Fender Blues Junior IV Valve Combo - New Features, Review & Demo

[@RetroPlus]

I tried this amp along side a few others and this really jumped out as being exceptional, the simplicity of it was refreshing too

[@MAP448]

I just got mine & it sounds amazing.

[@konjunto2477]

Is this an amp you can play at bedroom levels? Thank you.

[@novueaumonde]

@@konjunto2477 yes

[@geoffbarber2860]

In the video the reviewer stats the FAT button boosts the mids. Having carried out an spectral analysis on a number of FBJ's, I can confirm the FAT button just boosts all the amps frequencies by 6dB equally, thereby acting like the "loudness button" on your HiFi. It's the non linearity of your ears that tricks the brain into thinking there's more bass.

[@tlb2732]

I'm very glad to learn that. I just test drove this amp today. I've been growing increasingly more frustrated with my Boss Katana mkii 100. I cannot seem to get the tones I'm looking for out of it. I drove to the music store to see if I was losing my hearing. It was most inspiring to play through the blues junior and instantly hear and, more importantly, feel the experience I've grown to love in my 40 years in music. I'm gonna spend another day with the Katana and if I can't get the sound I need, it will be become a practice/backup amp. I'll either buy the Blues Jr. IV, the Pro Reverb I also plan to try out, or possibly another Fender tube amp that gets the job done. The reason I wrote that I'm glad to learn that the FAT switch is a simple volume increase is that the styles of music I most enjoy are usually a little lighter on the mids, not heavier. Thanks much for your input!

[@drdre4397]

@@tlb2732 I sold my spark amp for one of these very similar reasons. I plugged straight into this and the tone was better than anything I had heard lut of my spark. Now with a few pedals even at bedroom volumes it sounds killer.

[@THINJIMI]

But, a loudness button on my receiver doesn’t boost all the frequencies..it’s a scoop out the mid-ranges…

[@sgall161]

Good demo. Straight to the point. Thanks

[@yellowdrops5690]

Always the best reviews on PMT 🏆. Thanks again Sam!

[@steadyrm]

I bought the fsr because you played “Death or Glory”

[@Zeal808]

I’ve had it for 2 months Love iiittt

[@konjunto2477]

Can you play at bedroom levels with this amp because some tube amps wont even start to sound cear untill you are past 3 on the volume? Thank you.

[@bgm9517]

it goes to 12, its one more than 11

[@user-bo6of1ux9x]

I like Sams reviews, spot on and to the point! Thanx

[@fredarthur6231]

Death or Glory.....just another story....well done mate!

[@danielhartman5086]

Getting 1 very soon.

[@mboyer68]

I just bought the Blues Junior LTD with the tweed material. The ID plate reads "Type PR 295" but no Roman numerals noting generation like yours. Do you know if there's a difference? Thank you for posting your informative video! If anyone reads this and is thinking of buying another guitar and you don't have a good amp...BUY A GOOD AMP! Dropping $600 today on this amp...I could've gotten a really nice guitar..and I was tempted! I played the amp in the store for a while and liked it. But when I got it home, and played my guitars...omg people..if you don't have a good amp, skip the guitar and get the amp. It's 5:52am and I've been up all night playing! I'm in love with all my guitars again! This thing is SO LOUD I can't believe it! Knowing that my neighbors two houses down will be able to hear me (not at night though) playing makes me happy:)

[@THINJIMI]

Yes…the 4 is different…he said what the differences are…

[@11000038]

A great amp that will make even your cheap guitars sound awesome (probably!)

[@11000038]

Love mine. Better with humbuckers to my ears.

[@yellowdrops5690]

Always 5 Star Reviews from PMT.

[@Chris-SS]

Thanks Sam, great demonstration.

[@markhorton1718]

So glad that I happened to come across your channel!! I’m subscribed and hit the like!!!

[@ResoBridge]

I think I'm right in saying that, like just about every other new valve guitar amp sold in the UK, the Blues Junior IV still ships wired for 230V. The mains voltage in most of the UK is 240V. This means that most new valve amplifiers run at very high HT voltages and the valve heater supply that should be around 6.3V AC, runs over spec at maybe 7.5V. As a result the valves wear out faster and there is a danger new replacements may even blow their heaters as soon as they fitted.

[@kiarnturner9739]

Mains voltage in the UK is 230V. Not sure what you're talking about.

