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Fender Blues Junior vs. Fender Bassbreaker
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ย. 2022
- #fender #fenderamps #guitar @fender
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Welcome to this Fender Tube Amp shootout! Putting the Fender Blues Jr against the Fender Bassbreaker 15, using a Gibson Firebird, a Fender American Performer Stratocaster, a Gibson Les Paul and a Wampler Moxie! What do you think? Blues Junior III and IV. Find them here:
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Just the shootout I was looking for! 🤙🏻
That was some absolutely fantastic playing at the beginning. Really dug that blues jam.
Wow. Thank you for using one of my absolute favorite guitars.!. Proof that they Can do blues, rock, funk, whatever. No one ever gives them respect.!.
Oh yea, I like both amps. Definitely 2 different voices.
Thanks for the great vid. Seeing the bird made my day 👍👍
Amazing helpful video tutorial… very helpful thanks 🙏🏻 many many video guys forget to test the clean tone with no overdrive.. this one is perfect thanks
Neat video! In a way, it's apples and oranges - the Blues Junior was designed to give you that midrange Fender full sound and the Bassbreaker was designed to be more like a Marshall. There's more midrange in the Blues Junior sound and more high end in the Bassbreaker. The preamp gain sound of the Blues Junior is... not what most players want. I think the Blues Junior is the better clean amp and the Bassbreaker is the better crunch amp. They both sound better with an external speaker. The Blues Junior sounds massive through a two 12 cab.
I love my Bassbreaker 15. Super versatile amp and it sounds amazing at any volume.
And can easily run 4,8 or 16 ohm speakers.
Sold my BB15 for the reason you cited about 3 settings...also had a Fender recall. Love my BluesJr....and the Fat setting. Love ya channel....and your tones.
Both of those amps are known for blowing up, seriously blowing up and crapping out.
Must have been what the recall was, too many amps just blowing up. They were cheap when they came out and I was tempted by that alone but they were hard to find in stock then once I played through them I thought they sound like farts, kinda like how I felt about the blues Jr.
But I'm happy as heck with my Supro DK12 and haven't had any problems with it.
Nice comparison video Jack. I have a Blues Jr with a Swamp Thang speaker. I like it alot. I tried the BB at our local GC and just couldn't connect. I'm not saying the BB is a bad amp. Keep up your great reviews.
If I go to a jam and get to play through either one of these amps, I’m happy! 2 amps that have great tones! In a studio, I’d go for a Princeton or a Deluxe. I’d gig with the BB15 before the BJr, but in a pinch, I’ve used a BJr and made it trough the night!
I have Fender Super Reverb, Twin Reverb, Princeton, Hot Rod Deluxe, Blues Deluxe and a host of others. The one I use most is my Boss Katana 50, go figure! Lol
Again a very good and helpful review and comparison Jack, indeed! I enjoy watching your channel a lot, I like the style and the mix between background information and tone. In this case, I own both the BJ III Tweed and the BB 15, Special Edition Midnight Oil, which comes in a nicer finish and has got a Greenback speaker. I like both amps but still struggle to decide which one to take out to a jam session or small gig. I prefer the BJ due to it's better portability and the clean sound is unrivaled IMO, but then I would miss the more British flavor of the BB when I need more drive. I only have a CM Quattro in front of the amp and for those sessions I would use my SG or Maybach Little Wing (Humbucker). I use the BB mainly in my home studio, in particular for recording via XLR. If you had to decide for one the amps only, which one would you go for? Greetings from Munich, Germany!
The Bassbreaker has more bit, more gain, but the Blues Jr is sweeter to my ears and an even better pedal platform. It's the kind of tone I can really work with. I owned a Bassbreaker for a year or two and while it was a good amp I just couldn't find the kind of sweet spots I need. The amp behaved radically different with single coils. I think it worked better with humbuckers. The Blues Jr works great with single coils or humbuckers, but as a strat cat I prefer it for single coils.
Better pedal platform even though the BB15 had an FX Loop and the BJr doesn’t?
@@HamzaVLOGs
Believe it or not there were amps that were excellent pedal platforms BEFORE anyone even thought to put an effects loop on an amp.
So yes, it is possible that a Blues Junior is a better pedal platform than a Bassbreaker. I can’t say for sure myself, because I’ve never used a Bassbreaker. I can say that my Blues Junior is a good pedal platform, but no where near as good as my 59 Bassman Reissue that of course has no effects loop either.
Thanks buddy this is exactly what I needed to hear, even better than the video, thanks
Seriously you answered all
My questions en concerns, thanks
Bassbreaker 15 with the greenback speaker is a awsome amp. If you like a more British tone. 4 years going on mine. No issues. Use a humex. No noise. Much more throw with dials for eq needs. Add an extension cab and look out. Thanks for your review.
