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Nelskie
October 21st, 2005, 08:25 PM
Just wondering if there were any other TheFret.Net members who've purchased or played through one of these cool little amps. They're still fairly new on the market. Myself, I couldn't resist the temptation, and ended up ordering one through Musician's Friend for a very reasonable $120.00 US. That's a whole lotta' vintage tone for a very small amount of green. I plan on posting a review at some point in the near future, which will include a bit about the amp in stock form, and then after a couple of mods: 1.) Swapping out the stock Sovteks w/ some new J & J's from Bob at Eurotubes; and 2.) Changing out the stock Weber ceramic-type speaker with a vintage-style Weber Alnico 8S. Stay tuned . . . :D

Robert
October 21st, 2005, 08:53 PM
I tried one a while ago. Nice tone! I was a little annoyed by the hum though. Maybe that hum was just a tube issue? And the looks - it looks awesome! I gotta get one.

Nelskie
October 22nd, 2005, 08:26 AM
Yeah, I know . . . that hum. It is a somewhat typical characteristic of Class "A" circuitry design, though I would assume that a large part of its presence in this amp is due to its lower-cost components, somewhat marginal grounding, and lack of adequate wire shielding. Still, I'm hoping that my planned mods take care of at least some of that. I found a good tech resource online at guitargeek.com, and this guy had pretty much spelled out his "anti-hum" mods in clear, understandable terms (even included a schematic!). So if that doesn't work, I can always bring the print-outs I made of that web forum, along with the schematic, and give it to my amp dude to figure out. Still, this amp has tons of potential, and with a few tweaks, it might just turn out to be that "diamond in the rough" low-wattage tube combo I've been looking for.

Nelskie
October 29th, 2005, 10:24 AM
Kinda' feel like I'm talking to myself here, but I did see that a few folks had some interest in it, so I'll keep posting my trials, tribulations, and tonal discoveries with this amp.

Standard Fare: The Epiphone Valve Junior: A pre-mod review

There few feelings that are better than the one guitarists get when they buy a new piece of gear - amp, guitar, pedal, etc. Not only does it have direct tonal benefits, but it often times has the effect of re-connecting guitarists with some of the core elements of their playing. My recent, and somewhat unexpected "re-awakening" came courtesy of a little $120 Epiphone tube amp. I purchased this amp primarily as a replacement to my Vox ADVT amp, which I'd recently sold to a friend (who'd just picked up the electric). But could the Epi fill the Vox's big shoes?

Well, after a little over a month playing my Valve Jr., I can say that it's done that, and more. That being the case, I felt the time was right to, as Chef Emeril Lagasse' would say, "take it up a notch," and replace the tubes and speaker. Not that the Epi sounded bad, mind you, but because I thought it could only sound better. After a little research on the 'web, my head was literally spinning from all of the ideas. But I had to keep in mind that this was a $120 amp. Filling it with fancy upgrades and electronics might somehow spoil its lustrous simplicity. With that in mind, I set a goal: to keep the mod costs under $50. This, I felt, would still keep the "bargain" aspect of this amp in tact, and provide me with a noticable improvement in sound.

I'd read on a few web forums that the alnico (meaning aluminum / nickel / cobalt magnet vs. the the stock ceramic magnet) speaker was the way to go for this amp. Wanting something with a more of a "retro" vibe, I decided that alnico speaker was the answer to the speaker equation. Anyways - Weber had a sale on their 8" Alnico 8S about a month ago, and I bagged one for $25 ($35 incl. shipping). Jensen also makes an alnico speaker - but it's in the $75 range, and I thought that was more than a little spendy for this particular amp. Now, if you're talking a vintage Fender Champ resto - yeah, maybe I'd go that route. But for a mass-produced, Chinese-made, Class "A" wonder-rig, I'll take the Weber, thank you very much! Tube-wise, I'd worked with an outfit called Eurotubes (J & J tubes) when I re-tubed my Peavey Classic 30 last fall. The service was impeccable, and the J & J tubes I ordered from them turned my C30 into a veritable tone machine. Hoping to conjure some more of that vacuum-bottled magic, I e-mailed Bob Pletka (owner / mad amp scientist) at Eurotubes, outlining some of the songs / tones that I'd been digging while playing through this amp. As luck would have it, he'd done a few of these amps already, and knew exactly what J & J tubes would make this little Epi groove. At a reasonable $18 ($24 w/ shipping) I said "sounds good", and rec'd the tubes in the mail a few days later. Including the tubes, that brought the total cost of my new mods to $59 (w/ $16 of that in shipping). Thinking back, maybe $50 was a little on the frugal side. But a new 8" alnico speaker and some hot rod tubes for less than $60 - yeah, that's a pretty good deal. Score!

Since I'd only had the amp for a couple of weeks, and wanted to really "hear" the differences that the upcoming mods were going to make, I decided to play the Epi in its stock form for awhile - you know, really give it a good listen. Initially, I thought that the wait would be unbearable, knowing that I could literally change the sound of the amp in an afternoon. But as the days & weeks rolled by, it began to gnaw at me less and less. Soon, it'd been a month - - then a month and a half. Aside from the previously mentioned "hum" issue, the amp really does sound good in stock form - even with the somewhat unspectacular Sovtek tubes. The factory speaker is a Weber-designed speaker, and not some AM Radio knock-off that they'd normally drop in an lower cost amp. Aside from the obvious facts of lower-end wiring & circuitry components (which can ultimately be corrected), you won't find a small tube amp anywhere near the price range, much less one that actually sounds decent.

As you know by now, this amp does not have any tonal controls, reverb, or anything else. Just (1) chicken-head volume knob. Amp afficianados, however, know that you don't need a lot of knobs to get good tone. The Class "A" design is really the key for this low-watt Epi combo, in that both the tone & gain are derived by controlling the volume of the amp, and the volume / tone controls of your guitar. Yeah - definitely old school. But it's what those cool cats at Sun and Chess studios cut their teeth on back in the 40's and 50's, and I don't think I need to go into how totally happenin' their sound was! Anyways, with all of the bling-bling available on today's new amps, it's almost funny (at least to me) that one of the hottest *new* trends is going back towards vintage designs. And in the case of the Epi -"barebones" vintage designs. Having had this amp for a couple of months now, I can clearly see why this is happening. These amps are a total kick to play through! :p

As for the tone, the lower volume levels (up to 11 o 'clock) produce a clean, even tone that responds very nicely to your strumming / picking nuances. However, everything you play through this amp you hear - string drag, being out-of-tune, mistakes - everything. Some might look at that as a negative, but let me tell ya' - it REALLY forces you to play better. Not only that, but sans effects, reverb, etc., you totally "hear" what you're playing. One of the first "clean" songs I played through this amp was Led Zeppelin's "Tangerine", and boy, did I ever sound like a hack. A month and half later, I can make this song chime beautifully through this amp. Practice makes perfect! And believe me, you'll love practicing with this little guy. :p

Another cool thing about this amp is that it responds very differently to various guitar / p'up combinations. My Squier Tele had that trademark "twangly", bright register, whereas my Epi Les Paul had a fuller, wider tone, w/ nice bite to it (thanks to the SD humbuckers). Pushing the volume past 11 o'clock, the amp begins to show the first signs of that "natural" tube overdrive. This OD gradually increases up to the 2 o'clock position, but as it does, there begins a slight, and continuing decline in the note definintion (something I will touch on in Pt. 2). Surprisingly, for 5W, this little box gets LOUD!! As the volume passes the 2 o' clock position, all the way to fully juiced, the gain / OD factor is akin to a snortin', kickin' bronco - that is, a gritty, unapologetic, almost borderline rude tone. :eek: But, is it usable? Hell yeah! Man, I grabbed my Les Paul, and roared through Brownsville Station's "Smokin' In The Boy's Room" - it was pure, rock n' roll bliss. As you move up the volume level, one important thing to keep in mind: as long as you're semi-attentive to your guitar's tone / volume controls, you can keep this little bronco under reign, and get those cool, natural, over-driven Class "A" sounds. On the flip side, if you want to throw caution to the wind, and just get plain ol' crazy with some old AC~DC, this little rig just begs for the attention!!

The bottom line is this: there's plenty of mojo to be found in the Epi Valve Junior - right out of the box. And after playing it for awhile, you'll probably find yourself wondering why all amplifiers don't have just one knob!!

Stay tuned for Part II - Rocket Surgery: A post-mod review!! :D

6STRINGS 9LIVES
October 30th, 2005, 01:41 PM
I read a review of the EPI valve junior and valve special in the oct issue of vintage guitar player.. best bang for the buck in tube amps hands down , i have not tried one yet but will , i love small tube amps , and by all accounts thus far this one has some serious tone. THE vintage guitar reviewer said "whats the list price?$199? they sent me the wrong amp". how smooth is the weber sig8 in the epi i used one in my vibro champ for a while and it was amazing esp for the price.. it sounds like a great amp with tons of hot rodding possibilities...6S9L

Tone2TheBone
October 31st, 2005, 10:12 AM
Robert, If it doesn't hum the magic isn't there buddy. :P Its the little "flaws" that keep the bad spirits away...

;)

Justaguyin_nc
October 31st, 2005, 10:57 AM
I have an old Harmony tube amp thats getting to Hummmm a bit much .. maybe this little one can replace that little one.. Someplace on Harmony Central it mentions light hum till you replace the tubes. 5 watts is all I will probably ever need and at that price... why not give it a try... shoot.. that would put off the Vox 50 still another month!!

Robert
October 31st, 2005, 11:03 AM
The Vox 50 and the Valve JR are very different, that's for sure. Both are good, but they hardly have anything in common. I think it's healthiest to have both. :0

Nelskie
November 3rd, 2005, 09:25 PM
I knew Tone would have the mystical insight into the "secret of the hum". :D

Robert
November 4th, 2005, 08:17 PM
How does that Valve Special model sound in comparison to the "standard" - is the basic tone the same? It has some digital effects, correct? I'm just wondering if it's getting the Valve Special or not.

Nelskie
November 6th, 2005, 01:13 PM
Robert - The Valve Special has the same wattage (5W), but with a larger speaker (10"), and DSP effects (chorus, reverb, flanger, delay), and a power standby. The VS & VJ both have speaker ext. outs in back. Here is the web link to the Epiphone website:

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=255&CollectionID=13

If you hit the "E" logo letter in the bottom right hand part of the photo, it'll take you to a Guitar Player review. I ordered my amp through Musician's Friend, so I didn't have a chance to play each of them, and compare them head to head. I'd say that the larger speaker (10" in the Special vs. the 8" in the Valve Junior) might give you a bit of sound variance. However, I'd assume that the basic overall tone is the same.

I went with the smaller Valve Junior amp, due to already having a mid-sized tube amp in my Peavey Classic 30. The little Epi takes to pedals very nicely, so having the DSP effects wasn't really a big deal for me. Buying the smaller amp also allowed me some extra $$ to do a tube & speaker mod, and still have an extra $40 in my pocket to show for it vs. buying the Special ($220 US). :) My wife also thought the little Epi was "cuter", so maybe that was what swung me to the Junior instead of the Special!!! Ha ha ha!

I don't think you could go wrong with either. They're both great amps!

Nelskie
November 14th, 2005, 09:50 PM
For those of you "dying" to know what the tube / speaker mods did for the Epi . . . well, wonder no more. Without further adieu, here's

Part II - Rocket Surgery: A post-mod review!!

Well it's been about three weeks since the J&J's and the Weber Alnico 8S speaker went into the Valve Junior. I am happy to report that the mods have produced some very definite improvements over the stock items.

While I can't specifically tell you which mod has had the biggest effect on the VJ's sound, I can say that the tone is definitely fuller now, and much more definitive. The clean sounds on the lower end of the volume scale seem to have benefited the most from the change-out. Both of my Strats sound especially nice - chimey and bright on the bridge / mid p'ups, with a nice growly bite on the neck p'up. The neck p'up on my Les Paul (a Seymour Duncan '59) also loves the low-end clean, though its voicing is a bit darker and more subdued than the Fenders. Again, the cleans stay nicely in line up to 11 o' clock or so. From 11 o'clock through 2 o'clock, the natural break-up again begins to take hold. With the new tubes & speaker, the break up was a little less "edgy", and more natural. The mids were definitley tighter, but the overall tone seemed to have opened up a lot more in this part of the volume spectrum. I think I said in my prior post that the "sweet spot" for this amp is right around 2 o'clock. In the case of the new mods, this is most definitely true. Initially, I had hoped the new tubes would produce a tighter, more intensive natural OD into the upper volume range. However, the OD / gain in the higher volume spectrum was not as pleasing as I had hoped it would be. There seemed to be a noticeable "buzziness" to the speaker when driven hard, vs. the stock speaker's more natural "bite". I spent a lot of time looking for volume / tone settings that would allow the speaker drive, but not distort too much; or, that would not become too hollow-sounding with the volume backed off. I did find a couple of settings that were OK, but felt like the amp was holding something back. :confused:

I decided to experiment with both my Zoom G2 multi-pedal, and of course, the ever-trusty Bad Monkey. The Zoom held some nice sounds, esp. using the cleaner palette - i.e. Fender Tweed, Roland Jazz Chorus, etc. However, the one setting that really made the amp come alive was the Fender Blackface setting - just the right amount of tightness & bite, which allowed me to explore the higher volumes, without getting totally lost in the fuzz. The next 30 minutes of playing / tweaking the Zoom produced a couple of convincing, straight-ahead rock tones - an early-era Steve Mariott Humble Pie, and a very cagy Rory Gallagher. I was pleased, and quickly saved both settings into the bank. I'd tried the Zoom with my stock setting also with good results. However, with the new mods, these two sounded especially nice. The "sweet spot", again, was right around 2 & 3 o'clock.

The Monk also did not disappoint. Using a couple of the settings gleaned from the pedal demo off of the Digi Tech website, I was able to nail a really nice SRV-ish tone with my 60's Strat, and with a little coaxing, a chunky Black Crowes-type sound with the Les Paul. One thing with the Monk is that it seemed to "soothe" a bit of the buzziness I'd experienced running the new speaker from the upper volumes to wide-open. If you remember my tip from the first review, the Epi VJ will often times "force" you into watching your volume / tone knobs. The new tubes and speakers demanded that same attention, with the variance being dependent on the amp's volume setting, the "hot-ness" of your pick-ups, and your agressiveness of your picking / strumming. If you're planning on using this amp live, or recording with it, you'll definitely want to spend a little time with each of your guitars, noting the differences in sound at various pick-up / volume / tone settings.

So now that we know the amp sounds good - - what about the "hum". Well . . . it's still there. Am I disappointed? Nah - there's too much cool stuff happening with this amp to feel let down because of a little "hum". I can hear the boutique-heads chuckling their "see, I told you so's" after reading that the hum was still there. Seriously, I wasn't expecting a Dr. Z or a Dumble for $180 bucks, and neither should you. It's a damn-fine sounding little amp even with the hum, and as our friendly Fret Net moderator / sage Tone2 would say, "if it don't hum, brother, there ain't any magic in it"!!! :D

Everyone has a different "ear" for tone / sound, so what I'm reporting is mostly based upon my personal preference. I should also mention that this is my first experience with an Alnico speaker, so maybe my take on some of its tonal characteristics have been biased from my almost exclusive use of amp speakers w/ ceramic-type magnets. I can really tell a difference with the cleans using the Alnico, and perhaps it's what drove me to buy it in the first place. On the flip side, a little "pedal-coaxing" has delivered some really tasty distorted tones, even though I was hoping for some of that raspy, Angus Young-type of stuff running the amp by itself, w/o any pedals. Whatever. The extra-chimey cleans really were a nice trade-off for what I didn't get on the over-driven top end. Different tubes & speakers will obviously produce different tonal effects with the VJ. One of the cool things is that you can try a few different things, and be none worse for wear cost-wise. I may try the Weber Alnico 8 later on down the road, or maybe even some different tubes.

The Final Take

So did new tubes and a new speaker change the world. Well, not really. But they did make the sky a bit bluer, and the air just a little sweeter. I'm pretty happy with the outcome, overall, though there are a couple of things I did prefer with the stock set-up - - namely, the grindy, rude distortion at the higher volume settings. Nothing a good pedal can't cure, though, which leaves me with a far superior clean sound on the lower volume spectrum, and a much "wider" tone overall. A good trade-off in my book.

Take A Bow, Valve Junior!

The Epiphone website draws some rather loose comparisons of the VJ to "boutique snob-boxes" (great term, by the way!), even though I don't think the folks making those high-end amps they're poking fun of have too much to worry about. I will, however, say that the VJ definitely does have a bit of that "boutique" pizazz, not to mention a bit of that "boutique" tone, too. The two things I found most appealing about this amp were its simplicity, and its ability to produce some very organic, very vintage-sounding tones. With all of the whiz-bang, techno-gear offerings available to today's musicians, it's almost too easy to forget how just how cool a simple, Class "A" tube amp can sound. Just listen to some of the music many of guitar's legendary players created with this simple piece of equipment (meaning a low-watt tube amp), and revel in the character and complexity of its tone! I'd also be hard-pressed not to mention how using an amp with such basic fare has not only pushed me to play better, but that it has also made me want to play more often. Both of which, at least in my eyes, are THE true calling cards of a great piece of gear. :R

Robert
November 14th, 2005, 10:03 PM
Great review Nelskie! Thanks for posting all the details - we appreciate it brother! I might get one of these one day too, although right now my mind is set on that booteek amp Dr. Z Maz Junior - an incredible amp but it ain't cheap of course. I keep getting different kinds of GAS attacks with short notice, so who knows what I might bring home! I just bought a Shure SM 57 by the way, so I'll be damned if I can't start posting decent sounding tones soon for you guys.

Nelskie
November 15th, 2005, 07:25 PM
Robert - Glad you enjoyed the review. I had a lot of fun writing it, and of course, a lot more fun "obtaining the results" (i.e. playing). As always, we look forward to your forthcoming "sound" contributions - courtesy of that new Shure SM-57 mike. And perhaps even a *new* Dr. Z!!??? Maybe Santa will bring you one of those for Christmas!!! :D

Robert
November 15th, 2005, 09:50 PM
Well, Santa won't be hauling any Dr Z's around on his sleigh this time around, but I think he'll bring me a slick 5 GB MP3 player to comfort me with instead. I am hoping I can have a lot of fun recording-wise with the Vox, Hellhound and the SM 57.

Hey, how about some Valve JR clips there, Nelskie? There are people who want to hear it!

Nelskie
November 16th, 2005, 08:36 AM
Absolutely! For those that are interested, I do plan on posting some VJ sound clips at some point here in the next few weeks - some w/ pedals, some w/0. Stay tuned . . .

Tone2TheBone
January 3rd, 2006, 03:47 PM
Nelski,

Ok. Tell me how you REALLY like the Epi Valve Jr. ;)

I got some Christmas money to burn and thought about wasting it on a fasel inducted Classic Cry Baby pedal.... and then I thought....nahhhhhhhhhhhhh. I don't use effects anymore. Seriously. I'm back to straight guitar and amp. Not even any reverb. This brought on by my reacquaintance (sp) with acoustic guitar playing. The no nonsense approach to REAL guitar playing. Anywho I think I might enjoy the Class A train ride after reading your review.

Nelskie
January 3rd, 2006, 08:40 PM
Dude! Hey, the conductor's takin' tickets to Tubeville on the A-Train, and if there was ever a little engine that could, it's the Epi Valve Jr! Man, I dig that little rig to no end. When I find myself getting too wrapped up in tweaking effects, or dialing in tones in the Cyber Twin, I plug into the Epi, and BAM!, its back to the basics! Great clean tones on low vol, and a nice grind right around that 2 o'clock mark. Geez - for the deneros, it's a total no-brainer. You might also have some different preferences as far as tubes and speaker are concerned, so even with the same platform, you might just get a different vibe altogether going with something else. Or, you could just leave it stock for awhile, and be none worse for wear. Eventually, if you find yourself missing effects (for me it was a smidge o' verb), the little guy takes to pedals wonderfully. Running my Zoom G2 through it gives me the full compliment of bells & whistles, almost to the point where I think it can contend with a . . . dare I say it . . . Vox ADVT amp! :eek: The 'Monk loves this amp, too - really smooths stuff out at higher volumes.

Remember, it's totally basic fare. Just one knob, juicy Class "A" tube tone, and nothin' else.

This rig will re-connect you back to Mother Earth, my friend. Just you wait and see . . . ;)

Tone2TheBone
January 4th, 2006, 11:19 AM
Dude! Hey, the conductor's takin' tickets to Tubeville on the A-Train, and if there was ever a little engine that could, it's the Epi Valve Jr!

Nelski,

This is one of the best lines of written word I have ever read. You should write for Rolling Stone. LMAO

Last night all I thought about was the Valve Jr. To simulate what I thought it might sound like I dialed in the Vox AC15 on the Valvetronix (different bird I know but class A amp nonetheless) and cranked that pup up to a frothy head. Apples and oranges sure, but I wanted to get a feel for what to expect. I haven't plugged into one yet and I probably won't until I actually take it home and do it there. I don't like demo'ing amps at the shop and especially at GC. There's just too much noise all around to really hear what's going on and I'm afraid it might sway my decision. It's gotta hit my skull right. I figure if it's not for me then I can just take it back and get something else BUT I'm pretty sure I'll dig it.

Like I said I haven't played any effects at all lately, not even reverb. I just love the unadulterated sound of straight up amp in a nice airy room (ie. my tiled livingroom with high ceilings). I'm only hoping that this little amp will give me a full sound...good combo of lows and highs...from a full range speaker. If it sounds like the Dean Markley battery powered amp in clear plastic then I'll exchange it for the Wah. :)

Robert
January 4th, 2006, 11:53 AM
I agree about that line - pure poetry man!

Nelskie
January 4th, 2006, 01:09 PM
Well, goll-leee, thank ya' kindly. Now that you boys mention it, yeah, that phrase does roll off the tongue nicely. I've been experimenting with my Zoom MRS-8 digital work station these past few days - gearing up to start laying some tracks down for my *first* solo guitar CD effort. While I'm at it, perhaps I should track a few clips of the VJ, and post them. Ya' know, throw out some different angles for you fellers to listen to. Might give you a better idea on how this little gem sounds.

I have not heard the Dean Markley, but I will definitely say that this amp has great tone, even with a smaller speaker. The cleans through my Classic 60's Strat are on the mon-ay, and at 2 o' clock running through my Les Paul's Pearly Gates, it grinds like a dancer at Tiki Tom's Lounge!

All I can say is that the tones in this rig are totally happenin'!

6STRINGS 9LIVES
January 4th, 2006, 01:44 PM
bring on the tracks bro Nelskie ... i know you can , i know you can , i know you can ..

Nelskie
January 4th, 2006, 04:12 PM
Well . . . OK. ;) Since there's apparently some interest, maybe I can rev this thread up a bit with a few sound clips of the VJ "in action". I can't say that they'll be as good as Robert's Vox stuff at Dolphin Street, but I'll give it a go. I'll try and get to them here in the next day or so.

69SL - I know you posted some clips and stuff earlier - do you have any tips for making things go smoother? Muchas gracias mi amigo.

warren0728
January 4th, 2006, 04:17 PM
can't wait to here those clips....i love my epi jr. and am looking forward to hearing how good it can really sound!! somehow i don't think i am doing it justice just yet.

(Nelski...I still plan on writing an epi jr. review from a completely amateur, home playing only, point of view as soon as I catch from the holidays!)

ww

Nelskie
January 4th, 2006, 05:05 PM
I hear ya' about "catching up" after the holidays, Warren. I, too, am just getting back in the groove of things myself. Absolutely no rush on your VJ review. As a matter of fact, I would suggest that you spend as much time as possible to really get a "feel" for the amp. I think hearing it from your point, as a newer player, is going to offer forum members some unique insight from a totally different perspective. This is the kind of thing that has been going on in the discussions involving the Vox AD-series amps, and it'd sure be fun to get some of that same type of interaction going for the VJ. It's such a cool little amp! :cool:

You should also know that I've discovered a bunch of new stuff about using this amp since I posted my review, and am almost to the point where I think a follow-up post might be necessary. Really, I'm no genius when it comes to dialing in good tones - anyone can do it. One thing I've always told newer / beginning players is that you absolutely have to spend time familiarizing yourself with your gear. Not just a few short practice sessions here and there. Real time. Like fifty or sixty hours . . . maybe more. Only then will you know its strenghs, AND its shortcomings. If you're willing to spend the time, then there's no question that you'll find those cool tones. More importantly, you will find your tone! That's the real name of the game!

Do you ever see this happen - folks who have tons of great gear, but know very little about using it? Man, I see it all the time! As well, players who have all of this great gear that think that they can instantly plug in, and sound like Clapton or something. Well, it ain't gonna' happen, brother! Conversely, I know guys who have a couple of decent amps, guitars, and maybe a pedal or two, and they always have great tone. Mainly, because they know EXACTLY what they can do with their gear, and how to make songs sound great. And I'll tell you this, too - when you can infuse your own playing style, with your own tone, into a song (original or cover), that's when things really get cool!

Which brings me to this point - the VJ is a great amp, with great tone. But you are the one who needs to find it - not me. It's there, buddy - trust me.

Tone2TheBone
January 4th, 2006, 05:29 PM
Nelski is right. I remember, and Robert Renman will too, when I'd email him and ask him "how do you do this or what amp settings do you have on that" when I first bought my Vox AD30VT. After messing around with it and finally figuring out that the VOLUME KNOBS had a lot to do with how the amp behaved was how I was finally able to attain true Vox Valvetronix Nirvana (jai guru deva ommmmmmmm). After that is was just a matter of time until I found the best tone combinations for that amp too....just takes your own personal tweaking.

Oh btw...I bought my Valve Junior today during lunch. :) I emailed Nelski and told him I'd post a full report tomorrow!

warren0728
January 4th, 2006, 05:43 PM
good points made nelskie....looking forward to "finding my sound"

tone2thebone....congrats on the valve junior....i'm sure you will love it. The sound is totally different from the ad30vt (and it has a lot less knobs and buttons....i'm still trying to figure out me "30"!)

ww

Tone2TheBone
January 5th, 2006, 11:56 AM
Warren,

Thanks. Yes I agree. You can't compare the Vox and the Epiphone they're totally different. Each has it's own bag of tricks. I will say though after playing the Valve Jr. and then plugging into the Vox...you begin to appreciate just how awesome the technology is on the Valvetronix. Even though it's a hybrid amp it still sounds like a tube amp. Very much so. Having said that I'll post a little review of my new Valve Junior.

I told Nelski yesterday that I broke down and tried the VJ over at Guitar Center during my lunch break. Luckily it was very quiet in there so I grabbed a strat off the rack and plugged in. Noodled for a little bit...asked if they had a couple of other things in stock that was thinking about getting...and then ended up taking the amp home.

Honestly my first impression with the amp at home was not that spectacular. Plugged it in...played it...tried it a different volumes...all on the strat. Stood back and looked at it...then turned it off. That was my first impression.

My second impression happened this morning. I thought ok...I'm really gonna give it a better try this time. I turned it on...plugged in the strat again and played. Nice warm tone for sure...I even thought so at the store. Nice round notes coming out. LOTS of sustain too. Hmmmmm...maybe I was onto something here. I cranked that puppy up and switched to different pickups while I played. Nice. Then I plugged in my Blues Driver pedal. Nicer. Then I switched to the Les Paul. Now I was sold.

All out volume knob dimed it sustains until tomorrow on both my strat and Les Paul. Turn the knob down on the guitar and it gets sweet and "vintagy". It's really a fun amp to play through. Needless to say I was late for work this morning!

All in all for what it is...it is a cool little fun amp. The Class A noise typical of amps of this design is barely noticable and for me it imparts that vintage feel and mojo anyway...makes me want to play it more. Playing through it you can hear old songs coming to mind. The neatest thing about the amp is that when you do use pedals on it the noise doesn't really increase like I thought it was going to. Even when I turned up the gain on the Blues Driver all the way it still wasn't noisy. The amp takes to overdrive pedals VERY WELL...it almost begs for them. On the Les Paul I'd have full fun feedbacking sustain and thats when I really began to dig the amp. I bet a slide would sound perfect on it. Its a very musical amplifier. Without any overdrive pedals it still sounds sweet and unique. Like the old Fender Champ amps of yesteryear. It's not a fat bottom sounding amp ...but it does have a charming musical midrange to it which is probably typical of this type of amp anyway. I think I am going to enjoy this little thing and its only going to get better with age I'm sure.

warren0728
January 5th, 2006, 12:58 PM
t2tb....good points all around...i played the valve jr. for about an hour this morning and just enjoyed the pure simplicity of it. I agree that it handles pedals really well....i have played through my bad monkey and was blown away with the sound. I also played through my old danelectro cool cat chorus pedal with nice results.

I have an inexpensive brownsville electro-reso guitar that i keep tuned to open g for my slide playing. Sounded great through the valve jr! In fact i think the reso sounds better through the valve jr than anything i have been able to dial in my ad30vt for it.

Glad you are happy with yours. I love my ad30vt but the valve jr. is a nice change of pace. They are the only two amps I have....will be getting a higher wattage 20-40 watt range all tube amp sometime this year (not sure which one) but will hold on to the two I already have.

ww

Nelskie
January 5th, 2006, 01:03 PM
Tone - Great review. As a matter of fact, your first experiences with it were very comparable to mine. I wasn't all that enthused with it right out of the box - maybe even a little apprehensive (hence my acquisition of the very capable Zoom G2 pedal shortly thereafter). But somehow, after playing it those first few times, I knew there was something "in there", like it was giving me some type of secret message that I would only be able to unravel by playing it. So I did. I played it A LOT. With different guitars and pedal effect combinations. I played it wearing my pajamas, and in my work clothes. I played it while wearing funny hats. I played it while enjoying a Newcastle Brown Ale. I played love songs to my wife on it (she loves the song "Tangerine" by Zeppelin!). You get the idea. But after each session, I had a "keener" understanding of what that amp could do, and in turn, was that much more attracted its tone. About a month after I'd gotten it, that's when I began to truly appreciate it for what it was - a simple, no-frills, $120 dollar Class "A" tube amp. I've paid more for effects pedals than that!! Hell, I've paid more for guitar necks than that! I've now had that amp for three and a half months or so, and I'll tell ya' - it ain't goin' nowhere. As a matter of fact, it was just last week that I dialed in quite possibly one of the best rock tones I've ever heard - same one I told you about. Little did I know when I purchased this amp back in Oct. that its stripped down, sugary brown, vintage Class "A" sound would soon become one of my "own" signature tones! Can't put a price-tag on that.

All amps take a little time to "root in", too. Remember the feeling that you had when you first bought your Vox home, and were trying to figure out how to make it sound the best. Well, the same principle applies here. And remember, too, that you have some options as far as potential mods are concerned - different tubes and speaker(s) will most certainly spice up the decidedly "vintage" flavour of this little amp.

My advice is to get a setlist together of stuff that you think would sound good played through this amp, and then jam it regularly. For me, Aerosmith's first album really seemed to spring to life using the Valve Jr. and my Les Paul (killer tracks like Movin' Out, Write Me A Letter, Mama Kin, One Way Street, Walkin' The Dog.) It was that stuff that really got me groovin' with this amp.

Give it some time, and then let us know what you think. Myself, I'm in the process of writing a follow-up to my original review, so maybe that'll give you some insight as to the twists and turns lie on the road ahead. In the mean time, keep that little guy rockin'!! I think it'll grown on you, just as it did with me. ;)

Nelskie
January 5th, 2006, 01:10 PM
WW - I was gonna' ask you about that electro-reso you have on your avatar. Man, I bet that sounds nice through the VJ. Not sure what stuff interests you as far as that guitar tone is concerned, but I may have a listening tip for you. There's a dude named Eric Sardinas that plays some mean, cutthroat slide on an electro-reso like yours. I saw him this past summer when he opened up for Steve Vai. He was incredible - killer tone, awesome performer, great tunes. Very much in the style of Johnny Winter, but with a decidedly rock edge to it. Anyways, thought you might want to check him out. I have his "Devil's Train" CD, and it's smokin'!

Tone2TheBone
January 5th, 2006, 04:05 PM
Nelski - You played it wearing funny hats? hahahahahahahahaha
Somehow I just picture you as the Cat in the Hat when you said that.

Warren - I've yet to try it with the Monkey but I know it's gonna smoke using it as I loved how the Blues Driver (the Blue Monkey as my daughter calls it) works on it. Tonight it's gonna be slide city and Les Paul while burning in my new tube upgrades to it.

Guys,

Thanks for all your insightful comments. I know exactly where you're coming from Nelski about breaking in the amp. It was like that when I first got the Vox too. I just nodded my head to what you had to say about it.

Alright I suppose I should have used my amp a little longer before I spent $40.00 on tube upgrades for it but oh well thats me. I went and purchased a Groove Tubes GT-12AX7-M (Mullard-type) preamp tube, and a matching set of J & J Electronics EL-84s. The amp of course only uses one EL-84 but the shop doesn't sell single power tubes. I figured if the Mullard preamp Groove Tube was good enough for a Dr. Z Mini Z then it was good enough for my Epi V Junior. Besides I have had great luck using that particular tube for my Marshall preamp. Call me picky but think it will work even better. ;)

Nelskie
January 5th, 2006, 07:42 PM
My reference to the funny hats was indeed "Seussian". Got a few of 'em, too - they seem to channel good mojo my way when I'm playing. Now that you mention it, I might have to think about getting myself a "Cat In The Hat" lid!! Look forward to hearing about how those GT's sound in your Epi.

Nelskie
January 10th, 2006, 07:06 PM
After I'd purchased my Valve Jr. a few months back, I did a little research as to how they could be "modded". Seems that a lot of benchtop guitarists are taking these amps to the next level by modifying the working electronics. Stuff like this is WAY above my head, though it is interesting to see what other players are doing with them. The Valve Jr. has a very basic Class "A" design, and like some of the classic, low-watt tube amps of yesteryear, it can be "tweaked" to suit a player's particular tonal preferences. Just like the good old days!! :)

Here are the links:

http://www.coolpick.com/way/cool/about/valvejunior.html
http://www.euthymia.org/DIY/VJmods.html
http://guitargeek.com/chat/showthread.php?threadid=56676&perpage=15&highlight=epiphone%20valve%20junior&pagenumber=1

6STRINGS 9LIVES
January 10th, 2006, 09:29 PM
Nelskie i was wondering if you did a re-bias on those new tubes when you installed them , pre-amp tubes are fine to replace without rebiasing but power tubes should be biased to ensure the correct plate voltages ...just wondering...6S9L

Nelskie
January 10th, 2006, 10:06 PM
Well . . . er . . . ah . . . no. Should I have? And how is "re-biasing" accomplished? Can I do this now, after I've already installed the tube? Or, will I be forced to get another?

Geez, I shoulda' had a post on this BEFORE I did my mods. :(

I'd surely appreciate your insight on this, 69SL.

6STRINGS 9LIVES
January 10th, 2006, 10:42 PM
Nelskie, yeah when replacing power tubes biasing is a neccessity, it ensures the proper plate voltage that your amplifier was designed to operate at , it will also determine the life of your tubes, too much voltage will dramatically reduce the life of the tube too little will result in poor sound , biasing involves using a bias-reading device between the power tube or tubes and their sockets..i'm no expert here , but look for glow spots on the plates inside the tubes this generally indicates to much voltage , dont mess around inside that puppy if you have no experience , there is enough voltage to give you a very bad day, the voltage could easily be lethal my friend ,, best advice is ti take it to a amp tech or a good electronics shop and have them re-set your bias , then you will realixe the maximun from your amp and have tubes that will last a long time .... http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/bias.html heres a link to check out ..i'll find you a better link to explain things in a more technical way , i dont know if anyone on the list has any experience regarding tubes and bias , but it needs to be done right , i should have noticed this earlier as i have read your posts but it just dawned on me this evening , i doubt you have done any damage but i thought you'd want to know , besides if you have real tube amps your gonna have maintance issues over time , my advice is to make friendly with a good tech... 6S9L

6STRINGS 9LIVES
January 10th, 2006, 10:51 PM
A GOOD LINK ...http://www.geofex.com/tubeampfaq/tafaqndx.htm

Nelskie read this first ..its from the above link..... WANNA TALK TO YA NOT ABOUT YA...6S9L

CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keep in mind that tube amps use high voltages, and they can *kill* you if you don't know what you're doing. So, if in doubt, leave the job to a qualified technician.

How do you correctly bias an amp? There a few different approaches but first hook up a speaker or a passive load to the output and remove any input signals; tube amps need to have a load or they can sometimes become unstable. Check and make sure the proper size fuse is installed.

Output Transformer Shunt Method
The most common and simplest procedure is to hook a current meter from the plate (anode) across half of the primary of the output transformer; this is called the "output transformer shunt method." The idea here is that milliammeters commonly have a very low series impedance so that when placed in parallel to half of the primary, almost all of the current flows through the ammeter. When you hook things up this way, your meter is floating at the voltage level of the plate, which is typically hundreds of volts -- be very careful! You could open the wire from each plate to the output transformer and hook in a meter in series with the plate temporarily, but that is a terrible amount of work for the small gain in accuracy.

Adjust the bias pot so that the current reading is the appropriate value for the type of tube (see the table below). Let the amp warm up and note if the bias changes significantly. If so, select a compromise bias point.

Keep in mind that if your circuit uses more than one tube per side, the bias current you're reading is multiplied by the number of tubes (e.g., if you're reading 60 milliamps and there are two power tubes per side, if the tubes are matched each of the two are getting nominally 30 milliamps). Check the other side of the circuit to confirm that the two sides are close (within 5 milliamps) to each other.

If your ammeter has too high a series impedance, the shunt method won't work because the bias current gets significantly split between the meter and the transformer; the meter has no idea how much current is going through the transformer. You'll know it's not working because the current values you'll be reading will be much too low no matter how far you adjust the bias pot, the tubes will be glowing hot, and when you note that you'll reach quickly for the power switch! If you don't reach it quickly enough, you might blow a fuse. Don't despair: you can use another method called the "cathode resistor method."

Nelskie
January 10th, 2006, 11:56 PM
Man, this is all so . . . technical. Here I thought swappin' tubes was like putting in a new air filter. Shows you what I know. That being said, I will heed your advice, and solicit the services of an experienced amp technician. I appreciate your informative posts, and excellent links.

By golly, I learned somethin' new today!! ;)

warren0728
January 11th, 2006, 07:08 AM
WW - I was gonna' ask you about that electro-reso you have on your avatar. Man, I bet that sounds nice through the VJ. Not sure what stuff interests you as far as that guitar tone is concerned, but I may have a listening tip for you. There's a dude named Eric Sardinas that plays some mean, cutthroat slide on an electro-reso like yours. I saw him this past summer when he opened up for Steve Vai. He was incredible - killer tone, awesome performer, great tunes. Very much in the style of Johnny Winter, but with a decidedly rock edge to it. Anyways, thought you might want to check him out. I have his "Devil's Train" CD, and it's smokin'!

I dig Eric Sardinas too! In fact my favorite slide of the moment is a dunlop eric sardinas model that is heavy brass and tapered.

As for my elctro-reso it is a chepo brownsville model from (gulp) sam ash. It was an impulse buy....was their last one and they were discontinued....got it for 199 with a new set of strings and a gig bag. I LOVE IT.

Heres all the info i could find on it (very little on the web and there is no book for it):

Tone switch is also a push pull that kicks in the rear p/up under the dobro biscuit, and believe me it has the full sound that accompanies the twang of a full scale dobro OR SLIDE.

Further, in that position the guitar can also be fretted to incorporate a GREAT country lead effect I've never before found in any guitar.

Tuners are Julia enclosed tuners and holds tuning superbly.
Year Range: 2005
Neck Wood: Mahogany
Fretboard Material: Rosewood
Number of frets: 22
Pickups: Neck - Humbucker
Piezo under the cone
Body Type: semi hollow body
Country of origin: china or korea
Finish: Lacquer
Color: White
Hardware: Nickel
Neck Attachment: Set neck
Body material: Alder

a very fun guitar that not many people sem to have!

ww

Nelskie
January 11th, 2006, 07:34 AM
WW - Having an electro-reso would be waaaaayyy cool. I wish my local shop would get one in, so I could try one. Sounds like you got a sweet buy on yours. I have a buddy who also plays a Brownsville guitar, too - styled in the vein of a Les Paul. It sounds very nice through his Fender Blues Jr. Anyways - thanks for sharing some info on your guitar.

Nelskie
January 14th, 2006, 09:16 AM
Well, now that 69SL has enlightened me on the amp-biasing issue, I've been wondering if a few of the points made during my initial review on this amp were partially, if not wholly, subject to my own ignorance on this particular point. I assure all of you that it was completely unintentional. If anything, let it serve as a good point, in that no matter how long you've been playing, you can ALWAYS learn something new.

Even though I can dial in cool distorted tones using pedals, and while pushing higher volume levels, the biasing issue seems to be a very relevant one, and certainly one that I plan on correcting. In the mean time, I'm going to re-install my original Sovtek tubes today, and see if that makes any difference in how the new speaker responds to the higher volume settings.

Tone - I know you'd mentioned that you'd swapped out tubes in your VJr., so perhaps this would apply to your situation as well.

Hope to have a follow-up review on the VJr. in the works sometime here in the next few weeks.

Nelskie
February 2nd, 2006, 09:41 PM
This is just an FYI for those of you who might be "on the fence" about getting one of these 5W wunderkind Valve Jr. amps. Musician's Friend has raised their price on this amp $20, from $119 to $139 US. I would assume that the other internet music sites will eventually follow suit. Not that this amp isn't still an incredible bargain at $139, but at $119 its a downright ridiculous bargain. Perhaps Epiphone has also realized that they should be making more money on these amps, too.

Anyways, I think I may just snap another one up now, so I can run that delicious Epi Class "A" tone in stereo!! ;)

Justaguyin_nc
February 3rd, 2006, 02:54 AM
What ever did happen to those sound clips Nelskie?

Nelskie
February 3rd, 2006, 07:32 AM
Ummm . . . my dog ate them? Yeah, I should really try and get a few up. Thanks for the reminder.

Nelskie
February 14th, 2006, 09:34 AM
Was just browsing the Epiphone website, and saw that they are coming out with a "head only" version of the Valve Jr. for 2006. Same 5W, same tube section as the amp version, with outputs for 4, 8, and 16 ohm speakers. Akin to its combo amp brother, the cosmetics of the Valve Jr. head are keeping with the vintage-retro flavour, sporting black and reddish-brown tolex, gold badging, and white pipe trim all around the facing. Too cool!

Music123 has these listed on their web site (but not yet in stock) at $99!! Yeah, crazy ain't it?!! 99 clams for a genuine tube amp head!! My Peavey Classic 112E ext. cab seems to be begging for some new action, esp. with that cagy, new Eminence Swamp Thang speaker in it. Now wouldn't that be a lot of fun - running the already tasty Valve Jr. tone wide open through a closed-back ext. cab with capable 12" speaker?!! Damn! Count me in boys! :D

Here's some links:

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=269&CollectionID=13
http://www.music123.com/Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Head-i408743.music

warren0728
February 14th, 2006, 09:50 AM
that is very cool....wonder if they will come out with a matching cab....

ww

Nelskie
February 14th, 2006, 10:05 AM
Gee, hadn't thought even thought about that. A matching cab would be way cool. Man, you gotta' love what Epiphone is doing with their line of amps - both the tube and ss stuff. I saw your & Matt's posts on the Triggerman combo, and totally agree that it's one sweet looking rig. You might also want to check out their new Blues Custom combo amp, too - due out mid-summer 2006:

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=270&CollectionID=13

I'm fairly certain that one of these will find its way into my studio.

warren0728
February 14th, 2006, 10:23 AM
that does look nice! epi seems to be stepping it up a notch!

ww

Tone2TheBone
February 14th, 2006, 10:25 AM
I switched the preamp tubes back to the sovteks also because the GT tube was acting microphonic but I think it's because of the design of the small amp at loud volumes rattling the insides. I put the GT tube in my Marshall and it's fine. Of course there's way more room on the M anyway.

Nelskie
February 14th, 2006, 10:32 AM
I put my Sovteks back in a few weeks back, and it seems to have cured the "buzzy-ness" I was getting at the higher volume levels with the new speaker. I'm going to try some other tubes here in the next month or so (Electro Harmonix, Groove Tubes), and see what that does. I do have some low $$ mods planned for it down the road, and perhaps when that time comes, I'll have it re-biased as well. Who knows, re-biasing it for those J & J's might just might be the Wonka Golden Ticket for that amp . . . ?

Nelskie
February 21st, 2006, 05:08 PM
While "browsing" Ebay for a second Epi Valve Jr., I came across this auction. The guy selling this amp really has some great mod ideas for the VJr. This auction is only going to be up for (6) more days (until 2/27/06), so to the Fret Netters who have these amps, I'd check this out now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7392547837

r_a_smith3530
February 21st, 2006, 06:30 PM
I can see it now, a bidding war to the death between two or more Fret Netters! ;)

Tim
February 21st, 2006, 06:52 PM
Ok I am stupid. Please tell me what is so great about a 5 watt amp. Can you compare it to the VOX AD30VT if possible.

Nelskie
February 22nd, 2006, 12:56 PM
Tim - First off, you are definitely not stupid, and neither is your question. The very question you have posed was one of my very first major discoveries as a guitar player. Let me shine some light on it for you.

For starters, the Valve Jr. is not "just" a 5W amp - it's a 5W Class "A" all-tube combo. Some of the greatest music ever created first eminated from combo amps very similar in design to the Valve Jr. One that readily comes to mind is Led Zeppelin I, with Pagey playing a vintage-era Telecaster through a little Supro amp. As tonally earth-shattering as that album was, it is a mere speck of sand on the beach of contributions that small tube amps have made to music as a whole. Players in all generes of music have employed their much sought-after tones - blues, jazz, rock, country, alt. rock, pop, etc. The list goes on forever. Since these amps have been around since the beginnings of electrified amplification, they are truly a step back into the past as far as sound and tone are concerned. Yessir, the vintage "vibe" of these amps is totally unmistakable. I am not an electronics whiz, so having me explain the nuances of Class "A" tube amplification vs. the Vox ADVT series amps would probably not do justice to either. They are two totally different animals - one employs technology well over a half-century old, and the other is on the cutting edge of modern hybrid / digitally-amplified circuitry.

So how does this cool tone happen? Well, it goes something like this: a tube amp with a lower wattage allows you to "drive" the tubes to their natural saturation point, and therefore, obtain that sweet, organic tube distortion so many guitarists dig - at a volume level that won't peel the paint off the walls. In a higher-wattage amp, let's say a 100W Marshall, you have to crank the volume to get those same tube distortion characteristics, which for some, isn't a bad thing. A small-watt tube just lets the same thing happen at sub-Hendrix-at-Woodstock volume levels. Granted, this is a layman's explanation of the effect. There are many more knoweledgable, gear-oriented Fret.Netters than myself, and hopefully, there is more follow-up to your post than just myself.

I still remember the day I posed your same question to one of the guys down at my local shop - probably 1985 or thereabouts. Being more or less enamored with metal music at the time, I scoffed at the idea of a small combo having anything to offer the modern hard rock player. He told me to stop down after school the next day. So my friend and I did. He brought his 50's era Tweed Fender Champ (a small-watt tube combo amp), plugged it, let it warm up a few minutes, cranked the volume, and said, "boys, listen to this." To demonstrate the awesome effect of this amp, he pulled a nice dual HB B.C. Rich Mockingbird (a beautiful deep wine-red metallic guitar w/ abalone inlays - a guitar which my friend eventually bought) off the wall, and proceeded to blow our minds with some of the most savagely distored heavy metal licks our young, solid-state brains could comprehend. It was pretty damn loud, too! My friend and I, of course, were floored, and from that point on, we've both had a whole new appreciation for vintage-era tube gear. By the way, that guy still owns that amp, and it sounds even better today. I demo'ed a G & L Tele exactly like the one I have now through that same rig, and I must say, it had THE coolest Stones-y tone I've ever heard. He also enjoys relaying that story to friends and customers at every possibly opportunity, after of which he will demand that we buy him a beer for, as he would say, "showing us the light"! Indeed.

There numerous sites on the 'web that compare tube tone to solid-state, modeled, and hybrid amp tones. The first thing I would suggest is that you do a little research, and familiarize yourself with the inner workings of each type of amp. And since tone is a relatively subjective issue, I would encourage you to head down to your local guitar shop, and play a few low-watt tube combos yourself. Your take on it will likely be far different from mine.

I always find it more rewarding to learn things like this for yourself, rather than have someone else tell you about it. The tube "thing" is truly one of the most "ear-opening" experiences I've had in my (23) years of guitar playing. It is also my hope that this "discovery" opens some new doors for you, and your own playing. It certainly did for me. ;)

warren0728
February 22nd, 2006, 01:08 PM
hey tim...you can give my epi valve jr. a good test when we get together! we can compare it to my vox ad30vt (although its like comparing apples and oranges)

ww

Tim
February 22nd, 2006, 01:14 PM
Wow! I did not know all this stuff about tube amps. I thought tube amps were made for volume only. And of course distortion.

marnold
February 23rd, 2006, 12:25 PM
The other thing you need to remember is that wattage is not directly proportional to volume. It's logarithmic. To double the loudness, you need 10x the power. In other words, 10 watt amp will NOT be twice as loud as a 5 watt amp. (Obviously I'm oversimplifying, because different speakers and the number of speakers will make a difference too). Plus, tube amps sound best when cranked, so obviously it'd be better to have a 5W amp in your den than a half-stack.

warren0728
February 23rd, 2006, 06:49 PM
the epi valve jr. is a great way to get into tube amps...inexpensive, simple and sound really good.

ww

r_a_smith3530
February 23rd, 2006, 09:00 PM
Tube amps tend to be much warmer sounding than their solid state counterparts, and that is one reason why many guitarists love them. BTW, you will note that the majority of modern bass amps are solid state, I believe because, for the most part, that warmth is not really as desired by bassists.

As previously mentioned, as a tube amp is pushed, it starts to distort. Capturing that warm tube distortion has been a primary goal of effects manufacturers for years. Of course, as a tube amp is pushed into distortion, the volume increases as well. A 50 watt amp being pushed into distortion can be loud enough to have the local gendarmes knocking at your door post-haste. Because of this, a small amp like the Valve Junior makes sense.

Now, that said, I can adjust my pre and post gain settings on my 50 watt Peavey Classic so that I can get really sweet distortion at low volume levels, that don't bring on the wrath of either my neighbors, the police, or even any of my family members. Of course I paid far more for my CLassic 50 than the cost of an Epi Valve Jr.

