It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:10 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 33 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next
Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next
Author Message
Post subject: BJr - to mod or not to mod?
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:35 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 10:28 am
Posts: 69
Location: Vancouver Is, B.C. Canada
I have a 2-month old Blues Jr and am really wanting to kick the tone up a notch by modding. My dilemma is voiding the 5-year warranty.

Is voiding the warranty worth it? I am losing my patience and not sure if I can wait 5 more years to find better tone. Or should i just say screw it, bite the bullet, and go for it... Tone at any cost?

Thanx for your input...
i


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 2:55 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
I say don't do it. It's just throwing good money after bad. I modded my BJ and was still dissatisfied with the amp. I say sell they amp now while it's still new enough that you can get a decent price for it and then buy a good amp.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:12 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26417
Location: Tombstone Territory
BMW-KTM wrote:
I say don't do it. It's just throwing good money after bad. I modded my BJ and was still dissatisfied with the amp. I say sell they amp now while it's still new enough that you can get a decent price for it and then buy a good amp.


+10,000

If somebody bought a brand new amp a scant two months ago and yet they find themselves needing to spend still more $$$ on speakers, tubes, mods, etc etc etc in order to "kick the tone up a notch" then they either bought the wrong amp right from the git or that amp wasn't worth a fiddler's f_ck to begin with.

JMO

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


Top
Profile
Post subject: Modifyng a BJr
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:13 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:20 pm
Posts: 9640
Location: Indiana
From my point of view, I don't worry about my warranty because I'd rather work on my own amp. If you do have a failure during warranty (no one knows that you've modified), often you can call Fender and just get the replacement parts covered and sent to you, as it would cost Fender much more to take it to a tech. The BJr is in need of a bias adjustment at minimum. If you don't lower the bias, you WILL go through output tubes rather quickly if you use your amp a lot (tubes aren't covered under warranty). I did some Billm mods to mine within 2 years of buying it new, and I'm glad that I did. I like the amp more now because of the versatility and variety of sounds that I can get after the mods. And my output tubesw will last much longer with cooler bias. Don't listen to the naysayers that have not modified their amps, the cooler bias will NOT ruin the tone, it only opens up the amps tone. You can still have the same BJr tone, and much more with the mods. But, if you don't like the tone of the amp now, modifying it might be a waste of time.

If you aren't comfortable working on your own amp, I'd say let a tech do any mods. I don't know if a Fender authorized tech would be able to modify it and still keep the warranty or not. So, my vote.....GO FOR IT! :D

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 3:35 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:20 pm
Posts: 9640
Location: Indiana
Retroverbial wrote:
If somebody bought a brand new amp a scant two months ago and yet they find themselves needing to spend still more $$$ on speakers, tubes, mods, etc etc etc in order to "kick the tone up a notch" then they either bought the wrong amp right from the git or that amp wasn't worth a fiddler's f_ck to begin with.

JMO

Arjay


Oh poo! Even the pros immediately modify their new amps, with bias adjustments, new tubes, new speakers etc. :lol: Jim Campilongo (sp?) was just on this forum talking about how he modifies his brand new PRRI with bias, tubes and speakers. This forum is full of people who've modded their amps. DRRI, PRRI, BDlx, HRDlx, HRDvl, BJr, C600 on and on, have all been modified. It seems that every amp that Fender ever made "wasn't worth a fiddler's f_ck to begin with", since people have found the need to modify them? :lol: You're funny! :lol:

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:05 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm
Posts: 8827
shimmilou wrote:
Retroverbial wrote:
If somebody bought a brand new amp a scant two months ago and yet they find themselves needing to spend still more $$$ on speakers, tubes, mods, etc etc etc in order to "kick the tone up a notch" then they either bought the wrong amp right from the git or that amp wasn't worth a fiddler's f_ck to begin with.

JMO

Arjay


Oh poo! Even the pros immediately modify their new amps, with bias adjustments, new tubes, new speakers etc. :lol: Jim Campilongo (sp?) was just on this forum talking about how he modifies his brand new PRRI with bias, tubes and speakers. This forum is full of people who've modded their amps. DRRI, PRRI, BDlx, HRDlx, HRDvl, BJr, C600 on and on, have all been modified. It seems that every amp that Fender ever made "wasn't worth a fiddler's f_ck to begin with", since people have found the need to modify them? :lol: You're funny! :lol:


No, only the HRD series aren't worth a fiddler's f_ck to begin with. That's why people seem to find the need to modify a new amp. Just my opinion and don't take it personally, but if you mod an amp because you don't like the tone, it's different than modding an amp you really like to try to make it even better. The latter only amounts to turd polish. I totally agree with Arjay.

My vote is to either sell the amp and get something you really want or keep the warranty. The amp will be worth more with the warranty intact. Fender usually doesn't always sell internal parts to just anyone.

A lot of pros modify their amps because they can afford to. Many have amps custom built for them. Don't mean it's right for everyone. I played professionally from the late 70's through the 80's and never really found the need to mod an amp. I can usually find something I truly like right out of the box.

Just sell it and continue the quest. :wink:

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:06 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26417
Location: Tombstone Territory
Unlike working stiffs, most pros can afford those "boutique" mods.

