1:00 - 'R21 and R22 on the green board.' Is that correct? My green board has R31 and R32 exactly in the positions shown in this video....and underneath a blue trimpot as shown here R21 and R22 are in 2 entirely different locations. Thanks!
Your probe videos saved me, see my 1st Amp project working thanks to you, Dennis in Virginia ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cV9ADY_6o9o.html
So sorry to hear Bill has passed away...I have a question about his homemade trace probe...do you trace on an amplifier that is turned on or is he amplifier off when you inject the signal?....what happens if the amp turns on and immediately blows fuse?
I too was a victim of the billm scam. After placing an order on 12/10/19 I haven’t been able to reach these people by phone or email. They also don’t respond to New Jersey BBB inquires. Steer clear of this fraudulent website!
Wow, some rude responses, but I guess that's what you get for placing a rude remark. But, what they are saying is... it's possible you placed an order before (or during) Bill's death. They've tried to correct all these type issues, from what I understand... but maybe not all?
Finding the right amp tech and supplying the cost for the upgrade, it's a fairly inexpensive amp, I'd love the upgrade for sure I had this amp for about 18 yrs.
Hi. I had my mods done by someone else as this stuff is pretty over my head. Bias, I assume, was set when the mod was done by the shop. I'm now looking at retubing, even though I don't NEED to, because I want more headroom. JJ tubes sells kits and BEFORE I modded, I chose a matched set for high gain. Now I want more "low gain" tubes. I assume I should rebias, but is it necessary - or can I get away with the bias that was (probably) set on the high gain tubes when the amp was modded?
Is it advisable to download it from the factory settings? I do not have the necessary equipment, I can only turn the loop a little to make the adjustment? would it be to the right or left?
so, I just installed a lot of Billm mods, including the bias mod. Good news, I have sound (a great sound actually!) and I can measure the voltage of the bias: clip to ground and clip to R31/R32. But I cannot measure the Voltage drop between the brown wire and the power cap like shown in this video... I guess my amp is running a little too cold but that's okay... Just wondering what the problem could be... any suggestions?
so, after a couple of weeks playing, today I tried to set the bias again, but just for the sake of if I've put one clip on the power cap and one clip on the blue(azl) wire and I could measure the voltage drop... after this I measured between ground and R31/32 and it did read approx. 11.6V When I turn the amp on standby the voltage slightly increases and when I turn it on again the voltage drops to 11.6...
Well ,since I cannot get a response from your Website, can you tell me why you have taken my money for the "Basic Mod" and WILL NOT ship the parts? You will not even respond to a simple E-mail. Don't buy from these people!! I'm out $46 bucks!!
Interesting. I do know that Bill passed away awhile back. From what I heard anyway. I also was informed that his family was taking care of orders that were up for shipping at tuat point and they were still taking orders. Would be nice to know what the outcome of this was.
I did a Billm mod on my BJ3 cream board and it was a huge improvement! BUT THEN...I attempted to revive a muddy-toned early BJ from the 90s and it still sounds muddy. I tested just the head with the BJ3 speaker, swapped the tubes and still nothing fixed it. I did the Basic Kit mod, bias control, High-Voltage Preamp mod, Re-Cap Kit, and replaced the input jack. ***UPDATE: I found the problem. After the mods on the green board I needed to clip the C35 capacitor to get rid of that muddy tone. C35 is the voicing cap that the later cream board models did away with (C9). Could also replace it with a 300pF if it's now too bright.
Hello Rick, thanks a lot! I am looking for a way to fix my 1996 green board BJ. Even in the Bill mods page i didnt find a mod or suggestion fot this particular issue. I have very basic knowledge of electronics. This clipoff job can be a DIY or should i approach an amp tech? Will have an effect if i dont do the basic kit mod? i live in europe and the mod kits are expensive to come by. Thanks again!
There is also the Ken Fischer method where you shunt the output transformer primary and measure the current flow through the plate. This is DANGOUS so be very careful and know when you are out of your depth.
So the tubes on my Blues Jr III need to be changed. Do I have to set up the bias after that? Or is it fixed and I can play again after just installing the new tubes ?
