don't buy a Fender Blues Junior .....

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Jockai

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i bought this on a whim on ebay ...needed a practice amp ....

but i've had it with this thing .....i've changed the valves ....bought a nice

Celestion speaker ....a good quality lead......but it's just awful .....i wanted so

much to love it .....but it's got to go .....i've got an old Vox transistor amp

from the 70's which was a quarter of the price and sounds four times better

...i tried ....... i really did ...........there i've got it off my chest ..........
 
I've got three of the Limited Edition tweed juniors (Italian made Jensen speaker and upgraded birch cabinet). Never had a problem. One of the best small combo amps I've ever owned.

What's the story on yours? Made in US or Mexico? Black tolex? What color is the circuit board - green or cream? Fender Special Design Eminence speaker (crap)?

I don't like to buy amps on eBay. I like to drive them first. Sounds like you got a dud.
 
it's a Mexican one with the Fender speaker ....not sure what colour the circuit board is ....you know i've taken it apart so many times before i can't even be bothered to do it again .....nobody else i know has got one to compare it to ....so you may be right it's just a dud .....i bought a Blackstar HT5 instead which is a great amp .....i tried everything with the Fender but it just didn't take me "there" to that place where you stop fiddling with controls and just enjoy playing .....maybe it's got swine flu !!!......
 
Jockai said:
....maybe it's got swine flu !!!......

Sounds more like it's a swine. Bummer.....they really are nice amps. Next time you're in a guitar shop, look for a lacquered tweed Junior. Look at the back panel for a little metal badge below the input jack saying Limited Edition. (the relic version is the same amp....just beat up)

Plug that thing in and have at it.....you won't be disappointed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Hot-Rod-Series-NOS-Blues-Junior-1X12-Tube-Amp_W0QQitemZ160335096916QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2554b76c54&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
 
I tried the Blues Junior in a mate's shop and it was simply craptacular...I tried Fenders,Gibsons,Deans...nothing I played through it made a jot of difference to the ****** tone.
 
Gee, I have a Fender Blues Junior 10 years old, Jensen Speaker.

Mine sounds like Cowgirls Crying, just fab. The controls are a bit wierd - volume is hair trigger up to 2-3 but after that it sings. Tone controls dont seem to do much so I turn back the treble to 7 and wind the rest up to max. It is only 12-15 watts so it lacks bottom end for those of you used to 4x12 - It will do that too but at modest volumes. i once asked Charlie Chandler if they had an amp that sounded like a Blues Junior but at 50 watts he said " No, but everyone is looking for that". See how you go it may charm you finally.

I imagine I like the style if you prefer the dryer beefier Marshall then it might not be for you. its a Fender and is bright and jangly.
 
Sit down everybody, I'm about to agree with Ozeshin about tone. :eek: Actually it's a bit worrying to have to agree with Oze while disagreeing with Marcus, but I was glad to get rid of my Blues Junior. Mine was a black US model, I think Marcus said it was a green board one when I was selling it.

It lacked several things, the main ones being tone & character. :-? It just didn't sound like a Fender! Compared to my 1993 Blues Deluxe, it was amazingly unimpressive in almost every way, & I could never understand why so many people love them.

Mind you, when I sold it (after 2 years), I lost a total of 74p, so it cost me the huge sum of 37p each year I owned it, so they hold their value!

Each to their own, I suppose.

Mike
 
marcusnieman said:
I don't like to buy amps on eBay. I like to drive them first. Sounds like you got a dud.

I bought my Laney from ebay which to be fair to the seller was in the condition described (at least externally). Find it hard to believe that a valve would go so soon after it had been played "very few times and never been cranked", which is what happened. I think it's best to take things you cannot prove with a pinch of salt in those situations.

Unless the seller can do a demo on youtube and post a link there is no way of knowing if it's going to sound as expected either.
 
stratman323 said:
Sit down everybody, I'm about to agree with Ozeshin about tone. :eek: Actually it's a bit worrying to have to agree with Oze while disagreeing with Marcus, but I was glad to get rid of my Blues Junior.
Excuse me...but I have to run now...a pig just flew past my top story window :eek:
 
Ozeshin said:
Excuse me...but I have to run now...a pig just flew past my top story window :eek:

You mean swine flew? (hehe....)

There is quite a cult following of Blues Juniors and the amps can be hotrodded. There's a guy named Bill Machrone (known as Bill M) and he is famous for his mods. His website is below.....have a look at what he does. I'm on the waiting list to send him one of mine to work on:

http://billmaudio.com/wp/
 
Blues Juniors are Marmite/Vegemite amps - you either love them or hate them. A bit like Texas Special pickups.
 
Cali Girl said:
Can you get a vintage Fender Champ or Fender Princeton?

Not sure what you mean by that, but a Champ doesn't have reverb, I'm not sure about a Princeton. And a Fender amp without reverb ain't worth a sh**.

IMHO, of course.
 
stratman323 said:
Cali Girl said:
Can you get a vintage Fender Champ or Fender Princeton?

Not sure what you mean by that, but a Champ doesn't have reverb, I'm not sure about a Princeton. And a Fender amp without reverb ain't worth a sh**.

IMHO, of course.

I just mean that these are my favorite practice amps, vintage ones are plentiful and affordable where I am. They sound great and are just the right size for the living room. I would rather buy a vintage Princeton or Champ than a new Fender of any type really.
 
A fair bit pricier though, to be fair. My Cornell is a big improvement over the BD, but it cost a lot more, so it should be!

:lol:
 
Cali Girl said:
I just mean that these are my favorite practice amps, vintage ones are plentiful and affordable where I am. They sound great and are just the right size for the living room. I would rather buy a vintage Princeton or Champ than a new Fender of any type really.

Affordable? Where do you live? A nice blackface Princeton Reverb will go for $1800 out here. The Junior will kick it's butt too..... I can gig with the Junior but the Princeton just doesn't have the juice.
 
Just a plain Princeton, the reverb version is way more expensive. I bought a BF Princeton and BF Vibro Champ in the last year for less than $800 combined. I'm not far from you. I just watch craigslist and ask around for gear, go to estate sales and consignment shops and antique malls 8)

I don't want to go on too much more of a tangent here. I just always found the Champ/Vibro Champ a really good value for a practice tube amp, better than buying something new, so I will shut up now.
 
Cali Girl said:
Just a plain Princeton, the reverb version is way more expensive. I bought a BF Princeton and BF Vibro Champ in the last year for less than $800 combined. I'm not far from you. I just watch craigslist and ask around for gear, go to estate sales and consignment shops and antique malls 8)

I don't want to go on too much more of a tangent here. I just always found the Champ/Vibro Champ a really good value for a practice tube amp, better than buying something new, so I will shut up now.

No worries......I had assumed that you were talking about vintage models...not the current stuff.

I have a 66 Princeton BF Reverb and a 67 Bronco (same amp as the Vibro Champ and still with the BF circuitry as most all of the 67 Fender amps). Great amps but very expensive now.... particularly for a practice amp. Here's the scoop on the Bronco:

http://www.ggjaguar.com/broncamp.htm
 
Well it's hardly fair to compare a 60s Fender of any kind with a new amp costing about ?300 secondhand. You wouldn't compare a 1966 Burgundy with a 2006 and expect the new one to taste as good would you?
 

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