So many of the comments seem to be people reading the title without watching the video. Of course tubes amps should be fine left on overnight. Or for longer periods of time. Nowhere in the video do I say "it failed because it was left on overnight." It was oscillating, which might have been exacerbated by being left on. It's the title because that was the owner's problem description. Given how hot Blues Juniors can run, it was not an unreasonable concern. But I am not saying that leaving an amp on overnight should be any worry. I routinely test amps for 12 hours.
Regardless of how the owner mislabeled the problem deciding to use those words as your title certainly suggests that leaving your tube amp on overnight will cause problems. And nowhere in your video do you ever address that leaving your amp on all night should not cause problems. By neglecting to do so the comments are entirely reasonable and should come as no surprise. The comments came from viewers who watched the video and were left scratching their heads.
But for those skeptical about "amp was left on" as issue, have a look at Stuart's UK Amps *non-repair* of a Bassbreaker left on for a few weeks (yes, weeks). ruclips.net/video/cX6vtCLoiP4/видео.html Ouch.
I got a blues jnr IV my first tube amp, should I keep it out of sunlight? I have it near the window and the sun beams on the back should I move it? Also just wanted to know if a sans amp pedal would sound good on one of these?
That makes it tough. I accidentally left an old 50watt vintage Fender bass amp on in my music room for a week. The room got about 95 degrees. Still works…
i went to chicago for a week and left my 1954 tweed champ on...got so hot the tubes fell out...put em back in ...still using it.....btw...that was 1987 !!!!
Same tubes all these years later? If so, you may want to at least order some backups while the technology still exists;) I’ve heard talk lately of people gutting amps just to sell the tubes!
No shit,man. I have a tendency to have a whiskey or five when I play. I have left every fucking amp I ever owned on overnight,if the amp can’t handle that shit ,sell it and get a good amp.
The only downside to leaving your amp on is the life hours on the tubes and perhaps your hydro bill. But considering I’ve done this countless times on my 60’s fender with original tubes, after 50 years I’d say 24 hours of burn in is negligible 😅. My uneducated guess here might be that it got warm enough, long enough that those ribbon cables plastic might have softened and shifted position from the wire’s ‘memory’
So many times with so many different amplifiers yeah I leave them on all the time. That’s happened with a couple that I built and when I came back I was all the more happier-plug-in and play maybe give it a couple light kicks to see if anything makes noise and keep on playing. My little home studio stuff stays on all day sometimes, even my computer-then when I shut it down it’s sort of bad because it does all the stuff that it was supposed to do when It was supposed to be shut off because I don’t have it programmed right…Can’t get back into it for a couple hours ha ha
Yeah, with the cap removed it sort of sounds muffled and midrangy in comparison. But everyone's got different tastes. Generally I prefer darker sounding amps, but agree that especially with the clean stuff he was playing, the bright sounded OK.
By accident you started a conversation , no many conversations about leaving amps on ., that’s ok though Let them squak ., Thanks I learned a lot and enjoyed your sharing your knowledge with us
I played one of these one day, and i really liked it, kinda dissapointed to see the pcb and the ribbon cables. Thats awesome how you eliminated all the noise by tightening stuff up and moving stuff around....awesome!
@@joeltunnah It only makes it more difficult if your retarded, It doesn't really cause any issues, and they are more reliable that a point to point amp. the use of a pcb as a medium instead of coated wires doesn't make it a computer,. It means that its going to be consistent,
Back in the day all audio equipment was tube powered and some of that stuff ran 24/7. Shouldn't be a problem but with how cheaply things are made today...
the issue is, and always has been that the tubes lie under the chassis rather than on top pointing to the sky...heat rises and degrades the other components
Exactly why I got one last month....love it. The Roland Blues Cube is supposed to be a tip-top solid state amp...and mine is great by any standard...but my Jr sounds a bit more 'real' to me if that's even a thing.
This is fascinating to watch especially your reflection in the chrome. And your playing is excellent and tasteful. Track some music for ambience during your videos.