Leo didn't design or build that way. All of his amps sounded great right out of the carton. When I mod an amp chassis it's to add a specific additional convenience, to correct a rare factory oversight, or to render the amp compliant with modern safety protocols. Fender amps need very little in the way of sonic upgrades. But "FLO's"* apparently need a boatload.

Go your own way.

Arjay

*......"Fender-like objects"

_________________
"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


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:13 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm
Posts: 8827
Here's another suggestion, sell the Blues JR, take the cash and put it towards a Tweed Deluxe 5E3 clone kit. Not a hard build, you build it yourself, and you learn something and you can tweak if you wish an amp that will satisfy your tonal needs.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 2:49 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14050
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
Strart do do a colder bias . Those amp are often bias too hot.
" Under-biased amps will lack punch and the tubes will run noticibly hotter.
Over-biased amps will sound thin and brittle, with the tube running too cool for proper performance.
A correctly-biased ampsd will sound clean and tight at moderate volume, then at higher volumes break up and distort musicaly."
----------------
Don't forget these amps are low cost amps, good, but low cost. If you'll sell it and buy another low cost amp same problem : need mods.

Talk with people have same amps. What they do .


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 4:48 am
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:37 am
Posts: 597
Location: Australia
Straight from the box I have never ever had a problem with my blues junior.

If you made a wrong decision from the start, I suggest you sell it now and upgrade to a DRRI.

That's what I would do, actually I am thinking of doing it.... :D As much as I never had problems with the HRD series of amps, I think 63supro maybe influencing me :P

I should ask, what is the actual purpose that you hope for the BJ to serve upon you ?

What is the tone you are looking for.... you may be able to compliment the amp as most people do with a Ibanez Tube Screamer or other pedals that may do it for you without voiding your warranty by modding...

what genre's of music will you thrash out of it ?


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:21 pm
Offline
Professional Musician
Professional Musician
User avatar

Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 2:58 pm
Posts: 2293
Location: Adirondacks
Retroverbial wrote:
Unlike working stiffs, most pros can afford those "boutique" mods.

Leo didn't design or build that way. All of his amps sounded great right out of the carton. When I mod an amp chassis it's to add a specific additional convenience, to correct a rare factory oversight, or to render the amp compliant with modern safety protocols. Fender amps need very little in the way of sonic upgrades. But "FLO's"* apparently need a boatload.

Go your own way.

Arjay

*......"Fender-like objects"


+1 If it needs to be modded I won't buy it! That goes guitars to amps. My Fenders are perfect as is so to me I just can't see all this modding crap.
ABS :D


Top
Profile
Post subject: Modifying a BJr
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 5:52 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:20 pm
Posts: 9640
Location: Indiana
I'm not buying most of the "it sounds just right out of the box" business. :lol: It seems very rare on this forum that someone buys an amp and does absolutely nothing to it. How many times do we hear about "the stock tubes sucked, changed 'em" or "the stock speaker sucks, changed it" or "I had to change the bias for the sound that I want", etc? "Modify: to make minor changes in." Warranty concerns aside, tubes, bias, speakers all count as modifying. ;)

Let he who is without ANY kind of modification to their amps cast the first post. :lol:

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 6:29 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26417
Location: Tombstone Territory
My "touring amp" is a dead-stock one-owner '78 Twin Reverb. It was re-tubed and re-capped in the spring of 2001, which is the ONLY time it's ever seen a tech's bench. It looks good, it sounds good, and everything works -- exactly as the day it left Fullerton.

My matching '67 Bandmaster set has been re-tubed, re-capped, and had only those safety mods necessary to prevent death or injury. It too looks good, sounds good, and everything works.

My '65 Princeton Reverb likewise has been re-capped, and had only those safety mods necessary to eliminate potential personnel hazards. A missing original speaker was replaced by a Fender-branded period-correct replacement from 1967. Other than that, it's exactly in the same condition as the day it was shipped.

My '68 Bronco is untouched and unmolested save for two tubes replaced.

My matching '66 Showman set has been cosmetically restored but received only routine factory-recommended maintenance and modern safety upgrades.

I don't consider any of these amps to have been "modded" and with the exception of the Bronco and the PR, I've used them all on stage at one time or another.

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


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:13 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm
Posts: 8827
Preach on brother Arjay!! I'm the same way. I don't consider tube changes or speaker and bias adjustments "mods" These things are required for the amp to operate "properly". Screwing with tone stacks and changing the design of the amp are mods period. Nothing to argue about. Mod means to modify. A tube or speaker and proper bias will not void your warranty. Changing the design of the amp will. I also know tons of musicians who use stock amps. The others either build or have built what they want. The Blues Jrs I've tried sound as though there's a blanket over the speaker. YMMV

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal


Top
Profile
Post subject:
Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 7:17 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:20 pm
Posts: 9640
Location: Indiana
I can't remember how many TRs that you have, but are those JBLs stock speakers in the amp? And not one bias adjustment? Very good. As many amps as you have, I'll bet that you have 2 modified for every one that isn't. :lol: But, if you insist you can have your license to chastise us lowly amp modders. Of course it might be revoked if we discover that you are holding out on us! :lol:

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 33 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next
Go to page 1, 2, 3  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: