I don't usually leave comments but I just stumbled on to this channel a few days ago and I love it! I'm just an old touring musician who is now retired. Been through too many amps to count. I really enjoy how professional and honest this channel is and the fantastic, calm speaking tone of his voice. Thank you!! 🙂
i have been watching you for about 2 weeks. I subbed on the under 500 video. I must say, you have a great voice for this type of channel. I'm learning a lot from you and appreciate your content.
Lyle, you Are such a honest person. A real human with such a special knowledge of your trade. I live in Sweden, but spent my time in Nashville in the earls 70 ties. Did know nothing about amps. Learning so much from you, that I am turning in my fender sf amps to a good swedish tech for service. Got they blackfaced via vintagefender amp repairs. They sound great👍
I subbed to your channel. I appreciate your honesty. I've been playing the guitar for a long time. But now I'm starting to learn what really goes on in that magic box with these great videos.
Been following your channel and the advice is excellent - such a great voice and delivery - Uncle Doug on steroids! I've just rebuilt a freebie Blues Jr given to me with a dead PT. The V5 valve (yes I'm in the UK!) was blown - white inside - and I suspect this failing had catastrophic effects on the PT. Got a new Fender NOS PT installed, resulting sound was naff and distorted - but hey it worked! Further investigation and it turned out the OT transformer had also been fried with a massive mismatch either side of the centre tap. DC resistance alone was showing 110ohm and 40ohm either side of the centre tap. Solid brown goo also visible showing something had melted and dripped out. Got a Hammond replacement and its up and running pretty nicely. Have biased with the 82K resistor as you recommend - and replaced all the filter caps by default as the old ones - whilst still functioning and to spec - were showing some leakage at the +ve. Also got a new valve board as V5 traces were all lifting, so this thing had got hot when it failed. Would love a video of the difference in tone, volume etc on hot or cold bias. Keep on being excellent!
I have a Blues Junior 4 and it wasn't working. After watching your channel I knew enough to check the tubes and viola! Found a loose tube. Reset it. Fixed it. Off to the races!
I must say after watching many of your videos on Blues Jr's, I'm glad I got a two year renewable warranty on my used Blues Jr III. I wonder how many years I can extend it... lol
I met a guy that had a Blues Jr. He had problem after problem with it, to the point of having all the soldering reflowed. Mine is a Pro Jr and I was paying close attention to his story in case ANY was applicable to the little stablemate. His advice wrt pursuit of Tone was a PRRI. I still have the Pro Jr but am seriously considering my options. Thanks for all the videos and your "play by play" commentary to keep us informed!
I now live in fear of when my Fender Super Champ X2 will succumb to these horrors. I wish I had kept the vintage amps from my past. I do very much enjoy your videos and they are a great informative source.
I like the Celestion A type too. It's pretty great for an American vintage voiced speaker. I think I might have to finally grab myself a deville 212 in a while after enough used mk IV's are on the market. That speaker change and the pine cabinets really helped the tone in my opinion.
As a punter who has been messing with stuff all my life but not ever had to make a living at it, I’m impressed with how useful you make the desk offering braid. If you are looking for ideas for videos, your tips on desoldering ‘ soldering stuff sounds interesting to me.
OMG, one can feel the overwhelmed of excitement in his voice on the many versions of Fenders pertaining to cosmetic changes !!! However, same old same old issues within the amp's circuit board. !!! LOL !!!!
I just dropped off my blues Junior to get the input jack repaired and it fizzles out sometimes too and then this video showed up on my feed very strange but great video thanks man
Funny I thought the same thing about your voice/ delivery, it is very relaxing. I think it’s referred to as ASMR it’s a hidden talent:). I have watched every video for the past 2 weeks. I am learning quite a bit. One of my broken amps is a AC15 so it was very interesting to see it’s guts and get loads of info. Thanks again. Aloha
Great video. The older eminence speaker was I suspect chosen by fender to have low bass and keep cabinet vibrations down. Eminence actually make some much better speakers that they could have used. The eminence gb128 sounds excellent as do some of the green or cream back celestions.
I've had several Fender tube amps since the early 90's and they are the most unreliable amps I've ever owned. I sold all but one now and started using Roland amps with much better results 👍
Actually, all the original BF and SF amps were VERY reliable... The problem is that musicians buy a reissue amp or one of the JR amps or Blues amps made this century and think they're gonna get a durable and reliable amp like the originals. WRONG!! Lol. It's actually cheaper in the long run to buy an original BF or SF amp, put a few hundred dollars into it to get out the old parts that go bad with time... To each his own, I guess...
loving your content in your videos, curious as to what your thoughts are in regards to the quality of Hughes and Kettner tubemeister lunchbox amp heads.
Thank you. I have not had one on the bench so I have no opinion. Of the H&Ks I have had, I loathe their chassis ground quick connects and I other people to avoid the ones with the clear front panel that lights up blue. Those break and cost an ungodly amount to replace.