[@auntjenifer7774]

Maybe that's why your amp sounds better !?

[@ResoBridge]

@@kiarnturner9739 This is a common misunderstanding. Before joining the EU, UK mains was 240V. EU regulations were to 'harmonize' mains voltage between the UK 240V and the 220V used in Europe. The compromise was to say that the EU mains including the UK was a nominal 230V. In practice nothing changed. Look it up. Although you will find UK mains voltage varies according to location, generally it is around 240V or higher. Mains voltage on valve amps is critical as I explained, That's why the older amps have external mains selector switches in 10V steps. Cost cutting and health and safety (too dangerous to have a semi-exposed mains tap) put an end to that and now most valve guitar amps sold into the UK run over-volted as explained. I have repaired enough valve amps and had brand new valves burn out their heaters to know this to my cost.

[@ResoBridge]

@@auntjenifer7774 See my reply to Kiam Turner ...

[@geoffbarber2860]

Regarding the UK mains voltage, I agree with you Terry. I live close to our village substation and my mains voltage is 248v +/_ 2 volt normally. Having repaired a number of FBJ's over the years, my first task is changing the internal mains tap to 240v then add a trim pot in the bias circuit to reduce the Idle current of the EL84 power tubes. I've seen some amps running up to 140% of the tubes power rating. Having reduced the bias to 70% not one customer has come back complaining that their amp sounds any different !!! By now your possible saying this guy doesn't like FBJ's and you would be correct.

[@jimmuller]

It still has that ice picky sound. If you like that.

[@Blues-man.]

Great playing and review.

[@davidbarlow431]

I've recently watched a side by side comparison between III & IV. The IV has slightly better bass clarity, but has become completely lacklustre compared to the III in my opinion. Some will undoubtedly like and prefer the IV, but it's not for me.

[@unclereg7713]

Don’t forget it takes a fair amount of time to burn a speaker and makes a huge difference.

[@davidbarlow431]

@@unclereg7713 your quite correct, yes it can take a while but Fender have changed the EQ and the IV has been out a while. Not all demos have been on brand new amps and I think the amp has lost a certain something in the highs that gave it its character. Not an exact analogy but it's a bit like removing the 'chime' from a Vox. If I was buying 15w Fender now I would go for the bass breaker even though it doesnt have the headroom of the blues junior. That said, the tweed doesn't seem to be anywhere nearly as affected which I guess must be down to the speaker.

[@Jeymez]

@@davidbarlow431 Bassbreaker has plenty of headroom my friend, equal to the Blues Junior III and IV. it's just a little too bass heavy for my liking, my cousin likes it though. it sounds awesome with some gain turned up, i upgraded from the Blues Junior III to the IV, minus the EQ that's the only bummer i have about it, but sound wise it rivals the BJ III, ya it doesn't get as high or as chimy, but that's a welcome addition. i love the Blues Junior III, i had it for a longtime, but there were things i didn't like. you had to dial it back quite often, it would sound harsh at times when you turn up past a certain point, not a very pleasant sound. the sweet spot was always around the 12 o clock mark, once you start past that little by little it starts to break up. so this is something that needed to be improved, and for the most part they improved that area. changing the EQ around didn't bother me that much, it was just a matter of getting used to the new layout. the other nice thing about the Blues Junior IV is that, you can play it at a somewhat lower volume than the previous version. not much, but it was something i noticed.

[@davidbarlow431]

@@quantumbuddhist if you don't like EL84's that's fine, but to describe them as "dog shit" is rather silly when you consider the number of vox users alone. Does your judgement exceed that of people like Tom Petty, Brian may etc.?

[@soriteaye]

Well fanks for sharin'

[@Prajnana]

Played both and much prefer the III for its cleans.

[@realtruenorth]

what about the blues Jr 3 vs the 2?

[@Prajnana]

@@realtruenorth Never tried the II !

[@realtruenorth]

@@Prajnana I can gather there are fans of the 1, 2, 3 and 4, plenty of followers for each revision. I haven't heard or played the original though.

[@maximusheronimus23980]

Hi Sam ! great video ! would you please shoot a video about what kind of guitar is suitable for jazz? does a Tele do jazz or do you need humbuckers for the warm lush jazz sound? or is it an EQ thing like dialled all the lows in and the highs out?

