Blues Jr.

The Blues Jr is a very popular amp. It has neither a tweed nor a BF tone, but does give good versatility. It does sound "boxy" however and would benefit from a cabinet upgrade.

If you are after "that" Fender clean tone, the DRRI may well be twice the price (as someone pointed out above) but its more than twice the tone...
 
Mystic38 said:
The Blues Jr is a very popular amp. It has neither a tweed nor a BF tone, but does give good versatility. It does sound "boxy" however and would benefit from a cabinet upgrade.

If you are after "that" Fender clean tone, the DRRI may well be twice the price (as someone pointed out above) but its more than twice the tone...
Click to expand...
I don't have the Blues Jr. I'm quite happy with the 1980 DR, Old Fender and 2000 Victoria Tweed Deluxes, and the H head.
 
As an obnoxious curmudgeon, I have an unpopular opinion of the Blues Jr. and Hot Rod Deluxe amps.

I can't relate to any in the series. "I can't relate to..." can be interpreted as, "I don't like them very much."

I don't see the attraction, other than they're not expensive, which I admit might be part of 'I can't relate'. Why? (a) I'm spoiled by far more expensive, hand-wired amps, and (b) I'm that guy who likes old school Fender amps that aren't Blues Jr. and HRD amps.

Fender produces some wonderful reissues. The hand wired Tweed Deluxe and Twin are killer. To me. YMMV.

This is all personal preference of course!

I'm just some random dude with unusual taste crying out in the tone wilderness, insisting on nuances that others justifiably ignore.

If I were you, I'd put me on your 'ignore' list so you no longer have to interact with my Only Applicable To Me messages. I'd do that if only I could ignore myself!

:)
 
Last edited:
László said:
As an obnoxious curmudgeon, I have an unpopular opinion of the Blues Jr. and Hot Rod Deluxe amps.

I can't relate to any in the series. "I can't relate to..." can be interpreted as, "I don't like them very much."

I don't see the attraction, other than they're not expensive, which I admit might be part of 'I can't relate'. Why? (a) I'm spoiled by far more expensive, hand-wired amps, and (b) I'm that guy who likes old school Fender amps that aren't Blues Jr. and HRD amps.

Fender produces some wonderful reissues. The hand wired Tweed Deluxe and Twin are killer. To me. YMMV.

This is all personal preference of course!

I'm just some random dude with unusual taste crying out in the tone wilderness, insisting on nuances that others justifiably ignore.

If I were you, I'd put me on your 'ignore' list so you no longer have to interact with my Only Applicable To Me messages. I'd do that if only I could ignore myself!

:)
Click to expand...
Well, I never did like the Blues Deluxe I had many years ago, so if the B Jr. is in that realm, I'll pass.
 
Do a bit of Googling and look for the "Bill M" mods for the Blues Jr. Bill passed away a couple of years ago but hopefully someone picked up the process. The package I got included hardware (Switchcraft switches and jacks/plugs) instead of the cheap plastic stuff. Plus, component changes on the PCB's that REALLY open the sound up. Clean headroom goes through the roof. The instructions were simple enough that I did it myself and the package was less than $100. If you're OK with a soldering iron you'll probably be OK... be careful not to overheat the PCB and ruin the traces... Fender made those things about as thin as they possibly could.
 
I bought a Blues Junior in 2004 when I was getting back into playing, used it a few hundred times at open jams our band hosted. I thought it sounded pretty good for a $400 amp. Years later I acquired a DRRI and later a PRRI, and some others along the way, and now the Junior doesn't see much use. Every other amp I have sounds better to me. Not saying there aren't some good tones to be had. IMHO it sounds best clean, cranked with single coils. They're not a bad choice for a home practice tube amp.
 
I gig out with my Fender Deluxe Reverb (22 watt, 1x12) but it's too loud for home practice. Just bought a Marshall DSL 20 and couldn't be happier. Ch 1 is very clean and I can beef up with pedals if need be, but Ch 2 is the Ultra Gain channel which is all you need. No pedals, not nothing. The tone out of this amp in the ultra gain mode is the best ever. Go try one and I bet you'll buy it. So fun.
 
Took me awhile years ago to understand that there are pedal friendly amps and amps that don't like pedals as much. I know most Fender amps are clean and take pedals well which is why I bought and gig with my Fender Deluxe Reverb. Great amp for pedals but far too loud for home practice which is why I bought the Marshall DSL 20. As I mentioned, the Ultra Gain channel produces some tones/dirt that are perfect, no pedals needed. Ch 1 on the clean side takes pedals pretty well but honestly Ch 2 is a much as I want at home. The dirt/distortion that thing throws out is perfect to my ear.
 
Had a Blues Jr. around 2009 and sold it when the baby came along - could rarely play it and was doing more acoustic playing. Fast forward to this year - saw a used tweed & had to buy it. Great little amps!
 
rcsrich said:
Had a Blues Jr. around 2009 and sold it when the baby came along - could rarely play it and was doing more acoustic playing. Fast forward to this year - saw a used tweed & had to buy it. Great little amps!
Click to expand...
…and my S2 Standard 22 sounds amazing through it with the 57/08s I just installed. Great vintage tones!
 
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