Fender Blues Junior IV: Review, Tone Tips & More
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- Опубликовано: 27 авг 2024
- #fenderbluesjuniorIV #fenderamps #guitar @sweetwater
Welcome to this in depth demo and review of the Sweetwater exclusive Fender FSR Blues Jr 4 in Western Tolex with an Eminence C. Rex speaker! Using a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson SG loaded with Lust for Tone Pickups, as well as a Shnobel Tone Daily Driver.
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I don’t know how, but your video dropped on the same day I purchased one of these used locally for almost half off. I am so floored with this amp!
I love my Blues Jr. I keep coming back to it. It takes effect pedals wonderfully.
I JUST bought one of these, should be coming in the mail this week! Sounds fantastic!
I've had one for a year it's awesome 👌
You put out some of the best no BS videos. Straight shooter and I for one appreciate that. Thanks for sharing .
I just bought one. Killer tone for country.
Just got one.
It’s amazing and I don’t have to get too loud to actually enjoy it.
That's a fantastic sounding Blues Jr. Sounds much better than previous iterations.
Love to see the Shoot Out with the BJ III ! Great Review Jack!
Hi Jack, always interested in your take on gear and all things guitar. I love this amp. It was my first tube amp. I bought mine pre Covid lock down and it definitely helped get me through the last few years. Great tone tips and very interesting to hear your review. Your other video on dialing in a blues jr helped me get started with mine. Thank you sir, you are, as always, a trusted resource. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I have a sweetwater exclusive Princeton with the C Rex. That speaker makes a huge difference. It gets rid of the harshness in the top end and helps get rid of the flub on the low end. Brings the mids forward a bit more but very smooth. I can only imagine how well the C Rex compliments the BJ. Love that western tolex!!!
blues jr 4 is not harsh, its actually quite dark unlike 3 or 3 jensen
@@jfar3340 to clarify, I meant the C Rex will remove top end harshness overall. It really rounds off the high frequency. Not specific to the BJ 4, more about the speaker response itself
@@gkott78 Gotcha. I put a cannibus in my prri65; couldnt get it out of there fast enough. It killed the amp. Taming the highs is one thing, adding thick muddy low mids (in an unpleasing way, not in a cool tweedish way) is no good.
@@jfar3340 was it the 12 or 10" I have the 12 in mine but am planning on picking up a Jensen P12Q to swap and test out. I'm pretty happy with the C Rex now but when it was new I was not impressed. It took quite a while to break in.
@@gkott78 10 inch. What bothered you when it was new? I don't believe in speaker break in. Cheers
Nice! Also enjoyed your little rendition of ‘Ride on’ ;) sounded great with the SG!
Man, that SG is no joke. Holy smokes.
One of my favorites!
I'd love to see a vid comparing the III with the IV.
Thanks for the new Vibro Champ video, I have a vintage 73 VC and going to try your tips 👍
This was my first tube amp. Picked up the seafoam green one. Really nice sounding.
Great review and tones Jack! Would love to hear those shootouts you mentioned.
Just for style I’d love a seafoam and one of the sky blue ones. My studio would look amazing.
This is a good amp. Actually, it can be a *really* good amp. That speaker is perfect for it. Better than the 3. Yet... I have a soft spot for my old Tweed 3 with Jensen speaker.
Yeah I do too - the III can still get some great tones.
Nice playing Jack! The sensoring by social media is out of control. They'll be suspending people's accounts before long for saying something they deem inappropriate...ridiculous! Anywhooo....hope all is well. Your videos haven't come up on my feed in a long time. Good to see you're still at it.
Oh thats too bad, I've been around -- wonder why thats happening
I got one of those. My first tube amp. Way louder than I expected. I live in an apartment and can’t really play it. Neighbors can hear it with both volumes down at 3 hahaha. Moving to house in June so I’m excited to actually be able to play it!
