Blues Junior IV

I’ve had 5 or 6 Blues Jr’s. Starting with USA made and Ltd Editions. Modified every one of them with the Bill M mods, speakers, tubes, Reverb tanks. I’ve had many Boutique Amps, Vintage Amps etc. I currently have two Swart Amps and a 66 Tremolux, modded 65 Princeton.

I bought a IV Ltd Edition from Sweetwater with Western Tolex and a Cannibis Rex speaker. All of the tone stacks and controls have been upgraded as well as the Reverb tank and circuitry. I’m stunned at how good it sounds. It’s light years different than anyone I had before. The Fat Switch is even useful like a clean boost.

You won’t be disappointed.👍

Great amp.

IMO A lot of bad information about them on the internet. (lot of good info too, like the HRDs)

Example: IMO: BillM mods don't really change the complexion of the amp. After hearing one with BillM mods... I believe, If you didn't like the Bjr stock, a huge percentage is that you are not going to like it after the BillM mods. I've modded my Bjr, but I didn't do the BillM modes... IMO the amp doesn't really need it. (I did the phase inverter, upgraded the output transformer, upgraded the reverb pan, upgraded the electrolytic caps and changed the speaker to my preferred AFT speaker) IMHO the speaker and the Reverb pan were probably the biggest improvements, with the AFT electrolytic caps coming in a hard second.

I went from liking the amp a lot, after the mods, to really "liking" the amp.

IMO... There is nothing wrong with any version of the Bjr.

I believe 90% of the complaints about the Bjr are from people who didn't understand how to work the tone stack. They fail to understand the amp has a lot of "mids" even when clean and that is what is causing the boxy'ness to the tone stack & NOT the cab! IMO: No larger cabinet needed! Yes, the stock cabinet is beamy, just aim the amp at a corner at home practicing.

I prefer to dime the master and work Bjr's as single-channel amps. Around 3.5 to 4 on the vol (with a 12ay7 in v1) aka a stage volume, the amp is right on the verge of break up. A light dusting of my trusted TS808 and its all Blues.

Reliability wise... Never had a problem with my amp, it runs a little hot, I'm on my second set of EL-84s (not a big deal)

A very versatile and practical amp indeed

A little while ago saw a guy running two Bjr's, one wet, one dry with a grab in go pedalboard.

Sounded great. Got me thinking about doing the same thing.

Wow! That's pretty cool looking.

You now need matching boots!

Got the amp yesterday. Had my ES 330 out so tested the amp out using that guitar. Playing in the house I had to really lower the preamp controls to get a good sound. It's a pretty bright amp. No concerns, though, as I know it will cut through in a band. Can't wait to try it with a Tele and my LP. That gator look is killer!

That's what I'm thinking, too. What do they say? Something about brilliant minds? 

I used to break in new speakers by one of two methods.
A. pipe some bass heavy music in to the amp and let it go for a few hours.
B. Connect my bass guitar to the guitar amp (with bass tone turned low and at 1/3 volume. It is the cone surround that needs loosing up so bass caused more excersion than a guitar (but must not overdo it as guitar speakers only have just so much excersion available. This typically broke them in within 2 hours or less depending on the speaker. The one that took the most was a Weber California due to the heavier doping (for longevity according to Ted) of the cone surround. 

Man that thing looks great!

Love the gator!

I'm glad I took the time to search out this thread as I'm considering matting my current blues jr with the blues jr IV. My current one is a 'transition' amp meaning one of the last USA amps built (2002) using a MIM PCB. It is currently in pieces as I'm doing a Fromel mod (finished) and replacing some of the caps, one of which is blown and the initial reason it's in pieces. Waiting, patiently, for that particular cap to arrive from Amazon.

Anyway, I was actually thinking about the possibility of a '65 twin but, decided that was too much amp for home use which led me to think about 'twinning' my current blues jr. I also like setting up a stereo image and I've been doing this with various other amps I have but, I think it would be nice to use two of the same, as it were, for this effect. I guess many of the questions I had have been answered in this posting. The only other thing that I have to think about is the cost of the new BJr. It's more than double I paid for my current one and I find it a bit curious. Since I won't be getting the '65 twin though, this would be the next best thing because, you know, two blues jr's, two reverb tanks = twin reverb...in an odd way, don't cha know? 

By the way, that gator covering is way cool! I'll be going back to look at that one if I can find it...

Update: I had no idea they still sold a 'normal' blues jr. Found one in tweed on Music123 and have ordered it! Comes in next week.

That gator covering would have looked great when I was playing big band jazz and we all wore tuxedos.

In the past I've had 4 Blues Juniors (3 new and 1 used). The used one had some Fromel mods (similar to Billm's mods) which IMO weren't very good. Me, I like mids, and too many people try to make the amp sound more like a blackface style amp. I once played a DRRI, PRRI, and a BJr side by side at the volume I would normally play at home. The DRRI and PRRI sounded thin and tinny, while the BJr sounded full. I've also had 2 Allen Accomplices and a locally built Deluxe Reverb 2-10 clone. They sounded great at home, but I never cared for them in a band situation, even with numerous speaker changes. In other words, I hate mid-scoop! The Accomplices, even with the Raw control, didn't cut it for me when playing with other people. Maybe it's just me, my playing style, or my ears, but I just can't get along with blackface style amps.

I like the little Blues Junior. That said, 3 out of the 4 I've owned needed warranty repairs for faulty solder joints at the tube sockets, with one also needing new tube sockets. And now, Fender no longer gives a 5 year warranty! (It's only 2 or 3 years.) For how much they cost now, they should be built much better than they are! I'd like to have another one, but the only way I'd buy one would be if I knew someone who could replace the ribbon cables with flying leads, and remove the tube socket PCBs and make the tubes chassis-mounted.