Re: [Harp-L] Blues Junior Tubes 1 more time

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "G." <gigs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "harp-l" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 2004 1:26 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Blues Junior Tubes 1 more time


> <quote>
> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 18:16:47 -0500
> From: Gary <gary@xxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] Blues Junior Tubes 1 more time
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID: <6.1.2.0.0.20040813180642.01bbc280@xxxxxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> I know this has been asked before, but I never paid attention because I
> didn't have the amp.  Now I have a new Blues Junior amp, and wish to get a
> horn-like sound out of my harps.  I fully understand tone is 80% me and
20%
> amp, and I want that 20%!  The 80% still has a way to go  :).
> I bought a load of  older 12ax7's, 12at7's, 12au7's and (4) 12ay7's.  Will
> someone tell me which to use where? (V1, V2, V3).
> Also, if someone wants to share my bounty of the tubes, except for the
> 12ay's, drop me a note.  $8.00 each plus actual cost of shipping and a
> shipping box.  These are older tubes (I think) and are NOT in boxes.  I
can
> take PayPal if anyone's interested.
> Also, I'm saving up for a speaker replacement; I kept an e-mail from
> Barbecue Bob about his recommendation for that.
>
> Gary Cohen   ||   gary@xxxxxx
> </quote>
>
> The Fender Blues Junior is a very popular amp among NZ gigging Blues
> harpers.
> Even with standard 12AX7s you can get a great sound from it.
>
> Personally I prefer not to use anything lower than 12AT7 for tube subs.
> With the Blues Jr the first and second preamp tubes are the ones to sub.
> You
> could try a 12AT7 12AX7 combination, or try two 12AT7s.  But leave the 3rd
> tube alone.
>
>   The auxilary speaker out from the head can either be plugged into
> Behringer Ultra DI 100 (with both pads/attenuators depressed) and feed to
> the PA with a balanced XLR cable.   Alternatively you can buy a second cab
> for your blues junior and plug it into the auxilary out to get more size
and
> volume.
>
>   The Blues JR recifier is solid state, but as this is a small amp, the
> rigmarol of getting it adjusted and kitted out to fit a tube rectifier has
> little return for the pain - I understand there are kits about, but I like
> the tone of the Blues Jr even with stock setup - tube subs merely give you
> more head room for finer volume and tone adjustment.
>
> -- G.
> http://tinyurl.com/suit/amplified.html

Hi,
Like the Pro Junior, personally, you're better off leaving the original tube
numbers BUT replace them with better quality versions, preferably NOS (new
old stock) tubes because as a rule, they both sound better and last a lot
longer from my experiences. There are some decent newer production tubes,
but stay away from Chinese made tubes. I recommend that you turn the master
volume all the way up, which turns this circuit off and be sure that the FAT
switch is turned off also or you'll have a feedback nightmare with this. The
better way to go is to change the speaker that they come with to one with an
alnico magnet speaker that's rated at about not more than 20-25 watts RMS at
8 ohms with a voice coil of not larger than 1" in diameter. The speaker
that's stock is a ceramic magnet setup that's with a rating of about 35
watts and 1-1/2" voice coil which will break up a lot later than what I
mentioned. Good choices for alnico magnet speakers of 20-25 watts and a 1"
voice coil are Weber SVT, the P12R Jensen reissues, and the Eminence blue
painted Longhorns.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/