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Post subject: Blues Jr is very quiet, even at maximum volume.
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:13 pm
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I have an old green board Blues Jr amp that I got in 1995. It's been in my basement collecting dust for some years as it hasn't been my primary amp in a very long time. Most of my gear lives at my studio across town these days, so I recently dug the Blues Jr out of the basement thinking it would be a good practice amp for home. It had the old familiar hum when it warmed up, but no sound came through it. I figured old plastic jack was shot, so I opened the whole thing up and replaced the jack. Sound comes out now, but it's insanely quiet. I turned it up all the way and it is omitting sound, but it's still barely audible. The middle preamp tube is also very dim. Could it just be a dead/dying tube issue?


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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr is very quiet, even at maximum volume.
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:19 pm
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Hi berniemeyers,

The glow from the tube doesn't necessarily mean anything, some glow brighter than others. You could still have a tube issue, but I would double check your work on the jack first, three wires in their proper places on a shorting jack. Tubes don't go bad from sitting unused.

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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr is very quiet, even at maximum volume.
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:01 pm
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On the green board Blues Jr.s, the jack solders directly into the board, no wires. The solders look pretty good... What else would cause an amp to be quiet at full volume?


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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr is very quiet, even at maximum volume.
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:19 pm
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Bad volume control.

Bad master volume.

Bad tube(s).

Bad power supply.

Bad speaker.

Bad anything I forgot.

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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr is very quiet, even at maximum volume.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 4:26 pm
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berniemeyers wrote:
I have an old green board Blues Jr amp that I got in 1995. It's been in my basement collecting dust for some years as it hasn't been my primary amp in a very long time. Most of my gear lives at my studio across town these days, so I recently dug the Blues Jr out of the basement thinking it would be a good practice amp for home. It had the old familiar hum when it warmed up, but no sound came through it. I figured old plastic jack was shot, so I opened the whole thing up and replaced the jack. Sound comes out now, but it's insanely quiet. I turned it up all the way and it is omitting sound, but it's still barely audible. The middle preamp tube is also very dim. Could it just be a dead/dying tube issue?

Don't tell my wife about this or she will make me buy your quieter Blues Junior...LOL.

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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr is very quiet, even at maximum volume.
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:52 pm
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I wonder if you have a bad connection somewhere, like anywhere two dissimilar metals sit together in a basement for twenty years you have a chance of corrosion. First thing I would do is pull the preamp tubes and put them back in. Deoxit if you have some. I'd also check the speaker tabs.


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Post subject: Re: Blues Jr is very quiet, even at maximum volume.
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:10 pm
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Wayne2 wrote:
I wonder if you have a bad connection somewhere, like anywhere two dissimilar metals sit together in a basement for twenty years you have a chance of corrosion. First thing I would do is pull the preamp tubes and put them back in. Deoxit if you have some. I'd also check the speaker tabs.


I was also thinking tubes myself,but if that amp has sat for a long time in a damp basement,I would also suspect corrosion as being the first culprit,and then possibly,...POSSIBLY,...bad tubes. As Wayne2 has said,I would pull those tubes out,deoxit the tube pins AND,..may I add,..the sockets as well. Do that with the amp UNPLUGGED of course. I would then check the input jack,and it already appears you have. Being a ham radio operator,I have some knowledge of electronics,...but NOT a lot,...I'm no expert by any means,...but I would try the simple stuff like cleaning contact pins on tubes,tube sockets if you can get to them,and control knobs. (Come to think of it,I should do the same with my antenna tuner,...open it up and clean the contacts on the antenna selector switch and the inductor switch. I've been fighting a high SWR problem from time to time and I'm checking my tuner first and see if dust and dirt are fouling the contacts).

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