That's a commercial product usually called "Solder-Wick" which is also a brand name, but there are others such as Chem-Wick. The copper braid is impregnated with Rosin flux to help it wick up molten solder. Plain old stranded copper wire doesn't really work for this unless you use Rosin flux (do not use plumbers flux, it's corrosive). Personally, I prefer a vacuum-pump-operated desoldering station for working on circuit boards. You're mostly right about manually operated piston-pump solder suckers: cleaning them almost daily is a pain, but they needn't be thrown out every month if they're well made and you clean and maintain them regularly.
You’re getting the ol youtube comment fatigue Lyle lol. Don’t even address all that in your vids. Suggest perhaps you put a standard disclaimer in your description and just let it roll like you want do. Great content as always. Keep up the great and very informative video! Also yes @Fender…instead of changing the color of your toilex, maybe fist address the engineering and crap parts shortcomings (IC brand caps, etc) in the next “revision”! Cheers!
Great videos on this channel.subbed. Learned a lot about my bill m modded blues jr. Thank you. Btw.. Talking about cheaper amps. Have you had any experience with the vox night train 15h? If so, do you think they are well made and reliable? I got to hear one played at a store and loved its sound. Checking out some reviews.
There are lots techs that are _honest,_ and then there is *the* honest tech. And how can you be more honest than being completely visible under the scrutiny of the camera (nearly) every step of the way? (gotta keep _some_ trade/method secrets) Psionic Audio: "My ears are burning."
I really love the sound of theses Blues Junior IV amps. My only gripe is that there is no effects loop. Do you know of or can you recommend an aftermarket effects loops that can be added this amp?
If one comes into the local shop. Aside from vintage or otherwise usually higher end amps shipped to me, the "daily commute" amps that come in are through the local store I work with. I have no say in what comes in.
Have you seen the limited edition versions? They come with 12 inch cannabis rex and tweaked internals I believe, they sound great unfortunately I went through 2 both couldn’t go past master volume 5 without making strange sounds and sounding horrible
For a tech-head, you got a little groove goin’ on. A lot of times, it’s one or the other. But I’m noticing your diagnostic twang. You can groove a little bit.
After a lot of work and replacing of parts I have a very nice sounding and reliable Bjr. But stock this amp had a domino effect of issues that built up over just 6 months. Sucks Fender puts shitty parts to save very little $. Just up the cost $50 and solve the problems plz. Thanks for the video :-)
I ended up putting a 27k in R52 to cool the bias down a bit. Replaced C1 and C4. C25-28 Caps. Removed bright cap. Amp has a Jensen speaker. MOD reverb tank. Theres a few other things I did. Sounds great and the tubes are running cooler. :-) Also that blue wire has been moved away from output tubes connectors to stop hum. Theres a JJ 12AY7 in V1, JJ 12AX7 in V2 and V3 has a gold JJ 12AX7. Power tubes are JJ EL's.
What point-to-point amp would you recommend instead of a Blues Junior that has a similar wattage, size and control layout? 15-20 watts, 12" speaker, pre, master, treble, mid, bass, reverb. Thanks!
So you get it to sound great, naturally. My question now is: what would total bill come to if a tech corrected the known design flaws? A student brought one in years ago and I really enjoyed it. If the price is right, I’d get one knowing what it might cost to make it reliable.
As of prices right now, four hours labor (including removing/resoldering a lot of crucial solder joints), $60 for parts with shipping, assuming tubes are good. So $380 plus tax to make an amp that sells new for $700 plus tax (more with some finish options) last. And none of that is "modding" to get a different sound. That's just to undo the factory goofs/penny pinching. Some techs charge less than I do. Some charge more. My four hours also includes time spent ordering the parts. If I usually get X part from Vendor A but they are out of stock, I either have to find a different part (takes time to go through specs) or a different vendor. Sometimes that requires additional shipping charges to get that one part from a different vendor. The last two years have really done a number on distribution. If this was a car where every vehicle off the line needed the same major service in three years, there would be a recall.
I used to work on the newer fenders where I worked we were the warranty service for musicians friend. Board mounted jacks are a pain. I understand exactly why the amps and tons of other electronics are built the way they are. Circuit boards where pots jacks and switches are used for mechanical mounting of board are in my book a bad thing. They are especially bad on gear that travels. At American Power conversion all products went through HALT testing (highly accelerated life testing) while in the design engineering process. Amps and gear would cost more if this engineering methodology were applied. The end result would be more road worthy equipment fewer surprises at sound checks.
At 8:18, Lyle shows viewers what the resulting solder joints look like when you simply add leaded solder to connections that were factory-soldered with lead-free, without removing the old solder first.
By the way, you will notice how the the addition of lead solder makes the original solder joints go from liquid to solid instantly, which is a peculiarity of some solder-alloy formulations that are referred to as "eutectic". Some people prefer this because they don't have to hold the wire or component lead steady for several seconds until the solder solidifies. I personally prefer 60/40 lead solder or similar formulations that have a range of temperature within which the solder remains liquid before solidifying, largely because such solder flows and wets to the connections better.
