Does Fendr Blues Junior IV have bad treble?

[KoreanVintageGuy]

Hello, I am an amateur playing electric guitar for about a year and a half.
Korea, where I live, is surprisingly a lack of electronic guitar equipment.
I found out i love Fender tube amplifiers more than using the latest simulator equipment. But it is hard to get in Korea.

But I finally got the '57 Custom Champ, '68 Princeton Reverb RI, and the Blues JR IV.
Also, through my teacher and Friends, I got the opportunity to use tweed deluxe (copy one), '65 Deluxe Reverb RI, and Original Vintage Brownface Super Amp.

Since then, I've gained a lot of information and experience about tube amps.
I'm not an expert, but I can feel and express good sounds and aren't one.

In my opinion, BJ IV is a great amplifier.
It has a master volume and can easily boost mid and dirve. The 3-band EQ has a wide range, and the spring reverb is limited but beautiful.
But what's obviously hard for me is that my ears hurt so much when the master volume is over 3.5~4.
Increasing the volume of other larger amplifiers, or Class A amplifiers without master volume, doesn't hurt my ears this much.
Maybe it's not a matter of volume. I think BJIV has a high range that is hard to control. Am I right?
When using the master volume high, I set the treble of BJIV to 1~2.
My ears hurt quite a bit though.

Fortunately, on Master Volume 3, the amplifier sounds pretty beautiful at any gain. (my sweet spot is volume at 5~6, master volume at 2.8~3)
I don't know much about technology, but is the theoretical headroom different from the headroom of this amplifier as a sweet spot?
Also, this is a problem with BJ IV, which pursues modern and neat sounds, and is not a problem with BJ III or its predecessors?
Or is there a inevitable decline in quality as we add multiple features at a fundamentally low price?
In the first place, what is quality?

If I record and check out the performance using BJIV, don't feel that "earth-breaking high range" either.
Also, I think that such a problem will be solved naturally by using it for ensemble.

Am I so into "playing alone" that I'm struggling with something that doesn't really matter?
But it certainly doesn't sound sweet. I wonder about many other opinions, or the truth.

I am sorry for my poor English. I relied on the translator.

Thank you.

 

[MuddyWolf]

With Fenders, forget what the knobs say and just adjust till it sounds good. If it sounds good on 3, play it on 3. Just because the knob has higher numbers it can turn doesn't mean you have to turn it more.

 

[corliss1]

The BJ being bright is a common complaint. Do a web search for "blues junior bright" and you'll find many people with similar opinions.

 

[Burning Fingers]

Blues Junior amps come with icepick treble that can hurt your ears and a stupid amount of reverb
I modded mine to get rid of the icepick and tame the reverb and eventually got rid of it as it was rubbish compared to My 5E3 and Proluxe amps.

 

[dougbgt6]

I have a Blues Junior IV and a Pro Junior. There is a mass off adjustment on the BJ, treble, middle, bass and booster button, I find the middle and bass can swamp the treble leaving the BJ not trebly enough. Maybe it's my age and decaying hearing? However, I find the Pro Junior can be too bright despite just having a single tone knob.

Doug

 

[Cyberi4n]

Had both the Blues Junior and the Pro Junior. Didn’t have a problem with the BJnr being too bright - that’s what the tone controls are for. However, now that I have a ProJnr, I don’t think I’d go back to the BJnr. It just seems to … work … for my own tastes

 

[Dan_Pomykalski]

Hello, I am an amateur playing electric guitar for about a year and a half.
Korea, where I live, is surprisingly a lack of electronic guitar equipment.
I found out i love Fender tube amplifiers more than using the latest simulator equipment. But it is hard to get in Korea.

But I finally got the '57 Custom Champ, '68 Princeton Reverb RI, and the Blues JR IV.
Also, through my teacher and Friends, I got the opportunity to use tweed deluxe (copy one), '65 Deluxe Reverb RI, and Original Vintage Brownface Super Amp.

Since then, I've gained a lot of information and experience about tube amps.
I'm not an expert, but I can feel and express good sounds and aren't one.

In my opinion, BJ IV is a great amplifier.
It has a master volume and can easily boost mid and dirve. The 3-band EQ has a wide range, and the spring reverb is limited but beautiful.
But what's obviously hard for me is that my ears hurt so much when the master volume is over 3.5~4.
Increasing the volume of other larger amplifiers, or Class A amplifiers without master volume, doesn't hurt my ears this much.
Maybe it's not a matter of volume. I think BJIV has a high range that is hard to control. Am I right?
When using the master volume high, I set the treble of BJIV to 1~2.
My ears hurt quite a bit though.

Fortunately, on Master Volume 3, the amplifier sounds pretty beautiful at any gain. (my sweet spot is volume at 5~6, master volume at 2.8~3)
I don't know much about technology, but is the theoretical headroom different from the headroom of this amplifier as a sweet spot?
Also, this is a problem with BJ IV, which pursues modern and neat sounds, and is not a problem with BJ III or its predecessors?
Or is there a inevitable decline in quality as we add multiple features at a fundamentally low price?
In the first place, what is quality?