BTW, as an interesting aside, I can easily drown out my 220 watt bass amp playing my Les Paul through the cranked 50 watt Classic. In fact, I've heard of bassists requiring an amp in the 500+ watt range to punch out over a good 50 watt guitar amp pushed to its max!

tot_Ou_tard
March 27th, 2006, 07:28 AM
Robert, If it doesn't hum the magic isn't there buddy. :P Its the little "flaws" that keep the bad spirits away...

;)

I heard once that the Hopi's put a flaw in every rug they make so that the spirit has an opening to leave and enter the rug.

tot_Ou_tard
March 27th, 2006, 07:46 AM
Was just browsing the Epiphone website, and saw that they are coming out with a "head only" version of the Valve Jr. for 2006. Same 5W, same tube section as the amp version, with outputs for 4, 8, and 16 ohm speakers. Akin to its combo amp brother, the cosmetics of the Valve Jr. head are keeping with the vintage-retro flavour, sporting black and reddish-brown tolex, gold badging, and white pipe trim all around the facing. Too cool!

Excellent reviews and discussion in this thread Nelsk & `Bone!!

Is there any way to use the epi head to drive the speaker in my AD30VT?

tot_Ou_tard
March 27th, 2006, 07:48 AM
Gee, hadn't thought even thought about that. A matching cab would be way cool. Man, you gotta' love what Epiphone is doing with their line of amps - both the tube and ss stuff. I saw your & Matt's posts on the Triggerman combo, and totally agree that it's one sweet looking rig. You might also want to check out their new Blues Custom combo amp, too - due out mid-summer 2006:

http://www.epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=270&CollectionID=13

I'm fairly certain that one of these will find its way into my studio.

Anybody know how much these'll be going for?

tot_Ou_tard
March 27th, 2006, 08:25 AM
The Epi Valve Jr head From Musician's friend (it's got *filaments*. Totally bulbular...Incandescent!):

Monster tone in a small, affordable package.

This head version of the Valve Junior Tube amps includes features not found in its combo cousin. These include DC filaments for both the preamp and power sections, reducing unwanted filament hum. It also has 4, 8, and 16 ohm speaker outputs so you can drive any kind of extension speaker, from a single 8" box to a 4x12" cab.

Like the combo version, the Valve Junior Head delivers great tube tone with 5W of Class A power.

Epiphone Valve Junior Tube Amplifier Head Features:

* 5W
* Single-ended Class A electronics
* DC filaments for both preamp and power tubes for reduced filament hum
* 4, 8, 16 ohm outputs for speaker flexibility

Tone2TheBone
March 27th, 2006, 11:25 AM
ToT - Although I am native I don't know much about Hopi culture. I do know that there are no perfect things in this world and if there are it won't be perfect for very long. So we appreciate it for what it is at the least.

SuperSwede
March 27th, 2006, 01:32 PM
erhmm.. whats a Hopi ?

Nelskie
March 27th, 2006, 03:57 PM
Hopi: Native American tribe from southwestern region of the United States, primarily NE Arizona. Wikipedia has some good information here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi

tot_Ou_tard
March 27th, 2006, 04:25 PM
ToT - Although I am native I don't know much about Hopi culture. I do know that there are no perfect things in this world and if there are it won't be perfect for very long. So we appreciate it for what it is at the least.
Ahhh yes, the tyranny of perfection.

tot_Ou_tard
March 27th, 2006, 04:26 PM
ToT - Although I am native I don't know much about Hopi culture. I do know that there are no perfect things in this world and if there are it won't be perfect for very long. So we appreciate it for what it is at the least.
What is your tribal background `bone?

BTW has anyone ever read the BONE comic series? Good stuff.

SuperSwede
March 28th, 2006, 08:14 AM
Hopi: Native American tribe from southwestern region of the United States, primarily NE Arizona. Wikipedia has some good information here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi

Thanks Nelskie...

Btw, are you planning on recording some a-how how how music for us ? I am really looking forward to hear you play! :)

Nelskie
March 28th, 2006, 10:41 AM
Swede - *rubbing hands together & flashing an wry grin* Yes, indeed, there'll be some clips. Mebbe' a whole mess of 'em. Things be goin' down here at the Ice Ranch in Fargo, USA, and right now that's all I can tell ya'. In the meantime, mellow down easy, and keep those frets buzzin'. ;)

SuperSwede
March 28th, 2006, 10:44 AM
*buzz* *twang* *buzz*
will do nelskie :)

Btw, that gibbons style hat in your avatar would be awesome. I wonder were you can buy those!

Tone2TheBone
March 28th, 2006, 10:48 AM
Africa somewhere...I think.

Bloozcat
March 28th, 2006, 12:24 PM
My Valve Jr. head is due to arrive two days from now ( I just hate to wait!).

After reading so many great reviews about this amp, especially the head with it's DC filament upgrades, I just couldn't stand it. For $99.99 delivered from Musician's Friend, it was an easy decision. I have an Avatar semi-closed back cab loaded with Celestion G12H30's waiting for the little monster. Also on hand are 3-different NOS EL84's and about 4-different NOS pre-amp tubes for some tonal experimentation.

I love the simplicity of this amp. Some of the greatest tone ever recorded was done on single ended class A amps. With all of the technology of today trying to emulate tone like that of yester-year, it's good to see this return to the simplicity that produced the tone in the first place.

tot_Ou_tard
March 28th, 2006, 04:48 PM
Would it be possible to simply mod my AD30VT to act as a speaker cab?

I was looking at the following Valve Junior mod site:

http://www.valvejunior.com/

and discovered that he made a power attenuator out of a 12w bulb!


Bulbs & tubes in the same amph?!?

.....Homer Simpson style drool........

Bloozcat
March 30th, 2006, 11:20 AM
The Valve Jr. has been delivered!

...and I'm stuck at work....Ugh!

:(

Tone2TheBone
March 30th, 2006, 11:28 AM
You look sick...I think you should go home this instant...

warren0728
March 30th, 2006, 11:32 AM
aren't you feeling a little sick "cough" "cough"

better leave early!

i was playing my tele and then my ibanez with dual humbuckers earlier through the valve jr. and the bad monkey....that is a fun little amp!

I haven't played the ibanez in awhile but after listening to lots of early clapton dual humbucker goodness i took it down and was actually surprised at how good the tone was. I need to lower the action but it was fun playing it (i've been od'ing on the tele since i got it).

ww

warren0728
March 30th, 2006, 11:33 AM
lol tone...we are thinking alike...

ww

Tone2TheBone
March 30th, 2006, 11:34 AM
lol tone...we are thinking alike...

ww

Now THAT is a scary thought. ;)

Bloozcat
March 30th, 2006, 02:06 PM
If I keep banging my head on my desk like this I will have to go home...

Tone2TheBone
March 30th, 2006, 02:50 PM
...is that a cut hemoraging on your forehead there...yeah I think it is...you need to go home and get that fix up...

Bloozcat
March 31st, 2006, 11:46 AM
The Valve Jr has arrived...

OK, initial impressions....

Valve Jr.
Stock tube complement:
1-Sovtek EL84
1-Sovtek 12AX7WA
Speakers: Avatar 2X12 with Weber C12N's @ 4ohms

The first thing to mention with this amp (for those of you who haven't played one yet), is that these little beasties take a good 15 minutes or better to warm up. I don't mean it takes that long to warm up until you can hear it, but until the amp is at full volume and with full tone. I had heard something about this from someone on another forum, and I'm glad I was aware of it. Otherwise I would have been very underwhelmed when I first plugged in. Before warm up the sound is weak and the tone flat and a bit fizzy.

Now that the amp has warmed up to its proper operating temperature, the volume knob can be used to vary the effect. Form 0 to about 11:00-12:00 the tone is pretty clean, but you can dig into the strings a little and get a bit of attitude out of it at the upper end of this range.

At about 1:00 the amp becomes a little darker with a more noticable bass response. This is where the OD begans as well. Again, the tone is pick sensitive which is a nice classic class A amp feel.

Above 2:00 the OD becomes much more pronounced and so does the bass response, which was a little boomy. With the neck pickups selected on my P-90 guitar and my Strat with the overwound pickups, the bass response is a little more than I cared for. It seem as though that the bass response softened a bit the longer the amp was on. The OD is easily controlable with the volume knob on the guitar. Little amp volume was lost when rolling off the guitars volume, but the OD was definitely attenuated.

Overall, the tone was much like a classic old tweed amp. Think Clapton's guitar on the Derek and the Dominoes Layla album. Straight guitar and warm, full, round tube tones.

Next, I tried the amp with a tube change.
1-EL84 NOS Tesla/Rosnov
1-E83CC NOS Tesla

Everything that I liked in the stock amp configuration, was enhanced with these tubes. The cleans were sweeter and rounder with a greater depth. The OD was better defined and less boomy. The amp was slightly louder in general.

I found the sweetest, warmest tone came from my Agile AD 2500 DC with the P-90's...no suprise there, though.

That's as far as I was able to go last night, but this weekend I'll try the amp out with a few other tubes and one Celestion G12H30 and a 2X12 Celestion G12H30 combination.

Nelskie
March 31st, 2006, 12:49 PM
Yo Bloozcat - I got me an Agile AL-2000 P-90 Goldtop comin' next week, and I'm really looking forward to plugging it my own Valve Jr. They're toneful little beasts, aren't they? And for the price . . . whoa!

Not sure what you have for pedals, but I run my Digitech Bad Monkey & Tone Driver through the Valve Jr. with awesome results. The Monk helps the tone acquire that nice Allman-y style OD I like when using my Les Paul. The Tone Driver, on the other hand, really helps push that sonic envelope, resulting in cool vintage Aerosmith and classic Zeppelin tones. Yummy.

I was surprised you didn't mention anything about the hum. Seems like all of the other reivews I've read mash on that topic to no end, and totally forget that its a Class A tube amp. Like duh, a Class A's gonna' hum a bit no matter what.

Overall, just glad to hear a reverent ear such as yours appreciating what this little rig can do. Me, I'm totally hooked on this amp. As a matter of fact, I really should have two! :D

warren0728
March 31st, 2006, 01:34 PM
Me, I'm totally hooked on this amp. As a matter of fact, I really should have two! :D

thats a great idea...why don't you get another one...set them up as stereo and go crazy! Of course we will expect a full report

ww

Nelskie
March 31st, 2006, 01:58 PM
ww - The thought has crossed my mind - something like a million times. Yeah, that set-up would totally rock. Whoooaaaaaa, steady there. I'm getting woozy and light-headed just thinking about it.

Must . . . have . . . more . . . gear . . . . AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!

Bloozcat
March 31st, 2006, 02:50 PM
I was surprised you didn't mention anything about the hum. Seems like all of the other reivews I've read mash on that topic to no end, and totally forget that its a Class A tube amp. Like duh, a Class A's gonna' hum a bit no matter what.
Overall, just glad to hear a reverent ear such as yours appreciating what this little rig can do. Me, I'm totally hooked on this amp. As a matter of fact, I really should have two! :D

There isn't a hum problem with the Valve Jr. Heads...just the combos. The Heads use DC filiments and the combos use AC filiments. That's one of the benefits of the head vs. the combo. BTW: This amp is quiet. I mean compared to my other tube amps it is a quiet little thing. Only a little hiss when it's dimed, and that's true of all tube amps...except this one even has less hiss. :)

I couldn't resist. After I got my Agile AD 2500 DC w/P-90's, I picked up a set of Pete Biltofts (Vintage Vibe Guitars) Alnico P-90's for it. As good as the stock Agile P-90's sound (and they do sound good), the VV's are just smoother and more articulate. The Alnicos are just sweeter sounding to my ear. The ceramic Agile P-90's do rock really well though. They have really nice bite in OD. A cool feature of the VV P-90's is that Pete is now including a set of ceramic magnets with the alnico and a set of instructions for swapping them out. So with these pickups you can get that smooth, warm alnico tone, or edgy rockin' ceramic tone. Pretty cool. They're not very expensive either. I think they were about $105.00.

I like this little amp enough that I'm considering the Epiphone 2X12 30watt Blues Combo amp. 2-5881 output tubes, 5-12AX7's and a GZ34 rectifier tube!. If that amp performs like this little valve Jr. does, it'll be a real winner.

Robert
March 31st, 2006, 02:56 PM
Dang! I am getting this syndrom of gear aquisition now too! I want both an EPI head and a good cab, plus a few Agiles!

warren0728
March 31st, 2006, 03:05 PM
Dang! I am getting this syndrom of gear aquisition now too! I want both an EPI head and a good cab, plus a few Agiles!
me too....if i spent half as much time playing as i do "researching" gear....

ww

Bloozcat
March 31st, 2006, 03:08 PM
Here's the Epi combo I was speaking of in my earlier post:

http://images.music123.com/products/full/Epiphone/462302.jpg

Here's the specs:
Epiphone Blues Custom 30 tube amp Features:
· Power: 30 AB/15 A W
· Type: 100% Tube
· Class: A & AB
· Rectifier: Tube- 5AR4
· EQ: Two Modes-Independent and Interactive
· Preamp : 12AX7 (5)
· Power: 5881 (2)
· Speaker Type: 2X12" Lady Luck by Eminence
· Tube Reverb
· Channels: 2
Outputs: 4 Ohm (2), 8 Ohm (2) & 16 Ohm

And it just so happens (what a suprise!) that I have a matched pair of NOS 6L6WGB's (5881's), and an NOS 5AR4 (GZ34) sitting at home with nothing to do...for now, anyway... oh, and speakers too...;)

Spudman
March 31st, 2006, 05:49 PM
I think we need to change the name of the forum to "thefretifyoudon'tkeepbuyinggear.net". or GAS_alley.net

tot_Ou_tard
March 31st, 2006, 06:33 PM
I think we need to change the name of the forum to "thefretifyoudon'tkeepbuyinggear.net". or GAS_alley.net
No freakin' kidding. It's a disease....you guyz are making it hard...

...breathe......I don't know how much more of this I can take...breathe...

Nelskie
April 1st, 2006, 07:57 AM
GAS_Alley would be a cool name for a new section or thread. You could post links or info about gear that you're lusting over, or are planning on getting. Somehow, I see that as a thread that would get a lot of action on our forum . . .?

Nelskie
April 1st, 2006, 08:23 AM
There isn't a hum problem with the Valve Jr. Heads...just the combos

I didn't realize that you'd purchased the new Valve Jr. head - I have the combo myself. As well, I don't think I could classify that little bit of hum as a problem, either. For me, it's kind of the vintage stamp of approval. ;)

The combo has been a hot topic on various guitar forms, and several people have posted tips & fixes for making the amp quieter. Doesn't sound too difficult. As a matter of fact, it sounds pretty easy. Not that I would do it myself. But if you had the desire to, you could do it without a lot high-tech electrical surgery.

http://www.euthymia.org/DIY/VJmods.html
http://www.valvejunior.com/
http://users.telenet.be/svokke/valve%20junior%20mods.htm

Have I done any of these myself. Nah - the hum doesn't bother me much at all. As well, I like the fact that with the combo, both the amp / speaker are all in one tidy, manageable enclosure. Grab the Jr., grab your slab, and go. Nice.

Anyways, even with upgrades & mods, you can still be into one of these little gems for well under $200. And that's a great deal for little Class A firecracker like the Valve Jr. But the heads do have some hot options as far as running different cabs and such, and also have those DC filaments, which as Bloozcat mentioned, reduce the hum quite considerably (if you're fussy about that stuff.) They're both winners in my book, and price-wise, well within the reach of any player. :cool:

Spudman
April 1st, 2006, 10:15 AM
GAS_Alley would be a cool name for a new section or thread. You could post links or info about gear that you're lusting over, or are planning on getting. Somehow, I see that as a thread that would get a lot of action on our forum . . .?

I don't see why we'd need a NEW thread, the whole forum is about GAS.;)

warren0728
April 1st, 2006, 10:19 AM
and we are so strict about staying on topic! That's the great thing about this forum....you are forced to read all new posts because you never know where a thread is going!! :D

ww

duhvoodooman
April 1st, 2006, 10:39 AM
and we are so strict about staying on topic! That's the great thing about this forum....you are forced to read all new posts because you never know where a thread is going!! :D
Which gets kind of time-consuming when they get up to 96....er, 97 posts in a thread! ;)

warren0728
April 1st, 2006, 10:45 AM
Which gets kind of time-consuming when they get up to 96....er, 97 posts in a thread! ;)
yep....thank goodness for "view first unread"!!

ww

duhvoodooman
April 1st, 2006, 10:50 AM
Which brings me to the question....why the heck are you on here reading & posting, as opposed to wailing through that new Classic 20??? :R

warren0728
April 1st, 2006, 10:54 AM
long story....i ended up taking it back....my wife got pissed that i got another amp and you can't fight the wife :(

Nelskie
April 1st, 2006, 11:21 AM
Am I sensing another April Fool's joke here . . . ? If your wife said you couldn't have it, I'd have put it on Ebay, and made $125 on the deal. Just saw one on there today with bids in at around $225.

warren0728
April 1st, 2006, 11:23 AM
you know how when you get in a fight with your wife and it's not going good...you just say f it and give up......

