Since launching three decades ago, Fender’s 15-watt Blues Junior combo amp has charmed a diverse range of players with its versatile tones and portable workhorse format, and has become one the most popular grab-and-go gigging guitar amps ever made
Now, to celebrate its 30th anniversary, it’s been re-released as a celebratory special edition model – and it boasts some choice upgrades.
Fender’s tube amp has consistently punched above its weight over the last 30 years, with a streamlined and diminutive package proving to be anything but when cranked.
As its name attests, it has predominantly become a staple tool for gigging blues guitar players, but its travel-friendliness and its ability to reinvent itself with a well-picked pedalboard means it’s up there with the Twins and Bassmans when ranking the American firm’s most revered amplifiers.
The revamped anniversary model arrives with modified preamp circuitry, which Fender’s tone gurus have reconfigured for “increased fullness”, and an updated, extra-smooth spring reverb. The amp, as ever, crams a lot into a small package.
“The modified preamp circuitry offers greater tonal definition and clarity, even when pushing the amp into overdrive,” says Fender. “Your tone remains articulate no matter how hard you push it.”
The single-channel combo finds a three-band EQ mingling with dials for Reverb and Volume, while a Fat Switch brings the girth when thicker tones are a must. It is given some aesthetic pizzaz in the form of black chicken head dials, which sit atop a chrome panel, and there’s a leather handle to boot.
Beneath its slick and embossed commemorative Black Western covering and vintage grille cloth, which is lifted from a Fender Bassman, lies a Celestion G12M-65 Creamback speaker. Expect “warm cleans and midrange growl when cranked” for an amp built to sing with and without overdrive.
Tube fiends will find two EL84 power tubes and three 12AX7 preamp tubes warming the combo’s heart, and it has a total impedance of 8 ohms.
“The Blues Junior IV 30th Anniversary is a special edition of one of Fender's highest demand tube amplifiers,” adds Senior Product Manager Rick Heins. “Part of the iconic Hot Rod series, it delivers classic tube tones with modern flexibility, known for its powerful sound and small design, and for being a reliable favorite among performing musicians.”
The Fender Blues Junior IV 30th Anniversary is out. It costs $1,049.
Visit Fender to get a closer look.
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