A Mod for the Fender Blues Jr.

1 of 3

http://mhuss.com/BluesJr/index.html

A Mod for the Fender Blues Jr.

meh 9/2001
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These pages contain detailed directions to make the unused triode section in
a Blues Jr. into a cathode follower buffer for the tone stack. Note that I have
the "blonde" version, but the normal black Tolex version is the same inside.
I have learned since first posting these pages that Fender has revised the
circuit many times already, changing values here and there, and in some
cases making substantial circuit changes. Specifically, the older printed ciruit
boards (PCBs) were green in color like the ones shown here, while the more
recent ones have cream-colored PCBs. Compare your schematic to the
fragments posted further along to make sure they're basically the same.
My amp is Revision D, plotted 12-Apr-99. The revision of your Blues Jr. is
printed in the lower right corner of the schematic that comes with it.
Please see also Bill Machrone's excellent Blues Junior Modification Pages for
lots of useful info and product!
Notes:
- The chassis dimensions are 6.25 x 16.3125 (16 5/16) x 2 (HWD in inches).
- The cabinet dimensions are 16.25 x 18 x 8.75 (top, 9.75 bottom) (HWD in
inches).
- The chassis cutout is 12.5 x 2.125 with a 0.75" radius at the corners.
- The speaker is mounted as far to the right and bottom as possible (when viewed
from the front).

07-May-12 11:34 PM

A Mod for the Fender Blues Jr.

2 of 3

http://mhuss.com/BluesJr/index.html

This mod is easy to do (and easy to undo if you don't like it) for anyone who
is experienced with a soldering iron. All you need are three short lengths of
wire and two 1/2 watt 100K resistors. I managed to do it in an evening
(including taking pictures) without even removing the printed circuit boards
(PCBs) from the chassis!
Note: YOU CAN GET KILLED by fooling around with the high
voltages in a tube amp. Don't even attempt this mod unless you
have at least some experience and are pretty sure you know what
you're doing!
I quite like the Blues Jr. out of the box, it's light to carry (31 lbs.) and sounds
decent. But I'm an eternal fiddler, and never leave well enough alone.
By far the most important change I made to date was to replace the stock
cheapo Fender/Eminence speaker with an aftermarket replacement (in this
case, a Weber 12F125A) - what a huge difference! It has a loud, punchy
sound, crisp when clean and nicely crunchy when cranked. Of course, this
speaker cost a quarter of what I paid for the amp new, so this is not a
low-budget change. The rest of this page is on the cheap.
Remember, cutting and soldering will certainly void your warranty! Any
modifications to an amp may also decrease its long-term reliability.
Many really old Fenders (pre-BF) and most Marshalls use a common cathode
stage before the tone stack so that the stack does not "load down" the
previous gain stage. This extra stage does not provide any (voltage) gain
itself, but by decreasing the load on the previous stage, it increases the
overall gain a bit. It also slightly changes the frequency response and
therefore the tonal character.
All pictures and descriptions (up, down, left, right) are with the amp on its
face with the controls closest to you.
You'll need:
Several inches of hookup wire, with 300V or better insulation.
Two 1/2 watt 100K resistors
A basic meter or continuity tester to check connections when you're done.
Small diagonal cutters
A razor knife or Dremel-type tool to cut PCB traces
A soldering iron and solder and experience using them!
The "tube PCB" is the long thin one the tubes plug into. The "main PCB" is
the one that has all the rest of the parts. We'll be working on the top left end
of both of them.
Here's the area on the main PCB we'll be working on:

07-May-12 11:34 PM

A Mod for the Fender Blues Jr.

3 of 3

http://mhuss.com/BluesJr/index.html

and here's the area on the tube PCB we'll be working on:

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07-May-12 11:34 PM