Fender Blues Junior

Made in '05 or '06, this amp brings treble, mid, bass, volume, master volume, reverb, and a "fat" switch. It's got a single channel, 15 watts, 10 inch speaker, and no frills. I pretty much don't use the fat switch at all - it just makes the tone a little hollow, which doesn't fit my taste. I use this amp at home and its more than loud enough. I don't think I've ever had the master switch past halfway, and that's jamming with a drummer and a bassist. The master switch is perfect for me because I can get nice dirty sounds at low volumes. One issue that might be a problem for some people is that, at least on my amp, the reverb, even when rolled all the way off, is still audible. You can hear it if you really pay attention but I rarely ever notice it.

This amp's clean is one of the best I've seen. Obviously it should be better than most for being a Fender, but for the price and size, it's really amazing. With the volume knob at 3 (knobs go all the way to 12) I can get smooth jazz tones; this thing really loves humbuckers. I'm not a big fan of the clean sound with my Tele's single coils but it's also very usable. With the volume past 4 you start to get that breakup that really bites when you tell it to. You can really tell the true sound of the guitar with this thing; the response is really clear and a good player can get practically any sound here. The full out distortion comes on at around 8. It's not brutal by any means, but it's definitely there. With my SG, I could use a little more brightness in the distortion, but it's still completely usable. I like it best with my Tele: pretty much the best distortion sound I get with the gear I currently own (this, a Marshall DSL combo, and a Mesa Tremoverb head w/ 4x12). I usually don't turn the volume knob past 10. The amp sounds good at all volumes between 2 and 7. I've never turned it up past 7 to tell you. Only 1 point taken off because the distortion is not perfect for the type of rhythm stuff I play (lot of palm mutes and such). The reverb is also not a very good one, but I don't really like or use reverb so that doesn't affect me.

I've had the amp for almost 2 months now. It's been good to me. It's been knocked around a bit but no problems yet. I would definitely gig with it, but I don't really have any gigging experience, so that might be a mistake :). I don't expect anything to go wrong with it, and if anything it's covered for 5 years under warranty. I haven't sat down on it like I do with my other amps. I wil only really find out about this when an accident happens, heh.

Never had to deal with them. Pretty hard to get a hold of their customer support phone number though.

I've been playing for 2 years now (taking it seriously). I've owned a few pieces of decent gear (tele, SG, this, Tremoverb, DSL401 combo, and some other cool stuff). This is definitely the most worth-it piece I've ever bought. I don't think I'll find a better amp for this price. If it was lost or stolen I'd be really mad, but due to my being very stingy I don't know if I'd buy it again (probably would though). I love its clean, really like the distortion with the Tele too. The Blues Jr. belongs to that select group of gear that just makes you wanna play all day.

Mine is a 2006 model, made in mexico.
Regarding the features, it has an on/off switch(but no standby), a reverb control, master volume, middle, treble, bass and volume controls. The eq controls are ok, with a fair response, but they only really kick in when the master volume's beyond three.

As for speaker, it has an 8 ohms 50 watts fender speaker.

One channel of 15 watts class A valve power, though there is a FAT swithch(wich i tend to leave on, as it increases gain)

valve setup is: 3 12ax7 and two EL84

This amp isn't the most versitail, but hey it aint a Line 6, and besides when it comes to valveamps, simple is often best.

This amp has some serious nice cleans. When i resently bought a new guitar(an AM Tele, S/S) i tried it with the new oh so fancy fender amp: The Supersonic, and i really expected that it probably wouldn't sound as good through my own little 15 watter...

Guess what? It sounded better! That's still talking the cleans.
It has that nice fender sparkle but can still go to real bluesy cleans(it's afterall not called blues for nothing).

As goes for the distortion on this one, there pretty much aint nothing to come for. But what there is, it's pretty sweet. Still it doesn't really goes past blues tones. Fortunally it goes very well with pedals, so it is possible to get a higher amount of distortion.

As goes for the reverb I pretty much always leave it on at two, though it can be used for more extreme settings.


It suits my music perfect, as i play in a band focused on rock from the british invasion. I.e Cream, Led Zeppelin, Beatles and stones.
But also a bit of newer material, like oasis, raconteurs and arctic monkeys.

It's not very noisy, and if was i probably wouldn't blame i on the amp... Single coils, twisted cables and low end effects are pretty much noise for me, if it aint one it's the other.

To sum up:
Cleans get a solid 9 for real nice but it can be found better if you have the cash.
Chrunch get an 8 for doing what it says it does but can still be found alot better.

9+8/2= 8.5

I wouldn't hesitate to use this baby on the road. It is totally dependable. Though the first one i got had an issue with not being able to play without a statue on the bass control. Got a new one.
Never broken down, though i've only had for a little past half a year.

2 for the first
8 for the secound that's 5

never used them. Only used the store

I've been playing for bout three years. My setup is like this
AM Fender Telecaster-> Crybaby(with a fasel)-> Boss DS-2-> Marshall Blues Breaker-> Blues Jr.
Part from that i have an Epiphone les Paul(worst peice of shite i've ever bought!). If it got stolen i'd buy another in an instant, as i've gotten used to this thing, and it fits me better than any i've ever played, that includes ENGL classics, more expensive fenders, VOX CC AC-15/30 and highend marshalls. The marshalls are the only one i'd chose over this thing, and let's face it: Who the fuck in their right mind wouldn't?
There are no flaws in it, nothing except a marshall gain channel. So to conlude: Perfect for me, but it's not the most versitail so a 9 is in place, as it doesn't really sell it self on being versitail or having a mashall gain channel...

9!

It is a good amp, just tried for a big gig & i was surprised of the power (with & without mic) & versatility
i've played rock of 60 & 70 & 80 & had no problem with it, just changing settings thru' master & volume (power & preamp tubes)
it has just one channel, i don't understand people complaining about this & that, why do you need a boost on it or a dist channel?
just use a good pedal like a TScreamer & it's done, if you're looking for effects buy a cheaper solidstate amp with 1000 effects on it
this amp is what we need to play at home & gigging around without & with mic: it is really amazing sound & power!
the only thing that made me give a 7 is for the case, a little too small, but after a year i really don't consider it as a negative point, & maybe also the knobs, hateful & not clear at all, but this has nothing to do with the sound quality

this amp is really great can reach all kind of melodies except maybe headbangers sound (that i don't really appreciate) so....
a few days ago we performed for about 200 people, & the blues junior amazed the people, many asked how much it costs & how do i get such crazy sound, you can do anything you want with your guitar, make it weep & create a creamy sound..... everything as long you qualities permit
there's is no distortion, i don't need it, just a reverb & a fat channel that looks like a loudness
my music style is pure rock music: eric clapton, jimi hendrix, santana, sonic youth...., great clean sound, crunch & with a pedal a wonderful distortion! & it does the greatest job!!!
now some people may say that a marshall may sound better or a mesa boogie... but this is a blues junior, & you really don't need a formula 1 ferrari to go to school, it is very light, good sounding! & i can do wathever i want with my guitar, lots of feedback, dynamics, finger effects, sensibility..... so why need more??