Thanks Mark! Sometimes I use previously recorded bits from other videos in the background, but I don't have time to make essentially an album's worth of BG music for the videos. I looked into the free backing tracks available, and they suck hard. Tried to use a friend's music and his publisher struck the video, even though my friend gave me permission.
My hearing isn't very good. I can do without the background ambience, and prefer clear annunciation during informative vids like this one. Nice job, great audio and video. Excellent troubleshooting approach!
Removing that bright cap literally changed my mind on the B Jr. it was an amp I recommended and knew was good, but personally avoided as I felt like Fender phoned (a good tool but uninspiring palette) it in to stay relevant in the low watt tube amp craze, it sounded too hifi for me. But take away that crisp high end and hello traditional Fender flavour.
I had a Tweed Blues Junior years ago. Great sounding amp but it had some component failures. I had to get it fixed twice. After the 2nd time I sold it. I guess I just got a bad one. I'd probably buy another one as it's a great amp.
The chassis screws were not even finger tight when I bought my Blues Deluxe second hand. It was so new that it still smelled like glue. I’m sure someone bought it and traded it in immediately afterwards. It’s a great amp after a speaker change and 10 mins with a screwdriver
Yeah to be fair the stock eminence speaker is a bit harsh I found. And the volume pot is a bit touchy but used an attenuator in mine and put in a celestion alnico cream and it turned into a full blooded blues machine, such sweet tones I haven't been able to replicate even with an EC twinolux
As nice as these amps look/sound. The Poor PCB and layout always stirs me away from them and made me save up for a nice handwired amp that will be easy to service if/when something fails. Had a blues deluxe have terrible PCB burn marks. Got rid of it and got a 57 twin with 0 issues since I’ve gotten it.
Ive had 3 BJs and 2 Pro Jrs. Great concept but cheaply made. I now own a Yerasov GTA15. The Rusdian answer to the BJ/Pro. So much more headroom. BJs start to compress after 4/5 on volume. The Rusky just gets angry and starts sonding more like my JTM 45. This makes me happy.
This is useful and helpful for the tube amp modiers like me. If I increase the value of the C3 capacitor, would it brighten up the amp, as oppose to what you did?
As the value of C3 increases it won't be a bright cap so much as an upper mids cap and then as you go larger a partial bypass where you'll have crazy gain. Experiment - won't hurt a thing.
I have a question. I have an old Ampeg Reverberocket and if shine a flashlight in the back, it excites one tube and it makes a clear tone (a D note). Only one tube and only one led flashlight. Weird.
I almost always use a brightcap, because thenI can turn down the treble a bit which gives a thicker sound on Fenders. But........very low value mostly, about 47pF-80pF and old 50's mica caps. And weather I use one or not will be very independent of what speaker is in there. For instance my 68Custom DeluxeReverb I just bought lacks the brightcap and I need to one because of the Celestion speaker that is not as bright as a Jensen, and not bright enough for my taste(I am used to old Fenders)
Bright cap - C3 - too bad you couldn't have drilled a hole somewhere for a mini toggle to put it in/out of circuit. On your Guitar playing - I'm a bass player and I've become pretty proficient at it over the last 50 years. I own a six string Fender Mustang that my parents bought for me used in 1967. To this day all I can play on it are simple chords, and finger picking is out of the question for me. Your playing is very nice. 🙂
paul.....i would love an original mustang -or any instrument from the 60s ....just cos its part of that era ......if you ever want to sell it -let me know !
Where are you located? I may want you to look at my Stageright 15 watt, see if there is a tube bias that can be done or anything to improvement it that little bit more like you did here in the blues jr.
I've looked at this spot a bunch of times and I can't tell if my eyes are playing tricks! The little electrolytic cap next to D-5 at the end, is one side of the lead broken?
The tone controls on my Blues Jr. III work, but they’re…..subtle. Is that common with these amps? I'd recently installed a Fromel 'Supreme' kit, and I didn't really take notice of how effective the tone controls were beforehand..... Thanks!
you would be right, i have seen a lot of them break, not in amps because i don't work on those much. i service automation equipment and believe me i have had to hand wire with individual wires so many devices because these dogshits break where the insulation stops and it creates a stressing point there, disconecting from the pcb. imagine the grid wire to fail, RIP tube, worse yet if you have a NOS in there.
Wait, how did the ribbon cable move from being left on over night? I just bought one yesterday and now I think I may need to hire security or ghost busters.
I’m fairly new to your channel. Great and informative videos. When replacing the 3 large filter caps would it be beneficial to add some smaller high quality film bypass capacitors Just curious on what your thoughts are? Thanks
In winter 2017/2018 from December through March I left my new Fender EC Vibro-Champ on for 3 maybe 4 months continuously! To slowly burn in every component so that they last longer. I actually used it as a small space heater by our bed. No damage, never any problems ever. The very idea of making a video like this video makes me laugh my ass off. - Peter 72
This one had a problem after being on overnight. I found/fixed the problem. PS burn-in isn't real. Speakers change with use. Caps/resistors don't. At least not in that time frame.
@@PsionicAudio Well when I made the comment above I was addressing the situation regarding the Fender Blues Jr. being left on overnight. I was just making a point that in no way could that damage the amp. Guitar Center leaves all their floor model amps on every night until it's sold so people can play on them and demo them to hear how they sound. Most , if not all appliance stores leave their floor model TV's on 24/7 until someone purchase it. They do that to allow people to see the picture quality. So do you see now that I was making the case that leaving the Blues Jr. on overnight is not something to be concerned about?
curious if you've ever done a bias mod on one of these and cooled it down a tad? If so, what are your thoughts? I tinker on amps, and have a friend that has 2 blues juniors. He's had me do all sorts of mods to one, and left the other stock. Some people don't care for it, but I think cooling down the bias a tad helps get a bit more of that signature fender spank. I think I also did some sort of tone mod that really "opened up" the sound. Been in and out of it quite a bit over the years, hard to remember what all I've done to it now, lol... Edit, just got to the point of the video you talk about the bias and tone mod.... it really does make them "feel" like a bigger amp. I always called those "bright" caps, "thin" caps instead, heh. Also another thing I've found. Never push the little "fat" "drive" "whatever" buttons these series of amps had.
The "Fat" engages a cathode bypass cap for the second triode stage. It can make the amp have less hum if you engage it and keep the volume pot lower. But run it any way you like the sound. I have a video on an easy way to cool the bias. Look in the Hot Rods and Blues playlist.
I would have liked to see you move the ribbons back closer to the blue wire to confirm your suspicion and rule out an intermittent connection at the ends of the ribbon cables.
Hey there, I've been watching your videos lately and had a bit of an off topic question. What do you recommend for solder braid? I've never had much luck with it in the past. Thanks!
Awesome video. How do you think these amps sit in a mix with the bright cap off? It's definitely more pleasant for playing at home with that bright cap off.
Overnight? Big deal. My brother accidentally left his Blackstar club 20 combo on for 5 days straight. That was a year and a half ago. Still works, still original tubes. I think the B's Jr will survive.
Great vid,could you tell me what size resistor you use on R44 for the reverb please?ive piggybacked a 68 k that i had leftover from copying your bias resistor mod, reverb is now usable across the whole range,but im thinking using ae smaller one would give a wider range ?
@@PsionicAudio ah thank you so much for that,and thanks for sharing your blues jr knowledge ,my power tubes have been in over a year with daily use,thanks to your bias mod,before the mod the original GT el84's lasted less than 6 weeks! Thanks again from North wales🏴
No, this Strat (alder with rosewood board) has Mojotone Quiet Coil '67s and a Suhr Thornbucker in the bridge (which was in both series and parallel in this clip) with a Gotoh 510TS-SF1 bridge.
Видеоклипы
So many of the comments seem to be people reading the title without watching the video.
Of course tubes amps should be fine left on overnight. Or for longer periods of time.
Nowhere in the video do I say "it failed because it was left on overnight." It was oscillating, which might have been exacerbated by being left on.
It's the title because that was the owner's problem description.
Given how hot Blues Juniors can run, it was not an unreasonable concern.
But I am not saying that leaving an amp on overnight should be any worry. I routinely test amps for 12 hours.
Regardless of how the owner mislabeled the problem deciding to use those words as your title certainly suggests that leaving your tube amp on overnight will cause problems. And nowhere in your video do you ever address that leaving your amp on all night should not cause problems. By neglecting to do so the comments are entirely reasonable and should come as no surprise. The comments came from viewers who watched the video and were left scratching their heads.
A lot of people on the internet are not interested in watching a video, they just want to hear themselves talk.
But for those skeptical about "amp was left on" as issue, have a look at Stuart's UK Amps *non-repair* of a Bassbreaker left on for a few weeks (yes, weeks). ruclips.net/video/cX6vtCLoiP4/видео.html Ouch.
It’s not a political click bait title… people need to chill.
I once accidentally left my vintage V4B on for a week (in standby) in my rehearsal space... no problems...
I use mine as a space heater in the winter.
😁
I feel you man. If I know I'm gunna be playing for a while, I turn my heat down like 10 degrees lmao
Lol thats funny and probably tru
When I wash my jeans I lay them on the floor, put the amp on them overnight. Drys them and puts a good crease in them as well.
I got a blues jnr IV my first tube amp, should I keep it out of sunlight? I have it near the window and the sun beams on the back should I move it? Also just wanted to know if a sans amp pedal would sound good on one of these?
People like you should be treasured.
That makes it tough. I accidentally left an old 50watt vintage Fender bass amp on in my music room for a week. The room got about 95 degrees. Still works…
I had an old Fender PA, I left it on for about two years just for the beauty of the sound it put out.
Good to hear your room still works.
i went to chicago for a week and left my 1954 tweed champ on...got so hot the tubes fell out...put em back in ...still using it.....btw...that was 1987 !!!!
Your story is another confirmation of the old adage that “they sure don’t make ‘em like they used to!”
Same tubes all these years later? If so, you may want to at least order some backups while the technology still exists;)
I’ve heard talk lately of people gutting amps just to sell the tubes!
The old tubes last like this unlike the current offerings generally, and usually sound better as well
I have an ARIA digital delay I turned on in 1985 and it's still on and working perfect.
Absolutely brilliant
I really enjoyed this.
Sounds excellent. Another inspirational service done. Thanks 🤙
Great tips and insights on this repair video! Thanks as always!!
Very informative. Such nice playing too.
I’ve left mine on overnight so many times I can’t count still sounds awesome
I have a deluxe. Same same lol.
No shit,man. I have a tendency to have a whiskey or five when I play. I have left every fucking amp I ever owned on overnight,if the amp can’t handle that shit ,sell it and get a good amp.
The only downside to leaving your amp on is the life hours on the tubes and perhaps your hydro bill. But considering I’ve done this countless times on my 60’s fender with original tubes, after 50 years I’d say 24 hours of burn in is negligible 😅.
My uneducated guess here might be that it got warm enough, long enough that those ribbon cables plastic might have softened and shifted position from the wire’s ‘memory’
@@kyzor-sosay6087 this guy gets me. 😂
So many times with so many different amplifiers yeah I leave them on all the time.
That’s happened with a couple that I built and when I came back I was all the more happier-plug-in and play maybe give it a couple light kicks to see if anything makes noise and keep on playing.
My little home studio stuff stays on all day sometimes, even my computer-then when I shut it down it’s sort of bad because it does all the stuff that it was supposed to do when It was supposed to be shut off because I don’t have it programmed right…Can’t get back into it for a couple hours ha ha
MISS GRADENKO! Thanks for another great video. You’ve informed me about what to watch for in my beloved Fender amps. Big respect 🙏
What a voice man you should be a singer!
This is 100% the reason I bought a Timed Extension Chord.
Well done. Another satisfied guitar amp owner🎸🎶🎵🎼👍
I love this electronic stuff that you do and you explain it so well... you should be paid for this instruction.
