Epiphone Valve Jr.

[Robert****]

I agree about that line - pure poetry man!

[Nelskie]

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]

bring on the tracks bro Nelskie ... i know you can , i know you can , i know you can ..

[Nelskie]

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]

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]

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!

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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/showthrea...r&pagenumber=1

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

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]

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]

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]

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



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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."