I'm new to valves. How is the Bb15 with pedals? I currently use a Champion 100.
I have the Bassbreaker 30R since they first came out and have had no reliability problems at all. I Love it. I also have the Jr. III and Love it also. I play Blues with both and again just LOVE them. Thanks Jack and Cheers from Salem, Ohio.
I really dig what Fender did with the Bassbreaker 30r. They heard what players liked with the 15 and accentuated its strong features. Therefore, with the 30r I kinda have everything I need, a nice sounding portable combo amp that can cover a lot of my needs (I wish I didn't have to maintain 4 el84s, though). That being said, I wish Fender did the same with their Hot Rod series, a more lightweight and portable 20-30 combo amp with ample headroom, 2 6L6s, great spring reverb and modern appointments. IF that amp was a reality, I would actually prefer that to the Bassbreaker 30r that I have now!
OMG man I have a BB15 and never knew Fender released an "upgraded" with the improvements. The 30R. wow ! I'm gonna check it out, thanks for your comment
Bassbreaker. I live at the mid gain setting, turn everything 12 o'clock and letter rip. The Amp has a crazy good tone with my American standard tele
Hi Jack. I'm glad you used single coils and humbuckers for the comparison. I like the Blues Jr. out of these 2 amps. I went with the Monoprice Stageright 15 and it's very similar to the Blues Jr. and I'm stoked. Also saved alot of 💸 got it on sale around this time last yr.
Hopefully you realize that the similarities are only in tube types and the tone of your mono piece amp sounds way better than the blues Jr.
I own both. They both are really different. I have the same speaker in both. Cannabis Rex.
Monoprice is still my daily amp for fusion jazz type stuff where I use more drive and humbucker. Its cleans are just as dirty as the blues jr. It has an fx loop. Though the 1watt setting is terrible at just stripping all tone out.
Blues jr is only not my daily driver because It has no fx loop. So it is primarily my tracking amp. It also needs more master volume to achieve the tone I prefer. So for that reason I don’t generally just jam on it as much as I would like. But for tracking it’s amazing.
Stock speaker on both are definitely the weak points. Although the monoprice with the 70/80 sounds better to my ears than the Jensen or type a in a normal blues jr.
Honestly if I had to pick one to be on an island with, I would pick the fender. Not because of sound. But purely aesthetic. I have the western tolex and enjoy the look. But that’s how close they are in sound. If somebody has a monoprice they really won’t see a jump to go with the blues jr. They sound different. So whatever sounds best is probably what you should go with. :)
Those mono amps are a bargain at the current $250
I just want to know if the bassbreaker will keep up in volume clean, say the blues jr is at 4 and 4?
Back when I picked up the guitar after a 17 year hiatus, I purchased a Strauss VC30 (Laney clone) and these two 15w combos. I've since upgraded to a Blues jnr IV modified with the Fromel mods and swapped A-Type with a Neo L'll Texas.
I still have the BB15 but use it sparingly. If it craps out on me, I doubt I'll bother taking it to a tech. Probably gut it for parts and convert the cab & speaker into a spare 112.
You certainly made a great case for both amps-tonally. However, it's the lack of easy tech servicing which will most likely lead me to either selling or gutting the BB15.
Jack I have a Bassbreaker 30R, which came with a Celestion V type. This isn't really doing it for me, what would you recommend as a replacement speaker , thank you.
I’ve got both. A hotroded version on the creamy wine fsr of the junior. It’s all right as a pedal plateforme. The Bassbreaker is just great perfect on the second gain stage. No problem as of now.
That Firebird is a stunning guitar. Love the headstock on that one, the new ones plain headstock is not so cool.
Yeah I agree - the flatter, wider style is still actually vintage correct, but it’s definitely not as cool
That fender bass breaker is nice! 🤩
I like them both but I play bass too so maybe 🤔 😅
I have not heard many good sounds out of either, although on your intro they sound good. Budget amps built to a price point.
Hi Jack, great review as always. I'm in the market for a 15 watt amp and I am considering the B Jr. and BB 15. BUT, I am also considering Supro Delta King or Blues King ( is there a reasonable difference between the two? ). I play mostly Yardbirds style of rock/blues. Thanks!
I'd almost definitely suggest the Supro over either, particularly for that style of music. I think with a speaker upgrade too the Delta King could be a really top notch amp.
