Blues Junior history can be divided into two major categories: the early amps with. Fender adopted a two-letter dating code in 1990, and the code can be found. The Limited tweeds have been issued with the Jenson, and the Fender (eminence) speaker.anyhow, I JUST posted/started a thread on this subject, But note.my thread was based on the latest model, the Blues Jr. III which Fender has added a different circuit.

• Fender Blues Junior Serial Numbers
• Fender Blues Junior Ebay
• Fender Blues Junior Serial Number Search
• Fender Blues Junior Serial Number Decoder
• Fender Blues Junior Serial Number 1

The Blues Junior is a tubeguitar amplifier introduced in 1990 by the Fender Musical Instrument Corporation. It is aimed at achieving the warm, tube-driven tone common in many styles of American blues and blues rock dating back to the 1950s, while remaining both portable and affordable. Fender frequently releases limited editions of the Blues Junior. All have the same electronic components^{[1][not in citation given][non-primary source needed]} and specifications but have cosmetic changes and often a different speaker, at varying prices. The Fender Blues Junior is most similar to the Fender Blues Deluxe, which adds a 'drive' channel, an effects loop, and uses 6L6GC output tubes for 40 watts of rated output.^{[2][non-primary source needed]} The Fender Blues Junior was introduced after the Fender Pro Junior, but has entirely different circuitry and uses two EL84 output tubes rather than Pro's four, although both are rated at 15 watts.

• 2Varying editions

Specifications[edit]

• single-channel 15-watt all-tube amplifier
• one 12-inch, 50-watt, 8-ohm driver (connected with 1/4-inch phone jack for external speaker option); model varies with edition:
  • standard edition Blues Juniors ship with a Celestion A-Type speaker
  • NOS Lacquer Tweed Limited Edition Blues Juniors ship with the Italian manufactured Jensen model C12N
  • Tweed Relic Edition Blues Juniors ship with Jensen model P12R
  • (other speaker models may be in use)
• Fender spring reverb (driven by a solid-state opamp)
• Bass, Middle and Treble tone controls
• 'Fat' pushbutton switch boosts gain and midrange frequencies in preamp stage
  • also operable with optional remote foot-switch (not included)
• independent preamp and master gain controls for tube overdrive management
• 'chicken head' vintage styled control knobs
• three matched Groove Tubes 12AX7 preamp tubes (graded to Fender's specifications)
• two matched Groove Tubes EL84 power tubes (graded to Fender's specifications)
• fixed power tube bias
• solid-state rectifier
• single 1/4-inch input jack

Varying editions[edit]

Like many Fender amplifiers (particularly in the Hot Rod series), many limited edition versions of the Blues Junior have been manufactured since its introduction in 1995. The original circuit board underwent a major redesign in 2001, when production moved from the US to Mexico. The earlier circuit boards are green in color and are noted for a 'darker,' more bass-inflected tone. Many green board models have excessive noise in the reverb circuit, as the signal is inserted into the reverb after the master volume. The later circuit boards are cream or tan colored and sound 'brighter' or more treble-oriented, with the reverb situated before the Master volume.^{[3][non-primary source needed]}

Lacquered Tweed editions, as the name implies, feature a cabinet upholstered with a lacquered tweed fabric. Some of these have been artificially aged from the factory and are known as Lacquered Tweed 'Relic' editions. The 'Blonde' and 'Brown Tolex' Blues Juniors feature traditional Fender Tolex upholstery in their respective colors, while the Sunburst Ash edition features an ash cabinet with a sunburst stain. One edition was issued with a forest green colored cabinet, had a United States flag on the cloth speaker grille, and had United States Air Force markings detailed on the cabinet in yellow.^{[citation needed]}

The standard Blues Junior is dressed like a traditional black Fender amplifier, with black Tolex upholstery and a silver cloth speaker grille.

