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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:38 am
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Coy eh? :lol:

Yes, the infamous ticking sound from the trem opto coupler, I'm sure that you've heard of it. :wink: Are you saying that since your amps don't have a problem, that the problem must not exist? Surely not.

The BJr doesn't have to be modded to sound good, but it can be modded to sound better. Thousands use it as-is with zero mods. If not having an adjustable bias would qualify as a design flaw, lots of amps have this same "flaw".

Since neither of us are engineers or amp designer, I'm as qualified to challenge the design flaws of the DRRI, for one that the channels are out of phase. <---sounds almost as ridiculous.

If you don't like it, then you don't like it. I don't understand the outright hatred of an amp that you have never even owned (seems to be trendy to bash some amps).

What changes would you make to the "design", figuring you already don't care for EL84s?

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:00 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
What changes would you make to the "design", figuring you already don't care for EL84s?


Enlarge the cab so the speaker doesn't sound so fizzy.

Change the speaker to something more befitting the Fender reputation for tone.

Re-engineer the design by mounting the tube sockets to the chassis.

Add an adjustable bias control to the output stage.

Upgrade the PCB to premium-grade stock.

Dump the plastic input jacks.

How'd I do?

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:06 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
peterp wrote:
Myself I prefer something that doesn't need mods to work right.


+1000!

8)

Arjay


+2,000 I also have no love for the amp. It's also marginal in a band situation. It depends on your drummer and bass player. 15 watts is very iffy unless you mic it through a decent PA system. This includes any 15 watt amp including the Princeton, Egnater Tweaker, Fender 5e3 Deluxe etc. If your drummer is a professional, it can work. With the drummer we have now, I can use a 6 watt SF Champ at rehearsals if I want to.
An extension or custom cab is the only cure for the Blues Jr. The stock cab is just too small so you'll get a tinny, boxy sound no matter how you mod it. I also agree that EL84 sound nothing like a traditional Fender amp. It's still a "Fender" amp because that's the name that's on it.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:10 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
shimmilou wrote:
What changes would you make to the "design", figuring you already don't care for EL84s?


Enlarge the cab so the speaker doesn't sound so fizzy.

Change the speaker to something more befitting the Fender reputation for tone.

Re-engineer the design by mounting the tube sockets to the chassis.

Add an adjustable bias control to the output stage.

Upgrade the PCB to premium-grade stock.

Dump the plastic input jacks.

How'd I do?

:mrgreen:

Arjay


Sounds about right to me too. I do like EL84's though, just not in a Fender amp. The are way better amps out there designed around the EL84 power tube. The EL84's don't sound all that much different than the 6V6 until you start to push them. My Egnater Rebel 20 demonstrates this very well. The more you crank the EL84 the more aggressive it sounds and it seriously isn't a classic Fender tone.

As far as the trem tick, I've never had a Fender amp that ticked. I can't say it doesn't exist though. I've heard about it but never experienced it. I'm just saying all the Fender amps I've owned since 1965 had tremolo except my Champ and none ever had a problem like that. I've owned dozens over the past 40 some years.

The thing is, the reference point I've mentioned many times before. You like what you know. Arjay and myself love the old Fender amps. We're used to quality not amps with flimsy boards and cheap components. If all you know is Fenders current lineup, it's all you know. As for pure tone, my 74 Champ sounds way better in every respect to the Blues Jr and it's pure stock. When I couple that with my Gibson LP 60's Tribute with P-90's and I'm having a tonegazm. Couple that with my Egnater and it's even better. My rig sounds full and just fills a smaller rehearsal room. I wouldn't gig with the Champ without an extension cab though, and even then I know its' limitations, it is what it is.

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Last edited by 63supro on Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:14 pm
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IMHO the Pro Junior is a much better sounding amp than the Blues Junior.


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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:22 pm
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I've always regarded the EL84 tube as a "one-trick pony" and that's not of necessity a bad thing. But boxy sounding speaker enclosures, cab rattles, and premature chassic failures or other reliability issues are deal-busters, at least for me. I can accept that the amp has a "non-traditional" tone in the sense that FMIC is reaching beyond its normal customer base and that it will never sound like a blackface or a silverface AB763. But Leo always insisted on sound engineering and every one of his original designs would likely pass the "Ford F150 test" (inadvertently dumping the amp from the open tailgate of a pickup truck, then taking it onto a stage and playing a gig without further incident).

