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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr. with issues, need advice on repair and modding
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 1:24 pm
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Sorry I disappeared for a couple days... My initial forum account is having some kind of problem and won't log in. I've contacted a board admin but haven't heard back yet, thus this slightly different ID :?

I went ahead and ordered several of the mods from Bill's site. Very impressed with what's offered there. In addition I had my guy come over and we looked over the schematic in detail and he opened the amp back up again for a closer look. We're gonna go ahead and replace the tube sockets with higher grade ones (that also aren't loose) and do the direct wiring suggestion from Bill's site, rather than use the ribbon cables which is kind of crazy for a power amp section to use anyway. He's also going to look over the board traces in detail as he works for any hairline cracks or bad spots that might need to be repaired as well.

All in all I'm pretty excited! Between the Bill mods and the few other things we plan to do my Blues Jr, it should be a pretty awesome little amp! I'll be very glad when the tubes aren't running so hot that's for sure. The amp tone is nice and it's close to what I want it to be so with the mods I should be able to dial in a really precise tone. That will be great because I also really like the small foot print of the amp. I have a large amp and cabinet that I can use if I really need it, but the small Blues Jr. is a lot more convenient and gives me a totally different flavor of tone for options with recording/styles.

One of the guys who works at the store where I bought this amp mentioned that he has a Jr. and loves the tone, but that it's really touchy and he is constantly having to have it worked on as well. He said he wasn't very careful with it though so I thought it might be an isolated thing due to his handling of the amp. Guess from hearing from many of you though, that there needs to be a little bit of an improvement with quality control on some of the components in this amp. $500 or so isn't super expensive for a tube amp like this, but it's also not cheap! I have owned a couple other smaller brands of all tube amps for cheaper than this that were built a lot more solidly... I thought I would be paying for more than just the Fender name when I got this amp, but oh well. Thanks again for the input guys! Really helped me get going in the right direction. It might take a bit to get all the mods and changes installed and tested, but I'll post back when it's all done and let everyone know how it goes. Appreciate the info! :mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr. with issues, need advice on repair and modding
Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 2:41 pm
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Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 1:58 pm
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Hi,
I have a similar issue with my Blues Jr. same symptoms as described by Ravenant211. I dimantled the whole amp and gave it a good clean. I only cleaned out dust, and some spider webs, using a brush and the vacuum cleaner. I have no knowledge in electronics at all but noticed the two large bulbs are fitted with a metal part and 2 springs to retain them in place I suppose. It does not look very convincing as they seem to move about quite easily despite this support. So I very carefully made sure they sit straight and well aligned.
I only had the crackling sounds described by Ravenant211 over a couple of days till I decided myself to open-up the bloody box and that seem to have been long enough for some overheating taking place on the board. But now, since my clean-up all is fine. It works very well now and has next to no hum at all. I don't play gigs and therefore it does not move places. I guess if you play gigs and move it around, those 2 bulbs/tubes at the back are very likely to move about and if I'm right in my diagnosis, this could well be where the problems start. I took a picture to get some of your thoughts on that burn mark, but can't figure out how to place it on my message here. It is the black component placed under the 3 grey pots(450v 22uF) and labelled on the board with R47.
thanks for reading


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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr. with issues, need advice on repair and modding
Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 6:07 pm
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Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:30 pm
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I may have missed it in the thread but did you retention the stock tube sockets so that they hold the tubes nice and solid. Rather than diving in and making a bunch of changes/ mods to a faulty amp I would be more inclined to get the amp working properly as designed first, otherwise you risk making changes that in themselves may be introducing additional problems that then become a nightmare to isolate and rectify.


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