Does anyone have that epi 5 watt Jr. head?

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capnkid

capnkid

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I was thinking of getting one of these after I sell my 18 watter.

Why don't they sell a cab to go with it?

Would a 12" greenback be to much for it if I built a cab for it?
 
I played through one this past weekend. Pretty cool. Beefy cranked tube tones. My friends band played while I was home visiting, and he had it set up as an extra rig so I could sit in. They were doing a "low volume" gig. Nothing mic'd. It sounded good through a closed back cab. Might be a little too thin with an open back, or combo though for my taste. It'll push a greenback just fine.
 
I had one for a week and really enjoyed it. Sounds real big for what it is. Kept up for a bit in a full band practice. I played it through a 2x12 and it sounded huge. Through a 4x12 and it sounded immense. I assume a 1x12 would sound pretty big depending on the cab design.
 
I've got one, if you wanna use it regularly, get good tubes and a better output transformer. I dropped in an American made Champ replacement, tons better, sounds way more open. And get a pullout 12ax7 of some interest, even the old American tubes sound great in it. I'm modding a few more pieces before I'm done with it but afterwards it should be dangerously close to a Gibson GA-5. It'd sound killer with a greenback I bet, I would avoid a V30 though, it's a bit rolled on the top as is.
 
I have one and with stock tubes, etc. it's OK - I plan to swap out tubes, but havn't gotten to it yet.

I did see an add (in Mucian's Friend or something) that EPI is coming out with a matching 12" cab
 
capnkid said:
I was thinking of getting one of these after I sell my 18 watter.

Why don't they sell a cab to go with it?

Would a 12" greenback be to much for it if I built a cab for it?
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sell your plasma, cut a lawn, eat bologna......keep the amp. :D if you're happy with the 18 watt at all i think the valve jr. might turn your stomach.

hasn't epiphone already released a matching cab for the head?
 
It sounds pretty good in stock form - real good if your style calls for crunchy/slightly ovedriven guitar tone. If you are wanting to use it for anything heavier it might need a few mods.

It will drive a 4x12 cab just fine, and mine is not thin sounding with my open back (4x12) cab.
 
i've got one. i swapped out the chinese sovteks for a pair of JJ's from eurotubes and it sounds remarkably better now. the sovteks were just harsh sounding. the JJ's smoothed out the sound a considerable bit, even with the high-gain 12ax7 i put in the preamp section. it gets a little gainier sooner, which was the intended result.

it's not bad for a $100, made in china with cheap parts amp. i'll probably get around to swapping out the transformer one of these days for a better quality one, but dropping another $100-300 into this amp isn't on my short list of things to do.


cheers,
wade
 
TravisinFlorida said:
sell your plasma, cut a lawn, eat bologna......keep the amp. :D if you're happy with the 18 watt at all i think the valve jr. might turn your stomach.

hasn't epiphone already released a matching cab for the head?
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The whole reason I got into and built the 18 watter was to have a great amp at low volumes, without a hot plate. I had a 40 watt tube amp and it was ear piercing loud, so I sold it and started building the 18 watt.

It sounds awesome, but it is still to loud, 18 watts is RIPPING loud for what I'm doing which is just playing in my basement studio. I live in a duplex, and I never get to go past 4 or 5 on the 18 watter, That's why I had th emaster volume put in, but It's still to loud. :D

I have been even thinking of going back to a solid state peavey bandit, but I couln't get a good clean sound out of it.
 
the 5 watt will only be slightly quieter than the 18. you should try using a smaller speaker with the 18 watter and if you're using more than one, try using just one.

there are a few guys around here that seem to know a whole bunch about amps and speakers. they could probably tell you how to quiet it down a bit just by changing the speaker. Though, i don't imagine it will get much quieter than maybe a couple decibels less.

I think your best bet will be getting an attenuator though. I know you said you don't want one, but I really think that's going to be your best choice.

weber sells a bunch of attenuators. the ones with the speaker motors in them get really good reviews.

here's the one I'm going to get one of these days--- https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/masslite.htm

and here's another one that is also very interesting-- https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/mass.htm

here's some info for help choosing an attenuator from ted weber's page.

"You should select an attenuator that can handle at least as much power as your amp puts out.

Amplifiers are generally designed to operate clean, and most manufacturers specify the output power as clean power. When you run the amp full blast, the output devices actually become more efficient because distortion is not considered. Under those conditions, the amp may be capable of putting out as much as 50% more power than its rated clean power. Be aware of that when choosing an attenuator, because the idea of using an attenuator is to run the amp full blast into power tube distortion and then controlling the level going to the speaker. If you are going to dime a 50 watt amp, you should choose a 100 watt attenuator."
 
