Fender Blues Junior

2003 Blues Junior. Bought "used", but still had tags on it. Giving this an "8" only because the features are limited; e.g., no FX loop, no modeling, etc., doesn't come with a foot switch for the boost (i.e., "Fat" channel). Not a knock, at all. In fact, I didn't want "features", just great straight-ahead tube sound with authority. Tired of lugging my Twin around and my Marshall JTM 130 sounded a little brittle. This little guy delivers.

Warm, (small) room-filling tones. I play Strats and Teles, both with single coil and humbucker pickups with coil tap. My LP Studio sounds good, too. I play in an original "rock"/alt country band. The Jr. is great for straight ahead blues or bluesy/country stuff. Lots of sustain. Lots of expression. Throw away those pedals, my friend. Well, maybe not the OD, chorus and delay. The reverb is a little thin--maybe. I see that some like to crank the master volume and control with the slave, but I like it the other way around to get a slightly rounder sound. Either technique allows you to dial in a nice tone.

N/A. No probs yet, but they all go after a while, don't they? Been playing Fenders for years. Always pretty reliable.

N/A for me. 5 year warranty, which is nice on paper....say no more.

Playing for many years. I love this amp. I'll keep my Twin for studio work and bigger venues but will probably move my Marshall JTM-130 because the Jr. is a perfect small venue amp: easy to carry, easy to set up, easy to control, no tricksy stuff to deal with in the heat of battle. I would replace it---it was only $300!

I reviewed this amp here in Dec 2000 shortly after buying it, search for Cummings if you want to read the original review.

My enthusiasm for this amp, nearly four years down the road, is undiminished.

Since then I've installed NOS Jan/Philips in the power section, NOS Mullards in the preamp. It sounds even better now, very smooth and glassy at high volumes, less midrange honk. I like the sound with the stock tubes but with the better quality tubes in place the tone has improved mayb 35% (if you can quantify tone that way).

I also changed the speaker for a Jensen C12N for the Eminence, just recently. Most of the 3-4 years I've had this amp I was happy with the Eminence but after awhile I wanted to tighter low end and better frequency reponses. I originally was gonna go for some Webers, as I have AF150s in a SF Vibrolux Reverb and have been very happy with those. However i got a great deal on eBay on a slightly used C12N so bought it and find that it has made a difference as well. Let's say that improved tone another 15%. Frankly it was quite acceptable as stock, and I'm not entirely sure anyone else hears the differences I hear with the NOS tubes and Jensen.

In other words if you're hesitating on buying a BJr because you worry it's mandatory to changed tubes and speaker, well in my opinion it's not at all mandatory.

I have one of the older green circuitboard versions. Some folks say the newer cream-CB versions sound better. I haven't heard the newer ones so wouldn't know but I've felt no urge to mod my circuit at all.

I'm still using various strats and teles on this amp and they all go very well with it. My newest acquisition is a Fender Jazzacaster (tele body, strat neck, jazzmaster pups, only 250 of them made in Japan in 1997), and it really sounds incredible through the BJ.

Still primarily using a Route 66 as my only effect, though on certain gigs I also use an RMC Picture Wah. The BJ tone really mates well with Picture Wah, get an incredible growl out of it. The PW is the best wah there is, in case you're wondering!

Now I can say, after nearly four years of constant torture, that this amp is super hardy. It has been all over the place, on trains, in buses, pickup trucks, car trunks. Beer, puke and blood have baptised this thing on several occasions, it seems to love it. Super impressed, I think it's easily the most reliable tube amp I've used in 25 years. I have a lot of trouble with my BF Vibrolux Reverb actually.

I always check to make sure the tubes are well-seated before playing a gig, as my experience playing other tube amps is that letting gaps appear between the pin casings and the pin slots, it can adversely affect the tone, and also leaves those areas open to dirt, etc.

never had to call fender, can't rate it.

See my previous review for this stuff.

They have been listed numerous times already.
Mine is a 2003 model bought new. This mainly a
practice amp that i bought because of its simplicity
and decent tone at less than ear bleeding volumes.
It does what it does very well. If you want features galore
dont buy this amp.

I am currently using a Squire Strat with stock everything.
I also use a Zoom 505II for a little compresion, delay, and
to quite down the Squire's noisy pickups. I mainly play jazz,
country and blues. I prefer a clean sound ala Robert Cray or
Chet Atkins. I knew this amp was not capable of the headroom
I wanted, at least not with the 12ax7's in the preamp. But I
also knew this was easily fixed. The stock gain of this amp
is too muddy for my taste. But with 12av7's in the v1 and v3
positions it has headroom for days. And if the volume knob is
cranked it is capable of some nice smooth breakup. Another great
addition is the Celestion Vintage 30. More than made up for the slight loss in overall volume caused by the 12av7's. I should say that with the stock speaker it still sounded good to me after the tube change. I just happen to have the V30 so I put it in.
One other thing I now enjoy about
this little amp with the upgrades is the fat switch.
Which I hated before. Now it just adds some warmth to the overall sound instead of causing everything to fart out. Without the 12av7's
this amp is too muddy for me. But with the upgrades I would definitly
give it a 10. For $365.00 which included 2 new tubes it was definitly
more than what I expected. Almost forgot. I really enjoy the reverb
this amp has. I have not had any problems with it and I think it sounds great. Kind of that get lost in reverb.

Never gig without a backup. I have never had any problems with a fender product.

Never had to deal woth them.

I have been playing for about 12 years, 3 of those semi-pro.
I would probably replace it if stolen. I love it's simplicity
and great tone for the money. I hate the fuzzy/muddy stock gain.
I have tried out and owned a decent amount of equipment. I just cant
seem to get that Fender clean sound out of my head. I also have a 72
Super Reverb which has been blackfaced and is pushing four Jensens.
Its my baby. But it is way too loud for around the house on a regular
basis. And believe me the BJ is nowhere near the Super. In any class.
But it's also about a grand cheaper. The BJ is a fun little amp and
is perfect for practice/rehearsals.

I have two Special edition 2003 namm laquered tweed with the jensons. I play with both on stage for 50's/country and blues. I have 4 custom built guitars, 2 strats one vintage with tex-mex's the other with 57' classic buckers, one tele has lindy fralin's blues specials custom blended, and the other joe bardens..very versatile set of guitars for these amps..running both amps in small rooms...up to 300 peoples or so don't need to mike them..wood be nice to have a standby switch but they do the job. I usually run the master @max, and then control the drive with the vol..depending the axe im usin...then control it wiht the vol on the axe. it definatley works best at full tilt...espcecially with the buckers..or the joe bardens..

i play on the edge clean/sustain and get exactly what i need..i use a mod'd bd-2, mod'd ts-9 (to 808), a dl4, compresser, and dunlop tremolo to split the signals, standing right btween them...with one in each ear, makes my eyes twitch...i think you know what i mean. THe only curiosity i have is to play a 57 twin...i owned a pre-cbs twin w jbl's years a go and i miss that...

u se both so im not concerned about that. i am considering doing the bias mod-and replacing ghe sockets w ceramic, but other than that im not concerned. THese seem to be popular..i bought the cover and footswitch. just for the fun of it. if i bought a 57 twin I may consider selling one but i would keep one around from now on ..great amp for just plugin in and playin'...

not concerned about it

let's see been playin for 48 yrs. my first new gibson was an es125tcd..in 59' i believe...still wish i had it..learned to play like Merle travis then....wish i still could..feel free to be in touch...i luv the tweed..and fenders were my love over the years....

1998 fender blues jr. very versatile amp plenty of nice warm tube tone. single channel of course. really the only thing I wish it had is an effects loop or an amp in input.I mostly use my amp at home but it is very light and easily transportable. it has just enough volume to play with an acoustic drumset if the drummer isn't going crazy.

I mainly us my ibanez pl1770 which has emg sa single coil pickups. it has a variety of sounds within it's own spectrum. I never have a noise problem because of my pickups. and the reverb is quite nice as well. from everything that i have read it seems that alot of people are putting jensen speakers in the amp improving the quality of sound a great deal. that is my next project.

it seems reliable so fari've only had it for 1 month though

overall i rate this amp very highly, for all of the reasons above plus it has a nice classic look being tweed and all of the old fender looking knobs and stuff . very cool

Amp made in '03. Laquered Tweed limited editon. Plug your guitar in & play ( once you learn its proper settings ). I have two custom shop Bassbreakers ( custom shop 59' Bassman's ) & play on this more often or a combination of one Bassbreaker & the Blue's Jr..

Play blues exclusively -1 Strat, 3 Les Pauls, & 335. Sound is amazing!. As others have said you must know how to use this amp properly otherwise you will never discover its richness of tone & harmonics. This amp sounds great with all of my guitars especially my 57',58' custom historic Les Paul's. It has a very smooth drive that only usally comes from an original late 50's Fender tweed.

Has been very reliable in the three months that I've had it. I have put many hours on this in the short time that I have had it. The EL84's get hot because Fender pushes them hard but this is what gives you that sound. If they burn out EL84's are cheap. Expect them to hold up quite well however.

The warranty is for 5 years ( standard for Fender amps ). Never after 40 years have had to use Fender warranty as thier products ( in my experience ) have always proven reliable & dependable. I have however spoke with them on many occasions for general questions. Some of the personal are young & unexperienced but Ray at customer service has been around & knows his stuff. Have every confidence that if needed Fender would be there to my satisfaction.

As i said above- been playing for 40 years. Not only would I replace this if lost or (GASP!) stolen I am busily hunting up another limited edition laquered tweed Blues Jr. as I always play with two amps & I know they would sound great together. There were only 640 of these made according to Ray at Fender.

This amp does not have 2 channels. It does not have DSP. It does not have modeling. It is a very simple amp. Personally, I like those to get my second channel from my Ibenez tube screamer and my effects from other boxes, but I will admit this is a weakness

To use one of these amps, you have to understand how the master and volumen switches work. If you want muddy, turn the volume way up and adjust the "loudness" with the master. If you want clean, turn the master way up and and loudness with small increase on the volume, staring from zero.

I have had one for over a year. Last night, I thought about the possibility of trying something new. I tried a line 6, a marshall AVT and a Peavey classic 30 at the store. With the blues junior, you won't get the gain that you can on these competing amps. But let's face it, there are gain pedals out there to do that for you. The blues junior gain does not produce sustain and distortion. It is all about 1 thing. WARMTH!!!!!!!!!!!

With a tube screamer (49.95 now) added, you can get the crunch and sustain you need. But behind that is a warmth you can never get with a marshall, line 6 or even a Peavey classic 30.

