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Post subject: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 10:44 pm
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I recently bought a nice Fender Blues Jr Guitar Amp. I've never owned a tube amp, except for owning a hybrid tube/Solid state amp. What I wanted is, is it normal power amp tubes to glow white-ish/slight orange color? Also, some of the little tubes glow too. This is a brand new amp. See screenshot http://prntscr.com/ho6u3d I just wanted to learn as much as I possibly could about tube amps so I can take care of it so it will last me for years.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 11:12 pm
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Sounds normal. Tubes have heaters in them that glow an orange color. I cant get your link to work.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 11:16 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
Sounds normal. Tubes have heaters in them that glow an orange color. I cant get your link to work.


Image Here, this is what it looks like when it's on. Is that normal? I read a bunch of forum postings about this amp and it left me confused, so I thought I'd ask here.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 1:46 am
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Perfectly normal. :D

And purty too! 8)

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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:17 am
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shimmilou wrote:
Perfectly normal. :D

And purty too! 8)


Thanks, would you also mind explaining to me what does the little heater do and how do I know when to replace the tubes? Also where can I get new tubes for it if I have too?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 9:59 am
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Grid21 wrote:
shimmilou wrote:
Perfectly normal. :D

And purty too! 8)


Thanks, would you also mind explaining to me what does the little heater do and how do I know when to replace the tubes? Also where can I get new tubes for it if I have too?
If the tubes didn't glow, you would have a problem. That's what tubes do. Don't worry about replacement tubes unless you hear a change in the performance of the amp. There are a myriad of tube options. Follow the owner's manual on type you would need. It has a 5 year warranty (only authorized repair places), but I don't think tubes are covered. Just play and enjoy.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:02 am
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LawFlow wrote:
Grid21 wrote:
shimmilou wrote:
Perfectly normal. :D

And purty too! 8)


Thanks, would you also mind explaining to me what does the little heater do and how do I know when to replace the tubes? Also where can I get new tubes for it if I have too?
If the tubes didn't glow, you would have a problem. That's what tubes do. Don't worry about replacement tubes unless you hear a change in the performance of the amp. There are a myriad of tube options. Follow the owner's manual on type you would need. It has a 5 year warranty (only authorized repair places), but I don't think tubes are covered. Just play and enjoy.


Ok, thanks!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 12:18 pm
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Most tubes are rated to last for 8-10,000 hours.
As long as the amp doesn't get banged around to much, have a significant failure or experience a voltage anomaly you should be ok for 5-10 years w/ average-modest use.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 1:01 pm
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I have to say, by the sound of these videos, I am not having an issue at all. :D




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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:54 pm
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Things in other posts that may have confused you:

Depending on the construction/orientation of different brands of tubes, sometimes it's hard to see the heaters.

There's a phenomenon called "red plating". The big gray or black metal parts (sometimes silver-ish in preamp tubes -- the small tubes) should not glow. If the amp is biased too hot and overworking the tubes, the metal plates can glow a dull cherry red color. In really bad cases they can glow bright red.

The glow from the heaters can reflect off the inside of the glass and light up the plates a bit. Don't worry about that. If you ever see the plates glowing because they're literally red hot, you'll know it.

Some power tubes (the big ones) have a blue glow inside them. There are differing opinions as to why, but it's nothing to worry about. (Extremely beautiful too.)


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 2:58 pm
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strayedstrater wrote:
Things in other posts that may have confused you:

Depending on the construction/orientation of different brands of tubes, sometimes it's hard to see the heaters.

There's a phenomenon called "red plating". The big gray or black metal parts (sometimes silver-ish in preamp tubes -- the small tubes) should not glow. If the amp is biased too hot and overworking the tubes, the metal plates can glow a dull cherry red color. In really bad cases they can glow bright red.

The glow from the heaters can reflect off the inside of the glass and light up the plates a bit. Don't worry about that. If you ever see the plates glowing because they're literally red hot, you'll know it.

