G McBride Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Having some problems with my Blues Jr. so I bought a Blues Forever Tube set from Torres Engineering and installed them tonight. My amp has never sounded this good. It didn't sound this good new. I would recommend this to anyone with a late model Blues Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc3c46 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Having some problems with my Blues Jr. so I bought a Blues Forever Tube set from Torres Engineering and installed them tonight. My amp has never sounded this good. It didn't sound this good new. I would recommend this to anyone with a late model Blues Jr. What was the problem in the beginning? What improvements did you get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragoro Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 When ya buy a set like that, do they give instructions for what tube goes where? And any special precautions when ya change tubes? Never done it before... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G McBride Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 Started getting some buzzing noises, volume faded in and out. Poor sound quality in general. I notice one of the power tubes was glowing a lot hotter than the other one. Improvements in sound quality are so good that it sounds as if I replace the speaker. Volume does not fade in and out now. The amp is responsive and note separation is more noticeable now. Clean is nice and clear and dirty is just nice and gritty sounding. The amp is so much more responsive to my picking. Yes the give you the instructions on where to put each tube. Power tubes in this set were matched. Preamp set used a different tube in each of the three places. I wore a pair of brown jersey gloves handling the tubes and worked on it with the tubes cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 A fresh set of glass can make all the differance in the world.... glad your amp is back to full strength Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Did you re-bias the amp when you changed the tubes? If not, I would suggest doing so immediately. An incorrectly biased amp can result in very short tube life. Meaning that without proper biasing, your tubes could die in a couple of months. Other than the biasing, congratulations on the new tubes man! I just put new tubes in my DeVille and it sounds 150% better. I'm sure yours is about the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I just checked out the website and I think that is a great idea what they are doing. Tubes sound different from one brand to another, and it sounds like they have experimented with different types to find a good sounding combo. Sounds like they know what they are doing from the little I read. I don't know how the BJ is made, but usually an amp the uses el-84's are cathode biased. An amp the is cathode biased does not need to have the bias adjusted like a fixed bias amp (like most amps). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Good to hear man, a Blues Junior is my next (major) purchase, so I think I'll give those a try! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I wish they had a head version.... I also wish I could find someone who wanted to buy my Super Champ XD.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 . New tubes can really buck things up. Like a new lease on life. Glad that easy fix worked out for you. B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G McBride Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 I am glad that it didn't need to go to the shop. Makes me want to play this amp again. I had started staying away from it because I just didn't like the sound coming out of it. I love it again now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 So...what IS this infamous "Set" of tubes, anyway? The Breakdown as such... CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 So...what IS this infamous "Set" of tubes, anyway? The Breakdown as such... CB I googled Torres Engineering and found it. They are actually hip enough to say what they are and why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner54 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Did you re-bias the amp when you changed the tubes? If not, I would suggest doing so immediately. An incorrectly biased amp can result in very short tube life. Meaning that without proper biasing, your tubes could die in a couple of months. Other than the biasing, congratulations on the new tubes man! I just put new tubes in my DeVille and it sounds 150% better. I'm sure yours is about the same. Just an FYI Blues Jr. amp need matched power tubes. They do not have a bias adjustment unless the amp was modified. I have series II Jr. I just change my tubes as well. Best thing I have done was putting a 12AY7 in V1. Smoothed the amp out very nicely. I have the Billm audio kit waiting to be installed. I need a day when no one will bother me while I solder....and right now I would rather be playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael. L. Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Hey ladies, Just some brief info to further add my 2 cents worth I have a 15watt pro junior in limited tweed finish from around '97 changed the standard Eminence speaker in it and replaced it with a Jensen Alnico, improvement in sound was remarkable,,, and I mean remarkable!!!! next, replaced the 2 EL84 power tubes that were labelled Fender made made by Sovtek, replaced them with 2 Sovtek EL84 M -military spec. again the sound was improved drasticall!! next, replaced the 2 standard "again Fender badged" 12ax7s -chinese made with one Sovtek 12ax7 WB in the V! position and Sovtek 12ax7 LPS in V2 This was the biggest improvement overall Can't stress enough that you amps "tone" primarily comes from the pre amp tubes As for biasing, I know for a fact the my Fender pro junior does not require biasing when changing power amp tubes as the amp from the factory is biased and set on the "hot side" deliberately as to provide that beautiful early breakup I suspect that the blues junior follows suite, but not sure!!! Anyway, enough said, enjoy your amp, like I enjoy mine!!!! I posted an extremely long response to Watersilk's thread, "The quest for perfect tone" in regards to tone and tubes Cheers, Mick from OZ!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinetreebob Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 How do you adjust the bias and is it necessary each time you replace tubes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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