Fender introduced the blues junior in 1995, and has revised and updated it periodically since then. Fender blues junior modifications fromel electronics. Selling a great little fender blues jr amp modded with an emenance patriot cannabis rex speaker. Blues junior history can be divided into two major categories. I must say the experiment was a smashing success,you wouldnt think that it was the same amp. This power tubes tend to wear out a bit quicker when pushed hard. Has the original fender speaker in it and 15 watts is more than enough for me. The speaker swap crex and mods tightened the low end and gave richer tone. Fender blues junior lacquered tweed 15w 1x12 combo guitar. I had been through a long search for an amp that could give me classic fender tone at a reasonable volume and weight. The blues junior is a 15watt warmtoned, longtime favorite the perfect grabandgo tube amp for stage and studio. Fender special design stock speaker this is the stock speaker in all black and blonde tolex blues juniors and old green board tweeds. Fender blues junior lacquered tweed 15w 1x12 combo. 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.
Add renowned fender reverb, flexible controls, and footswitchable with optional. Like a 23year aged whiskey, the venerable fender blues junior has only improved with age. Fender frequently releases limited editions of the blues junior. The blues jr just isnt designed to rattle around in the back of a van for weeks at a time, getting plugged into unreliable power sources at sketchy venues, etc. Its power is generated by an alltube signal path using a pair of el84 groove tube output tubes and 3 12ax7 preamp tubes. 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. Add our renowned fender reverb, flexible controls, and. Free lesson friday over 200 free blues guitar lessons. Courses premium blues guitar courses for players of every skill level.
In the oldest blues jrs made before 1996 the tone is dark, the tone. The blues junior iv features the classic fender look of sparkling silver grille cloth, lightly aged to give it even more mojo. Problem with fender blues jr amp by wheelisb tue may 21, 20 1. Its golden tones are generated by an alltube signal path using a pair of el84 output tubes and 3 12ax7 preamp tubes.
Compact size, professional tone, and traditional styling make the fender blues junior ideal for rehearsal, backstage warmup, and studio work. The blues junior is a tube guitar amplifier introduced in 1990 by the fender musical instrument corporation. 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. Yesterday in a post by beaubs i said id try my blues jr.
I also do some before and after sound tests so you can see the difference. Plugging in, the clean tone was exactly what i was looking for. Fat switch the included 1button footswitch is used to remotely activate the fat switch, boosting the midrange for pronounced tonal thickness when soloing. It sounds great right out of the box, and there are also many popular and fairly easy and some not so. Its just oiled so fixing little dingsscratches is very easy to do. Some of fenders amps need to be tossed in the trash or off a roof of some sort. But im an eternal fiddler, and never leave well enough alone. If nothing is plugged in, there is no noise, but plug in a cable, with or without a guitar on the other end, and the noise is significant when the volume or master are set at 3 or 4 or more. Fender blues junior buzz noise not tubes i have significant noise buzzing that changes with volume or master control, on my new used blues junior. Fender hot rod 02205700 blues junior iii 15w ltd tube guitar.
It doesnt really sound like a tweed or blackface fender, but it has its own cool sound. Tubes free delivery possible on eligible purchases. The speaker is made by eminence and its roughly equivalent to the legend 1251258. Lacquered tweed takes fenders 15 watt gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen. Fender groove tubes your new blues junior iii amplifier. This kit is for every version of the blues junior, tweed, black, brown, made in usa and made in mexico. Fender blues junior iv fsr 1x12 15watt tube combo amp. 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. Shop for the fender blues junior lacquered tweed 15w 1x12 combo and receive free shipping on your order and the guaranteed lowest price. Even better try to find a fender deluxe ri or vox ac30 used on craigslist. Figure 1 is an annotated schematic of the fender blues junior. Fender hot rod 02205700 blues junior iii 15w ltd tube guitar combo amplifier, tweed. The sound of this amp rivals that of a the fender princeton model. Lacquered tweed takes fenders 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen speaker.
The fender blues jr delivers unmistakable fender tone and is the perfect platform for musicians to craft their own signature sound. Fender blues jr vs pro jr fender stratocaster guitar forum. All have the same electronic components and specifications but have cosmetic changes and often a different speaker, at varying prices. Fender blues junior buzz noise not tubes gearslutz. I thought the blues jr sounded like a practice amp. Genuine fender vintage style single button foot switch for blues jr. Fender flavor ramon 10 3 4 8 11 out 5 minor blues 2 ramon 2 12 1 3 8 in 5.
