
Betting this could make a killer Harmonica players amp too
I own 2 other Fender Amps, a Crate VC20R I like alot with a AB /Y splitter box I have I the Tube Screamer TS 9 ,an MXR EQ Pedal I can have a varity of amp sounds from clean ,crunch, to raw ZZ Top like distortion and drive and enough power to deliver at local venues without miking

have gigged it without back up, and would and most likely do ut again
The Amp did make some funny noises, but a change to JJ Power tubes and a check by my amp repair guy revealed no appearant problems I highly recommend this amp

Had it looked over when it made funny noises, replaced power tubes out of pocket , since I bought it used Never deal with Fender Warranty, no opinion here on that

I have been playing over 35 years, the bulk of that has been thru mostly Fender tube amps I play mostly Les Pauls, My PRS, and Squire Strat ( Japan) thru this with comfort and ease, knowing if I do my part, the amp will deliver well, It's a little economical tone machine ,like any gear, if I own with intent to keep, if stolen, I'd try to replace it,and Heaven have mercy on the theif
I really dont hate anything about it, wished I could have had a tweed model for the asthetics but this one works fine for me
I own six amps 3 of them Fender's only one of them is on the way out, My Fender Hot Rod,
Fender Pro Reverb Sorta re issue I intend to keep Most of the places I play in my area either wouldnt have space or wouldnt allow my 50 watt Marshall JCM 900 Half Stack , nor do they much like my Seymour Duncan Convertible 100 near dimed out ,

2006 Blonde muscians friend special.
1 channel wonder.
This little amp have 5 tubes (3 pre-amp) 2 Power.

It rocks. Super clean to overdrive. A Tube Screamer just lights this baby up.
It has good reverb for a small amp.
Master Volume and a fat switch.
Crack up the volume roll back on the master then use your touch to go from clean to crunch. Very classic sound with a fender strat or tele.
it sounds VERY big though a mic, I am considering making this my main amp.

I am very disapointed with Fender Quality lately. The Mexico assembly is not working for them. I bought two new Fender amps in a month. The Blues Jr. reverb tank was blown right out of the box and another amp the foot switch worked 3 stomps before it went out.
Fender needs to cut costs some other way. This kind of rap can kill a company.

Fender took care of the problem through local service center.
Hey they know me by name I have been there so much (not a good thing).

Playing 20+ years. I have owned all the popular amps.
THsi is cool because it is problay the best sounding amp for the weight and price.

I was looking for small (portable), tube, and clean when I bought this amp, so I compared this to all similar sized/watted amps with 12" speakers and this one won. The only real competition is the Peavey Classic 30, but the BJ has much better reverb, and a better clean channel. I also looked at the Pro Jr, but that one didn't have the reverb. This also has the "gain" knob separate from the master, and with the eq, and the guitar's settings, you can get a lot out of this amp, just take your time, and try. Like a Tele, I think this amp is much more versatile than it appears to be.
The vintage appearance (chickenknobs) is very cool too.

At first I had Master at max, treble at max, bass at max, and mids at minimum settings. I had the volume and tone on my 52 Tele maxed out, and then I would use the Volume on the amp to get loudness. This pretty much gave me the clean sounds I wanted (along with Dan-O tape echo and Tuna Melt tremolo) for country and rockabilly, and for a while I was satisfied, but then it started sounding a bit ice picky on the skinny strings.
Solution: I keep the guitar's volume at zero, max out the volume on the amp, max out master, treble, and bass and use the guitar's volume to control loudness. This cuts off the harsh highs while maintaining the twang I want. I use this on the neck pick-up, and when I switch to the bridge pick-up I just roll back the guitar's tone knob know a bit.
Having the treble maxed gives me the twang, and cranking the bass really fills it out. Reverb, if any, doesn't need to go past 2 or 3, except if you're riding that pipeline.
I've also used this to get crunchy overdrive, similar to AC/DC.
Like others, I recommend getting a really nice clean tube tone out of this, then using pedals to achieve your specific sound.
I also recommend keeping the master maxed, as it seems to make the reverb and eq's sound better and more responsive/dynamic.
I am going to try a 12AT7 in V3 and a 12AY in V1 to see if I can get more clean headroom, but I have found very usable out-of-box tones.

After owning for about one year, and only taking it to about two gigs, I started getting a buzz. When I took it to the shop they replaced the reverb unit, and it was fine for several months/gigs after that. But now it is "ringing" when I hit an A note. Probably just a loose/faulty tube.
Paint on faceplate will wear off really quick, otherwise, take care of it and it will probably be fine. I wind my cord through the carrying handle to minimize any potential stress on the input jack, which others have said failed on them.

The store I bought it from said they would throw in a Fender pedal if I bought it, and it took them months (literally) to get one, so I finally gave up and accepted the other-brand pedal they offered initially. Then when I had the reverb unit changed, it took then a long time too. They blamed it on shipping delays of the replacement part. It was under warranty, so the repair was free, but I didn't have my only amp for over a month.

