Breathing new life into a Fender Blues Jr Amp, you won't believe this!
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2016
- Gotta love click-baity titles eh? Ok, ok, so you probably will believe it. I take one of my least favorite stock amps (the blues jr), run it through different speakers so you can get an idea of how a different speaker will sound different in this little piece of... uh, wonderful amp, and then contrast that with runnning an EQ pedal with it in order to tame the sterility and shrillness. Yes, I realize I could pull it apart and modify it but most people won't have the desire or skills to do that. Plus, this isn't a DIY video. If you want blues jr. mods, I wrote some years ago that are probably floating around on the internet somewhere. Speakers I'm using here are WGS speakers, my fav's. If you're looking for speakers, call up WGS and ask for Daniel or Dean. Those guys KNOW their stuff.
Unpopular comment : I love the Blues Junior the way it is.
I don't think it has anything to do with the internet or out doing other people. An essential part of being an artist is always improving your craft. Gear is an extension of that craft.
As do I!
I love mine too.
I love mine to death, but recently I've been playing as the lone guitarist in a 3-piece band and I've found myself wanting more.. girth? Kinda?
I just wish it were in a bigger cabinet, but otherwise I love mine and wouldn't get rid of it.
I love your videos, because you aren't trying to sell us a product. you're offering us advice because you genuinely care about what you do and it shows. You make killer pedals too!
You don't think he's trying to sell WGS speakers? lol
I don’t know how old this video is,but thanks,Brian. I appreciate all your videos man,thank you for all you do.
For quick comparison:
stock speaker clean(bridge): 2:01
stock speaker clean(neck): 2:16
stock speaker overdrive(bridge): 2:59
stock speaker overdrive(neck): 3:10
veteran 30 clean(bridge): 6:18
veteran 30 clean(neck): 6:27
veteran 30 overdrive(bridge): 6:39
veteran 30 overdrive(neck): 6:54
ET65 clean(bridge): 7:38
ET65 clean(neck): 7:47
ET65 overdrive(bridge): 8:09
ET65 overdrive(neck): 8:31
British lead clean(bridge): 9:15
British lead clean(neck): 9:26
British lead overdrive(bridge): 9:49
British lead overdrive(neck): 10:08
Green Beret clean(bridge): 10:52
Green Beret clean(neck): 11:08
Green Beret overdrive(bridge): 11:28
Green Beret overdrive(neck): 11:43
black and blue clean(bridge): 12:44
black and blue clean(neck): 12:56
black and blue overdrive(bridge): 13:17
black and blue overdrive(neck): 13:41
🏆
They all sounded great, but I still liked the Jensen speaker the best. Cool video Brian! Love the Blues Jr!
Thanks for this video. It helped me with a 5 watt Vox amp that has been troubling me. A speaker change plus the EQ trick transformed it into something more like a plexi. Great stuff!
always wondered what that amp would sound like with different speakers. great video. thanks so much.
I just watched the intro of this video probably 20 times and I can't not stop watching you fall off the chair sorry but it's funny I'm glad you kept that in there keep up the good work.
Stock speaker holds it's own in this comparison. Thanks Wampler for doing what I would have likely done, only to be frustrated that it didn't sound 30% better.
Dude, you are classic. Love your pedals. Running the tumnus and latitude...
Beautiful Jensen Speaker, like the era of silver faced amps, rock, surf, blues, it covers it all. Of course many ears will hear many sounds. But for me that traditional fender speaker vibe and sound is smooth, silky and gorgeous. 👌👌
I discovered loads more headroom in my 79 Vibro Champ (my #1 amp) with the Jensen. Lots more clarity in the bass, which is hard to do in a little amp.
If Brian says the speaker sounds like crap, and he's the one sitting in the room with it, then the speaker sounds like crap. What we hear on UA-cam and what he hears in real life will never be the same :)
I liked the Blues junior as it was.
I really did not like mine, sounded very boxy and harsh. Though I wanted to keep it because of its portability. BillM mods and a Cannabis Rex speaker made all the difference in the world.
