bobmeyrick Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Well done - I have a Blues Jr. which I've used for small gigs. It takes pedals well. I did a couple of the BillM mods myself (tone stack and changing the bias resistor). The stock speaker is made by Eminence. I had the reverb in mine die, but it was a relatively simple matter to put in a new tank. A great little amp.
smurph1 Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Some of you may have seen my post earlier today asking for suggestions for an amp. Well, I went to Guitar Denter tonight. First, I tried out a brand new Blues Jr III - it was just too, too, trebly, sizzly. Yuk. Then I played around with the Egnator Tweaker -- much better, I was starting to learn that I like that American sound - got some nice Fender tones - that was the 15 watt. Tried this same amp in a 1X12 40 watt version -- much better, it has more of the volume I needed plus it as two channels, and light. But I wasn't in love yet, so I tried the Mesa TA 15 Lunchbox. This could get a wide range from sizzly to warmer tones, kind of similar to the Egnator, but not exactly. They had no Peavey tube amps to try. I was just about ready to leave when I tried out the Fender Princeton - it had a really good tone, just not loud enough. Right next to it was an old Blues Jr. Bingo! Real nice warm, fat tone -- just a perfect clean tone. Was fairly loud for only a 15 watt amp. Nice 'n' light. I don't know what year it was, it was used, only $200. The salesman guestimated it was a 1990s amp. The serial number is B-849051. Does anybody know a website where I can look this up? The reverb is broken, but I can always get that fixed. The jury is out on whether or not this will actually be loud enough, but if it turns out that if it's not, then I'll get a KBP810. Heck, I've paid more than this for some of the stomps that I have! I cranked it up and it has a wonderful crunch to it. I'll bet it'll love my pedals! I don't think it has any BillM mods to it, but I love the tone, just as it is. If I ever mod it, maybe I'd just put a standby switch in it. I'm surprised at the huge difference between this old Blues Jr compared to the new ones. I was told the new ones are made in Mexico, and mine was made in the U.S. I looked at the tubes, they all say 'Fender' on them, and the speaker said 'Fender' on it too, but I have no clue what kind of speaker it is. Maybe looking up the serial # will tell me. I pick it up next Thursday, then I'll take it to band practice and see how it does. Oh Happy Day! : ) Congratulations Katy!! and remember you can always mic it to get more volume out front!!
DetroitBlues Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Congratulations Katy!! and remember you can always mic it to get more volume out front!! Wish more people would heed that advice.
barrymclark Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Wish more people would heed that advice. I learned that one as I started getting older and my body started protesting the 100+ lbs bass cabinets.
smurph1 Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Wish more people would heed that advice. My old ears just can't handle high stage volume anymore..It makes me cranky..(Like I need an excuse..LOL)
koula901 Posted January 7, 2012 Author Posted January 7, 2012 @fxdx99 -- you know - I read your post at work and You Tube vids don't show up on the computer. So when you mentioned Moses, I thought you were saying that Blues Jr's are as old as Moses !!! Now I see the vid, and I assume he's playing through a Blues Jr. Great tone!
Hfan Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 Hfan, thanks for the info - I'll be sure to check out the web site. I think your ears and mine may have similar taste, as I really loved the tone of your KBP810 at PSP last summer. What kind of speaker does that have? I believe the speaker in my BJr is the stock speaker - it says 'Fender' on it -- may be the "Fender Special" speaker BillM speaks of. I won't have it home till next Thursday. But I'd like to get it to a tech to give it a good going over, it's awfully dusty, check out the tubes, find the serial number, figure out the speaker, and fix the reverb. @barrymclark: sadly, I haven't yet learned how to work my Zoom H4N recorder - there just aren't enough hrs in a day, and the manual is lacking - even my engineer friend couldn't quite figure out how to work it; I haven't had the time to spend hrs fiddling with it. If I do, I'll start posting clips, but please don't hold your breath . @Schundog: interesting stuff about Leo!! He did produce the brightest sounding guitars around. The amazing thing about me finding this amp was, that I really didn't know what I was looking for until I heard it. When I did, it was an 'ah ha' experience. Katy, My reverb deluxe has an electro voice speaker in it I believe. Regarding the reverb tank if you don't fix yours, a lot of Blues Jr owners like to swap out the stock tank for one made by Ruby. Easy swap and sounds better from what I've read, only about $30.
pushover Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 Katy, looks like you did good to me A great amp for the $$. How are your enjoying it? Have you played your fingers bloody yet playing around with different tones? Are your def yet.. PARDON ME.. AHEM.. ARE YOU DEF YET FROM CRANKING IT TO GET THAT GREAT TUBILICIOUS SOUND?
