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Post subject: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 12:15 pm
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I was wondering if anyone has done any Bill M. mods to their Blues Junior. Are you happy with how it worked?

Arc

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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:46 pm
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Yes, and very much so! For my personal amp, I did the basic mods, standby switch, and changed the speaker. I used the amp for a couple of years before doing the mods and really enjoyed the sound as it was. For me, I could dial in a great sound with the stock amp, but that was about it, the one great sound. I just wanted to try something different, so I tried the Billm mods and found that I like the amp even more now as I can get some great drive sounds and a much better clean sound.

Adding the bias adjust is essential for the BJr IMO, and will make the amp much more versatile. Using an external speaker cab with the amp opens up even more possibilities for sound shaping.

I posted a write-up on the first mods that I did to my amp here:

http://shimmilou.mysite.com/Amps.html

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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:01 am
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I read your write up. Sounds like you made out well with some mods. I too like the amp as is but feel it could use a bit of tweeking to make it into a great little amp. I'm sure others have made some mods so pipe up.

Arc

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob


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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 10:28 am
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I think I did them all except the octal conversion and the High-voltage preamp mod.
Each change mad the amp better. It sounds fantastic now.
When I play with other people they always ask about my amp because it sounds so good.
I suggest doing the cathode follower mod too.
I'm using the Swamp Thang speaker which is the perfect speaker for this amp IMHO.
I also changed the preamp tubes to 12AY7 for a bit more headroom and to get more of my drive sound from the power tubes (It's still plenty loud).

I wish I could justify getting another one to do the Octal mods. It's sounding so good now, i'm afraid to keep tweaking it.


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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 3:21 pm
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x


Last edited by my56strat on Sun May 25, 2014 12:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:12 pm
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I was just messing around with mine tonight with a tube screamer and the reverb way up. I was having a blast. Then I tried plugging the bass in. I managed to get some cool feedback going on. It's hard for me to think of this amp getting better but I'm game. I just wish the derned things knobs were on the front and a decent Jewel.

Arc

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob


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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:27 am
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I installed the metal input jack, standby switch, and "Basic Kit" in my NOS Blues Junior.

Definitely worth doing, since the mods don't cost much and work exactly as described.


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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 10:42 am
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I bought one. I thought it sounded ok and looked into the Bill M. mods. After adding up my time and parts, I took it back.


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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:13 am
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Rockerduck wrote:
I bought one. I thought it sounded ok and looked into the Bill M. mods. After adding up my time and parts, I took it back.


How much did you figure on for your time? I'm guessing that since you took it back you bought a different amp or are planning to get a different one. If you did/are what amp did you get instead?

Arc

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...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob


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Post subject: Re: Anyone do any Bill M. mods to a Blues J.?
Posted: Fri May 04, 2012 4:37 am
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Arc-n-spark wrote:
I was just messing around with mine tonight with a tube screamer and the reverb way up. I was having a blast.


Blues Jr. + Tube Screamer = FUN


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