The blues junior is the best sounding small amp I have ever played with. It requires some adjustments to get versatility, but it blows away anything in its class.

So far it has been reliable, but I have not really put it to the test.

I have not contacted Fender about this amp, but my past dealing with Fender support have been great.

I have played guitar for well over 25 years.

I own a gibson les paul and a fender stratocaster . Both sound fantastic on this amp.

As mentioned above, I compared it to

Marshall AVT 20
Peavey Classic 30
Line 6 spider

It sounded way better than any of those three.

I rate it a 9, because what matters most is how its sounds.

The Usual, an update to my last evaluation.

Here is an update to my orginal entry. I kept the JJ -EL84's and EH -12ax7's. Put the orginal speaker back in. Now here is the interestig part. I did the Billm mod's to the tone stack, and reverb. This now sounds much better, even with the stock Emmenence speaker. Warmer and more solid sounding.The reverb sounds much better too. I will probably do the Billm mod to the bias too.

I liked this amp stock for what it is, a nice small tube amp with a 12" and reverb. I have a Laney VC30112, and matching ext cab, both with Vintage 30's, as my main amp.But with the Billm mod's this thing just got better.

2003, bought as an ex-shop demo amp from ebay. It has one channel and only one gimic - the "fat" switch adds a bit of extra sustain and is foot-switchable but does not make enough of a difference to be a lead boost for solos. I use it primarily for jamming at small rehearsals/friends houses/bedroom as its much smaller and lighter than my normal rig.

I am a bit surprised with the naivety of some people who have reviewed this amp. It is a single channel BLUES amp, and is made by Fender. The result is that it is designed to be a blues amp best suited for fender guitars such as a strat. Personally I play a standard strat with all the settings on the amp turned to ten, and the fat switch on.I set the master volume at "boost" levels on the amp and then turn down the gain using the guitars volume pot, also utilising the pickup selection for different sounds. OK this is a bit primitive and old-fashioned however it is EXACTLY what this amp is designed for and makes a refreshing change from my normal pedal board. Every sound the amp has with these settings is decidedly bluesy, but that is what this amp does!!!

Not much to go wrong really - a couple fuses, some simple circuitry, potentiometers and a speaker!

N/A

I have been playing for fifteen years and own quite a few guitars, amps and various effects. I bought this amp specifically to be a blues amp run with a strat. It does this beautifully and for its size the only rival is a Cornford (which kicks-butt but is three times as expensive!). I would never use this as my main amp for cover gigs however this is not what this amp was designed for. All these people who moan about the sound seem to have lost the art and fun of playing guitar - buy a line6 if you want gimics but buy this if you are a musician!!

Do you know what year the amp was made in?
2003

Is the amp versatile enough for you and the styles of music you play?
for what i intended to do with this amp it is perfect.

What are those styles?
country rock

How many channels?
1

Where do you use this amp?
practice, gigs, lessons, rehearsals.

Does it have enough power for you?
yup

What guitar and pickup styles are you using it with?
made in usa telecaster. haven't jammed my lp studio thru it yet.

How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?
so far so good. outputs a fat spanky twang.

Is it noisy?
not really

What kind of sounds can the amp make?
good springy tube sounds. nice break up also.

Is the clean channel distorted at high volumes?
some, but that is good.

How brutal is the distortion?
brutal distortion is for puberty-aged children and adults who fake anger.

Can you depend on it?
so far so good.

Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
sure

Has the amp ever broken down?
nope.

never dealt w/them

How long have you been playing?
17 years.

What other gear do you own?
2 x marshall jcm 800's (one 1/2 stack and 1 2x12).

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
buy it again.

what do you love about it?
the tone and the looks and the weight.

What do you hate?
that i only have one

Did you compare it to other products?
yeah: peavey and some marshalls

Why did you choose this one?
fender has a better resale value that peavey or the marshalls i tried. this fender is no frills simple tone design ...not looking for bells and whistles ala peavey or thin buzzy distortion ala valvestate.
fit my price range.

Bought in 2001 (old pc board with crappy reverb). You probably already know the rest of the features.

I parted with this amp 6 months ago, after owning it almost 3 yrs, and after finally comming to terms with what this amp really is. Basically it's a 1 trick pony. The only good sound I could coax out of it was to turn the pre vol to 2 or 3 and max out the master volume. When playing my tele with these settings it gave a rich dynamic sound that reponded well to different picking attacks (nice chunk when I hit the strings hard). When I used my Les Paul, the amp seemed to be overwhelmed. Turning up the gain past 6 or 7 did NOT produce a warm overdrive despite what some reviewers say. This amp does NOT like it's preamp section to be driven hard (either with the volume control or a pedal - not even to the "just breaking up" stage. It's all-tube and I diluded myself for 3 yrs - "it's not muddy, farty and plasticy-sounding; that's the way tubes are supposed to sound". It will do a great clean sound with the master maxed out, but that's it - and if you guitar's pickups are too powerful, then you may not even get that. I wasn't expecting to play metal on this thing, but I was expecting it to be more versatile than this.
On the plus side:
As others have said, it is very loud for 15 watts.
I found the bass response was very good - I played with the bass on 7.
Once again, the sound you get with a weak single coil pickup and the master set to 10 (with a low preamp setting) is awesome.

Never any problems here. Noisy reverb, but that's the way Fender designed it.

Been playing 22 years. Please don't be sucked into the whole "it's gotta be all tube" thing like I did. I've plugged into many cheaper solid-state amps and have gotten as good a clean sound, and a much better overdriven sound than the BJ.
I traded it for a Marshall JCM900 combo. The JCM900's are known as the worst sounding JCM's of all time. I find it's clean sound almost as good as the BJ, but it's 10 times more versatile in the amount of overall tones I can coax from it overall (haven't used any pedals in 6 months). And I can drive the preamp as much as I want without it farting out on me. I wanted to like this amp. I'm sorry, but it just wasn't for me. Haven't looked back since...

1996 or 7 Revision "B" chasis.
1 channel, reverb, gain, tonestack, master. No standby.
Celestion V30, V1=Sovtek 12AX7WA, V2/3=12AX7EH, V4/5=GTEL-84s #5,
bubblewrapped reverb tank.

Mud, mud, and more mud until I replaced the V1 cathode cap (C3)
whose original value was 22mF with a 47 microFarad cap.
Now the amp sounds good. Also needs a lower gain V1 pre-amp tube,
which is why I used the Sovtek 12AX7WA (lower gain than the 12AX7EH's.

I haven't had any problems with it.
But the output tubes get REAL HOT!
That worries me a bit. (I think they're over-biased.)
I hang an old 12Volt PC power supply fan behind the open back
adjacent to the EL-84S's, and run it at 4.5v to quietly cool 'em off.
Seems to work. But so far, really, no problems.

Ha Ha Ha Ha!
I fix them myself.

Playing 35 years.

If my amp were stolen, I'd steal yours.

If I lost the amp, wait a second - how the heck does
one lose an amp? "oh gee. I thought I left it in the garden.
Mabey Will and/or Grace know where it is.", or -
"Occifer (burp) - I believe I was drunk at the time."
Gimme a break.

The thing I love most about this amp is that I can warm marshmallows
on the EL-84S's - any time I want.

The thing I hate about this amp is that if it's used as a projectile
it only leaves flesh wounds, because it's so light and compact.
(But it is fashion consious, I mean, I love an open back...)

I wish it had a winning Powerball Lottery ticket instead of the tube chart.

See www.mrgearhead.com fender forum and look for the BluesJr
threads. Lots of real valuable info on mods, problems, etc.

Also see http://mywebpages.comcast.net/machrone/bjr/bjreverb.htm
It's a great site for Blues Jr tech info and mods (where applicable).

I'm reviewing a tweed covered blues jr. (actually 2 of them) not sure of yr. of either. as a stand alone unit it's not versatile, that's why I bought 2. you all know the features.

My first experience with these amps was unpleasent. I really didn't understand the whole volume, master volume thing. If I remember right, I just plugged in, and turned whatever knobs I had to to get it loud enough. It ofcourse sounded like arse. I got to know it when I was stuck alone with only it for a while. My main amp (old blackface bassman) was getting serviced, and I needed to demo some guitar tracks. I was using a 73 deluxe telecaster, the one with 2 humbuckers, and just plugging straight in. After much frustration I figured out that the volume was kind of like gain. So, I cranked the volume to almost ten, and slowly brought the master volume up. It sounded great! After tinkering some more, I was able to get a fantastic clean sound as well. This whole experience convinced me that I needed 2 of them, one dialed in for a shimmering clean tone, and the other set up for a nice vintage type distortion. This combination works really well for me. I need the 2 distinct sounds, and you can get 2 of these for about 500 used. I'm not a blues player that just controls his sound with the volume knob. I dig and play stuff like Pablo Honey and Bends era Radiohead all the way to some Stones type songs. For 15 watts, they seem really loud. I've owned tons of amps, (Bassmans, Twins, Mesas, an Orange AD30TC, Ampeg VT-22, and so on) and tried recording with tons of amps. This little amp records very, very well. I like the recorded guitar sounds with these amps the best after the Orange. I'm not going for any high gain, metal madness. Others have mentioned throwing a Vintage 30 in 'em, and I agree completely, throw one in as soon as you possibly can. That speaker will go down in history as one of the all time greats.

Absolutely dependable. Keeps some spare EL84's and 12AX7's though. There cheap and may come in handy.

have never dealt with

I've only played seven years, but they've been pretty full. I've gone through so many guitars and amps trying to find that sound. I found that sound in an Orange AD30TC combo, so I bought one and realized that I couldn't afford it. These little amps can sound great. You've just got to mess with them, and use common sense. You probably can't get any Pantera type tones out of it, just enjoy hearing them do it. For some nice classic type overdrive and clean tones, this amp will work. I recommend 2

Bought mine in 2003. I play blues and rock, so this amp is great for that. It's small, but plenty loud for playing blues at the bars. You'll have to mike it in the event you play against a bigger amp. I won't get into features since they are covered everywhere. I do dislike the fact that the control labels are upside down, so I'll have to dock a couple points for that. Otherwise, it had plenty of features that are useful.

I play a Strat and a Les Paul. Both sounded good with the Jr. I will have to admit to loving the clean sound of this amp over the distorted sound. Clean was crisp and snappy. Once I got into the distortion, the speaker began to fart on the bass notes or barre chords. I tune to standard pitch, so the farting wasn't because of drop D tuning or anything.

For blues, this amp is pretty good if you want a light weight and portable tube amp for it. However, whenever I used the distortion on the amp with bassy chords it sounded like a fart machine. I have a friend with a Jr. that plays blues and his works well for him. I think it's because I prefer hammering on my bass strings more as well as playing dirtier.

