It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:49 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 29 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Go to page Previous  1, 2
Author Message
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:31 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:28 pm
Posts: 53
Location: Cow Pens Island, NJ (USA)
I've been playing my Strat through a Blues Jr. in my bedroom for the last few years now, as others have pointed out, it can tend to sound a little boxy, but you can dial that out to a marginal level by working a good balance between the two volume controls on the amp, and the one on your guitar, also placing it in the middle of the room seems to help over having the back against a wall....
Like any new amp, it took a while for the stock speaker to break-in, and I swapped out the stock Fender Groove Tubes for American Made NOS tubes.
It's never had any hiss or buzzing, the reverb sounds full and wet when cranked up....I like playing surf instrumentals so reverb is an important factor to me...

The only down side I have about this amp is, the few times I hook up with some friends to jam, it can't keep up with their amps, so I'll probably trade my Jr. in on either a Super Sonic 22, or '65 DeLux Reverb Reissue.....

But for strictly a bedroom amp it's a good choice.....

_________________
Image
American Standard Strat
American Standard Tele
Custom Vibrolux Reverb
Fulltone RTO
Boss TU-3


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:56 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 2:19 pm
Posts: 8827
If you really want to hear what the Blues Jr sounds like, hook it up to an extension cabinet. Don't use the internal speaker. It's a whole different amp. :wink:

Billm made a nice little business for himself by exploiting the design flaws of the Blues Jr. Personally, I think a lot of players mod these things because they're told they need to to make it sound better. Fact is, if you like it it's good. I don't, so I won't own one. I've used them, but never got the sound I wanted out of them. Not the NOS, different colored ones or Celestion or Jenson equipped Blues Jr's. Changing the tone stack will give you some tonal variation, but it will bw boxy sounding tonal variation. YMMV Try an extension cab and you'll see what I mean.

_________________
Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:25 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:26 am
Posts: 18
Location: NYC
63supro wrote:
If you really want to hear what the Blues Jr sounds like, hook it up to an extension cabinet. Don't use the internal speaker. It's a whole different amp. :wink:

Billm made a nice little business for himself by exploiting the design flaws of the Blues Jr. Personally, I think a lot of players mod these things because they're told they need to to make it sound better. Fact is, if you like it it's good. I don't, so I won't own one. I've used them, but never got the sound I wanted out of them. Not the NOS, different colored ones or Celestion or Jenson equipped Blues Jr's. Changing the tone stack will give you some tonal variation, but it will bw boxy sounding tonal variation. YMMV Try an extension cab and you'll see what I mean.

No doubt. And a lot of us hear the amp with the mods beforehand and like them enough to make the changes.

I've read some of your posts and you seem to know your stuff. Not much point in getting into it any further. We just disagree on the effectiveness of the mods.

I definitely agree with you on the extension cab. Sounds great. I replaced the metal feet on my BJ with 3/4" rubberized feet so it can sit over any cab with a raised handle, now.

_________________
Who gave Popeye that name, anyway...?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:39 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:07 pm
Posts: 427
Loud is subjective but I haven't had an issue keeping up with bigger amps or drums when playing in a band. In fact that is where the amp hits its sweet spot. I can't get it to sound as good at bedroom levels. Its always up off the floor on an amp stand however. It also has the bill mods and a Swamp Thang speaker.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:41 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:26 am
Posts: 18
Location: NYC
eddie_bowers wrote:
Loud is subjective but I haven't had an issue keeping up with bigger amps or drums when playing in a band. In fact that is where the amp hits its sweet spot. I can't get it to sound as good at bedroom levels. Its always up off the floor on an amp stand however. It also has the bill mods and a Swamp Thang speaker.

I think it comes down to the sounds you're looking for. At 15w, I love a cranked BJ if you're aiming for the break up sound. My main reason for converting to 30w was that I could put it at that same volume and still keep the cleans somewhat intact, so long as the amp's set for that sound.

Swamp Thang gets great reviews for the BJ. Bet you love it. What style(s) are you playing?

Mike Landau did a tour with James Taylor, using a Fender DeVille and a Blues Junior. I know he's got a lot of other amps...but that's a pretty cool endorsement. He's a great player.

_________________
Who gave Popeye that name, anyway...?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:09 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
Even better than doing all the BillM mods and prolly cheaper in the long run as well is to simply bypass the problem altogether by ditching the stock cabinet and replacing it with one of Carl's cabinets. I wish I had known about these when I was fighting with my BJ.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 8:34 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:26 am
Posts: 18
Location: NYC
BMW-KTM wrote:
Even better than doing all the BillM mods and prolly cheaper in the long run as well is to simply bypass the problem altogether by ditching the stock cabinet and replacing it with one of Carl's cabinets. I wish I had known about these when I was fighting with my BJ.