I've been playing for almost 15 year, owned a few marshall & other fender....
every amp is different (tube amp!), this is & will become one of the greatest amps, it makes me laugh to see people looking for marshal jcm 800 as though they were performing in festivals every month, while they just play at home & sometimes gigging
so why buy a powerful amp, just for the label or the class AB or just because that artist performed with it?
if all the labels stopped making crap amps like valvestate & frontman & valvetronix the choice for people would be much interesting
of course if you can't play guitar every amp is a mess, & off course there are better amp than this ($$$$!!!!), but not as beautiful as this & I mean: you can walk with your blues junior in a hand the guitar in the other & the effect bag on your shoulder, you can play at home, in a band, gig everywhere, the sound it produces is just perfect & satisfies my needs... so why go looking forward??
if you're looking for a great tube amp that really can satisfiy you go on with this
give yorself the time to try it for a while using different settings & you'll notice how sweet the sound can change & how great it is.
friends use marshall jcm, deluxe, valvestate, vox ac30, laney vc.... i tried it all, I'm in love with my blues junior, they made it for me!

I have a made in mexico (corporations business)
this amp is just perfect for practice, little gigs, big gigs with mic.....
in the beginning i was complaining about the lack of standby, headphone jack, line out, but now i really don't care, & i understand that it's not really important
i use this amp with my bands & during little concerts, people often can't beleive such little amp can create such beautiful sound
i think most of the people know how it's made & its components
the only negative aspect are the knobs that are placed on a kind of mirror plate & directed to the back

this amp is perfect for blues rockblues classicrock sound & also some jazz
the versatility depends of the settings so turning up the master you get a clean sound also thru' a pedal distortion or fuzz
if you turn up the volume you get a heavier sound much crunchy
i can make my guitar scream & cry, is really sensible & very good harmonic & dynamic, i really can get out what i want: from clean sound to crunch till the craziest feedback & pure distortion
so from a deep purple sound with high volume till a pink floyd sound high master & a hendrix sound in between
but with my axisfuzz i can reach sounds of any artist (75%)
it is very silent & the tubes don't get really hot after 2 hours jam comparing to others amp
it is a class A, hotrod deluxe is to heavy for 99% of the people who play guitar, so why buy 40 watt if you won't pass thru volume level 3?

till now is perfectly working
i don't believe people talking about solid state amps
they should just try these tube amps before

i've been playing 5 years classical, 5 years latinjazz & 3 years classicrock-blues own style
i use an axis fuzz of roger mayer & a wahwah
i like pure guitar music not really modern, vintage sounds, & this amp do the job perfectly!
don't believe people who say the tubes are not good or the speaker is bad, i changed the speaker but didn't notice a big difference so i left it stock!!!
it depends on your settings & your qualities as guitarist
invest yor money in study: you'll get more satisfaction
i was comparing it with a hotrod deluxe, a peavey delata blues, a peavey classic 30.....
15watt are the best need for a guitar player who will never play in a festival or big concert
at 4 volume & 3 master the hardbeating drummer is reached & bassplayer too
so.....
but try things before you buy!!! & inform yourself about class a, a/b, tubes.....
anyhow great amp!

Basic Fender tube amp. Great simplicity. Single channel amp with master volume and reverb. Fender sound. 15 watts with 12" Special Fender speaker. Nicely finished cabinet. Light carry weigh.

This amplifier makes a wonderful warm tube sound. It rocks. Got to say sound is night and day in comparison to my SS amplifier. And I thought my SS amp rocked. Play a Strat, Ibanez, ES335, and Les Paul. Great sound from all. Can get bluesy crunch. Fender clean. Nice tube tone. One may think 15 watts isn't enough, but this pup can get pump out good sound.

Unknown and no matter. The bias is set way too hot on this amp so a modification is in order. Otherwise the power tubes cook the the circuit board can get burned. Give it a 7 without the mod.

Not applicable. Will never use.

I have been playing awhile now. Alot of research along the way. Wanted a tube amp. But of course which one? Took awhile to decide on criteria for choosing one. New? Used? Wattage? Features? Reviewed alot of amps and talked to other musicians. Finally decided I wanted a simple tube amp for now with master volume and reverb, relatively portable weight, suitable wattage amp for home playing and gigging with drummer. Bought this amplifier used for a super price. USA made. Refreshed with new tubes. Sound is night and day in comparison to my SS amplifier. Awesome... Next step some basic mods to circuitry to rid amp of hum and to fine tune the sound. Couldn't be happier with this purchase.

A lovely bog standard 15watt valve amp with the exception of the FAT switch which boosts top end volume and gain by just that little bit.

Tradional style "stand behind" amp, hence the controls being at the back. (Just to correct people who think the text is facing the wrong way, that is why. Its styled like a stand behind amp which were around before the days of mic-ing up and PA systems)

Coiled reverb. (not for big emotive solo-ing but just to take the boxiness away from the sound you get in a small grotty back street pub.

Lovely!!

I've replaced the Eminence speaker with the standard Fender speaker from a Deville. This officially makes the amp double in volume as the extra 3db in a speakers capacity equates to twice the ear damage!!

Great blues tones and even punky sounds if you're playing anything with a humbucker. Unfortunately doesn't particularly handle my cheap budget Jap tele well because the guitar itself is too bright. Can't get enough bass through and even with the treble down low, I cant seem to relieve my ears of the shrill top end. I know that this is a problem with my guitar, but i thought id just say it to highlight that crap instruments sound even worse through this thing.

With the right amount of knob twiddling you can get this amp to really crack up well even at low volumes but its just as good at getting squeaky clean tones and performance volume too.

As with any valve amp, sometimes the tubes blow. I've had it happen to me once or twice but nothing else otherwise.

For a small amp it does take a surprisingly long time to warm up. I can turn it on a good few hours before a gig for the sound check and come show time its still warming up, ie. the volume slowy increases slightly throughout the night. Its nothing i moan about though as you normally need to turn it up later in a gig to contend with the drummers ever more drunken state and therefoe louder playing.

Never use anyone.

Good little amp with a big sound. Just 15watts can well contend with a large pub or a small club. You dont really need a bigger amp anyway, presuming you play large venues you should have a big enough PA to cope with the little Fender being mic-ed up.

No reliablilty problems so far and ive had it six years, bought second hand at that.

Looks nice too. The tweed limited edotion looks better though!

I bought it new in 2003. Black with silver grill. As stated below it has volume, treble, bass, middle, master, and reverb controls. It also has a ?fat? boost switch that have on pretty much all the time. It has all the basics for a one-channel ?blues? amp. I haven?t modified the amp at all, except to change the tubes, which I replaced with JJ?s (a nice improvement over the stock sovteks). I wish it had an effects loop and that the footswitch for the boost switch and the slipcover were included. Other than that it has everything you need in a small package.

