# Fender Blues Jr. Tweed w/ Jensen P12R 25W speaker



## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Hey amp aficionados. Back in 2012 I picked up the (I believe) 1st version of the BJ Tweed at a local L&M. Cream board. I've recently researched a bit about it and have a couple of questions. Some have been answered by the BillM Audio site, a guy I understand specializes in the Fender BJr's and Mods. The main reason I'm posting this here is because there seems to be a lot of information that people aren't too sure of. I'll pose this as a list of questions/ideas/I need info:

- Jensen P12R 25W speaker - I understand with the Limited Tweed (ceramic board), this speaker was put into the Reliced Tweed version. But there are a number of relics out there that looked way more reliced than mine, so I'm not sure what the hell I have. Doesn't look reliced to me, and it isn't lacquered NOS......

Here's one on Reverb:
Fender Blues Junior tweed relic
Here's mine:



















The Jensen C12N was put in the NOS lacquered tweed version. Is this correct? From what I've seen, the P12R that I have is closer to a beat up 50's transistor sound, which is about right to my ears. I'm not really digging it that much for the Blues sound I'm trying to get (something maybe closer to a Texas Blues or SRV sound is my preference). Any suggestions there? There is a disclaimer here that a number of speaker types will not fit into the extremly small cabinet with chassis, which is very obvious.

- Reverb tank. Not crazy about the sound there neither....BUT, is it possible it's an effect or combination of the P12R speaker? The reverb tank is the Black Accutronics one. I saw about the MOD tank that some like....any ideas here? Another problem I've found is there is a pitchy hiss when the reverb is on, but disappears when off. BillM has said that it's a possible Phase Inverter Oscillation on the Cream boards. He fixed it by lifting the ribbon cables up and away from the board, which almost acts as a small capacitance to remove the ugly frequencies (or something close to that effect anyways) Date on the tank is 12/05/18.
.
- MODS - I understand that BillM audio has a Mod package for a number of the Blues Jrs, both for green and cream boards. I'm not sure if I really want to go this route to be honest, just looking for opinions on what others may have done with this type of amp.

If anyone here has any insight into this particular amp and Model, I'd appreciate it. Model # is 28055 if that makes a difference.

I'd also like to find out how "Limited" these actually are.....I hear that they put the "Limited edition" patch on all cream board amps of this type, but again there are a number of oopinions in that regard.

Thanks for any info or suggestions.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

Bill M was the Genesis of BJR modding. Sadly he passed away last month.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

cboutilier said:


> Bill M was the Genesis of BJR modding. Sadly he passed away last month.


Damn. He'll be missed by the looks of it. Sorry to hear that.


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## topboost (Nov 18, 2010)

I had an early '90's version built at the Lake Oswego factory(it'll say Made in USA on the back) It was a green board amp with the same Eminence speaker that was in all of the juniors. Cream boards started on early 2000's and I'm pretty sure that's when Jensen speakers were installed in tweeds, etc. depending on the market they were being sold in. Fender would make a run of amps for a particular major store chain like Guitar Center and Long & McQuade every few years. Hence the slight difference in speakers, and badging.
It's easy to go down the rabbit hole and blow a lot of money on mods which still might not get you the tone you want on these amps. I like Bj's because they don't sound like the traditional Fender amp. They're more Vox like than blackface. So you might want to try another amp. By the time you have all the mods done you're getting close to the price of a used deluxe reverb custom, etc. The reverb on these amps were never great.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

topboost said:


> I had an early '90's version built at the Lake Oswego factory(it'll say Made in USA on the back) It was a green board amp with the same Eminence speaker that was in all of the juniors. Cream boards started on early 2000's and I'm pretty sure that's when Jensen speakers were installed in tweeds, etc. depending on the market they were being sold in. Fender would make a run of amps for a particular major store chain like Guitar Center and Long & McQuade every few years. Hence the slight difference in speakers, and badging.
> It's easy to go down the rabbit hole and blow a lot of money on mods which still might not get you the tone you want on these amps. I like Bj's because they don't sound like the traditional Fender amp. They're more Vox like than blackface. So you might want to try another amp. By the time you have all the mods done you're getting close to the price of a used deluxe reverb custom, etc. The reverb on these amps were never great.


This is certainly another consideration that has crossed my mind. I know they're very popular amps as well, so moving it shouldn't be an issue if the time comes. Thanks for the info.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Bump

I threw in my older (90's) Celestion G12T-75 8 ohm into the Blues Junior a week ago. Cranked it today. Holy cats that's a nice amp with the upgraded speaker and the Master on 10 (Master goes to 12, but I didn't want to push too hard)!!! Can get pretty much evry tonal nuance I'm looking for with that one, given my penchant for heavier music. Plays fantastic with the Blackstar with V30's accompanying it with the ISF in the British tone range. For those who don't know Blackstar, they have the Infinite Shape Feature which allows a very wide range of tonal bliss from American to Brit, and everything in between.

Now I just have to crank em both and shake some shit off the wall in the basement! Or the house!! Or maybe play a cruel trick on my wife and wake her up one morning with a bit of a blast from it. I'd get a laugh out of it anyways....even on the way to divorce court.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

Dorian, you have a tweed amp. The Relic amp on Reverb has either been used or abused to get that rough looking.

I have a Relic BJr. that has been moved about 10 times around my house since new. I would say mine is pretty much as new condition for a Relic BJr. amp. They came with a little wear, a little tear, a beer bottle ring, rust, tarnish on the chrome, filmy coating on the chicken head knobs. Even the FSR and other badging is scuffed and difficult to read. Mine even came with one less rusty screw holding the back panel on. The leather handle looks aged, but not cracked like the one on Reverb. Mine is all stock and sounds great when I use it at home. I have never gigged with it. I usually use this amp when someone comes by to potentially purchase a guitar. Every purchaser has commented on how sweet that old amp sounds. I don't tell them any different. That amp has sold every guitar. The original Relic BJr. had a run of 200 amps for North America. There was another limited run for Europe and worldwide distribution. I am not sure of the quantity.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Thanks a bunch Tone Chaser. I figured it out that it was a tweed, but didn't know the other particulars. Since it's my first tweed (I'm more of a heavy rock guy), I'm learning a number of things about Fender amps in general. Appreciate your thoughtful input into my question!


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