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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:56 pm
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nikininja wrote:
I dont like mine a 96 MIA. Its biased way too hot. The volume is maxed at 4, theres no difference between 4&12. The reverb is noisy and is so weak i went and bought a behringer pedal. Theres no variety in the tone/eq controls. The gain is garbage. The amp is nothing but woofy in the midrange. The eq and reverb dont do anything when the amps set clean. Yes ive changed the speaker and its been revalved with low current draw JJ's and svetlana ecc83s. Those first ones were terrible amps. I'm given to understand fender nearly admitted fault with them and decided to re-design the amp to the cream pcb series, that they build in mexico.

As soon as i can find someone to take it off me for £200 its gone.
I used to have an earlier version and i ended up selling it.I eventually bought a newer version and the reverb is better and has better tone.I have to tell you though,if you are looking for a high gain amp ,look elsewhere.This amp if you use an overdrive pedal and run the master to 12 and the volume to taste AND eq it properly ,it will sing .Like any amp,preamp distortion is terrible.While this is a great amp,it does have its limitations.


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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:19 pm
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I have to agree that the gain does have its place on this amp but its neither one thing or the other. Trust me theres a couple of nice jcm800s for the high gain stuff. Its not vintage or modern sounding. Just excessive midrange honk to get even champ type tones out of it.

Still glad i'm not the only one who prefers the newer models.

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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:52 pm
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nikininja wrote:
I have to agree that the gain does have its place on this amp but its neither one thing or the other. Trust me theres a couple of nice jcm800s for the high gain stuff. Its not vintage or modern sounding. Just excessive midrange honk to get even champ type tones out of it.

Still glad i'm not the only one who prefers the newer models.
They certainly did some nice upgrades on the newer version.The reverb was especially weak.I heard the NOS tweeds are even better,but i think the only difference is the speaker .


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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:07 pm
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My main beef is that i bought it used from a guy who said he had a newborn. So i tried it in his kitchen unable to turn it up. It performed well enough on eq at low volumes but the reverb was non existent. Turn it up and its the other way round. I bought the amp to get me in the knopfler tone ballpark for stage use. It just doesnt do it. The hot bias lends to the super midrange honk. Unfortunately i just cant get it clean with a audiable reverb at the same time. There are instances where it sounds great, chuck berry's maybelene for example.

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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:28 pm
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nikininja wrote:
My main beef is that i bought it used from a guy who said he had a newborn. So i tried it in his kitchen unable to turn it up. It performed well enough on eq at low volumes but the reverb was non existent. Turn it up and its the other way round. I bought the amp to get me in the knopfler tone ballpark for stage use. It just doesnt do it. The hot bias lends to the super midrange honk. Unfortunately i just cant get it clean with a audiable reverb at the same time. There are instances where it sounds great, chuck berry's maybelene for example.
Mine older bjr wasnt as problematic as yours was,but the reverb stunk for sure. I dont know if you ever go to billm's website,but he does all kindof mods to bjrs and there is alot of useful info there.


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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:58 pm
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Yeah i did the mid pot mod and its made a big improvement. Guess i was just hoping for too much for too little. It's really not that big a dilema theres other stuff i can use. I just feel like i got lumbered with a turkey. If i was really that worried about it i'd have someone else mod it to hell. I just want people to be aware that these amps are now at their best. Dont get suckered into a old one like i did. It's darkend my fender amp experience that a vibrochamp xd can out perform a old blues jr.

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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:19 pm
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Yeah, and the scxd is getting good reviews as well.I dont have a problem with the amps being made in Mexico.I think the qualityis good.I just recently bought a BDRI and i really love the sound of it better than my old HRDX made in America. I also bought an older (96) Bassman reissue from the USA and its a tone monster .


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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:45 pm
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I bought a Blues Jr NOS before the price increase, and I love it with my ES-335. It really brings something out of that axe.

I lightly modified mine: a Ruby Reverb (necessary in my opinion) and a Weber Beam Blocker (not so necessary). Mine sits on a stand at gigs.

It's plenty loud for most venues. I owned a couple of 100+ watt amps over the years and I found that I rarely had the volume up above 2 or 3. Junior allows me to get a really cool sound at a reasonable level, and, if I need more volume, that's why God created PAs. There's a lot to be said for having the stage volume at a lower level: you can hear better (and you'll hear better for longer!) and it's easier to connect with the other musicians if you're not rattling their fillings with every note.

The other side of that particular coin, in the case of the Blues Jr, is that mine doesn't really start to sing until it's cranked up a little -- around 2-1/2 on the master.

Besides that, the tweed looks really good, and it's lightweight -- in considerable contrast to my 91 lb combo and 144 lb stack, back in the day.

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:56 am
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peterp wrote:
Web on-line price seems to run 574$us-674$us, in all three of these chains..
Going in-store in person you might get better deal from them

Link is to cheapest on-line version of the amp I found at each store.
SweetWater 599$ http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BluesJunior/

Music123 574$-674$ http://www.music123.com/Fender-Hot-Rod-Blues-Junior-15W-1x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp-483558-i1432713.Music123

Guitar Center 574$-674$ http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-Hot-Rod-Blues-Junior-15W-1x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp-483558-i1432713.gc


I just bought a LTD ED Tweed Jr on Saturday from GC.