Some power tubes (the big ones) have a blue glow inside them. There are differing opinions as to why, but it's nothing to worry about. (Extremely beautiful too.)


Well based on the above image I posted, what would you say about the bias of my amp? Does it look normal? This is my first tube amp so I am trying to learn all I can about them, how they work, and what to look for!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:05 pm
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As of Jan 2017, Fender amps have a 2 year warranty. Except for the tubes which have a 90 day warranty.

As said, normally tubes last a very long time. Like all electronic devices, manufacturing defects usually show up early, and if the tubes survive the first 90 days they'll generally last until they wear out. Because Fender buys tubes from a variety of manufacturers they only warrantee them during the period when defects are most likely to occur.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:07 pm
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Grid21 wrote:
strayedstrater wrote:
Things in other posts that may have confused you:

Depending on the construction/orientation of different brands of tubes, sometimes it's hard to see the heaters.

There's a phenomenon called "red plating". The big gray or black metal parts (sometimes silver-ish in preamp tubes -- the small tubes) should not glow. If the amp is biased too hot and overworking the tubes, the metal plates can glow a dull cherry red color. In really bad cases they can glow bright red.

The glow from the heaters can reflect off the inside of the glass and light up the plates a bit. Don't worry about that. If you ever see the plates glowing because they're literally red hot, you'll know it.

Some power tubes (the big ones) have a blue glow inside them. There are differing opinions as to why, but it's nothing to worry about. (Extremely beautiful too.)


Well based on the above image I posted, what would you say about the bias of my amp? Does it look normal? This is my first tube amp so I am trying to learn all I can about them, how they work, and what to look for!


Yes, like others have said that looks completely normal.

I was just replying to your comment that other threads have confused you a little.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 3:18 pm
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strayedstrater wrote:
Grid21 wrote:
strayedstrater wrote:
Things in other posts that may have confused you:

Depending on the construction/orientation of different brands of tubes, sometimes it's hard to see the heaters.

There's a phenomenon called "red plating". The big gray or black metal parts (sometimes silver-ish in preamp tubes -- the small tubes) should not glow. If the amp is biased too hot and overworking the tubes, the metal plates can glow a dull cherry red color. In really bad cases they can glow bright red.

The glow from the heaters can reflect off the inside of the glass and light up the plates a bit. Don't worry about that. If you ever see the plates glowing because they're literally red hot, you'll know it.

Some power tubes (the big ones) have a blue glow inside them. There are differing opinions as to why, but it's nothing to worry about. (Extremely beautiful too.)


Well based on the above image I posted, what would you say about the bias of my amp? Does it look normal? This is my first tube amp so I am trying to learn all I can about them, how they work, and what to look for!


Yes, like others have said that looks completely normal.

I was just replying to your comment that other threads have confused you a little.


Thank you for clarifying that information! What else should I know about tube amps? How can I take care of my tubes so they last a long time? What are some good maintenance practices I should know?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Blues Junior
Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:41 pm
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Just following the instruction manual is really all you need to do.

Tubes are a little less reliable than transistors. Sometimes tubes fail suddenly for no apparent reason. And they have a variety of failure modes, from getting hissy to not working at all.

But tubes are a lot more rugged and reliable than a lot of people think. Car radios used to have tubes. Fighter planes, jet airliners, missiles and rockets used to have tubes. (Some in-service fighter planes still do.)

Bands truck tube amps all across the country, play cranked shows, then toss them back in the truck.

Some people say you should let a freezing cold amp warm up to room temp before turning it on. Others say that after playing you should let the tubes cool for a few minutes before moving the amp. Some people say the longer you let the tubes warm up in standby the better.

None of that can hurt, but none of it is super critical either.

Turning a tube amp on-off-on-off-on-off a bunch of times really fast is hard on the power supply. Don't let your kid do that.

Otherwise, just read and understand the manual, then play it and enjoy it.

The least reliable amp I ever had was solid state. Most of my tube amps gave me many years of service with zero problems.


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