I play various styles, but mostly blues and rock. I use this amp with a Strat, Tele and SG Standard. All of them sound great. I usually keep the treble, bass, middle set between 5-8 and the reverb between 2-4. This amp can go from a really nice clean to a warm overdrive depending on the volume setting (I also use the volume on my guitar to control the level of gain). I can get a great Mark Knoffler clean with my strat and a nice warm overdrive sound with my SG with the volume above 8-10 (it gets a bit fuzzy after that). I also use a TS808 as a boost, which works great. Although all of my guitars sound good through this amp, it seems to love my Tele. I can get a great Tom Petty/CCR sound with just the BJ and my Tele?s bridge pickup!

This amp also has a decent reverb. Obviously it?s not as good as a Twin, but for the price it?s definitely better than its competition, including the Traynor YCV20 and the Peavey Classic 30.

This amp has more than enough volume for home practice, jamming with friends, or playing small gigs. If you need more than that mic it or buy a bigger amp. As others have noted, it does sounds a little ?boxy? at higher levels but I usually play at home or in a studio so this isn?t really a problem for me. I suspect the ?boxy? sound could be treated with a better speaker.

Essentially, this is a great sounding small tube amp. If you can?t get a good sound out of this amp and a decent guitar then you?re better off spending your extra money on more lessons rather than buying a better amp.

I?ve had this amp for almost four years and I?ve never had a problem with it. I have two other amps (a Marshall DSL401 and a Tech 21) and both had problems with volume loss. I wouldn?t trust either of them without a backup, but I?ve never had a reason not to trust the BJ.

I?ve never had to deal with Fender and hopefully never will.

I?ve been playing for about 15 years. Right now I own a Strat, Tele and SG Standard. I also have a Marshall DSL401 and a Tech 21 Trademark 10. I own a bunch of pedals, but usually just use a TS808 and a Vox Wah. If it were stolen or lost I would buy it again, although I?d probably try to get the new tweed version with the jensen speaker (it just looks cool!). When I bought this amp I looked at several other amps, including the Pro Junior, Traynor YCV20 and the Peavey Classic 30. I liked all the amps, but I decided I wanted built-in reverb so that ruled out the Pro Junior. Then I decided that the BJ had a nicer clean tone than the Traynor or Peavey. Even still, it was a difficult choice between these three amps because the Traynor and Peavey have two channels with effects loops. However, in the end I decided that the BJ was cheaper so I bought it and used the extra cash to get a TS808... and just like that I had a two channel amp!

Overall, I?d give this amp an 8. Pros: great price, good tone, nice reverb, flexible controls, portable, and reliable. Cons: a little ?boxy? a higher volumes, no effects loop (although it does take well to pedals), and I think the footswitch and slipcover should be included.

I was a Marshall guy for a long time, but since I bought the Blues Junior I?ve switched over to the Fender camp. Fenders just seem better suited to blues and the style of rock that I like (Neil Young, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam?). I?m actually thinking about trading in my Marshall DSL401 for a Fender Blues Deluxe!

Basic features, volume, tone, reverb, simple

has a great sound, can be muddied up, accepts effects pedals well

unfortunatly, this amp is not reliable, only had it for 1 week when the trouble started, reverb went out right away, Fender repaired it but was in the shop for 3 weeks!! 10 months, reverb goes out again, back to the shop, 4 weeks on return!!within the first year the power tubes went away, back to the shop, 3 weeks!! at 26 months, reverb goes out again, back to the shop, 4 weeks, so you can see I`ve had some problems, this amp has been in the shop for a total of 14 weeks in less than 2 years

I have had extensive contact with Fender Customer support with no resolve. the warranty on this amp is 5 years and you need every bit of it. Fender refuses to replace this lemmon even after extensive documentation on the problems I`ve had with it. They just want me to go away! after the warranty is up I`ll be screwed if it continues to breakdown at the same pace, will probally sell it soon for a huge loss

I`ve been playing for over 30 years, Strat, tele, es-150 main guitars; if it were stolen I would not replace it, as a matter of fact I have esentially replaced it already with a Peavey because of it`s lack of dependability, I do like the size and weight, great for small venues or practice, mics up well for larger shows, and has great sustain

I'm not going to bother listing the features, becasue you can figure that out from other reviews or looking online. But I will say this amp doesn't have a lot of features, but it doesn't need them. If you want lots of cool effects, buy pedals. If you want a great sounding amp thats small, and easy to use, this is it.

First, this amp is can get loud. For it's size, it can get amazingly loud and still sound great. It was a very rich warm sound, and sounds very nice at quiet volumes. If you turn it up a bit, it sounds even better; it adds a bit of natural distortion. Again, a very rich, bluesy sound.

I've owned this amp for about 2 years now and it hasn't failed my yet. I haven't been gigging with it daily or weekly, but the amp gets to venture out of my apartment about once or twice a month. Nothings broken yet. If your cafeful (which you should, because it has 2 tubes and 3 pre-amp tubes...in other words, it's full of glass)you won't have any problems with this amp.

I love this amp. But I don't really play in any huge auditoriums. I've used little amps that sound huge in my practice/bed room and somewhat small in larger rooms, such as music shops. and at the same time I've used big amps that sound like crap in small rooms, becasue if you played them at a volume to where they sound good, you'd go deaf. If you're playing at home, in your garage, or in a small bar, this amp sounds wonderful. If your playing in an auditorium, or larger, get a bigger amp.

This is intended to be a basic amp. It succeeds. Low rating simply because it doesn't have a lot of features.

I play a clean, jazz oriented style. The BJr. seems nice and quiet in my practice space (also known as Dad's chair in the corner of the living room) playing at low volumes. I bought this amp after several months playing with a friend who uses a BJr. as his amp in a 17 pc. big band. He has no problem keeping up with the volume and sounding good in a reasonably sized hall. It does the jazz thing with my modded MIM Strat just fine. No buzzes like my PJr. No hisses like my Cube 60. Does the J thing a little better than my Traynor YVC20 (and a little lighter and a bit more compact too.)

40 years playing music. I've owned and played most of the usual suspects. (LP's, Tele's, Strats, ES-175's) So far, I love this amp. Excellent sound. Simple. Has the features I use. Doesn't have features I don't (ie. effects, extra channels). I've gone through the PJr., Traynor YCV-20 and Roland Cube 60. They're gone. I'm keeping the B.Jr.

Mine are newer models, tolex with the green circuit board. Not incredibly versatile, but I don't require much versatility beyond volume & tone. 1 channel, no effects loop. I wish it came in a bigger box. I use one or 2 with my band, depending on the size of the stage, but one is pretty loud. 3 12AX7 preamp tubes into 2 EL34 power tubes.

