Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)IF you are looking at getting a Blues Junior, you are basically a stay home practice/player, home recorder, or real small gigger.
Most of the great sounding CRUNCH amps are really meant for large gigs like Hiwatt, Marshall and most Orange's.
Only Orange of those makes a nice crunch in a small amp, but it's not cheap either. Almost 800.
If you want a Blue Junior, you've already decided to get a tube amp and one with EL84s for their crunch, and NOT 6L6 and not an amp for it's amazing CLEAN sound, like say the Fender Reverbs.
Bottom line, this is an amazingly affordable and superb sounding amp at all levels of crunch.
I rate it at a 5 because of it's very reasonable price, especially used. I don't know truly if the newer ones since 2001 are as good as the American made ones, so you'll have to check that out. I don't like these reviews that seem to put all Blues Juniors under one review umbrella when they are different makes at different times, so check out the date info and compare them IF you can. Let your ears determine, not a review or persons opinion.
All I can say is I've searched and played amps for a long time now and I like 6L6 tube amps for clean and EL84's for crunch, all tube and for home non-gigging crunch the Blues Junior is the least expensive best sounding way to go.
As for problems, the main one I've heard is that the tubes don't last as long as other amps, that they are setup to be "hotter". I don't know if this is true, but my attitude is: if that's what it takes to make it sound like this, I LIKE it.
Also, don't get caught up with the "MOD" bug. Yes, there are zillion things you can DO to a Blues Junior. My only advice is, should you want to do this to YOUR amp, let it be your SECOND Blues Junior. If you can't afford a second copy, then don't go messing with the first.
People are always whining about how things don't sound like they did in the 50's. Well, they probably don't remember how while an amp might have sounded superb, the recording technology was in it's infancy and so what they 'heard' on records was a pale shadow. So to sound "like" your favorite Fender amp player, I'm very sure you can make this modern baby sound that bad if you set it up just wrong in the right way.
Good luck, and let your OWN ears, in comparison, sell an amp to you over time.
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Fender Blues Junior Hot Rod Series with Optional Amp Cover- BlackThe Blues Junior, a warm-toned favorite, takes our 15-watt tube preamp/power amp platform and pushes it through a 12" Fender® Special Design Eminence® speaker. That sound comes courtesy of a pair of EL-84 Groove Tube® output tubes and three 12AX7 preamp tubes. Add our renowned Fender® reverb, flexible controls, and FAT circuit with footswitch for golden tones, and you're in business. And just look at that chrome panel, that black textured vinyl with silver grille cloth, and those vintage pointer knobs.AccessoriesCover :Optional Amp Cover AvailableFootswitch :Uses Optional 1-Button Footswitch, p/n 0994054000ElectronicsChannels :One ChannelControls : Reverb Master Middle Bass Treble "Fat" Switch VolumeEffects : ReverbInputs : OneRectifier : Solid StateCabinet Material :Black Textured Vinyl Covering Front Panel:SilverPilot Light Jewel:Red Amp JewelAmplifier Type :TubeSpeakersSpeaker Impedance :8 OhmsSpeaker :1-12" Fender® Special Design Eminence® 8 ohm, 50 watt SpeakerInput Impedance :1 MPower Handling :15 watts into 8 ohmsPower Tubes :2 x EL84Preamp Tubes : 3 x 12AX7
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