Blues Jr.

George McLellan · Post by **George McLellan** » 18 Jun 2015 5:10 am

Yesterday, at the Arizona Jammers Reunion I thought I'd try my Fender Blues Jr. with my Willy, what a surprise. It had all the volume and tone I needed. Sure it was a small venue but it served me well without having to haul the larger (Twin Reverb or Deluxe Reverb) amp. I didn't try the C6th neck but for E9th and my Strat it worked well.

I wonder if an external speaker jac could be installed? Then I could plug in a 15" speaker when needed.

Geo

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 18 Jun 2015 5:37 am

When small amps can work (in small enough, quiet enough situations) they sure can sound good.

Someone who knows what he's doing most certainly could give you a speaker-out option. On amps that have no jack for the speaker (the speaker is hard-wired) I have cut the wire to the speaker and mounted a jack inside the cabinet.
I always want the option to go out to an ext. cab. (or, also, to drive the original speaker with an emergency ext. amp)

edited for post-grade school english

Gary Meixner · Post by **Gary Meixner** » 18 Jun 2015 6:25 am

George,

I have posted quite a bit on the forum in the past about the Blues Jr. I think the stock amp is is a good sounding, inexpensive, light weight option. I have done a lot of mods to mine and turned it into a great sounding amp. You certainly can add a external speaker output - check out: www.billmaudio.com for a whole mess of info. Good luck.

Gary

Michael Brebes · Post by **Michael Brebes** » 18 Jun 2015 6:59 am

My brother's Blues Jr. has a speaker jack. Just unplug the cable from the internal speaker and plug in the cable to your cabinet.

George McLellan · Post by **George McLellan** » 18 Jun 2015 8:02 am

Thanks for the input. I'm going to try and add a external speaker jac, I use that configuration a lot with my other two amps.
Geo

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 18 Jun 2015 8:22 am

Do yourself the favor of putting the jack in a place that does not drive you crazy to get at (don't ask why I know this

).
And, as you probably know, always make sure the amp is in standby or off before disconnecting the speaker and be sure that your cable is good.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 18 Jun 2015 8:30 am

Put a mic in front of it and add it to the monitor mix, that's a great sounding amp if you don't have to turn it up too much.

Dennis Russell · Post by **Dennis Russell** » 18 Jun 2015 8:36 am

In my blues jr the stock speaker is plugged into a pre-existing 1/4 inch speaker jack. It's hidden a bit. Though I haven't plugged in a 15 so far, I've had good luck plugging in different speaker cabs for different tones (JBL sounded great for steel, Celestion vintage 30 sounds great for six string electric).

George McLellan · Post by **George McLellan** » 18 Jun 2015 9:44 am

Dave, that'd be fine but not all small venues offer a channel in the board for instruments. That is why I'd like to add an external speaker so if needed I could put the extension on the other side of the stage so the other guys would be able to hear me at an expectable volume, you know what happens when a drummer is between both sides of the stage....a volume war starts.

Yes Jon, that is what I would do as for placement of the jac. My Blues Jr. doesn't have a stand by switch like my other two do.

Dennis, "hidden a bit" is an understatement. I had to turn the amp upside down to find it.

Geo

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 18 Jun 2015 9:54 am

I can only assume you guys are using external devices for reverb and/or delay. My Blues Jr. has the worst-sounding reverb possible.

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 18 Jun 2015 4:09 pm

George McLellan wrote:Thanks for the input. I'm going to try and add a external speaker jac, I use that configuration a lot with my other two amps.
Geo

It is possible to put the lugs that go to the internal speaker on a 1/4" panel mount jack. You don't have to mod the amp that way. If you're worried about it coming off, a little heat shrink or something can be used to keep the lugs on the jack.

K Maul · Post by **K Maul** » 19 Jun 2015 9:48 am

You can buy a MOD replacement reverb tank for about $25 and it sounds lots better than the stock one.

Eric Dahlhoff · Post by **Eric Dahlhoff** » 19 Jun 2015 12:22 pm

I replaced the 1st preamp tube (12AX7) in my BJr. with a 12AU7.
It lowered the input gain so that the first stage doesn't overload as quickly with my steel guitar. But it's a bit too low gain for my Strat. I plan to try a -T7 or -Y7 to bump it up a bit more.
And yes, replace the stock reverb.

Gary Meixner · Post by **Gary Meixner** » 19 Jun 2015 12:22 pm

The stock reverb is a bit disappointing and definitely the weak link. I switched to a MOD tank and it made a noticeable difference. I also added a reverb tank bag.

Gary

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Blues Jr.

Blues Jr.

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