Fender Blues Junior Anyone

asimmd

HI Guys

I was wondering if anyone had a Fender Blues Junior III and what they thought of it.

It has been recommended to me as a better amp then the Blackstar ID30,so 

any comments on them would be appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

bertie

I had a blues junior I,  and Im keeping my mouth shut,     for once  !!  

apart from again - looks like you're comparing chalk and cheese, feature and sound wise

fretmeister

I had one. I liked it a lot. But when cranked loud it was a bit boxy (happy Bert?). I imagine sticking the amp in a big cab would be lovely.

Jalapeno

Or a different speaker .......

asimmd

bertie

Can you explain what you mean by comparing chalk and cheese sound and features please?

Thanks

Alan

bertie

well the BJ is a bit of a one trick pony,  boxy very loud valve amp, aimed pretty much at getting one or two sounds out of it.  Or working with pedals.  Not in itself very versatile, no line-out or loop etc etc.(at least mine didnt)      Some people are happy with that and love 'em - me ?  I was just uber disappointed and sold it after a few weeks (years ago !!)

The Blackstar is aimed more at being very versatile, lots of features, helping "recording" as well as just playing "live"

Id sooner have a used Deluxe than a new BJ,  infact you can get a used deville for the £ of a new BJ

ROOG

I have a Blues Jr III, I have only used it at low volume at home for clean sounds. I don't have any problems using like this except for the Master volume which is a bit sensitive, having found the right setting a little nudge and it becomes quite loud very quickly, but if you don't move it about it isn't a problem. 

I would have preferred the Blues Deluxe, but as Mrs ROOG suggested that would probably have been a bit big, I wasn't in the mood to argue and neither was she!   

bertie

ROOG said:

 but as Mrs ROOG suggested that would probably have been a bit big, I wasn't in the mood to argue and neither was she!   

I see you have the same GAS decisions as me !!    

ROOG

bertie said:

ROOG said:

 but as Mrs ROOG suggested that would probably have been a bit big, I wasn't in the mood to argue and neither was she!   

I see you have the same GAS decisions as me !!    

I am well managed, although the flurry of ebay pedal purchases earlier this year have yet to be discovered. I wait in trepidation of the annual domestic accounts review!  

ThePrettyDamned

Cannot stand the Blues Junior.  Many better sounding amps out there for the money IMO.  

Also, they're pretty loud for home practice - slightly hair trigger master volume.  What do you want it for?

asimmd

Guess i will stick with my Blackstar ...........for now.

To be honest i am just starting to get it to sound really nice,which

is surprising as i was told a while back they were no good for what i play.

Just goes to show the wisdom of try before you buy.

Alan

bertie

asimmd said:

Just goes to show the wisdom of try before you buy.

QED

ThePrettyDamned

asimmd said:

Guess i will stick with my Blackstar ...........for now.

To be honest i am just starting to get it to sound really nice,which

is surprising as i was told a while back they were no good for what i play.

Just goes to show the wisdom of try before you buy.

Alan

I quite liked the tone of your recordings earlier.  Do you ever get a chance to play out loud, or is it JUST DI? They are capable of some really, really nice sounds.  I'm a big fan - I'd actually say they're a fairly 'valvey' sounding amp, quite responsive to picking dynamics and don't sound 'small'.

asimmd

I'm afraid it's just DI stuff and will be for the foreseeable future.

My gigging day's are far behind me so no opportunity to let rip anywhere else.

Glad you liked the recordings,i was pleasantly surprised by the Blackstar and while

i am not sorry i got it,like everyone else i am always looking for something i perceive

to be better,though it's usually not.

Alan

equalsql

I've got one and love it, but you do need to be a single-coil player whose sound is clean or just on the edge to really enjoy it.
I swapped out the Jenson speaker in mine for an Eminence Texas Heat and applied some of the BillM mods. These reduced the ice-pick and boxy sound considerably.