[@David32Finkbeiner]

Try the fender squier jazzmaster or jaguar!

[@ohstirfry]

Teles are guitar work horses they can do everything

[@alvarolblanco]

If you want to play jazz, I would say, go with a hollow body guitar and a clean sound amp

[@endocry]

Look up Tim Lerch. He gets a nice fat jazz sound on a tele. Though there are specific reasons he gets that sound, which I think he also made a video on.

[@sugarlife485]

les paulor tele

[@djc5897]

what are some good home settings with humbuckers?

[@ryanboshell6124]

Too loud for home use guys?

[@sugarlife485]

no

[@ryanboshell6124]

@@sugarlife485 thanks man

[@charlesandhisworld]

great demo. FAT

[@spacebarbus]

Do you sell the Samsung S9 yet?

[@julianv5907]

i cant find the second input jack on mine for the pedal?

[@OpusLoveProductions]

the footswitch? its just above the opening in the back on the left side.

[@tonycoles7197]

Good luck with that ..

[@auntjenifer7774]

@@tonycoles7197 🤣😄😉

[@108jensong]

Still no FX Loop

[@konjunto2477]

Is this an amp you can play at bedroom levels?

[@skyportalmusic7178]

Jesus Loves You

[@Jymetymebaby]

someone should note how damned bright that mic is...

[@geoffbarber2860]

I don't believe its the mic. the FBJ's are all very toppy. Check out most of the review using a Strat. The pickup position switch is mostly set to the neck position and the treble pot at 1 to reduce the treble.

[@andyjm7122]

just one quick clean tone demo at the start? then a load of farty bass because the bass is dialed too high? pfff

[@fartzerelli1385]

old guitar strings

[@realtruenorth]

turn the bass down LOL

[@seanfried5583]

Use your pickup selector.

[@j.jester7821]

Too bad they used el-84 tubes, it sounds like a vox. I have many amps with el-84. If I buy a Fender amp, I prefer 6v6 or 6l6 power section. Would be nice to hear a demo with lighter guitar touch.

[@mraybarsx]

Fender put a fuckin fx loop on that thıng already

[@akros29]

Perhaps you should have tried playing songs that are originally recorded in Fender guitars, not hambucker/gibson ones. It sounds bad and someone might think that the amp its to blame, not the guitar. Playing AC/DC in a Stratocaster was like WTF?????

[@victorfernandez915]

But does it have a clean tone?

[@marcusmiller5126]

Yes, a great clean tone too

[@john-zw9rw]

Does circles around my Dumble.............don't attack...just kidding

[@MCFrancis6]

song at 3:37 ?

[@dennisk000]

Under the bridge - Red hot chili peppers

[@normanddaviau8787]

To much bass sound become to muddy

[@tochiromifune419]

Too bad there's no FX loop.

[@andyjm7122]

You wouldn't need one to be honest...it already has a decent enough spring reverb on it.

[@gmlasam]

@Andy M.... effects loop isn't just for reverbs. Some delay/echo pedals sound better in the effects loop. So having an effects loop is a good thing regardless.

[@donharrold1375]

That’s really it’s only weakness. I think that’s tactical from Fender so that they differentiate to the Blues Deluxe.

[@tomguitar1963]

Pedals sound great from the front of these blues juniors even delay.

[@_o__o_]

wtf

[@DansSoulfulMusic]

Are you serious the example after the first clean sound... sounded like shit. So I stopped watching the vid

[@edreed5571]

Sounds mid

[@richardmckrell4899]

2 commercials before I can watch your video?

[@auntjenifer7774]

Sounds like guttural barf and farts overdriven it's gross ! How does fender sell those things ? Tube amp's hype ?

[@philmagallanes3850]

What a dreadful sounding amp, yuck!

[@marike1100]

Lol, the Blues Jr is one of the most popular valve amps in history, affordable, compact, gorgeous cleans, great pedal platform.

[@jackstrawfromwichita6168]

I actually bought this same amp two weeks ago and it sounds fantastic. The speaker just needs time to break in. Also, it gets fucking LOUD for such a small amp.

[@sugarlife485]

stupid comment from a stupid keyboard player lol

[@Dan_is_a_liar]

@@sugarlife485 LMAO!

[@sugarlife485]

@Nintariz mannnn I miss those dayzzzz heehee