Craig B.

I have received a replacement amp. I will leave the original review posted and describe what happened after receiving the damaged amp. This way people can see everything.
The day after receiving the amp Ispoke to my sales tech. I had already texted him the pictures I posted here. He was able to see them when I called. I described what was wrong with the amp and he agreed it should be replaced. He transferred me to another department. They also had access to the pictures. I told this person I did not want a refund. I wanted a replacement amp. He said no problem and it would ship 2 day FedEx and I would have it on Friday. The Friday he referred to was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. I altered my work schedule so as to be able to pick it up at a local FedEx drop off point at a nearby grocery store. I don't have things like this shipped to my house in case of bad weather. On Friday I still had not received a tracking number so I called my sales tech. He looked it up and said "bad news, it won't arrive till Monday". Even though it was sent 2 day it still took 5 days to receive the replacement amp. I had changed work schedule for nothing. I have now picked up the amp and it works perfectly. It was also packed VERY well. The original Fender box containing the amp was placed in a bigger box with 2 inches of high quality bubble wrap on all sides. Inside the Fender box, the amp had been packed properly and is in showroom condition.
A few more notes…
I mentioned an envelope that had been opened and was empty with the original amp. The exact same envelope was with this amp. The power cord had been secured into a loop and was then placed into that envelope. One end of the cord was attached to the amp then the cord went into the envelope. The envelope was then sealed around the cord. The padded envelope prevented the cord from damaging anything inside the amp during transit.
I had been under the impression that the Jensen speaker was an upgrade installed by Sweetwater. This is not the case. On the original box the with the damaged amp and on the box with the replacement amp there was a sticker that reads BLUES JR LTD C12N 120V. The C12N means that the amp ships from Fender with the Jensen speaker.
I had originally thought that someone at Sweetwater opened the box, installed the speaker and then did poor job of repackaging the amp. This is probably not how it happened. I now believe this amp had been shipped to a customer who then returned it with the power cord removed from the protective envelope, the speaker unhooked, the protective plastic bag stuffed into the box beside the amp instead of around the amp and the styrofoam packing blocks damaged.
The 3 Sweetwater people I spoke with about this were all sympathetic and my sales tech and the man who arranged the shipping of the replacement amp were very helpful. I work at a very large company and I'm aware that not everything happens as it should. What really matters is remedying a problem. This has been done.
I have changed my rating to 3 stars. It'll stay at 3 for the following reasons.
Sweetwater definitely had the first box open. They put Sweetwater literature and candy in the box (which was not included with the replacement amp). Whoever had that box open must have seen the condition of the amp and packing materials. It should never have shipped like that.
Sweetwater is a high volume shipper. The man who arranged the shipping of the replacement amp should have known I wouldn't get it till after the Thanksgiving weekend. I changed my work schedule based on incorrect information from him. And he never sent me the tracking number. I had to call my sales tech to get it.
Having written all of that, I must also add this…the American Professional ii Telecaster and the Fender Blues Jr amp with the Jensen speaker are AWESOME! I'm very pleased with this combo. I'm also pleased Sweetwater taking care of the problem.

My order included an American Professional II Telecaster and a Fender Blues Jr with a tweed cabinet and a Jensen speaker.
I have not received the Telecaster yet.
The Fender amp arrived with multiple problems. It had the upgraded Jensen speaker installed. But when the amp was put back into the box for shipping, the plastic bag that should have covered the amp was instead stuffed into the box beside the amp. None of the styrofoam packing blocks were intact. They were all broken and laying loose in the box. The amp was loose in the box and moving around. The white smudges that are visible on the amp in the pictures are from the lack of the plastic bag around the amp during shipping. Those smudges are areas where the styrofoam from the packing blocks has been ground into the tweed cabinet. It won't rub off. The Jensen speaker has not been hooked up. It has been installed, but the cable coming from the speaker is dangling loose in the cabinet. There is a large envelope inside the cabinet that has been torn open. The envelope is empty. I don't know what is supposed to be in the envelope, whatever should in it is missing.
I believe the condition of this amp is entirely the fault of Sweetwater. They definitely had the box open because there was Sweetwater literature and candy in the box. The employee who installed the speaker and repackaged the amp simply doesn't care about the quality of their work. Nor does that employee care if customers receive a product that is in new condition. I spoke with customer service immediately. I told him that I want a rma for this amp and I want another amp sent to me. He told me I'd have to speak to another department to complete the swap. He also said that if he forwarded my problem to them, it would be a few days before they get in touch with me. He said to get prompt service I should call them directly. They were gone for the day when I spoke with customer service.
I am giving Sweetwater a 2 star review at the moment. If and when this situation is resolved, I will adjust my rating up or down accordingly. The customer service agent I spoke to was sympathetic, but did absolutely nothing to help me. I will post more tomorrow after I've spoken to the other department about returning this amp and getting another amp sent to me.
At the moment, my review is simply buyer beware.