Bill M. Blues Jr. Mods Review

Categories: Blues Junior Videos

I’ve been asked on numerous occasions what I think of the Bill M. mods for Fender Blues Junior Amps. I could never answer that question because I had not ever heard any of his modded amps.

I finally decided to get some mods done and less than $200 later, it’s like having a brand new amp. The differences are very, very noticeable. Much more bass, a lot more brightness, and far more usable tone controls with more available gain.

Cheaper than a set of great pickups, these mods are a slam dunk in my opinion. Details about what I had done are below the video.

My Mods:

  • Basic mods
  • Heyboer TO20 output transformer
  • Presence control
  • Cathode follower
  • Switchcraft input jack
  • Preamp revoicing
  • TwinStack

14 Comments

  1. Don Anderson Says:
    December 8th, 2010 at 8:31 am

    I’m hearing the Blues Jr. mods here on my headphones and it sound great and even seems to treat soft jazz chords with respect. I like messing around with cars and know that whenever you add one thing you lose another. EG More high end performance probably means lost gas mileage, harder to drive around town or parts wear out faster.

    It looks like you gained everything and lost nothing with these B/Jr mods. Probably a few cap changes and a transformer. If that is the case, why don’t Fender engineers implement these changes. On the factory floor level, I can’t see it costing any more to manufacture. Are there jazz or country players who might not like what was done.

  2. raymond burr Says:
    October 15th, 2010 at 7:20 am

    Hello Anthony,
    I enjoyed all of your videos for some time now… thanks for the great work. I’ved picked up a tweed blues junior @ guitar center, rockville md, and want to follow your lead regarding modifications to the amp. Will you shoot me Bill’s contact info and/or web address, if you have the time? I’ve been on Bill’s site but he’s doing upgrades and I don’t see a contact number.
    Thanks you brother,
    R.B. A K A Voodoo Chile

  3. Mick Says:
    October 9th, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    Great demo. Curious if you are plugged straight in, or are using any pedals?

    Anthony Stauffer reply on October 9th, 2010 8:31 pm:

    No pedals on this demo :-)

  4. Joe Says:
    August 15th, 2010 at 8:13 pm

    I do not see pre-amp revoicing on Bill’s site for listed mod kits.

    Anthony Stauffer reply on August 16th, 2010 9:10 am:

    I believe it’s called the TwinStack mod.

  5. David Says:
    July 22nd, 2010 at 11:14 am

    This is incredible. I almost spent about $3000 for a boutique amp when this has the tone I was looking for. I’m wondering from reading above (as I’m a novice at amp modifications), what do you mean by ‘Preamp Revoicing’. Also, are you keeping the EL84s or have you switched to the 6V6′s?

    Anthony Stauffer reply on July 23rd, 2010 2:39 pm:

    Voicing refers primarily to the tone controls, and how they affect the tone. I have made no changes to the tubes.

  6. Trace Says:
    June 22nd, 2010 at 4:16 pm

    Amazing tone! I’m a huge SRV fan myself and you do him justice! Are you still using the stock Jensen ceramic speaker or has that been changed as well? If so, to what? I just picked up a tolex Blues Jr. and though I think it sounds amazing as it is I was already planning on upgrading the speaker to the Tweed option (Jensen C12N) but I am sorely tempted to use the Alnico (P12R). Any experiences or advice on Ceramic vs. Alnico before I spend more cash? Would you advise doing the BillM mods first or changing the speaker? The BillM mods appear very reasonably priced and I may even be able to do them myself.

    Anthony Stauffer reply on July 4th, 2010 1:39 pm:

    Hi Trace,
    The speaker is still stock. I think the mods have outclassed the speaker though, and I may look into replacing it in the future. You will see a big change in tone changing the stock speaker to the C12N or some other good speaker, that may be suitable for you, but as I have found, the mods can improve the amp, but not the speaker, and doing the mods may make the speaker sound like the weak link, as mine does now.

  7. Michael Says:
    March 25th, 2010 at 7:21 am

    Hmmm wonder how I could possibly get these mods done in Australia?

    sean reply on April 6th, 2010 4:52 pm:

    Order the parts from bill’s website and install them yourself. they are worth far more than what he charges.

  8. Dave Says:
    March 24th, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    Thanks Anthony for the great review. Can I ask, how long was Bill’s waiting list and how long did it take once you shipped him the chassis?

    Anthony Stauffer reply on March 24th, 2010 6:58 pm:

    Hi Dave,
    I’m not sure what Bill’s normal waiting list is, I’ve heard it can be up to 6 months. However, mine was within two weeks, which makes me believe he allowed me to cut in line since I’m about a year and a half overdue on these mods (my fault) :-)