schundog Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Respectfully, Tim, I think that's a mistake. The basic mods can make a BIG difference, according to others (I had them AND the big kahuna, the oversized output transformer done all at the same time). For under $200, I would think you could have the majority of the stuff done, and have a completely different beast. Your decision, however. Maybe you should fly out to Illinois to try mine out, just to make sure?! You are welcome anytime, buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackjack Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 I'll concur, the mods are probably well worth doing. My earlier post was only in regards to the one case where someone heads down a road trying to save a buck, but ends up wanting more (I've done it with guitars, pedals, and drums so far). Then naturally others chimed in to defend the value of DIY, and the process for an amp bulder. Those are different cases altogether. My point was only to look down the road, and make sure you can get enough satisfaction out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Schundog and Blackjack~ Thank you both for your gentle plodding. You KNOW it does not take a gear hootchie like me to change my mind when it comes to tossing more cash into musical stuff. The problem is my local amp guru just quoted me $300 for the BASIC mods. Lord only knows what he'd charge for the 'transformer on steroids' upgrade! Maybe I just need to check with another amp dude before making a final decision. I appreciate everyone's comments. Ya'll have been very helpful...and Schundog, thank for the invite. It goes both ways, brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Schundog and Blackjack~ Thank you both for your gentle plodding. You KNOW it does not take a gear hootchie like me to change my mind when it comes to tossing more cash into musical stuff. The problem is my local amp guru just quoted me $300 for the BASIC mods. Lord only knows what he'd charge for the 'transformer on steroids' upgrade! Maybe I just need to check with another amp dude before making a final decision. I appreciate everyone's comments. Ya'll have been very helpful...and Schundog, thank for the invite. It goes both ways, brother. Check with KBP810. We've seen these mod's, and they're actually quite simple if you have good soldering techique..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heliotropes Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I also had a stock BJ and a Bill M modded one. The mod included the tone stack, standby switch, some upgrades in various caps, and a power transformer. The mod produced more headroom (a "relaxed" feel to increases in volume), much improved tonal variation from the tone pots, and significantly better bass response. However, I did notice a reduction in the signature Fender sound, I think of it as fluidity, in a possibly failed attempt to describe a quality of sound using mere words. Another case of unintended consequences? Like one of the other posters, I too let the stock BJ go on a trade. I ended up with a Vox AC 15 in addition to the BJ, and am liking the larger, fuller cabinet sound of the Vox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Sort of hard to have "Fender" tones when the amp is EL84 based... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Sort of hard to have "Fender" tones when the amp is EL84 based... Not at all! I'm surprised how similar my Blues Junior sounds to a recently acquired "Reverb Deluxe". In a straight A/B comparison, they share the same Fender chime. The tone is quite similar. It could be because I had the twinstack mod done but on the other hand I purposely bought it for the classic Fender tone. That's as far as the comparison goes, though. The Blues Junior can't produce the fullness or richness of sound that the AB763 based amps can. On the other hand the BJ has a volume and master volume control, making it possible to get good overdrive/distortion at reasonable household levels without using a pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I've done most of the mods my self. The last one was the Heyboer x former. I wasn't nuts about the stock version but I really like the amp with the mods, night and day really. I did quite a bit of soldering etc in my last profession so I found the mods pretty easy to do but you have to be careful as you are soldering on a printed circuit board with thin traces. At the least, I would do the tone stack, power supply stiffining (extra filter cap added) and adjustable bias which are all pretty cheap I believe. I did not do all the mods at once and after removing the chassis multiple times, a few of the ribbon cables got stressed and the solder contacts snapped off. I decided to replace the ribbon cables with good quality straight wire. I've read mostly good stuff about the mods although there is one pro tech on the Music Electronics forum (Bruce from Mission Amps) who basicly says why bother modding a printed circuit amp with "clock radio" components. That said, I like mine, sounds good and it's portable. Oh and it is tweed so it matches my tweed kbd Reverb Deluxe. Down the road I may try a texas heat or cannabis rex speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hey Pete, I really like my Eminence Texas Heat. I know Bill endorses it, but prefers his Cannibis Rex. I think BOTH must be an improvement over the stock speaker. Good luck, Brother! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Hi B Hey Pete, I really like my Eminence Texas Heat. I know Bill endorses it, but prefers his Cannibis Rex. I think BOTH must be an improvement over the stock speaker. Good luck, Brother! Hi Brian, The tweeds came with an optional Jensen (12N I think) made in Italy speaker. It ain't bad especially for low volumes, but after the mods, the amp is a little monster and may be too much for the Jensen. Good thing about the Eminence line is their reasonable cost. Lately I'm only plugging in late at night anyway while the rest of the household is copping their zzzs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Not at all! I'm surprised how similar my Blues Junior sounds to a recently acquired "Reverb Deluxe". In a straight A/B comparison, they share the same Fender chime. The tone is quite similar. It could be because I had the twinstack mod done but on the other hand I purposely bought it for the classic Fender tone. That's as far as the comparison goes, though. The Blues Junior can't produce the fullness or richness of sound that the AB763 based amps can. On the other hand the BJ has a volume and master volume control, making it possible to get good overdrive/distortion at reasonable household levels without using a pedal. I heard that was quite an amp you just bought too. But using a decent stomp box in front of the Reverb Deluxe, you'll have a all the overdrive tones you'll ever need. I actually like how the Boss ST2 sounded, but I didn't try any other stomp box pedals except for a Fulltone Pilmsoul which I found little difference between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I heard that was quite an amp you just bought too. But using a decent stomp box in front of the Reverb Deluxe, you'll have a all the overdrive tones you'll ever need. I actually like how the Boss ST2 sounded, but I didn't try any other stomp box pedals except for a Fulltone Pilmsoul which I found little difference between the two. You heard right. Being a "new to me" amp, I felt obliged to try out various settings in a purist guitar to amp mode. That included producing distortion at higher volume levels when I had the house to myself. I can report no broken glass anywhere; just some temporary hearing loss but I'm learning to read lips. I'll be using the ME-25 and have already set up a memory location with just a Boss OD1. There's also an Ibanez TS-808 that sounds pretty good. As you might guess, the Millie sounds like it was made for that amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hfan Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I've seen that amp somewhere...it'll come to me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Now that's a sweet amp and guitar combination! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steiner Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 I've seen that amp somewhere...it'll come to me.. Yes, a pretty guitar but that amp... I've seen that amp before... Enjoy blunote! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 When I heard that amp with the Mille plugged in, I wanted to keep both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 When I heard that amp with the Mille plugged in, I wanted to keep both! I understand completely. I thought it sounded best when I sat back and listened to you play. What was that riff you were playing? Sorry, Gitfiddler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Just standard I, IV, V blues.... My old standby.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboss Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I would say it is somewhat worth it. I did alot of the mods (basic mod kit, transformer, presence mod, twin stack). It will not turn it into a $1-2K amp. I was expecting more from all the reviews but it did improve the tone. The best part ... after the mods it was completely quiet when on, plugged in, whatever. Thats a first for a tube amp for me. The best thing I did for the tone was put an Eminence Cannibis Rex speaker in. That is a great speaker. But after saying all that, I ended up trading it for a Deluxe Reverb Reissue. I did the mods on a friends amp as well and the results werent as good. But he used a different speaker... so... If I had a Blues Junior again, I would say I wouldnt be happy with it until I at least upgraded the speaker and then the rest is more of a debate. If you are about maximizing the tone in the amp you have and you have the time...yes do it (being careful when working on tube amps of course). Just dont expect the resale to jump way up. That's my 1 cent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 More excellent advice. Thanks all. UPDATE: Since I spent my Christmas cash on a new Heritage Liberty amp (LOVE IT!!), so for now the Blues Jr. Bill M Mod option has been pushed waaay back on the back burner. However, as a little experiment, I connected the BJr to a Carvin extension cab loaded with a well broken in Celestion V-30 speaker. WHOA Baby!! The end result is the BJ now has a fatter, clearer, chimy'er and flat out toneful tone without any amp tweaking. Maybe the issue with Blues Jr. amps is the tiny cabinet it is housed in. I did notice a sweeter tone after having the slightly larger solid wood Sultone Maple/Purpleheart cabinet built for it. But with a dedicated extension speaker, this amp is a screamer! Maybe when my gear piggy bank has enough for the Bill M mod, I'll do it AND keep it connected to an extension speaker. Now that is something to look forward to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 I dropped my BJ off with an amp tech yesterday to get the Bill M mods done. To be continued... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schundog Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 WHOOT!! You won't be sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Awesome! You won't regret it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koula901 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 For now, I'm getting the twin tone stack mod. My amp tech tells me that that will get rid of the boxiness. If I'm still happy with the amp next year, I'll consider a speaker change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunote Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Koula, as long as you amp tech has the board out, he may as well solder in a bias pot. It's only a few dollars for the part and makes it a lot easier to match tubes, prevents burnouts, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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