This guy needs a good kickin mate! 😠 😡
You probably like the taste of milk of magnesia too! 👎🏽👎🏽
It’s not just the speaker! It’s the particle board cabinet too.
Thank you Brian! I almost gave up on my BJ. Your EQ trick works great! It’s now gig worthy for small gigs. Nice to put my eq pedal on my board too. I never really had a use for it until now. Thank you!
Such an informative video. Can totally hear the difference between all of yhem!! Thank you!
Thanx 4 the pratfall. Brings you down to earth literally.
I bought a Blues Jr Texas Red with a Celestion 30, and, it sounded so good I went back the next day and bought another one without even plugging it in. When I got it home, it didn't sound even close to the first one. I took them both back and showed them the difference. They agreed to find another one. The next one didn't make the cut either. They brought one over from their other store, and that one sounded great. I've still got them both, and they still sound great. These days not many mass produced products are consistent. Guitars or amps. Sometimes you just have to find the right unit.
Fender Gibson.
Poor Quality control.
Traynor YCV80's are 250$ in the USA.
Just mod the loop to series if You use tape delays.
Then get your pedals right.
Hey after reading all the complaints in the comments here, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time and putting in the work to make gear videos that are FREE TO WATCH! I don't know how UA-cam reimbursement works, and I don't care(I hope your channel is profitable), because the videos are ALWAYS FREE FOR ME TO VIEW! I am a 1or 2 pedal kind of guy, but I still enjoy your channel because I pick up great info that has zero to do with pedals, and/oh yeah-this info is COMPLETELY FREE! The playing is general and varied enough to demonstrate tone well, while still solid (as opposed to that 18-22 fret showoff metal noodling with 3 modulating effects and Fender solid-state practice amp distortion found on other channels). Thanks for your channel, thanks for being unique and honest, and thanks for all the great FREE information!
Clue to the haters: to get video quality like this takes investment in cameras, BRIGHT lights, microphones (even more than most UA-camrs because he is mic'ing amps and mixing his voice track, computers for editing, gear (speakers, parts for mods, guitars and amps),
and biggest of all time and energy for:
brainstorming topics, planning, gathering things needed, making time to film, outlining info and/or full script, filming, editing, mixing, reshooting, more editing, making thumbnail and creating title and desciption consistent with channel's "vibe/style/etc", uploading to youtube, counting all that dirty youtube cash, and replying to people that are upset because you mention that you don't like something
Do it better, faster, cheaper, smarter, and funnier than Brian and I'll come to your channel, until then, just chill and enjoy what he puts into this.
Dude stop hating on the blues junior, it's a great amp. Not to be sniffed at!! For such an affordable, small amp it's very good.
I dig my BJ NOS, but the bass can get a bit flubby. It could use some tighter bass IMHO, but proper EQ can help.. But yeah, great amp.
Only complaint is that despite the master volume, too loud for my city apartment.
Yeah, I could lower the master and increase the volume, but for driving the power tubes (instead of preamp) w/ pedals, I need to crank the master. Then the neighbors start wailing on the walls. :(
Have the red one and a hot rod deluxe 111 love them both just the way they are great platform amps for pedals the blues Jr with delay and a comp pedal sounds awesome but what the hell do I know only been playing for 40 years if you like something that's all that matters
@@adaptiveagile I use 3.5 volume , 8 treble, 12 bass, 3 mid, 3 reverb, 12 master vol, these settings were what it took to make it sound like my deluxe reverb, I aby'd them both and it was damn close. I drop the volume with my pedals but my tone stays the same, I drive it with a Blues Driver/ Ts9, compressor, and an equalizer, sounds pretty damn good for a cheap amp.
Great video, recently subscribed and really dig the channel! . People often overlook their cabinet and put all their money in guitar+amp.... a good pine cab makes a ton(e) of difference !!!!
