Fender Blues Junior III guitar amplifier demo

www.fender.com The new Blues Jr Version 3 from Fender has the Sparkle Mod, upgraded potentiometers, and more...check it!

[@skt1435]

Reasons to like this video 1. It's narrated by Jack Black 2. It's a great demo on the amp 3 It's narrated by Jack Black

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

all you're reasons are false except for 2

[@Kudabear1]

***** chill out its called a joke

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

***** Yeah bro, you just got trolllled brooo. You got me man, I'm busted, send me to the youtube police before I strike again

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

***** How dare you call me John Mayer.

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

***** Only if you got the joke, nevermind. I hope you have a great life (not really)

[@oldmal60]

Thank you for showing it at different knob settings. Some morons don't do that and demo is useless. Good job man. I got one 9 months ago and love it.

[@Lowclef]

I always imagine gearmandude is actually Jack Black's character from School of Rock and this is what he does to get extra cash.

[@TheBlueskyson]

Thanks for one of the most no nonsense, direct simple and thorough reviews I've seen of an amp. good luck fella. merry xmas to all

[@erestube]

Great job of putting the amp through its paces and helping me decide!

[@joellebrodeur1015]

I used to own a Blues Junior and bought it when it first came out (when it was still USA made). Damn got stolen years ago and I have yet to replace it. Are the newer ones better than the original production? I hesitated replacing it with a newer version primarily because they're made in Mexico. This one doesn't sound that different from the one I had. On a side note, this amp is very loud for 15watts. I jam twice a month with some other players. Our lead guitarist has this amp (the older american made version) and can be heard over a full drum kit and bass guitar. As long as it's off the floor, then you're good. We play mostly blues and classic rock, so this is perfect. He uses two pedal with it, but that's all it needs.

[@1144Dusty]

I bought this amp a little while ago and I absolutely love it. It's very compatible with pedals, just add a tube screamer of some sort and you have and aggressive lead channel. The only issue I had was with the rubber handle. It's no good and I replaced it twice then found out I could order a leather one from Fender that is made specifically for this amp and it's only about $20 which will save your $700 investment.

[@BombshellBill]

ey GMD, i gotta ask, why do you always have that bandanna thing behind your amps? does it offer any acoustic value? is it jus to protect from dust? or jus because you don't like showing the back of your amps in videos?

[@jaydogg505]

This is not "THE GREATEST" demo in the world, this is just a tribute!!! Good to see Christian Slater working again!!

[@HeavyHauler81]

Been following for MANY years, still love watching the pedalboard building videos lol! I’m trading off a Hotrod Deville 2x12 (I have two, only need one!) for a 1st/2nd gen Blues Junior for the size, but forsure the tone now! I picked up a cover gig once in a while and need a smaller amp for weight and stage size, this will be perfect with my black/white coiley cable!

[@Elshibly]

you're fooling no one Mr. Jack Black

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

he isn't

[@northstarpheonix]

ASAC Schrader is!

[@Marcel-Marcel]

Is this thing loud enough for a rehearsal studio practice with full band or would it need to be mic'd up? Thanks

[@KowboySantos]

its loud enough for a full band rehearsal

[@dr05guitar]

I had a question for you Gearmanndude. I just got this amp today... I'm kinda new to tube amps, but when you're playing clean, you have to keep the preamp volume down somewhat, and can raise the master... so if you have a tubescreamer or something, that will dirty it up without physically having to tweak the preamp setting right? Like, it would be comparable to boosting the preamp level? I'm just thinking for going from clean to in effect more preamp tone without actually touching the knob...

[@winstonthehawk]

I just bought one of these (Ltd Edition Silver Noir) and I love it. Gorgeous clean tone and cranks up nicely. Thanks for the demo!

[@eltigre8978]

Awesome! This amp is incredible. Louder than anyone would guess at 15 watts.

[@tomw2013]

I just bought a the same amp. I set the amp at the same settings at 10:05. I am playing a new Fender American Strat but I can't get the same growl you have. Are you using a pedal also or is it just the amp and the guitar? I am thinking the amp is defective.

