Billm mods

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blake375

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Anyone here tried any of the Billm mods on their Blues Junior?

I'm tempted to fiddle, but slightly put off by the warnings about the PCB being delicate and having to use a decent soldering iron with a temperature control. I've modded and built pedals with my cheapo soldering iron and not ruined a PCB yet...
 
blake375 said:
Anyone here tried any of the Billm mods on their Blues Junior?

I'm tempted to fiddle, but slightly put off by the warnings about the PCB being delicate and having to use a decent soldering iron with a temperature control. I've modded and built pedals with my cheapo soldering iron and not ruined a PCB yet...

Friend of mine sent two of his Juniors directly to Bill M and did the mods.... we did a side by side comparision with one of my stock Limited Edition Juniors and the difference is huge.... alot more headroom, fatter richer sound and depth. I'd send mine to Bill but he's on a 3 month waiting list.

Now obviously, his mods are available online and any amp tech worth his salt can do them......
 
blake375 said:
Anyone here tried any of the Billm mods on their Blues Junior?

I'm tempted to fiddle, but slightly put off by the warnings about the PCB being delicate and having to use a decent soldering iron with a temperature control. I've modded and built pedals with my cheapo soldering iron and not ruined a PCB yet...

Sounds like you know what you are doing! I think the warnings are primarily there to stop people with no idea messing up their amps. I have limited electronics experience, like you I'd modded a couple of pedals, I've recently built valve amps from scratch with great results. Based on Marcus' opinion on the quality of the results I'd say give it a go!
 
Just in case anyone's interested, I did a few of the mods and the result is... great clean tones, loads of extra bass, but... there seems to be a lack of treble and the overdriven sound is now woolly and horrible. I've had months to get used to it but I can't. I'm afriad it was much better the way it was! :cry:
 
blake375 said:
Just in case anyone's interested, I did a few of the mods and the result is... great clean tones, loads of extra bass, but... there seems to be a lack of treble and the overdriven sound is now woolly and horrible. I've had months to get used to it but I can't. I'm afriad it was much better the way it was! :cry:

Some of the mods? I imagine you don't get the full effect without the other ones.
 
There's loads you can do. I did all of the 'basic' mods BillM recommends, plus the twin stack mod and audio taper volume and reverb. The basic mods alone are supposed to do the trick - that's why they all come in one kit.

So now I'm trying to decide whether to add a presence control (requires drilling an extra hole in the control plate) or just look for a new amp. GAS demon is whispering new amp in my ear...
 
Can I just point out here that for lots of people, me included, the Blues Junior is an amp with few redeeming features? I know some people love them, but I regarded mine as a tone-free zone, & it's one of the few bits of kit I don't regret selling.

It's remarkable how this amp divides opinion - some people love them & others hate them just as much.

Mike
 
marcusnieman said:
It's my number one go to amp with a stat for small rooms.... no pedals (maybe a vibrato once in awhile).

I know - and that really surprises me. It just goes to show how this little amp divides opinions.
 
stratman323 said:
marcusnieman said:
It's my number one go to amp with a stat for small rooms.... no pedals (maybe a vibrato once in awhile).

I know - and that really surprises me. It just goes to show how this little amp divides opinions.

Agreed.... I have three of them (Limited Edition tweeds with the Italian Jensen's in them) and each one sounds a little different. Perhaps I'm just used to their sound and with my amp / guitar settings, it just seems to work.
 

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