A speaker upgrade does wonders.

Ditto here on one of my matched 6V6's after about two weeks of operating replacing them for the originals....BIAS was OK. I got a new set but this time TAD's and have not had any more problems. I think the ones I had were GT's.....same thing happened with the original pair (GT's).

Hi I'm looking for my first tube amp myself and have been looking at these for about a month or so and then I ran across this channel and saw all these coming into his shop ..I'm really not sure ..Did you end up keeping yours or get something else and would you recommend staying away from it ..I'm feeling like I should now at the $750.00 price with all the plastic and loose soldering.butvthat about my budget.I would really appreciate your feedback... Thanks in advance

Yup! Gotta have fun with all this gear sometimes.

The Princeton is the much better amp. Look at my Fender Reissues playlist for ways to make the PRRI more reliable.

I noticed in one of your videos that you said you don’t reveal all of the mods you normally do. Do you possibly put together and sell a parts kit for it? Thanks for your time.

No.

You have a volume switch on the amp and your guitar.

I'm leery of long distance diagnoses with limited information. But I would pull the right most preamp tube and see if the problem goes away. Still there? Pull the next tube. Still there? Try different power tubes. Still there? Take it to a tech.

@@PsionicAudio thank you so much. Great channel 👏

Not worth it in a Blues Jr IMo.

@@PsionicAudio Thanks very much for your quick reply! I'll simply clip it then! :)

@@patricktesta2913 Did you clip it Patrick? What do you think of it after? And do you play single coils pickups through it or humbuckers? Both? Thanks.

@@TheJurgisRud Hi! I did it and I'm happy with the result! I usually play single coils (Tele) on hte amp. I also have a Les Paul but I don't have much time to play and so I haven't tried it yet after I clipped the cap... BTW on my amp I had also done BillM style mods and I llike it very much!

@@patricktesta2913 Thanks Patrick! I'm going to look into that BillM mod!

I think it's more that the "designers" don't know how to read datasheets anymore. Fender biased the Blues Junior as if it were a cathode bias amp. Which it ain't.

To save money !

In my eyes it was worth it. Got the tone I have been chasing for a while now

@@jessehiatt9225 I agree, you're much better off with the F&T's. I was responding to your question as to why Fender uses the IC caps.

Funny, I took Lyle's advice and I'm using radial caps instead of axials. Good quality caps, and somewhat cheaper. 👌It doesn't matter either, when the IC caps come on the bench, they get replaced. The customers grumble until they watch the latest videos on u-tube. Also, a rebias treatment.

I use bothe axial on the 4 main filter caps and radials on the other 3 or 4 smaller IC caps. I know people complain about them untill they hear what a difference it makes. Also planning on replacing a few other caps and resistors to tame the drive on the HRD a bit.

I have one but rarely use it. Amps are good tube testers. In this video, Amp A hummed. I suspected the EL84s. Faster to swap known good ones than to test the old ones. Realistically, I charge $80/hour. Taking 15 minutes to test old Groove Tube EL84s costs more than a new pair of good 84s. Client sends a quad of old RCA 6L6s he bought? Then the tube tester can be justified.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I truly enjoy the content and expert level repair videos. Obviously a labor of love on your part.

That's something my dad taught me - the best tester is the circuit it's in.

Tube Store Preferred Series 7189s.

The caps made it past the warranty lol

They hold up slightly better because they were made before the move to lead free solder. They aren't as bright because they have C9 present. Other than that, same amp, same issues.

I’ve had two, a I and a II. Still use the I but sold the II to buy something else (of course!) and that Junior I has been a workhorse for me. It’s not an elite amp but it’s not supposed to be. I think i paid $350 cash for it in 1996 and it is some of the best money I’ve ever spent on gear. With some tweaks and a couple of pedals-a tremolo for one, plus a Mojo Drive- it’s a surprisingly good sound. People always ask me about it. When they hear it’s only 15 watts, they can’t believe it. The mids help cut through a live mix really well. No complaints on that little fella. Enjoyed your vid; right on the money!

They are all the same. Four versions, no real circuit changes. Same flaws. Better on the bias, reverb less in your face. Still crappy caps, still plastic jacks, still unsupported pots. Same basic amp.

I have a 2001 “green board” Blues Jr. and it had all of the problems Lyle mentions plus a few more. I fixed the overly hot bias within a year of getting it after losing 2 output tube sets but gremlins kept popping up. I eventually gave up.

@@PsionicAudio not at all. All versions of the bj are mostly just the same amp & circuit & basic parts. I have no problem at all agreeing with you on that point, I am more than willing to concede that. You should be willing to concede that the new hot rod blues jr iv's with the black pc boards have been "hot rodded" by fender themselves. Yes it's still based on the original circuit. Yes they still use most of the same parts BUT they have done a lot of the modifications in house that a lot of people really like. You should actually take 1 of those reissues or originals & put it side by side with the new hot rod 4 blues jr iv with the black pc boards & then maybe you'll see finally what I am saying, but putting 2 reissues side by side will not show u the difference. Even if you use a new v4 reissue beside another 1,2, or 3 you will only see the same things. You have to take a "hot rod blues jr4" against the regular 1,2,3,4 versions. That's the only way you are going to see what I am talking about.

When a "hot rod IV" comes in I'll note any differences. The IVs I've had in have had the same problems the first three did. Lelon caps that leak instead of IC caps. But dude. Saying I need to be "a lot more knowledgeable" is just rude. And ridiculous. While I try to learn new things everyday, none of the gaps in my knowledge have anything to do with a freaking Blues Junior.

@@MAP448 but, it's still the same amp. None of these amps are "reissues". They have been in continuous production since the early 90's using the same circuit with minor component value revisions.