I have a 65 reissue Fender Twin Reverb amp and I cut the power and 1/2 by taking two of this 6L six tubes out and run it to one speaker but swapped out the Jensen for a celestion v 30 and it sounds amazing especially with your Wampler tumnus Deluxe pedal sounds really good
Epic intro Brian! Cool video :) Cheers
obviously this post has attracted a lot of blues jr. enthusiasts. I am with you on this one Brian. The Blues Jr. needs all the help it can get. I had one for a couple of years and never got what I was looking for out of it even with pedals. I had heard that replacing the speaker was a big help but I lost my patience with that amp and sold it. I have owned several Fender amps over years and sold them all but one. My Champ 12 (Red Knobs) has been modified by a great tech. He added a speaker jack so that I can unplug the internal speaker and plug into an external cabinet. And DAMN, what a difference! I also use it cranked up through a load box into some IR's and it has become my secret weapon. ;)
What speaker are IR"s ?
Great vid; thanks for posting. I have a BJ 4, and recently bought a 68 Super Champ on an impulse buy. But it's going back; really didn't hear too much difference between the two, so i'm returning it.
Wow man your are the guy, that's amazing advice for us. God bless you
That Intro 👌😂
can't help replaying it
I love these vids man, keep it up!
This intro still has my heart
Dial it in right and you’ll get every thing any blues player could want in any amp that comes in under $600. Plus, it’s light enough to carry in one hand with a guitar in the other.
wow - that WGS British Lead really stood out for me - that Alnico black & blue wgs has a distinct sound - nice demo
I actually like the sound of the stock speaker better than most of the others. The AlNiCo sounds fantastic, I like that better. But most of the others are too upper-mids heavy and sqwauky. Great video, saved me money on new speaker tryouts!
These speaker tone comparison videos although often entertaining to watch, they really are of little value to anyone outside of the room its in. It's like comparing pics of the sunset on the horizon
I quit fretting over trying speakers and settled with the Celestion vintage 30 8 ohm speaker as it makes all my amps better sounding every time I tried it !
My ears can really tell the difference , less so in changing preamp tubes for voicing the amp which does improve the tone some what better !
The best tube for OD is the Tungsol 12ax7 , some vintage tubes are great but the tungsol has a perfect EQ tone overdriven !
Guitar needs great midrange a the vintage 30 excels in the tone right there where needed !
I own a Blues Jr NOS and didn't get much out of watching this, I'm playing at home in my bedroom and its good enough. If would ever turn Pro or start gigging I would look at something else, I also was considering changing the speaker but after watching this I'm gonna keep it stock for now.
Great comment!!! I see so many people in the guitar community going out and spending ridiculous amounts of money to play guitar in their bedroom every once in a while. Crazy
Nice hand wired Vox in the back ! Cool video I've been thinking about picking up a Blues Jr but it doesn't have an fx loop. Hence why I was also looking into a peavey classic 30 for same price
I spent $30 on the BillM tone stack mod for my Blues Jr. It doesn't sound like a box, the low end doesn't flub out at all and there is more head room. It sounds AMAZING. 30 bucks.
BillM has great ears matched with knowledge of amp tone stacks to make the adjustments his ears like and he took the Blues Jr. apart piece by piece and great tone capacitors and coupling caps make a big difference !
Ditto! How much would it have cost Fender to make them this way and save us all the trouble?
wheatonna The blues jr IV is pretty much the blues jr with the billm mods stock.
"I've got goats to feed" just might be the single best reason to sub to a UA-cam channel, ever.
Hey Brian, I saw this vid and couldn't help stopping by to comment. I have a tweed blues jr that I put a Celestian lynchback speaker in and I'm running your Pinnacle distortion through it. I'm playing a strat with the PV '65 pickup set, boy does it sound sweet. Love turning down the volume to get a slight crunch out of the Pinnacle and then going back to 10 for some screaming riffs. Thanks for a great pedal
Thanks! Glad you like it!
Nice chops Brian!
I was lucky and I picked up a Limited Ed Blues Jr and it had a Cannibis Rex speaker in it and the amp was so much better than the stock Jensen speakers that all the other ones had.
I then did a few of the BillM mods and the amp is really a great little tool to have. The BillM mods were
1) Presence circuit add
2) Change of the filter caps for the power supply (got rid of the flubby sound in the bottom end)
3) I changed out the output transformer which has a self adjusting Impedance so I can use an add on cab if I need to push a bit more air.