Although they differ in their external visual aesthetic, all variants of the Blues Junior for a given year are produced with the same electronics, apart from the speaker/driver. Limited editions may use varying driver models, such as the Jensen C12N found in the NOS Lacquered Tweed Blues Junior or the Jensen P12R found in the Relic edition. Fender does not always include these limited edition versions in their updated catalogs (or on their website) either because too few were produced (only a few hundred in some cases) or perhaps because of exclusive retailer agreements.^{[citation needed]}

Blues Junior revision history[edit]

Fender Blues Junior Serial Numbers

Fender introduced the Blues Junior in 1995 and has revised and updated the amp periodically since then. The Blues Junior history can be divided into two major categories: the early amps with green circuit boards and the later ones with cream-colored boards. The switch to the cream-colored boards reflects the change in where the amps were manufactured, from USA to Mexico. The cream-colored board is laid out entirely differently from the green board. The biggest change is the reworked reverb circuit. The older amps tend to sound darker, while the new ones are brighter with more emphasis on treble tones.^{[citation needed]}

The table Below details the revision dates and the changes made on those dates.^{[citation needed]}

Dating a Blues Junior[edit]

Fender adopted a two-letter dating code in 1990. The code can be found on the Quality Assurance label located inside the cabinet. The label is often located on the bottom next to the reverb tank, sometimes it is placed on the side. The codes can be handwritten, which can occasionally make the letters hard to decipher.

Fender discontinued date codes in 2003. There is no reliable way to date 2003–2005 amps other than to ask Fender customer support to look up the date from the serial number. Amps made in 2006 have a small metal 'Fender 60th Anniversary' button on the back plate. Amps from 2007 are undistinguished.

Blues Junior III[edit]

In 2010 Fender updated their line of hot rod model amps and released the 'Blues Junior III,' adding many physical changes to the standard black tolex model. Notable differences include the Fender 'lightning bolt' speaker, 'sparkle' circuit modification, rattle-reducing shock absorbers, set-screw 'chicken head' knobs, 'dog bone' handle, larger Fender jewel light, black non-reflective control panel, and 'Blues Junior' subtext on the logo plate.^[4]

Tube complement and bias setting[edit]

A set of three matched Groove Tubes 12AX7 preamp tubes and two matched Groove Tubes EL84 power tubes, graded according to Fender's specifications, are used in all factory Blues Juniors. The Blues Junior uses a nonadjustable power tube bias (no way to vary the bias point), but it is fairly 'hot' and can accommodate most matched pairs on the market. However, because they 'run hot', a common modification is to add a bias trim to enable adjustments to the idle current when switching tubes.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

1. ^'Schematic Diagram: Blues Junior'(PDF). Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. July 29, 1998. Archived from the original on October 25, 2005.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link) (Schematic for the original USA-built Blues Junior amplifiers.)
2. ^'Blues Deluxe Schematic Diagram'(PDF). Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. May 24, 1996. Archived from the original on January 16, 2006.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
3. ^'All About Your Blues Junior'. Billm Audio. Archived from the original on September 17, 2010.
4. ^'Blues Junior III' (product page in online catalogue). Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)

External links[edit]

• Fender Blues Junior Owner's Manual (PDF)
• Fender Musical Instrument Corporation Fender's official website
• Billm's Blues Junior Modification Pages contains a revision summary as well as historical and technical info
• Harmony Central Contains user reviews of Fender Blues Junior amps

The Fender Bassman is a bassamplifier introduced by Fender during 1952.^{[citation needed]} Initially intended to amplify bass guitars, the 5B6 Bassman was used by musicians for other instrument amplification, including the electric guitar, harmonica, and pedal steel guitars. Besides being a popular and important amplifier in its own right, the Bassman also became the foundation on which Marshall and other companies built their high-gain tube amplifiers.^{[citation needed]}

• 1History

History[edit]

The 5B6 Bassman[edit]

During 1952, the Fender 5B6 Bassman amplifier was introduced as a combo amplifier cabinet that included the amplifier chassis combined with one 15' speaker. The 1952–1954^[1] 5B6 Bassman amplifiers had two 6SC7 or 6SL7GT pre-amp tubes, two 5881 power tubes and a single 5U4G rectifier tube. It was designed to generate 26 watts at an 8 ohm impedance load, and offered a cathode-based bias.^{[citation needed]}

From 1952 through the spring of 1954, Fender produced approximately 660 model 5B6 Bassman amplifiers (serial numbers #0001–0660).^{[citation needed]} The earlier cabinets have been called 'TV Front' designs,^[1] with a front panel that had a rectangular grill cloth with rounded corners and looked much like a television of that era. In 1953 the cabinet designs were changed to the so-called 'Wide Panel' design, with a 5 inch wide tweed covered panel above and below a wider swath of grill cloth. Fender ceased production of 5B6 Bassman amplifiers during the spring of 1954.^{[citation needed]}

