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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:23 pm
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And then there was the Monza Spider which was a Vega chassis with a different cabin and a 350 under the hood. Now you had a car with an already sloppy suspension that was completely overwhelmed by 380 pounds of torque. You could actually feel the whole car twisting under load. Dangerous as hell but we sure thought they were fun back in the day.
:lol: :lol: :lol:


My fav was the Cosworth Vega. They tightened the car up so it would acually drive around corners without washing out and gave it a li'l screamin' demon of a 2.4L DOHC hemi four with factory long tube headers and a five-gear.

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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:33 pm
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The Cosworth only had something like 100 horse power. :lol: It was priced pretty close to a Corvette in 1975. :shock:

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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:42 pm
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I had a similar problem with my Mesa 5/25 amp. vol. fading etc. Replaced the tubes with a new set of JJ's. Problem solved.

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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 11:06 pm
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63supro wrote:
The Cosworth only had something like 100 horse power. :lol: It was priced pretty close to a Corvette in 1975. :shock:

Perhaps, but it seemd like fun to me at the time. I knew a couple guys who bought them. I think we just liked that they would rev to 7 grand without throwing a rod and would actually take a corner without pushing the front end into the shoulder. They were almost like GMs answer to the souped up Datsun 510 or the Bimmer 2002i. I would have been all of 16 or so and I was all about the Rallye in those years, much to the dismay of my dad who was a drag race buff and horsepower was the only issue.

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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 3:45 am
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OP here again.

Thanks S Bender - it's probably 20 years since I had tube amps (had larger Peavey, Marshall and Fender amps) and I don't recall tube problems like this. They either worked or they didn't! Since then I've used simulators through the PA (currently Line 6 Pod). Granted I was probably lucky, but I'd hope Groove Tubes wouldn't go faulty in 6 months.

Mind you, I suppose it shouldn't surprise me. This MIM amp isn't built like they used to be. I wanted a small low-wattage clean amp (I get my dirt from pedals) and this seemed ideal. I DO like the sound of it with the C/Rex speaker I fitted, and it DOES take pedals well. Because I'm getting on a bit, I like the weight of it too.

The solution seems to be to take it back under warranty and hope that they can find some visible sign of the problem. Or that the fault happens while they've got it. If they don't sort it, please can someone tell me which tubes (on the BJr) I should start off replacing? Thanks a lot. Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:02 am
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I bought aBlues Junior NOS 4 or 5 years ago (I forget when now but that sounds about right). It has simply been the member of my amp farm that I go to more often than any other. This past week, I started to get a bunch of static. So, i reseated all the tubes, reseated the speaker cable, checked my cables, and tried a separate guitar. Static. Then, it just cut out. No sound. Tubes all glowing appropriate colors and red light is on, no sound. No static, nada.

Other than the diagnosis I've already done, is there anything else I can test before bringing it to go off to the service center?


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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 9:53 am
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Most of the time, it's a tube issue. Next suspect in many modern amps is solder joints, more so after 2005.

Peter S, if you want a guess, output tubes, although being intermittent leads me to believe solder joints. It could even be a preamp tube.

vonas01, might be a preamp tube. More often than not, V1 on the far right looking at the back of the amp.

The easiest option in either case, is usually to try a new tube(s) in the suspect position. For output tubes, replace as matched pair. Preamp and PI can be replaced individually. Turn off the amp, replace V1 with a known good tube and power on and try, if no noise (or if now have sound) V1 was bad. If you still have noise (or no sound), put the original tube back in V1 and try the new tube in the next position V2, etc.

If you don't have any spare tubes :o , to check for a noisy tube, you can try powering amp off and simply removing preamp/PI one at a time starting with V1, then power amp on and check for noise after each tube is removed, then replacing each before removing the next. Power amp off before removing and installing tubes.

Most times it is best to check the bias whenever output tubes are changed. In the BJr, there is no bias adjustment and many people just replace their tubes and they are fine. Depending on the tube brand/type, new output tubes can run hotter than the originals and might need the bias adjusted. IMO, the factory bias is too hot for the BJr for a great number of output tube brands and it's beneficial to install a pot for adjustment. Of course any changes to the amp can void the warranty.

Usually a good idea to search the forum for the topics, as many posts already exist about these exact same topics, and the answers are often there. The BJr has been covered in such detail that there must be literally hours of good reading on this forum alone.

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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2011 11:14 am
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Very helpful. It's clearly an issue with the EL84 tubes and for some reason I only have one of them----until Monday :-)


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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 5:01 am
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OP back, just for info!

Took me a while before I grasped the nettle, but I've now spent £50 on a complete set of Electro Harmonix valves (pre & power). Spoke to the supplying shop as the 1 year warranty was running out and they suggested I needed to check whether it was the valves or something else. Along with advice from other posters, it seemed the best way forward.

Anyway, had them in about a month and no problems whatsoever. These E-H (Russian) valves are good value too - so far I'd recommend!

Cheers everyone - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: Fading Blues Junior!
Posted: Tue May 22, 2012 6:37 am
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Awesome!

EH are some of my favorites, great sound, great price and tough as nails. Keep us posted.

Good job, and good choice on tubes Peter S.

Enjoy! :)

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