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jonnyc said:
I think they do have a matching cab coming out for it.
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It's like a buck 30 in the new music123 junk mail. I think it's plenty cool. It's surprisingly hard to find 1x12 cabs. I had a couple speakers I'd like to a/b and have been hung up building a cabinet for an embarassingly long time. As soon as I can figure out how to get it past mama, I'm buying one of those sumbitches.

I can't find it on the website.
 
capnkid said:
The whole reason I got into and built the 18 watter was to have a great amp at low volumes, without a hot plate. I had a 40 watt tube amp and it was ear piercing loud, so I sold it and started building the 18 watt.

It sounds awesome, but it is still to loud, 18 watts is RIPPING loud for what I'm doing which is just playing in my basement studio. I live in a duplex, and I never get to go past 4 or 5 on the 18 watter, That's why I had th emaster volume put in, but It's still to loud. :D

I have been even thinking of going back to a solid state peavey bandit, but I couln't get a good clean sound out of it.
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i'd look at a mass, or less efficient speakers, or a isolated cab, or a combo of these. you'll be giving up a lot tone going to a valve junior or one of those nano things.
 
I think I want an 8 for it, though a 12 would be nice to have for variety.
 
notCardio said:
I think I want an 8 for it, though a 12 would be nice to have for variety.
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i actually record with my epi VJ running through the 8in weber alnico in my fender champ. it does quite nicely. i'll be glad to shoot you an mp3 of it in action.

i do want a 2x12 for it, too, though.


cheers,
wade
 
There's already been a big arguement about this subject but when I had my Epi VJ I noticed that it took pedals really really well. It isn't quiet though, still pretty damn loud, in fact a buddy of mine used to use mine for band practice and was plenty loud.
 
As long as we're on the subject (again)

I have a question about impedance and power.

Ok, I'm under the impression that if you have an amp that has a, let's say for argument's sake, a 4 ohm output, and you put an 8 ohm cab on it, you will get roughly half the power out that you would have with a 4 ohm cab. So would get roughly 1/4 of the power out with a 16 ohm cab.

Is this correct, or am I off base?

If this is correct, then wouldn't I be able to take the new Epi cab, rated at 16 ohms, and plug it into the 4 ohm jack on the Epi head, and get roughly 1/4 of the power (with the associated reducion in volume) than if I plugged it into the 16 ohm jack?

Or would I just cook something?
 
mrface2112 said:
i actually record with my epi VJ running through the 8in weber alnico in my fender champ. it does quite nicely. i'll be glad to shoot you an mp3 of it in action.

i do want a 2x12 for it, too, though.


cheers,
wade
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I would love to hear that, especially if there aren't any (distortion or boost)pedals in front of it.

What year is your Champ, and is it tube or ss?

I've got an old tube Vibro Champ that i'm looking for a replacement speaker for. I though about then running the VJ through that, I guess doing just exactly what your doing. What's the impedance and power rating on your Weber?
 
notCardio said:
I would love to hear that, especially if there aren't any (distortion or boost)pedals in front of it.
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check out
. Unfortunately, i think there was a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde in front of the VJ on each of the tracks......i'll see if i have any mp3s online where it's "just" the VJ. The VJ head into Champ speaker was used on all tracks on this tune.

although, FWIW, one of the things i like best about the VJ is its ability to take pedals so well. the J&H->VJ combo is pretty deadly, IMO. :D

notCardio said:
What year is your Champ, and is it tube or ss?
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it's a 76 silverface. all tube.

notCardio said:
I've got an old tube Vibro Champ that i'm looking for a replacement speaker for. I though about then running the VJ through that, I guess doing just exactly what your doing. What's the impedance and power rating on your Weber?
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if you're looking at parting with that vibrochamp, let me know. ;)

and yeah, that's exactly what i'm doing--i've just got a jack that i wired onto the other terminals of the speaker, which i can easily remove if desired. i just make sure that the champ is powered off when i connect the VJ to it.

the weber i put in was the 8A125 https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/8a125.htm. it's the 20W, 8Ohm version, which should be fine for your vibrochamp. it's a fantastic sounding speaker. it's a little darker than the stock one that was in there, but it sounds worlds better. given that the champ is a 6W amp and that the VJ is 5W......it's all good.
 
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