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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 7:48 pm
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Yada, yada, yada. :roll:


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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:02 pm
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Yes, I've always disliked the tubes being "upside down" in many amps, combos mostly. That is a problem for any components affected by the heat from the tubes. The heads are much better in that respect.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:11 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
Yes, I've always disliked the tubes being "upside down" in many amps, combos mostly.


I've often wonder if Jim Marshall gave any thought to that when he "re-engineered" the 5F6-A Bassman to become his own design......? Vacuum tubes require some heat to achieve and maintain their operating parameters but most chassis components are thermally-averse.

Interesting.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:31 pm
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Weird stuff without a doubt. Never understood it. A lot of the really old combos mounted the chassis on the floor of the cabinet with the knobs in the back. I believe some of the Dano's and Silvertones mounted the chassis vertically too. Mounting the chassis upside down creates several problems, not just heat but tubes especially with the cheap sockets they use now get loose after a while from movement and vibration.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:40 pm
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Yes, like this:

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 9:03 pm
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Indeed, shimmilou. And Leo even took a different tack for a time -- he mounted the lion's share of the chassis upright at the bottom of the amp's cab and positioned the controls at the top, linking them with an umbilical. I think others (Supro? Valco?) used this system early on as well.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:26 am
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Yep, that's it Shim. Could be one of the reasons some of the of the old Supro, Valco, Dano ans Silvertone amps are still around fifty years later.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:55 pm
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I have a Blues jr and a Deluxe Reverb.

My jr. Is an older model, and I'm not sure how they have modified them in the new jr III version. I use my jr. as a small portable practice amp. I like the clean tone. I bought it as an upgrade from a solid state amp on a budget several years ago. If I had saved and bought the DR at that time, I would have no use for the jr. The DR is so much nicer, but budget, size, weight and volume were all considerations at the time.

I do wish the jr. had vibrato. But I do kind of like the volume/master volume setup, and it's something to consider if you don't have or want to invest in pedals and are looking for some distortion.

I haven't seen many tube amps in this low price range that I like the sound of as much as the jr. If that's what you are looking for and are limited to, go for it. budgets always have limits, and a poor artist blames his tools for all his problems.


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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:14 am
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I have a first-generation, U.S.-made Blues Jr. I've had it since the late 1990s. It is what it is. I like my Fender Princeton Recording Amp better.

In general, I wish guitarists would spend more money on amps and perhaps a little less on guitars. A MIM-Classic 60s Strat paired with DRRI will sound *much* better than a US Vintage 1962 RI Strat mated to a Blues Jr., in my opinion.


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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:16 am
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InkStained wrote:
I have a first-generation, U.S.-made Blues Jr. I've had it since the late 1990s. It is what it is. I like my Fender Princeton Recording Amp better.

In general, I wish guitarists would spend more money on amps and perhaps a little less on guitars. A MIM-Classic 60s Strat paired with DRRI will sound *much* better than a US Vintage 1962 RI Strat mated to a Blues Jr., in my opinion.

That has always been my contention as well.
I know people who will spend astronomical amounts of cash for a Gibson R8 and then run it through a Hotrod Deluxe. There is zero logic in that kind of thinking. The amp is the part of your gear that creates the sound you hear. I mean ... duh ....

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:43 pm
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I have had many...i have a friend who has many we swap and put alincos in some and celestion golds and hemps, blah...and we do SOME of the billmaudio.com mods. personally like the orginal 59 bassman and marshalls...since the bJ has an unused triode in V2 i use a JJ 12dw7 and a 100k ohm resistor to make a cathode follower off the 12au7 side of the 12dw7 (the other triode is a 12ax7 so you get a 12au7 section capable of driving way more current into the tone suck (classic fender tone stack) so you lose little through the passive side of things...the bill m mods are really good...but i think i would leave the stock cap values in the tone stack but upgrade to orange drops (reputed to be the thang but not so..or mojotones or audiophile caps if you have the ears...does your audience....? bill chokes the mids a bit...in my opinion stick with .22's for the caps in the stack but different manufactures and install a spst switch that parallels a resistor with the 100K in the stack to get a value you like between 56k (try a 72K ) and 33K (try a 49K) and you will have a marshall like stack with a flip of the switch. the bias on the el84's is dicked on these amps and Bill sells a pot for that mod (multi turn so precision can be had)...the tubes as is are driven way way too hard. Change the tranny's to his or mercury magnetics what a difference some IRON make...ever played a Vibro King it has IRON. :wink:

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Last edited by rollo on Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:12 pm
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By the time you spend all the time and money modding, re-tubing and replacing the speaker in a mediocre amp, you could get something that will work better right out of the box. :wink: I just finished building a little 5 watt Class A EL84 head (yes it's alive) and I'm absolutely blown away by it. It even has bass and treble controls. $215.00 and about 8 hours fun time building it. I'm running it through my two 112 Egnater cabs. Sounds way better IMO than my HRDlx ever did and ant Blues Jr I've ever played out of.

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:35 am
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Probably not my last word on the Blues Junior, but possibly the last word by this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWK2IhU0 ... ure=relmfu

A lesson for anyone that still insists the amp is substandard..

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:45 am
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It must be a trick! :lol: JK, it sounds killer! :D

I get treated to sounds like that every week, wonderful. Just last night, at a weekly jam with a buddy, I played some clean, three-chord rhythms with my Twkr 40, while he played lead and rhythms on his US BJr with an OCD. My buddy is a phenomenal guitar player (one of many that I know) and he coaxed some sounds from the BJr that sent chills down my spine, as he always does, the sound is fantastic. He played everything from screaming crunchy metal sounds, to pristine shimmering cleans, and everything in between, the only adjustment being the guitar volume/tone knobs and pup selector switch, and kicking the pedal on and off. Stock amp with no mods. He used a Lonestar, Tele and a PRS and all sound fabulous with the BJr. My Twkr, Blacktop and I, sounded pretty good too, at least he raved about my sound, saying that it is the inspiration for his playing. Not many feelings better than that one. :D

I think that his amp must have screwed-up right after he finished playing it, because when I tried it at the end of our marathon session (4-1/2 hrs), the amp sounded quite different than when he was using it.....yeah it must be an amp problem. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Does anybody NOT like the Blues Junior.
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 10:52 am
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shimmilou wrote:

I think that his amp must have screwed-up right after he finished playing it, because when I tried it at the end of our marathon session (4-1/2 hrs), the amp sounded quite different than when he was using it.....yeah it must be an amp problem. :lol:


:lol: :lol: :lol:


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