@@goodun2974 if you're happy with 60/40 solder, I won't try to dissuade you. But you have some of the metallurgy inside out. You're correct that 64/40 (non-eutectic) has a plastic phase between the solid phase and liquid phase. But that exists between 361~376 F. The plastic phase is of no use to us. We never want any movement of the metals being joined in that range of temperature. 63/37 (eutectic) has no plastic phase and the melting point is the same 361 F as the lower transition point of 60/40. 63/37 has better wetting properties, flows more readily, and has a slightly higher tensile strength. Some people (I believe Lyle may be in this group) prefer 60/40 is because it does NOT flow as readily. It's less likely to droop out of gaps such as those between a component lead and an eyelet, while it's liquid.
@@retread1083 Actually, what I use 99% of the time at work (and most of the time at home where I also have a roll of it) is Kester 44R/66, Sn62/Pb36/Ag2, which has 2% silver. It is indeed a bit "runny" for use on Fender eyelet boards or large terminal strips but it works fine for turrets and for tube sockets, and for printed circuit boards, the stuff is the cat's meow. Rarely do I find another lead-based solder that it won't play well with, and it flows beautifully. I'm quite used to holding parts steady while the solder solidifies, or better yet securing them with a halfwrap or bent over lead so that they won't move. I must admit however that I would probably go insane (short trip!) if I didn't have a vacuum desoldering station at work; desoldering parts from boards is a lot easier when you don't need to hold solder wick in your left hand and can instead use your free hand to hold the semi-attached (tethered by wiring harnesses) circuit board so that it doesn't flop around while you use the desoldering gun with the other hand.
a tech told me that on these amps you have to change the jacks for the same fender ones (plastic) because of the way the chasis is grounded. I can now see he had no clue what he was talking about.
Yeah, but 6V in a filter cap here poses as much risk as an aged 9V battery. Couldn't produce enough current to make the voltage harmful. Like I said, don't do stuff you see me do because I don't have time in the middle of a repair to list all the considerations. ;) I'm mindful of them even though I don't explain all of them.
Is it possible to buy a bare PCB for the Blues Jr ? Has anyone tried to populate a BJ board with higher quality parts; Elna Caps and PRP resistors ? Is a original Made in USA Blues Jr a better amp ?
6:33 how did you discharge the capacitors? I'm assuming you just shorted it to ground? How do you discharge, when the stored voltage is higher? Discharge through a 1watt resistor?
You could try to unplug the AC cable from the wall, and set the power switch to ´on´, and then measure the voltage on the caps, as shown in some of the videos. I normally use a 220K/2w resistor to ground - but be careful to use isolated clips.
I've watched a few of your vids it seems to me there's a catch 22 everyone says the tubes need heat to do their thing and sound good and at the same time heat is an enemy to solder joints and parts and yet you never see an amp. with a cooling fan like a computer... They don't even put vents in the top face of the cabinets or anywhere else to allow heat to rise more readily... can you elaborate? Thnx John
Not only is there a risk, we develop a habit of instinctually assuming a shock is possible. Everyone I know who works on amps gets bit on occasion.Those bites keep you safer the next time high voltage is around. They QUICKLY teach you to respect high voltage!
this is greate. my only problem with this amp is that is too loud. i just cannot play it when master at level 3 and volume at 12. it too loud to use at the evening. i dont want to sell it but i dont know what to do.
Will you sell a kit for needed repairs for a hotrod deluxe? I have no visible damage to the pcb but amp is full if ic caps and all the usual suspects I see you replace in other videos
No, I won't ever be offering that service as I would have to hold people's hands as they try to do the repair. I don't have time or the temperament. ;)
Completely off topic and I hope you don't mind me asking. Have you worked on a newer Bluesbreaker? I saw a video from a fellow in the UK the other night and he said he wasn't going to attempt it, that he would just say it was unrepairable. The boards all mount inside a metal channel that's basically a square tube when the front panel with the pots, switches and jacks is bolted to it. It did look like a nightmare. Also looked like it would get very hot.
Why not change the jacks? The mini board has no ground, the jack is the ground and prone to lose contact, thats why the toothed washer is on the inside, changing it out and chassis grounding is a good fix for the problem. Also, reverb works much better with the tank cables switched with one another, the Red cable goes on the tank nearest the cab side, Fender installed them on the wrong side if you ask me.
Where do you get a BJr. for $300? To replace my version 3 NOS lacquered tweed (paid $600 new in 2007) with the current model it would cost $800. This is why I just paid Amp Shop in North Hollywood $308 for the following work: "2 new EL84 tubes, replace 2 blown out filter caps, Broken solder connections on power tube socket, recondition cold solder on C34 capacitor". Should I take it back and have them do the bias adjustment, bright cap removal, and oscillation mods you recommend to prevent this from happening again? Or should I sell it and buy another more reliable amp (like a new AC15 Custom you suggest in your "best tubes under $500" vid) that gives me nice clean tube tones , provides a canvas for my pedal board, and will satisfy ears for years with less worry? Thank you much for your expertise!