Nelskie
April 1st, 2006, 11:31 AM
I don't see why we'd need a NEW thread, the whole forum is about GAS.;)

Why? To save time vs. trying to remember a multitude of posts where there was discussion about a certain piece of gear. Yeah, the search feature works just fine - but wouldn't it be nice to be able to go to one thread vs. twenty? For me, things sometimes tend to get lost in the shuffle.

And again, it was just a suggestion.

Spudman
April 1st, 2006, 11:36 AM
Warren. You'd better be joking. If not give me the number to that shop, please.

SuperSwede
April 1st, 2006, 11:57 AM
you know how when you get in a fight with your wife and it's not going good...you just say f it and give up......

I know how that feels :(

ZoSo65
April 1st, 2006, 12:06 PM
long story....i ended up taking it back....my wife got pissed that i got another amp and you can't fight the wife :(
Say it ain't so! This better be an April Fools joke!!

duhvoodooman
April 1st, 2006, 12:11 PM
long story....i ended up taking it back....my wife got pissed that i got another amp and you can't fight the wife :(
Been there, done that. Life in the dog house....now that'll have you playin' the blues!!

warren0728
April 1st, 2006, 12:39 PM
Been there, done that. Life in the dog house....now that'll have you playin' the blues!!
yep....and i'll be playing through my killer amp...the Peavey Classic 20!

APRIL FOOL"S :D :D :D

ZoSo65
April 1st, 2006, 01:06 PM
yep....and i'll be playing through my killer amp...the Peavey Classic 20!

APRIL FOOL"S :D :D :D
LOL,,,I was gonna say if you did do that,, you should be in the doghouse!!

duhvoodooman
April 1st, 2006, 01:15 PM
yep....and i'll be playing through my killer amp...the Peavey Classic 20!

APRIL FOOL"S
I knew it!! The tipoff was that you didn't (1) remove it from your sig, or (2) mention it in that other thread. But I still had to offer my condolences, just in the small chance that it was true, 'cuz a man needs all the support he can get, when he loses an amp!!! ;) :D

Now stop screwin' around here and go play through it! :R

warren0728
April 1st, 2006, 01:48 PM
i have been playing it quite a bit today....used the recommended settings in the paperwork for the amp (found online) and got a nice clean tone, a metal tone and a great blues tone. I do love this amp and man is it loud!

Played my tele (man i am still loving that guitar) and then played my ibanez with the dual humbuckers. I'm really starting to like the ibanez guitar tone alot but i have to lower the action on the strings...gonna figure out how to do that today.

ww

tot_Ou_tard
April 3rd, 2006, 06:44 PM
i have been playing it quite a bit today....used the recommended settings in the paperwork for the amp (found online) and got a nice clean tone, a metal tone and a great blues tone. I do love this amp and man is it loud!

Played my tele (man i am still loving that guitar) and then played my ibanez with the dual humbuckers. I'm really starting to like the ibanez guitar tone alot but i have to lower the action on the strings...gonna figure out how to do that today.

ww

OK all you epiheads with valvetronixae (plural form of valvetronix?) I wanna hear some more comparisons between the two. And the rest of you with low watt tube amps. as well. Have you stopped playing your valvevoxen or does it depend on the tone you are trying to achieve?

tot_Ou_tard
April 3rd, 2006, 06:47 PM
For me, things sometimes tend to get lost in the shuffle.

And again, it was just a suggestion.

You're the Jack of Amphs!

....I cheated and bent the card back and peeked.

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 06:58 PM
OK all you epiheads with valvetronixae (plural form of valvetronix?) I wanna hear some more comparisons between the two. And the rest of you with low watt tube amps. as well. Have you stopped playing your valvevoxen or does it depend on the tone you are trying to achieve?
right now i'm playing the classic 20 the most (because i just got it). I have to admit i have been playing my two tube amps more lately than the vox....but since i had to fix the input jack on the vox again today i played it for awhile after fixing it. It is a really nice amp and i can definately get tones out of it i can't from the tubes.

I like all three amps and enjoy playing them all....they all have completely different sounds (as i explained to my wife :D ). The epi jr. is the one i plug into if i just want to plug and play. Turn it on, let it warm up, and adjust the volume (the only knob on the thing)......

ww

tot_Ou_tard
April 3rd, 2006, 07:03 PM
right now i'm playing the classic 20 the most (because i just got it). I have to admit i have been playing my two tube amps more lately than the vox....but since i had to fix the input jack on the vox again today i played it for awhile after fixing it. It is a really nice amp and i can definately get tones out of it i can't from the tubes.

I like all three amps and enjoy playing them all....they all have completely different sounds (as i explained to my wife :D ). The epi jr. is the one i plug into if i just want to plug and play. Turn it on, let it warm up, and adjust the volume (the only knob on the thing)......

ww
Thanks Warren. That's what I thought.

I don't know how my wife'll take to different amphs. I already had to explain the concept of having more than one guitar.

tot_Ou_tard
April 3rd, 2006, 07:05 PM
You're the Jack of Amphs!

....I cheated and bent the card back and peeked.

turn the deck over....


tap

..............................tap

.................................................. ........................tap

Now they're all Jack of Amphs!


HEY!@! How'd that pancake get in there?!?

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 07:16 PM
I don't know how my wife'll take to different amphs. I already had to explain the concept of having more than one guitar.
i used the shoe analogy (she LOVES shoes)....when she asked why i needed more than one guitar (or amph)...i told her it was like shoes, they each have their own "purpose"...

ww

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 07:16 PM
HEY!@! How'd that pancake get in there?!?
lmao :D :D :D

Tim
April 3rd, 2006, 07:23 PM
You guys are getting tougher and meaner as you get older. Man, no slack at all on this forum. A guy goes away for a week and comes back to a completely new set of attitudes. I think you all need to get off the forum, close down your computers and spend the next 4 hours rockin on your guitars to get all this pent-up frustration out of your system. You will come back a new man. Trust me!

Warren - I like your shoe analogy. May I use your quote?

ZoSo65
April 3rd, 2006, 07:27 PM
Thanks Warren. That's what I thought.

I don't know how my wife'll take to different amphs. I already had to explain the concept of having more than one guitar.
LOL,,isn't that the same concept of having more then one wife??!!!! :eek: :D


I had too,,,the door was wide open for it ;)

tot_Ou_tard
April 3rd, 2006, 07:35 PM
You guys are getting tougher and meaner as you get older. Man, no slack at all on this forum. A guy goes away for a week and comes back to a completely new set of attitudes. I think you all need to get off the forum, close down your computers and spend the next 4 hours rockin on your guitars to get all this pent-up frustration out of your system. You will come back a new man. Trust me!

Warren - I like your shoe analogy. May I use your quote?
What pent-up frustration are you taliking about Tim?

Tim
April 3rd, 2006, 07:35 PM
I like the way you think. Don't ever let you wife read your posts.

This brings on an idea for Robert. Can we have a magical thread that disappears after 7 days? This way when we post something we do not want our wives to read, in 7 days it automatically deletes itself for the protect of us guys. Sort of an artificial intelligence self-destruction thread control.

tot_Ou_tard
April 3rd, 2006, 07:36 PM
LOL,,isn't that the same concept of having more then one wife??!!!! :eek: :D


I had too,,,the door was wide open for it ;)
Maybe will have to get MoMo girl to chime in on this one.

tot_Ou_tard
April 3rd, 2006, 07:37 PM
i used the shoe analogy (she LOVES shoes)....when she asked why i needed more than one guitar (or amph)...i told her it was like shoes, they each have their own "purpose"...

ww
"So you need one in each *color* that's cute honey. I understand."

Spudman
April 3rd, 2006, 07:40 PM
Warren
Take that classic 20 with you to the music store next time and plug it into a 4x12 cabinet. You won't believe what you hear. I mean other than, "hey turn that amp down."

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 08:00 PM
Warren - I like your shoe analogy. May I use your quote?
absolutely!!

warren0728
April 3rd, 2006, 08:01 PM
Warren
Take that classic 20 with you to the music store next time and plug it into a 4x12 cabinet. You won't believe what you hear. I mean other than, "hey turn that amp down."
i might do that....ron has some 4x12 cabs at his place!

ww

Bloozcat
April 4th, 2006, 08:54 AM
i used the shoe analogy (she LOVES shoes)....when she asked why i needed more than one guitar (or amph)...i told her it was like shoes, they each have their own "purpose"...
ww

Here's how on another forum I explained one's purchases to the wife:

First off, you have to re-order your terminology. Turn with me now to page 264 in the Manly Man's Guide to Women handbook.

You do not "need" a piece of gear. The word "need" to a woman is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Their response to your statement of need is to challenge you to justify that need. Once they've got you on the defensive, you're doomed. You'll never be able to justify your "need" for more gear when you've already got a bunch. Nevermind that you know it all has different and specific purposes, to the female mind, it's just more "stuff" that she doesn't understand and therefore you don't "need" it.

Instead of saying you "need" a new piece of gear, you say I want a new piece of gear. When challenged to defend your "need" (they're only programmed in one format), you respond with; "I didn't say I need a new piece of gear, I said I want one, so I'm going to buy it. It's an irrational desire, and I don't have to defend it." If you sense in your wife a moment of cognitive dissonance, you could be bold, seize the moment, and say; "It's like your shoes...do you think that justification is required each time you buy another pair of shoes that you certainly don't "need"?"

Warning: She will attempt to re-direct the discussion back to your "need". Don't fall into this trap. Stand your ground and reiterate that you don't "need' a new piece of gear, you want it and you're going to buy it. Do not attempt to use this strategy more than once in a six month period. This will overload the female mind and she will give you the silent treatment, answering your inquiries of "what's wrong" and, "are you OK", with "nothing" and "fine."

Good luck Mr. (your name here), and remember that under no circumstance are you to allow your copy of the Manly Man's Guide to Women handbook to fall into the hands of the enemy.

Oh, and remember also...sleeping in the garage is a temporary discomfort. A new piece of gear will bring you joy for years to come. It is always easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission.


;)

Tone2TheBone
April 4th, 2006, 09:42 AM
LOL@Bloozcat. Words to live by dood. :)

Bloozcat
April 4th, 2006, 11:03 AM
OK, I've had several days to play with this little Valve Jr. beastie and I've noticed something each time I turn it on. The amp has this muddy low end sound....but only for the first half hour. It's been mentioned various places before, but it's worth mentioning again, this amp really needs a good half an hour to warm up before it hits it's stride. I've noticed this on every occasion that I've played mine. I don't know why this is, but the difference in tone is incredible after the warm up period.

Last night I was playing with various tubes and after a half an hour with a Russian 7189 (EL84M) and a GE NOS JAN 12AX7WA in the amp, the thing really came to life. I mean it sounded really good! The tube combination I chose made the stock Sovtek tubes sound dull and lifeless. For the record, I was playing through an Avatar semi-open back 2X12 cab loaded with two Weber C12N's.

I have one Strat clone that I made that's loaded with an overwound set of custom single coils. These things are 7.0k for the neck and middle, and 8.0k for the bridge. They're wound in such a way as to sound more like 6.5k and 7.0k respectively...but still thick sounding pups. The middle pickup sounds as good through this little amp as any other I've tried. Tight, presence loaded, with a real cutting tone. It does both rhythm and leads well...and with that Strat snarl to it. This is the most usable Strat middle position pickup I've ever tried. It's also wired "wide open" with no tone control. The neck pickup was ok. It was a little dark for my tastes through this amp, but not horrible sounding. The big suprise to me was the performance of the bridge position pickup. I normally don't care much for a bridge only Strat tone, but let me tell you, through this amp it is the best combination of sweet, raw, cutting, and bright tone I've heard. And with no ice pick to the ears either. Rolling off the tone (as I have it wired to do), the tone just softens, but retains the cutting tone. I must have played for more than an hour just on the bridge pickup. I never reall got to any other guitars, this one was so much fun to play. Wow!

The great thing about this tube combo for those so inclined to change tubes is that the Russian 7189's can be picked up for about $10.00 a tube. The pre-amp tube is another matter as the GE tube I mentioned is now going in the $30.00+ range, but I'd be willing to bet that similar results could be achieved using a Tung Sol re-issue 12AX7 or maybe a Sovtek 12AX7LPS.

I think that it's going to be awhile before I'm through experimenting with this amp. Each time I turn it on and play through it (and with it as I mod it), I discover new tonal possibilities. How can this possibly be with an amp with only two tubes and one knob?

warren0728
April 4th, 2006, 11:44 AM
"It's like your shoes...do you think that justification is required each time you buy another pair of shoes that you certainly don't "need"?"
lol....i was telling my wife this morning that we were discussing on the fret about wanting more than one guitar and more than one amp and she said, "did you tell them about your shoe analogy"! I almost fell over laughing as i admitted that i had!

ww

Bloozcat
April 4th, 2006, 01:25 PM
lol....i was telling my wife this morning that we were discussing on the fret about wanting more than one guitar and more than one amp and she said, "did you tell them about your shoe analogy"! I almost fell over laughing as i admitted that i had!
ww

And they think we're not paying attention!

I've gone even further...I've become somewhat of a co-conspiritor with my wife. Half of the clothes in her closet I've bought for her. I know how clothes will fit her by different labels...which run large, which run small. I know more about womens clothing than I ever wanted to know....;)

I have a very good eye for color and a memory for color to match. I can be standing in a mall with my wife somewhere and she'll ask if something she's looking at will go with some other outfit and I can tell her if it will or not. And I'm never wrong with colors. I'll pick things out for her that she'd never pick for herself and she'll get all kinds of compliments when she wears them later. I can even tell better than she if a dress off a rack will fit her or not. I take her out on her birthday for a day of shopping just for her. Breakfast... shopping...lunch...shopping....dinner. Christmas morning the floor beneath the tree is littered with presents for her...more clothes, even jewelry - which I've learned about as another of her favorite vices. And yep, I even know shoes. Which she likes and doesn't like, the better shoes by brand name, the colors for her outfits.

So, do you think my wife would want to "kill the golden goose" so to speak by objecting to my little self indulgences when she's become so dependent on my "help" and involvement in her picking out her wardrobe? I've infiltrated the enemy camp and have become an indispendable confidant. I'm like the supplier for her addiction...and she's so satisfied all the time that she never objects to my minor (cough, cough)....purchases.... :D

Seriously though...although it's true that I do all of this, my wife is not the least bit concerned about what I buy for myself. I'm pretty self disciplined and self regulating in my purchases, and what I buy never affects the household budget. And while the floor beneath the Christmas tree may be littered with presents for her, the other half of the floor is full of presents for me. All I have to do is give her the catalogs, with the items highlighted. Or, give her the web address with a step-by-step walk through to find the items I want. And she buys them. She couldn't give a rat's pathooie what she's buying as long as it's what I want. So, you know all those little purcahses that you always put at the bottom of you wish list to by for yourself so you can buy the amps and guitars? I put all of mine on my Christmas wish list.

The only thing that my wife objects to (other than the noise :o), is that I've taken over the second bedroom in the house with my "stuff", and every available bit of space under most of the beds in the house. But I'm working on a plan for that too...I've got my wife about 90% convinced that we need to build a out building behind the house. I've sold it to her as a "dual use" addition. A workshop/"stuff" room for me, that can be easily converted to a guest apt. should we ever want to sell the house.

I couldn't get away with any of this though, if my wife wasn't the woman she is...so I'm blessed in that...:R

Tim
April 4th, 2006, 01:38 PM
I know more about womens clothing than I ever wanted to know....;)



Do we really want to go here guys? What ther heck ... go for it!

Bloozcat
April 4th, 2006, 01:58 PM
Do we really want to go here guys? What ther heck ... go for it!

I wouldn't have said that if I was a single guy, that's for sure! ;)

Tim
April 4th, 2006, 02:06 PM
I take her out on her birthday for a day of shopping just for her. Breakfast... shopping...lunch...shopping....dinner. Christmas morning the floor beneath the tree is littered with presents for her...more clothes, even jewelry - which I've learned about as another of her favorite vices. And yep, I even know shoes. Which she likes and doesn't like, the better shoes by brand name, the colors for her outfits....

So, do you think my wife would want to "kill the golden goose" so to speak by objecting to my little self indulgences when she's become so dependent on my "help" and involvement in her picking out her wardrobe? I've infiltrated the enemy camp and have become an indispendable confidant. I'm like the supplier for her addiction...and she's so satisfied all the time that she never objects to my minor (cough, cough)....purchases....



Bloozcat - I come to the come to the conclusion that husbands like you give the rest of us a bad name. I am here reading this wonderful article you wrote about how you treat her with loving affection and how she's become so dependent on your "help" and involvement in helping to picking out her wardrobe? Boy does she have you by hook, line and sinker. She has the perfect set-up here my friend. You drive her to location. You buy her lunch. You pick out her clothes. You even pay for them! Man, what a perfect world she has created. You do it all for her so therefore there no disagreement on whether to much money was spent on the clothes that she really didn’t need. Or worst yet maybe to hot to wear and catches the eyes of strangers.