[@crampoos]

Not much talking, just getting dirty & clean - this is how proper amp demo should be. Thanks mate. I'm just about buying a FBJ, and wanted to hear the thing. Gooood it is! Thanks again.

[@ByFaith747]

This is the best review I have found for this amp. Love the channel man!

[@splashfizz]

Hi. Nice demo and nice playing too. A couple of questions: I've got a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp and I just don't use the overdrive channels and only use the clean (with a pedal if I want distortion). Any improvement going to the Blues Junior? Would I gain anything? Also, with this being a 15 watt amp you must be sacrificing volume compared to the 40 watt Hot Rod deluxe but does it make any difference? I see you mike it.

[@AntonEmery]

great sound at 2:41 what pickup is that on your strat? would love to get a similar sound on my baja tele

[@dtotheatothevtothee]

Great vid...traded a mint Danelectro Hodad w/ fake Bigsby for a Blues Jr w/ upgraded tubes and speaker awhile back. Best trade ever. Good demo, keep up the great work!! Dave

[@esdenaze]

best review I ever heard in terms of playing, I actually rewinded it a few times.

[@chasetaylor7121]

Really impressed by your demo of this little guy. Big sound from a very price competitive amp!

[@MrShoryuken1]

Christian Slater and Jack Black had a child and his name is...gearmandude

[@MNGuitars]

I realize this video is super old but im strongly considering selling my traynor ycv 50 combo for a blues junior as i dont use the gain channel on the traynor and its just way too loud...will the blues junior still cut thru a loud drummer and second guitarist when not miced up?

[@JeremyLeblanc]

I use it for jamming in my rock band with a moderate to loud drummer, and i'd say it's more than enought even tho i won't push it to the point of breaking. Used to have the YCV too, it has a great clean channel, but i find more clarity in the BJ. The portability is also a great addition when touring.

[@rhykko77]

Greetings Gearmann ! Comparing clean to cleaan, is the Fender Vibro Champ XD as loud as the Fender Blues Jr. ?

[@MrCopperthwaite]

Good demo'. Have you modified the valves in some way? Reason I ask is, if I put my volume and master anywhere over 3, then things get crazy loud.

[@PBK625]

I play with my master on 12 and volume on 6 and just adjust the volume knob on my guitar to keep it reasonable and still sounding like I want it to

[@trogador95]

@gearmanndude GMD, if i put a heavy distortion, such as an mxr fullbore metal or a boss DS-1, in front of one of these things, do you think it would handle well? If not, is there any specific amp you would suggest? i play hard rock and nu-metal.

[@nadtorus]

What’s the difference between master and volume knob? Sorry i’m a beginner, sorry for stupid question..

[@zoddtheimmortal2530]

kung fu panda is that you? nacho libre? naw i think jack is a gibson marshall guy

[@patrickwellerwrites]

Mark S lol it does sound like him

[@lucapiccirillo8914]

Hi, did you use a distortion pedal in this demo?

[@pacbellpark]

dude, gearmandude, thanks for the demo on the amp I happen to own! I've been futzing around with the knobs for the past couple of years (got mine in 2008). Now there is harmony between me, my strat, and my blues junior. Thanks for the demo of the settings you used. Peace!

[@richfiryn]

your musical vibe has always been good jack. keep it up man

[@riche1745]

I enjoyed your playing and thorough run-through of the Blues Junior! I just bought a used Limited Edition Blues Junior (2011) yesterday for $350. It's in excellent condition. Do you think that was a fair price to pay? Also, except for the color, is it the same as the Blues J. in your video? What year is that by the way? Thank You!

[@tjnugent62]

Do you like this amp more than you like the Fender Pro Jr in the tweed 12" cab?

[@ArtDonna84]

Great job running through the different setting. Thanks

[@fenderstratguy]

I have an old green circuit board USA built FBJr and recently a tube blew out so I ordered not one but two new 12AX7s online. My amp used to sound great clean but the distortion side was actually kinda harsh (like the one in this vid gets). Long story short, I now have 3 different brands of 12AX7's in my amp. Putting them in a different order changes the tone of this amp drastically, and there is one combination that is just to die for.

[@7endertelecaster]

the microphone makes it sound horrible :/ but im sure its great, have they changed the old stock speaker, or have you?

[@rattleshakti]

Great review mate, no BS, good view of the dials, great sounds, top marks from the UK.

[@MAlshoaiby]

Hey GMD, killer review dude. I just picked one of these bad boys up yesterday. What kind of mic are you using in this review? Dig the sound you're getting out of it.

[@kirklethbridge4477]

nice to hear an actual AMP demo as opposed to some guy showing off how he can speed pick, nice when the amp is demo'ed. thanks Gman, great job … makes me want to buy this and use it now that I have seen this.

[@Chrismayo1981]

It can be, depending on what kinda tone you want... Its great for low tone jazz as its a really warm amp. It also has some nice clean highs too...

[@ArtDonna84]

Excellent demo of THE AMP vs someone showing us his guitar work when it's entitled an amp demo. Great work on keep the camera on the knob settings throughout and how the changes go, not too long on any one setting.

[@IantaylorCanuck]

Mine keeps going into the shop for repairs. Back onto my '71 Princeton Reverb that I've had since '85 and has never given me a moment of trouble.

[@trogador95]

@gearmanndude GMD, if i put a heavy distortion, such as an mxr fullbore metal or a boss DS-1, in front of one of these things, do you think it would handle well?

[@Aint1S]

You can hear the difference in mics, but you can really hear the different frequency response of the smaller speaker. That mojo tone upgrade was worth its weight!

[@sid9170]

I appreciate the Quality of sound on gearmanndude's demos. They are not nearly as compressed as almost all others are. You can clearly hear changes in volume. That is usually not the case with other peoples' demos.

[@FerFonsek]

what do you think about the egnater tweaker, does it sound better than the BJ? which one would you buy?

[@FOBrienK10]

really though, what if this actually is jack black, doing guitar reviews.....what if....

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

too bad it isn't

[@northstarpheonix]

***** it is!

[@jonathonp.3071]

northstarpheonix It isn't, his name is Eric Whorton.

[@northstarpheonix]

Jonathon Plumbley lies!

[@jonathonp.3071]

northstarpheonix Haha. You don't have to believe it if you don't want to....

[@GarthMarengi02]

is this jack black?

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

nope

[@ReviewMovieWorld1]

***** woah, someone is a bit butthurt

[@MrAndromedam31]

Great video. I have a Blues Junior III too. I can't make it sound so good as you though. I need to practice (a lot). My Blues junior has begun to be very noisy when I turn the Volume knob up. Do you have any idea of what could be the cause? Should I change the pre amp tubes? Greetings from Denmark

[@GuyNarnarian]

Thanks I will check that out. One other question. My new Blues Junior After the Gold Rush (III) seems to have a little bit of hum when my hands are off the guitar, even with my Epiphone Les Paul that has Humbuckers. (My strat obviously has hum). Is this normal or were people wailing on my amp in the shop before I bought it and I need a new tube already?

[@chasingpaganini]

GMD, Since you've had a lot of experience with this amplifier, what are some of your favorite pedals to use with this? What does your 'Blues Jr. Rig' look like? Thanks, and keep on rockin' dude...

[@gutocavalcante]

When volume is at 12 o'clock, and master is at 5, 9, 10 o'clock, there's not hum or hiss??

[@guitarsonly2663]

Cool little amp with great sounds.

[@theloniouscoltrane3778]

Does the Blues Jr. III have a headphone and foot pedal jack? Thanks

[@flamencoprof]

No. But there is a jack for a foot switch for the "Fat" function.

[@kiefercaster]

hey, great video, excellent sounds. How well does it perform with some AC/DC type gain ?