What’s funny is I never see “totaled” fender amps for sale. If so many of these with issues that cost more to fix than they are worth, where are all the “as-is” eBay listings? Would love to buy broken amps and fix them but I never see them for sale. One would assume they actually have a low failure rate or people just throw them away? Maybe right now with the shortages people are snapping up broken amps fast? I have only seen so far a broken vox pathfinder 15. Still had to pay $80 for it. Multiple problems on the board. Fixed it and sounds great now. It’s a total piece of junk though. No idea why people pay up to $300 for them now. Hard to get into learning amp repair with a total lack of broken stuff to learn to fix that is cheap.
I imagine they're put in the trash. When I diagnose an amp as being upside down for repair/value and return it as-is to the local store I do work though, most of the time the owner never picks it up. It just sits there until the store disposes of it.
My Blues Junior is crackling when the cable moves in the input Jack. Then the amp goes quiet. Have you any idea what the issue is? Help very appreciated, gig next week!
I have worked for a few shops that intentionally left dubious issues in amps that guaranteed them another bench fee less than 6 months into the future, and that was their "business model". I'd get reprimanded for doing "extra work". Most of these were very high volume shops too. Once it makes guitar-like noises move it out and botch up the next one. THEY ARE CROOKS! If I brought in some piece of gear that made troubleshooting go faster, they'd outright steal it. Kiss it goodbye and go buy another one.
oh well, jacks get loose over the time. Same as a car wears out ball joints. Did you let the phillips driver jump and strip the handle screws ? .. ouch !
It seems to me like it would be no effort at all to do the things you did here from the factory. But i guess none of these things will help it sell in the music store.
Is a quick title screen in order at the start of videos? “Amps are dangerous, not all safety processes are shown in the video, proceed at your own risk” blah blah blah?
In my opinion the Bjr. mark 4 is a little beast of an amp, tons of clean headroom when you dime the master volume. It's a shame fender dosn't address some of the build issues pointed out in this Video.
What a waste of time. You skip showing how you actually replaced the jack. It was just magically done. You probably sent it out and had a repair tech do the actual work is my guess.
I don't usually leave comments but I just stumbled on to this channel a few days ago and I love it! I'm just an old touring musician who is now retired. Been through too many amps to count. I really enjoy how professional and honest this channel is and the fantastic, calm speaking tone of his voice.
Thank you!! 🙂
In the Automotive world, being an honest mechanic brings more customers..... ☕😎
i have been watching you for about 2 weeks. I subbed on the under 500 video. I must say, you have a great voice for this type of channel. I'm learning a lot from you and appreciate your content.
Thanks so much!
And now I wish I had a ripe peach...
@@PsionicAudio Me too brother
+1😎👍
plot twist: its tom brokaw doing this as his retirement hobby
Lyle, you Are such a honest person. A real human with such a special knowledge of your trade. I live in Sweden, but spent my time in Nashville in the earls 70 ties. Did know nothing about amps. Learning so much from you, that I am turning in my fender sf amps to a good swedish tech for service. Got they blackfaced via vintagefender amp repairs. They sound great👍
Love and appreciate the honesty in these videos. Tips cap.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us. I’ve learned a lot
As an electronic tech for for over 40 years, i now know what amp I’m going to buy since I now know what needs to be done.
I subbed to your channel. I appreciate your honesty. I've been playing the guitar for a long time. But now I'm starting to learn what really goes on in that magic box with these great videos.
Loving this channel. I have learned quite a bit
A very helpful video. Thank you.
My guess is that twisted mass of cable was shoved into that cabinet pushing the tubes catiwampus!
Lol the Diaz cap discharge technique! Another great video.
Good work and a great tone :)
Your channel is a wealth of information.
Recently discovered your channel. Great stuff, I'm learning a lot.
Down and dirty repair, good coffee Video for Saturday morning.
Best speak for blues jr
Been following your channel and the advice is excellent - such a great voice and delivery - Uncle Doug on steroids!
I've just rebuilt a freebie Blues Jr given to me with a dead PT.
The V5 valve (yes I'm in the UK!) was blown - white inside - and I suspect this failing had catastrophic effects on the PT.
Got a new Fender NOS PT installed, resulting sound was naff and distorted - but hey it worked!
Further investigation and it turned out the OT transformer had also been fried with a massive mismatch either side of the centre tap. DC resistance alone was showing 110ohm and 40ohm either side of the centre tap. Solid brown goo also visible showing something had melted and dripped out.
Got a Hammond replacement and its up and running pretty nicely.
Have biased with the 82K resistor as you recommend - and replaced all the filter caps by default as the old ones - whilst still functioning and to spec - were showing some leakage at the +ve.
Also got a new valve board as V5 traces were all lifting, so this thing had got hot when it failed.
Would love a video of the difference in tone, volume etc on hot or cold bias.
Keep on being excellent!
