fender blues jr problems

myfriendseb · September 25th, 2008, 01:57 PM

hi people, just bought this amp a few hours ago and was playing ot for ages with no problems. but suddenly it started making some odd chainsaw like noise after a few minutes of playing, i have to turn it off and when i turn it on again it's ok for a few minutes and then the noise again.
i've not owned a tube amp before so i'm a little confused as to what is happening but if you have come across this before any help advice would be much appreciated. thanks.

Billm · September 25th, 2008, 02:03 PM

You either have a bad tube or the solder joints on the output tube sockets have cracked. I'd bet it's the latter. It's one of the prices you pay for the too-hot bias on the Blues Junior--expansion and contraction causes the solder to crack and arcing to occur. It's a simple job to resolder the joints with a little fresh solder. Take care not to melt the ribbon cables with your iron.

You could also have arcing elsewhere on the tube board or the circuit board. That's a bigger repair because the resulting carbon deposits are conductive and need to be dug out and re-fiberglassed (just some epoxy and some fiber for strength).

myfriendseb · September 25th, 2008, 03:14 PM

thanks for the reply man, not a job i'm gonna do but i'm still under warrenty so i'll speak to the shop, i think they have a pro on site who'll repair it for free. urgh! so annoying!

myfriendseb · September 25th, 2008, 05:26 PM

hi sorry, one last question. there seem to be a lot of blues jr users here, is this a common problem? if the shop offers me a replacement will it just happen again or was i just unlucky?

Billm · September 25th, 2008, 06:58 PM

It's unusual to see it in a new Blues Junior. I usually see it in amps that are 10 years old and have been gigged relentlessly.

September 25th, 2008, 01:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
myfriendseb NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: london Age: 27 Posts: 3	fender blues jr problems hi people, just bought this amp a few hours ago and was playing ot for ages with no problems. but suddenly it started making some odd chainsaw like noise after a few minutes of playing, i have to turn it off and when i turn it on again it's ok for a few minutes and then the noise again. i've not owned a tube amp before so i'm a little confused as to what is happening but if you have come across this before any help advice would be much appreciated. thanks.

September 25th, 2008, 02:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Billm Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Jersey Age: 62 Posts: 469 1 Photos	You either have a bad tube or the solder joints on the output tube sockets have cracked. I'd bet it's the latter. It's one of the prices you pay for the too-hot bias on the Blues Junior--expansion and contraction causes the solder to crack and arcing to occur. It's a simple job to resolder the joints with a little fresh solder. Take care not to melt the ribbon cables with your iron. You could also have arcing elsewhere on the tube board or the circuit board. That's a bigger repair because the resulting carbon deposits are conductive and need to be dug out and re-fiberglassed (just some epoxy and some fiber for strength).

September 25th, 2008, 03:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
myfriendseb NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: london Age: 27 Posts: 3	thanks for the reply man, not a job i'm gonna do but i'm still under warrenty so i'll speak to the shop, i think they have a pro on site who'll repair it for free. urgh! so annoying!

September 25th, 2008, 05:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
myfriendseb NEW MEMBER! Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: london Age: 27 Posts: 3	hi sorry, one last question. there seem to be a lot of blues jr users here, is this a common problem? if the shop offers me a replacement will it just happen again or was i just unlucky?

September 25th, 2008, 06:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
Billm Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: New Jersey Age: 62 Posts: 469 1 Photos	It's unusual to see it in a new Blues Junior. I usually see it in amps that are 10 years old and have been gigged relentlessly.