I play a LP or a Mustang with vintage-y alnico pickups. Louder indie rock. No noiser than any other tube combo.

Some say this amp sounds 'boxy.' I don't know if that's the right word. Maybe 'muddy.'I swapped out the stock eminence speakers for lighter, green Jensen P12s, which cleans this up. The original tone is nice, too, but the mids can be piercing with the Eminence, & you need to crank the low & mid & kill the treble to get the life into this amp. Sounds somewhere between an AC30 and a Bluesbreaker Jr. More Marshally with the swapped-in speaker.

The distortion is warm & glassy. I usually crank the "master" and just edge up the "volume" to a "Marshall Clean" kind of sound & stack my fuzz & sometimes a clean boost into that. For what I play, it's a good amp. 2 at once sounds phenomenal.

At louder stage volumes, the breakup can be too much & the amp can get lost, but 2 at once solves this, & it's a cheap enough amp. It's quite loud, though, almost too loud for the smallest venues.

Never broken down in the year I've owned 'em. The tubes seem to fit a bit loosely into their sockets, but that hasn't been a problem.

Playing for 23 years. I have several guitars, a pignose Hog 20, several stompboxes (though I really only use one)& a bunch of recording gear.

For the price, I'd buy it again, though my next amp purchase will be replacing a stolen '69 Traynor YBA1 head.

2005 model. Volume, treble, bass, middle, master, and reverb controls. It has a fat boost switch which I leave engaged pretty much all the time. Its got pretty much everything I was looking for out of a single channel amp minus an effects loop.

I use it with a Strat for a good blues and rock tone. It definitely delivers what I was looking for. Sweet, chimey clean all the way up to a nice dirty sound. It's full of harmonic overtones even at low volumes, and it just gets better as you turn it up. It lacks a bit of bass but hey a Strat is a bright guitar anyway. The reverb isn't the greatest Fender has ever offered, but since I only use it for a slight verb to thicken up trhe sound a bit, it gets the job done. For what it costs, its a steal for the tones you get out of it.

Its never let me down. I don't gig but I imagine it could take the punishment easily. I've had it since October of last year and its never even needed any extra attention.

Never dealt with them.

I'm giving it a 10, not because I think its the best out there, but because it has delivered everything I had hoped to get out of it. I wanted a low-wattage, plug and play type of amp. Some earlier reviews stated that a speaker/tube swap was neccesary. I'm not going to argue that those could bring subtle improvements here and there, but it's really not neccesay unless you're very picky. About the only thing I wish it had is an effects loop to put my memory man in, but it works fine without it. If it got stolen, I would defintely buy another one if I still had the same budget as when I bought it. For any blues or rock guitarist out there looking to break into the tube amp game, I would definitely recommend this amp as a good starting point.

Built in the last year or so I think. Bought it as new from a shipment they'd just had in. I've had it for about 10 months and was quite disappointed with it until yesterday.

Single channel amp, no frills as already outlined here. Twin channel version would be a nice addition for this category of amp. Not versatile, but it did what I wanted it to to.

It's plenty powerfull - forget the advertised power of 15watts - and will hold it's own in an unamplified drum band set up.

I play a form of modified blues + classic pop/rock, with a couple of Strats (one with Seymour duncan pick ups) and a humbucker loaded Fender Toronado.

It's quiet when the valves are warmed up and remains very well behaved at close to max power. When set for clean, the amp is noticeably quiet.

My initial disappointment came with the overall tonality of the thing - prone to harshness and a real thick mess at over half power. A real bark that was noticeably sharp, even with a compressor after the guitar. Generally quite muffled too, with little improvement afforded by the EQ section which had suprisingly little range over it's 3 frequencies. I put up with it and just used it for a clean tone. I acquired an Ashdown Peacemaker 40watt tube combo for my o/drive requirements, and this beat the Junior hands down for clarity. I probably would have sold the Fender, were it not for some suggestions here.

Suitably inspired - and after a lot of research - I took the Junior apart yesterday and fitted a brand new Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. Oh my God, the difference is remarkable. At a stroke the sound was dramatically cleaner, but still retained the warmth the amp always suggested. The gain was a little higher (the Junior is NOT a high gain amp) and the EQ controls are now much more effective. Even run flat out with volume and masters up full, I couldn't make it bark or sound harsh. Pure sweet bluesy tone with just the right amount of aggression. Just how it always should have been.. I've left the stock tubes in (Sovtek - power amp and Groove Tubes - pre amp)though I understand that further minor improvements can be effected by upgrading these. For now at least, it sounds absolutely beautiful.

Needless to say, my rating is post driver modification.

The amp is solid and so far completely reliable. It is of course only 10months old however. Even for a tube amp novice like me, stripping it down was a breeze and with no special tools required, or even a soldering iron - my upgrade took only 20mins. Servicing Tech heads may be disappointed or stressed by the circuit board arrangement, but it's a lovely clean job.

Never dealt with Fender - hope not to have to. For the sake of 2 months my warranty is now invalid I guess, but that's hardly an issue.

Gear used as already specified. Also use the brilliant TC Electronics Vintage Overdrive & the ridiculous great (for the money) Digitech Bad Monkey Overdrive.

Post modification, I'd recommend the Junior to anyone after a traditional tube amp in this category. My nearest comparison point of reference is my Ashdown Peacemaker 40watt combo. I'd buy the Junior again tomorrow, if I had to, knowing I could upgrade it in such a simple and effective manner. Why Fender ship it out the door with such a crap stock Fender/Emminence speaker is beyond me..

Let me start by saying I am a total tone freak. Can't stand a crappy sounding amp. I've played through Marshall's and owned Mesa Boogie. Pure crap! Now back to the Blues Junior. Not sure what year this Junior was made. Versatility? Not really unless you have a variety of pedals. Straight into the amp, this baby is made for blues and some classic rock. with some good pedals you can add some great country and harder rock. Metal? probably not. One Channel with a Fat switch. Fat just boosts the volume a little and maybe adds a little grit. Wish it had a standby knob instead of just the on and off but it's no big deal. I use this amp mostly for practice. I do gig with it but only for a few songs. I play in a mostly country band. I'm actually the bass player but switch to this amp with Fender Custom Special HH Gold top guitar to do rock songs such as by ZZ Top, Black Crowes, Georgia Satellites and the Stones. It works very well for these. I used to play in a rock band and know good rock tone. This baby sounds great. We play for dances, weddings, clubs from 100 to 800 people. I just mic this amp with a sm57 and she does exceptionally well. I give it an 8 because it works well with pedals although can't use my Rocktron Chameleon effects processor for some reason it sounds like crap through this amp but regular ol' stompboxes sound great! Don't need a lot of features. I have had amps with shit loads of features, they just bring on shit loads of headaches. The simpler the better.

