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Since there're many debates about differences, supposed superiority of the Green PCBoard ( USA production) vs Creem one( Mexico), it would be nice if posters indicate which BJ version they currently use.
Special mention to the recently launched BJ3 which seems to be a very different animal.Last edited by mambosun; 02-24-2011 at 12:15 PM.
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02-24-2011 12:13 PM
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To me they kind of have a boxy sound all around. Like has been mentioned, they are desinged more for blues and rock players that want an amp that WILL distort at lower volume levels. For around the same price you can probably find an old 60's Ampeg Jet which would be a lot cleaner, and definitely satisfy your desire to keep thigs vintage. Check out ebay, and gbase.com and I'm sure you will find plenty of options.
Heck you can probably find a used Polytone on there for the same price as a Blues Jr, if you want to really be authentic Joe Pass... Now all you have to do is play like him
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Hello,
Originally Posted by Retroman1969
What sets the Blues Jr apart from other Fender amps, is that it's EL84 powered, as opposed to Fender's traditional habit of using 6L6's or 6V6's in the power amp section. I happen to love EL84 powered amps in general, but not everyone does.
Someone mentioned hempcone speakers-I noticed that Weber VST has started offering them! Cheers, Jeff
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Thank you guys very much for the info and input. This would strictly be for practicing at home, so for that, it sounds like it might work just fine. I'll take the guitar down this weekend and try it out to see how it sounds with it. I'll also give a look to used Polytones to see what pops up.
I'll spend the rest of my life trying to sound like Joe Pass without ever getting in the same zip code, but hey, it's a goal! LOL!
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If you like the sound, buy it. If it's for a good price, you can always sell it without a loss. I have a tweed Blues Jr and it's a great little amp. They are popular with modders, who like to turn them into rock and rollers. The only thing I've done to mine is to change out the reverb tank with a Ruby Reverb, which is a little smoother.
A friend was given (!) a Blues Jr while I was visiting him in St Louis, and we took it home where he plugged a Samick HJ650TS into and immediately got a sweet, Fendery/jazzy tone (then he gave me the Samick, but that's another story). And his was the standard black one with the Fender speaker, supposedly inferior to the Jensen.
If you play out at all, you'll love the tweed looks. I've taken mine to church where I played in the "Baptist Blues Band" with a Sheraton II, and was told by the bass player that it was one of the best tones he'd heard. If it's not loud enough, mic it up.
Here it is with my current (and, probably, permanent) squeeze, a 335:
Well, I can't stand it: I'm going to get it out and plug it in!
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Hi there,
I have the Blues JR. Emerald Green (cool color!) and I think it sounds pretty sweet with most of my guitars. I have a custom artcore with an Kent Armstrong floating pickup that sounds a bit harsh through the JR.
Recently I purchased the Fender Super Champ Xd. It is a bit smaller and has some amp models in it (not great but adds for variety). The clean channel with some reverb is in my opinion outstanding. If you are just at home practicing it is more than enough volume. I did use it for a trio and it was plenty loud and clear.
I am a hobbiest and occasionally gig with a singer/ 12 stringer (some jazz but mostly folk-rock sounds). I also play with a jazz quartet; 2 gtrs drums and upright bass. I haven't tried either amp in the quartet setting yet.
So far the Super Champ did it for me on the tone department. It also has a line out if you ever needed to go into a mixing board.
Enjoy your search and jazz journey!
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Ipdeluxe,
Did you make that PVC case stand in the background of your photo? I need to get me one of those!!
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Check out the Magic Six setting for Fender amps. Good place to start and then tweek as needed.
www.singlecoil.com/docs/magic-six.pdf
I tried it on my Super Champ XD and it really brought it to life. My dad (a longtime Fender amp man) tried it on one of his amps and was blown away.
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I think they are very bad. I owned one of the "good" ones, having the cream circuitboard & made in the USA. The sound was alright, but the construction was poor. I had problems w/it at every turn. The reverb tank, the input jack, the tube sockets... everything was falling apart & required repair.
Live, it was passable, but only sounded really good for about 15 minutes, max. Then it started to get farty & flabby. I replaced the tubes time & time again, w/newer "boutique" ones, & even NOS older sets. Always the same results.
The reverb circuit is all solid state, so it was always shrill & cold.
But hey, if YOU like it, then go for it!
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Got an old Mk1 non lacqered Tweed Green board Bjr.......... love it
no reliability problems I play clean Jazz through it and its
loud enough.