There......I've said my piece.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:33 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
...How'd I do?...


Pretty darned good...I'll take one! 8)

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:36 pm
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prolux wrote:
IMHO the Pro Junior is a much better sounding amp than the Blues Junior.


They also sound better through a nice extension cab. In that situation and I've tried both, the Pro Jr to me anyway wins hands down.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:55 pm
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Hopefully this post goes through. For some reason my last few posts have disappeared into the nowhere zone....

I ordered my new amp this morning. I know that I was almost sure that I was going to go with the Blues Junior BUT I got a look this morning at a completely different amp that really caught and held my attention. It was a little more than the Blues Junior ($599 US) but I think that I will be happy with it. I ordered a Carvin V3M Micro Head. The ToneKing did a 4 part video set that really did this little amp justice.

It is a 3 channel tube amp that has an adjustable power mode that I can select 7, 22, or 50 watts. Additionally, it can be used with 4, 8, or 16 ohm extension cabinets and it has send and receive effects loops. I am really looking forward to this arriving on Monday.

***I hope that this does not end up as a multiple posting. For some reason, my last 2 or 3 posts did not show up. So if they do all at once, I apologize.


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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 3:55 pm
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That sounds cool truebluefliplover! :)

I've been reading about the V3 over at the Carvin website, sounds interesting. I like the head and cab idea better than a combo. Maybe post a pic and some thoughts about the amp after you receive it.

Some posts at the Carvin forums, several about the V3 by owners. Check the one that is titled "My new V3 is terrible...." (not what you think)

http://carvinbbs.com/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=fcc1e321eed5e256881135c47577eda1

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 3:57 pm
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I had been thinking about getting a Blues Junior next month. Why the hatred of this particular amp?

Short of spending a grand on a DRRI, what would you all suggest to get the Fender tone?


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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:09 pm
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Spending $650 or $700 on a used DRRI.

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:24 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
That sounds cool truebluefliplover! :)

I've been reading about the V3 over at the Carvin website, sounds interesting. I like the head and cab idea better than a combo. Maybe post a pic and some thoughts about the amp after you receive it.

Some posts at the Carvin forums, several about the V3 by owners. Check the one that is titled "My new V3 is terrible...." (not what you think)

http://carvinbbs.com/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=fcc1e321eed5e256881135c47577eda1


I did not order the CAB yet. I have a Marshall 4X12 that I want to try out with it first. Man I cannot wait....


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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:29 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
shimmilou wrote:
What changes would you make to the "design", figuring you already don't care for EL84s?


Enlarge the cab so the speaker doesn't sound so fizzy.

Change the speaker to something more befitting the Fender reputation for tone.

Re-engineer the design by mounting the tube sockets to the chassis.

Add an adjustable bias control to the output stage.

Upgrade the PCB to premium-grade stock.

Dump the plastic input jacks.

How'd I do?

:mrgreen:

Arjay


Oh and you forgot to mention add an extra 500 bucks to the price... :D

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:33 pm
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truebluefliplover wrote:
Hopefully this post goes through. For some reason my last few posts have disappeared into the nowhere zone....

I ordered my new amp this morning. I know that I was almost sure that I was going to go with the Blues Junior BUT I got a look this morning at a completely different amp that really caught and held my attention. It was a little more than the Blues Junior ($599 US) but I think that I will be happy with it. I ordered a Carvin V3M Micro Head. The ToneKing did a 4 part video set that really did this little amp justice.

It is a 3 channel tube amp that has an adjustable power mode that I can select 7, 22, or 50 watts. Additionally, it can be used with 4, 8, or 16 ohm extension cabinets and it has send and receive effects loops. I am really looking forward to this arriving on Monday.

***I hope that this does not end up as a multiple posting. For some reason, my last 2 or 3 posts did not show up. So if they do all at once, I apologize.



Good on ya. I saw one of these in a mag a little while back and thought they looked pretty cool. Like I said earlier there's that much choice these days its pretty hard not to find something you like. Hopefully it sounds great.

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