Clean is where this amp is at. I loved to noodle late at night on a low volume with a hint of reverb. This is the best part of the amp for me. This amp holds clean for a good while. Since I play with a dirt sound mostly live, I never really needed much clean headroom.

I'll give it an 8. If I were to rate the clean, I'd give it a 10. For distortion, I'd rate it a 3 or so. I just love a tighter bass.

I bought mine used, and it started vibrating on bass notes. It was mechanical in the chassis. When I took it back to the store, it worked fine. So, I traded it in for a limited edition Jr. new with the Jensen speaker. The Jensen didn't solve the fart problem, so I took the limited edition back and just simply got my money back with some store credit as part of it. It worked fine though. I just don't think an amp for this price should vibrate at all. I owned cheap Peavey's and Crate's that were more solidly built.

Never dealt with Fender.

been playing 22 years. I play an Acoustic G60T and a Dr. Z Maz 38 2-12 combo. I wanted a small tube amp, but I got rid of the Jr. for the reasons stated above.

If lost or stolen, I'd file an insurance report and buy something else.

I think the construction of this amp is cheap. However, it should be better and I don't believe the fact that it's under $300 is an excuse. It' vibrated, farted(probably a cheap output transformer), and I found the tubes moved when I played it loud.

I never heard other amps fart and have loose tubes. I will grant you that this Jr amp is very small and those tubes are right behind the speaker.

So, to some all this is irrelevent and to me it was. I bought something else instead and my buddy at my blues jam love his. I just offered my experiences. Happy jamming!!!

Features have been listed elsewhere. The reverb is just OK. I'm not in a band or anything; just use it in my basement alone. It's LOUD. It's simple with not alot of features but that's what I like.

I play a G&L Legacy with two humbuckers; mainly rock and blues. The guitar and amp combination give me a wide variety of tones. I can get enough distortion for what I need which isn't killer metal.

It just sits pretty much in one place all the time so I'm not very hard on it.

Never needed any.

I haven't played many other amps but this one gives me enough tones and good sound for what I need. I chose it because it was recommended by salesperson and sounded good in the store using a cheap guitar.

N/A

In response to review below after changing speaker and getting good NOS tubes go to the Fender forum:www.fenderforum.com and look up billm mods which take the BJ tone stack to the vintage Princeton Reverb voicing. My BJ is close to a 10 with these mods and a Weber Alnico BlueDog and NOS tubes. Front end is classic Princeton sound perhaps the best Fender tone stack ever for a small speaker and enclosure and then classic Vox AC-15 from power tubes to speaker.
It's real ggod!

The problem with this review board is that everyone who writes a review owns the product,therefore they bought the product-so its not really a real review-this review is on a product I didnt buy-
I thought it to be great to have an all tube lil amp that would be travel friendly-tried it and was very disapointed-

I dont know how fender made an all tube amp sound like a cheap solid-state amp-sound wise it seems like the tubes are in there for show-this is an empty,bassless,lousy doinky reverb,flat sounding 400$ amp

na

na

Ive been playing 15 years-This amp is overated and overpriced,and you can get yourself a cheap no name old amp that will sound more like a tube amp than this one-Id love for it to sound good with its size n all,and who can afford one of the old vintage small fender amps but still Id seroiuly advise to not buy into the hype of these other reviews(they bought it and are stuck with it,so might as well say nice things as to not feel bad)-please trust me n shop around,you can get alot better with that 440 dollars

My Blues jr. was made in 2002 and bought as a replacement for a crapped out hot-rod deluxe. I've made a couple of simple modifications to this amp to make it what I think is my best amp yet. They are simply: retubed entire amp with electro-harmonix tubes and replced the stock speaker with a Weber (www.webervst.com). Most people I know with extensive tube amp experience will tell you that the less features the amp has (ie. channels), the better overall tone your going to get and I would say that in this regard the blues jr is a good solution.

I am a big fan of country, pop-rock, jazz, and everything in between. These are the styles I like to play. I've owned or used many amps (I'm ashamed to admit how many) solid state, tube, boutique, custom. And almost every one (including several fenders, boogies,1 victoria, etc.) has broke down on me at one point or another. I've been a professional guitarist for the last 15 years and am fortunate to have made my living solely off of music, and this is the best amp I've owned yet.I hardly use any pedals and get most of my overdrive from the amp and my volume control. A boss bd-2 is used when I need more overdrive. I receive frequent complements on my tone from other guitar players, which is nice. I would nix the reverb if I was fender...mine broke in the first month so took it in for warranty repair, got it fixed and it broke again within two weeks. I don't mind it that much since the reverb sounds like poo anyway. I also use this as a gigging amp and I never use reverb on live gigs.

Given my prior experience, I'm not sure I would fully trust on any amp to never break down. This amp has served me well over the last two years for well over 100 shows. If it breaks, it's no big deal...I can replace it with the same amp for a fraction of what it would cost to replace a Dr. Z or nice Marshall. The reverb (as I said earlier) is broken because something always has to break on a fender. I should mention that I owned a fender hot rod deluxe that after almost six months in and out of the warranty shop I finally gave up on and sold to a pawn shop. So Fender definatley can have reliability issues, but if you get a good one, they will be very loyal to you.

Customer support with fender is generally a pain in the rear and not too speedy, but they do honor their warranty.

The only other amp I've owned that I liked almost as much as this was a groove tubes soulo-45 that got stolen out of my car. But this is still a better amp (with the mods). 15 watts by the way is loud enough. I've played to several hundred people in some of the biggest sized night clubs in Chicago and many outdoor festivals (as well as a lot more gigs to a only hundred or less) and this amp shone in all environments. If i need more volume I just ask the sound guy to give me more in the monitor. You must change the tubes and speaker to really hear this amps' potential...it gives it a 200% improvement at least.

Features are as described above--limited, but appropriate.

I'd really like to draw attention to the fact that this amp is made for playing blues and classic rock. If you think the sound sucks, don't change your metal pedal, BUY A DIFFERENT AMP! This amp sounds awesome, especially at higher volumes. It rings like a bell through my Strat with a little reverb. Throw a TS-9 in there and you have something special. Click on a CryBaby and leave at full treble and you have a SRV sound.

No problems

n/a

Obviously, I got a great deal on the amp ($200) and I've been playing it for a year without a hitch. Like I said before, the thing rings like bell. If it were stolen or lost, I would track down the theif and beat him with the amp itself.

A balanced view of the popular BJr is what I'd like to give you. It seems people either love 'em or find all the enthusiasm a mystery. Bought mine used for $250. It looked like new. So there's evidence that Someone didn't like it. I think it's a 2000. There's a site for dating them: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/machrone/bjr/bjrevhist.htm.

Use mine mostly for jamming as well as small-time, low-key gigging. For me there's just enough volume. I worried about the volume factor when I gave up my beloved Hot Rod Deluxe.

It is Not versatile.

My number one is a Peavey Odyssey with alnico humbuckers. These pickups have sharp-edged clarity with a wallop of electromagnetic power. They work very well with the amp.

My territory is the psychedelic / jam band mountains and valleys.

Love the sound of the BJr at full tilt. But it Is noisy. Remember, this an amp of considerable variation, unit to unit. Mine has none of the reverb problems I've read about. But mine produces a lot of hum at high gain. This problem Can be obviated by the use of FX pedals.

By itself the BJr has two sounds: a shimmering clean and a blooming distortion. That's really all you need for an evening of rock 'n roll, IMHO.

Problems: when I first got mine I was disappointed that it didn't have more bottom. Today I don't notice it. I've also felt a bit of untoward intermodulation, if I may say so, when playing certain double-stops at certain volumes. Overall, it doesn't bug me. The big picture is good. I'm not a picky gear hound. Once I worried that it wouldn't have enough clean volume; Nah. When I need more volume I hang an SM-57 over the speaker and run it throught the PA.

One thing about the BJr; it has inspired a vast amount of discussion and brotherhood. Here's one of the several BJr sound pages: http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lgreville/Zoteman.html

Hugely important: the mods developed and convincingly described by BillM, a godfather of the Fender Forum's BJr Mafia: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/machrone/bluesjunior.htm

You'll find a lively and copious discussion of the little amp at the Fender Forum under "Fender Amps, 1985 - Present" http://fenderforum.com/forum.html?db=&message_area_number=15&lastpost=2003-12-2321:34:28

Also, you might also enjoy this site: http://webpages.charter.net/mcarlyle/bjsounds.htm

Have schlepped it around for over a year with no problems. But I'm old enough to be aware that a tube amp needs care. Sometimes I wish I had a slam-bang solid state amp. But some of us have Got to have the slight extra fatness of tube tone.

If I were a gigging musician I'd always have a back-up amp of some kind. Been there; learned that.

Haven't had problems. But I remember when I discovered that my HRD sometimes produced annoying squeal at high volume. My local dealer said "We can't make it squeal. So we dunno what to try to fix!" Weasels! But there was truth to what they said. So I learned to live with it and luckily it wasn't too frequent.

The sounds of the Zombies, Yardbirds, Rolling Stones and Beatles made me grab a Silvertone 6-string and bloody my fingers. Have been playing since, therefore I have been through so much gear I can't remember it all. All-time favorite: a Super Reverb. Fender tube amps left an imprint on my psyche.

Bought the BJr because I can get a whole lot of the Fender sound in a light weight (listed at 31 lbs.), portable package. At my price.

Comparison: while I've always liked Peavey products I don't like the sound or weight of the 15 and 30-watt models. If I had a big budget? Ha. I'd upgrade to a Gibson Goldtone 15.

The BJr fits sweetly, inexpensively, between those popular poles.

This is an all Tube Amp with A Volume,Master Volume,Reverb,Bass/Treble/Middle Knob and a switch for Fat tone.
15 Watt but LOUD!! There is a Jack input for the 12"Speaker and it lets you use a cabinet at 8ohm that way.

When i bought this Amp i was looking for an Amp without lots of Effects, just a pure warm tone. That`s all i was looking for.

I use this amp for everything (Practice or Gig)

I use this Amp with an American Series Tele and it is the perfect Match. When i went to the Store i was looking for an Amp without Effects and so i found the Blues Junior. I am some kind of Tone-Fanatic and was looking for the one Tone i had in my Head. When i plugged in a Santana SE (in the Store) into this Amp for the first time and i started playing... i fell in LOVE!! That was excactly the Tone i had in my Head. Warm ,Natural and perfect for Blues. I did only Play a few secounds and went to the salesperson to buy it.
I went home and finally plugged in the Tele and what a surprise...
much better then before in the Shop. The only thing was that i felt like it was better to use it in a larger Room and so i went to use it in a big cellar with my hughes&kettner cabinet. I was right! So the only thing left were my stomp boxes. They were useless and i sold them. Only distortion is missing and i use a Boss BD-2 that`s it.If you are looking for a perfect clean tone out of a Tupe Amp this is it! Of course there is more out there and why not using Soldano or a Skrydstrup R&D ? Simply because i`m not Donald Trump Okey?!
I would say the price range between 400$(Fender BJ) or 3000$ for high end Amps is that big and if you compare it with the Tone it doesn`t make sense at all.

As i have just bought it i only can say that the Knobs look and feels good to me and everthing else is perfect. I am taking care at my Equipment so i think this little Amp will last a while.

Had no contact yet

There are many reviews and many bad ones saying the Tone is weak or the distortion. I can not understand as this is a matter of taste and this Amp just fit perfect to my Taste. Of course there could be better tubes or a better Speaker or better.... but the Price would be higher of course and there is a lot of expensive music Stuff around so i am okey with this category.
THIS AMP IS PERFECT IN ITS CATEGORY

I bought this amp 10/1/2003 and thought it would be a nice gig amp for small venues playing styles like Herb Ellis, Jonny Smith, Wes Montgomery.

It seems to have lots of volume for 15 watts. The bass is a little weak. I use a Gibson ES-175 as my main guitar through this amp. I also use an Ibanez George Benson model. The sound was clean for the first month and gradually developed a crackle.

Okay...this is the second month of owning the amp and it is giving me problems. The sound breaks up at any volume. It sounds distorted on the low strings. It didn't do this when I first started using it. I am going to send it back.

Guitar Center is handling the issues. They are being responsive.

I would not buy this amp if I had to do it over again. The bottom end is too weak for chord melody jazz and the reliability is not so good

specs,- fender.com
this thang is pobably the loudest ever listed at 15 watts.
it is great for home practice or live.
i use it for live stuff all the time with church youth group stuff and i also use it when i go to my drummers house. We play metallica stuff alot (which i use an rp-100 for the distortion) and it is loud enough to be heard over heavy drumming and a bass. The volume is usually only on like 4 and it is plenty loud
i also play a lot of blues, funk, jazz, rock, classic rock, etc.

i use an epi lp. standard through a dan-o-wah, then chorus (sometimes for cleans) and then an rp-100 for metal type distortion.
it works well with my styles, i play alot of lead guitar stuff especially at church which it really works great with. This thing is friggin awesome for blues.Duh. I can get an awesome stevie ray vaughan tone with just the guitar and amp. even with humbuckers.
the distortion is not really that high which it's not intended to be.
it is really good however for blues,classic rock (think AC/DC and led zepplin) and nice leads (i can even get some carlos Santana tones)
The clean channel is the best part though. Clear as i want it to be. at really high of volumes it does get a little overdrive but in a good way.

Yes, it is dependable. i have been using this thing for like 7 months now and it's still doin awesome(with gigging on a regular basis). I have not needed service yet

i have been playing for about 2-3 years but play like an hour or more a day. epi les paul std, dan-o-wah, dan-electro chorus, digitech rp-100. i also have the squier strat that i started out on (the amp that came with that broke (AAAHHH, cheap korean labor, i love it.)

Read below for all the details.

Nice clean tones with a strat of course. Not much gain to speak of. You need a pedal like a Blues Driver or Tube Screamer to get that with this amp. The fat switch is a joke.

All the knobs feel like they have too much slop. Just compare the controls on this to a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and you will notice a big difference in quality. I am sure it doen`t end there. The cabinet feels heavy enough but the guts are crap.

Decent warranty.

Overpriced made in Mexico small tube combo.This and the Pro Junior are junk. Spend your $350 elsewhere like Traynor, Carvin or Ampeg or save a few more bucks and buy the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe which is a very nice combo for around $450- $500.00 new.

Look at the other entries for specifics. Mine came late 2000. Black tolex cover. Made in US. I give it a seven as it's not really a do-it-all amp.

I use three guitars with this amp together with a Tech21 XXL pedal. I have a Fender Tele, a 60s ReIssue Strat with a JB Jr. in the bridge and a Les Paul with Alnico II. All seem to work well the amp and the pedal, I just have to do some tweaking everytime I change guitars. Bottomline, this amp packs a lot of tone in such a small package. For small clubs, just send it thru the PA and you'll be fine. With the mods mentioned in the forums, the tone will probably get more awesome but I'm pretty much contented with it all stock at the moment. I've been using it for a less a than a year now.

One time, I was playing in a poorly ventilated place and the amp went pffft! It played normal again when I let in some air in the place.

N/A

it's a decent 8 all stock.

This amp was made in 2001/2002. It has one channel, three equilizer knobs, a "fat" switch, and reverb. No special features to write home about. It is all-tube, but I don't know enough about tube brands, biasing, to make statements on their quality based on brand or specifications. At 15W, it can get quite loud and provides plenty of power as a practice amp. I would say that it is best suited for blues (suprise), country, and rootsier rock material.

This is a controversial amp, mainly because it is so popular and has the Fender name stamped on it. If you believe the hype from the company, its a vintage tweed sound in a budget package. Of course, who ever believed company hype? This amp delivers the goods if you have realistic expectations.

First of all, its not a big amp. Therefore, you're not going to get a deep, booming sound. With such a small cabinet and tiny speaker, the sound is going to have a nasal quality to it no matter what. You're also not going to be able to get enough volume out of it to play in an arena without running into a PA, so don't even try. It has a small reverb tank, so what you get is not going to the big-money Fender reverb we all know and love.

At 300 bucks for the unit, the tubes are not going to be the best things on the planet. I don't know much about tubes, but I do know that these don't sound as good as the Mesa/Boogie tubes in my Rect-O-Verb 50. They break up decently at high volumes, but this really isn't a rich, warm tube sound...it's more raw and bratty.

The "fat" knob is garbage, in my humble opinion. It makes the tone sound flabby...if you're going to play a puny little fender tweed amp, you're probably not expecting a fat tone anyways. This is a thin, sharp tone. Why fight it? Just hook up your telecaster and twang away.

The tone knobs are a mixed bag. The bass control is not worth bothering with. Pushing it to higher levels just makes the tone flabby. I usually cut out the bass completely when I play, particularly with my Tele. The mid is also a waste--I leave it at 6. The treble knob is the only one that has much of a point, and flavors the sound quite a bit.

The speaker isn't much to write home about either. Of course, it's so cheap that I wasn't expecting much. I don't know a lot about speaker brands, but this little thing doesn't give me half the tones that the Celestion Black Widow does in my Mesa...then again, the amp is about a fifth of the price of the Mesa. It's got a squawk to it, but does manage to break up at high volumes, giving the tone a raw edge. Again, more bratty than anything else. I may or may not replace it...I suppose putting an extra 50 bucks into this amp won't break the bank, but I wouldn't spend hundreds of dollars on new tubes. If you want to spend 600 bucks on an amp, why would you buy this one?

For 300 bucks, this is a nice little practice amp is you like raw tones. It's got a raunchy sound that I like, but I wouldn't use it to play pure, clean tones. It also doesn't have the power or depth to give you big distortion. It's not a one-trick pony, but it dosn't deliver a huge amount of tones. I would say that it sounds best with Teles and single-coil pickups rather than humbuckers.

It's worked fine so far. As a practice amp, it's not going to be moved around a lot. With tubes, you always have to be more careful than with solid-state amps.

It's a good little amp for a low price. If you're going to double your investment by making a bunch of modifications, you should probably save yourself the trouble and buy a better amp in the first place. I bought this to replace an even cheaper solid-state practice amp and it suits my needs quite well. My other amp is a Mesa Rect-O-Verb 50 which is expensive, heavy, and has a wonderful tone. The Fender is certainly no substitute, but it has its uses. If you want a real tube amp at an affordable price, this will suit your needs. But be aware that you still get what you pay for. You can probably get a perfectly good solid-state amp for the same price that will have more flexibility and be less delicate to work with.

See below

Individual opinion is extremely important in a western democracy, without it we are nothing. Most people who have reviewed this amp seem to like/love it. Their opinions are as valid as anyone elses. However, I bought one of these amps last year and I have to say it was truly awfull! I tried several in the shop, they all sounded similar so it wasn't a dodgy unit .. and like most people I couldn't really tell what it sounded like in the shop so I tried it at home (Cranes of Cardiff let me do this a lot .. thanks guys!)

There are several problems with this amp, most of which can be fixed. However, once you have bought the amp and made the mods it becomes cost prohibitive. The problems are these: The tubes that Fender put in this amp are garbage .. pure and simple. They strangle the sound of a reasonable pre and power stage. This is bourne out by the fact that so many reviewers here change them. Why can't Fender put decent tubes in in the first place? Secondly, the speaker is the worst I have ever heard. When the whole world has acknowledged that the Celestion Vinatge 30 is a work of pure genius, why do Fender insist on using Eminence? They are sub-standard at best. Thirdly, the cabinet is too small to do justice to a 12" speaker (whatever the make) .. would it hurt to make the amp a little bigger to release some of the tone? It needn't be much heavier or awkward to carry and the improvement would justify the mod. Fourthly, the reverb tank is hideous ... it would be better not to bother, frankly.

Fender can, and do, make much, much better amps than this (Bassman, Twin etc.) so why are they continuing to make this amp? It is because they sell them in droves. Why? Because it says Fender on it. This is a classic case of the emporer's new clothes. Just because you know the name doesn't mean the product is any good .. and that goes for most walks of life.

I think that the amount of reviewers on this seem to be on number two or three amp speaks volumes.

Always deal with the dealer who is extremely helpful

It's worth saying that I don't have a downer on Fender. I have a US Strat which is just amazing and I have owned Fender Champs which were superb. I just think that they are trying too hard to make a tube amp at a reasonable price and have failed miserably.

I took this amp back and swapped it for an Orange AD15/12. A bit more expensive but in a completely different league (see the reviews).

I don't dismiss all those who have bought this amp and love it, if we all liked the same things the world would be a very dull place. All I would say is if you are in the market for a small amp, shop around and maybe be prepared to spend a little extra to get a way better tone (after all, after you buy this amp and replace the tubes and speaker, you may as well have just bought a better amp in the first place and not completely trashed the warranty with the first turn of a screw-driver!)

Pretty simple features. 1 plug for a guitar, bass, mid, treble, volume, master volume and a fat switch. Oh, don't forget the reverb. This amp has all the features I need. Just to say that it has one great sound. How many more do you need. The amp is 15 watts which is great for trio work. If it's not enough power I would just through a mic in front of it and send it out through the mains.