I bought one of these for 200 bucks off a local tech. He did the fromel mods and a 12au7 in 1st slot and it sounds so good. Lots of headroom
I have a Blues Junior 4 and it wasn't working. After watching your channel I knew enough to check the tubes and viola! Found a loose tube. Reset it. Fixed it. Off to the races!
I must say after watching many of your videos on Blues Jr's, I'm glad I got a two year renewable warranty on my used Blues Jr III. I wonder how many years I can extend it... lol
I met a guy that had a Blues Jr. He had problem after problem with it, to the point of having all the soldering reflowed. Mine is a Pro Jr and I was paying close attention to his story in case ANY was applicable to the little stablemate. His advice wrt pursuit of Tone was a PRRI.
I still have the Pro Jr but am seriously considering my options. Thanks for all the videos and your "play by play" commentary to keep us informed!
I now live in fear of when my Fender Super Champ X2 will succumb to these horrors. I wish I had kept the vintage amps from my past. I do very much enjoy your videos and they are a great informative source.
good video
I like the Celestion A type too. It's pretty great for an American vintage voiced speaker. I think I might have to finally grab myself a deville 212 in a while after enough used mk IV's are on the market. That speaker change and the pine cabinets really helped the tone in my opinion.
An A-type impulse response is my secret to an amazing Santana tone
The guitar sounds nice.
As a punter who has been messing with stuff all my life but not ever had to make a living at it, I’m impressed with how useful you make the desk offering braid. If you are looking for ideas for videos, your tips on desoldering ‘ soldering stuff sounds interesting to me.
Great vid, thanks! I've done mods to my blues jr a couple of times but regret never touching the jack. Next time!
OMG, one can feel the overwhelmed of excitement in his voice on the many versions of Fenders pertaining to cosmetic changes !!! However, same old same old issues within the amp's circuit board. !!! LOL !!!!
I just dropped off my blues Junior to get the input jack repaired and it fizzles out sometimes too and then this video showed up on my feed very strange but great video thanks man
Funny I thought the same thing about your voice/ delivery, it is very relaxing. I think it’s referred to as ASMR it’s a hidden talent:). I have watched every video for the past 2 weeks. I am learning quite a bit. One of my broken amps is a AC15 so it was very interesting to see it’s guts and get loads of info. Thanks again. Aloha
I just bought a Blues Jr IV Stealth Limited Edition and will save this video for future reference.
I’m looking at one myself. How do you like it?
I've just ordered one. I wish i didn't do that after seen this video.
Just shell out a few hundred more and make it good, as expensive as they are now it's worthwhile if you like the sound
I agree, the problem is, finding an honest tech like this guy and has the expertise too. @@jasondorsey7110
Does that now make it a .. Blues Senior? :)
Great video. The older eminence speaker was I suspect chosen by fender to have low bass and keep cabinet vibrations down. Eminence actually make some much better speakers that they could have used. The eminence gb128 sounds excellent as do some of the green or cream back celestions.
Yeah, I wasn't slamming Eminence. Fender asked them to make a cheap speaker, they delivered.
You said it many times the cheaper the amp the more screws you have. Things that drive me nuts
I've had several Fender tube amps since the early 90's and they are the most unreliable amps I've ever owned. I sold all but one now and started using Roland amps with much better results 👍
I don’t think Leo made many poor 90’s Fenders! His ones were, as mentioned many times in these videos, his amps were simpler and better made.
Actually, all the original BF and SF amps were VERY reliable... The problem is that musicians buy a reissue amp or one of the JR amps or Blues amps made this century and think they're gonna get a durable and reliable amp like the originals. WRONG!!
Lol.
It's actually cheaper in the long run to buy an original BF or SF amp, put a few hundred dollars into it to get out the old parts that go bad with time...
To each his own, I guess...
loving your content in your videos, curious as to what your thoughts are in regards to the quality of Hughes and Kettner tubemeister lunchbox amp heads.
Thank you.
I have not had one on the bench so I have no opinion.
Of the H&Ks I have had, I loathe their chassis ground quick connects and I other people to avoid the ones with the clear front panel that lights up blue. Those break and cost an ungodly amount to replace.
I would have loved to see how you wired the new jack and the bias cool down method. Do you have any more videos on that, or a diagram?
Can you do a repair video or just speak about the Fender Excelsior Pro?
Do you have a standardized bias resistor value you use for these?
I love than little copper ban hack you use to remove solder, Sure beats buying a new solder sucker every month. Thanks!!
That's a commercial product usually called "Solder-Wick" which is also a brand name, but there are others such as Chem-Wick. The copper braid is impregnated with Rosin flux to help it wick up molten solder. Plain old stranded copper wire doesn't really work for this unless you use Rosin flux (do not use plumbers flux, it's corrosive). Personally, I prefer a vacuum-pump-operated desoldering station for working on circuit boards. You're mostly right about manually operated piston-pump solder suckers: cleaning them almost daily is a pain, but they needn't be thrown out every month if they're well made and you clean and maintain them regularly.
@@goodun2974 Thanks for the info!! Peace.
