hey guys looking for a little help. i am about to pull the trigger on purchasing a blues jr but am a bit confused on models.
there was a great thread on the topic a while back but i cant seem to find it. i am a little concerned on NOS,hot rod series and tweed etc. what are the model choices speakers tubes etc. one last note is foot switch normally included or is that an add on?
sorry for my ignorance any info would help.
thanks

Hello Spw,

Footswitch does not come with it.
NOS has a different speaker, a Jensen, better?
tubes are the same.

Tons of info on these great little amps
try doing a search under "Blues Jr."

Best of luck on your choice.

Cheers.

To my knowledge the footswitch is never included. The only difference between types is the speaker and the covering. Not a lot of difference if you ask me. I tried 6 speakers to improve mine, non changed it that much. What you do need to make sure of is that you buy the MIM one. It is a lot better than the earlier MIA ones (mia up till 98). Theres a lot better out there for less money, even from fender. The pro junior owns it, invest in a decent reverb and your set. If your after a tweed the 57 champ looks the business.

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No no and no

i too am on a quest for a small affordable (15-30 watt) tube amp. the pro junior did catch my eye. i just wish it wasn't grossly cost-inflated. all you get is a tone knob and 10" speaker. not even any reverb! and yet it's only $100 less than B Jr. or in other words, $400. CAN THIS COMPANY BE ANY MORE UNFAIR AND EXPLOITATIVE?

nikininja, am i reading correctly that you prefer Pro Junior over the Blues Junior? interesting, what reasons can you offer?
Also, how much less bass do you get on the Pro J versus the Blues J? we're talking 10" spkr against 12" spkr. that'd be one of my concerns, i like having plenty of low end.

Musician's Friend is having a nice sale on the Blues Junior NOS right now: $579.99 (down from $674.99).


http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Hot-Rod-Blues-Junior-NOS-1x12-Tube-Guitar-Combo-Amp?sku=483711
I've been jonesing for this one myself--now to see whether I can convince my wife as to what a good deal it is!

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Msvolpe
The pro jr sounds $1000 better than the blues jr, which lets face it isnt hard. I found the blues jr to be a singularly ugly bland sounding amp that needs overloading with effects to add any character. It never sounds fat and clean, the gain is deplorable. I've done a few of the Billm mods to the circuit now, changed the valves so many times i've forgotten. I've tried 6 different speakers in it. Its just a poorly designed amp, the reverb is so noisy mainly because its so close to the power transformer. I removed the tank, extended the +/- leads to it. Mounted it on a ply board and now possition it 2ft away from the amp when i use it. Which isnt very often. At £470 each ($775) they are a utter rip off. Who these days makes a amp where the fixed bias is set way too hot. Compare the heat coming from the blues jr's 3, ecc83s and 2, el84's compared to a high gain marshalls 5, ecc83s and 4 el34's. I could heat the house from that amp. Fixed bias may have been acceptable 30-50 years ago, not today. You can get a lot better from anyone else for the same money. Peavey, marshall, laney all offer far better for less. Get towards lesser known brands such as ashdown/hayden, blackstar or even the much maligned bugera (which i think are a nice sounding amp let down by reliability issues) and the price/performance gap becomes more apparent.

Sorry i cant say anything good about it except its a usefull stool or coffee table in our rehearsall room. Not the usuall fender standard.

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No no and no

Hey Nikininja,

Thank goodness too,that little amp got me through
a rough winter.

Cheers.

I was on the same quest a few years ago, alas it was not cheap at all, as I came home with a Crate Palomino and a SRV Strat

I tried a lot of small tube amps that day. I found the Blues JR to be very loud and that was just about it. The Crate sounds great, but I'm finding the build quality to be pretty bad, the pots need to be cleaned reguarly or they get scratchy and start to cut out.

Hope you can try before you buy, remember, a 15 watt tube amp is loud. You might want to look at something smaller, like the Vox AC4. Good Luck

Tubes are supposed to be New Old Stock (NOS) as well. I have a Blues Jr NOS that sounds excellent. Can't speak to the validity of the tubes in a NOS vs a regular BJ.

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Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an undocumented pharmicist.

As far as I know, Guitar Center / Musician's Friend, (same company), are the only place to obtain a new Blues Jr NOS.

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Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an undocumented pharmicist.

I'm with Nikininja on this one. I can't recommend anything from the Hot Rod Series period. Save up a bit more money. You can get a used Deluxe Reverb Reissue if you're in a hurry, or look at Peavey, Trayner, Blackheart etc. Unless of course you want to be on a first name basis with your amp tech like me and my HRdlx are or are really good with a soldering iron. I'm dumping mine for an Egnater Rebel 20.

theres nothing wrong with an amp that has 1 knob.

simplicty is (imo) the best.

thats why i prefer teles...its simply simplicity

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Paddle faster! I hear banjo music!

A very good point. My best amp has volume and tone. If you check the new 57 champ that has volume only and listen to that thing sing.

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No no and no

True! However, this does represent a considerable savings...

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

This is true if the amp uses quality components, does not mount the tube socket to a thin substandard board and is properly heat sinked and properly designed for the long haul.

I've recorded with a 72 Pignose, that I still have by the way and is the simplest of simple.