That sucks. Never been in that situation but I've had band mates and musician buddies have to deal with close quarter volume restrictions like that. Id probably try & build some sort of sound proof isolation booth in a closet or something & use a mic to capture the tone but run it through a dedicated pre amp to ultimately go through some head phones or something. Probably still too loud for an appt & at some point you'd be better off just playing through a cheap line 6 type of deal & I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you haven't thought of!! Good luck until June
Try a lower efficiency speaker in it
I have this exact Amp. Love it.
I have 3 Blues Jr’s last one being the 4 love em Great vid 👍🔥🎸🦅
Sounds great, I've had 1 of these a couple of months now and love it,however I only play at home so even turning volumes up half way is too loud for the house, well that's wot my wife says 🤣🎸🎸
That SG is something else. It's dark but the buttery & smooth kinda dark.
Hey Jack great detailed and knowledgeable video. I bought this amp last week and only need one pedal to get all my tones that I have always wanted, I bought the TS9 Tube Screamer and thats all she needs to cover the Blues to Classic rock. This amp is just unreal, thank you for the great video you sealed the deal for be buying it and had to thank you.. And BTW, Wow Jack you kick azz your an amazing player,,, damn you can play lol...
I've always loved the Blues Jr as a pedal platform but have never owned one. I did borrow one from a friend for a gig.
Blues Jr IV vs Fender GTX. Great reviews 👏
Thanks for putting this together, just got me one of these (Not the cool western tolex) and I needed this rundown to sort through the tones! Cheers
Just got one from Sweetwater on Saturday .I am liking it so far,thanks for the review.
I picked up a Blue Jr yesterday with a Private Jack speaker. Didn't have an opportunity to play one with the C-Rex, but I did see their frequencey response charts are fairly similar as are the build specs. I bring that up because I did a very quick and inexperience dial yesterday with my EC-256. Then I decided to watch this video to compare.
I was SO close to going with the same settings just based on the quite dial in, made me laugh a little.
Jack is set at 6, 8, 4, 6, 5, 6
My first set up was 4, 8, 5, 8, 2, 4
I won't be taking my master up to 8 because that's well beyond the volume I want in my small room, but I did move the volume control up to 6 and I like it. Reverb I think I prefer at 4. 6 just feels a touch to much for my taste. But it was very similar right off the bat.
I just got one of these today and I’m in love!
My amp ! Sweetwater Western embossed tolex on it looks way cool .Cannabis Rex speaker has a great sound for me . Have a type iv hot rod deluxe limited edition with the tweed and sparkle grill cloth also . Exclusive to guitar center .,
Fender needs to replace their crappy caps on the circuit boards still . For Pennie’s more wouldn’t need a replacement for twenty years . I’ll be lucky if I get two to three years out of them .
cool ...that's a huge improvement ...thanks for the review
I love my BJr, but I have to tell ya I’m way more impressed with my Pro Jr. I’ll play with a wet/dry set up BJr/PJr and it’s really a great thing!
Jack, do a review on the Pro Jr. !!!
I'd love to see you do the 68 custom deluxe reverb
The speaker sounds good in your presentation as I have watched other reviews of the same speaker and it wasn't to my liking. There was one video comparing the Blues Jr. 3 to the Blues Jr. 4 and to me , I preferred the sound of the Blues Jr. 3. What I really admire in your video is your Stratocaster, I wish Fender would offer that color for lefties. Btw, your playing isn't to shabby either.👍
blue jr 3 is awful
@@jfar3340 What makes the Blues Jr. 3 awful ?, in the other video I referred to, I leaned more towards the sound of the 3 than the 4. Maybe of the way the settings were or the recording of the video, whatever it was the 3 just sounded fuller, deeper and not as twangy sounding. It's just my personal preference that I'm basing my opinion on for that particular video. In this video the BJ 4 sounds really nice.
@@hwnfrd
DISLCLAIMER: IMO, IMHO, tone is subjective.
I played blues junior 3, blues junior 3 in tweed lacquer (not a tweed amp by any mean), and blues junior 4.
Both iterations of the blues Junior 3 are IMO very harsh, brittle, ice picky and mids heavy (not in a pleasing way). BJ4 is dull sounding.