What this amp offers is portability, tube sound, and value. It is basically one of the least expensive tube combos out there, and like I said earlier, the only amp that gave it competition was the Peavey Classic 30, which I still have my eyes on. You can probably get fuller better tone out a bigger Fender amp, but then you lose the lightweight portability. I play small clubs and bars in NYC and this is perfect for that.

My amp is a cream board, 2001 blues junior, made in mexico. I can see how someone might knock this amp for not having many features, but that's the point. The more channels there are on an amp, usually, the more channels suck. After some minor modification, (see below)this amp has all the features you need- an EQ and seperate pre/post amp controls. Stock i give this amp a 7 for features (becase the EQ is not as usable) but after i give it a 9. It kinda only has one tone shape to it, but between the volume controls, the volume of the guitar, and the fat switch, you can take that one tone's intensity anywhere from a mild break-up to a very british sound

This one is long, but kind of important if you want to get the best out of this amp. Stock, i give this amp a 6. There is a fellow out there named Bill Machrone who does wonderful work with these amps, and publishes a lot of it. The mods are called the Billm mods. I performed the tonestack mods, the twinstack mods, and a version of his bias mod. The factory bias is SUPER hot and will eat your tubes alive. I put a bias switch on mine so i can have a hot bias (factory setting) at low volumes for an awsome "your amp cooking" tone (and to warm it up really fast) and a much cooler bias for a less muddy tone with more headroom when cranked. After these mods, i give it a 7.

If you do this and install a better speaker like a c12n or a cannabis rex, i give it an 8. However, if you do the mods (minus the speaker) and hook it up to a really good sounding cabinet (in my case, a 2x12 open back with 2 celestion g12t75 speakers) i give it a 9 without regret. With an amp this size, the enclosure just isn't big enough to wring out it's full potential

Also, replace the tubes with some groove tube golds, and make sure the power tubes have a high rating (like 8-10) and you will be blown away what this little thing can do. I use mine as an amp head, and it blows my heritave vtx AND my musicman 100rd out of the water, and i will venture to say it sounds ALMOST as cool as a tweed bassman. it's the loudest 18 watts you will ever experiance.

With the stock bias, i would not consider it reliable. Your tubes get so hot that i have actually vaporized parts of the mercury shields at the tops of the tubes. Burnt tubes will fail. Once you fix the bias problem, i would give it a 10, especially if you use an external cabinet. There is less vibration that way, and some say vibrations can cause early failure in power tubes.

Never had to deal with them. I hear it's piss poor though.

I am a tone freak and an audiophile. Though i have only played 7 years and have no professional experience, i consider myself a bit of a condesseur (spelling?)as i am VERY critical of musical equipment. If it's not perfect or very close do it, it will drive me crazy. I have also played through nearly every common, commercially available, from 5150s to vintage fenders to reissue marshalls, randalls, crates, hiwatts, voxes, etc. I play through a modified schecter c1 plus (custom 5 in the bridge, original bridge pickup in the neck.) with NO pedals, partly becase it does not really like pedals, but partly because it doesn't need them. ON the bridge setting, it gets a very vox-like grind when pushed, and when dialed back sounds very much like john mellencamp, on the neck it sounds creamy and smooth. This amp is not for you if you dont want to tweak it some, but for 2 hours worth of work and $5 worth of parts, it sounds PHENOMINAL. I am very happy with this amp

Bought it late 2002 for about $300. Basic features have been covered. I started having problems with my input jack and sent it off to Bill Machrone for repair and mods.

Added a presence control, a clean boost w/sw, tone stack mods, a better output transformer, an aux speaker jack, power stiffening, preamp boost, just about every mod he had! It cost more than my initial investment, but after 5 years of use that was OK. Bill's work is absolutely perfect, and I couldn't be happier with the enhanced sound. I loved my Blues Jr from the start almost 5 years ago, and it just got a lot better.

8 for the BJR stock
10 for BillM's mods

Again I loved the sound of the BJR from day one. With the mods it is better. I especially asked for more clean headroom, and BillM deliverd. Clean sweet sounds with plenty of headroom. I'm running a 12ay7 for a preamp tube currently. Someday I'll change it back to a 12ax7 to check it out but for now I'm lovin it where it's at. It will still distort, not quite like it used to, but when I want more distortion I hook up my TS9. Before the mods I had the normal BJR hum, nothing too bad, but now it is damn near silent.

I mostly play a 96 Anniv. American Standard Strat with a Warmoth neck, and Fralin pickups. When I want get a little dirty I play a Schecter C1 Exotic.

I also have a THD BiValve 30, and while the BJR is not in its class, it is a great sounding amp for the money, and down right incredible sounding after the mods.

I don't gig, just informal jams. I always take my BJR. Too much hassle to take the THD and cabinets. I've had the BJR about 5 years. Once under warranty they replaced a micorphonic tube. Other than that I have never even changed the tubes until it was modded. The plastic input jack was stripped and getting loose. It has actually been that way for about a year before I decided to get it repaired. Other than that I've had no issues.

Had 1 warranty repair a couple months after I bought it, turned out to be a microphonic tube. They covered it with no problem!

I've had several amps, tube and otherwise. Also go back to tubes though. Except for my Fender AmpCan I take to the lake, its awesome! Cureently I have the BJR, the THD, a small Crate acoustic amp, and the AMPCan. A Strat, s Schecter, an EPI acoustic, A Go Guitar, and a Speedster. Also an old Yamaha 12 string!

The only thing I really hated was the plastic input jack. Foolish of Fender for trying to meet a price point for price of a $1 quality input jack!

If the BJR was stolen I'd would definitely replace it. And I'd definitely have it modded again. Nothing I've played really comes close to offering the sound, quality, and value in a small practice amp.

This amp is very plain jane, but if you have good effects pedals it does not matter that much. No OD channel, just a beautiful reverb.
Tube Amp... beautiful tone. But this part is for features.
15W of power, but it sounds very loud for 15W...

No visible headphone jack (you have to reach into the amp and rewire the thing), one footswitch jack (for FAT).

Only 15W, but it's loud enough to cut through and be heard in a 300 seat church sanctuary.

This amp sounds beautiful. It's among the nicest reverbs I've ever heard. I play a mix of soft rock, blues and hard (almost punk) alternative Christian.

No distortion channel, but it sounds awesome at low volumes with my BadMonkey OD. Crank it up and the OD tubes in the amp itself work miracles!

I run a Zoom 2.1u->BadMonkey (and sometimes a SuperComp). My axe is a Cort Z-22

This thing is built like a tank... for a week or so the reverb went out and I was horrified... I opened her up and found out that it was just a fuse that popped out of it's bracket. Once I pushed it back in, it was good to go again!

No backup needed for this thing.

N/A

I've been playing for over 15 years. This is my first amp over $100... and it was worth every penny (of course, I did get it for a gift).

It would be nice if it had a bit more power, but it's loud enough for what I use it for.

Lack of features (no trem, practical headphone jack, etc) is what keeps this amp from getting a perfect score. It sounds amazing though!

The church members who bought this for me researched very well.

This is a follow-up to my Dec. 2005 review.

The Blues Junior is a great little amp, but I think Fender gave it a box that is too small. I ordered a combo amp cabinet from Mojotone that was originally designed for the Fender Pro (tweed version, not the reverb version) that Mojotone calls "Tweed Pro". This cabinet is significantly larger than the stock BJ cabinet, and houses a 15 inch speaker instead of a 12 inch speaker. I also upgraded the Accutronics reverb tank from the stock BJ reverb unit to a top of the line six-spring reverb tank.

I installed a Jensen C15K 15 inch speaker in this Tweed Pro cabinet, along with the new reverb tank.

Let me tell you guys, the sound now has a much fuller and richer dimension than the stock unit had, and the weight was only increased by about eight or nine pounds, it's still less than 40 pounds.

The Jensen C15K is rated at 100 watts and no matter how hard you hit it from the amp, there is no "cone cry" that you hear from speakers that are being overdriven. That's a big plus for me.

My 10 rating is for the modded amp, the original rates an 8.

What is the cost for this?

Mojotone cabinet $278 plus a $25 charge for the different chassis cut-out
Jensen speaker $86 (get it from South Valley Vintage)
Blues Junior $399

Total $788

The Blues Junior becomes the Blues Senior. The Mighty Mite.

So far so good.

Haven't contacted Fender.

For the "Blues Senior" a 10.

USA-made in 1997. Features described below.

This is a very nice sounding amp. Mine is stock except for output tubes that were replaced last year. You can play any style(yes, even metal) with a little tweaking and FX pedal(s).

Ok, I bought this new in 98 and have easily logged over a thousand hours on it. I've forgottenly left it on for days at a time, it's taken a tumble or two in the trunk of my car, and it's bumped it's fair share of walls. Having said this, the tolex is in great shape, and it's not missing knobs, doesn't have ripped grill cloth, and the reverb works fine.

Up until recently, I have used it regularly at practice and at live performances with no problems.

The biggest reliability issue I've experienced is that i've had numerous tube socket solder breaks with this amp(one of which was onstage). The good thing is that you can resolder those pins without removing the chassis, but it's still sucks and leaves me wondering when it's going to happen again. So I've started bringing a backup to practice and shows and using an A/B AB splitter to run them together in case the BJ takes another dump on me.

Bottom line, tube socket solder job is subpar and this is the USA model. It'll be interesting to see if more users report the same problem with the Mexican model as they age a little.