I just got this amp yesterday and used it for the first time last night for a club gig. Great sound without blowing the rest of the band off the stage. My Hotrod DeVille had a habbit of needing to be turned up past confortible to get to the sweet spot.

What can I say. For me, this amp sounded better than any other tube amp I have played. Mostly because I could turn it up enough to get it to break up naturally. If we were playing a slow song I just backed off the guitar pickup volume and the amp cleaned right up. Boy, it was fun using this amp last night.

Well, I have had the amp for less than 24 hrs and it is working great so far. (grin) My Hotrod DeVille went about a year and then needed a total retube after which it sounded great. I went with all JJ's and don't regret it.

I expect I will need to replace the tubes on this one as well eventually. The rest of the amp has a 5 year warrenty so if anything does go wrong short of tubes or speaker, it's covered.

Can't say, have never had anything sent back to Fender.

Played for 32 years. I use a Roadhouse strat, a Ratt pedal, Boss Sterio chorus, Boss Digital Delay, Boss tuner. If it were stolen I would replace it in a minute. I love the weight (or lack of), great sound, portability.

By the way I do not work for Fender, have any relatives that work for Fender or owe them any aliegance because the president of Fender saved my life in the war. I am just really impressed with this little amp and what it can do with the type of music I am playing (current radio covers, classic Rock, country, blues) This amp may not work for you and that's ok. Just check it out before you dismiss it for something eles. If you are looking for a very affordible amp and a great tube sound and are a player that can make this amp sing, go get one now. You won't regret it. (Now, if the little bugger blows up in the next few weeks I will probably have to update this but I doubt I will need to do that.)

Bought this amp new as overstock at a super price.
Basic tube amp w/reverb. FAT switch for that added drive is nice. Footswitch is optional. Great loud tube sound for such a little 15W amp. Use it for small venues and practice, but has ample power for blues, jazz, classic rock etc.

Sounds good with any Fender guitar. I also use it with a PRS Custom 24, and GB100. Clean channel is clean enough. Little bit of a hum at higher volume thresholds, but not terrible. Reverb is okay. Distortion can be brutal at max. drive, volume, and master settings. I can't see anyone using it that way.

It's a Fender.

I own a Princeton, Twin Reverb, HotRod Deluxe, and Blues Jr. No problems with any of them, so no support has been needed.

Playing guitar since the late 1960's continuosly. I would replace it if needed. The amp is surprisingly loud at 15W and light weight. Wish it had a send out jack for recording, but not essential. I like Fender amps, and am impressed with the HotRod models. I've owned Marshalls, Line 6, and Crates. Fender's work best for me.

After reading most Blues Junior reviews I have one concern.

Some of the tech tips here are downright dreadful.

quote:
...turn all controls to "0" for at least an hour before playing and at least a half hour before shutting down.
This works like a standby and saves the tubes.[quote]

quote:
Wrm it up for at least 2 hors and use master at maximum, ALWAYS. Switch it on 2-3 hours BEFORE
the concert.[quote]


What the crap are you guys talking about?
If you don't have a clue about amps, electronics, current etc.
it's OK but PLEASE KEEP YOUR MAGIC SECRETS FOR YOURSELF.

At least it's been a good laugh.

Same as other reviews but I didnt notice anyone else mentioning the speaker jack can be pulled and an 8ohm marshall cabinet can be plugged in.

I dont care for the distortion at all. I play clean and progressive speed metal. With an eq pedal and distortion pedal I've dialed in some respectable sounds. The clean sound is decent. Reverb seems useless. With a Marshall 4X12 cabinet this amp is loud.

I bought this amp as a cheap beater intended to get knocked around. I've played it hard for many hours over the past year and it has worked flawlessly. I did replace all the tubes once to see if there was a niticeable difference in tone (couldnt tell). I do turn all controls to "0" for at least an hour before playing and at least a half hour before shutting down. This works like a standby and saves the tubes.

5 years warranty. No need to use it yet.

I actually was looking into this amp because of the style of metal I play most people said this amp would never be good for it. When I realized it's clean sound was good and that an 8ohm cabinet could be plugged in I knew it was worth a try. Right now I'm playing a strat with hot rails in middle and neck position and a super distortion in the bridge. ProCo rat two distortion, boss metal zone, boss eq, and a morley wah. All this through a marshall speaker. With a preamp on 10 and the master on 6, mid and bass on 9 or 10, treble about 5 and reverb on 0. Good power tube compression. Sweeps are clear and rhythms have punch. Plenty loud enough with a deathmetal drummer. I would replace it with another blues Jr, after looking around to see if something new came out.

Blonde Fender Blues Junior from Musian's Friend. Bought in 2003 new. One input channel, an ON/OFF Control, Master Control, Volume Control, Treble, Mid, and Bass Controls and a Reverb Control. Reverb is from a spring TANK mounted in the bottom of the cabinet (huge thing!). Also has a "FAT" button you can engage for a "warmer" sound (helps some with a higher pitched guitar). No effects loops. Does have an input for a footswich that can be used to turn the "fat" switch function on and off so you don't have to walk over and hit the button on the top of the amp. THIS IS TUBE AMP. Preamp section is 3 12AX7's (although the manual says 4). The power section is two EL84's (6BQ5). Power supply is SOLID STATE and there is one cream colored circuit card with most of the SS electronics mounted to it. A 15 watt unit -- but sounds much louder. It gets a "5" in the features department because it doesn't have a lot of features. Simplicity was the goal here when Fender designed it -- and vintage TONE in a modern reliable Tube Amp was the overriding concern they had.

I bought this amp because I wanted a completely tube preamp/power section designed amplifier capable of doing justice to my telecaster. The guitar / amp match was my overriding concern. I also bought it because it's cheap. A PRO JUNIOR is cheaper -- but there are NO features on a PRO JUNIOR other than Volume. So I was looking for a tube design that had a few a features on it -- this one has just enough. I like the vintage styling -- especially the blonde cabinet.

I use this with an American Tele and it's just a perfect match. I don't think I'd plug a Les Paul into this thing. I use only single coil pickups and the noise is acceptable. This amp is great for blues, jass, country, and surf type music. The REVERB -- some may not like -- but I LOVE IT! Very strong robust REVERB. Peg that thing at "12" on the chicken head reverb control and you have some unbelievable surf music tones!

You get clean tones at low volumes and you start breaking up noticably the louder you get. In a small room, it's hard to get the full distortion but you can play with the Volume and Master Controls to produce some pretty good distorted tone at acceptable volume levels. Not brutal Marshall-type distortion -- this is sweet warm stuff only. I love it!

It gets an "8" in reliability. One good thing here -- Fender is now producing these things with an all "Groove Tube" Preamp section. However, they're still 12AX7WA's -- which is my least favorite 12AX7 tube. These are SOVTEKS but screened by GT so they're reliable, if not tonally perfect. I replaced the stock tubes with a Groove Tubes 7025 in the V1 socket -- which gives the amp the 60's Fender Sound. I also put a special Groove Tubes SAG-AX7-Y in the V3 position. This is the power phase of the preamp section and both sections of the triode in V3 work together to produce the preamp output. The SAG-AX7-Y is a BALANCED triode -- both of the sections of the tube are MATCHED -- very similar to "matching" power amp duets. This is an overlooked, yet important thing to do in preamps. If you don't do it, you don't get a balanced output out of the preamp section and your tone is going to suffer. I left the stock 12AX7WA in the V2 socket of the preamp, but I'm looking for a tube for that spot also.

For the power section of the amp, I replaced the stock EL84's (these were NOT Groove Tubes and had absolutely no markings)with a MATCHED Groove Tubes EL84S Duet. The sound out of the amp is great. You may think I have a little too much time on my hands in playing around with tubes like this but I have an excuse -- one of the EL84's that was shipped in the unit was BUSTED during shipping! Amp came completely unusable due to that fact. If you order one of these puppies -- just plan on one or more of the tubes getting broken in transit! And it will probably be one of the matched EL84's -- if one of them breaks, you gotta chunk 'em both. Fender is using some kind of metal spring harness that's wrapped around the top of both tubes and, it might reduce some rattle but it is unforgiving on those two tubes when the unit is being bounced around. Do yourself a favor, get online with Groove Tubes, and order the tubes you want from them. If your Blue's Junior comes without any cracked tubes -- great! You're still gonna want to replace the stock tubes though with Groove Tubes because the amp is gonna sound better. You can completely "customize" the sound of this amp to your tastes by simply going to Groove Tubes for special tubes.

Ordered from Musician's Friend and they are always GREAT. I don't blame them for the broken power tube -- this is the first thing I've ever received from them that came with anything damaged on it. I didn't deal with Fender directly -- so no opinion there. GROOVE TUBES was great though -- No I don't work for them, or own stock in their company -- but they really helped me out here with the new tubes. I have a great sounding amp.

Other than the 1 broken tube that was busted by the Postal Service in transit -- this unit is reliable and I have experienced NO problems. It's just a great tone machine and the tube stacks make it an organic part of the guitar. Very good looking, very simple, VERY Fender. I Love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. This is a great tube amplifier that can be had for under $500. It gets plenty loud and sounds awesome. However, one caveot -- this is not a HEAVY METAL amplifier. Don't even think about plugging METALICA into this box! Go buy a Marshall or something like that. But if you're into Chuck Berry type ROCK; or Country; or Surf Music from the 60's -- THIS IS THE TICKET.

2003 blues jr 1 channel tube amp with reverb. This is not a creature feature amp. If you need more, stomp on a pedal or two.

This amp sounds good for a small cabinet lower wattage amp. Nice thing about this amp, it can be modded for a different sound. This is a cream colored board which sounds different from the older green boards.If you mod the tone stack, the amp comes to life alittle more. I am thinking of putting the chasis in a bigger cabinet to give the speaker more breathing room. A good blues/rock sound and pedals for heavier sounds. After hearing other bj's in larger cabs, it will receive a 9 for sound.

So far so good but it's a tube amp and with the amp biased at a hotter setting from Fender, the tubes will go sooner or later at some point then if you go with a lower resistor.

Have not used customer support and if Fender is like most product companies, the least talented people will usually be put there.

This is the first new master volume tube fender that I have ever bought. I have older fender amps but bought this for the good sound it can get at lower volumes. If it were stolen, it would be worth buying again. For the price it's a winner. If I had a wish list, it would be point to point wired,tube reverb and tremolo with a better cabinet but then it would be $1k+ This amp is what it is and it's a keeper. If you want this Fender to sound like a Marshall use a pedal or buy a freakin Marshall.

