Fender Blues Jr. Reverb too thin compared to Fender Vibroking or Twin Reverb reissue

[jalexquijano]

Why is the reverb of the Blues Jr. so thin? I have to dial it to 8 to hear some slight reverb. Anyway of fixing this issue?

 

[King Fan]

Whatever the reason, BJ reverb is notorious. I don't know the fix(es) but Billm probably did...

 

[Whatizitman]

Lots of techno speak can explain. But basically BJs have a crappy stock tank.

 

[backporchmusic]

The Bill M mods listed above can help. But you are basically comparing with amps that cost 3 times as much, so...

The BJ is not a smaller Twin. It's a new and cheaper design. If you want good verb in a grab and go package get a PRRI.

 

[tubelectron]

Lots of techno speak can explain. But basically BJs have a crappy stock tank.

And IMHO a crappy reverb circuit, not to mention the rest...

The Bill M mods listed above can help. But you are basically comparing with amps that cost 3 times as much, so...

The BJ is not a smaller Twin. It's a new and cheaper design. If you want good verb in a grab and go package get a PRRI.

I agree. You can't even enter a long tank reverb (serie 4 or 9) because the cab of the BJ is too small...

-tbln

 

[Dacious]

Why is the reverb of the Blues Jr. so thin? I have to dial it to 8 to hear some slight reverb. Anyway of fixing this issue?

Those amps are Fender's classic tube driven and recovered reverb. They have two tubes and a transformer just for that - and cost a lot more.

The BJr is an entry tube amp at a good price. There's a limit to what can be achieved in that size package/price range.

 

[FendrGuitPlayr]

You basically get what you pay for...

 

[saltyseadog]

Check out the link in my post on the following thread here at the TDPRI which details this very subject. https://www.tdpri.com/threads/reverb-mod-to-fender-amps.993552/

 

[Sea Devil]

It's almost certainly the pan itself. A new one is under twenty bucks and can be installed with no soldering. Get an MOD, and you'll have more 'verb than most players need.

The pan in mine died completely. It's not uncommon.

 

[Bill Moore]

It is possible to install a "4" series tank in a BJ if you use a bag. I put one in a country player's BJ a few years ago who was looking for more 'verb. One side of the bag has to mount to the cab wall, and the tank is angled, but works fine!
I rehabbed a BJ a while back, and installed an "8" series tank I had pulled from something else. I also used a bag, and got a passable sounding verb. (It might have been an older Accutronics).

 

[Wally]

The Blues Jr and all other Blues/Hot Rod amps have solid state reverb circuits...none of them have the richness of a tube reverb amp.

 

[jalexquijano]

thanks. I guess my dad will be happy with his Blues Jr. IV and Rickenbacker 330 next week. I decided to stay with the Vox AC15C1 made in china i bought on Reverb.com

 

[Sea Devil]

The Blues Jr and all other Blues/Hot Rod amps have solid state reverb circuits...none of them have the richness of a tube reverb amp.

This statement comes from someone far more knowledgeable than I am, but I have to qualify it a little. A solid-state reverb circuit may well sound every bit as rich as a tube-driven reverb at a given setting, but it will pretty much always sound the same. The transponders and springs in the pan may react slightly differently at different levels, but the differences will tend to be purely quantitative.

The benefit of a tube circuit is two-fold: 1) the tubes have the potential to respond differently at different settings, according to how hard they're driven; and 2) you can always swap out the tubes and alter the feel of the whole circuit, in subtle or drastic ways, or somewhere in between, depending on the characteristics of the tubes involved.

So Wally's right as usual, but the subject deserves some elaboration.

 

[Wally]

I disagree, Sea Devil....I hear the solid state nature of those circuits...any solid state circuit. The best in-amp solid state reverb I have ever heard was in the Lab Series L5.....of course, that amp simply sounds much better than any other pure solid state amp I have ever heard due t9 the Moog designed circuit...especially the Multifilter section. There is a qualitative difference that has nothing to do with the ‘quantitative’ level of the signals. Tremolo circuits are different. There is no processing of the signal there as there is in a Reverb circuit. Trem circuits simply manipulate the level of the signal is a particular part of the circuit....and there solid state works as well as does a tube circuit for the trem effect.
Whether or not one hears the difference between the and solid state reverb is a separate question.

 

[Mark the Moose]

I had a Blues Jr for awhile and the reverb was very audible around 2-3 on the dial. I did upgrade the tank, which warmed up its tone. What you describe sounds like a faulty connection, something they were known for. A new tank and a new cable should get it sounding a little better than new, but don't expect it to compete with a twin.

 

[Sea Devil]

I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite, 'cause (for example), in my DRRI, I do absolutely have to have that one particular Philips AT7 (out of about a dozen I have on hand) as a reverb driver, and it must be paired with a particular GE 5751 recovery tube for smoothness, reduced noise, and the proper balance between input and recovery stages, AND there's no question that each tube responds differently as the input signal varies. And my 1964 BFDR needs to have exactly the right tubes to sound just so, too; of course, they're different ones, and it depends what else is in there, too. Rectifier tube, bias voltage, pre-amp tubes, every damn thing in the amp, affects the behavior of everything else.


So I suppose I should have prefaced my statement with "for all practical purposes" or "for any normal person," LOL. I've been playing in surf bands for twenty years, so I just assume a lot of that what matters to me is meaningless to most people.

 

[Wally]

That is a big advantage of a tube Reverb...you can tailor it by tube choice.

 

[Wally]

Sea Devil I grew up liking and playing some surf music....in the ‘60’s. Sometime back, it occurred to me to do a search for ‘heavy surf music’. I love to listen to this compilation.....after all, Dick Dale drove a lot of the ‘heavy’ approach to things.

 

[Sea Devil]

Now you're talkin'! I love Daikaiju and Insect Surfers, but I'm not familiar with the other groups (except Davie Allen, of course). The Mermen, Coffin Daggers, and Japan's Surf Coasters do some really great "heavy surf" as well.

I still love the way my solid-state VanAmps SoleMate Jr. sounds with an MOD pan, though! It sits in front of a Standel clone; that may have something to do with it.

I sold my 1966 Fender Reverb unit. I liked the "drip" and the multiple controls, but I thought it drove the pre-amp of the amp a bit too much, made a small amount of annoying noise, and lost quite a bit of bass response compared to just using the in-amp reverb. I also paid $500 for it and sold it for $1350!

 

[Sea Devil]

The pan itself is crucial, though. I was so bummed out when one of the transponders on the tank I pulled from my old 1975 Twin died and couldn't be revived. It was the best-sounding pan I've ever heard! I still have it sitting around just in case it can be brought back to life.

If you must replace a pan, I recommend getting three at a time. Find the best one and return the others. Two pans made five minutes apart at the same facility can sound different.