The 5D6 Bassman with dual rectifiers[edit]

During November 1954, Fender introduced the newly designed 5D6 Bassman amplifier offering four ten inch speakers and was designed utilizing two rectifier tubes. The 5D6 was a major departure from the earlier 5B6 Fender Bassman model. Designed by Freddie Tavares, longtime R&D man at Fender,^[2] the new circuit included two rectifier tubes and became known as the Dual Rectifier Bassman.^[3][4] Instead of the single 15' speaker, four 10' Jensen Alnico P10R speakers were used. The circuit had two innovations: a fixed bias for the power tubes, which increased power in comparison to the earlier cathode bias design, and a cathodyne phase inverter, using half of the 12AX7 tube and allowing a third gain stage on the other half.^[5]

The first 4x10 Bassman amplifiers started with a batch of prototypes in November and December 1954, model 5D6. No schematic for the 5D6 circuit has ever been found, but Ken Fox and Frank Roy have created a few from originals, and copies are freely available online. Only 11 of these early 5D6 Bassman examples are known to have survived. The lowest serial number known to still exist is 0013 (Frank Roy), 0035 (Albert Talley), 0075 (Jim Cornett), 0077 (Perry Tate), 0089 (Mark Grandfield), 0701, 0745 (Walter Horton), 0769 (Hayes Kolb), 0780 (sold on eBay Nov 2006), 0783, and 0785 (Hayes Kolb) are among those still known to exist.

Narrow panel models, 1954 to 1960[edit]

Fender began making other models with tweed covering, a similar open backed cabinet with a rectangular grill cloth and a narrow (just over an inch wide) tweed covered panel at the top and bottom. Produced from 1954 until 1960, these models are called the 'narrow panel' tweed amps .^[5]

Fender introduced the model 5D6 'DK' in November 1954 followed by the 5E6 Bassman Amp during early 1955. The 5E6-A Bassman model was introduced later that year and included some evolutionary improvements.^{[citation needed]} Demand for the tweed Bassman amp grew, so Fender increased production. By the middle of 1957 more than 1,500 examples of the 5E6 series had been sold.^[6]

In July 1957, Fender introduced the model 5F6 Bassman. This model also had four Jensen P10R speakers, but the power supply was redesigned around a single 83 mercury vapor rectifier tube, and a new preamp circuit was introduced that included a three knob tone stack, with separate controls for Treble, Mid and Bass. The power amp included a 'long tailed pair' phase inverter, an innovation that noticeably increased the 'headroom' or clean power output capability of the amplifier. Similar preamp changes were also incorporated in the 5F8 Twin Amp at about the same time, but not on other large size Fender amps.

During 1958, Fender introduced the model 5F6-A Bassman model. This final 1950s Tweed Bassman model product line included a change from the 83 mercury vapor rectifier tube to the GZ34 rectifier tube, as well as a modification within the Presence control circuit.^[7] During early 1960, Fender began producing the 5F6-A Bassman with Jensen P10Q speakers. The P10Q Jensen speakers are more able to manage stronger electrical input power and generate better 'clean' output sounds than previous installed P10R Jensen speakers. The P10R Jensen speakers were shipped within all Fender Bassmen from late 1954 until early 1960. Many professional music industry analysts have heralded the 1950s Fender 4×10 Bassman amps as the greatest guitar amp ever. The first 1954 Fender Tweed 5D6 4×10 circuit generated further Tweed Bassman amplifier development through 1960. Several Bassman models were progressively influenced by the 5D6 through the last Fender Tweed 5F6-A Bassman's circuit design. The 5F6-A Bassman's design was directly copied by Marshall Amplifiers within their JTM-45 amplifier during the early 1960s.^[8]

In 1990, Fender began reissuing the 5F6-A Bassman. The first series of the reissue were made at the Corona, California facility, and came equipped with four Eminence-made 10' blue frame AlNiCo speakers, and a solid state rectifier unit. Later on, production was moved to Ensenada, Baja California, and the model name was altered to '59 Bassman LTD'. The LTD came equipped with the original 5AR4 rectifier tube, and four Jensen P10R reissue alnico speakers, which was period correct for the original amp.

Piggyback model[edit]

In late 1960, Fender introduced a completely redesigned model 6G6 Bassman Amp, using the 'piggy-back' design, in which the amplifier chassis is housed in a small cabinet, attached by metal clips to a larger separate speaker enclosure.