I got a PRRI65 and switched the speaker for a p10RFEN, with a tone king ironman attenuator. That solved all my problems.
@@jfar3340 I guess the best way to experience anything is hands on, in person as you have. Listening to you tube videos may not be a accurate way to get what something really sounds like be it guitars, amps or anything sound based for that matter. Thanks for your input regarding both amps.
I never understand the complaints that the BJ3 is harsh or ice picky. Can I make it sound that way...yes. Can you dial in the setting to get a warmer tone? I can. That and an EQ pedal to help the low end. It is incredibly versatile.
Great demo Jack! I actually just bought one of these Blues Jr FSR Western amps last night, used, on Reverb and will probably get on 2/8. It sounds great! You hit the nail in the head w/ the C Rex assessment. Takes some of the shrillness off the top end and tightens up the low end while keeping the mids in check, especially if you’re pushing it w/ a tube screamer type gain pedal (did someone say JHS Bonsai? 😎) that kicks out some powerful mids. Re a shootout: Supro and Blues Jr IV Western, please! 🤘🎸
Just ordered mine! ;)
Jack! This is probably the best sounding iteration of the blues jr I’ve heard. Great playing too as always. Between this and a Deluxe reverb for grab & go amp for small- medium gigs and rehearsals… which one would you grab?
i was just thinking this also..delux is like twice the price
I had both so I though it might help :)
First, The Blues Junior is definitely more transportable, lighter, smaller. If you're looking for a compact amp that can crunch naturally and you may need to play quiet, the blues junior is great. On the bad side, you won't have a perfectly clean sound at medium to high volume.
The Deluxe on the other hand IS the fender clean tone. It's loud and proud and have a wonderful reverb and tremolo.
If you're looking for an overdriven or edge of break up tone, you'll need pedals, otherwise you'll kill the first raw of the audience. The main argument of the Deluxe is the headroom, it takes pedals very well and don't fall apart in the low end like the Blues junior.
Cheers
I have one and really like it. But replaced the reverb because it was noisy. Better now and I run with bass up halfway and treble and mids way down. Great Fender clean sound.
I got one of those. Sounds real nice. Your's too.
Love mine.... I really liked my Roland Blues Cube....that is...until I got the BJrIV....valve all the way for me now...don't miss the BassBreaker 15 or the Deville. Great bedroom amp.
Hi Jack, very nice review.
Good to hear humbuckers instead of usual strats thro b junior.
Still waiting for Fender to release tweed B j 4 in England… (instead of dumping old BJ 3 in tweed cloths as NOS In Europe).
Come on Fender, get your act together and give us the 4 in tweed !!!
Does Sweetwater ship to the Uk? They have an exclusive Blues Jr IV in tweed
@@JackFossett Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately Sweetwater won’t ship to England, so guess I’ll have to wait for Fender to release Blues Junior IV in tweed in the UK. Surprised Fender are so slow to release the BJunior IV in tweed worldwide as a lot of people like myself don’t want to buy old version III and are waiting for the new tweed version IV.
Poor marketing by Fender… they must be missing out on thousands of potential sales !!!
Maybe you could put in a word with Fender; or maybe it’s a topic for another u tube video.
Anyway, keep up the good work. 😊
Great video Jack. I really like this amp, it sounds & looks excellent and it has a far more reasonable price tag.
Glad you like the amp! After watching im kind of regretting selling it haha. Your playing is really good & a very thorough review! I agree, blues jr iv is the best one yet. I've owned a lot of blues Jr's to say that. My first amp was a blues jr and I'll be buying another one when life allows it. Sorry to plug but my channel has a few videos with this same amp!
I did, sometimes... miss the super drippy reverb from the older versions. But, the new reverb is more usable and practical for a built in reverb.
A comparison video with the Supro Delta King would be interesting as they are similar guitar amps (or not?)
Thanks
Cool SG
いい音
Love the candy apple racecar!
Hi, shootout between Supro DK and Fender BJ IV would be great!
Very interesting!