Through this amp I mostly play a Fender Custom Special HH equipped with Dimarzio Tone Zone and Air Norton humbuckers that can be split into single coils. I also use a Fender Lite Ash Telecaster and an Ibanez JS 100. They all sound great through this amp. I play everything, country, classic rock, hard rock, funk, blues, western swing / jazz, metal, grunge. To me this amp lacks the bottom end I like for country but it still works fine with the use of an EQ pedal. I'm not the lead country picker in the band so don't need that tone right now. For country I'd prefer the big brother to the junior, the Hot Rod Deville. For blues and classic rock, early hard rock, this amp kicks ass. on it's own it's good but throw in a Boss SD-1 distortion pedal and a Ibanez, ts-808 or ts-9 and this lil thing becomes a wicked little bitch. It was a little noisy when I got it. It was used and don't know how old. Still had the stock Fender GT tubes in it. Replaced them with some Svetlana's and took care of the noise. I keep the gain down between 3 and 6. The amp is not real loud but loud enough to get the job done. In smaller settings it's fine in a larger setting, just mic it and she sounds purdy! Some other people's reviews say it sounds "boxy". Yeah it does. There's a lot of people spending money on mods for it. New tubes sure, If you want to clean it up and get rid of the boxiness I just use a boss EQ pedal. A person can do all kinds of tone modifications with just an EQ pedal. I'm a huge EQ pedal believer. thing about mods is what if you don't like it? EQ pedal, just need to move a few sliders. I take 2 points off just because It lacks the low end I like on the clean sounds. Not that it's bad it's just I like the clean on a Deville better. I'm sure it's the just the amp cabinet with one twelve versus 4 tens in the deville. I probably like more low end in my clean than most people.

So far so good. Haven't had any problems but then again I treat my gear with a lot of care. I do keep extra tubes handy but haven't needed them since I replaced the originals. Tubes on this amp are a snap to replace.

Never needed them

I've been playing for about 20 years. I have owned a peavey special 212, peavey 5150 combo, Dr Z maz 18 jr 2x12 with alnico blues, Mesa Boogie Nomad 2x12, and a Crate GlX 2x12 that I run a Rocktron Chameleon 2000 through. Sounds great for country and hard ass rock and metal! I've had some expensive stuff but but sold it to buy PA equipment and a nice Bass Rig as I have turned into more of a bass player in the last 3 years. Sold all my expensive gear and bought a used Crate and the Rocktron just to have something to play through at home. Love the Rocktron by the way. The crate is nice and clean but lacks the tube warmth I prefer. I owned the Dr Z (friggin sweet!) prior to it. I wanted a tube amp again and bought the Blues Junior because I didn't want my wife to divorce me. Like I said earlier the Rocktron doesn't sound well with it but the pedals I have sound awesome.

FOR $300 YOU CANNOT BEAT THIS AMP! Your not out a lot of money and you'll have a very usable little amp. You have to let the tubes warm up a little. At first she's very thin sounding. It doesn't have a lot of low end but mid range is what is crucial and this is where she shines. Does it compare to my Dr Z. Not even close! but then again I didn't spend $1950 on this one and I can still get great warm sounds out of it and don't have to lug around a 65 pound back breaker. I turn the bass to twelve the mid range to about 5 and the treble to three and she is very clean and responsive to pedals. If someone stole it I'd definitely buy another one. Even If I still had the Dr Z I would still want to have one of these just because it's a lot of fun to play through. For the money you can't go wrong. If you want to do hardcore metal then look elsewhere. Blues and Classic rock this baby is all you need. Throw in a nice distortion pedal and total bliss! EQ pedal and even more bliss if that's possible. After I bought mine our rhythm guitar player fell in love with it and bought him one also. He plays a Gretsch through it and absolutely loves it. Nails ZZtop and CCR tones perfectly. He's been playing for 30 years. Met Marty Stuarts lead guitar player and he owns one as well. Uses it for just jammin with friends and warm up back stage. Perfect example of tone is in your fingers. He makes his Junior sound like a million bucks.

Got the amp off Ebay and it's a 2005 model. I mostly use my MIM Strat with Fat 50's installed and it sounds beautiful. Much better than my old Crate GFX-15.
No real effects other than the fat switch. One thing I miss is the headphone jack. Mostly because I like to record myself on my PC and used to hook my old amp up to it via the headphone jack. Has nice breakup when you turn up the gain, but I mostly use my Tubescreamer anyway. You can get an optional footswitch for the fat switch, but in my case that's unnecessary.

As stated, my MIM Strat with Fat 50's sounds beautiful and I finally have the tone I was looking for. My Epi LP with stock pups sounds kind of muddy, but I attribute that to the crappy pups. Sounds great for bluesey stuff. I play Phish, Dead, Floyd, Stones, etc. As others have said, the reverb can get noisey at higher levels. I don't really use the gain on the amp as I prefer the Tubescreamer.

So far no problems.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 6 years and I'm strictly a basement wanker. My previous amp was a Crate GFX-15 and this is a major step up. Goes nice and loud as others have said, but it also sounds surprisingly good at low levels. A footswitch for the reverb would be nice, but for me it's not a deal killer. If you want a bluesey sound, put a Tubescreamer in front of this baby and have fun! Sure, I'd love to have a Deluxe Reverb, but for the price this amp is perfect. I love it!

Standard 2006 MIM model. No upgrades as of yet. The only thing it's lacking is a line out, which I doubt I would use, but it would still be nice to have. The lack of an OD channel doesn't bother me. I like the tube break up more, and if I need more drive, then I just turn on my pedal.

I play a MIJ 83' squire strat and an Agile ad 2200 (lp junior copy). I play everything from jazz to hard rock.

Don't let the 15W fool you. This thing is loud! I only use it to practice in my bedroom and jam with a friend, but in both situations I only use about half of its potential volume. At first when I bought the amp, I found it to be too bright and trebley, but after a day or two, it warmed up, and now its full tube tone. It starts to break up at around 7 (out of 12) on the channel volume, which is plenty of headroom for me, but those interested in gigging might need more.

I plan on doing the Billm mods to this amp. It doesn't NEED them, but considering how cheap and easy the mods are to do, who could pass up the opportunity?

This amp covers all my musical tastes. It can't do metal, but if I want to, I could just throw a pedal in front of it and call it a day.

Also, this amp does not need a new speaker or tubes. It's all preference.

Haven't had a problem.

n/a

Overall, this amp is amazing. It's accurately priced, unlike many tube amps nowadays. It's good stock, and can become amazing with a few mods or changes. Could be cheaper, but so could everything. I'm happy with it for the money I spent.

Its a very simple tube amp with an input only.

Out of the box its a great tube amp for the money. This lil tubey has a lot of potential if you want to drop a few duckys to rid it of its "made in mexico" sound. Like a few people have done is replace the speaker, I put in a celestion vintage 30 that in my opinion is very mid based in its sound but has an advantage over the stock speaker when teamed up with the right power tubes. I went with a another post that reccomended Ei tubes and I purchased the Ei Elites. This amp shines when driving the power tubes as opposed to the preamp tubes just the way Leo would have wanted it. I play only strats through this and they sound great. I have yet to replace the pre tubes.

