• From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Topic: Just bought a Fender Blues Junior

I just got a Craigslist deal... $300 for a gently used  Fender Blues Junior amp. Blackface. I'm unsure the year, the guy said '95, so we'll see if it has the green board.

It's actually sitting in Roy Bluesman's living room... right in front of his!

Anybody have any neat tricks for souping these up? I heard there are things you can do instead of just replacing the speaker. One of the first things I plan to do is replace the stock tubes with JJ's from Eurotubes.

Bluesman Roy and I are in Philly for the Back Door Slam concert at the World Cafe. As soon as we get back to WI, I'll be firing that old baby up!

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: Just bought a Fender Blues Junior

You'll love it.  Its pretty darn good stock, I enjoyed mine with a Gibson SG Standard and it would scream.

AD3THREE's Website

  • Jesco
  • Bronze Member
  • Offline
  • From: The Netherlands
  • Registered: 2009-03-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Just bought a Fender Blues Junior

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:

I just got a Craigslist deal... $300 for a gently used  Fender Blues Junior amp. Blackface. I'm unsure the year, the guy said '95, so we'll see if it has the green board.

It's actually sitting in Roy Bluesman's living room... right in front of his!

Anybody have any neat tricks for souping these up? I heard there are things you can do instead of just replacing the speaker. One of the first things I plan to do is replace the stock tubes with JJ's from Eurotubes.

Bluesman Roy and I are in Philly for the Back Door Slam concert at the World Cafe. As soon as we get back to WI, I'll be firing that old baby up!

I have a green board blues junior and modded it. It's a very cool amp to mod, since it's not too expensive to try some things. I replaced the tubes with JJ's, a 5157 at V1 and a ECC81 (12AT7) as V3 (phase inverter) for a lot of clean headroom. I use it as a clean amp paired with a marshall jcm800 for overdriven sounds. If it's too clean for you you can always switch back to 12ax7's. I changed the speaker with a celestion g12h30, these speakers go really well with Fender amps. I also put a Weber beamblocker in it, for a better spreading of the sound.

I also modded it with "Billm blues junior mods". If you google it, you'll find a lot of information about it. His mods a generally considered the standard mods everybody should consider for his Blues junior. Mostly the tone section is modded with the billm mods. Billm also describes a mod for the reverb for greenboards. The greenboard reverbs adds a lot of noise, so Fender decided to change the design and released the creamboards. You can mod it to creamboards specs. Oh and finally I changed the reverbtank itself for a Ruby reverbtank. This made a huge! improvement on the reverb. With the stock reverbtank, the reverb was always max on my amp. With the ruby tank it's on 3 or 4.

  • From: Florida, USA
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,420

Re: Just bought a Fender Blues Junior

I loved my old Blues Jr. and it was bone stock.  I should've held onto that thing, but you live and learn!  I've always wished that Fender would up the wattage and put that same amp idea in a head format.  The amp breaks up very nicely, but lacks the headroom of say a Fender Super Reverb or Vibrolux.  I LOVE the "FAT" switch idea IMO every amp should have one.  Congrats on the snag, I hope it treats you very well!

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.
  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Just bought a Fender Blues Junior

Jesco wrote:

It's a very cool amp to mod, since it's not too expensive to try some things.

when all was said and done between the tubes, speaker, beam blocker and billm mods - around how much money did you stick into it? did you do the billm mods yourself or did you have an amp tech do it?

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool

6 Reply by Jesco (edited by Jesco 2009-12-31 20:19:34)

  • Jesco
  • Bronze Member
  • Offline
  • From: The Netherlands
  • Registered: 2009-03-24
  • Posts: 43

Re: Just bought a Fender Blues Junior

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:
Jesco wrote:

It's a very cool amp to mod, since it's not too expensive to try some things.

when all was said and done between the tubes, speaker, beam blocker and billm mods - around how much money did you stick into it? did you do the billm mods yourself or did you have an amp tech do it?

Ehm, about 50 for the tubes, 25 for the beamblocker, 25 for the billm modkit. No biasing of poweramp tubes EL84's is needed in this amp.

That's 100 euro's, in us $ it is: 144$

I traded the speaker for a strat neck, so the speaker didn't cost me anything. I did the billm mods myself, it's not too hard if you can solder.

7 Reply by NPB_EST.1979 (edited by NPB_EST.1979 2010-01-03 04:40:06)

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Just bought a Fender Blues Junior

VERY COOL

I love the clean tone - with the Master at 12 and the Volume at 2 or 3.
everything else at 6 o'clock.

the sg makes it sparkle. cool
love it stock, but THIS IS  an addiction, so I'll probably end up modding it big_smile

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool