Amps Blues Junior Modifications

straycat6

straycat6

Blues Newbie
hi all
just had to re-place the out put valves on my ltd blues junior mk3
I have fitted a matched pair of jjel84 which give it a bit more crunch than it had before but after ordrering them (£25 inc post )I saw the same company selling jjel844 valves which they claim are a direct replacement for el84 but break up at lower volumes because there out put is 9w as opposed to 11w of the el84.The jjel844 are £33 for a pair and was wondering if any body had fitted these and noticed a difference?
 
Fingerlick

Fingerlick

The Thrill is Gone
I like doing upgrades, soldering, drilling and installing new or better parts.
However, my local guitar store just got in a used Blues Junior, an older one with the green board. My question is, will a Blues Junior do the trick with volume, reverb and tone without having to replace half the parts?
I read this post before, that's how I knew about the green/creme boards. I realize some of these parts were replaced to just give it greater punch and capicity and this would be good in a jam or performance venue. I don't anticipate doing either with my Strat only acoustic jams so will the blues junior be adequate as a practice amp? The store wants 600.00 for the amp which seems high for a green board amp, which tells it's age.
DALE
 
mpaq

mpaq

Canfield, Ontario, Canada
Is that a typo? $600 is a crazy price for that amp if I may be blunt. That's closer to $750 in Canadian currency and you can buy decent used BJ s here any day of the week for $400 ($315 US). I picked one up for $275. Granted it's a cream board but there's no reason a green board should be priced higher...in fact it should be lower. Yes I know they were made in the USA but your ears will never hear the difference and the quality of the Mexican made bj's is very good. I've had both and most people would agree the green board sounds darker and the mods really just bring it up to spec as you say, to get a bighter tone with better bass response. It's more than capable of being a gigging amp...volume is not an issue..it's 15 Watts. In a larger venue you could always bleed it through the PA. I don't use a lot of reverb so I'm satisfied with the stock unit but there are aftermarket swaps available. Tonewise it's cleans are good, it's the distortion that kinda sucks but it takes overdrive pedals well. I swapped out the stock speaker fora Celestion which was easy and a big improvement. If you like soldering, the BillM tone stack and cap mods are easy to do but again, for $600 there a lots of better sounding (including Fender) amps than the Blues Jr.
 
Fingerlick

Fingerlick

The Thrill is Gone
mpaq said:
Is that a typo? $600 is a crazy price for that amp if I may be blunt. That's closer to $750 in Canadian currency and you can buy decent used BJ s here any day of the week for $400 ($315 US). I picked one up for $275. Granted it's a cream board but there's no reason a green board should be priced higher...in fact it should be lower. Yes I know they were made in the USA but your ears will never hear the difference and the quality of the Mexican made bj's is very good. I've had both and most people would agree the green board sounds darker and the mods really just bring it up to spec as you say, to get a bighter tone with better bass response. It's more than capable of being a gigging amp...volume is not an issue..it's 15 Watts. In a larger venue you could always bleed it through the PA. I don't use a lot of reverb so I'm satisfied with the stock unit but there are aftermarket swaps available. Tonewise it's cleans are good, it's the distortion that kinda sucks but it takes overdrive pedals well. I swapped out the stock speaker fora Celestion which was easy and a big improvement. If you like soldering, the BillM tone stack and cap mods are easy to do but again, for $600 there a lots of better sounding (including Fender) amps than the Blues Jr.
Click to expand...

