Fender Blues Junior

[Jim Wegner]

Being a newbie PSG player, I was wondering if a Fender Blues Junior can be modified to make it PSG friendly? I used this amp with my Remington 8-string non-pedal and it worked fairly well as a practice amp. But with my new Zumsteel Encore, not so much. Any modification ideas would be appreciated. I won't throw this amp into the river but if it just doesn't cut it with PSG, then what do you recommend as a replacement in the less-than $500 range? Look forward to your ideas/opinions.[/b]

[Lane Gray]

Under $500? Lotsa options. Roland Cube 80
This amp http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=269931
This SMP
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=268733
This one
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=269689
Or this one should sound awesome. My favorite of the Peaveys
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=269660

[Dennis Russell]

I did the bill m. Twinstack mod on my blues jr (http://billmaudio.com/wp/?page_id=58 ). I also replaced the preamp tubes with low gain tubes (at the billmaudio website he has recommendations for tubes to use). The twinstack mod took about 10 minutes to do and immediately changed the inherent muddy, boxy tone of the blues jr and gave it a clean sparkle. The low gain preamp tubes allows me to turn the amp up louder before it starts to break up.
After the mods, I use my blues jr with my psg at smaller bar gigs and rehearsals and I much prefer the tone to a Fender Mustang III that I had been using. FYI--For bigger gigs my usual rig is a 1961 Fender bassman piggyback with a 12 jbl, which is about as clean as you can get next to a Twin.

[Garry Vanderlinde]

I love my Blues Jr. for lap steels and I put on all the Bill M mods I could to give it more head room, but with a pedal steel I'd go for a used Peavey LTD, Nashville or Vegas 400, Nashville 1000, etc. Easy to get in the For Sale section or eBay under $500.

[Tommy Boswell]

But with my new Zumsteel Encore, not so much.

Jim, which pickup does your Encore have?

I'm in the middle of the same thing, trying different amps with my new Encore. What a great guitar!