My question to you Blooz is when was the last time your lovely wife took you to lunch/dinner and paid for it. Took you to your favorite guitar shop and picked out the best guitar in that store and said “Honey, this guitar fits you perfect. I want to buy it for you”? Oh yes, you need a new tube amp combo to go with it.

If you tell me she has done that, then please tell me where you found her. We need more like her.

I truly believe you need someone to come and rescue you from this trance you have been placed in. She must have mesmerized you with her beauty. Woman do that you know?

Maybe some of us Floridians like Warren from Orlando, Frankencat from Tampa bay and myself from St. Augustine can put together a rescue party to come and save you. Jensen Beach is not to far to help a poor fretter in trouble. We men must stick together.

Ok, kidding aside it sounds like you have a wonderful relationship with your wife. Just make sure every time she gets new clothes, you get a new piece of gear just to keep the balance. A good wife is hard to find these days. When you get one, make sure she’s a keeper as the fishermen say ... right T2TB?

Tone2TheBone
April 4th, 2006, 02:37 PM
...A good wife is hard to find these days. When you get one, make sure she’s a keeper as the fishermen say ... right T2TB?


Tim - I practice catch and release. hahahaha

I think Blooz is being smart. Hell I like it when my wife buys herself something! It makes me feel less guilty for buying the stuff I do!

warren0728
April 4th, 2006, 02:51 PM
Hell I like it when my wife buys herself something! It makes me feel less guilty for buying the stuff I do!
amen....my wife likes to decorate (seems like week there is some new accesory or decoration in the house!) and i encourage it cause then she can't (or should i say has less reason to) complain when i get new gear!


Maybe some of us Floridians like Warren from Orlando, Frankencat from Tampa bay and myself from St. Augustine can put together a rescue party to come and save you. Jensen Beach is not to far to help a poor fretter in trouble. We men must stick together.

iago is still in florida too! we are getting quite a florida contingency....maybe we should have a floridian fretter get together....as long as we don't have to go shopping for womens clothing! :D

ww

Bloozcat
April 5th, 2006, 06:48 AM
Tim,

I've only mentioned one of the little things that I do for my wife.

Now let me tell you some of the things she's done for me....

On my birthday three years ago, she planned a big suprise party for me at a local hotel with 50 of our friends invited. She very cleverly disguised the party as a business luncheon that I was invited to also. The people there represented friends who I (and/or we) have known for the last 30 years. The party was great, but that wasn't the celebration in and of itself. The party was really just a prop to unveil the real birthday suprise...

She planned a trip for the two of us to the Bordeaux region in France, staying in a bed and breakfast in the wine country, and touring some of Frances most famous wineries (we're both really into wine). Then, 2 1/2 days more in Paris before coming home.

On another birthday she suprised me with a trip to London...

On another birthday a trip to San Francisco and the California wine country...

...and there are others I won't even mention.

So, I think I'm pretty safe...no need to send out a rescue party (unless I have too much wine! );) If I'm in a trance, then it's one I'd highly recommend trying...I wish I could bottle it and market it. In actuality, I'm probably the one who has received the greater benefit...although every trip is one we enjoy together.

BTW: Although it might sound like it, we're not wealthy by any monetary measurement...we both have careers and no children, so there's time and money for travel. Oh, and one other thing...there aren't any more at home like my wife. She and I are the black sheep of our families...or as I'd rather put it, we're the white sheep in families full of black sheep. My wife does have a sister, but she's a nut case...you'd gnaw your own leg off to get away from her...:D

Life is good...

Spudman
April 5th, 2006, 07:44 AM
I don't know Blooz, it sounds to me like she just want's to get you out of the house. lol

Tim
April 5th, 2006, 07:44 AM
Excellent testimony there Bloozcat! Sounds like you have a marriage made in heaven. I think you may have a few jealous fretters on your hands. It is absolutely wonderful that you have such a fine woman for your companion, friend, wife, ect.

Ok, so you tell me that there is no more where she came from. That’s bad news for the men of the world. Have you ever thought about having her cloned? You could make a lot of money populating the world with extra caring woman that make exceptionable fine wives.

Enjoy life my friend. It don’t get better than what you have. My best regards to you and the misses. You both are blessed.

Nelskie
April 5th, 2006, 12:47 PM
Didn't this used to be an amp thread? At least, that what I started it out to be. Guys, I mean no disrespect to anyone participating in the most recent line of discussion about their wives, but there is a place on the forum for that discussion: Open Mic. For somebody just coming onto this forum looking for discussion about the Epiphone Valve Jr., this might present a problem. Let's keep the posts on point here, OK? If you want to talk about other brands / types gear, or family stuff, or whatever, start a new thread in the most appropriate area, or contribute to a thread of the same topic that's already been started. It'll make it easier for everyone who participates in our forum. Hey, I'm guilty of it too, so I'm pointing the finger at myself as well. Let's all try to be more cognizant of what we're posting on the various forum threads, and make sure its relevant. :)

Just wanted to relay that, since this thread seems to have spun totally off-topic. Thanks - Nelskie

Bloozcat
April 5th, 2006, 12:55 PM
Agreed...things did spin out of control just a tad...:o

Tone2TheBone
April 5th, 2006, 12:59 PM
Speaking of staying on topic...have you heard a demo posted by someone at the Fender Forum? It's a sound demo of someone playing a Valve Jr. head through the speaker in his Blues Jr. He does a really good job of demonstrating how the amp sounds at various volumes on both pickups...at both full volume on the guitar and rolled back. Also demonstrates several effects pedals with the head too. It really sounds good. He's playing a Tele too....

I'll post it here...

http://www.thedangerrangers.com/08%20Epi5watt.mp3

Bloozcat
April 5th, 2006, 01:28 PM
Speaking of staying on topic...have you heard a demo posted by someone at the Fender Forum? It's a sound demo of someone playing a Valve Jr. head through the speaker in his Blues Jr. He does a really good job of demonstrating how the amp sounds at various volumes on both pickups...at both full volume on the guitar and rolled back. Also demonstrates several effects pedals with the head too. It really sounds good. He's playing a Tele too....

I'll post it here...

http://www.thedangerrangers.com/08%20Epi5watt.mp3

Yeah, that sound file has been making the rounds. I think I first saw it at The Gear Page, then HC, then the Fender Forum, now here. It's pretty well done.

Tim
April 5th, 2006, 01:57 PM
Nelskie is so correct. I am a participant in the spin off topic thread thief. We need to police our self and stay in check. Open Mic is the correct place to carry on off topic conversation. Just think of those new members doing a “search” for Epiphone Valve Jr. and having to read all this stuff. I apologize.

Nelskie
April 6th, 2006, 08:35 AM
Tone - Thanks for the Epi Valve Jr. head link. Damn! That little bugger sounds nice! Not that my Valve Jr. combo doesn't sound great - it really does. It's just that I'm now imagining that awesome tone being pushed though my Peavey Classic 112E cabinet, with a 12" Eminence Swamp Thang thumpin' out all of that juicy Class A tone. And at $100 bones, yet another Epiphone gear deal of the century! Man, how can they do it?

MUST . . . RESIST . . . BUYING . . . NEW . . . JR. . . . HEAD! AARRRRGGGHHH!

warren0728
April 6th, 2006, 08:44 AM
it would look great sitting atop this....

http://epiphone.com/default.asp?ProductID=260&CollectionID=13

bet it would sound great too!!

ww

Tone2TheBone
April 6th, 2006, 09:20 AM
Nelskie - You're welcome anything for a bro!

I know...I think they've also controlled the hum by doing some kind of electrical magick of some kind. I've read about it over and over at other forums but I can't recall exactly what they did. Who knows I might grab one of these babies myself!

Warren - Somewhere I saw that some dood had replaced the stock speakers in that exact cabinet with a set of Celestion Blues and it just looked GORGEOUS. He took pics of the inside of the cabinet. Talk about sexy. I think it was used as the cab FOR the Valve Jr. Head if I'm not mistaken. That cabinet looks great. I bet you the head would sound incredible through my Marshall 4x12 cab with Greenbacks!

duhvoodooman
April 6th, 2006, 10:21 AM
I checked out that Epiphone link, and the "Blues Custom" combo amp caught my eye. Man, that's a sexy lookin' little number! Your choice of Class A or A/B from the same amp? Cool! Is this a brand new model? I'm not in the market for a tube amp since I got my Peavey Delta Blues, but this one looks mighty fine! Looks like they go for $500 new.

Bloozcat
April 7th, 2006, 07:43 AM
Here's the Epi combo I was speaking of in my earlier post:

http://images.music123.com/products/full/Epiphone/462302.jpg

Here's the specs:
Epiphone Blues Custom 30 tube amp Features:
· Power: 30 AB/15 A W
· Type: 100% Tube
· Class: A & AB
· Rectifier: Tube- 5AR4
· EQ: Two Modes-Independent and Interactive
· Preamp : 12AX7 (5)
· Power: 5881 (2)
· Speaker Type: 2X12" Lady Luck by Eminence
· Tube Reverb
· Channels: 2
Outputs: 4 Ohm (2), 8 Ohm (2) & 16 Ohm

And it just so happens (what a suprise!) that I have a matched pair of NOS 6L6WGB's (5881's), and an NOS 5AR4 (GZ34) sitting at home with nothing to do...for now, anyway... oh, and speakers too...;)


Yeah, I thought so too when I posted it here a few pages ago. I'm saving my pennies, juggling amps around, making room in the "amp closet"...:D

I hope they do the same DC filament mod to this one before they bring it out. I'd like to see it as quiet as my Valve Jr. head.

Spudman
April 7th, 2006, 07:51 AM
Here is a mod you Valve Jr. owners might enjoy.
http://mercurymagnetics.com/pages/specials/ValveJrPjt/EVJ-01.htm

Nelskie
April 7th, 2006, 08:35 AM
That's pretty cool stuff there, Spudman. I noticed that they are marketing these components as a "kit", and not as individual item upgrades. Not only that, I would have thought they would have included some sound clips to back up their amazing benefits. Perhaps the website & marketing specifics are still a work in progress.

The other thing I picked up on was their anemic and thin sounding description of the Valve Jr.'s stock tone. Personally, I found it to be exactly the opposite. True, I did make some minor mods to my Valve Jr., which resulted in direct tonal benefits. But even w/o those, I thought the amp had a nice ring to it right out of the box. If these guys are trying to imply that the Valve Jr. is comparable to a Fender Blues Jr. or Champ, or any one of the many low-watt boutique amps for the purposes of selling their product, it's not really a fair comparison. This little rig is mass-produced in China - a long, long way from the landscape of the American vintage amp afficianado.

And . . . *drum roll* . . . the low cost of making those mods: $195 bones! :eek: Whoa! I don't know about you, but $195 isn't exactly "low cost" in my book. Thus, considering the price of the Mercury mod kit + the retail price of the amp, it would push the cost of their version of the Valve Jr. to over $300! And for those who aren't "mechanically inclined", like me, and would prefer to have a professional do the install - there would be additional costs beyond that. Yessir - say good-by to your budget amp, and hello to Fenderville.

Based on the huge success of the Valve Jr., I see Epiphone making some key enhancements to the combo platform (adding a rectifier, addt'l hum reduction circuitry, better tubes, etc.), and upping the retail price a bit to absorb the costs. They have already implemented improvements with the head version of the amp. But how soon with the combo? Well, they may have already agreed to a certain production run with their overseas mfg., and once that quota is met, my guess is that they will eventually follow through with said changes. Or, at least we can hope they will.

Spudman
April 7th, 2006, 09:10 AM
And one more...
http://www.valvejunior.com/

Bloozcat
April 7th, 2006, 09:54 AM
And yet another.....

http://www.klugemusic.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=78

Nelskie
April 7th, 2006, 12:49 PM
And one more...
http://www.valvejunior.com/
Spudster - This link was posted way back when, but under a different address.

http://www.thefret.net/showpost.php?p=1950&postcount=34

Spudman
April 7th, 2006, 05:09 PM
Ohhhhh. (putting my dunce hat on) I see.

I think I'm going to spring for one of these myself. $99 and free shipping. Cool!

Robert
April 7th, 2006, 05:36 PM
This thread must be the biggest one ever on theFret! 16 PAGES!

tot_Ou_tard
April 27th, 2006, 06:57 PM
Let's try for 17!

I called Gibson today and was told that indeed the Valve Junior Combo is now built to the same specs as the head so the hum problem is fixed. Some of the stock out there was built under the old specs. They claimed that there is no way (I asked about serial numbers etc) to tell which is which other than plugging one in & see how it sounds. I was thinking about buying a combo online, but it looks like I'll have to go to a GC. It's either that or buy the head and make my AD30VT into a

FRANKEN CAB/HEAD

oooOOOOooOOOOooOOOOoooooooOOOoooooooooo!!!!!

I'd put in a input jack wired to the speakers and an output jack wired to the valvetronix. Normal can operation would be with a patch between the two. I could then use the AD30VT as a cab for the epi & if I ever got a cab I could hear what the valvetronix sounded through that. It'd be easy and cost under $10.

tot_Ou_tard
April 28th, 2006, 05:56 AM
This has probably been posted here before, but this thread is so long that I couldn't find it.

Here are some tasty epi valve junior head clips (using a Squier 51 for you folks from Area 51).

http://www.instituteofnoise.com/L6/ampclips.asp#Epiphone

There are other amp clips there as well.

Tone2TheBone
April 28th, 2006, 08:52 AM
This has probably been posted here before, but this thread is so long that I couldn't find it.

Here are some tasty epi valve junior head clips (using a Squier 51 for you folks from Area 51).

http://www.instituteofnoise.com/L6/ampclips.asp#Epiphone

There are other amp clips there as well.

Ahhhhhh beautiful Celestion Greenbacks from a 4x12........choice!

Thanks for the link.

Iago
April 30th, 2006, 10:17 AM
hey people, i gotta say that I just bought a Epi Valve Jr. thru the ZZSounds link here on the Forum... Nelskie`s review was enough to make me buy it hehehe! I haven`t been playing lately but I can bet this new amp will make me focus on the guitar again! So I`ll let you guys know what I think of it when it arrives...:R

warren0728
April 30th, 2006, 10:18 AM
cool iago....welcome to the club!

ww

SuperSwede
May 1st, 2006, 01:29 AM
Hey Iago, how do you like your mustang now when you have had it for a while?

Iago
May 1st, 2006, 11:27 AM
SSwede how u doing??

Man, I`d better wait for the amp to come to say that.. cause I`ve only been playing it unpplugged these days... ah yes, I just received an e-mail from ZZounds telling me that the amp (+ a pinky metal slide) was shipped.. so it shall be here by friday.. I guess.. :)

warren0728
May 1st, 2006, 12:52 PM
cool iago...have fun with that new amph...i think you will be surprised by that little power house!

ww

SuperSwede
May 1st, 2006, 12:54 PM
All is fine here Iago... I hope that you enjoy your guitar and amp (when it arrives)...

Tim
May 1st, 2006, 02:16 PM
Hi Iago,

Waz up man? Where have you been hiding and what have you been up too? We haven’t heard from you in a while. Hope life is treating you OK. Stay in touch when you can.

Nelskie
May 2nd, 2006, 06:47 AM
... Nelskie`s review was enough to make me buy it hehehe!
Iago - Well, for starters, I'm glad that you took the time to read the review, as it was fairly comprehensive. There are a lot of links in this Valve Jr. thread, some of which outline mods & settings - so make sure you read them, too.

I think you'll really like the sound of your Mustang through this amp. I love how my Strats and G & L Tele sound through this amp, esp. clean. (low volume). The OD, of course, is the higher volume setting, and sounds very good, too, although if you want to play OD at lower volume levels, you will likely need to run it through some type of distortion pedal. For that, I would highly recommend either the DigiTech Tone Driver, or the venerable Bad Monkey. Both do the job nicely.

The last thing I'd say is to make sure you play this amp "straight up" - i.e. sans pedals, for a good long time before you start running effects with it. What you get tone-wise is pretty much what those old blues cats were doing back in the early 50's. Just straight-on, Class A tube tone - nothing else. Very cool stuff. ;)

Iago
May 2nd, 2006, 08:57 AM
Oh yeah, I read the others reviews too, and I found them to be pretty explanatory too.. and thats exactly what Im looking for, a little amp as simple as possible (but i wouldnt mind a reverb you know? hehehe) just like the old real guys used.