@@JackFossett Thank you for your reply. I would definitely say, I have been leaning more towards the Supro over Fender. I've watch both of your reviews on the Blues King and Delta King and I admit I like what your saying and what I am hearing. Now, I need to decide; BK or DK! I just re-watched your BK review and I am curious about how you mention the BK has like a "fuzz tone" to it. And that was in a good way right? And when you mentioned a speaker upgrade to the Delta King, did you have one in mind? And have you done this upgrade yourself? It would be interesting to me, to see you do a BK vs DK shootout. Thank you for your input, appreciate it to no end!
you'd get insanely good overdrive sounding from BB15 if you push the front amp harder by OD pedals! I prefer BB15 with the sparky, bite tone~ otherwise if I need blackface tone I'd use my princeton reverb 65 or morgan JS12. I think BB & BJ are very different amp, you can have both.
The BJ IV with the Fender Tone Stack, Twin Mid Rng and 47pf Cap on Brite Switch MODS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hands down !!!! Later 2019 IVs have the bias circuit problem fixed.
Comes out sounding like an Actual Fender Amp of yesteryear. A small Twin with great sparkle and compression. The BB is a thin one trick pony that is impossible to work on !!!!
Well its the v4 for me ...that and the Bluesbreaker are musical the v3 has for sure got its own thing...hard not to notice the Supro ...vs V4 ?
Its good to have both right?
my Bassbreaker,in the low gain structure is so muddy and dark with strat,even with the bright engaged,your it sound so different,it become shiny only in the "hi gain "structure.
i feel a sort of love/hate with ths amp....
just bought a Bassbreaker fpr 340€ yesterday. 3 years old, second hand.
I just bought a Bassbreaker. I do like the tone but I am starting to second guess mayself because I hear they have problems. I also think for the money they could have put in a spring reverb. I have a verson 1 Jr. and a verson 3 I think. Maybe 2. Its is tweed with brown tolex sides amd a Jensen alnico P12Q speaker 🔊 that is awasome. I love it. If you have a Jr. You need the P12Q speaker! I bought a Marshal class 5 some years ago but it dosen't do light breakup with any amount of volume. So I ghuess my question is are the Bassbreakers junk? It won't be my daily driver but it will fet some decent home use.
Both are great amps but the Jr with full BillM mods and (in my case Cannabis Rex) speaker mod takes the amp to a whole different level imho 🎸🌟
I read somewhere that the new Blues JR IV has the BillM mods built in from the factory. Definitely not all of them, but the most common ones. I’d still go for a BB15 if they were the same price. If the BJr is cheaper, I’d go for it!
@@HamzaVLOGs have you heard the monoprice 15 watt tube amp ? It's sounds killer and has springs reverb I think. I know it just sounds killer compared to the blues Jr.
I had one with all Bill M mods and a C Rex and it still sounded like crap. Sold it and got a used Swart STR Tweed. 2x the price yes but 1000x the amp.
@@gregs8685 yeh those Swarts are certainly sweet. Apples and oranges with the old Jr I guess the 6V6s dont lie, neither does the 450 bucks difference in price tag. 😀
Drop them in a switching rig! Jr for clean and Breaker for overdrive. And of course you could swap them to your hearts desire!
I played a gig with both my blues jr., and bassbreaker 15 but just showed the audience a portrait and landscape view of each, nobody cared.
I think I like the blues jr w the single coils and the BB w the humbuckers... weird I know, but just my two cents
The Blues Jr sounds like a sad piece of carboardy crap compared to the Bassbreaker. The BB just never sounds bad.
I’ve heard the Blues Jr is more reliable. I wonder if a Bassbreaker speaker in a Jr would kinda split the difference.
Bassbreaker
Excellent video !!. Thanks Jack!! After 2 years of owning a Bassbreaker 15 combo as a home amp, I can share that it has a sound that could be on the borders of the Fender Bassman and the JTM45, with a different sound from the Fender Blues Junior. I didn't go for the Blues Junior as I was looking for a Marshall-style sound; and neither for the VOX AC 15 because it is too harsh to me and with a very identifiable or less versatile sound. The Bassbreaker 15 is quite noisy in the high gain stage and cannot be used comfortably. In addition, the circuitry is elaborated in such a way that it makes the possibilities of repair really doubtful. For my part, I changed the V-Type speaker for a Greenback 25 and the sound seems more British to my ears. Additionally, I replaced the first preamp tube with a lower gain one (GT-12AY7) to increase the headroom, and now it seems to me that it has better cleans, more possibilities for tweaking and takes pedals in an excellent way. Finally, I think it is a very different amp depending on whether it is used with humbuckers or single coils. I will continue to use it for several more years.
With single coils, lean, he Bassbreaker sounds a bit dull when compared to the Fender. That could be what you want if you have lots of distortion, which can sound ice-pickey at times.