Warranty expired and I never had to have any repairs or service perfromed on this amp within the warranty period.

I've been playing on and off for about 17 years. Seriously playing and gigging the last 5 or so I guess. I own several guitars, a handfull of older amps < 30 watts. My gigging amps are a Gibson GA-15rvt and the Blues Junior. I like the FAT boost and use it for lead work. I don't use much reverb(usually set it to 2 or 3 at most), but it's fine as small as the amp is.

It's a really nice little amp and has served me well for such a small investment, BUT, it does have it's issues. I don't like the power light location... makes it easy to walk away from the amp and foget that it's still on-especially after a few beers.

If it was stolen, I'd probably buy an Ampeg Jet or a solid state Epiphone Triggerman 60. I wouldn't buy a new Blues Junior.

2007 Blonde Model. Single channel, Mid, Treble, Bass, Reverb, Master, Volume and Fat switch. All tube Circuitry. 3 Groove tube 12AX7's and 2 Sovtek EL84's.

Pretty straight forward amp. Perfect for you blues guys.

Let me first say that if you are expecting a lot of Overdrive, this amp is not for you. Period. I was actually kind of expecting a good amount of OD because of the classic rock and instrumental music I play. But it really suits me when I play stuff by Cream. I like gain for the stuff I play though. I've got a T.C. Jauernig DGTM pedal coming in a couple days so hopefully it helps me on the exact tone I am looking for. I play a MIJ Fender strat w/ Lace Sensor gold Single coils at the neck and middle and a Dimarzio Super Distortion humbucker at the bridge. I like to coil split the humbucker while playing on the OD channel. Sounds great. I like to have my reble at about 7 or 8 and bass and middle at about 5.

I really like the clean channel. Sounds fantastic. Definitely a nice blues sound when I am in the mood for playing a little bit of blues. The cleans with the Lace sensor in the neck sounds awesome.

Apparently changing the speaker makes this amp sound better, but I don't think I am going to do anything to this amp. Maybe, just maybe later on, but I think this amp is good as is stock. Plus there are a few mods out there.

Some of the knobs are very loose. I know it isn't just the knob, the whole pot just wiggles around. The treble, master and middle knobs wiggle, while the others dont wiggle at all.

This amp is only 2 weeks only, so I can't really comment on reliability. I can just hope I don't run into any issues.

Haven't dealt with Fender Customer service ever.

This is actually the only amp I own. I am one of those guys who kind of sells and buys. It's mainly due to the fact that I am a broke student. But of course I am planning on buying a new amp soon and I will keep this Blues Junior, if I manage to get more money. ;)

I wish it had more gain, but hey, I don't blame the amp. It's intended for blues and classic rock. It's my fault for not doing some shopping. But I was on a limited budget and for it's price I don't think it can be beat. Hell finding used tube amps within my budget was very difficult.

One 12 inch speaker, 15 watts of tube power, treble, mid, bass eq, a volume and a master and spring reverb, a fat switch that adds treble and bass. Oh yes, and classic fender tone. Simple is best. I use it for home practice and when playing with friends. Its loud enough to play over any drummer but not too loud that it doesnt sound good at that volume. Its a shocker how loud this thing is.

The amp is simply fender clean tone in a small box. 15 watts of the best fender tone at room volume. You can get some distortion, or should I say very little distortion if you turn the volume up and turn the fat switch on but its not any good. The clean is great. Its the sound of a cranked clean fender tube amp at a level where you can still hear the drums. Glassy warm and clear. Love it. The eq works but it very subtle compared to some other amps. Its there but you cant really get anything too harsh, meaning almost every setting sounds great.

Its a tube amp so its bound to have problems someday. Right now its rock solid and I can depend on it to turn on with no problem.

No idea.

This is the absolutely best practice size amp you can buy. It sounds great quiet but when you turn it up its even better. I compared it with the Epiphone Valve standard, the Crate classic 30, the Roland cubes, everything half decent at this volume and the Fender blues Junior was the only one that had me playing in the store for a good hour. If I lost it I would go out there and get it again. Im thinking of getting another one for no reason. Im a pedal guy so anything its missing can be added, but for the blues plug it in and play. Sound great either way.

Check Fender web site for details.

This is an update to my previous review now that I've played this amp for awhile and have since gotten another amp for some comparision. What I've discovered is that my Strat with single coils is a better suited axe for this amp than my LP. I've decided that this amplifier without pedals doesn't cut it for me. Without pedals this amp sounds single dimensional, boxy, flat, and blah even though I was originally pleased with the tone improvement after doing Bill M's mod to the tone stack. I just can no longer play through this amp without my pedals unlike my new amp which doesn't need any pedal per se. Benefits still remain with this amp, though. The pluses of this amp are its price and availability used, compact size, lightweight, and portability, and lower tube replacement expense. Therefore it's still a keeper amp for these reasons and playable with pedals.