Bought this amp on a whim in 1999 for $349 with no sound check and I though it would come back to haunt me. Soon became disinterested in its watered down reverb and overt clean sound. No gain and no pop, somewhat muffled sound on certain settings but the FAT is useful and it is a loud general tube amp for 15 watts. Good for Blues and is greatly respected from reviews and guitar shops around. I thought I made a big mistake until now. The Blues Junior is a sucess and is a staple now for Fender, good!

I put this amp in a corner to gather dust for about 3 years and ended up playing my practice amp Epiphone as it had gain and was acceptable for my training. So debating wheather to sell or upgrade I recently saw a forum that someone hooked up a Zoom PD-01 up to their Blues Junior and instant magic. So after finding out that Zoom discontinued the PD-01 I researched and bought a Digitech Heavy Metal Distortion XXM and a DOD YJM308 and whew my opionion has changed about the potential of this amp. Wow It now has big sound and is a real distinctive sound value. What a huge reverse of my opinion !

Tubes are OK. Sovtek EL84 and or EL84M are a staple of Fender, Boogie, Crate, Peavey, but many users complain they are hollow sounding with no punch. But no problems from me yet but I heard raving reccomendations for a English military supplier has replament tubes NOS Mullard CV4004 (12AX7) $50 But they may be discontinued or in limited supply. Another option are the Mullard ECC83/12AX7 but they are not as powerful and don't have the punch. Keep an eye out as they are being purchased up in a hurry now that the word is out that they really upgrade the Blues Junior.

Good warranty when I got it.

I have been playing for 4 years and I have a Les Paul Standard Guitar.

I practice almost everynight for 2 -3 hours . I was debating selling this amp as I was not using it and its not worth keeping it around as a $349 dust collector, but now with the added performance of the Digitech Metal Distortion pedal (and somewhat with the DOD YJM 308) I am not parting this amp and will keep it until it conks out. I am not a metal demon but the Digitech pedal gives an overt heavy heavy distortion that is easily handled and balanced out by the Blues Junior .

My amp some teeth now for distortion and gain playing. Very heavy tone now and my master is on high and volume settings are on low. I live in a condo so thats all I can do without alot of knocks on my door.

I may chain the Heavy Metal Distortion with the YJM308 for added magic.

If stolen or lost I would go for the Tech 21 Trademark 60 or Peavey 5150II for my next amp. That Tech 21 for a 60 watt amp is a big versatle blaster for many guitar styles for the $500 dollar mark. Les Paul plays on them but he has a larger version.

Fender Blues Jr Vintage 2002.

Really good, out of the box - when the one in the box ain't damaged.
Fabulous with a couple of easy (non-warranty threatening) mods.

I'm happy to have a tube amp with a master volume. Really.

Clean Fender, Brown Fender. those are the choices.

Distortion? Use a distortion box. That's how we made music
when rock was young.

Dependable amp.
Use a low-voltage low-air movement fan to pull some of the
heat off of the EL-84's. Components'll last longer.

Support is provided by contracted independent techs.
Fender pays them at highly discounted rates.
Kudos to the techs - not Fender.

The rating of "10" is for the techs - not for Fender.

Playing for over 50,000 years.

I mentioned some easy mods, above.
Amp became louder, sweeter, ballsier, heavier (larger speaker magnet).
They are:
Retube:
12AX7EH Pre-amp(V1, V2)and Phase Inverter(V3);
Groove Tubes EL-84 strength 8 (probably are JJ's).
Speaker Swap:
Celestion Vintage 30 8 ohm. SPL=100 SPL (F'er stock spkr SPL=97)
(SPL is a measure of speaker efficency.)
Reverb Tank:
Homemade cover installed.

Features the famous all Fender reverb and tone, master and regular volume, mid, treble, and bass. As the name indicates it can handle any form of blues and rock, and provide a sound that is impossible to immitate by any modern modeling amps. However, it does not feature any built in distortion which may be a good thing for all you musicians who want a Bassman but don't want to shell out a grand.
In my opinion it is the finest all-tube amp for the money.

The Blues Jr. is an excellant amp with a LOUD speaker. It may be 15 watts but it is blistering loud for its size. The reverb is excellent and sounds great with a effects chain or stompbox (or if you prefer clean)! It a sweet little amp with a lot of soul. You can get that SRV sound to a tee.

The tubes on mine need to be replaced but I play it religiously and it hasn't given me any problems.

The warranty is 5 years and that is plenty long for a $360 amp. Fender is a good company and have given me no problems.

This amp is all I ever wanted and the only complaint I have is that it is only a 1x12 and not a 2x12 or 4x10. But for jamming in your room and small performances, it's the perfect tube amp with enough guts to jam with the big boys!

2003 Blues Jr. Has all the features I need-3 band eq, master volume, reverb. I wish it had a jewel light and the knobs being "upside down" confuses me. Just cosmetic stuff, though. Aside from that it's a very attractive amp.

**L-O-V-E** this amp! The sound is PERFECT for me. Grit factor is very natural and I can control it very easily. When I play quiet, it's rich and clean but when I pick louder, it starts to get gritty. I have the volume on 6-7 and control the volume with the master knob.
I play a Strat, w/ hotrails in bridge and sc's in other two positions and an Epiphone Les Paul Special, stock. I play in a duo with my singer and a drum machine. Amp handles both guitars very well, and very differently. I'm still shopping for a good dist. pedal that won't degrade the sound of the bare amp.
Power is ample, but I haven't used it live yet, so I don't know what to expect. We won't be using very high volumes, though.
Overall, this has a very nice warm sound. I hear the circuit is based on the old Bassman amps. Makes sense, because it's just so damn nice. I really think these amps will be highly sought after when they're discontinued. Some day I'm going to buy a Pro Jr, too, because I think the sound is even better, but for me it's not as versatile.

I hear the tubes don't need biasing (meaning I could change them myself!) Only had it for a few days, but I've read they last a long time and are realtively easy to (have) service(d).

5 Year warranty, and haven't dealt with Fender, but I hear if you know what you're doing, you can get a repair done pretty easily. They are a great company.

toss up between the Bues Jr. and the Hot Rod Deluxe. Bought the HRDx first, then traded it in after 12 hrs for a new Blues Jr. I always liked the sound of the Jr when I played it, and I didn't always like the sound of the Deluxe. I tried everything to make it sound the way I wanted it to. It is a really great amp, though.

If the Jr was lost or stolen I would get serious male p.m.s. and try to recover it. If I couldn't, there is absolutely no doubt I would buy the excact same amp.

This is a 2003 Limited edition Tweed Blues Jr. Fender finally changed the speaker to a Jensen vintage. Well glory hallaluya. How many reviews have stated how it turns the amp into a 10 after you make the modification. Well it just screems tone from minute one.
Clean as a ugly virgin to raunchy as a drunk whore at 4.

The tone is the fender clean when you max out the master volume and control volume with the volume knob. It turns into a marshall when you reverse the process( saturation of the EL 84s). Man, I couldnt believe how my 63 strat sounded. I immediately started playing little wing and it nailed the sound. My main guitar, a 2003 52 Tele reissue sounds absolutely full and can cover any of the cover tunes that I perform. I have a stock 61 Fender Pro amp that does a great clean sound but won't overdrive without a tube driver. This amp does it all...

I just bring one amp to a gig. If it quits I'll run into the PA to get thru the night. I have never had a problem with a Fender amp in the past.

Fender is hard to contact. They don't have there # on there web site. I have my amps serviced by a local fender repair shop. I don't anticipate any ptoblems.

I am so happy they make this amp. Its Tweed and looks like a 50's amp but sounds like a soldano mod. It is very loud!.I thought they wouldnt ever make the tweed again,so I am lucky...

Bought mine new in 1998 or so, on super sale. I'm a harp player and was looking for a mid-sized amp with a little cutting power. This 15 watt amp with its 12" speaker, Volume/Master controls, together with bass, mid and treb controls seemed to be the answer I was looking for. I was looking for decent tube tone and had heard that the BJ could deliver. For its small size this amp has some big cajones.

Okay, as I mentioned, I'm using this amp exclusively for harp. I've used several mics with it including an older, very hot Sure Green Bullet (no volume pot) with CM element, a '95 Astatic JT-30 with crystal element (and added volume pot), and a custom chrome bullet with CM element. Stock, the amp's tone is pretty harsh and edgy and seemed to be ~very~ feedback sensitive with the stock tubes, so I threw out those awful Groove Tubes and put in some JJs, replacing one of the preamp tubes with one with less gain. This helped smooth things out alot and helped some with feedback issues. Better, but not what I was really looking for tonewise. Okay, I'm a harp player and will never be happy until I have that "tweed" tone that comes out of an original 50's tweed deluxe, or original '59 Bassman.
Recently someone turned me onto the notion of replacing the stock Eminence ceramic speaker with an AlNiCo speaker. I just made this mod a couple of weeks ago and, lemme tell ya... WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE!
If Fender had installed an AlNiCo P12R speaker (or, as I did, the Weber equivilent, a model 12A100) this amp would simply COOK out of the box. With this speaker mod the BJ just drips with tweed harp tone, breaking up smoothly at low volumes, with plenty of bark and cut. It even posseses that lovely chimey quality that harp players drool over when listening to harp through a vintage Champ.
Ted Weber built my speaker with an "H" dust cap which pretty much eliminated feedback issues, and used a little bit heavier voice coil to boost the 15-watt rating of his speaker to 25 watts, leaving me plenty of headroom. With the new speaker I'd give this amp a rating of 10 or more.

Never had a lick of problems with this amp, other than a bit of hum when idling at high volumes. I regularly gig with this amp and it has never failed me.

I think my warranty was voided when I first replaced the tubes, and certainly now that I've put in a 3rd party speaker.

Overall, I'd have to rate the Blues Jr. as pretty damned good, but with the caveat that, if you're a harp player, you'll definately want to replace the stock Eminence with a good-qualilty AlNiCo. I'd highly recommend the Weber speaker for harp players using this amp. You will be VERY happy with the results.

Covers the basics well. nothing more. 1 channel / 2 modes (regular & fat), Mid/Bass/Treble EQ, Volume (gain), Master volume & Reverb.
I've been playing for 2 years (Blues, Rock & Jazz) and this amp is versatile enough for me. The Fat switch give you a little more gain that doesn't change your sound enough to switch from rhythm to lead.
Anothe channel would be nice but for what I payed for this amp I don't expect another channel/tube reverb/tremolo/vibrato.
A standby switch would be nice, but this amp warm up/cool down quickly.

