Got the New Blues Jr. today

roger · September 29th, 2003, 09:56 PM

The Fender folks sent the new Lacquered Tweed Blues Jr. and I received it today. They did a great job on the Tweed and it sounds great. There is a Ceramic Jensen speaker onboard and I may hold off on the JBL E 120 install for a while. Have been leaving the fat switch on for the Teles but the Reverb is going to have to be changed. The onboard 'Verb is ok but with a Boss RV 5 in front of it the sound is unbelievable. I may Velcro an Alesis Micro Verb II in the back and just go with that. I realize that a solid state driver ... Nah forget it, I'll just go with outboard 'Verb. I wonder if I can wire it into the input jack without making a mess of things, We have a great tech at our store and I've got a feeling his wheels are already turning. Worse case I'll Velcro it and just patch it in.

ajc · September 30th, 2003, 10:10 AM

Roger,
I just ordered a Blues Jr. myself and am waiting for the UPS guy to show up. I am upgrading from a Frontman 25R, I can hardly wait. How does the Blues Jr. sound all stock, What are the suggested upgrades? I had considered the Hotrod Deluxe, but it's a bit out of my price range.
-anthony

NashTele · September 30th, 2003, 12:37 PM

I use mine all stock and it sounds just fine to me. Of course, I use it as a practice/backup amp. My main amp is a Hot Rod Deluxe.

roger · September 30th, 2003, 06:14 PM

I think I would spring for a Ceramic Jensen speaker right off the bat. I a@b mine to a regular Jr. and the speaker makes a huge difference. I would grab an outboard Reverb pedal and there are many to chose from. Any of those would sound better than the stock 'verb. I set mine with Master, Bass and Middle all on 12. Fat switch on or off depending and Treble off. I run the volume at 4 or 5. With the Microverb II, you can crank that output to about 2:00 and really hit the preamp pretty hard. It sounds really good. If I can raise enough Fender Bucks over the holidays I'm going to grab a 2nd one for a little stereo rig. THAT would be KILLER!!! Hope this helps.

Tremo · September 30th, 2003, 09:47 PM

I played a new tweed Blues Jr. at the local Fender dealer. This is the one with the RI Jensen C12N. I thought it sounded awful. Harsh ice-pick high end. Yuck. The tweed HRD with the RI P12N sounded way better and smoother. If you want to change speakers, go alnico. No comparison.

Spoto · October 1st, 2003, 07:22 AM

I put a Jensen P10R in my Tweed Pro-Jr. and like it so far. Seems to add a nice "sparkle" over stock. I hear it takes awhile to break these speakers in.
Re-tubed it with JJ/Teslas a couple days ago. That was a big improvement over the Groove Tubes.
Lacquered the tweed just for fun.

ajc · October 1st, 2003, 06:27 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll play with it for a while. If it's not what I want I think I can scrape the bucks together for a Hot Rod Deluxe.
-anthony

September 29th, 2003, 09:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
roger Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 149	Got the New Blues Jr. today The Fender folks sent the new Lacquered Tweed Blues Jr. and I received it today. They did a great job on the Tweed and it sounds great. There is a Ceramic Jensen speaker onboard and I may hold off on the JBL E 120 install for a while. Have been leaving the fat switch on for the Teles but the Reverb is going to have to be changed. The onboard 'Verb is ok but with a Boss RV 5 in front of it the sound is unbelievable. I may Velcro an Alesis Micro Verb II in the back and just go with that. I realize that a solid state driver ... Nah forget it, I'll just go with outboard 'Verb. I wonder if I can wire it into the input jack without making a mess of things, We have a great tech at our store and I've got a feeling his wheels are already turning. Worse case I'll Velcro it and just patch it in.

September 30th, 2003, 10:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
ajc TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Earth Posts: 14	Roger, I just ordered a Blues Jr. myself and am waiting for the UPS guy to show up. I am upgrading from a Frontman 25R, I can hardly wait. How does the Blues Jr. sound all stock, What are the suggested upgrades? I had considered the Hotrod Deluxe, but it's a bit out of my price range. -anthony __________________ "Send lawyers, guns, and money." W. Zevon

September 30th, 2003, 12:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
NashTele Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Nashville,TN Posts: 202 2 Photos	I use mine all stock and it sounds just fine to me. Of course, I use it as a practice/backup amp. My main amp is a Hot Rod Deluxe. __________________ .::blooz for yooz::.

September 30th, 2003, 06:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
roger Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 149	ajc I think I would spring for a Ceramic Jensen speaker right off the bat. I a@b mine to a regular Jr. and the speaker makes a huge difference. I would grab an outboard Reverb pedal and there are many to chose from. Any of those would sound better than the stock 'verb. I set mine with Master, Bass and Middle all on 12. Fat switch on or off depending and Treble off. I run the volume at 4 or 5. With the Microverb II, you can crank that output to about 2:00 and really hit the preamp pretty hard. It sounds really good. If I can raise enough Fender Bucks over the holidays I'm going to grab a 2nd one for a little stereo rig. THAT would be KILLER!!! Hope this helps.

October 1st, 2003, 07:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
Spoto Tele-Meister Join Date: May 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 261	Pro-Junior I put a Jensen P10R in my Tweed Pro-Jr. and like it so far. Seems to add a nice "sparkle" over stock. I hear it takes awhile to break these speakers in. Re-tubed it with JJ/Teslas a couple days ago. That was a big improvement over the Groove Tubes. Lacquered the tweed just for fun.

September 30th, 2003, 09:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tremo Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Silicon Valley, CA, USA Posts: 3,643	I played a new tweed Blues Jr. at the local Fender dealer. This is the one with the RI Jensen C12N. I thought it sounded awful. Harsh ice-pick high end. Yuck. The tweed HRD with the RI P12N sounded way better and smoother. If you want to change speakers, go alnico. No comparison.

October 1st, 2003, 06:27 PM	#7 (permalink)
ajc TDPRI Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Earth Posts: 14	Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll play with it for a while. If it's not what I want I think I can scrape the bucks together for a Hot Rod Deluxe. -anthony __________________ "Send lawyers, guns, and money." W. Zevon