4) It also had an option I took to add in a variable resistor (mini) so I can adjust the bias for the tubes
5) Replaced the tone caps with orange drop caps with slightly different values to adjust where the tone circuits are centered at
6) New switchcraft input jack (not mounted to the PC board)
7) a few resistor changes that took some of the gain off the preamp.
I know that is at the top end of things to do to make this amp work but I now have more of a small fender twin than a blues Jr, but its hefty enough to play live with and if I take either a 1x12 or 2x12 I can really cover some tones.
Ahhh Brian, I love how you kept the chair scene.
For me most of these speakers, especialy the greenback are better suited for closed back cabs and should not be used in an open back cab unless bright shrill and thin is what your after. Out of all of these speakers the only two that are well suited is the ET65 and the Black & Blue Alnico as they have the warmth & bass response needed for a full sounding tone from an open back cab. But Brian did a great job of demonstrating the difference a change of speaker can make. With the right choice it is a cheap and simple way to transform a good tone into an amazing tone. Well done Brian.
I like you. You are an amazing Musicianologist. You made me laugh when you called the Strat a Tele.I just turned 64, and I may have to go back to drinking. My Mind needs a major kick. Hope you are well.
I think just the fall at the beginning was the best part!!! I am that clumsy and often falling over and breaking shit
Hey Brian, all of those WGS speakers sound great! Nice speaker review! Though shall not tempt thy Blues Jr owner.
I like that you're a pedal builder but aren't afraid to use other brands of pedals in your videos 😂
Didn’t feel like I heard a whole lot of difference with any of them. Having said that, I changed out my c12n for a p12q, seems to be a bit more manageable volume wise. I’m using the c12n with my plexi clone. Happy with how they sound alone and in stereo.
The problem with using external pine cabs, is if you like the sound of a speaker, there’s no guarantee that it will sound the same if you put it in the amp cab.
I just acquired a 1999 BJ that I just couldn’t get a decent tone out of. Bottom was muddy, reverb almost useless. I put the Fromel mods and a Cannabis Rex speaker in it, along with some better tubes and it sounds great now especially with a Strat.
That is one nice sounding strat!
The best Mod I did on mine was replaced the speaker to Eminence GB128 and new 12Ax7 from EHX now it sounds like a little British Amp! Works with any Pedals now!
Thank you i just picked up a Blues Jr. i dont have a lot of room to add a cabinet I’ve heard something with the tub screamer works well with it something about the mids adding the EQ i will definitely get another one
Thanks glad i found this feed NE Hozier saying hey 👋
I picked up one of the Blues Jr 80 proofs and with single coils suffer from ear fatigue within 15 minutes. Humbks sound good. #1 fix is get a MXR 10 band eq and use as second channel. #2 fix is to run it through a 1 or 2x12 with ANY other speaker and it sounds better. Currently I am running the BJ Jr with a Blues Deluxe in stereo through a Mesa 2x12 cab with Vintage 30s and the other G12hs. So yeah the BJ and 2 grand + of cabs/speakers it sound incredible.
Not a strat fan but that guitar sounds awesome. Love the videos Brian.
gonna drag my Jr out this evening .thanks for the info .
Thanks for the video! I was surprised. Out of all the speakers i thought the Green Beret sounded the best. I have never liked the ET65 speaker in any version of that amp.
Nice comparison. They all sounded pretty decent (not the same but decent) to me, even the stock speaker. I'm listening on headphones but I know UA-cam compresses the audio.
Love my Blues Jr Relic, I bought used. Put a new set of tubes in it recently and it just opened. Lot better head room. Installed a new MOJOTone reverb tank.Very happy with it.
Entertaining and always informative. Brian is a national treasure.
Great stuff as usual mate! I have a WGS HP reaper in my BJ (along with a heap of mods). It sounds killer and takes pedals well! Rock on!!!
tube screamers are the bomb with any amp
I love comparing speakers but not close-miked. Their differences and unique qualities are more apparent when heard a few feet away.
I liked some. Some others, not so much. Thanks for you input.