That looks awesome. Any idea what the weight would come out to, once the amp was installed?

_________________
Who gave Popeye that name, anyway...?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 10:27 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:50 pm
Posts: 7998
Location: ʎɹʇunoɔ ǝsoɹ pןıʍ
gitapik wrote:
Any idea what the weight would come out to, once the amp was installed?

I dunno. Heavier?

Forum member Minnesotastrats bought one of these. Maybe ask him if he ever weighed it after the install.

_________________
Image
Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:17 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:26 am
Posts: 18
Location: NYC
The light weight is one of the things that got me into the BJ in the first place. That's why I'm so happy with the mods. Big sound/small package.

_________________
Who gave Popeye that name, anyway...?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 6:00 pm
Offline
Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 1:58 pm
Posts: 467
Location: The dark side
I think the BJ would be a good amp for what you're wanting to do. When I first got my Blues Jr. I too thought it was a little boxy sounding and didn't use it too much. After messing with it a while I realized that the problem with it was the speaker-cabnet mismatch. I don't believe the cabinet dimensions are the best. I now use mine with a 112 closed back extension cabinet and it's a great sounding little amp.. I just wish Fender made it in a head only configuration. Any way I don't think you'll be sorry you chose the Blues Jr.. :)

_________________
OK, I'll hum a little bit, got it now?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:50 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2011 8:25 am
Posts: 46
I see these questions quite often and am always baffled by, "Is it too loud for home/bedroom use?"

In my 50 plus years of playing I've never had a amp without a volume control. Can't say that I've ever even seen one. :?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 10:38 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:26 am
Posts: 18
Location: NYC
howardo wrote:
I see these questions quite often and am always baffled by, "Is it too loud for home/bedroom use?"

In my 50 plus years of playing I've never had a amp without a volume control. Can't say that I've ever even seen one. :?

LOL :lol:

Good point.

I think that the main question has to do with whether the amp, at a low volume, can get that same "sweet spot" that often comes at a higher volume.

I've found that this is very easy with clean tones. At very low volumes you use a compressor/sustainer for the leads. The difficulty comes with the overdrive, breakup, and distortion. With the two volume controls, you have an easier time of doing this. Dual channel amps and power scaling too. Or get a pedal. There are some great ones out there.

I really like the BJ for lower volume stuff. It offers a lot of tones. If I want the dirt, I dial the Volume all the way up and put the Master very low. I'd love it louder (always), but 2:00 in the morning at home doesn't call for that. Great platform for pedals, too.

_________________
Who gave Popeye that name, anyway...?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 5:20 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:28 pm
Posts: 53
Location: Cow Pens Island, NJ (USA)
eddie_bowers wrote:
Loud is subjective but I haven't had an issue keeping up with bigger amps or drums when playing in a band. In fact that is where the amp hits its sweet spot. I can't get it to sound as good at bedroom levels. Its always up off the floor on an amp stand however. It also has the bill mods and a Swamp Thang speaker.


When your little 15 watt Blues Jr. is competing with a 100 watt Marshall on a 4 X 12 cabinet, a Twin Reverb, and the Bass player's 100 watt Hartke...(not to mention the drums).....I can't hear it when I'm standing in front of it.....just saying.....

_________________
Image
American Standard Strat
American Standard Tele
Custom Vibrolux Reverb
Fulltone RTO
Boss TU-3


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Advice needed on the Blues Junior for home use..
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2012 7:24 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:26 am
Posts: 18
Location: NYC
BMW-KTM wrote:
gitapik wrote:
Any idea what the weight would come out to, once the amp was installed?

I dunno. Heavier?

Forum member Minnesotastrats bought one of these. Maybe ask him if he ever weighed it after the install.

I just got an email back from Carl. It's 25lbs, including amp/speaker/tubes/reverb. Lighter than the BJ.

Very tempting...but at this point I'm getting used to and really enjoying my amp exactly as is. I might change my mind down the road...but as TonyMig mentioned, the BJ won't keep up with the big boys in a really loud venue. Even at 30 watts. Unless it's mic'd. That's one reason I've kept my Boogie. But I don't want to be turning up like that in some situations, anyway. I like to balance the sound according to the room and the type of music being played. A smaller amp can sound a lot better than the larger ones in different situations. And vice versa.

Individual tastes, of course, but for me, the Blues Jr is a great amp. Really diggin' it.

_________________
Who gave Popeye that name, anyway...?


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 29 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Go to page Previous  1, 2

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: