Blues Jnr Owners

Frankiestylee

I got my amp second hand so I didn't get an aul manual, so I'm just curious as to the differance between the "master" and the "volume" ?
They both increase the volume, the "volume" switch cranks it up a hell of a lot more then the master, just wondering what the exact differance is.

punchdrunk

master is the gain control with this run high your getting preamp distortion,turning the volume control up distorts the poweramp valves
didn't i sell you that one frankie?

Grolschevik

punchdrunk wrote:

master is the gain control with this run high your getting preamp distortion,turning the volume control up distorts the poweramp valves

It's the other way around (did you sell it because of this misunderstanding?:D ).

"Volume" is the same as the gain control on other amps, increasing preamp saturation. "Master" controls the overall volume (loudness) of the amp. So, for example, put volume at max and keep master low, and you have quiet, but "wasp-in-a-jar", type distortion. Adjust to taste.

Oh, and I found the OP a user manual, in about the same time as it took him/her to write the initial post. Where? Why, the manufacturer's website: www.fender.com.

And here's the direct link (it's left click if you're on a PC):

http://www.fender.com/support/manuals/pdfs/manuals_elec/guitarpdf/Blues_Junior.pdf

More general info (again, left click): http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0213205000

Frankiestylee

Yeah Punchdrunk it's the same one, and oh thanks for finding the manual there Grols... though you seem to be way off the mark with the explanation you gave. I can have the master on 12 and the volume on 1 and I get an enjoyable sound that doesn't shake the room. I pop the master down to say 3 and the volume up to 4 ... I can barely hear myself sing anymore, and the rest of the house knows exactly what strings I'm touching.
Good game sir Keith, good game.

Grolschevik

Frankiestylee wrote:

though you seem to be way off the mark with the explanation you gave. I can have the master on 12 and the volume on 1 and I get an enjoyable sound that doesn't shake the room. I pop the master down to say 3 and the volume up to 4 ... I can barely hear myself sing anymore, and the rest of the house knows exactly what strings I'm touching.
.

You know the link to the manual I gave you? Have an' oul' read of it...

There's no incompatability with what you're saying and what I'm saying, as long as you know what the knobs on your amp (that's the box that makes things loud) do. Every amp varies, but the Fender BJ is, as far as I remember, a single channel master volume. You can have volume high and master low, or volume low and master high: both might sound distorted, but in a different way. Lashing the preamp gain right up but keeping the master down can sound quite satisfying. But a medium to low volume (that is, gain) with a high master should, unless you're a metal head (in which case, why buy that amp?) sound pretty good.

Fender uses pretty ambiguous terms. Any fights over this, blame Leo

Frankiestylee

I love the condescending town, it's magic.
As for the Master controlling the overall loudness of the amp, I think you're wrong there because in practice it doesn't. I do appreciate your explanation of what each control does though.. nice to know what the thinking is.

Voodu Child

Generally, 'master volume' controls the amount of signal getting from the preamp to the power amp, and hence overall volume of the amp. Other controls may be labelled 'gain', 'drive' whatever, and they will control the amount of gain generated in the preamp.

Because the master volume is the last control in the chain, you can crank all the preamp gain, drive or volume controls as much as you want, but if the master is low, the amp will be quiet. So, it would be fair to say it controls the overall volume of the amp.

Fender may have labelled the controls differently on this amp, thats what it sounds like anyhow.

Generally, power valves just don't work properly with very low signal levels. So, you can crank the gain all you want, but if you have the master down between 0 and 1 (roughly..), the amp will sound horrible and fizzy, with no bass at all. Once you get the master up past the first notch or two, bam, the power valves start working properly, the fizz goes away and the amp starts working the way it should. So even if the controls are labelled differently, or layed out in a funny order (some amps have them mixed up), if you know what to expect from each control, you should have your amp sussed.

Grolschevik

Frankiestylee wrote:

I love the condescending town, it's magic.
.

Yeah, sorry about that. But it was my first drunken post! Woo-hoo!:D