Your sg is beautiful
Thank you!
Классный усилитель.
This Amp with a greenback is perfect SRV/hendrix tones.
Hey, Jack. Thanks for a nice and comprehensive review. I'd like to ask you about the noise/hum levels of this amp with single coils. I've got a Fender Bassbreaker 30r, and although I LOVE the sound, I do hate the hum. What about this one?
This is sooo awesome man, I really dig your style. If you get a chance to further flesh out clean/edge tones on Strat & Tele in the future on this specific amp (FSR BJ4 WT) I'd be over the moon! It's the amp that I have, and I have endlessly been debating if I should sell it for a Deluxe Reverb... I know that this amp can do more than I can... Cheers sir!
That's the one I have and it's awesome.
It's a great amp, of course, but i don't understand why they didn't make it with a line out and a send return, and maybe an attenuator as well
I would love for you to do a comparison of this one with the Pro Jr 4 one day, I have been thinking about getting one of these amps, but im not sure which one yet
Awesome video. What SG are you playing?
Interesting as always! Do you mind info what strings you use on that fender gauge and preferably the brand. Many thx!
Hi Jack I noticed there are 4 different speaker options with the blues jr. Which one would you recommend? Love your videos Thanks
C rex is a great choice
Jack, have you tried a blues cube? I love my little hot for home use! Cool video.
Unfortunatley in the middle of CET night. Is it the model with the Cannabis Rex? Will watch tuesday.
its withe cannibus yea
Excellent review
Thank you kindly!
Hey Jack, you mentioned a wiring kit you used in one of your strats in a video, can't remember which one. It was a small company. Wasn't sure if you could tell me what it was
fantastic review! I am lookin for a good fender amp..can this amp compare to a delux reverb??? thanks
Just looked in the back. Is that a Kustom 36 Coupe?. I have 2. Love em. Good tone as always.
Have blues jr. iii tweed. You helped me get a great tone with it.
Others have called the Supro the Blues Junior killer so...yeah that. But the Supro...I don't know. Has a very harsh breakup to me.
u played it in person???thanks
@@soofitnsexy I did! Was very curious about them so I drove to a place where I could try. Let me know if you have questions!
Hey, late to the party. I’m borrowing a BJr III right now and am thinking about the IV FSR that you are playing. How about a comparison?
how do you like the cannibus in the blues jr 4? it's already a dark amp from what I remember; I put a cannibus 10 in my prri and it killed the amp, I changed it immediately for a p10RFEN to get the chime back.
I'd like to see this against the tweed III. Apples to apples.
I'm Wondering If You Have Ever Tried A Weber Blue Dog Ceramic In A Blues Jr. ? Or With Your Experience How You Think They Would Work Together ? ( I'm After As Much Clean Headroom As Possible ) , A Good Strong Bass That Doesn't Get "Flabby" And Nice High's Without The "Icepick" Much Like An Alnico , My Favorite Of Which Was The "Red Fang" ( P.S. Mine Is The Version 4 )
Can you please do a tweed vs black version. I’m on the fence on this and they don’t have one to test in my local store. Cheers
Fender still did not fix the bias issue, thos tubes are idling at about 120% when they should be at about 70% dissipation. Also they are still using those terrible Filter caps because they don't want to spend an extra dollar for good filter caps.Those IC caps are will known in the tech community as ones that fail all the time. they use 1N4006 diodes instead of the superior 1n4997 diodes which probably cost about half a penny more. It is still a good amp as long as you address the known issues.
if youre using a strat with this amp and want to beef it up just put a vintage mullard i63 at v1 and press the fat switch.
It has taken me a couple years to like this amp. Hated it at first. It’s ice picky and boxy. But once you find it’s sweet spot you love it.
Do you still recommend the Fender Champion 50XL for a lightweight, SS, affordable, clean tone amp?
Yes definitely - those are fun amps. Particularly for the price.
@@JackFossett Thank you for the quick response! Keep up the great work on the channel. 👍🏻
would you recommend this version or the tweed iv? thanks!
