Fender Blues Junior

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. :)