Question about faulty Blues Jr

Could be tube issues. I suppose. Did you put different tubes in it after receiving it?
I'd probably send it back. There's a ton of working Jr's out there.

 

At the end of the day, it is an 18W TMB amp. There are equal and better options in that market.

 

There is nothing inherently better or worse about Juniors made in USA or Mexico. The problems are with the design itself... cheaply made, mass-constructed PCB amps with cheap switches and jacks, tube sockets soldered into circuit boards, wisply little wires inside the reverb tank, and a cheap stock speaker with no body or tone.

 

Not at all uncommon for a tube or tubes to become loose during shipping even with brand new amps. I'd reseat them before deciding what to do.. I'd be surprised if that doesn't get you up and running.

 

There was also an upgraded version of this amp sold by Pro Guitar Shop that was called the Blue Junior III with upgraded tubes and a Cannabis Rex Speaker. They called it the Humboldt Hot Rod. But the mods done on this amp could essentially be done on a stock amp as well.

 

If you just want a grab and go amp with Fender tones, save your money and look for an older FM25R or 65R. Upgrade the speaker and tighten all the screws and it is a fine little amp. I have the Blues Jr Texas Red edition and I can't get any usable tones out of it. It isn't never really clean and the breakup is very raspy. Boxy as hell and the V30 and a TT 40/40 with tube swaps didn't help. As flyswatter posted, there will be no discernable differences between models except for the installed speaker brand. The only redeeming feature on mine is the reverb is very drippy and would be great for surf stuff.

 

Just push then in and make sure they are secure. Ive had 2 amps arrive that needed tubes reset. 1st was a BJ and it was the power tubes that were loose, the next time it was a Vibro Champ that had just been updated by a very reputable tech. That amp squealed and cracked awefully.. Got the tubes secure and everything was beautiful.

 

For starters I would never buy a used amp without plugging it in and playing with one of my guitars.

Sounds like somebody was trying to use their BJR like it was a Marshall stack. Common for the younger set, blow the hell out of the amp, then sell it to some sucker. Been down that road...

Greenboard vs Creamboard, US vs MIM. The Creamboard seems a tad brighter sounding. I've had both, emphasis on had. Won't own another, built too cheap and there are better amps in the same price range, for example: a used PRRI or a Classic 30 wouldn't be much more and both are better amps.

I would start by changing preamp tubes, that's where most the problems with sound come from.

 

PRRI= Princeton Reverb Reissue.

Really maybe I overstated it a bit, but the BJR wasn't a bad amp it just wasn't right for me. Of the 2 amps I liked the greenboard better, warmer and cleaner sounding. Maybe because it was my first BJR or the fact that it was MIA. I have a friend who gigs with his creamboard and really likes it, he can make any amp sound good. He also has a Bad Cat (sweet amp) which he uses for some gigs, but to be honest I like my '81 Princeton better than both his amps. As far as volume I usually played the BJR under 4 but a few times around 6 where it starts to break up. I usually don't push my amps too hard since I usually play Jazz and soft rock.

 

A lot of Blues Jr. hate on this thread. I am not a fan of a heavily over-driven Blues Jr. But I can dial in a good clean/edge of breakup tone, and use pedals for my dirt. Assuming that you like the sound of a working Blues Jr. (plenty of clips on youtube), I would return it and find another. Blues Jr.s are super common, and you should easily be able to find a working used one for cheap.

Most of the old green board Blues Jr.s were manufactured in the late 90s, so the amp you have is probably over 15 years old (and not in a good vintage way). According to Billm there is no appreciable difference in quality between the made in US and made in Mexico models, so I wouldn't place a premium on it. The BJ II and BJ III have better layouts if you are thinking of modding at some point, and are brighter amps. The reverb on the newer amps is much better as well.

Return that amp and look for one locally that you can try out.