You’re getting the ol youtube comment fatigue Lyle lol. Don’t even address all that in your vids. Suggest perhaps you put a standard disclaimer in your description and just let it roll like you want do. Great content as always. Keep up the great and very informative video! Also yes @Fender…instead of changing the color of your toilex, maybe fist address the engineering and crap parts shortcomings (IC brand caps, etc) in the next “revision”!
Cheers!
Nice video! You mentioned your standard bias cool-down tweak, but I didn't see it. Have you posted it? Never mind, I should have looked first.
Great videos on this channel.subbed. Learned a lot about my bill m modded blues jr. Thank you. Btw.. Talking about cheaper amps. Have you had any experience with the vox night train 15h? If so, do you think they are well made and reliable? I got to hear one played at a store and loved its sound. Checking out some reviews.
Thanks! Avoid the Night Trains. Service headaches, bad PCBs, poor quality overall.
There are lots techs that are _honest,_ and then there is
*the* honest tech.
And how can you be more honest than being completely visible under the scrutiny of the camera (nearly) every step of the way? (gotta keep _some_ trade/method secrets)
Psionic Audio: "My ears are burning."
I really love the sound of theses Blues Junior IV amps. My only gripe is that there is no effects loop. Do you know of or can you recommend an aftermarket effects loops that can be added this amp?
Hopefully the coming V will, and these clowns at fender will finally do the upgrades this guy speaks of.
Would definetly like your take on Marshall DSL 15
If one comes into the local shop. Aside from vintage or otherwise usually higher end amps shipped to me, the "daily commute" amps that come in are through the local store I work with. I have no say in what comes in.
Have you seen the limited edition versions? They come with 12 inch cannabis rex and tweaked internals I believe, they sound great unfortunately I went through 2 both couldn’t go past master volume 5 without making strange sounds and sounding horrible
For a tech-head, you got a little groove goin’ on. A lot of times, it’s one or the other. But I’m noticing your diagnostic twang. You can groove a little bit.
After a lot of work and replacing of parts I have a very nice sounding and reliable Bjr. But stock this amp had a domino effect of issues that built up over just 6 months. Sucks Fender puts shitty parts to save very little $. Just up the cost $50 and solve the problems plz. Thanks for the video :-)
I ended up putting a 27k in R52 to cool the bias down a bit. Replaced C1 and C4. C25-28 Caps. Removed bright cap. Amp has a Jensen speaker. MOD reverb tank. Theres a few other things I did. Sounds great and the tubes are running cooler. :-) Also that blue wire has been moved away from output tubes connectors to stop hum. Theres a JJ 12AY7 in V1, JJ 12AX7 in V2 and V3 has a gold JJ 12AX7. Power tubes are JJ EL's.
What point-to-point amp would you recommend instead of a Blues Junior that has a similar wattage, size and control layout? 15-20 watts, 12" speaker, pre, master, treble, mid, bass, reverb. Thanks!
So you get it to sound great, naturally. My question now is: what would total bill come to if a tech corrected the known design flaws? A student brought one in years ago and I really enjoyed it. If the price is right, I’d get one knowing what it might cost to make it reliable.
As of prices right now, four hours labor (including removing/resoldering a lot of crucial solder joints), $60 for parts with shipping, assuming tubes are good. So $380 plus tax to make an amp that sells new for $700 plus tax (more with some finish options) last.
And none of that is "modding" to get a different sound. That's just to undo the factory goofs/penny pinching.
Some techs charge less than I do. Some charge more. My four hours also includes time spent ordering the parts. If I usually get X part from Vendor A but they are out of stock, I either have to find a different part (takes time to go through specs) or a different vendor. Sometimes that requires additional shipping charges to get that one part from a different vendor. The last two years have really done a number on distribution.
If this was a car where every vehicle off the line needed the same major service in three years, there would be a recall.
Sup Grumpy Grampa...🤣
How can I cool down the bias on mine?
I used to work on the newer fenders where I worked we were the warranty service for musicians friend. Board mounted jacks are a pain. I understand exactly why the amps and tons of other electronics are built the way they are. Circuit boards where pots jacks and switches are used for mechanical mounting of board are in my book a bad thing. They are especially bad on gear that travels. At American Power conversion all products went through HALT testing (highly accelerated life testing) while in the design engineering process. Amps and gear would cost more if this engineering methodology were applied. The end result would be more road worthy equipment fewer surprises at sound checks.
At 8:18, Lyle shows viewers what the resulting solder joints look like when you simply add leaded solder to connections that were factory-soldered with lead-free, without removing the old solder first.
By the way, you will notice how the the addition of lead solder makes the original solder joints go from liquid to solid instantly, which is a peculiarity of some solder-alloy formulations that are referred to as "eutectic". Some people prefer this because they don't have to hold the wire or component lead steady for several seconds until the solder solidifies. I personally prefer 60/40 lead solder or similar formulations that have a range of temperature within which the solder remains liquid before solidifying, largely because such solder flows and wets to the connections better.
@@goodun2974 if you're happy with 60/40 solder, I won't try to dissuade you. But you have some of the metallurgy inside out.