As long as the house didn't burn down... It's all good 👍
Bright cap removal- very much agreed 👍 Nice job
Tube Televisions were left on all the time . The screen was even a giant tube. They lasted for years left on.
Nice detective work! BTW I absolutely love the sound with the bright cap on. I am totally addicted to presence. Have been for 50 years.
Yeah, with the cap removed it sort of sounds muffled and midrangy in comparison. But everyone's got different tastes. Generally I prefer darker sounding amps, but agree that especially with the clean stuff he was playing, the bright sounded OK.
I think it sounded fine with the bright cap removed, but in a band context you will need it.
Some nice playing while working on this amp. Kudos
Great video I really like how it sounds now that you clipped the bright cap. Now I really want to buy a tweed blues jr 😩 cheers !!
By accident you started a conversation , no many conversations about leaving amps on ., that’s ok though
Let them squak .,
Thanks I learned a lot and enjoyed your sharing your knowledge with us
Your demo picking is intriguing. Thanks!
Amazing...to me anyways😎👍
Thanks for teaching me a thing or two😎👍
You sir have my 👍and sub😉😎👍
Thanks Richard!
I played one of these one day, and i really liked it, kinda dissapointed to see the pcb and the ribbon cables.
Thats awesome how you eliminated all the noise by tightening stuff up and moving stuff around....awesome!
Copper is copper, the pcb and the ribbon cables don't do anything other than make it more consistent from amp to amp and more reliable.
@@blaness13 lol, it's like plugging into a computer. They cause many issues, as you saw in this video, and make repair more difficult.
@@joeltunnah It only makes it more difficult if your retarded,
It doesn't really cause any issues, and they are more reliable that a point to point amp.
the use of a pcb as a medium instead of coated wires doesn't make it a computer,.
It means that its going to be consistent,
Shit I woke up Sunday with my BJr on, electric stove on, a few busted dishes in the hallway. Good night. Amp on in the morning means good night.
6:06(isj) Those licks and that tone! Wow!
Little too bright for my tastes.
One of the most underrated small tube combos best bang for buck. I have one and will probably get another...
I got the Blues Deluxe, and it is sound really great, I am thinking about switching the speaker for a Celestion.
Underrated? I've seen them everywhere and heard endless praise heaped upon them. They really aren't Underrated
That second coffee can't come soon enough 😩
I have a few really nice amps. The cheapest by far is the blues jr tweed with jenson. I love that little amp.
You got something quite special from 5:58-6:13, the picking, the breakup, the room reverb. Yes, yes, & yes.
Sounds like a slide/pedal steel
Its amazing the things you can get away with...
Back in the day all audio equipment was tube powered and some of that stuff ran 24/7. Shouldn't be a problem but with how cheaply things are made today...
the issue is, and always has been that the tubes lie under the chassis rather than on top pointing to the sky...heat rises and degrades the other components
@@vincentl.9469 bingo. You never see this in tube hi-fi or radio equipment.
I left my 70s peavey on overnight once. Luckily it never had any issues
Ive had two amps with el84s and both had arcing at the power tubes after a year or two
One fender one vox
The Blues Jr is my amp…..I just love them. Perfect for me at lower volumes.
Exactly why I got one last month....love it. The Roland Blues Cube is supposed to be a tip-top solid state amp...and mine is great by any standard...but my Jr sounds a bit more 'real' to me if that's even a thing.
And it works for a small club setting too
@@lazvt8469 oh its a thing, i gotta admitt i liked the one i played thru too
I’ve left amps on for days. Never had a problem in 30 years.
This is fascinating to watch especially your reflection in the chrome. And your playing is excellent and tasteful. Track some music for ambience during your videos.
Thanks Mark!
Sometimes I use previously recorded bits from other videos in the background, but I don't have time to make essentially an album's worth of BG music for the videos.
I looked into the free backing tracks available, and they suck hard.
Tried to use a friend's music and his publisher struck the video, even though my friend gave me permission.
My hearing isn't very good. I can do without the background ambience, and prefer clear annunciation during informative vids like this one. Nice job, great audio and video. Excellent troubleshooting approach!
