Older blues jrs that are made in the usa are all getting due to have their filter caps replaced and many of the current blues juniors made in mexico are known to have leaky filter caps. Blues junior revision history fender introduced the blues junior in 1995, and has revised and updated it periodically since then. May 22, 2016 the fender blues junior iiis feature set is perfect for my needs, theres not a single component i wouldnt use, whilst on the other hand it provides a couple of features i know i could find a use for further down the road i. This limitededition version of the 15watt wonder is encased in a cabinet lovingly handcrafted from reclaimed bourbon barrels that feature distinct stamps and markings from the various source distilleriesno two are alike. Fender literally wrote the book on electric basses, laying the foundation for musical innovation and evolution. Modifying a fender blues jr university of illinois. Its golden tones are generated by an alltube signal path using a pair of el84 output tubes and 3 12ax7 preamp tubes. The reason for the floppy controls is the knobs, not the pots. In the oldest blues jrs made before 1996 the tone is dark, the tone.
I must say the experiment was a smashing success,you wouldnt think that it was the same amp. Fender blues junior modifications fromel electronics. Im not a tube expert but have several amps just flip it on and go most amps come with a standby which warms the tubes before it hits them with the juice thats one reason blues jr s run through tubes faster. Compact size, professional tone, and traditional styling make the fender blues junior ideal for rehearsal, backstage warmup, and studio work. Blues junior history can be divided into two major categories.
Both of my friend who own fender amps immediately went and bought the v30s for themselves. It sounds great right out of the box, and there are also many popular and fairly easy and some not so easy modifications to improve the tone even more. Nos, all i need to do is crank the volume up to around 78 and the master at around 3. Fender blues jr amp, cannabis rex speaker fromel complete mod oakville halton region 18042020 used excellent black tolex fender blues junior tube amp, made in mexico. You should get a pair of blues juniors and do a small dual amp rig, it would look cool and then youd have a back up should one take a crap on you at a gig. If youre looking for a lowwatt tube amp with killer tone, you need to check out the fender blues junior iii fsr combo guitar amplifier. It is light weight and easy to transport making it a great amp for practice at home. Fender blues junior iii 15w 1x12 tube guitar combo amp. Fender introduced the blues junior in 1995, and has revised and updated it periodically since then. The blues junior is widely known for running the tubes hot. The blues junior iii is a 15watt warmtoned, longtime favorite the perfect grabandgo tube amp for stage and studio. On first impressions at least, the fender blues junior iii is perfect.
This page is courtesy billm audio customer ben crouse, who installed tiltback legs on his blues junior and took pictures and measurements. Nos takes fenders 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with tweed covering and a vintagestyle 12 jensen speaker. The fender blues junior is a 15 watt el84 driven gem of an amp. A true classic, with that latenight blues tone found nowhere else but in a fender. The reverb on older blues jr s sounds horrible, this mod changes the reverb to the design of the newer blues jr s. This amp is brand new and never left the store, it does however have a few small blemishes, that is why the listing condition is labeled very good and not brand new. Nos, all i need to do is crank the volume up to around 78 and the master at around 3 and right there is some pretty decent breakup. This warmtoned favorite takes our 15watt, tube preamp and power amp platform and pushes it through a 12 fender special design speaker. Yesterday in a post by beaubs i said id try my blues jr. But im an eternal fiddler, and never leave well enough alone. Its golden tones are generated by an alltube signal path using a pair of el84 output tubes and three 12ax7 preamp tubes. The blues junior is light, keeps things simple and has fantastic clean tones controls.