Vacuum tube guitar amplifiers produce incredible tones and creamy overdrive that have yet to be fully matched by solid state electronics. With all the new threads about the fender blues jr. Fender blues junior iv 15 watt electric guitar amplifier. I miss the great tone but dont miss lugging it around. I was using a peavey delta blues as my primary gigging amp. 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. Ltd takes fender s 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen speaker. The fender blues junior is a truly professional, small, tube amplifier. Fender blues junior lacquered tweed with jensen c12n. This amp has a rich tone and worthy to be called fender. Oct 09, 2015 steve stine guitar lesson learn to solo in 5 minutes 6 note soloing technique duration. The blues junior iii is a 15watt warmtoned, longtime favorite the perfect grabandgo tube amp for stage and studio. 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. Blues junior settings with ascending volume values description posted by rever b maste r middl e bas s trebl e fa t vol.
For features, the amp has 3 12ax7 preamp tubes, and 2 el84 grove tubes for the output. Guitar amplifier making a good amp great darby hewitt final project phys 498pom 5122011. This speaker has been used in hundreds of thousands of. On first impressions at least, the fender blues junior iii is perfect. I had been through a long search for an amp that could give me classic fender tone at. Again it is cheaper to produce a power transformer for solidstate rectification and not have. Hot rod amps deliver unmistakable fender tone and are the perfect platform for musicians to craft their own signature sound. 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 15watt warmtoned, longtime favorite the perfect grabandgo tube amp for stage and. The blues junior tube complement consists of three.
Unfollow fender blues junior to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Fender hot rod series amplifiers can be found on every stage in the world, large and small, and are used by guitarists from all walks of life. The blues junior is light, keeps things simple and has fantastic clean tones controls. Blues junior lacquered tweed guitar amplifiers fender. Even some blackstar models are better than the blues jr. Its golden tones are generated by an alltube signal path using a pair of el84 output tubes and three 12ax7 preamp tubes. Gear index a listing of every piece of gear used in. The blues junior has a solid state rectifier which is generally brighter with a tighter bottom end. Its not even close to being broken in yet, and still im loving the tones im getting from it straight, no pedals 95 mexitele with a bucker in the neck position.
The basic construction of the blues junior is very different from vintage fender amps. The creamcolored board is laid out entirely differently and better than the green board. This mod fixes that to produce that lush classic reverb tone that made fender amps famous. Blues jr preamp squeal just thinking aloud with my limited set of troubleshooting skills.
In the oldest blues jr s made before 1996 the tone is dark, the tone. A common misconception about the blues junior is that the blues junior basically a tweed type amp. Nos takes fender s 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with tweed covering and a vintagestyle 12 jensen speaker. Us manufacture stopped in 2001, before fender started using the italian jensen speakers in the tweed models. Three band eq, with preamp, and master volume knobs. Highlighted parts have been modified in some way for this project. While it is dressed that way it is nothing like a tweed.
The pro jr had a good clean sound and when i turned it up i loved the overdrive. The reason for the floppy controls is the knobs, not the pots. A true classic, with that latenight blues tone found nowhere else but in a fender. Note s texas blues ramon 4 2 5 10 11 in 3 blues 2 doug 4 5 5 7 6 in 3 roadhouse clean jesper hansen 4 7 5 7 10 out 3 am. Nos takes fenders 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with tweed covering and a vintagestyle 12 jensen speaker. This warmtoned favorite takes our 15watt, tube preamp and power amp platform and pushes it through a 12 fender special design speaker. In this video i upgrade the tubes in my blues junior to tube amp doctor. Add renowned fender reverb, flexible controls, fat switch. Older blues jr s 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. Ltd takes fenders 15w gem and gives it the true vintage treatment with a lacquered tweed covering and a vintagevoiced 12 jensen speaker. The electronics and chassis are identical in all blues juniors made since 2001. Vintage makeover to a longtime favorite the blues jr.
The reverb on older blues jrs sounds horrible, this mod changes the reverb to the design of the newer blues jrs. Fender blues junior vs bassbreaker 15 whos the daddy. Some of fender s amps need to be tossed in the trash or off a roof of some sort. Get rid of that probably already broken plastic input jack and replace it with a real switchcraft shunting jack. I thought i would drag out the pics of my modified blues jr. One end of the wiper moves between dc ground towards zero volume and ac ground groundeddecoupled acwise by the local filter cap. 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. V2 reamplifies or recovers the signal lost in the tone stack. Steve stine guitar lesson learn to solo in 5 minutes 6 note soloing technique duration. Only half of v2 is used unless you have the cathode follower mod. Modifying a fender blues jr university of illinois. 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. Blues junior revision history fender introduced the blues junior in 1995, and has revised and updated it periodically since then. 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.
I had the nos version stock and also did most of the billm mods, and swapped the speaker. Not a bad amp for what it is, although after peeking inside i was a little shocked at some of the electronic layou. Your blues junior has five tubes, v1 through v5, numbered right to left as you look at the back of the amp. Why a fender blues junior does not sound like a vintage. The reverb on older blues jr s sounds horrible, this mod changes the reverb to the design of the newer blues jr s. Description posted by rever b maste r middl e bas s trebl e fa t.