(The one that went farty after a half hour obviously had a fault)
Try out a Super Champ XD as well tho
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I have a Blues Jr. from about 1994 and it works fine. I recently re-tubed it with J&J's from Eurotubes and it sounds even better (I ordered the set for "maximum headroom"). It is a fixed bias amp too, so no need to deal with biasing. The only issue is 1.) the small reverb tank, and 2.) the noisy reverb tank. It doesn't bother me because I use outboard reverb gear (i.e. I don't use the on board reverb). It has an absolutely wonderful tone with any of my single coil guitars (Strats, and my Tele). It also works well with humbuckers. I would guess that you should probably follow the build schedule though and get a US made 90's model (as, back then, they only made like two different designs, and when I bought mine, that was the only design available...it still has the Fender stock speakers too).
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If you plumb for the FBJ then check this site out. He has mods like you won't beleive-transformers to reverb fixes!! Check out the video review from you tube on the start up page from the link......Nice.....
Billm Audio Billm Audio Blues Junior Mods
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The magic six settings for Fender amps is how I set my Vibroverb almost exactly.
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It really helps to hear everyone's real-world experiences with them, thanks!
I'll check the circuit board on this one when I go back to try it, and I'll definitely try those settings, thanks for the link, Stack!
I've read mostly glowing reviews but at least one where the reviewer also complained of loose sockets and crapping out after extended use, so I guess there can be clinkers like anything else. I'll check out that site jazzbow, thanks!
Great looking setup, Ipdeluxe!
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As promised, I set mine up and played through it. Great little amp: attractive, good sound with humbuckers, typical "anything-over-2-is-too-much" Fender reverb. I've never played a single-coil through it, but I'm tempted to borrow one to try out.
Tonight, however, I'm gigging on bass -- the main reason the Blues Jr doesn't get pulled out that much.
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I've not really used reverb much yet. When I have, I have kept it really low, like on 1-3 at most. As I gain experience I might be tempted to use it a little more.
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Retroman, check out the link, it explains quick fixes for farty valves and bad reverbs. It's an illuminating site!!
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Fully agree about what has been said about the built in reverb; in order to obtain a sweet jazz tone, I had to set it to zero, too glassy and shrilling for my taste.
I spent a bit of time in Billm audio web site, but I'm not sure if the end result of all these mods would help to get a better jazz tone, I would rather think the main goal is to convert the stock BJ in a better rock/ blues performer.
Not to mention some mods are quite pricey, other seems to be "snake oil"..Last edited by mambosun; 02-24-2011 at 07:33 PM.
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I had a Blues Jr. a while back. I stuck a passive tone control right inside the pan. Just a trim pot and a cap soldered right to the inside of the output jack. Worked great to tame the brittle 'verb
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There's some great stuff on that site, but I have to agree with Mambosun that many of those mods probably have the opposite effect of what I would want out of the amp. More suitable for hard overdriven blues like is demonstrated in the accompanying video. Certainly some useful information though!
Wow, Kawa! Thank you for all the video links! Those examples were pretty much the last straw in making up my mind. I think this amp will work for me. Now to try my guitar out on it to make certain, and see what version it is.
You all have been a great help, thank you! I'll let you know the results.
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I recently did a gig where I was borrowing my friends blues jr.
I haven't been totally sold on them in them in the past, but I liked the way it sounded on this gig.
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Whoa, sounds good there! Though I'm sure it has a lot to do with the player.
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Ok.. I have read the reviews (good and bad). Know about the BillM mods.
A lot of opinions are from Blues and Rock players. Any jazz players (aside from BillM himself) use one?
Thoughts? What style do you play and what guitar do you run through it?
I picked one up dirt cheap (250$). A 2008 but dead mint (still has the film over the name plate).
Just wondering what the jazz peoples think.
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When i moved into my office there was a blues jnr in it. I put it in the closet and it has stayed there ever since. IMO they are absolute trash. Sorry, but that's just the way I hear them as horrible amps that can sometimes sound half decent, but for me sometimes sounding half decent means it's useless.
I wouldn't play one if I was paid to... wait I am paid to, but I still won't play through it.
Some people play them and like them, most of those people in my experience are not professionals or they just have yet to play through a real legit amp OR they have spent twice what it cost to buy it upgrading it, to each their own but be warned, they break easily, they don't have the volume to deal with an aggressive rhythm section and if you're buying it because it's light and easy to move around, please refer to the 'it breaks easy' comment I just made.
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