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

Leave a Comment

10 Comments

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

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

    Reply

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

    I believe it’s called the TwinStack mod.

    Reply

  2. 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?

    Reply

    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.

    Reply

  3. 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.

    Reply

    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.

    Reply

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

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

    Reply

    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.

    Reply

  5. 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?

    Reply

    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) :-)

    Reply