Hey mate! please help me with the wires of the transformer for blues junior. I have а black, white, white with black stripe and violet. What for every wire?
I am in desperate need of the Bass POT number R13 on the board of a Blues Junior II but i am having difficulty finding the right part. Can you help a brother out?
rhykko77 I was wondering how he was. that sucks but I've got a blues jr. with basically every mod he came up with that will live on and probably live on with grandkids if i ever have any.
Billm mods online. According to the main page, Bill after a long illness, passed on in October of 2016 , but soon his son who has been working with him for years, will be reopening and running it himself. I have done all Bill's basic mods and several others also ..... quite pleased.
Maybe someone can answer this question: In this video it looks like BillM removed R51 and R52 and jumped them but I can't tell how he connected the pot. I saw where someone put a pot by replacing R52 but left in R51. From the schematic R51 and R52 are in series and putting a pot on R52 allows for adjusting bios. If you remove R51 and R52 and put in the pot the way BillM has it in the video, what happens to or at C33?
I have a stock Blues Jr. III NOS. if I just want to replace the stock tubes with JJ replacements (nothing wrong with the stock tubes, just looking to improve the sound) of the same type/size, do I even need to bias the amp or can I just install the new tubes and begin using it? Thanks!
At this time I'm not finding the kits for sale, but you can DIY using the parts list: smithtinkertech.wordpress.com/2016/07/19/upgrading-the-fender-blues-jr-the-plan/ Then find each part at Reverb, Ebay, Digikey, or where you like. Further advice about DIY: "For the tone stack caps, anything above 400VDC will be ok. Usually these mods called for a 50K pot. It's replacing a half watt resistor." www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/caps-specs-for-fender-blues-jr-upgrades.1518894/ If you prefer a kit, there are Fromel kits, fromelelectronics.com/collections/amp-mod-kits, not identical to BillM kits but similar. Fromel based his Blues Jr mods on his own mods for Hot Rod Deluxe, which has a similar tone stack.
@@shckltnebay Yeah, lately I see a lot of comments that BJrs aren't worth the trouble. I'm still deciding. I've had two in storage for years, which I'm now dusting off and repairing. I've been out of the loop, I feel like I just stepped out of a time capsule or bomb shelter, since I've been playing acoustic only for around 20 years. I'd be interested to know, what is your preferred low-power amp these days?
I heard from Billm. He has been dealing with health issues and orders are backed up. He is trying to get caught up. I think we should be patient and allow him time to recuperate and the orders will be filled as soon as possible. I felt better knowing that my order did not get lost on the mail or something.
I was really looking forward to the mod for my Fender Excelsior. I read everything on the site, watched the youtube videos. I placed my order using Paypal and waited. And Waited. I was pretty busy with other stuff so I did not panic, sometimes orders to Canada take a little longer. When it was a month I sent an email and a copy of my receipt hoping to get a tracking number. No response. When I finally was forced to file this as a bad transaction with Paypal it was too late, past the 45 days and they said too bad. I also PMed Bill's facebook page and all along I am still thinking this was an oversight or a lost package. The frustrating thing is I have never had any kind or response from Billm. Is this typical? Is this because they prefer not to ship to Canada? I know they took my payment immediately and charged my as $22.50 for shipping, (as much as the kit itself). Any insights would be appreciated. thanks
Unfortunatley I too have had the same experience purchasing a mods for my Fender Blues Junior III. I too emailed a couple of times with no response and eventually tried to escallate this with Paypal and it was past the 45 day cut off. I would urge anyone to think carefully before ordering something from him at this stage.
I've got my tremolo wired with a footswitch on my excelsior, also added an on off switch so I can use it with or without the footswitch works great I can add a video
Nice solder-instruction video Bill, on this moment i work on my BJ and do some mods that i ordered via your website, i doing also a leaking power supply stiffening capacitor-repair by replacing the 47uF cap by the 100uF cap from your Basic kit, cream-board. Thanx for all the good work-video's and advices that you give to all the BJ-fans like me all over the world. Jan, from Holland.