Fender Blues Junior Ebay

The early models were called 'Brownface' because of the dark brown color used on the control panel. The 6G6 model was covered in rough Blonde colored Tolex material with Oxblood colored grill cloth. It had a single GZ34 rectifier, two 5881/6L6GC power tubes and four 12AX7 preamp tubes. The output was 50 watts at 8 ohm into a single 12 inch speaker, with a 'Tone Ring' baffle in the speaker cabinet. In early 1961, model 6G6-A was introduced with a solid state rectifier replacing the GZ34, and two 12 inch speakers with a conventional baffle in a slightly larger cabinet (wired in parallel) with a 4 ohm output. In 1962, model 6G6-B was introduced, which incorporated circuit changes but used the same speaker configuration. In 1963 smooth Blonde Tolex covering was used instead of the early rough texture cover, and a light tan grill cloth. In late, 1963, Fender changed the cosmetics to what is commonly known as the 'blackface' scheme. This amp still had the presence knob and same circuit (designated 6G6-B) as the smooth Blonde Tolex Bassman, but the faceplace was now black, the Tolex was black, and the grillcloth had moved to a silver cloth with black thread. The logo had also transitioned from the flat cast tin Fender with the brown paint in the tail, to a plastic logo with faux chrome and more 3-D shape.

In 1964 Fender introduced the AA864 circuit, and changed the appearance to the 'Blackface' design, with black tolex covering and a black painted control panel. Fender was sold to CBS in 1965, and the AA165 circuit was briefly introduced, before being replaced by the AB165 circuit. The 'Blackface' design continued until the 'Silverface' model was introduced in 1968. Early 'Drip-Edge' Silverface Bassmen used the same AB165 circuitry as the previous Blackface versions. The Brownface, Blackface, and Silverface 'piggyback head' (except the Bassman 10 and 20, which were also combo amplifiers) versions of the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s generally followed a trend toward cleaner sound and more headroom.

Other models[edit]

• Super Bassman (1969–1971) – one speaker cabinet
• Super Bassman II (1969–1972) – two speaker cabinets
• Bassman 10 (1972–1982) – Silverface combo – four 10' speakers, 50 Watts/RMS (models produced after 1977 came with a three-band EQ on the Bass channel and 75 Watts/RMS with ultra-linear output section).
• Bassman 50 (1972–1977) – Silverface piggyback head – two 15' speakers, 50 Watts/RMS – Same specs as the original silverface Bassman heads produced between 1968 and 1972, except for the addition of a tailless amp decal and an AC568 circuit.
• Bassman 100 (1972–1977) – Silverface piggyback head – four 12' speakers, 100 Watts/RMS.
• Bassman 135 (1978–1983) – Silverface piggyback head – Same as the Bassman 100, with 135 Watts/RMS, ultra-linear output section and a three band EQ on the Bass channel.
• Bassman 70 (1977–1983) – Silverface piggyback head – Same as the Bassman 50, with 70 Watts/RMS, ultra-linear output section and a master volume control.
• Bassman 20 (1982–1983) – Blackface combo – one 15' speaker
• '59 Bassman and '59 Bassman LTD (1990–present) – 5F6-A reissue

Fender Blues Junior Serial Number Search

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'Fender Wide Panel Tweed Bassman'. Ampwares.
2. ^Wheeler 2007, p. 164.
3. ^http://www.gbase.com/gear/fender-bassman-1956-tweed
4. ^http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=tubediy&m=203358
5. ^ ^abWare, Mark. 'Fender Amp Field Guide'.
6. ^Gagliano, Greg (April 2010). 'Dating Fender Amps by Serial Number, Part VI'. Vintage Guitar Magazine: 38–39, 100–101.
7. ^http://ampwares.com/amplifiers/fender-narrow-panel-tweed-bassman/
8. ^Kuehnel, Richard (2009). Circuit Analysis of a Legendary Tube Amplifier The Fender Bassman 5F6-A. Pentode Press. pp. 12–15. ISBN0976982250.

Bibliography[edit]

Fender Blues Junior Serial Number Decoder

• Kelly, Martin; Foster, Terry; Kelly, Paul (2010). Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970. London & New York: Cassell. ISBN1-84403-666-9.
• Wheeler, Tom (2007). The Soul of Tone. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. ISBN978-0-634-05613-0.

Fender Blues Junior Serial Number 1