Blues Jr Turret Conversion Question

[gtrplayr1976]

Hey folks ,

So I decided to do the conversion to turret.  I'm wondering if this will be a cleaner sound than original since the reverb stage has been eliminated ? I'm also using an Allen amps TO22 OT.

[jecars]

More clean headroom is possible and a turret board helps because it allows proper power tube bias adjustment.

The stock Blues Jr is simply biased way too hot. It's hard to explain why Fender designed it this way. My theory is it was an attempt to offer a "colorful" tone that also wouldn't lure buyers away from other more expensive Fender amps such as the Princeton or Deluxe.

The reverb circuit doesn't affect gain in the Blues Jr, so removing it doesn't help clean headroom, per se. Personally, the reverb circuit just isn't that great, like so many other amps. Recycling the faceplate space for a Presence control (Hoffman calls it Meat) is a better way to go. More Presence means less NFB and does help to cut through the mix.

While I'm thinking about it. The Hoffman turret board includes a high cut capacitor that was eliminated by Fender in the Blues Jr Series III. I am referring to C9 on the schematic. C9 makes the Blues Jr sound "darker". Personally, I removed C9 because I like more "sparkle" especially when clean.

[gtrplayr1976]

More clean headroom is possible and a turret board helps because it allows proper power tube bias adjustment.

The stock Blues Jr is simply biased way too hot. It's hard to explain why Fender designed it this way. My theory is it was an attempt to offer a "colorful" tone that also wouldn't lure buyers away from other more expensive Fender amps such as the Princeton or Deluxe.

The reverb circuit doesn't affect gain in the Blues Jr, so removing it doesn't help clean headroom, per se. Personally, the reverb circuit just isn't that great, like so many other amps. Recycling the faceplate space for a Presence control (Hoffman calls it Meat) is a better way to go. More Presence means less NFB and does help to cut through the mix.

While I'm thinking about it. The Hoffman turret board includes a high cut capacitor that was eliminated by Fender in the Blues Jr Series III. I am referring to C9 on the schematic. C9 makes the Blues Jr sound "darker". Personally, I removed C9 because I like more "sparkle" especially when clean.

Thank you for the input. I'm hoping the bigger OT will help with clean headroom also. I will most likely eliminate C9. That was an option with Lyle Caldwells mods. Either reducing the value to about half , or eliminating it.