Totally reliable. Not much to break.

Non-existent.

I would still recommend this amplifier for someone who is on a very limited budget or who isn't picky about trying to dial in a very particular tone, and/or who wants convenience and portability. The one worthy feature that is missing on this amp is a standby switch, but that seems to be the case with most lower powered, inexpensive amps these days. I wish it had one. All tube amps shouldn't be without a standby switch.

This is a 1996 black tolex model. Stock it was ok for blues-rock-country styles, but just didn't have a real good tone. It was ok, and had a "tubey" sound, but something was kind of too fat and flabby. Y'all know what this thing's got- 1 channel, reverb, fat button, which exaggerated an already fat condition. Not fancy- just 15 watts of real tube power- loud enough for most small clubs and practice. I recently saw Lee Roy Parnell in concert and this was all he was playing through! What did he know?

Again- fairly good basic sound, but I found a cheap 15-20 minute fix. As you have read, a lot of folks find this amp interesting enought to fiddle with, to try and make it better. Me too. But I just wanted a tighter sound, that projected a bit better, and had a bit more edge to it. I mainly play blues- but also dabble in classic rock and some country, using a 59 RI Les Paul. All I did was to take out the heavy magnet Fender stock speaker, went to Guitar Center and bought a $29.95 Celestion 50 watt speaker. Take the back off, drop 4 screws that hold the chasis- pull 4 screws off the speaker- pop in the new boy, pop all the screws in, and WOW!!!!!!! It transforms into not quite a Marshall sound, but close. Like a fender cloned to a Marshall. Very nice now- I'll use it for rehersal and live shows.Put an Ibanez tubescreamer on it, and you got a real tone maker!

It's worked fine for 5 years. I bought it used, never had 1 problem, and yes I use it with no back up. It's just an old simple Fender circuit- if you don't drop it down a flight of stairs, I'll probably last as long as those 50's tweed Fenders. But it costs $399 new-cool!

Never dealt with Fender. never had to. My local retailer stands behind his stuff real well.

I've been picking over 30 years, in all kinds of bands- opening concerts for name acts- clubs- etc. Always looking for good sounding amp, and I thought this one was cool because it was small, portable, looked good, but it just didn't quite have THE sound till I replaced the speaker. Now it may be my #1 amp for awhile. I have a Marshall, Crate, Peavey, and a Music Man amp. But I love the tone of the Blues Jr better than the rest. It doesn't need any extra frills. It's just a good basic club/recording/practice amp- 1 channel + reverb. It's all you need.

For the money, this is one of the best sounding amps out there. I'm not a fan of the british tone and too many amps sound buzzy and indistinct when they try to go hi gain. This amp is a very smooth sounding amp in overdrive. In stock form, I give this amp a solid 8. Cleans are nice and the reverb is typical nice Fender.

There are mods out there but here's what I highly recommend that is easier to do and has the MOST impact in tone. First of all, you may want to consider changing the speaker. Stock speakers are not always the best. I use an Eminence Texas Lite which is a lite weight neo magnet speaker and sounds really good. Get a good speaker cable. I use a Lava Canare speaker cable which is very smooth sounding.

Here's the pinacle change that I would recommend above anything else...

GET A MERCURY MAGNETICS BLUES JR OUTPUT TRANSFORMER ($90 http://www.mercurymagnetics.com/pages/mainframe.htm )!!!! The sound impact is remarkable, the whole amp is pushed into boutique territory. Look at all the high end boutique amps (Fuchs and Carr use MercMags)...they use quality output and power trannys for good reason. The MercMag is color coded just like the stock transformer so installation is very easy. Just hook up the wires exactly in the same spots as the old transformer. Mounting is easy also. I used one existing screw hole and then drilled another for the second mounting. The MercMag is about twice the size so you have to drill another hole. Very easy, took me about 1/2hr to do.

I haven't done any tone stack mods to this amp as I really don't think the amp needs it now. The MercMag adds so much punch, harmonics, touch sensitivity, smoothness, etc that NO tone / capacitor change can even come close to reaching this level. This amp absolutely ROCKS now. Stock the amp sounds anemic in comparison. You should here the amp with the output cooking. Very smooth, chimey, tight, with a touch of compression that would make you swear there was a tube rectifier in there somewhere (but no mush). I would easily compare this amp to an amp in the $1000 dollar range with the upgrades I've made. Overdrive is rich and ballsy with harmonics leaping out and a nice fat smooth midrange.

The only other change I plan to do is to add another 47uf of power capacitance to take out some more of the output hum that is common with this amp.

Forget all the mods out there. I've been modding amps for a long time and I can tell you from experiance, cap / resistor changes are nice, but for the amount of time, difficulty, and money, changing the output tranny is the most impactful change you can do. High end tube audio and high end tube guitar amps use high quality output transformers. You should also. I'm floored by the impact its made to this little amp. Feel free to email me with questions. The change is very, very easy to do.