You're correct that 64/40 (non-eutectic) has a plastic phase between the solid phase and liquid phase. But that exists between 361~376 F. The plastic phase is of no use to us. We never want any movement of the metals being joined in that range of temperature.
63/37 (eutectic) has no plastic phase and the melting point is the same 361 F as the lower transition point of 60/40.
63/37 has better wetting properties, flows more readily, and has a slightly higher tensile strength.
Some people (I believe Lyle may be in this group) prefer 60/40 is because it does NOT flow as readily. It's less likely to droop out of gaps such as those between a component lead and an eyelet, while it's liquid.
@@retread1083 Actually, what I use 99% of the time at work (and most of the time at home where I also have a roll of it) is Kester 44R/66, Sn62/Pb36/Ag2, which has 2% silver. It is indeed a bit "runny" for use on Fender eyelet boards or large terminal strips but it works fine for turrets and for tube sockets, and for printed circuit boards, the stuff is the cat's meow. Rarely do I find another lead-based solder that it won't play well with, and it flows beautifully. I'm quite used to holding parts steady while the solder solidifies, or better yet securing them with a halfwrap or bent over lead so that they won't move. I must admit however that I would probably go insane (short trip!) if I didn't have a vacuum desoldering station at work; desoldering parts from boards is a lot easier when you don't need to hold solder wick in your left hand and can instead use your free hand to hold the semi-attached (tethered by wiring harnesses) circuit board so that it doesn't flop around while you use the desoldering gun with the other hand.
@@goodun2974 The Sn62/Pb36/Ag2 is a eutectic alloy like the 63/37. It has a lower melting point of 354 F.
a tech told me that on these amps you have to change the jacks for the same fender ones (plastic) because of the way the chasis is grounded. I can now see he had no clue what he was talking about.
There is something to it - you need to isolate the input jack, which he does here with a set of isolation plastic washers.
Is there a mod that can replace the fixed cable with a computer type plug input on the back of the amp or is it too costly to do.
I'm not sure what you want to achieve but whatever the plan is, it wouldn't be cost-effective on these amps.
Have you considered creating a Fender Jr or Deluxe style now that you have done the vox style?
I would never make a Junior. ;)
I am however about to build a custom Deluxe Reverb style amp for a customer.
it's not the volts that get, it's the Amps........nice & true
Yeah, but 6V in a filter cap here poses as much risk as an aged 9V battery. Couldn't produce enough current to make the voltage harmful.
Like I said, don't do stuff you see me do because I don't have time in the middle of a repair to list all the considerations. ;)
I'm mindful of them even though I don't explain all of them.
Is it possible to buy a bare PCB for the Blues Jr ? Has anyone tried to populate a BJ board with higher quality parts; Elna Caps and PRP resistors ? Is a original Made in USA Blues Jr a better amp ?
hey! do you have to have the isolation washers? what would happen if you didn't have them?
You create a ground loop. Google it. A lot of Hummmmm. Hope this helps. cheers-
6:33 how did you discharge the capacitors? I'm assuming you just shorted it to ground? How do you discharge, when the stored voltage is higher? Discharge through a 1watt resistor?
You could try to unplug the AC cable from the wall, and set the power switch to ´on´, and then measure the voltage on the caps, as shown in some of the videos.
I normally use a 220K/2w resistor to ground - but be careful to use isolated clips.
So...why didn't you show how to wire the Switchcraft to the circuit board?
I've watched a few of your vids it seems to me there's a catch 22 everyone says the tubes need heat to do their thing and sound good and at the same time heat is an enemy to solder joints and parts and yet you never see an amp. with a cooling fan like a computer... They don't even put vents in the top face of the cabinets or anywhere else to allow heat to rise more readily... can you elaborate? Thnx John
Amp designers new learned about convection cooling.
Not only is there a risk, we develop a habit of instinctually assuming a shock is possible. Everyone I know who works on amps gets bit on occasion.Those bites keep you safer the next time high voltage is around. They QUICKLY teach you to respect high voltage!
this is greate. my only problem with this amp is that is too loud. i just cannot play it when master at level 3 and volume at 12. it too loud to use at the evening. i dont want to sell it but i dont know what to do.
Will you sell a kit for needed repairs for a hotrod deluxe? I have no visible damage to the pcb but amp is full if ic caps and all the usual suspects I see you replace in other videos
No, I won't ever be offering that service as I would have to hold people's hands as they try to do the repair. I don't have time or the temperament. ;)
Completely off topic and I hope you don't mind me asking. Have you worked on a newer Bluesbreaker? I saw a video from a fellow in the UK the other night and he said he wasn't going to attempt it, that he would just say it was unrepairable. The boards all mount inside a metal channel that's basically a square tube when the front panel with the pots, switches and jacks is bolted to it. It did look like a nightmare. Also looked like it would get very hot.
You mean the Bassbreaker? Good sounding while they last. Service nightmares. The ones with the auto-bias circuit are ticking time bombs.
