• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

Is a fender blues jr a good amp?

jrgtr42

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
2,308
OK, I prefer tweed, but that Croc tolex is pretty damn cool.
I don't have one myself, but in my days avoiding work selling guitars and such for a living, a lot of those went out our doors - between the Blues, Hot Rod Dlx and Deville, the line was by far our biggest sellers outside the solid state, 15-watt beginner amps.
I have a Blues Deluxe which I really dig - mine was recabbed and reworked (caps, etc) before I got it, though I think it's time for tubes at this point.
 

gmann

Well-known member
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
6,147
I really liked the two that I've had. I'm using a Pro. Jr. now, I like it better.
 

S. Cane

Active member
Joined
Dec 10, 2014
Messages
656
I think I owe this thread a review.

And I think this is probably a good place to review it since in other forums people bash on this amp too much, and sincerely I still haven't found out why.

Like I said in a previous reply, I got rid of my heavier stuff and bought myself one of those.


Here's my superficial but very truthful "review" I posted in another site, which I just got back into at some old friends' requests...


I've been a Fender amp player for quite some time, and recently decided that my back was a bit too old for carrying heavy gear around. Our band has been on the road for a handful of years now, we play around quite a lot, but exactly because we hit the road often, we not always have our roadies available.

I sold my bigger amp and bought a brand new Fender Blues Jr. Ltd Edition, I mean the one covered in tweed and with the Jensen C12N speaker.

Man, what a great little big amp! 15 watts of pure road worthy power and clarity. I am loving it.

I tell you, you'll find plenty of threads in guitar forums either praising this amp for its virtues, and bashing on it for not being... a vintage Champ or Princeton. Which it was never meant to be, in the first place.

You will see lots of guys talking trash about it, simply because they ignore the fact that it's a 90s amp designed for 90s music: it has a solid state rectifier, which is actually good for some styles of guitarists ( the SAG discussion is endless and pointless, each amp gives you what it gives you), but it's all tube regarding power/preamp, a simple, ready to go single channel amp. Volume delivers the dirt you need in most working band situations. Just as I like it. It has vintage and modern qualities that make it perfect for travelling live players like me.

My own short veredict: It's a very road worthy small amp, and VERY loud for its portable and lightweight size. Plus, this model screams "FENDER!" even louder due to the Jensen C12N speaker, one of the early Fender classic speakers to begin with (yeah, sure, made in Italy OOOOOH what a heresy! Dude, just play through it and see for yourself that it ain't half bad). Of course I like Celestions but Fender amps... hmmm no. Jensen rocks.

As soon as I got it, I custom ordered a road case for it and took it to rehearsals... Can't wait to gig with it in November

I'm very happy with what I'm doing with this, plus a Fulltone Octafuzz (which I use just for seasoning the amp's own overdrive with some fuzzy dirt, I never use the octaver function) and a lot of elbow grease, I mean hand work. Guitar playing. Fretting and picking instead of a whole lotta effects.

No wonder lots of artists like Drew Dixon are gigging with this amp and rocking stadiums with it!
 

S. Cane

Active member
Joined
Dec 10, 2014
Messages
656
Took this picture last Thursday night, before band practice. There was just the Fulltone Octafuzz, a Dunlop Crybaby and a Boss TU3 tuner in between.

IMG-20201022-WA0149.jpg


Everything else, including solo boosting, was done on the guitar, just by using the volume knob and the picking dynamics.

That's what I just LOVE about this amp: it gives you enough juice very early so you can play more guitar and do less tap dancing without having to crank it to 11 or using clean boosters, buffers or anything.

Instant mojo, despite the fact that it's technically a Miojo amp to the hardcore purists.
 

Texas Blues

Active member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Messages
4,641
Sergio.

That looks like a right clean simple rig done right.

Ever thang you need.

Nuthin' you don't.
 

Aceman

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2008
Messages
51
If I did not own a Pro Jr., I'd own a Blues Jr.

Fantastic all around do anything but metal little amp. And with the right pedal, you can get your dent on too (but I wouldn't...)
 

Steve Craw

Formerly Lefty Elmo
Joined
Sep 9, 2004
Messages
5,294
I owned a Blues Jr. for a few years. These are terrific little amps, despite all the things that amp guys would say are wrong with them. Circuit boards, particle board construction, cheap components, etc. I liked mine so well that I sold off a Marshall 1974X, feeling that I no longer needed it. As good as they are, I felt it was no match for a Deluxe Reverb, so it's now gone. One intersting thing of note, I replaced the cabinet with a pine Deluxe-size cab from Mojotone, and it sounded nicer AND was six pounds lighter.
 

SkyFire555

New member
Joined
Oct 30, 2020
Messages
3
It's a great sounding personal amp. The tone is thicker than the VOX AC15 while the AC15 is sweeter. Recently though, I've been playing more on my Roland JC22 instead.
 

S. Cane

Active member
Joined
Dec 10, 2014
Messages
656
It's a great sounding personal amp. The tone is thicker than the VOX AC15 while the AC15 is sweeter. Recently though, I've been playing more on my Roland JC22 instead.

Yes! And actually that's one of the things I like a lot about it. It sure ain't a sweet sounding amp, which is kinda good for hard blues and the fuzzier classic rock stuff. It breaks soon and delivers a good deal of overdrive if you crank it.

I confess that the ones with Celestions don't really tick the "Fenderish" box as much as the ones loaded with the C12N, but I like them all.
 

Fornax

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2011
Messages
57
Recently got a 57 Deluxe clone from Carl’s Custom Amps, and I am mesmerized by the harmonic overtones. Still figuring out the funky volume/tone interaction, but what a tone. Bit more cash than a Blues Jr. Cool detail, it has NOS Soviet military power tubes.
 
Top