This is a black tolex blues junior with the 60th anniversary sign on the back so I guess it's made in 2006.

The feature I don't use that much is the reverb which isn't that good. Maybe they could offer a version without it and sell it cheaper.

Haven't used the amp with the band yet. It's got a great size: it's got 15 tube watts and a 12 inch speaker, yet it's small and light enough for public transport.

I really love the sound of this amp. I had the hot rod deluxe which i liked, but I prefer the blues junior. All I have to do is to turn the mids down a bit and turn the bass up a bit and I'm in tone heaven.
Maybe it's not as good as my 90s model Vox Ac-15 but it's got a warmth that the vox doesn't have. I also tried a pro junior and I have to say I hated it, to me it sounded boxy, muddy, terrible. I prefered a frontman solidstate practice amp to the pro junior. I was afraid that the blues junior would sound similar to the pro junior but it's more like the hot rod deluxe, only better!

To me the sound is warm, clear, sweet and sparkling at the same time. A nice defined sound, not muddy at all. Putting in JJ preamp tubes made the highs rounder and less harsh (not that they are that harsh in the beginning). I prefered the stock sovtek power-amp tubes to the JJs I also tried, though.

I realize that there are many people who prefer this amp with a modded tone stack. I tried these mods (search for billm mods on the internet), but I gotta say I prefer the amp without them. So I reconverted the amp to the original tone stack. The mods will make the amp sound more like a hot rod deluxe, make it sound bigger, but to me the 'sweetness' of the tone gets lost. So I ruined the warranty only to realize I prefer the amp stock. Seem like these mods are a matter of taste, but I knew the risk before and If I hadn't tried the mods I would always think to myself "maybe it would sound even better modded". But

The only thing so far which I don't care for too much on this amp is it's reverb. It's just not as deep and warm as a quality spring reverb like on my pre custom classic ac-15. The amp's tone suffers in my opinion if you engage the reverb. But it is a real analog spring reverb and maybe better than nothing.

But otherwise this amp can sound like a marshall like recent red hot chili peppers or classic fender like on abbey road. I use the amp without the boost switch engaged but I think it's a good feature which boosts and fattens your signal for solos.

Just a sweet sounding amp! But you have to turn down the mids to about 5 and turn up the bass to araound 9. With all tone controls in the middle it sound a little boxy.

Oh and one more comparision: I also tried the ldt version in tweed and with the jensen speaker but I did't like it, sounded harsher, muddier that the standard black model with the eminence in it (which I got, and which sounds fantastic, if I didn't already mention it!)

fantastic amp! Maybe you could give the amp a 10 "for the money", but I rate it a 9 in absolute terms. I even like the way it smells...

Mine is 2004, great for blues and rock'n'roll. I use it home, for small gigs, bigger gigs I mic it up.

I was not satisfied with the sound, it was to boxy. I got me a T-Rex M??ller, overdrive/boost pedal, a Ibanez compressor and KAWOOM! there it was! I also own a Hot Rod deluxe, but prefer my Junior from now on.

Love the lightness and simplicity-one channel, no frills, just plain what you see is what you get

For anyone interested, you can go to Eurotubes.com on the web and the guy there has created custom tube-sets for Blues Jr.'s that help the amp perform according to your desires or needs. For less than $60 you can re-tube with matched sets that either increase cleanliness, or that increase drive at lower volumes, and all points in-between.

Amp is a 2006. 15 watts, 1x12, all tube, 1 channel with master volume, reverb and "fat-boost" (which I don't use). I play mostly blues and blues based prog. rock and some popish-rock stuff as needed. This amp does quite well for me in terms of getting the sound I want and the volume I need. Stands up quite well with a reasonable volume band for rehearsals and smaller gigs. Definitely need to mic it for larger rooms. The enclosure is pretty small so you don't get a TON of spread, but I prefer a lower power amp mic'd up than using more powerful combos and stacks. No effects loop on this thing and I don't need it. I bought it for those "fender-licious" cleans and that's my base. My peal chain works great in front of this amp. I give a 9 because it has everything I need and very little that I don't.

The amp by itself gives a nice full sparkly clean tone. Fender seems to voice their preamps with alot of sweet warmth and fatness. I love that tone for cleans but when I drive it past mild breakup, well the tone just gets "confused" and muddled. Not my thing. With the master volume cranked, I get breakup around 12:00 on the pre. The breakup I get has alot more power tube drive than preamp drive. With the master lower, I get breakup a little later on the pre. As I said....not loving the OD sounds of this amp, but I'm fine with that as I bought this amp for it's clean tones and to use as a platform for my modest pedal board.