Hearing the Brian May influence all over! Full marks!
New Celestion A Type is killer in this amp!
Spirit of rock n roll right there at the start...
tone is subjective... all the speakers sound different but who's to say? Good video, thanks for the samples. i love my Bjr, jensen and all. Rock on my dude!
Awesome vids Brian. Love your style and sense of humor too. Someone recommended one of the hemp cone speakers to tame the shrillness. Have you tried one of those yet?
I have a 2nd generation B-JR and did the pods/ ,knobs. , input ,ect. planning to buy a Wharehouse et 65 ( crunchy ala Jimi ) so this was a good infomercial and funny , the British lead was very Led Zep . Thanks
I use a 12 AT7 as the first preamp tube. works magic on the tone. and i installed a Warehouse Sound vintage 30 clone.
hi and thx for the comparing, the only question remaining is how standard celestion and electro voice would sound within this set up.
the stock speaker sounded alot better to me on the clean tone.
Video Beginning 10 out of 10!
Do you use open or closed speaker cabinets with these test ? I agree with you that the stock Jensen can be a little harsh. I don't like the new Jensens anymore. For the price this amp is a stellar and with an EQ pedal you can get alter the tone more then changing the speaker in my opinion. Just minor adjustments. Great for small clubs.
I like your thinking I tested a lot of speakers, but I'm the son of the 70s and I settled with my D123e JBL from the 70s and 1 other 1990 JBL 2130 with it's bigger voice coil. I also use 10" Warrior's and Sansui tweeters and Horns. I have pictures. My tones are completely comforting with my 2 tube amps, 1 uses EL-34 (50watt) and the other 6L6's (40watt). I have pictures, I made the cabinets and the electronics using the SF20M by JBL for the 2-way inductor circuits.
Once again, the GE-7 rides to the sonic rescue!!
It’s the ONE everyone always needs to have handy
You can definitely change the character of the blues Jr. to match your taste, but the stock speaker is still pretty nice, I popped that "special design" in a closed back 1x12 and was pleasantly surprised with the result
Made my morning that intro!
Funny it didn't change the cleans all that much but made a world of difference with the overdrive. 10000x better. I can't stand stock blues juniors but I don't mind the Tweed version. Definitely usable
You can kinda tell from. Your playing that you are a tele guy first. Love the content! What is the best small non pcb amp for home use?
Blues Juniors are one of the most popular amps Fender has ever made and there is a
good reason for that: they sound good and are a very reasonably priced, all tube amp.
It's not a boutique amp, or even a Reissue Deluxe Reverb (a great amp, btw) and you
do get what you pay for. You're correct about the speaker change being the easiest way
to get a sound that may be more what a person is looking for. One of my own faves is a
USA made Blues Junior from 1996. It kicks ass and does not have the thin, small sound
of later Mex made versions. The newer ones have a better reverb but not a better sound.
To me, the best sounding speaker was that 25 watt WGS Green Beret and the last one
(made in Indiana?) was excellent also. But that tube screamer sucked. When you put the
eq in with it and dropped those mids some, the whole rig sounded better. With my USA
Blues Jr., I dime the mids, keep the volume below half, and work off that and a couple of
pedals. I think if you push the gain (volume knob) too much it sounds kind of small and
fake. Keep the volume (gain) lower and goose up the master. The USA Jr.'s have a lot more
beef on the low end, so that has to come down and the dimed mids and about 2 o'clock
on the treble makes it come alive. Blues Juniors are what they are, which is pretty good
for the money and with some judicious tweaking can be great. Good demos!
I love this dude!
I have a 1st edition of the Blues Junior made in USA, and the new 4th edition, I aby the 2 amps and have a full tone, with one or both, nothing boxy with a Blues Junior.
ditch the overdrive. It takes away from the valve sound a little (sounded better with the 60). But the vet 30 clean sound was an improvement on original. appreciate ur efforts. ty
The stock setting sounded the best overall, no matter what he did...