So far so good.

Never dealt with this corporate giant Leo Fender started. My hats off to Fender for keeping the spirit alive with there commitment to tube affordable amps and great guitars. I forgive you all for the CBS period ya scum sucking accountant driven back stabbers.

This is great tube amp. It is simple in design and that is a good thing, and it has room for improvement that makes for the fun factor. Tube amps will always sound the best period.

Mine is a new 2006 made in mehico model. It has all the standard features that everyone has mentioned already. I upgraded mine a bit to make it even better than the stock version. I recommend these EASY mods to anyone who wants to spend very little money, and get lots and lots of tone. First i swapped out the stock speaker for a vintage 30. Fender obviosly uses some cheap parts to keep costs down, but a cheap speaker is not something i can put up with. A speaker change is the best way to change your tone. Their are tons of great companies out there now adays to find the perfect speaker for your style. The second and final upgrade I did was to replace the tubes. The boneheads at guitar center swear up and down that all tubes are exactly the same. Well they are wrong! Some are made in China, some are made in Russia, and others in Yugoslavia! Some are even still made hear in the good old USA just to name a few. I traded out my El-84's for a pair of EI elites. These happen to be a company operating out of Yugoslavia. I find these to be a little clearer and tighter soundind than the stock groove tubes, which are bottom of the barrel groove tubes. I also swapped the 12ax7's for Electro Harmonix. These are Russian tubes, and I feel that they are slightly creamier than the stock Chinese groove tubes. With the upgrades the amp is really a killer killer amp, and I own to much boutique stuff to mention. Guess which amp gets the most use, and is the most fun to play?

I use this amp for small to medium gigs, and recording. It is extremely versitile. My style encompasses country bluesy material, to pop and harder rock. The amp was slightly noisy when i got it but with the upgrades i mentioned its much queiter. I believe that has to do with those EI tubes. I really like them in this amp! The amp has a great clean sound with the master about 8 or so and the volume around 3 or 4. With this setting its clean, but barks a little when you hit it hard. Thats my personal favorite setting, especially with a good OD pedal infront to push up to the next level. I actually love this amps distortion as well. It gets nice and saturated without getting muddy. Very smooth, not fizzy, and it is never harsh. Once again, my upgrades really really add to this factor. But even without the upgrades, still a killin amp. Basically the V30 speaker makes the overall sound tighter, smoother, and adds some volume and bottom end. The tubes clean up the sound, and give it that finishing refining touch.

These amps are built like tanks and can really take a beating. Im lazy so i never carry a back up amp, but i don't know many people that do. I know these amps don't run too hot, so the tubes should last for a while. Almost all of the more expensive stuff I have runs very hot, and burns tubes out rather quickly if you play the amp a lot. I can't stand that, and I am a player, not an amp tech. Give me somethin I can depend on night after night, and I'll change tubes every 6 or 7 months.

I never dealt with fender and I hope I never have to.

After my little mods I performed....Speaker $110, and tubes about $40, the amp ended up costing me around $550. Compare that to other 1x12 low wattage combos out there, and you realize what a deal it is even after you throw some extra loot in there. For such a versitile amp that covers so much ground, its quite a deal. By far one of my favorite amps I own, and definitely one of the best all time amps ever made. Believe me.....I'm a gear junkie, and I've researched and played tons and tons of stuff. The boutique stuff is awesome, but very expensive, and if you don'y know exactly what you are looking for, you will end up with a very expensive decoration. This amp is classic guitar tone, fun to play, easy to gig, and I forgot to mention, it eats up all my pedals very well. Not too many amps out there are as good as this guy......Try one out, and try my simple upgrades.....I promise, you won't be dissapointed!!!

I have 2 of these amps. One blonde & one black. Both are 2004. I wish it had a standby switch. But simple is good.

OK...I play ALL Strats. From the guitar, I run to an inline tuner, then a Vox wha-wha, to a TS-9 to a TS-8 then to the Blues Junior. I had these amp around as back-up amp. I gig a LOT. SRV, Clapton, Hendrix, ZZ Top, Skynard... I Used to use a Red-Knob Twin - WAY too loud...then down to a 4X10 Bluess Deville...then down to a 1978 Deluxe reverb (SWEET amp by the way !)...but the other day at rehearsal (yes - real working musicians DO rehearse !) I decided I was going to get to know my "back-up" amp a little better in case I ever really needed it. I was never "real" happy with it's tone...seemed "box" sounding...BUT THEN I DID WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE FROM THE BEGINNING - I turned OFFt fat switch, turned DOWN the Volume - and turned UP the "Master". In other words - I set the amp real CLEAN. Oh....My.....GAWD ! NEW amp. I get PLENTY of gain from the tub screamers...I run one set low for a little punch and the other for full on lead work. Truly - try running this amp set clean and a TS-8 for boost !

So I gigged with it (Brought the deluxe as my "back-up" !!!) medimum room...maybe 100 people...we're a 3 piece guitar, bass & drums...this amp was PLENTY loud enough. I don't play football feilds...I'm a "working" musician - that means BARS !!!! And this amp is plenty for that...

It's a Fender - tough as nails. "What happens when a Strat falls over ? It breaks the Les Paul it landed on" !!!!! LOL !!! No - really - if you're at all careful - Fender makes good, tough equipment. Anybody can be unlucky and get a bad one...but for the most part - there's a good reason Fender has the good name it does.

Never needed it. Gave it a 5 but really have no idea...

It's a simple little amp. Good for small gigs - which is 99% of what we all play. Need more ? MIC it ! A SM-57 is all you need. Understand this too - MOST OF YOUR "TONE" IS IN YOUR HANDS AND "HOW" YOU ATTACK THE INSTRUMENT. I'm sorry ? What was that I heard you say ? MOST OF YOUR "TONE" IS IN YOUR HANDS AND "HOW" YOU ATTACK THE INSTRUMENT. Really - Clapton will sound like clapton thru a Line-6 or a 100 watt Twin. You equepment won't make you Stevie Ray Vaughan. Buy this amp - it is a great sounding amp - BUT SPEND YOUR TIME LEARNING TO PLAY. I do a dead on VooDoo Child - and it ain't because of what amp I bought...get it ? Yes - THis is a WONDERFUL amp in my opinion...set it clean - crank it up - and PUSH the little monster !

First of all, people, when you're writing reviews of an item, don't just say: "you know all the features, so I don't have to write it", if you're gonna do something do it properly or don't do it.

