Fender blues junior iii

[rich88uk]

Morning all,

I'm off to try out a blues junior this weekend. I don't know anyone who owns one. I've been lusting after a nice clean fender amp for a while. Can owners tell me there experiences of owning one, sound, reliability etc. I'm not too interested in the OD sounds out of it, mainly the cleans. I'm thinking of getting and ab switch and using the fender for cleans at home and an sl5 for dirt. I'm not gigging at the moment.

 

[rich88uk]

My second question is the lacquered tweed version. I understand this has a different speaker. Are these better or worse or just different then the iii. There is none of these versions avaliable for me to try locally I'd have to order online.

 

[Garrett]

The reviews I've read on the Blues Jr have been a bit mixed, some loved it others hated it.

I was in a GC last month and played the Tweed Blues Jr. I loved it! I didn't crank it to see what kind of clean headroom it had but it surprised me how good the tone was with a bit of hair on it. The reverb was nice too. I think it's a great little amp for the money. Oozes the blues and classic rock.

May sound weird but that amp solidified my decision to build a 5E3 clone. I love that classic, greasy loose feel that a Fender does so well.

 

[ampmadscientist]

Morning all,

I'm off to try out a blues junior this weekend. I don't know anyone who owns one. I've been lusting after a nice clean fender amp for a while. Can owners tell me there experiences of owning one, sound, reliability etc. I'm not too interested in the OD sounds out of it, mainly the cleans. I'm thinking of getting and ab switch and using the fender for cleans at home and an sl5 for dirt. I'm not gigging at the moment.

BJ is a cool little amp, but being "junior" the amp is not as heavy duty.
The plastic controls and jacks break easily, etc...but can be replaced w/ good ones.
It can be fixed up into a usable road-able amp, a few mods can be installed...
Fromel mods for BJ are pretty good.

From a stock BJ- it works as a living room amp, stay at home, not for transporting to gigs. It breaks too easy for touring purposes.

 

[ricksconnected]

love my BJ tweed. its a older model but love it
with my OCD pedal as well. most of the people
that dont like it are either the snobs, or folks looking
at the amp for the wrong style of music, which so often
is the case. a sweet strat or a tele sounds real nice
with these amps. the Bill M. mods are crazy on these.
look up Bill M bj mods.

 

[rich88uk]

Thanks guys. I am not overly concerned about the jacks etc as it will be rarely leaving the house. I have a 10 month old baby so gigging is out of the question at the minute. What made you get the tweed one Rick over the black one? I'll have a look into the mods.

 

[dexter74]

Morning all,

I'm off to try out a blues junior this weekend. I don't know anyone who owns one. I've been lusting after a nice clean fender amp for a while. Can owners tell me there experiences of owning one, sound, reliability etc. I'm not too interested in the OD sounds out of it, mainly the cleans. I'm thinking of getting and ab switch and using the fender for cleans at home and an sl5 for dirt. I'm not gigging at the moment.

Most every amp that Fender makes these days gets mixed reviews. I picked up a BJRIII with a Cannabis Rex speaker and was pleasantly surprised. It's quiet, sounds great clean and with pedals. Plus the reverb sounds good as long as you don't turn it up too much. The CB Rex gives it a smoother sound, which I like. I may consider replacing the input jack and also add a standby switch. But for home use, so far so good. Good luck.

 

[rich88uk]

Cheers mate. Nice to see someone else is happy with one. We will see on Saturday how I get on with it.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Most every amp that Fender makes these days gets mixed reviews. I picked up a BJRIII with a Cannabis Rex speaker and was pleasantly surprised. It's quiet, sounds great clean and with pedals. Plus the reverb sounds good as long as you don't turn it up too much. The CB Rex gives it a smoother sound, which I like. I may consider replacing the input jack and also add a standby switch. But for home use, so far so good. Good luck.

That's a nice sounding version as well

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rf9SOfAy1E[/ame]

 

[JAC]

They are a good amp. I have a NOS with the ceramic 12 inch Jensen speaker. It is pretty transparent. For some reason many people like doing BillM mods on these and, I feel just out of the box they sound good.

 

[ricksconnected]

jac,

BillM loves these amps. he has tons of mods hes came up with
to make it feel/sound better. he really knows what hes doing with
these things. hes just the go to guy is all.


rich,
the tweed sounds so much better than the others, and looks its part
in my opinion. there are so many models out there why go for the basic
ya know. for me, mine has an amazing tone with a tele. i bought the
tele and the amp as a package deal from a friends brother. i heard
them together and that was that lol. if you can help it, dont go basic if possible.
sure the basic ones sound good but for a few bucks more its worth the search
to find a up grade. you will be glad you did.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

They are a good amp. I have a NOS with the ceramic 12 inch Jensen speaker. It is pretty transparent. For some reason many people like doing BillM mods on these and, I feel just out of the box they sound good.

Agreed. I don't see any need to modify mine either. I thought about it years ago, but I'm pretty tickled with it as is. Still, if you're gonna mod it, Bill is the guy to research.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

jac,

BillM loves these amps. he has tons of mods hes came up with
to make it feel/sound better. he really knows what hes doing with
these things. hes just the go to guy is all.


rich,
the tweed sounds so much better than the others, and looks its part
in my opinion. there are so many models out there why go for the basic
ya know. for me, mine has an amazing tone with a tele. i bought the
tele and the amp as a package deal from a friends brother. i heard
them together and that was that lol. if you can help it, dont go basic if possible.
sure the basic ones sound good but for a few bucks more its worth the search
to find a up grade. you will be glad you did.

The black one sounds really good too. I love the Blues Junior w/a Les Paul.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3YJBzWlF1A[/ame]

 

[dexter74]

This is the one I got, this guy sold me on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvgOuJtX3UU

he has a couple other videos of the amp too.

 

[ricksconnected]

sounds very boxy to me Xroads.

 

[ricksconnected]

This is the one I got, this guy sold me on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvgOuJtX3UU

he has a couple other videos of the amp too.

i like this one.

 

[crossroadsnyc]

sounds very boxy to me Xroads.

I think it sounds very old (which is a good thing).

 

[dexter74]

i like this one.

I think the CRex really makes a big difference in these amps. No ice pick treble, very smooth, but the highs stay clear and defined. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer a nice vintage Deluxe Reverb, but for about $500, the BJRIII w/the CRex is hard to beat for home use, practice, etc.

 

[ricksconnected]

I think it sounds very old (which is a good thing).

i can give ya that.

 

[ricksconnected]

I think the CRex really makes a big difference in these amps. No ice pick treble, very smooth, but the highs stay clear and defined. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer a nice vintage Deluxe Reverb, but for about $500, the BJRIII w/the CRex is hard to beat for home use, practice, etc.

i use mine with my OCD. huge tone. yeah these are home/studio amps.
not made for touring and tossing in the truck. you can get a nice anvil case for them
pretty cheap. i do want a deluxe reverb though. sweet tones from those.