Guitar: American Stratocaster (stock pickups), I also played an Ibanez Prestige (don't remmeber the model) through th BJ.

Effects: Zoom PD-01 PowerDrive

This amp sounds AWESOME!!! once you go tube, you can't go back.
This is my 2nd amp. My old one is a Fender 15G SS, just a little box that makes noise. The big problem with all SS amps I've played (Fender 15G, Marshall, Crate, Fender Dyna-Touch series) is that the clean sound is dry and boaring. I guess thats a problem all SS have.
Back to the BJ...
This is a low-medium gain amp. You can't really get a great rock lead tone out of it even when the volume knob is all the way up. That's the only problem with this amp (and the reason I gave it a 7), but this problem is easy to solve using the PD-01 overdrive/booster pedal.

My Amp settings are usualy:
Mid: 9-10
Bass: 6-8
Treble: 6-8
Reverb: 1-3
Master: 2-4
Volume: 8-12 For blues & Rock & 5 - 8 for Jazz.
To get a great lead tone I use the PD-01 as a booster with following settings:
Low: 1-2 O'clock
High: 1-2 O'clock
Gain: 10-11 O'clock
Level: 2-3 O'clock
With the PD-01 on Junior can produce great lead tones.

BJ alone: 7
BJ + PD-01 + American Strat: 10

For rhythm work, this amp is great for all the stiyles I've mentioned.

Don;tknow yet

Never used them

Probably the best tube you can get for under 500$.
I compared with with the Fender Princton 65 & Champion 30.
The Champ & Princton have much more distortion & effects and stuff but Junior is an all tube. If you want tube tone and don't care about all the other stuff, BUY yourself a BJ.

Mine is a blonde tolex 2003 model from Musician's Friend. I like the retro look, which is a little like a narrow panel tweed from the 50s. I have to confess that this is my SECOND Blues Jr. I had a black tolex BJ that I sold a couple of years ago. I missed it, and this is my return to the BJ fold. Same features as the earlier one, except that the new BJs are now made in Mexico and Fender has redesigned the reverb circuit. My other amp is a Fender Vibrolux Reverb for larger clubs.

I use this for practice and small gigs. My guitars are a Fender '57 Reissue Strat and a Gibson Les Paul Studio. The BJ works perfectly for blues and classic rock, which is what my band performs. 60s, 70s, and 80s stuff like Van Halen, Cream, Hendrix, and Springsteen. For some songs, I use a Boss DS-1 pedal because this amp (like most Fenders) will overdrive, but it doesn't really distort. It works well with this pedal. While no one will mistake the BJ for a Dr Z or other "botique" amp, it sounds great for such a low price item. Enough volume for small clubs. The reverb is definitely better than on the earlier models, too. It still isn't in Dick Dale territory, but it's plenty usable now. The earlier versions of the BJ were known for weak reverb. No longer a problem.

I've only used this particular BJ for a few months, but based on how well the earlier one held up, I have total confidence in this amp.

I think the warranty is two years. I really don't know and it's not a concern. I've never had a piece of Fender gear go back for warranty work.

I've been playing since the early 80s and gigging off and on for the past ten years. I've played through a lot of amps with a lot of different guitars. I keep coming back to Fender for both amps and guitars. I don't know what that says about me, but it's the sound I like best, obviously. I've owned other small tube amps like Vox AC-15TB and Marshall DSL-201 and in my opinion, the BJ beats them both. It's just about the perfect amp for smaller venues. Compact, light, reliable, and sounds great.

I wanted a smaller tube combo because I was tired of lugging around big amps to friendly practice sessions. I tried to get my hands on an epiphone galaxie 10 and a Crate V1512, but they were all sold out all over So Cal. There really aren't that many small tube combo options (I think this vintage trend is still growing) unless you want to lose your mind and spend big $$$. Blues Junior Features: No effects loop, but yes, a speaker out. I tried a Pro Junior and the inner workings of the tubes rattled against the glass at low volumes. Are the tubes to blame or the amp? A little of both. Both amps have "rattle potential". Pro Junior has more "rattle potential". I decided that I could live with the Blues Junior's, however.

I play made in Mexico Fenders (3 of them) and an '81 Gibson Firebrand, and an Ibanez artcore. (nothing fancy, but I love them all) This amp completely suits my style of folk, blues, and jazz, and a little alternative. Back to the tube rattle: It rattles more when sitting on a hard surface. Carpet seems to help. The clean channel on this one distorts a little bit at medium and high volumes, which sounds crankin' (power amp distortion) and I like it. A final word on tube rattle: I can play at a sweet perfect volume and get no rattle, that is why I am keeping this thing and not returning it. I have not tried changing the tubes. I suspect it will help for awhile, but when the inner workings of the vacuum tubes start loosening up again, it will be back to the same old rattle. Correct me if I am wrong. I will most likely be changing the speaker to a 12" Weber (ribbed,with a ceramic magnet) in the near future.

I wouldn't gig with it because it isn't loud enough. You can mic it, I guess, but I'd just as soon bring a bigger amp. So, I don't know.

Never had to deal with Fender. Many say that they suck in these forums, so I don't doubt it. Just never had anything break.

If I lost it, yeah, I'd buy it again, why not. It is good enough. I wish it had an effects loop. I traded in a Champion 30 (solid state). I was really impressed by the full sound of the Champion 30, but, what do you know, I never plugged it in. Blues Junior begs to be plugged in. Tubes have me spoiled. Now the only solid state I own is a Roland JC120 (talk about bark!), which I have used at larger outdoor gigs. But I don't know if I will ever buy a solid state amp again.

Made in USA, not sure what year.
All the standard features of the Blues Junior.
Would be nice to have a standby swt.

Use with 73 Strat, Godin LGX, FX, Tech 21 double Drive.
I like the master on full, mid on full, bass on 5, treble on 9.
This amp sounded ok stock but much better after my mods.
Re-tubed with EH-12AX7 and JJ EL84's.
Installed an old 12" alnico speaker, not sure but think its a Emmence Part number-12GPGA8FX. This now sounds much better for my music, Rock, Pop and Blues. Breaks up nice and has a nice grindy overdrive sound with better punch than stock.A little short in the bottem and lower mids but is to be expected ia a cabnet of this size.

Fender, they work or they don't. This works fine. Fender are usually pretty much road worthy.

Only needed Fender warrenty once and had no problems.

Been playing for 35 yrs. Also have a Laney VC30, which I also changed tubes and speaker, much to the better.I wanted a portiable small amp for small gigs. This does the job very well. Looks cool, sounds very good with the changes and is easy to move around. I traded a Laney LC15R for this amp plus $120.00 bucks. The Laney was every bit as good or even better but I really missed having a 12' speaker.
I would look for another if lost because it is a good bang for the buck, plus it is a nice size for moving around.

Probably built in 1999 - 2000. Has all the features I need for the music I play, which includes R&B, Jazz, Christian contemporary, etc.

Currently using a Gibson Les Paul Custom, a Fender EC Strat with the "vintage noiseless" pickups, and a Gibson Flying V98.

The "8" is for the "stock out of the box" sound. I looked around for a good small all tube amp to use at home or to easily take to practice. Since my wife had just bought me some "new toys" - the Les Paul and the Marshall DSL 100 with the 1960AV stereo cab with the Celestion Vintage 30's - I didn't want to push my financial luck much further. Turns out I'm using the Blues Jr more than the Marshall in most situations. I love the sound I get with all three guitars through the Marshall, and the Junior doesn't hold a candle to the Marshall for certain types of music.
However, the opposite is also true. I've retubed the BJr, ran the amp out through an attenuator so I can crank the main power section tubes at living room levels, and plugged the output of the attenuator into a Fender Custom Shop Tone Master 2X12 cab with the Celestion Vintage 30's. The Bjr is the blonde tolex like the Tone Master cab, so they look the perfect match.
The sound I get with the Les Paul is that sweet Gibson sound BB King gets. The strat has that gorgeous throaty Fender sound and sounds great in all pickup positions. The Flying V has a combination of the above two sounds - throaty and distinctly Gibson.
If you're looking for the grinding, crackling, toneless scream that you can get through strapping some strings on a log, dropping in the loudest pickups on the market, and running it through an amp with lots of distortion and no character whatsoever, this won't be your pick of amps.
I'm looking at an amp that won't stand in the way of the tone a good guitar can produce. Getting that "full tone", with a violin like edge on it, is what I can get from the BJr. When I want crunch, the Marshall DSL will cover that end - with great tone - as well as or better than any amp out there. With good pickups that will soak the tone from the guitar, the BJr will give you a great tone.
With the attenuator, and running it through the Tone Master cab, the sound is a "10".

I bought this amp in early 2000 while living in England - not long after purchasing the Marshall Stereo 1960AV cab at "Music Ground" in Leeds. I've used it a LOT, and I've had NO trouble with this work horse at all.

Never had to deal with Fender customer support.

I've been playing since 1972. I've played lots of Johnny Winter, Clapton, Zepplin, Aerosmith, etc. I've loved playing Blues, R&B, and Boogie - no escaping roots, you know? If It was stolen I'd replace it, and retube the new one. I've no longer any desire to get a "Boutique" amp. I've heard them, and the BJr sounds better than most.

Not a whole lot. Look at Fender.com for complete specs. I don't need a lot of fancy specs. It's just enough for what I wanted.

Ok, the obligatory rig description:

- Guitars: Ibanez S540 w/ Dimarzio P/Us or Epi LP w/ Dimarzios (love the Dimarzio P/Us!)
- Effects: Boss ME-50

That's it: Guitar, effects, straight in.

The Junior has to be the best small amp around. It's way louder than 15W would seem, but it still sounds great. I bought it to give me a smaller version of my Hotrod Deluxe for smaller places and so as not to overpower the vocalists at church. It totally fits the bill. Put a mic on it, and you'll be just fine. You could even use for small club or coffee house gigs. Obviously, you won't fill a stadium with this, but it's much louder than you'll expect.

I can make it sound Fender clean or grind it up with the ME-50 out front. If you play around with the Volume and Master settings, you can go from pristine to Angus. It won't get much heavier on its own. All in all, it's a great little amp.

Don't know yet.

Never delt with Fender directly. It can't be all that easy. Large corporate tech support isn't usually that good.

I can't imagine finding a much better little amp. It's definitely enough to get over a drummer for practice or small gigs. You'll have plenty of clean headroom for its intented use. If you need bigger, the HRD is a great choice. If you're looking for a small amp with tube tone and some "cajones" when needed, the Junior will do it.

I just purchased the amp in August, 2003. I guess I will need to look at the manufacture date and where it was assembled after reading previous reviews.

