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Post subject: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 12:46 am
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Hey,
a few weeks ago I bought here in Germany in a local music store a Fender Blues Junior Lacquered Tweed and I have two problems with the amp.

First problem is that the amp makes humming noises, when I play guitar. The harder/louder I play the louder is the humming. Anybody is having the same issue? I think it's coming from the tubes.

The second problem is when I use pedals with it (for example the Big Muff or the Red from Walrus Audio, but I also tried different overdrive/distortion pedals), the sound is very strange. Thin, way too much treble and kind of boxy.
I have to add a lot of gain to the Amp (little bit over the break up), that the pedals sound ok, but still not perfect.

For example:
Master 3, Volume 3 –> Big Muff/Red -> harsh, thin, boxy, no bass, way too much treble
Master 2.5, Volume 6 –> Big Muff/Red –> little bit better, warms up, more round
Master 2/2.5, Volume 11/12 –> Big Muff/Red –> best sound, but still not great, clean Katana 50 + Big Muff still way better.

So maybe you could help me, why it is like this?
I've heard many guitarists, who played with there pedals into a totally clean amp and I loved the sounds. But with the Blues Junior, it's really bad. And I thought, the Fender would be a nice pedal platform.

Thanks guys.


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 1:29 am
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Is there any noise from the amp with nothing plug in ? No guitar, no pedal no cable ? Report

No noise ; try guitar only
Noise; try another guitar and cable or try your guitar on another amp
No noise ; add one pedal

Bad / wrong power supply on pedal can make noise


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 5:23 am
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Thanks, there is something in my pedal chain causing the hum.

Just the guitar in the amp it's totally quiet.

Another tip for the second problem?


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:35 am
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FlowRecords wrote:
Thanks, there is something in my pedal chain causing the hum.

Just the guitar in the amp it's totally quiet.

Another tip for the second problem?


I give you a answer ; Bad / wrong power supply on pedal can make noise.

You must not use universal / wallwart power supply. use only power supply made for pedal
Or you have a ground loop with too many power supply


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:40 am
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stratele52 wrote:
Or you have a ground loop with too many power supply

+1

Ground loops are a common issue when using multiple devices.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2019 2:13 am
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Hi, I too have a Blues Junior newcomer a few days ago and I too have some buzz and whistle problems when I connect my Fender Telecaster American Standard without pedals directly into the amplifier.
this whistle disappears when I close the volume or close the tone of the guitar. it is not present at all when the amplifier is switched on without a jack inserted. connecting a cheap electric Stratocaster guitar with two single coils and a humbucker on the humbucker position this whistle disappears. should I consider replacing the Telecaster pick-ups with a pair of Noise less? in this case which one would you recommend to avoid losing the typical sound of my guitar model?


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 1:27 am
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hoochiecoochieman93 wrote:
should I consider replacing the Telecaster pick-ups with a pair of Noise less?


Congrat this is a well made amp test.

No It is not a guitar issue if guitar is all original, no mod. Report.
American Standard Tele is a "quiet " guitar.

Amp may have a noisy 12XX7 tube because whisle :(
Return amp to the store on warranty . Always test before buying

Home wall outlet have a bad ground ; try in another room or house.

You may have cell phone too close to the guitar ( or computer or...? ) Electronic gadget may induce some noise in guitar pickups. ; Power OFF cell phone, computer and....


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:48 am
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Ya, a "whistle", unless it is feedback, is coming from within the amp.
Going away with the volume rolled back (or guitar unplugged?) points to the first preamp tube because doing that grounds the input.
For troubleshooting, try swapping the #1 and #3 preamp tubes, the phase inverter provides little gain and can be more tolerant of a noisy tube, see if the problem goes away, but ultimately the amp should be returned since this is not normal for a new amp.

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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:36 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
stratele52 wrote:
Or you have a ground loop with too many power supply

+1

Ground loops are a common issue when using multiple devices.

Arjay

Trouble shoot individual two prong plug(wall worts or power supply's) by; one at a time unplugging and reversing the plug orientation until you find the one or several ground loops.

Quote:
should I consider replacing the Telecaster pick-ups with a pair of Noise less?
Noiseless pickups will not cure a micro-phonic/noisy tube.
Remove all the metal covers from the preamp tubes
Turn on amp and take off of stand-by w/ volume set to 1
From left to right(looking from the back) lightly tap each tube one at a time. If it whistles or makes bad noise- replace it.
Output level noise will increase as you move to the right closer to V1.


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2019 3:01 am
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I found a post in another forum which describes perfectly my problem with the Blues Junior and pedals.

Quote:
So, I own a Blues Junior and while it is a very sparkly clean amp it actually is quite terrible for this application (at least the current Mk III versions). The older creamboard BJs are actually quite a bit darker and work well but those are harder to come by. The problem is that Fender changed the circuit to include a bright cap on the main volume control. This, combined with the tone stack values makes the amp not very pedal friendly; it has the effect of making your very full and fat gain pedals sounding very shrill and brittle. It's especially terrible with Muff circuits (which are my personal favorite) and make it ear-piercingly shrill. There is no way around it on the BJ aside from modding it to remove the circuit. Turning up the amp does reduce the impact of the bright cap but the level where the cap is completely out of the circuit is almost at full volume at which point the amp's clean headroom is long gone and it is just a fuzzy mess.

Now, you can absolutely get a pretty great higain sound out of a good clean amp and there are more pedals than ever that will give you a fantastic higain tone (Wampler Triple Wreck, Bogner Red, Emma PisdiYAUwot for example). However, the key to have those tones sounding great is the same as with a good higain amp: lots of clean headroom and the BJ is designed to distort early (as are all the Fender Hot Rod amps).

A good pedal platform amp has a few things: a very clean preamp with the ability to make the preamp slightly dark (or at least remove a bright cap from the circuit) and lots of clean headroom. For close to the same money you can find much better pedal platforms. The newish Fender Custom 68 line are all great pedal platforms. The Princeton is an amazing home-use pedal platform because it sounds rich and full at low volumes, and the Bassman tonestack is darker and does not have a bright cap. The power amps also have no negative feedback which, while reducing the clean headroom, makes the amp's very touch sensitive and responsive to additional gain in the front of the amp.

TL;DR version: Fender Blues Junior kinda sucks at being a pedal platform. Better options: Fender Custom 68 line (all of them) and old Musicman amps (or the reissues if they are out in your area) are much better choices in the same money range.


The first thing I did now was to change the V1 tube to a JJ 12AT7. Way better now in my ears.

But still far away from good with my pedals.

Keep the BJ and mod it? Maybe with a new speaker?
Sell the BJ (even I like the sound without distortion/fuzz pedals) and go for another amp?

Thanks for your help. :)


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Post subject: Re: Two problems with Fender Blues Jr Tweed
Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2019 3:06 am
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" Keep the BJ and mod it? Maybe with a new speaker? "

Doing any mods you never know if you will like it .
Better to find another amp you will like


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