I agree, I think this was an ad for his buddies company maybe
Nice comp. Brian. I first changed the speaker to a green back 30 I had around and that really helped, but then I built a cheap pine cabinet the size of a deluxe reverb and it now sounds great. I now am not in a hurry to get a new amp
I agree - using a better/bigger cabinet does wonders! I was mic'd so closely here that you aren't hearing much of the cabinet, mainly just the speaker.
I did a very similar thing. I used a crappy old Bugera 2 X 12, put one WGS Retro 30 and a angled DIY damper (8:00 position pointing down) and it changed the whole dynamic. Nice bell tones.
Very illuminating. Isn't the alnico speaker also significantly lighter? Not that the amp is all that big and heavy, but ...I'm getting old. Thanks, man.
Interesting. Brian, do you just want a British sound from an amp? I liked the ET65, but it seems all the alternative speakers added more upper mid range presence to the clean sound.
I thought all the replacement speakers sounded really good. The only tones that I didn't't like were when you ran the bridge pup through the overdrive, because of the midrange hump of the pedal (I am personally biased against the sound of TS style mid boost pedals), so I thought it was funny when you used the EQ at the end, scooping the mids and effectively countering the mid hump nature of the 808, making it more transparent and better to my tastes, heh heh. :)
The alnico one is by far the best.
It spontaneously liked that too
Jensen speaker in a blues JR is all you really need. Instant vintage fender tone. What's great is that it sounds somewhere between a blackface and a tweed. What more could you want? Always boggled me that these amps have el84s though. They're the only amp I've ever heard with those tubes that don't sound like el84s. They're way more 6v6 sounding to my ears, especially with a nice speaker.
Does a stock blues junior cabinet vs. the pine cabs for the WGS speakers play any part in sound.
The Jensen's that come with fender amps are still the best choice, but everyone's entitled to their opinion.
Yeah the BJ III Tweed with the Jensen is great.
@@SuchaDoofus I agree - I have found videos like this to almost convince me that my setup is bad, but then I hop onto it and it sounds great.
I agree as well and it is worth to point out the the amp has an EQ for a reason. The sound options of a BJr are quite versatile if dialed in. I didn't get the "trick" with the EQ pedal. Why not try the amp EQ first?. In all fairness, the Jensen speakers are bright and more brilliant than the regular BJr speakers and not for everyones taste. The standard BJr might have worked better for him... if he'd used the amp EQ ;-)
@@dirkbehrens5849 By the way its very easy to do the BJ Twin mod, where you can extent the mid control down to zero similar to a Fender Twin. Took me 20 mins. You just have to connect 2 pins.
Hey Brian what mods electronically speaking, you recommends for the Blues Junior? I guess Output transformer is one of the best mods to do, regarding what I have read.
I like my IV but I wish I hadda got the tweed looking one. Looks great
You are a star cos of your sincerity. I would have likex this video even more if you just turned the "Master" volume up a bit more just to hear the clean sound.
Brian, not to detract from the point of how much speakers can improve the blues jr, but could you provide a link to any of the mods you came up with for the circuit (for tinkerers like me who do have the desire and skills)? I've tried looking online and can't find much. I can vouch for circuit mods to this in general making a huge improvement to the amp (with or without a new speaker). Last year I did a bunch of the Bill Machrone (RIP) mods to mine, and it turned it into a tone machine - and that was after having put in an Eminence C-Rex too. If there are any of your mods that can enhance the amp even further, I'm sure others like me would love to try them. Thanks
Does anyone out there have a recommendation for a good 12 inch speaker to replace a damaged one in a Kustom acoustic amp that also has a mic input that I use for a vocal mic? I believe the amp is rated at 60 watts but the speaker that is blown is rated at 150 watts at eight.ohms. I am looking for something comparable to the stock speaker or preferably a slight upgrade. The stock speaker was great and it only blew due to a pedal malfunction that caused it to pulse and blow. Thanks everyone for any input on this issue. Can’t seem to find a UA-cam video that addresses replacement speakers in acoustic amps.
0:30 sounded like you said it has the special jizzum speaker in it 😂😂
What is that "lunchbox amp" in the background with the wampler logo?
i just liked it the way it was
thx for sharing the sit-down fail.😁