It works beautifully when over-driving the pre-amp. My preference is to keep the master on full and then use the volume to bring it up to the required loudness. This gives it a fatness which works great on the neck pup of a Tele. 

As bertie says the Blackstar is more versatile. I too was looking for a Blues Deluxe  (the gorgeous 'Smokey Joe' version)  when I bought my BJ  but Deluxe was just too loud for me.

chrisj1602

I guess you just need to play one, and I do too. I asked about the Blues Junior on here and the opinion is pretty much against, but on other forums there are more positive views, I've read good reports from Les Paul players (my main guitar) and Fender players too. As with everything, there's mixed reviews.

bertie

equalsql said:

. I too was looking for a Blues Deluxe  (the gorgeous 'Smokey Joe' version)  when I bought my BJ  but Deluxe was just too loud for me.

(not directed at you personally       )   see I never really get this argument,  for home use.  The BJ is so loud you cant use it cranked without some form of attenuation anyway so for me the increase in "quality"  (and flexibility) of sound from the Deluxe - (larger cabinet)  is a no-brainer.  

I had a deville for years,  and with a volume box in the loop (to give a master volume on the clean channel) it allowed enough control even without attenuation to offer very usable tones for home use - changing the pre-amp valves made the OD1 channel very usable, and a far far nicer tone than the BJ.     Use some pedals and/or attenuation and its a winner.

I got a BJ based on the uber idolisation americans seem to have for it on other forums,  I was wrong to.    

Look its not a bad amp, I guess - but to me its very overrated and there's just so much more going for other amps in that price point. 

asimmd

Morning all

A few words of explanation why i asked the question.

I was all for getting a Mesa Boogie Express 5/25 before i got the Blackstar,but i spoke to my usual guitar shop who said yes the Mesa would be better than the Blackstar but why pay that much for an amp when their are cheaper alternatives that do the same job.

The Blues Junior was one of 3 that were mentioned,the others being a Vox AC15 and a Tone King Falcon.

The Vox and the Tone King,no but the Blues Junior seemed a good alternative,then i went to Youtube and got into the upgrade kits,which i wouldn't touch as i couldn't do it.

The Deluxe is a non starter as it is 40 watts,and my Attenuator only handles 25 max,that's why i was looking at the BJ.

I still think i would like a Mesa,if only to say i had one,whether it would be better than what i have i don't know,it would be nice to hear from someone who has one and could comment on it.

Alan

Richardj

I have played through several Blues Juniors and just couldn't like them, too harsh sounding.  I have had a Blues Deluxe and bitterly regret trading it for a Mesa Nomad.  The Fender BD sounded amazing but was incredibly loud, with an attenuator it became much more usable. The difference in tone between the BJ and the BD is incomparable, the BD is unsurprisingly better everywhere.  I was wowed by the idea of a Mesa but in reality it didn't sound anywhere near as good and was noisy too, I couldn't see what the fuss was about.  Very happy to have my Koch Twintone II now as it is better made and sounds much nicer.

My go to amp is a Pro Junior, if you can live without reverb or don't mind pedals it trumps the Blues Junior for tone.

bertie

asimmd said:

The Deluxe is a non starter as it is 40 watts,and my Attenuator only handles 25 max,

you dont "have" to use an attenuator,  and if you do,  you dont "have" to use it on 100% and crank the amp to its limits to get bennefits. - especially if the recent sound samples are indicative of your "normal" tones.

I didnt use an anttenuator with the deville (60w) and got wonderful tones with it,  and the one I use with the chubster, I use to "warm" the power section, not allow me to crank it to the max (which isnt really that nice a tone at bedroom levels)

fretmeister

If I was going to buy another medium sized Fender amp it would be the Blues Deluxe.

It's basically a Hot Rod Deluxe but without the extra drive. I had one for years and it was very good and took pedals very well too.

I did have a Weber attenuator but as Bert said - it's not really necessary unless you want power amp drive. And I didn't!