Is the spec’s of the new Blues Jnr mk IV the same as previous models?

[75th Telecaster]

Trying to find a satisfactory tube bedroom amp of <15 watts during this pandemic is almost unobtainable in Australia. Another victim of Covid. I’m looking at a 5-6 month wait on a Marshall DSL-5C.

I had a BJ’r in 2000 but didn’t like the sound until I did the famous Billm mod’s. Adjustable bias, recap tone stack to open up the sound and loose the muffled boxiness.

Question is:

Does anybody know if the current BJ’r MK-IV version have had this issue rectified by Fender. I know many amp supply stores are selling kits available which include better quality US components, better output transformer, reverb tank and different spec resistors and capacitors to tame the hot bias tubes and open up the amp’s sound.

Thanks

Anthony.

[phantomman]

Why don't you just get yourself a nice 5E3 tweed Deluxe clone, put a couple of tasty pedals in front of it, then call it a day?

[75th Telecaster]

Thanks, I’ll look into this.

http://www.lucasmiles.com.au/tweed_5e3_deluxe.html


https://youtu.be/56I3ts5AUxQ

[phantomman]

You could do a lot worse. That looks like a choice piece of gear.

[S. Cane]

That looks like a very cool amp, tube rectifier and all… is it point to point or PCB mounted?

As for the Blues Jr IV, it will not be as good as the Lucas Phamtomman pointed; anyway: it is said that it features a few ‘improvements’, which I never really noticed. My amp is a Blues Jr III tweed with the Jensen C12N speaker and I’m happy with it, especially after some breaking in. I honestly never found it to be “boxy” or “farty” like people say. Guys in my band like it a lot.

A caveat: maybe you don’t remember the BJ volume, it is VERY loud, a bit too loud for bedrooms and most home uses.

Welcome to the forum!

[phantomman]

A caveat: maybe you don’t remember the BJ volume, it is VERY loud, a bit too loud for bedrooms and most home uses.

+1

A Vibrochamp (or equivalent) might be more appropriate.

[Bill Moore]

I picked up a (dead) BJ a few years ago from one of my customers. The chassis was all there, and it had the BillM mods done previously. When I got it it mainly needed an input jack, so I installed a Switchcraft, and replaced the missing speaker and reverb tank. It cleaned up nicely, (it had been in a barn for a while), and really sounded great. I let my wife's sister play through it before I put it on CL, and I never got home with it. She has a Mesa, but likes the little BJ for it's size and weight, (and it sounds good!)

[phantomman]

I picked up a (dead) BJ a few years ago from one of my customers. The chassis was all there, and it had the BillM mods done previously. When I got it it mainly needed an input jack, so I installed a Switchcraft, and replaced the missing speaker and reverb tank. It cleaned up nicely, (it had been in a barn for a while), and really sounded great. I let my wife's sister play through it before I put it on CL, and I never got home with it. She has a Mesa, but likes the little BJ for it's size and weight, (and it sounds good!)

Reliability issues aside, the Blues Junior never sounded like a Fender amp, at least not to me. Any amp with 6BQ5's reminds me of a Vox AC15 or AC30......shrill, with no low-end grunt.

[Michael Smith]

Trying to find a satisfactory tube bedroom amp of <15 watts during this pandemic is almost unobtainable in Australia. Another victim of Covid. I’m looking at a 5-6 month wait on a Marshall DSL-5C.

I had a BJ’r in 2000 but didn’t like the sound until I did the famous Billm mod’s. Adjustable bias, recap tone stack to open up the sound and loose the muffled boxiness.

Question is:

Does anybody know if the current BJ’r MK-IV version have had this issue rectified by Fender. I know many amp supply stores are selling kits available which include better quality US components, better output transformer, reverb tank and different spec resistors and capacitors to tame the hot bias tubes and open up the amp’s sound.

Thanks

Anthony.

I'm not sure how available they are in Australia, but a Carvin Vintage 16 might be an option. They are switchable between pentote 16 Watts and Triode 5 watts. It has a "soak" and a volume pot, which in effect is a master volume. Mine came with a 100 Watt Carvin speaker, which wasn't very good, but I put in a lower wattage Jensen speaker and got good results. 2 El84's and 3 12AX7's. I'm not sure which amp they were copying, perhaps a Vox.

[S. Cane]

Reliability issues aside, the Blues Junior never sounded like a Fender amp, at least not to me. Any amp with 6BQ5's reminds me of a Vox AC15 or AC30......shrill, with no low-end grunt.

My 2 cents: The ones with the Jensen speakers seem to sound quite a bit more fenderish than the Celestion-laden ones. IMHO.

The Blues Jr might be nowhere near as good as a handwired old school fender amp, but as a cheaper option, it gets the job done decently.

It’s nearly infamous due to the PCB, the board construction and the alleged boxiness (which I confess I never noticed… J J Cale and a few other great ones liked them.

I’ll probably end up buying a better amp, but so far the Tweed version of the BJ III is serving me quite well with the band…

[phantomman]

The Blues Jr might be nowhere near as good as a handwired old school fender amp, but as a cheaper option, it gets the job done decently.

I'll stipulate that there are times when that is the primary consideration.

So long as the audience doesn't start heaving shit at you (picture the scene in "Road House" where Jeff Healey et al are being pelted by bottles and ashtrays).

[Bill Moore]

I think getting the bias down to a reasonable level helps the 6BQ5/EL84's sound less harsh. The tech who did the mods on the BJ I mentioned told me he thought that adjusting the bias was the best part of the BillM mods.
I just can't believe there isn't more problems with the unsupported pot shafts!

[Offshore Angler]

Why don't you just get yourself a nice 5E3 tweed Deluxe clone, put a couple of tasty pedals in front of it, then call it a day?

Great advice there. I'll add a Princeton too, but ALL tube amps are tough in the "bedroom" situation. Tube amps don't do their magic until the throttle gets pushed up. Down below breakup they stay linear and sound pretty much the same as an SS amp. Even a Tiny Terror will blow you out of the bedroom once you get it dialed in.

The sound of a tube amp is about a lot more than just the tubes. The output transformer has as large, or larger effect on the sound as anything.
Chuck