Wanting to see all your Blues Jr. stuff.
Are you safe Ms. Gradenko, Ms. Gradenko are you safe? Nice!
nice
What a hell of a difference I'm listening to it in stereo
But it is recorded in mono 🙂
Sounds good on this end really good
Man alive! What a huge improvement just removing the bright cap. Makes one wonder? Why Fender put it in there
I think they have a mid switch. The. There is tone roll
I use mine to heat up hot pockets when I’m broke.
Removing that bright cap literally changed my mind on the B Jr. it was an amp I recommended and knew was good, but personally avoided as I felt like Fender phoned (a good tool but uninspiring palette) it in to stay relevant in the low watt tube amp craze, it sounded too hifi for me. But take away that crisp high end and hello traditional Fender flavour.
thanks for sharing...and YES, its very bright (maybe with a purpose?) but sounds much better after removing C3 RES .
Interesting vid, I’ll be back.
Yup. Sounds better.
That bright cap - turns the amp from a fairly nice amp into an Ice Picky piece of nasty! The difference is night and day. Great tip
I play 3-6 hour gigs on a regular basis and have no issues. Tubes loosen up on occasion but no component problems.
I turn my tube amps on in the morning and off at night. Usually over 12 hours, no issues.
I've left my JCM 800 on for a month!
I had a Tweed Blues Junior years ago. Great sounding amp but it had some component failures. I had to get it fixed twice. After the 2nd time I sold it. I guess I just got a bad one. I'd probably buy another one as it's a great amp.
I left my ‘59 bassman on once for a whole week. I rehearsed and did not turn it off when i left, found out next week.
I like bright caps myself.
This is the kind of expertise you don’t mind paying for and no diagnostic computer can replicate.
Thanks Mark!
The chassis screws were not even finger tight when I bought my Blues Deluxe second hand. It was so new that it still smelled like glue. I’m sure someone bought it and traded it in immediately afterwards. It’s a great amp after a speaker change and 10 mins with a screwdriver
Yeah to be fair the stock eminence speaker is a bit harsh I found. And the volume pot is a bit touchy but used an attenuator in mine and put in a celestion alnico cream and it turned into a full blooded blues machine, such sweet tones I haven't been able to replicate even with an EC twinolux
@@mathewdavies6472 The speaker read Jensen on the back, and it looks like a C12.
Sounded like he was playing some Radiohead, there. Lovely!
Police/Andy Summers, but thanks!
Radiohead in this one:
ruclips.net/video/gnWCL1jMQk8/видео.html
I have a Blackface '64 Champ (stock) that I once inadvertently left on for over 16 hours. No problems at all. Leo knew how to build 'em.
Leo wasn't building them in '64, he had already been gone for quite some time.
@@ToneFreak Leo sold the company to CBS in 1965.
@@jltrem My bad, your right! For some reason I thought he left in '56. Thanks for cluing me in!
Leo was still with fender until 1971 even though it was sold in 64-65
i actually liked the bright cap tone
Moving the ribbon cable, while it’s plugged in is something we all can try; It went from this is the sound of half the output bad to it sounds OK…
I did that with my BJ didn't notice any damages but my power tubes went out a couple weeks later
As nice as these amps look/sound. The Poor PCB and layout always stirs me away from them and made me save up for a nice handwired amp that will be easy to service if/when something fails. Had a blues deluxe have terrible PCB burn marks. Got rid of it and got a 57 twin with 0 issues since I’ve gotten it.
Ive had 3 BJs and 2 Pro Jrs. Great concept but cheaply made. I now own a Yerasov GTA15. The Rusdian answer to the BJ/Pro. So much more headroom. BJs start to compress after 4/5 on volume. The Rusky just gets angry and starts sonding more like my JTM 45. This makes me happy.
Second coffee!
Sounded like a Lord Of The Rings reference to me?
This is useful and helpful for the tube amp modiers like me.
If I increase the value of the C3 capacitor, would it brighten up the amp, as oppose to what you did?