Im not a pedal geek too, an amp and a cable are enough to me... but I played a behringer Tube Overdrive, with a tele in a deluxe hot rod and got amazed... really good tone... and for 20 bucks you cant beat. I played the TS808 clone too, but didn`t liked it... too much a "good guy" ehhehe

Tim
May 2nd, 2006, 12:38 PM
Hey Guys,

I came across this today while surfing during lunch.

http://www.hoffmanamps.com/Forum/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1143949702/0

Spudman
May 2nd, 2006, 09:45 PM
Tim
That is a great link. Thanks.

tot_Ou_tard
May 3rd, 2006, 04:48 AM
I think you'll really like the sound of your Mustang through this amp. I love how my Strats and G & L Tele sound through this amp, esp. clean. (low volume). The OD, of course, is the higher volume setting, and sounds very good, too, although if you want to play OD at lower volume levels, you will likely need to run it through some type of distortion pedal. For that, I would highly recommend either the DigiTech Tone Driver, or the venerable Bad Monkey. Both do the job nicely.

I've heard that this is a dark amp & hence particularly good for single coils. Is this what you are finding as well Nelskie?

Nelskie
May 3rd, 2006, 07:00 AM
I've heard that this is a dark amp & hence particularly good for single coils. Is this what you are finding as well Nelskie?
Well, tot, I don't know if "dark" is a real accurate description - esp. for a Class A amp. The natural tonal characteristics, however, seem to be geared less towards the upper registers, and more focused in the mids / lows (mostly mids), although the highs can be enhanced with a little sleight of hand (think pedals and EQ). To me, amps with smaller cabs have a tendency to sound "darker" no matter what, and I think that's due to a number of things: 1.) they naturally lack a little bit of the "headroom" of a larger amp; 2.) a smaller speaker does not move as much air as a larger amp; and 3.) the reflection characteristics of the tone inside a smaller cabinet (less space). These, of course, are my own personal observations, and if they do not correspond with the all-knowing, all-seeing tube amp guru over at Amptone.com, I extend my most sincere apologies. I would agree with your statement that the amp favors single-coil guitars by-and-large, and maybe its because the natural brightness of the single coil pick-up evens out the middy / bass-y tone of the amp. However, I've procured some awfully tasty tones out of the Valve Jr. using my Les Paul, so don't think that single coils are the only way to fly with this rig.

As you might be aware, I've changed out the stock speaker in my Valve Jr. in favor of a Weber Alnico II 8", which has brightened up the tone considerably. The J & J tubes I swapped out for the stock Sovteks have also contributed to clearer, more focused highs. These mods were both accomplished for around $60 total. IMHO, both were a good investment.

The other thing that I've touched on in my Valve Jr. posts is running a pedal in front of the amp (Tone Driver / Bad Monkey / G2), as the pedal's controls allow you some flexibility to EQ the tone to your preference. Personally, I like the middy sound of the Valve Jr., and just warm that up with the Bad Monkey, and add a little gain to push the break-up. It's a nice, fat tone.

The other thing that seems to even out / widen the tone of this amp is reverb. Myself, I don't have a stand-alone reverb pedal, so I use my Zoom G2, with a touch of spring reverb (watch those room / decay controls for those of you trying this at home), and it really pulls everything together. The G2 also has a very good EQ feature on it, so if I want those glassy, crisp highs, that's were I go to get it. That Weber Alnico loves those kinds of tones, and I like playing it more so as a clean amp vs. a dirty little dog (which it also does very nicely. Think P-90.)

As you can see, I've come up with countless ways to help my Valve Jr. sound different / better / cleaner / heavier. But mostly, I find myself just plugging into it all by itself. Depending on the guitar I'm using, I'll just tweak the tone / volume controls a bit, and that's it. This where I think this amp shines. You. Your guitar. Hands / fingers. The Valve Jr. What more do you need? ;)

Tim
May 3rd, 2006, 10:04 AM
As you can see, I've come up with countless ways to help my Valve Jr. sound different / better / cleaner / heavier. But mostly, I find myself just plugging into it all by itself. Depending on the guitar I'm using, I'll just tweak the tone / volume controls a bit, and that's it. This where I think this amp shines. You. Your guitar. Hands / fingers. The Valve Jr. What more do you need? ;)



Well said there Nelskie. I love it when you write these kinds of posts. They are full of little bits of “golden” information. I am learning how to search for that “tone” through playing, exercises and using a touch of “magic” to which you speak about.


P.S. I know I saw another website out there a while back that discussed several little modifications for the Valve Jr. to improve it’s over all clean tone and hissing. I will continue to search for it.

duhvoodooman
May 3rd, 2006, 10:17 AM
I know I saw another website out there a while back that discussed several little modifications for the Valve Jr. to improve it’s over all clean tone and hissing. I will continue to search for it.
Yeah, this little amp is developing quite the "cult following". Just an amazing tone-for-the-buck ratio!

Tim
May 3rd, 2006, 10:26 AM
Yep! The Valve Jr. is very popular. And I don't even own one. This make the 176 post on this topic. Unless I missed one somwhere, this is the highest numbered thread going.

warren0728
May 3rd, 2006, 11:35 AM
i've noticed that now when conner comes into the music room to "plug in" he chooses the valve jr. over the vox (which he use to always choose)....hmmmm

ww

Nelskie
May 3rd, 2006, 12:22 PM
Yeah, this little amp is developing quite the "cult following". Just an amazing tone-for-the-buck ratio!
Perhaps outside of this forum it has. Here at FN, the Vox Valvetronix seems to have the "cult following", although lately I haven't seen all that many posts swooning over its mystical modeling powers. Guess it must be all this chit-chatty stuff about food, snails, movies, books, and whatever else that's sucking all of the guitar energy out of this place.

Tim - I'm happy to hear that you enjoy reading my posts. Knowing that makes the effort I put into them all that more worthwhile. The other reason I do it is to spur you, and our other fellow Fretters into contributing material and information on more technically-related, in-depth topics. With the wealth of knowledgeable players we have here at FN, it sometimes makes me wonder why there isn't more going on here. I mean, all I have to do is go over to the Fender section of the forum (of which I am the moderator), and look at the new Telecaster / Stratocaster posts over the last month: (3)! Yeah, a whopping three. :( And so I say, when two of the greatest guitars to ever fall into the hands of any player can only generate a bare minimum of interest, and at a guitar forum of all places, then maybe it's time for me to re-evaluate my inolvement here as well.

This is a guitar forum, isn't it? :confused:

Tone2TheBone
May 3rd, 2006, 12:41 PM
I'm inclined to agree Nelskie.

warren0728
May 3rd, 2006, 01:35 PM
i also like to read your posts nelskie (and others)....i think this is a good community but i don't think there are very many pros on here. I mean i play my guitars when i have time at home. I could not write an indepth article on anything guitar related....but i do enjoy reading and learning from the ones here with that knowledge. I don't know the difference between capacitor types, wave frequencies or whatnot...all i know is that i love the guitar, and enjoy playing as often as i can. I know what sounds good to me...but probably don't understand why!

I have a tele and a strat knockoff but i wouldn't know where to start to come up with a truly informational post in that area of the forum...although i wish i did. As the forum grows i'm sure there will be more "traffic". Heck some forums i'm on have hundreds of posts per hour buth they allso have 5-10,000 members instead of a little over 100.

I enjoy the comraderie here including all the non guitar related noise....food, beer whatever. It's like going on a man's night out without leaving the house.

just my 2 cents....


ww

Nelskie
May 3rd, 2006, 05:04 PM
ww - From the perspective of a moderator, I am going to address your post point-by-point, because I think you've raised a lot of good discussion, and most importantly on a few topics that I don't think anyone has really addressed. Or, at least in the terms of how each member's participation, and collective understanding of the function of the forum affects the "big picture".


i don't think there are very many pros on here.
Define "pro". If you mean play in a band, or record professionally, I am neither. I'm an "advanced hobbyist", if that makes any sense at all. And one who has a severe jones for buying gear. :D


I could not write an indepth article on anything guitar relate
Have you tried? You just wrote two paragraphs here about why you like this forum. In other words, you put some thought into a response, developed it into written form, and presented it. You've just proven to me that you have all of the tools you need to do it.


I don't know the difference between capacitor types, wave frequencies or whatnot...
Me neither. Yet amazingly, I can come up with pseudo-technical content at the drop of a hat . . . ??!! You do not need to have this knowledge to enjoy guitar, and I think it would be safe to assume that the large majority of folks who participate here at FN don't either.


I have a tele and a strat knockoff but i wouldn't know where to start to come up with a truly informational post in that area of the forum
I have knock-offs, too, and I write about them all the time. How about what attracted you to purchase those guitars? Did you compare them to the "Real McCoys" before purchasing them? How about the components - are they similar to the higher-priced USA-made models? Feel? Tone? Possible upgrades? Maple vs. rosewood? Single-coil vs. humbucker at the neck? Those all came off the top of my head as fast as I could type them.


As the forum grows i'm sure there will be more "traffic". Heck some forums i'm on have hundreds of posts per hour buth they allso have 5-10,000 members instead of a little over 100.
Why depend on others to contribute to YOUR forum?


I enjoy the comraderie here including all the non guitar related noise....food, beer whatever. It's like going on a man's night out without leaving the house.
Indeed, I do too. But at some point you need to consider the direction of the forum, and it's collective capacity in presenting and disseminating viable information about its intended subject(s). This is a guitar / bass forum, and thus, we should all be respectful to its basic purpose, that being sharing and discussing things about guitars, bass, and related equipment, along with associated activities, and general musical content. If you want to build traffic to the forum, you first must have something to present, or something of interest to offer. Potential participants / members who come here, and see threads going off-topic, or non-guitar related discussion may look at that detrimentally, and seek to participate / contribute elsewhere.

There are also many ways in which you can share in camaraderie - the personal message feature, e-mails through, or outside of the forum, chat rooms, blogs, posting sites, etc.

Being cognizant of proper forum protocol should not be looked at as a hindrance, nor should it deter your participation. If this forum is to grow, and move forward, we all need to be aware of our roles and responsibilities as members. And the sooner we can come to terms with it, the better our forum will become. Conversely, if our posts become strewn with non-topical content and chat-room discussion, it will stagnate content-wise, and soon, you too will be looking elsewhere for guitar-related information (if you aren't already!)

Anyways, that's my two cents. ;)

warren0728
May 3rd, 2006, 05:35 PM
ww - From the perspective of a moderator, I am going to address your post point-by-point, because I think you've raised a lot of good discussion, and most importantly on a few topics that I don't think anyone has really addressed. Or, at least in the terms of how each member's participation, and collective understanding of the function of the forum affects the "big picture".


Define "pro". If you mean play in a band, or record professionally, I am neither. I'm an "advanced hobbyist", if that makes any sense at all. And one who has a severe jones for buying gear. :D

pro might have been a poor choice of a word...but it seems like there are a lot of folks on this board (myself included) that are casual players...although i'm guessing most of us have your severe jones for buying gear!



Have you tried? You just wrote two paragraphs here about why you like this forum. In other words, you put some thought into a response, developed them into written form, and presented them. You've just proven to me that you have all of the tools you need to do it.
i have the tools yes....but not the knowledge...i can certainly create coherent paragraphs about my thoughts....but don't have the knowledge (i am only talking about me here) to contribute much technically.



I have knock-offs, too, and I write about them all the time. How about what attracted you to purchase those guitars? Did you compare them to the "Real McCoys" before purchasing them? How about the components - are they similar to the higher-priced USA-made models? Feel? Tone? Possible upgrades? Maple vs. rosewood? Single-coil vs. humbucker at the neck? Those all came off the top of my head as fast as I could type them.
i have talked about some of my purchases and why i liked them (like the tele and the valve jr.) but i am not able to go much beyond hey i liked this guitar and got a good deal on it. I wish i did know more about this stuff but i don't so i don't write about it.



Why depend on others to contribute to YOUR forum?
i think i contribute quite a bit to the forum (although admittedly a lot of times it was non guitar related...although when i felt i had something helpful to ad to the guitar related threads i did)....i'm not depending on anyone else to. My point was only that as our numbers grow so will the number and diversity of the posts.


at some point you need to consider the direction of the forum, and it's collective capacity in presenting and disseminating viable information about its intended subject(s). This is a guitar forum, and thus, we should all be respectful to its basic purpose, that being sharing and discussing things about guitars, bass, and related equipment, along with associated activities, and general musical content. If you want to build traffic to the forum, you first must have something to present, or something of interest to offer. Potential participants / members who come here, and see threads going off-topic, or non-guitar related discussion may look at that detrimentally, and seek to participate / contribute elsewhere.
i agree....in part but think a healthy mixture of each would be what most are looking for. I stay here because i feel like part of the family, not just because there is great musical information here (which there is!


There are also many ways in which you can share in camaraderie - the personal message feature, e-mails through, or outside of the forum, chat rooms, blogs, posting sites, etc.
absolutely, in fact i have set up two personal real life meetings with a couple of fretters and have been thrilled with how those get togethers turned out!


Being cognizant of proper forum protocol should not be looked at as a hindrance, nor should it deter your participation. If this forum is to grow, and move forward, we all need to be aware of our roles and responsibilities as members. And the sooner we can come to terms with it, the better our forum will become. Conversely, if our posts become strewn with non-topical content and chat-room discussion, it will stagnate content-wise, and soon, you too will be looking elsewhere for guitar-related information (if you aren't already!)
again i think a mixture of all of the above (with an emphasis on guitar-related material) would be the most appealing.

Please keep in mind...I am not offended or mad or anything....open dialog is great. I want to see this forum succeed as much as anyone. Also I am only speaking for myself...not anyone else here on the fret. I like it here and am not going anywhere.

Thanks for considering my points and taking time to reply as you did.

ww

Iago
May 3rd, 2006, 06:51 PM
by the way... what`s the "heater" they talk about so much in that link Tim posted?? :D

ah, the amp must be here tomorrow!!! I`m so excited!! I`ll probably make a small review after fixing my needs of playing a tube amp again!

warren0728
May 3rd, 2006, 06:58 PM
ah, the amp must be here tomorrow!!! I`m so excited!! I`ll probably make a small review after fixing my needs of playing a tube amp again!
cool iago....i know you are going to like it!

ww

Tim
May 3rd, 2006, 08:16 PM
Iago,

The heating element (or cathode) can be found on Triode tubes. One of our favorites as guitarist is the 12AX7. The heater assists in keeping the grid fully charged and aids the passing of electrons between the grid and the plate. The higher the rate of electron flow the more amplification is produced. See the below link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_tube

I hope this helps answer your question.

Caution: If you don't know anything about electronics, then I highly recommend you not try the modifications yourself. You will either seriously hurt yourself or fry the amp.

tot_Ou_tard
May 4th, 2006, 05:51 AM
Well, tot, I don't know if "dark" is a real accurate description - esp. for a Class A amp. The natural tonal characteristics, however, seem to be geared less towards the upper registers, and more focused in the mids / lows (mostly mids), although the highs can be enhanced with a little sleight of hand (think pedals and EQ). To me, amps with smaller cabs have a tendency to sound "darker" no matter what, and I think that's due to a number of things: 1.) they naturally lack a little bit of the "headroom" of a larger amp; 2.) a smaller speaker does not move as much air as a larger amp; and 3.) the reflection characteristics of the tone inside a smaller cabinet (less space). These, of course, are my own personal observations, and if they do not correspond with the all-knowing, all-seeing tube amp guru over at Amptone.com, I extend my most sincere apologies. I would agree with your statement that the amp favors single-coil guitars by-and-large, and maybe its because the natural brightness of the single coil pick-up evens out the middy / bass-y tone of the amp. However, I've procured some awfully tasty tones out of the Valve Jr. using my Les Paul, so don't think that single coils are the only way to fly with this rig.

;)
It would naively seem to me that you would lose the bottom end first with a small speaker & cab given that the size now matches a shorter wavelength and hence higher frequency.

So Class A's are known to be brighter? I wonder why that is. Has anyone seen a list of the classes of well known amps? The AC30 is class A I believe and so are some Fenders so that rings true with them.

Since I have mainly single coils at this moment that Valve Junior is looking tastier & tastier.

Thanks, Nelsk!

Nelskie
May 4th, 2006, 10:26 AM
To me, amps with smaller cabs . . .

These, of course, are my own personal observations . . .
tot - Please do not construe any of my comments as universal facts regarding the Valve Jr., Class A equipment, or smaller amps in general. Your own opinions, interpretations, and results may vary from mine. Also bear in mind the modifications (speaker, tubes) that I've employed with my own amp.

tot_Ou_tard
May 4th, 2006, 06:16 PM
tot - Please do not construe any of my comments as universal facts regarding the Valve Jr., Class A equipment, or smaller amps in general. Your own opinions, interpretations, and results may vary from mine. Also bear in mind the modifications (speaker, tubes) that I've employed with my own amp.
I'm just trying to understand the principles involved Nelsk.

Bloozcat
May 8th, 2006, 10:53 AM
I'm re-printing this below from a post I did at HC earlier today about my latest (and last) experiments with tubes and the Valve JR.:

Well, I had some time this weekend, so I went through the last of my tube testing for my Valve Jr. head (and two other tube amps at the same time) and I've finally settled on a set that delivers just what I was looking to get from this amp.

I was limited by the number of output tubes I had on hand, but I still managed to test five different brands. The list of pre-amp tubes I tried is fairly extensive. I re-visited some of both the output and pre tubes as I felt that I may not have fairly judged them by not letting the amp warm up for a good half hour first.