[@lliwehtedud]

Hey gearmanndude is this amp is this amp loud enough to play pub gigs and club gigs etc...? thanks for yet another funny demo jack black

[@GuyNarnarian]

How do you crank the master all the way w/o it being extremely loud? I live in an apartment with other people and barely can put it up to 3 without bothering people. I crank the gain (volume) and it gives me a good tone, but not as dirty as yours with the master at 5. Need a studio I guess!

[@itaiarad098320]

Holy mother of god... The master knob is cranked all the way up...

[@Tomcsek84]

I have just purchased a Fender Blues Junior III. This is my first tube amp so playing with it I get more and more questions. Let's see: After turning the amp ON, only after 2-3 seconds comes the amp alive (I mean after a few seconds can you hear anything coming from the speaker). Is it just normal? I know it's a silly question, but before the BJ3 I used transistor amps.

[@mydogspet]

I had the original, and I think this sounds better. ...Then again, I must admit that your guitar licks also sound better. A most excellent demonstration video. You make me wish I'd never gotten rid of my Blues Junior. .........

[@blackfrancis33]

Wanna get one of these for some blues tones, but for the sake of versatility, could I use a overdrive pedal to get a more "British" sound when I need it? I have a Fulltone OCD and a Marshall Shredmaster.

[@jammergreg]

Nice demo ! I'm using 2 in stereo. I have the Humboldt BJ III w/ a Cannabis Rex. All I need for now.

[@Baboooonz]

Ah.. Just got this Amp this afternoon, cant wait to bring to the garage tomorrow so I can crank this bad boy up! BLACK JACK voiced man For The Win!

[@shawnglass108]

I’ve got one of these in one of the limited edition color schemes. Great amp for bedroom and practice. Nice clean sound and good with pedals. These amps have almost no bass response though sadly. It doesn’t matter what speaker you switch to. It’s either the small cabinet size or the amps tone stack/EQ but these amps simply don’t have any low end thump. I have a 5 watt amp that has way more thump. Like I said though, great clean or semi-driven practice amp.

[@METALUPYOURASS12222]

excellent review, great playing. got the hot rod deluxe, but am looking for similar tone in a smaller practice amp. 1 channel is okay, guess I can roll the volume back for clean. Is it loud enough to keep up with a full band? being only 15 watts makes me weary to try it at an open mic night.

[@davidstorey9515]

Plenty loud enough for a small to medium venue. If you need even more volume you can just mic it up and run it thru the PA.

[@MarkSerlin]

Yes! I've used one at gigs with a full band and it cuts through beautifully.

[@passion_flora]

so is the volume knob basically gain control, and the master volume the regular volume?

[@DSilvergun]

Which Ver. 3 do you like better? This or the HRD III?

[@flamencoprof]

In 2018 I bought a MIM Tele and one of these. This vid is one I looked at when considering what to buy. After, my nerdy side made this observation: - "Just with the basic Tele with ungraduated Tone & Vol. reduced to say, 10 different levels, plus the 3-way pickup switch, we have 10 x 10 x 3 = 300 different settings. I just bought a basic Fender amp which has 6 x 12-graduated controls plus a 2-way Fat switch. This gives us another 12^6 x 2 settings, = 5,971,968, which x 300 from the guitar gives 1,791,590,400 possible combinations. Just let that sink in!"

[@maxmelo329]

Are you using the pick of destiny in this video?

[@jessicataylor2330]

Do you think its loud enough for large venues??? it looks kinds small....

[@RicCrouch]

Best way to go about that is to mic it and play through a PA. That way you get to crank the amp and get that nice "crunchy" tone without knocking down walls. :)

[@jessicataylor2330]

Ric Crouch Oh that's right. thank you!

[@lliwehtedud]

Cool thanks, I tried the bj yesterday and it is soooo loud and has that classic fender sound. wasn't expecting such a great sound from that tiny thing but wow. Thanks for your help!