As the value of C3 increases it won't be a bright cap so much as an upper mids cap and then as you go larger a partial bypass where you'll have crazy gain. Experiment - won't hurt a thing.
I left one of my twin reverbs on for several days one time… didn’t seem to hurt it surprisingly.
Ive done this multiple times with my Super. Never hurt a thing
I have a question. I have an old Ampeg Reverberocket and if shine a flashlight in the back, it excites one tube and it makes a clear tone (a D note). Only one tube and only one led flashlight. Weird.
I almost always use a brightcap, because thenI can turn down the treble a bit which gives a thicker sound on Fenders. But........very low value mostly, about 47pF-80pF and old 50's mica caps. And weather I use one or not will be very independent of what speaker is in there. For instance my 68Custom DeluxeReverb I just bought lacks the brightcap and I need to one because of the Celestion speaker that is not as bright as a Jensen, and not bright enough for my taste(I am used to old Fenders)
Bright cap - C3 - too bad you couldn't have drilled a hole somewhere for a mini toggle to put it in/out of circuit. On your Guitar playing - I'm a bass player and I've become pretty proficient at it over the last 50 years. I own a six string Fender Mustang that my parents bought for me used in 1967. To this day all I can play on it are simple chords, and finger picking is out of the question for me. Your playing is very nice. 🙂
paul.....i would love an original mustang -or any instrument from the 60s ....just cos its part of that era ......if you ever want to sell it -let me know !
That reminds me of a Police riff!
How does it crap out over night when guys play these all night every night no problem
Where are you located? I may want you to look at my Stageright 15 watt, see if there is a tube bias that can be done or anything to improvement it that little bit more like you did here in the blues jr.
I've looked at this spot a bunch of times and I can't tell if my eyes are playing tricks! The little electrolytic cap next to D-5 at the end, is one side of the lead broken?
The tone controls on my Blues Jr. III work, but they’re…..subtle.
Is that common with these amps?
I'd recently installed a Fromel 'Supreme' kit, and I didn't really take notice of how effective the tone controls were beforehand.....
Thanks!
Is the bright cap on Pro jr also ?
glorious sound .....is that a strat you are using ? Whatever it is....great combo
Thanks! Yes, one of my two Strats.
Is there enough room in there to remove the board mounted pots and replace them with standard thru-hole pots?
I’d be more concerned with the effects of continually bending the ribbon cable than with the effects of the blue cable.
you would be right, i have seen a lot of them break, not in amps because i don't work on those much. i service automation equipment and believe me i have had to hand wire with individual wires so many devices because these dogshits break where the insulation stops and it creates a stressing point there, disconecting from the pcb. imagine the grid wire to fail, RIP tube, worse yet if you have a NOS in there.
Wait, how did the ribbon cable move from being left on over night? I just bought one yesterday and now I think I may need to hire security or ghost busters.
I left my AC30 on for a few weeks without realizing it and it was fine... maybe I got lucky...
So, sound issue before overnight leave on manifest's only with anxiety
I would love that process done to my amp. Are you anywhere near SoCal?
Man that makes me wonder so much whats up with mine
Nothing could change my mind on a blues junior it’s splatty and caves in way to fast. Just never bonded with mine
I’m fairly new to your channel. Great and informative videos. When replacing the 3 large filter caps would it be beneficial to add some smaller high quality film bypass capacitors Just curious on what your thoughts are? Thanks
Not really. They filter high freq stuff but the amp already has smoothing caps in the rectifier.
@@PsionicAudio Cool. Thanks.
In winter 2017/2018 from December through March I left my new Fender EC Vibro-Champ on for 3 maybe 4 months continuously! To slowly burn in every component so that they last longer. I actually used it as a small space heater by our bed. No damage, never any problems ever. The very idea of making a video like this video makes me laugh my ass off. - Peter 72
With a "Vibro" Champ next to the bed what the heck does she need you for? Cash?
This one had a problem after being on overnight. I found/fixed the problem.
PS burn-in isn't real. Speakers change with use. Caps/resistors don't. At least not in that time frame.
@@samstewart9249 Yep, and also hugs and kisses!
@@PsionicAudio Well when I made the comment above I was addressing the situation regarding the Fender Blues Jr. being left on overnight. I was just making a point that in no way could that damage the amp. Guitar Center leaves all their floor model amps on every night until it's sold so people can play on them and demo them to hear how they sound. Most , if not all appliance stores leave their floor model TV's on 24/7 until someone purchase it. They do that to allow people to see the picture quality. So do you see now that I was making the case that leaving the Blues Jr. on overnight is not something to be concerned about?
curious if you've ever done a bias mod on one of these and cooled it down a tad? If so, what are your thoughts? I tinker on amps, and have a friend that has 2 blues juniors. He's had me do all sorts of mods to one, and left the other stock. Some people don't care for it, but I think cooling down the bias a tad helps get a bit more of that signature fender spank. I think I also did some sort of tone mod that really "opened up" the sound. Been in and out of it quite a bit over the years, hard to remember what all I've done to it now, lol...
Edit, just got to the point of the video you talk about the bias and tone mod.... it really does make them "feel" like a bigger amp. I always called those "bright" caps, "thin" caps instead, heh. Also another thing I've found. Never push the little "fat" "drive" "whatever" buttons these series of amps had.
The "Fat" engages a cathode bypass cap for the second triode stage. It can make the amp have less hum if you engage it and keep the volume pot lower.
But run it any way you like the sound.
I have a video on an easy way to cool the bias. Look in the Hot Rods and Blues playlist.
Is the bright capacitor all that differentiates the tweed from black blues junior?
No, the tolex and sometimes the speaker. Same amp otherwise.
You sound like a younger version of Uncle Doug. I say that as a complement.
Overnight? Hell I've left an amp on for a week before lol
I would have liked to see you move the ribbons back closer to the blue wire to confirm your suspicion and rule out an intermittent connection at the ends of the ribbon cables.
See the previous Blues Junior videos. It's proximity not a poor connection.
Jrs are known for running their power tubes on the hot side, necessitating replacement sooner than normal.
Hey there, I've been watching your videos lately and had a bit of an off topic question. What do you recommend for solder braid? I've never had much luck with it in the past. Thanks!
Tech-Spray No-Clean #4 Blue
@@PsionicAudio I'll look into it, much appreciated!
Awesome video. How do you think these amps sit in a mix with the bright cap off? It's definitely more pleasant for playing at home with that bright cap off.
Thanks. And just fine. You aren't losing any frequencies, just that icepick. It will take overdrive pedals much better too.
@@PsionicAudio - that sounds great, thanks for your reply!
Nothing like having some computer style bussing in a tube amp.
One reason why I never buy these modern fenders anymore
Overnight? Big deal. My brother accidentally left his Blackstar club 20 combo on for 5 days straight. That was a year and a half ago. Still works, still original tubes. I think the B's Jr will survive.
Why comment on a video you didn't watch?
Great vid,could you tell me what size resistor you use on R44 for the reverb please?ive piggybacked a 68 k that i had leftover from copying your bias resistor mod, reverb is now usable across the whole range,but im thinking using ae smaller one would give a wider range ?
I think that was an 82K. Anything from 47K-100K is an improvement over stock.
@@PsionicAudio ah thank you so much for that,and thanks for sharing your blues jr knowledge ,my power tubes have been in over a year with daily use,thanks to your bias mod,before the mod the original GT el84's lasted less than 6 weeks! Thanks again from North wales🏴
That strat sounds like some handwound pickups. Any chance those are abigail handwound single coils?
No, this Strat (alder with rosewood board) has Mojotone Quiet Coil '67s and a Suhr Thornbucker in the bridge (which was in both series and parallel in this clip) with a Gotoh 510TS-SF1 bridge.
I like a little extra sparkle but with that bright cap, it wasn't sparkle. More like glare. Sounds much better without.
I should have hooked up the real mic. It's just such a pain with combos on the bench. In the room the difference is dramatic. In a very good way.