Now, This 15 watts tube-amp was made in Korea(i guess)2006, so i guess it's fairly up to date. Black cover, typical fender grey tolex, six chicken head knobs(on the top of course), which are: Reverb, Master Volume(overall volume), Middle, Bass, Treble and last a volume knob. For those of you who are new to tube amps, this knob doesn't only control the volume level but also how fried you want your tubes, thus how much gain you want. And last an On/Off switch. Theres no channel switching(though there is a FAT switch), headphone jack or effect loop. The lack of these three things doesn't really consern me, i bought it for it's clean sounds, not a million different ones. If you want an amp of thousand sounds go for Line-6 or some other modulation thing!

With this fella i'm using my standard les paul(which has humbuckers in it). I mostly play classic pop/classic Rock and britpop, let me tell ya it's perfect. Someone has even told me that Noel Gallagher of Oasis uses a couple of these, so it can be just me.
The sound is incredible even at low volumes and it just gets better, and better as you crank it up. The distortion isn't much, but what there is, let me tell ya it's sweeeeeeet, though not much.
What I really bought this baby for, is the clean sounds, Treble at three o'clock, Middle all the way up and Bass around noon and reverb at 8 o'clock. VOX GO F***ING HOME! It has a lot of headroom this thing and can play loud as hell, so if youve got a 50 watt transistor and thinking, nahh 15 watt is not enough, think again.
Clean: 10, Distorion:9 Average 9,5

This is a bit of a problem, when I first took mine home, there were this little thing about the bass knob, you couldn't play it without having anything standing on it... hmm must have been a bad apple, 'cause the next day i went back to the store, got a new one and it has been playing beautifully ever since. Ill say a five cause if only half is good then whats the point right?
Never gotten to gig with it.

Never really dealt with them.. But theres a life time warranty so thats something..

Well i've been playing for about 2 years maybe a bit more, though i have a fair bit of knowlegde 'bout things you know?
In addition i own a les paul standard(epi) a boss ds-2 and a marshall Blues Breaker. Though these things all pretty much suck(!) the Fender makes them all come alive.
I love the fact that theres only one channel as it makes the circuit more simple and thus the sound more alive. I wouldn't say i hate anything about it, but the EQ section could be just a little more responsive.
When i tried this thing, i compared it to a vox ac30cc(utter shite!), another vox this time ac15 real deal(too expensive for almost the same sound), Peavey Classic 30(great amp by the way, but the tubes tend to get very hot), a marshall AVT150(too heavey, too dead), Laney VC30(also a great amp, but also a little heavey).
In the end I decided that the Blues Junior was the way to go, because of the typical great fender cleans, the great reverb, the fact that it doesn't get very hot, it's not heavey at all (28ibs.), and it's pretty darn loud.
A ten based on the load of things i said, but one point down for the bad apple thing

Made in Mexico '05 model, All tube. (Mexico models apparently have more head room)

Fat Switch, Volume, Treble, Bass, Mid, Master, and Reverb. But no Stand-by switch, which would be nice to have.

I bought this amp for home/bedroom practice since my Traynor YCV40T (40watts) is usually kept at band memebers house. The 15watts of power is more then enough (a lot louder then I expected)

Very versatile, gets any kind of Blues sound your looking for. If you don't play blues don't buy this amp. Duurrr...It's called "Blues Junior"

Gave it a 9 for the lack of a stand-by switch.

I try to keep my set-up fairly simple, and I rarely buy new gear, but when I do I usually find no more use for the stuff I currently have. I play an 80's Fender Japanese '62 re-issue Strat with texas special pickups, and an Epiphone vintage G400 with Bareknuckle Stormy Monday pickups. My pedals right now include an Electro Harmonix Big Muff (selling pretty soon), MXR 6 band EQ (selling aswell) and an Electro Harmonix The Wiggler (vibrato/tremolo pedal) Soon to come is an Electro Harnonix Graphic Fuzz, that's why I'm selling the Big Muff and EQ since the Graphic Fuzz has an eq built in.

I play a lot of blues (Clapton, B.B. King, SRV, Hendrix, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker etc..) 60's psychedelic/classic rock (Yardbirds, Cream, The Doors, Zeppelin, The Who, Beatles etc..), and a little more "modern" rock (White Stripes, Soledad Brothers, Blind Melon, Velvet Underground, Flashing Lights, QOTSA (though it's not really that great at getting that higher dist. sound from QOTSA, but sounds good none the less). It suits all these styles wonderfully.

There is a little bit of hum but it doesn't bother me since I can't hear it when I'm playing. But I will be sending it in to Bill Machrone soon for some mods to improve the sound/tone and completely rid it of the hum since this year or next year I plan on using it for home recording when I get a studio set-up in my basement.

The clean channel is great, crystal clear and bright. But you really have to crank the volume and master switch high to get some nice tube break-up, and that's due to the fact that I have the Mexican model. Regardless, it sounds amazing when I get it cranked like that.

10 because I didn't expect it to do anything other then Blues, but it's an all around great sounding amp, except of course if you play metal.

Had it for about a month now, so I can't really say how reliable it is right now. Seems like it's built pretty solid. Though I'll mainly be playing it at home, maybe I'll gig with it after the mods, for some nice blues tunes.

Not putting a rating since I have no idea how it will hold up in the future.

Never dealt with them, hopefully will never have to deal with them. So no rating aswell.

I've been playing for about 7-8 yrs now. The gear I own barely ever changes, and this amp will stay in my hands t'ill I find something better, but considering the price of this little monster I don't think it will be going anywhere for a long long time.

If it were stolen I would buy another one without even thinking about it, but I would probably buy the tweed version instead for a classier/vintage look.

When buying it I didn't have many amps in the same category to compare it to. I did try out a Traynor YCV20WR (brown leather model) but it was way to expensive ($630 plus tax), and I really liked the way the Blues Junior sounded over the Traynor. But I still prefer my Traynor YCV40T over my Blues junior. Maybe that'll change after the mods.

Once again it would be really nice to have a stand-by switch, but it's still a great sounding amp that does exactly what it's meant to do.

Last thing I'd like to share !WON PMA SIHT YUB

Bought new in 2006. Fairly versatile with reverb and fat tone footswitch. Very lightweight and reliable. One channel, but cleans up good in mix when you roll volume off guitar, and fat boost on footswitch gives some more good options in that grind area. I would be in heaven if there was tremolo and reverb was footswitchable and a more like a vintage deluxe sound, but good features. EL84 vox style breakup mixed with fender tone. Best feature is master volme. Preamp distortion very good. Quite loud at 15 watts AB, 12" speaker in small, light box.

Play with a strat. Playing in my room, my totally tricked out, point to point, merc magnetics OT Deluxe sounds better. Used to have a tweed deluxe that had the tone all the way. This one is good though. It is way better the hot rod deluxe in my opinion. The reverb has the same tone as hot rod deluxe, but the amps tone is better, must be the el84's, somehow it is warmer and more satisfying than hot rod deluxe, more like my vintage amps, only with faster breakup, and preamp overdrive when desired. It grinds pretty good too, even with the master in the low area (4 for master, 12 for volume) It is very loud. The hot rod deluxe is too loud. This is very loud, and if you are wailing full volume, your drummer would have to be a maniac to play the master much over 5. It is so clear in the mix. I was skeptical and kept trying to find fault with it in my home, but when I got it to practice, it has power to spare, and I did not need a fuzz box which is a great relief. I will not lug my deluxe to practice, maybe not even gigs.