[@ElevenBravo]

As always, great demo gearmandude. Keep rockin'. This is a fabulous amp with tons of tone and character. Really surprising for such a small package. I was so close to buying the NOS Blues Junior tweed reissue, but right next to it was a floor demo Blues Deluxe Reissue for $25 less than a new Blues Junior ($579 at GC), so I got the the Deluxe instead and love it. The Blues Deluxe has 2 channel switching and a pre-amp send/receive, which is nice. Almost *too* loud for late nite riffing.

[@kyle.buss_guitar]

Is this amp usable in a band situation? ...my fender deluxe is just way too heavy

[@selracterim2]

hi gearmanndude , i have the blues junior red texas, what do you thinj about it ? thanks !

[@jeefder]

what pickups is the guitar fitted with? very important

[@NintendoSinceBirth1]

@Jobrolster this one sounds a little tighter the tweed one with the different speaker sounds a lot more open, its amazing how much the different speaker changes the tone

[@PauloVento]

Knob numbers are backwards in this version. I mean in my version the 6 and 7 are where you 1 and 12 are. Sounds rockin' sweet!!

[@Claymation99]

FEEL BY MATCHBOX YOU ARE MY HERO. Kyle Cook is awesome. They are (or were) so underrated as a legitimate rock threat.

[@MrDizzyD2]

Yeah man..I rock two of them, one Billm modded and 1 stock..deadly little amps and the price can not be beat

[@cgcgce]

Now that's the way you review an amp no blah.blah,blah and an overhead camera with various settings.......THANKS BUDDY....MORE PLEASE!

[@Doug5524]

I use a Fender Blues Junior 111 at home with a Gibson Les Paul Standard sounds awesome and is simple to use with no fuss, I also really like the Lovepedal eternity E6 overdrive pedal with it, hope this helps

[@Lettsbet]

I love how you sound exactly like Gearmandude!~ Every time!

[@joshuaali2152]

Would this be a good amp to gig with, or is it too quiet?

[@classicrock8989]

Hey do you think that you could do some metal with this amp with the right pedals?????

[@johngalt1961]

Good demo. I felt like I got a really good taste of the amp.

[@hawg427]

Fantastic Video. Sounds like a great little amp.

[@DanianaJones]

Depends on what sound you want. though neither amps will give you high distortion at all, i think this can you a heavier crunch, while the vox doesnt get much beyond slightly overdriven. Id take this amp but thats just me.

[@dcgonz1]

Did you ever do a side by side video of the other blues junior?

[@GuyNarnarian]

If I crank the Volume all the way up on my new BJ III, it makes a pretty loud hiss. Also hitting the fat switch, and or cranking the treble to even 7 or 8 increases the hiss w/o the volume being turned up. (Not the master). I know I'm a noob but it just sounds hissy even with the volume at 5-6. The Master cranked clean sounds fine with low treble. Is this normal? I think I will need some kind of crunch pedal to get some tones I want but I can't tell if its the amp or my stupidity

[@xscottmcdonaldx]

what gauge strings do you like on your strat gmd?

[@РомаВахрин]

hello. which effect do you use on 2:53?

[@nailmurry8102]

Hi gmd would u say this sparkle mod an the whole amp is much improved on the last bj .uliv

[@patrickisbusy]

@philotze Not really.. This amp isn't exactly the loudest 15 watt amp out there. Sure, it'll be hella loud when you do crank it, but it's not that bad.

[@Bulle893]

@GuyNarnarian are you using single coils?

[@TheStormtrooperrr]

how did u get a dirty tone without the gain knob?! I had to get a tube screamer for $150 :(

[@jeffreyhartmann14]

My blues junior don't sound nothing like that what volume master or what??????? What volume do I use for overdrive or distroation?

[@maxmelo329]

Maybe you are using a different guitar, different pickups, different settings? Also he's mike'd it up so it sounds compressed and a tad bit better. Still a great amp though. :)

[@dewycatt2112]

Man is that ever a nice sounding amp!!

[@zobazoba69]

would this be good for a fat rockabilly sound?