Guest HRB853370 Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I even have documented proof that his state of GAS freeness is not genuine. Anyway...wife and kiddies gone, crazy puppy in the yard, got the amp to my "bench". Problem is still occuring steady state which is a good thing. With original stuff still installed, tested various test points on the schematic (love the new Fender Schematics with test points). All expected Voltages low and high appeared to be present. I have high (320vdc or so) voltage at P1, P2 and P3 which is the output xformers circuit board connections and low and variable ac voltages at the xformer's conections to the speaker which I assume is normal. No obvious crispy critters evident on the PCB. Even tested the guitar and cable again in a known good amp. Went to Brian's recommendation, swapped the power tubes, no help argghhh. Looked up how to test an output transformer..need a variac (aint got one) or one of those homemade light bulb socket variacs..got one of them, glazed over reading the test instructions. Figured screw it, will be easier to just swap in the original stock transformer. was about to start then thought what about the pre amp tubes? Swapped V1 (1st gain stage) and found it to be defective, problem gone. Reinstalled original V1, problem returned. Put original JJ power tubes back with the new V1, all seems ok, for how long, who knows? I have more questions then answers. Would running with no load affect a pre amp tube? I had assumed from what I had learned it would not, would have cost me some time swapping the transformers in and out and then reinstalling the heyboer, can anyone say keep it simple stupid?. V1's failure just a coincidence? I honestly find it surprising that the thing works at all after all the time it had no speaker connected. It's working and I'll take that for now with fingers crossed. You have no documented proof of anything GAS related Pete!!! The only thing you have documented proof of is you and I drinking Bell's Oberon at the Belles Cafe Thursday afternoon!!! And that was a great time!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I need a KPB Reverb Deluxe so I can sell my sorry reissue Fender! No kidding.. I just acquired another one myself... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted August 21, 2012 Author Share Posted August 21, 2012 You've got a real deal Fender amp and a KBP RD, but you're sweating over this sorry excuse of amp amp... I could only be so lucky... The Reverb Deluxe is amazing and I use it on a pretty regular basis, the Twin is amazing but loud for my family room noodles, and kind of big and bulky to break it out of its storage area. Something about the Blues Jr I really like, maybe the EL84s, early break up or just that I've been intimate with it (in a technical way ..no rude remarks please). It is also light and small. You have no documented proof of anything GAS related Pete!!! The only thing you have documented proof of is you and I drinking Bell's Oberon at the Belles Cafe Thursday afternoon!!! And that was a great time!! Oberon is amazing beer. And I like Bells Brewery. We should have went to Ribfest which I didn't realize was right across the street. Oh, and your secrets are safe with me Will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted August 21, 2012 Share Posted August 21, 2012 I never use my Blues Jr. to the point of it breaking up. I keep it clean and use pedals for dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Blues Juniors are the Rodney Dangerfield's of the amp world; "No Respect!!" While I would most certainly buy a KBP810 amp for nearly the same price as a new Blues Junior today, I got my Cream Board (newer than the older green board) FBJ for under $300, new, and had nearly all the BillM mods done about a year later. That was about $200 more, as the Heyboer OT was about $100, and I switched the stock speaker to an Eminence Texas Heat. I love taking it places, having snobs scoff at it, only to hear what a great amp it is. Did I put too much into it? Maybe. Would I ever get my $ out of it if I sold it? Hell no. But it WON'T be for sale, I assure you. I'm glad your fix was an eventual easy one, Pete. Rock ON! Oh, and there's nothing wrong with Fender Deluxe Reverb Re-Issues, either; I have/love one of those, too, but that's for another thread..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I was glad to hear that the amp's issues were resolved easily...after some concern, of course. Those OT are tougher than you'd think. Good news anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Blues Juniors are the Rodney Dangerfield's of the amp world; "No Respect!!" While I would most certainly buy a KBP810 amp for nearly the same price as a new Blues Junior today, I got my Cream Board (newer than the older green board) FBJ for under $300, new, and had nearly all the BillM mods done about a year later. That was about $200 more, as the Heyboer OT was about $100, and I switched the stock speaker to an Eminence Texas Heat. I love taking it places, having snobs scoff at it, only to hear what a great amp it is. Did I put too much into it? Maybe. Would I ever get my $ out of it if I sold it? Hell no. But it WON'T be for sale, I assure you. I'm glad your fix was an eventual easy one, Pete. Rock ON! Oh, and there's nothing wrong with Fender Deluxe Reverb Re-Issues, either; I have/love one of those, too, but that's for another thread..... I'm just teasing about the Blues Jr. I have one that's also modified with the BillM kits. Its a great amp for gigs and practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 Blues Juniors