@@PsionicAudio yes sir, not sure if I mistyped or my phone changed it. Thank you.
Which celestron replace speaker would you recommend blus jr 3
G12M-65 cream back!
Why not change the jacks? The mini board has no ground, the jack is the ground and prone to lose contact, thats why the toothed washer is on the inside, changing it out and chassis grounding is a good fix for the problem. Also, reverb works much better with the tank cables switched with one another, the Red cable goes on the tank nearest the cab side, Fender installed them on the wrong side if you ask me.
Wow! Where can you buy a Blues Junior IV for $300?
I just got one from SWEETWATER for $800 .
i don't get why Fender choose the most muffled speakers for their newer amps
I wish fender just made a tweede deluxe 5e3 that's not $3000 if other amp companies can do it surely fender can
Where do you get a BJr. for $300? To replace my version 3 NOS lacquered tweed (paid $600 new in 2007) with the current model it would cost $800. This is why I just paid Amp Shop in North Hollywood $308 for the following work: "2 new EL84 tubes, replace 2 blown out filter caps, Broken solder connections on power tube socket, recondition cold solder on C34 capacitor". Should I take it back and have them do the bias adjustment, bright cap removal, and oscillation mods you recommend to prevent this from happening again? Or should I sell it and buy another more reliable amp (like a new AC15 Custom you suggest in your "best tubes under $500" vid) that gives me nice clean tube tones , provides a canvas for my pedal board, and will satisfy ears for years with less worry? Thank you much for your expertise!
Curious. What guitar were you using on that test?
The rosewood fingerboard strat. It's in a lot of videos.
So basically if you want a small fender amp go buy an old champ and leave the new stuff alone.
What’s funny is I never see “totaled” fender amps for sale. If so many of these with issues that cost more to fix than they are worth, where are all the “as-is” eBay listings?
Would love to buy broken amps and fix them but I never see them for sale. One would assume they actually have a low failure rate or people just throw them away?
Maybe right now with the shortages people are snapping up broken amps fast? I have only seen so far a broken vox pathfinder 15. Still had to pay $80 for it. Multiple problems on the board. Fixed it and sounds great now. It’s a total piece of junk though. No idea why people pay up to $300 for them now.
Hard to get into learning amp repair with a total lack of broken stuff to learn to fix that is cheap.
I didn't know people paid up to 300 for fender pathfinders, I also wouldn't call them junk by any definition
I imagine they're put in the trash. When I diagnose an amp as being upside down for repair/value and return it as-is to the local store I do work though, most of the time the owner never picks it up. It just sits there until the store disposes of it.
@@PsionicAudio dang. I maybe I need to find a store like that to mail me those amps. Shipping rates are rather high these days..
Lot's of people will keep broken old stuff in the closet as well
My Blues Junior is crackling when the cable moves in the input Jack. Then the amp goes quiet. Have you any idea what the issue is? Help very appreciated, gig next week!
Probably broken solder joints on the jack. 90% of all BJs that come in have at least that fault.
@@PsionicAudio thanks for the quick response. It’s quite an old one so would make sense
Cut the lock of the zip tie, no risk of scratching insulation that way!
I have worked for a few shops that intentionally left dubious issues in amps that guaranteed them another bench fee less than 6 months into the future, and that was their "business model". I'd get reprimanded for doing "extra work". Most of these were very high volume shops too. Once it makes guitar-like noises move it out and botch up the next one. THEY ARE CROOKS! If I brought in some piece of gear that made troubleshooting go faster, they'd outright steal it. Kiss it goodbye and go buy another one.
oh well, jacks get loose over the time. Same as a car wears out ball joints. Did you let the phillips driver jump and strip the handle screws ? .. ouch !
It seems to me like it would be no effort at all to do the things you did here from the factory. But i guess none of these things will help it sell in the music store.
Ge it as if Leo Had the amp built to be work on Wow. Just like HP fender lost the core value that built the company .
Is a quick title screen in order at the start of videos? “Amps are dangerous, not all safety processes are shown in the video, proceed at your own risk” blah blah blah?
I've considered it. I'm leaning towards "Here be dragons."
Really a shame that you have fix factory-designed deficiencies before tackling the customer's issues.
Those lovely cabinets holding that god-awful plastic hardware makes no sense to me.
Why do people keep buying these amps?
Blues Jrs I mean not Fenders.
Because most people dont know shit about amps, they just like the way the name sounds or what the tolex looks like.
In my opinion the Bjr. mark 4 is a little beast of an amp, tons of clean headroom when you dime the master volume. It's a shame fender dosn't address some of the build issues pointed out in this Video.
I shipped my Bjr3 from Hawaii to Florida in a box with zero padding, it works just fine.
What a waste of time. You skip showing how you actually replaced the jack. It was just magically done. You probably sent it out and had a repair tech do the actual work is my guess.
If your watching this hoping to learn how that is done, please, and I mean please don't think about opening up your own amp
Very unDude attitude. You're more a nihilist than a dude.
I won’t. I’ll get someone to do it just like you did…