koula901 Posted January 7, 2012 Author Posted January 7, 2012 Anthony does a lot of great demo's. First it was the stock standard versus NOS, then he did the full Bill M thing... Hey Detroit - thank you so much for this link. I watched all the videos and FINALLY I understand the difference between a pre amp and power tube, and why it's good to use and effects loop, and what pre-amp gain stages are all about. Feel like a gap in my understanding has finally been filled in. And he said it exactly as I experienced it - before BillM mods, the best tone to be gotten out of that amp is to push all the pots up. The BillM mods improve on that.
koula901 Posted January 7, 2012 Author Posted January 7, 2012 Katy, My reverb deluxe has an electro voice speaker in it I believe. Regarding the reverb tank if you don't fix yours, a lot of Blues Jr owners like to swap out the stock tank for one made by Ruby. Easy swap and sounds better from what I've read, only about $30. Yup, I may have one on the way soon. Thanks for the tip.
koula901 Posted January 7, 2012 Author Posted January 7, 2012 Katy, looks like you did good to me A great amp for the $$. How are your enjoying it? Have you played your fingers bloody yet playing around with different tones? Are your def yet.. PARDON ME.. AHEM.. ARE YOU DEF YET FROM CRANKING IT TO GET THAT GREAT TUBILICIOUS SOUND? : ) Ha ha! Not def because I was cranking it at Guitar Denter last night, but I'm sure if it was home I would be def! I won't have the amp home till next Thursday -- it has to pass that time period, that GC has to make sure the amp wasn't stolen. I found a good amp tech today, and will make an appt to take it in and give it some TLC, probably a reverb tank, and maybe some BillM mods as I come to understand what they do.
DetroitBlues Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 Hey Detroit - thank you so much for this link. I watched all the videos and FINALLY I understand the difference between a pre amp and power tube, and why it's good to use and effects loop, and what pre-amp gain stages are all about. Feel like a gap in my understanding has finally been filled in. And he said it exactly as I experienced it - before BillM mods, the best tone to be gotten out of that amp is to push all the pots up. The BillM mods improve on that. Anthony is a great teacher for aspiring blues players... He helped me on my way three years ago... All I knew how to do was play the minor pentatonic scale. I didn't know any licks or chord progressions, techiques, anything... You can ask KBP how I was at first compared to now. I put all of it on Anthony's lessons...
bolero Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 woah, that old dude kicks ass!!! what model of Gibson is that? looks similar to the Johnny A but is obviously older....interesting it's the first Gibby I've seen with a pickguard design similar to Heritage, with the point
Trouble Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 I read an interesting thing in my new book "The Stratocaster Chronicles" last night. This is a quote from Brent's favorite guy (haha) Sterling Ball. "The first surprise was that Leo was hard of hearing. He really had a hard time hearing the high frequencies. When it sounded like butter to Leo, it wsa over-the-top harsh for the rest of us. Back then it was a hard fought battle to get Leo to agree to softening the high end. I think that in a funny way Loe 's hearing difficulties really shaped the way the world hears the guitar." While Leo obviously didn't have anything to do with the development of the Blues Junior, this quote, if taken as fact, shows that Leo's name in musical history would be cemented even if he never built a single guitar. All this from a shy, unasumming, pocket protector-wearing genius tinkerer. Kind of sounds like some other guys I know up North.... He didn't play guitar either, just a really practical thinking guy that saw ways to improve guitar manufacturing. I remember watching a Les Paul interview and Les said He and Leo were friends and that originally Leo was going to build a guitar for him, but for some reason there was a hold up and in the meantime Gibson approached him. Under different circumstances the Les Paul could have been an entirely different guitar.
fxdx99 Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 @fxdx99 -- you know - I read your post at work and You Tube vids don't show up on the computer. So when you mentioned Moses, I thought you were saying that Blues Jr's are as old as Moses !!! Now I see the vid, and I assume he's playing through a Blues Jr. Great tone! woah, that old dude kicks ass!!! what model of Gibson is that? looks similar to the Johnny A but is obviously older....interesting it's the first Gibby I've seen with a pickguard design similar to Heritage, with the point Yeh, Moses plays some mean guitar with a great band. Blues Jr (I think... he also uses a DR) and that's a 60s Barney Kessell guitar with a sold top. Tonemeister!
Blunote Posted January 9, 2012 Posted January 9, 2012 I posted this on your other thread Katie, but at least do the twinstack mod and have the tech install a bias pot. They're very inexpensive mods to do and the twinstack mod really opens up the tone on these amps. The do take pedals well. Thats a great price. I sold mine a few weeks ago for $300 locally. I think you did well.
barrymclark Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 LOL - well what took ya so dang long! You don't waste any time - set your sites and GO. Nice post. Congrats on your new amp! Suspect you'll find 15W thru a 12" plenty loud, allowing you to get the power tubes in their sweet spot. Those li'l amps can really sing... Testify! (Moses has a 535, too, but couldn't find a vid of him with it...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF1yrRduQQs I just now got around to watching this. Been meaning to for a bit. Very nice! I love the way he voices his leads. Lulls you in this way... and then turns into something else. Very nice indeed!
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