Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
- Thread starter MoodyBlue
- Start date
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
changing the first preamp tube is kinda cheap ($20) and easy. a brighter lower gain tube should help
i think the speaker is among the first things to do. it can make the biggest difference. a celestion g12h is a great option for a more british tone while a jensen C12N (or better yet webers version a 12f150a) would be a good choice for an american tone. if you want more presence i might go for the jensen type.
i use an english celestion greenback in mine which i really like but not for what you are looking for, i also think that some eminance speakers would be a great choices and they're made in kentucky
the jj brand el84s are good for power tubes. i might try a 5751 in the preamp tube closest to the input jack
after the speaker and tubes things it gets more difficult on circut board amps
changing the first preamp tube is kinda cheap ($20) and easy. a brighter lower gain tube should help
i think the speaker is among the first things to do. it can make the biggest difference. a celestion g12h is a great option for a more british tone while a jensen C12N (or better yet webers version a 12f150a) would be a good choice for an american tone. if you want more presence i might go for the jensen type.
i use an english celestion greenback in mine which i really like but not for what you are looking for, i also think that some eminance speakers would be a great choices and they're made in kentucky
the jj brand el84s are good for power tubes. i might try a 5751 in the preamp tube closest to the input jack
after the speaker and tubes things it gets more difficult on circut board amps
Curly
Moe's Bluesman
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
try playing with the fat switch up (off), the master around halfway or more and the volume around 3-4 to reduce preamp distortion
also play with your tone controls, reducing the mid and bass controls and increasing the treble until you find your tone
you can consider switching the power tubes also ... since it's a fixed bias amp, ask your supplier for a matched set that's fairly "hard"
try playing with the fat switch up (off), the master around halfway or more and the volume around 3-4 to reduce preamp distortion
also play with your tone controls, reducing the mid and bass controls and increasing the treble until you find your tone
you can consider switching the power tubes also ... since it's a fixed bias amp, ask your supplier for a matched set that's fairly "hard"
More-Gear-Than-Skill
New member
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
http://home.comcast.net/~machrone/bjrinfo.htm
he has a range of things you can do.
http://home.comcast.net/~machrone/bjrinfo.htm
he has a range of things you can do.
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
. . . hey, I wanted to thay THAT !!!
. . . hey, I wanted to thay THAT !!!
random_guy
New member
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
Does this mean that you can just take out the old tubes, put in new ones and play? Or are there more steps?
Does this mean that you can just take out the old tubes, put in new ones and play? Or are there more steps?
Fresh_Start
New member
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
Yes.
Oh wait, how can I answer "yes" to both questions? You can simply replace the power tubes, but it's especially important to get a "matched pair" for the Blues Jr. Ideally, we would like to be able to adjust the bias on a fixed bias amp (as opposed to a cathode biased amp) anytime we change power tubes. However, the Blues Jr. doesn't offer any bias adjustment short of replacing resistors on the circuit board. Yuk!
Bill Machrone has a great write up on adding an adjustment for this fixed bias amp (apparent puns intended), but it's not absolutely necessary.
There's a good explanation of biasing here.
HTH
Chip
Yes.
Oh wait, how can I answer "yes" to both questions? You can simply replace the power tubes, but it's especially important to get a "matched pair" for the Blues Jr. Ideally, we would like to be able to adjust the bias on a fixed bias amp (as opposed to a cathode biased amp) anytime we change power tubes. However, the Blues Jr. doesn't offer any bias adjustment short of replacing resistors on the circuit board. Yuk!
Bill Machrone has a great write up on adding an adjustment for this fixed bias amp (apparent puns intended), but it's not absolutely necessary.
There's a good explanation of biasing here.
HTH
Chip
random_guy
New member
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
Cool, thanks a lot, I'm reading that link now.
Cool, thanks a lot, I'm reading that link now.
Hoss
Joyfulnoiseologist
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
trust me...go to www.eurotubes.com and order a blues jr retube kit...that's a great starting point...mine sounds killer with JJ's...i keep putting off getting a g12h30 speaker...but that's next for sure!
trust me...go to www.eurotubes.com and order a blues jr retube kit...that's a great starting point...mine sounds killer with JJ's...i keep putting off getting a g12h30 speaker...but that's next for sure!
MoodyBlue
New member
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
Thanks Fellas
This info All helps a lot! My Hot rod Deville gets the clarity and presence really well but in the house I have to choke it sooo far back. There's so much overdrive available in that amp and I just don't use it for blues. I put the Deville up against a Mesa LoneStar special Sunday ( I had decided I wanted the Mesa before this experiment) at Guitar Center with several of my guitars and with the clean channel on the Mesa driven at about 2/3 and the Deville clean at about 1/4 the tones were so amazingly close I just couldn't see forking over the $1700 for the Mesa.
I really like my Blues Jr for the tone to volume ratio but really want that clarity and presence . Hopefully applying some of these suggestions will get me there.
Thanks again!
Jim:cool2:
Thanks Fellas
This info All helps a lot! My Hot rod Deville gets the clarity and presence really well but in the house I have to choke it sooo far back. There's so much overdrive available in that amp and I just don't use it for blues. I put the Deville up against a Mesa LoneStar special Sunday ( I had decided I wanted the Mesa before this experiment) at Guitar Center with several of my guitars and with the clean channel on the Mesa driven at about 2/3 and the Deville clean at about 1/4 the tones were so amazingly close I just couldn't see forking over the $1700 for the Mesa.
I really like my Blues Jr for the tone to volume ratio but really want that clarity and presence . Hopefully applying some of these suggestions will get me there.
Thanks again!
Jim:cool2:
Curly
Moe's Bluesman
Re: Stock Blues Jr, more clarity & presence?
here are my two favorite amps:
I got my B Jr from MF a few years ago when they were a bit cheaper. Mine sounds a little dark -- I've heard that newer ones are a little brighter ... it has JJ tubes and a Jensen RI C12N. Like a true blues amp, it sounds great cranked with a strat.
I can also recommend Bob @ Eurotubes.
here are my two favorite amps:
I got my B Jr from MF a few years ago when they were a bit cheaper. Mine sounds a little dark -- I've heard that newer ones are a little brighter ... it has JJ tubes and a Jensen RI C12N. Like a true blues amp, it sounds great cranked with a strat.
I can also recommend Bob @ Eurotubes.