I've had the Bassbreaker 15 for three years now. I love the tones I can dial in and it's a great bedroom amp. But unfortunately, it is a rather fickle and problematic amp. The effects loop in the back is inexplicably noisy, so I had to have my pedalboard reconfigured so that everything (gain stage and modulation pedals) ran directly into the amp. I enjoyed the quiet for several months until once again the crackling frequency noise came back. I don't know if it's a tube issue, the power cord or something else
There is a design fault with the effects loop original design. There's a Fender service bulletin and an authorized sevice tech will fix that hum, i had the same issue. One of the 1/4" jacks needs to be isolated from chasis gnd. You can also twist your send and return cables together like a braid (twisted pair) and it will help cancel hum until you get it fixed. I have more fixes for you if interested....
Thanks for the feedback. I'll check it out! @@DennisCameronMusic
I have both. The BB15 Is more versatile. Has beautiful gain and tone.
The BJ had its own thing, less versatile, rawer but brings everything out of the instrument once you get used to the bare bone’s approach. If I had to pick one it would be the BB15 because I use it more but I’d miss the BJ for its boldness.
I’m thinking the superhero behind you, or run them in parallel
There’s no question. Blues Jr wins because it’s repairable. If anything goes wrong with the bassbreaker it can’t be fixed by an amp tech.
Honestly,I think the Supro kills both fender amps but hey 🤷🏻♀️ it doesn't really matter what amp you play you sound great !
Thank you! I don’t disagree - I’ve been using Supro amps more and more lately
BB15 😁
Appreciate the space alien comforting words - i was concerned!
Thats very validating. I went through that experience entirely by myself.
...I've never felt so alone....
Blues junior all day
The difference between traditional aspect and portrait mode is like apples and oranges ;
THATS A MICROAGGRESSION!!!
It might be a Bass Breaker but it ain’t no Blues Breaker…😎
Both sound great but the bassbreaker has many reliability issues and that bums me out as I want one
I own 3 and can tell you how to solve these design issues. It's a fantastic amp.
How as im interested in bassbreaker 15 Head
@@uberN32 One of my BB15 amps was blowing EL84 tubes. It turns out one of the zener diodes in the cathode bias circuitry was 'leaky' causing the tubes to 'red plate' and burn out. I removed the zener diodes for each tube cathode bias circuit (you can clip them out, but I just unsoldered them). The diodes are D12 and D13. They are located on the board that has the tubes on it. The amp is not that difficult to take apart, place the amp on it's side when you take out the screws, the chassis will just slide out.
That's the main issue people complain about the amp. There are 2 others that I have had to deal with, the effects loop on my first 2016 version one amp which is now fixed on later versions. It's a hum caused by a ground loop that Fender fixes under warranty, but it's just a jack replacement (change metal to plastic to isolate GND from chassis and prevent ground loop).
The last is one of my amps had an intermittent problem that caused the Bass and Mid controls to not work and the Treble pot then acted like a volume. It was because the leads on the Bass pot were touching/shorting to the chassis. I just added electrical tape across the front of the pot leads on the circuit board to isolate it from the metal chassis. A more elegant fix would be to place nylon washers as spaces, but I didn't have any at the time. It works fine now with the tape.
Hope this helps. :) Chances are, you won't have any problems at all! Great sounding amps.
FYI, the zener diodes are not necessary in the a cathode bias design. Fender added them as a safety measure in case the capacitors failed I assume, but other cathode bias designed amps just use the resistor//capacitor combination. The BB15 works just fine without the zener diodes and should be designed out.
I won’t a head no blue jr in less I built it
Jack Fuzzet
When you can purchase the monoprice 15 watts stage right amplifier for $202 on sale, which is a jcm800 preamp into two el84 power tubes, there is utterly no reason to purchase a bassbreaker 15. And even if some claim it’s cheap pcb board construction, it’s still traditional layout, real reverb, effects loop, etc.
I have both, and they're completely different amps. The MP15 is a lot more forward and middy, and the BB is a lot smoother with a more even EQ.
in this comparison, the blue junior sounds great and the bassbreaker totally crap
the bassbreaker can't be that bad
I'm questioning how you got it set up, meanwhile I'll check other reviews
I don’t think that’s an accurate assessment, you may want to try listening on different speakers.
@@JackFossett I was listening on studio monitors and studio headphones.
I made two assessments, one about the blues jr, and one other about the bassbreaker. Which one you think is wrong?
Bassbreaker
Aggred. I watched another comparison video and these two amps sound different in that video. I think this video has a problem, the recordings sound like they were panned differently for each amp. Maybe left and right channel of the mixer used have different eq or preamp tones, or one of those channels have an issue?
Well, the blues Jr is repairable and the Bassbreaker is not. So...blues Jr all day.
Why are you squinting? Is the light too bright?