Here's my signal chain: '96 G&L Legacy >Planet Waves Tuner > Jekyll & Hyde OD > TS9 > Danelectro Delay. I love this guitar (it's what a strat ought to be) and my OD pedals I put MUCH research into before buying. That being said...the BJr really accentuates and brings out the best in my gear. Sure, it's no Matchless Chieftan, or DR. Z, or Buddha, or any other such boutique amp but for my budget and needs I am quite happy.

No issues yet. Heard some bad stories. Heard some good stories. I know there were some issues with the older "greenboard" ones. I hear they are fixed. Time will tell.

No experience

Been playing about 20 years now. Been getting paid for it for the last ten. I've owned quite a few other amps in my day some were great...some were not. When shopping for this amp I also auditioned Crate Palomino's, Pro Jr.'s, Roland Cube 60, and the hotrod Deluxe.
I just love the sound and portability of the Blues Jr. Plenty loud for most occasions (i.e. practice, rehearsals, pickup jams, small to medium gigs). At $400 new, not much else compares. There are better small amps for like 6-10 times the price. My pockets aren't deep enough to justify. Maybe one day... If this amp were stolen...I would get another.

Amp made in Mexico, year 2005. Its features, quite essential and minimalized are just the best to suit my taste (the less you have, the less will break!): 15 Watts of pure all tube power, single clean channel, bass mid and treble controls, volume (pre) and master (power amp), Accutronic spring reverb and -the feature I like the best- a really useful boost named "fat" controllable via footswitch (not included)that adds some juice to the tone for lead sound, making it cut through the mix as a blade through butter! As I wrote, it just have 1 channel and doesn't have any effect-loop; it's anyway really pedal-friendly and putting a really good overdrive in front of it will make it just sing. Its 15 Watts are more than enough to gig in small clubs and if you have to play in a theatre or a Stadium, I suppose you'll have to mike it. I won't give it a 10 here just because for the buck I'm convinced they SHOULD supply the footswitch.

The sound is clean and deep, very responsive to EQ settings and can make any guitar you plug in the way it's meant to play... I mostly use it with a Strat and a Tele (both loaded with Kinman pick-ups)and I can nail everything between Chicago and Rio Grande in the Blues territory (which must obviously be the perfect habitat for this amp): SRV, Johhny Winter, early ZZ Top, Allman Bros. and Lynyrd Skynyrd. It just brings the best out of my rig: the sound is clear, but never brittle, with tight bass response and always 3-dimensional.
It even seem to like some jazzy phrasing when I plug my full-hollow Ibanez semi-acoustic guitar.
I had tons of other amps in the past (Marshall JCM600 and 800, Fender Super Reverb, Hot Rod Deluxe, Mesa Caliber 22, Peavey Classic 50). This is by far the best I've own: after wandering for decades looking for an amp providing good sounds both clean and distorted, I realised that all I needed was a clean tone perfect to my ear and my taste, then a good overdrive that wouln't snaturate that sound...
The Blues Jr gave me THAT clean sound, but don't forget that THE sound is totally subjective: the same sound may be Heaven for me and Hell for somebody else...

It seems well built, despite some reviews I read here... It never let me down so far, though I often mistreat it a bit by gigging around in Clubs where I have to "squeeze" it a little ;-).
I always gig without a back up, even if I just got another one trading off my Hot Rod... Sofar, so good.

I never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 30+ years, a decade as a pro across late 80's and 90's with more Blues and Southern Rock bands than I can remember.
I'm really in love with this amp; I think it gives its best with the Strat, but let's remember that the amp is 25% of your sound, as 25% is in your guitar and the last 50% is in your hands and heart!
I wouldn't buy any other amp and I guess you hardly could find another in this price-range that sounds better! Oh, by the way... It weighs in under 18 Kg, so you won't have to rent a lifter to bring it out for gigs!

Mine was made in 2006. There are plenty of reviews here so I will focus only on this amp's usefulness in playing surf music.

I play surf music through this amp with an assortment of Fender and Danelectro guitars, generally preferring neck+bridge. You can get a good surf sound out of this amp. Needless to say, you will want to turn the reverb all the way up to 12 and leave it there all the time. You can get a good deal more reverb out of it by turning down the EQ's. I find that a setting of between 1-2 for middle and bass, and between 2-3 for treble yields a nice tone. It would be nice, of course, if the reverb could be turned up past 12, perhaps to 20 or 400 or so. But then again, the sky is the limit.

I found the Sovtek 12AX7's to be lacking in dirt and snot, so I pulled one and replaced it with a 1953 GE 12AX7 that trashes up the sound a bit more (I believe it runs a bit hotter as well). If you have a box of 12A?7 tubes around, try out a few others.

The Blues Jr pretty much has all the features you can expect from a small tube amp - single channel, 3 band eq, master volume and Reverb and 12 inch speaker.

One unique feature the act has is what they call a "FAT" switch, which is a fixed gain and low-end booster that's footswitchable. A good substitute if you don't have a Tubescreamer. It thickens up the signal and makes it more powerful - I'd leave it on all the time but I run a rather noisy flanger before the amp so can't have any gain boost after it, so leave it off. This is where an effects loop would have been great.

I've had this amp for a few years now so am pretty well versed with what it likes and does not.

First this is a Fender, not a Marshall 18w so don't expect a lot of overdrive. The name of the amp is Blues Jr, not Rock Jr or Metal Jr. What this means is it's designed to produce a Blues sound - as you turn up the volume the tone gets increasingly woolly and middy, losing high end detail. Personally I'm not a Bluesman (I play Indie rock) so I swapped out the 12AX7 in V1 with a vintage RCA 12AT7, which increases the clean headroom of the amp and suppresses the middy, woolly gain sound for further along the turn of the volume knob. You still have to be careful boosting the amp with pedal - a large volume boost from a pedal will of course push the amp into the woolly middy drive, so I tend to be fairly conservative with pedal volume, although some bright dirt pedals mix quite well with the amp's own overdrive.

The general dark, middy, woolly tone of this amp means it's probably best suited to single coils (not surprising again - it's a Fender). I play HBs (HSH) and think you can get the most out of this amp with lighter gague strings - I use flatwound 10s. Previously I'd used flatwound 12s (I'm no shredder) but the tone was really much too thick for this amp. I had to run the treble control on full and the Bass on 2 and it was still too difficult to balance between the neck and bridge. Now I run each EQ at around noon - if the tone of the instrument is good then there's little need to compensate at the amplification stage. I leave the volume at 5 and alter the master depending on whether I need to keep things quite. It's quite loud with the master maxed.

The spring reverb is ok, but nothing to write home about. Of course it's not tube driven, and it's a very small spring tank, so isn't that deep and has that small tank twang. Some guy on ebay used to offer a bigger spring tank that he'd file down so it would fit into the cab. I'd always intended to pick one up but never got around to it and I've not seen them listed for a few years now.

I also swapped out the stock speaker with a Jensen C12N reissue several years ago. From memory it improved the tone slightly, maybe by 10-15%.

Well I'm not a gigging musician so can't comment on how it stands up to being moved from place to place, but I've never had an issue with the amp. I was disappointed to read that Fender Australia would only honour the 5 year warranty if the amp was serviced by an authorised repairer annually.

I also noticed that the knob labels were very easily rubbed off (the ON under the power switch has completely rubbed off my amp).

One thing it is prone to is tube rattle, though this is more an issue of the tubes than the amp, and a risk with most combos. The stock grovetube preamp tubes in V2 and V3 rattle on the neck pickup with the volume is high enough. I'd probably worry about it more if I had an audience.

I've had a love-hate relationship with this amp. I'd fallen for a little Pro Jr, yet when I went back to the store the next day for the sale they'd discounted the Blues Jr, which I hadn't bothered to try, into my price range. The store was far to packed to try the amp out and I just assumed it was the same as the Pro, only with more features. I think the two amps have different purposes - the Blues Jr is obviously meant for the Bluesman and the Pro is better voiced for classic rock. In any event I've learned to live with the Blues and can appreciate that it's a pretty good amp for the money. It's never had an issue and is still running strong on 4 of the 5 stock tubes 4 years later. Ultimately I think I will eventually sell it in 6 months to help fund a holiday, and would probably look at something else to replace it when I return, perhaps a Deluxe Reverb reissue or possibly an old Princeton Reverb if I can find one. I think the Blues Jr is better than old Champs and Vibrochamps - they sound tiny next to one.

Anywho, they're available everywhere so try one out and let your own ears decide. Best to ignore criticisms from gear snobs because it doesn't measure up to their Matchless - it's an entry level mass-produced amp for God's sake. For what it is, it's pretty good. value. There's not a lot available in the alternative.

This amp has no frills, except for a "Fat" button, which gives it an overdrive effect. This is different than the Fender Blues Deluxe set up. The other pots are just for volume, master, reverb, etc..
I basically use this amp at my home, but may be suitable for a small gig.

This was my first tube amp purchase after having several solid state types. I play a Fender Telecaster, usually tuned in open E to play bottleneck with. I am very happy with the sustain I get with the amp fairly cranked up. The tone is powerful, but dampening the strings helps omit any clutter. So it works well for this application. I also just purchased an Epiphone Dot, which is generally rigged in standard tuning, and it's a blast to play throught this amp. It has a nice warm tone, and depending on how high the volume and master are set, I can rely on only amp distortion for good rockin effects. I also use a wah wah with the Dot at times, and I feel no need to add any other effects device to the set up to achieve any better tone. It's powerful for it's size, and it's got some versitility depending on styles and guitars

I had to have a tube replaced recently, but it's held up nicely.

I have found many players who are fond of this amp for different reasons. For the price it's a great investment for a smaller tube amp that packs a little punch.