Before You Consider an Epiphone Valve Jr, You Might Want to See THIS!!!

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I own, and am quite vocal about how cool it is, the V18. I tried the Blackheart, and they're cool, but..... I am just opening my eyes and ears to how any 5-watt amplifier lacks body. I know it's hip to swear by recording a Champ, or even mic'ing it for gigs, but not me. By my math, a Champ has maybe 4VAC trying to push a speaker. That's just not enough to make a speaker work and get some low-end happening. Unless they've figured a way to defy the laws of physics. It's not the amplifier's fault; it's the speaker. The speaker just needs some voltage to make it move. If you could buy a 5-watt speaker, or a 10-watt speaker, I would buy a 5-watt amplifier. And the speaker would have to have the efficiency to make some SPL's happen. That's why you have to play the Valve Junior flat out, and they compress and sound very 'small'.
I don't know, it's just likely I have become bitter and jaded. But I want to feel the guitar hit me like a shot of cheap gin. The Valve Junior hits me like warm ginger ale. The Blackheart is cool, but sounds thin and mid-heavy when you dime it, and you have to dime it to hear it above the TV. Rather then spend three days EQ'ing it as I record it, in an effort to try and make it sound 'big', I'll go with at least a push-pull 6V6 amplifier that has an efficient speaker rated for about 25-35 watts. Record it flat with an e609 up close and a Royer 122 further back. That's why I am spolied, and won't use a 5-watt amplifier ever again.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
I'm with you. I was seriously impressed by Crate's VC-5, and the Palamino 30-watter I played was actually quite nice.
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I love my crate vintage club 50 and I don't care who knows it! I just wish it wasn't designed like an easy bake oven LOL
 
I read plety of good things here about the Crate V18's and figured the $150 was certainly worth anything functional that I can use to slam tubes in and out of for testing and such. Personally, I don't know what V18's people here are listening to because they really sound pretty bad in my opinion. First off, the speaker it comes with has absolutely got to go. I put a vintgae 30 in mine so far and it definately helps. Second, the Sovtek tubes all have to go. They sound stressed, grainy and offer no dimension (a perfect match for the stock speaker I guess). By the time I was done with my V18 I had put probably another $200 or more into it just to make it sound "decent". Luckily for me that meant grabbing stuff I already had and not actually spending anything. I was also a little surprised to see how the chassy is mounted in the amp. You actually have to remove the whole chassis to do basic tube swaps. Oh well. Next I will try replacing some of the caps and see how they have all the plates wired and such. Maybe even add switch or two to it and replace the reverb tank (another pretty useless item on the Crate). All things considered, I don't feel ripped off because my investment as well as my expectations were pretty low, and it may make a fun project.
 
Hmm. Come to think of it, who knows what was done to my vintage club before I had it. I know the speakers are still stock. The person who had it before me left a full set of mesa boogie el84s and 12ax7s in it. I would love to know if they did anything else! I guess that's one of the drawbacks to buying used.

On the subject of the thread, has anybody played this amp next to a tiny terror side by side? Obviously the tiny terror is louder at 15w. Would be interesting to see how they stack up to each other tonewise, considering the bh is half the price!!
 
owwmyfoot said:
Hmm. Come to think of it, who knows what was done to my vintage club before I had it. I know the speakers are still stock. The person who had it before me left a full set of mesa boogie el84s and 12ax7s in it. I would love to know if they did anything else! I guess that's one of the drawbacks to buying used.

On the subject of the thread, has anybody played this amp next to a tiny terror side by side? Obviously the tiny terror is louder at 15w. Would be interesting to see how they stack up to each other tonewise, considering the bh is half the price!!
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Search youtube. You can find anything on there.
 
I don't think you can compare fairly just based on youtube clips. People record everything differently.
 
I played an AD5, the TT's little brother, and found it unpleasant. Absolutely no clean headroom, and very brittle sounding. I was playing a LP with P90s.

The Killer Ant has, really, no clean headroom, either. I've just been playing it at around 10 o'clock with my Artcore AS103NT, and it breaks up. It is very pleasing on the ears, though.

As I said, I used to play this old Beltone amp. It was very basic, had either a 6" or 8" speaker, and it used to get the most amazing tones at reasonable volumes. The Killer Amp does the same thing. It is pretty much a one trick pony, but it does that trick very well, imo. I had tried the Little Giant, but I was shocked and stunned at how loud 5 and even 3 watts can be in an apartment. The Killer Ant is perfect for my needs, and I definitely get some bass from this baby and the 12" Epi cab. Whereas the lower strings would fart out on the Beltone, the bass response in this setup comes across nice and smooth. IMO, the only thing it needs is a reverb tank, but I can always add reverb post-recording.

And playing it at 10 o'clock gives a nice slightly overdriven tone that, in conjunction with the volume and tone controls on the guitar, yields enough variations for me to just sit there and play it for two hours.

YMMV, but I think this is a cool little amp.

I just have to ignore the 'Made in the P.R. of China' label.....
 
ENJOY WHAT YOU CAN WHILE YOU CAN BECAUSE DOWNUNDER WE CAN'T:
Blackheart
Little Giant 5 Watt Head
Our Price: $499.00
& that's a good deal in a reliable store with reasonable prices.
 
COOLCAT said:
whats even more bizarre is how a talented person can often make cheap gear sound good and clunker-players can make expensive gear sound like ASS.
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What's even more bizarre is how you felt the need to make this gigantic and blue.

