epiphone valve jr

[fatoni]

figured id pick one up just to have something other than the mkiv. any opinioins? probably gonna throw a dist pedal (and maybe eq...possible chorus or reverb. i dont know) in the mix so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. im just looking for something that isnt my mark iv

 

[Rocky]

They are actually quite good.

Easy to mod too....there are plans on the web that can be used to convert them to Bad Cat Mini Cat specs.

 

[fatoni]

i knew about the mods but bad cat? so excited. thanks

 

[CoG]

also, best way in the world to figure out what preamp tubes actually sound like I love my VJ.

 

[disassembled]

I modded a couple and they are a fun project considering the price point. You can basically turn it into any kind of amp you desire it just depends on how much you are willing to put into it and how much free time you have.

I had both my head and combo sounding very plexi'ish when cranked but they didn't do much for me at low levels. These amps are not for playing at low levels!



Greg

 

[t0aj15]

Makes a good doorstop, can't find much use for it otherwise.

 

[Don]

I've got a Gibson GA-5 coming today.

For a little more than twice the price of the Epi, it's made in USA, has decent transformers, turret board construction and good quality caps and resistors.

It should be real easy to mod. I think it'll even take a 10" speaker.

 

[disassembled]

Makes a good doorstop, can't find much use for it otherwise.

Give it to me then......


Greg

 

[playdosboogies]

Throw an od/dist.box in front of one and it is a really nice/touch sensitive little amp for playing around the house..and for the price of a boss pedal!!

 

[Jack Dotson]

When I first saw these little amps no one at the store was even giving them a second look. When I saw the price I thought to myslef, these must be junk. Curiosity got the best of me so I plugged and and was I surprised. What a great little amp. Not something that you could gig with, well maybe if mic'd through a PA, but perfect for practice and home use.

The half stack sounded good, but even more surprising was how good the little combo sounded. I want one and was about to buy one unitl I saw MF blowing out the Gibson Goldtone GA5's for $299. Couldn't pass that up. Someone else recommended this amp as do I. They're sold out at MF, but can still be had for $399 and worth it IMO (used to sale for $699 and still do at some places). Great sounding little amp's that are PTP wired, use a Weber Signature 8S speaker (I think the Epi Vjr uses this speaker as well) and made in the good ol' USA.

But, if your on a budget the Epi or the Blackheart's are going to be hard to beat. The only other amp I would throw into the mix is the Fender Champ 600. Under $200 but they only have a 6" speaker. Match it with the Epi cabinet and I think this would also be a killer combo.

 

[CoG]

I actually gigged my VJ on Friday. Granted, it was at a house party backing a singer-wongwriter dude, and the drummer was playing a snare and hat with brushes, but it was a gig.(Not the best scene for my Mk III!)

I have done a couple of minor mods to it (just changed some resistors and put in a totally useless FX loop,) have a 5751 in the preamp and run a Barber Direct Drive and a delay in front. It sounded really good, and I had a couple guys ask me about the amp (I built a custom headshell and cab for it, so it's not obviously a VJ.)

 

[nomad100hd]

Don should have just saved your money and bought a VJ and modded it. They work really well for church, if they are to loud for your church find a new one! IMO


BTW not a weber speaker in the VJ combo

 

[Don]

Don should have just saved your money and bought a VJ and modded it.

I wasn't interested in the VJ.

The turret board, good transformers, speaker, even the fact that the GA-5 is made in USA, really appealed to me. I don't even like the styling of the Epiphone and think the Gibson looks good.

It's really nice working on the turret board. Way better than working on a PCB.

I like the fact that I can tweak a few components to my liking without wondering where they sourced most of the amp from.

The two amps really are very similar, otherwise.

 

[nomad100hd]

the gibson one does look better and they did drop the price quiet a bit. I hadn't realized it wasn't 600 bucks anymore. I guess you don't have to buy a turret board for the amp. I'd probably mod mine more i if i put a turret board in.

 

[Don]

the gibson one does look better and they did drop the price quiet a bit. I hadn't realized it wasn't 600 bucks anymore.

I paid $299 for the GA-5. I would never have considered paying more for it. Even then, it's a little expensive for a 5 watt amp.
The Epi Valve Jr is a great amp great for the price.

Check out this site. There is lots of info on the Valve Jr here-
http://www.sewatt.com/

A lot of the info is applicable to the GA-5 and Champ.

 

[DeFrag]

Should have looked at a Blackheart Little Giant.