The creamcolored board is laid out entirely differently and better than the green board. I had been through a long search for an amp that could give me classic fender tone at. Fender special design stock speaker this is the stock speaker in all black and blonde tolex blues juniors and old green board tweeds. Highlighted parts have been modified in some way for this project. I really, really like the tone, its like the best that i like and the best thats available in my country for my money. What about the blues junior is so different from the vintage 50s and 60s fender designs that are so coveted and that so many of my amps are inspired by. The blues junior has a solid state rectifier which is generally brighter with a tighter bottom end. Since its introduction in 1995, fenders blues junior has become one of the worlds most popular amps, but along the way its also become one of the most modded, with reams of forums discussing ways to improve the. This speaker has been used in hundreds of thousands of fender amps, including the deluxe reverb, hot rod deluxe, twin reverb, blues deluxe, and many others. Jun 02, 2012 my fender blues junior is from 2003 i think mim cream board so i use pages 2 and 3 of this document. The blues junior is a tube guitar amplifier introduced in 1990 by the fender musical instrument corporation. It sounds great right out of the box, and there are also many popular and fairly easy and some not so. Great build quality with a wide choice of speakers and cabinet finishcolours. Us manufacture stopped in 2001, before fender started using the italian jensen speakers in the tweed models.
Fender blues junior iv 15 watt electric guitar amplifier. Unfollow fender blues junior to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. When i practice with a backing track, i would like it played through the. The problem is that the concentrated heat from the el84s goes straight up into the sockets and you get all that expansion and contraction. Fender blues junior amplifier and pedals demo youtube. Blues junior lacquered tweed guitar amplifiers fender. My fender blues junior is from 2003 i think mim cream board so i use pages 2 and 3 of this document. Blues junior, fixed bias, tube replacement discussion in amp.
The blues junior iv features the classic fender look of sparkling silver grille cloth, lightly aged to give it even more mojo. Jun 22, 2011 this page is courtesy billm audio customer ben crouse, who installed tiltback legs on his blues junior and took pictures and measurements. So far i have had some help from the guys at fender although have not nailed the problem yet. If your blues jr was made before 2001 the reverb sounds pretty bad. Hi, i am new to the world of electric guitar having played acoustic solely for the last 10 years or so. Me and my guitar interview with joe bonamassa bernie marsdens 59 gibson les paul the beast duration. Courses premium blues guitar courses for players of every skill level.
I have a hot rod, and some would say thats pretty useless at home, but i disagree. That pedal show get more from your fender blues jr, loud. Ltd takes fenders 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen speaker. Nos takes fender s 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with tweed covering and a vintagestyle 12 jensen speaker. Plugging in, the clean tone was exactly what i was looking for. This speaker has been used in hundreds of thousands of. Fender blues junior fender blues jr combo v2, v3 and v4 now made in mexico, this is a very popular 15w fender combo amp and i have modified hundreds of them. Gear index a listing of every piece of gear used in.
Lacquered tweed takes fenders 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen speaker. Blues juniors and pro juniors have been cracking their solder joints since the mid1990s, when they were still made with lead solder. Fender special run blues junior amp the fender blues jr. When i say immediately, i mean left my house and went to the music store. I am not a big fan of this amp and would like to replace it with a fender blues jr. Fat switch the included 1button footswitch is used to remotely activate the fat switch, boosting the midrange for pronounced tonal thickness when soloing. The blues junior also has great bass response for an amp of its site. Fender 2020 limited edition blues junior iv eminence cannabis rex twotone purpleseafoam tube guitar amplifier combo.
Its just cheap of fender to leave the pot out on the blues jr. Add renowned fender reverb, flexible controls, and footswitchable with optional. Free lesson friday over 200 free blues guitar lessons. It is quite subtle as having a flourescent light electronic ballast switched on or off which is about 4 feet above the amp on my bench can switch on and off the squeal. Lacquered tweed takes fender s 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen speaker. The reverb on older blues jrs sounds horrible, this mod changes the reverb to the design of the newer blues jrs. Add our renowned fender reverb, flexible controls, and. The blues junior is a good choice for someone trying to get their first tube amp but it not a professionals amp by any stretch. Fender 68 princeton reverb vs the vox ac10c1 amplifier. These nofrills amps are affordable, reliable and loud, and they pair extremely well with stomp boxes.
Ltd takes fender s 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen speaker. Its an all valve amp with the exception of the reverb which is opamp chip driven, using an. I changed r52 with a 100k variable resistor i think a 50k would have done the job, but i had a 100k in my spare box el84 max pa is 12w. Fender blues junior lacquered tweed 15w 1x12 combo. Fender blues junior lacquered tweed with jensen c12n. It doesnt have the deepest bass, and the highs can sound kind of fizzy, but its well balanced. Fender blues junior lacquered tweed 15w 1x12 combo guitar. I bought this blues junior in december 2007 and it immediately became one of my favorite amps. Hot rod amps deliver unmistakable fender tone and are the perfect platform for musicians to craft their own signature sound. I love the wide tube sound that this amp creates, and 15a is much louder than i will ever need at home. By far the most important change i made to date was to replace the stock cheapo fendereminence speaker with an aftermarket replacement in this case, a weber 12f125a what a huge difference. You can just start jammin ive never broken in any tubes before. By far the most important change i made to date was to replace the stock cheapo fender eminence speaker with an aftermarket replacement in this case, a weber 12f125a what a huge difference. This kit is for every version of the blues junior, tweed, black, brown, made in usa and made in mexico.
Get the guaranteed best price on tube combo guitar amplifiers like the fender blues junior iii 15w 1x12 tube guitar combo amp at musicians friend. I just picked up a fender blues junior for mainly practise in my apartment and taking to the occasional gig and wondered what pedals i need to be looking at getting. Problem with fender blues jr amp by wheelisb tue may 21, 20 1. In addition to the classic black tolex model, there have been several limited edition releases over the years as welloften equipped with different speakers or electronic mods to offer a unique spin on the original amp.
The speaker is made by eminence and its roughly equivalent to the legend 1251258. If youre used to the kind of distortion you might get out of a mesa boogie, marshall or even a solid state amp, dont expect the blues jr. Im not a tube expert but have several amps just flip it on and go most amps come with a standby which warms the tubes before it hits them with the juice thats one reason blues jrs run through tubes faster. This mod fixes that to produce that lush classic reverb tone that made fender amps famous. Add renowned fender reverb, flexible controls, fat switch. In the oldest blues jr s made before 1996 the tone is dark, the tone. It is aimed at achieving the warm, tubedriven tone common in many styles of american blues and blues rock dating back to the 1950s, while remaining both portable and affordable. Fender blues jr combo v2, v3 and v4 now made in mexico, this is a very popular 15w fender combo amp and i have modified hundreds of them. Tomorrow, ill see and if its good buy a good fender blues jr iii with a cannabis rex speaker. This is the foot switch for the fender blues jr iii amplifier. Fender frequently releases limited editions of the blues junior.
Figure 1 is an annotated schematic of the fender blues junior. Why a fender blues junior does not sound like a vintage. Since its introduction in 1995, fender s blues junior has become one of the worlds most popular amps, but along the way its also become one of the most modded, with reams of forums discussing ways to improve the compact combo. The electronics and chassis are identical in all blues juniors made since 2001. Fender blues junior iii 15watt 1x12 guitar combo 2010 2018. If useless means i cant get my 100% perfect dialedin justonthevergeofbreakup tone at apartment volumes, then yeah, its probably useless to you.
I recently purchased a fender blues junior amp and wanted to show how my pedals interacted with the amp. Fender blues junior lacquered tweed with jensen c12n long. When i went to look for information on how to install these on a bj i couldnt find anything out there. Has the original fender speaker in it and 15 watts is more than enough for me. Again it is cheaper to produce a power transformer for solidstate rectification and not have. Its power is generated by an alltube signal path using a pair of el84 groove tube output tubes and 3 12ax7 preamp tubes. The fender blues junior is a truly professional, small, tube amplifier. I finally bought some replacement preamp tubes for my blues jr. It turns the fat boost on and off so you dont have to reach back and do it manually.
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