But I do agree with you completely, unfortunately, I'm probably on the clunker end of that spectrum :(
 
lol... that is some big ass text! He has a point though. I feel like talented players have a habit of making decent gear sound top notch and crappy players do the opposite. I am probably the latter but I have fun while I do it so that is all that matters to me!
 
I'll chime in on this one. I purchased the EVJ stack for the nice price of 260.00. I compared it to the Black Heart and thought the EVJ sounded a little better even though they both sounded muddy and I didn't think the EQ on the Black Heart was that responsive. So I took the EVJ home and did the following; Purchased a BitMo kit, Attenuator kit, a JJEL84, and a JJ 12AX7, and then refired it back up and it sounds freakin fantastic!! My total investment as of now is $375.00 and I have no problem getting over my drummer, and I have played six gigs with it and I am completly satisfied with the sound. Run the line out from the Attentuator into the FOH mixer and it will set you back in your seat. I have had many comments on the sound.

I have a Peavey Classic 30, Peavey Valve King, and a Traynor YCV40, and everyone of these amps are voiced to a certain style of music. But the EVJ has been coming along for the ride since the mods have been completed. Remember, Gibson designed and brought this amp to life and a BitMo modification and a new set of tubes will make it sound larger than life. It sounds good through both my Fender VG Strat and my Gibson Explorer.
 
I tried several small low watt amps before finding a "mint condition" MIA tweed Fender Pro Jr that I like a lot for recording and even small gigs. :cool:
 
Sorry Buck but the blackheart is a pos.So is EVJ.No such thing as bang for the
bucks when walking out of the store with it instantly devalues it.
I have trouble understanding why good players will buy shit amps 20 times over in a life time to "save a few $$$" ,when they could buy a nice amp that
really smokes once.
When it comes down to it all amps are either Better or worse versions of a
Marshall or a Fender or both.The EVJ and the BH both have shittier tone than
even the new fenders.(and the new fenders suck bigtime)
Shit guys,treat yourselves to a Splawn or a Fargen.You only live once!
 
SHEPPARDB. said:
Sorry Buck but the blackheart is a pos.So is EVJ.No such thing as bang for the
bucks when walking out of the store with it instantly devalues it.
I have trouble understanding why good players will buy shit amps 20 times over in a life time to "save a few $$$" ,when they could buy a nice amp that
really smokes once.
When it comes down to it all amps are either Better or worse versions of a
Marshall or a Fender or both.The EVJ and the BH both have shittier tone than
even the new fenders.(and the new fenders suck bigtime)
Shit guys,treat yourselves to a Splawn or a Fargen.You only live once!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgI-7hTZkQ
 
Those amps, in the proper hands are a cost-effective tool, whereas you are simply a tool. As to the merits of an Epi VJ versus a Splawn or whatever,, comparing $100 amps to $3500 amps is idiotic, therefore, I'll leave that to you.
 
SHEPPARDB. said:
When you get tired of playing in the livingroom for your drunk buddies, your
mom, dad, read my post again.If you think that the afore-mentioned amps
are the end of the search for tone and clarity, then by all means end your
quest there.Those amps are garbage.
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But.....what if I tried multiple amps and the EVJ produced exactly what I was looking for? Would it still be a bad deal? You know...because your opinion on what I like isn't very important. Just curious.

KT
 
Creamyapples1 said:
But.....what if I tried multiple amps and the EVJ produced exactly what I was looking for? Would it still be a bad deal? You know...because your opinion on what I like isn't very important. Just curious.

KT
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First I would tell you to quit shopping at Guitar Satan for amps.
Secondly, listen to all of the music that you really love and ask yourself if you
can duplicate it live with an EVJ or a BH or whatever the POS du jour is @ GS.
Third, play live, it is the only true test of how good gear is.It's also the only
true test of how good you are.
Fourth, fuck off junior, I had strings under my fingers before your mom was under your pop.
 
Maybe if you play for another 30 years you'll realize that a live performance is the last place the nuance of elite gear is noticed. In fact, a gigging musician will be far more likely to appreciate an inexpensive yet effective piece of gear. My US Strat and 78 LPC stay home, while my Xavieres risk the beer bottles and theft. If things work out, I'll bring my upgraded Crate V33 instead of my Mesa Boogie MkIIB. The crowd won't know a Dumble from a V-ampire.
 
ermghoti said:
Maybe if you play for another 30 years you'll realize that a live performance is the last place the nuance of elite gear is noticed. In fact, a gigging musician will be far more likely to appreciate an inexpensive yet effective piece of gear. My US Strat and 78 LPC stay home, while my Xavieres risk the beer bottles and theft. If things work out, I'll bring my upgraded Crate V33 instead of my Mesa Boogie MkIIB. The crowd won't know a Dumble from a V-ampire.
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true, but YOU do and so it can affect how you play.

However, I must respectfully disagree with my fellow gigging musician Sheppard.
It's not fair to compare these small cheap amps with the expensive gear we both own.
It's more appropriate to compare them to the other $100 amps most players with no money buy and they are better than those. What else you gonna get ... a Marshall MG15? blehh!
No, my EVJr (yes, I own one) doesn't even compare to my Orange or my Mesa Blue Angel or my Marshall 6101 or my stable of 70's vintage Ampeg.
But it is way better than the $100 SS practice amps that are the only other choices.
 
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