If I record and check out the performance using BJIV, don't feel that "earth-breaking high range" either.
Also, I think that such a problem will be solved naturally by using it for ensemble.

Am I so into "playing alone" that I'm struggling with something that doesn't really matter?
But it certainly doesn't sound sweet. I wonder about many other opinions, or the truth.

I am sorry for my poor English. I relied on the translator.

Thank you.

If I’m not mistaken, the Blues Junior also has some transistors in its circuit, so it isn’t all tube like the Princeton or the Champ (if that type of thing matters to you).

I would go for the Princeton, without hesitation. It’s easier to get a Blackface Fender to sound like a Fender Tweed with an overdrive pedal than it is to get a Tweed to sound like a Blackface.

Edit: since pretentious2 brought it up, I took a look at the schematic. There’s a transistor in the “fat” circuit. The reverb uses op amps instead of tubes, so it isn’t a tube-driven reverb circuit, which is what I was thinking of. My bad. It had been a few years since I took a quick glance at the schematic…

 

[dukewellington]

The EL84 is a bright and clear sounding tube. Try tapping them to detect microphonics. That amp is very hard on power tubes.

 

[pbenn]

How big is your room/playing area? BJ unless way low on MV is too loud for a condo/apt.
How often do you change strings? IME BJ likes one-year-old pure nickel strings like D'Addario.
How high are your pickups? Maybe too high. Check Ask Zac's setup video.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

I gigged with my Blues Jr. ( a blonde 1999) for 18 years ( R&R, Country, blues) and it was very dependable- plenty of volume for sure ! ( mine has a 120 watt neo Eminence Lil' Texas)

But I'm just thinking because of its use of EL-84 tubes, and some version of a tweed preamp/tone stack circuit ( apologies if I'm wrong), tonally it is a 'mutt design' between a Vox and some kind of Fender-

I ran my BJ loud and clean, but mine has never had the Smiley Face EQ of a BF/SF Fender ( which I also owned) but rather, almost 3 EQ knobs of midrange:
- Bass+ midrange/Mid-midrange/Treble+ midrange

Plus on my amp the Bass knob came on strong at '2'
I often ran mine Bass OFF, Middle at 11:00 clock, Treble at 3:00 clock.
This seemed to be the only way to mitigate some midrange, and keep amp tone somewhat close to the BF/SF sound I love.

Just my particular amp as these earlier Blues Jr.'s were definitely darker

 

[Dan_Pomykalski]

There are no transistors in the amp.

Q1 isn’t a transistor?

 

[corliss1]

I think what @printer2 is saying is that there are no solid state devices in the signal path, besides the reverb. Q1 is a jfet that switches in and out the extra cathode cap and resistor for the volume bump, which is the "fat" switch.

U1 is the opamp that drives and recovers the reverb.

 

[dan40]

@KoreanVintageGuy ...changing the speaker to a different model will do wonders to help tame the brightness. You may also find that different preamp tubes will help.

 

[wildschwein]

They are known to run hot from the factory:


You can see a collection of work on them here:

https://www.youtube.com/@psionicaudio/search?query=blues%20junior

 

[AndrewG]

I bought a Blues Junior once. Returned it the same day. Horrible, screechy little amp.

 

[Matthias]

Sounds like you’re on the right track. Fender have a lot of treble on vintage style gear. I’ve reached the conclusion it’s an option and most Fender gear doesn’t have the most usable tones with the treble or tone right up. With my Jazzmaster it was a case of getting the right spot on Blues Jr and the guitar’s tone then I got it sounding good.

Took a while though!

 

[tlsmack]

I remember Mick and Dan from that pedal show explaining that the Blues Jr is voiced more for a band setting than for home use. The treble that you may need in a band mix can sound harsh at home. Especially if you sit right in front as I do.
A simple fix may be just sitting farther away and off to one side. This way the treble does not smack you in the face.

 

[JT55]

I love this amp. I have the tweed version.

It's my second favorite Fender amp. My favorite? A 1950s champ that years ago I gave to a talented young player. He was more deserving.

Does the Blues Jr. favor treble? Yep. Is there a remedy? Yep. Turn down the treble.

In my very humble opinion, a very good amplifier for the price.

 

[kookaburra]

I remember Mick and Dan from that pedal show explaining that the Blues Jr is voiced more for a band setting than for home use. The treble that you may need in a band mix can sound harsh at home. Especially if you sit right in front as I do.
A simple fix may be just sitting farther away and off to one side. This way the treble does not smack you in the face.

I have to wonder about Mick and Dan’s idea regarding voicing. I’ve had plenty of amps that can stand out properly in a band mix without being harsh when played by itself.

 

[Guran]

Have you tried using the tone pot on the guitar?

Try turning it down a bit and THEN set the amp. If you do it the other way around, turning down guitar tone will proably make it sound dull.