Not a typo. 600 dollars. Everything is high at this place, mainly because it is the only guitar store within 40 miles. Before I new anything i was looking for a good tuner. They showed me a couple then brought out a clip on tuner like a Snark. Not knowing any better i paid 32 bucks for a ten dollar tuner.
I have priced newer Blues Junior amps for under 500 on the internet. That's why I thought 600. Was too high, especially for an old amp.
Thanks impaq, for your input.
Dale
 
mpaq

mpaq

Canfield, Ontario, Canada
Fingerlick said:
Not a typo. 600 dollars. Everything is high at this place, mainly because it is the only guitar store within 40 miles. Before I new anything i was looking for a good tuner. They showed me a couple then brought out a clip on tuner like a Snark. Not knowing any better i paid 32 bucks for a ten dollar tuner.
I have priced newer Blues Junior amps for under 500 on the internet. That's why I thought 600. Was too high, especially for an old amp.
Thanks impaq, for your input.
Dale
Click to expand...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you get into a Blues Deluxe amp over there for that price? Or certainly a Hot Rod deluxe. Both are better anps for gigging than a BJ.
When I see a BJ around here for that price it's usually the special or limited editions...mostly cosmetic differences but some do have a celestion or in the case of the tweeds, a Jenson speaker.
I got mine as a practice amp and for portability, I like to play outside on the deck in the summer and not keen on lugging my AC30 up the stairs. And it sounds great...no need to mod this one (cream board MIM)
 
mountain man

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
You can get a brand new Blues Jr NOS for $600. Pretty sure you can get the non tweed Blues Jr for $500 plus or minus $20. But if your gonna do that? Just buy the brand new Carvin Vintage 16 for $400. It's a better amp. I've got both. I play the Carvin for practice when I'm not playing the Nace.
 
Fingerlick

Fingerlick

The Thrill is Gone
mpaq said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you get into a Blues Deluxe amp over there for that price? Or certainly a Hot Rod deluxe. Both are better anps for gigging than a BJ.
When I see a BJ around here for that price it's usually the special or limited editions...mostly cosmetic differences but some do have a celestion or in the case of the tweeds, a Jenson speaker.
I got mine as a practice amp and for portability, I like to play outside on the deck in the summer and not keen on lugging my AC30 up the stairs. And it sounds great...no need to mod this one (cream board MIM)
Click to expand...


You'r not wrong, mpaq. It's just that this particular guitar store marks up the price because they know a lot of people will pay either because they are uninformed or they don't want to put in the time and miles to travel to an unfamiliar store. Americans are so enamored with fast everything they would rather blow two hundred bucks than be a little inconvenienced. Six hundred dollars will buy a lot of amp much better and more equipped than the BJ. I don't want it for gigs, I have a better amp for that. I just want a decent bluesy amp for practice. One that's simple and just plug and play. BJ may not be that amp. I'm not in a have to have mode on the BJ. I'll find something that will do what I want at the price that is reasonable.
Thanks.
Dale
 
mountain man

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
Fingerlick said:
You'r not wrong, mpaq. It's just that this particular guitar store marks up the price because they know a lot of people will pay either because they are uninformed or they don't want to put in the time and miles to travel to an unfamiliar store. Americans are so enamored with fast everything they would rather blow two hundred bucks than be a little inconvenienced. Six hundred dollars will buy a lot of amp much better and more equipped than the BJ. I don't want it for gigs, I have a better amp for that. I just want a decent bluesy amp for practice. One that's simple and just plug and play. BJ may not be that amp. I'm not in a have to have mode on the BJ. I'll find something that will do what I want at the price that is reasonable.
Thanks.
Dale
Click to expand...
$382 + shipping
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Carvin-Vint...684561?hash=item5d63a483d1:g:QnYAAOSwcwhVQQW2
 
mpaq

mpaq

Canfield, Ontario, Canada
Well you can't go wrong with a Blues Jr. It was the best sounding low end tube amp I could find that had a separate master and volume control....many of them dont
 
mountain man

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
mpaq said:
Thx for the link...I've never heard or seen one of these...wonder if there's a Carvin dealer in Canada....
Click to expand...
There are not many dealers around. That is how they keep their prices low. They are factory direct. I was surprised to hear from Davey that one was in Ireland..........
 
S

SteveO'

Blues Newbie
HI to all BGU forum members!

I’m new to the forum and this is my first post. Since I’m a bit of a gear and tone nut I thought I’d start here. I bought a NOS tweed Blues Jr months ago and quickly became disappointed with what has been discussed in this forum and everywhere else. No bottom end and it sounds muddy. Since then I’ve been playing through my Fender Super Champ X2 and I’m really happy with that but I know there’s mods that I can do with the BJ to bring it to life.

I just bought a cable splitter and now run both the BJ and a Fender Rumble 25 bass amp at the same time to give me the bottom end that is missing and that made a huge difference. I’d still like to do some mods to clean it up, at least do the Twin Tone mod since that won’t cost me anything.

Anybody know what’s up with the Billm and whether he’s back in business? I go to the site and it hasn’t been updated since May. I’d prefer to do his mods but if I can’t, what alternatives do I have? Anyone here with experience with Fromel mods?

I usually pick up and play a Fender Strat with Zexcoil pickups or a PRS CE 24 and I want to make them sound as good as they are.
 
J

jeffs

Blues Newbie
Checkout hoffmanamps.com. The Blues Jr turret board kit is a great platform for mods. No reverb so you will need external reverb/delay, which are probably already in your effects chain.
 
S

SteveO'

Blues Newbie
Wow. TMI at hoffmanamps.com and I don't know where to start. I do run reverb and delay through my pedals so that's not an issue. I was hoping to upgrade/replace components on my existing board in the BJ and not have to rebuild the whole thing. Am I missing something?

Thanks for the reply.
 
J

jeffs

Blues Newbie
If you are not experienced with working with the high voltages in a tube amp please proceed with caution and educate yourself first.

A speaker may be an easy first step that can make a big difference. See BillMs web site for some comparisons in a Blues Jr.

In my opinion, BillM has the best articles and ala carte menu for mods, but these may not be available at this time. There are at least a couple other vendors for individual mods. Any of these provide a one-stop source for parts and instructions. Parts are available from many sources (i.e., Hoffman, Allen Amps, Watts Tube Audio, etc.).

Look at the Hoffman BJr project and forum posts for a start. Not a mod per se, but a complete circuit replacement that creates a stable platform for mods.

http://el34world.com/schematics.htm#Hoffman_Blues_Junior_Conversion_build_
http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?topic=17873.0
http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?board=15.0
http://el34world.com/Forum/index.php?board=13.0
 
W

Wylo

Blues Newbie
SteveO' said:
HI to all BGU forum members!

Anybody know what’s up with the Billm and whether he’s back in business? I go to the site and it hasn’t been updated since May. I’d prefer to do his mods but if I can’t, what alternatives do I have? Anyone here with experience with Fromel mods?

I usually pick up and play a Fender Strat with Zexcoil pickups or a PRS CE 24 and I want to make them sound as good as they are.
Click to expand...

Bill has been dealing with a particularly virulent form of brain cancer going on a couple of years. It has impacted his business although his son Andrew and a few other folks have been attempting to keep things going. I had sent in my BJR chassis for a set of mods based on my description of the sound I was looking for, given the guitars I play, referencing the common complaints about the BJR amps.

Andrew emailed me the mod options offered by BillM and recommended several combination packages depending on how much I wanted to spend. I accepted all of his recommendations, total cost about $270 as I recall.

It took nine months for the work to be completed but it was worth the wait. There is virtually no similarity between the sound of my amp pre- and post- BillM mods. For my purposes I no longer bother to hook up my pedal board. I get all the tone, including bottom & dirt, I need or want just by setting the amp and using the guitars' volume & tone controls. It's a totally different animal.

I check the BillM website regularly hoping for good news about Bill but as you have pointed out there is not much information there. Understandable. Hopefully they will get things rolling again. I can say that dealing with Andrew was a pleasure and attest to the quality and value of the work. He even sent me a spare set of tubes he had around the shop so I could experiment with different sound combinations.

Best of luck with whatever mods you go with. The BJR is worth it, imho.
 
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