Guitars used:
Home-made custom Strat clone
Agile AD 2500 w/P-90's
Agile 2800DLX with Highorder humbuckers
Modified Squire '51
Speakers: 2X12 cab with Weber C12N's

Here's the pre-amp tubes I tried:

New manufacture:
Sovtek 12AX7WA (stock)
JJ ECC83S
Chinese (Shuguang) 12AX7
JJ ECC81
Sovtek 12AX7LPS
Sovtek 5751

NOS:
GE JAN 12AX7WA
BEL 12AX7
RCA 12AX7A
Tesla E83CC (NOT JJ's)
GE JAN 5751
Philips 12AT7

Output (Power) Tubes:

New manufacture:
Sovtek EL84 (stock)
JJ EL84

NOS:
Polam/Telam EL84
Russian Military 7189 (EL84M)
Tesla EL84 (NOT JJ's)

Of all the tubes I tested the combination that I found to be the best to my ear are these:

Pre-amp tube: NOS Tesla (not JJ) E83CC
Output (Power) tube: NOS Tesla EL84

The E83CC is a very warm, musical tube that is lower gain than a std. 12AX7. I was looking to extend the clean headroom in the amp a little without losing over-all volume and a rich warm OD when pushed a little. This tube fit the bill perfectly. The Tesla EL84 output tube is simply a classic NOS tube in tone...warm, rounded, fat, and musical, with neither a bright edgy-ness, nor a muddy, flabby bottom. It's tone just makes you think, "nice tube tone" when you hear it. My favorite EL84 is the Polam/Telam, but in this amp the differences in tone between it and the Tesla were pretty negligable, which worked out well since the Polam I tested came from a back-up matched set I have for another amp.

From 0-10:00/11:00 the amp has a nice clean tone that is characteristically warm and fat as only a tube amp can sound. At the 12:00 position, the amp becomes fatter with just a bit of OD tone. Perfect for classic blues. At 2:00 the tone becomes fatter yet with a nice OD growl to it that is neither over the top not fizzy or fuzzy. Great for a more agressive blues to clasic rock. Above the 2:00 setting, the OD/distortion becomes more pronounced and the amp becomes less musical...but still not as buzzy as I found it to be with many of the other tubes I tested.

Throughout the testing of these tubes, the description I kept coming back to was warm, rich, rounded, fat, musical, balanced, and full. No bright ice-pick edge, no muddy, flabby bottom. Just great solid tube tone. This tube combo IMHO, makes this simple yet well designed circuit really shine.

I happy, and I'm through testing...

Robert
May 8th, 2006, 01:03 PM
Thanks for posting that! It seems like everyone should have one of these amps. I'll see if I can snag one too...

Bloozcat
May 8th, 2006, 02:18 PM
Thanks for posting that! It seems like everyone should have one of these amps. I'll see if I can snag one too...

For such an inexpensive amp, it's well designed. It's simple, uncomplicated, and performs well beyond expectations - and it's price tag. What's even better is that should you decide to change tubes, there are only two to change. Even the more expensive NOS tubes won't set you back to much when you only need two.

Although in it's un-aided state it's a one trick pony, the addition of pedals can extend it's range quite a bit. Especially pedals with active EQ's. The amp takes pedals very well without an effects loop. Not all amps like pedals straight in.

I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the Epiphone Blues Custom 30. It's been advertised by several on-line vendors, but none have had it in stock. Hopefully the delay is for a useful purpose, such as redesigning the circuit with DC filiments in place of AC filiments as was done in the Valve Jr. which made it the quiet amp it is. How does a fully tube driven amp with a tube rectifier utilizing 5881 power tubes as found in the old tweed and brown face circuits sound? And for $500.00 new price? Sounds good to me...can't wait.

Iago
May 13th, 2006, 08:26 AM
yeah...a neighbor just knocked on my door complaining about the noise... I knew that would happen! :D

oldguy
May 21st, 2006, 02:47 PM
Got one ordered, due 5-25 :D

Robert
May 21st, 2006, 04:14 PM
Iago, you bought one, right? Happy with it?

Iago
May 24th, 2006, 11:05 PM
yes I am Rob!

My only complaint is that I can`t cranck it up to get distortion because of the neighbors!... I just wish it had a tone control too, but I can live without it by now. I find the Valve jr to have a really nice sustain and harmonics, and the buzz is really less than what I expected. This little amp has a lot of bass... so I was thinking in getting a treble booster or something like that..or just a overdrive pedal with some tweaking on the tone control would do it. I can get a really nice "woman tone" with the amp crancked and the tone control on the guitar rolled down...

one of my favourite settings right now is both pu`s on "in phase" with the volume all the way up and the tone all the way down. I can get really cool smooth distortion..(it distorts more easily with the Mustang when I`m using both pickups) and the amp still gets every nuance of my playing attack. So, cranck it and use your volume and tone controls to make the rest... I still wish some more treble range...

I think that the Valve Jr would sound really nice with high gain pu`s too... maybe even better than single coils. the Mustang sounds extremely clean when using only-neck or only bridge pu configuration. The neck one sounds like a strat but "not-springy" :) I guess that maybe it doesnt have the same "depht" of tone as some others strats I played before... maybe because of the strings being "top loaders"... well I guess I`m gonna keep that for a Mustang review :D

See you guys!

Robert
May 25th, 2006, 10:33 AM
Good to hear you like it. I am very interested in one. The head seems better since the hum issues seem to be resolved, but then of course I'd need a decent cab, which I don't have. Ahh, decisions.

Iago
May 25th, 2006, 09:51 PM
I think that getting the head and then a cab would be really good for you Rob, since you have some combos already... The Valve Jr really gets the details of your playing. It also doesn`t have all that "saggness" from a totally valve amp (i mean valve rectifier) but it really does an excellent job. Definitely unbeatable for the price.

Tone2TheBone
May 26th, 2006, 12:26 AM
The combo sounds killer with a Gibby Les Paul loaded with PAFs. It's my favorite sound. Amp dimed it kicks...great invention wish I would have thought of it. ;) I bet a brand spankin' new Suhr Stratymeister would sound pretty good through this Roberto. :)

Iago
May 26th, 2006, 10:09 AM
Roberto compre o valve jr! :D

Robert
May 26th, 2006, 12:52 PM
But what cab to get...hmm... suggestions?

Katastrophe
May 26th, 2006, 02:10 PM
How 'bout this? http://www.axetopia.com/items/Vox/VOXAD212.htm It'd be a good compliment to the Vox amph for bigger gigs and screaming solos!:DR :R :D

Robert
May 26th, 2006, 03:14 PM
Oooh, I'd love to try that one! Looks great, wonder if it sounds any good?

duhvoodooman
May 30th, 2006, 10:57 AM
DVM NEWS FLASH!! I just nailed a lightly used Epi Valve Jr. combo off eBay last night for $92 + shipping. Won't get it until next week, 'cuz the seller only ships on Fridays, but can't hardly wait to hear what it sounds like. Not sure if it's new enough to have the "hum fix" in it (BTW, can anybody positively confirm that the new VJr combos truly have gone over to the DC supply to the tube filaments??), but I'll deal with that as necessary. This will be my son's amp for his B&C Squier Tele, but you can be sure his old man will be logging plenty of playing time on it!

I've been amazed by the amount of info available on the web for modding these little terrors, with many of those links posted in this thread. A lot of it is focused on taming the hum, but there's a bunch of other stuff like adding a "brightness" switch, or a gain switch, or a small light bulb to act an attenuator. These things seem to have achieved official "cult status" out there with tubeheads!

An interesting comment I've read a couple of times from apparently knowledgeable sources has been that they consider the hum and its causes to be so obvious that the Gibson/Epiphone engineers couldn't possibly have overlooked it in the amp's design and prototyping. Their conclusion is that they must have intentionally left it in, and may even have designed it in! Speculation on possible reasons for doing this include (1) giving the VJr more of that "vintage" vibe to go along with it's retro look and operational simplicity, and (2) keeping this little wonder from being so good that it would siphon off sales of the more expensive models. But, then again, they fixed the hum issue in the newer head model, so this may all be idle chatter....

Nelskie
May 30th, 2006, 12:11 PM
An interesting comment I've read a couple of times from apparently knowledgeable sources has been that they consider the hum and its causes to be so obvious that the Gibson/Epiphone engineers couldn't possibly have overlooked it in the amp's design and prototyping. Their conclusion is that they must have intentionally left it in, and may even have designed it in! Speculation on possible reasons for doing this include (1) giving the VJr more of that "vintage" vibe to go along with it's retro look and operational simplicity, and (2) keeping this little wonder from being so good that it would siphon off sales of the more expensive models. But, then again, they fixed the hum issue in the newer head model, so this may all be idle chatter....
DVM - Now that I think about your statement, the hum issue would indeed seem so blatantly obvious that it requires one to think outside of the box. I would wholeheartedly concur with the hum adding some distinctly vintage mystique to the Valve Jr.'s tone - even to the point where one would consider it an essential part of the amp's overall vibe. Myself, I consider the hum issue to be relatively insignificant in comparison to the Jr.'s long list of positives. One might also make the point that the Valve Jr. has eclipsed both the Valve Std. and Special models as far as popularity is concerned, and I really don't see where that will change anytime soon. With its obvious comparisons to the venerable Fender Champ line, and ever-so-basic Class "A" design, the Valve Jr. is well on its way to becoming a cult icon for the guitar-playing masses, and deservedly so. Perhaps that's why its causing such a stir amongst tube afficianados, in that they're now face-to-face with having spent upwards, and in some cases over $1,000 for fancy boutique numbers, and realize that they could have hot-rodded one of these little rigs for around $250 (and that's including the price of the amp!), and had nearly the same thing. Ah yes, such is the price for keeping up with the Jones'. ;)

duhvoodooman
June 6th, 2006, 08:20 AM
Valve Jr. First Impressions

Yesterday, I received the used VJr combo I bought on eBay. Haven't spent that much time with it yet, but here are some first impressions.



It really does have an appealing look--clean, simple, retro. Quite a nice design job by Gibson/Epiphone. Sturdily built, too.
5W (especially tube watts) is still LOUD. Granted, I play in a very small room, but anything over about 2 PM on the mojo dial was getting uncomfortable to my ears. Gotta bring it down into the basement playroom, where I can open it up a bit more!
What hum?? At least with the volume at about halfway, I really don't hear any significant ambient hum. There's a low buzz that I can hear build in as the volume is turned up to full, but it's far from obtrusive. I'll have to open up the chassis and see if mine has the DC filament fix, but I kind of doubt it. Will be very interested to hear it down in the basement, with fluorescent lights overhead!
The tone is definitely on the dark side, to my ears. I had to turn up the treble on all three of my guitars to get more brightness in the tone--including my son's Tele played from the bridge p'up! I can definitely see why one of the popular VJr mods is a "brightness" switch.
Putting my Digitech Tone Driver in front of the amp really brought it to life. I was running the morph knob midway, with the gain about 1 - 2 PM, and using the Tone knob to boost the high end. As Nelskie would say, it was floodin' down in Texas, for sure! And I was grinnin' in Schenectady....

I've already ordered some JJ tubes from Eurotubes.com to replace the stock Sovteks (one 12AX7 preamp, one EL84 power), which is said to brighten up the tone some. I've got two EL84's coming, one graded for max. headroom and the other for early breakup. I've also got a range of 12A_7 preamp tubes, to fool around with various degrees of preamp gain. Should be fun playing around! Film at 11....

Spudman
June 6th, 2006, 08:54 AM
Voodoo
Does the combo have a speaker out jack? It would be great to have the best of both worlds with the combo. Just curious.

duhvoodooman
June 6th, 2006, 01:55 PM
The VJr combo has a 4-ohm speaker jack that the stock speaker plugs into (see pic below), so you can definitely plug in a different 4-ohm speaker set-up. But I've also read on a couple of the VJr mod websites that you can easily add an 8-ohm output jack or install a switch to toggle the existing output between 4 and 8-ohm impedance using wiring already present on the output transformer. More reasons why this little puppy has gained the reputation as a "modder's dream"....

231

Nelskie
June 6th, 2006, 08:05 PM
DVM - You won't soon run out of ways to have fun with the Valve Jr. - modding, playing, tweaking with effects, etc. However, it'll be that true-blue Class A tone that'll keep coming back to the lunch-counter for seconds.

I was also wondering if you'd heard any "tube rattle" with your amp running at higher volumes? As I'd outlined to you in my e-mail, I solved my "rattle" issue by using silicone tube dampers. But I'm wondering if my speaker / tube change-out was the source of that, or if it's something that is inherent to the amp itself?

Anyways, I enjoyed reading your review (post #205). Keep us posted on your mods & progress. ;)

duhvoodooman
June 7th, 2006, 12:55 PM
I opened up the VJr last night, and it's definitely the original design--no evidence of DC voltage supply to the tube heater filaments. From what I read, this is why you get the buzzy hum rolling on when increasing the volume, which is exactly what I hear. This would undoubtedly be annoying to the serious musician, esp. if they wished to record with this amp. Let's just say that description is not remotely applicable to my son, who will be using the amp, or to me, who will be stealing time on it, too! :D So I have no plans to have the DC fix done, which involves cutting traces on the PCB and installing a small bridge rectifier & capacitor. Not worth the trouble....

The two tubes are very easy to get at, once you pull the back off. I'll probably remove the metal grille that's mounted across the upper hole of the back panel; this will allow access to the tubes even with the back left on. And tube swappin' is SUCH FUN!

Speaking of which, I pulled a couple of tubes out of my Delta Blues last night (a NOS BEL/Mullard 12AX7 and a JJ EL84) and put them in the VJr to see what tonal harvest could be reaped. It seemed to brighten up a bit and be somewhat smoother overall, but the difference wasn't dramatic. I really need to record some A/B sound clips to judge how big the difference is. Your mind can play tricks on you with this stuff, if you don't hear the two versions played head-to-head. I still want more brightness than a tube change will give me, though, so will likely pursue a mod or two that I've seen for this purpose.

Nelskie: Regarding the tube rattle, both of these tubes have spring-loaded retainer mechanisms on them (see JPG below; power tube on left, preamp tube on right). Didn't yours come with this, also? Or do they just not work well? In any case, I really haven't played enough through the amp at higher volumes to tell if this is a problem with mine. So far, I haven't noticed it, though.

232

Nelskie
June 7th, 2006, 02:10 PM
Nelskie: Regarding the tube rattle, both of these tubes have spring-loaded retainer mechanisms on them (see JPG below; power tube on left, preamp tube on right). Didn't yours come with this, also? Or do they just not work well? In any case, I really haven't played enough through the amp at higher volumes to tell if this is a problem with mine. So far, I haven't noticed it, though.
DVM - Yes, mine has the same retainer clip / enclosure set-up as yours. The jury's out as to for effictiveness in eliminating this tube "buzz", and I've read a number of posts on other sites that state the same. Possible causes: 1.) The magnet and metal speaker frame for my Weber Alnico 8S speaker protrude further back than the stock speaker does, which may put the resulting speaker vibrations closer to the tubes - hence the rattle; 2.) I may have accidentally "clanked" my tubes while changing them out, so there is the possibility that the rattle was a product of my not-so-deft technical skills (I really did try to be careful.) At any rate, the silicone tube dampers / lead tape trick I told you about have pretty much put the kabosh on the majority of the problem (although I am now officially on the Golfsmith catalog mailing list - which appears to be a weekly publication), running the amp at full gallop (2 bells and beyond) does occasionally produce a little bit of tube rattle. Nothing I can't live with for now. The speaker is absolutely tight to the cab, so I dont think that's an issue. It's also helped to run the amp through my Classic 112E cabinet, which I think allows a bit of "breathing room" for the tone, as well as a slightly more complex break-up with the 12" Swamp Thang speaker.

But I do have to tell you this - what happens when you plug a Tonebone Classic Distortion pedal into this amp is absolutely magical. Pure Class A nirvana. And now that I've heard how this particular set-up this sounds, can a Valve Jr. head be far behind . . . ? Stay tuned. ;)

Slowhand
June 16th, 2006, 02:00 PM
At the other end of the price scale Vox have just introduced this with a ON/OFF switch,a STANDBY switch and just a VOLUME POT so if you like Epi valve jr but want to gig with this type of amp....
http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/ac30/ac30bm.htm
actually you would probably sound like Brian May

Spudman
June 16th, 2006, 10:19 PM
Man, can you beleive that? I'll take my AC30 with ALL the knobs please.

I wonder why anybody would want to sound like Brian May?;)

Slowhand
June 20th, 2006, 11:53 AM
Man, can you beleive that? I'll take my AC30 with ALL the knobs please.

I wonder why anybody would want to sound like Brian May?;)
You mean apart from Brian May .........yah you got me:confused:

ibanezjunkie
July 3rd, 2009, 02:57 PM
if im honest

i think all the little 'problems' that happened with the Valve junior have been ironed out, then the same guy came up with Blackheart amps, and registered with Crate.

the blackhearts seem to use better parts, but worse tubes.