Fender Blues Junior Combo

Buy this item from Musician's Friend through Rocket Sounds! Fender« Blues Junior™ Combo

General

The Fender Blues Junior is a small, all-tube amp capable of putting out some genuinely great sounds, at a reasonable price, and with little effort. Plugging in almost any instrument is just fun and simple. The controls include bass, mid and treble, reverb, master volume and volume. The controls are the great looking vintage pointer knobs. There is also a FAT switch which can be controlled by either an optional footswitch or a small switch on top of the unit. The FAT switch gives the amp a bit of a mid-range boost and a nice overdrive sound if you are not using pedals. In general, the amp looks pretty vintage and very clean. It gets a lot of positive comments whenever I take it to the studio or on stage.

The amp has only two built-in effects, a reverb tank and gain control, and they sound okay. When I am using it though, I prefer to use outboard effects like a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver for the gain and maybe a Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb pedal as well, although the onboard reverb is certainly passable. I don't consider the lack of onboard effects a problem at all. Besides, the effects that most amps this size and cost contain, are really not worth using. This rig is meant to be simple, so go for a couple of pedals and forget it.

If you are used to an effects loop you are out of luck. You have to be prepared to run your signal through some pedals and then into the amp. But that is part of the beauty of this rig, it's really simple and very uncomplicated. All the sound comes out of a single 12" Eminence speaker , which sounds good enough at this price but might benefit from either a Celestion Vintage 30 or a Mesa Black Widow. But you have to consider the price!

Use

Take it onstage or take it to the studio. Take it to rehearsal or take it to your bedroom. This little amp works great in all these places, and sounds great mic'd through a central PA system. All by itself, it has a lot of volume. Don't be fooled just because it is only 30 watts. The amp does well with not only an electric guitar, but also acoustic guitar, harmonica, and keyboards. Pretty versatile amp in a small, good-looking package.

A buddy of mine plays his blues harps through a Blues Junior, and the combination of this amp, a Shure Green Bullet mic, and a few outboard effects sounds simply awesome. His pedal board contains a Boss CS-3 Compressor Sustainer, Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, a wah, and a Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter. All this through the little Blues Junior just blows people away. I can also play a variety of guitars through the same rig, tweak some knobs and get a warm, luscious sound in less than a minute. For it's size and cost, the amp rocks!

Final Take

A great looking low-wattage, all tube, lightweight, single speaker guitar amp that is easy to take to small to medium gigs and rehearsal. Sounds killer and Fender gives you a free Fender logo sticker when you buy it, too.