Fender Blues Jr. Ap upgraded

Steel guitar amplifiers, effects, etc.

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Kevin Ruddell
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Joined: 15 Apr 2000 12:01 am
Location: Toledo Ohio USA

Fender Blues Jr. Ap upgraded

Post by Kevin Ruddell »


I stopped in a Guitar Center store yesterday and plunked a Fender Strat through a Fender Blues Jr. amp for a while. I was thinking about getting one for my lap and console but I've read a lot of negatve comments about the amp tubes , speaker, and esp. disdain for the reverb ( noise , hiss and general sound of it that is ). Actually the reverb on the one I tried yesterday seemed like a traditional Fender sproingy reverb sound to me . I was wondering if Fender had addressed the problem and changed the newer models ? Anyone heard any scuttle butt on this ?
Topic heading should read amp, not ap ! My cheap keyboard strikes again
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Kevin Ruddell on 16 May 2004 at 11:45 AM.]</p></FONT>
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Terry Farmer
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Joined: 28 Jun 2002 12:01 am
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Post by Terry Farmer »

I have one about a year old. I've just used it in my home, but I haven't had any problems at all with it. I like it!
Jaime Miller
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Joined: 5 May 2004 12:01 am
Location: Dallas, Texas, USA

Post by Jaime Miller »


I had heard the same thing about the Blue's Jr. and found they did address the problem a couple of years ago by changing the boards. I searched the www.fenderforum.com forum and found a lot of info about it. Go to the Amps (1985 to Present)section. I did buy one for Christmas 2003 and it has been fine. It is a quiet amp as long as the electric outlet is grounded properly.
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Peter Jacobs
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Location: Northern Virginia

Post by Peter Jacobs »

I've got a 2001 Blues Jr -- it's one of the revised ones. I love the sound, volume (it's a very loud 15 tube watts), and the portability. It doesn't do "clean" --everything has a nice warmth to it. Perfect for bluesy stuff (hence the name).
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Tim Whitlock
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Location: Colorado, USA

Post by Tim Whitlock »

I've played lap steel through a Blues Jr, with pretty good results. I like the warmth and don't mind if it starts to growl a bit. I can get a pretty good Noel Boggs, slightly overdriven sound that I like. You might also look at the Pro Junior, which is similar to the old Champs, but with more output (15 watts, same as the Blues Jr): Here's the Pro Junior on the Musician's Friend web site. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 17 May 2004 at 08:32 AM.]</p></FONT>
Kevin Ruddell
Posts: 867
Joined: 15 Apr 2000 12:01 am
Location: Toledo Ohio USA

Post by Kevin Ruddell »

Thanks for your posts on this topic . I went to the big music store sale this weekend to buy the Fender Blues Jr. and wound up buying a new all tube Peavey Classic for $25 more dollars . It was the last one so I got it for 40% off list at their sale. I figured the slightly bigger cabinet and increased headroom of 15 more watts was worth $25.
My Fender Dual pro sounds great through it and my Goldtone sounds good although I have to turn it the volume down to about 2. I have to turn the very bright high end soun down by putting the treble on 2 and the middle on 3!
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Brad Bechtel
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Post by Brad Bechtel »

Moved to Electronics from No Peddlers. I think both the Blues Jr. and the Peavey Classic 30 are fine amps for non-pedal steel guitar.

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

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