The black Tolex Jr's are $450 and the Tweed is $550. I asked about the difference in price on the net and was told the online price reflects Fender's 30% increase and as of April 1st the in store price will be the same.

So if you're in the market for one of these you have a week to find one in store or you'll have to pay $150 more.

BTW I love mine


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:15 pm
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Welcome to the forum sledge57! You got yourself a nice amp there. I've got one that's several years old and it's perfect for around the house and practice. Get them while you can and save some $$!! :wink:


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:22 am
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Just chiming in here to say that I ended up having to return my Blues Junior NOS back to GC. I was getting popping and crackling noises when i turned it up in volume (not cranked by any means). It was still within the 30 day policy where I could just return it, with no questions, so I did that. Then they special ordered me one from a different store. It arrived at my house with only (2) tubes in it!! The other tubes were laying in the bottom of the bag and the connectors were all bent and some broken off.. Needless to say I returned that amp immediately!! :(
Evidently the amp was badly abused in the shipping process and I didn't want it..
So, for now I'll continue hunting for the "tube" amp of my liking.. I've also decided to "broaden" my horizons by looking for other amps than Fender.. Sorry, no need to offend (this is a Fender forum), but there are alot of different amps out there and I don't like doing the- buy it, not like it, take-it-back game. :)
I am considering amps like Mesa, Rivera, Soldano, Bogner, or maybe Orange.. I know they're more expensive, but I'm a firm believer in "ya get what you pay for"..
Have a great day all..


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:27 am
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I was an idiot. I sold my 2003 (or 2004) MIM Blues Junior (black tolex, like-new condition) to a friend last summer for $275. Then I decided that I wanted another one, and quickly bought a new one for $474 right before the price increase. Every time I play it, I think about how dumb (and expensive) it was to sell my old one!


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:06 am
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JJones74 wrote:
Just chiming in here to say that I ended up having to return my Blues Junior NOS back to GC. I was getting popping and crackling noises when i turned it up in volume (not cranked by any means). It was still within the 30 day policy where I could just return it, with no questions, so I did that. Then they special ordered me one from a different store. It arrived at my house with only (2) tubes in it!! The other tubes were laying in the bottom of the bag and the connectors were all bent and some broken off.. Needless to say I returned that amp immediately!! :(
Evidently the amp was badly abused in the shipping process and I didn't want it..
So, for now I'll continue hunting for the "tube" amp of my liking.. I've also decided to "broaden" my horizons by looking for other amps than Fender..


You might try the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight. I have one and it's my amp of choice for my Les Paul. No tubes to break -- if you just gotta have tubes, you'll be missing a really fine little and lightweight (25.6 lb w speaker) amp. My sits right alongside my various tube amps and sounds as good as a friend's '67 Super Reverb, and it's 40 lb lighter.

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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:50 am
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lpdeluxe wrote:
JJones74 wrote:
Just chiming in here to say that I ended up having to return my Blues Junior NOS back to GC. I was getting popping and crackling noises when i turned it up in volume (not cranked by any means). It was still within the 30 day policy where I could just return it, with no questions, so I did that. Then they special ordered me one from a different store. It arrived at my house with only (2) tubes in it!! The other tubes were laying in the bottom of the bag and the connectors were all bent and some broken off.. Needless to say I returned that amp immediately!! :(
Evidently the amp was badly abused in the shipping process and I didn't want it..
So, for now I'll continue hunting for the "tube" amp of my liking.. I've also decided to "broaden" my horizons by looking for other amps than Fender..


You might try the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight. I have one and it's my amp of choice for my Les Paul. No tubes to break -- if you just gotta have tubes, you'll be missing a really fine little and lightweight (25.6 lb w speaker) amp. My sits right alongside my various tube amps and sounds as good as a friend's '67 Super Reverb, and it's 40 lb lighter.


I've currently got a mid-90's Fender Stage 100 solid state amp (not the head version) that sounds OK (it hisses alot nowadays). But I'll definitely look into the Jazzmaster. I would definitely like to venture into the "tube" side of the isle. I've really liked what I've heard thus far from the tubes versus SS.. :)

Thanks again..


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 8:06 am
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JJones74 wrote:

I've currently got a mid-90's Fender Stage 100 solid state amp (not the head version) that sounds OK (it hisses alot nowadays). But I'll definitely look into the Jazzmaster. I would definitely like to venture into the "tube" side of the isle. I've really liked what I've heard thus far from the tubes versus SS.. :)

Thanks again..


It's not about tube vs solid state: it's really about a fine, overlooked amp that happens to be solid state -- and, I might add, in 35 years of amps, this is my first and only solid state guitar amp (the other two being bass amps).

I would defy any one to identify it as "not tube" in a blind listening test. Check out the reviews at Harmony Central.

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