are the Rodney Dangerfield's of the amp world; "No Respect!!" While I would most certainly buy a KBP810 amp for nearly the same price as a new Blues Junior today, I got my Cream Board (newer than the older green board) FBJ for under $300, new, and had nearly all the BillM mods done about a year later. That was about $200 more, as the Heyboer OT was about $100, and I switched the stock speaker to an Eminence Texas Heat. I love taking it places, having snobs scoff at it, only to hear what a great amp it is. Did I put too much into it? Maybe. Would I ever get my $ out of it if I sold it? Hell no. But it WON'T be for sale, I assure you. I'm glad your fix was an eventual easy one, Pete. Rock ON! Oh, and there's nothing wrong with Fender Deluxe Reverb Re-Issues, either; I have/love one of those, too, but that's for another thread..... I was glad to hear that the amp's issues were resolved easily...after some concern, of course. Those OT are tougher than you'd think. Good news anyhow. Thanks Fred and Brian, I was surprised too. All I ever heard was it is the kiss of death to run an amp with no load, like if it has no load for a minute it's toast. I didn't know if every component would be melted down but learned mainly the output tranny and power tubes are at risk. This one was loadless for maybe an hour total (sorry to say I still don't know what happened, I do have a photo or two ..hope someone does the right thing as most of us would). Could be a testament to the Heyboer xformer or the JJ tubes or it might give up the ghost tomorrow. As per Brian though the xformer probably survived so the power tubes may go which I can live with. I'm a little embarassed that it was the V1 pre amp tube not complaining though. Had tunnel vision that it would be pwr tubes or tranny so when it went snap crackle pop I was like "good, now I can fix the bloody thing". I did most of the mods one at a time, noticed a huge change with the install of the Heyboer. Seems I lost a lot of my cleans which is fine, I like the blatty, garbage can nastiness with volume up some, even get pleasant break up at low volumes. I'm just teasing about the Blues Jr. I have one that's also modified with the BillM kits. Its a great amp for gigs and practice. I'm glad you where kidding Josh, felt like someone took my choclate cake. Sometimes they don't get much respect, on the other hand they also have a huge following with fan clubs etc. For me I never had an EL 84 amp til this one so it is a novelty for me. What speaker have you got? I have the Italian Jensen 12N. Would like to try a cannabis rex, have heard that if you don't like the tone you can smoke the speaker material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Thanks Fred and Brian, I was surprised too. All I ever heard was it is the kiss of death to run an amp with no load, like if it has no load for a minute it's toast. I didn't know if every component would be melted down but learned mainly the output tranny and power tubes are at risk. This one was loadless for maybe an hour total (sorry to say I still don't know what happened, I do have a photo or two ..hope someone does the right thing as most of us would). Could be a testament to the Heyboer xformer or the JJ tubes or it might give up the ghost tomorrow. As per Brian though the xformer probably survived so the power tubes may go which I can live with. I'm a little embarassed that it was the V1 pre amp tube not complaining though. Had tunnel vision that it would be pwr tubes or tranny so when it went snap crackle pop I was like "good, now I can fix the bloody thing". I did most of the mods one at a time, noticed a huge change with the install of the Heyboer. Seems I lost a lot of my cleans which is fine, I like the blatty, garbage can nastiness with volume up some, even get pleasant break up at low volumes. I'm glad you where kidding Josh, felt like someone took my choclate cake. Sometimes they don't get much respect, on the other hand they also have a huge following with fan clubs etc. For me I never had an EL 84 amp til this one so it is a novelty for me. What speaker have you got? I have the Italian Jensen 12N. Would like to try a cannabis rex, have heard that if you don't like the tone you can smoke the speaker material. Have the same exact Blues Jr. you have. The NOS Tweed model comes with the Jensen 12N which is a fairly expensive speaker from Jensen. I wouldn't change a thing on mine. It sounds way too good to change anything else after the mod kits. I speak highly of KBP's amps because they are of high quality and you won't find an amp builder that goes above and beyond like Brian does. But I won't intential bash any other manufacture out of malice, jest perhaps, but not malice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidsmoke Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I like the blatty, garbage can nastiness with volume up some, even get pleasant break up at low volumes. What a great description! Blatty!! I've been looking for that word! Glad it worked out for you! I see guys using Blues Jr's and even Pro Jr's as gigging amps in large sold out theaters here in Chicago. No shame there at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 When I know something is starting to die in my amp I make sure it dies a hot, smoky death, again, easy to find and fix. If it's already on the way out, best to finish the job. Amps don't feel pain. ... go ahead and make sure and watch for the source of the death smoke. T Amp tech talk washes right over me. This, however, I can understand! Mav, you can work on my stuff anytime! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.