And I think you get way better tone with good note separation at high volume (on this amp) when you drop the bass and crank the treble and mids.
Is this a useable amp for home playing? Meaning can I get good tone without having to wear earplugs? Been thinking about this or a Vox AC15.
it's a master volume amp, so yes. However, it doesn't sound very good IMO
honestly I would suggest getting a princeton reverb. They run about $1000 but its so worth it. The blues jr is kinda meant for beginners who ultimately outgrow it because they find that they don't really like the tones from the amp. I agree with Jay B.
@@cianseale9721 Lots of pros and advanced players use Blues Juniors as well. Its a great amp. Even Jeff Beck have used Blues Juniors live.
@@MrBossei For a tone connoisseur such as yourself who gets awesome plexi sound at bedroom level with custom shop gibson, I'm surprised that you find that the blues jr sounds good.
@@jfar3340 Hehe. Didn’t mean to be rude. I don’t like Blues junior at low volume but I think that it sounds really good in a band mix. The prominent mid is cutting and the boxiness disappears in the mix. I understand why it is so popular. Easy to carry as well. I love AC15 but its almost double the weight 😀✌️
Hi jack is this amp can use for bedroom ? will it be too loud and hard to control volume
Blues jr 111 vs blues jr 1V vs supro....the supros have a bite to them
Are you running any pedals through this
Good eq for humbuckers? So far I have volume on 2, treble on 10, bass on 5;, middle on 10 and master on 5 to open up the circuit a bit. It sounds good this way for home but any other ideas? The amp is full sounding as opposed to its prior variations so cranking bass is meaningless above 5 with humbuckers its too muddy
Thats how I run mine for pedals, its pretty clean. try experimenting with turning up the volume amd turning the master down. i like the volume around 6 for a crunch but it can get loud, and can sound thin without getting the power tubes going a bit. I like to use an od or drive pedal, though.
Made in Mexico vs made in California USA? Is there really a difference other than the Price?
How does it compare to the Marshall DSL 40c?
Fenders best Marshall amp.
Is this an american strat or mexican? …. I got a player series im curious to see if my strat will sound like urs when i upgrade amps. I got a cheap fender champion amp :/ … looking to upgrade. I thought about getting a fender handwired 57 champ when i upgrade but this one sounds almost just as good. And it’s bigger i think… i think ima save some $ and get this
Shootout with the Tone King Gremlin please good sir
Oh I’d certainly love to - have to get my hands on one though
How much does an aomp like this go for?
Used $500-700. New $800
@@brunomillalaf8553 I wasn't asking you!
@@houseoftrek611 lol mk
I like Your reviews, but this speaker makes a big difference, so using FRS version is absolutely
not representative when it comes to the main, primary Blues Junior 4 model that most of us would
actually be able to get.
Could someone inform the price of this amazing amp?
$800
@@brunomillalaf8553 thank you 🙏🙋♂️🇮🇩
The fat switch on the IV is really nice when you're playing at home and trying not to wake your chick. You can manage some very nice tone with a fair amount of harmonic richness at low volume thanks to the ol' fat switch.
Blues jr is a marshall amp
! hahahahaa
Had a gen 1 USA made BJ….. just couldn’t like the amp. Tried and tried. To Voxy for my taste
had 3 bj and 2 hrdx, didnt like em. Got a PRRI, problem solved.
Same I feel like fender missed an opportunity here. I try to love it everytime I use it but it just doesn't sound that great. The thing could have been a Princeton killer if done right. Its worth spending a couple hundred more for a Princeton.
Don't say that C word! The war on drugs never dies. How else will we arbitrarily keep the lower class down?
My tip for owners of the JR, is to sell it. Fender has been updating this amp since it came out and it still sucks.
Perhaps an improvement, but still imho the worst tube amp Fender produces.
What doy you recommend instead
I have One...but I Much prefer my Vox AC 10.
Speak less and play more please
No
Thanks for the review. I just picked up the Sweetwater custom one. First tube amp I've purchased and this seems to be a winner in this price range!