I own an American Strat with the bridge pick-up being a Seymour Duncan Lil 59. I also have an Ibenez lower grade acoustic with electronic package.

It is a very new amp and I don't plan on hauling it around much anyway. I also have a Fender Princeton 112 and have had no problems. I tend to trust the quality Fender has delivered for so many years.

I haven't had the need for their assistance.

I've dabbled with guitar much of my life. I've played more with drums and bass in a couple groups. I have a Pearl drum kit, Yamaha 5 string fretless bass, Hartke bass rig, Mackey mix board, mains and numerous condensor and analog mics. My computer is loaded with Steinberg Q-Bass software for recording.
The one tube amp I own is a 60's Ampeg with a 15" driver. I wanted to have a low wattage tube amp with newer electronics. I heard the BJ at Guitar Center with the salesman playing some Stevie Ray style licks.
I liked the simplicity of the unit and the sound was and is very sweet, at the store and at home.
As for a lack of a stand by switch, why does it need one? It's a low power tube application and I'm sure those little plates don't mind. Power up is quick anyway.
As for comparison shopping, not really. I wanted something small, low power (like for recording), no bells and whistles and a good sound. Oh, and I didn't want to spend a ton of cash either. Other tube amps are much bigger, heavy and more money. Sure a Mesa would be nice to own, but I'm not a real guitar player and I wouldn't get the true use out of it. If I want distortion, I have a couple pedals to put in the front end of the BJ which is all I really need.
If I had to replace the BJ, I suppose I would.
I've read various tips on volume and master settings. So far I've found good results with all pots generally between 4 and 7. It's only a small amp. Trying to push it into anything it isn't is only going to give bad results. I knew that when I purchased it. I think it has a great sound and the only thing I have thought about doing, though not necessary, would be to change the driver to a possible Celestion for better power management. It did wonders for the Princeton. I would think it would do the same for the Blues Junior.
I've given all 9's for ratings as I only know what I hear. I don't consider myself a good guitarist and this amp is for my personal enjoyment, whether with a group of other players, or in recording.
I would recommend this amplifier for those who can appreciate what amplification is. Fender did a good job of maintaning its character in sound re-enforcement.
One other thing. I've noticed many sound possibilities by experimenting with the tonal controls of your guitar. The amp is a true to life tube performer.

The features that it does have do not provide enough tonal flexability IMHO. You need a tubescreamer type of device added to the front end to get a good variation. The reverb is good. And the overall basic tone is also good.

I checked this unit out at a music store with 3 guitars. A Robert Cray Srat, A Nashville Tele, & and a Smartwood Les Paul. All guitars sounded great but the Fenders are definetly more suited for this amp than the Gibson and rightfully so. For home and studio this amp coupled with an external device is fine but if your looking for more "headroom" you`ll need bigger. I tried to get some bluesy type of distortion driving the master volume all the way with the drive at 3 and vice a versa with no real difference in the tone. The fat switch is a joke. This amp has one tone only which is good but needs help.

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I am looking to step up from my Behringer GX212 which by the way sounds way better to me than the Blues Junior. Honestly though this amp is good choice if all you are looking for the classic small tube amp Fender Clean tone.I also tried out the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12 which is by far a better choice amplifier to replace, or better yet add to my collection of gear.IMHO

it's all been said befor but this is an ALL TUBE amp. Chicken head knobs and spring reverb. I love the fact that it doesn't have 6 million presets and amp models that sound nothing like what they really do. This is a straight forward no BS all tube amp eith simplw easy controls.

This amp has that sweet, mellow, full bodied sound that only comes with a tube amp. The sound is destinctley Fender and if your looking for a "crunchier" tube sound you need to buy a Marshall because this amp is destinctley the Fender sound of sweet midrange and mellow low end. It is what I love. The sound is truly awesome, don't let the 15W fool you this amp has BALLS !!

It's a tube so a little more care is required also a little lighte touch. Not as durable as solid state but sounds soooo much sweeter!

Had 13 fenders (guitars and amps in the last 20 years and never used em.

I believe that this is the best easily portable ampp made, and Not just for the money it is a sweet, mellow singing Beast of an amp with incredible power for it's size and absolutely incredible tone. I can't recomend it enough

PRICE PAID: US $300-something, too long ago to remember but it was bought new around 1995.

Features: 6

This amp has the features I needed for the applications I've used it for. No effects loop, stand-by switch, headphone jack or the like - it's a no frills tube amp at a nice price. If you need a ton of features and versatility, look elsewhere.

Sound Quality: 8

Let me begin by saying I am a Jazz musician first and foremost and have used this amp on at least 400 low to medium volume level gigs over the past decade. When playing larger rooms or excessively loud clubs (or with drummers than really bash) or when I do any rock gigs, I leave this one at home. Not a huge fan of the BJ's natural overdrive; if I need to do a rock or R&B gig I'll bring an amp with more wattage and some stomp boxes. I don't know what everybody else is looking for in terms of sound; there have been a handful of negative reviews here - I think these folks need to save their money and buy a twin reverb or the like. In other words, don't have unrealistic expectations.

I have brought this one out on countless gigs at small and medium sized clubs, restaurants and bars, most often using a 1966 Gibson ES-175 (or, less commonly, a 62 reissue telecaster). With the Gibson I get a beautifully clean, warm sound that fits the mainstream jazz - bebop bag perfectly. It's traditional but you can also get a bit of edge when you need it. The reverb is so so but if you're a real player with real tone - you know, the kind that comes from your fingers and your technique, not your gadgets, you'll most likely enjoy this one and won't need to submerge yourself in excessive reverb anyway. With the Gibson I get that real jazz sound I need to play in a bebop or Blue Note vein; if I was playing with, say, the Chick Corea Electric Band, I'd look for something else (not loud or modern enough sounding). Some of the places I've used this one include it's maiden voyage at Augies (now Smoke) on Broadway here in NYC on a new year's eve gig - a very small room packed to the gills with screaming drunken people. That gig was a mix of jazz, blues and James Brown covers and the BJ, placed atop a chair, screamed beautifully and had more than enough oopmmh. Lately I play the Park Avalon a lot, a cavernous restaurant/bar with very high ceilings and seating for about 400 people - the amp more than delivers for that, retaining a crystalline tone at a fairly high volume (you will have to fool with the knobs a fair amount to get the sound that's right for you).

To reiterate: Great Jazz amp for small and medium sized clubs. Not so good for rock gigs above a fairly low volume. If you play with a loud drummer, this one probably won't cut it. Dont buy this thinking you're getting a low cost version of a Mesa Boogie, Fender Twin or boutique amp. I wouldn't use this for many contemporary styles in performance - when I play with a Luther Vandross/Anita Baker style band, I use a JC120; love the BJ tone for blues playing with my tele (distortion from a stomp box, not the amp). Not gonna cut it for metal or hard rock.

Reliability: 7

Like I said before, mine is nearly 10 years old and has been on over 400 gigs. Have replaced the power tubes only once; I need to change the preamp tubes now. Never quit on a gig. I don't know what some folks do to their amps - if you play this one at top volume all the time, spill beer on it, kick it, and generally act like a schmuck, I imagine it won't like it that much or last so long.

My problem is the reverb - I'm on my third reverb tank now; these things break very, very easily. I get replacement tanks from ampparts.com for 29 bucks, no real hardship. Simple to install. For all the use I put this one through and all the car trunks and taxis it's rode in, jumping into NYC's lovely crater-like potholes, it's stayed together fairly well. Those reverbs break very easily in transit, though.

Haven't had or tried to deal with Fender.

Overall rating: 8

The 8 is for my particular experience. It fits the bill perfectly for a Jazz guitarist. If you wanna be Joe Rock Star and can't afford a Marshall Stack, you won't be happy with this. If you're the kind of player who gets together with his band, rents a van, and drives around playing brutal rock gigs in really loud clubs for 20 bucks and beer, this won't be a good choice. You get what you pay for with this one - a very nice sounding clean tone with the potential for a little warm overdrive. No massive tube distortion. If you don't have a sound to begin with - unplugged, no effects, just you and the guitar - this one (or any other) won't give you one. It's amusing to read complaints of guys who can't really play buying all kinds of expensive high end tube and boutique amps who are still unsatisfied, constantly swap out tubes, speakers, etc. It wont help, fellas. Get in the woodshed and build your sound and technique from the ground floor up. Don't go in there and play all your blues licks as fast as you can. Work on your playing - the stuff you CAN'T do, not what you can. It doesn't matter if you've "been playing for thirty years." There's plenty of people that have been playing like shit for thirty years. Time doesn't really matter. How hard and how seriously you work is what matters.

Pretty basic amp. Trebble, bass, and mid knobs. Fat switch and reverb. Really no frills, but that's ok I don't want any. The only thing missing to get that complete Fender package is vibrato.

I use a Fender American Strat, and an Epiphone Les Paul. I add a hot cake distortion petal for the distorted sound. W/the strat and pedal I get the early Summer Babe Pavement tone. I can also get a lot of classic rock tones as well. With the Epiphone I can get a really deep John Lee Hooker Blues type tone. The fat channel makes everything thicker and louder. One problem about my review is that I live in a small apartment so I haven't been able to play this thing at high volumes. Once I get to 2 the neighbors start complaining. My friend out in Las Angeles has one to, and he said that at 3 the neighbors start complaining that it's too loud. Also, I played a coffee shop w/it and at 3 it was too loud for the shop. I also saw the band (Smog) using one of these at the Bowery ballroom and it sounded great at louder volumes and hooked up to a PA.

So far so good. All of my Fender equipment has held up well. I have a Pro Reverb from the early 70's and it's awesome. I have no reason to doubt that this one is of the same quality..

I guess it's such a common amp that un-like say a Vox amp or something like a Hiwatt you're going to find plenty of places to have the amp serviced. Fortunately I haven't had to yet.

For the price you pay you can't beat this amp. I tell all my poor musician friends that can't afford a Twin or Pro Reverd to go this route. The other advantage to this amp is its size. It fits easily in a car and is easy to carry around. I bought mine because I live in Queens and I needed an amp that wouldn't take up too much room and still sound great. Also, I wanted something that I could take on the trains with me. Sure it would still be cumbersome but I could pull it off if I really had to. It's a lot better than schlepping any twin speaker Fender amp. Also, I hit the road and played a one man gig around the mid-west and this amp was just perfect for the small venues with no PA. It was easy for me to get this thing from the stage to the car and back again without any problems. Ranges of music this amp would be good for: rock, indie rock, blues, blue grass, country, early british invasion sound, surf music, and so on. I don't think this could really handle metal or 80's band hair metal rock.