It seems so reliable. My deluxe gets 60 cycle hum so easily and the reverb is noisy, but this blues deluxe works really good.

They probably suck. I never keep my receipts, warranties don't work well with me unless I am dealing with a one-,man shop.

Unbelieveable little amp. It is light, can grind at re volumes. If it were stolen I would buy another. It makes me wonder about the 40 watt blues deluxe. It is good for me, and it has more in common with a tweed tone than it does with the hot rod deluxe. I wish it had tremolo, but it is good.ght weight and the breakup is really good. I play grindy rock and mix in some clean country chicken pickin. You get more grind than old stones, but sort of that type of grind.

As said in other reviews, single channel, 3 band eq, etc.

Stock: good (8)
Modified: amazing!! (10+)

Here is a quick soundclip: http://www.indyguitarist.com/soundclips2/blues_junior_compare.mp3

That is a comparison between the stock amp and the amp after the modification. This is an amazing little amp after the tweaking...beautiful shimmery clean tone, awesome breakup and even more distortion now if I want it.

I also tailored the reverb so it wasn't so 'surfy' sounding. I'm really not into the dick dale stuff which is what the stock reverb sounded like. Modified to be warmer and no brittleness. My attempt at making it sound more like a tube tank ;)

PCB based, but don't throw it around and you should be fine.

very helpful, they were quick to send schematics when requested with no hassle.

Great amp, my next amp will be a hot rod deluxe most likely - if my results were *this* great with the little blues jr, I have to try the next size up. ;)

Feel free to email me with questions, email info at http://www.indyguitarist.com/contact.htm

1 channel,all tube, 15 watt, 3-band eq, "fat" switch, blah, blah, blah.....

American Lonestar Srat, Carvin custom dual hum + piezzo, Vox Bulldog OD/Dist, Seymour-Duncan Pick-up booster.

Look, Ive read all the other Blues Jr. reviews on this site, and they vary in what is said, however if you read this one then you don't have to read anymore. I'm not saying I'm the biggest expert, but I'm very picky about sound, I've got a good ear, and I can separate oblectiviy from subjectivity to allow a reader a fair and simple review in order for them to make a good decision.

I've read a lot of differnt mods with different opinions about the outcome. Right out of the box, the BJ is a good sounding tube amp with better than expected volume at a good price. If you want a low priced tube amp this is definately for you. This is where your pickiness becomes a factor.

Some people think that the Emminence speaker is fine; they are not very picky. The highs are muddy and the lows are loose with decent mids. For $100 I replaced it with a Celestion Vintage 30 with suprising ease. Some say there is not much difference in sound with this mod; They are wrong. There is a total difference in sound quality and, believe it or not, volume. Maybe the volume just seems higher though, because the lows are tight, the highs absolutely sing with clarity and even the mids are much improved. The treble is no londer ear piercing. If you can't hear the difference, you weren't paying attention beforehand.

The stock groove tubes are decent and sound good. Some say that changing them to JJ's or some sort of Mullard or = N.O.S. tube gives only a subtle change in sound; they areright, sort-of. I replaced the EL-84s to JJ's and later the 12ax7s to mullards. Although the change was subtle, it was noticeable and exactly what I was going for; warmer tone ballsier tube attack. I could have definitely lived with the stock tubes but am happy with the change.

Also heard of a reverb change. The reverb isn't the best for obvious reasons, but this ain't the 80's anymore and there's no reason to have the reverb higher than 2 ever, so I personally would not waste my money.

As far as a rating goes I'm going to have to base the rating on a for-the-money scale so as not to compare it to Mesas and AC30s. Keep in mind this thing is called a blues Jr, so you know it's strengths. Before the mods this thing gets a strong 7.7 considering what a great value it is but keeping in mind it's weaknesses. After the mods this thing is totally different and somewhat more versatile. Top of the line as far as practice amps go and even suitable for small gigs and house parties.It gets a 9.5 because of the minimal expense and ease of the mods, and for the overall sound quality acheived.

Look, I see people's points about upgrading this amp as opposed to just buying a better amp, but here's my point. I paid about a total of $500 for this amp (310+100 for speaker+90 for tubes) and it sounds fabulous for it. The next best thing Fender makes, a Hot-Rod deluxe is still $600 and still has the same crappy speaker and tubes that I had to replace in order to be totally happy. Find me a better tube amp for $500 than mine and you win. I've heard people say this amp can only do one thing, but I disagree. It is great for recording and I've even recorded some more heavily distorted type stuff through it and gotten compliments on the sound. I personally play all kinds of music and it can do all of them pretty well, great for the money. That's the key, it's no $1,500 amp but I'll take it over a Hot-Rod all day and still pocket a couple hundred bucks.

P.S. To you guys who think you are funny mocking people who upgrade inexpensive stuff and people who read reviews to make the most of their money and write them trying to help somebody out, not everyone has enough money to sit on their computers all day and write clever little parody reviews so they can feel better about not having a life. We have jobs and have to work for our money, thus wanting to make the most of it. Plus in order to create your parody, you had to have read a lot of the reviews and write one to, so who's the
Morr Onn now?

The Fender Blues Jr. is one of the best little tube amps availible. Right out of the box it's got a good sound without a lot of tweaking. I play blues but I also 'mic' it for contempory church music. For versitility I've added a few stomp boxes. De'ja Vibe, wah, delay the usual. The amp provides a stable quiet sound even at 50% volumn. Although it's a single channel amp the "Fat" switch can add a real big overall boost. I rarely use this because sometimes I can't tell whether it's on or off.(you get used to it and tend to leave it on) An L.E.D. on the pedal would solve this problem.

I use a deluxe custom strat w/lace sensors. Red,Silver,Blue. It works well with most styles that require a little edge. It is a very quiet amp even with a few stomp boxes. Of course I don't use any cheap pedals. The variety comes mostly with how the guitarist plays. The amp does provide a good starting sound for most kinds of music.

No major problems. Never broke down. I have been using it on an average of 3 times a week since 2000. I used to have a back up amp, but sold that in favor of another piece of gear. Just never got another amp after that!

Never had to deal with Fender. But there are tons of authorized Fender dealers around.

Been playing for about 30 years. Own lots of gear' too much to list. If I had to replace this amp. I'd get another. Ya see before I bought the Blues Jr. I compared it with most of the other tube amps in the 15 to 30 watt range by playing them side by side. In almost every catagory the fender was best for me. I had to fiddle with the others too much to get that "on the edge tone". It has long been known that the Blues Jr. is truely a great little amp.